# On Not Marrying Again

- Author: [John Chrysostom](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/john-chrysostom/)
- Latin title: *De non iterando coniugio*
- Date: ca. 380-386 (approximate)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca 48 (Paris)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca 48 (Paris, 1862)
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/
- Passages: 5

## On not marrying again, section 1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/1/#p-1
- Source: PG 48:609
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Chrysostom asks why widows who once lamented marriage seek it again, names forgetfulness, vanity and incontinence as causes, and states that he does not condemn second marriage, which Paul allows “only in the Lord,” but holds one marriage to be much better.

### Greek text

Τὸ μὲν νὰς ἀπείρους ὁμιλίας ἀνδρῶν καὶ ὠδίνων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων, ἄπερ ἐπισυρόμενος ὁ γάμος εἰς τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰσέρχεται οἰκίας, ἄνδρας ἐπιζητεῖν θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν᾽ καὶ γὰρ τὸν πόλεμον πρᾶγμα οὔτως ἐπίπονον τοῖς ἀπείροις γλυχὺν ἡ παροιμία εἶναί φησι" τὸ δὲ τὰς μυρία ἀνασχομένας α χαχὰ, πολλάχις δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων ἀνάγχης ἀναπεισθείσας, μὲν τὰς ἀπηλλαγμένας τῶν τοῦ χόσμου πραγμάτων, ἐπαρᾶσθαι δὲ μυριάχις ἑαυταῖς, καὶ ταῖς προμνηστευπρίαις, καὶ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ χαθ᾽ ἣν αἱ παστάδες ᾿ καύτας δὲ μετὰ τοσαύτην ἀποδυσπέτησιν πάλιν τῶν αὐτῶν πραγμάτων ἐπιθυμεῖν, τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ μάλιστά με ἐχπλῆττον καὶ ποιοῦν ἀπορεῖν, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπιζητεῖν, δι᾿ ἣν τὰ πράγματα, ἃ πρότερον ἐνόμιζον εἶναι. φευχτὰ, ὅτε ἧσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς, ταῦτα νῦν, ὅτε αὑτῶν ἀπηλλάγησαν, ὡς ποθεινὰ πάλιν διώχειν. Καὶ μυρίους ἄνω καὶ χάτω στρέφων παρ᾽ ἐμαυτῷ λογισμοὺς μόλις ποτὲ, ὡς ἐμαυτὸν πείθω, τὴν αἰτέαν τοῦ πράγματος ηὕρισχον" μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ μία τίς ἐστιν αἰτία, οὐδὲ δύο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτῶν πλείους, Αἱ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ πολλοῦ χρόνου λήθῃ παρχδοῦσαι τὰ πρότερα, καὶ τὰ ἐν χερσὶ μνημονεύουσαν μόνον, ἔρχονται μὲν ἐπὶ τὸν γάμον ὡς ἐπὶ λύσιν τῶν τῆς χηρείας χαχῶν, εὑρίσχουσι δὲ ἕτερα πολλῷ χα-λεπώτερα ἐν αὐτῷ, ὡς πάλιν τὰς αὐτὰς ἀφιένας φωνὰς ἅσπερ καὶ πρότερον. ΓΑλλαι δὲ πάλιν πρὸς τὰ τοῦ κόσμου χεχηνυΐαι πράγματα, καὶ τῆς δόξης τοῦ παρόντος ἐχχρεμάμεναι βίου, καὶ τὴν χηρείαν ἑπονείδιστον πρᾶγμα εἶναι νομίζουσαι, αἰροῦνται τὰς ἐν τῷ γάμῳ ταλαιπωρίας, ὑπὲρ τῆς δόξης τῆς χενῆς καὶ τοῦ τύφου τοῦ περιττοῦ, Εἰσὶ δὲ αἵ τούτων μὲν οὐδενὶ, ἀχρασίᾳ δὲ μόνῃ κρατούμεναι, ἐπὶ τὰ πρότερα πάλιν ἐπανέρχονται, καὶ τὴν ὄντως αἰτίαν πειρῶνται ταῖς εἰρημέναις ἀποχρύπτειν προφάσεσιν. Αἰτιάσασθαι μὲν οὖν αὑτὰς καὶ χαταδιχάσαι ὑπὲρ τοῦ γάμου τούτου οὔτε αὑτὸς τολμῶ, οὔτε ἄλλῳ παραινῶ" ἐπειδὴ μηδὲ τῷ μαχαρίῳ Παύλῳ τοῦτο δοχεῖ, μᾶλλον δὲ τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ. Εἰπὼν γὰρ, Γυνὴ δέδεται γόμῳ ἐφ᾽ ὅσον χρόγῸΡ ζῇ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὑτῆς" ἐὰν δὲ κοιμηθῇ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, ἐλευθέρα ἐστὶν ᾧ θέλει γαμηθῆναι, μόνον ἐν Κυρίῳ» καὶ συγχωρήσας τῇ χήρᾳ εἰ βούλοιτο γαμηθῆναι πάλιν, καὶ εἰπών: Μακχαριωτέρα δέ ἐστιν, ἐὰν οὕτω μείνῃ" ἵνα μὴ τις νομίσῃ ἀνθρώπινον εἶναι τὸ ἐπίταγμα, ἐπἦγαγε: Δοχῶ δὲ κ κἀγὼ Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἔχειν" δηλῶν ὅτι Πνεύματι ταῦτα ἔγραψε. Μὴ τοίνυν ἐγχαλοῦντα ταῖς γαμουμέναις ἢ με μφόμενὸν νομιζέτω μέ τις λέγειν ταῦτα, ἅπερ ἐρῶ νῦν. Καὶ γὰρ ἂν εἴη τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀπονοίας τε καὶ μανίας, ἃ; οὐκ ἐχόλασεν ὁ μαχάριος ἔχεῖνο:, ἀλλ᾽ ἐφείσατο, ταύτας ἡμᾶς καταδιχάξζειν ἀφειδῶς ἐξ ἐναντίας, καὶ ταῦτα μυρίων ἐμπεπλησμένους καχῶν. Εἰ γὰρ μιδὲ χρίνειν χελευόμεθα, ἵνα μὴ τῷ αὐτῷ μέτρῳ χριθῶμεν, μηδὲ σφοδροὶὺ τῶν ἑτέροις ἁμαρτανομένων γίνεσθαι δικασταὶ, ἀλλὰ συγγνωμονιχοὶ καὶ ἦμεροι" ὅταν πρᾶγμά τι χολάσῃς μηδὲ ἁμάρτημα ὃν, καὶ χαταχρίνῃς ἑτέρους, πάσης ἀποστερεῖς σεαυτὸν συγ- Ὑνώμης Ρ,, διὰ τῶν εἰς τὸν πλησίον σφοδρότερον σαυτῷ γίνεσθαι παρασχευάζων τὸν χριτήν. Οὐ τοίνυν χατηγορῶν αὐτῶν οὐδὲ καθαπτόμενος ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἦλθον νῦν᾽ τὸ γὰρ ἐν Κυρίῳ γενέσθαι δυνάμενον, πάσης κατηγορίας ἀπήλλαχται. Μόνον γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν Κυρίῳ. "Ὥσπερ οὖν ὅταν ὑπὲρ παρθενίας λέγωμεν, οὐ τὸν γάμον ἀτιμάξζον- «ες ἐχείνην ἐπαίρομεν " οὕτως ὅταν περὶ χηρείας διαλεμεθα, οὐ τὸν δεύτερον γάμον ἐν τοῖς ἀπειρημένοις τιθέντες τῷ προτέρῳ στέργειν παραχαλοῦμεν, ἀλλ᾽ ὁμολογοῦμεν μὲν καὶ τοῦτον εἶναι χατὰ νόμον τὸν δεύτερον, “πολλῷ δὲ τὸν ἕνα τοῦ δευτέρου βελτίονα. Μὴ δὴ οὖν « τὴν κατὰ σύγχρισιν ὑπεροχὴν τοῦ χατ᾽ αὐτὴν ἐλαττωθέντος πράγματος χκαχίαν τις εἶναι νομιζέτω. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰς τὴν τῶν πονηρῶν τὸ πρᾶγμα ὠθοῦντες τάξιν τὴν σύγχρ:σιν ταύτην ποιούμεθα" ἀλλ᾽ ἀφέντες αὐτὸ τῶν νενομισμένων εἶναι καὶ ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ, οὕτως αὐτοῦ τὸ πολλῷ χρεῖττον προτιμῶμέν τε καὶ θαυμάζομεν. Τί δήποτε; Ὅτι οὐχ ἔστιν ἴσον ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς εἶναι γυναῖχα καὶ δευτέρου τὴν αὐτήν ἅ. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἀρχεσθεῖσα τῷ προτέρῳ ἔδειξεν ὅτι οὐδ᾽ ἂν τοῦτον εἴλετο τὴν ἀρχὴν, εἰ ποῦ πράγματος ἤδει τὴν πεῖραν καλῶς - ἡ δὲ δεύτερον ἐπεισάγουσα νυμφίον τῇ τοῦ προτέρου εὐνῇ, τῆς πολλῆς περὶ τὸν χόσμον φιλίας καὶ πρὸς τὰ γήϊνα πρά- Ὑματα συμπαθείας τεχμήριον ἐξήνεγχεν οὐ μιχρόν. Ἱκἀχείνη μὲν οὔτε ζῶντος τοῦ ἀνδρὸς πρὸς ἕτερόν τινα ἐπτοεῖτο᾽ αὕτη δὲ εἰ καὶ μὴ ἥμαρτεν εἰς ἑτέρους ζῶντος ἐχείνου, ἀλλ᾽ ἐχείνου μᾶλλον πολλοὺς ἑτέρους ἐθαύ“-

