О девственницах в трех книгах. Книга первая

1. If, according to the saying of heavenly truth (Matthew 12:36), for every word spoken by us idlely, we must present an account, if every slave, through his lack of enterprise or avarice, has buried in the ground (Matthew 25:14 et seq.) those talents of spiritual grace that were entrusted to him to increase them with increasing interest, upon the return of his master, will undergo considerable punishment: then we should be all the more afraid, who, although with a weak talent, are nevertheless entrusted with the great responsibility of planting the word of God in the hearts of people - (we should be afraid) lest interest would also be required from our word, especially in the case when the Lord will exact from us for unfulfilled service. That's why I had the idea to write something. (namely, write) because our word is in greater danger of earning reproach when it is listened to rather than read. The book doesn't blush. 2. So, not relying on my natural talents, but encouraged by examples of divine mercy, I dare to begin (my) speech; for, by the will of God, even the donkey spoke (Num. 22:28). And so, if an angel appears before me, subject to the burden of this age, then I will also open (my) long-silent lips: the one who in this donkey destroyed the barriers of nature can, of course, destroy the barriers of (my) inexperience. If in the ark of the Old Testament the priest's rod blossomed (Num. 17:8), then it is possible for God that in the Holy Church a flower should blossom from our buds. Why, in fact, cannot we hope that God, Who spoke in the thorn bush (Ex. 3, 4 et seq.), will not also speak in people? God did not abhor the thorn bush. Oh that He would illuminate my thorns too. But perhaps there will be those who, even in our thorns, will be amazed by the brilliance of some light; there will be some (and others) whom our thorns will not set on fire; there will be those (and those) whose voice, heard from the thorn bush, will free their feet from shoes, and then the flow of thought (theirs) will be free from carnal barriers. 3. But this is the lot of holy men. Oh, if only Jesus would look at me, just a little, as I lie under this still barren fig tree (John 1:48)! Then, after three years, our fig tree would also bear fruit (Luke 13:6 et seq.). But where does sinners have so much hope? Oh, if at least this Gospel planter of the Lord’s vine, who may have already given the order to cut down our fig tree, would leave it for this year too, in order to dig it up and fertilize it with a basket of manure: would he not restore it, helpless, although with the help of earth, and would he not revive it, skinny, with the help of manure? Blessed are those who tie their horses to the common vine and olive tree (Gen. 49:9) and thus devote their work to light and joy; I am still shadowed by the fig tree, that is, by the attractive itch of worldly pleasures - (the fig tree) is low for the sublime, fragile for labor, pampered for work, barren in relation to fruit. 4. Maybe someone is wondering why I can’t speak, but I dare to write. But if we remember what we read in the Gospel Scriptures (Luke 1:63-64), and what we saw in priestly actions, and at the same time take the holy prophet Zechariah as an example, we will see that there is (something) that the voice cannot express and the pen cannot depict. However, if the name: “John” returned the voice to the father, then I should not despair that, despite my dumbness, I can also receive a voice if I speak about Christ: although His generation, according to the prophetic word, “who will explain”? (Isa. 53:8). And so, as a servant, I will glorify the family of the Lord; after all, the immaculate Lord chose for Himself an immaculate birth even in this body, full of the impurities of human frailty. And it turned out very fortunately that we have to talk about virgins just today, on the virgin’s birthday, and begin the book with her glorification. It's the virgin's birthday - and we will follow her purity. It’s the martyr’s birthday – and we will make sacrifices. The birthday of Saint Agnes - and let the men marvel, the youths not despair, the wives be amazed and the virgins imitate her. And what exactly can we say that is worthy about one whose even name is not free from the light of glorification? (Her virtues): a vow that exceeds (the laws of) age, a virtue that rises above nature! It seems to me that she didn’t even have a human name, but rather a saying of the prophet, with whom he foretold what was about to happen to her. 6. At least I know where to look for help. The name of a virgin is a designation of chastity. I will call upon the martyr, I will glorify the virgin. And quite great is the praise that is not sought, but (already) available. So, let the mind cease, eloquence be silent: her name alone is glorification. The elders, the youths, and the youths sing about him. The highest degree of glorification is when someone is praised by (all) people. And so, how many people, so many preachers, speaking and glorifying the martyr! 7. She is said to have suffered martyrdom for twelve years. And as shameful as this cruelty was, which did not spare even childhood, just as great, on the contrary, was the power of faith, which found proof even at this age. Were the wounds appropriate for such a small body? And here is the one who did not have (almost a body) to take the blows of iron, but had something with which to defeat him. But girls of this age cannot bear even the angry look of their parents, and usually a small prick with a pin is mourned as a wound. She, having no fear of the bloody hands of the executioners, not feeling the heavy shackles of rattling chains, puts her whole body under the sword of an enraged warrior, and not yet knowing death, is already ready for it. And when she is drawn against her will to the altar, she raises her hands to Christ in the fire and even in the very idol hearth shows the trophy of the victorious Lord. She puts both her shoulders and both hands in iron shackles; but no shackles were able to imprison such tender members. 8. Is this not a new kind of martyrdom? Not yet ripe for punishment, she is already ripe for victory; inaccessible to defeat, it is capable of receiving a crown; bearing within herself the predisposition of age, she fulfilled the duty of virtue. The wife would not have been in such a hurry to the bedroom as, rejoicing at approaching the place of punishment, the virgin walked forward with a hasty step, adorning her head not with braided hair, but with Christ - adorning herself not with flowers, but with good manners. Everyone was crying, but she was without tears. Many were surprised that she gave up life so easily: in fact, she had not yet had time to experience it, but she was already giving it away, as if having enjoyed it. Everyone was amazed that she, who due to her age could not yet be a confessor, became a witness to the deity. And so it turned out that she who did not yet have faith among people found it with God. And indeed, what is above nature comes from the creator of nature. 9. And what horrors did the executioner resort to to frighten her, and to what caresses to convince her! How many promises (there were) that he would get her as his wife! And she: “to desire, she says, pleasure means to insult the Groom. Whoever chose me first will receive it. Why, murderer, are you delaying? Let the body perish, and I don’t want it to arouse love in anyone’s eyes.” She stood up, said a prayer and bent her neck. It was necessary to see (how) the executioner trembled: it was as if he himself was sentenced (to execution), the killer’s right hand was shaking, his face turned pale from fear of someone else’s danger, while the girl did not express fear of her own (danger). So, in one sacrifice you have a twofold martyrdom - chastity (pudoris) and faith (religionis). And she remained a virgin, and suffered martyrdom. 10. The love of chastity, and also you, holy sister, silent before animal morals, now prompt me to say something about virginity. Let this, in essence, fundamental virtue not seem insulted by some lack of attention. Indeed, virginity is worthy of praise not because it is found in martyrs, but because it itself makes martyrs. 11. The question arises, who can embrace with the human mind that which even nature has not subordinated to its laws? Who (can) express in natural words that which is above the order of nature? She called from heaven what she imitated on earth. And she who found herself a groom in heaven did not undeservedly accept the image of heavenly life. Having passed through the clouds, the sky, angels and constellations, she found the Word of God in the very bosom of the Father and clung (to Him) with all her soul. And who, in fact, will leave such a great good once he has found it? “The poured-out ointment is Thy name: for this reason did I love thee (and) draw thee” (Song. 1, 2). And finally, it is not my (personal opinion) that people who neither marry nor are given in marriage will be like angels in heaven (Matthew 22:30). So, let no one marvel at the fact that those who are united with the Lord of angels are equated with angels. Who, therefore, will deny (the truth) that this (virgin) life descended from heaven, since we do not easily find it on earth, and only from the time when God descended into these members of the earthly body? Then the virgin conceived in her womb, and the Word became flesh, and the flesh became God. 2 12. Someone will say: but Elijah turned out to be completely uninvolved in the desires of carnal intercourse. But that is why he was taken by chariot to heaven, that is why he appears in glory with the Lord, and that is why he will be the forerunner of the Lord’s coming. And Mary, taking the tympanum, with virginal bashfulness was the leader of the choir (Ex. 15:20). But look, whose image did she have then? Wasn’t this virgin the image of the church, who with her immaculate soul united the religious host of the people who sang divine songs? We also read that there were chosen virgins in the temple in Jerusalem. But what does the Apostle say? All this happened to them as images to become evidence of the future (1 Cor. 10:11); for the image is in a few, (and) life is in very many. 13. And only after the Lord, having come into this body, combined the communion of divinity and physicality without any stain of external confusion, He, spreading throughout the whole world, communicated to human bodies the image of heavenly life. This is the very future generation that was announced by the angels serving on earth (Matthew 4:11) (and) which will render service to the Lord through the obedience of immaculate flesh. This is the heavenly army that the host of glorifying angels promised on earth. So, we have a witness of antiquity from the beginning of time, and the fullness of the confession from Christ. 14. In any case, virginity for me has nothing in common with the pagans; it is not common among barbarians and is not customary among other living creatures. With these latter, although we share the same vital spirit of this air space, although together with them we are the owners of the usual state of the earthly body and do not differ from them in the use of productive forces; but, at least in this one respect, we avoid errors of the same nature (with them): although the pagans strive for virginity, the initiate (virgin) is defiled among them; barbarians even persecute virginity, and other peoples (nations) do not know it at all. 15. Can someone point me to the virgins of Vesta and the priestesses of Pallas? But what kind of chastity is this? It is caused not by moral disposition, but by age: it is prescribed not forever, but for a while! And such chastity is especially frivolous, the violation of which is observed until an older age. They themselves teach that their virgins should not and cannot remain virgins forever, and thus they themselves set a limit to virginity. But what kind of religion is this that prescribes that young women should be chaste and old women unchaste? No, not the chaste one who is bound by the law; and there is no chastity in the one who is exempted from it by law. Oh, sacraments, oh morals, where necessity is imputed to innocence and the sanctification of passion is given. So, she is not chaste who is forced (to chastity) by fear; and she who is guided (in him) by reward is not pious; and he is no longer bashful who is daily subjected to the reproach of passionate gazes and (as if) scourged by shameful glances. Benefits are given, rewards are offered: as if selling chastity is not the greatest sign of impudence. What is promised for a price is violated for a price; what is awarded for a fee is alienated for a fee. She who is in the habit of selling it cannot acquire chastity again. 16. What can we say about the Phrygian sacraments, in which debauchery is elevated to the level of teaching (disciplina)? And oh if only (only) for the weaker sex! What (to say) about Lieber's orgies, where the excitement of passion is an expression of the religious sacrament (mysterium)? And what, therefore, may be the life of the priests where the fornication of the gods serves as an object of veneration? So, they do not have a holy virgin. 17. Let's see if some (virgins) have not formed at least those philosophical schools that usually arrogate to themselves the guidance of all the virtues? In one Pythagorean fable, a certain maiden is glorified: when a tyrant forced her to reveal a secret, she, in order not to give him the opportunity, at least through torture, to force a confession from her, bit off her tongue and spat with it in the tyrant’s face, so that without finishing the interrogation, he could no longer interrogate her. 18. But however, the same one whom torture could not defeat - she who was strong in spirit, but lustful in the belly, was an example of silence and at the same time a prodigal (proluvium) of chastity, was defeated by lust. Thus, she who was able to hide the secret of thought did not hide the shame of (her) body. She conquered nature, but did not hold back the teachings (virtue). And how she would like to have the protection of her innocence in words! This, perhaps, was what her patience was preparing for, in order (with the help of words to give her the opportunity) to renounce the crime. So, not in all respects she turned out to be invincible: the tyrant could not get from her what he asked for, but he received what he did not ask for. 19. How much greater in spirit are our virgins, who conquer even those forces that they do not see; they triumph not only over flesh and blood, but even over the very supreme ruler of the world and age! Undoubtedly, Agnia was smaller in age, but more in virtue, richer in the number of victories, more courageous in patience; Out of fear, she did not deprive herself of her tongue, but retained it for victory. After all, she had nothing that she was afraid to give away; her profession was not criminal, but religious. Thus, she hid only the secret, but this one glorified the Lord, and since age could not yet confess Him, nature confessed Him. 20. In speeches of praise, the fatherland and parents are usually glorified: this is so that, through the memory of the culprit of the offspring, the dignity of this latter is also raised. True, I did not intend to engage in praising virginity, but (only) only to clarify it, but, however, I think it will be relevant if I show what his fatherland is and who is responsible for it. And first of all, we will determine where his fatherland is located. If this fatherland is where the ancestral place of residence is located, then, of course, the fatherland of chastity is in heaven. So, (it) is an alien here, and a natural inhabitant there. 21. What is virgin chastity if not purity, not involved in sin (contagionis)? And who can we truly call the author of chastity, if not the immaculate Son of God, whose flesh did not see corruption, and whose divinity was not involved in sin. So, look what is the dignity of virginity. Christ is before the virgin, Christ is from the virgin; He was born of the Father before the ages, and of a virgin He was born forever. The first is in accordance with His nature, and the second is for our benefit. This has always been the case, and this is what He wanted. 22. Pay attention to another dignity of virginity: Christ is the bridegroom of the virgin, and if I may say so: Christ is the (groom) of virgin purity; for virginity comes from Christ, and Christ does not come from virginity. The virgin, therefore, is the one who was united (in marriage), who carried us in her womb, who gave birth (to us), who nourished us with her milk, about which we read: “The calico... created... virgin of Jerusalem. 3. According to the Russian Bible, this place has a different meaning compared to the Slavic Bible. The stones and snow from Lebanon will not become scarce, and the green water carried by the wind will not be diverted.” (Jeremiah 18:13–14). What kind of maiden is this, who gets drunk from the sources of the Trinity, whose water flows from the rock, whose breasts do not become scarce, and whose honey water pours out? After all, the Rock, according to the Apostle, is Christ. This means that from Christ the breasts will not fail, from God there is purity (claritas), from the Spirit there is a source. This is the Trinity irrigating its Church - Father, Christ and Spirit. 23 But let us now move from mother to daughters. “About virgins...,” says St. Apostle, “I am not the imam of the Lord’s commandments.” (1 Cor. 7:25). If a teacher of languages ​​did not have one, then who else could have? And, of course, he did not have a commandment (about virgins), but he had advice (exemplum) about them. For virginity cannot be commanded, but (only) desired: that which is above us, and is expressed more in the form of advice (in voto), and not in the form of teaching (in magisterio). “I want you,” he says, “to be carefree; He who does not marry cares for the Lord's, how to please the Lord... and whoever does not encroach (virgo) thinks about the Lord's... may she be holy in both body and spirit. And the one who encroaches thinks about worldly things, how to please her husband” (1 Cor. 7:32-34). 24. I do not, of course, condemn marriage (matrimonium), but I only give preference to virginity. “You are exhausted,” he says, “potions and food” (Rom. 14:2). I tolerate one thing (exigo), I am surprised by another. “If you are attached to your wife, do not seek permission; If you have renounced a wife, do not seek a wife” (1 Cor. 7:27). This is the commandment for those who are married. What does he say about virgins? “And he who gives his virgin to marriage, she does good; and if she does not give, she does better” (1 Cor. 7:38). And she does not sin if she gets married; and this one, if she does not marry, becomes eternal. There is the medicine of infirmity, here the glory of integrity (castitatis). This one is not blamed, but this one is praised. 25. Let us compare, if you like, the benefits of married women with the benefits of virgins. Let's take a wife, famous for her many children: the more she gives birth, the more she works. She can count our joys from our sons, but she can also count our hardships. She gets married and sheds tears. This is what these desires (vota) are that are mourned! She conceives and becomes pregnant. And now the pregnancy, first of all, begins to cause her grief, and not the fetus. She gives birth and gets sick. This is how pleasant the fruit is that begins with suffering and ends with suffering - this is the fruit that must first bring sorrow, and then pleasure. This fruit is purchased through suffering and does not become property of one’s own free will (pro arbitrio). 26. What can we say about the labors of education, training and marriage? At the same time, grant the lucky ones these sorrows. The mother has offspring, but (through this) increases (her own) sorrows. One should not even talk about unhappy (marriages), so as not to tremble the souls of the most holy parents. Look, my sister, how difficult it can be to endure something that you shouldn’t even listen to. And this is in the present century. But the day will come when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not given birth” (Luke 23:29). The daughters of this age will be born and give birth; the daughter of the kingdom abstains from the lust of her husband and from the lust of the flesh, in order to be blameless in both body and spirit. 27. What can we say about hard service and slavish submission to husbands, intended for women, whom God commanded to serve even earlier than slaves (Gen. 3:16)? I say this so that wives will obey more willingly; After all, for them in this (service), if only they are virtuous, there is a merciful reward; if they are dishonest, then the punishment for the offense is hidden here. 28. Here 4 those vicious impulses arise, guided by which women paint their faces with specially invented paints just at the moment when they are afraid that men will not like them, and thus, by faking their faces, they are thinking of faking chastity. What madness it is to change the natural image, to strive for decoration; After all, women, fearing a marital sentence, thereby reveal their own sentence! Indeed, she who strives to change the gift of nature first of all testifies to herself. While she tries hard to please others, she first of all does not like herself. What more faithful judge of your ugliness, wife, can we find than you yourself - you, who are afraid to appear (in your natural form)! If you are beautiful, then why are you hiding? If you are ugly, then why do you falsely present yourself as pretty, since in this case you still cannot receive either the approval of your conscience or the disposition, even if erroneous, from a stranger (person)? After all, he loves someone else, and you also want to please someone else. And can you be angry if someone who through you learns to commit fornication falls in love with another? You are a bad teacher despite your injustice. But, perhaps, even the one who lives with the seller of women avoids the seductive bait; and although she is a despicable woman, she does not sin against others, but only against herself. And, one might say, in (this) second case the crime is more tolerable: after all, there the instrument of fornication is chastity, and here it is nature. 29. And how much jewelry is needed in order to please even a beautiful (woman)! Here, precious necklaces hang from her neck, and there, gold-embroidered clothes spread across the ground. Consequently, this appearance was purchased from her, and is it actually available? Why even use various baits for the sense of smell! The ears are burdened with heavy earrings, the eyes are given a different color. What, therefore, remains of our own where so many changes have been allowed? Doesn’t the wife also lose her feelings, and does she finally believe in the possibility of her life? 30. But you, blessed virgins, who do not know such torments, much less adornment - you, whose bashful faces are filled with holy chastity and good chastity serves as an adornment - you, who are not intended for human eyes, instead of delusion alien to you, exalt your virtues. Of course, you also have a stronghold of your beauty, in which the appearance (forma) is at war, but not of the body, but of virtue: this appearance of virtue cannot be destroyed by any age, no death can destroy, no disease can crush. Let God alone, the Judge (of beauty), be the object of aspiration for this appearance (virtue), the God who, even in an ugly body, loves souls possessing beauty. (For a virtuous virgin) there is no ordinary burden carried by the womb; for her there are no sorrows of birth; and yet it has the more valuable offspring of pious thought, that thought which considers everyone to be children. She is rich in followers, but poor in orphanhood, does not know funerals, (but) has heirs. 31. Thus the holy church is not defiled by intercourse, but is fruitful in birth, she is a virgin through chastity, but a mother through offspring. So, we are given birth to a virgin, filled not with a man, but with spirit. The virgin gives birth to us, not with sickness of the limbs, but with the joy of angels. The virgin feeds us not with bodily milk, but with that apostolic milk (1 Cor. 3:2), with which she still feeds the fragile body of the growing people. So, what wife has more children than the holy Church, who is a virgin in her sacramental bond (sacramentis) and mother to the nations; Even Scripture testifies to her fertility when it says: “For there are many more empty children than those who have husbands” (Is. 54:1)? Our (virgin) does not have a husband, but she has a groom; because, whether she is a church among nations, or a soul for individuals, she, without any violation of chastity, enters into a marriage union, as if with an eternal bridegroom - with the Word of God, not having (in herself) untruth, rich in reason. 32. You have heard, parents, in what virtues you should educate and in what teaching you should instruct your daughters, in order to be able to gain in them such (daughters), whose merits could atone for your sins. The virgin is the gift of God, the protection (munus) of the parent, the priesthood of chastity. The Virgin is a maternal sacrifice, through whose daily sacred rites the divine power is propitiated. The virgin is the inalienable guarantee of the parents, she does not give them worries because of the dowry, she does not leave them as a result of (her) relocation, and does not cause offense. 33. But someone wants to have grandchildren and receive the name of their grandfather. First of all, looking for strangers (children), he gives his own; then, while waiting for the unknown, he begins to lose the known; he collects all his property and is still required of him; if he does not pay the dowry, he is kicked out; If you live for a long time, it becomes a burden. All this means is not to find, but to buy a son-in-law, who can only sell his appearance to the girl’s parents. But was the girl carried in the womb for so many months so that she would come under alien power? Is this why efforts are made to educate a virgin, so that she will be taken away from her parents as soon as possible? 34. Someone will say: so, you don’t approve of marriage? No, I approve and condemn those who usually do not approve of him; and it is precisely marriages such as those of Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel, and other ancient wives, that I usually consider as examples of individual virtues. In fact, whoever condemns marriage also condemns children, and equally condemns the ancestral communication that passes through a number of generations. After all, how could life, which continues forever, be replaced by one another, if the pleasantness of marriage (gratia nuptiarum) did not arouse the desire to reproduce the race? How could it be a subject of glorification that the blameless Isaac ascended to the altar of God as a sacrifice of the father's righteousness (Gen. 21:2), that Israel, clothed in a human body, saw God (Gen. 32:27) and bestowed a sacred name on the people - (how can all this be glorified) when the (most) imprecise beginning (of these events) is condemned? If one can agree with wicked people, 5 then, of course, only in recognizing the position according to which, condemning marriages, they openly declare that they should not have been born: this truth, when applied to them, is approved by even the wisest men. 35. So, I do not reject marriage at all, but only count the fruits of sanctified virginity. Moreover, this latter is the property of a few, while marriage is the property of all. There would be no virginity if there were nowhere to be born. I compare goods with goods, so that what is superior may be more clearly revealed. And I do not express any of my own thoughts in this case, but repeat only the one that the Holy Spirit indicated through the prophet: “it is better,” he says, “childlessness with virtue” (Wis. Sol. 4:1). 36. In fact, the mere fact that girls, when they get married, desire most of all to boast of the beauty of the groom, serves as a necessary incentive to recognize them as unequal (impares) to the holy virgins, who are the only ones who can say: “Wonderful in kindness than the sons of men, grace was poured out on your lips” (Ps. 44:3). Who is this groom? He is the one who is not given over to base servility and does not boast of perishable wealth: he is the one whose throne is forever and ever. The daughters of kings are honored by him. “The queen appears at your right hand, dressed in robes of gold and adorned with virtues. Therefore, hear, daughters, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father’s house: for the king desired your kindness, beyond that is your Lord” (Ps. 44: 10-12). 37. And pay attention to how much, according to the testimony of the divine Scripture, the Holy Spirit has given you: kingdom, gold, beauty - a kingdom either because you are the bride of the eternal king, or because, having an irresistible spirit, you are not caught by the charms of pleasure, but dominate (over them) like a queen; gold in view of the fact that, just as this substance, tempted by fire, becomes more precious, so the beauty (species) of the virgin body, dedicated to the Divine Spirit, receives an excess of its charm. And who can imagine a better beauty compared to the adornment of the one whom the King loves, the Judge praises, who surrenders and is dedicated to the Lord God: she is always a bride, always husbandless; For her, love has no end and chastity has no end. 38. Of course, true beauty is that which has no shortcomings, which alone is worthy of hearing from the Lord: “You are all good, my neighbor, and there is no vice in you. Come from Lebanon, O bride, come from Lebanon: come and pass from the beginning of the faith, from the head of Sanir and Aermon, from the fences of lions, from the mountains of Pardale” (Song. IV, 7-8). These are the qualities with which the perfect and inviolable virgin beauty of the soul is shown - that beauty that is dedicated to divine service, which, when attacked and lured by spiritual beasts, is not captivated by (anything) perishable, but remains entirely devoted to the Divine mysteries and for all this is awarded the love of the one whose breasts are filled with joy: for “wine makes glad the heart of man” (Ps. 103:15). 39. “The stench of your garments,” he says, “is more than all the aroma” (Song. 4, 10). And further: “the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon” (Song. 4:11). Look, virgin, what prosperity you give us. In fact, your first fragrance is higher than all the aromas that were brought to the burial of the Savior (John 19:39); the eye imparts to mortal movements (emortuos) such an incense that the passions freeze. Your second incense, like the incense of Lebanon, exudes the purity of the Lord's flesh, the beauty of virgin chastity. 40. So, your deeds form honeycomb (Song. 4, 11); Indeed, that virginity is glorious, which is compared to bees: it is so hardworking, so chaste, so self-controlled. The bee feeds on dew, does not know cohabitation (concubitus), and collects honey. And to virginity the word of God is also dew; for the words of God descend like dew. The chastity (pudor) of the virgin consists of an immaculate nature. The birth of a virgin is the fruiting of the lips, devoid of bitterness, but abundant in sweetness. (She has) common labor – common and fruitful. 41. How I would like you, daughter, to become an imitator of this bee, for which a flower serves as food, which collects offspring with its mouth (and) puts together (it) with its mouth! Imitate her, daughter. Let your words not contain any evil, let them not cover up any deception, let them be pure and strict. 42. And according to your merits, may eternal offspring be born from your lips. And let (this offspring) gather from you not only for yourself, but also for many, so that you (do you know when your soul will be required of you?), having left the containers of grain reserves gathered in one place, which cannot bring benefit to your life and (increase) your merits, you will not be kidnapped to a place where you cannot carry your wealth. So, be rich, but (rich) poor; so that those who participate in your nature may also participate in (your) means. 43. I will also show you the flower that must be plucked; This is the flower that said: “I am a full color and a long-winded one. Like a thorn among thorns” (Song 2, 1–2). This expression serves as a clear indication that virtues are surrounded by thorns of spiritual infirmities; from where no one will take the fruit unless he approaches it with prudent caution. 44 So, virgin, take wings, but (wings) of the spirit, and if you want to reach Christ, then soar above the vices: He dwells on high and He looks down on the earth below (Ps. 112:5); and His appearance is like the cedar of Lebanon, which lifts its foliage to the clouds and puts its roots into the ground. For its beginning is in heaven, and its end is on earth; it produces fruits akin to heaven. Look more diligently for such a beautiful flower - will you not find it somewhere in the vale of your heart; after all (its incense) is often inhaled on earth. 45. It loves to grow in gardens; walking in them, Susanna found it, ready to die rather than endure dishonor (Dan. 13:7). And what kind of gardens these are, he himself indicates in the words: “a locked garden, my sister is the bride, a locked garden, a sealed source” (Song 4:12); in gardens of this kind, with the image of God imprinted in the form of signs, a wave of a pure source shines: this is so that those streams of water that are scattered throughout the muddy lairs of spiritual beasts cannot be clouded by mud. This is where chastity lies, fenced off by a spiritual wall so as not to be susceptible to abduction. So, just as a garden, inaccessible to thieves, emits the scent of vines, smells of olive trees, and shines with roses, so (in the spiritual garden of the virgin) let piety grow instead of the vine, peace instead of the olive tree, and the chastity of sanctified virginity instead of the rose. This is the smell with which the patriarch Jacob smelled when he was honored to hear: “Behold, the stench of my son is like the stench” of the field (Gen. 27:27). For although the field of the holy patriarch was full of almost all the fruits, it produced these fruits thanks to a very great feat in virtue, and this (garden) (produces) flowers. 46. ​​So, gird yourself, virgin, and if you want your garden to smell fragrant in this particular way, protect it with the prophetic commandments. “Put... a guard over your lips and fence the doors of your mouth” (Ps. 140:3), so that you too can say: “As the apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved brother among the young men.” I loved to sit in its shade, and its fruits are sweet to my throat” (Song. 2, 3). “I... found the one whom my soul loved, I grabbed hold of him and will not let go (Song. 3, 4). My beloved came into his garden to eat from the fruits of his trees (Song. 5:1). “Come, my beloved, let us go out into the field” (Song 7:12). “Put me as a seal on your heart, like a ring on your hand” (Song. 8, 6). “My beloved is white and ruddy” (Song. 5, 10). And so it is necessary that you, virgin, know perfectly the One Whom you love, and also fully recognize in Him the mystery of both the Divinity inherent in Him from birth and the incarnation He assumed. “Bel” is in dignity, for He is the radiance of the Father; - “red”, for He is the birth of the Virgin. In Him the color of both natures shines and turns scarlet. Remember, however, that the ornaments (insignia) of divinity in Him are more ancient than the sacraments (sacramenta) of the flesh, because He did not begin from the Virgin (his being), but came into the Virgin as having already existed. 47. He, tormented by soldiers (Matthew 27:29), pierced by a spear in order to heal us with the blood of a holy wound, of course, will answer you, He is “meek and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29), with a gentle gaze: “Arise, O north, and come, O South, and sweep into my helicity, and let my fragrances flow” ( Song 4, 16). And so, from all directions of the world, the aroma of sacred religion was fragrant and the members of the beloved virgin were ignited. “You are good, my neighbor, like good will; red like Jerusalem” (Song 6:3). That is why the adornment of virgins is not the beauty of the corruptible body, which can perish from illness or old age, nor the glory of good deeds, which is not subject to any accidents and can never die 48. And since you are worthy to be compared not with earthly (creatures), but with heavenly ones, whose life you spend on earth, then accept the commandments from the Lord and keep them. “Put me,” he says, “like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm” (Song. 8:6), so that (thus) the clearest evidence of both your prudence and (your) deeds will be revealed, in which let the image of God shine - Christ, Who, being equal in greatness to the paternal nature, has imprinted in Himself all the fullness of the Divinity that He received from the Father. That's why ap. Paul says that we are sealed in the Spirit (Eph. 1:13); for we have the image of the Father in the Son, and we have the seal of the Son in the Holy Spirit. Sealed by this Holy Trinity, let us be more careful to guard against the seal that we have received in our hearts being removed by either moral frivolity or the seduction of any adultery. 49. But let fear disappear here for the holy virgins, to whom the church first of all entrusted such great protective measures; preoccupied with the success of her tender age, she herself grows like a wall with abundant, tower-like nipples, and this is until the raids from the enemy force cease, and she thus, with the help of maternal virtue, acquires peace for a healthy youth (Song. 8, 10). Therefore, the prophet says: “Be peace in your strength, and abundance in your pillars” (Ps. 122:7). 50. Then, the Lord of the world Himself, having taken in His powerful arms the vineyards entrusted to Him and seeing that His vines are blossoming, with a commanding gaze moderates the blow (of the wind) for the growing fruits, as He Himself testifies with the words: “My grapes are before me: a thousand to Solomon, and two hundred to those who pluck His fruit” (Song. 8:12). 51. Above he says: “sixty strong around” his branch 6, armed with naked swords and trained in military sciences 7 (Song. 3, 7–8), and here “a thousand” and “two hundred.” The number increased where the fruit also increased; for he who is more holy is more protected. Thus, Elisha the prophet showed that armies of angels were around him in the form of guards (2 Kings 6:17); This is how Joshua recognized the leader of the heavenly army (Joshua 5:14). Therefore, those who can even fight for us can also protect the fruit in us. For you, holy virgins, who preserve the sacred bed of the Lord in immaculate chastity, there is a special guard. And it is not surprising that, given your zeal for angelic morals, angels fight for you. Virgin purity deserves the help of those whose lives she was honored to imitate. 52. And why should I continue praising virginity? After all, purity (virgin) even produced angels. In fact, whoever preserved it is an angel; whoever destroys is the devil. Even religion got its name from her 8 . The Virgin is the one who is united with God; the harlot is the one who gave birth to the gods. And what can I say about the resurrection, which you have already been rewarded with? “On the resurrection,” says Scripture, “they neither marry nor commit violence, but like angels... they are in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). What is still being promised to us, you, therefore, already have; you are already enjoying our promises. You are of this world and at the same time you are outside of this world. The world was honored to have you, but could not keep (you). 53. And how wonderful: angels, for their intemperance, fell from heaven into the world, and virgins, for their purity, passed from the world to heaven. Blessed are the virgins, whom neither bodily charm seduces, nor the combination of passions casts them down. Moderate food, abstinent drinking, teaching not to know the reasons for vices, teach not to know (even) the vices. Even the saints often caught the pretext for sin. Therefore, when the people of God sat down to eat and drink, they denied God (Ex. 32:6). Therefore, Lot did not recognize his daughters and had intercourse with them (Gen. 19:33). Therefore, once upon a time, the children of Noah, with their feet turned back, covered the shame of their father (Gen. 19:23): what the shameless saw, the modest was ashamed, but the loving covered; (for) he would insult (his father) if he himself saw (his nakedness). This is how great the power of wine is: those who were not exposed by the flood were exposed by wine! 54. What is it like? What happiness is it that you are not inflamed by any passion for profit? The poor man asks (from you) what you have, and does not seek from you what you do not have. The fruit of your labor is a treasure for the poor; and two aces, if they happen, constitute wealth for the giver. 54. So listen, sister, what you don't have. And what should you beware of, of course, it’s not for me to teach you and it’s not your business to learn from me. The habit of perfect virtue does not need instruction; on the contrary, it creates it itself. You see how, like a stretcher in a (ceremonial) procession, she steps forward who removes herself in order to please and attract the attention and gaze of everyone; but through the very thing she tries to please, she becomes ugly; Before she manages to please a single man, she becomes unpleasant to (the whole) people. And for you: the rejected concern for beauty turns out to be more attractive than anything else: for you, the very fact that you do not adorn yourself serves as decoration. 55. Look at your ears, torn by wounds, and regret the burden of your compressed neck. The difference in metals in this case does not cause pain relief. Here the neck is compressed by a chain, and there leg fetters bind the leg. And it doesn’t matter at all whether the body is burdened with gold or iron. The important thing is that in one case the neck is compressed, and in the other it is difficult to move. Value doesn’t mean anything here: you women seem to be only afraid of being punished. 9 Does it make any difference whether someone else’s opinion condemns you or your own? That is why you are even more worthy of pity than those condemned by social laws: they want to be freed (from chains), but you impose them on yourself. 56. And how deplorable is the situation in which one who intends to marry is sold like the beauty of a corrupt slave: she is bought by the one who offers the highest price. However, even those slaves who often (themselves) choose their masters are sold relatively tolerably; the virgin, if she chooses (herself a groom), then this turns out to be a crime; and if he does not choose, then dishonor follows. Even if she were beautiful and slender, she is both afraid and at the same time wants to be seen: she wants to sell herself at a higher price; she is afraid that the very fact that she is seen will be considered indecent. And how much ridicule of (her) desires, how much (suspicious) fear for the outcome of the matchmaking regarding the suitors, fear - lest the poor man deceive, lest the rich man disdain, lest the handsome man laugh, lest the noble man treat her with contempt. 57. Someone will say: you sing the praises of virgins before us every day. And what good will it do me if I chant the same thing every day and have no success? But (this) is not my fault. But now the virgins from Placentia 10 come to accept initiation, they come from Bononia 11, they come from Mauritania 12, (they come in order) to accept the veil here. You see a great thing. Here I act, and elsewhere I convince. If this is so, (then) in order to convince you, we will try to act in another place. 58. What does it mean that even those who do not listen to me follow me: will not those who listen follow me? So I learned that many virgins want (to follow my advice), but their mothers prevent them from even going out 13, and - what is even harder - (this is done by) the widows with whom I am having this conversation. But if your daughters wanted to love a person, then according to the laws they could choose the one they want. So, is it really impossible for those who are allowed to choose a person to choose God? 59 See how sweet the fruit of chastity is, which has grown even in barbarian hearts. From the most distant countries (lying) below and on the other side of Mauritania, virgins are brought here and here they wish to be consecrated; and while all their families are in chains, their chastity knows no chains. She who grieves the injustice of slavery professes an eternal kingdom. 60. And what can I say about this army, rich in chastity - the Bononian virgins, who, having renounced worldly pleasures, inhabit the sanctuary of virginity? Without cohabitation with men (contubernali sexu), with the help of their inherent chastity, they, having achieved twentieth honor (vicenarium numerum) and hundredfold fruit (centenarium fructum), like tireless warriors of integrity, leaving their parental shelter, strive to the dwellings of Christ: either they sing spiritual songs, then they obtain food (with their) labors, and also earn with their own hands the means for alms. 61. And if sensitivity (odor) appears in them to find virgins (after all, they first of all crave the opportunity to hunt for chastity), they follow all the traces they carefully leave behind the hiding victim to the very lairs. If at the same time a more welcoming flutter flashes from someone, then you can see how they all rise at full speed (of their) wings, begin to rustle with their feathers, sparkle with flapping (of their wings) - you can see how they surround the flying (prey) with the immaculate face of chastity until she, admiring the shining host (of virgins), forgets her father’s house, will not enter the land of chastity and the net of chastity. 62. It is good, therefore, if for a virgin the jealousy of her parents breathes like a breath of chastity; but it is even more glorious if the fire of tender age, even without the support (from) old (people), plunges itself into the flame (in fomitem) of purity. Parents will be deprived of dowry; but you have a rich groom, and, content with his treasure, you will not seek profit from your father’s inheritance. This is how pure poverty surpasses the benefits of a dowry! 63. And, however, what kind of (virginity) have you heard of that was deprived of its rightful inheritance for the desire for innocence? True, the parents dispute (the inheritance), but at the same time they want to be left defeated. At first they resist because they are afraid to trust; they are often angry so that you learn to win; they threaten you with rejection in order to test whether you can not be afraid of worldly judgment; seduce you with exquisite lures to see whether you really cannot be seduced by the charm of various pleasures. Through coercion, (you), virgin, are exercised. It is precisely these desires of concerned parents that give you your first exploits. Conquer, maiden, love for your parents first. If you conquer the house, (then) you will conquer the world. 64. But let us assume that the loss of your father's inheritance awaits you. Is it really possible that the loss of mortal and perishable means will not be replaced by the future kingdom of heaven? Even if we assume that there is no one who would leave home, or parents, or brothers, or spouse, or sons for the sake of the kingdom of God, and would not agree to receive seven times more in this century: but, however, if we believe in heavenly words, he will be the owner of eternal life in the next century (Matthew 19:29). Trust your faith to God; You, who trust (your) property to man, lend to Christ. The good guardian of the hope pledged returns the talent of your faith with multiple interest. Truth does not deceive, justice does not hamper with prescriptions, virtue does not deceive. If you do not believe the divine sayings, then at least believe the examples. 65. In our memory, not long ago, a certain noble maiden in the world, now even more noble with God, after her parents and relatives began to force her into marriage, ran away to the sacred altar. After all, where would it be better for a virgin to run away, if not to where the sacred rite of virginity is performed 14? And this is not the end of (her) courage. She, a sacrifice of chastity, an offering of chastity, stood at the altar of God: asking for prayer, she either placed the right hand of the priest on (her) head, or, not having the patience to wait out the legal term, she threw herself at the most important part of the altar. “Is it really better,” he says, for a mafortium to cover me 15 than for an altar that sanctifies the very covers. Much more worthy is the veil (flammeus) on which the head of all, Christ, is dedicated daily. What are you doing, relatives? Why do you still worry about arranging a marriage? My marriage has been prepared for a long time. Are you proposing a groom? But I found a better one (groom). Increase your wealth as much as you wish, praise the nobility of the groom, publicize his power: but I already have (as a groom) someone with whom no one can compare: he is rich in the world, powerful in power, glorious in heaven. If you also have the same (groom), then I do not reject (your) choice; if (one) was not found, then it means that you, parents, do not care about me, but hate me.” 66. When the others were silent, one completely unexpectedly (said): “What if your father were alive, would he allow you to remain unmarried?” Then she answered with strong religious inspiration, but with weak love for her parents: “And maybe that’s why he died, so that no one could put obstacles in (me).” A similar answer about his father, and he confirmed the prediction about him with his imminent death. Thus, the rest, each of whom found obstacles (to taking the vow of virginity), all began to fear the same fate for themselves, and therefore began to treat virginity kindly. And so virginity not only did not encounter a violation of (its) legal gifts, but even received a benefit in favor of innocence. Here, young women, is the reward for piety; You, parents, beware of (this) lesson for its disinclination (towards virginity). caro fieret Deus is not a completely accurate expression for the thought of the deification of the flesh of Christ. Slav. bib. - "Israeleva"_ That is, in slavish service to a man. This refers to the Manichaeans, who raised the denial of marriage to the level of a dogmatic position of their doctrine. This word is not in the Slavic or Russian text of the Bible. This text, which we quote from the words of Ambrose, differs somewhat from its biblical presentation. Obviously, what is meant is not the name of religion itself, but the internal connection that, according to Ambrose, exists between religion and morality, in particular between virgin purity, as a manifestation of a truly Christian disposition. i.e. in the form of wearing gold around the neck. A city in Gaul, present-day Piacenza. City in Cisalpine Gaul, present-day Bologna. African country on the shores of the Mediterranean. seas, present Fetz and Morocco. To the church to listen to the sermon. That is, where the vow of virginity is taken. Maforte is a monastic robe used in ancient times mainly by the Egyptian cenovites. It covered the neck and shoulders, and in appearance it resembled a modern hood. You might be interested in: