Page:History of the Franks.djvu/39

 THE FIRST BOOK 7 too, searching into these matters very carefully, collects the whole number of years from the beginning of the world down to his own time. Victor also examined into this in connection with the time of the Easter festival. And so we follow the works of the writers mentioned above and desire to reckon the complete series of years from the creation of the first man down to our own time, if the Lord shall deign to lend his aid. And this we shall more easily accomplish if we begin with Adam himself. 1 . In the beginning the Lord shaped the heaven and the earth in his Christ, who is the beginning of all things, that is, in his son ; and after creating the elements of the whole universe, taking a frail clod he formed man after his own image and likeness, and breathed upon his face the breath of Kfe and he was made into a Hving soul. And while he slept a rib was taken from him and the woman. Eve, was created. There is no doubt that this first man Adam before he sinned typified the Redeemer. For as the Redeemer slept in the stupor of suffering and caused water and blood to issue from his side, he brought into existence the virgin and unspotted church, redeemed by blood, purified by water, hav- ing no spot or wrinkle, that is, washed with water to avoid a spot, stretched on the cross to avoid a wrinkle. These first human beings, who were living happily amid the pleasant scenes of Paradise, were tempted by the craft of the serpent. They transgressed the divine precepts and were cast out from the abode of angels and condemned to the labors of the world. 2. Through intercourse with her companion the woman con- ceived and bore two sons. But when God received the sacrifice of the one with honor, the other was inflamed with envy ; he rushed on his brother, overcame and killed him, becoming the first parricide by shedding a brother's blood. 3. Then the whole race rushed into accursed crime, except the just Enoch, who walked in the ways of God and was taken up from the midst by the Lord himself on account of his uprightness, and freed from a sinful people. For we read : ''Enoch walked with the Lord, and he did not appear for God took him." 4. And so the Lord, being angered against the iniquities of the people who did not walk in his ways, sent a flood, and by its waters destroyed every living soul from the face of the earth ; only