CHAPTER XXVIII

"But the Lord turned to Adam and said: 'I will not suffer thee henceforward to be in paradise.' And Adam answered and said, 'Grant me, O Lord, of the Tree of Life that I may eat of it, before I be cast out.' Then the Lord spake to Adam, 'Thou shalt not take of it now, for I have commanded the cherubim with the flaming sword that turneth every way to guard it from thee that thou taste not of it; but thou hast the war which the adversary hath put into thee; yet when thou art gone out of paradise, if thou shouldst keep thyself from all evil, as one about to die, when again the Resurrection hath come to pass, I will raise thee up and then there shall be given to thee the Tree of Life.'

CHAPTER XXIX

"Thus spake the Lord, and ordered us to be cast out of paradise. But your father Adam wept before the angels opposite paradise and the angels said to him: 'What wouldst thou have us to do, Adam?' And your father saith to them, 'Behold, ye cast me out. I pray you, allow me to take away fragrant herbs from paradise, so that I may offer an offering to God after I have gone out of paradise that he hear me.' And the angels approached God and said: Jael, Eternal King, command, my Lord, that there be given to Adam incense of sweet odor from paradise and seeds for his food.' And God bade Adam go in and take sweet spices and fragrant herbs from paradise and seeds for his food. And the angels let him go in, and he took four kinds: crocus and nard and calamus and cinnamon and the other seeds for his food: and, after taking these, he went out of paradise. And we were on the earth.

CHAPTER XXX

"Now then, my children, I have shown you the way in which we were deceived; and do ye guard yourselves from transgressing against the good."

CHAPTER XXXI

And when Eve had said this in the midst of her sons, while Adam was lying ill and bound to die after a single day from the sickness which had fastened upon him, she saith to him: "How is it that thou diest and I live, or how long have I to live after thou art dead? Tell me." And Adam saith to her: "Reck not of this, for thou tarriest not after me, but even both of us are to die together. And she shall lie in my place. But when I die, anoint me and let no man touch me till the angel of the Lord shall speak somewhat concerning me. For God will not forget me, but will seek His own creature; and now arise rather and pray to God till I give up my spirit into His hands who gave it to me. For we know not how we are to meet our Maker, whether He be wroth with us, or be merciful and intend to pity and receive

us."

The Vision of Eve

CHAPTER XXXII

And Eve rose up and went outside and fell on the ground, and began to say: "I have sinned, O God, I have sinned, O God of All, I have sinned against Thee. I have sinned against the elect angels. I have sinned against the Cherubim. I have sinned against Thy fearful and unshakable Throne. I have sinned before Thee, and all sin hath begun through my doing in the creation." Even thus prayed Eve on her knees; and behold, the angel of humanity came to her, and raised her up and said: "Rise up, Eve, from thy penitence, for behold, Adam thy husband hath gone out of his body. Rise up and behold his spirit borne aloft to his Maker."

CHAPTER XXXIII

And Eve rose up and wiped off her tears with her hand, and the angel saith to her, "Lift up thyself from the earth.” And she gazed steadfastly into heaven, and beheld a chariot of light, borne by four bright eagles, and it were impossible

for any man born of woman to tell the glory of them or behold their face- and angels going before the chariot and when they came to the place where your father Adam was, the chariot halted and the Seraphim. And I beheld golden censers, between your father and the chariot, and all the angels with censers and frankincense came in haste to the incense-offering and blew upon it and the smoke of the incense veiled the firmaments. And the angels fell down and worshiped God, crying aloud and saying, “Jael, Holy One, have pardon, for he is Thy image, and the work of Thy holy hands.”

CHAPTER XXXIV

"And I, Eve, beheld two great and fearful wonders standing in the presence of God and I wept for fear, and I cried aloud to my son Seth and said, 'Rise up, Seth, from the body of thy father Adam, and come to me, and thou shalt see a spectacle which no man's eye hath yet beheld.'"

CHAPTER XXXV

Then Seth arose and came to his mother and to her he saith: "What is thy trouble? Why weepest thou?" And she saith to him: "Look up and see with thine eyes the seven heavens opened, and see how the soul of thy father lies on its face and all the holy angels are praying on his behalf and saying: 'Pardon him, Father of All, for he is Thine image.' Pray, my child Seth, what shall this mean? And will he one day be delivered into the hands of the Invisible Father, even our God? But who are the two negroes who stand by at the prayers for thy father Adam?"

CHAPTER XXXVI

And Seth telleth his mother, that they are the sun and moon and themselves fall down and pray on behalf of my father Adam. Eve saith to him: "And where is their light and why have they taken on such a black appearance? " And Seth answereth her, "The light hath not left them, but they can not shine before the Light of the Universe, the

Father of Light; and on this account their light hath been hidden from them."

The Burial Services

CHAPTER XXXVII

Now while Seth was saying this to his mother, lo, an angel blew the trumpet, and there stood up all the angels and they were lying on their faces, and they cried aloud in an awful voice and said: "Blessed be the glory of the Lord from the works of His making, for He hath pitied Adam the creature of His hands." But when the angels had said these words, lo, there came one of the seraphim with six wings and snatched up Adam and carried him off to the Acherusian lake, and washed him thrice, in the presence of God.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

And God saith to him: "Adam, what hast thou done? If thou hadst kept my commandment, there would now be no rejoicing among those who are bringing thee down to this place. Yet, I tell thee that I will turn their joy to grief and thy grief will I turn to joy, and I will transform thee to thy former glory, and set thee on the throne of thy deceiver. But he shall be cast into this place to see thee sitting above him, then he shall be condemned and they that heard him, and he shall be grieved sore when he seeth thee sitting on his honorable throne.”

CHAPTER XXXIX

And he stayed there three hours, lying down, and thereafter the Father of all, sitting on his holy throne, stretched out his hand, and took Adam and handed him over to the archangel Michael, saying: "Lift him up into paradise unto the third Heaven, and leave him there until that fearful day of my reckoning, which I will make in the world." Then Michael took Adam and left him where God told him.

CHAPTER XL

But after all this, the archangel asked concerning the laying out of the remains. And God commanded that all the angels should assemble in His presence, each in his order, and all the angels assembled, some having censers in their hands, and others trumpets. And lo! the "Lord of Hosts" came on, and four winds drew Him, and cherubim mounted on the winds and the angels from heaven escorting Him, and they came on the earth, where was the body of Adam. And they came to paradise, and all the leaves of paradise were stirred so that all men begotten of Adam. slept from the fragrance save Seth alone, because he was born "according to the appointment of God." Then Adam's body lay there in paradise on the earth, and Seth grieved exceedingly over him.

CHAPTER XLI

Then God spake to the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael: "Go away to paradise in the third heaven, and strew linen clothes, and cover the body of Adam, and bring oil of the oil of fragrance' and pour it over him." And they acted thus, did the three great angels, and they prepared him for burial. And God said: "Let the body of Abel also be brought." And they brought other linen clothes and prepared his body also. For he was unburied since the day when Cain his brother slew him; for wicked Cain took great pains to conceal him, but could not, for the earth would not receive him, for the body sprang up from the earth, and a voice went out of the earth, saying: "I will not receive a companion body till the earth which was taken and fashioned in me cometh to me." At that time the angels took it and placed it on a rock till Adam his father was buried. And both were buried, according to the commandment of God, in the spot where God found the dust, and He caused the place to be dug for two. And God sent seven angels to paradise and they brought many fragrant spices and placed them in the earth, and they took the two