addita est, "the woman was joined on, was brought in." Treating adita est as a straightforward
462 The Literal Meaning of Genesis events, which is what we have undertaken to affirm, and have been affirming as far as God has wished.
Why Adam was led into sin by Eve, not also by the serpent; the dreadful example ofSolomon
42, 58. A much more serious and difficult question is this: if Adam was already spiritual, "enspirited" in mind that is, though not yet in body, how could he have believed what was said by means of the serpent, that the reason God forbade them to feed on the fruit of that tree was that he knew that ifthey did they would be like gods on account of distinguishing between good and evil—as though the creator begrudged his creature such a great good as this? It would be astonishing if a man endowed with an "enspirited" mind could have believed such a thing. Or is it precisely because he could not possibly believe this that the woman was approached,58 as being of little intelligence and perhaps still living according to the sense perception of the flesh, not according to the spirit of the mind (Eph 4:23)? And is that why the apostle did not accord her the image of God? That is what he says, you see: Man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man (1 Cor
11:7). Not indeed that the mind of the woman cannot receive this image, since he says that in that grace we are neither male nor female,59 but that perhaps she had not yet received what she was going to receive gradually as she came to recog nize God under the guidance and management of the man. lt is not for nothing, after all, that the apostle also says: ForAdam was thefirst to beformed, next Eve. AndAdam was not led astray, but the woman being led astray became in trans gression (1 Tm 2:13-14), that is, so that the man also transgressed through her—because he also calls him a transgressor,where he says: in the likeness of the transgression ofAdam, who is the model of the one to come (Rom 5:14); but all the same he denies that Adam was led astray. l mean when he was questioned himself, he did not say, "The woman whom you gave me led me astray, and I took a bite," but, "She," he said, "gave me of the tree, and I took a bite"; while as for her, "The serpent," she said, "led me astray."
59. Take Solomon, for instance, a man of such outstanding wisdom; are we really to believe that he believed there is anything to be gained by worshiping idols? But he was unable to resist the love ofwomen dragging him into this evil.
58. Reading with two manuscripts adita est instead of the text' s, both of the Maurists and CSEL, addita est, "the woman was joined on, was brought in." Treating adita est as a straightforward perfect passive ofadeo may seem at first sight not to be accordance with the best classical Latin; but treating adeo as a transitive verb is good classical usage, so Dr. Duncan Cloud, professor emeritus of classics at Leicester University, assures me. 59. See Gal 3:28; also 2 Cor 3: 18: Col 3: 10.