On Widows

Contents

Only chapters 2, 11 and 15 (on second marriage) are published; the other chapters are not yet on the site.

1. 2Ambrose expounds Paul's rules for widows in 1 Tim 5, says that a woman who has entered a second marriage, which the apostolic precepts do not condemn, may still devote herself to widowhood, though the widow of one marriage is more approved, and explains “better to marry than to burn” as a remedy, not a precept.
2. 11Ambrose counsels widows not to remarry but says plainly that he does not forbid second marriages, only does not advise them and does not approve repeated ones, describing marriage as a mutual servitude from Rom 7:2 and 1 Cor 7, and warning against teachers who impose continence beyond people's strength.
3. 15Ambrose answers widows who would remarry for the sake of children, describing the griefs and divided loyalties of second marriage, and argues from Gen 2:24, Christ and the Church, Isaac and Jacob that Scripture honours the first marriage.