Советы девственникам

Your victory! Even he who is a great friend of the flesh will pronounce the same judgment. However, illustrious maiden, so prudent and prudent, incline your ears somewhat to my suggestions, and allow me to put my word into your heart! The best advice comes from gray hair. He was not hurt by the thought, carried away in his impulses beyond the clouds. Often a fall raised one from the ground to a height, and an elevation brought one down to the ground. God has laid down this law: to show favor to those who weep and to cut off the wings of the arrogant. Measure the path of your life in no small measure. If you are ahead of someone who is returning back or the most vicious, then do not think that you have already reached the limit of virtue. To surpass many is not the height of perfection. The commandment and God must be your measure. And you are still far from God, although you go faster than others. Keep in mind not how many people you have become superior to, but how many people you remain even lower than, and want to be more perfect than everyone else. Above you is the wide sky; and you are high among the low. I have heard that the fish see the moon, the sun, and the stars under water, not because they are really there, but because the fish, seeing faint reflections of reality, enjoy these unclear images as if they were the luminaries themselves; and the real heavenly bodies, never coming to the surface of the gray sea, were never seen by fish; otherwise, perhaps they would have distinguished what light is and what the play of light in water is. So some, since they have not seen the true height of the King, barely rise a few, they already think that they are standing at the very height. But, although you have acquired some things and hope to gain others, nevertheless continually stretch your gaze forward, and ascend many steps to everything else. The worst thing is to stop. Hurry to acquire one after another until Christ takes you to the last step. Beware that you are not accidentally struck by ridicule and an evil tongue that spews snake venom at your perfections. A person has two paths, and reproach comes in two ways. One way is bad; it also leads to a bad end. The other way is good; and its end, as naturally, is desired. But ridicule follows a person on both paths. And if the tongue attacked only those who are bad, what would be more excellent than it? Now, with equal fury, he attacks everyone, good and evil. And you be careful and circumspect in both cases. Fear the tongue, which persecutes the wicked, in order to avoid the very vice that the tongue afflicts; and fear the tongue, which the evil enemy wields against the good, as much as a cliff jutting out into the sea fears the wind and the waves breaking against it. Never do anything shameful, although many people like it, and do not abandon a good deed, although it is hated by a vicious one. Try to act in such a way as to earn fame. And if she moves away from you, do not be upset by false rumors, but prudently go your own way. Let others bark in vain; they will do no harm to divine love, and envy will cry its eyes out. Having escaped from Sodom, having escaped from the ashes of this life and from the terrible threats of God’s fire, do not look back at Sodom; otherwise you will suddenly harden into stone and remain a monument to sin and terrible death. Your feet are no longer on the soil of Sodom; Do not hesitate on the neighboring plains that are close to the fire, but escape to the mountain as quickly as possible so that the fiery rain does not overtake you! Do not be too timid of the flesh, as if it were by nature indomitable. The fear that makes a person bound is not from God. Do not indulge too much in carnal bliss, so that satiation, beyond your aspirations, does not throw you off the rapids! Be willing to walk the uneven path. And if you go up, see if the path is slippery, so that you can reach your goal and pass through the narrow gate without falling. There is light, and glory, and peace from all disasters. If you are afraid that even a small spark ignites the straw, then take heart in hope: the great flame will be cooled by rain from above. Prayers, sighs, days spent in tears, and nights without rest, and complete love for the King - these are the wonderful cures of chastity! With them, my excellent one, you will never place in your heart an idol of the worst love, but you will have an immaculate mind, like a church of the great God and the radiance of the Spirit. Virgin, be virgin in hearing, eyes, and tongue, because sin invades everything. Strain your hearing for only good broadcasts, and for shameful and shameless speeches, block it with the door. Keep your eyes chaste in the bridal chamber, i.e. in your ages, and do not wound your hearts with lustful movements. Keep your lips closed, like the unopened cups of a flower, so that your word remains an object of desire. Legs that move quickly are unreliable witnesses of virginity; and in the gait itself there is something lascivious. Respect the old tunic, not the brow shining with pleasure, not the beautiful