On Chastity and Incontinence

-St. Basil the Great

Alexander, king of the Macedonians, having taken captive the daughters of Darius (whose beauty, according to history, was wondrous), did not even deign to look upon them, judging it unworthy of a conqueror of men to be himself conquered by women. This accords perfectly with our Lord’s commandment: “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt 5:28). That is, he who gazes lustfully upon a woman, even though he has not committed the act of adultery in the flesh, is nevertheless guilty of the sin because he has desired it in his heart.

If, then, those who merely happen unexpectedly upon occasions of lust fall into such great disaster, into what disaster will they fall who deliberately seek out opportunities to behold women drunkenly abandoning all shame, displaying themselves in ways that provoke laxity, and singing tender songs which, by the hearing alone, can implant every lustful desire in the unrestrained? What will they say, what answer will they give—those who gather from such spectacles an immeasurable harvest of evil? Are they not, by the inescapable word of the Lord, guilty of the judgment that falls upon adultery? For one may sin by a word, commit adultery with the eye, be defiled even by the hearing, conceive lawlessness in the heart, and destroy chastity through excess in food and drink. He who, for the sake of the law of virginity, preserves himself by abstinence from all these things is the true guardian of virginity. But he who confesses virginity with his lips alone assuredly seeks to gain the praise of virginity by the name only, while in no way withdrawing from the shame of lustful deeds.

Without doubt, he is not pure who lacks constancy of soul in chastity, but only he who has subjected the mind of the flesh to the spirit. Let him who desires to be chaste learn the works of chastity from Joseph, reading his story often; in it he will find not only abstinence from lust but a true disposition toward all virtue. Assuredly, the life of Joseph is an exhortation to chastity, just as the story of Samson is a spur to courage. On the contrary, he cannot be called chaste in whom the passions of the flesh are tamed only by old age, or sickness, or some other circumstance; for such a man still has the inclination toward evil, but the weakness of his instruments prevents the act. True chastity is a certain rational power imprinted upon the soul, eradicating within it the traces of shameful impulses. Consequently, eunuchs cannot boast of chastity. A horse deserves no praise because it cannot gore with horns; rather, we praise the horse that does not strike with its hooves, and we call oxen that do not gore “gentle.” He is not worthy of praise who is incapable of doing something, but he who, being capable, does not use his power for evil.

Therefore, the body must be trained; its impulses, like those of some wild beast, must be restrained, and the disturbances it causes in the soul must be quelled by reason as though with a whip. One must not loosen the reins altogether and in carelessness abandon the mind to sensuality, lest the mind, like a charioteer thrown from his chariot by unmanageable horses rushing headlong, be dragged along helplessly.

It is not unfitting here to recall Pythagoras, who, learning that one of his kinsmen was fattening himself both by exercise and by rich food, said to him: “Will you never cease preparing for yourself a yet heavier prison?” It is also related of Plato that, foreseeing the harm that would come from the body, he deliberately chose an unhealthy district of Attica for his Academy, that he might prune away the body’s excess fat as one lops superfluous branches from a vine. I myself have heard from physicians that excessive corpulence is dangerous to the body; and when over-care for the body is harmful to the body itself and an obstacle to the soul, to obey and gratify it is manifest madness. Therefore, the whole body must be held in contempt if one does not wish to be buried in its lusts as in stinking mire; or, in Plato’s words, one should care for the body only insofar as it serves philosophy—which is exactly what the Apostle Paul exhorts us to do: “Make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom 13:14).

Yet we do not obey. Our women, shamelessly forgetting the fear of God and caring nothing for the eternal fire, at the very time when they ought to remain at home in remembrance of the future resurrection and meditate upon that day when the heavens shall be opened, the Judge shall appear from heaven, the trumpets of God shall sound, the dead shall rise, righteous judgment shall be rendered, and each shall receive according to his deeds—at that very time, instead of keeping these things in mind, instead of guarding their hearts purely from evil thoughts, washing away former sins with tears, and preparing to meet Christ on the great day of His coming, they cast off the yoke of service to Christ, throw aside from their heads the veil of decency, think nothing of God, care nothing for His angels, brazenly assume every masculine fashion, toss their hair, trail their garments, and sport with their feet, drawing to themselves all the shamelessness of young men. In the very shrines of the martyrs outside the city they form dancing-choirs and turn holy places into stages for their shamelessness. With wanton songs they pollute the air and the earth, beating the ground with impure feet in their dancing, drawing crowds of young men from everywhere to the spectacle—truly frenzied, utterly mad, surpassing all measure of madness.

Do you laugh, tell me, and make merry with unrestrained mirth when you ought to weep and sigh over what is past? Do you sing wanton songs, having cast aside the psalms and hymns you were taught? Do you move your feet, leap like the possessed, and revel in unseemly revelry when you should be bending the knee in prayer?

Oh, whom shall I mourn? The virgins who have never known marriage? Or the wives bound in wedlock? The former have returned having lost their virginity; the latter have brought back no chastity to their husbands. For even if some have perhaps escaped sin in the body, in their souls they have assuredly been corrupted.

Every woman who abuses the adornment of clothing for evil shall have it taken away. And because, it says, “they walked trailing their garments” (Isa 3:16)—that is, not with decency but misusing their clothes—therefore they are commanded to be stripped of the glory of their robes. The Lord takes from us also the glory of our robe when we appear before Him having used it unworthily—that is, when we trample it underfoot and defile it with fleshly impurities. And what is this robe? It is written: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal 3:27). This robe the Lord takes away from those who by their sins trample upon the body and count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing.

Women who pride themselves on bodily beauty exalt themselves above others, vainly glorying in something that quickly fades and perishes; they carry their necks high that their faces may be seen by all. A virtuous and modest woman, in keeping with her natural chastity, looks down upon the ground and keeps her face lowered; but the shameless woman who wishes to ensnare many with the net of her beauty walks with neck held high, declares her shamelessness by the movement of her eyes, and with her very glance emits a deadly poison—as it is told of the basilisk that it kills those who look upon it with its gaze alone.

There are also certain pigments women devise to adorn the face: white lead, rouge, and antimony. White lead falsely displays the whiteness of the skin, rouge reddens the cheeks, and with antimony the eyebrows are painted in crescent shape around the eyes. But even these adornments the Lord threatens to take away, “that the chastity of men be not stolen, nor the wretched eyes of the young be ravished by these paintings.” For the evil impulses of women forcibly draw to themselves the weak souls of the men who associate with them.

Let husbands hear, let wives understand that even among irrational creatures the chaste keeping of widowhood is preferred to shameless polygamy. Even enemies cease warring against the dead, but stepmothers begin to hate after death. Of the turtledove it is said that once separated from her mate she never again couples with another, but remains widowed in memory of her first husband, refusing union with any other.

What, then, can be more wretched than we who not only fail to show even the fidelity of irrational creatures to wedlock, but, walking contrary to God’s commandment, with neck proudly raised, by our very glance and pretended adornments rob others of their chastity? All these adornments will assuredly be taken from us at the time when every creature shall stand naked before the Judge, when eyebrows fall, cheeks grow pale, a pallid hue appears on the face from fear, and each receives according to his deeds.

Keeping all this ever before our mind, beloved, let us while there is still time strive to conform our actions to the law of God, that we may become partakers of the good things to come, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.