On fornication and adultery

If the fire of carnal passion burns you, set against it the unquenchable fire of Gehenna, and the flame of your passion will at once die down and vanish. St John Chrysostom

If bodily beauty tempts your heart, picture to yourself how it will decay, and you will be at peace. Abba Isaiah

However great the power of lust may be, if you fence in your desire, your very selves, with the fear of God, you will easily overcome the raging of passion. St John Chrysostom

Lust drives us to do what we shudder even to think of. St John Chrysostom

Take bread in moderation, drink water by measure, and the passion of fornication will depart from you. Abba Evagrius

Every pillar rests on a firm foundation, and the passion of adultery is founded on gluttony. St Nilus of Sinai

Carnal warfare is brought on by negligence; it quietly carries you off into weighing and judging others, and in this way betrays you. St Barsanuphius the Great

As the force of the waves carries off a boat without a helmsman, so the lust of fornication carries off a mind that is unguarded and left slack through negligence. St Maximus the Confessor

As it is impossible to hold fire with reeds and hay, so it is impossible to fight and overcome the passion of fornication while eating one's fill. St Maximus the Confessor