John Chrysostom: Woman More Admirable for Virtue

Don't be surprised if we are not yet rid of this theme: I can't get this woman out of my mind, so amazed am I at her beauty of soul and charm of thought. I mean, I am attracted by her eyes weeping in prayer, always attentive, her lips and mouth not reddened with some coating but enhanced with thanksgiving to God as hers were; I admire her for her sound values, and I am more amazed that as a woman she had sound values - woman, whom many frequently criticize. "From a woman was the beginning of sin," Scripture says, remember, "and because of her we all die," and again, "Any vice is insignificant compared with a woman's vice," and Paul, "Adam was not deceived, remember: the woman was deceived, and fell into transgression."

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Homilies on Hannah, Homily 4, in St. John Chrysostom, Old Testament Homilies, Volume 1, p. 112 (2003), Robert C. Hill translator.