What was Adam’s view of his bodily members, senses, and emotions?

St. Jacob of Sarug introduces us to a marvelous image of the body. Here are some examples of his writing:

“In his great beauty Adam was even more glorious than a crown, and among creatures there was no other beauty comparable to his.

“His Jeweler [God] set springs of light [ eyes ] atop his crown, so as if from on high he might gaze upon the creatures that surrounded him.

“Beneath him He fashioned feet for racing like a chariot, so that with them he might travel wherever he wished to go.

“On his flanks He fashioned hands and on them ten fingers , that with them he might lay hold of the sea, the dry land and the whole world.

“He fashioned a brain to be a home for his mind, so that it might reside in a lofty dwelling like a god.

“He made for him a palate that he might be able to discriminate tastes, and He set taste therein that he might distinguish sweet from bitter.

“He opened nostrils for him so that they might be a path for odors by which he might discern a putrid smell from a sweet one.

481 St. Jacob of Sarug, Memre 71.

482 St. Jerome, Homily 21, On Psalm 91(92) (FOTC 48:166).

“He bore out a passage for hearing and surrounded it with the form of a seashell, that sounds might circulate and enter in gently through it.

“ In his breast is the heart wherein all his thoughts are gathered, so that as if from a great storehouse it may put forth all its treasures .

“Speech is through his mouth and with his lips the distinction of sounds, eyebrows for expressions, and He adorned the pupils with eyelashes .

“In one member He placed bitterness and anger like a fire, by which he might be inflamed against wickedness whenever it occurred.

“In another He placed them to be the receptacle for sadness, that he might feel remorse for evils when they were committed.

“To yet another He granted that it should serve for cheerfulness, so that when good is done his countenance might be glad and joyful.

“Various things for each limb did the Wise One of the ages form and arrange on that beautiful image when He fashioned it.”⁴⁸³

“When the Creator created the mouth He planted in it a voice and words with which to praise Him.

“It is therefore incumbent on all who sense the presence of the Creator to praise the Lord Who created them.

“The human mouth is not intended for trivial gossip or improper speech.

“In creating the mouth, the Creator designed it for praise, and not for vain speech.”⁴⁸⁴

“Let your body be upright, lest it become stooped like the animals that bow before you.

“For He raised you and made you upright and lifted your sight to the heights that you may perceive the beauty of your surroundings and contemplate it.

“Turn your face towards your first dwelling, because this place where you reside now is not yours.

“Behold, the very form of your body cries out, saying that you are not of the earth.

“You are a stranger sojourning in this place, so do not dwell upon that which is not yours

…

483 St. Jacob of Sarug, Memre 8 On the Return of Adam (Coptic); Memre 72.3 in Jac ob of Sarug's Homily on the Creation of Adam and the Resurrection of the Dead , trans., Edward G. Mathews (Gorgias Press, 2014): pp. 26–28.

484 St. Jacob of Sarug, Memre 1.

“Why do your deeds resemble those of beasts, thinking of nothing but your belly?

“Do not liken yourself unto those that stoop [animals], that bow down before you; lest you should become like a beast and resemble them.”⁴⁸⁵