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"Adam, where are you? he says. Understand yourself, learn your nakedness! See what a garment, what glory you have been deprived of. Adam, where are you?" as if somehow exhorting him and saying: "Yes, come to your senses, humble one, yes, come out from where you are hidden. Do you think you can hide from Me? Say: I have sinned! " But he does not say this—or rather, I, the wretched one, do not say this, for the passion is mine!—but what? (93) "I heard Your voice walking in paradise, and I knew that I was naked, and I hid." What then does God say? "And who told you that you are naked, unless from the tree of which I commanded you alone not to eat, you ate of it?".

Do you see, beloved, the long-suffering of God? For when He had said, "Adam, where are you?" and he had not immediately confessed the sin, but had said, "I heard Your voice, Lord, and I knew that I was naked, and I hid," God was not angry, He did not turn away immediately, but He even deems him worthy of a second response and says: "Who told you that you are naked, unless from the tree of which I commanded you alone not to eat, you ate of it?" Understand for me the depth of the words of God's wisdom. "What are you saying," He says, "that 'I am naked,' but you hide your sin? Do you not think that I see only your body, and not see your heart and your thoughts?". For Adam, being deceived, hoped that God did not know his sin and spoke thus to himself, as if to say: "If I say that I am naked," he says, "God, not knowing, will have to say, 'And why are you naked?'. Then I can deny and say, 'I do not know,' and I can escape His notice and again receive my first garment. But if not, at least He will not cast me out, at least He will not banish me! ". While he was thinking these things—as many do now, and I myself first of all, hiding their own evils—God, not wanting to multiply his judgment, says: "And how did you know that you are naked, unless from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, you ate of it?", as if saying: "And (94) do you think you can hide from Me at all? Do I not know what you have done? Do you not say, 'I have sinned'? Say, humble one: 'Yes, truly, Master, I transgressed Your commandment, I erred by listening to the counsel of the woman, I stumbled greatly by doing her word and disobeying Yours, have mercy on me!' " But he does not say this, he is not humbled, he does not bend, the neck of his heart is an iron sinew—just as mine, the wretched one, is. For if he had said this, he would have remained in paradise and that whole cycle of countless evils, which he endured being banished and lying in Hades for so many ages, he would have been able to gain from that one utterance then.

This then is what I promised to say. And hear what follows and know that the word is true and there is no falsehood whatsoever in it. God said to Adam: "In the hour you eat from the tree of which I commanded you alone not to eat, you shall surely die," that is, spiritually, which also happened at that very hour, for which reason he was also stripped of the immortal garment; but God foretold nothing more, and nothing more happened. For God, foreknowing that Adam was going to sin and wishing to forgive him upon repenting, did not, as has been said, decree anything more against him; but since he denied his sin and did not repent even when reproached by God, (for he said: "The woman whom You gave to me, she deceived me." — "Whom You gave to me!" oh, inattentive soul, as if saying to God: "You," he says, "erred; the woman whom You gave to me, she deceived me"—such things as I also now suffer, the humble and wretched one, and I never want to be humbled and say from my soul (95) that I am the cause of my own destruction, but "So-and-so," I say, "urged me to do and say such-and-such, so-and-so advised me to work at such-and-such," oh, wretched soul uttering words full of sin! oh, shameless and defiled soul, more shameless and defiled words!) — therefore, when Adam had spoken thus, then God says to him: "in toil and sweat you shall eat your bread, and thorns and thistles shall the

