FOURTEENTH HOMILY. "And the Lord, God took. the man he had formed, and placed him in the garden of delights to cultivate and keep him. (Gen. II, 25.)

ANALYSIS.

1. Saint Chrysostom first exhorts his listeners to search for the various deep and mysterious meanings of Scripture by reminding them of how ardently divers are engaged in pearling. 2. Then he approaches the explanation of his text, and observes that expression, the Lord God; does not indicate between the Father and the Son, as certain heretics thought, some difference of attribute or of sovereignty. 3. He then remarks that work was imposed on man as a condom against idleness, but that this work was only a gentle occupation, and not a practice. The defense which the Lord made to Adam to eat of the fruit of the tree of the science of good and evil, was to exercise his obedience and to keep him in dependence and submission; and though the woman was not yet created, God understood her in this defense, that Adam might make her known to him afterwards. 4. Regarding the creation of the woman, the speaker observes that here, as in the creation of man, God speaks to his Son, and that he reveals the dignity of the woman by saying that She was formed to be the companion of man. 5. He then explains how Adam named the various animals by an act of authority, as a master names his servants, and. finishes by asking his listeners to remember his instructions.

1. Even today, if you find it good, I will resume the subject of our last conversation, and I will develop spiritual doctrine again: for the sacred text, which has just been read, contains great mysteries, and it is necessary, in order to derive some fruit from it, to deepen them, and to study them attentively. Sinners who take care of the fishing of pearls, collect them only at the cost of great fatigues, and by braving them. streams and abysses of the ocean; but how much more must we apply our minds to search the depths of the holy Scriptures, and to search there for the true precious stones? However, do not be alarmed, my dear brother, when we speak of abysses and depths: for it is not a question here of exploring a stormy sea. The grace of the Holy Spirit, who directs us by his divine clarity, facilitates our work and makes it fruitful. Pearl fishermen rarely make a fortune, and often even this fishing becomes fatal to them and causes their loss; at least the pleasure of success never equals the unfortunate consequences, since the sight of this treasure excites against them the glances of greed, and arms the arm of avarice. And, indeed, the possession of some pearls, far from being really useful, produces all too often discord and death, because it irritates avarice and ignites greed, so that it endangers the very life of the one who found this treasure.

But the precious stones contained in our holy Scriptures offer us no such danger; if their price is above all estimate, the joy of possessing them is unalterable, and far superior to all human joys; This is what the Psalmist tells us when he exclaims, "Lord, your words are much more desirable than gold and precious stones. (Ps. Xviii. 11.) But if he thus puts the Divine Law in the face of the most esteemed matters, he also knows how to appreciate it well above them by saying that this law is much superior to them: Lord he says, your words are much more desirable than gold and precious stones. Certainly, this is not, in the thought of the Psalmist, a comparison of perfect equality; but because gold and precious stones are among us the most esteemed objects, it indicates them to mark the excellence of the divine law, and to make known to us that we must desire these oracles of the Holy Spirit. with more ardor than men seek gold and precious stones. Scripture compares, in fact, spiritual things to sensible things only in order to point out the utility and superiority of these things; so the Psalmist adds that they are sweeter than honeycombs. Here again he does not wish to establish an exact comparison, nor to say that honey and the divine law can give us an equal pleasure, but it is because he has not been able to find in nature other objects more suitable to us. to understand the sweetness of this law. He therefore quotes gold, jewels, and honey to make us appreciate better the excellence of sacred oracles, and to teach us that the intelligence of divine dogmas brings more joy than the possession of these perishable treasures.

In the Gospel Jesus Christ uses the same method; and as, one day, his apostles asked him for the explanation of the parable of the wheat and tares, which the enemy had planted among the wheat, he deigned to explain to them in detail all the parts. So he told them what was this field and that father who had sown the good grain, what the tares meant, and what was the enemy man who had spread it; He told them who the reapers were and what the harvest was, and he ended all his explanations with these words: Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. (Matt XIII, 43.) No doubt their brilliancy will surpass that of this star, and yet the Savior says that they will equal his splendor, because nature offers nothing more brilliant than the sun. In these kinds of comparisons it is necessary, therefore, much less to stop at the term itself than to use it to rise, from sensible and material objects to the eminent superiority of spiritual things. Now, we will never be able to seek these with too much eagerness, because they flow from God, and fill the soul with an ineffable joy: that is why lend to my instructions, an eager and attentive ear, so that you find there the true riches of salvation, and that you return to your houses filled with the principles of the wisdom which is according to God.

2, let us therefore listen to the explanation of the passage of Genesis, which has just been read, and reject all profane thought. or indifferent; for Scripture is a code descended from heaven for our salvation. When one reads an imperial rescript, the most profound silence is established, and suddenly the slightest noise and the slightest agitation cease; all; the ears are attentive and all are impatient to know the wishes of the prince. He would thus expose himself to a great danger, which, by a slight noise, would interrupt this reading; but the Church commands us a much more respectful fear and a still deeper silence. We must also repress the tumult of profane and foreign thoughts, if we are to understand these instructions and deserve, by our docility, that the King of heaven. we approve and reward us by giving us new and more abundant graces.

But it is time to hear the instructions given to us by the sacred writer, who spoke much less of himself than by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost: And the Lord God, he said, took the man who he had formed; he joins together, from the beginning of the sentence, the words: Lord God, to indicate to us that there is here a secret and a mystery, and that these two terms signify one and the same thing. Besides, I do not make this remark without reason; so that the Apostle may say to us, There is but one God, the Father, from whom all things proceed, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom all things have been done ( I Corinthians 8: 6), you did not think that there exists any difference between these terms, and that they mark one, a character of superiority, and the other a character of inferiority. Scripture thus employs them indifferently, and thus prevents any dispute which would tend, by a false interpretation, to alter our sacred dogmas. The very examination of the text which I quote proves, indeed, that the Scripture attaches to these two words no special and distinct signification; for to which person of the Trinity does the heretic wish to relate this sentence: And the Lord God took the man? To the Father alone, be it. But listen to the Apostle who tells us: There is only one God, the Father, from whom all things proceed, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom all things have been done. Do you not see that he names the Lord Son? and why then say that the word Lord signifies something greater than the word God? it is an absurdity and a frightful blasphemy: but as soon as one departs from the rules of a sound interpretation of Scripture, and only follows one's own reasoning, one is unreasonable, and one raises against the true doctrine a thousand useless and idle disputes.

And the Lord God took the man whom He had formed, and He placed Him in the Garden of Delight, that He should cultivate it, and keep it. Admire here the care of Providence with regard to man: yesterday, the sacred writer said to us gay God had planted a garden of delights, and that he had placed the man there to remain and that he enjoys all his various amenities; but behold, to-day Moses again comes back to this ineffable goodness of the Creator, and he tells us a second time that the Lord God took the man whom He had formed, and placed him in a garden of delights. and observe that he does not say only: and God placed him in a garden, but in a garden of delights, to make us understand how pleasant this dwelling was, after having thus reported that God placed the man in a garden He adds to it that he should cultivate it, and that he should keep it, and here again is the trait of an amorous Providence, and indeed in the midst of the delights of this garden, where everything rejoiced his sight and flattered him. his senses, man could have been proud of the excess of his happiness, for idleness teaches all vices (Ecclesia, XXXIII, 29.) So the Lord commanded him to cultivate this garden. and keep it.

