6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. 7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.

8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.

9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

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particular occasion, by mutual agreement, for a time, in order that by restricting yourselves in this principal bodily pleasure, and in that respect disengaging yourselves from worldly thoughts you may effectually practise the duties of fasting and prayer; and after that, live together again as before, that Satan may not avail himself of the bent of your natural inclinations to make you violate the mar6 riage-vow. But yet, so far agreeing in your remark I say this, subject however to the concurrence of the parties concerned, not as a positive ' command. (For I wish indeed all persons in the same circumstances as mine to act as I do; but I know that this is not to be expected, since every man has his own peculiar gift, one man being gift9ed in one way, and another in another.) But with this proviso, I say to widowers and to widows, that it is a good thing if they can continue unmarried, even as I do. Yet, if they have not a complete command over their desires, enabling them to abstain from marriage without personal inconvenience, let them marry; for the marriage-state is for every purpose of life better than celibacy ac

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10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband.

11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

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10 companied with desire. But to those who are married I give in charge, not as prudential advice from myself but as a command from our Lord, that the wife should not be forcibly separated from "the society of her husband; but if even she be forcibly separated, let her remain as an unmarried woman, or, if she can, conciliate her husband; and that the wife should not voluntarily leave the society of her husband. Now addressing myself to those who are in the only remaining case to be noticed of married persons, I say, as matter for their attentive consideration, since the subject as involving the question of personal comfort does not admit of my delivering an explicit direction about it as a command from our Lord, if any Christian brother has a wife unconverted to the faith, but well pleased to continue to live with him, let him not leave her society on a religious account; and let not the Christian woman who has a husband unconverted to the faith, and yet well pleased to continue to live with her, leave his society on a re

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14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

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ligious account. (For the unbelieving husband is by means of his believing wife's living with him, prepared for receiving the gospel; and the unbelieving wife is, in like manner, by means of her believing husband's living with her, prepared for receiving the gospel; since also, in the event of your respectively separating from the unbelieving parties, the children which you may already have, are thereby rejected as unfit to be consecrated to God in the profession of the gospel, but by your continuing together as you now are, they also are prepared for receiving the gospel by living in a family 15 with one believing parent. But if the unbelieving party chooses to live separately in consequence of the other's profession of the faith, let that party do so; a Christian brother or sister is not in such cases bound by the law of marriage to abandon the faith in order to secure the society of the other party, which would be to submit slavishly to an unjust usurpation over one's conscience: but we must ever remember, that God in calling us to the Christian faith, has done it in the design of promoting not strife, but peace, which therefore is to

16 For how knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches. 18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.

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16 be as much as possible aimed at.) For how knowest thou, O Christian wife, whether or not by living with your unbelieving husband you will be the means, under the divine providence, of leading him to embrace the offer of salvation? Or how knowest thou, O Christian husband, whether or not by living with your unbelieving wife you will be the means, under the divine providence, of leading 17 her to embrace the offer of salvation? In general, let each one not act otherwise than conformably to the obligations belonging to the state of life which the providence of God allotted to him, and from which obligations our Lord did not release him when our Lord by his gracious influence called him to the profession of the gospel; but let each one act conformably to them: and such is the order which I am accustomed to give in all the 18 Churches. Now, by way of illustration, to apply this rule, in the first place, to a man's religious condition; has any one been called to the profession of the gospel after having submitted to the rite of circumcision, and engaged to observe the law attached to it? let him not think of annulling

19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.

22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's ser

vant.

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by the supposed authority of the gospel, the obligations to which that rite has bound him; has any one been called without having previously submitted to circumcision, and engaged to observe the law attached to it? let him not be circumcised, and bind himself to the observance of that law to 19 the prejudice of the gospel. The use of the rite of circumcision, together with an obedience to the obligations attached to it, is of no advantage to final salvation, and in like manner, the disuse of the rite with a non-compliance with its obligations, is of no advantage, except in each case it be an ob20 servance of a command from God. Let each one

then continue to act conformably to the religious obligations to which he was bound when he was 21 called to the profession of the gospel. Again, to apply the rule to a man's civil condition, hast thou been called to the profession of the gospel, while in a state of slavery? care not about it (except that if you have an opportunity of obtaining your 22 freedom use it rather than not), since your Christian profession confers a more valuable freedom than that which relates to a man's civil condition,