Letter 850: Virtue must be practiced with all one's strength — not merely admired from a distance.
On the text, "He who looks upon a woman": Since from seeing comes desiring, for this reason Christ also declared that the one who feasts his eyes without restraint is an adulterer, condemning not only the act but also the intention and the gaze that gives birth to it. For the eye is the gateway of the soul, and whatever enters through the eye takes root in the heart. Therefore he who opens his eyes to impurity opens his heart to corruption, and what begins as a passing glance becomes a lingering look, and what begins as a lingering look becomes a burning desire, and what begins as a burning desire becomes a sinful act. The Lord, who sees the end from the beginning, struck at the root rather than at the branches. Others condemn the deed alone; Christ condemns the gaze that leads to the deed. For if you cut off the water at its source, the river dries up; but if you try to dam it downstream, it merely overflows its banks and does greater damage. So too with lust: if you guard the eyes, the heart remains pure; but if you try to restrain the heart while feeding the eyes, you will find yourself overwhelmed. Therefore the wise man makes a covenant with his eyes, as Job did, and refuses to let them wander where they should not go.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
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