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to see what to call them. Let them learn, that through you they were brought forth. Receive my economy.

Was there anything so great for an angel, or for another creature, as for man? Since him alone He fashioned with His own hands, him alone the creator served, on the one hand, in the bringing forth of the animals, on the other hand, in the beauty of the garments. From which also, in the incarnation, revealing to His own disciples, He began to wash their feet, presenting the emphasis of the ancient creation. But when Peter, out of reverence, refused the washing of his feet, the Lord said to him: Unless I wash your feet, you have no part with me. I am the one who served Adam, on the one hand, bringing forth the animals, on the other hand, building his rib into a woman, from him what is his, and before him what is mine through myself bringing to him. From which he shows, friend, that man alone among creations is an incomparable and exceptional work of God. From which also it is written of him alone: Let us make man in our image and after our likeness. Great is God's relation to man; and the creator indeed deemed Adam worthy of such glory, of which no other creature at all partook; but Adam, being neglectful, slipped down to the bottom of Hades, drawing poverty upon himself instead of a kingdom, so that the master became a slave, the ruler of all a beggar, the one clothed in seemliness, not even having a staff, the one conversing daily with God in friendly company, hiding like a thief under a tree, the one who received paradise as a dwelling, having become an exile from paradise, and being settled opposite paradise, so that seeing the loss of paradise, he might not cease blaming the foolish counsel. For what else did Adam do, having his dwelling outside of paradise, digging, toiling, mining, turning clods, drenched with sweat from all sides, than reproach his wife with a loud voice, saying thus: See the profits of your counsel; so that you might play with the serpent, I have been alienated from the gift of God?

Did you not promise me, saying, woman, if you taste of the forbidden fruit, you will become blessed? Did you not promise to make me a god after eating the forbidden fruit? How then have I, a god, been shown to be a digger? I, the blessed one, have been found thrice-wretched? You erred, and I am scourged; I have lost my rib, and I have not found a helper. Woe is me, woman Eve, mother of death, begetter of disobedience, caster-out from paradise, lover of serpentine hissings, a fitting instrument of diabolical machinations. Go away, woman; why have you reaped my immortality? why have you torn my royal robe? That which you did not weave, you have rent. Why did you teach me to sew fig leaves? why did you bring me an entrapping fruit, O woman of enchanting speech, saying: Receive, eat of the fruit begrudged to you? For on whatever day you eat, your eyes will be opened, and 55.615 you will be as God, knowing good and evil. What have you done, woman? I was blinded, I do not see. I did the evil, the good has fled away. Like the ray I toil, not as God do I command. Go away, woman, I do not know who you are. Before being joined, I seek release; I do not bear the labor. You, being free from care, do not feel the pain. When you approach childbirth, then you will be reminded of the sentence. Go away, you have become for me a cause of unbearable evils, woman; I was ordered to work the earth, to eat bread in the sweat of my face; the earth was ordered to bring forth thorns and thistles for me. This is the sentence I received from God. What shall I do? when shall I forge a mattock? when shall I make a plow? when shall I teach a bull to obey the yoke? when shall I break up the soil? when shall I cast seed? when shall I wait for the ear of corn? when shall I sharpen a sickle? when shall I reap a sheaf? when shall I fill a wagon? when shall I clear a threshing floor? when shall I fashion a threshing sledge? when shall I construct a winnowing fan? when shall I hide leaven? when shall I form bread? when shall I heat up ovens?

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ἰδεῖν τί καλέσαι αὐτά. Μάθω σιν, ὅτι διὰ σὲ παρήχθησαν. Τὴν ἐμὴν δέχου οἰκονομίαν.

Μή τι τοσοῦτον ἐπὶ ἀγγέλου, ἢ ἐπὶ ἄλλης κτίσεως, οἷον ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου; Ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸν μόνον ἰδίαις χερσὶν ἔπλασεν, αὐτῷ μόνῳ ὑπηρέτησεν ὁ δημιουργὸς, τοῦτο μὲν, τῇ τῶν ζώων παραγωγῇ, τοῦτο δὲ, ἐν τῇ τῶν ἐνδυ μάτων καλλονῇ. Ἐξ ὧν καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐνανθρωπήσει μηνύων τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, ἤρξατο νίπτειν αὐτῶν τοὺς πόδας, τῆς ἀρχαίας δημιουργίας τὴν ἔμφασιν παριστῶν. Τοῦ δὲ Πέτρου ἀπὸ εὐλαβείας παραιτουμένου τὴν τῶν ποδῶν νίψιν, ὁ Κύριος πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἐὰν μή σου νίψω τοὺς πόδας, οὐκ ἔχεις μέρος μετ' ἐμοῦ. Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ τῷ Ἀδὰμ ὑπηρετήσας, τοῦτο μὲν, τὰ ζῶα παραγαγὼν, τοῦτο δὲ, τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῦ οἰκοδομῶν εἰς γυναῖκα, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὸ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἐμὸν δι' ἑαυτοῦ αὐτῷ προσάγων. Ἐξ ὧν δείκνυσι, φίλε, ὅτι μόνος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν κτίσμασιν ἀσύγκριτον καὶ ἐξαίρετον ἔργον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐξ ὧν καὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου γέγραπται· Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν. Πολλὴ σχέσις Θεοῦ περὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον· καὶ ὁ μὲν δημιουργὸς τοσαύτης δόξης τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἠξίωσεν, οἵας ἄλλη κτίσις καθάπαξ οὐ μετέσχεν· ὁ δὲ Ἀδὰμ ὀλιγωρήσας ἐξωλίσθησεν εἰς τὸν τοῦ ᾅδου πυθμένα, ἀντὶ βασιλείας πτωχείαν ἐπισπασάμενος, ὡς γενέσθαι τὸν δεσπότην δοῦλον, τὸν παντάρχην προσαιτὴν, τὸν εὐπρέπειαν ἠμφιεσμένον, μηδὲ ῥάβδου εὐποροῦντα, τὸν φιλικῇ συντυχίᾳ καθ' ἑκάστην τῷ Θεῷ συνδιατρίβοντα, ὡς κλέπτην ὑπὸ δένδρον κρυπτόμενον, τὸν δεξάμενον τὸν παράδεισον ἐνδιαίτημα, ἐξόριστον τοῦ παραδείσου γενόμενον, καὶ κατ' ἀντικρὺ τοῦ παραδείσου παροικιζόμενον, ἵνα βλέπων τὴν ζημίαν τοῦ παραδείσου, μὴ παύσηται μεμφόμενος τὴν ματαίαν συμβουλίαν. Τί γὰρ ἕτερον ἔπραττεν ὁ Ἀδὰμ, ἔξω τοῦ παραδείσου τὴν κατοίκησιν ἔχων, σκάπτων, κάμνων, μεταλλεύων, βωλοστροφῶν, ἱδρῶτι πανταχόθεν κατακλυζόμενος, ἢ ὀνειδίζει μεγάλῳ στόματι τὴν γαμετὴν, φάσκων οὕτως· Ἴδε σου τῆς συμβουλίας τὰ κέρδη· ἵνα σὺ τῷ ὄφει προσπαίζῃς, ἐγὼ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρεᾶς ἠλλοτρίωμαι;

