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On Virginity (De Virginitate)

Saint Ambrose

One favorite topic of his was the excellence of virginity, and so successful was he in persuading maidens to adopt the religious profession that many a mother refused to permit her daughters to listen to his words. The saint was forced to refute the charge that he was depopulating the empire, by quaintly appealing to the young men as to whether any of them experienced any difficulty in finding wives. He contends, and the experience of ages sustains his contention (De Virg., vii) that the population increases in direct proportion to the esteem in which virginity is held. ( Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). St. Ambrose. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.)