### English translation (Claude)

That women who have no experience of intercourse with husbands, of birth pangs, and of all the other things that marriage drags with it into people's houses, should seek husbands is no wonder; for the proverb says that even war, so laborious a thing, is sweet to the inexperienced. But that women who have endured countless evils, and often, compelled by the pressure of their affairs, [called] blessed those who are freed from the affairs of the world, and cursed themselves countless times, and the matchmakers, and the day on which the bridal chambers [were made ready] — that these, after so much complaining, should desire the same things again: this is what most astonishes me and leaves me perplexed and seeking the cause why the things they once thought were to be fled, when they were in them, they now, when freed from them, pursue again as desirable. And turning countless reasonings up and down within myself, at last, as I persuade myself, I found the cause of the matter; or rather there is not one cause, nor only two, but more than these. For some, having handed over their former experiences to forgetfulness through the length of time, and remembering only what is at hand, come to marriage as to a release from the evils of widowhood, but find in it others much harder, so that they utter again the same cries as before. Others again, gaping after the affairs of the world, hanging on the glory of the present life, and thinking widowhood a disgraceful thing, choose the miseries of marriage for the sake of empty glory and superfluous vanity. And there are those who are mastered by none of these things but by incontinence alone; they return again to their former state, and try to hide the real cause under the pretexts just mentioned. To accuse them, then, and condemn them for this marriage I neither dare myself nor advise anyone else to do; since this did not seem good even to blessed Paul, or rather to the Holy Spirit. For having said, “A wife is bound by law for as long a time as her husband lives; but if her husband falls asleep, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord,” and having allowed the widow to marry again if she wished, he also said: “But she is more blessed if she remains as she is”; and so that no one would think the injunction human, he added: “And I think that I too have the Spirit of God,” showing that he wrote these things by the Spirit. Let no one, then, think that I say what I am now going to say as accusing or blaming women who marry. For it would be the height of folly and madness for us, on the contrary, to condemn unsparingly those whom the blessed man did not punish but spared — and that when we ourselves are full of countless evils. For if we are bidden not even to judge, so that we may not be judged with the same measure, nor to be harsh judges of what others do wrong, but forgiving and gentle: when you punish something that is not even a sin, and condemn others, you deprive yourself of all pardon, preparing the judge to be harsher to you through your harshness toward your neighbour. It is not, then, to accuse them or to attack them that I have come to this now; for what can be done in the Lord is free of every accusation: “only in the Lord,” he says. Just as, then, when we speak in favour of virginity, we do not exalt it by dishonouring marriage, so when we discourse about widowhood, we do not urge the widow to be content with the first marriage by putting the second marriage among forbidden things; but we acknowledge that this second one too is according to law, though the one marriage is much better than the second. Let no one, then, think that superiority by comparison means wickedness in the thing that is outranked by it. For we do not make this comparison by pushing the thing into the rank of evils; but, leaving it among the things that are lawful and in our power, we prefer and admire what is much better than it. Why so? Because it is not the same for the same woman to be the wife of one husband and of a second. For the woman who was content with the first showed that she would not have chosen even him at the beginning if she had known well the experience of the matter; but she who brings a second bridegroom into the bed of the first has given no small proof of great love for the world and of attachment to earthly things. And the first woman was not excited by anyone else even while her husband lived; but this one, even if she did not sin with others while he was alive, yet admired many others more than him …

### Scripture references

- 1 Cor 7:39: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 7:2: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 7:40: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 7:1: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 7:2: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- John Chrysostom, On Not Marrying Again (De non iterando coniugio, PG 48:609–620), from the archive.org OCR of PG 48. No public-domain English translation exists; the translation was re-read against the Greek. The refs follow the staging divisions. Terms: δεύτερος γάμος “second marriage” (after the husband's death), χηρεία “widowhood”. Chrysostom says plainly that second marriage is “according to law” and not a sin, while ranking it below remaining a widow. Two words lost in the OCR are supplied in brackets by sense (“[called] blessed”, “[were made ready]”). A long passage of Migne's Latin version that leaked into the Greek, and Migne's column numbers, are removed by logged corrections. The ref breaks off mid-word (ἐθαύ-); the continuation is lost in the OCR (“…”). Quotations: 1 Cor 7:39 (with Rom 7:2); 1 Cor 7:40; Matt 7:1–2.

### Citation (SBL)

Chrysostom, Non iter. 1 (PG 48:609; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/1).

## On not marrying again, section 2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/1/#p-2
- Source: PG 48:611
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Chrysostom argues that a second marriage falls short of a single marriage because marriage consists in a wife's being content with one husband, describes the divided affections and household grief it brings, and notes that second weddings were held without festivities.

### Greek text

Ἵνα δὲ μὴ τοῦ διελθόντος χαταστοχαζώμεθα βίου, αὐτὸ τὸ πρᾶγμα συγχρίνωμεν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ παρθενία ποῦ γάμου κρείττων, οὕτως οὗτος ἐχείνου βελτίων ὁ γάμος. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ χήρα, ἀκὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐλαττωθεῖσα τῆς παρθενίας μόνον, κατὰ τὸ τέλος ἐξισοῦται πάλιν αὐτῇ καὶ συνάπτεται᾽ ὁ δὲ γάμος οὗτος ἐξ ἑκατέρων αὐτῆς ἀφἐστηχε τῶν μερῶν. Χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ἡ μὲν εὐχόλως φέρουσα τὴν χηρείαν, καὶ ζῶντος πολλάχις ἐγχρατεύεται τοῦ ἀνδρός " ἡ δὲ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἔχουσα ἐπαχθῶς “ οὗ δύο μόνον καὶ τρισὶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλῷ πλείοσιν ὁμιλῆσαι παρεσχεύασται ἀνδράσι, καὶ μόλις τοῦ γήρως ἐπελθόντος ἀφίσταται. "Ὥσπερ οὖν πολλῆς σεμνότητος καὶ σωφροσύνης σημεῖον ὁ γάμος ἐχεῖνός ἐστιν, οὕτως οὗτος ἀσελγείας μὲν οὐχ ἂν εἴποιμι, μὴ γένοιτο! ἀσθενοῦς δὲ ψυχῆς καὶ σαρχιχωτάτης, καὶ τῇ γῇ προσδεδεμένης, καὶ μέγα καὶ ὑψηλὸν οὐδὲν δυναμένης φαντασθῆναί ποτε. Εἰ δὲ λέγοι τις, ὅτι τὸ καλὸν ταυτόν ἐστι, χἄν τεᾶπαξ γένηται, κἄν τε δὶς, χἄν τε πολλάχις (ὁμοίως γὰρ ἔσταν χαλὸν, καὶ ὁ πολλάχις αὐτῷ χρώμενος μᾶλλον ἐπαινοῖτ᾽ ἂν δικαίως " ὥστε εἰ καὶ ὁ γάμος χαλὸν, ὁ συνεχῶς αὐτῷ κεχρημένος τοῦ σπανιάκις θαυμαστότερος, καὶ μδὄλλον ἀποδεχτός) " ἐροῦμεν, ὅτι τοὺς μὲν ἀφελεστέρους τοῦτο σοφίσασθαι δύναιτ᾽ ἂν, τοῖς δὲ βουλομένοις προσέχειν, εὐφώρατον ἕσται τὸ σόφισμα. Γάμος γὰρ οὗ διὰ τὴν μίξιν λέγεται γάμος " ἐπεὶ οὕτω γε καὶ ἣ πορνεία γάμος ἂν ἦν ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ στέργειν ἑνὶ τὴν γαμουμένὴν ἀνδρὶ, καὶ τούτῳ τῆς πόρνης διέστηχεν ἡ ἐλευθέρα καὶ σώφρων γυνή. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἑνὶ διαπαντὸς ἀρχοῖτο ἀνδρὶ, γάμος τὸ πρᾶγμα εἰχότως ἂν λέγοιτο" εἰ δὲ ἀνθ᾽ ἑνὸς πολλοὺς εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν εἰσάγει νυμφίους, πορνείαν μὲν οὐ τολμῶ τὸ πρᾶγμα καλεῖν, τῆς δὲ οὐχ εἰδυίας ἕτερον ἄνδρα πλὴν ἑνὸς πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ ἀπολείπεσθαι φαίην ἄν. 'Ἐχείνη μὲν γὰρ ἤχουσε τοῦ Κυρίου λέγοντος, Ἀγτὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὑτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὑτοῦ, καὶ προσκοιλληθήσεται τῇ γυναικὶ αὑτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρχα μίαν, καὶ ὥσπερ σαρχὸς ἀληθῶς οἰχείας ἀντείχετο, καὶ οὐχ ἐπελάθετο τῆς ἅπαξ δοθείσης αὐτῇ κεφαλῆς ᾿ αὕτη δὲ οὔτε τὸν πρῶτον, οὔτε τὸν δεύτερον ἔσχεν ἐν τάξει τῆς οἰχείας σαρχός" ὁ μὲν γὰρ πρῶτος ἐχδέδληται παρὰ τοῦ δευτέρου, ὁ δεύτερος δὲ ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνου " οὔτε δὲ τοῦ προτέρου μεμνήσθαι δύναιτ᾽ ἂν χαλῶς τῷ ἑτέρῳ μετ᾽ ἐχεῖνον προσἐχουσα, οὔτε τοῦτον μετὰ τῆς προσηχούσης φιλοστοργίας ὄψεται, σχιζομένης εἰς τὸν ἀπελθόντα τῆς διανοίας αὖπἧς. Ὥστε ἑχάτερον λοιπὸν συμδαίνει, καὶ τοῦτον χὰχεῖνον ἐχδεθλῆσθαι τῆς ἀνδρὶ προσηχούσης καὶ τιμῆς καὶ φιλίας παρὰ γυναικός. Ποίαν δὲ ὅλως οἴεται ἔχειν ψυχὴν τὸν δεύτερον νυμφίον εἰς τὸν τοῦ προτέρου θάλαμον εἰσαγόμενον, καὶ εἰς τὴν εὐνὴν ἀναθαίνοντα τὴν ἐχείνον, καὶ γελῶσαν καὶ χαριεντιζομένην ἐπὶ τούτοις ὁρῶντα 1 τὴν ἐκείνου γυναῖχα; Σφόδρα γε ᾽ οὐδὲ γὰο μετὰ πολλῆς αὐτῇ προσελεύσεται τῆς φιλίας " χἂν γὰρ ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀπηνέστερος ἥ, οὐκ ἔσται οὕτως ἄγριος, ὡς μηδὲν ἀνθρώπινον παθεῖν, χἂν μυρίοις καὶ ἑαυτὴν καὶ τὸν οἶχον περιδάλλῃ χαλλωπισμοῖς ἐχείνη. Τὸ γὰρ καταλαδὸν ἤδη πένθος τὴν οἰκίαν οὐχ ἀφίησι καθαρὰν γενέσθα! τὴν εὐφροσύνην " ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν τοίχων ὅταν σφόδρα καταφλεγέν τι μέρος τύχῃ, εἶτα ἠρέμα χονιαθέντι 5 τὸ τῆς μελανίας ἐπιτεταμένον καὶ βαθὺ λυμαίνεται τῇ τῆς ἐπιφανείας λευχότητι, καὶ ἔστε θέαμα ἀηδές " οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα, χἂν πολλὰ ἐπινοή σῃ τὰ λαμπρὰ, ἐν μέτοις αὑτοῖς διαφαίνεται τὰ σχυθρωπὰ, καί τις ἐν αὐτοῖς μίξις ἀτερπής. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ οἰχέται, καὶ θεράπαιναι, καὶ γεωργοὶ, καὶ «εάροιχοι, καὶ γείτονες, καὶ συγγενεῖς τοῦ προαπελθόντος χατηφοῦσιν 8 ἐπὶ κοῖς γενομένοις καὶ στενάζονσιν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ὀρφανοὶ τύχωσι χαταλειφθέντες, νέοι μὲν ὄντες χομιδῇ, σφοδρὸν τὸ παρὰ τῶν δυναμένων συνιέναι τῶν γινομένων τῇ μητρὶ τὸ μῖσος ἐξάπτουσιν ’ εἰ δὲ ἐνήλικες πύχοιεν ὄντες, πάντῶν ἐχεῖνοι μᾶλλον ἀηδίαν κατασχευάζουσιν. “Δπερ οὖν καὶ οἱ νομοθέται συνεωραχότες Ὁ ἅπαντα, καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀλγοῦντας παραμυθούμενοι, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῶν ἀπολογούμενοι, ὅτι οὗ κατὰ γνώμην οὐδὲ προηγουμένως τοῦτον τὸν γάμον ἐπέταξαν, ἀλλὰ δεδοιχότες, μή τι χεῖρον γένηται καχὺν, πάντα τοῦ δευτέρου γάμου τὰ φαιδρὰ παρῃτήσαντο ς, καὶ οὔτε αὐλὸς, οὔτε κρότοι, οὔτε ὑμέναιος, οὔτε ὀρχήματα, οὔτε στέφανοι νυμφιχοὶ, οὔτε ἄλλο τι τῶν τοιούτων τὴν ἑσπέραν χοσμοῦσιν ἐχείνην, ἀλλὰ ἄγουσι τὸν ἄνδρα πρὸς τὴν χήραν γυναῖχα, μονονουχὶ βοῶντες διὰ τούτων ὅτι πάντα συγγνώμης ἄξια πράττουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ἐπαίνων καὶ χρότων καὶ στεφάνων.

