John Chrysostom, On the Venerable Cross, Sermon

not one thing that has been made. Do you see that this is He who by a word stretched out the heaven, and adorned the varied chorus of the stars, and showed the heaven like a meadow? This is He who lit the sun, and appointed its courses; this is He who set the moon to its settings; this is He who founded the earth upon the waters; this is He, who commanded the earth to bring forth grass and herb, and the springs to gush with waters, and the rivers to flow, and the lakes to be gathered together; and set boundaries for the sea by sand, and commanded the waters 50.820 to bring forth living souls, and the winds to blow, and weighed the mountains with a balance, for clouds to move, for cattle, four-footed beasts, creeping things, and birds to run upon the earth.

But what do I say of angels, archangels, thrones, the Cherubim, the Seraphim, Principalities, Powers, orders, times, and years, and months, and weeks, and days, and hours, and nights, and light, and darkness, and the essences of things? And last He made man according to His own image and likeness, and placed him in paradise. But seeing the human race overcome by the wickedness of the devil, He willed to put on our first-fruits, and to nail it to the wood, so that, just as through the wood came the transgression, so again through the wood might come salvation. The devil therefore, being jealous that he himself was cast from heaven, while Adam was in paradise, using the serpent as a weapon, worked against him; and so he conversed with them while they were in paradise; for being incorporeal he could not converse with corporeal beings; and he says to Eve, that this tree is good and beautiful for food; and, "On whatever day you eat of it, you will be as gods, knowing all things." Having therefore persuaded Eve, he deceived her; then she persuaded her own husband, and they ate from the tree. And when they had eaten, they were seen to be naked; and God says to Adam: Where are you? When you hear, "Where are you?", do not impute ignorance to God; but He said, "Where are you?", because the devil had said to them, "On the day you eat, you will be as gods;" since they supposed that they were about to become as gods, for this reason God said to him: Adam, where are you? meaning, because you have eaten and remained a man; did I not command you not to eat from this tree? but you ate, and transgressed; this is the meaning of "Where are you?" And they were clothed with fig leaves, covering the form of their sin. And what does Adam say? I heard your voice as you walked in paradise, and I hid myself. And He says: What is this you have done? And he says to God: The woman, whom you gave to me, she deceived me. Then to Eve, What about you? And what does she say? The serpent deceived me. O Eve, so be it, I gave you to your husband, did I also give you to the serpent?

And they made these excuses, as wishing to exempt themselves from punishment. And God says to Adam: Cursed is the ground in your works, thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; in the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread. Then to the woman: In sorrows you shall bring forth children, and I will greatly multiply your sorrows; and your turning shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you. Then to the serpent: Upon your breast and your belly you shall go, and you shall eat earth all the days of your life; and man shall rule over you; he shall watch for your head, and you for his heel. And why did He curse the serpent to go upon its breast and its belly, and to eat earth all the days of its life? He cursed the breast, because in it sits the heart that conceived the evil; the belly, because it deceived through eating; and He commanded it to eat earth all the days of its life, because Adam was earthly from the earth. The three therefore received their sentence, since the three had also committed the transgression. Since the transgression came from a tree, as I said before, for this reason He willed to nail this first-fruit to a tree, so that just as through a tree came the transgression, so through a tree might come salvation. But for all these things, glory

οὐδὲ ἓν, ὃ γέγονεν. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ λόγῳ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐκτείνας, καὶ τὸν ποικίλον χορὸν τῶν ἄστρων κοσμήσας, καὶ δείξας καθάπερ λειμῶνα τὸν οὐρανόν; Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὸν ἥλιον ἀνάψας, καὶ τοὺς αὐτῷ τάξας δρόμους· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὴν σελήνην ὁρίσας εἰς δυσμάς· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὴν γῆν θεμελιώσας ἐπὶ τῶν ὑδάτων· οὗτός ἐστιν, ὁ τῇ γῇ ἐπιτάξας ἀνατεῖλαι βοτάνην χόρτου, καὶ ταῖς πηγαῖς βρύειν ὕδατα, καὶ ποταμοῖς ῥέειν, καὶ λίμναις συναχθῆναι· καὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ ὅρια θεὶς διὰ ψάμμου, καὶ τοῖς ὕδασιν ἐπι 50.820 τάξας ἐκβαλεῖν ψυχὰς ζώσας, καὶ τοῖς ἀνέμοις πνέειν, καὶ τὰ ὄρη σταθμήσας ζυγῷ, νεφέλαις κινεῖσθαι, κτήνεσι, τετράποσιν, ἑρπετοῖς, πετεινοῖς διατρέχειν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.

