Angelic Visitations

Attendite, fratres, medicinalis gratia lineas, divina nobis benignitate monstratas. Tunc ad Eva angleus malus accessit, ut per eam homo, quem Deus fecerat, a Deo separaretur; nunc autem ad Mariam bonus angelus venit, ut in ea humanae naturae Deus Unigenitus uniretur. Venit ad Evam diabolus, ut vitam nobis malignus auferret; venit ad Mariam Gabriel, ut vitam reddendam hominibus nuntiaret. Per primi hominis culpam coepit diabolus homini dominari, per secundi hominis gratiam coepit ab homine superari: super primum superbus, sub secundo captivus. Per illum nos captivatos tenuit, per istum nos liberatos amisit. Primus Adam nobis auctor exstitit culpae, novissimus Adam nobis auctor exstitit gratiae. Ille de limo plasmatus terrenos protulit, iste de Spiritu sancto natus coelestes effecit. Per illum perdidimus gratiam priorem, per istum recepimus ampliorem. Ille quippe nobis intulit peccati maculam, cum qua nasceremur ad supplicium; iste nobis contulit justificationis gratiam, ut renasceremur ad regnum. Per illum nos filios saeculi generatio carnalis effecit, per istum nos filios Dei generatio spiritalis exhibuit. Ille nos vitiis subdidit, iste nos florere virtutibus fecit. Ille nos per vitia dejecit, quo primus cecidit: iste nos per virtutes elevat, quo primus ascendit. Ille quippe primus cecidit in infernum, iste primus conscendit in coelum. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, Sermo II, De duplici Nativitate Christi , una aeterna ex Patre, altera temporali ex Virgine Source: Migne PL 65.728d-729b

Observe, brothers, the lineaments of medicinal grace shown to us by the Divine benevolence. Once an evil angel came to Eve so that through her the man whom God had made might be separated from God, and now a good angel comes to Mary so that in her the only begotten God might be joined to human nature. 1 The devil came to Eve so that the wicked one might take away life from us, Gabriel came to Mary to announce that life is to be restored to man. Through fault the devil began to rule over the first man, by the grace of the second man he began to be conquered by man. Over the first man the devil vaunted, beneath the second man he was made captive. By the first he took us into captivity, by the second he lost us to freedom. The first Adam was our author of fault, the second Adam was the author of our grace. The former shaped from mud made us earthly, the latter man born of the Holy Spirit made us heavenly. Through the first man we destroyed the grace that had been given, by the second we received greater grace. The former brought the stain of sin, because of which we are born to suffering, the latter brought the grace of justification so that we might be reborn to the kingdom. Through the first man carnal generation made sons of the world, through the second man spiritual generation exhibited us as sons of God. The former subdued us to the vices, the latter made us flower with the virtues. The former cast us down among faults, by which the first fell, the latter lifts us up through the virtues by which the first arose. The former was the first to fall into hell, the latter was the first to rise into heaven. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, from Sermon 2, On The Twofold Nativity of Christ, One Eternal from the Father, and One Temporal from the Virgin 1 Gen 3, Lk 1.26-35

Bringing Forth A Son

Et pariet filium, vocabis nomen ejus Jesum. Non dixit, Pariet tibi filium, sicut ad Zachariam: Ecce Elizabeth uxor tua concipiet et pariet tibi filium: quia mulier, quae ex viro concipit, marito suo filium parit: quia magis illo est, quam de ipsa. Haec autem, quae non de viro conceperat, non filium illi peperit, sed sibi tantummodo. Vide quomodo similitudinem ipsius rei per omnia sequitur, qua facta est in Adam. Sicut enim tunc mulier gustans de ligno, sola seducta est, et peperit mortem; Adam autem non fuit particeps in seductione illius; non enim a diabolo seductus peccavit, sed quia consensit mulieri: sic et modo accipiens Maria de Spiritu sancto, sola credidit, dicens, Ecce jam nunc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Joseph autem tunc in fide conceptionis illius nihil habuit commune, sed postea tacendo et consentidendo tantum salvatus est. Ideo et in somniis adstitit ei, non palam: ut quemadmodum dormiente Adam creavit mulierem, sic et isti dormienti divintus consignaret uxorem. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia I Source: Migne PG 56.634

And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. 1 The angel did not say to Joseph, 'She shall bear you a son,' as was said to Zachariah, 'Behold Elizabeth your wife shall conceive and bring forth a son for you,' 2 because that woman conceived from a man, and brought forth a son for her husband, but Mary, who did not conceive from a man, did not bring forth a son for Joseph, but for herself alone. See how a likeness in this follows through everything that was done in Adam. As then the woman tasted from the tree, and was alone seduced and brought forth death, and Adam did not participate in her seduction, for he did not sin by the devil's persuasion but consented to the the woman, so Mary receiving the Holy Spirit, alone believed, saying, 'Behold, now all generations shall call me blessed.' 3 And Joseph then in the faith of conception had no share, but later by his silence and consent he was saved. Therefore the angel came to him in his dreams and not openly, so that as from the sleeping Adam woman was created, so even with him asleep the Divine bore witness to his wife. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 1 1 Mt 1.21 2 Lk 1.13 3 Lk 1.48

Holding The Hand

Tenuit, inquit, manum, et dimisit eam febris. Quid putas? Nunquid verbo non potuit eam curare, quia tenuit manum ejus? Vel cur leprosum tangit, et curat verbo; hujus vero tenet manum, e continuo discedit febris? Illum ergo tangit, quod lex vetuerat, ut se supra legem ostenderet, de quo satis jam diximus. Hujus vero tenuit manum, quam mulier contra mandatum extenderat ad arborem, de qua noxium arboris gustum sumeret. Propterea ergo ratio fuit ejus tenere manum, ut vitam resumeret; quia Adam de manu mulieris acceperat mortem. Sic omnia Salvatoris concinunt opera. Justum quippe erat ut quod manus praesumentis admiserat, manus repararet auctoris, et indulgentiam reciperet quae cunctis intulerat mortem. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber V, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 120.354b

'He held her hand and the fever left her.' 1 What do you think? Is He not able to cure with a word because He took her hand? Or when He touched the leper, and then cured with a word, 2 yet here He must hold the hand of this woman for the fever to leave her immediately? He touched the leper to set aside the law and show Himself superior to it, concerning which we have said enough already. But He held the hand of this woman because the woman had stretched out her hand to the tree against the command, from which she took up the bitter taste of death. 3 Therefore this is the reason He held her hand, so that life would be restored, because Adam received death from the hand of the woman. So all the works of the Saviour harmonise. Certainly it was right that because the presumptuous hand had worked loss, the hand of the Creator should restore, and that she should receive forgiveness who brought death on everyone. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 5, Chapter 8 1 Mt 8.15 2 Mt 8.3, 8.7-13 3 Gen 3.1-6

