CHAPTER VIII.
Of Matrimony and of Virginity.
Marriage after the ordinance of Christ, and entered into for the sake of the care and labour of a wife about the house, and for the bringing up of children in the fear of God, without idleness or murmuring, and in order that the eye may not wander towards that which belongs to others,—this is called in Scripture a holy estate:—"Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled." Paul makes it the mystery of things far above this world:—"This is a great mystery, but I speak of Christ and His Church." Hence divorce is unlawful except for the cause of adultery. For adultery of the soul, which is divisible into three kinds: sorcery, denial of the faith, and murder. Or of the body:—"Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery."
With regard to Virginity, the steward of God's house saith: "I have no commandment of the Lord;" for the commandment of the Lord enjoins matrimony. But should any one desire to keep his virginity, and to follow, in this respect, the example of the Baptist, of the Saviour, of Elijah, and of Paul, it is allowable for him so to do, agreeably with the permission, and not after the command of God. Not, moreover, because he counts marriage an unholy and contemptible thing, but on account of what it entails, such as the being obliged to mix with the multitude, to have and to hold converse with them, and to reside in towns and villages, from all of which difficulties arise, which ofttimes make the yoke of marriage heavy by increasing one's cares, and thus the soul's advancement is hindered through its manifold connection with the world. Notwithstanding this, however, he who makes a vow of virginity, and does not become like a spiritual angel in theory and in practice, is inferior to a lax married man; for "no man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life." Here endeth the Fourth Part.