### English translation (Claude)

But so that we may not make conjectures about her past life, let us compare the thing itself. As virginity is better than marriage, so that marriage is better than this one. For the widow, outranked by virginity only at the beginning, is at the end made equal to it again and joined to it; but this marriage stands apart from it at both ends. Besides this, the woman who bears widowhood easily often practises continence even while her husband is alive; but the woman who finds the matter burdensome is prepared to consort not with two only, or three, but with many more husbands, and scarcely gives it up when old age comes. As, then, that marriage is a sign of great dignity and chastity, so this one is — I would not say of licentiousness, God forbid! — but of a weak and very carnal soul, bound to the earth, unable ever to imagine anything great and lofty. But if someone should say that what is good is the same whether it happens once, or twice, or many times (for it will be equally good, and the one who uses it many times would more justly be praised; so that if marriage is good, the one who uses it continually is more admirable than the one who uses it seldom, and more acceptable), we will say that this might deceive the simpler, but for those willing to pay attention the sophism will be easy to detect. For marriage is not called marriage because of intercourse — for then sexual immorality too would be marriage — but because the married woman is content with one husband; and in this the free and chaste woman differs from the prostitute. For if she is content with one husband all her life, the thing would rightly be called marriage; but if instead of one she brings many bridegrooms into the house, I do not dare call the thing sexual immorality, but I would say that she falls far short of the woman who knew no other husband but one. For that woman heard the Lord saying, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh,” and she clung to him as truly to her own flesh, and did not forget the head once given to her; but this one held neither the first nor the second in the rank of her own flesh: for the first has been thrown out by the second, and the second by the first; she could not well remember the first while attending to the other after him, nor will she look on this one with fitting affection, since her mind is divided toward the departed. So both things happen: both this man and that are thrown out of the honour and love that a husband should have from his wife. And what sort of soul at all does she think the second bridegroom has, brought into the chamber of the first, going up into his bed, and seeing the other man's wife laughing and making merry over these things? A very troubled one, surely; for he will not approach her with much love; for even if he is harsher than all people, he will not be so savage as to feel nothing human, even if she surrounds herself and the house with countless adornments. For the grief that has already seized the house does not allow the gladness to become pure; but as with walls, when some part happens to be badly burned and is then lightly plastered, the blackness spread deep beneath spoils the whiteness of the surface and makes an unpleasing sight, so here too, though she devise many bright things, in the very midst of them the gloomy things show through, and there is a joyless mixture in them. For servants and maids and farmers and tenants and neighbours and relatives of the one who departed first are downcast at what has happened and groan. And if orphans happen to be left, then, if they are very young, those able to understand what is being done kindle a fierce hatred against their mother; and if they happen to be grown, they above all make things unpleasant. The lawgivers too, seeing all this, consoling those who are pained at these things and making their defence that they did not enjoin this marriage by their own will or as a primary thing, but from fear that some worse evil might happen, removed all the festivities of a second marriage: neither pipe, nor clapping, nor wedding song, nor dances, nor bridal crowns, nor anything else of this kind adorns that evening; but they lead the husband to the widowed woman, all but crying out by these means that they are doing what is worthy of pardon, not of praise and applause and crowns.

### Scripture references

- Gen 2:24: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 19:5: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 5:23: allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- On Not Marrying Again, staging ref 2. Re-read against the Greek; no public-domain English. Some text is lost between the end of ref 1 and the beginning of this ref. Chrysostom says that he does not dare call remarriage after a husband's death “sexual immorality” (πορνεία), though marriage is defined by being content with one husband. “A very troubled one, surely” renders Σφόδρα γε, which answers the question by sense. Leaked apparatus (variant readings of Migne's notes) and column numbers are removed by logged corrections; the reading “practises continence even while her husband is alive” joins the text on either side of the removed notes. Quotations: Gen 2:24 (Matt 19:5); allusion: Eph 5:23 (the head).

### Citation (SBL)

Chrysostom, Non iter. 2 (PG 48:611; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/2).

## On not marrying again, section 3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/1/#p-3
- Source: PG 48:613
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Chrysostom explains that Paul's “refuse younger widows” and “I want younger widows to marry” (1 Tim 5:11, 14) forbid not widowhood but its profession by those who would later marry, and that Paul allowed second marriage as a concession to prevent worse evils.

### Greek text

Πῶς οὖν ὁ Παῦλος ἐκώλυσε χηρεύειν, φησὶ, καὶ βουλομένας τὰς νέας, οὑτωσὶ γράφων" Νεωτέρας δὲ χήρας παραιτοῦ; Οὐχ ὁ Παῦλος τὰς βουλομένας χηρεύειν ἐχώλυσεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐχεῖναι καὶ τὸν Παῦλον ἠνάγχασαν μὴ βουλόμενον τοῦτον διατάξασθαι τὸν νόμον αὐταῖς " εἰ γὰρ τοῦ Παύλου τὸ θέλημα βούλει μαθεῖν, ἄχουε τέ φησι" Θέλω δὲ πάντας ἀγθρώπους εἶναι ὡς καὶ ἐμαυτὸν, ἐν ἐγκρατείᾳ. Ὥστε οὐχ ἂν ἐμαχέσατο ἑαυτῷ, οὐδὲ ἐναντιολογίᾳ τοσαύτῃ περιέπεσεν ὁ μαχάριος ἐχεῖνος, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ὁ πάντας ἀνθρώπους βουλόμενος εἶναι ἐν ἐγχρατείᾳ, τὰς βουλομένας χηρεύειν ἐκώλυσε. Πῶς οὖν φησι " Νεωτέρας δὲ χήρας παραιτοῦ; ᾿Αλλ εἰπὲ, τίνος ἕνεχεν καὶ διὰ τί; Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς οὕτως εἴρηχεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν προστέθειχεν εἰπών “Ὅταν γὰρ κατάστρηνιάσωσι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, γαμεῖν θέλουσιν. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐ τὰς χηρεύειν βουλομένας, ἀλλὰ τὰς γαμῆσαι προαιρουμένας μετὰ τὸ χηρεῦσαι χωλύει ἐχεῖνος χηρεῦσαι καὶ εἰς τὸν ἅγιον ἐχεῖνον χατατάττεσθαι χορόν" καὶ αφόδρα ποιῶν συνετῶς. Εἰ γὰρ μέλλοις, φησὶ, δευπέροις γάμοις ὁμιλεῖν, μηδὲ ἐπαγγείλῃ χηρείαν" τοῦ γὰρ μηδ᾽ ὅλως ὑποσχέσθαι τὸ μετὰ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν ἀγνωμονῆσαι πολλῷ χεῖρόν ἐστιν. Ὥσπερ οὖν τὰς συνεχεῖς συνοὐσίας ἐπέτρεψεν, οὐ νομοθετῶν, ἀλλὰ συγγινώσχων αὐτοῖς - Τοῦτο γὰρ «έγω, φησὶ, κατὰ συγγνώμην, οὗ χατ᾿ ἐπιταγὶρ’, διὰ τὴν ἀχρασίαν ὑμῶν " οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα δι᾽ ἕτερον μεῖζον καχὸν τὸν δεύτερον γάμον ἐπέταξε, δειχνὺς ὅτι καὶ τοῦτο αυγγνώμης ἐστὶ, τῇ τῶν πολλῶν ἀσθενείᾳ συγχαταδαινούσης. ᾿Ασθένειαν δὲ οὗ δυνάμεως, ἀλλὰ προαιρέσεώς φημι. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἢ παρθένος, μετὰ τὴν τῆς παρθενίας ἐπαγγελίαν διαφθαρεῖσα, μοιχείας χεῖρον ἐτόλμησεν“ οὕτω καὶ ἡ χήρα ἅπαξ ἐπαγγειλαμένη, εἶτα πατήσασα τὰς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν συνθήκας, ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτὴν ἀμαρτίαν πεσεῖται, καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἔσται τιμωρίας ὑπεύθυνος εἰ δὲ χρὴ τι καὶ θαυμαστὸν εἰπεῖν, τάχα καὶ πολλῷ μείζονος" οὐ γάρ ἔστιν ἴσον, ὅπερ καὶ ἀρχόμενος εἶπον, τὴν τε ἄπειρον, καὶ τὴν πεπειραμένην τοῖς αὐτοῖς πάλιν περιπεσεῖν πειρασμοῖς. Καὶ οὐχ ἐνταῦθα μόνον, ἀλλὰ προειπὼν, καὶ πάλιν λέγων, Βούλομαι νεωτέρας χήρας γαμεῖν, τεχγογογεῖν, οἰκοδεσποτεῖν, τὴν αἰτίαν προστίθησι, δι᾽ ἣν ταῦτα βούλεται. Τίς δέ ἐστιν αὕτη; Μηδεμίαν, φησὶ, διδόγαι τῷ ἀντιχειμένῳ ἀξρορμὴν. λοιδορίας χάριν. Ἐπειξὴ γὰρ πολλὰς τῶν χηρῶν εἰχὸς ἦν τότε προπετέστερον καὶ αὐθαδέστερον τῷ μετὰ ταῦτα χεχρῆσθαι βίῳ, καθάπερ τινὸ; ἀνάγχης καὶ δεσποτείας τῆς πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα συζυγίας ἀπαλλαγείσας, ὡς καὶ πονηρὰν ἐπισπάσασθαι δόξαν διὰ τῆς ἱταμότητος, ἀπάγων αὐτὰς τῆς ὀλεθρίου ταύτης ἐλευθερίας, πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸν ζυγὸν ἄγει τὸν πρότερον. Εἰ γὰρ μέλλοι τις, φησὶ, χήρα οὖσα λάθρα πορνεύειν καὶ χαταισχύνειν ἑαυτὴν, πολλῷ βέλτιον γαμεῖν, καὶ μηδεμίαν διδόναι τῷ ἀγτικειμένῳ ἀφορμὴν «Ἰοιδορίας χάριν " ὥστε διὰ τὸ μὴ παρέχειν τὰς ἀφορμὰς τῆς λοιδορίας, καὶ βίον ἐφύδριστον ζἦν καὶ πορνιχὸν, τὸν γάμον ἐπἐταξεν. ΓΛχους γοῦν καὶ ὅσα αὑτῶν κατηγορεῖ. Δέον γὰρ εἰς προσευχὰς τετράφθαι τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον καὶ ἱχετηρίας" Αἱ δὲ, φησὶ, καὶ ἀργαὶ μανθάνουσι περιε χόμεναι τὰς οἰκίας" οὐ μόνον δὲ ἀργαὶ, ἀ.1.1ὰ καὶ φιύαροικαὶ περίεργοι, λαλοῦσαι τὰ μὴ δέοντα. Αὐτὸς δὲ οὖχ οὕτω βούλεται, ἀλλὰ προσηλῶσθαι αὐτὴν διαπαντὸς τοῖς πνευματικοῖς " Ἡ γὰρ σπαταλῶσα, φησὶ, ζῶσα τέθνη-. χεν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ τὴν παρθένον, οὐ τῇ τοῦ σώματος ἁγνείᾳ βούλεται ὁρίζειν τοῦτο τὸ χαλὸν ἀλλὰ τὴν πᾶσαν σχολὴν εἰς τὴν λατρείαν ἀναλίσχειν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τοῦτο γὰρ, φησὶ, λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐχ ἵνα βρόχον ὑμῖν ἐπιθάλω, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ εὔσχημον καὶ εὐπρόσεδρον' τῷ Κυρίῳ ἀπερισπάστως. Οὐ γὰρ θέλει αὐτὴν μερίζεσθαι, ἀλλ᾽ ὅλην εἶναι τῶν πνευματιχῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου μεριμνᾷν. Οὕτω καὶ τὴν χήραν πολιτεύεσθαι παραινεῖ λέγων" Ἡ δὲ ὄντως χήρα καὶ μεμογωμένη ἤλπισεν ἃ ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ προσμένει ταῖς δεήσεσι, καὶ ταῖς προσευχαῖς γυχτὸς καὶ ἡμόρας. “Ὅταν οὗ» τὴν σχολὴν ἣν ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελιχοῖς πράγμασιν ἀναλίσχειν χρὴ, ταύτην μὴ μόνον εἰς περιττὰ καὶ ἀνὠφελῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὰ σφόδρα ἑπιόλαδῇ παρὰ πάντα δαπανῶσι τὸν βίον, εἰχότως αὐτὰς ἐπὶ τὸν γάμον ἄγει λοιπόν. Καθάπερ οὖν καὶ Ἰουδαίοις τὸ σἀδδατον ἔδωχεν ὁ Θεὸς, οὐχ ἵνα ἀργῶσιν ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα τῶν πονηρῶν ἀπέχωνται πράξεων " οὕτω καὶ ἡ χήρα καὶ ἢ παρθένος, οὐχ ἵνα ἁπλῶς μὴ ὁμιλῶαιν ἀνδρὶ, τοῦτον αἑροῦνται τὸν βίον, ἀλλ᾽ ἕνα τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου μεριμνῶσιν, ἵνα ἐξ ὁλοχλῇρου τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ 4 θεραπείᾳ προσεδρεύωσε.

