Among the animals the serpent was notable. Of all of them he had the
most excellent qualities, in some of which he resembled man. Like man
he stood upright upon two feet, and in height he was equal to the
camel. Had it not been for the fall of man, which brought misfortune to
them, too, one pair of serpents would have sufficed to perform all the
work man has to do, and, besides, they would have supplied him with
silver, gold, gems, and pearls. As a matter of fact, it was the very
ability of the serpent that led to the ruin of man and his own ruin.
His superior mental gifts caused him to become an infidel. It likewise
explains his envy of man, especially of his conjugal relations. Envy
made him meditate ways and means of bringing about the death of
Adam.[60] He was too well acquainted with the character of the man to
attempt to exercise tricks of persuasion upon him, and he approached
the woman, knowing that women are beguiled easily. The conversation
with Eve was cunningly planned, she could not but be caught in a trap.
The serpent began, "Is it true that God hath said, Ye shall not eat of
every tree in the garden?" "We may," rejoined Eve, "eat of the fruit of
all the trees in the garden, except that which is in the midst of the
garden, and that we may not even touch, lest we be stricken with
death." She spoke thus, because in his zeal to guard her against the
transgressing of the Divine command, Adam had forbidden Eve to touch
the tree, though God had mentioned only the eating of the fruit. It
remains a truth, what the proverb says, "Better a wall ten hands high
that stands, than a wall a hundred ells high that cannot stand." It was
Adam's exaggeration that afforded the serpent the possibility of
persuading Eve to taste of the forbidden fruit. The serpent pushed Eve
against the tree, and said: "Thou seest that touching the tree has not
caused thy death. As little will it hurt thee to eat the fruit of the
tree. Naught but malevolence has prompted the prohibition, for as soon
as ye eat thereof, ye shall be as God. As He creates and destroys
worlds, so will ye have the power to create and destroy. As He doth
slay and revive, so will ye have the power to slay and revive.[61] He
Himself ate first of the fruit of the tree, and then He created the
world. Therefore doth He forbid you to eat thereof, lest you create
other worlds. Everyone knows that 'artisans of the same guild hate one
another.' Furthermore, have ye not observed that every creature hath
dominion over the creature fashioned before itself? The heavens were
made on the first day, and they are kept in place by the firmament made
on the second day. The firmament, in turn, is ruled by the plants, the
creation of the third day, for they take up all the water of the
firmament. The sun and the other celestial bodies, which were created
on the fourth day, have power over the world of plants. They can ripen
their fruits and flourish only through their influence. The creation of
the fifth day, the animal world, rules over the celestial spheres.
Witness the ziz, which can darken the sun with its pinions. But ye are
masters of the whole of creation, because ye were the last to be
created. Hasten now and eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of
the garden, and become independent of God, lest He bring forth still
other creatures to bear rule over you."[62]
To give due weight to these words, the serpent began to shake the tree
violently and bring down its fruit. He ate thereof, saying: "As I do
not die of eating the fruit, so wilt thou not die." Now Eve could not
but say to herself, "All that my master"—so she called Adam—"commanded
me is but lies," and she determined to follow the advice of the
serpent.[63] Yet she could not bring herself to disobey the command of
God utterly. She made a compromise with her conscience. First she ate
only the outside skin of the fruit, and then, seeing that death did not
fell her, she ate the fruit itself.[64] Scarce had she finished, when
she saw the Angel of Death before her. Expecting her end to come
immediately, she resolved to make Adam eat of the forbidden fruit, too,
lest he espouse another wife after her death.[65] It required tears and
lamentations on her part to prevail upon Adam to take the baleful step.
Not yet satisfied, she gave of the fruit to all other living beings,
that they, too, might be subject to death.[66] All ate, and they all
are mortal, with the exception of the bird malham, who refused the
fruit, with the words: "Is it not enough that ye have sinned against
God, and have brought death to others? Must ye still come to me and
seek to persuade me into disobeying God's command, that I may eat and
die thereof? I will not do your bidding." A heavenly voice was heard
then to say to Adam and Eve: "To you was the command given. Ye did not
heed it; ye did transgress it, and ye did seek to persuade the bird
malham. He was steadfast, and he feared Me, although I gave him no
command. Therefore he shall never taste of death, neither he nor his
descendants—they all shall live forever in Paradise."[67]
Adam spoke to Eve: "Didst thou give me of the tree of which I forbade
thee to eat? Thou didst give me thereof, for my eyes are opened, and
the teeth in my mouth are set on edge." Eve made answer, "As my teeth
were set on edge, so may the teeth of all living beings be set on
edge."[68] The first result was that Adam and Eve became naked. Before,
their bodies had been overlaid with a horny skin, and enveloped with
the cloud of glory. No sooner had they violated the command given them
than the cloud of glory and the horny skin dropped from them, and they
stood there in their nakedness, and ashamed.[69] Adam tried to gather
leaves from the trees to cover part of their bodies, but he heard one
tree after the other say: "There is the thief that deceived his
Creator. Nay, the foot of pride shall not come against me, nor the hand
of the wicked touch me. Hence, and take no leaves from me!" Only the
fig-tree granted him permission to take of its leaves. That was because
the fig was the forbidden fruit itself. Adam had the same experience as
that prince who seduced one of the maid-ser vants in the palace. When
the king, his father, chased him out, he vainly sought a refuge with
the other maid-servants, but only she who had caused his disgrace would
grant him assistance.[70]