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"Ἀδάμ, ποῦ εἶ; φησί. Κατανόησον σεαυτόν, κατάμαθέ σου τήν γύμνωσιν! Ἴδε οἵου ἐνδύματος, οἵας δόξης ἐστέρησαι. Ἀδάμ, ποῦ εἶ;" οἱονεί πως τοῦτον παρακαλῶν καί λέγων· "ναί, φρόνησον, ταπεινέ, ναί, ἔξελθε ὅθεν εἶ κεκρυμμένος. Ἐμέ οἴει κρύπτεσθαι; Εἰπέ· Ἥμαρτον! " Ἀλλ᾿ οὐ λέγει τοῦτο, μᾶλλον δέ οὐκ ἐγώ λέγω τοῦτο ὁ ἄθλιος ἐμόν γάρ τό πάθος ἐστίν! , ἀλλά τί; (93) "Τῆς φωνῆς σου ἤκουσα περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ καί ἔγνων ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι καί ἐκρύβην". Τί οὖν ὁ Θεός; "Καί τίς ἀνήγγειλέ σοι ὅτι γυμνός εἶ, εἰ μή ἀπό τοῦ ξύλου, οὐ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μή φαγεῖν, ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες;".

Ὁρᾶς, ἀγαπητέ, μακροθυμίαν Θεοῦ; Εἰπόντος γάρ αὐτοῦ· "Ἀδάμ, ποῦ εἶ; " καί μή ὁμολογήσαντος τήν ἁμαρτίαν εὐθύς, ἀλλ᾿ εἰπόντος· "Τῆς φωνῆς σου ἤκουσα, Κύριε, καί ἔγνων ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι καί ἐκρύβην", οὐκ ὠργίσθη ὁ Θεός, οὐκ ἀπεστράφη εὐθύς, ἀλλά καί δευτέρας ἀξιοῖ αὐτόν ἀποκρίσεως καί φησι· "Τίς ἀνήγγειλέ σοι ὅτι γυμνός εἶ, εἰ μή ἀπό τοῦ ξύλου, οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μή φαγεῖν, ἀπ᾿αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες;" Νόει μοι βάθος λόγων σοφίας Θεοῦ. "Τί λέγεις, φησίν, ὅτι ῾Γυμνός εἰμι᾿, τήν δέ ἁμαρτίαν σου κρύβεις; Μή νομίζεις με τό σῶμά σου μόνο ὁρᾶν, τήν δέ καρδίαν καί τάς ἐνθυμήσεις σου μή ὁρᾷν;". Ἤλπιζε γάρ ἀπατηθείς ὁ Ἀδάμ ὅτι οὐκ ᾔδει ὁ Θεός τήν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῦ καί ἔλεγεν οὕτω καθ᾿ ἑαυτόν, οἱονεί ὅτι· "Ἐάν εἴπω ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι, φησίν, ἀγνοῶν ὁ Θεός εἰπεῖν ἔχει· ῾ Καί διατί εἶ γυμνός;᾿. Εἶτα ἀπαρνήσασθαι ἔχω ἐγώ καί εἰπεῖν· ῾Οὐκ οἶδα᾿, καί λαθεῖν ἔχω αὐτόν καί πάλιν ἀπολαβεῖν τήν πρώτην μου στολήν. Εἰ δέ μή, τέως οὐ μή ἐκβάλῃ με, τέως οὐ μή ἐξορίσῃ με! ". Ταῦτα ἐνθυμουμένου αὐτοῦ ὡς καί νῦν ποιοῦσι πολλοί καί αὐτός ἐγώ πρῶτος, τά ἑαυτῶν κακά κρύπτοντες , ὁ Θεός μή θέλων πολυπλασιάσαι αὐτῷ τό κρίμα λέγει· "Καί πόθεν ἔγνως ὅτι γυμνός εἶ, εἰ μή ἀπό τοῦ ξύλου, οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι μή φαγεῖν, ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες;", οἱονεί λέγων· "Καί (94) ὅλως ἐμέ κρύπτειν οἴεσαι; Οὐ γινώσκω ἐγώ τί πέπραχας; Οὐ λέγεις τό ῾ Ἥμαρτον᾿; Εἰπέ, ταπεινέ· ῾Ναί, ἀλήθεια, ∆έσποτα, παρέβην τήν ἐντολήν σου, ἔπταισα ἀκούσας τῆς συμβουλῆς τῆς γυναικός, ἐσφάλην μεγάλως ποιήσας τόν ἐκείνης λόγον καί παρακούσας τόν σόν, ἐλέησόν με!᾿ " Ἀλλ᾿ οὐ λέγει τοῦτο, οὐ ταπεινοῦται, οὐ κάμπτεται, νεῦρον σιδηροῦν ὁ τῆς καρδίας τράχηλος - οἷος δή καί ὁ ἐμός, τοῦ ἀθλίου, ἐστίν . Εἰ γάρ εἶπε τοῦτο, ἔμεινε ἄν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ καί τόν κύκλον ὅλον ἐκεῖνον τῶν μυρίων κακῶν, ὅν ὑπέστη ἐξορισθείς καί εἰς τόν ᾅδην τοσούτους αἰῶνας ποιήσας κείμενος, κερδᾶναι ἄν εἶχε ἀπό μιᾶς τῆς τότε φωνῆς.