### English translation (Claude)

How then, someone says, did Paul forbid the young women to remain widows even when they wished, writing thus: “But refuse younger widows”? Paul did not forbid those who wished to remain widows; rather, those women compelled Paul, though unwilling, to lay down this law for them. For if you wish to learn Paul's will, hear what he says: “I wish all people to be as I myself am,” in continence. So that blessed man would not fight against himself, nor fall into so great a contradiction; nor would he who wished all people to be in continence forbid those who wished to remain widows. How, then, does he say, “But refuse younger widows”? Tell me, for what reason, and why? For he did not say it simply, but added the reason, saying: “For when they grow wanton against Christ, they wish to marry.” You see that it is not those who wish to remain widows, but those who choose to marry after being widowed, that he forbids to be enrolled as widows and to be ranked in that holy choir; and he does so very wisely. For if you are going to enter a second marriage, he says, do not profess widowhood; for to break faith after the promise is much worse than not to promise at all. As, then, he permitted continual intercourse not by legislating but by making allowance for them — “For I say this,” he says, “by way of concession, not of command,” because of your incontinence — so here too, because of another, greater evil, he enjoined the second marriage, showing that this too belongs to pardon, which condescends to the weakness of the many. And I mean a weakness not of power but of choice. For as the virgin who is corrupted after professing virginity has dared something worse than adultery, so too the widow who has once professed and then trampled on her compact with God will fall under the same sin and be liable to the same punishment; and if I must say something surprising, perhaps to a much greater one; for it is not the same, as I said at the beginning, for the inexperienced woman and for the experienced woman to fall into the same temptations again. And not only here, but having said it before, he says again, “I want younger widows to marry, to bear children, to manage their households,” and adds the reason why he wants these things. And what is it? “To give the adversary no occasion for reproach.” For since it was likely then that many of the widows behaved rather rashly and boldly in their later life, as though freed from a kind of compulsion and mastery, the yoke of a husband, so as even to draw an evil reputation on themselves by their recklessness, he leads them away from this destructive freedom and brings them back to the former yoke. For if a woman who is a widow is going to commit sexual immorality secretly and disgrace herself, he says, it is much better to marry and to give the adversary no occasion for reproach; so that, in order not to furnish occasions for reproach and to live an insolent and whorish life, he enjoined marriage. Hear, at any rate, all the charges he brings against them. When they ought to be turned to prayers and supplications all their time, “they learn,” he says, “to be idle, going about from house to house; and not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.” But he himself does not want this; he wants her to be nailed to spiritual things at all times: “For she who lives in luxury,” he says, “is dead while she lives.” For in the case of the virgin too, he does not want this good to be defined by the chastity of the body, but wants her to spend all her leisure on the worship of God. “For I say this to you,” he says, “not to put a noose on you, but for what is seemly and for devotion to the Lord without distraction.” For he does not want her to be divided, but wholly to belong to spiritual things and to the things in heaven, and to care for the things of the Lord. So too he advises the widow to live, saying: “But the real widow, who is left alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.” When, then, they spend all their life the leisure that should be spent on the things of the gospel, not only on superfluous and unprofitable things but also on very harmful ones, he reasonably leads them to marriage at last. As God gave the Sabbath to the Jews, then, not so that they should simply be idle, but so that they should abstain from evil deeds, so also the widow and the virgin choose this life not simply in order not to consort with a man, but in order to care for the things of the Lord, so as to attend wholly upon the service of God.

### Scripture references

- 1 Tim 5:11: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 7:7: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Tim 5:12: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 7:6: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 7:5: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Tim 5:14: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Tim 5:13: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Tim 5:6: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 7:35: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 7:32: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 7:34: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Tim 5:5: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- On Not Marrying Again, staging ref 3. Re-read against the Greek; no public-domain English. Chrysostom calls a widow's breach of her profession of widowhood as serious as a professed virgin's fall, which he calls “worse than adultery” (μοιχείας χεῖρον). Leaked apparatus and column numbers are removed by logged corrections. Quotations: 1 Tim 5:11 (twice); 1 Cor 7:7; 1 Cor 7:6; 1 Tim 5:14; 1 Tim 5:13; 1 Tim 5:6; 1 Cor 7:35; 1 Tim 5:5; allusions: 1 Tim 5:12; 1 Cor 7:5; 1 Cor 7:32, 34.

### Citation (SBL)

Chrysostom, Non iter. 3 (PG 48:613; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/3).

## On not marrying again, section 4

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/1/#p-4
- Source: PG 48:613
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Chrysostom answers the objection that a widow cannot manage her husband's affairs by arguing that God gave women the management of the household, and that a widow who remarries draws more reproach than one who disciplines her servants.

