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was perfectly temperate, and therefore they had no need of clothing, the circumambient air being of the same temperature with their bodies. And as sin had not yet entered into the world, and no part of the human body had been put to any improper use, therefore there was no shame, for shame can only arise from a consciousness of sinful or irregular conduct.

The woman tempted

the Centre and Source of all perfection and excellence, shall rest in God, unutterably happy through the immeasurable progress of duration! Of this consummation every returning Sabbath should at once be a type, a remembrancer, and a foretaste, to every pious mind; and these it must be to all who are taught of God.

Of this rest, the garden of Eden, that paradise of God formed for man, appears also to have been a type and pledge; and the institution of marriage, the cause, bond, and cement of the social state, was probably

EVEN in a state of innocence, when all was perfection and excellence, when God was clearly discovered in all his works, every place being his temple, every moment a time of worship, and every object an incite-designed to prefigure that harmony, order, and blessedment to religious reverence and adoration-even then, ness which must reign in the kingdom of God, of God chose to consecrate a seventh part of time to his which the condition of our first parents in the garden more especial worship, and to hallow it unto his own of paradise is justly supposed to have been an expresservice by a perpetual decree. Who then shall dare sive emblem. What a pity that this heavenly instito reverse this order of God? Had the religious ob- tution should have ever been perverted! that, instead servance of the Sabbath been never proclaimed till the of becoming a sovereign help to all, it is now, through proclamation of the law on Mount Sinai, then it might its prostitution to animal and secular purposes, become have been conjectured that this, like several other the destroyer of millions! Reader, every connection ordinances, was a shadow which must pass away with thou formest in life will have a strong and sovereign that dispensation; neither extending to future ages, influence on thy future destiny. Beware! an unholy nor binding on any other people. But this was not cause, which from its peculiar nature must be cease So. God gave the Sabbath, his first ordinance, to lessly active in every muscle, nerve, and passion man, (see the first precept, ver. 17,) while all the cannot fail to produce incessant effects of sin, misery, nations of the world were seminally included in him, death, and perdition. Remember that thy earthly and while he stood the father and representative of the connections, no matter of what kind, are not formed whole human race; therefore the Sabbath is not for merely for time, whatsoever thou mayest intend, but one nation, for one time, or for one place. It is the also for eternity. With what caution therefore shouldst fair type of heaven's eternal day-of the state of end-thou take every step in the path of life! On this less blessedness and glory, where human souls, having ground, the observations made in the preceding notes fully regained the Divine image, and become united to are seriously recommended to thy consideration.

CHAPTER III.

Satan, by means of a creature here called the serpent, deceives Eve, 1-5. the Divine command, and fall into sin and misery, 6, 7.

8-13.

Both she and Adam transgress

They are summoned before God, and judged, The creature called the serpent is degraded and punished, 14. The promise of redemption by the incarnation of Christ, 15. Eve sentenced, 16. Adam sentenced, 17. The ground cursed, and death threatened, 18, 19. Why the woman was called Eve, 20. Adam and Eve clothed with skins, 21. The wretched state of our first parents after their fall, and their expulsion from the garden of Paradise, 22-24.

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b
a the serpent was
Now
field which the LORD God had made.
subtle than any beast of the And he said unto the woman, Yea,

a Rev. xii. 9; xx. 2.- b Matt. x. 16; 2 Cor. xi. 3.

NOTES ON CHAP. III.

Verse 1. Now the serpent was more subtle] We have here one of the most difficult as well as the most important narratives in the whole book of God. The last chapter ended with a short but striking account of the perfection and felicity of the first human beings, and this opens with an account of their transgression, degradation, and ruin. That man is in a fallen state, the history of the world, with that of the life and miseries of every human being, establishes beyond successful contradiction. But how, and by what agency, was this brought about? Here is a great mystery; and I may appeal to all persons who have read the various comments that have been written on the Mosaic account, whether they have ever yet been

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e Heb. Yea, because, &c.