silk fabrics. Let others be adorned with pearls, let others' members shine with gold; leave this to those whose faces are colored, these creatures of earthly hands, alien to the heavenly image, these vile images, signs of voluptuousness, silent accusers, moving pictures that reveal the secrets of the auspicious night, this brilliant ugliness, these coffins hiding the stench! But then move away from them, you, bride of the King Christ, who is famous for your inner beauty. Merge eyes with eyes and words with words, but only pure ones with pure ones; Never mix laughter with laughter and insolence with insolence, for this leads people to disastrous attempts. Avoid any man, especially do not accept any one as a member of your home life. Believe me, pure virgin, that even if it were purer than gold and harder than adamant, it is still bitter water from Marah. Because there is danger on both sides. Though you rely on your own flesh; however, who will vouch for the members living under the same roof? And your eyes and mind are not entirely pure and undefiled, and the thought of another may hide something carnal in itself and drive out the spirit. Having soared from the earth, you have already moved from the carnal to the spiritual; Why, by again approving cohabitation with the flesh, do you dishonor the sacred Bridegroom, Who cares for your image? Be careful that He does not deprive you of His love for double-mindedness, for limping on both knees. Your beloved is Christ; Therefore, keep away from every man. Why find it necessary to have as an assistant someone who himself needs an assistant? A horse loves a horse, a deer loves a deer, a starling loves a starling; The pure is dear to the pure. But, however, you should avoid a malicious adviser, so that, with all your prudence, he does not deceive you. He is most at enmity against the wise; He often turns good into evil, even to the good. Now he is light, but later he will be darkness. There is death inside, and food on top. Attracts with sweetness and destroys with secretive poison. He often brings together people who are close in spirit; comes to us in a bright image, hiding behind the honest name of Christian love; and then in those who have become close, it changes heartfelt love into carnal love and kindles a flame or leaves pathetic traces of the flame. And if there are no traces of flame left in you, then most likely you will strike those who are watching from the sidelines. But we are all ready to sin; the stream flows down the slope itself. But the house, clothes, table, infirmities brought you to this shame, forced you to choose an assistant to your decrepit old age. You exchanged gold for copper if, instead of a bright life, you acquired small and indecent consolation. If you give me heaps of gold and amber, green fields, fat herds, a magnificent house and Alcinous’s meal, if instead of this life you give me another ageless one; and then I will not agree to live vilely and through this lose Christ. Let me have bread when I am scarce and water when I am scarce; let me, like Adam and Eve of old, be covered with fig leaves and a cleft in a stone or a hollow in a beech serve as my home; My life is simple and no better than that of an animal; or, walking the earth like a beggar and a new Lazarus, abandoned at the gates of the proud, I drag out a miserable life and a sick body; all this now, and there is an abyss and a terrible reward for all the pleasures here. You have satiety, and I have sorrow - short-lived; and then everything is forgotten. Behind the grave we will all become one, we will all be one dust. There is one place for slaves and kings; no one has an advantage in the underworld. Therefore, do not be captivated by the present blessings and do not occupy your thoughts too much with the sorrows of this life. Along with pleasures, you will leave all sorrows, and soon. For what lasts in one day's life? You are a wanderer and an alien here, creeping on a land alien to you. From here God will raise you up to your homeland. Your exploits are not long-lasting; and the reward is greater than the work. And you, wise adviser Jonadav, convincing your dear children to enjoy the highest happiness for people, offered them this law and this word: “Behold, my children, receive from your father wealth, which my dear father did not give me, which every other son did not receive from his father; receive wealth that always lasts forever. Do not build a house like this for your members, do not cultivate the land. What good do grapes do you? Live in tents; and never, children, never pour hopeful and sweet drink into your throat. Live for God and place your wealth in the one ever-living God, Who is always equal to Himself and is not disturbed by anything.” Thus spoke the father, and the children fulfilled his commandment (Jer. 35:6–7). And I know the people being brought into the land of promise. A fiery pillar of cloud walked ahead and dragged him along an unknown desert. The sea parted before him, the sky gave him food, the stone poured out water, the wide-flowing river retreated back, the sun slowed down the running