The Serpent And The Woman

Non autem inimicitiae ponuntur inter ipsum et virum, sed inter ipsum et mulierem. Numquid quia viros non decipit et tentat? Sed manifestum est quod decipit. An quia ipsum Adam non decepit, sed mulierem eius? Sed numquid propterea non est inimicus eius, ad quem pervenit per mulierem suam illa deceptio, maxime quia de futuro iam dicitur: Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem? Si autem quod non deinceps decepit Adam, nec ipsam Evam deinceps decepit. Quare ergo ita dicitur, nisi quia hic manifeste ostenditur non posse nos a diabolo tentari, nisi per illam animalem partem, quae quasi mulieris imaginem vel exemplum in uno ipso homine ostendit, de qua superius iam multa diximus? Quod autem etiam inter semen diaboli, et semen mulieris ponuntur inimicitiae, significatur semine diaboli perversa suggestio; semine autem mulieris, fructus boni operis, quo perversae suggestioni resistit. Et ideo observat ipse plantam mulieris, ut si quando in illicita labitur delectatio, tunc illam capiat: et illa observat caput eius, ut eum in ipso initio malae suasionis excludat. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Genesi Contra Manichaeos, Liber Secundus, Caput XVIII Source: Migne PL 34.210

But hostility was not set between the serpent and the man but between it and the woman. 1 Is it that he does not deceive and tempt men? It is manifest that he does deceive them. But he did not deceive Adam though he did deceive his woman? But is he not his enemy to whom deception came through his woman, especially because concerning the future it is now said: 'I shall place hostility between you and the woman?' But if he did not deceive Adam, then he did not deceive Eve. Why therefore is it said, unless that it manifestly shows that it is not possible for us to be tempted but through our animal parts, which is shown by the image or example of the woman to the one man, concerning which we have spoken much above? Because that hostility which is placed between the seed of the devil and the seed of the woman shows that the seed of the devil is perverse suggestion, but the seed of the woman is the fruit of good works, which resists perverse suggestion. And therefore he observes the heel of the woman, that if there is any time delight falls into forbidden things, then it seizes her, and she observes its head, that she stop him at the beginning of his wicked persuasion. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On Genesis Against the Manichees, Book 2, Chap 18 1 Genes 3.15

Doubt And Error

Dominus dixit: in quacumque die comederis ex eo morte morieris. Mulier dixit: Ne forte moriamur. Diabolus dixit: Nequaquam moriemini. Dominus affirmavit, mulier dubitavit diabolus negavit. Qui ergo dubitavit, ab affirmante recessit, et neganti appropinquavit. Si mulier non dubitasset, forte diabolus non negasset. Sed dedit audaciam, quae incohavit malitiam. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit LXXXIX, De Dei, mulieris, et diaboli, de mortis incurrenda assertione Source: Migne PL 177.520a-b

The Lord said, 'On whatever day you shall eat of it, you shall die the death.' The woman said, 'Lest perhaps we shall die.' The devil said, 'You shall not die.' 1 The Lord asserted, the woman doubted, the devil denied. Therefore he who has doubted has withdraw from assertion and come near denial. If the woman had not doubted, perhaps the devil would not have denied. But he became bold when the woman began to err. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chap 89, On God, the Woman, and the Devil, and the Assertion of Impending Death 1 Gen 2.17, 3.3-4

Strict Judgements

Οὐκ ἀπονοίας ἐστιν, ὦ φιλολογώτατε, ὁ κατὰ τῶν πταισάντων φόνος τοῦ σοφωτάτου Πέτρου, ἀλλὰ διδασκαλίας προγνωστικῆς, τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων προϊωμένης ἁμαρτήματα. Τότε γὰρ ἀρξάμενοι τὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου καταβάλλεσθαι σπέρματα· καὶ εὐθὺς παρανατείλαντα ἐωρακότες ζιζάνια, σοφῶς αὐτὰ παραχρῆμα ἐξέτιλαν, ἵνα μὴ τῷ σιωῷ συναυξνθέντα, τῷ μέλλοντι πρὸς καῦσιν πυρὶ φυλαχθῇ. Οὔτω καὶ Μωσῆς ὁ θεσπέσιος τὰ τοῦ νόμου ἐκ προοιμίων παραβαθέντα θεώμενος, εἰ καὶ ἐπὶ βραχεῖ ἁμαρτὴματι καταλευσθῆναι ἐν σαββάτῳ ξυλολογοῦντα ἐκέλευσε, τοῦτο Θεὸν γεγραφὼς ἀποφήνασθαι. Ἐπὶ μικρῷ γὰρ καὶ μείζονι ἡ παραβασις κρίνεται. Ὡς καὶ οἱ πρῶτοι τοῦ γένους προπάτοες ξύλου γεύσει τὸν πολυώδυνον κατεδικάσθησαν καὶ βίον καὶ θάνατον Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΠΑ´ Ὠριονι Μονακῳ Source: Migne PG 78.300c

Not without sense, most learned man, against those who erred came death from the most wise Peter, 1 but it is a prescient teaching, foreseeing the many sins of men. For then when they began to throw forth the seed of the Gospel, instantly perceiving the weeds born, with wise counsel they swiftly tore them up, lest one of them growing with the wheat be protected against future fire. 2 In the same way the saintly Moses, considering violations of the law, even for a small error, such as the gathering of sticks on the Sabbath, nevertheless commanded stoning, and in this revealed God, that transgressions in both little things and great are judged. So even the first of our race, tasting the fruit of the tree, were condemned to a most bitter life and death. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 181, To the Monk Orion 1 Acts 5.5-10 2 Mt 13.25

Women And The Beginning

Τὸ ὑπερβατὸν οὕτως ἔχει· Ἀπεστάλη ὁ ἄγγελος πρὸς παρθένον ἐξ οἴκου Δαυϊδ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς παρθένου Μαριὰμ, μεμνηστευμένην ἀνδρὶ, ᾧ ὄνομα Ἰωσήφ. Οὐκ ἀπεστάλη δὲ πρὸς Ἰωσὴφ ὁ ἄγγελος· ἐπειδὴ οὐδὲν ἡν κοινὸν τῷ Ἰωσὴφ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου γέννησιν. Ὡς δὴ ἀρξαμένης τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀπὸ γυναικὸς, οὕτω καὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ἔδει ἄρξασθαι. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον Source : Migne PG 17.320b

This contains hyperbaton: An angel was sent to a virgin of the house of David, and the name of the virgin was Mary, who was betrothed to a man by the name of Joseph. 1 For the angel was not sent to Joseph, since He had no share in the conception of the Lord. For as sin's beginning was from a woman, so it was necessary that good things begin from a woman. Origen, On the Gospel of St Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 1.26-27

