Letters & Polemics (CSEL) 64 part 10/15

Wrath and irreverence and confusion is a great woman, if she has the primacy and rules over her husband. From a woman was the beginning of sin made, and because of her we all die. Likewise there: The fornication of a woman is known by the lifting up of her eyes and by her eyelids. Likewise in Ecclesiastes: And I will call a woman more bitter than death. Her heart is a net and a trap, and her hands are a snare. A wicked woman — he who holds her is as one who holds a scorpion. Likewise in Proverbs: As a golden ring in a swine's snout, so is beauty in a wicked woman. Likewise in Ecclesiasticus: A humbled soul and a sad face and a wound of the heart is a wicked woman who is contrary to her husband. Likewise there: Slack hands

and weak knees is a woman who will not make her husband content in his straits. Likewise there: A drunken and gadding woman is a great wrath, and her contumely and shame shall not be covered. LIV. THAT THUNDERS, RAINS, LIGHTNINGS, HAILSTONES, SNOWS, FROSTS, WINDS, FLASHES AND CLOUDS ARE FROM THE LORD. In Exodus: And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunders and hail, and fire ran along upon the land of Egypt. Likewise there: And it came to pass on the third day, when morning was come, that there were thunders and lightnings and thick clouds upon Mount Sinai, and the sound of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud, for the Lord had descended upon the mountain in the likeness of fire: and the smoke went up as the smoke of a great furnace. Likewise in Genesis:

And the Lord spoke to Noah, saying: After seven days I will bring a flood of water for forty days and as many nights, and I will blot out every generation which I have made from the face of the earth. And all the fountains of the deep burst forth, and the floodgates of heaven were opened, and the rains of the flood came upon all the earth. And then the Lord sent a wind, and stayed the water. Likewise in the book of Joshua son of Nun: And it came to pass, when they fled from before the face of the children of Israel in the descent of Bethhoron, the Lord cast down upon them stones of hail from heaven: and the wrath of the Lord pursued them as far as Azekah, and more died by the hailstones than those whom the children of Israel slew with swords in the battle. Likewise in the first book of Kingdoms:

And Samuel called upon the Lord God, and He gave forth voices and rains on that day; and all the people feared the Lord God exceedingly, and Samuel. Likewise in the Third book of Kingdoms: And the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying: Go and show yourself to Ahab, and I will give rain upon the earth. Likewise in Psalm 147: He gives snow like wool, He scatters mist like ashes; He sends forth His crystal like morsels of bread. Before the face of His cold, who shall endure? He sends forth His word and melts them; His spirit breathes, and the waters flow. Likewise in Psalm 148: Praise the Lord, O sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars and light.

Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and let the waters that are above the heavens praise the name of the Lord. For He spoke and they were made; He commanded and they were created. Likewise there: Praise the Lord from the earth, you dragons and all deeps: fire, hail, snow, ice, and stormy wind, which fulfil His word. Likewise in Jeremiah: The Lord, who made the earth by His power, and by His wisdom stretched out the heaven and the multitude of the waters in heaven; and He brought up clouds from the ends of the earth, and made lightnings and flashes into rain, and brought forth light from His treasuries. And every man has become foolish, void of his knowledge. Likewise there: Is there among the idols of the nations one who sends rain? And if heaven gives its fullness, are You not He yourself?

And we will wait for You, O Lord, for You have made all these things. Likewise in Leviticus: And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire went forth from the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Likewise in Job: For with the Lord is wisdom; deep is His thought and understanding. And if God shall pull down, who shall build up? If He shall shut in, who shall open? If He dry up the waters, who shall water the earth? And if He multiply the rain, He Himself overturns it. For with Him is all power. LV. THAT ONE MUST NOT PRACTISE LUSTRATIONS NOR DIVINATION. In Deuteronomy:

There shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, nor one who divines divinations, an augur, a soothsayer, one who bewitches with drugs, an enchanter, a ventriloquist, one who examines omens, or who questions the dead. For everyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God. For because of these abominations the Lord will root them out from before you. But you shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations, whom you shall possess, hearken to auguries and divinations; but to you the Lord your God has not so granted. Likewise in the book of Wisdom: For You hated the ancient inhabitants of Your holy land, because they did works hateful to You through their sorceries and unjust sacrifices, and were pitiless slayers of their own children. LVI.

