And the LORD God said unto the serpent,
Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life:
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Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
Only those who live for the pleasures of the stomach can be said to walk on their bellies, ' whose god is their belly and their glory is their shame,' [ Phil 3:19 ] who eat of what is earthy, and who, weighed down with food, are bent over towards what is of earth. The serpent is well called the symbol of pleasure in that, intent on food, he seems to feed on the earth: ' On your breast and on your belly shall you crawl, dust shall you eat all the days of your life.' [ Gen 3:14 ] We should not tolerate any of the excuses the Devil may make. By so doing we may, perchance, offer him an occasion to display his wickedness. We do this when we say that his iniquity resulted from his condemnation and hence that he aimed constantly to injure mankind because he was condemned for the very purpose of doing us harm. This seems to be pretty fanciful. If we regard the sentence passed on him to be in the nature of a condemnation, God did not condemn the serpent in order to cause injury to man. He point...
The serpent is a type of the pleasures of the body. The woman stands for our senses and the man for our minds. Pleasure stirs the senses, which in turn have their effect on the mind. Pleasure, therefore, is the primary source of sin. For this reason, do not wonder at the fact that by God’s judgment the serpent was first condemned, then the woman and finally the man. The order of condemnation, too, corresponded to that of the crimes committed, for pleasure usually captivates the senses, and the senses captivate the mind. To convince you that the serpent is the type of pleasure, take note of his condemnation. “On your breast and on your belly shall you crawl,” we read. Only those who live for the pleasures of the stomach can be said to walk on their bellies, “whose god is their belly and their glory is their shame,” who eat of what is earthy and who, weighed down with food, are bent over toward what is of earth. The serpent is well called the symbol of pleasure in that, intent on food, h...
The serpent is not now questioned but received punishment first, because he cannot confess his sin. One who cannot confess sin has no ground at all for excusing himself. There is no mention now of that condemnation of the devil that is reserved for the last judgment, of which the Lord speaks when he says, “Depart into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” Rather it mentions that punishment of his against which we must be on guard. For his punishment is that he has in his power those who despise the command of God. The words by which sentence is pronounced against him make this clear. The punishment is the greater because he rejoices over this unhappy power, whereas before his fall he was accustomed to rejoice in the sublime truth, in which he did not remain. Hence even the cattle are set ahead of him, not in power but in the preservation of their nature. For cattle did not lose a heavenly happiness that they never had but live their life in the nature...
God said to the devil: “Dust you shall eat.” Is it the earth that we tread underfoot that the devil eats, brethren? No, it is people who are earthly minded, sensual and proud, who love the earth and place all their hopes in it. They labor entirely for carnal advantages, rather for such pleasures, and think little or nothing of the salvation of their souls. People like these, then, the devil seeks. He seems to do so justly, for they were assigned to him at the beginning of the world when it was said to him, “Dust you shall eat.” Therefore let each one look to his own conscience. If he sees that he has greater care for his body than for his soul, let him fear that he will become the food of the serpent.
When the two of them had been questioned and found to be lacking in contrition or valid excuse, God descended to the serpent, not with a question, but with a punishment. For where there was a possibility of repentance He made use of questions, but with a creature that is alien to repentance He employed a sentence of judgment. And you should realize that the serpent cannot repent from the fact that, when God said to it, "Because you have done this you are more cursed than all cattle," [ Gen. 3:14 ] it did not say "I did not do it" because it was afraid to lie, nor did it say "I did it," because it was alien to repentance.
“Cursed are you above every beast,” because you deceived those who rule over all the beasts. Instead of being more clever than all the beasts you will be more cursed than all the beasts and “on your belly shall you go,” because you brought birth pangs upon the race of women. And “dust you shall eat all days of your life,” because you deprived Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of life. .
When [Adam and Eve] had been questioned and were both found to be wanting in remorse or true contrition, God went down to the serpent, not to make inquiry but to render punishment. For where there is opportunity for repentance, it would be right to inquire, but to one who is a stranger to repentance, judgment is fitting. It is so that you might know that the serpent is not capable of repentance, that when God said to it, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above every beast,” the serpent did not say, “I did not do it,” because it was afraid to lie, nor did it say, “I did it,” because it was a stranger to repentance. .
Cursed. This curse falls upon the natural serpent, as the instrument of the devil; who is also cursed at the same time by the Holy Spirit. What was natural to the serpent and to man in a state of innocence, (as to creep to submit to the dominion of the husband) becomes a punishment after the fall. (St. Chrysostom)
There was no enmity, before, between man and any of God's creatures; nor were they noxious to him. (Tirinus)
The devil seems now to crawl, because he no longer aspires after God and heavenly things, but aims at wickedness and mean deceit. (Menochius)
Notice, moreover, the good Lord is satisfied with their words and doesn't oblige them to say any more. You see, since he was not unaware of the truth when he asked them, but rather knew, and knew very well, he shows considerateness for their limitations so as to demonstrate his own loving kindness, and he invites them to make admission of their faults. Hence he asks them nothing further. After all, of course, it was necessary to unmask the kind of deception; but to show us that his questioning did not arise from ignorance, he is satisfied with their words. The woman, remember, in saying, "The serpent deceived me and I ate," hinted at that deadly advice which she had accepted from the devil, namely, You will be like gods after eating it. Did you notice how precisely Adam was questioned? With how much longsuffering the woman also was brought before the tribunal? How each of them made their excuse? Now, then, consider in this passage the surpassing degree of the Judge's ineffable love: wh...