David And Adam

Τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς παραβάσεως τοῦ προπάτορος ὁ μέγας Δαβὶδ ἐν ψαλτηρίῳ ἀνακρουόμενος, καὶ πρὸς συγχώρησιν αὐτῆς τὸν Δεσπότην ἐξιλεούμενος, καὶ τὴν ἄφυκτον τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσιν ἐσήμανε, καὶ τὴ μετὰ τὸ πταῖσμα τοῦ Ἀδὰμ εὐγνωμοσύνην ἐδήλωσεν, Οὐκ ἐκρύβη, λέγων, τὸ ὀστοῦν μου ἀπὸ σοῦ, ὃ ἐποίησας ἐν κρυφῇ. Οὐκ ἔλαθέ σε, φησὶ, τῆς γυναικός μου ὁ ὅλισθος, ἤν ἐκ τοῦ ὀστέου μου λεληθότως ἐποίησας, ὕπνῳ, βαρεῖ εὐνάσας με. Ἀλλ' ἔγνως τὰ ἡμέτερα κρύφια, ὁ ἐκείνην κρυφίως ὑποστησάμενος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΑ' Διδυμῳ Source: Migne PG 78.372d-373a

The great David singing in the Psalter of the matter of the trespass of our forefather, entreating the Lord for forgiveness of it, and touching on the inescapable knowledge of God, tells of the honesty of Adam after the fall, when he says: 'My bone is not hidden from you, which you made in darkness.' 1 which is as if he says: 'The fall of my wife did not escape you, she who you made from my bone, when you made me sleep deeply. For you know our secrets, who in secret fashioned her. 2 Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 330, to Didymus 1 Ps 138.15 2 Gen 2.21-23

The Creation Of Woman

Quod mulier viri de latere facta est, propter ipsius conjunctionis vim commendandam ita fieri oportuisse credendum est. Quod autem dormienti illi factum est, quod osse detracto in cujus locum caro suppleretur, altioris mysterii gratia factum est. Significabatur enim quod de latere Christi in cruce per mortem sopiti sacramenta essent salutis exitura, videlicet sanguis et aqua, de quibus sponsa illi conderetur Ecclesia, nam si tanti sacramenti non esset figura in creatione feminae praemittenda, quid opus erat dormisse Adam, ut costam illi Deus, de qua feminam faceret, tolleret, qui et vigilanti ac non dolenti idem facere poterat? Quid necessarium ut cum os quod de viri latere sumptum est, unde femina condebatur, in locum ossis non os, sed care suppleretur, nisi quia figurabatur quod Christus propter Ecclesiam infirmus, at vero Ecclesia per ipsum esset firma futura? Unde ejusdem mysterii gratia typico quoque verbo usa est Scriptura, ut non diceret: fecit, aut formavit, aut creavit, sicut in omnibus supra operibus; sed aedificavit, inquit, Dominus Deus costam, quam tulerat de Adam in mulierem, non tanquam corpus humanum, sed tanquam domum, quae domus nos sumus, si fiduciam et gloriam spei usque ad finem firmam retineamus. Taliter enim decebat, ut humani generis origo, Deo operante, procederet, quatenus redemptioni ipsius quae in fine erat saeculi per eumdem ventura conditorem concinentibus figuris testimonium daret. Sanctus Beda, Hexameron Liber I Source: Migne PL 91.51a-c

That the woman was made from the side of the man, on account of the commendable force of that same union, should thus be believed was necessary. For that she was made while he slept, the bone being drawn out and in its place flesh supplied, was for the sake of a high mystery. 1 It was done to signify that from the side of Christ on the cross in the sleep of death the sacrament of salvation would come forth, as blood and water, from which the bride that is the Church is established for Him. For if there were not the figure of such a mystery in the creation of woman, what point was there in Adam sleeping, and that God took a bone from him from which he made woman, all which He was able to do with the man awake and without such labour? Why was it necessary that the bone be taken from the side of the man from which the woman was made and in place of bone, not bone, but flesh supplied, unless it was a figure that Christ was made weak for the Church, but the Church to come was made strong by Him? Whence for the sake of this mystery a specific type of word is used in Scripture, so that is does not say: 'He made', or 'He formed', or 'He created', as in the works that were done before, but it says that the Lord God 'built up,' the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, not like a human body, but as a building, which building we are, if we hold to firm faith and the glory of hope until the end. For so it was befitting that the origin of the human race, by the work of God, go forth, seeing that she who at the end of the age was its redemption through the coming of the same Creator, He gave witness to with resounding figures. Saint Bede, Hexameron, Book 1 1 Gen 2.21-22

Love And Adherence

Tria sunt, quibus Deo spiritualiter adhaeremus, memoria, scientia et voluntas. Memoria quippe quodammodo cujusdam aeternitatis capax est, Scientia notitiae, Voluntas amoris. In his tribus primus homo Deum in memoria tenebat sine oblivione, scientia cognoscebat sine errore, amore affectabat sine alterius rei cupiditate : quumque in his tribus esset homo beatus, in tertio tamen, id est, in amore creatori suo tanto familiarius adhaerebat, quanto dulcius gustabat quam suavis sit Deus. Quanto nimirum major summi boni dilectio, tanto suavior in ea est delectatio, et tanto plenior beatitudo. Licet enim memoria multa praeterita retineat, licet scientia profundissima percipiat, nulla tamen delectatio ibi est, nisi se dulcedo amoris infundat. In rebus itaque ratione utentibus Deus ordinat memoriam, scientiam, et amorem: ut amor ex memoria et scientia convalescat, et illa duo in amore dulcescant. Ex his formatur et firmatur in hominibus quibusdam affectus in Deum, et in se quaedam blanda et socialis communio voluntatum. Denique in creatione hominis foedus et vinculum sociale specialiter commendatur. Non est, inquit Deus, bonum hominem esse solum: faciamus ei adjutorium simile sibi. Et ad majus et expressius unionis indicium unius substantiam de alterius substantia propagavit. Ideo etiam de latere Adae socia ejus assumpta est, ut qui collaterales erant essentia, essent vita et moribus coaequales. Sic natura primitivos amoris affectus in hominum cordibus exaravit, quos sensus interior postea quodam diligendi usu quasi quodam gustu dulcissimae suavitatis adauxit. Petrus Blenensis, De Caritate Dei et Proximi, Cap. XI Source: Migne PL 207.881c-882a

There are three things by which we spiritually adhere to God, memory, knowledge and will. Since in a certain manner memory is capable in itself of eternity, knowledge of awareness, will of love. With these three the first man held to God, by memory without forgetfulness, by knowledge knowing without error, by love desiring without care for any other thing, by which three things the man was blessed, in the third, however, that is, in love, he adhered more closely to his Creator, much more sweetly tasting how sweet is God. As greater is the love of the greatest good, so sweeter is the delight in it, and much more complete the blessedness. For it is given to memory to retain many things which have passed by, it is given to knowledge to grasp things most profound, but there is no love there, unless infused with the sweetness of love. Therefore in things which God has ordained for rational use, memory and knowledge and love, so love gains strength from memory and knowledge, and the other two are sweetened by love. From these things the love of God in man is formed and stengthened, and in itself is a certain pleasant and sociable communion of wills. Finally in the creation of man a social alliance and bond is especially commended. 'It is not good,' God said, 'for man to be alone, let us make a helper for him like him.' 1 And for a better and more expressive sign of union, from the substance of the one the substance of the other was brought forth. Therefore even from the side of Adam his companion was taken, so that they were of the same essence, being equals in life and ways. So the nature of these first ones moved by love was inscribed in the hearts of men, whose interior sense, after the act of loving, in the tasting of sweetness in sweetness grew. Peter of Blois, On Love Of God And One's Neighbour, Chap 11 1 Gen 2.18

A Woman's Healing

Et cum venisset Jesus in domum Petri, vidit socrum ejus jacentem, et reliqua. Ad hoc ergo venerat ut videret febricitantem, et ideo mox cum venisset, vidit eam ac sanavit. Causa namque adventus ejus jacentis infirmitas, et non edenti necessitas fuit; quia in domo qua misera febris hominem laniabat, non cura prandii ac laetitiae, sed lacyrmarum erat effusio. Mira omnipotentis Dei dispensatio, qui etiam non quaerentes se quaerit, et non valentes ad se venire, ad eos clementer venit; quia si non ille ad nos prior venissset, nunquam ad eum redire potuissemus. Sed bene, postuqam descendit, haec mulier tetio loco curata legitur, quambis alii evangelistae alio in loco eam commemoraverint. Nihil enim interest ad historiae veritatem quis quo loco ponat, sive quod ex ordine interserit, sive quod postea factum ante praeoccupaverit; dum tamen invicem non adversentur, quod numquam reperies. Multum vero ad mysticam semper proficit intelligentiam, ut eo loco ab unoquoque, Spiritu sancto docente, singula ponantur, ut et veritas pateat operis, et doctrina spiritalis uberius appareat ex circumstantia lectionis. Nam, ut dixi, leprosus ille universum designat humanum genus, id est lepta originalis delicti coinquinatum: puer centurionis gentilitatem solam, morbo idololatriae, quasi paralysi, dissolutam, et ab omni compagine vitae pene emortuam. Quibus curatis, clementissimum erat ut mulier, quae fuerat auctor morborum et mortis, post virum curaretur et ipsa. Utrumque enim sexum Dominus curaturus advenerat. Sed prior curari debuit qui prior creatus est, tum demum et alla ab opifice nec praetermitti. Unde et Sciptura: Tenuit, inquit, manum, et dimisit eam febris. Quid putas? Nunquid verbo non potuit eam curare, quia tenuit manum ejus? Vel cur leprosum tangit, et curat verbo; hujus vero tenet manum, et continuo discedit febris? Illum ergo tangit, quod lex vetuerat, ut se supra legem ostenderet, de quo satis jam diximus. Hujus vero tenuit manum, quam mulier contra mandatum extenderat ad arborem, de qua noxium arboris gustum sumeret. Propterea ergo ratio fuit ejus tenere manum, ut vitam resumeret; quia Adam de manu mulieris acceperat mortem. Sic omnia Salvatoris concinunt opera. Justum quippe erat ut quod manus praesumentis admiserat, manus repararet auctoris, et indulgentiam reciperet quae cunctis intulerat mortem. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber V, Cap VIII Source: Migne PL 120.353c-354b

And when Jesus came into the house of Peter, He saw his mother in law cast down...1 For this, therefore, He came, that He see one fevered, and therefore as soon as He had come, He saw her and healed her. The reason for His coming was the weakness of her cast down and not because of some need for eating, because when in the house a fever had laid low a wretched invididual there was no care for feasting and joy but for a pouring out of tears. Wonderous dispensation of God, who sought out those not seeking and who came to those languishing, coming to them in mercy, because if He had not come to us before, never would we have been able to return to Him. And well it is said that after He descended, He cured this woman in third place, although the other evangelists remember her in another place. 2 For it is of no weight to the truth of history who is placed where, or in what order set, or recalled, or if that which is later is considered before, while none of them oppose the other, which you will never find. However, it is always of much cause of profit to the spiritual understanding, that in that place, by whichever one, with the Holy Spirit teaching, each thing is placed, that the truth of the work is revealed and the spiritual teaching more fruitfully appear from the circumstances of the passage. For, as I have said, the leper signified the whole human race, that is, the leper was soiled with original sin, and the centurion's boy indicated the Gentiles alone, who with the sickness of idolatry, as one paralysed and incapable, was mortified from every activity of life. Which curing, He most merciful, after curing man, cured woman, she who was the creator of disease and death. For the Lord came to cure both sexes. But it was right that He cure him who was created first, and then that the Creator pass on to her. Whence Scripture says: 'He held her hand and rid her of the fever.' What do you think? Was He not able to cure her with a word, because He held her hand? Or why did He touch the leper and cure with a word, but He held her hand and immediately the fever fled? He touched him that the old law wither away, that He show Himself over the law, concerning which we have spoken of enough before. And then He held the hand of woman, who against command had reached for the tree, from which she received the ruinous taste of the tree. Thus it was reasonable that He hold her hand, that life be restored, because Adam received death from the hand of the woman. So all the works of the Lord harmonise. Certainly it was right that the hand of the Creator restore the hand which had presumptively reached out, and so she receive forgiveness for bringing death to all. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 5, Chapter 8 1 Mt 8.14 2 Mk 1.30, Lk 4.38

Grace And The Annunciation

Sed quid egerit angelus audiamus: Ingressus ad eam, dicit: Ave, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. In hac voce oblatio muneris, non simplex salutionis officium. Ave. Hoc est accipe gratiam. Ne trepides, ne sis sollicita de nature. Gratia plena. Quia in aliis gratia, in te tota gratiae pariter veniet plenitudo. Dominus tecum. Quid est in te Dominus? Quia ad te non visitandi studio venit, sed in te novo nascendi illabitur sacramento. Adjecit congrue: Benedicta tu in mulieribus. Quia in quibus Eva maledicta puniebat viscera, tunc in illis gaudet, honoratur, suspicitur Maria benedicta. Et facta est vere nunc mater viventium per gratiam, quae mater exstitit morientium per naturam. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CXL, De Annuntiatione Divae Mariae Virginis Source: Migne PL 52.576a-b

