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| Chapter II.
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Chapter II.
The world was created by
God nearly six248
| 248 Sulpitius follows
the Greek version, which ascribes many more years to the fathers of
mankind than does the original Hebrew. | thousand years
ago, as we shall set forth in the course of this book; although those
who have entered upon and published a calculation of the dates, but
little agree among themselves. As, however, this disagreement is due
either to the will of God or to the fault of antiquity, it ought not to
be a matter of censure. After the formation of the world man was
created, the male being named Adam, and the female Eve. Having been
placed in Paradise, they ate of the tree from which they were
interdicted, and therefore were cast forth as exiles into our
earth.249
| 249 Many of the ancients
(among whom our author is apparently to be reckoned) believed that
Paradise was situated outside our world altogether. | To them were born Cain and Abel; but Cain,
being an impious man, slew his brother. He had a son called Enoch, by
whom a city was first built,250
and was called after
the name of its founder. From him Irad, and from him again
Maüiahel was descended. He had a son called Mathusalam, and he, in
turn, begat Lamech, by whom a young man is said to have been slain,
without, however, the name of the slain man being mentioned—a
fact which is thought by the wise to have presaged a future mystery.
Adam, then, after the death of his younger son, begat another son
called Seth, when he was now two hundred and thirty years old: he lived
altogether eight hundred and thirty years. Seth begat Enos, Enos
Cainan, Cainan Malaleel, Malaleel Jared, and Jared Enoch, who on
account of his righteousness is said to have been translated by God.
His son was called Mathusalam who begat Lamech; from whom Noah was
descended, remarkable for his righteousness, and above all other
mortals dear and acceptable to God. When by this time the human race
had increased to a great multitude, certain angels, whose habitation
was in heaven, were captivated by the appearance of some beautiful
virgins, and cherished illicit desires after them, so much so, that
falling beneath their own proper nature and origin, they left the
higher regions of which they
were inhabitants, and allied themselves in
earthly marriages. These angels gradually spreading wicked habits,
corrupted the human family, and from their alliance giants are said to
have sprung, for the mixture with them of beings of a different nature,
as a matter of course, gave birth to monsters.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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