Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 19

Now Abraham, when he first received the covenant of circumcision, seems to signify, by receiving circumcision in a member of his own body, nothing else than this: that one should no longer conceive children with one born of the same parent. In this way he shows that everyone should abstain from intercourse with his own sister, as his own flesh. And thus, from the time of Abraham, the custom of marrying with sisters has ceased. And from the times of the prophets the contracting of marriage with several wives has been done away with. For we read, “Do not go after your lusts, but refrain from satisfying your appetites,” for “wine and women will make men of understanding fall away.” And, in another place, “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth,” which clearly forbids a plurality of wives. And Jeremiah clearly gives the name of “fed horses” to those who lust after other women. And we read, “The multiplying brood of the ungodly shall not thrive, nor will bastard plants take deep root or lay any firm foundation.”

Symposium or Banquet of the Ten Virgins 1:3

Everything was destroyed from two dominant common defects: avarice and drunkenness. For, unrestrained in their greed for drink, it came to the point where the city authorities could not even get up from the table—not even when the enemy had already penetrated into the city. I think that God intentionally wanted to show them the reason of their ruin: that at the moment when they were experiencing ruin, they continued to conduct themselves in the very thing that ultimately led to their ruin. I have seen with my own eyes deplorable scenes in that city. It mattered not whether they were boys or old men. It was the same scurrilous partying and levity. All kids of evil were going on at the same time: luxury, drinking, depravity. Everyone was doing the same thing: they amused themselves, got drunk and used prostitutes. Both old and young let themselves go during the banquets. Individuals who were already too weak to live were nonetheless daunting in their wine drinking; those nearly incapable of walking were still sturdy in their drinking; those otherwise uncertain in their steps were agile and lively in their dancing.What is there left to say? Well, they were so filthy in all the evils of which I have spoken that the saying of the sacred text came true that says, “Wine and women make men fall away from God.” And, in fact, while they were drinking, amusing themselves, having sex and going crazy, they did begin to deny Christ. And although this happened, we are still astonished that they lost their material assets, even though they had begun to unravel morally for quite some time! Therefore, let no one think that city perished only on the day in which it was destroyed! Where such things happen, the people were destroyed long before they were overwhelmed by their enemies.

The Governance of God 6:13.77-79

“One who trusts lightly will be harmed, and one who sins against his own soul will suffer even worse harm.” Note that this statement does not contradict that of the apostle, who says regarding charity, “It bears all, believes all, hopes all. Charity will never end,” since here the perfection of a good will is present, always ready for any good work. The other statement, rather, describes levity of soul, always changeable and lacking in stability. For this reason it is written elsewhere, “The fool changes like the moon.” One, therefore, who with itching ears lets himself be easily convinced, stops listening to the truth and turns to fables will suffer harm in both his intelligence and his virtue, and one who harms his own soul will be considered a fool.

ON Ecclesiasticus 4:10

“Like an arrow stuck in a dog’s leg are words in the heart of a fool.” The dog is at times explained in a good sense, at times in a bad. The good sense one finds in the Psalter: “They return at evening, hungry as dogs, and roam about the city,” which indicates the doctors of Judaism who hunger for the justice of God’s law. After the evening of Christ’s passion, they went diligently about the city of the church, defending it with the barking of their preaching. We also read in the Gospel that the dogs licked the wounds of Lazarus the beggar. The dog is understood in a negative sense, however, when it indicates the filthiness of sinners, as in this passage: “As the dog returns to its vomit, so the fool repeats his folly.” The arrow sticks in the dog’s thigh when, under the devil’s inspiration, perverse concupiscence lodges in the heart of a sinner. He is rightly called foolish, since like an ox he is led to the slaughter, neither thinking of himself nor keeping himself from ruin and eternal death.

On Ecclesiasticus 4:11

What does it mean when it says, “I want to go down and see if in fact they have done all the evil that has been cried out against them to me. I want to know!”? That is, “A rumor has reached me.” But I want to have a more precise knowledge by means of the facts themselves, not because I do not know them but because I want to teach human beings not simply to put faith in words or to believe it if someone says something against another. Rather, one must first look into it and gain knowledge based on the facts, and only then believe. This is why another passage of Scripture says, “Do not believe every word.” Nothing upsets human life like too hastily putting faith in what is said. This is what the prophet David prophesied: “Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret I will cause to perish.” Have you noted that it was not ignorance on the Savior’s part when he said, “Where have you laid him?” or when the Father said to Adam, “Where are you?” or to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” or also to Abraham, “I want to go down and see if in fact they have done all the evil that has been cried out against them to me. I want to know!”

On Lazarus Dead Since Four Days

In the book that among us is usually considered to be among the books of Solomon and is called Ecclesiasticus but among the Greeks is called the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, it is written: “All wisdom is from God.” Possibly we could interpret this to mean that even that wisdom of this world, which is said to be destined for destruction, is from God, and that of the rulers of this world, and if there is any other through which false wisdom is commended. However, in the same little book it was said later on: “For the wisdom of evil is not instruction.” By this he surely shows that all instruction that asserts anything false, even if it seems vigorous and truthful and the kind that could scarcely be undermined, nevertheless we should by no means attach the name of wisdom to knowledge of this sort. Well then, what is the meaning of the statement “All wisdom is from God”?To me the following sense seems apparent: we may designate as wisdom given by the Lord either every skill that is considered necessary for human use in a craft or the knowledge of any matter may be called wisdom given by the Lord. After all, in Job it is written, “Who has given women the wisdom to weave and the knowledge of embroidery?”

Homilies on Numbers 18:3.2

Once we have been inscribed in this spiritual senate of the church, it is right that we not permit ourselves the same actions as others but always manifest control of our tongue and purity of mind, educating each of our members to undertake no action that is not very useful to the soul. What am I saying? To use the tongue only for hymns, for praise, for the reading of the divine judgments and for spiritual conversation. As it says, “Let there be speech that is good for edifying, conferring grace on the listeners. And do not grieve the spirit of God in whom you have been sealed.” Do you know that to fail to do this is to sadden the Holy Spirit? Therefore, I implore you, try to do nothing that saddens the Holy Spirit. If we must go out, let us not attend dangerous or unreasonable meetings, full of foolishness. Rather, prefer nothing to the church of God, to houses of prayer and to meetings where spiritual things are discussed. And let each of our actions be very dignified. As it says, “A person’s attire, his laughter and his gait reveal who he is.” The external posture can be a clear image of the condition of the soul; indeed, the movement of the members reveals its beauty in a particular way. If we go into the town square, let our gait, our serenity and our composure be such as to attract the notice of those we encounter, let our eye not roam or our feet walk in a disorderly manner, and let our tongue proffer words with tranquility and gentleness. In other words, let our entire exterior disposition indicate the interior beauty of the soul. Let our behavior be already as though foreign and transformed, because the things that we do are new and foreign, as the blessed Paul indicates when he says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.”

Baptismal Instructions 4:24-26