Οὐχ ὑπέσχου μοι λέγουσα, γύναι, ἐὰν γεύσῃ τοῦ ἀπηγορευμένου καρποῦ, γενήσῃ μακάριος; Οὐ θεόν με ποιεῖν ἐπηγγείλω μετὰ τὴν βρῶσιν τοῦ ἀπηγορευμένου καρποῦ; Πῶς οὖν ὁ θεὸς σκαφεὺς ἀνεδείχθην; ὁ μακάριος τρισάθλιος εὑρέθην; Σὺ ἐσφάλης, κἀγὼ μαστίζομαι· τὴν πλευρὰν ἀπολώλεκα, καὶ βοηθὸν οὐχ εὗρον. Οἴμοι, γύναι Εὔα, θανάτου μήτηρ, παρακοῆς γεννήτρια, παραδείσου ἐκβλήτρια, δρακοντιαίων συρισμάτων ἀγαπήτρια, διαβολικῶν μηχανημάτων ἐπιτήδειον ὄργανον. Ἄπιθι, γύναι· τί μου τὴν ἀθανασίαν ἐθέρισας; τί μου τὴν βασιλικὴν στολὴν ἔσχισας; ἣν οὐχ ὕφανας, διέῤῥηξας. Τί με φύλλα συκῆς ῥάπτειν ἐδίδαξας; τί μοι καρπὸν παγιδευτικὸν προσήγαγες, γύναι γοητόστομε, λέγουσα· ∆έξαι, φάγε τοῦ φθονηθέντος σοι καρποῦ; Ἧ δ' ἂν γὰρ ἡμέρᾳ φάγῃ, διανοιχθήσονταί σου οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ, καὶ 55.615 ἔσῃ ὡς Θεὸς γινώσκων καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν. Τί ἔπραξας, γύναι; Ἐτυφλώθην, οὐ βλέπω. Τὸ κακὸν ἐποίησα, τὸ καλὸν ἀπεπήδησεν. Ὥσπερ ἡ ἀκτὶς μοχθῶ, οὐχ ὡς Θεὸς αὐθεντῶ. Ἄπιθι, γύναι, οὐκ οἶδα τίς εἶ. Πρὸ τοῦ συναφθῆναι τὴν λύσιν ζητῶ· οὐ φέρω τὸν κόπον. Σὺ ἀμέριμνος μὲν οὖσα, οὐκ αἰσθάνῃ τῆς ὀδύνης. Ὅτε τόκῳ πλησιάσεις, τότε τῆς ἀποφάσεως ὑπομνησθήσῃ. Ἄπιθι, ἀφορήτων μοι κακῶν ἐγένου πρόξενος, γύναι· τὴν γῆν προσετάχθην ἐργάσασθαι, ἐν ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου τὸν ἄρτον ἐσθίειν· ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἡ γῆ ἀνατέλλειν μοι προσετάχθη. Ταύτην θεόθεν τὴν ἀπόφασιν ἔλαβον. Τί ποιήσω; πότε δίκελλαν χαλκεύσω; πότε ἄροτρον κατασκευάσω; πότε ταῦρον ζυγῷ πείθεσθαι διδάξω; πότε πλάκας ἐγερῶ; πότε σπέρμα ῥίψω; πότε στάχυν περιμενῶ; πότε δρέπανον ὀξυνῶ; πότε δρᾶγμα θερίσω; πότε ἅμαξαν γεμίσω; πότε ἅλωνα καθαρίσω; πότε τυκάνην χαράξω; πότε πτύον συμπήξω; πότε ζύμην ἐγκρύψω; πότε ἄρτον σχηματίσω; πότε ὀπτῆρας ἐκκαύσω;