### Greek text

Ναὶ, φησίν" ἀλλ᾽ ἀφόρητονξσται χαχὸν γυναῖκα οὖσαν πραγμάτων ἄπειρον τὰ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀναγχάζεσθαι ὑπομένειν. Οὔτε γὰρ αὐτὴ μεταχειρίσαι δυνήσεται, χαθάπερ ἐχεῖνος, καὶ θλίψεις ἀπὸ τούτων καὶ τὸ πάντα ἀπολέσαι χερδανεῖ μόνον. ἿΔρ᾽ οὖν πᾶσαι αἱ μὴ δευτέροις ὁμιλήσαααι γάμοις πάντα ἀπώλεσαν τὰ αὑτῶν, καὶ πάντων ἐξέπεσον, καὶ οὐχ ἔστιν ἰδεῖν γυναῖχα χήραν πραγμάτων προϊσταμένην; Σχῆψις ταῦτα καὶ πρόφασις καὶ τῆς οἷ» χείας ἀσθενείας προκαλύμματα. Πολλαὶ γὰρ τῶν ἀνδρῶν γενναιότερον καὶ οἰκίας προέστησαν, καὶ παῖδας ἐξέθρεψαν ὀρφανοὺς, καὶ τὰς ἐν χερσὶν οὐσίας αἱ μὲν ηὔξησαν, αἱ δὲ οὐχ ἡλάττωσαν. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἐξ ἀρχῆς οὐ τὸ πᾶν τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐπέτρεψεν, οὐδὲ ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτῶν ἐχκρέμασθαι τὰ ἐν τῷ βίῳ πράγματα μόνον ἀφῆχεν" ἢ γὰρ ἂν εὐχαταφρόνητος ἡ γυνὴ ἦν, μηδὲν συντελοῦσα πρὸς «τὸν ϑίον ἡμῖν. “Ὅπερ οὖν εἰδὼς ὁ Θεὸς ἀπένειμεν αὐτῇ μοῖραν οὐχ ἐλάττονα" καὶ τοῦτο δηλῶν ἄνωθεν ἔλεγε, Ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθόν. Ἵνα Ὑὰρ μὴ τῷ πρῶτον ἃ γεγενῆσθαι, μηδὲ τῷ δι᾽ αὐτὸν τὴν γυναῖκα πεπλάσθαι, μέγα κατ᾽ αὐτῆς ἔχῃ φρονεῖν ὁ ἀνὴρ, διὰ τοῦ ῥήματος τούτου χατέστειλε τὸν τῦφον αὐτοῦ, δειχνὺς ὅτι οὐχ ἦττὸν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τῆς γυναιχὸς τὰ τοῦ χόσμου δεῖται πρά- Ὑματα. Τίνα οὖν ὁστι ταῦτα, καὶ ἐν τίσι συνεφάπτεται ἡμῖν εἰς τὴν τοῦ βίου σύστασιν αὔτη; Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὐχ ἧττον τῶν δημοσίων τὰ ἰδιωτιχὰ συγχροτεῖ τὴν παροῦσαν κατάστασιν, διανείμας αὐτὰ, τὰ μὲν ἐπ᾽ ἀγορᾶς πάντα ἐνεχείρισε τοῖς ἀνδράσι, τὰ δὲ χατὰ τὴν οἰχίαν ταῖς γυναιξί" χἂν ἀλλάξωνται τὴν τάξιν, πάντα διεφθάρη καὶ ἀπόλωλεν οὕτως ἕχαστος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ πολὺ θατέρου χρησιμώτερος. Οὐχοῦν εἰ τὰ χατὰ τὴν οἰχίαν τῆς γυνδιχείας ἐπιστήμης ἐξήρτηται, καὶ τοσοῦτον ἐν τούτῳ χρείττων ἀνδρὸς ἡ γυνὴ, ὅσον τῶν ἀτέχνων οἱ τεχνῖται ἐν οἷς εἰσι τεχνῖται, τί περιττῶς τὸ δέος τοῦτο δεδοίχαμεν;; Τὸ μὲν γὰρ προσοδεύειν ἔξωθεν καὶ συνάγειν, ἀνδρῶν μόνον ἐστὶ, γυναῖχας δὲ χερδαίνειν οὐ θέμις " τὸ δὲ τὰ συναχθέντα διατηρεῖν καὶ φυλάττειν, ταύτης μόνης ἐστίν, Ὥστε, εἰ καὶ δοχεῖ πλέον εἶναι τὸ χτήσασθαι τοῦ φυλάξαι, ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως ἄνευ τούτου χἀχεῖνο ἄχρηστον γίνεται καὶ περιττόν" πολλάχις δὲ καὶ τούτου προσόντος ἐχεῖνο οὐ μόνον οὐδὲν ὥνησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ πάντα διἐφθειρεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πρᾶγμά ἐστι δυσχερὲς, χερδαίνοντα ἔξωθεν ἄνδρα δίχαια χέρδη πορίζεσθαι ( ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ πολὺ τὰς τῶν ἀλλοτρίων οὗτοι πραγματεύονται ρὰς), καὶ τῇ τῆς γυναιχὸς τέχνῃ καὶ τῇ οἰχονομίᾳ πολλάχις ἐλυμήναντο τὰ ἀδίχως καὶ μετὰ βίας εἰς τὰς χεῖρας ἀχθέντα τὰς ἐχείνης. “Ὥστε, εἰ καὶ μεῖζον τὸ κτήσασθαι τοῦ φυλάξαι, ἑτέρῳ δείκνυται τρόπῳ ἔλαττον τοῦτο, ὅταν μὴ μόνον μηδὲν συντελῇ εἰς τὴν τῶν ὄντων προσθήκην, ἀλλὰ καὶ διαφθείρῃ τὰ ἀποχείμενα. Τί οὖν δέδοιχεν ἡ χῆρα,- μὴ παρὰ τὴν ἀπουσίαν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς χεῖρον διαθῇ τὰ χατὰ τὴν οἰχίαν, ἧς καὶ ζῶντος ἐχείνου τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν εἶχεν αὐτή; ᾿Αλλ᾽ εὐχολώτερον, φησὶ, μεταχειριεῖται, διὰ τὸν ἐχείνου φόδον οὐδενὸς ἀντιπίπτοντος, οὐδὲ δυσκολίαν παρέχοντος. Καὶ γὰρ οἰχέται καὶ οἶχονόμοι γαὶ ἐπίτροποι καὶ 5 πάντες χατεπτήχασι, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ὑπαχούουσι τῆς πειθοῦς, καὶ ὁ ἀντιλέγων οὐδείς " ὅταν δὲ ὁ φοδῶν ἀπέλθῃ, ἅπαντες ἐπεμδαίνουσι τῇ χήρᾳ, καχουργοῦσι, χαταθρασύνονται, πάντα σνγχέουσι καὶ διασπῶσι " χἂν ἐπεξέλθῃ καὶ ἀμύνηται, στρεθλοῦσα, μαστίζουσα, εἰς δεσμωτήριον ἐμθάλλουσα, χαπταγνώπεις, λοιδορίαι, χατηγορίαι παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν. Αν δὲ τὰς πρὸς τὸν ἀπελθόντα συνθήχας πατήσῃ, καὶ τῆς φιλίας ἐπιλάθηται τῆς ἐχείνου, καὶ τὴν ἑσπέραν χαθ᾽ ἣν πρῶτον αὐτῇ συνήπτετο, καὶ τὸν χρότον, καὶ τὸν ὑμέναιον, καὶ τὰς γαμηλίους δᾷδας, καὶ τὰς πρώτας περιπλοχὰς, καὶ τὰς τραπέζας, καὶ τῶν ἁλῶν ὧν αὐτῇ παρὰ πάντα τὸν χρόνον ἐκοινώνησε, καὶ ῥημάτιυν ὧν εἰχὸς γυναῖχα ἀπολαύειν παρὰ ἀνδρός " ἂν ταῦτα ῥίψῃ πάντα ἐξαίφνης ὡς οὐδὲ γεγενημένα,, ἑτέρῳ τὰς θύρας ἀναπετάσασα τῆς οἰχίας, καὶ πρὸς τὴν εὐνὴν αὐτὸν ἕλχῃ τὴν ἐχείνου τὴν πάντα τὰ πρότερον 46 συνειδυῖαν, ἂν ταῦτα ποιῇ, οὐδεὶς ὁ μεμφόμενος, οὐδὲ ἐγχαλῶν; οὐδεὶς ὁ μισήσων, καὶ ἄστοργον, καὶ ἄπιστον, καὶ ὄσπονδον καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα προσερῶν;

### English translation (Claude)

“Yes,” someone says, “but it will be an unbearable evil for a woman inexperienced in affairs to be forced to take on her husband's affairs. For she will not be able to handle them as he did, and from them she will gain only afflictions and the loss of everything.” Have all, then, who did not enter second marriages lost all they had and fallen from everything, and is it impossible to see a widowed woman managing affairs? These are excuses and pretexts and screens for one's own weakness. For many women have managed households more nobly than men, and brought up orphans, and of the property in their hands some increased it and others did not diminish it. For God from the beginning did not entrust everything to men, nor leave the affairs of life to hang on them alone in all things; otherwise the woman would have been easily despised, as contributing nothing to our life. Knowing this, God assigned her a share not smaller; and showing this from the beginning he said, “Let us make him a helper.” For so that the man might not think highly of himself against her because he was made first, and because the woman was formed for his sake, by this word he checked his pride, showing that the affairs of the world need the woman no less than the man. What, then, are these things, and in what does she share with us in holding life together? Since private affairs no less than public ones hold together the present order, he divided them, and entrusted to men all the affairs of the marketplace, and to women those of the house; and if they exchange the order, everything is ruined and lost; so each in his own sphere is much more useful than the other. Therefore, if the affairs of the house depend on a woman's skill, and in this the woman is as much better than a man as craftsmen are better than the unskilled in the crafts they practise, why do we needlessly fear this fear? For to bring in income from outside and gather it belongs to men only, and it is not right for women to make gain; but to preserve and guard what has been gathered belongs to her alone. So, even if acquiring seems more than guarding, without the latter the former becomes useless and superfluous; and often, even when the latter was present, the former not only did no good but ruined everything. For since it is a difficult thing for a man who makes his gain outside to procure just gains (for for the most part these men traffic in the misfortunes of others), what was brought into her hands unjustly and by force has often spoiled even the wife's skill and management. So, even if acquiring is greater than guarding, in another way it is shown to be less, when it not only contributes nothing to the increase of possessions but even ruins what is stored up. Why, then, does the widow fear that in her husband's absence she will manage the household worse, when she had the care of it even while he was alive? “But,” someone says, “he handled it more easily, because through fear of him no one resisted or made difficulties. For servants and stewards and agents and all cowered, and obeyed with much compliance, and no one contradicted; but when the one who inspired fear departs, all trample on the widow, do mischief, grow insolent, confound and tear everything apart; and if she proceeds against them and punishes them — racking, flogging, throwing into prison — there are condemnations, reproaches, accusations from the many.” But if she tramples on her compact with the departed and forgets his love, and the evening on which she was first joined to him, and the applause, and the wedding song, and the nuptial torches, and the first embraces, and the tables, and the salt she shared with him all that time, and the words a wife is likely to enjoy from a husband — if she throws all this away suddenly as though it had never happened, opening the doors of the house to another, and draws him to the bed of the first, the bed that knew everything before — if she does this, is there no one to blame her or reproach her? no one to hate her and call her heartless and faithless and implacable and everything of that kind?

### Scripture references

- Gen 2:18: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- On Not Marrying Again, staging ref 4. Re-read against the Greek; no public-domain English. “Traffic in the misfortunes of others” renders a word damaged in the OCR (…ρὰς, read as συμφοράς) by sense. Leaked Latin, apparatus and column numbers are removed by logged corrections. Quotation: Gen 2:18.

### Citation (SBL)

Chrysostom, Non iter. 4 (PG 48:613; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/4).

## On not marrying again, section 5

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/5/#p-5
- Source: PG 48:615
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Chrysostom concludes that second marriage, though not punishable, is not praiseworthy, sets out the troubles it brings to a widow and her children, answers the case of a woman widowed young, and urges widows to remain free for Christ.

