18. For what food is unto the
conservation of the man, this sexual intercourse is unto the
conservation of the race: and both are not without carnal delight:
which yet being modified, and by restraint of temperance reduced
unto the use after nature, cannot be lust.1984
| 1984 Retract. b. ii. c. xxii. 2. “it was meant that the good and
right use of lust is not lust, for as it is evil will to use good
things, so is it good will to use evil things.” |
But what
unlawful food is in the
supporting of
life, this sexual intercourse of
fornication or
adultery is in the seeking of a
family. And what
unlawful food is
in luxury of
belly and
throat, this
unlawful intercourse is in
lust
that
seeks not a
family. And what the excessive appetite of some is
in
lawful food, this that intercourse that is matter of pardon is
in
husband and
wife. As therefore it is better to
die of
hunger
than to eat things offered unto
idols: so it is better to
die
without
children, than to
seek a
family from
unlawful intercourse.
But from whatever source men be
born, if they follow not the vices
of their
parents, and
worship God aright, they shall be
honest and
safe. For the
seed of man, from out what
kind of man soever, is the
creation of
God, and it shall fare
ill with those who use it
ill,
yet shall not, itself at any time be
evil. But as the good sons of
adulterers are no
defense of adulteries, so the
evil sons of
married persons are no charge against
marriage. Wherefore as the
Fathers of the time of the New Testament taking
food from the
duty
of conservation, although they took it with
natural delight of the
flesh, were yet in no way compared with the
delight of those who
fed on what had been offered in
sacrifice, or of those who,
although the
food was
lawful, yet took it to excess: so the Fathers
of the time of the Old Testament from the
duty of conservation used
sexual intercourse; and yet that their
natural delight, by no means
relaxed unto unreasonable and
unlawful lust, is not to be compared
either with the vileness of
fornications, or with the intemperance
of
married persons. Forsooth through the same vein
1985
of
charity, now after the spirit, then after the
flesh, it was a
duty
to
beget sons for the sake of that mother
Jerusalem: but it was
nought
save the difference of times which made the works of the
fathers different. But thus it was necessary that even
Prophets,
not living after the
flesh, should come together after the
flesh;
even as it was necessary that Apostles also, not living after the
flesh, should eat food after the flesh.
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