Genesis — Chapter 2

The seuenth day ] Al creatures being made in their kinds in six dayes, complete & perfect, God not needing (as men often doe in their workes) to perfect, polish, or amend the same, rested the seuenth day: & therfore the natural perfection of Gods workes is attributed to the seuenth day, and the supernatural perfecting of men in eternal life, after the Resurrection, is attributed to the eight day, as S. Augustin and other fathers teach. And for this cause God blessed and sanctified the seuenth day: and after we haue in the Decalogue or ten commandements, that this day al should rest and abstaine from workes, yea and keep it festiual, occupying themselues in spiritual exercifes, seruice, and special worship of God, as the Iewes did euen til Christs and his Apostles time, praying & hearing the word of God read & expounded in the Sabboath day. Wherby we see that distinction of dayes pertaineth to Religion the people of God thus obseruing the Sabboth in memorie of the Creation, and diuers other feasts in memorie of other benefits. And we now keep the Sunday holy in memorie of Christs Resurrection, & other feasts in grateful remembrance of other Mysteries of Christs Natiuitie, the coming of the Holy Ghost, & the like. Yea also feasts of his Blessed Mother, & other Saints, for the benefits receiued from Christ by them, & for more honour to Christ in them. So this Catholike obseruation of feasts is neither Iudaical (which also in the law was good, but now is abrogated) nor heathnish, for we honour not Iupiter, nor Inno, nor anie false God or Goddesse, but our Lord God Creatour & Redeemer, & for his sake his best seruants. Whereof see the Annotations in the English new Testament, chap. to the Galathians. Where we here only adde these words of S. Basil: Honor seruorum redoundat in communem Dominum: the honour of the seruants redoundeth to their Lord and ours. So the honour of Saints is the honour of Christ.

Of the tree of knowledge.] Besides the law of nature, by which Man was bound to direct al his actions according to the rule of reason; & besides the supernatural diuine law, by which he was bound to belieue & trust in God, & to loue him aboue al things, hauing receiued the guifts of faith, hope, and charitie; God gaue him another particular law, that he should not eate of the tree of knowledge of good and euil. And that for two special reasons, which S. Augustin noteth vpon this place. First, that God might declare himselfe to be Lord of man. Which was absolutely necessarie to man, for man, & nothing at al profitable to God, who needeth not our seruice, but we without his dominion should vtterly fal to nothing. Nec enim ipso non creante existere, etc. For he not creating vs, neither could we haue been, nor he not consenting vs could we haue been, nor he not gouerning vs, could we liue rightly. Wherfore he only is our true Lord, not for his, but for our owne profit or saluation we serue. The other reason was, that God might giue man matter wherin to exercise the vertue of obedience, and to shew himselfe a subiect of God. Which could not be so proprely & effectually declared by keeping other lawes, nor the enormitie of disobedience appeare so euidently, as by fulfilling of Gods wil commanding him, or by doing his owne wil, moued to the contrarie, in a thing of it-selfe indifferent, & only made vnlawful, because it was forbid. But let vs heare S. Augustines owne words. Nec potuit melius aut diligentius commendari quantum malum sit sola inobedientia, etc. Neither could it (faith this great Doctour) be better, nor more exactly signified how bad a thing sole disobedience is, when where a man became guiltie of iniquitie because he touched that thing contrarie to prohibition.