### Greek text

Μὴ γὰρ, ἐπειδὴ συνεχώρησεν ὁ μαχάριος Παῦλος τὸ πρᾶγμα, ἤδη αὐτὸ καὶ ἑπαίνων ἄξιον νόμιζε, καὶ χαταγνώσεως ἀπηλλάχθαι τῆς παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν. Κολάσεως μὲν γὰρ καὶ τιμωρίας ἐστὶν ἐχτὸς, ἐπαίνων δὲ καὶ ἐγχωμίων οὐχ ἂν δύναιτο χοινωνεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ χατωφερῇ τινα καὶ λάγνον εἶναι, καὶ μήτε ἐν χαιρῷ «ἧς νηστείας, μήτε ἐν ἄλλῳ τινὶ τῆς γυναιχὺς σθαι, χολάτεως μὲν καὶ αὐτὸ πόῤῥω καὶ μαχρὰν, οὐ μὴν ἐπαίνων ἐγγύς" αὐτὸ γὰρ τὸ συγχαταδῆναι τοσοῦτον, οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἔστιν, ἣ σημεῖον ἀσθενείας καὶ ἀπροσεξίας πολλῆς. Ὥστε εἰ δέδοιχας μὴ θρασύτητος δόξαν λάδῃς διὰ τὴν τῶν οἰχετῶν ἐπιτίμησιν, πρὺ τούτου δεδοικέναι χρὴ μὴ λαγνείας καὶ ἀσωτίας δόξαν προ-- «ροἰψῃ τοσαύτην. Χωρὶς δὲ τούτων τῇ χήρχ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἄμεινον ἐξέσται μετελθεῖν, ὥστε καὶ ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ αὐτῇ τὰ πολλὰ πράγματα εἶναι, καὶ μὴ μόνον μὴ ψέγεσθας, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπαινεῖσθαι παρὰ πάντων, καὶ πρὸ τούτου τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπιτυχεῖν τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. “Ἂν γὰρ θελήσῃς παρακαταθέσθαι τὰ χρήματα τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἄσυλον αὐτὰ κατορύξῃς τόπον ἐχεῖΐνον, οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐλαττιυθήσεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλῷ πλείω γενήσεται. Τοιοὗτος γὰρ οὗτος ὁ σπόρος. Εἰ δὲ ἐλάττων ἐστὶ τοῦ χωρἦσαι μέχρι τῆς νομοθεσίας ἐχείνης, καὶ πάντα ἀθρόως οὐ βούλεται μεταθεῖναι, λογιζέσθω πάλιν ἐχεῖνο, ὅτι καὶ ἄνδρα λαθδοῦσα οὐ πάντως λήψεται τοιοῦτον, οἷον καὶ προσθεῖναι τοῖς οὖσιν ἂν δ᾽ ἄρα καὶ τοιοῦτος ἧ, μὴ τοῦτο ἐννοείτω μόνον τὴν τῶν χρημάτων προσθήχην, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι πολλὰ καὶ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις προσκρούειν προαχθήσεται, ᾿Ἂν μὲν γὰρ τῶν δυνατῶν καὶ πολλὴν ἐχόντων ἰσχὺν, ἔστιν ὅτε παρὰ γνώμην πολλὰ καὶ πρᾶξαι καὶ παθεῖν αὑτὴν βιάσεται, καὶ ὅπερ ἐπὶ χηρείας ἐδεδοίχει, τοῦτο μετὰ πλείονος ἀνάγχης ὑποστήσεται νῦν’ καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι καὶ ταχίστην εἰχὸς αὐτὴν δέξασθαι τὴν μεταδολήν. Χήρα μὲν γὰρ οὖσα, χἂν ἐλαττώσῃ τι τῶν τοιούτων ὅ, ὅμως τὰ λειπόμενα μετὰ πολλῆς ἕξει τῆς ἀσφαλείας" ἀνδρὶ ὃὲ συναφθεῖσα δυνατῷ, καὶ τὰ τῆς πόλεως πράττοντι, ἣ καὶ ἑτέραν τινὰ μετιόντι φροντίδα, πολλάχις ἀθρόον πάντα ἀποθαλεῖται" ταῖς γὰρ τῶν ἀνδρῶν συμφοραῖς ἀνάγχη καὶ τὰς συνοιχούπας αὐτοῖς χοινωνεῖν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ μηδὲν συμθαίη τοιοῦτον, τί τὸ χέρδος, εἰπέ μοι, δουλείαν ἀντὶ ἐλευθερίας αἱρεῖσθαι; τί δὲ τὸ ὄφελος τῶν πολλῶν χρημάτων, ὅταν αὐτοῖς χρήσασθαι μὴ δύνηται πρὸς ὃ βούλεται; Οὐ πολλῷ βέλτιον ὀλίγα μετ᾽ ἐξουσίας ἔχειν, ἣ τὰ τῆς οἰχουμένης μετὰ τοῦ καὶ αὐτὴν σὺν ἐχείνοις ὑποχεῖσθαι ἑτέρῳ; Τὰς γὰρ φροντίδας, καὶ τὰς ὕδρεις, καὶ τὰς λοιδορίας, καὶ τὰς ξηλοτυπίας, καὶ τὰς ὑποψίας τὰς εἰχῆ, καὶ τὰς ὠδῖνας, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἅπαντα παρίημ: νῦν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ τῇ παρθένῳ διαλεγόμενος εἰκότως καὶ περὶ τούτων διαλέξεται, ἅτε ἀπείρῳ οὔσῃ καὶ ἀμαθεῖ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐχεένων ᾿ χήρᾳ δὲ χἂν ἐνοχλήσειέ τις ταῦτα λέγων. Ἃ γὰρ διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων ἔμαθεν ἀχριδέστερον, περιττὸν τῷ λόγῳ πειρᾶσθαι διδάσχειν αὐτήν. Τοσοῦτον δὲ προσθεῖναι χαλὸν, ὅτι καὶ μετὰ πλείονος ὁμιλήσει τῆς παῤῥησίας καὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἡ παρθένος γαμηθεῖσα τῆς μετὰ τὴν χηρείαν. Ταύτην μὲν γὰρ χἂν ὡς γυναῖχα στέργῃ, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὡς παρθένον λαδών - ὅτι δὲ πολλῷ ἐχεῖνοι α τούτων οἱ ἔρωτες σφοδρότεροι καὶ μανιχώτεροι, παντί που δῆλόν ἐστιν" ἐχείνην δὲ ἅτε μὴ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς ἄπειρον οὐ παντὶ θυμῷ καὶ ἀσπάσεται καὶ φιλήσει. Πεφύχαμεν γὰρ, ὡς εἰπεῖν », ἅπαντες ἄνθρωποι, εἴτε ὑπὸ ζηλοτυπίας, εἴτε ὑπὸ χενοδοξίας, εἴτε οὐχ οἷδ᾽ ὅθεν ἑτέρωθεν, τῶν πραγμάτων ἐχεῖνα μάλιστα φιλεῖν ὧν καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν καὶ τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν οὐ μεθ᾽ ἑτέρους ἔχομεν, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτοὶ πρῶτοι καὶ μόνοι χαθεστήχαμεν χύριοι. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ ἐματίων ἴδοι τις ἂν συμδαϊνον ἡμῖν" οὗ γὰρ ὁμοίως διαχείμεθα πρὸς τὰ παρ᾽ ἑτέρων εἰς χρῆσιν ἐλθόντα «ς τοῖς παρ᾽ οὐδενός. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ οἰχίας καὶ ἐπὶ σχευῶν᾽ καὶ γὰρ καὶ οἰχίαν τὴν παρ᾽ ἑτέρου δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν οὐχ ὁμοίως ἐχείνῃη φιλοῦμεν, ἣν αὐτοὶ χατεσχευάσαμεν " καὶ τῶν σχευῶν τὰ μὲν ἄρτι γενόμενα καὶ πρώτην παρ᾽ ἡμῖν χρείαν δεξάμενα ἐν πολλῇ τῇ φειδοῖ φυλάττομεν καὶ σπουδῇ, τὰ δὲ ἐξ ἑτέρων ἐλθόντα εἰς ἡμᾶς οὐ σφόδρα προπιέμεθα, ἀλλ᾽ οὕτως ἀποστρεφόμεθα, ὡς καὶ ἀνασχευάσαι πολλάχις αὐτά, Εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ οἰχίας καὶ ἱματίων καὶ σχευῶν τοῦτο ἡμῖν συμβαίνει πὸ πάθος, ἐννόησον ἐπὶ τῆς γυναιχὸς, οὗ τιμιώτερον ἀνδράσιν οὐδὲν, πῶς αὐτὸ μετὰ σφοδρότητος ἐμπίπτειν εἰκός. Ἐχείνων μὲν γὰρ χἂν μεταδιδόαμεν ἃ τοῖς βουλομένοις, ταύτης δὲ οὐ θέμις ἡμῖν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀποστησόμεθα πρῶτον, ἣ τοῦτο παθεῖν ἀνεξόμεθα. Τὴν μὲν οὖν παρθένον, ὅπερ ἔφην, ἅτε ἀνέπαφο" οὖσαν καὶ ἰδίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐδενὸς ἑτέρου γενομένην, πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ προσίεται τὴν δὲ ἑτέρῳ πρότερον συναφθεῖσαν οὐ μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς φιλίας ὄψεται καὶ εὐνοίας. ς΄. Μὴ γάρ μοι τὰ σπανιάχις καὶ μόλις ἅπαξ συμθαίνοντὰ εἴπῃς, ἀλλὰ τὰ συνεχῶς ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων δειχνύμενα. Οὐ διὰ ταῦτα δὲ μόνον πλείονος; ἐχείνη μεθἐξει τῆς παῤῥησίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ δι᾽ ἕτερα πολλά. Οὗτος μὲν. γὰρ καὶ ὀνειδίσαι εὐχόλως δύναιτ᾽ ἂν ὡς χαταφρονούμενος παρ᾽ αὐτῆς, καὶ τεχμήριον τῆς ὀλιγωρίας τὴν εἰς τὸν πρότερον αὐτῇ γεγενημένην ἀπιστίαν προσενεγκεῖν καὶ ἐπιστομίσαι καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐὰ κρρν καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν μηδὲ συμθησομένων ἴσως. Ὁ γὰρ ἀπελθὼν καὶ χαταφρονηθεὶς καὶ τὸν ζῶντα ταῦτα ὑποπτεῦσαι πείσει περὶ ἑαυτοῦ, χἂν μὴ γένηται. Οὐχ ἐχεῖνος δὲ μόνον ταῦτα προφέρων αὐτῇ συνεχῶς ἔσται φορτιχὸς, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἰχέται καὶ θεράπαιναι, χἂν μὴ φανερῶς, λάθρα σιν. Εἰ δὲ 9 συμδῇ καὶ παῖδας τοῦ τετελευτηχότος χαταλειφθῆναι νέους, πῶς αὐτοὺς ἀναθρέψει, πῶς δὲ προστήσεται; τίνων δὲ ὀρφανῶν οὐ χαλεπώτερον ἐχεῖνοι βιώσονται τὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ὁρῶντες ἅπαντα ἕτερον ἔχοντα, καὶ οἰχέτας, καὶ οἰχίαν, καὶ ἀγροὺς, καὶ τὸ πάντων χεφάλαιον τὴν γυναῖχα; πῶς δυνήσονται ὡς πρὸς