WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY XII. Everything should be full of chasteness, of grav ity, of orderliness ; but I see the reverse, people frisking like camels and mules. For the virgin, her chamber l is the only befitting place. " But," saith one, " she is poor." Because she is poor, she ought to be modest also ; let her have her character in the place of a fortune. Has she no dowry to give with herself? Then why dost thou make her otherwise contemptible through her life and manners ? I praise the custom, that virgins attend to do honor to their fellow ; ma trons attend to do honor to her who is made one of their order. Rightly hath this been ordered. For these are two companies, one of virgins, the other of the married ; the one are giving her up, the other receiving her. The bride is be tween them, neither virgin, nor wife, for she is coming forth from those, and entering into the fellowship of these. But those harlots, what mean they? They ought to hide their faces when marriage is celebrated ; they ought to be dug into the earth, (for harlotry is the corrup tion of marriage,) but we introduce them at our marriages. And, when ye are engaged in any work, ye count it ill-omened to speak even a syllable of what is adverse to it ; for instance, when thou sowest, when thou drawest off the wine from thy vats, thou wouldest not, even if asked, utter a syllable about vinegar ; but here, where the object is chasteness, introduce ye the vinegar? for such is an harlot. When ye are preparing sweet ointment, ye suffer nought ill- scented to be near. Marriage is a sweet oint ment. Why then introducest thou the foul stench of the dunghill into the preparation of thy ointment? What sayest thou? Shall the virgin dance, and yet feel no shame before her fellow? For she ought to have more gravity than the other ; she hath at least come forth from the [nurse s] arm, and not from the palaes tra. For the virgin ought not to appear pub licly at all at a marriage. Seest thou not how in kings houses, the hon ored are within, about the king, the unhonored without? Do thou too be within about the bride. But remain in the house in chasteness, expose not thy virginity. Either company is standing by, the one to show of what sort she is whom they are giving up, the other in order that they may guard her. Why disgraces! thou the virgin estate ? For if thou art such as this, the same will the bridegroom suspect her to be. If thou wishest to have men in love with thee, this is the part of saleswomen, green-grocers, and handicrafts-people. Is not this a shame? To act unseemly is a shame even though it be a king s daughter.2 For doth her poverty stand in the way? or her course of life? Even if a OaAajios, which is used for any retired chamber, i.e. at whose wedding it is done. 3 TOUS orras. Possibly " those that are [that image]." Downes proposes <ruv6vra.<; , with some probability. * 6 ovSevia. The word rj^ajjiero?, which Ed. Par. would supply, may be understood. 5 Ka.6a.irep KO.\ irporepov. Downes and others give up this pas sage as corrupt. The Translator suggests, "as was the case with Adam before Eve was formed." There is still a difficulty, though this has a meaning, in that God withheld the power then from the undivided Man, as he does now from the not yet reunited. 8 i.e. " one other." Savile needlessly conjectures " two." 7 The word is declined, and so would not mean Jacob. OneMS. has Joseph, which is no plainer. [Three MSS. have Joseph, but they are the group of three that are so often palpably altering. J. A. B.] One would expect a solution from the end of Horn, v., but none seems to occur there, unless Jacob s birth after Rebecca s long barrenness be deemed sufficient. virgin be a slave, let her abide in modesty. " For in Christ Jesus there can be neither bond nor free." (Gal. iii. 28.) What ? is marriage a theater ? It is a mystery and a type of a mighty thing ; and even if thou reverence not it, reverence that whose type it is. " This mystery," saith he, " is great, but I speak in regard of Christ and of the Church." (Eph. v. 32.) It is a type of the Church, and of Christ, and dost thou introduce harlots at it? If then, saith one, neither virgins dance, nor the married, who is to dance? No one, for what need is there of dancing ? In the Grecian mys teries there are dancings, but in ours, silence and decency, modesty, and bashfulness. A great mystery is being celebrated : forth with the har lots ! forth with the profane ! How is it a mys tery? They come together, and the two make one. Wherefore is it that at his entrance indeed, there was no dancing, no cymbals, but great silence, great stillness ; but when they come to gether, making not a lifeless image, nor yet the image of anything upon earth, but of God Him self, and after his likeness, thou introducest so great an uproar, and disturbest those that are there, 3 and puttest the soul to shame, and con- foundest it ? They come, about to be made one body. See again a mystery of love ! If the two become not one, so long as they continue twor they make not many, but when they are come into oneness, they then make many. What do we learn from this ? That great is the power of union. The wise counsel of God at the begin ning divided the one into two ; and being desirous of showing that even after division it remaineth still one, He suffered not that the one should be of itself enough for procreation. For he is not one who is not yet [united, 4 ] but the half of one ; and it is evident from this, that he begetteth no offspring, as was the case also beforetime. 5 Seest thou the mystery of mar riage? He made of one, one 6 ; and again, having made these two, one, He so maketh one, so that now also man is produced of one. For man and wife are not two men, but one Man. And this may be confirmed from many sources ; for instance, from James, 7 from Mary the Mother of Christ, from the words, " He made , them male and female." (Gen. i. 27.) If he