Commentary on Wisdom

Cyril of Alexandria (376–444)

The first man, formed of mud and earth, had in his power the choice between good and evil and had under his control whether he inclined to the one or the other. He was snared by a grave deception and, fallen into disobedience, returned to the mother earth from which he was born; subject to corruption and death, he transmitted this punishment to all his descendents. Evil increased and multiplied among us, and our hearts fell ever lower; sin reigned, and thus, finally, human nature was deprived of the Holy Spirit that had lived in it. "The Holy Spirit of instruction flees from deceit," as it is written, "and he does not dwell in a body enslaved to sin." Because, therefore, the first Adam did not preserve the grace given to him by God, God the Father sent us the second Adam from heaven. He sent us his own Son, made in our likeness, who did not know change or alteration and did not know sin, so that, just as by the disobedience of the first we merited divine wrath, so by the obedience of the second we would escape the curse, and its evil would cease.

See also

• More works by Cyril of Alexandria

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