Page:PracticalCommentaryOnHolyScripture.djvu/56

 saying: “Of every  tree  of  Paradise  thou  shalt  eat,  but  of  the  Tree of Knowledge  of  good  and  evil  thou  shalt  not  eat;  for  in  what day soever  thou  shalt  eat  of  it,  thou  shalt  die  the  death.”

Adam was  still  alone  on  the  earth. Hence God  said:  “It is not  good  for  man  to  be  alone;  let  Us  make  him  a help  like unto himself.”  Then,  God  caused  all  the  animals  to  come  before Adam, that  he  might  give  to  each  its  name. But for  Adam  there was not  found  a help  like  to  himself; therefore,  casting  a deep sleep upon Adam,  God  took  one  of  his  ribs  and  formed  of  it a woman. When Adam  awoke,  God  brought  to  him  his  wife; and Adam  rejoiced  to  see  another  being  like  himself. He called her Eve,  that  is,  the  mother  of  the  living.

God is  good. To  know  this,  you  have  only  to  count  up  the  benefits and  graces  which  He  conferred  upon  Adam  and  Eve.

The twofold  likeness  of  God. Man  is  the  first  among  all  God's creatures  on  earth,  because  he  was  created  to  the  image  of  God,  and is, therefore,  like  unto  Him. This likeness  is,  however,  a twofold  one, a natural and  a supernatural  one,  for  which  reason  the  two  words,  image and likeness,  are  used. For something  to  be  the  image  of  a person  or of  some  other  thing,  it  must  be,  to  a certain  degree,  like  that  person or thing;  but  “likeness”  signifies  a still  closer  degree  of  resemblance. If one  person  is  almost  the  same  as  another,  we  say  they  are  alike.