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satisfied on this part of the subject, though convinced of the fact itself. Who was the serpent? of what kind? In what way did he seduce the first happy pair? These are questions which remain yet to be answered. The whole account is either a simple narrative of facts, or it is an allegory. If it be a historical relation, its literal meaning should be sought out; if it be an allegory, no attempt should be made to explain it, as it would require a direct revelation to ascertain the sense in which it should be understood, for fanciful illustrations are endless. Believing it to be a simple relation of facts capable of a satisfactory explanation, I shall take it up on this ground; and, by a careful examination of the original text, endeavour to fix the meaning, and show the propriety and con

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hath God said, Ye shall not eat of We may eat of the fruit of the every tree of the garden? trees of the garden : 2 And the woman said unto the

serpent,

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3 d But of the fruit of the tree which is in d Genesis, chap. ii. 17.

sistency of the Mosaic account of the fall of man. The chief difficulty in the account is found in the question, Who was the agent employed in the seduction of our first parents?

In Eccles. x. 11, the creature called nachash, of whatever sort, is compared to the babbler: Surely the serpent (nachash) will bite without enchantment;

they do not seem to have given themselves much trouble to understand the meaning of the original, for they have rendered the word as variously as our translators have done, or rather our translators have followed

The word in the text which we, following the Sep-them, as they give nearly the same significations found tuagint, translate serpent, is n nachash; and, acin the Septuagint: hence we find that opic is as frecording to Buxtorf and others, has three meanings in quently used by them as serpent, its supposed literal And the New TesScripture. 1. It signifies to view or observe attentively, meaning, is used in our version. to divine or use enchantments, because in them the autament writers, who seldom quote the Old Testament gurs viewed attentively the flight of birds, the entrails but from the Septuagint transiation, and often do not of beasts, the course of the clouds, &c.; and under this change even a word in their quotations, copy this verhead it signifies to acquire knowledge by experience. sion in the use of this word. From the Septuagint 2. It signifies brass, brazen, and is translated in our therefore we can expect no light, nor indeed from any Bible, not only brass, but chains, fetters, fetters of other of the ancient versions, which are all subsequent brass, and in several places steel; see 2 Sam. xxii. to the Septuagint, and some of them actually made 35; Job xx. 24; Psa. xviii. 34; and in one place, at from it. In all this uncertainty it is natural for a least, filthiness or fornication, Ezek. xvi. 36. 3. It serious inquirer after truth to look everywhere for signifies a serpent, but of what kind is not determined. information. And in such an inquiry the Arabic may In Job xxvi. 13, it seems to mean the whale or hippo-be expected to afford some help, from its great simi potamus: By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens, larity to the Hebrew. A root in this language, very his hand hath formed the crooked serpent, na un nearly similar to that in the text, seems to cast consinachash bariach: as barach signifies to pass on orderable light on the subject. chanas or khanasa pass through, and ʼn beriach is used for a bar of a signifies he departed, drew off, lay hid, seduced, slunk gate or door that passed through rings, &c., the idea away; from this root come akhnas, Luis of straightness rather than crookedness should be khanasa, and is khanaos, which all signify an attached to it here; and it is likely that the hippo- ape, or satyrus, or any creature of the simia or ape potamus or sea-horse is intended by it. genus. It is very remarkable also that from the same root comes lis khanas, the DEVIL, which appellative he bears from that meaning of khanasa, he drew off, seduced, &c., because he draws men off from righteousness, seduces them from their obedience to God, &c., &c. See Golius, sub voce. Is it not strange that the devil and the ape should have the same name, derived from the same root, and that root so very similar to the word in the text? But let us return and consider what is said of the creature in question. Now the nachash was more subtle, Dy arum, more wise, cunning, or prudent, than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. In this account we find, 1. That whatever this nachash was, he stood at the head of all inferior animals for wisdom and understanding. 2. That he walked erect, for this is necessarily implied in his punishment-on thy belly (i. e., on all fours) shalt thou go. 3. That he was endued with the gift of speech, for a conversation is here related between him and the woman. 4. That he was also endued with the gift of reason, for we find him reasoning and disputing with Eve. 5. That these things were common to this creature, the woman no doubt having often seen him walk erect, talk, and reason, and therefore she testifies no kind of surprise when he accosts her in the language related in the text; and indeed from the manner in which this is introduced it appears to be only a part of a conversation that had passed between them on the occasion: Yea, hath God said, &c.

and a babbler is no better.

