A Greater Depth

Ἀλλ' εἰ κατείληπται ἡμῖν ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τοῦ χαρίσματος, συνιδεῖν προσήκει καὶ τὸ ἀκόλουθον, ὅτι οὐχ ἁπλοῦν, ὡς ἄν τις οἰηθείη, τὸ κατόρθωμα τοῦτό ἐστιν, οὐδὲ μέχρι τῶν σωμάτων ἱστάμενον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ πάντα διῆκον καὶ διαβαῖνον τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ, ὅσα κατορθώματα ψυχῆς ἐστι καὶ νομίζεται. Ἡ γὰρ τῷ ἀληθινῷ νυμφίῳ προσκολληθεῖσα διὰ παρθενίας ψυχή, οὐ μόνον τῶν σωματικῶν μολυσμάτων ἑαυτὴν ἀποστήσει, ἀλλ' ἐντεῦθεν μὲν ἄρξεται τῆς καθαρότητος, ἐπὶ πάντα δὲ ὁμοίως καὶ μετὰ τῆς ἴσης ἀσφαλείας πορεύσεται, μήπου τῆς καρδίας παρὰ τὸ δέον ἐπικλιθείσης εἰς πονηροῦ τινος κοινωνίαν μοιχικόν τι πάθος κατὰ τὸ μέρος ἐκεῖνο προσδέξηται. Οἷόν τι λέγω πάλιν, γὰρ τὸν λόγον ἐπαναλήψομαι· ἡ τῷ Kυρίῳ προσκολληθεῖσα ψυχὴ εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἓν πνεῦμα, καὶ καθάπερ ὁμολογίαν τινὰ συμβιωτικὴν καταθεμένη τὸ μόνον ἐκεῖνον ἀγαπᾶν ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας τε καὶ δυνάμεως, οὔτε τῇ πορνείᾳ προσκολληθήσεται, ἵνα μὴ γένηται σῶμα ἓν πρὸς αὐτήν, οὔτε ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀντικειμένων τῇ σωτηρίᾳ προσδέξεται, ὡς μιᾶς οὔσης ἐν ἅπασι τῆς τῶν μιασμάτων κοινότητος, καί, εἰ δι' ἑνός τινος μολυνθείη,μηκέτι τὸ ἄσπιλον ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῇ δυναμένη. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ δι' ὑποδείγματος τεκμηριῶσαι τὸν λόγον. Ὥσπερ τὸ ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ ὕδωρ τέως μὲν λεῖόν ἐστι καὶ ἀκίνητον, εἰ μηδεμία τις τῶν ἔξωθεν ταραχὴ προσπεσοῦσα τὸ σταθερὸν τοῦ τόπου διακινήσειε, λίθου δέ ποθεν ἐμπεσόντος τῇ λίμνῃ ὅλον ἐν κύκλῳ συνεκλονήθη τῷ μερικῷ σάλῳ συγκυματούμενο, ὁ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ βάρους εἰς τὸν βυθὸν καταδύεται, τῶν δὲ περὶ αὐτὸν κυμάτων κυκλοτερῶς ἐν ἀλλήλοις ἐγειρομένων καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἄκρα τοῦ ὕδατος ὑπὸ τῆς ἐν τῷ μέσῳ κινήσεως ἐξωθουμένων, πᾶσα ἐν κύκλῳ περιτραχύνεται τῆς λίμνης ἡ ἐπιφάνεια συνδιατιθεμένη τῷ βάθει· οὕτω καὶ τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς γαληναῖον καὶ ἡσύχιον δι' ἑνός τινος παρεμπεσόντος εἰς αὐτὴν πάθους ὅλον συν διεσείσθη καὶ τῆς τοῦ μέρους βλάβης ἐπῄσθετο. Φασὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐξητακότες μὴ ἀπεσχίσθαι τὰς ἀρετὰς ἀπ' ἀλλήλων μηδὲ δυνατὸν εἶναι μιᾶς τινος ἀρετῆς κατὰ τὸν ἀκριβῆ περιδράξασθαι λόγον τὸν μὴ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐφαψάμενον, ἀλλ' ᾧ ἂν παραγένηται μία τῶν ἀρετῶν ἀναγκαίως ἐπακολουθεῖν καὶ τὰς ἄλλας. Οὐκοῦν ἐξ ἀντι στρόφου καὶ ἡ περί τι βλάβη τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν εἰς ὅλον τὸν κατ' ἀρετὴν διατείνει βίον, καὶ ὄντως, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, τοῖς μέλεσι τὸ ὅλον συνδιατίθεται, ἄν τε πάσχῃ μέλος ἕν, συναλγοῦντος τοῦ παντός, ἄν τε καὶ δοξάζηται, τοῦ ὅλου συγχαίροντος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περί Παρθενίας, Κεφ' ΙΔ' Source: Migne PG 44.381b-384a

But if we grasp at last the excellence of this grace, we should come to understand what must follow from it, that it is not to be thought a single correction, not going further than the discipline of the body, but that in intention it reaches to and pervades everything that is and is considered a correct condition of the soul. That soul which truly cleaves to the true Bridegroom by virginity will not only remove herself from all bodily defilement, but she will make that the beginning of her purity, and will carry this security equally into everything else she encounters, fearing lest, with an unseemly inclination of the heart to the wickedness of some common coupling she should give that part to suffering. For example, and indeed I shall repeat my words, that soul which cleaves to the Lord that she become one with Him in spirit, who has made the compact of a common life with Him, that she love Him alone with all her heart and strength, 1 she will not join herself to any fornication that will separate her from being one body with Him, nor to any other of the offenses contrary to salvation, for she knows that between all sins there is a common contamination, and that if she were to defile herself with but one, she would be stained with the rest. An illustration will give proof of our reason. As all the water in a pool remains smooth and motionless while no disturbance of any kind from without comes to trouble the settled nature of the spot, but when a stone is thrown into the pool the movement in that one part will extend in a circle to the whole, and while the stone's weight is taking it down it to the bottom, the waves set into motion around it pass in circles into others, and are driven on to the very edge of the water through all the intervening disturbance, and the whole surface of the pool is troubled with these circles, feeling the movement of the depths, so is the peace and calm of the soul troubled by one invading passion coming into it, and the whole is affected by the injury of a single part. They say, those who have investigated such things, that the virtues are not separate from one other, and that it is impossible to grasp the principle of any virtue if one has not understood what underlies the rest, from which it must follow that he who attains one of the virtues has the rest. Therefore, by contraries, the loss of anything in these will extend to the whole virtuous life; and truly, as the Apostle tells us, the whole is affected by the parts, for 'if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it,' 2 as if one is honoured, all rejoice. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity, Chap 15 1 Deut 6.4-7, Mt 22.37 2 1 Cor 12.26