258

I have given him to see me and from this to be established in the dignity of the angels. See, understand, what I have said to you: man, being twofold, saw with his sensible eyes my creations, but with his spiritual [eyes] he saw the face of me, the creator, he beheld my glory and spoke with me every hour. But when, having transgressed my commandment, he ate from the tree, he was blinded and came to be in the darkness (387) of death, as I said, which is called being hidden. For this he then foolishly supposed. For where could he have been hidden from me or in what place, tell me? But you now think worse, more foolishly than he, that I am hiding, not wanting to be seen by you at all. For if I do not want to be seen, why did I even appear in the flesh? Why did I even come down at all? And why was I seen by all? Do not be ignorant of my deeds, nor of my economies. Adam, having been blinded, first having been reproved and taught by me to repent, did not want to, but was found altogether unhumbled, but rather said: The woman sinned, whom you have given me, as if showing me to be the cause of the sin. Likewise again the woman blamed the serpent,

258

δέδωκα αὐτόν ὁρᾶν με καί ἐκ τούτου τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐν ἀξίᾳ καθεστᾶναι. Βλέπε, σύνες, τί σοι εἶπον˙ ἄνθρωπος διπλοῦς ὑπάρχων ἔβλεπε τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς μέν ὀφθαλμοῖς τά κτίσματά μου, τοῖς νοεροῖς δέ πρόσωπον ἔβλεπεν ἐμοῦ τοῦ κτίστου, ἐθεώρει μου τήν δόξαν καί ὡμίλει μοι καθ᾿ ὥραν. Ὅτε δέ τήν ἐντολήν μου παραβάς ἀπό τοῦ ξύλου ἔφαγεν, ἀπετυφλώθη καί ἐγένετο ἐν σκότει (387) τοῦ θανάτου, καθώς εἶπον, ὅπερ λέγεται κρυβῆναι˙ τοῦτο γάρ ἐκεῖνος τότε ὑπενόησεν ἀφρόνως. Ποῦ γάρ εἶχέ με κρυβῆναι ἤ ἐν ποίῳ τόπῳ, λέγε; Σύ δέ νῦν λογίζῃ χεῖρον, ἀφρονέστερον ἐκείνου, ὅτι κρύπτομαι μή θέλων ὁραθῆναί σοι εἰς ἅπαν. Εἰ γάρ μή ὁρᾶσθαι θέλω, τί καί ἐν σαρκί ἐφάνην; Τί δέ καί κατῆλθον ὅλως; Τί δέ καί ὡράθην πᾶσι; Μή ἀγνόει μου τάς πράξεις, μηδέ τάς οἰκονομίας˙ ὁ Ἀδάμ τυφλωθείς πρῶτον ἐλεγχθείς καί διδαχθείς τε ὑπ᾿ἐμοῦ μετανοῆσαι οὐκ ἠθέλησεν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅλως ἀταπείνωτος εὑρέθη, εἶπε δέ μᾶλλον˙ Ἡ γυνή ἥμαρτεν, ἥν δέδωκάς μοι, ὡσανεί τῆς ἁμαρτίας αἴτιόν με ἀποφήνας. Ὁμοίως πάλιν ἡ γυνή ᾐτιάσατο τόν ὄφιν,