In Isa. xxvii. 1, the crocodile or alligator seems particularly meant by the original: In that day the Lord-shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, &c. And in Isa. lxv. 25, the same creature is meant as in Gen. iii. 1, for in the words, And dust shall be the serpent's meat, there is an evident allusion to the text of Moses. In Amos ix. 3, the crocodile is evidently intended: Though they be hid in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, (~♪♫ hannachash,) and he shall bite them. No person can suppose that any of the snake or serpent kind can be intended here; and we see from the various acceptations of the word, and the different senses which it bears in various places in the sacred writings, that it appears to be a sort of general term confined to no one sense. Hence it will be necessary to examine the root accurately, to see if its ideal meaning will enable us to ascertain the animal intended in the text. We have already seen that nachash signifies to view attentively, to acquire knowledge or experience by attentive observation; so 'n nichashti, Gen. xxx. 27: I have learned by experience; and this seems to be its most general meaning in the Bible. The original word is by the Septuagint translated opis, a serpent, not because this was its fixed determinate meaning in the sacred writings, but because it was the best that occurred to the translators: and

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Had this creature never been known to speak before

The serpent promises

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CHAP. III.

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exemption from death.

the midst of the garden, God hath | 4 And the serpent said unto said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither the woman, Ye shall not surely shall ye touch it, lest ye die. die:

⚫ Ver. 13; 2 Cor. xi. 3; 1 Tim. ii. 14.

his addressing the woman at this time and on this sub-
ject, it could not have failed to excite her surprise, and
have filled her with caution, though from the purity
and innocence of her nature she might have been in-
capable of being affected with fear. Now I apprehend
that none of these things can be spoken of a serpent of
any species. 1. None of them ever did or ever can walk
erect. The tales we have had of two-footed and four-
footed serpents are justly exploded by every judicious
naturalist, and are utterly unworthy of credit. The very
name serpent comes from serpo, to creep, and therefore
to such it could be neither curse nor punishment to go
on their bellies, i. e., to creep.on, as they had done from
their creation, and must do while their race endures.
2. They have no organs for speech, or any kind of
articulate sound; they can only hiss. It is true that
an ass by miraculous influence may speak; but it is
not to be supposed that there was any miraculous in-
terference here. GOD did not qualify this creature
with speech for the occasion, and it is not intimated
that there was any other agent that did it; on the con-
trary, the text intimates that speech and reason were
natural to the nachash: and is it not in reference to
this the inspired penman says, The nachash was more
subtle or intelligent than all the beasts of the field that
the Lord God had made? Nor can I find that the
serpentine genus are remarkable for intelligence. It
is true the wisdom of the serpent has passed into a pro-
verb, but I cannot see on what it is founded, except in
reference to the passage in question, where the nachash,
which we translate serpent, following the Septuagint,
shows so much intelligence and cunning: and it is very
probable that our Lord alludes to this very place when
he exhorts his disciples to be wise-prudent or intel-
ligent, as serpents, opoviμoi is oi opets and it is worthy
of remark that he uses the same term employed by
the Septuagint in the text in question: Opis nv ppovi-
wraros, the serpent was more prudent or intelligent
than all the beasts, &c. All these things considered,
we are obliged to seek for some other word to designate
the nachash in the text, than the word serpent, which
on every view of the subject appears to me inefficient
and inapplicable. We have seen above that khanas,
akhnas, and khanoos, signify a creature of the ape or
satyrus kind.
We have seen that the meaning of the
root is, he lay hid, seduced, slunk away, &c.; and that
khanas means the devil, as the inspirer of evil, and
seducer from God and truth. See Golius and Wilmet.
It therefore appears to me that a creature of the ape
or ouran outang kind is here intended; and that Satan
made use of this creature as the most proper instru-
ment for the accomplishment of his murderous purposes
against the life and soul of man. Under this creature
he lay hid, and by this creature he seduced our first
parents, and drew off or slunk away from every eye
but the eye of God. Such a creature answers to every
part of the description in the text: it is evident from
the structure of its limbs and their muscles that it

