1
And what wonder? if the lusts of the soul, after participation with what is beautiful, are frustrated,
2
on this ground, therefore, the temperate Joseph is praised in that by reasoning, he subdued, on reflection, the indulgence of sense.
3
For, although young, and ripe for sexual intercourse, he abrogated by reasoning the stimulus of his passions.
4
And it is not merely the stimulus of sensual indulgence, but that of every desire, that reasoning is able to master.
5
For instance, the law says, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor anything that belongs to thy neighbour.
6
Now, then, since it is the law which has forbidden us to desire, I shall much the more easily persuade you, that reasoning is able to govern our lusts, just as it does the affections which are impediments to justice.
7
Since in what way is a solitary eater, and a glutton, and a drunkard reclaimed, unless it be clear that reasoning is lord of the passions?
8
A man, therefore, who regulates his course by the law, even if he be a lover of money, straightway puts force upon his own disposition; lending to the needy without interest, and cancelling the debt of the incoming sabbath.
9
And should a man be parsimonious, he is ruled by the law acting through reasoning; so that he does not glean his harvest crops, nor vintage: and in reference to other points we may perceive that it is reasoning that conquers his passions.