Let us hear what the angel did. Having come to her, he says: 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.' 1 In this voice is the giving of a gift, not just the simple performance of a greeting. 'Hail.' That is, receive grace. Do not be distressed or anxious about nature. 'Full of grace.' Because though there is grace in others, the whole fullness of grace shall come to you. 'The Lord is with you.' Why is the Lord with you? Because He is coming to you not for the sake of a visit, but He comes down into you in a new mystery of birth. Fittingly the angel adds: 'Blessed are you among women.' Because in those affairs which Eve who received a curse had punished the body, Mary now receives a blessing, and rejoices and is honoured. Now truly woman is a mother of the living through grace, who had been a mother of the dead by nature. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 140, On The Annunciation 1 Lk 1.28

Eve And Mary

Per feminam mors, per feminam vita: per Hevam interitus, per Mariam salus. Illa, corrupta, secúta est seductorem: haec, integra, peperit Salvatorem. Illa poculum a serpente propinatum libenter accepit et viro tradidit, ex quo simul mererentur occidi: hæc, gratia cælesti desuper infusa, vitam protulit, per quam caro mortua possit resuscitari. Quis est qui hæc operatus est, nisi Virginis Fílius et virginum Sponsus, qui attulit Matri fecunditatem, sed non abstulit integritatem? Quod contulit matri suae, hoc donavit et sponsae suae. Denique sancta Ecclesia quae illi integro integra conjuncta est, quotidie parit membra ejus, et virgo est. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi,De Symbolo Sermo Ad Catechumenos, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 40.655-656

Through a woman came death, through a woman life, by Eve ruin, by Mary salvation. The first, being corrupted, followed the seducer, the second untouched gave birth to the Saviour. The first freely received a cup from the serpent and gave it to the man, from which instantly they merited death, the second, infused with heavenly grace from on high, brought forth life, by which the dead flesh is able to be revived. And who is He who does this, unless the Son of the Virgin and the Spouse of virgins, who brought fertility to Mary but did not remove her integrity? And that which he brought to His mother, He gave to his spouse, for the holy Church undefiled which is joined to Him undefiled, every day bears its members, and is a virgin. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The Creed To Catechumens, Chap 4

Eve And the Serpent

Τῷ οὖν ἀλόγῳ τούτῳ χρησάμενος πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς κατασκευὴν, δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τῇ γυναικὶ διαλέγεται, καί φησι· Τί ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Οὐ μὴ φάγητε ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου; Σκοπεῖτε ἐνταῦθα κακουργίας ὑπερβολὴν λεπτοτάτην.  Τὸ μὴ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τάξει συμβουλῆς καὶ ἐρωτήσεως εἰσάγει, καὶ ὡσανεὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν κηδεμονίαν ποιούμενος· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἐνδεικνυμένου, τὸ λέγειν, Τί ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Οὐ μὴ φάγητε ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου; μονονουχὶ λέγων ὁ πονηρὸς οὗτος δαίμων, Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἀπεστέρησεν ὑμᾶς τῆς τοσαύτης ἀπολαύσεως; διὰ τί οὐ συγχωρεῖ μετέχειν τῶν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἀγαθῶν, ἀλλὰ τῆς μὲν θέας τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν ἐδωρήσατο, οὐκ ἀφίησι δὲ μεταλαβεῖν, καὶ πλείονα καρπώσασθαι τὴν ἡδονήν; Τί ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ Θεός; Διὰ τί, φησὶ, τοῦτο; τί τὸ ὄφελος τῆς ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ διαγωγῆς, ὅταν μὴ ἐξῇ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ ἀπολαύειν, ἀλλὰ ταύτῃ μάλιστα πλείονα τὴν ὀδύνην ἔχειν, ὅταν θέα μὲν ᾖ, ἀπόλαυσις δὲ ἡ ἀπὸ τῆς μεταλήψεως μὴ γίνηται; Εἶδες πῶς, καθάπερ δέλεαρ, διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων ἐνίησιν αὑτοῦ τὸν ἰόν; Δέον τὴν γυναῖκα ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐπιχειρήσεως κατανοῆσαι τῆς μανίας τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, καὶ ὅτι τὰ μὴ ὄντα ἐπίτηδες λέγει, καὶ ἐν τάξει δῆθεν κηδεμονίας, ἵνα μαθεῖν δυνηθῇ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ αὐτοῖς ἐνταλθέντα, καὶ οὕτω πρὸς τὴν παράβασιν αὐτοὺς ἑλκύσῃ. Δυναμένη τοί νυν εὐθέως συνιδεῖν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀπάτην, καὶ ἀποστραφῆ ναι λοιπὸν τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν διάλεξιν ὡς περιττὰ λέγοντα, καὶ μὴ ἑαυτὴν εἰς τοσαύτην ταπεινότητα καταγαγεῖν, οὐκ ἠθέλησεν. Ἔδει μὲν γὰρ μηδὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀνασχέσθαι τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν διαλέξεως, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκείνῳ μόνῳ διαλέγεσθαι, δι᾽ ὂν παρήχθη, καὶ κοινωνὸς κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν γέγονε, καὶ εἰς βοήθειαν ἐδημιουργήθη. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅπως παρασυρεῖσα ἠνέσχετο τῆς ὁμιλίας τῆς πρὸς τὸν ὄφιν, καὶ ἐδέχετο τὰ ὀλέθρια ῥήματα τοῦ διαβόλου διὰ τούτου ὡς δι᾽ ὀργάνου, ἀκόλουθον ἦν εὐθέως μαθοῦσαν ἐκ τῶν παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ λεχθέντων τὴν ἐναντίωσιν τῶν ῥημάτων, καὶ ὅτι ἕτερα μὲν ὁ δημιουργήσας προσέταξεν, ἕτερα δὲ οὗτος καὶ ἀπεναντίας τῷ δημιουργῷ ἔλεγεν, ἀποστραφῆναι καὶ φυγεῖν λοιπὸν τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμιλίαν, καὶ βδελύξασθαι τὸν τολμήσαντα τὴν οἰκείαν γλῶσσαν ἀκονῆσαι κατὰ τῆς δοθείσης αὐτοῖς ἐντολῆς. Ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀπροσεξίαν οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀπεστράφη, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐντολὴν ἅπασαν αὐτῷ ἐκκαλύπτει, καὶ τοὺς μαργαρίτας τῷ χοίρῳ προτίθησι, καὶ πληροῦται τὸ παρὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰρημένον· Μὴ βάλητε γὰρ, φησὶ, τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, μήποτε καταπατήσωσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς πο σὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς· ὃ δὴ καὶ νῦν γέγονε. Παρέθηκε γὰρ τῷ χοίρῳ, τῷ πονηρῷ τούτῳ θηρίῳ, ἤτοι τῷ δαίμονι τῷ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐνεργοῦντι, τοὺς θείους μαργαρίτας, καὶ οὐ μόνον αὐτοὺς κατεπάτησε, καὶ ἀντετάξατο τοῖς ῥηθεῖσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ στραφεὶς οὐκ αὐτὴν μόνον, ἀλλὰ μετ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν πρωτόπλαστον εἰς τὸ τῆς παρακοῆς ῥῆγμα κατήγαγε. Τοσοῦτόν ἐστι κα κὸν ἁπλῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε πᾶσιν ἐκκαλύπτειν τὰ θεῖα μυστήρια. Ἀκουέτωσαν οἱ ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀδιαφόρως πρὸς ἅπαντας διαλεγόμενοι. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκεῖ περὶ χοίρου αἰσθη τοῦ ὁ Χριστὸς λέγει, ἀλλὰ τοὺς χοιρώδεις τῶν ἀνθρώπων αἰνιττόμενος, καὶ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἀλόγοις ἐγκυλινδουμένους τῷ τῆς ἁμαρτίας βορβόρῳ, παιδεύων ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι καὶ προσώπων διαφορὰν, καὶ πολιτείας ἐπιζητεῖν ἀκρίβειαν, ἡνίκα ἂν δέῃ τι τῶν θείων λογίων ἐκκαλύπτειν, ἵνα μὴ κἀκείνους καὶ ἑαυτοὺς λυμαινώμεθα. Οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι οὐ μόνον οὐδὲν κερδαίνουσιν ἀπὸ τῶν λεγομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἀνεξετάστως παραθέντας τοὺς καλοὺς τούτους μαργαρίτας, εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ αὐτοῖς βάρα θρον τῆς ἀπωλείας πολλάκις κατήγαγον. Διὸ χρὴ μετὰ ἀκριβείας ταῦτα παραφυλάττεσθαι, ἵνα μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς νῦν ἀπατηθεῖσιν ὑπομένωμεν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ νῦν ἡ γυνὴ ἐβουλήθη τοὺς θείους μαργαρίτας μὴ προθεῖναι τῷ χοίρῳ, οὐκ ἂν οὔτε αὐτὴ εἰς τὸν κρημνὸν τοῦτον κατηνέχθη, οὔτε τὸν ἄνδρα συγκατέσπασεν.   Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ὁμιλια ΙϚ' Source: Migne PG 53.127-128

