And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die:
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Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
Let us learn, therefore, that the temptations of the Devil are full of guile. Of the things that he promised, scarcely one of them seems to be true. He contrived falsehoods, as we can see if we read elsewhere: 'And the serpent said to the woman, you shall not die.' [ Gen 3:4 ] Here we have one falsehood, for man, who followed the promises of the serpent, is subject to death. Hence he added: 'For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened.' [ Gen 3:5 ] This alone is true, because further on we read: 'They both ate and their eyes were opened.' [ Gen 3:7 ] But the truth is that as a result of this act harm followed. Hence, opening one's eyes is not to everyone's advantage, for it is written: 'They will see and will not see.' [ Isa 6:9 ] But the serpent was quick to attach a falsehood to his statement, when he said: 'And you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.' [ Gen 3:5 ] Hence you may note that the serpent is the author of idolatry, for his cunning seems to be resp...
The conclusion is that the devil would not have begun by an open and obvious sin to tempt man into doing something that God had forbidden, had not man already begun to seek satisfaction in himself and consequently to take pleasure in the words “you shall be as gods.” The promise of these words, however, would much more truly have to pass if, by obedience, Adam and Eve had kept close to the ultimate and true source of their being and had not, by pride, imagined that they were themselves the source of their being…. Whoever seeks to be more than he is becomes less. Whenever he aspires to be selfsufficing, he retreats from the One who is truly sufficient for him.
But it is most truly said … “Pride is the beginning of all sin,” for it was this sin that overthrew the devil, from whom arose the origin of sin and who, through subsequent envy, overturned the man who was standing in the righteousness from which he had fallen. For the serpent, seeking a way to enter, clearly sought the door of pride, when he declared, “You shall be as gods.” That is why it is written, “Pride is the beginning of all sin,” and “The beginning of the pride of man is to fall away from God.”
Do you see how the devil led her captive, handicapped her reasoning and caused her to set her thoughts on goals beyond her real capabilities, in order that she might be puffed up with empty hopes and lose her hold on the advantages already accorded her? Homilies on Genesis
Instead, however, she revealed the secret of the instruction and told him what God had said to them, and thus received from him a different kind of advice, bringing ruin and death. That is to say, when the woman said, "We do eat of every tree of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, Do not eat or even touch it," that evil creature, enemy of our (129a) salvation, in his turn offered advice at odds with that of the Lord. You see, whereas the loving God had forbidden their tasting that fruit on account of his great care for them lest they be subject to death for their disobedience, that evil creature said to the woman "'You will not truly die.'" [ Gen 3:4 ] What kind of excuse could anyone find appropriate to the woman for being prepared to give her complete attention to the creature that spoke with such temerity? I mean, after God said, "Do not touch it lest you die," he said, "You will not truly die." Then, not being satisfied with contradicting ...
