VIII.  This being He placed in paradise—whatever that paradise may have been (having honoured him with the gift of free will, in order that good might belong to him as the result of his choice, no less than to Him Who had implanted the seeds of it)—to till the immortal plants, by which is perhaps meant the Divine conceptions, both the simpler and the more perfect; naked in his simplicity and inartificial life; and without any covering or screen; for it was fitting that he who was from the beginning should be such.  And He gave Him a Law, as material for his free will to act upon.  This Law was a commandment as to what plants he might partake of, and which one he might not touch.  This latter was the Tree of Knowledge; not, however, because it was evil from the beginning when planted; nor was it forbidden because God grudged it to men—let not the enemies of God wag their tongues in that direction, or imitate the serpent.  But it would have been good if partaken of at the proper time; for the Tree was, according to my theory, Contemplation, which it is only safe for those who have reached maturity of habit to enter upon; but which is not good for those who are still somewhat simple and greedy; just as neither is solid food good for those who are yet tender and have need of milk.  But when through the devil’s malice and the woman’s caprice,10    Wisd. ii. 24. to which she succumbed as the more tender, and which she brought to bear upon the man, as she was the more apt to persuade—alas for my weakness, for that of my first father was mine; he forgot the commandment which had been given him, and yielded to the baleful fruit; and for his sin was banished at once from the tree of life, and from paradise, and from God; and put on the coats of skins, that is, perhaps, the coarser flesh, both mortal and contradictory.  And this was the first thing which he learnt—his own shame—and he hid himself from God.  Yet here too he makes a gain, namely death and the cutting off of sin, in order that evil may not be immortal.  Thus, his punishment is changed into a mercy, for it is in mercy, I am persuaded, that God inflicts punishment.

Ηʹ. Τοῦτον ἔθετο μὲν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, ὅστις ποτὲ ἦν ὁ παράδεισος οὗτος, τῷ αὐτεξουσίῳ τιμήσας, ἵν' ᾖ τοῦ ἑλομένου τὸ ἀγαθὸν οὐχ ἧττον ἢ τοῦ παρασχόντος τὰ σπέρματα, φυτῶν ἀθανάτων γεωργὸν, θείων ἐννοιῶν ἴσως, τῶν τε ἀπλουστέρων, καὶ τῶν τελεωτέρων, γυμνὸν τῇ ἁπλότητι, καὶ ζωῇ τῇ ἀτέχνῳ, καὶ δίχα παντὸς ἐπικαλύμματος καὶ προβλήματος: τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἔπρεπεν εἶναι τὸν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς: καὶ δίδωσι νόμον, ὕλην τῷ αὐτεξουσίῳ. Ὁ δὲ νόμος ἦν ἐντολὴ, ὧν τε μεταληπτέον αὐτῷ φυτῶν, καὶ οὗ μὴ προσαπτέον. Τὸ δὲ ἦν, τὸ ξύλον τῆς γνώσεως, οὔτε φυτευθὲν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς κακῶς, οὔτε ἀπαγορευθὲν φθονερῶς (μὴ πεμπέτωσαν ἐκεῖ τὰς γλώσσας οἱ θεομάχοι, μηδὲ τὸν ὄφιν μιμείσθωσαν): ἀλλὰ καλὸν μὲν εὐκαίρως μεταλαμβανόμενον (θεωρία γὰρ ἦν τὸ φυτὸν, ὡς ἡ ἐμὴ θεωρία, ἧς μόνοις ἐπιβαίνειν ἀσφαλὲς, τοῖς τὴν ἕξιν τελεωτέροις, οὐ καλὸν δὲ τοῖς ἁπλουστέροις ἔτι, καὶ τὴν ἔφεσιν λιχνοτέροις: ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τροφὴ τελεία λυσιτελὴς τοῖς ἁπαλοῖς ἔτι, καὶ δεομένοις γάλακτος. Ἐπεὶ δὲ φθόνῳ διαβόλου, καὶ γυναικὸς ἐπηρείᾳ, ἥν τε ἔπαθεν, ὡς ἁπαλωτέρα, καὶ ἣν προσήγαγεν, ὡς πιθανωτέρα (φεῦ τῆς ἐμῆς ἀσθενείας! ἐμὴ γὰρ ἡ τοῦ προπάτορος), τῆς μὲν ἐντολῆς ἐπελάθετο τῆς δοθείσης, καὶ ἡττήθη τῆς μικρᾶς γεύσεως: ὁμοῦ δὲ τοῦ τῆς ζωῆς ξύλου, καὶ τοῦ παραδείσου, καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ τὴν κακίαν ἐξόριστος γίνεται, καὶ τοὺς δερματίνους ἀμφιέννυται χιτῶνας, ἴσως τὴν παχυτέραν σάρκα, καὶ θνητὴν, καὶ ἀντίτυπον: καὶ τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκει τὴν ἰδίαν αἰσχύνην, καὶ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ κρύπτεται. Κερδαίνει μέν τι κἀνταῦθα, τὸν θάνατον, καὶ τὸ διακοπῆναι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἵνα μὴ ἀθάνατον ᾖ τὸ κακόν. Καὶ γίνεται φιλανθρωπία, ἡ τιμωρία. Οὕτω γὰρ πείθομαι κολάζειν Θεόν.