abyss, but as a barrier to keep from rising to a great good; 'for
God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall
be opened, and ye shall be as gods.' These are still the two lies
which wile us to sin: 'It will do you no harm,' and 'You are
cheating yourselves out of good by not doing it.'

2. Then comes the yielding to the tempter. As long as the
prohibition was undoubted, and the fatal results certain, the
fascinations of the forbidden thing were not felt. But as soon as
these were tampered with, Eve saw 'that the tree was good for food,
and that it was a delight to the eyes.' So it is still. Weaken the
awe-inspiring sense of God's command, and of the ruin that follows
the breach of it, and the heart of man is like a city without walls,
into which any enemy can march unhindered. So long as God's 'Thou
shalt not, lest thou die' rings in the ears, the eyes see little
beauty in the sirens that sing and beckon. But once that awful voice
is deadened, they charm, and allure to dally with them.

In the undeveloped condition of primitive man temptation could only
assail him through the senses and appetites, and its assault would
be the more irresistible because reflection and experience were not
yet his. But the act of yielding was, as sin ever is, a deliberate
choice to please self and disobey God. The woman's more emotional,
sensitive, compliant nature made her the first victim, and her
greatest glory, her craving to share her good with him whom she
loves, and her power to sway his will and acts, made her his
temptress. 'As the husband is, the wife is,' says Tennyson; but the
converse is even truer: As the wife is, the man is.

3. The fatal consequences came with a rush. There is a gulf between