all there is in common between them.
All celibates are not chaste; celibacy is not necessarily chastity, by
a large majority. Unless something other than selfishness suggests this
choice of life, the word is apt to be a misnomer for profligacy. And
one who takes the vow of celibacy does not break it by sinning against
the Sixth Commandment; he is true to it until he weds. The religious
vow is something more than this.

Again, chastity, by itself, does not properly designate the state of
religious men and women. Chastity is moral purity, but purity is a
relative term, and admits of many degrees. It is perfect or imperfect.
There is a conjugal chastity; while in single life, it may concern
itself with the body, with or without reference to the mind and heart.
Chastity reaches its highest form when it excludes everything carnal,
what is lawful as well as what is unlawful, thoughts and desires as
well as deeds.

This is the chastity that is proper to religious, and it is more
correctly called virginity. This is the natural state of spirits who
have no bodies; cultivated in the frail flesh of children of Adam, it
is the most delicate flower imaginable. Considering the incessant
struggle it supposes in those who take such a vow against the spirit
within us that is so strong, the taking and keeping of it indicate a
degree of fortitude little short of heroism. Only the few, and that few
relying wholly on the grace of God, can aspire to this state.

From a spiritual point of view, there can be no question as to the
superiority of this state of life over all others. The teaching of St.
Paul to the Corinthians is too plain to need any comment, not to
mention the example of Christ, His Blessed Mother, His disciples and
all those who in the course of time have loved God best and served Him
most generously.

Prescinding from all spiritual considerations and looking at things
through purely human eyes, vows of this sort must appear prejudicial to
the propagation of the species. In fact, they go against the law of
nature which says: increase and multiply, so we are told.

If that law is natural as well as positive, it is certain that it
applies to man collectively, and not individually. It is manifested
only in the instinct that makes this duty a pleasure. Where the
inclination is lacking, the obligation is not obvious. That which is
repugnant is not natural, in any true sense of the word; whether this
repugnance be of the intel