De Posteritate Caini

Now the soul that subjects itself to bodily compunctions has the beforementioned inhabitants. Acheman, being interpreted, means, my brother, and Jesein means "outside of me," and Thalmein means, some one in suspense; for it follows of necessity, that the body must be thought akin to the souls that love the body, and that external good things must be exceedingly admired by them, and all the souls which have this kind of disposition depend on dead things, and, like persons who are crucified, are attached to corruptible matter till the day of their death.

But the soul that is united to virtue has for its inhabitants those persons who are preeminent for virtue, persons whom the double cavern has received in pairs, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebeckah, Leah and Jacob, virtues and those who possess them; Chebron itself keeping the treasure-house of the memorials of knowledge and wisdom, which is more ancient than Janis and the whole land of Egypt, for nature [*](Numbers xiii. 23. )

On which principle also it is that he also calls Israel, who was the younger brother in point of time, "the first born son," [*](Exodus iv. 22. ) judging of him by his merit, signifying thereby that, since to see God is the most clear proof of primogeniture, he is in consequence pardoned as the eldest offspring of the uncreate incomprehensible God, conceived by that virtue which is hated among men, and to whom the law enjoins that "the honours due to seniority shall be paid, as being the eldest." [*](Deuteronomy xxi. IT. )

On this account also the number seven is produced in its order, subsequently to the number six, but in power it is superior to every other number, and differs not from the unit, and Moses also shows us this in the conclusion of his account of the creation, where he says, "And God ceased on the seventh day from all the works that he had made; and God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it," because on it he ceased from all his works which God had begun to make, [*](Genesis ii. 2. )

and after that he concludes his account in these words, "This is the book of the generation of heaven and of earth when they were made, on the day in which God made the heaven and the earth; and these things were done in the first day, so that the seventh day is referred to the unit which is the first day and the beginning of the whole. I have dwelt at length on this topic, with the object of showing more plainly the opinion which Cain thought it right to build up like a city.

Now the son of Enoch is called Gaidad, [*]( Genesis iv. 18. ) which, being interpreted, means a flock of sheep, very consistently with what has gone before; for he who attributes everything to the mind, which is not able to comprehend even its own nature, so as to pronounce what kind of thing it is, would be very likely to beget a number of irrational powers collected into one flock; for such is not the opinion of men who are able to reason.

But every flock which has not a shepherd to [*](Exodus iv. 22. ) [*](Deuteronomy xxi. IT. ) [*](Genesis ii. 2. ) [*]( Genesis iv. 18. )

For when the president, or superintendent, or father, or whatever we like to call him, of our composite body, right reason, is departed, having left the flock that is in us, it being neglected and suffered to go its own way, perishes; and the loss to its master is great. But the irrational and wandering flock, being deprived of its shepherd, who ought to admonish and instruct it, strays away to a great distance from rational and immortal life.

On which account the son of Gaided is called Mehel, the name which, being interpreted, means, "from the life of God." For since the flock is devoid of reason, and God is the fountain of reason, it follows of necessity, that a man who lives in an irrational manner is separated from the life of God; for to live according to God is defined by Moses to consist in loving him; for Moses says to the children of Israel, "Your life is to love the living God." [*](Deut xxx. 20. )

And he gives as an example of the opposite lot the goat, on which the lot falls to be the scape-goat, for he says, "He shall place it living before the Lord, that he may offer prayers over it, and send it out into the wilderness," [*](Leviticus xvi. 10. ) giving these directions with great exactness.

