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Since before the ages God knew that he was going to transgress and He foreordained his re-creation out of regeneration, for this reason also the pledges of re-creation, after He had created all things and rested and had mystically prefigured the times and the ages in the seven days, (129) He later took, as it were, a leaven and a seed and a portion from each one of His works, so that by taking the portions from the works of the things created in the seven days, not in them but in the eighth, He might prefigure the age to come through the creation in it, not counting this one with the seven nor making it manifest, but He allowed it to lie wholly unknown to those before the law, but having been revealed somewhat dimly to the prophets in the law, He had it announced, but having been made manifest to us the faithful and dawning as in the morning, just as we also expect the unsetting sun of righteousness to rise at any moment. And I said that He took portions: from all the earth, as one place in which He planted paradise, and from the whole body of Adam one rib, that is, one member, but from the days, nothing. In what way? Because these portions were taken so that through them kindred and congenital things, which ought to be joined to heavenly things, might be renewed, but the days, being destined not to be renewed but to cease completely because of that day, were left aside, and for this reason God did not take a portion of renewal from them, but from the ages He did take one. How? Listen.

Seven ages had to be fulfilled according to the number of the seven days. The six, therefore, have already passed, but the seventh is not completed, but from it He takes the portion and joins it to the eternal and unending age. But how much He foreordained to take, or when the end of these days will come, no one knows except the Holy Trinity alone, the one and undivided Godhead. For what was said by the Savior Jesus Christ, that not even the Son knows that day and hour, He said He is ignorant according to His human nature, not according to His divinity. (130) For what reason, then, did He not take a portion from the days, but takes one from the ages? Because these ages, being measured by days and weeks, are called ages, but the age to come and eternal, is not measured by days, but is and will be immeasurable and unending; and since there will be no days, but an age, He takes a portion not from the days, but from the ages, and joins it to the age to come. The portion of the earth, however, that is, paradise itself, was a type of the Jerusalem above, I mean, of the kingdom of heaven, in which God also placed man, so that from the type and the shadow he might be led up to the truth by way of progress. And the tree of life in the midst of paradise was an image of eternal life, which is God. And the rib of Adam which was built into a woman was a type of the Church, this being again another mystery of the economy, so that, whenever he should fall from the image which had become a type of the kingdom of heaven, which was paradise, and from the tree of life, he might through the rib be united to Christ and God and be led up again to that same ancient and first beauty.

Since Eve, being first deceived, transgressed the commandment and tasted of the fruit, then she gave it to Adam and he ate, and they were in no way willing to repent and fall down before the Lord, they are exiled from there and were condemned to live in this world. But behold also the ineffable goodness of God's providence for him. For since he was once brought down to corruption by sin, so that he might not, by eating from the tree of life before the proper time, become immortal, and he would be incorruptible, yet immortal, and thus evil would become immortal, God placed the flaming sword to guard the entrance to the tree of life.

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Ἐπεί δέ πρό τῶν αἰώνων ἐγίνωσκεν ὁ Θεός ὅτι παραβῆναι μέλλει καί τήν ἐκ παλιγγενεσίας αὐτοῦ ἀνάπλασιν προωρίσατο, διά τοῦτο καί τούς τῆς ἀναπλάσεως ἀρραβῶνας, μετά τό κτίσαι αὐτόν πάντα καί καταπαῦσαι καί τούς καιρούς καί τούς αἰῶνας ἐν ταῖς ἑπτά ἡμέραις μυστικῶς προσημᾶναι, (129) οἱονεί ζύμην καί σπόρον καί μερίδα ἀφ᾿ ἑνός ἑκάστου τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ ὕστερον ἔλαβεν, ἵνα τάς ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μερίδας τῶν κτισθέντων ἐν ταῖς ἑπτά ἡμέραις μή ἐν αὐταῖς αὐτάς ἀλλ᾿ ἐν τῇ ὀγδόῃ λαβών, τόν μέλλοντα αἰῶνα διά τῆς ἐν αὐτῇ δημιουργίας προϋπογράψῃ, μή ἀριθμήσας ταύτην ταῖς ἑπτά μηδέ δήλην αὐτήν ποιήσας, ἀλλ᾿ ἀγνοουμένην μέν εἴασε κεῖσθαι αὐτήν ὅλως τοῖς πρό τοῦ νόμου, δηλωθεῖσα δέ τοῖς ἐν νόμῳ προφήταις ἀμυδρῶς πως καί ἀπαγγελθεῖσαν πεποίηκε, φανερωθεῖσαν δέ ἡμῖν τοῖς πιστοῖς καί διαυγάσασαν ὡς ἐν πρωΐαν, καθά δή καί προσδοκῶμεν τόν ἄδυτον τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιον ὅσον οὔπω ἐξανατεῖλαι. Μερίδας δέ εἶπον λαβεῖν αὐτόν ἐκ μέν τῆς γῆς ἁπάσης ὡς χωρίον ἕν ἐν ᾧ ἐφύτευσε τόν παράδεισον, ἐκ δέ τοῦ ὅλου σώματος τοῦ Ἀδάμ μίαν πλευράν ἤτοι μέλος ἕν, ἐκ δέ τῶν ἡμερῶν οὐδέν. Τίνα τρόπον; Ἐπειδή αἱ μέν μερίδες αὗται ἐλήφθησαν ὡς ἀνακαινισθῆναι δι᾿ αὐτῶν τά συγγενῆ καί συμφυῆ καί τοῖς οὐρανίοις συναφθῆναι ὀφείλοντα, αἱ δέ ἡμέραι, οὐκ ἀνακαινισθῆναι ἀλλά τελείως παυθήσεσθαι μέλλουσαι ὑπό τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης, ἐάθησαν, καί τούτου ἕνεκεν μερίδα ἀνακαινισμοῦ οὐκ ἔλαβεν ἐξ αὐτῶν ὁ Θεός, ἀπό τῶν αἰώνων δέ ἔλαβε. Πῶς; Ἄκουσον.

