Complete Works of Philo Judaeus, Vol. 2

I will bring you up to the end original: "Gen. 46, 4."." He does not say "You with me." Why? Because quietness and standing belong to God, while change and every transitional movement belong to creation. Therefore, whenever He calls to His own good, He says, "Stand with me," not "I with you"; for God will not stand, but He always stands. But when He comes to the proper place of creation, He will most rightly say, "I will go down with you." For to you, a change of places is appropriate; so that no one goes down "with me," for I am not changing; but he will stand, because quietness is pleasing to me. But with those who go down transitionally—for transition is a brother and kin to them—I will go down, not changing places locally, I who have filled the All with Myself. And I do this out of pity for the rational nature, so that it may be brought up from the passions of Hades to the Olympian region of virtue; since I lead the way, I who have cut the path leading to heaven as a highway for supplicant souls, so that they may not walk aimlessly, I have shown it to all."

§. 10.

Having shown, therefore, each state—the quietness of the good man, and the wavering of the fool—let us examine what follows in the discourse. For he says that Cain [settled in] the agitation, into which the soul had migrated, opposite Eden. And symbolically, Eden is the right and divine reason, by which it has the interpretation "delight." Because it rejoices and delights before others, using unmixed and pure, and furthermore, even and full goods; since the wealth-giving God rains down His maiden and immortal graces. But by nature, evil fights against good, the unjust against the just, the foolish against the wise, and all things of virtue against the forms of vice. Such is the state of Naid being face-to-face with Eden.

§. 11.

Having said this, he says next, "And Cain knew," he says, "his wife; and she conceived—"