CHAP. III.
The second part. Of the fal of man, & propagation of man & of sinne.By the craft of the Divel speaking in a serpent, our first parents transgressed Gods commandement. 7. Who being ashamed would hide themselves: 9. but are reproved by God. 14. And besides other particular punishments (yet with promise of a Redeemer) are cast out of Paradise.
BUT [1] the serpent also was more subtile then al the beasts of the earth, which our Lord God had made. Which said to the woman: ″ Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eate of everie tree of Paradise? 2To whom the woman answered: Of the fruite of the trees that are in Paradise, we doe eate: 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middes of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eate: and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die. 2 Cor. 11, 3.4And the serpent said to the woman: No you shal not dye the death. 5For God doth know that in what day soever you shal eate therof, your eyes shal be opened: and you shal be as Gods, knowing good and evil.
6The woman therfore saw that the tree was good to eate, and faire to the eyes, and delectable to behold: and she tooke of the fruite therof, & did eate, and gave to her husband, who did eate. Eccl. 25.
1. Tim. 2, 14.7And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they [2] perceived themselves to be naked, they sowed together leaves of a fig-tree, and made themselves aprons.
8And hearing the voice of our Lord God walking in Paradise at the after-noon ayre, Adam hid himselfe and so did his wife from the face of our Lord God, amidst the trees of Paradise. 9And our Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou? 10Who said: I heard thy voice in Paradise: and I feared, because I was naked, and I hid me. 11To whom he said: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eate? 12And Adam said: The woman, which thou gavest me to be my fellow-companion, gave me of the tree, & I did eate.
13And our Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? Who answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eate. 14And our Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, [3] accursed art thou among al cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy brest shalt thou goe, & [4] earth shalt thou eate al the dayes of thy life. 15I wil put enmyties betwen thee & the woman, & thy seed and the seed of her: ″ she shal bruise thy head in pieces, and thou shalt lye in waite
- ↑ Serpents most craftie to escape harme when they hurt men: so is the divel.
- ↑ After sinne they were ashamed, not before. S. Chrisost.
- ↑ Al this curse perteineth to the divel that spake in the serpent. S. Aug. l. 2. de Gen. ad lit. c. 36. S. Beda in hunc locum.
- ↑ Earthlie or worldlie carnal men S. Greg. in Psal. 101.
