Till an arrow strikes through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, and knows not that it is for his life.
Read Chapter 7
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
She endeavors to steal the hearts of young men—a woman restless at home, a wanderer in the public squares, prodigal of kisses, indifferent to shame, gaudy in her dress and countenance. Since she is unable, indeed, to assume a beauty that is true to nature, she affects what is the opposite to truth—an external show of meretricious arts.… She attacks the citadels of men’s hearts while uttering such words as these as a war cry: “I have vowed victims for peace, this day I have paid my vows. Therefore I am come out to meet you, desirous to see you, and I have found you. I have woven my bed with cords. I have covered it with tapestry from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with saffron and my home with cinnamon. Come and let us wrestle with desire.” Here in the words of Solomon we behold the very picture of a wanton [woman]. What other than worldly pleasure is more characteristic of a prostitute who makes her entrance stealthily into the house, first making tentative explorations with her eyes an...
Uncircumcised in smell and touch are those who are steeped in ointment and various odors, who pursue the embraces of a harlot, sprinkling their bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
