23. Tell me not that the body is a cause of
sin Fortunatus, the
Manichee, in August. Disput. ii. 20, contra Fortunat. is
represented as saying, What we assert is this, that the soul is
compelled to sin by a substance of contrary nature.. For if the body is a cause of sin, why
does not a dead body sin? Put a sword in the right hand of one
just dead, and no murder takes place. Let beauties of every kind
pass before a youth just dead, and no impure desire arises.
Why? Because the body sins not of itself, but the soul through
the body. The body is an instrument, and, as it were, a garment
and robe of the soul: and if by this latter it be given over to
fornication, it becomes defiled: but if it dwell with a holy
soul, it becomes a temple of the Holy Ghost. It is not I that say
this, but the Apostle Paul hath said, Know ye not, that your bodies
are the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you 1 Cor. vi. 19.? Be tender, therefore, of thy body as
being a temple of the Holy Ghost. Pollute not thy flesh in
fornication: defile not this thy fairest robe: and if ever
thou hast defiled it, now cleanse it by repentance: get thyself
washed, while time permits.