“But I wonder why he set Judah and Tamar before us for an example, unless
perchance even harlots give him pleasure; or Onan, who was slain because he
grudged his brother seed. Does
he imagine that we approve of any sexual intercourse except for the procreation of
children.”
Epistle to Furia (394 AD):
54, 8
“The apostle macerates his body and brings it into subjection to the soul lest what
he has preached to others he should himself fail to keep; and can a mere girl
whose passions are kindled by abundance of food afford to be confident of her own
chastity?”
On the Three Solomonic Books (C. 398 AD):
Preface
“There is also the book of Jesus, son of Sirach...and another book, Wisdom,
attributed to Solomon...the second was never known in Hebrew, for its very style
bespeaks Greek eloquence; and some of the older authors affirm that it is a work of
Philo the Jew. Just as the Church reads Judith and Tobias and the Books of
Maccabees, but does not accept them as belonging among the canonical
Scriptures, so too let her read these two volumes for the edification of the people
but not for the purpose of confirming the authority of the Church’s teachings.”
Against Vigilantius (406 AD):
6
“You say in your book that while we live we are able to pray for each other, but
afterwards when we have died, the prayer of no person for another can be heard;
and this is especially clear since the martyrs, though they cry vengeance for their
own blood, have never been able to obtain their request. But if the Apostles and
martyrs while still in the body can pray for others, at a time when they ought still
be solicitous about themselves, how much more will they do so after their crowns,
victories, and triumphs.”
Commentary on the Psalms (Ante 420 AD):
Ps. 44
“‘The Queen stood on the right hand in gilded clothing, surrounded with variety’
(Ps. 44, 10). We read how the angels have come to the death and burial of some of
the saints, and how they have accompanied the souls of the elect to heaven with
hymns and praises. How much more should we believe that the heavenly army,
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