CONCERNING THE MAKING OF THE WORLD, AND THAT ALL THINGS WERE MADE OUT OF NOTHING. In Genesis: In the beginning God made heaven and earth. Likewise in Exodus: For in six days God made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. Likewise in Ezra: You, O Lord God, made heaven and earth and the heaven of heaven and their hosts. You made the earth and all that is in it, the seas and what is in them, and by Your power all things are made to live. The hosts of the heavens also worship You always, O Lord. Likewise in Psalm 32: By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and all their host by the breath of His mouth. Likewise in Psalm 73: Yours is the day and Yours is the night; You made the sun and the moon. You made all the borders of the earth; summer and spring, You made them.

Likewise in Psalm 88: Yours are the heavens and Yours is the earth; the round world and its fullness You have founded. Likewise in Psalm 148: Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights. Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts. Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars and light. Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and let the waters that are above the heavens praise the name of the Lord. For He spoke and they were made; He commanded and they were created. He established them for ever and for age upon age. Likewise in Maccabees: I beseech you therefore, look upon heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, and seeing, know that out of nothing these were created by the Lord God, who likewise made the race of men.

And He Himself shall judge the round world. Likewise in the prophet Isaiah: My hand founded the earth, and My right hand made firm the heaven. Likewise there: For the heaven was made firm like smoke. Likewise there: I made the earth and man upon it, and My hand made firm the heaven; I commanded all the stars to shine. Likewise in the Gospel according to John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was made nothing. Likewise to the Ephesians: Of the mystery hidden from the ages in God, who created all things. Likewise to the Colossians:

Who rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His brightness, in whom we have redemption, the remission of sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in Him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers: all things were created through Him and in Him; and He is before all, and all things hold together in Him. Likewise in Jeremiah: The Lord, who made the earth by His power, and by His wisdom stretched out the heaven and the multitude of the waters in heaven; and He brought up clouds from the ends of the earth, and made lightnings and flashes into rain, and brought forth light from His treasuries. Likewise Tobit:

Let the heavens and every creature of all the earth bless You; for You spoke, and all things were made, and You confirm all things by Your word. You made Adam, and gave him Eve as a helper. Likewise in the Acts of the Apostles: We also are men of like passions with you, preaching to you God, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; who in past generations suffered all the nations to walk in their own ways. And yet He did not leave Himself without witness, doing good from heaven, giving you eternal fruitful rain, filling your hearts with food and gladness. Likewise there: God, who made this world and all things that are in it,

He, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. LVII. THAT DARKNESS ALSO WAS CREATED BY GOD. In Isaiah: I who created light and made darkness, making peace and creating good things; I am the Lord who does all these things. Likewise in Job: Consider therefore, Job, these things, and be silent, corrected by the power of the Lord, who set in order His works, making light out of darkness. LVIII. CONCERNING ACCIDENTAL HOMICIDE. In Exodus: But if anyone strike his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and he die under his hand, let it be avenged by judgment. But if he survive a day or two, it shall not be avenged, for he is his price. Likewise there:

But if two men quarrel, and one of them strike his neighbour with a stone or with his fist or with iron, and he does not die but takes to his bed, and if that man rises up and walks about with a staff, then he who struck him shall be guiltless; only he shall pay for his loss of time and for his cures. Likewise there: But if two men quarrel, and they strike a pregnant woman, and her child comes out unformed, he shall suffer loss; whatever the woman's husband demands, he shall give at the request. But if it be formed, he shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. LVIIII.

THAT TITHES AND FIRSTFRUITS OF THE CROPS AND OF ALL THINGS OUGHT TO BE GIVEN TO THE CHURCH BY THE PRECEPT OF THE LAW. Abraham and Melchizedek, in Genesis: And he gave him tithes of all that was his. Likewise there: And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: If the Lord God will be with me and keep me in this way in which I go, and give me bread to eat and a garment to cover me, and bring me back in health to my father's house, then the Lord shall be my God; and this stone, which I have set up, shall be to me the house of God; and of all that the Lord shall give me, I will surely tithe a tenth to You. Likewise in Leviticus: Every tithe of the land, of the seed of the earth and of the fruits of the trees, is holy to the Lord.