So by use of this irrational creature the devil arranged his snare and by it made conversation with the woman, saying: 'Why did God say to you: You are not to eat from every tree in paradise?' 1 Consider here the subtle cleverness of the wickedness. He introduces by arrangement of thought and question that which was not said by God, 2 as if he had care for such things, which is evident when he says, 'Why did God say you are not to eat of every tree of paradise?' As if the wicked demon had said: 'For what reason does He deny you the pleasure of such things? Why does He not allow you to partake of the goods which are in paradise, but He has given sight of enjoyment and yet you are not allowed to enjoy it, even the greatest pleasure.' 'Why did God say it? What is this?' he says. 'What advantage is it to dwell in paradise when you do not have enjoyment of the things that are in it, but rather you have the greatest grief, that what you see you are not allowed to enjoy?' Do you see how by words, as a bait, the venom found entry? The woman should have been able to guess at the cunning of his raving, for he had spoken in his cleverness of what was not, and as if he had care for such, that he might know what was the command of God to them, and so draw them into transgression against it. But even though she was immediately able to perceive the imposture, and to repulse the foolish words, and not be drawn into his vileness, she did not choose to. For she should have not, I say, from the beginning tolerated his conversation, but she should have spoken to him alone whose helper she was fashioned to be and made to be a sharer in his dignity. But indeed, I know not what enticed her, she did allow the speech of the serpent and through that which was his instrument received the wicked words of the devil, which as soon as they had been said should have been understood as hostile words , being opposed to what the Creator had commanded and in contradiction to  what He had said, which counsel, then, she should have not allowed and fled, cursing him who with sharp tongue had dared speak against the commandments given to them. But in truth, on account of great negligence, she was not attendant, so that she was not only not hostile to him, but she disclosed the whole commandment to him, and in doing so cast her pearls before the swine, doing what had been said by Christ: 'Do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample on them with their feet and they turn and tear you.' 3 This indeed is what happened. For she placed before the swine, that evil beast, that demon, who was working through the serpent, the divine pearls, and he not only trampled on them, opposing them with his own words, but he turned on her, and not only her, but the man also, and cast them down headlong into transgression. So evil it is to reveal by choice and without prudence the Divine mysteries. And let them hear who without discrimination openly speak with all. For Christ did not teach about material pigs in that passage, but he indicated men who have the morals of swine, who like beasts wallow in the filth of sin, teaching us that we should consider the difference in persons and inquire into the way of their lives when we would take to the work of expounding the Divine words, lest we do harm to others and to ourselves. For those who are pigs do not only fail to profit from such words, but along with themselves they drag into the abyss of ruin those who without any discretion cast before before them the good pearls. Therefore, let us be diligent in our observation of these things, that we do not suffer the same thing which here seduced. For if the woman had thought not to cast her pearls before the swine, she would not have fallen into ruin, nor would she have dragged the man down with her. Saint John Chrysostom, On Genesis, from the Sixteenth Homily 1 Gen 3.1 2 Gen 2.16-17 3 Mt 7.6

Reason And The Serpent

Ερώτησις ΛΒ' Ἄλογος ὤν ὄφις πῶς διελέχθη τῇ Εὔα; Ὄργανον ἦν αὐτὸς τοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐχθροῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο δεδήλωκεν ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς θείοις Εὐαγγελίοις. Εἰρηκὼς γὰρ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις· Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστε, ἐπήγαγεν· Ἐκεῖνος ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς. Οὕτος τοίνυν διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως διελέχθη τῇ Εὔ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τῶν ἀλόγων ἀπάντων παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων τὴν ἡγεμονίαν εἰλήφεισαν, δι' ἑνὸς αὐτῇ τῶν ὑπηκόων τὴν παγίδα προσήνεγκε, πιθανωτέραν οὕτω τὴν ἀπάτην κατασκευάζων. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως ἐνεργήσαντα, ὄφιν ἡ θεία προσαγορεύει Γραφὴ, μάρτυς Ἠσαῗας ὁ προφήτης βοῶν, τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐπάξει ὁ θεὸς τὴν μάχαιραν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἁγίαν, τὴν μεγάλην, καὶ τὴν ἰσχυρόν, ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ὄφιν τὸν φεύγοντα, τὸν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ. Καὶ ὁ Κύριος δὲ τοῖς ἱεροῖς εἴρηκε μαθηταῖς· Ιδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων, καὶ σκορπίων, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Εἰς Την Γένεσιν Source: Migne PG 80.129a-b

