The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians, instructing the young Church in the sacred rules, among other commandments, gave the following: A wife who has an unbelieving husband, and he agrees to live with her, must not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband. Otherwise your children would have been unclean, but now they are holy (1 Corinthians 7:13-14). If, perhaps, it has hitherto seemed to any one that the bonds of discipline are here exceedingly weakened, and that the teacher is immoderately lenient, let him look at the house of thy father, though a man of the greatest and most learned, but still walking in darkness (paganism), and he will see that the advice of the Apostle is directed to ensure that the bitterness of the root should be rewarded with the sweetness of the fruit, and that the ignoble vines should give a precious balm. You were born of an unequal marriage; from thee and from my Toxotius was born Paul. Who would have believed that Pontifex Albinus, as a result of his mother's vow, would have a granddaughter who, in the presence of his delighted grandfather, would sing Christ's "Alleluia" in the still babbling tongue of a child? Who would believe that an old man would raise a virgin of God in his bosom? But our hopes were true and happy. A holy and faithful house sanctifies an unfaithful man. He is already a hostage of faith, who is surrounded by a faithful crowd of sons and grandsons. I think even if he were still a young man and had such a kinship, he could have believed in Christ. Let him spit and ridicule my letter, let him shout that I am both stupid and extravagant; so did his son-in-law, until he believed. Christians are made, not born. The gilded Capitol is dirty. All the temples in Rome were sooty with soot and covered with cobwebs. Rome has moved from its foundations, and the people, who formerly flooded the half-ruined temples, are hastening to the tombs of the martyrs. If prudence does not compel us to believe, at least conscientiousness will.

I have told you this, Lethe, the most pious daughter in Christ, so that you do not despair of the salvation of your father; by the same faith with which you have gained your daughter, by the same faith you will gain your father, and you will enjoy the bliss of the whole family; remember the well-known promise of the Lord: "That which is impossible with men is possible with God" (Luke 18:27). Conversion can never be late. The thief entered paradise from the cross. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who turned into a beast in body and soul and lived with the beasts in the wilderness, again acquired human meaning. But I will leave the ancient examples, so that they do not seem too fabulous to unbelievers.

The gods, once the gods of the peoples, remain with only owls and owls on the rooftops. The sign of the cross became a sign of war. Scarlet robes and diadems of kings burning with precious stones are decorated with the image of the saving instrument of execution. Already the Egyptian Serapis had become a Christian. Merna, locked in Gaza, weeps and waits in terror for the destruction of the temple any day. Every day crowds of monks from India, Persia, and Ethiopia come to us. The Armenian laid down his quiver. The Huns study the Psalter, the Scythian frosts blaze with the fire of faith; The red-haired and blond army of the Getae carry tents everywhere with them, serving as churches, and perhaps because they fight against us with equal skill, that they equally profess the same religion.

But I turned aside, and while I was imagining making a jug on a revolving wheel, my hand made a bucket. Yielding to the entreaties of St. Marcella and yours, I intended to address my speech to my mother, that is, to you, and to teach how you should educate our Paula, who was consecrated to Christ before she was born, whom you doomed before you conceived in the womb. And before our eyes there is something of what is described in the books of the prophets: Hannah changed the barrenness of the womb into fertility (see 1 Sam. ch. 1) — you changed your unhappy fertility into a happy one, you received tenacious children. I say with full confidence that you will receive sons because you gave the first fruit of your womb to the Lord. This is the firstborn who was sacrificed according to the law. Thus was Samuel conceived; thus was born Samson; thus John the Baptist arose and leaped at the entrance of Mary; for he heard the words of the Lord, thundering through the mouth of the Virgin, and jumped up to burst out of his mother's womb to meet Him. Thus, that which is born as a result of a vow must also receive from its parents an upbringing worthy of its origin. Samuel is brought up in the temple; John is being prepared in the wilderness. He is honored with sacred hair, does not drink wine or strong drink; while still a child, he converses with God. This one flees the cities, girds himself with a leather belt, feeds on locusts and wild honey, and for the personification of repentance, which he was supposed to preach, he dresses himself in the skin of the most humpbacked animal.

The soul, which is to be the temple of God, must be educated in the following way. Let it learn to listen and say only that which pertains to the fear of God. Let her not understand shameful words, nor worldly songs; let her childish tongue learn sweet psalms. The company of frisky boys must be removed from her; The girls and maids themselves must refrain from talking to her in the world, lest they should teach her what they have badly understood themselves. For it, alphabetic letters should be made of beech wood or ivory and each should be called by its own name. Let her amuse herself with them, so that the amusement itself may be a study for her. And not only must she remember the order of the letters, and turn their names into songs for herself, but the alphabet must often be thrown into disorder, the last letters must be confused with the middle letters, and the middle letters with the first, so that she may recognize them not only by their sound, but also by their appearance. And when she begins to move the pen over the paper with a trembling hand, it is necessary either for someone to guide it with gentle fingers, or to cut out letters on the blackboard, so that the line drawn along the grooves stretches in the outskirts and cannot go beyond them. Let her join syllables in order to receive a reward, and let gifts that serve as amusement for this age be a stimulus for her. Let her study with friends whom she might envy, whose praise might incite her. If she is less understanding than them, she should not be scolded; but it is necessary to excite her faculties with praise, so that she may rejoice when she gets the better of them, and regret when they surpass her. Most of all, he must beware that she does not hate learning, so that the aversion to it, which was preoccupied in childhood, does not pass into his younger years. The names themselves, over which she will gradually become accustomed to compose words, should not be some accidental, but known and deliberately chosen, such as: the names of the prophets and apostles, and the whole series of names of the patriarchs, beginning with Adam, as he is given by Matthew and Luke; this is so that, by doing one thing, she would prepare her memory for another, the future. A person of mature years, a good life and with good information should be chosen as a teacher; I do not think that a learned man would be ashamed to assume the same duties to a relative or a noble maiden as Aristotle assumed to the son of Philip, in order to teach the alphabet himself at the same cheap price as scribes receive. One should not despise as unimportant that without which even great things are impossible. The very pronunciation of letters and the first rudiments of learning are taught differently by scholars and differently by the ignorant. Therefore, take care that your daughter does not learn the absurd custom of women to distort words out of caressing, and that she is not accustomed to amuse herself with gold and purple; the former harms the language, the latter the morals; Let him not learn in childhood what he will need to get out of the habit of later.

It is written that the eloquence of the Gracchi was greatly benefited by the speech of their mother, which they had listened to since childhood. Hortense's speech had grafted on him in his father's arms. It is difficult to exterminate that which is impressed by young souls. Who will restore the former whiteness of the wool dyed purple? A new jug retains the taste and smell of what it was first poured for a long time. Greek history tells us that Alexander, being the most powerful king and conqueror of the universe, was for a long time unable to free himself from the shortcomings in the character and gait of his teacher Leonidas, which he had contracted in childhood. It is very easy to compete with evil, and if you are not able to imitate the virtues of others, you soon assimilate their vices. The mother herself should not be a drunkard, not a wriggler, not a chatterbox; She must have a modest nurse, and a sedate tutor. When he sees his grandfather, let him throw himself on his chest, hang on his neck, and even if he does not want to, let him repeat: "Alleluia." The grandmother will carry it away by force; she will greet her father with smiles; everyone will love her; and all your generation will be comforted by the rose born of him. But at the same time, let her find out what other grandmother and aunt she has; so that she would understand for what emperor, for what army her little warrior was being brought up in her person. She must strive for them, and her departure to them will threaten you.

