Page:The Holy Bible faithfvlly translated into English ovt of the authentical Latin, diligently conferred with the Hebrew, Greek, & other Editions in diuers languages.pdf/28

10 of her heele. To the woman also he said: I wil multiplie thy travailes and thy child-bearings: in travaile shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husbands power, and he shal have dominion over thee. And to Adam he said: Because thou hast heard the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eate, cursed is the earth in thy worke: with much toyling shalt thou eate thereof al the dayes of thy life. Thornes and thistles shal it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eate the hearbs of the earth. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eate bread, til thou returne to earth, of which thou wast taken: because ″ dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt returne.

And Adam called the name of his wife, Eve: for because she was mother of al the living. Our Lord God also made for Adam and his wife garments of skinnes, and cloathed them: And said: Loe Adam is become as it were one of us, knowing good & evil: now therfore ″ lest perhaps he reach forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eate, and live for ever. And our Lord God sent him out of the Paradise of pleasure, to worke the earth of which he was taken. And he cast out Adam, and ″ placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubins, and a flaming and a turning sword, for to keep the way of the tree of life.

ANNOTATIONS. CHAP. III.

1. Why hath God?) Here we may see how sinne came first amongst men.For the divel envying mans happie state tempted Eve the weaker person, beginning with a question, therby to allure her into conference, and by such a question as might bring her into suspicion of Gods affection towards man, saying: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eate of everie tree of Paradise? insinuating by these words, and withal internally suggesting, that God dealt hardly with them, abridging their libertie without cause. And when he had got so much of her, that she was displeased with the precept, which she shewed by adding of her owne (to make it seeme more grievous) that they were forbidden to touch the tree, & againe by reporting the punishment as doubtful, saying: Lest perhaps we dye; then the tempter avouched boldly, and falsly, that they should not dye, and charged God to be envious of the benefit they should get by eating of that tree, saying their eyes should be opened, and they should be as Gods, knowing good and evil. Upon which perswasion, and liking also she had to the fruit, she did take and eate, and perswaded Adam also to eate. And forthwith they saw that they would not have seene, knew evil which they had better not to have knowen, were ashamed, and endeavored to cover and hide themselves. Even thus the divel dealeth with men ever since, assaulting the weaker persons, and weaker part, as the flesh and sensualitie, and by them setteth upon the stronger and superiour part, to get consent of freewil, without which there is no sinne; according to that famous saying of S. Augustin: ''Pecatum adeo est voluntarium, ut nullo modo sit peccatum, si non voluntarium. Sinne is so voluntarie, that in no wise it can be sinne, if it be not voluntarie''. Wherfore it was no sinne Rh