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in the furnace, three youths. Therefore, what was said to the serpent, "he shall watch for your head," would show that, even if you deceived the woman as the weaker one, yet the man will wage war against you, watching for the chief part of your wickedness, which is impiety, which the wise man casts out, the devil not reaching the head of the wise man, but if at all, his heel, which would be the last parts of those things that contribute to virtue. For often, being unable to attack any of the principal things, he lies in wait concerning human needs, in order to trip him up through these. This same thing is also said in the Psalms: "They will guard my heel"; and this "to guard" has the same meaning as "to watch for" in the present context; for it indicates "to watch over," not being ignorant that the words are also used for "to preserve" and "to protect," as in "You, Lord, will guard us and preserve us," and in "Holy Father, keep them." iii, 16-19. And to the woman he said: I will greatly multiply 101 your sorrows and your groaning; in sorrows you shall bring forth children, and your turning shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you. But to Adam he said: Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree, of which I commanded you alone not to eat, from it you ate, cursed is the ground in your works; in sorrows you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the grass of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread, until you return to the <earth> from which you were take<n>, for you are earth and to earth you shall return. It is not implausible to take these words as history. For it appears that the woman is pressed by frequent and continuous sorrows and groanings, enduring no small toil in conceptions and childbearing, and also in nurturing, just as the wife of the blessed Job says that "Your memorial has vanished from the earth, sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb, for which I labored in vain with hardships," and that she has referred everything to her husband, a stronger master, awaiting his commands, while the man, worn out by works and cares, continues through his whole life with toils and sweats. For he is not without a share in the things that grieve the woman, and he himself is especially constrained by toils throughout his life, toiling and wearying in body and soul in one thing after another; for the affairs of the household are not without care for him, the nurturing of children, and often their various pains, whether they are oppressed by diseases or taken beforehand by death, from all of which come exceeding grief and sufficient pain, and one could say many things which are most obvious to all. But let us also look at each of the things that have been said. To the serpent, then, it was said: "Cursed are you," but not so to Adam, but rather "Cursed is the ground in your works," and reasonably so; for he did not transgress, having been overcome by sin, but by following his wife according to what we have previously rendered 102 concerning "The woman whom you gave to be with me," when we cited the apostolic saying: "For Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, fell into transgression." But to the woman also the threats are given to her face: "I will greatly multiply your sorrows." And by adding "You are earth and to earth you shall return," he shows the property of the bodily substance; for the soul does not have its origin from the earth, so that it should be dissolved into it, according to those who introduce it as perishable. But since in the preceding discussion paradise was taken by us allegorically to be a divine place, the dwelling of blessed powers, so too the things concerning the man and the woman must be understood accordingly. We have, therefore, from the blessed Paul starting points leading to the anagogical interpretation, when he says, "This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." The church, therefore, bears children in sorrows, for toil and sorrow precede virtue, working a repentance that leads to salvation without regret; and she bears them through