μητέρα διαχεῖσθαι ἐχεῖνοι; πῶς δὲ αὕτη ὡς πρὸς παῖδας, οὃς αἰσχύνεσθαι καὶ ἐρυθριᾷν ἀναγχάζεται, καὶ οἷς πᾶσαν ἀπονεῖμαι τὴν μητριχὴν οὐχ ἔχει φιλοστοργίαν, εἰς τοὺς ἐξ ἐχείνου ἴ παῖδας σχιζομένης αὐτῇ τῆς διανοίας; Τί οὖν, ἂν ἧ σφόδρα χόρη, φησὶ, καὶ βραχὺν ἀπολαύσασα χρόνον τοῦ ἀνδρός; Πρὸς γὰρ τὰς χόρας μοι ταῦτα εἴρηται, οὐ πρὸς τὰς γεγηραχυίας " πρὸς γὰρ ἐχείνας τοῦτο ποιούσας οὐδὲ διαλεχθήσομαι" εἰ γὰρ ὁ πολὺς χρόνος καὶ ἡ ἡλιχία καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα οὐχ ἔπεισαν αὐτὰς ἀποσχέσθαι δευτέρου γάμου, πολύ γε ἧττον ἡμεῖς " οὐ γὰρ ὁ παρ᾽ ἡ μῶν πείσει λόγος " ἀλλ᾽ ἅπας μοι πρὸς ταύτας ὁ λόγος ἐστί. Τί οὖν, ἂν ἧ χόρη. φησὶ, καὶ μόνον ἐνιαυτὸν μετὰ τοῦ προτέρου συνοιχῆσασα δευτερογαμῆται δ πάλιν; τίνος ἕνεχεν τῆς εἰχοστὸν ἕτος καὶ τριαχοστὸν ἀνηλωχυίας ἐν γάμῳ προτιμήσεις αὐτὴν; Οὐχ ἔγωγς, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μαχάριος Παῦλος “ ἐχεῖνος γάρ φησι, Μακαριωτέρω δέ ἔστιν, ἐὰν οὕτω μείνῃ. Τί γὰρ, εἰ καὶ πολὺν ἐχείνη χρόνον συνῴχησεν ἀνδρὶ, ἀλλ᾽ ἑνὶ καὶ τῷ αὐτῷ καὶ μόνῳ καὶ ᾧ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐχληρώθη; αὕτη δὲ δυσὶν ἔδωχεν ἑαυτὴν, καὶ ταῦτα ἐν βραχεῖ τῷ χρόνῳ. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐχ ἑχοῦσα Β, φησίν " εἰ γὰρ ὁ πρῶτος ἔζη, οὐχ ἂν ἔτερὸν ἢγάπησεν ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνῳ ἐπειδὴ δὲ πρὸ ὥρας ἀπῆλθεν ἐχεῖνος, ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνάγχης δευτέρῳ συνήφθη πάλιν. Ποίας ἀνάγκης; Ἐγὼ γὰρ ταύτης ἧς λέγεις μείζονα ἑτέραν ἀνάγχην ὁρῶ ἱχανὴν αὑτὴν χατασχεῖν ἐπὶ τῷ. πετελευτηχότι, τὸ πιχρῶν οὕτως ἀπολαῦσαι τῶν πρλγμάτων τοῦ χόσμου. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ πολὺν αὐτοῖς συγγενομένη χρόνον, καὶ ἐμπλησθεῖσα χαλῶς, ὡς τῶν αὐτῶν πτευξομένη τῶν ἴσων ἅψεται πάλιν" ἡ δὲ προοιμίων οὕτω χαλεπῶν πειραθεῖσα ποίᾳ προαιρέσει καὶ ἐλπίδι πρὸς τὴν πεῖραν ἧξει τῶν χαλεπῶν; Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἴ τίς βουλόμενος ἐμπορεύσασθαι, πρίν τι χερδάνη ἅμα τῷ τὸν λιμένα ἐξελθεῖν ' ναυάγιον ὑπομεξίνοι, εὐχόλως ἄἅψεται τῆς πραγματείας λοιπόν. Οὐδὲ ταύτην εἰχότῳς 1 τὴν πολλὰ μὲν προσδοχήσασαν ἡδέα, πρὶν ἣ δὲ ἐκείνων πεῖραν χαλῶς λαδεῖν, τοσοῦτον πένθος ἰδοῦσαν ἀγαπῆσαι τὰ τοῦ χόσμου πράγματα, εἰ μὴ σφόδρα ἀκρατὴς οὖσα τύχοι" μᾶλλον δὲ, εἰ καὶ σφόδρα πρὸς αὐτὰ διαχέοιτο, καὶ λίαν ἔχοι προσπαθῶς, ἱχανὴ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἡ ἀηδία πᾶσαν σδέσαι τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτῆς. Τότε γὰρ τοῖς πράγμασι μάλιστα ἐπιμένειν εἰώθαμεν, ὅταν προοιμίων πειραθῶμεν καλῶν" ὅταν δὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς, ὡς ἂν εἴπο: τις, τῆς γραμμῆς χαλεπῶν καὶ δυσχόλων αἰσθώμεθα, ταχέως ἀναχρουόμεθα τῆς προαιρέσεως σδεννυμέ νῆς ἡμῖν. Ὥστε αἱ τὰς ἀώρους ὑπομείνασαι χηρείας, αὖται: εἰκότως ἂν ἀπόσχοιντο γάμου δευτέρου ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ πάλιν παθεῖν. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῇ χηρείᾳ μένουσα ἕξει τὸ ἀσφαλὲς, καὶ οὐχ ὑποπτεύσει πένθος ἕτερον τοιοῦτον πάλιν" ἡ δὲ προσομιλήσασα γάμῳ δευτέρῳ καὶ τοῦτο προσδοχᾷν ἀναγκασθήσεται τὸ δεινόν. Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ, εἰ καὶ πρᾶγμα ἕν ἐστιν ἡ χηρεία, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πᾶσαι τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἀπολήψονται μισθοὺς, ἀλλ᾽ αἱ μὲν πλείους, αἱ δὲ ἐλάττους. Αἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐν νεότητι τὸν ζυγὸν ἀναδεξάμεναι πλείονος ἀπολαύσονται καὶ τῆς τιμῆς καὶ τῆς δωρεᾶς, α! δὲ πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ γήρᾳ οὐχ ὁμοίως ἐχείναις. Τί δήποτε; Ὄτι ἡ μὲν πολλῶν ὄντων τῶν χωλυμάτων διὰ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φόδον πάντα ἠνέσχετο, αὕτη δὲ οὐδὲ βραχὺν ἱδρῶτα ὑπέμεινεν οὐδὲ πόνον" πῶς γὰρ, οὐδενὸς ὄντος πράγματος τοῦ βίαν παρέχοντος; "Ὥσπερ οὖν ἡ δευτέρῳ δοῦσα ἑαυτὴν ἐλάττων ἐστὶ τῆς τὸν ἕνα ἄνδρα ἐχούσης, οὕτως ἡ ἐν χηρείᾳ μένουσα ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ νεότητι πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ τὴν ἐν τῷ γήρᾳ τὸν ἄνδρα ἀποδαλοῦσαν ὑπεραχοντίσαι δυνήσεται καίτοι γε ἀμφοτέραις εἷς γέγονεν ὁ ἀνὴρ, ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως αὕτη μὲν τὸν τῆς ἁγνείας ἔδραμε δρόμον, ἐχείνη δὲ πολλοῖς ἀπελείφθη τοῖς σταδίοις. Μὴ τοίνυν τὸν πόνον ἴδῃς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν μισθόν. Καὶ γὰρ τὰ πολλὰ τῶν χατορθωμάτων οὕτως ἡμῖν δύσχολα φαίνεται, ὅτι τὸν μόχθον αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς ἱδρῶτας συνεχῶς στρέφοντες τοὺς ἀποχειμένους αὐτοῖς μισθοὺς οὐχ ἐν νῷ λαμόάνομεν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐχ οὕτω δεῖ ποιεῖν, ἀλλὰ πάντα ὁμοῦ λογίζεσθαι μετὰ τῶν πόνων καὶ τὰς ἁμοιδὰς, καὶ οὕτως εὔχολα ἡμῖν φανεῖται, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἔστιν εὔχολα. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἀριστεὺς οὐ τὰ τραύματα μόνον, οὐδὲ τὰ πτώματα, οὐδὲ τὸν θάνατον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τρόπαια καὶ τὰς νίχας καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἁπάσας ἀναλογισάμενος τιμὰς οὕτως ἐπὶ τὴν ἀριστείαν ἔρχεται" καὶ ὃ γεωργὸς δὲ οὐχὶ τὴν ἄροσιν μόνον, οὐδὲ τὸν ἐν τῷ σχάπτειν» πόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἅλω, καὶ τὰς ληνοὺς πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν θεὶς, οὕτω τῶν ἔργων ἐφάπτεται. Οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς ταῖς ἐλπίσι ταῖς χρησταῖς τὸν τῆς χηρείας μόχθον ἐπιχουφίσωμεν, καὶ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς ἣ ἐχεῖνοι" ἐχείνοις μὲν γὰρ πολλὰ πολλάχις τῶν οὐχ ἐπ᾽ αὖτοῖς χειμένων τὴν προσδοχίαν διέχοψε, τὰς δὲ ἡμετέοας ἐλπίδας οὐδεὶς ὁ καταισχύνων ἐστὶν, ἂν μὴ βουληθῶμεν αὐτοί. Μὴ δὴ βουληθῶμεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐννοήσαντες ὡς οὐ πολλῷ τῆς παρθένου ἡ χήρα λείπεται (ἔστι δὲ ὅπου αὑτὴν καὶ ὑπερηχόντισεν, ὅταν ἡ μὲν παρθένος περιπλέχηται πράγμασιν, Ἧ δὲ χήρα, χατὰ τὸν Παῦλον, μεμογωμένη καὶ ἐλπίζουσα ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν προσχαρτερῇ ταῖς δεήσεσι καὶ ταῖς προσευχαῖς, καὶ τῶν βιωτιχῶν πραγμάτων ἀπέχηται), ἀναδεξώμεθα τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῦτον, ἵνα τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ στεφάνων τύχωμεν. Ταῦτα ὑμῖν οὐχ ἀνάγχης ἕνεχεν εἴρηται, οὐδὲ, ὅπερ ἔφην, καταδιχάζοντες τὰς οὐ βονλομένας χηρεύειν, ἐπὶ ταύτην ἤλθομεν τὴν παραίνεσιν, ἀλλὰ προτρέποντες καὶ παραχαλοῦντες, μὴ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον προσδεθῆναι τῇ γῇ, ἀλλ᾽ ἅπαξ λυθείσας μένειν ἐλευθέρας, καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐπιζητεῖν, καὶ τὴν πολιτείαν ἐπιδείχνυσθαι τὴν ἐχεῖ, καὶ ἁρμοσθείσας τῷ Χριστῷ οὔτως ἅπαντα πράττειν, ὡς προσῆχε τὰς τὸν τοιοῦτον ἐχούσας νυμφίον, ὅτι αὐτῷ πρέπει πᾶσα δόξα, τιμὴ καὶ προσχύνησις, σὺν τῷ ἀνάρχῳ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ ζωοποιῷ καὶ ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ᾿Αμήν.