of his chariot; someone, with outstretched hands signifying the cross, erected a victorious monument, and faith tied the edges of swords. And Elijah ate ravens and fed the elderly Sidonian widow with a few drops of life; because the small conceit did not lack flour, and the clay vessel always exuded wet oil in the same quantity as the hands of the hospitable widow drew. The Jewish youths, desiring food that was characteristic of them, so as not to be defiled by the king’s meal, joyfully entered the Assyrian flame and, having cooled in it, returned to their homes. Daniel, thrown to be devoured by ardent lions, when he stretched out his hands, did not feed the lions, but he himself received God-sent food from the prophet (Dan. 14:37). The divine Jonah was vomited from his entrails by a sea beast, holding him in the womb for three days (what a great miracle!); because faith accompanied the prophet even into the whale’s belly. John had locusts and wild honeycombs as food, the hair of high-necked camels as clothing, the wide sky as shelter, and the earth as a desert bed. Who saved Thekla among the fire? Who bound the indomitable power of bloodthirsty beasts? What a great miracle! Virginity put the animals to sleep, and they did not dare to desecrate the pure virgin body with their teeth. No, I will not forget (this would be unfair) to mention the immaculate Susanna, who, although she bore the marital yoke, nevertheless had so much love for chastity that when she escaped the most lawless hands, but was doomed to death by the unjust verdict of the judges, she was saved from death by the wise reasoning of the judge, who, being young in spirit, but gray in mind, bound the depraved and lawless with his word Babylonian elders. Listen to Paul yourself, with what malice he fought, how much labor and painful worries he endured from friends and from enemies, on sea and on land, how he ascended to the third heaven, and enclosed the whole world in the coveted realms. He admired his sorrows more than the other's prosperity. Virtue is always surrounded by adversity, like a rose by hated and prickly thorns. Remembering this, you too, with the best hopes, guard your life for the King Christ in complete integrity, and do not allow yourself to be deceived by need, which most likely conquers even wise men. Why did the evil enemy, who tempted Christ the King, soon see the God-man hungry, hope that he would catch the one feeling the need in his net, and ordered to turn the stones into food. But he did not catch God, and he flatters you, a mortal man, as if he were God. You strive for God and further drive away the enemy from yourself, remaining entirely in God and above the flesh. It is not good if, as in a circle dance, one is held with the right hand and the other with the left, so you, touching the Divine together and separating from Him, belong half to Christ and half to the flesh. It is not good if, setting out to sea on a fast and well-appointed ship, as soon as the wind rises and disturbs the calm waters, you delay the quick voyage with an anchor or are seduced by being on land and make your way through the waters, becoming like both a sailor and a pedestrian at the same time. It’s not good if flesh rushes at your life - this fish is a sticky fish that stops the ship in its tracks. But like a stream of water passing through a narrow tube, as soon as as much moisture as can be contained has accumulated in the interior of the rounded lead, it begins to rush upward, not being held in confinement, because it is strongly forced from behind; So I advise you, having imprinted love in your chest, to rush into the heights to meet Christ or to irrigate some kind and fat field. If you overflow here and there, over deep sand, or over stones, or over a meadow, or over furrows, then your good stream, unrestrained by anything, will perish without any benefit. If your dear father, who gave birth to you, is alive, or if your dear mother is alive, then your love is not reproached. If you rely on brothers who are well disposed towards you and on your parents, when they are alive, helping you or demanding help from you, then no one will reproach you for living with them; But ridicule will not turn an evil and unforgiving gaze on you, although it often notices the creaking of your shoes. However, it is also useful for me that the evil one turns his eyes on me. Let him look, and let my heart remain steadfast. But I ask you to avoid love for others, even not only love, but a dangerous stay in the same house, or deceptive and unreliable arrogance in people of blossoming years, to avoid to the same extent as one should surrender to Christ, firmly clinging to Him with ever-living love. You, who boast of chastity, having love in your coveted virginity, do not need to open your whole heart to other passions. This is worst of all if, through the cunning of an envious person, evil is born out of good. I don’t think it’s necessary to avoid marriage and marital responsibilities; through marriage, God continually multiplies the human race; but I choose virginity as a medicine and aid against my