But, do you say, did the earthly paradise need the care of man? No doubt; and yet the Lord wanted the guard and the cultivation of this garden to offer man a gentle and moderate occupation. Suppose he was completely idle, and this great idleness would soon have made him lazy and negligent. A mild and easy occultation kept him on the contrary in a humble dependence. And indeed, this word: that he may cultivate it, is not put here without motive, and it signifies that man should not forget that God was his master, and that he had not given him enjoyment of this garden of delights only on the condition of taking care of it; for the Lord does all things for the usefulness of man, whether he gives him favors or gives him the freedom to abuse them. We did not exist yet, that already his immense goodness had prepared for us the ineffable goods of heaven. This is what these words of Jesus Christ teach us: Come, the blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you before the creation of the world. (Matthew XXV, 34.) But, all the more, this same kindness furnishes us abundantly with the goods of the present life.

3. Let us recall, in a few words, the benefits of the Lord to man. First he pulled him out of nothing, and he formed his body of mud. Earth; He then poured on his face a divine breath, and thus communicated to him the inestimable gift of a spiritual soul; finally, he created for him a garden of delights, and he placed it there. Still unhappy, like a good father who loves his child, God seems to fear that within one. complete rest and full freedom, the young and inexperienced man does not swell with pride and vanity; that is why he thinks of giving it a gentle and moderate occupation. The Lord therefore commanded Adam to cultivate and keep the earthly paradise, so that in the midst of the delights of this stay and the security of a peaceful rest, this double care would keep him within the limits of humble dependence. These are the first benefits that the Lord gives to man immediately after his creation; and those who will follow will not less prove his extreme kindness and sovereign benevolence.

Now what does the Scripture say? And the Lord God made a recommendation to Adam. Here again the sacred writer, according to his custom, joins these two words: Lord and God, in order to better inculcate the true doctrine and to confound those who, daring to establish between them any distinction, attribute one of these names to the Father, and the other to the Son. And the Lord God made a recommendation to Adam. What a trait of goodness in this one word: God made a recommendation! Who would not admire him! and what word could worthily express it! For see how, from the beginning, God respects the dignity of man: he does not give him either an absolute order or an express command; but he makes a simple recommendation. As a friend deals with his friend about an important matter, so the Lord deals with Adam. It seems that he wants to engage him, by a feeling of honor, to be submissive and obedient.

And the Lord God made a recommendation to Adam, and said to him, Eat all the fruit of the trees of paradise; but do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for the very day that you eat it, you will certainly die. (Gen. II, 17.) The observation of this precept was very easy. But, understand, my dear brother, how laziness is a great evil: it makes difficult the most affluent things; and on the contrary, ardor and activity make easy the most difficult things. Hey! tell me, could God make a simpler and easier recom- mendation to the man, and could he give him more honor! It allowed him to inhabit the earthly paradise and to recreate his looks by the beauty of the objects he contained. How sweet and agreeable was this view, and how exquisite were the fruits on which he fed! And indeed, what a pleasure to see the fertility of the fruit trees, the variety of the flowers, the diversity of the plants, the foliage which protects the trees as d a beautiful hair, and those thousand other beauties that presumably contained a garden that God himself had planted. This is what Scripture has previously insinuated when she told us that God brought out of the earth all kinds of beautiful trees to see, and whose fruits were sweet to eat. So we can understand how guilty was the negligence and intemperance of the man who, in such abundance, transgressed the command of the Lord.

Represent the honor and dignity with which the Lord surrounded the first man. He placed him in the earthly paradise and drew up a separate and particular table for him so that he could not even suspect that the Creator had given him the same food as the animals. But he was like the king of nature, and he enjoyed in the earthly paradise a thousand delights; he also had, in his capacity as master of the animals, a separate dwelling and a better dwelling. And the Lord God made a recommendation to Adam, and said to him, Eat all the fruit of the trees of Paradise; but do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for the very day that you eat it, you will certainly die. It's as if he had told her: do I impose on you a serious and difficult obligation? no doubt, since I leave you the fruits of all trees except one; and if I sanction my defense by the threat of the most terrible punishments, it is so that at least fear restrains you in obedience. The Lord, therefore, used it to the first man, as a generous and magnificent master who would yield us a superb. palace, on condition that we recognize his right of suzerainty for a modest fee; and so the Lord, always good and merciful, allowed Adam the use of the fruits of all the trees, and excepted only one, to remind him that he depended on God and that he had to obey to all his commandments.

