the first book of adam and eve, part 2

CHAP. XI.

A recollection of the glorious days in the Garden.

THEN Adam and Eve felt themselves burning with thirst, and heat, and sorrow.
2 And Adam said to Eve, "We shall not drink of this water, even if we were to die. O Eve, when this water comes into our inner parts, it will increase our punishments and that of our children, that shall come after us."
3 Both Adam and Eve then withdrew from the water, and drank none of it at all; but came and entered the Cave of Treasures.
4 But when in it Adam could not see Eve; he only heard the noise she made. Neither could she see Adam, but heard the noise he made.
5 Then Adam wept, in deep affliction, and smote upon his breast; and he arose and said to Eve, "Where art thou?"
6 And she said unto him, "Lo, I am standing in this darkness."
7 He then said to her, "Remember the bright nature in which we lived, while we abode in the garden!
8 "O Eve! remember the glory that rested on us in the garden. O Eve! remember the trees that overshadowed us in the garden while we moved among them.
9 "O Eve! remember that while we were in the garden, we knew neither night nor day.
Think of the Tree of Life, from below which flowed the water, and that shed lustre over us! Remember, O Eve, the garden-land, and the brightness thereof! 10 "Think, oh think of that garden in which was no darkness, while we dwelt therein.
11 "Whereas no sooner did we come into this Cave of Treasures than darkness compassed us round about; until we can no longer see each other; and all the pleasure of this life has come to an end."

CHAP. XII.

How darkness came between Adam and Eve.

THEN Adam smote upon his breast, he and Eve, and they mourned the whole night until dawn drew near, and they sighed over the length of the night in Miyazia.
2 And Adam beat himself, and threw himself on the ground in the cave, from bitter grief, and because of the darkness, and lay there as dead.
3 But Eve heard the noise he made in falling upon the earth. And she felt about for him with her hands, and found him like a corpse.
4 Then she was afraid, speechless, and remained by him.
5 But the merciful Lord looked on the death of Adam, and on Eve's silence from fear of the darkness.
6 And the Word of God came unto Adam and raised him from his death, and opened Eve's mouth that she might speak.
7 Then Adam arose in the cave and said, "O God, wherefore has light departed from us, and darkness come over us? Wherefore dost Thou leave us in this long darkness? Why wilt Thou plague us thus?
8 "And this darkness, O Lord, where was it ere it came upon us? It is such, that we cannot see each other.
9 "For, so long as we were in the garden, we neither saw nor even knew what darkness is. I was not hidden from Eve, neither was she hidden from me, until now that she cannot see me; and no darkness came upon us, to separate us from each other.
10 "But she and I were both in one bright light. I saw her and she saw me. Yet now since we came into this cave, darkness has come upon us, and parted us asunder, so that I do not see her, and she does not see me.
11 "O Lord, wilt Thou then plague us with this darkness?"

CHAP. XIII.

The fall of Adam. Why night and day were created.