passions. And if I see a day free from them, then I have something to thank my lonely life for! But when, having fenced off an expensive field with a wall, I open the doors to animals or surround one part of it with a dense fence, while on the other I leave paths for passing travelers; Then wouldn’t it be the same as if the enemy were given the opportunity to burst in from everywhere and destroy my field? But the enemy also plots against you in everything, to openly and secretly attack you from without and catch you inside. No one will escape his malice unless he has Christ as his constant helper. Sometimes don’t charge something unimportant with sin; but do not resist weakly even what is unimportant, so as not to encounter, no matter what, the worst. It's good to listen and speak. But what you say, examine it carefully. Vision should motivate you to action, and everything should help one another - goal and word, sight and hearing. Avoid bad seed, so that you may gather good ears. Do not harbor adulterous love for the world; and it is concealed by the one who has given room within himself to even the subtle root of vice; from this root many branching stems will spread here and there. A few drops of bloody moisture causes the milk to curdle in a large vessel. One stone, falling on the surface of stagnant water, suddenly muddies a beautiful spring; many circles, constantly forming at one point, scatter throughout the water and disappear on the circumference. From a blow in one place, the whole body around it swells and feels pain. I didn’t eat much, and I became dead, because sins followed the eating, just as the whole army follows one brave man through the enemy’s wall. The wound inflicted by the asp is not great, but it instantly plunges one into a dying sleep, and death itself can be pleasant for the dying. Therefore, try not to defile your heart even in the slightest. If your belly is shut, then perhaps you will be saved from sin. And if his doors are open, then I am afraid that his flesh will become insolent. When the body is tamed, then shameless lust is tamed along with it. Wine is gall for virgins and brings them a lot of disgrace; and anger leads to fury; yet this is the path to death. Virgo, do not be captivated by your worn out tunic; and to please the eyes with low value is bad. Do not excite the enemy by bursting your cheeks with laughter; let them be ugly twisted among those who overflow with joy and keep the house open. And let a quiet smile flash on your face and let a blush appear as soon as possible and hide the fun. And the blush inspires respect from those watching. It is fitting for women to talk a little about God, namely, as much as they can know about the venerable nature of the Trinity, about the triple grace, one in the Divinity; for it is not good to consign words of piety to silence. They should listen more. But both, speaking and listening, must be done with a reverent mind and with reverence, putting a veil of modesty on everything. Let wise people, who overthrow the infidels, practice in contradictory words. Let not the hated cares steal God from you, which instantly brought down even a high-ranking one to the earth. Let your mind strive towards the goal, without rushing here and there, like a seeker of victories, an indomitable horse, and without running away into the distance from the great glory of Christ. If the evil Belial has carried you away, and your mind wanders, then change direction as soon as possible and go to the goal in a straight path. Let the weaver's shuttle, yarn, teaching in God's word, wisdom, divine songs, intelligible, but not loud, not tormenting sounds, more of which remain in the chest than heard on the lips, occupy you. The enemy often broke through the ears even of the deaf. You, most chaste virgin, who, having tasted the divine drink, escaped marital ties and all the burdens worn by women, do not enter into other people’s beds and marital affairs, lest they call you a slave wife instead of a virgin; do not spend time in other people's houses, at other people's meals, do not treat servants, do not take part in domestic unrest, do not give up a flattering word for a piece of bread. Love in moderation in your love of strangeness. To those who are adorned with virtues, warmly open your cramped home. And whoever is not higher than others, show mercy from afar. Let your abode be protected from rumors. It is better for a Virgo to be inhospitable than to open her home to all strangers, because shame is lost in crowds. And how can bright virginity be disgraced, do not collect evidence from all corners of the earth. Respect gray hair and imitate honest morals. Prudent gray hair will do you more good than youth. And with pious intention do not move from place to place. Let your foot, hastening to holy places, no matter how distant they may be, become entangled, often contrary to decency, with the foot of frivolous men. King Christ is in everyone's home; he is close to the lover - in his heart. Give the first place to God, and then the next to the priest, the earthly Christ, the leader of your life. Hurry