4. But who could worthily express, how great was then the goodness of the Lord Adam could not present any merit, and what favors nevertheless did not receive! Because it is neither. half of the fruits that the Lord gives him, nor a large number of trees that he reserves, allowing him the use of others; he wants on the contrary that he eat all the fruits of the trees of paradise, and if he except one, it is only for the man to recognize him as the author and the principle of all these goods. Consider again here what was the woman's. goodness of the Lord, and with what honors he showered her. It did not yet exist, and already it understood it in this commandment: Do not eat this fruit, because in the day when you will eat it you will certainly die. So from the beginning God declares that man and woman are one, and that man, according to the word of the Apostle, is the head of the woman. (Ephesians V, 23.) He therefore addresses both, so that later, when the woman has been formed of the man, she receives from him the knowledge of this defense.

I am not ignorant of the questions which are usually proposed concerning this tree, nor the objections of certain heretics who speak with bold audacity, and who endeavor to reject the sin of man on God. Why, they say, did the Lord make this defense, knowing that the man would not respect it? Why has he planted this tree in paradise? The answer to these questions and to many others would lead me to speak before the time of the original fault, and it is better to wait for the story of Moses to lead us there. When we have arrived at this place of Genesis, I will see more clearly what the divine grave will inspire in order to develop the true meaning of Scripture. In this way you will acquire the true knowledge of things, and give back to God the glory he deserves without imputing to him a fault of which the only man is guilty. That is why, if you will, let us approach the explanation of the verses that immediately follow.

And the Lord God says, It is not good for a man to be alone. Scripture here repeats this expression which it has already used: the Lord God, that we may retain it well, and that we do not prefer its vain interpretations to its teachings. And the Lord God says, It is not good for a man to be alone. See how the good God does not cease to accumulate upon man favors on benefits, and as in his generous liberality he surrounds this reasoned being with new honors. His goal is to make his life sweeter and more enjoyable. And the Lord God says, It is not good for a man to be alone; give him a help like him. Here God uses for the second time this expression: let's do. At the moment of creating man, he had said: let us make man in our image and likeness; and about to train the woman, he also says: let's do. But to whom does he address this word? Certainly it is not to any created power, but to the one he has begotten, to that only son who is the angel of the great council and the prince of peace. And so that Adam knew that the woman who was going to be formed would be equal in dignity, God repeats the same terms that he used for his creation, and says: let us make a help to man that is similar to him.

These two words help and similar contain a meaning that must be weighed carefully. I do not want, says the Lord, that the man be alone, and it is proper to give him a companion who consoles him, and who comes to his aid. This is the mission of the woman. So, after saying, help him, he immediately adds, "who is like him. Now this last word must not be understood of the animals, nor of the birds which the Lord will bring before Adam. And indeed, although they are of great help in his labors, they are deprived of reason, and consequently much inferior to the woman who is endowed with them. So the sacred writer first brings back this word a help similar to him, and then he adds: the Lord after having formed from the earth all the animals of the earth and all the birds of heaven, made them come before Adam, so that Adam saw as he would name them; and the name that Adam gave to each animal is his own name. All this was not done by chance, but in anticipation of the future. For God, who was not unaware that soon the man would become a prevaricator, wanted thereby to show us what treasures of science he had enriched by creating it. So when Adam violated the command of the Lord, let us beware of thinking that he sinned ignorantly while he acts knowingly and maliciously.