For as no one in his senses would greatly extol old men for abstaining from pleasure, because old age, which is a long and incurable disease, has relaxed and enfeebled the nerves of their appetites; but one would praise young men, because, while their appetites are influenced by the vigour of youth, nevertheless they, being well supplied with instruments to check them, namely, with reasons derived from good instruction, have allayed the great conflagration and boiling over of the passions: so, in the case of these men, whom no disease is accustomed to detach from any evil way of life, less praise is due to them, because they are fortunate without any express [*](Numbers xxvi. 16. ) [*](Deut xxx. 20. ) [*](Leviticus xvi. 10. )

for to be able, by a vigorous exertion, to destroy the baits of attractive pleasure, properly receives that praise which belongs to good actions, done with a deliberate purpose. Since, therefore, [*](There is something lost from the text here, and Mangey professes himself unable to supply it without the assistance of some MS. which may be hereafter discovered. ) but diseases and infirmities which have been sent against us flourish; let us endeavour to overturn and destroy them. For to offer prayers over them has nearly such an effect as this: it is confessing that, though we have them in our soul living and flourishing, we nevertheless do not yield, but make a stand against them all, and resist them vigorously, until we have entirely sent away the scape-goat and made atonement.

What, then, follows a man who lives not in accordance with the will of God but the death of the soul? And this is named Methuselah, the interpretation of which name is, "the sending out of death," on which account he is the son of Mehel, who has quilted his own life, to which death is sent, that is to say the death of the soul, which is nothing else than a conversion of it by irrational passion.

This passion, therefore, when it has conceived, brings forth incurable diseases and infirmities with great pains, by which it is thrown down and convulsed, and humbled and tortured. For each of the diseases oppresses it, bringing upon it an unspeakable burden, such that no one is able even to raise his head beneath it. And this is named Lamech; the interpretation of which name is, "humiliation;" so that Lamech is properly represented as the son of Methuselah, being the passion of the death of the soul, humble, yielding, an infirmity which is the offspring of irrational desire.

"And Lamech took to himself two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah." [*](Genesis iv. 19. ) Everything which a wicked man taketh himself is altogether blameable, as being polluted by his impure mind; and so, on the contrary, all deliberate actions of virtuous men [*](There is something lost from the text here, and Mangey professes himself unable to supply it without the assistance of some MS. which may be hereafter discovered. ) [*](Genesis iv. 19. )

Now Moses speaks thus in the case of Abraham: "And Abraham and Nachor took unto themselves wives; the name of Abraham’s wife was Sarai." [*](Genesis xi. 29. ) And in the case of Jacob he says, "Rise up and go into Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother’s father, and take unto thyself a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother." [*](Genesis xxviii. 2. ) In the case of Aaron he says, and Aaron took Elizabeth, the daughter of Aminadab, the sister of Naassom, unto him to be his wife." [*](Exodus vi. 23. )

Isaac too and Moses take unto themselves wives, but they do not take them of their own act entirely; but Isaac, "When he went into the house of his mother," [*]( Genesis xxiv. 67. ) is said to have taken a wife; and to Moses, "The man with whom he lodged gave his daughter Zipporah to be his wife." [*]( Exodus ii. 21. )

Now it is not without a purpose that the differences between these persons are recorded by the lawgiver. For in the case of those who practise virtue and improve, and become better, their deliberate choice of the good bears testimony that their labour shall not be dismissed without its reward; but in the case of those who are endued with self-taught and naturally implanted wisdom, it follows that reason is betrothed to them not by their own act, but by God, and that they take unto themselves knowledge, the fitting companion through life of the wise.

But he who is wholly devoted to the things of ordinary men, the lowly and grovelling-minded Lamech, first of all takes for his wife Adah, which name being interpreted, means "witness," having been his own manager of this marriage. For he thinks that Leah, which means the motion and passage out of the mind according to easy perceptions, without anything interfering to hinder its easy comprehension of all things, is the first good for man.

"For what," says he, "could be better than that one’s thoughts, one’s contemplations, one’s conjectures, one’s suspicions, in a word, all one’s ideas, should, as I may say, proceed on well-set feet, so as to arrive at their desired goal without stumbling, the mind being borne witness to in everything that [*](Genesis xi. 29. ) [*](Genesis xxviii. 2. ) [*](Exodus vi. 23. ) [*]( Genesis xxiv. 67. ) [*]( Exodus ii. 21. )