conductor say, the divine and blessed
Paul? Both the ancient Apostle, and this modern one, under whose
auspices and instruction thou didst leave thy father's house, and
join thyself to the Lord? Would not each, filled with grief at the
great calamity, say, "The thing which I greatly feared has come upon
me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me," for "I espoused
you unto one husband, that I might present you as a chaste virgin to
Christ"; and I was always fearful, lest in some way as the serpent
beguiled Eve by his subtilty, so thy mind should sometime be
corrupted. And on this account I always endeavored, like a skillful
charmer, by innumerable incantations, to suppress the tumult of the
passions, and by a thousand safeguards to secure the bride of the
Lord, rehearsing again and again the manner of her who is unmarried,
how that she only "careth for the things of the Lord, that she may
be holy both in body and in spirit"; and I set forth the honor of
virginity, calling thee the temple of God, that I might add wings to
thy zeal, and help thee upward to Jesus; and I also had recourse to
the fear of evil, to prevent thee from falling, telling thee that
"if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy." I
also added the assistance of my prayers, that, if possible, "thy
whole body, and soul, and spirit might be preserved blameless unto
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," But all this labor I have
spent in vain upon thee; and those sweet toils have ended in a
bitter disappointment; and now I must again groan over her of whom I
ought to have joy. For lo, thou hast been beguiled by the serpent
more bitterly than Eve; for not only has thy mind become defiled,
but with it thy very body also, and what is still more horrible--I
dread to say it, but I cannot suppress it; for it is as fire burning
and blazing in my bones, and I am dissolving in every part and
cannot endure it--thou hast taken the members of Christ, and made
them the members of a harlot. This is incomparably the greatest
evil of all. This is a new crime in the world, to which we may
apply the words of the Prophet, "Pass over the isles of Chittim, and
see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there
be such a thing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no
gods?" For the virgin hath changed her glory, and now glories in
her shame. The heavens are astonished at this, and the earth
trembleth very exceedingly.