"Cain, you blind fool, my bad brother, behold, the one whom you have slain with a stone is now standing before you, transfigured, and offers you his hand to make peace with him. Do not fear the form of the serpent, which is actually you yourself: Who became unfaithful to the Lord? Was it you or the serpent? Did you or the serpent sleep with your wife like the dogs, without the demanded offering beforehand? Was it you or the serpent that cursed the heat and in his indolence offered empty straw to the Lord? Tell me, was it the serpent or was it you who flew into a rage against his brother in his wicked jealousy? And was not the serpent just an outward manifestation of your own wickedness through which you persuaded yourself in your great delusion to kill your brother? – The Household of God, Book 1, Chapter 20, Paragraph 14