Ἑπτά ὤφειλον πληρωθῆναι αἰῶνες κατά τόν ἀριθμόν τῶν ἑπτά ἡμερῶν. Οἱ μέν οὖν ἕξ ἤδη παρῆλθον, ὁ δέ γε ἕβδομος οὐ τελειοῦται, ἀλλ᾿ ἐξ αὐτοῦ λαμβάνει τήν μερίδα καί ἐπισυνάπτει τῷ ἀϊδίῳ καί μή ἔχοντι τέλος αἰῶνι. Τό δέ, πόσον προώρισε λαβεῖν, ἤ πότε τό τέλος τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων μέλλει γενέσθαι, οὐδείς οἶδεν εἰ μή μόνη ἡ Ἁγία Τριάς, ἡ μία καί ἀδιαίρετος θεότης. Τό γάρ παρά τοῦ Σωτῆρος ῥηθέν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅτι οὐδέ ὁ Υἱός ταύτην οἶδε τήν ἡμέραν καί ὥραν, κατά τήν τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος αὐτοῦ φύσιν εἶπεν ἀγνοεῖν οὐ κατά τήν τῆς θεότητος. (130) Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἀπό τῶν ἡμερῶν μερίδα οὐκ ἔλαβεν, ἀπό δέ τῶν αἰώνων λαμβάνει; Ἐπειδή οἱ μέν αἰῶνες οὗτοι ἀπό ἡμερῶν καί ἑβδομάδων μετρούμενοι αἰῶνες καλοῦνται, ὁ δέ μέλλων αἰών καί ἀΐδιος, οὐ μετρητός ὑπό ἡμερῶν, ἀλλ᾿ ἀμέτρητος καί ἔστι καί ἔσται καί ἀτελεύτητος· ἡμερῶν δέ μή μελλουσῶν εἶναι, ἀλλ᾿ αἰῶνος, οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ἡμερῶν μερίδα, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τῶν αἰώνων, τῶ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι λαβών συνάπτει. Ἡ μέντοι μερίς τῆς γῆς, αὐτός δηλαδή ὁ παράδεισος, τύπος τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλήμ, φημί δή τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἦν, ἐν ᾧ καί τόν ἄνθρωπον ἔθετο ὁ Θεός, ἵνα ἀπό τοῦ τύπου καί τῆς σκιᾶς ἐπί τήν ἀλήθειαν κατά προκοπήν ἀναχθῇ. Τό δέ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς τό ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου εἰκών ἦν τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς, ἥτις ἐστίν ὁ Θεός. Ἡ δέ πλευρά τοῦ Ἀδάμ ἡ εἰς γυναῖκα οἰκοδομηθεῖσα τύπος ὑπῆρχε τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἕτερον πάλιν ὄν καί τοῦτο οἰκονομίας μυστήριον, ἵνα, ὁπόταν ἐκπέσῃ ἀπό τῆς εἰκόνος τῆς εἰς τύπον γεγονυίας τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ὅς ἦν ὁ παράδεισος, καί τῆς τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς, διά τῆς πλευρᾶς τῷ Χριστῷ καί Θεῷ συναφθῇ καί εἰς ἐκεῖνο πάλιν αὐτό τό ἀρχαῖον καί πρῶτον ἀναχθῇ κάλλος.

Ἐπειδή δέ ἡ Εὔα πρώτη ἀπατηθεῖσα τήν ἐντολήν παρέβη καί τοῦ καρποῦ ἀπεγεύσατο, εἶτα δέδωκε τῷ Ἀδάμ κἀκεῖνος ἔφαγε, μετανοῆσαι δέ καί προσπεσεῖν τῷ ∆εσπότῃ οὐδαμῶς ἠβουλήθησαν, ἐξορίζονται ἐκεῖθεν καί εἰς τόν κόσμον τοῦτον οἰκεῖν κατεκρίθησαν. Ὅρα δέ καί τῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίας τήν ἄφατον ἀγαθότητα. Ἐπειδή γάρ ἅπαξ ὑπό τῆς ἁμαρτίας εἰς φθοράν κατηνέχθη, ἵνα μή πρό καιροῦ φαγών ἀπό τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς ἀθάνατος γένηται, καί ἔσται ἄφθαρτος μέν, ἀθάνατος δέ, καί οὕτως ἀθάνατον γένηται τό κακόν , ἔθετο τήν φλογίνην ῥομφαίαν ὁ Θεός φυλάσσειν τήν εἴδοδον τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς.