And in turn we rejoin that he had certainly heard him
say, "Joseph, thou
son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife." The reason why
he was forbidden to forsake his wife was that he might
not think her an
adulteress. Is it true then, that he was ordered not to
have intercourse
with his wife? Is it not plain that the warning was
given him that he might
not be separated from her? And could the just man dare,
he says, to think
of approaching her, when he heard that the Son of God
was in her womb?
Excellent ! We are to believe then that the same man
who gave so much
credit to a dream that he did not dare to touch his
wife, yet afterwards,
when he had learnt from the shepherds that the angel of
the Lord had
come from heaven and said to them, "Be not afraid:
for behold I bring
you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all
people, for there is born
to you this day in the city of David a Savior, which is
Christ the Lord;" ~