Τί δὲ λέγω ἀγγέλους, ἀρχαγγέλους, θρόνους, τὰ Χερουβὶμ, τὰ Σεραφὶμ, Ἀρχὰς, Ἐξουσίας, τάξεις, χρόνους, καὶ ἐνιαυτοὺς, καὶ μῆνας, καὶ ἑβδομάδας, καὶ ἡμέρας, καὶ ὥρας, καὶ νύκτας, καὶ φῶς, καὶ σκότος, καὶ τὰς τῶν πραγμάτων οὐσίας; Ἔσχατον δὲ ποιήσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν ἑαυτοῦ, ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἔθετο αὐτόν. Ἰδὼν δὲ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον γένος νικώμενον ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου κακίας, ἐβουλήθη τὴν ἀπαρχὴν τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐνδύσασθαι, καὶ προσηλῶσαι αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ, ἵν', ὥσπερ διὰ τοῦ ξύλου ἡ παράβασις, οὕτω πάλιν διὰ τοῦ ξύλου ἡ σωτηρία. Ζηλώσας οὖν ὁ διάβολος ὅτι αὐτὸς μὲν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐῤῥίφη, ὁ δὲ Ἀδὰμ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἦν, καθάπερ ὅπλῳ χρησάμενος τῷ ὄφει ἐνήργησεν εἰς αὐτόν· καὶ οὕτω προδιελέχθη αὐτοῖς οὖσιν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ· ἀσώματος γὰρ σωματικοῖς διαλεχθῆναι οὐκ ἠδύνατο· καί φησι πρὸς τὴν Εὔαν, ὅτι Καλὸν τὸ ξύλον τοῦτο καὶ ὡραῖον εἰς βρῶσιν· καὶ, Ἐν ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ φάγησθε ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, ἔσεσθε ὡς θεοὶ πάντα γινώσκοντες. Πείσας οὖν τὴν Εὔαν, ἠπάτησεν· εἶτα ἐκείνη συνέπεισε τὸν ἑαυτῆς ἄνδρα, καὶ ἔφαγον ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου. Φαγόντων δὲ αὐτῶν ὤφθησαν γυμνοί· καί φησιν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς τὸν Ἀδάμ· Ποῦ εἶ; Ὅταν ἀκούσῃς, Ποῦ εἶ, μὴ ἄγνοιαν λογίσῃ. τῷ Θεῷ· ἔλεγε δὲ, Ποῦ εἶ, ἐπειδὴ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ὁ διάβολος, ὅτι Ἐν ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ φάγητε, ἔσεσθε ὡς θεοί· ὡς ὑπολαμβανόντων αὐτῶν, ὅτι μέλλουσι γενέσθαι ὡς θεοὶ, διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγεν ὁ Θεὸς αὐτῷ· Ἀδὰμ, ποῦ εἶ; ἀνθ' ὧν, ὅτι ἔφαγες καὶ ἔμεινας ἄνθρωπος· οὐ παρήγγειλά σοι ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου τούτου μὴ φαγεῖν; ἔφαγες δὲ, καὶ παρέβης· τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ, Ποῦ εἶ; Φύλλα δὲ συκῆς ἦσαν περιβεβλημένοι, σκέποντες τὸ εἶδος τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Καὶ τί φησιν ὁ Ἀδάμ; Ἤκουσά σου τῆς φωνῆς περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, καὶ ἐκρύβην. Καί φησι· Τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας; Καί φησι πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· Ἡ γυνὴ, ἣν ἔδωκάς μοι, αὕτη με ἠπάτησεν. Εἶτα πρὸς τὴν Εὔαν, Τίς σέ; Καὶ τί φησιν ἐκείνη; Ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησέ με. Ὦ Εὔα, ἔστω, σὲ τῷ ἀνδρί σου ἔδωκα, μὴ καὶ τῷ ὄφει σε ἔδωκα;

Ταῦτα δὲ προεφασίζοντο, ὡς βουλόμενοι ἑαυτοὺς ὑπεξαιρεῖν τῆς τιμωρίας. Καί φησιν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς τὸν Ἀδάμ· Ἐπικατάρατος ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις σου, ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι· ἐν ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου σου φάγῃ τὸν ἄρτον σου. Εἶτα πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα· Ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα, καὶ πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου· καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα σου ἡ ἀποστροφή σου, καὶ αὐτός σου κυριεύσει. Εἶτα πρὸς τὸν ὄφιν· Ἐν τῷ στήθει καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ σου πορεύσῃ, καὶ γῆν φάγῃ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου· καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος σοῦ κυριεύσει· αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλὴν, καὶ σὺ αὐτοῦ πτέρναν. ∆ιὰ τί δὲ τῷ ὄφει ἐπικατηράσατο ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ πορεύεσθαι, καὶ γῆν τρώγειν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ; Τὸ στῆθος κατηράσατο, ἐπειδὴ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐγκάθηται ἡ καρδία ἡ ἐνθυμηθεῖσα τὸ κακόν· τὴν κοιλίαν, ἐπειδὴ διὰ βρώσεως ἠπάτησε· γῆν δὲ ἐκέλευσε φαγεῖν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, ἐπειδὴ ὁ Ἀδὰμ ἐκ γῆς χοϊκὸς ἦν. Ἔλαβον οὖν οἱ τρεῖς τὴν ἀπόφασιν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ οἱ τρεῖς τὴν παράβασιν ἐποιήσαντο. Ἐπειδὴ ἀπὸ ξύλου ἡ παράβασις ἐγένετο, καθὼς προλαβὼν εἶπον, διὰ τοῦτο εἰς ξύλον ἠβουλήθη τὴν ἀπαρχὴν ταύτην προσηλῶσαι, ἵν' ὥσπερ διὰ ξύλου ἡ παράβασις, οὕτω διὰ ξύλου ἡ σωτηρία. Ὑπὲρ δὲ τούτων ἁπάντων δόξαν