accustomed to be seen of them as in a glorified humanity, it would be manifestly a moral incongruity to invest the devil in a similar form.  It must, then, be the shape of some other creature; as a lion, or a lamb, or—­why not a serpent?  Is there any improbability here? and not rather as apt an avatar of the sinuous and wily rebel, the dangerous, fascinating foe, as poetry at least, nay, as any sterner contrivance could invent?  The plain fact is, that Reason—­given keenness—­might have guessed this also antecedently a likelihood.

A few words more on other details probable to the temptation.  Wonderful as it may seem to us with our present experience, in the case of the first woman it would scarcely excite her astonishment to be accosted in human phrase by one of the lower creatures; and in no other way could the tempter reach her mind.  Much as Milton puts it, Eve sees a beautiful snake, eating, not improbably, of the forbidden apple.  Attracted by a natural curiosity, she would draw near, and in a soft sweet voice the serpent, i.e. Lucifer in his guise, would whisper temptation.  It was likely to have been keenly managed.  Is it possible, O fair and favoured mistress of this beautiful garden, that your Maker has debarred you from its very choicest fruit?  Only see its potencies for good:  I, a poor reptile, am instantly thereby endued with knowledge and the privilege of speech.  Am I dead for the eating?—­ye shall not surely die; but shall become as gods yourselves; and this your Maker knoweth.

The marvellous fruit, invested thus with mystery, and tinctured with the secret charm of a thing unreasonably, nay, harmfully, forbidden, would then be allowed silently to plead its own merits.  It was good for food:  a young creature’s first thought.  It was pleasant to the eyes:  addressing a higher sense than mere bodily appetite, than mental predilection for form and colour which marks fine breeding among men.  It was also to be desired to make one wise; here was the climax, the great moral inducement which an innocent being might well be taken with; irrespectively of the one qualification that this wisdom was to be plucked in spite of God.  Doubtless, it were probable, that had man not fallen, the knowledge of good would never have been long withheld:  but he chose to reap the crop too soon, and reaped it mixed with tares, good, and evil.

I need not enlarge, in sermon form, upon the theme.  It was probable that the weaker creature, Woman, once entrapped, she would have charms enough to snare her husband likewise:  and the results thus perceived to have been likely, we have long since known for fact.  That a depraved knowledge should immediately occasion some sort of clothing to be instituted by the great moral Governor, was likely:  and there would be nothing near at hand, in fact nothing else suitable, but the skins of beasts.  There is also a high probability that some sort of slaying should take place instantly on the fall, by way of reference to the coming sacrifice for sin; and for a type of some imputed righteousness.  God covered Man’s evil nakedness with the skins of innocent slain animals:  even so, Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered.