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perception and the mind to endure harm; for when perception suffers distortion, then also the choices of the mind become perverted. It is said concerning those who have used things strangely: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil." Therefore they were led astray by pleasure, the cause of errors; for according to this, those in wisdom who prefer pleasant things also say: *** For the many prefer ease to virtue, not accepting exertion, who are also stripped of it. Therefore one must despise pleasant things, which become a pretext for sins. There are some who say that "Adam ate with her" signifies his condescension, so that she might not be completely destroyed, using what was said by Paul: "Adam 84 was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, fell into transgression", as though he were able also to make her turn from wickedness through himself.

iii, 7-8. [And] they sewed fig leaves and made for themselves loincloths. And

[they heard] the voice of the Lord walking in paradise in the evening, [and] both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of God in the midst of the tree of paradise. While the things previously contemplated concerning both paradise and Adam and the woman remain, we also connect these things. Since they knew that they were naked, having sewed fig leaves they made for themselves loincloths, and having heard the voice [of the Lord] walking in paradise in the evening they hid from the face of God in the midst of the tree of paradise. For it is worthwhile for those who follow the history, without speaking evil of it, to say how they sewed for themselves loincloths from fig leaves, and how they who had done things unworthy of it hear the voice of the Lord walking, and why He walks in the evening, and further how they hid, having what thought concerning God, under the tree. For I think that regarding all these things they are not able to preserve the connection of the history in a way worthy of the narrative from the Holy Spirit. We, therefore, as we have done in the preceding matters, let us also in these things understand the divine meaning of what is written. The account introduces two states of nakedness, one before the transgression, and the other after it, and the one without shame, the other having been known and having caused shame. However it was also said in the things stated before that doing nothing worthy of shame but being free from every stain, they had confidence of speech toward God in their mind, for such is virtue; but since they became transgressors of the command of God, then disrobed of the beauty of virtue, remaining naked of it, they were ashamed, considering from what sort of goods into what sort of 85 evils they had passed, while perception still remained, and consequently they hide from the God of all walking. For he who sins and has not yet had his perception cut off, but still cherishes the sin, is convicted by the common notions sown in him by God, with the creator always crying out through them, but because he is still held by the deceit of the error, he often sews together apologies for his sins. Or is this not evident in many cases? For often the one given to anger procures plausible apologies, from which he will ostensibly present the reasonableness of his anger, using at times also proof from the scriptures to support his own will, which is the act of one sewing a certain imperfect covering from leaves and not from fruit; for this the loincloth represents. For it is possible to hear from angry men how a holy man also, using anger, destroyed the captains of fifty and concerning others, but they do not understand that they did such things using neither a sword nor any means of defense, but by calling upon God himself and through prayer having Him assenting to their aid, to whom He would not have paid attention if they made their prayer out of anger, the

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τ]ὴν αἴσθησιν καὶ τὸν νοῦν βλάβην ὑπομεῖναι· ὅτε γὰρ ἡ αἴσ[θ]ησις πάσχει διαστροφήν, τότε καὶ αἱ αι῾̣ρέσεις τοῦ νοῦ διεστραμμέναι γίνονται. Εἴρηται περὶ τῶν ἀλλο- κότως κεχρημένων τοῖς πράγμασιν· "6Οὐαὶ οἱ λέγοντες τὸ πονηρὸν καλὸν καὶ τὸ καλὸν πονηρόν."6 Ὑπήχθησαν οὖν ἡδονῇ τῇ αἰτίᾳ τῶν σφαλμάτων· κατὰ γὰρ ταύτη̣ν φασὶν καὶ οἱ ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ τὰ ἡδέα προτ[ι]- μῶντες· *** Τὴν γὰρ ῥᾳστώνην οἱ πο̣λλοὶ προτιμῶσιν τῆς ἀρετῆς, τὴν συντονίαν οὐκ ἀποδεχόμε[ν]οι, οἵτινες καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῆς γυμνοῦνται. Καταφρονητέον οὖν τῶν ἡδέων, ἅπερ ὑπόθεσις ἁμαρτημάτων γίνεται. Εἴσι τινὲς οἵ φασιν ὅτι τὸ "6μετ' αὐτῆς ἔφαγεν Ἀδὰμ"6 δηλοῖ συγκατά[β]ασιν αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ τέλεον ἀπόληται, συγχρώμενοι τῷ εἰρημέ[ν]ῳ ὑπὸ Παύλου· "6Ἀδὰμ 84 οὐκ ἠπατήθη, ἡ δὲ γυνὴ ἐ]ξαπατηθεῖσα ἐν παραβάσει γέγονεν"6, ὡς ἱκανὸς καὶ αὐτὴν δι' [ἑαυ]τοῦ τῆς κακίας ἀποστῆσαι.