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might have been originally designed to walk erect, and that nothing less than a sovereign controlling power could induce them to put down hands in every respect formed like those of man, and walk like those creatures whose claw-armed paws prove them to have been designed to walk on all fours. Dr. Tyson has observed, in his anatomy of an ouran outang, that the seminal vessels passed between the two coats of the peritoneum to the scrotum, as in man; hence he argues that this creature was designed to walk erect, as it is otherwise in all quadrupeds, Philos. Trans., vol. xxi., p. 340 The subtlety, cunning, endlessly varied pranks and tricks of these creatures, show them, even now, to be more subtle and more intelligent than any other creature, man alone excepted. Being obliged now to walk on all fours, and gather their food from the ground, they are literally obliged to eat the dust; and though exceedingly cunning, and careful in a variety of instances to separate that part which is wholesome and proper for food from that which is not so, in the article of cleanliness they are lost to all sense of propriety; and though they have every means in their power of cleansing the aliments they gather off the ground, and from among the dust, yet they never in their savage state make use of any, except a slight rub against their side, or with one of their hands, more to see what the article is than to cleanse it. Add to this, their utter aversion to walk upright; it requires the utmost discipline to bring them to it, and scarcely any thing irritates them more than to be obliged to do it. Long observation on some of these animals enables me to state these facts.

Should any person who may read this note object against my conclusions, because apparently derived from an Arabic word which is not exactly similar to the Hebrew, though to those who understand both languages the similarity will be striking; yet, as I do not insist on the identity of the terms, though important consequences have been derived from less likely etymologies, he is. welcome to throw the whole of this out of the account. He may then take up the Hebrew root only, which signifies to gaze, to view attentively, pry into, inquire narrowly, &c., and consider the passage that appears to compare the nachash to the babbler, Eccles. x. 11, and he will soon find, if he have any acquaintance with creatures of this genus, that for earnest, attentive watching, looking, &c., and for chattering or babbling, they have no fellows in the animal world. Indeed, the ability and propensity to chatter is all they have left, according to the above hypothesis, of their original gift of speech, of which I suppose them to have been deprived at the fall as a part of their punishment.

I have spent the longer time on this subject, 1. Because it is exceedingly obscure; 2. Because no interpretation hitherto given of it has afforded me the smallest satisfaction; 3. Because I think the above mode of accounting for every part of the whole trans

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5 For God doth know that in the 6 And when the woman saw that day ye eat thereof, then your the tree was good for food, and that eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be gods, knowing good and evil. desired to make one wise, she took of the

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the world? The Syriac has the word in the singular number, and is the only one of all the versions which has hit on the true meaning. As the original word is the same which is used to point out the Supreme Being, chap. i. 1, so it has here the same signification; and the object of the tempter appears to have been this: to persuade our first parents that they should, by eating of this fruit, become wise and powerful as God, (for knowledge is power,) and be able to exist for ever, independently of him.

action is consistent and satisfactory, and in my opinion removes many embarrassments, and solves the chief difficulties. I think it can be no solid objection to the above mode of solution that Satan, in different parts of the New Testament, is called the serpent, the serpent that deceived Eve by his subtlety, the old serpent, &c., for we have already seen that the New Testament writers have borrowed the word from the Septuagint, and the Septuagint themselves use it in a vast variety and latitude of meaning; and surely the ouran outang is as likely to be the animal in question as w nachash and opis ophis are likely to mean at once a snake, a crocodile, a hippopotamus, fornication, a chain, a pair of fetters, a piece of brass, a piece of steel, and a conjurer; for we have seen above that all these are acceptations of the original word. Besides, the New Testament writers seem to lose sight of the animal or instrument used on the occasion, and speak only of Satan himself as the cause of the transgression, and the instrument of all evil. If, however, any person should choose to differ from the opinion stated above, he is at perfect liberty so to do; I make it no article of faith, nor of Christian communion; I crave the same liberty to judge for myself that I give to others, to which every man has an indisputable right; and I hope no man will call me a heretic for departing include the possibility of his increase in knowledge, have this respect from the common opinion, which appears to me to be so embarrassed as to be altogether unintelligible. See farther on ver. 7-14, &c.

