VII.  Well, let these things be the amusement of the children of the Greeks and of the demons to whom their folly is due, who turn aside the honour of God to themselves, and divide men in various ways in pursuit of shameful thoughts and fancies, ever since they drove us away from the Tree of Life, by means of the Tree of Knowledge unseasonably cf. Orat. in Theoph. c. 12.  The explanation seems to be, that the “Knowledge of good and evil” was a necessary part of the development of man’s intellect, but that a premature attempt to attain it per saltum instead of by a gradual progress would prove fatal.  Had human nature gone through its originally intended educational stages, it might have reached to the knowledge of evil without having that knowledge alloyed and deteriorated by the experience of evil, but might have known it, as God does, without taint.  (Blount, Ann. Bible on Gen. ii. 7.) and improperly imparted to us, and then assailed us as now weaker than before; carrying clean away the mind, which is the ruling power in us, and opening a door to the passions.  For, being of a nature envious and man-hating, or rather having become so by their own wickedness, they could neither endure that we who were below should attain to that which is above, having themselves fallen from above upon the earth; nor that such a change in their glory and their first natures should have taken place.  This is the meaning of their persecution of the creature.  For this God’s Image was outraged; and as we did not like to keep the Commandments, Ibid. i. 28. we were given over to the independence of our error.  And as we erred we were disgraced by the objects of our worship.  For there was not only this calamity, that we who were made for good works Eph. ii. 10; Phil. i. 11. to the glory and praise of our Maker, and to imitate God as far as might be, were turned into a den of all sorts of passions, which cruelly devour and consume the inner man; but there was this further evil, that man actually made gods the advocates of his passions, so that sin might be reckoned not only irresponsible, but even divine, taking refuge in the objects of his worship as his apology.