Breviloquium

But to understand how the corruption of sin entered the world, one must consider the fall of the first parent, the transmission of original fault, and the rise or root of actual sin. — Concerning the fall of the first parent, therefore, these three present themselves for our consideration: namely, diabolical temptation, the fault committed, and the punishment inflicted¹

These things, however, are to be held concerning the temptation: when God had created man in the happiness of paradise in a twofold sex, namely male and female, the devil, envying man, having assumed a serpentine form, attacked the woman, first asking: «Why did God command you not to eat?»² second asserting: «You shall certainly not die»; third promising: «You shall be like gods, knowing good and evil»; intending by this temptation to cast down the weaker woman and through her afterwards to overthrow the male sex; which he did, with the Lord permitting it.

The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: because, just as the first principle is most powerful in producing, so too it is most righteous in governing; and therefore «it so governs the things it created that it nevertheless allows them to act according to their own motions»³. Since, then, man was made in such a way that through victory in combat he might attain the reward of eternal rest, although God knew that man would succumb to temptation, he nevertheless had to allow man to be tempted by one who knew, could, and wished to do so⁴. — Since, therefore, the devil, who had previously been knowing and upright, by falling through pride became cunning and envious, and therefore wished to tempt out of envy and knew how to do so through cunning, he tempted as far as he could, and God permitted it. That, then, he assumed a serpentine form in tempting was a dispensation of God, so that not only could his cunning be detected, but also, from that figure, diabolical cunning in tempting could become known to all the sons of Adam.

Again, that he tempted concerning the precept of discipline⁵, this too was a dispensation of God, so that, whether he was overcome or prevailed, the merit of obedience or the demerit of disobedience might become known to all. — But that he began with the woman was an exercise of his cunning, because it is easier to cast down the weaker; hence the enemy’s cunning attacks a city from its weaker side.

Likewise, the manner in which he proceeded in the temptation was one of great cunning, because he proceeded by testing, impelling, and alluring. For he tested in the question, impelled in the assurance, and allured in the promise. First he asked about the reason for the command, so as to cast reason into doubt; second, once doubt had arisen: «Lest perhaps we die»⁶, he gave assurance, so as to lead the irascible power into contempt; third, he promised, so as to lead the concupiscible power into desire, and thus by these three means draw free choice to consent, which is a faculty of reason and will, nevertheless encompassing the three aforesaid powers: the rational, the irascible, and the concupiscible⁷. With respect to these, the devil allured the woman through a threefold appetible: namely, through knowledge, which is appetible to the rational power; through excellence in the manner of God, which is appetible to the irascible power; and through the sweetness of the tree, which is appetible to the concupiscible power. And thus he tempted everything in the woman that was temptable, through everything by which she could be led into temptation—which is the world’s threefold appetible, namely, the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life⁸; according to these three, the origin of every temptation is discerned, whether from the world, the flesh, or the devil.