But if a man would at all redeem his tithe, he shall add a fifth part to it, and it shall be his. Likewise there: And every tithe of oxen and sheep, and whatsoever passes under the rod in counting, every tenth shall be holy to the Lord. You shall not exchange the good for the bad, nor the bad for the good. Likewise in Numbers: You shall not defraud from the firstfruits of your threshing-floor and of your winepress; the firstfruits of all the fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. Likewise there: The firstfruits of your kneading, the bread of the offering, you shall set apart; as an offering from the threshing-floor, so shall you offer it, the firstfruits of your kneading. Likewise there: And the Lord said to Aaron:

All the firstfruits of oil and all the firstfruits of wine and of wheat, those firstfruits whatsoever they shall give to the Lord, I have given them to you. Likewise there: In their land you shall possess nothing, and there shall be no portion for you among them, for I am your portion and your inheritance. And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given the whole tithe as their lot, in return for their services with which they serve in the tabernacle of testimony. Likewise in Deuteronomy: And there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose, that His name be invoked there; there you shall bring all that I command you this day: your holocausts and sacrifices, and your tithes and firstfruits, and your gifts, and all the choicest things from your hands, whatsoever you shall vow to the Lord your God. Likewise there:

You shall surely tithe all the produce of your seed, that which is grown in your field year by year. You shall bring the tithes of your wheat and your wine and your oil, and the firstlings of your oxen and your sheep, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God all the days of your life. And the Levite shall come, because he has no portion nor lot with you, and the sojourner and the orphan and the widow who are in your cities, and they shall eat and be filled; and the Lord your God shall bless you in all the works of your hands, whatsoever you shall do. Likewise Tobit: I used to go up to Jerusalem on the feast days, keeping what is written to be done by all Israel. And keeping the everlasting precept appointed by God, I would carry with me the firstfruits and the tithes of the herd,

and of the flocks, and the firstlings of the shearing of my sheep I would carry with me and give to the priests, the sons of Aaron. And according to the custom of the law, of the wheat and wine and oil and figs and the firstfruits of the other fruits, I would bring them to the Levites and to all who served in Jerusalem for the Lord; and according to the law of tithing, what had to be exchanged I would exchange, and I gathered the price of the redeemed things over six years, and afterwards I would go and reckon up the produce of each year, and count out the money in the holy place, so that in the third year I gave the tithe to the proselytes and orphans and widows; doing all things that are commanded by the Lord to Israel. Likewise the prophet Haggai: You have sown much and brought in little, and I have blown it away. Likewise there:

Thus says the Lord: Because My house is left waste, while each of you busies yourself enough with his own house, therefore heaven shall withhold its dew, and the earth shall withdraw its fruits. And I will bring a sword upon the land, and upon the grain and upon the wine and upon the oil, and upon men and upon cattle, and upon all the labours of their hands. Likewise in Malachi: Shall a man supplant God? For you have supplanted Me. And you have said: In what have we supplanted You? Because My tithes and firstfruits are with you, and dissembling you have dissembled, and you have supplanted Me. And you have brought your pledges into your storehouses, and there shall be plunder in your houses. Likewise there:

Cursed is the man who had the power, and there was in his flock a male, and his vow was upon it, yet he sacrifices a blemished thing to the Lord. Likewise in Proverbs: Honour the Lord with your just labours, and give Him firstfruits of the fruits of your righteousness, that your barns may be filled with abundance of wheat, and that your presses may overflow with wine and oil. LX. THAT LITTLE CHILDREN ARE TO BE CORRECTED WITHOUT DELAY. In the Proverbs of Solomon: He who spares the rod hates his son; but he who loves him corrects him diligently. A father does not rejoice in an untrained son. Likewise there: Do not cease to correct the little child; for if you strike him with the rod, he will not die: you indeed shall strike him with the rod, but you shall deliver his soul from death. Likewise there:

Instruct your son, and he will make you glad and give delight to your soul. Likewise there: The young man who keeps company with the holy one, his way is made straight; the ear that hears and the eye that sees, both are works of the Lord. Likewise in Ecclesiasticus: Have you sons? Instruct them from their childhood. Have you daughters? Keep their bodies, and show not your face cheerful toward them. Likewise there: He who loves his son applies the whip to him frequently, that he may rejoice at his latter end and not grope at the doors of his neighbours. He who teaches his son shall be praised in him, and shall glory in him in the midst of friends. Likewise there: He who teaches his son provokes his enemy to envy. The father is dead, and yet as if not dead, for he has left one like himself after him. Likewise there:

An untamed horse turns out stubborn, and a son left to himself turns out headstrong. Bend his neck in his youth and beat his sides while he is a child, lest he grow hard and not obey you, and you have grief of soul. LXI. THAT ONE OUGHT TO CLEAVE TO THE COMPANY AND CONVERSE OF THE SAINTS. In Proverbs: The young man who keeps company with the holy one, his way is made straight; the ear that hears and the eye that sees, both are works of the Lord. Likewise in Ecclesiasticus: Be constant with the holy man, whomsoever you know to keep the fear of God. Likewise there: Stand in the multitude of the prudent elders, and join yourself from your heart to their wisdom; and be willing to hear every discourse of God, and let the proverbs of praise not escape you.

And if you see a man of understanding, watch for him early, and let your foot wear away the steps of his doors. Likewise there: With your whole soul fear the Lord, and reverence His priests. With all your strength love Him who made you, and do not forsake His ministers. Honour the Lord with your whole soul, and honour the priests. Likewise there: Do not despise the discourse of the wise elders, but dwell among their proverbs; for from them you shall learn the doctrine of understanding, for they themselves learned from their fathers. Likewise there: Be constant in the midst of those who teach, and make yourself affable to the assembly of the poor; humble your soul to the elder, and bow your head to the great man. Likewise there:

According to your ability, beware of your neighbour, and take counsel with the wise and the discerning. Likewise there: Let just men be your table-companions, and let your glory be in the fear of the Lord. Let your discourse be with the discerning, and all your talk in the precepts of the Most High. In the hands of craftsmen the work shall be praised, but in the sense of elders, the word. LXII. THAT USURY IS NOT TO BE TAKEN. In Leviticus: You shall not give your money at usury, and you shall not give him your food for the sake of receiving increase: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Likewise in Deuteronomy: You shall not exact from your brother usury of money, and usury of food, and usury of any things whatsoever you have lent. Likewise in Psalm 14:

He who swears to his neighbour and does not deceive him; who has not given his money at usury. LXIII. THAT A TRADER CANNOT BE STRIPPED OF FALSEHOOD. In Ecclesiasticus: Two kinds of things have appeared to me difficult and dangerous: hardly shall a trader be freed from falsehood, and an innkeeper shall not be justified from sin. As a stake is fixed in the midst of the joining of stones, so shall sin be pressed in between selling and buying. LXIIII. THAT DOUBLE WEIGHTS ARE NOT TO BE KEPT. In Deuteronomy: There shall not be in your house a weight great or small, and there shall not be in your house a measure great or small; a true and just weight shall you have: that you may be of many days upon the land which the Lord your God will give you for a possession:

for everyone who does unjust things is an abomination to the Lord. Likewise in Proverbs: An unjust balance is an abomination before the Lord, but a just weight is acceptable to Him. Likewise there: A double weight is an abomination to the Lord, and a deceitful balance is not good before Him. Likewise there: A great weight and a small, and double measures, both are unclean before the Lord, and he who does them in his dealings shall be hindered. Likewise in the prophet Amos: Hear this therefore, you who oppress the poor in the morning and do violence to the needy of the land, saying:

When will the harvest pass, that we may sell and gain, and the sabbaths, that we may open the storehouses and make the measure smaller, and enlarge the weight and make the balance unjust, that we may possess the poor with money and the needy for a pair of sandals, and we will trade in every kind of business? The Lord has sworn against the pride of Jacob: Surely He will not forget all their works. And for these things the land shall be troubled, and all who dwell in it shall mourn. LXV. THAT VOWS OUGHT TO BE PAID TO THE LORD AT ONCE. In Deuteronomy: But if you vow a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it shall be a sin in you. But if you are unwilling to vow, there shall be no sin in you.

You shall keep what goes forth from your lips, and you shall do just as you have vowed to your God the vow which you spoke with your mouth. Likewise in Ecclesiastes: As soon as you vow a vow to the Lord, you shall not delay to pay it. Therefore pay what you have vowed. It is better not to vow than to have vowed and not to pay. LXVI. THAT ONE MUST NOT LAUGH FOOLISHLY. In Ecclesiasticus: A fool lifts up his voice in laughter, but a wise man will scarcely laugh softly. Likewise there: The talk of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is in the offences of sin. Likewise there: Anger is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart shall be gladdened. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of fools in the house of luxury. Likewise there: As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is he who hears the laughter of fools. LXVII.

