OF SERPENTS. 



thofe Figures Speflacles of Horror, feems not fo well fuited to 

 Perfons under Circumftances fo inexprefiibly dolorous, tho' re- 

 ftored to Favour ; but might rather be defign'd to condud: them 

 to Godby Chrift^, the Tree of Life. 



Ill, iT's 'oery probable a Cotvuerfation had paji between the Wo- 

 man and Serpent before the Narrative publijh'd by Mofes. She 

 might upon the firft Approach of the Serpent afk, How a Beaft 

 acquired the Gift of Speaking, which is the Prerogative of Ra- 

 tional ? The Serpent might anfwer, That it was by Eating the 

 Fruit of that Tree. Eve might urge. That God had forbid her 

 to eat that Fruit upon pain of Death. The Serpent might make 

 this Return, viz. What you fay is true ; 'tis allow'd to be the 

 Law under the firft Form of Government, but I am now come 

 from the fupreme Court, to give you Affurance of God's kind 

 Intentions to advance you to a higher and more noble Station : 

 The Prohibition of this Fruit was only a probationary Reflraint, 

 and temporary. 



Now the End of the firft Inftitutlon being anfwered, 'tis the 

 Will of our Great Sovereign to take off thofe Reftraints, and 

 make you a free People. Upon the Formation of your Being, 

 he brightened your Mind with Rays of great Wifdom ; but now 

 the happy Moment is come, in which he purpofes to infpire you 

 with higher Degrees of Wifdom .... By eating this Fruit, your 

 intelledlual Powers will be infinitely enlarged i for, ye Jloall be as 

 Gods, and then all the Endowments and Accomplilliments of Na- 

 ture will arrive at their full Perfedlion, which as yet are only in 

 their Embryo. This being only a Suppofition, I difmifs it. 



The Serpent having afcrib'd its Reafon, and Speech to the 

 eating of that Fruit, the Woman might infer, If this Fruit did 

 turn a Serpent into a rational Creature, why may it not tranf- 

 form a rational Creature into a God, and a Woman into a Goddefs ? 

 The Serpent had no occafion to fay more ; fir'd with the Profpedl 

 of fuch Preferment, flie took the Fruit a?id did eat. Gen. iii. 6. 

 y4}id ivheh the Woman f aw that the Tree was good for Food, pleafant 

 to the Eye, and a Tree to be de fired to make one wife, fie did eat. 



N.B. How divine and delightful a Thing is Knov>'ledge, of 

 which Innocency itfelf is ambitious ! Eve thirfled after the higheft 

 Degrees of Knowledge, and made no doubt of obtaining it by 



A a the 



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