"And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I
will make him a helpmeet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to
fall on Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and closed up
the flesh instead thereof; and the rib which the Lord God had taken from
man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This
is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father
and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh."
Genesis ii, 18, 21-24.
In these few words the Scriptures narrate the creation of the first
mother of our race. In "Paradise Lost," the poetic genius of Milton,
going more into detail, describes how Eve awoke to consciousness, and
found herself reposing under a shade of flowers, much wondering what she
was and whence she came. Wandering by the margin of a small lake, she
sees her own form mirrored in the clear waters, at which she wonders
more. But a voice is heard, leading her to him for whom she was made, who
lies sleeping under a grateful shade. It is at this point the artist
comes to interpret the poet's dream. Amid the varied and luxurious
foliage of Eden, in the vague light of the early dawn, Eve is presented,
coy and graceful, gazing on her sleeping Lord, while in the background is
faintly outlined the mystic form of Him in whose image they were created.
THE EXPULSION FROM THE GARDEN.
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know
good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the
tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore, the Lord God sent him
forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was
taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden
of Eden cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life.--Genesis iii, 22-24
They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld Of Paradise, so late
their happy seat, Waved over by that flaming brand; the gate, With
dreadful forces thronged, and fiery arms Some natural tears they dropped,
but wiped them soon; The world was all before them, where to choose Their
place of rest, and Providence their guide; They, hand in hand, with
wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way.
Paradise Lost, Book XII.
THE MURDER OF ABEL.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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