Pilgrimage, Book 1 · Chapter 5
CHAP. V.
Of the fall of Man: and of Originall Sixne.
HItherto we hauehave beheld the Creation of the World, and of our first Parents, the liuely Images of the Creator and the Creature; whome we hauehave somewhat leisurely viewed in a naked Maiestie, delighting themselues in the enamelled walkes of their delightfull garden. The Riuers whereof ranne to present their best offices to their new Lords, from which they were forced by the backer streames, greedie of the sight and place which they could not hold: The Trees stouped to behold them, offering their shadie mantle and varietie of fruits, as their naturall tribute: each creature in a silent gladnesse reioyced in them, and they enioyed all mutuall comforts in the Creator, the Creatures, and in themselues. A blessed payre, who enioyed all they desired, whiles their desire was worth the enioying: Lords of all, and of more than all, Content; which might, in all they saw, see their Makers bountie: and beyond all they could see, might see themselues comprehended, where they could not comprehend: of that infinite Greatnesse and Goodnesse, which they could not but louelove, reuerence, admire, and adore. This was then their Religion, to acknowledge with thankfulnesse, to be thankfull in obedience, to obey with cheerefulnesse, the Author of all this good: to the performance whereof they found no outward, no inward impediment; Sicknesse, Perturbation, and Death (the deformed issue of Sinne) not yet being entred into the world.
In this plight did Sathan (that old Serpent) see, disdaine, and enuie them. It was not enough for him and the diuellish crue of his damned associates, for their late rebellion, to be banished Heauen, but the inferiour World must bee filled with his venome, working that malice on the creatures here, which he could not there so easily wrecke on their Creator. And because Man was here Gods Deputie and Lieutenant, as a pettie God on the Earth, he chuseth him as the fittest subiect, in whose ruine to despite his Maker. To this end he vseth not a Lion-like force, which then had beene bootlesse, but a Serpentine sleight, vsing that subtill creature as the meetest instrument to his Labyrinthian proiects. Whereas by inward temptation hee could not so easily preuaile, by insinuating himselfe into their mindes, he windes himselfe into this winding Beast, disposing the Serpents tongue to speake to the woman (the weaker vessell) singled from her husband, and by questioning doth first vndermine her. *It is by all affirmed, that the fall was very soone after the Creation, as appeareth by circumstances of the narration, by Sathans malice, the womans virginitie: and many hold, it was the very day of their Creation. Bibliand. Broughtons Concent, Praeter antiquos August. Iren. Chrysust. &c.The woman (whether she had not yet experience in the nature of the creatures, or did admire so strange an accident, and would satisfie her curious mind in the further tryall) entertained discourse, and was presently snared. For though shee held her to the Commaundement, yet the threatning annexed shee did somewhat mince and extenuate. What shee seemed to lessen, he feared not to annihilate, and wholly disannull, propounding not onelyonly impunitie, but aduantage, That they should be as Gods, in the enriching of their minds with further knowledge. This he persuadeth by the equiuocating in the name of the Tree (the first equiuocation wee read of, aIo 8. 44.otherwhere plainely tearmed a lye) charging God with falsehood and malignitie.
Thus he that abode not in the Truth himselfe, but was a Man-Slayer from the beginning, and the father of Lying, which he no where else borrowed, but had of his owne, persuaded her by his great subtiltie first to doubt of Gods Truth in his Word (the first particular sinne that euer mans heart entertained, for the other were but occasions and inducements; disobedience and vnthankfulnesse are more generall) after that she vnlawfully lusted after this new knowledge, bewitched with the pleasantnesse of the fruit to the tast and sight, she tooke & did eat, and gaue to her husband likewise. The highest power of the Soule is first intrapped, the lusting and sensible faculties follow after, iustly plagued by a correspondent inward rebellion, that the sense now ruleth the appetite; and this the reason, in our corrupt estate, which hence proceeded.
