Corruption, Punishment, and Vain Malice

He says, "they corrupt good habits, bad associations." This corruption—for it is not a physical corruption of the members—corrupts the habits. And the corruption of morals is a moral wickedness. "Bad associations" are deceptive associations.

And so that I may use an image of the prostitute introduced in Proverbs, namely false doctrine or licentiousness: the prostitute woman corrupted the good habits of that young man; for she had approached him with some sophistry. "A sacrifice to me is peace, today I pay my vows"—wherever you wish, the word "today"—"because of this, I went to meet you." But she lies. He did not go out in order to pay his vows, but "desiring." "Because you have hidden from me the corruption of their snare for nothing."

Many errors and false thoughts arise for those unable to distinguish homonyms. The name of corruption and of spoiling signifies many things according to the Scripture. "If anyone," he says, "destroys the temple of God, God destroys him." In this very same expression, two meanings of corruption lie: "if anyone destroys the temple of God" through sin, the body, for "your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, which you have from God." Therefore, all wickedness is corruption.

And the kind of wickedness is called corruption, the dissolution of virginity. Thus indeed we say to corrupt the virgin, and to corrupt the child having just tasted of the pleasures of Aphrodite. However, even if the genus of wickedness is called corruption, and even if the species, they are subject to a single signified thing: for such corruption, both soul and body are destroyed and ravaged.

It is said in the prophet: "Because of uncleanness you were destroyed by corruption." And uncleanness of soul is wickedness. It has been said indeed in Proverbs concerning some evil that: "it is crushed because of the uncleanness of the soul." And in the Lamentations of Jeremiah it is said: "her uncleanness is toward her feet," instead of: her way is unclean; for she treads upon the forbidden way of death, the evil way. "Because" therefore "of uncleanness you were destroyed by corruption." And uncleanness of soul is wickedness, as has been said, according to the twofold manner of the said corruption, and according to the genus and the species of wickedness, that is, both according to licentiousness and according to other kinds of wickedness. "Because of uncleanness you were destroyed by corrupt...

And it is also possible to take the other meaning of corruption from this: 'if anyone destroys the temple of God, God destroys him' (1 Cor 3:17). God destroys by testing. And just as the name of loss is taken in two ways regarding the soul, we say both that the sinner suffers loss and that the one being punished suffers loss: 'fear him' (Matt 10:28) who 'is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.' Here, loss is a punishment, which is also called corruption. Thus it is possible that 'because of impurity you were destroyed by corruption'; that is, you have fallen under punishment because you loved to be impure, because you hurried to have the impurity of the soul.

This impurity is the opposite of purity, which, coming upon the heart, brings presence and vision; for 'blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' (Matt 5:8). Concerning this it is said: 'cleanse your hands, you sinners' (Ps 26:6)—and they become clean when they pursue 'the righteous thing righteously'—but also 'purify your hearts,' and right understanding through the contemplations of the truth. Therefore, 'they hid it from me in vain' (Ps 58:10), wanting to corrupt me to bring me down to wickedness, or even to attack and lead me into harm.

But each of these is doing in vain—for 'in vain' here means 'vainly'—that is, that because I did not provide a cause. The one previously set to act unjustly and to suffer evil rather than to do the opposite will say: 'those surrounding me do this in vain, as God becomes my helper' (Ps 58:10), or: 'they do it in vain because I did not provide a cause.' For example, if Susanna had been condemned by the elders through slander, she would have said: 'they decided against me in vain, since I provided no cause.' Joseph would have said this too, as would the disciples of Christ being persecuted, being denied, and being reviled for the sake of the name of Christ; for if any of the Christians is attacked not for any other reason but because he is a Christian, those attacking him attack him in vain; for sometimes some act against Christians, wanting to harm them, and they find a cause from within them. In vain they reviled my soul. For I did not do anything to cause reviling. And it was also said...