Deliverance from the Strange Woman's Enticement

To deliver thee from the strange woman.—Sensual temptation demands vigilance at every stage. Gaze not on beauty overmuch, lest it blast thee; nor too long, lest it blind thee; nor too near, lest it burn thee. If thou like it, it deceives thee; if thou love it, it disturbs thee; if thou hunt after it, it destroys thee. If virtue accompany it, it is the heart's paradise; if vice associate it, it is the fool's purgatory. It is the wise man's bonfire and the fool's furnace.

The enticement of women presents particular danger to the young man through crafty allurments. Men present unlawful gain as their enticement; women offer unlawful pleasure. Scripture provides medicine for every disease of the soul—an antidote against the poison of evil women. There exists a fence against several degrees of sin: evil thoughts, evil words, evil deeds. Many remedies address the same temptation: prohibitions, examples, judgments.

The danger from evil women is demonstrated in Samson and Solomon. As good women are modest, so bad women are loud and bold. As good women are tenderly affected, so wicked ones are most cruel. Beware smooth language—they will swear they love none else and will die for thee, yet they love only thy wealth and beauty, abandoning thee when these fail. Solomon's proverbs furnish maxims for every relation of life, with frequency of warning proportional to man's liability to that sin. If impurity's warnings measure our danger, then none proves worse.