XVI. Responsum Castitatis.

XVI. Responsum Castitatis.

And again I heard a voice from the troubled cloud, as if from the diadem of a king, giving a response to that image: "I am not idle, as you are filth, which always plays with lust." For even in that bed where you lie, I do not lie, which you call a shameful act. I don’t speak poisonous words from my mouth that teach shameful wickedness. But I draw drink from the well of blessing, from the sweetest dew, because all my works are in refreshment with God; for I sit in the sun and behold the King of kings, as I willingly perform all good works. But I don't want the tail of the scorpion that wounds you through impurity; instead, I have joy in the harmony of a joyful life, in the joy of honesty and purity. The joyful life I have doesn’t bind me through the blasphemy of shame, nor does it wound me through the impurity of lust. But you, oh most sordid belly of the serpent, are the one who grew through the hearing of the ear in Adam and Eve, when obedience vanished in them. But I have come forth in the highest paternal Word. Heaven and earth will be ashamed of you when they see you naked in confusion. I also saw the image of that man standing on the right side, like in human form, which had a fiery face and was clothed in a caliginous garment.