1 The one who does this will not become rich; one who despises small things will fail little by little. 2 Wine and women lead intelligent men astray, and the man who consorts with prostitutes is reckless. 3 Decay and worms will take possession of him, and the reckless person will be snatched away. 4 One who trusts others too quickly has a shallow mind, and one who sins does wrong to himself. 5 One who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned, 6 but one who hates gossip has less evil.

If, however, any one should venture to find fault with our argument as destitute of Scripture proof, we will bring forward the writings of the prophets, and more fully demonstrate the truth of the statements already made. Now Abraham, when he first received the covenant of circumcision, seems to signify, by receiving circumcision in a member of his own body, nothing else than this, that one should no longer beget children with one born of the same parent; showing that every one should abstain from intercourse with his own sister, as his own flesh. And thus, from the time of Abraham, the custom of marrying with sisters has ceased; and from the times of the prophets the contracting of marriage with several wives has been done away with; for we read, Go not after your lusts, but refrain yourself from your appetites; for wine and women will make men of understanding to fall away; and in another place, Let your fountain be blessed; and rejoice with the wife of your youth, manifestly forbidding a plurality of wives. And Jeremiah clearly gives the name of fed horses to those who lust after other women; and we read, The multiplying brood of the ungodly shall not thrive, nor take deep rooting from bastard slips, nor lay any fast foundation. Lest, however, we should seem prolix in collecting the testimonies of the prophets, let us again point out how chastity succeeded to marriage with one wife, taking away by degrees the lusts of the flesh, until it removed entirely the inclination for sexual intercourse engendered by habit.