How to Live
Marriage, faithfulness and the single life, and how Christians were to live in their bodies.
Each row is one claim. Each name is a writer, placed at the date of the passage. Select a name to read what they said.
3 of the 6 writers here teach: “Marriage is good for faithful union and children.”
teaches it partly rejects it later writer, summary only
Marriage is good for faithful union and children3 teach
Fornication and adultery are forbidden4 teach
A second marriage is refused as if it were extra wives1 teach
The second commandment of the teaching is this: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not sexually corrupt a child, you shall not commit sexual immorality, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic or sorcery, you shall not kill a child by abortion, nor kill one that has been born, and…
Δευτέρα δὲ ἐντολὴ τῆς διδαχῆς:
My child, flee from every evil thing and from everything like it. Do not be prone to anger, for anger leads to murder; do not be jealous, quarrelsome, or hot-tempered, for from all these things murders are born.
Τέκνον μου, φεῦγε ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ καὶ ἀπὸ παντὸς ὁμοίου αὐτοῦ.
Here is the way of light: anyone who wants to travel the road to the appointed destination must press on eagerly in their actions. The knowledge we have been given for walking this road is exactly this. You will love the One who made you, revere the One who formed you, and glorify the One who redeemed you from death.
Ἡ οὖν ὁδὸς τοῦ φωτός ἐστιν αὕτη: ἐάν τις θέλων ὁδὸν ὁδεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν ὡρισμένον τόπον, σπεύσῃ τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ. ἔστιν οὖν ἡ δοθεῖσα ἡμῖν γνῶσις τοῦ περιπατεῖν ἐν αὐτῇ τοιαύτη.
Chapter 1 I charge you, said he, to guard your chastity, and let no thought enter your heart of another man's wife, or of fornication, or of similar iniquities; for by doing this you commit a great sin. But if you always remember your own wife, you will never sin.
The pagans tell no remarkable stories about us comparable to what they tell about their own gods; indeed, their myths expose the gods' passions as mysteries.
Τοὺς μὲν οὖν θαυμαστὸν οὐδὲν λογοποιεῖν περὶ ἡμῶν ἃ περὶ τῶν σφετέρων λέγουσι θεῶν· καὶ τὰ πάθη αὐτῶν δεικνύουσι μυστήρια. Χρῆν δ᾿ αὐτούς, εἰ δεινὸν τὸ ἐπ᾿ ἀδείας καὶ ἀδιαφόρως μίγνυσθαι κρίνειν ἔμελλον, ἢ τὸν Δία μεμισηκέναι, ἐκ μητρὸς μὲν Ῥέας θυγατρὸς δὲ Κόρης…
For Aristotle does not even permit slaves to be fondled; how much more necessary is it that a wife should appear affectionate toward them when they are watching. It is better to begin at home, from marriage itself, and to display dignity. For the greatest marriage is that of chastity, breathing pure pleasure.
Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τοῖς γεγαμηκόσι παραινέσαιμι ἂν οἴκοι τὰς γυναῖκας τὰς σφῶν μήποτε κατὰ πρόσωπον οἰκετῶν φιλεῖν. οὐδὲ γὰρ προσγελᾶν δούλοις Ἀριστοτέλης εἴα ποτέ, πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ κατ᾿ ὄψιν αὐτῶν φιλοφρονούμενον φαίνεσθαι τὴν γυναῖκα.
Since marriage appears to be driven by pleasure and desire, we must examine it. Marriage is, in fact, the first lawful union of a man and a woman for the sake of legitimate children.
Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡδονῇ καὶ ἐπιθυμίᾳ ὑποπίπτειν γάμος δοκεῖ, καὶ περὶ τούτου διαληπτέον. γάμος μὲν οὖν ἐστι σύνοδος ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς ἡ πρώτη κατὰ νόμον ἐπὶ γνησίων τέκνων σπορᾷ. ὁ γοῦν κωμικὸς Μένανδρος παίδων (φησὶν) ἐπ’ ἀρότῳ γνησίων δίδωμί σοί γε τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ θυγατέρα.
I do not doubt, brother, that after your wife went ahead of you in peace you have turned your mind to composing yourself and are now weighing what it means to stay single — and you certainly need counsel.
Heretics abolish marriage; Psychics multiply it. The former refuse to marry even once, the latter refuse to stop at once. What are you doing, law of the Creator?