Sentence:  A celibate himself, he was of the opinion that marriage was something of a concession to human frailty, to save from fornication those who could not be <WSD>continent</WSD>, so it was better to marry than to burn with lust. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Exercising self-restraint; controlled, temperate with respect to one's bodily needs or passions, especially sex, urination and/or defecation.