Its very appearance and clothing should prepare it for what it is intended for. Do not pierce, I warn you, her ears; do not paint with white and rouge a face dedicated to Christ; do not strangle her neck with gold and pearls; do not burden your heads with precious stones; Do not color her hair red, and do not remind her of the fire of hell in any way. Let her have other kinds of pearls, by selling which she will later buy herself a most precious pearl. It once happened that a noblewoman, a woman of the noblest family, by order of her husband Hymetius, who was the uncle of the virgin Eustochia, changed her clothes and clothes, and her hair, which had been neglected until that time, braided according to secular custom, hoping to defeat the intention of her daughter and the desire of her mother.

But if you persist in the crime, you will lose both your husband and your children together." And so everything was literally fulfilled, and the unfortunate woman's quick death was a sign that she was too late in repentance. Thus Christ punishes those who defile His temple; thus warns against expensive stones and the most precious ornaments. I have given this story, not out of a desire to mock calamities, but in order to remind us with what fear and caution one should fulfill the solemn vows given to God.

The priest Eli was subjected to the wrath of God for the vices of his children (see: 1 Samuel 2-3). A bishop cannot be one who has incontinent and disobedient children (cf. 1 Tim. 3:4). And vice versa, it is written about a woman that she will be saved through childbearing, if she continues in faith and love and in holiness with chastity (1 Tim. 2:15). If the way of life of children of full age and those who have gone beyond the father's authority is imputed to parents, then how much more is the responsibility of parents for their age, infant and weak, which, according to the Lord, does not know the right and left hands, that is, the difference between good and evil? If you watch over your daughter with care, lest the viper bite her, why do you not watch with the same care, lest the hammer of the whole earth smite her (Jeremiah 50:23), so that she does not drink from the golden cup of Babylon, so that she does not go out with Dinah, seeking the acquaintance of the daughters of a foreign land (Gen. 34:1), and flirts with her feet, Didn't you drag tunics behind her? Poisons are given only in honey; and vices deceive only under the guise and pretext of virtue! And how, you may ask, is it said that children are not responsible for the vices of their fathers, and fathers for the vices of their children, but that the soul that sins shall die (Ezek. 18:20)? This is said about those who can understand things themselves, about those about whom it is said in the Gospel: He Himself is in perfect years... let him speak of himself (John 9:21). And those who are still very young and have meaning, little ones, all his good and bad are imputed to his parents, until he enters the years of wisdom and until the letter of Pythagoras leads him to the crossroads. Do you not think that the children of Christians who have not received baptism are only guilty of sin, and those who did not want to give it, and it is not imputed to it as a crime, did not want to accept it at such a special time, when those who had it could not contradict it, while the salvation of children benefits the parents as well? Whether to offer a daughter (as a gift to God) or not, it was in your power (since your position was different: you doomed her before you conceived); but as soon as you have dedicated it, negligence about it threatens you with danger. Whoever sacrifices the lame and the mutilated, and stained with any uncleanness, is guilty of sacrilege (Lev. ch. 22) — how much greater punishment will he suffer who prepares a part of his body and the purity of a chaste soul for the embrace of the King, and does so with negligence?

And when she begins to grow up and, in the image of her Bridegroom, to be strengthened in wisdom, in years, and in grace with God and men, let her go to the temple of the true Father with her parents; but let him not go out of the temple with them. Let them seek it on the path of peace between the crowds and the multitude of relatives, and let them never find it anywhere except in the sanctuary of the Scriptures, which learns from the prophets and apostles about spiritual marriages. Let her imitate Mary, whom Gabriel found alone in her bedroom, and who, perhaps, was greatly horrified because she saw a man whom she was not accustomed to see. Let him imitate Her, of whom it is said: "All glory is to the daughter of the king within" (Psalm 44:14). Let she, too, wounded by love, say of the Beloved: "The King hath brought me into his palaces" (Song of Songs 1:3). Never let her go out, lest those who go round the city meet her, beat her, wound her, take away the veil of modesty, and leave her naked, covered with blood; it is better for her to knock at His (the Bridegroom's) door with others and say: I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers... I have washed my feet; how can I soil them" (Ode 8:10; 5:3).

She should not dine in society, that is, at the feasts of her parents, so that she does not see the food that she could desire. Though some think it a great virtue to despise real pleasures, yet I think it is safer for abstinence not to know what you might aspire to. Once, as a boy, I read in schools: "It will be difficult for you to fight what you have allowed yourself to be accustomed to." Someone will say: therefore, one should no longer drink wine at this time, because there will be intemperance in this? For the weak, before reaching adulthood, abstinence is both dangerous and difficult. Until then, if necessity requires, let her go to the baths, let her drink wine in moderation for the sake of the stoma, let her eat meat as well, so that her legs do not weaken before she has to flee. But I say this out of condescension, and not as if I were giving a prescription, I say it for fear of exhaustion, and I do not teach an intemperate life.

The same grace must be accompanied by the same podvig. Let her be deaf to music. She should not know why the flute, the lyre, the harp exist.

Every day she has to present her lesson to you like a bunch of flowers drawn from the Scriptures. Let him learn Greek verses. But at the same time, let her also study Latin; if a delicate language is not accustomed to it from the very beginning, foreign sounds will spoil speech, and the native language will unpleasantly strike the ear with errors peculiar to a foreigner. Be her teacher; Let a young child imitate you. Neither in you nor in her father should she see anything that she could sin by imitating. Remember that you are the girl's parents and that you can teach her more by examples than by words. Flowers quickly wither; quickly the destructive wind dries violets, lilies and saffron. In public places, she should never appear without you. Let him not enter the basilicas of the martyrs and the churches without you. No young man, no curly-haired man should smile at her. Our girl should celebrate the days of vigils and solemn all-night vigils so that she does not leave her mother by a hair's breadth. I would not wish that she loved any of her maids so much that she whispered to her in secret. What she says to one, everyone should know. Let him choose as his companion not a dapper and beauty, who would sing songs pleasantly with a smooth throat, but a serious, pale, poorly dressed, somewhat sad woman. An old maiden of tested faith and morals should be assigned to her, who would teach her and teach her by her own example to get up at night for prayer and psalms, to sing hymns in the morning, at the third, sixth, and ninth hours, to stand up for podvig, as befits an ascetic of Christ, and when the lamp is lit, to offer the evening sacrifice. So the day will pass, so the night will find her toiling. Prayer will be followed by reading, and reading will be followed by prayer. The time occupied by such a variety of activities will seem short.

Let her learn to cook flax, hold a moo, carry a basket on her belt, spin a spindle, and lead a thread with her fingers. Let him learn to divide the fabric of the silkworm, the wool of the grays, and the gold into flexible threads. Let him prepare garments that protect him from the cold, and not those that expose the clothed body. Its food should be vegetables and the like, and occasionally fish; and in order not to go into the exposition of the rules concerning the use of food, of which I have spoken in more detail elsewhere, I will remark that she should eat in such a way that she always feels a certain hunger, so that immediately after eating she can read and sing psalms. I do not like long and immoderate fasts in very young years, fasts that last for whole weeks and during which it is forbidden to eat both oil and vegetables. From experience, I learned that a young donkey, tired on the way, makes turns from the road. This is what the worshippers of Isis and Cybele do; in gluttonous abstinence they devour pheasants and smoking turtledoves, in order, you see, not to defile the gifts of Ceres. This should always be a rule for fasting, so that, in spite of the long fast, the strength will always remain equal, and so that, having run the first team, we will be able to run the other. However, as I wrote before, on the Forty Days of Fast, the sails of abstinence must be stretched and the driver must loosen all the reins of the hurrying horses. However, the position of a layman is different, the position of a virgin and a monk is different. A worldly person on the Forty Days reduces the gluttony of the womb and, like a snail, feeding on his own juice, prepares the abdomen for future sumptuous dinners and gluttony. The virgin and the monk must drive their horses on the Forty Days, not forgetting at the same time that they will always have to ride them. Work limited by time should be longer; work that is not limited to a certain time is more moderate. In the first case, we rest, in the latter, we continue our journey without stopping.