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of delay. For this reason it is very plausible and credible that the transgression was dared on the sixth day and at the sixth hour, and that those who transgressed fell from paradise and the life in it at the ninth hour of the same day, but that this happened after seven years, as some of the elders have declared. But the great among teachers, John Chrysostom, in his interpretation of the holy gospel according to Matthew, says that on the sixth day of the first week, that is 1.13 on the very day of his creation, Adam and Eve were cast out of paradise; and we are persuaded by this. And one ought not to seek further into those things which have been kept silent by the Holy Spirit in the divinely-inspired scripture, lest instead of a small gain we incur a great loss.

And the statement that Adam became as one of us is not because he advanced into evil through disobedience, but because of the statement, "in the image of God he made him." But let no one suppose that the tree was of such a nature as to provide knowledge of good and evil. For there was nothing harmful in paradise, but a limit was set upon the plant for the exercise of freedom. And that the tree was not the cause of knowledge for Adam is clear; for the commandment was given as to one who knew both the good and the evil, both obedience and disobedience, so that knowledge preceded the commandment. And this was given because, as has been said, man is moved by a self-determining will, and having permission to partake of all the other trees, was commanded by law to abstain from one alone, and to know that he is under a master who also gave the commandment. And "their eyes were opened" is not said as if the first-formed then saw for the first time (for they are shown to have seen even before the eating from the statement, "And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing for the eyes to see"); but it was said that their eyes were opened as they put away their innocence through transgression, which also had made their 1.14 nakedness a matter of indifference. For it is the nature of every eye to be roused by the reasoning faculty towards what it sees; for it does not have understanding in and of itself. So that often, when the mind is occupied with other things, we sometimes pass by even a very familiar person like a blind man, and when we are blamed, we make our excuse by attributing the cause to the preoccupation of our reasoning faculty. Thus, then, Adam and Eve were roused by the perception of the mind to sight. For "they knew that they were naked" signifies a revelation that occurred in the reasoning faculty, not a recovery of sight in the eyes. And that will also be said, that before the disobedience, since it was not the time for childbearing, the awareness of nakedness was not given by God, but they continued as if without flesh, not yet having the occasion for a fleshly disposition. But when disobedience supervened and brought on mortality, shame towards one another was then rightly given to them; and they understood later the difference of their forms, which was foreseen in the creation for the necessity of the succession of the race. And from fig leaves they made themselves loincloths, signifying through the tree the manner of their wretched state; for just as the fruit of the fig is sweet, but the leaf is rough and very bitter, so every sin is shown to be sweet in the doing, but afterwards provides pain to the one who has done it. And concerning the tunics of skin, Gregory the Theologian says that God declared him mortal by clothing him with deadness. For this is what the tunics 1.15 of skin signify from the account of the deadness of animals, so that through the dissolution of the body and of sight all sin might be utterly destroyed. For because of this he is also cast out of paradise, lest, using his free will, he take of the tree of life and evil become immortal. That Satan, according to the Hebrew tongue, is called apostate and adversary, but is called devil as one who slandered God to men. That Cain became the first murderer among men, the second

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τριβῆς. διὰ τοῦτο μὲν ἐν ἕκτῃ ἡμέρᾳ καὶ ἐν ἕκτῃ ὥρᾳ τετολμῆ σθαι τὴν παράβασιν, ἐννάτῃ δὲ ὥρᾳ τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας τοῦ παραδείσου καὶ τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ ζωῆς τοὺς ἀθετήσαντας ἐκπεσεῖν σφόδρα πιθανὸν καὶ πιστόν, δι' ἐτῶν δὲ ἑπτὰ τοῦτο γενέσθαι, ὡς τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τινὲς ἀπεφήναντο. ὁ δέ γε μέγας ἐν διδασκάλοις Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, ἐν τῇ ἑρμηνείᾳ τοῦ κατὰ Ματθαῖον ἁγίου εὐαγγελίου, τῇ ἕκτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς πρώτης ἑβδομάδος, τουτέ 1.13 στι τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς πλάσεως αὐτοῦ, λέγει τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἐκβλη θῆναι τοῦ παραδείσου καὶ τὴν Εὔαν· ᾧ καὶ ἡμεῖς πειθόμεθα. καὶ οὐ χρὴ ζητεῖν περαιτέρω τὰ τῇ θεοπνεύστῳ γραφῇ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος σεσιγημένα, ἵνα μὴ ἀντὶ κέρδους μικροῦ μεγάλην ἐπι σπασώμεθα ζημίαν.

