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has become of the rivers; for they go out from there, as the divine Scripture says; then passing through certain underground channels, they take other beginnings here. But God of all things did not arrange this in vain, but to cut off the excessive meddlesomeness of men; for if their whole course were clear, some would have tried, travelling along their banks, to spy out the place of paradise; but they would have failed of their desire, both being exhausted by the length of the journey, and being destroyed by the lack of necessities; and now falling into difficult places, and now into deserts, and at other times also encountering cruel and barbarous men. And therefore, the merciful God, taking thought for these things, made their courses unclear. XXX Why ever did He form the woman from the side of Adam? The maker of nature wished to bring the sexes together into harmony; for this reason He formed Adam from the earth, and the woman from Adam, that He might both show the sameness of nature, and implant in them a certain natural affection for each other; for if, even when they have been created in this way, men fight with women, and women with men, what would they not have done if He had formed the woman from somewhere else? wisely, therefore, He both divided and joined them together again; for marriage brings the sexes together into one; 33 " for they shall be," he says, "the two into one flesh ". And that this is true, what happens testifies; for through marital intercourse one fruit springs from both, being sown from the one, and nourished from the other, but brought to perfection by the creator of nature. { XXXI If the serpent is prudent and praiseworthy, for prudence is a part of virtue? Many names are used homonymously; for they have called the idols of the nations gods; but this is said more accurately concerning the demon who worked in that one. And the foolish, in their ignorance, have called those who occupy themselves with myths, wise; so also the divine Scripture says; "God has chosen the foolish things of the world, that He might put to shame the wise "; and again; "where is the wise?"; and through the prophet; "they are wise to do evil". Therefore, here also He called the serpent prudent as crafty; for thus also Aquila translated; "and the serpent was crafty beyond every beast of the land which the Lord God had made". XXXII Being irrational, how did the serpent converse with Eve? It was an instrument of the enemy of truth; and the Lord has made this clear in the divine Gospels; for having said to the Jews "you are of your father the devil", He added "he was a murderer from the beginning". This one, 34 therefore, conversed with Eve through the serpent; for since they had received dominion over all irrational creatures from the God of all, through one of her subjects he brought the snare to her, thus making the deception more plausible. But that the divine Scripture also calls the one who worked through the serpent a serpent, Isaiah the prophet is a witness, crying out; "In that day God will bring His holy, great, and strong sword upon the dragon the serpent, the crooked and strong, upon the dragon the serpent, the fleeing, the one in the sea". And the Lord also said to the holy disciples; "behold I have given you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy. XXXIII What is "the eyes of the two were opened"? That even before the eating they did not have their eyes closed is clear to those willing to pay attention; for how did the woman see the tree, that it was good for food and pleasant to the eyes to see, and beautiful to consider, if they did not have their eyes open? Therefore the divine Scripture has thus called the perception after the sin; for immediately after the sin the conscience is pricked. XXXIV Why ever, when the devil brought the deception, is the serpent punished? Properly, God brought the curse upon the one who was working; for a serpent 35

