CHAPTER XX

"And in that very hour my eyes were opened, and forthwith I knew that I was bare of the righteousness with which I had been clothed upon, and I wept and said to him: 'Why hast thou done this to me in that thou hast deprived me of the glory with which I was clothed?' But I wept also about the oath, which I had sworn. But he descended from the tree and vanished. And I began to seek, in my nakedness, in my part for leaves to hide my shame, but I found none, for as soon as I had eaten, the leaves showered down from all the trees in my part, except the fig-tree only. But I took leaves from it and made for myself a girdle and it was from the very same plant of which I had eaten.

CHAPTER XXI

"And I cried out in that very hour, 'Adam, Adam, where art thou? Rise up, come to me and I will show thee a great secret.' But when your father came, I spake to him words of transgression which have brought us down from our great glory. For, when he came, I opened my mouth and the devil was speaking, and I began to exhort him and said, 'Come hither, my lord Adam, harken to me and eat of the fruit of the tree of which God told us not to eat of it, and thou shalt be as a God.' And your father answered and said, 'I fear lest God be wroth with me.' And I said to him, 'Fear not, for as soon as thou hast eaten thou shalt know good and evil.' And speedily I persuaded him, and he ate, and straightway his eyes were opened and he, too, knew his nakedness. And to me he saith, 'O wicked woman! what have I done to thee that thou hast deprived me of the glory of God?'

CHAPTER XXII

"And in that same hour, we heard the archangel Michael blowing his trumpet and calling to the angels and saying: 'Thus saith the Lord, Come with me to paradise and hear the judgment with which I shall judge Adam.'

"And when God appeared in paradise, mounted on the

VOL. XIV.-3.

chariot of his cherubim with the angels proceeding before him and singing hymns of praises, all the plants of paradise, both of your father's lot and mine, broke out into flowers. And the throne of God was fixed where the Tree of Life was.

CHAPTER XXIII

"And God called Adam saying, 'Adam, where art thou? Can the house be hidden from the presence of its builder?' Then your father answered: 'It is not because we think not to be found by thee, Lord, that we hide, but I was afraid, because I am naked, and I was ashamed before thy might, my Master.' God saith to him, 'who showed thee that thou art naked, unless thou hast forsaken my commandment, which I delivered thee to keep it?' Then Adam called to mind the word which I spake to him, saying, 'I will make thee secure before God'; and he turned and said to me: 'Why hast thou done this?' And I said, 'The serpent deceived me.'

CHAPTER XXIV

"God saith to Adam: Since thou hast disregarded my commandment and hast harkened to thy wife, cursed is the earth in thy labors.

"Thou shalt work it and it shall not give its strength: thorns and thistles shall spring up for thee, and in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread. Thou shalt be in manifold toils; thou shalt be crushed by bitterness, but of sweetness shalt thou not taste.

"Weary shalt thou be and shalt not rest; by heat shalt thou be tired, by cold shalt thou be straitened: abundantly shalt thou busy thyself, but thou shalt not be rich; and thou shalt grow fat, but come to no end.

"The beasts, over whom thou didst rule, shall rise up in rebellion against thee, for thou hast not kept my commandment.'

CHAPTER XXV

"And the Lord turned to me and said: 'Since thou hast harkened to the serpent, and turned a deaf ear to my com

mandment, thou shalt be in throes of travail and intolerable agonies; thou shalt bear children in much trembling, and in one hour thou shalt come to the birth, and lose thy life, from thy sore trouble and anguish. But thou shalt confess and say: Lord, Lord, save me, and I will turn no more to the sin of the flesh." And on this account, from thine own words I will judge thee, by reason of the enmity which the enemy has planted in thee.'

CHAPTER XXVI

"But he turned to the serpent in great wrath and said: 'Since thou hast done this, and become a thankless vessel until thou hast deceived the innocent hearts, accursed art thou among all beasts. Thou shalt be deprived of the victual of which thou didst eat, and shalt feed on dust all the days of thy life; on thy breast and thy belly shalt thou walk, and be robbed of hands and feet. There shall not be left thee ear nor wing, nor one limb of all that which thou didst ensnare them in thy malice and causedst them to be cast out of paradise; and I will put enmity between thee and his seed; he shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel until the day of Judgment.'

CHAPTER XXVII

"Thus he spake and bade the angels have us cast out of paradise and as we were being driven out amid our loud lamentations, your Father Adam besought the angels and said: 'Leave me a little space that I may entreat the Lord that he have compassion on me and pity me, for I only have sinned.' And they left off driving him, and Adam cried aloud and wept, saying: 'Pardon me, O Lord, my deed.' Then the Lord saith to the angels, 'Why have ye ceased from driving Adam from paradise? Why do ye not cast him out? Is it I who have done wrong? Or is my judgment badly judged?' Then the angels fell down on the ground and worshiped the Lord, saying, 'Thou art just, O Lord, and thou judgest righteous judgment.'