after him on wings, submit to him silently; Rejoice with him when you stretch upward, and submit to him when you fall, so that, in fear, you can rise high again. Die for everyone else - this is better for a virgin than to lead a life open and exposed to everyone. I praise those women whom men do not even know, who live far from the world, but are secretly visible to God. Be very pious, but do not look very arrogant. If you chase after human glory, you will easily lose your good reputation. Women's glory perishes as soon as it becomes visible to men. Be jealous of the virtuous and turn away from the vicious. It is equally bad to envy the good and to love the vicious. Do not stop on your way when you see that the wicked lead a peaceful life, and do not be tormented in your heart when you see that the good are exhausted. This is the game of life; and you only look at the end. Enjoying good weather makes you happy; but you don’t yet know clearly what will happen. Beware lest a deadly wind blow from some direction. Therefore, throughout your life, either be afraid or prepare to be afraid. When a vicious person falls, then strengthen your foot even more. And when the successful one falls; strengthen yourself even more. For if those who are perfect fall, it is very difficult to live through life without slipping. All life for you is coals under your feet, and the coals are hot. You are always walking through hidden networks. I am afraid that I, having laid the foundation of my life on sand, will be destroyed by rain, rivers and winds; I’m afraid that, like a seed that fell on dry and barren land, I, having vegetated soon, will dry up even sooner when the sun’s rays and light misfortunes hit me; I’m afraid that during my sleep a sower of worthless weeds and an envious enemy might mix in the bad seed. When ten pure virgins, awake with lighted lamps and with vigilant eyes, await the longed-for groom - the King-God, so that they can go out brightly to meet him who comes with joy; Then do not put me among the poor in mind and foolish virgins, so that at the very coming of Christ, with eyes heavy from sleep, noticing the barely flickering shine of the lamps, it is too late not to wish for myself drops of the oil of bright life, and so that the locked doors do not block my entry into the union of the church with the Lord, where the Word, according to the great statutes of love, uniting with pure souls, gives them radiance and glory. Here is the wedding feast, which the good Father institutes, rejoicing over the best Son; Oh, if only there was a place for me at this supper, and for me, and for everyone who is of the same mind with me! But the one who prefers either a village, or a pair of newly purchased oxen, or a wife, to marriage joy will remain outside the feast. I am also afraid that among the feasters, who are all dressed like a wedding, I alone, whose clothes are defiled, will be bound hand and foot and cast out of the bridal chamber far from friends and from the wedding feast. When my King, returning from the wedding, suddenly comes to those who are waiting and to those who are not expecting; Oh, if only I could then be among those waiting and earn praise as a good servant who had fear, was condescending to his superiors and a truthful dispenser of a firm word! I command this to virginity, as a meekly advising and heartily loving father; and you, children, daughters, and sons, listen to your beloved father. And if, as I hoped, I have some grace from God, then do not despise the commandment of your father, like the sons of Eli. Do not do this, children, so that you do not suffer the same punishment as them. And the rest is the next word; and I will not fearlessly, holding the scales evenly (God is my witness), will pronounce equal judgment on both of them - on virgins and on those living in marriage. Just as virginity is preferable to marriage, so is virgin marriage preferable to dubious virginity. Therefore, you, a zealot for perfection, either love pure virginity more fully, if you have the strength and disposition for it, or choose marriage, as they say, after the first second, also a good voyage. But avoid those who want to combine one and the other life, both celibate and married, that is, to mix bile with honey, dirt with wine, and evil Samaria with sacred Salim. Labor is in vain - after completing the path, suddenly go back; The shooter is not safe if the arrow he shoots falls almost at his feet, and does not reach where it should and does not hit a high target. And for the one who offered virginity as a gift to the King Christ - this verbal sacrifice, this bloodless slaughter - to enter into marriage again is not only a loss, but also the greatest fall, close to death; and on top of that, endless shame. This means, suddenly slipping, turning down to the ground from a steep mountain, which you climbed with great difficulty, with the intention of discovering gold there or spending time in a pleasant activity, chasing an animal. Who, hearing about the evil Ananias and Sapphira, who suffered an evil death for their own profit, will not be afraid to