O. R.

Nor the

was only a prefent Punishment of Man, that had offended; for it was Man, that was to fuffer by this Curfe of it, and not the Ground it felf. The Ground felt no Harm, by bringing forth Thorns and Thiftles; but Man was a fufficient Sufferer by it, when he, by the Sweat of his Brows, was forced to keep it in an ordinary Fertility, and much inferior to its paradifiacal Fruitfulness.

Phil. Such another odd Kind of indecent Paffion does your Jewish Legiflator attribute to the Deity; when he, in the fame Fit of Anger, metamorphofes the poor Serpent, because the Devil made ufe of his Body. Befides, I cannot imagine how that fhould be a Punishment to the Serpent, which feems to be natural to it; for 'tis as natural for a Serpent to creep, as for a Man to walk. And he might as well have made it a Punishment, for a Man to ftand bolt upright, as for the Serpent to creep upon the Ground. But be this as it will, and grant it a Punishment for the Serpent to creep; how did the poor Beaft deferve fuch a Punishment? How could it help or hinder the Poffeffion of the Devil? Or why fhould God be more angry at the Serpent fo poffeffed, than he was at the Demoniacks in the Gospel?

Cred. I find you are mightily concerned, that no Injuftice fhould be offered to brute Beasts, when you do not care how much you do to this divine Writer and Prophet of God, by expofing his Writings without any Ground. But I pray, what Injuftice was it to the SerCurfe of pent, to have his Form fomething altered from what it the Serpent. was before? I am confident he was not able to diftinguifh, whether it was altered, or no; for that would imply an intelligent Nature, to have contemplated his former State, and to have compared it with his latter, which it was impoffible for the Serpent to have done. But to receive a new Shape, which he did not know whether it was better or worfe, without any fenfible Pain or Alteration to him; and this too done by an Almighty Power, to whom he owed his whole Being, and could claim nothing at his Hands: This is fo far from being Injustice, that it is Bounty ftill. Befides, Man being Lord of the

Creation,

Creation, had a natural Right over the Serpent; and this Change being defigned by God for Man's Good and Inftruction, there was no more Injustice in changing the Form of the Serpent for his Sake, than in fuffering other Creatures to be flain for his Food. Nor laftly, muft we fuppofe, that God Almighty was any Ways offended at the Serpent, because the Devil had poffeffed his Organs; but the Reafon he worked this Change in his Body was, because it should remain as a Monument of the unhappy Fall, of God's Averfation to Sin, and to deter Men from the Commiffion of that, which brought fuch Vengeance with it. This was no proper Punishment of the Serpent, but only an instructive Emblem to Mankind; fuch as our Saviour's Curfing of the Fig-Tree, not to punish the Wood, but to read the Disciples an Emblematical Lecture, what they were to expect, if they did not bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance. Neither is it disagreeable to the Reason of Mankind, to have a proper Punishment inflicted upon the Serpent for being the Inftrument of this unhappy Mifcarriage; any more than it is, when we de ftroy Knives, and Swords, and Beafts, that have been inftrumental in any Man's Murder. As for the natural Reptility of the Serpent, it is plain from this History it is falfe; and we fuppofe the Change to be from fuch a bright winged Seraph, as was before mentioned, to a meani creeping Snake.

Phil. Well! but what think you, Credentius, of the opening Adam's Eyes by the eating the Apple, and his feeing himfelf naked, which he knew not of before? I proteft this looks very ftrange: For Blindness was but a very forrowful Ingredient in the paradifiacal State. And if they could not have seen their Nakedness before, yet me- o. R. thinks their other Senfes would have informed them.: Or if they had not, I do not think they were any great Lofers by their Expulfion; for their Lofs of the Orchard was abundantly compenfated by the Ufe of their Eyes.

Cred. The Phrafe to open Eyes, among the Jews, does The Meannot denote always a Cure of Blindnefs, as is frequent in ing of their Eyes were the Hiftory of the Gofpel; but oftentimes metaphori

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cally

opened.

O.R.T.43.

O.R. 44.

cally does fignify the fudden Coming of any Thing to a Man's Knowledge, by any Way whatfoever. Thus God is faid to open the Eyes of Balaam, when the Angel reprefented himself in a bodily Shape to him, Numb.xxii. 31. And thus the Difciples Eyes were opened, when they recollected, that the Perfon, that had difcourfed with them in the Way to Emmaus, was the Lord. Not that thefe were blind before, but becaufe they came fuddenly to know fomething, which they were ignorant of before; by fome new furprifing Illumination, and clearing up, as it were, the Eyes of their Understanding. Thus our firft Parents, after the Fall, prefently came to find the irregular Effects of their corrupted Nature; or what the Scripture here calls Nakedness. By which Word, according to the ufual Modesty of the Hebrew Tongue, is unftood all the irregular Appetites to venereal Pleafures, which they were Strangers to in their State of Innocence; and began now at firft to experience; and were therefore afhamed of their foul Degeneracy, and upon this Account were defirous of Cloathing to hide thofe Irregularities from the Sight of others.

