(e)(e) Though good men resist tentations at the first assaults & so bruise the serpents head, yet he endeauoreth stil to deceiue especially in the end of mans life, signified by the heel. S. Greg. in cap. 1. Iob. of her heele. 16To the woman also he said: I wil multiplie thy trauailes and thy child-bearings: in trauaile shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be vnder thy husbands power, and he shal haue dominion ouer thee. 2 Cor 14.17And 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 (f)(f) Al men travel one way or other: & such as suffer weeds to ouergrow (in their souls, shal after this life either sustaine the fire of Purgatorie, or eternal paine. S. Aug. l. 2. c. 20. de Gen. con. Man. much toyling shalt thou eate thereof al the dayes of thy life. 18Thornes and thistles shal it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eate the hearbs of the earth. 19In 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.
20And Adam called the name of his wife, Eue: for because (g)(g) She was mother rather of al the dying: but in figure of our B. Lady who is mother of Christ, life it-selfe, she is called mother of the liuing. S. Epiph. her. 78 she was mother of al the liuing. 21Our Lord God also made for Adam and his wife garments of skinnes, and cloathed them: 22And said: Loe Adam is become as it were one of vs, knowing good & euil: now therfore ″ lest perhaps he reach forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eate, and liue for euer. 23And our Lord God sent him out of the Paradise of pleasure, to worke the earth of which he was taken. 24And 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.
Sinne entred among men by the enuie and craft of the diuel, man consenting to his suggestions.1. Why hath God?) Here we may see how sinne came first amongst men.Sap. 2. 24.
Ioan. 8, 44.
S. Aug. lib. 14. de ciu. c. 11.
Rupert. l. de Trinit. & operibus eius, c. 4.For the diuel enuying mans happie state tempted Eue 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 euerie tree of Paradise? insinuating by these words, and withal internally suggesting, that God dealt hardly with them, abridging their libertie without cause. Eue first sinned in thought, then in words, last in deeds.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 grieuous) that they were forbidden to touch the tree, & againe by reporting the punishment as doubtful, saying: Lest perhaps we dye; then the tempter auouched boldly, and falsly, that they should not dye, and charged God to be enuious 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 euil. Vpon which perswasion, and liking also she had to the fruit, she did take and eate, and perswaded Adam also to eate. Bad sequels of sinne.And forthwith they saw that they would not haue seene, knew euil which they had better not to haue knowen, were ashamed, and endeauored to couer and hide themselues. Lib. de vera Religione c. 14. Lib. 1. Retract. c. 23. Euen thus the diuel dealeth with men euer since, assaulting the weaker persons, and weaker part, as the flesh and sensualitie, and by them setteth vpon the stronger and superiour part, to get consent of freewil, without which there is no sinne; No sinne can be without freewil.according to that famous saying of S. Augustin: Pecatum adeo est voluntarium, vt 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