bFoolish and wicked is their conceit, that measure this sinne by the fruit (a Nut or Apple) that was eaten: as Pope Iulius, That said he might be as well angtie for his Peacocke, as God (whose Vicar he was) for an Apple: Bal. de vit. Pont.Thus vnbeleefe brought foorth vnthankfulnesse; vnthankfulnesse, pride; from thence ambition, and all that rabble of contempt of Gods Truth, beleeuing the Deuils lyes, abuse of the creatures to wanton lust, Sacrilegious vsurping that which God had reserued, scandalous prouocation of her husband, with the murther bodily and ghostly, of him, her selfe, & their whole posteritie for euer: and whereas yet they had done so little seruice to God, yet they offered almost their First fruits to the deuill, hauing Free will to hauehave resisted if they would. No maruell then if such a combination of so many sinnes in one, wrung from the iustice of God such a multitude of iudgements on them and theirs, in the defacing that goodly and glorious Image of God; subiecting (in stead thereof) the bodie to Sicknesse, Cold, Heat, Nakednesse, Hunger, Thirst, Stripes, Wounds, Death; the Mind to Ignorance, Doubtings, Vanitie, Phancies, Phrenzies; the Will to Vnstayednesse, Passions, Perturbations; the whole Man is made a slaue to Sinne within him, to the Diuell without; whence he must expect wages sutable to his worke, Death; Spirituall, Naturall, and Eternall: an infinite punishment for offending cPosse si vellent sed non velle vt possens.an infinite Maiestie.
Thus had they put out their light in obscure darkenesse: and if they were not presently cast into vtter darknesse, it was Gods merciemercy (not their merit) which suspended the first & naturall death, to preuent that second and eternall. But spiritually they were euen alreadie dead in sinnes, as appeared by the accusations of their conscience; wherof Moses sayth, dGen. 3. 7.The eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. Conscience, before Vertues keeper, was now become Hels harbenger, thence flashing lightnings in the face of their mindes, to shew that their nakednesse did now appeare filthie in Gods sight: Lightnings indeed, which could only lighten to terrifie, not enlighten with instruction and comfort: Which sparke remaineth after the fire of Gods image extinct, by the mercifull prouidence of God, in some *Spiritus reprimens, & renouans.to be a bridle of Nature, least they should runne into all excesse of villanie, and not leaue a face of the world in the world, and to be to others, by disposition and working of a higher & supernaturall Light, a preparatiue to, and a preseruatiue in that Light of Life. So much the greater is their sinne, that seeke to flash out these flashings: and whereas they cannot reade the booke of Scripture, and will not read the booke of the Creature, labour to extinguish also this Light of Nature, that with feared consciences they may more freely in darknesse commit the workes of darknesse. And euen this did Adam seeke, if God had not brought him out of his Owles nest. For what could a Figge-leafe hide from God? and did they thinke the innocent Trees would conspire with them to conceale Traytors? Was there any darknesse which was not Light to him? Or could Breeches and Trees couer their Soules, which receiued the first and worst Nakednesse; till which, Nakednesse to the bodie was a Clothing of Beautie, a Liuerie of Bountie, an Ensigne of Maiestie? Such eIer. 2. 13.broken pits seeke they that forsake the Fountaine of liuing Waters.
And yet when God commeth into Iudgement, and fGen. 3. 8.makes the windes to vsher him vntounto his priuate Sessions in Paradise; to those shiftlesse shifts they added worse, impiously accusing God, vncharitably charging one another, to put from themselues that blame which thus claue faster to them. A medicine worse than the disease, or a disease in stead of a medicine is hypocrisie, that will not see her owne sicknesse, and seekes rather couer, then to cure; to couer by charging others, then recouer by discharging it selfe; as if equitie pretended were not iniquitie doubled. God proceedeth to sentence, a sentence worthie of God, shewing at once his infinite iustice in the punishment of sinne, and no lesse infinite merciemercy, to prouide an infinite price to redeeme vsus, by his infinite power bringing good out of euill, and by his manifold Wisdome taking that wise one in his craftinesse, who in the destruction of man had sought Gods dishonour. So good is it that euill should be, when this soueraigne goodnesse purposeth to effect his good will by wicked instruments, out of their darkenesse producing his owne maruellous light: as appeared in this worke of Sathan an aduersarie, intended to his despite; in and by the promised Seed, disposed to his glorie. gGen.3.14.The Serpent hath a bodily curse in his future bodily difficulties, which still continue, for his instrumentall and bodily imployment.