Phil. But then this Explication, Credentius, makes this Pudor circa res venereas fubfequent only to the Fall, whereas it is congenite to his Nature; and is not only implanted in Mankind, but in other Animals, which feem to have fome Kind of Shame in fùch Matters.

Cred. I think it can never be proved, that irrational -Creatures have any Senfe of Shame in venereal Matters; but the Contrary is evident from their publick Commixtures. Befides, before the Fall, when Man's Appetites were more regular; there was no Room for this Shame, which had its Beginning upon the Corruption of his Na

ture.

Phil. There is, Sir, another very great Difficulty in this Hiftory; and that is in the Relation of their Cloathing, after they were discovered to be naked. Now the Text tells us, that they fewed together Fig-leaves, and therewith made themfelves Aprons: From whence forfooth we may deduce the Original of the Taylor's Trade.

But

But then the Mifchief is, what they fhall do for Thread and Needles; for Spinning was not as yet found out, and Working in Iron was an Invention of much later Date. So again v. 21. when God takes the Tayloring-work in to his own Hands, or at least an Angel by his Appoints ment, And unto Adam, and alfo to his Wife, did the Lord God make Coats of Skins, and cloathed them: This Angel then must kill, and flea the Animals, and strip off their Skins to keep Adam and Eve warm; now methinks thi fmells more of the Butcher, or the Hangman, than the Angel. Befides, thefe Leathern Coats would be purchafed by the Destruction of at least one whole Species; for if either Male or Female of any Kind had been deftroyed, at the first Creation, as this was, there muft a Species be loft for ever; for it is not believed, that there were more than two of each Kind created; and one alone without another for its Confort, could never have produced any Off-fpring.

Relation of

Cred. Here are in this Objection, Philologus, feveral No AbfurSuppofitions, which are all very wild; and if they are dity in the denied, the Argument falls to the Ground. For, If the FigYou fuppofe that they fewed the Fig-leaves together as leaves and Taylors do their Cloth, with Needle and Thread, which the Skins is more than the Scripture does imply. For the original Word Tapar fignifies no more than to put together, to apply, to fit As 'tis ufed, Fob xvi. 15. applied Sackcloth to his Skin. And the Women in Ezekiel are reproved for wearing Pillow's under their Arm-pits, Ezra xiii. 18. where we cannot fuppofe that Job fewed the Sackcloth to his Skin, or that thofe delicate Women tacked their Pillows to their Flesh with Needle and Thread. And the word Gaelch, which we render Leaves, fignifies alfo Branches of Trees, fuch as were to make Booths, or Bowers, Neh.viii. 15. So that to adapt, or fit Branches, which we render few Leaves together; is only to twift or plat the flexible Branches of the Fig-Tree round about their Waftes, in the Manner of a Roman Crown; fo that when the broad Leaves of that Tree hung down, it reprefented the Fashion of a Pair of green Brecehes. idly, You

KA

2dly, You fuppofe, that God, or fome Angel, muft make them their Coats of Skin; which I think is by no Means neceffry. For it is a known Observation in the Hebrew Tongue, that it is used to attribute many Things to God, which are not done by his immediate Act, but fometimes by his Direction, and fometimes by the Permiffion of his ordinary Providence. So here the Coats are faid to be made by God, whereas 'tis probable they only received Inftruction how to make them; or only, perhaps, because they were the Gift of God, as all other Bleffings; as God is faid to give a Man Health, or Wealth, or Strength.

3dly, You fuppofe that God could not provide for them thefe Coats, without deftroying a whole Species, which is a very bold Affertion. For it is not certain, what Number of Animals of a Sort were created, and therefore the Suppofition is weak. Neither is it known how long after the Creation thefe Coats were made: In all Probability it was not till the Winter following; and by that time Hares, Conies, &c. had Time fufficient to multiply confiderably.

A

Phil. But next, for the Clofe of all this fine Relation, there is a Story, which out-docs all the Hiftories of inchanted Iflands and Caftles, that ever were feen; and that is the Story of the Angels with their flaming Sword, which turned every Way, to keep the Way of the Tree of Life; That is, a Guard of Cherubim are placed at the Entrance of the Garden, with a great two-handed flaming Sword, that continually waved about the fame, for fear, leaft by open Force, or by Stealth, Adam and Eve fhould have repoffefied themfelves again of those happy Manfiens. Now is not this very pleafant, to have Angels like Centinels, with drawn Swords before the Doors of the Garden, for I know not how many Ages, as Dragons are feigned by the Poets to have guarded the Apples of the Hefperides? But, I pray, how long did this angelical Guard laft? To the Flood, I fuppofe, if not longer. So that you here fuppofe the Angels, to have been for above 1500 Years employed in keeping a

Garden.