reduce even a little in their vow? And one of the ancients, when secretly, without the knowledge of the leader, appropriated a golden tongue, clothing and several money, thereby harming an entire people (Joshua 7:21). To the extent that the lot of an animate creature is higher, to the same degree, or even greater, is it bad for a virgin to return back. Let such a marital union perish, which is not sealed by the marriage law! Always beware of the sting of him who constantly draws back souls that stretch forward, so that he may reign over a large number of humiliated ones, who was the first to be brought down from heavenly glory to earth and drags out here the yoke of shame imposed on the proud. Now I will speak good advice to parents, relatives and chaste guardians, in whose hands are the life, shame and good glory of virgins. It is impermissible and indecent to act violently with the creature of the great God. We are all a genus of the One; and whether someone rules or is counted among those ruled, whether someone is rich or poor, whether someone sits on a great throne or bows to the ground, whether someone is covered with gray hair or blooms with youth - everything is from the One, everyone has one breath, we all strive towards one end; God was born a man for everyone, and died, and rose again; He gave everyone a wide sky. Therefore, no one, to please the unreasonable flesh, should lead a virgin against her will to the marriage bed, when she clings to Christ and lives with the best love, just as no one should tear a polyp from its stone bed or drive a songbird out of the nest it has built. On the contrary, if you have a Christ-loving heart, if God has bound you with divine bonds and taken you from the world, then with all readiness present to Christ a beautiful bride or young son, as the once child-loving Anna presented Samuel - the sacred fruit of her pure wombs, an animated sacrifice that is more sacred than any first-born, as well as an ear or a bunch cut by a good farmer as a firstfruits to God. And if you walk in the middle between Christ and the world, then weigh both married and single life on equal scales, well and wisely collecting in your mind all the advantages and disadvantages of both, and, having outlined a double goal, choose the path to which ardent love attracts, and help, in one case, enslavement, and in the other, heavenly aspirations. When a virgin has reached the age of maturity to marry or fulfill a chaste intention; although, just as the husband serves the wife as a bond, so the daughters are the parents, and both of them are served by the fear of God, while the one who has not entered into marriage is the love of Christ; however, do not remove from marriage a virgin who desires to have a husband, and do not forcefully bring into her husband’s house someone who is striving for God. Until you are absolutely sure, I don’t mind doing some tests. But if you devote all your thought and hand to married life, or have already joyfully arranged the bridal chamber, and dances, and feasts, in the joy of your heart you have forgotten your old age; and meanwhile the virginity you have driven out comes to Christ (as justice once ascended to heaven with a complaint for the killing of the farmer’s ox), then I am afraid that God, before whom all carnal nature humbles itself with a doubly unjust decision, humbles itself just like fat wax before fire; I am afraid that the fear of God will bind you according to the flesh. And here there is service similar to heavenly, and in mortals there is a mind that approaches the Divine. He sinned who mixed the incorporeal with the carnal natures, produced powerful giants from the angelic, and thought to cleanse the earth with the sins of the celestials. Let us leave this to the Hellenes, because in defense of their passions they intended to represent the gods as obscene, thieves, androgynes, adulterers, corrupters of people, murderers, destroyers of their parents or children, and, not content with this, they made sacrifices to the passions themselves. Look at the first of their gods, what his voluptuousness did not make him: an ox, a swan, a snake, gold, a husband, a bird - everything that the playful Eros - this weak child - commanded him to become. They despised the kind virginity that imposes bonds on the flesh. For them, the luminosity of the flesh was incredible. They measure everyone by their lewdness. But it is unusual for a pure eye to see the stars darkened. The earth stands firmly, but those who feel dizzy do not trust it. And it is indecent for us to talk about virginity reproachfully. Why is it incredible that love for Christ the King can lull human lusts and carnal love, just as it previously stopped the flow of blood from a bleeding wife who touched it? God allowed His grace to be stolen from Him, and the dry sand became a flowing source and soon dried up. Was not the courage in Christians higher than fire, and swords, and water, and ferocious beasts that tormented their members with merciless teeth? When the persecutor pressed them, raising a battle for faith in God, then what do we see from