Chapter 18

1CHRISTIAN people who have no children ought to educate orphans, whether youths or virgins, and adopt them as their own children, and love them yet more. And he that hath a son who hath attained the due age, let him marry the orphan virgin. And if ye do thus, ye shall accomplish a great work and be the fathers of the orphans, obtain a reward from the Lord God for the service ye have done. But if there be one that is proud, and despiseth the orphan, and saith, I will not marry a poor woman,’ let him understand then who is the father of the orphan, and the protector? of the widow. For he that thinketh to do thus shall scatter his wealth to another, and shall fulfil in himself * that which the Scripture saith, “ What the saints have not eaten, the Syrians‘ shall eat,” even as Isaiah saith, “Your land a foreign enemy shall devour it in your sight.” * minister to the presbyter. source of the quotation is not