Τοῦτο οὖν ἐστιν ὅ ὑπεσχόμην εἰπεῖν. Καί ἄκουσον τῶν ἑξῆς καί γνῶθι ὅτι ἀληθής ἐστιν ὁ λόγος καί οὐκ ἔστι ψεῦδος τό οἱονοῦν ἐν αὐτῷ. Εἶπεν ὁ Θεός τῷ Ἀδάμ· "Ἥν ὥραν φάγεσθε ἀπό τοῦ ξύλου, οὗ ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν τούτου μόνου μή φαγεῖν, θανάτῳ ἀποθανεῖσθε", δηλονότι τῷ ψυχικῷ, ὅ καί αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐγένετο, δι᾿ ὅ καί τῆς ἀθανάτου στολῆς ἐγυμνώθη· οὐδέν δέ πλέον προεῖπεν ὁ Θεός καί οὐδέν πλέον ἐγένετο. Προγινώσκων γάρ ὁ Θεός ὅτι ἁμαρτῆσαι ἔχει ὁ Ἀδάμ καί βουλόμενος μετανοοῦντα συγχωρῆσαι αὐτόν, οὐδέν, ὡς εἴρηται, πλέον προαπεφήνατο κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ· ἐπεί δέ ἠρνήσατο τήν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῦ καί οὐδέ ἐλεγχόμενος ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ μετενόησεν, (ἔφη γάρ· "Ἡ γυνή, ἥν δέδωκάς μοι, αὕτη με ἠπάτησεν". - "Ἥν δέδωκάς μοι! " ὤ ψυχῆς ἀπροσέκτου, οἱονεί τῷ Θεῷ λεγούσης· "Σύ, φησίν, ἔπταισας· ἡ γυνή, ἥν δέδωκάς μοι, αὕτη με ἠπάτησεν"οἷα καί νῦν ἐγώ πάσχω, ὁ ταπεινός καί ταλαίπωρος, καί οὐ θέλω ταπεινωθῆναί ποτε καί εἰπεῖν ἀπό ψυχῆς (95) ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι αἴτιος τῆς ἐμῆς ἀπωλείας, ἀλλ᾿ "Ὁ δεῖνά με, λέγω, παρώτρυνε ποιῆσαι καί εἰπεῖν τά καί τά, ὁ δεῖνά μοι συνεβούλευσεν ἐργάσασθαι τό καί τό", ὤ ἀθλίας ψυχῆς προϊεμένης ῥήματα ἁμαρτίας μεστά! ὤ ψυχῆς ἀναιδοῦς καί μιαρᾶς ἀναιδέστεροι λόγοι καί μιαροί !) - τοίνυν καί οὕτω τοῦ Ἀδάμ εἰπόντος, τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός· "ἐν κόπῳ καί ἱδρῶτι φάγῃ τόν ἄρτονσου, καί ἀκάνθας καί τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι ἡ