Τὸ δὲ εἰρημένον ὅτι Ἀδὰμ γέγονεν ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν, οὐχ ὡς δι' ἀπειθείας ἐπὶ κακίαν προκόψαντος, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ εἰρηκέναι "κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν." ἀλλὰ μή τις ὑπολάβῃ ὅτι τὸ ξύλον τοιαύτης ἦν φύσεως ὡς γνῶσιν παρέχειν καλοῦ καὶ κακοῦ. οὐ γὰρ ἦν τι βλαβερὸν ἐν παραδείσῳ, ὅρος δὲ ἐτέθη ἐπὶ τῷ φυτῷ πρὸς γυμνασίαν τῆς ἐλευθεριότητος. καὶ ὅτι οὐ τὸ ξύλον αἴτιον γνώσεως τῷ Ἀδὰμ γέγονε, δῆλον· ἡ γὰρ ἐντολὴ ὡς πρὸς εἰδότα ἄμφω ἐδόθη, τό τε καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν, τήν τε ὑπακοὴν καὶ τὴν παρακοήν, ὥστε ἡ γνῶσις προύλαβε τὴν ἐντολήν. δέδοται δὲ αὕτη διὰ τό, ὡς εἴρηται, αὐτεξουσίῳ βουλήματι κινούμενον τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἐπ' ἀδείας τε ἔχοντα ἀπὸ πάντων μεταλαμβάνειν τῶν ἄλλων δένδρων, ἑνὸς δὲ μόνου νόμῳ προσταττόμενον ἀπέχεσθαι, καὶ γινώσκειν ὡς ὑπὸ δεσπότην ἐστὶ τὸν καὶ τὴν ἐντολὴν δεδωκότα. τὸ δὲ "διηνοίχθησαν αὐτῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί" οὐχ ὡς τότε βλεψάν των τῶν πρωτοπλάστων εἴρηται (δείκνυνται γὰρ καὶ πρὸ τῆς βρώσεως ὁρῶντες ἐκ τοῦ λέγεσθαι "καὶ εἶδεν ἡ γυνὴ ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ξύλον εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ὅτι ἀρεστόν ἐστι τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἰδεῖν")· ἀλλ' ὡς τὸ ἀπειρόκακον ἀποθεμένων διὰ παραβάσεως, ὃ καὶ τὴν 1.14 γύμνωσιν ἀδιάφορον παρέσχεν, ἐρρήθη ὅτι διηνοίχθησαν αὐτῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί. πέφυκε γὰρ ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς ἅπας ὑπὸ τοῦ λογισμοῦ διεγείρεσθαι πρὸς ἃ βλέπει· σύνεσιν γὰρ καθ' ἑαυτὸν αὐτὸς οὐκ ἔχει. ὥστε πολλάκις πρὸς ἕτερα τῆς διανοίας ἀσχολουμένης τυφλοῦ δίκην παρερχόμεθα ἐνίοτε καὶ τὸν πάνυ γνώριμον, καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἐγκληθῶμεν, τῇ ἀσχολίᾳ τοῦ λογισμοῦ τὸ αἴτιον ἀνατιθέντες ἀπο λογούμεθα. οὕτως οὖν ὁ Ἀδὰμ καὶ ἡ Εὔα τῇ αἰσθήσει τοῦ νοῦ πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν διηγέρθησαν. τὸ γὰρ "ἔγνωσαν ὅτι γυμνοὶ ἦσαν" ἀποκάλυψιν σημαίνει τὴν ἐγγενομένην τῷ λογισμῷ, οὐκ ἀνάβλε ψιν ὀφθαλμῶν. λεχθήσεται δὲ κἀκεῖνο, ὅτι πρὸ τῆς ἀπειθείας, ἐπειδὴ καιρὸν οὐκ εἶχε τὰ τῆς παιδοποιίας, οὐκ ἐδέδοτο παρὰ θεοῦ ἡ παρατήρησις τῆς γυμνώσεως, ἀλλὰ διετέλουν ὡς ἄσαρκοι, σαρκικῆς διαθέσεως οὔπω καιρὸν ἔχοντες. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ ἀπείθεια ἐπισυμβᾶσα τὸ θνητὸν ἐπηγάγετο, εἰκότως λοιπὸν ἐνεδόθη τούτοις ἡ πρὸς ἀλλήλους αἰδώς· καὶ νενοήκασιν ὕστερον τῶν σχημάτων τὴν διαφοράν, προθεωρηθεῖσαν τῷ πλάσματι πρὸς τὸ ἀναγκαῖον τῆς τοῦ γένους διαδοχῆς. ἐκ φύλλων δὲ συκῆς ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς περιζώματα, αἰνιττομένων διὰ τοῦ ξύλου τὸν τρόπον τῆς κακο πραγίας· ὡς γὰρ ἡδὺς ὁ καρπὸς τῆς συκῆς, τραχὺ δὲ καὶ πικρό τατον τὸ φύλλον, οὕτω πᾶσα ἁμαρτία ἐν μὲν τῇ πράξει δείκνυται ἡδεῖα, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ὀδύνην παρέχει τῷ πεπραχότι. περὶ δὲ τῶν δερματίνων χιτώνων φησὶν ὁ θεολόγος Γρηγόριος ὅτι θνητὸν αὐ τὸν ἀπεφήνατο ὁ θεὸς νεκρότητι περιβάλλων. τοῦτο γὰρ οἱ δερ 1.15 μάτινοι χιτῶνες σημαίνει ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου τῆς τῶν ζῴων νεκρότητος, ὅπως διὰ τῆς λύσεως τοῦ σώματος καὶ τῆς ὄψεως ἡ ἁμαρτία πᾶσα αὐτόπρεμνος διαφθαρῇ. διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ τοῦ παραδείσου ἐκ βάλλεται, ἵνα μὴ τῇ αὐτεξουσιότητι κεχρημένος λάβῃ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ γένηται τὸ κακὸν ἀθάνατον. Ὅτι ὁ Σατανᾶς κατὰ τὴν τῶν Ἑβραίων φωνὴν ἀποστάτης λέγεται καὶ ἀντικείμενος, διάβολος δὲ ὡς τὸν θεὸν πρὸς τοὺς ἀν θρώπους συκοφαντήσας εἴρηται. Ὅτι ὁ Κάϊν ἐν ἀνθρώποις πρῶτος φονεὺς ἐγένετο, δεύτερος