The hVers..15.old Serpent and spirituall enemie hath a spirituall and eternall curse, the breaking of his head by that Seed of the woman, that should once lead Captiuitie captiue. Our parents are cursed, yet so, as their curse is turned into a blessing; all things working to the best: In sorrow shall be the womans conceptions, but recompenced with the ioy which followeth (and is as it were the midwife in their trauell) because of iIob.16.21.fruit borne into the world; and more then recompenced, in that they are k1.Tim.2.vlt.saued by bearing of children, if they continue in the fanh, and liue in holmesse with modestie. Adam is set to labour, not as before, with delight, but with paine and difficultie; the Earth also being cursed for his sake: yet by this narrow way, by this crosse-way he is guided to Heauen; the hope whereof was giuen him, before Paradise was taken from him. So true is it, that in iudgement he remembreth mercy, if we can learne to liue by faith & not by sight.
This, that Moses telleth of the fall of Man, Experience doth in manner proclaime through the world, in the manifold effects thereof, which we daily see. For whereas the World was made for Man, as before is shewed, who alone, in regard of his bodily and spirituall nature, can need and vse it, no creature in the world is in his kind so imperfectas Man. He that was before as an earthly God, is now become an incarnate diuell, and for aspiring to be like his Lord, was made a seruant of his seruants; the noblest part in him becomming a base officer to degrade him, Reason it selfe derected at the feet of sense, to be a slaue, and a very Baud to sensuall pleasures, a very Broker for dunghill-profits. And what is this but to metamorphose man into a beast? vnlesse that some in a lower degree, liuing only to liue, suffocated with eating, drinking, sleeping, are degenerated into plants? And if he descend not lower, to become torpide and lifelesse, yet doth he participate the imperfections of those things, and that without their perfections, as if with an imperfect retrograde he would returne into his first elements. What stone so hard as mans heart is relent lesse, remorselesse to his best good? What dust more subiect to the wind, or water more flexible, then he to temptation and sinne? But those things remaine in their nature, or naturall place: Man is a fuming smoake, a passing shadow. And yet if we could stay at our Elements, it were somwhat better, but we are seruants and drudges beneath all names of basenesse, vnbowelling the earth, and our selues in the earth, for a little hardened earth, that neuer had the dignitie to see, no not to be seene of the Sunne. We seeme to rule the Skie, Windes, and Seas; indeed we aduenture our liues to their merciemercy, and not three fingers thicknesse doth separate vsus from death, that we may bring home an idle discourse, or somewhat, almost lesse then nothing, that we call a Iewell. Once, we inuert Nature, subuert others, peruert our selues, for those things which sometimes kill the bodie, and alway (except a power, with whom all things are possible, preuent) the Soule: And yet lL…c.12.20Thou foole, this night they may fetch away thy Soule; and whose then shall these things be? And whose then, and where then, shalt thou be? Thou gainest faire to lose thy selfe, to be taken with thy taking, to be thus bad to others, that thou mayest be worse to thy selfe: and when as (like an Asse) thou hast been laden all the dayes of thy life with those things, which euen in hauing thou wantedst, now to be more intolerably burthened, now to be in Hell, which will neuer be satisfied in thee, whose character was before engrauen in thy vnsatiable heart. Tell me not then of the reasonable power of our Soules, whereby we resemble God, seeing that reason may tell thee & me, that by abusing it mIgnat. ad Magnes.Epist. Pins homo rumisma est à Deo cusum: impius, adulterinum, non à deysed diabolo effectum.we are like, & *…o.8.44.are of our father the deuill. That erected countenance to be still grouelling in, & poring on the earth; that immortal soule to mind only such things as hauehave not the imperfect priuiledge to be mortall; those high excellēcies to be abused to mischiefe, blaspheming, denying, forswearing God, & all for the basest of the basest creatures. Well might this deluge of corruption moue that nDiog.Laer. 1.6.Cynick, in a throng of men to make search for a man, this man which is now left vsus being but the ruines, the carkas of himself. But what needs all this? Why are we fallen into so long & tedious discourse of our fall? Euen because some are fallen further, beyond all sense & feeling of their fal, and beleeue not that man was euer any other creature then now they see: that if their goodnes cannot, yet their wickednes might teach them, that so perfect a world should not hauehave bin framed for so imperfect a wretch, now only perfect in imperfection. Our fall must teach vsus to rise, our straying to returne, our degeneration a regeneration. And therfore was not that image of God wholly done out, but some remainder continued to the posteritie, to conuince thē of miserie in themselues, that so denying themselues, they might take vp their Crosse, & follow the second Adam vntounto a durable happines.
