See Genesis iii

THE happiness of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden did not long continue. The Serpent appeared and tempted Eve, by offering her the forbidden fruit, and she in turn beguued Adam. When they had thus broken the commandment of God, their "eyes were opened," and they no longer appeared to each other innocent as before; and when they heard the voice of God in the garden, their consciences smote them and in' fear they sought to hide themselves from his face. But God summoned them before him, pronounced judgment upon their transgression, and banished them from the garden. The expulsion is thus described by Milton in "Paradise Lost:"

"They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld of Paradise, so late their happy seat, Waved over by the flaming brand; the gate With dreadful faces thronged, and fiery arms: Some natural tears they dropp' d, but wiped them soon: The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide: They, hand in hand, with' wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way." In the picture Adam and Eve are fleeing from the threatening figure that guards the way of the tree of life:" Adam seems stunned with amazement and fear at the new scene which opens before him, while Eve clings to him, with head bowed in sorrow and remorse. Unsightly shrubs and broken rocks cumber the ground around them; thick brambles stretch across their hard, dry path; and from his cragged lair a crouching' wild beast sends forth a threatening growl. The beauty and luxuriance of the foliage that bounds the garden are strikingly contrasted with the rugged and sterile scene which lies beyond.