occult, something he is more inclined to accuse the Neoplatonists of than the Manichees. But
Book 11 89 of his, he who was accustomed before he fell to enjoy the sublime truth in which he did not stand." And that is why even the cattle are ranked above him, not in power but in the way they keep to their nature. They didn't lose any heavenly bliss or blessedness, which they never had in the first place; but they pass their lives according to the nature which they did receive.
So then, this one is told: Upon yourbosom andyour belly shallyou crawl (Gn 3:14), something indeed to be observed in snakes, which is now being taken from those visible animals and applied figuratively to this invisible enemy of ours. The word "bosom" signifies pride because that is where the driving force of the spirit resides, while by the word "belly" is signified fleshly desire, because this is perceived as the softer part of the body. And it is because he crawls by means ofthese vices toward those whom he wishes to deceive that it says: "Upon your bosom and your belly shall you crawl."
The meaning ofGenesis 3:14
18, 21. And earth, he says, shallyou eat all the days of your life (Gn 3: 14), that is, all the days on which he exercises this power, before he receives that final punishment on the day ofjudgment; this, after all, appears to be the life he enjoys and boasts about. So then, there are two ways in which we can understand "earth shall you eat." Either it means that those you take in through earthy greed, that is sinners who are signified by the word "earth," will belong to you; or else, more likely, it is the third kind of temptation that is represented by these words, and that is curiosity.37 One who eats earth, you see, penetrates deep and dark places, which are still for all that time-bound and earthly.
28. Enmity though will not be set between him and the man, but between him and the woman. This is surely not because he doesn't tempt men and take them in, is it? lt's perfectly obvious that he does. Or is it because he didn't take Adam in but his wife? But that doesn't mean, does it, that he is not the enemy of the man, who was affected by that deceit through his wife—above all because it is here referring to the future: / will set enmity between you and the woman (Gn 3:15)? If however it's just that he didn't thereafter take Adam in, then he didn't thereafter take Eve in either.38
36. See Jn 8:44. 37. He means the curiosity that leads people to the practice of divination, and prying into the occult, something he is more inclined to accuse the Neoplatonists of than the Manichees. But the Manichees did, he also says, try to entice people tojoin them by promising them knowledge of the mysteries of the universe. 38. 1n this very dense paragraph he is arguing that it is difficult, to say the least, to make sense of any literal, "historical" interpretation of this point. But take it as having a figurative significance, and all becomes clear.