5. The story of Moses reveals to us how far the science of the first man was. The Lord, "said he," brought all the animals before Adam, that Adam might see as he would call them. God does this to give him an opportunity to make use of his vast knowledge. So Scripture added that the name that Adam gave to each animal is his own name. But here, besides the science of Adam, we see in this imposition of the name a proof of his domain over animals. For this is how, in sign of his authority, a master changes the name of the slave he buys. So the Lord brought Adam all the animals so that he could be called their master. Do not go lightly on this fact, my dear brother; but consider how vast and deep Adam's science should be to give a proper and proper name to birds and reptiles, to ferocious beasts and domestic or wild animals, to fish that live in the waters and to insects that produces the earth. Scripture tells us that the name Adam gave to each animal is his own name.

Is not this a formal act of power and supreme authority? But watch as lions and leopards, vipers and scorpions, snakes and all the monsters humbly presented themselves before Adam to pay tribute to his empire, and to receive a name, this one did not seem at all scared. Let us therefore avoid accusing the God who created them, and uttering against him, or rather against ourselves, this imprudent blasphemy, why did God create these animals? For all, then, ferocious beasts, like domestic animals, recognized their dependence; and Adam, by giving them a name, manifestly made an act of authority. Now they still preserve the name which he imposed on them, and God permitted it, in order to perpetuate the memory of the favors with which he had filled man. Therefore, seeing that animals were in fact subject to it in principle, can we not attribute to another cause other than his sin the weakening and almost the ruin of this sovereign domain?

And Adam gave their names to the domestic animals, the birds of the sky, and the wild beasts. These words teach us, my dear brother, how great was in Adam the liberty of the will, and the extent of science. Thus we can not say that he did not know the good and the bad. For he was not profoundly learned and learned who could give a proper and proper name to domestic animals, birds of the sky, and wild beasts, without confounding species, and without imposing upon domestic animals names which would have agreed upon wild beasts, or to these names which would have been agreed upon by the first? Conjecture from there the power of that breath of life that the Lord poured out into man, and what is the science of that spiritual soul he gave him. And indeed, man is a reasonable animal, which consists of two natures, a spiritual soul, and a material body. Now this is, in relation to the soul, like an instrument in the hands of an excellent artist. But considering the excellence of a being so perfect, admire the wisdom of the Creator. Yes, if the beauty of the heavens, when we think carefully about it, leads us to celebrate the praises of a creative God, how much more the study of man, endowed with reason, filled with honors from the first moment of his life. his creation, and enriched by the most marvelous gifts, should not excite us to celebrate with perpetual praise the Author of these wonders, and to give glory to God according to our strength!

I would like to address the explanation of the following verses, but I fear that I have already, by this long interview, tired your attention; so it is better not to prolong it. For the important thing is not that I tell you many things, but that you retain what I tell you; it is not enough even for you to know for yourself the meaning of the holy Scriptures; but you must be able to make it known to your brothers and explain it to them. I urge you, therefore, to speak to you, at the end of this assembly, of the subject which I have just treated, and to communicate to each other your recollections. It will be an excellent way of reminding you of the whole thing, and the details of this conversation, so that, when you arrive in your houses, you will be able to meditate on the heavenly doctrine. Besides, this attention to listening to the divine word, and this application to meditate on it, will facilitate the means of calming the tumult of your passions, and avoiding the pitfalls of the devil.

And indeed, when this evil spirit sees a soul very busy with the things of God, and as all absorbed in holy thoughts, he dares not approach it, and he departs from it promptly. For the action of the Holy Spirit in this soul is a fire that puts him to flight. Let us, then, apply ourselves to this pious exercise, in order to obtain so precious advantages from it, to overcome the enemy of our salvation, and to deserve more abundant graces. By that, all will successively succeed to us, the difficulties will be flattened, the evil itself will be transformed into good, and the misfortunes of the present life will not be able to sadden us. For if we deal exclusively with the things of God, He will take care of our existence. Under his guidance we will cross the stormy sea of ​​this world without sinking, and his hand will lead us happily to the port of salvation. It is to him alone that glory and empire belong, now and forever, and for ever and ever. So be it.