THAT THE TESTIMONY OF A SINGLE WITNESS IS NOT TO BE ACCEPTED. In Deuteronomy: A single witness shall not stand up to give testimony against a man concerning any sin and against any offence whatsoever he has committed: by the mouth of two witnesses and by the mouth of three witnesses shall every word stand. LXVIII. THAT A MAN'S GARMENTS ARE NOT TO BE WORN BY A WOMAN, NOR A WOMAN'S BY A MAN. In Deuteronomy: There shall not be men's things upon a woman, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. LXVIIII. THAT THE SIN OF PARENTS IS NOT TO BE IMPUTED TO CHILDREN, NOR OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS. In Deuteronomy: The parents shall not die for the children, and the children shall not die for the parents: each one shall die in his own sin. Likewise in Jeremiah:

In those days they shall no longer say: The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge; but each one shall die in his own sin, and whoever eats the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Likewise in Ezekiel: But the soul that has sinned shall die. The son shall not bear the righteousness of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the iniquity of the wicked shall be upon himself. LXX. THAT CHILDREN ARE TO BE REARED BY THEIR PARENTS IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD. In Deuteronomy: And these words, whatsoever I command you this day, shall be in your heart and in your soul, and you shall show them to your children, and you shall speak of them sitting in your house and when you go on the way, both in rest and in your wakings:

and you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be moving before your eyes; and you shall write them upon the lintels of your house and on your gates. Likewise the apostle Paul to the Ephesians: And you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but rear them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord. Likewise to Timothy: Ruling his own house well, having his children in subjection with all chastity. Likewise there: Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, who rule their children well and their own households. Likewise to the Colossians: Fathers, provoke not your children to indignation, lest they become faint-hearted. LXXI. THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS IS TO BE SOWN FIRST, AND AFTERWARDS ITS FRUITS REAPED. In the prophet Hosea:

Sow for yourselves righteousness, and reap the fruit of life; seek for yourselves the light of knowledge; wait for the Lord, until the fruit of righteousness comes to you. Why have you loved ungodliness, and reaped its iniquities? Likewise in Ecclesiasticus: My son, from your youth receive instruction, and even to grey hairs you shall find wisdom. Come to her as one who ploughs and sows, and wait for her good fruits; for in labouring at her you shall labour but a little, and soon you shall eat of her produce. Likewise in the prophet Jeremiah: Renew for yourselves newness, and do not sow among thorns.

Be circumcised to your God, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart, you men of Judah and you who dwell in Jerusalem, lest My indignation go forth like fire and blaze up, and there be none to quench it, because of the wickedness of your thoughts. Likewise in Psalm 125: They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going they went and wept, casting their seeds; but coming they shall come in exultation, carrying their sheaves. Likewise the apostle to the Galatians: Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap: because he who sows in his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows in the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not fail in doing good:

for in due season we shall reap, if we do not fail. LXXII. THAT TEARS ARE TO BE SHED OVER THE DEAD. In Ecclesiasticus: My son, shed tears over the dead, and begin to lament as one who has suffered grievously; and according to what is fitting cover his body, and do not despise his burial. Because of report bitterly bear his mourning for one day, and be consoled on account of the sadness. LXXIII. THAT NO ONE IS WITHOUT SIN. In Proverbs: Who shall boast that he has a pure heart? Or who shall dare to say that he is clean from sin? Likewise in Job: For if I be righteous, I doubt not that my mouth has admitted iniquity; and if I say, I am without complaint, I have equally spoken hard things.

For what man or what mortal is pure and unspotted from his works before the Lord? For no one is clean from filth, not even one, even if his life upon the earth be but a single day. For what man is without complaint? Or who can be righteous, being born of woman? For if not even the heaven is clean before the sight of the Lord, how much more abominable and unclean is man? Likewise John the apostle, first epistle: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity. LXXIIII. THAT ONE MUST NOT STEAL. In Exodus: You shall not commit theft and you shall not lie. Likewise in Psalm 49: