thee, that thou shouldest not eate, cursed is the earth in thy woorke: with[1] much toyling shalt thou eate thereof al the dayes of thy life. 18Thornes and thystles shal it bring forth to thee, & thou shalt eate the herbes of the earth. 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eate bread, til thou returne to earth, of which thou wast taken: because dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt returne.
20And Adam called the name of his wife, Eue: for because[2] she was mother of al the liuing. 21Our Lord God also made for Adam and his wife garments of skynnes, and clothed them. 22And said: Loe Adam is become as it were one of vs, knowing good & euil: now therfore lest perhapes he reach forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, & eate, and liue for euer. 23And our Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to worke the earth of which he was taken. 24And he cast out Adam: and placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubins, & a flaming, and a turning sworde, for to keepe the way of the tree of life.
ANNOTATIONS. CHAP. III
1 Why hath God?] Here we may see how sinne came first amongst men. For the diuel enuying mans happie state tempted Eue the weaker person, beginning with a question, therby to allure her into conference, and by such a question as might bring her into suspition of Gods affection towards man, saying: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eate of euerie tree of paradise? insinuating by these words, and withal internally suggesting, that God dealt hardly with them, abridging their libertie without cause. And when he had got so much of her, that she was displeased with the precept, which she shewed by adding of her owne (to make it seme more greuous) that they were forbidden to touch the tree: and againe by reporting the punishment as doubtful, saying: lest perhaps we dye, then the tempter auouched boldly, and falsly, that they should not dye, and charged God to be enuious of the benefite they should get by eating of that tree, saying their eyes should be opened, and they should be as Goddes, knowing good and euil. Vpon which perswasion, and liking also she had to the fruite, she did take and eate, and perswaded Adam also to eate. And forthwith they saw that they would not haue seene, knew euil which they had better not to haue knowen, were ashamed, and endeuored to couer, and hide them selues. Euen thus the diuel dealeth with men euer since, assaulting the weaker persons, and weaker part, as the flesh and sensualitie, and by them setteth vpon the stronger and superior part, to get consent of freewil, without which there is no sinne. According to that famous saying of S. Augustin: Pecatum adeo est voluntarium, vt nullo modo sit peccatum, si non voluntarium. Sinne is so voluntarie, that in
- ↑ Al men trauel one way or other: & such as suffer wides to ouergrowe (in their souls) shal after this life either sustaine the fyre of Purgatorie or eternal paine. S. Aug. li 2. c. 20. de Gen. con Man.
- ↑ She was mother rather of al the dying: but in figure of our B. Lady who is mother of Christ, life it selfe, she is called mother of the liuing. S. Epiph. her. 78.