Verse 3. Neither shall ye touch it] Did not the woman add this to what God had before spoken? Some of the Jewish writers, who are only serious on comparative trifles, state that as soon as the woman had asserted this, the serpent pushed her against the tree and said, "See, thou hast touched it, and art still alive; thou mayest therefore safely eat of the fruit, for surely thou shalt not die."

Verse 6. The tree was good for food] 1. The fruit appeared to be wholesome and nutritive. And that it was pleasant to the eyes. 2. The beauty of the fruit tended to whet and increase appetite. And a tree to be desired to make one wise, which was, 3. An additional motive to please the palate. From these three sources all natural and moral evil sprang: they are exactly what the apostle calls the desire of the flesh; the tree was good for food: the desire of the eye; it was pleasant to the sight: and the pride of life; it was a tree to be desired to make one wise. God had undoubtedly created our first parents not only very wise and intelligent, but also with a great capacity and suitable propensity to increase in knowledge. Those who think that Adam was created so perfect as to pre

taken a very false view of the subject. We shall certainly be convinced that our first parents were in a state of sufficient perfection when we consider, 1. Yea, hath God said] This seems to be the con- That they were endued with a vast capacity to obtain tinuation of a discourse of which the preceding part knowledge. 2. That all the means of information is not given, and a proof that the creature in question were within their reach. 3. That there was no hinwas endued with the gift of reason and speech, for no derance to the most direct conception of occurring surprise is testified on the part of Eve. truth. 4. That all the objects of knowledge, whether natural or moral, were ever at hand. 5. That they had the strongest propensity to know; and, 6. The greatest pleasure in knowing. To have God and nature continually open to the view of the soul; and to have a soul capable of viewing both, and fathoming endlessly their unbounded glories and excellences, without hinderance or difficulty; what a state of perfection! what a consummation of bliss! This was undoubtedly the state and condition of our first parents; even the present ruins of the state are incontestable evidences of its primitive excellence. We see at once how transgression came; it was natural for them to desire to be increasingly wise. God had implanted this desire in their minds; but he showed them that this desire should be gratified in a certain way; that prudence and judgment should always regulate it; that they should carefully examine what God had opened to their view; and should not pry into what he chose to conceal. He alone who knows all things knows how much knowledge the soul needs to its perfection and increasing happiness, in what subjects this may be legitimately sought, and where the mind may make

Verse 4. Ye shall not surely die] Here the father of lies at once appears; and appears too in flatly contradicting the assertion of God. The tempter, through the nachash, insinuates the impossibility of her dying, as if he had said, God has created thee immortal, thy death therefore is impossible; and God knows this, for as thou livest by the tree of life, so shalt thou get increase of wisdom by the tree of knowledge.

Verse 5. Your eyes shall be opened] Your understanding shall be greatly enlightened and improved; and ye shall be as gods, on kelohim, like God, so the word should be translated; for what idea could our first parents have of gods before idolatry could have had any being, because sin had not yet entered into

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the forbidden fruit. fruit thereof, and did eat; and ed, and they knew that they BC4004. gave also unto her husband with were naked; and they sewed her, and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were open

Ecclus xxv. 24; 1 Tim. ii. 14; 1 John ii. 16.-
Hos. vi. 7; Rom. v, 12-19.

i Ver. 12, 17;

excursions and discoveries to its prejudice and ruin.
There are doubtless many subjects which angels are
capable of knowing, and which God chooses to con-
ceal even from them, because that knowledge would
tend neither to their perfection nor happiness. Of
every attainment and object of pursuit it may be said,
in the words of an ancient poet, who conceived cor-
rectly on the subject, and expressed his thoughts with
perspicuity and energy-

Est modus in rebus: sunt certi denique fines,
Quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum.
HOR. Sat., lib. i., Sat. 1., ver. 106.