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ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ τρεῖς παῖδες. Τὸ λεγόμενον οὖν πρὸς τὸν ὄφιν "6αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλὴν"6 ἐμφάνοι ἂν ὅτι, εἰ καὶ ὡς ἀσθενεστέραν ἠπάτησας τὴν γυναῖκα, ἀλλ' ὁ ἀνήρ σοι προσπολεμήσει τὸ κεφάλαιον τῆς σῆς κακίας ἐπιτηρῶν, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἀσέβεια, ὅπερ ὁ σοφὸς ἐκβάλλει, τοῦ διαβόλου μὴ ἐφικνουμένου τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ σοφοῦ, ἀλλ' εἰ ἄρα τῆς πτέρνης, ἥτις εἴη ἂν τὰ ἐσχατιὰ τῶν εἰς ἀρετὴν συντελούντων. Πολλάκις γὰρ μὴ δυνάμενός τι τῶν προηγουμένων πολεμεῖν, περὶ τὰς χρείας τὰς ἀνθρωπίνας ἐνεδρεύει, ἵνα διὰ τούτων ὑποσκελίσῃ. Τοῦτ' αὐτὸ καὶ ἐν ψαλμοῖς λέγεται· "6Αὐτοὶ τὴν πτέρναν μου φυλάξουσιν"6· τοῦτο δὲ τὸ φυλάξαι τῷ τηρῆσαι ἐν τῷ νῦν προκειμένῳ ταὐτὸ σημαίνει· τὸ ἐπιτηρῆσαι γὰρ δηλοῖ, οὐκ ἀγνοούντων ἡμῶν ὅτι καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ διατηρῆσαι κεῖνται αἱ λέξεις καὶ σκεπάσαι ὡς ἐν τῷ "6Σύ, Κύριε, φυλάξεις ἡμᾶς καὶ διατηρήσεις ἡμᾶς"6, καὶ ἐν τῷ "6Πάτερ ἅγιε, τήρησον αὐτούς"6. ιιι, 16-19. Καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ εἶπεν· Πληθύνων πληθυνῶ 101 τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου· ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα σου ἡ ἀποστροφή σου, καὶ αὐτός σου κυριεύσει. Τῷ δὲ Ἀδὰμ εἶπεν· Ὅτι ἤκουσας τῆς φωνῆς τῆς γυναικός σου καὶ ἔφαγες ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μὴ φαγεῖν, ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες, ἐπικατάρατος ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις σου· ἐν λύπαις φαγῇ αὐτὴν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου. Ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι, καὶ φαγῇ τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ. Ἐν ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου σου φαγῇ τὸν ἄρτον σου, ἕως τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι σε εἰς τὴν <γῆν> ἐξ ἧς ἐλήμφθη<ς>, ὅτι γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ. Οὐκ ἀπίθανόν ἐστιν καὶ τὰς ἱστορίας ἐκλαβεῖν ἐπὶ τῶν λέξεων τούτων. Καὶ γὰρ φαίνεται ὡς ἡ μὲν γυνὴ πυκναῖς καὶ συνεχέσιν λύπαισπιέζεται καὶ στεναγμοῖς, οὐ μικρὸν ὑπομένουσα κάματον ἔν τε ταῖς συλλήψεσιν καὶ ἀποτέξεσιν ἔτι τε καὶ ἀνατροφαῖς, καθὸ καὶ ἡ τοῦ μακαρίου Ἰώβ φησιν ὅτι "6Ἠφανισταί σου τὸ μνημόσυνον ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐμῆς κοιλίας ὠδῖνες καὶ πόνοι, οὓς εἰς τὸ κενὸν ἐκοπίασα μετὰ μόχθων"6, καὶ ὡς ἅπαντα πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα ἤνεγκεν ἰσχυρότερον δεσπότου, τὰς ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἀπεκδεχομένη ἐπικελεύσεις, ὁ δὲ ἀνὴρ ἔργοις καὶ φροντίσιν κατατρυχόμενος πόνοις καὶ ἱδρῶσιν διὰ παντὸς διατελῶν τοῦ βίου. Καὶ γὰρ τῶν λυπούντων τὴν γυναῖκα οὐκ ἔστιν ἀμέτοχος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἰδιαζόντως πόνοις συνέχεται διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν, ἄλλα ἐπ' ἄλλοις πονῶν τε καὶ κάμνων σώματι καὶ ψυχῇ· καὶ γὰρ τὰ κατ' οἶκον αὐτῷ οὐκ ἀφρόν- τιστα, παίδων ἀνατροφή, καὶ τούτων πολλάκις ὀδύναι διάφοροι ἢ νόσοις πιεσθέντων ἢ θανάτῳ προλαμβανόντων, ἐξ ὧν ἁπάντων ἀνία ὑπερβάλλουσα καὶ πόνος ἱκανώτατος, καὶ πολλὰ ἂν εἴη λέγειν, ἃ πᾶσίν ἐστι προδηλότατα. Ἴδωμεν δὲ καὶ τὸ καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν εἰρημένων. Τῷ μὲν οὖν ὄφει εἴρηται· "6Ἐπικατάρατος σύ"6, τῷ δὲ Ἀδὰμ οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλ' "6Ἐπικατάρατος ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις σου"6, καὶ εἰκότως· οὐ γὰρ ἡττηθεὶς τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ παρέβη, ἀλλ' ἀκολουθήσας τῇ γυναικὶ κατὰ τὰ προαπο- 102 δοθέντα ἡμῖν εἰς τὸ "6Ἡ γυνὴ ἣν ἔδωκας μετ' ἐμοῦ"6, ὅτε παρετιθέμεθα τὸ ἀποστολικὸν λέγον· "6Ἀδὰμ γὰρ οὐκ ἠπατήθη, ἡ δὲ γυνὴ ἐξαπατηθεῖσα ἐν παραβάσει γέγονεν."6 Ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ εἰς πρόσωπον αἱ ἀπειλαὶ δίδονται· "6Πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου"6. Ἐπιφέρων δὲ καὶ τὸ "6Γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ"6, τῆς σωματικῆς οὐσίας τὸ ἴδιον ἐπιδείκνυσιν· οὐ γὰρ ἡ ψυχὴ ἀπὸ γῆς ἔχει τὴν ἀρχήν, ἵνα καὶ εἰς ταύτην ἀναλυθῇ κατὰ τοὺς φθαρτὴν αὐτὴν εἰσηγουμένους. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ὁ παράδεισος ἡμῖν ἐν ἀλληγορίᾳ ἐλαμβάνετο χωρίον εἶναι θεῖον ἐνδιαίτημα μακα- ρίων δυνάμεων, καταλλήλως καὶ τὰ περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς ἐκλημπτέον. Ἔχομεν τοίνυν ἐκ τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου ἀρχὰς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀναγωγὴν ἀγούσας λέγοντος τὸ "6Μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν, ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν."6 Ἡ ἐκκλησία τοίνυν τέκνα ἐν λύπαις τίκ- τει, πόνος γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς προηγεῖται καὶ λύπῃ, μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀμεταμέλητον κατεργαζομένη· τίκτει δὲ αὐτὰ διὰ