them? Isn't it a life spent without sleep and without shelter? Is it not Prayers and incessant sighs? Don't they shed tears? Do they not ascend from the earth in night and day songs, leaving the world and the flesh? Is it not small crumbs of food that support their breathing? Do they not live in caves, and use stones or soft grass and dry branches as their bed? Do they not live under the same roof with ferocious beasts, just to avoid evil suggestions and the bonds of the flesh? There is a legend about the phoenix bird that, when it dies, it becomes young, and after many years, it is reborn in fire, and from the outdated ashes a wondrous native fruit appears. So, when they die, they become ever-living, burned by fiery love for King Christ. In weakness itself the strength of the godly is revealed. He who sees all this will reluctantly enter into a union with young flesh, because he is inflamed with the best love. Mother nature, common to all! I will proclaim not my own, but your miracles, which you have lavished on land and in the seas. I hear that a feathered turtledove, after the death of her dear turtledove, out of chaste love for the bed that shared her, does not accept another spouse into her nest. Wise bird! But for a person, how much better is a clean life? The gray-feathered crow is talkative, but she is also faithful to youthful love, and when she loses her dear husband, she hates every husband. And the fish of the sea have their own law; Few do not know any rules regarding marriage, but many care about the chastity of both the marriage bed and their spouse. And here the rights have force. Others do not strive to have more than one fruit. Others (and most of them) indulge in the pleasures of love only in spring. Nature itself has set a limit to desires. And the time for tender love has been determined. For all living creatures: air, water, and those that walk on land. Further than this, they did not harbor lusts in themselves; in the very madness of passions, they are bound by the timing, when spring awakens them to it. And some come running in heaps to carry out marital affairs; for others, constant affection for dear spouses is observed, and the law of love is preserved, and for some it is enough to give birth to children once in a lifetime, as evidenced by those who described the birth of animals and everything that concerns them. And if even the foolish have some concern for chastity, then will you, God’s creature, not bind all the laws of the flesh if you want? Man is as yielding to reason as copper is to fire. If reason is not the king of the flesh, then the image of God has deified me; then what is our advantage if we yield to the same movements? Although nature is uncontrollable in more people; however, we also know that the commandment often overcomes the general nature. And I have a similar body, but I was bound by the cross that raised me, to which I nailed heavy flesh. For I desire to die with Christ, so that I may rise with Him, having everything that belongs to Christ: mind, body, nails, and resurrection. Another arbitrarily bound the flesh not out of divine love. Such bonds are not called chastity. However, there is also God’s gift to live uncorruptedly, to have an unperturbed and unshakable mind. Some people turn away from pleasant intoxication, and others from food; others cannot stand the smell loved by others. Some have a hateful disposition towards their own kind, live in deserts and willingly flee away from people. But your mind does not believe those who renounce marital ties, I even think it does not believe; but you run away out of fear, while you forget about the disadvantages of married life. The small salamander does not run away from the destructive fire, but on its low legs jumps in it as if on the ground. There is a fire-like fish; appearing to be inflamed, she does not die from this wondrous fire, but, burning, shines among the water. Doesn't a stone magnet attract iron weights to itself? And won't we crush adamant? There is a stone that, when struck with iron, does not emit a shine; and the other shines from drops of water, but, giving off a shine in water, ceases to shine from oil. But how many more amazing miracles are there? Who can count them, although he recounts many? The High Mind, mixing various images of things, rebuilds the whole world in one way or another, as it pleases. But out of many, I will not mention many that I myself have seen or that books and rumors assure me of. Don't all rivers have the same flow - down? Isn’t it the same law for the seas to be connected by shores? Isn’t there only one way for a blazing fire to rise upward in frequent gusts? However, there is a river that crosses the bitter sea and remains a river; one water does not mix with another, and the sailors, bringing the ship closer to the current rushing towards land, draw sweet drink from the sea. I saw the fast Euboean Strait - this narrow passage and open source of the sea, I saw how it rages in its return currents. The sea comes and flows back. The ocean either moves away from the land, then again invades the land in