THEN when God, who is merciful and full of pity, heard Adam's voice, He said unto him:--
2 "O Adam, so long as the good angel was obedient to Me, a bright light rested on him and on his hosts.
3 "But when he transgressed My commandment, I deprived him of that bright nature, and he became dark.
4 "And when he was in the heavens, in the realms of light, he knew naught of darkness.
5 "But he transgressed, and I made him fall from heaven upon the earth; and it was this darkness that came upon him.
6 "And on thee, O Adam, while in My garden and obedient to Me, did that bright light rest also.
7 "But when I heard of thy transgression, I deprived thee of that bright light. Yet, of My mercy, I did not turn thee into darkness, but I made thee thy body of flesh, over which I spread this skin, in order that it may bear cold and heat.
8 "If I had let My wrath fall
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heavily upon thee, I should have destroyed thee; and had I turned thee into darkness, it would have been as if I killed thee.
9 "But in My mercy, I have made thee as thou art; when thou didst transgress My commandment, O Adam, I drove thee from the garden, and made thee come forth into this land; and commanded thee to dwell in this cave; and darkness came upon thee, as it did upon him who transgressed My commandment.
10 "Thus, O Adam, has this night deceived thee. It is not to last for ever; but is only of twelve hours; when it is over, daylight will return.
11 "Sigh not, therefore, neither be moved; and say not in thy heart that this darkness is long and drags on wearily; and say not in thy heart that I plague thee with it.
12 "Strengthen thy heart, and be not afraid. This darkness is not a punishment. But, O Adam, I have made the day, and have placed the sun in it to give light; in order that thou and thy children should do your work.
13 "For I knew thou shouldest sin and transgress, and come out into this land. Yet would I not force thee, nor be heard upon thee, nor shut up; nor doom thee through thy fall; nor through thy coming out from light into darkness; nor yet through thy coining from the garden into this land.
14 "For I made thee of the light; and I willed to bring out children of light from thee and like unto thee.
15 "But thou didst not keep one day My commandment; until I had finished the creation and blessed everything in it.
16 "Then I commanded thee concerning the tree, that thou eat not thereof. Yet I knew that Satan, who deceived himself, would also deceive thee.
17 "So I made known to thee by means of the tree, not to come near him. And I told thee not to eat of the fruit thereof, nor to taste of it, nor yet to sit under it, nor to yield to it.
18 "Had I not been and spoken to thee, O Adam, concerning the tree, and had I left thee without a commandment, and thou hadst sinned--it would have been an offence on My part, for not having given thee any order; thou wouldst turn round and blame Me for it.
19 "But I commanded thee, and warned thee, and thou didst fall. So that My creatures cannot blame me; but the blame rests on them alone.
20 "And, O Adam, I have made the day for thee and for thy children after thee, for them to work, and toil therein. And I have made the night for them to rest in it from their work; and for the beasts of the field to go forth by night and seek their food.
21 "But little of darkness now remains, O Adam; and daylight will soon appear."

CHAP. XIV.

The earliest prophecy of the coming of Christ.

THEN Adam said unto God: "O Lord, take Thou my soul, and let me not see this gloom any more; or remove me to some place where there is no darkness."
2 But God the Lord said to Adam, "Verily I say unto thee, this darkness will pass from thee, every day I have determined for thee, until the fulfilment of My covenant; when I will save thee and bring thee back again into the garden, into the abode of light thou longest for, wherein is no darkness. I will bring thee, to it--in the kingdom of heaven."
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3 Again said God unto Adam, "All this misery that thou hast been made to take upon thee because of thy transgression, will not free thee from the hand of Satan, and will not save thee.
4 "But I will. When I shall come down from heaven, and shall become flesh of thy seed, and take upon Me the infirmity from which thou sufferest, then the darkness that came upon thee in this cave shall come upon Me in the grave, when I am in the flesh of thy seed.
5 "And I, who am without years, shall be subject to the reckoning of years, of times, of months, and of days, and I shall be reckoned as one of the sons of men, in order to save thee."
6 And God ceased to commune with Adam.

CHAP. XV.

THEN Adam and Eve wept and sorrowed by reason of God's word to them, that they should not return to the garden until the fulfilment of the days decreed upon them; but mostly because God had told them that He should suffer for their salvation.

CHAP. XVI.

The first sunrise. Adam and Eve think it is a fire coming to burn them.

AFTER this Adam and Eve ceased not to stand in the cave, praying and weeping, until the morning dawned upon them.
2 And when they saw the light returned to them, they restrained from fear, and strengthened their hearts.
3 Then Adam began to come out of the cave. And when he came to the mouth of it, and stood and turned his face towards the east, and saw the sun rise in glowing rays, and felt the heat thereof on his body, he was afraid of it, and thought in his heart that this flame came forth to plague him.
4 He wept then, and smote upon his breast, and fell upon the earth on his face, and made his request, saying:--
5 "O Lord, plague me not, neither consume me, nor yet take away my life from the earth."
6 For he thought the sun was God.
7 Inasmuch as while he was in the garden and heard the voice of God and the sound He made in the garden, and feared Him, Adam never saw the brilliant light of the sun, neither did the flaming heat thereof touch his body.
8 Therefore was he afraid of the sun when flaming rays of it reached him. He thought God meant to plague him therewith all the days He had decreed for him.
9 For Adam also said in his thoughts, as God did not plague us with darkness, behold, He has caused this sun to rise and to plague us with burning heat.
10 But while he was thus thinking in his heart, the Word of God came unto him and said:--
11 "O Adam, arise and stand up. This sun is not God; but it has been created to give light by day, of which I spake unto thee in the cave saying, 'that the dawn would break forth, and there would be light by day.'
12 "But I am God who comforted thee in the night."
13 And God ceased to commune with Adam.

CHAP. XVII.

The Chapter of the Serpent.

THEN Adam and Eve came out at the mouth of the cave, and went towards the garden.
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2 But as they drew near to it, before the western gate, from which Satan came when he deceived Adam and Eve, they found the. serpent that became Satan coming at the gate, and sorrowfully licking the dust, and wriggling on its breast on the ground, by reason of the curse that fell upon it from God.
3 And whereas aforetime the serpent was the most exalted of all beasts, now it was changed and become slippery, and the meanest of them all, and it crept on its breast and went on its belly.
4 And whereas it was the fairest of all beasts, it had been changed, and was become the ugliest of them all. Instead of feeding on the best food, now it turned to eat the dust. Instead of dwelling, as before, in the best places, now it lived in the dust.
5 And, whereas it had been the most beautiful of all beasts, all of which stood dumb at its beauty, it was now abhorred of them.
6 And, again, whereas it dwelt in one beautiful abode, to which all other animals came from elsewhere; and where it drank, they drank also of the same; now, after it had become venomous, by reason of God's curse, all beasts fled from its abode, and would not drink of the water it drank; but fled from it.

CHAP. XVIII.

The mortal combat with the serpent.

WHEN the accursed serpent saw Adam and Eve, it swelled its head, stood on its tail, and with eyes blood-red, did as if it would kill them.
2 It made straight for Eve, and ran after her; while Adam standing by, wept because he had no stick in his hand wherewith to smite the serpent, and knew not how to put it to death.
3 But with a heart burning for Eve, Adam approached the serpent, and held it by the tail; when it turned towards him and said unto him:--
4 "O Adam, because of thee and of Eve, I am slippery, and go upon my belly." Then by reason of its great strength, it threw down Adam and Eve and pressed upon them, as if it would kill them.
5 But God sent an angel who threw the serpent away from them, and raised them up.
6 Then the Word of God came to the serpent, and said unto it, "In the first instance I made thee glib, and made thee to go upon thy belly; but I did not deprive thee of speech.
7 "Now, however, be thou dumb; and speak no more, thou and thy race; because in the first place, has the ruin of my creatures happened through thee, and now thou wishest to kill them."
8 Then the serpent was struck dumb, and spake no more.
9 And a wind came to blow from heaven by command of God that carried away the serpent from Adam and Eve, threw it on the sea shore, and it landed in India.

CHAP. XIX.

Beasts made subject to Adam.

BUT Adam and Eve wept before God. And Adam said unto Him:--
2 "O Lord, when I was in the cave, I said this to Thee, my Lord, that the beasts of the field would rise and devour me, and cut off my life from the earth."
3 Then Adam, by reason of what had befallen him, smote upon his breast, and fell upon the earth like a corpse; then came to him the Word of God,
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who raised him, and said unto him,
4 "O Adam, not one of these beasts will be able to hurt thee; because when I made the beasts and other moving things come to thee in the cave, I did not let the serpent come with them, lest it should rise against you, make you tremble; and the fear of it should fall into your hearts.
5 "For I knew that that accursed one is wicked; therefore would I not let it come near you with the other beasts.
6 "But now strengthen thy heart and fear not. I am with thee unto the end of the days I have determined on thee."

CHAP. XX.

Adam wishes to protect Eve.

THEN Adam wept and said, "O God, remove us to some other place, that the serpent may not come again near us, and rise against us. Lest it find Thy handmaid Eve alone and kill her; for its eyes are hideous and evil."
2 But God said to Adam and Eve, "Henceforth fear not, I will not let it come near you; I have driven it away from you, from this mountain; neither will I leave in it aught to hurt you."
3 Then Adam and Eve worshipped before God 'and gave Him thanks, and praised Him for having delivered them from death.

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