Question 32 A serpent is irrational, so how did it speak to Eve? The serpent was an instrument of the enemy of truth. The Lord declares this in the holy Gospel when He says to the Jews: 'You are of your father the devil.' and after: 'He was a murderer from the beginning.' 1 Therefore the devil spoke to Eve through the serpent. For when from God they received rule over all irrational things, 2 the devil by use of one of these prepared his trap and by way of persuasion arranged his beguiling plots. And because of this use of the serpent for his minister Divine Scripture names him a serpent, with the Prophet Isaiah bearing witness, saying: 'On that day the Lord shall draw His holy, great and strong sword against the dragon serpent, coiled and mighty, against the the dragon serpent fleeing, who is in the sea. ' 3 And the Lord says to His blessed disciples: 'Behold I shall give you power to trample on serpents and scorpions, and on every power of the enemy.' 4 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Questions On Genesis 1 Jn 8.42 2 Gen 1.26 3 Isaiah 27.1 4 Lk 10.19

The Curses

In initio transgressionis Adae, sicut enarrat Sciptura, non ipsum maledixit Adam, sed terram in operibus ejus, quemadmodum ex veteribus quidam ait: quoniam quidem transtulit Deus maledictum in terram, ut non perseveraret in homine. Condemnationem autem transgressionis accepit homo taedia et terrenum laborem, et manducare panem in sudore vultus sui, et converti in terram, ex qua assumptus est; similiter autem mulier taedia, et labores, et gemitus, et tristitias partus, et servitium, id est ut serviret viro suo: ut neque maledicti a Deo in totum perirent, neque sine increpatione perseverantes Deum contemnerent. Omnis autem maledictio decurrit in serpentem, qui seduxerat eos. Et dixit, inquit, Deus serpenti: Quoniam fecisti hoc, maledictus tu ab omnibus pecoribus, et ob omnibus bestiis terrae. Hoc idem autem et Dominus in Evangelio his qui a sinistris inveniuntur, ait: Abite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum, quem praeparavit Pater meus diabolo et angelis ejus; significans quoniam non homini principaliter praeparatus est aeternus ignis, sed ei qui seduxit, et offendere fecit hominem, et, inquam, qui princeps apostasiae est, principi abscessionis, et his angeis qui apostatae facti sunt cum eo: quem quidem juste percipient etiam hi, qui similiter ut illi, sine poenitentia et sine regressu in malitiae perseverant operibus. Sanctus Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber III Caput XXXIII Source: Migne PG 7.961c-b

Immediately after Adam transgressed, as the Scripture relates, God did not curse Adam himself, but the ground in relation to his works, as a certain one of the ancients says: 'God transferred the curse to the earth, that it might not remain in man.' 1 But man received as the punishment of his transgression the wearisome task of working the earth, and to eat bread in the sweat of his face, and to return to the dust from which he was taken. Similarly the woman also received toil, and labour, and groans, and the pangs of birth, and subjection, that is, that she should serve her husband, so that they should neither perish utterly when cursed by God, nor, lacking chastisement, persist in scorning God. But the complete curse fell upon the serpent which had seduced them. 'And God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all the beasts of the earth.' 2 And this same thing the Lord says in the Gospel, to those who are found on the left: 'Depart from me, you accursed ones, into everlasting fire, which my Father has prepared for the devil and his angels,' 3 indicating that the eternal fire was not originally prepared for man, but for the one who seduced man, and caused him to sin, for the one, I say, who is the prince of apostasy, who is the prince of division, and for those angels who became apostates along with him; which indeed they shall also justly feel, who, like him, without repentance and without turning back, persevere in works of wickedness Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 33 1 Gen 3.16 2 Gen 3.14 3 Mt 25.41

Coverings Of Death And Life

Fecit quoque Dominus Deus Adae et uxori ejus tunicas pelliceas, et induit eos.   Et hoc significationis gratia factum est, sed tamen factum. Nam hujusmodi indumento Dominus eos mortales jam factos fuisse insinuat. Pelles quae nonnisi mortuis pecudibus subtrahuntur, mortis figuram continent. Ita, cum contra praeceptum, non imitatione legitima, sed illicita superbia Deus esse appetit homo, usque ad belluarum mortalitatem dejectus est. Et quidem ipsi sibi fecerunt perizomata de foliis fici, quibus pudenda tegerent; sed Dominus fecit illis tunicas pelliceas, quibus omne corpus illorum induit, quia ipsi, perdita per praevaricationem gloria innocentiae, praetenderunt sibi velamen excusationis, qua suam culpam in Conditorem transfunderent; et ipse Conditor illos per sententiam justi judicii, ablato statu vitae immutabilis, in anima simul et carne mutavit poena mortalitatis. Narrat autem evangelica parabola quia pius pater revertenti ad se per poenitentiam filio luxurioso, inter alia munera, etiam stolam primam proferri et eum indui praeceperit, mystice insinuans quia electi habitum immortalitatis, quem in Adam in exordio saeculi perdiderunt, in fine saeculi sint recepturi in Christo, et quidem ampliore gratia. Nam Adam ita immortalis factus est, ut posset non mori si praeceptum servaret; filii autem resurrectionis ita erunt immortales, ut nec mori unquam, nec metu mortis possint affici. De cujus receptione stolae dicit Apostolus: Oportet enim corruptibile hoc induere incorruptionem, et mortale hoc induere immortalitatem. Ubi induere sonat, ablatam utique significat nuditatem, quam Adam in se et Heva post peccatum agnitam erubescebant. Sanctus Beda, Hexameron Liber I Source: Migne PL 91.60b-d

And the Lord God also made for Adam and his wife tunics of skins, and He covered them. 1 And this was done for the sake of a sign, yet done. For with such covering the Lord declared that they were made mortal. The skins being nothing but that they had been drawn under the death of beasts, containing the figure of death. Thus when against the command, not by legitimate imitation, but by illicit pride, man desired to be God, man was cast down to the mortality of the beasts. And certainly they had made for themselves coverings of fig leaves, by which they covered their private parts, but the Lord made them tunics of hides, with which He covered the whole body, because they, destroying by trespass the glory of innocence, then extended it by the veil of excuse, by which they tried to transfer the fault to their Maker, and He, by the sentence of just judgement, removed them from the state of immutable life, and in both soul and flesh made change unto the punishment of mortality. Now it is related in the Gospel parable that the pious father, for his own son returning by penance from luxury, among other gifts, commanded that the finest robe be brought and that he be covered with it, 2 mystically signifying that he had received the immortality of the elect, which had been ruined in Adam at the beginning, and at the end is received in Christ, and certainly with more grace. For Adam was created immortal, that he was able not to die if he had guarded the command, and the sons of the resurrection shall be immortal, that they not die anymore, nor be afflcited with the fear of death. Concerning the reception of this robe the Apostle says: 'For this corruption shall be clothed in incorruption and this mortality in immortality.' 3 Where saying clothed, he signifies that nakedness shall be removed, which Adam and Eve after sin, aware of it in themselves, were ashamed. Saint Bede, Hexameron, Book 1   1 Gen 3.21 2 Lk 15.22 3 1 Cor 15.53