ιιι, 7-8. [Καὶ] ἔρραψαν φύλλα συκῆς καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς περιζώματα. Καὶ

[ἤκουσ]αν τὴν φωνὴν Κυρίου περιπατοῦντ[ο]ς ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὸ δειλινόν, [καὶ ἐκ]ρύβησαν ὅ τε Ἀδὰμ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐμμέ[σῳ τοῦ] ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου. Μενόντων τῶν προτεθεωρημένων περί τε τοῦ παραδείσου καὶ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ καὶ τῆς γυναικός, καὶ ταῦτα συνάπτομεν. Ἐπεὶ ἔγνωσαν ὅτι γυμνοί εἰσιν, ῥάψαντες φύλλα συ[κ]ῆς ἐποίησαν αὑτοῖς περιζώματα, ἀκούσαντές τε τὴν φωνὴν [Κυρίου] περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὸ δειλινὸν ἐκρύβησαν ἀπὸ π[ρο]σώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐμμέσῳ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου. Ἄξιον γὰρ μὴ [κακο]λογοῦντας τοῦς τῇ ἱστορίᾳ ἑπομένους εἰπεῖν πῶς συνέρρα[ψαν ἑ]αυτοῖς ἐκ φύλλων συκῆ[ς] περιζώματα, πῶς τε ἀκούουσι τῆς φ[ωνῆ]ς Κυρίου περιπατοῦντος οἱ ἀνάξια αὐτῆς πεποιηκότες, διὰ τί τε [τ]ὸ δειλινὸν περιπατεῖ, ἔτι τε πῶς ἐκρύβησαν, ὅ τι ἐννοήσαντε[ς] περὶ Θεοῦ, ὑπὸ τὸ δένδρον. Οἶμαι γὰρ εἰς ἅπαντα ταῦτα μὴ ἔχειν α[ὐ]τοὺς σῶσαι τὸν εἱρμὸν τῆς̣ ἱστορίας ἄξιον τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος διηγήσε̣ω̣ς. Ἡμεῖς τοίνυν, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν πεποιήκαμεν, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων τὸ θεῖον τῶν γεγραμμένων κατανοήσωμεν. ∆ύο σχέσεις γυμνότητος εἰσάγει ὁ λόγος, μίαν μὲν τὴν πρὸ τῆς παραβάσεως, ἑτέραν δὲ τὴν μετ' αὐτήν, καὶ τὴν μὲν ἀνεπαίσχυντον, τὴν δὲ γνωσθεῖσαν καὶ αἰσχύνην ποιήσασαν. Ἐλέγετο μέντοι καὶ ἐν τοῖς πρότερον εἰρημένοις ὡς οὐδὲν ἄξιον αἰσχύνης ποι[ο]ῦντες ἀλλὰ πάσης ἀπηλ- λαγμένοι κηλῖδος εὐπαρρησίαστον εἶχο[ν] πρὸς Θεὸν τὴν διάνοιαν, τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἀρετή· ἐπειδὴ δὲ παραβ̣ᾶται τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολῆς γεγένηνται, τὸ τηνικαῦτα ἀπαμφια- σθέντες τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸ κάλλος, γυμνοὶ αὐτῆς διαμείναντε̣ς ᾐσχύνοντο λογιζόμενοι ἐξ οἵων ἀγαθῶν εἰς οἷα μετέπεσαν 85 κακ[ά], ἔτι αἰσθήσεως ἐκκειμένης, ἑξῆς καὶ κρύπτονται τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν περιπατοῦντα. [Ὁ] γὰρ ἁμαρτάνων καὶ μήπω ἐκκεκομμένος τὴν αἴσθησιν, ἀλλ[' ἔ]τι περιέπων τὸ ἁμάρτημα, διελέγχεται μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐνεσπαρμένων παρὰ Θεοῦ κοινῶν ἐννοιῶν, ἀεὶ δι' αὐτῶν τοῦ ποιητοῦ ἐμβοῶντος, τῷ δὲ ἔτι ἐνέχεσθαι [τῇ] ἀπάτ[ῃ τοῦ] σφάλματος ἀπολογίας πολλάκις τῶν ἁμαρτημ[ά]τω[ν] συρράπτει. Ἢ τοῦτο ἐν πολλοῖς οὐκ ἔστι φανε[ρ]όν; Πολλάκις γὰρ ὁ τῷ θυμῷ κεχρημ̣ε´̣νο̣ς ἀπολογίας πορίζεται πιθανάς, ἐξ ὧν τοῦ θυμοῦ δῆθεν παραστήσει τὸ εὔλογον, προσχρώμ[ε]νος ἐσθ' ὅτε καὶ τῇ ἀπὸ τῶν γραφῶν δείξει πρὸς τὸ συνιστᾶ[ν] τὸ ἑαυτοῦ βούλημα, ὅπερ συρράπτοντός ἐστιν ἐκ φύλλων κ[αὶ μὴ] ἀπὸ καρποῦ σκέπην τινὰ οὐ τελείαν· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ περίζ[ωμ]α παρίστησιν. Ἔστιν γὰρ ἀκοῦσαι τῶν θυμουμένων ὡς καὶ ἅγιος θυμῷ χρησάμενος τοὺς πεντηκον- τάρχους ἀνεῖλεν καὶ [π]ερὶ ἄλλων, ἀλλὰ οὐκ ἐννοού<ν>των ὡς οὔτε ξίφει οὔτε τινὶ ἀμυντηρίῳ χρησάμενοι τοιαῦτ' ἔδρα- σαν, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν ἐπικαλεσάμενοι τὸν Θεὸν καὶ δι' εὐχῆς αὐτὸν ἐσχηκότες ἐπινεύοντα πρὸς ἐπικουρίαν, οἷς οὐκ ἄν, εἴπερ ἀπὸ θυμοῦ τὴν εὐχὴν ἐποιο[ῦ]ντο, προσέσχεν ὁ