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Banquet of the Ten Virgins

Methodius of Olympus

Chapter 1

About this work

A literary symposium in which ten women offer speeches on virginity, creation, Scripture, virtue, and Christian perfection, consciously adapting the form of a classical philosophical banquet.

Author: Methodius of Olympus
Date: Late 3rd century
Origin: Eastern Mediterranean
Genre: Dialogue

Chapter I.—The Excellence of the Abiding Glory of Virginity; The Soul Made in the Image of the Image of God, that is of His Son; The Devil a Suitor for the Soul.

With great confidence of being able to persuade,

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and

to

carry

on

this

admirable

discourse

,

O

Arete

,

if

thou

go

with

me

,

will

I

also

endeavour

,

according

to

my

ability

,

to

contribute

something

to

the

discussion

of

the

subject

before

us

;

something

commensurate

to

my

own

power

,

and

not

to

be

compared

with

that

which

has

already

been

spoken

.

For

I

should

be

unable

to

put

forth

in

philosophizing

anything

that

could

compete

with

those

things

which

have

already

been

so

variously

and

brilliantly

worked

out

.

For

I

shall

seem

to

bear

away

the

reproach

of

silliness

,

if

I

make

an

effort

to

match

myself

with

my

superiors

in

wisdom

.

If

,

however

,

you

will

bear

even

with

those

who

speak

as

they

can

,

I

will

endeavour

to

speak

,

not

lacking

at

least

in

good

will

.

And

here

let

me

begin

.

We have all come into this world, O virgins, endowed with singular beauty, which has a relationship and affinity to divine wisdom. For the souls of men do then most accurately resemble Him who begat and formed them, when, reflecting the unsullied representation of His likeness, and the features of that countenance, to which God looking formed them to have an immortal and indestructible shape, they remain such. For the unbegotten and incorporeal beauty, which neither begins nor is corruptible, but is unchangeable, and grows not old and has need of nothing, He resting in Himself, and in the very light which is in unspeakable and inapproachable places, embracing all things in the circumference of His power, creating and arranging, made the soul after the image of His image. Therefore, also, it is reasonable and immortal. For being made after the image of the Only-begotten, as I said, it has an unsurpassable beauty, and therefore evil spirits love it, and plot and strive to defile its godlike and lovely image, as the prophet Jeremiah shows, reproaching Jerusalem, “Thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed;” speaking of her who prostituted herself to the powers which came against her to pollute her. For her lovers are the devil and his angels, who plan to defile and pollute our reasonable and clear-sighted beauty of mind by intercourse with themselves, and desire to cohabit with every soul which is betrothed to the Lord.

Notes

1
Cf. 1 Tim. vi. 16.
2
πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας (Eph. vi. 12). In E.V. “spiritual wickedness.”
3
Jer. iii. 3.