### English translation (Claude)

For do not, because blessed Paul allowed the thing, think it already worthy of praise and free from the censure of the many. For it is outside punishment and penalty, but it could not share in praise and commendation. For to be prone to pleasure and lustful, and not [to abstain] from one's wife either at the time of fasting or at any other, is itself far and remote from punishment, but not near to praise; for to have condescended so far is nothing other than a sign of weakness and of great carelessness. So if you fear getting a reputation for harshness by rebuking your servants, you should fear before this lest you throw yourself into so great a reputation for lust and profligacy. Besides this, a widow will be able to pursue the matter better, so that most of her affairs are safe, and she is not only not blamed but also praised by all, and, before this, obtains the good things that come from God. For if you are willing to deposit your money in heaven and bury it in that inviolable place, not only will it not be diminished, but it will become much more. Such is this sowing. But if she is too small to reach as far as that legislation, and does not wish to transfer everything at once, let her consider this in turn, that even if she takes a husband she will not necessarily take one such as to add to her possessions; and even if he should be such, let her not consider only this, the increase of money, but that she will be led to offend God and men in many things. For if he is one of the powerful and of great strength, he will sometimes force her to do and to suffer many things against her will, and what she feared in widowhood she will now undergo under greater compulsion; and not only this, but it is likely that she will meet a very swift reversal. For as a widow, even if she loses something of such things, she will hold what remains with great security; but joined to a powerful husband engaged in the affairs of the city, or pursuing some other concern, she will often lose everything at once; for wives who live with their husbands must share their misfortunes. And if nothing of this kind should happen, what is the gain, tell me, in choosing slavery instead of freedom? What is the profit of much money when she cannot use it for what she wishes? Is it not much better to have a little with authority than the wealth of the world while being herself subject, together with it, to another? For the cares, and the insults, and the reproaches, and the jealousies, and the groundless suspicions, and the birth pangs, and all the rest, I pass over now. For one who speaks to a virgin will reasonably discourse about these things too, since she is inexperienced and ignorant of them; but one would only annoy a widow by saying them; for what she has learned more exactly by experience it is superfluous to try to teach her by words. But it is good to add this much: that the virgin who marries will live with her husband with more boldness and freedom than the woman who marries after widowhood. For the husband of this one, even if he loves her as a wife, yet did not take her as a virgin; and that those loves are much more vehement and passionate than these is clear to everyone; but her, since she is not without experience of every man, he will not embrace and kiss with his whole heart. For we human beings are all so made, so to speak, whether by jealousy, or by vanity, or from I know not what else, as to love most those things of which we have the authority and enjoyment not after others, but are ourselves established as the first and only masters. One may see this happening to us with clothes too; for we are not disposed in the same way toward clothes that have come into use from others as toward those that have come from no one. So too with a house and with furnishings; for a house given us by another we do not love as much as one we built ourselves; and of furnishings, those just made and receiving their first use with us we guard with much care and effort, but those that came to us from others we do not much value, but turn away from them so far as often to have them remade. And if with house and clothes and furnishings this feeling happens to us, consider how vehemently it is likely to fall upon us in the case of a wife, than whom nothing is more precious to men. For those things we might even share with those who wish, but her it is not right for us to share; we would sooner part with our life than endure suffering this. The virgin, then, as I said, since she is untouched and his own and has belonged to no one else, he receives with all eagerness; but the woman first joined to another he will not look on with the same love and goodwill. [6] For do not tell me of what happens rarely and scarcely once, but of what is continually shown in experience. And not for these reasons only will the virgin have more boldness, but for many others too. For this husband could easily reproach the other as being despised by her, and bring up as proof of her disdain the faithlessness she showed toward the first, and stop her mouth concerning things that have happened and perhaps concerning things that will never happen. For the departed and despised man will persuade the living one to suspect these things about himself, even if they do not happen. And not he alone will be burdensome, bringing these things against her continually, but also the servants and maids, if not openly, then [whispering] secretly. And if it happens that young children of the deceased are left, how will she raise them, how will she protect them? Than what orphans will they not live more harshly, seeing everything of their father held by another — servants, house, fields, and, the sum of all, the wife? How will they be able to be disposed toward her as toward a mother? And how will she be disposed toward them as toward children, before whom she is forced to be ashamed and to blush, and to whom she cannot give all a mother's affection, since her mind is divided toward the children of that man? “What then,” someone says, “if she is very young and enjoyed her husband only a short time?” For I am saying these things to young women, not to the old; for to the latter, if they do this, I will not even speak; for if the long time, and their age, and all the rest did not persuade them to abstain from a second marriage, much less will we; our word will not persuade them; but my whole word is to the young. “What then,” someone says, “if she is young, and, having lived with the first husband only a year, marries a second time? For what reason will you prefer to her the woman who spent twenty or thirty years in marriage?” Not I, but blessed Paul; for he says, “But she is more blessed if she remains as she is.” For what if that woman lived a long time with a husband? — but with one, the same and only one, the one allotted to her from the beginning; while this one gave herself to two, and that in a short time. “But not willingly,” someone says; “for if the first had lived, she would not have loved another besides him; but since he departed before his time, she was joined to a second by necessity.” What necessity? For I see another necessity, greater than the one you speak of, sufficient to hold her to the deceased: having tasted the affairs of the world so bitterly. For the woman who was with them a long time and was well filled may touch them again in the expectation of obtaining the same things; but she who has experienced such grievous beginnings, with what purpose and hope will she come to the trial of grievous things? For if someone wishing to trade suffered shipwreck as soon as he left the harbour, before he gained anything, he would not easily take up the business again. Nor is it reasonable that this woman, who expected many pleasures but, before experiencing them, saw so great a grief, should love the affairs of the world, unless she happened to be very incontinent; or rather, even if she were very much inclined toward them and much attached to them, the unpleasantness of the beginning is sufficient to quench all her desire. For we are accustomed to persevere in things most when we have experienced good beginnings; but when from the beginning, and, as one might say, from the very starting line, we feel things hard and difficult, we quickly draw back, our purpose being quenched. So those who have endured untimely widowhoods might reasonably abstain from a second marriage, so as not to suffer the same things again. For the woman who remains in widowhood will have safety, and will not fear another such grief again; but the woman who has entered a second marriage will be forced to expect this terrible thing too. And besides, even if widowhood is one thing, not all widows will receive the same rewards, but some greater and some less. For those who took up the yoke in youth will enjoy more of the honour and of the gift, but those who took it up at old age itself not equally with them. Why so? Because the one, though there were many hindrances, endured everything through the fear of God, but the other did not endure even a little sweat or toil; how could she, when nothing pressed her? As, then, the woman who gave herself to a second husband is less than the one who has one husband, so the woman who remains in widowhood in her very youth will be able far to surpass the one who lost her husband in old age; and yet both had one husband, but the one ran the race of chastity, and the other fell short by many stades. Look, then, not only at the toil but also at the reward. For most good deeds seem difficult to us because, continually turning over their toil and sweat, we do not take to mind the rewards stored up for them. But we must not do so; we must reckon everything together, the recompense with the toils, and so they will appear easy to us, as indeed they are easy. For the champion too goes to his feat of arms having considered not only the wounds, nor the falls, nor death, but also the trophies and the victories and all the other honours; and the farmer too takes hold of his work setting before his eyes not only the ploughing and the labour of digging but also the threshing floor and the winepresses. So let us too lighten the toil of widowhood with good hopes, and much more than they; for their expectation has often been cut short by many things not in their power, but there is no one who puts our hopes to shame unless we ourselves wish it. Let us not wish it; but considering that the widow is not far behind the virgin (and there are times when she has even surpassed her, when the virgin is entangled in affairs, while the widow, according to Paul, left alone and hoping in God, perseveres in supplications and prayers and keeps away from worldly affairs), let us take up this contest, so that we may obtain the crowns that belong to it. These things have not been said to you by way of compulsion, nor, as I said, have we come to this exhortation condemning those who do not wish to remain widows, but urging and exhorting them not to be so bound to the earth, but, once released, to remain free, and to seek heaven, and to display the citizenship that is there, and, being joined to Christ, to do everything as befits women who have such a bridegroom; for to him belongs all glory, honour and worship, with the Father who is without beginning and his life-giving and Holy Spirit, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen.

### Scripture references

- 1 Cor 7:6: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 7:5: allusion, low confidence
- Matt 6:20: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 7:40: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Tim 5:5: allusion, high confidence
- 2 Cor 11:2: echo, low confidence

### Translation notes

- On Not Marrying Again, staging ref 5, which also holds Migne's section 6 (marked “[6]”, where the OCR has ς΄). Re-read against the Greek; no public-domain English. Chrysostom says that second marriage is “outside punishment and penalty” because Paul allowed it, but is not to be praised. Words lost in the OCR are supplied in brackets by sense (“[to abstain]”, “[whispering]”); the ending of ἀπολή-ψονται, lost with the leaked notes, is restored. Leaked apparatus and Migne's Latin version, and column numbers, are removed by logged corrections. Quotations: 1 Cor 7:40; 1 Tim 5:5; allusions: 1 Cor 7:6; 1 Cor 7:5; Matt 6:20; 2 Cor 11:2 (joined to Christ).

### Citation (SBL)

Chrysostom, Non iter. 5 (PG 48:615; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/chrysostom-non-iterando-coniugio/5).