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ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES
son of Adam, and Seth's son was Enos: then began men to call themselves by the name of the Lord" (see Marginal Notes to Genesis iv. 26).
(15) Now, Abel is faith which is turned towards Life, while Cain is reason wedded to matter. Hence, is Abel a keeper of sheep (the symbol of Life) and Cain, the tiller of soil (= Matter). The offerings of the brothers signify the fruit of their respective occupations, Abel's consisting in the best products in the department of Lifegentility of the 'lamb' (excellent meekness), truthfulness and the like and Cain's, of the highest achievementselectric light, aeroplanes, etc., etc.,-of a purely material science. Abel's work is naturally acceptable to God, the Ideal of divine perfection and joy, because excellent meekness, truthfulness and the like are really the first steps on the true "path." But Reason and Faith are incompatible by nature, for the one is critical and the other dogmatic. For this reason is Abel murdered by Cain.
(16) The curse pronounced on Cain is also in keeping with the nature of Reason and has been fully explained in the fourth chapter of the Key of Knowledge. Here we have no time to go into the subject. But Seth, which means the appointed, is the divine Wisdom which is to take the place of the murdered Abel (unreasoning faith). It is Enos, the child of divine Wisdom, who calls himself by the name of the Lord, that is to say, who regards himself as a God.
Such is the real purport of the story of the fall. As I said the allegory is one of the most fascinating ones.
I shall only refer you to one more allegory from the Bible, namely, that of Abraham and his family. Today men are so much accustomed to look upon the members of this so-called patriarchal family that many of you will be astonished at my statement that they only constitute an allegory. But there can be
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