Sin And Memory

Dixit ergo serpens mulieri: Quid, quia dixit Deus: Non edetis ab omni ligno paradisi? Et dixit mulier serpenti: A fructu ligni quod est in paradiso edemus: de fructu autem ligni, quod est in medio paradisi, dixit Deus: Non edetis ex eo, neque tangetis illud, ne moriamini.  Ideo prius interrogavit serpens, et respondit hoc mulier, ut praevaricatio esset inexcusabilis, neque ullo modo dici posset, id quod praeceperat Deus oblitam fuisse mulierem. Quamquam et oblivio praecepti, maxime unius et tam necessarii, ad maximam culpam damnabilis neglegentiae pertineret: verumtamen evidentior eius transgressio est, cum memoria retinetur, et tamquam in illo Deus assistens praesensque contemnitur. Unde necessarium fuit, cum in Psalmo diceretur: Et memoria retinentibus mandata eius, addere, ut faciant ea  Multi enim retinent memoria, ut contemnant ea, praevaricationis maiore peccato, ubi oblivionis nulla est excusatio. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Genesi Ad Litteram, Liber XI, Caput XXX  Source: Migne PL 34.445

Therefore the serpent said to the woman: 'Why did God say that you are not to eat from the tree of paradise?' And the woman said: 'From the fruit of the tree that is in paradise we may eat, from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of paradise God said: 'You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' 1  Thus first the serpent questions and then the woman answers, that error be without excuse, nor may it be able to be said that the woman had forgotten what God had commanded. Though whoever is forgetful of a command, especially one so singular and necessary, has attached themselves to grave fault by damnable negligence, more evident is that transgression when the memory remembers, as with one who with God near and present yet will scorn Him. Whence it was necessary in the Psalm that says, 'And being mindful for the holding of His commands, to add, 'That they do them.' 2 For with these things held in the memory, when they are spurned, there is greater sin of fault, where there is no excuse of forgetfulness. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from On Genesis To The Letter, Book 11, Chap 30 1 Gen 3.1-3 2 Ps 102.18

Mother Of The Living

Vocatur dehinc mater vivorum, id est, recte factorum, quibus contraria sunt peccata, quae nomine mortuorum significantur. Jam vero per sententiam quae in virum infertur, ratio nostra arguitur, quae et super peccati concupiscentia seducta, et a paradiso beatitudinis remota, habet maledictiones terrenae operationis, habet et dolores temporalium curarum, quasi spinas et tribulos. Sic tamen dimittitur de paradiso beatitudinis, ut operetur terram, id est, ut in corpore isto laboret, et collocet sibi meritum redeundi ad vitam beatam, quae paradisi nomine significatur, possitque aliquando manum porrigere ad arborem vitae, et vivere in aeternum. Manus autem porrectio bene significat crucem, vel cruciatum poenitentiae, per quem vita aeterna recuperatur. Accipit etiam tunicam pelliceam divino judicio, quo nomine corporis mortalitas significatur in historia. In allegoria autem de carnalibus sensibus abstractae voluptates, quae carnaliter viventem divina lege consequuntur, et contegunt. Qui si aliquando ad Deum convertitur per flammeam frameam, id est, per temporales tribulationes, peccata sua agnoscendo et gemendo, et per cherubim, id est, per plenitudinem scientiae, quod est charitas, perveniet ad arborem vitae Christum, et vivet in aeternum. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput VIII Source:Migne PL 83.222a-b

Whence she is called the mother of the living, 1 that is, of right deeds, to which sins are contrary, which are signified by the name of the dead. Now, however, because of the sentence brought against the man, our reason is convicted, which is seduced on account of the desire for sin, and far from the paradise of blessedness it has the curse of worldly labours and the grief of temporal cares, as thistles and thorns. So although he is dismissed from the paradise of beatitude, it is that he work the earth, that is, that he labour in this body and gather to himself merit for the return to the blessed life, which is signified by the name of paradise, and at some time he be able to stretch out his hand to the tree of life and live in eternity. For the hand stretched out signifies the cross, or the trials of penitence, through which eternal life is restored. And he receives a garment of skin in the Divine judgement, by which in the narrative bodily mortality is signified. And allegorically this is being led away by the pleasures of the carnal senses, which carnal life draws one away from the Divine law and obscures it. Yet he may, if at some time he turn to God by the flaming blade, that is, through temporal tribulations, recognising and lamenting his own sin, and through the Cherubim, that is, through a plenitude of knowledge, which is charity, come to Christ, the tree of life, and live in eternity. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chap 8 1 Gen 3.20

Adam And Idolatry

In eos qui peccaverunt in similitudinem praevaricationis Adae, qui est forma futuri. Qui Adama forma furturi est, quod in subiectis monstrabimus. Itaque non in omnes regnasse mortem manifestum est, quia non omnes peccaverunt in similitudinem praevaricationis Adae, id est, non omnes contempto Deo peccaverunt. Qui autem sunt, qui contempto Deo peccaverunt, nisi qui neglecto creatore servierunt creaturae deos sibi constituentes, quos colerent ad iniuriam Dei? Idcirco laetabatur in istis diabolus, quia videbat illos imitatores suos effectos.  In similitudinem praevaricationis Adae et Thara, pater Abrahae, et Nachor et Laban proprios deos habebant. Et peccatum Adae non longe est ab idolatria. Praeuaricauit enim putans se hominem futurum Deum. Aestimauit enim hoc magis profuturum, quod diabolus suasit, quam quod Deus iussit, in loco Dei diabolum statuens. Unde et subditus factus est diabolo. Ambrosiaster, Commantarius in Epistulas Paulinas, In Epistula Pauli ad Romanos Source: Ambrosiastri qui dicitur Commentarius in Epistulas Paulinas, Volume 81, Part 1

In those who sinned in a likeness of the sinner Adam, who is the type of the one to come. 1 Who Adam is a type of we shall show is he who is subjected. It is obvious that  death has not reigned in everyone  because not everyone sinned in a likeness of the sinner Adam, that is, not everyone sinned in contempt of God. And who are those who sinned in contempt of God unless those who neglected the Creator and served the creature, setting up as gods who they wished, as an insult to God? Therefore the devil rejoiced in these because he saw them as imitators of his own deeds. And in the likeness of the sinner Adam is Thara, father of Abraham, and Nachor and Laban who had their own gods. For the sin of Adam is not far from idolatry. He erred thinking that man would become God. He judged to be more profitable what the devil counseled than what God commanded, putting then the devil in the place of God. Whence he was made subject to the devil. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistles of Paul, Epistle to the Romans 1 Rom 5.14