convinced that in no way at all could he have been led astray by that serpentine
Book XI 463 and into doing what he knew ought not to be done, to avoid crossing his death-dealing darlings, on whom he was wasting and draining away his life.60 ln the same way Adam too was unwilling to cross the woman who had taken a bite from the forbidden tree after being led astray, and had given some to him so that they might eat together; he believed she might easily pine away without him to comfort her, if she found herself estranged from his way of thinking, and might quite simply perish from that conflict. So what led to his downfall was not any lust of the flesh, which he had not yet felt in the law in the membersfighting back against the law of the mind (Rom 7:23), but a kind of loving concern for their mutual friendship, which often leads to God being offended, in case friends should turn unfriendly. That Adam should not have done this he was shown clearly by the result—the just sentence passed on him by God.
60. So then he also was deceived, but in a different kind of way; but l am convinced that in no way at all could he have been led astray by that serpentine trickery which took in the woman. This was given the proper name of seduction by the apostle,61 where the persuasive argument, though false, was believed to be true; that is, that the reason God forbade them to touch that tree was because he knew they would become like gods if they did do so, as though having made them human beings he begrudged them any share in the godhead.
But even if the man's mind, in its proud self-assurance which could not escape God's scrutiny of his inmost being, was allured by a kind of greed for fresh experience, when he saw that the woman had not died after taking that food, as I suggested earlier on,62 1 still cannot imagine how, if he was already endowed with an "enspirited" mind, he could possibly have believed that God forbade them to eat of that tree out of envy orjealousy. But why go on about it? They were persuaded to commit that sin in whatever way such as they were could be persuaded. But the account of it was written down in the way in which it should be read by all, even if it would only be understood in the way in which it should be by a few.
60. See 1 Kgs 11:1-13. 61. See 2Cor 11:3. 62. See above, 30,39.