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γεγένηται τῶν ποταμῶν· ἐξίασι μὲν γὰρ ἐκεῖθεν, ὥς φησιν ἡ θεία γραφή· εἶτα διά τινων ὑπογείων διϊόντες πόρων, ἑτέρας ἀρχὰς ἐνταῦθα λαμβάνουσι. τοῦτο δὲ οὐ μάτην οὕτως ᾠκονόμησεν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεός, ἀλλὰ τὴν περιττὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πολυπραγμοσύνην ἐκκόπτων· εἰ γὰρ δῆλος ἦν αὐτῶν ἅπας ὁ πόρος ἐπειράθησαν μὲν ἄν τινες παρὰ τὰς τούτων ὄχθας ὁδεύοντες, τὸ τοῦ παραδείσου κατοπτεῦσαι χωρίον· διημάρτανον δὲ τοῦ ποθουμένου, καὶ τῷ μήκει τῆς ὁδοιπορίας κοπτόμενοι, καὶ τῇ σπάνει τῶν ἀναγκαίων διαφθειρόμενοι· καὶ νῦν μὲν εἰς δυσχωρίας, νῦν δὲ εἰς ἐρημίας ἐμπίπτοντες, ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ ἀπηνέσι καὶ βαρβάροις ἀνθρώποις περιπίπτοντες. καὶ τούτων τοίνυν προμηθού μενος ὁ φιλοικτίρμων Θεὸς ἀδήλους αὐτῶν τοὺς πόρους ἀπέφηνεν. XXX Τί δή ποτε ἀπὸ τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ Ἀδὰμ τὴν γυναῖκα διέπλασεν; Εἰς ὁμόνοιαν ἠβουλήθη τὰ γένη συναγαγεῖν ὁ τῆς φύσεως ποιητής· τούτου χάριν τὸν μὲν Ἀδὰμ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς διέπλασεν, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ τὴν γυναῖκα, ἵνα καὶ τὸ ταὐτὸν ἐπιδείξῃ τῆς φύσεως, καὶ φυσικήν τινα φιλοσ τοργίαν αὐτοῖς περὶ ἀλλήλους ἐμφύσῃ· εἰ γὰρ καὶ τούτων οὕτω γεγενη μένων, καὶ ἄνδρες γυναιξὶ διαμάχονται, καὶ γυναῖκες ἀνδράσιν, τί οὐκ ἂν ἔδρασαν εἰ ἑτέρωθέν ποθεν τὴν γυναῖκα διέπλασε; σοφῶς οὖν ἄρα καὶ διεῖλε καὶ πάλιν συνήρμοσεν· ὁ γὰρ γάμος εἰς ἓν συνάγει τὰ γένη· 33 " ἔσονται γάρ φησιν, οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν ". καὶ ὅτι τοῦτο ἀληθές, μαρτυρεῖ τὸ γενόμενον· διὰ γὰρ τῆς γαμικῆς ὁμιλίας εἷς ἐξ ἀμφοῖν βλαστάνει καρπός, ἐκ μὲν τούτου σπειρόμενος, ἐκ δὲ ταύτης τρε φόμενος, τελεσιουργούμενος δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς φύσεως δημιουργοῦ. { XXXI Εἰ φρόνιμος ὁ ὄφις καὶ ἐπαινούμενος, μόριον γὰρ ἡ φρόνησις ἀρετῆς; Πολλὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων ὁμωνύμως προφέρεται· καὶ γὰρ τὰ εἴδωλα τῶν ἐθνῶν θεοὺς ὠνομάκασι· τοῦτο δέ γε ἀκριβέστερον περὶ τοῦ ἐν ἐκείνῳ ἐνεργήσαντος εἴρηται δαίμονος. ἀμαθῶς δὲ οἱ ἀνόητοι καὶ τοὺς περὶ τοὺς μύθους ἐσχολακότας, σοφοὺς προσηγόρευσαν· οὕτω καὶ ἡ θεία λέγει γρα φή· " ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεὸς τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς "· καὶ πάλιν· " ποῦ σοφός "; καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου· " σοφοί εἰσι τοῦ κακοποιῆσαι ". τοιγάρτοι κἀνταῦθα φρόνιμον τὸν ὄφιν ὡς πανοῦργον ὠνόμασεν· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας ἡρμήνευσεν· " καὶ ὁ ὄφις ἦν πανοῦργος ἀπὸ παντὸς ζῴου τῆς χώρας οὗ ἐποίησεν Κύριος ὁ Θεός ". XXXII Ἄλογος ὢν ὁ ὄφις πῶς διελέχθη τῇ Εὔᾳ; Ὄργανον ἦν αὐτὸς τοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐχθροῦ· καὶ τοῦτο δεδήλωκεν ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς θείοις εὐαγγελίοις· εἰρηκὼς γὰρ τοῖς ἰουδαίοις " ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστέ ", ἐπήγαγεν " ἐκεῖνος ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς". οὗτος 34 τοίνυν διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως διελέχθη τῇ Εὔᾳ· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τῶν ἀλόγων ἁπάντων παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων τὴν ἡγεμονίαν εἰλήφεισαν, δι' ἑνὸς αὐτῇ τῶν ὑπηκόων τὴν παγῖδα προσήνεγκε, πιθανωτέραν οὕτω τὴν ἀπάτην κα τασκευάζων. ὅτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως ἐνεργήσαντα ὄφιν ἡ θεία προσαγορεύει γραφὴ μάρτυς Ἠσαΐας ὁ προφήτης βοῶν· " τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐπάξει ὁ Θεὸς τὴν μάχαιραν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἁγίαν, τὴν μεγάλην καὶ τὴν ἰσχυρὰν ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ὄφιν, τὸν σκολιὸν καὶ ἰσχυρόν, ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ὄφιν, τὸν φεύγοντα, τὸν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ". καὶ ὁ Κύριος δὲ τοῖς ἱεροῖς εἴρηκε μαθηταῖς· " ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπά νω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύ ναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ . XXXIII Τί ἐστι " διηνοίχθησαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν δύο; Ὅτι καὶ πρὸ τῆς βρώσεως οὐ μεμυκότας εἶχον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, δῆλον τοῖς προσέχειν ἐθέλουσι· πῶς γὰρ εἶδεν ἡ γύνη τὸ ξύλον, ὅτι καλὸν εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ἀρεστὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἰδεῖν, καὶ ὡραῖόν ἐστι τοῦ κατανοῆ σαι, εἰ μὴ ἀνεῳγότας εἶχον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς; οὐκοῦν τὴν μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρ τίαν αἴσθησιν οὕτω κέκληκεν ἡ θεία γραφή· εὐθὺς γὰρ μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν κεντᾶται τὸ συνειδός. XXXIV Τί δήποτε τοῦ διαβόλου τὴν ἀπάτην προσενεγκόντος ὁ ὄφις κολάζεται; Κυρίως μὲν τὴν ἀρὰν τῷ ἐνεργήσαντι προσενήνοχεν ὁ Θεός· ὄφις γὰρ 35