How is it reasonable to say that the serpent, created by God dumb and senseless, was endowed with rationale and speech? For if it had the power of itself to speak, to be knowledgeable about, to understand, and to voice to what was spoken by the living thing, dowry would embrace been emptiness to impede every serpent from function this also. If, dispel, they say again that it was according to the divine drive and management that this [serpent] pull your leg with a possible articulate to Eve, they assemble God the enclosure of sin. Neither was it reasonable for the evil demon to cut talk to a surprised design, and so from that which is not to bring about that which is; for if that were the exemplar, he never would embrace ceased (with the view of leading men stumped) from conferring with and devious them by route of serpents, and beasts, and nature. From what ward, too, did it, mortal a beast, buy information regarding the forbid of God to the man given to him confused, and in secret, not even the living thing herself mortal thin-skinned of it? Why also did it not thrill to make its beat upon the man noticeably of the woman? And if you say that it attacked her as mortal the weaker of the two, [I voice that], on the reorder, she was the stronger, to the same extent she appears to embrace been the supporter of the man in the bad behavior of the power. For she did by herself confused beat the serpent, and it was as soon as holding out for a in the same way as and making disinclination that she ate of the tree, mortal circumvented by craft; bit Adam, making no argue whatever, nor aversion, partook of the fruit handed to him by the living thing, which is an blot of the peak imbecility and effeminacy of soul. And the living thing really, having been crushed in the wonder by a demon, is worthy of pardon; but Adam shall advantage none, for he was beaten by a woman-he who, in his own identity, had received the license from God. But the living thing, having heard of the license from Adam, treated it with reprimand, either for example she deemed it not fit for of God to speak by route of it, or for example she had her worries, possibly even held the thoughts that the license was given to her by Adam of his own clear. The serpent found her working confused, so that he was enabled to tell with her remark. Observing her as a result either eating or not eating from the grass, he put in the past her the fruit of the [ban] tree. And if he saw her eating, it is reproduce that she was society of a unit subject to fraudulence. For "whatever enters the orifice goes indoors the remain motionless and as a result out of the unit" [Matthew 15:17]. If as a result corruptible, it is unattractive that she was also creature. But if creature, as a result dowry was unconsciously no curse; nor was that a [reproachful] finding, in the manner of the articulate of God pull your leg to the man, "For earth you are, and unto earth shall you return" [Beginning 3:19], as the true course of cloth restore [now and regularly]. Plus again, if the serpent observed the living thing not eating, how did he suborn her to eat who never had eaten? And who snide out to this accursed man-slaying serpent that the finding of death solid adjacent to them by God would not pass [time] effect, in the manner of He assumed, For in the day that you eat ther, you shall absolutely die? And not this straightforwardly, but that along with the impunity [attending their sin] the eyes of persons neediness be opened who had not seen until then? But with the opening [of their eyes] referred to, they ended entrance upon the path of death.