"There is a rule for all things; there are in fine
fixed and stated limits, on either side of which righte-
ousness cannot be found."
On the line of duty alone
we must walk.

Such limits God certainly assigned from the beginning Thou shalt come up to this; thou shalt not pass it. And as he assigned the limits, so he assigned the means. It is lawful for thee to acquire knowledge in this way; it is unlawful to seek it in that. And had he not a right to do so? And would his creation have been perfect without it?

Verse 7. The eyes of them both were opened] They now had a sufficient discovery of their sin and folly in disobeying the command of God; they could discern between good and evil; and what was the consequence? Confusion and shame were engendered, because innocence was lost and guilt contracted

fig-leaves together, and made themselves.

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tudes of souls, whom he persuaded that being once right they could never finally go wrong. 7. As he kept the unlawfulness of the means proposed out of sight, persuaded them that they could not fall from their steadfastness, assured them that they should resemble God himself, and consequently be self-sufficient, and totally independent of him; they listened, and fixing their eye only on the promised good, neglecting the positive command, and determining to become wise and independent at all events, they took of the fruit and did eat.

Let us now examine the effects.

1. Their eyes were opened, and they saw they wore naked. They saw what they never saw before, that they were stripped of their excellence; that they had lost their innocence; and that they had fallen into a state of indigence and danger. 2. Though their eyes were opened to see their nakedness, yet their mind was clouded, and their judgment confused. They seem to have lost all just notions of honour and dishonour, of what was shameful and what was praiseworthy. It was dishonourable and shameful to break the commandment of God; but it was neither to go naked, when clothing was not necessary. 3. They seem in a moment, not only to have lost sound judgment, but also reflection: a short time before Adam was so wise that he could name all the creatures brought before him, according to their respective natures and qualities; now he does not know the first principle concerning the Divine nature, that it knows all things,

Let us review the whole of this melancholy busi- and that it is omnipresent, therefore he endeavours to ness, the fall and its effects.

hide himself among the trees from the eye of the allseeing God! How astonishing is this! When the creatures were brought to him he could name them, because he could discern their respective natures and properties; when Eve was brought to him he could immediately tell what she was, who she was, and for what end made, though he was in a deep sleep when God formed her; and this seems to be particularly noted, merely to show the depth of his wisdom, and the perfection of his discerniment. But alas! how are the mighty fallen! Compare his present with his past state, his state before the transgression with his state after it; and say, is this the same creature? the creature of whom God said, as he said of all his works, He is very good-just what he should be, a living image of the living God; but now lower than the beasts of the field? 4. This account could never have been credited had not the indisputable proofs and evi

1. From the New Testament we learn that Satan associated himself with the creature which we term the serpent, and the original the nachash, in order to seduce and ruin mankind; 2 Cor. xi. 3; Rev. xii. 9; XX. 2. 2. That this creature was the most suitable to his purpose, as being the most subtle, the most intelligent and cunning of all beasts of the field, en- | dued with the gift of speech and reason, and consequently one in which he could best conceal himself. 3. As he knew that while they depended on God they could not be ruined, he therefore endeavoured to seduce them from this dependence. 4. He does this by working on that propensity of the mind to desire an increase of knowledge, with which God, for the most gracious purposes, had endued it. 5. In order to succeed, he insinuates that God, through motives of envy, had given the prohibition-God doth know that in the day ye eat of it, ye shall be like himself, &c. 6. As their pre-dences of it been continued by uninterrupted successent state of blessedness must be inexpressibly dear to sion to the present time. All the descendants of this them, he endeavours to persuade them that they could first guilty pair resemble their degenerate ancestors, not fall from this state: Ye shall not surely die—ye and copy their conduct. The original mode of transshall not only retain your present blessedness, but it gression is still continued, and the original sin in conshall be greatly increased; a temptation by which he sequence. Here are the proofs. 1. Every human has ever since fatally succeeded in the ruin of multi-being is endeavouring to obtain knowledge by unlawful VOL. I.

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