hasty waves, and on the Cimmerian shores it is either a field or a sea. But there is another stream - a fiery flame, if it is true that this incredible watercourse - a river of fire - erupts from the cliffs of Etna, and the incompatible is united by the will of Christ. I can point out similar miracles in small ways. Among the fruits there is the so-called ox horn. He alone, more than anything grown in a fruitful field, has a body that is not softened by moisture, does not collapse in the ground, does not become fat from the rains, but is completely strengthened and forever remains harder than the horns; This horn is not crushed even by the horn of an ox, when the farmer’s hand scatters the fruits across the field; therefore, from the horns he received both his name and his property. But if the sages know some other reason for this, then it is unknown to me. Nature produces this; listen to what art wanted. Starlings speak like a person, imitating someone else's voice, which they have adopted, seeing in the mirror an image of a carved starling made of wood and hearing the human voice of an industrialist hiding behind the mirror. And the raven also steals sounds from humans. And when the elegant and crooked-nosed parrot in his lattice house speaks like a human, then he even deceives the ears of man himself; Ropes are hung on the horses, and horses walk on top of them. The sedate bear walks on its hind legs and, like a smart judge, sitting in the judge’s seat, holds in its paws (as one might think) the scales of justice, and the animal appears to be gifted with intelligence. Man taught him what nature did not teach him. I also saw an animal tamer who sits on the ridge of a mighty lion and with his hand tames the power of the beast. He holds the reins, and the running lion, forgetting his rage, obeys the master and caresses him. I also saw a heavy and tall beast with large teeth, the boy Indus sits on it and with a small spur makes it go like a ship, turning the body of a strong elephant this way and that. The one who first planned to tame the beast was fearless, put a yoke on its neck and drove a huge chariot. But you attribute more to animals than to man if you agree that coercion has overcome nature in animals, and people cannot be taught goodness, even if they have the word as their assistant. How can you, ignoramus, insult the creation of the great God to such an extent? Who has ever been such a hater of his own kind? But this is not the thought of me, who reason sensibly. On the contrary, I know husbands and wives who are heavenly in thoughts and blameless in body. The only difference between them is in their members, but both have common virtues and a common path to a glorious life. All the advantage is in diligence, and that comes from work. But your mind does not believe those who renounce marital ties; I don’t even think he believes, but you run away out of fear, and meanwhile you forget about so many disadvantages of married life. I command this to those who are close only to the heavenly; and you, virginity, take care to protect yourself from everywhere and be well established in God, to become a perfect pearl among the stones, a right hand between the stars, a dove among the birds, an olive among the trees, a lily in the fields, goodness in the sea. You, virgin, having despised the whole world and all the pleasures of life, stand next to the radiant Christ and, hand in hand, lead Him into your bridal chamber, filled with joys, wafting with sweets and fragrant; mix your own incense with the heavenly incense; add your love to the unspoken desires of love poured out here, add beauty to beauty; to the hidden - hidden, to the luminous - luminous, so that Christ becomes a good lover of your glorious image, so that Christ becomes your bridegroom, so that Christ, opening the veil, joyfully sees a bride worthy of beauty, who is adorned with good pearls, sits on a richly decorated seat, holds her head high, so that He makes so beautiful even more attractive, so that Christ, filled with joy, introduces you into His abodes, offers you the wedding supper among the great undefiled faces, with heavenly songs, crowned your head with ever-blooming delights, placed before you a cup of fragrant drink, showed you the secrets of wisdom, like which we see here in the mirror, and opened the true light to your unveiled mind; when gross bodies give way to spirit, and airy bodies receive ageless life. We, dear young men and virgins, who nourish within us immaculate love for the King, let us sing of the marriage of the heavenly God, lighting lamps - these likenesses of Divine light, unquenchable, spiritual lamps, which constantly become brighter and brighter from pure deeds and high, even heavenly, thoughts. Come to us, O merciful one, and be merciful to us, pure Trinity, united from the One into the One, You, who even now illuminate the bright eyes, and later you will illuminate even more brightly those enlightened by You, You are the only God - from the Parent through the Son in the great Spirit, the perfect Divinity resting in the Perfect. You might be interested in: