as the reward of her dancing the murder and the head of a Prophet? “Who can utter the
mighty acts of the Lord?” (Ps. vi. 2.)
“Hateful,” he says, “and hating one another.” For it must necessarily happen, when we
let loose every pleasure on the soul, that there should be much hatred. For where love is,
with virtue, no man overreacheth another in any matter. Mark also what Paul says, “Be not
deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, shall inherit the king-
dom of God. And such were some of you.” (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10.) Dost thou see how every species
of wickedness prevailed? It was a state of gross darkness, and the corruption of all that was
right. For if those who had the advantage of prophecies, and who saw so many evils inflicted
upon their enemies, and even upon themselves, nevertheless did not restrain themselves,
but committed numberless foolish crimes, what would be the case with others? One of their
lawgivers ordered that virgins should wrestle naked in the presence of men. Many blessings
on you! that ye cannot endure the mention of it; but their philosophers were not ashamed
of the actual practice. Another, the chief of their philosophers, approves of their going out
to the war, and of their being common,1510 as if he were a pimp and pander to their lusts.
“Living in malice and envy.”
For if those who professed philosophy among them made such laws, what shall we say
of those who were not philosophers? If such were the maxims of those who wore a long
beard, and assumed the grave cloak,1511 what can be said of others? Woman was not made
for this, O man, to be prostituted as common. O ye subverters of all decency, who use men,
as if they were women, and lead out women to war, as if they were men! This is the work of
the devil, to subvert and confound all things, to overleap the boundaries that have been ap-
pointed from the beginning, and remove those which God has set to nature. For God assigned
to woman the care of the house only, to man the conduct of public affairs. But you reduce
the head to the feet, and raise the feet to the head. You suffer women to bear arms, and are
not ashamed. But why do I mention these things? They introduce on the stage a woman
that murders her own children, nor are they ashamed to stuff the ears of men with such
abominable stories.
Ver. 4. “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards man appeared,
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved
us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us
1510 This is an unfair view of Plato’s Republic, against which, however, it is a real objection that it sets aside
a law of nature, though with political, and not sensual views. Some have seen a great truth allegorized in this,
and it may be justly, but ordinary Greeks would be more likely to take it as St. Chrysostom does, and Plato perhaps
hints that it would be so in practice, b. viii. init.
1511 τρίβωνα.
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Titus 2:11-14