But how (may some aske, as oIul.Pelagian. in August.the Pelagian did) came this miserie tovs? Non peccat ille qui genuit, non peccat ille qui condidit, per quas igitur rimas inter tot praesidia innocentiae fingis peccatum ingressum. Doth it agree with diuine Iustice, that if the fathers hauehave eaten soure grapes, the childrens teeth should be set on edge? I answere we are heires of our father, we need not seeke some secret craney, we see an open gate, pRom.5.12.by one man sinne entred into the world, and death by sinne. A little leaue let vsus borrow to cleare this difficultie. Sinne is q1.Io.3.4.a transgression of the Law, or a defect of conformitie to the Law, foreign and cannot properly be said to hauehave an efficient, but a deficient cause, being in it owne nature and subsistence, foreign. The rAqu.I.2.q.7I.6. Dorbel. Viguer &cSchoolemen say, in sinne are two things to be considered, the substance and the qualitie, essence and priuation, the act and defect, where of that they call the materiall, this the formall part of sinne, being nothing else but a deformitie, irregularitie, and vnlawfulnesse in our naturall condition and conditions, as easie to be distinguished, though not to be diuided, from the action, as lamenesse from the working hand, or iarring in an Instrument, both from the Instrument and sound. The sinner is tearmed nequam, as nequicquam, naught, as not ought. Not that sinne is simply nothing, Non negatinè sed priuatiuè Nihil, sayth Melancthon sMel.loc.Com. N. hil negatiuum est causa nilhil priuatiui: quaedam sc.inclinatio creaturae ad suum illud nihii, vnde primum ortum & creatum est. Mor…. de veritate C.R.nor is it a meere and pure priuation, but to be considered with that subiect, wherein and whereof it is such a distortion and destruction:* the want of this consideration draue the Manichees to their hereticall opinion of two beings and beginnings. Sinne was first seene in the Deuill, who voluntarily strayed from the right way, and as he abode not in the Truth himselfe, so he beguiled our first Parents, from whome, by the Conduit of Nature, it is conueyed to vsus. I speake of originall sinne, which is our inheritance; for actuall sinnes are our own purchase & improuement, and yet bought with that stocke which our parents left vsus. Our first parents are to be considered, not as singularpersons only, whereby they defiled themselues, but as the root of mankind, which had receiued originall righte ousnes, to keepe or to loose to them and theirs as a perpectuall inheritance. As in the Bodie Politike the Act of the Prince is reputed the Act of the whole; the consent of a Burgesse in Parliament bindeth the whole Citie which he representeth: and tAqu.in Ro.5.as in the naturall Bodie thé whole Bodie is lyable to the guilt of that fact which the head or hand hath committed: as a root to his braunches, a Fountaine to his streames, doth conuey the goodnesse or badnesse which it selfe hath receiued: So stands it betwixt vsus and Adam our naturall Prince, the Burgesse of the World, the Head of this humane Bodie and Generation, the Root and Fountaine of our Humanitie. When he sinned, he lost to himselfe and vsus that Image of God, or that part of the Image of God, which he had receiued for himselfe and vsus, not the substance, nor the facuities of body or soule, but the conformitie in that substance and faculties to the will of God, in righteousnesse and holinesse of truth.
Not so much therefore are wee here to consider the ordinarie course of Nature, wherein uEzek.18.4.the soule that sinneth, it shall die: as the Ordinance of God, who appointed the first Adam the Well-spring of Nature, which he receiued incorrupted; the second of Grace; that as men, we all by generation are of the first and with the first, xEph.4.22.one old man, in whom we all sinned; of and with the second Adam we are yCol.3.10. 1.Co….12. Rom.5all one new man in the Lord, euen one Bodie, one Spirit, one Seed, one Christ, in whome, and with whome, wee, as members of that Head, obeyed the Precepts, and suffered the Curse of the Law. zPersolum primam pec… sub…t…ell bonum naturz, per alia pe…cat…: bon… gratiae personales. A pe. in Rom.5.Other sinnes of Adam are not our naturall, but his personall, because he could be no longer a publike person, then while he had some what to saue or loose for vsus; all being alreadie forfeited in this first Sinne. The Author then of Originall Sinne is the propagator of our Nature: his actuall sinne is originally ours, the Guilt being deriued by impatation, the Corruption by naturall generation. First, that Person corrupted Nature; after, Nature infected our Persons. The matter of this originall corruption, in regard of the subiect, is All and eueryevery man, and all and eueryevery part of all and eueryevery man, subiect to all sinne, that if all be not as bad as any, and the best as the worst, it must be ascribed to Gods restraining, or renewing, not vntounto vnequall degrees in this originall staine. In regard of the obiect, the matter of it is the want of originall Rightcousnesse, and a contrario inclination to Euill, *Gen.6.5.the imagmations of our hearts being onelyonly euill continually. No grapes can grow on these thornes. The forme of this corruption is the deformitie of our corrupted Nature, not by infusion or imitation, but by default of that first instrument, by which this Nature descendeth. It is the root of actuall sinnes: and whereas they, as fruits, are transient, this still remaineth, vntill Christ by his death destroyeth this death in vsus.
But here ariseth another difficultie; How this sinne can be deriued by Generation, seeing it is truly beleeued, that God is aHeb.12.9.the Father of Spirits, the bEcc.12.7. Gen.2.7. Zac.12.1.Former of our Soules, which doth by infusion create, and by creation infuse them: corruptible elements being vnable to procreate an incorruptible substance, or generation to produce incorruption. Neither standeth it with reason, that he which communicateth not the substance, should communicate the accidents; or with iustice, that an innocent Soule should necessarily be stained by involuntarie infusion into a polluted bodie.
I answere hereunto, That although the Soule be not traducted (as they tearme it) and by generation conferred; yet is it coupled to the bodie in that manner and order which God had appointed for the coniunction thereof, though man had not sinned: Neither was it the Soule alone in Adam, or the bodie alone, but the Person, consisting of both, which sinned. Neither can we be partakers of Natures sinne, till we be partakers of Humane Nature, which is not, till the Soule and Bodie be vnited. We are not so much therefore to looke to the concupiscence and lust of the Parents in generation, on, as cLib.Sent.2. Dist ….1.'Lumbard teacheth vsus, but to the Person; which, dSuper sent.Scotus sayth, is filia Adae, & debitrix iustitiae originalis. And although the Soule be not in the Seed, yet is communicated to the Bodie (sayth Aquinas) by a dispositiue or preparatiue power of the Seed, which disposeth and prepareth the Bodie to the receiuing of the Soule, where it is receiued (after the eVnumquodq, recipitur lecundiun modum recipientis.generall rule) according to the measure and nature of that which receiueth. The Father is then a perfect Father, not because he begetteth the Soule, but because he begetteth the Person, or at least all whatsoeuer in the Person is begotten: and though he doth not beget the substance thereof; yet, as it is such a subsistence, he may be said to procreate it, because his generation worketh towards the Vnion of the Soule and Bodie; which Vnion is made by the Spirits, Animall and Vitall. And fZanch. de operib. D. part.3.these Spirits are procreated by the Seed, and consist of a middle nature, as it were betwixt bodily and spirituall: so that the production of the Soule, & incorporating thereof, may be counted in the middle way betweene Creation & Generation. And therefore this originall corruption did not reach to Christ Iesus, although hee were true Man, because he was the Seed of the woman, and did not descend of Adam by generation (per seminalem rationem, tanquam à principio actiuo, sayth Aquinas) but was miraculously framed in the wombe, and of the substance of the Virgin, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Thus hauehave I presumed to offer my crude and rude meditations to the wiser World, about the deriuation of Originall sinne, which it selfe is the cause why we can no better see it, as darkenesse hideth it selfe. But the whole Citie of Mankind being herewith set on fire, it behoueth eueryevery one to be more carefull to quench it, then ouer-curiously to enquire how it came: It is sufficient, that nothing descended hereby to vsus by corruption, or was made ours by imputation, which is not fully cured by Christ: who is g1.Cor.1.30.made vntounto vsus (both by imputation of his actiue and passiue obedience, and by reall infusion of his Spirit) Wisdome, Righteousnesse, Sanctification, and Redemption; if we hauehave Faith to receiue it, and Charitle to expresse it: an absolute renewer and perfecter of the Image of God, beyond what we had in our first Parents lost.