Clement of Rome, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. VII, Two Epistles Concerning Virginity… (1885)
“ Object and Reward of True Virgins.For he who covets for himself these things so great and excellent, withdraws and severs himself on this account from all the world, that he may go and live a life divine and heavenly, like the holy angels, in work pure and holy, and “in the holiness [1] of the Spirit of God,” [2] and that he may serve God Almighty through Jesus Christ for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. On this account he severs himself from all the appetites of the body. ”
