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Having Words

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Violet’s Literary Quote Challenge.

“It’s not what enters men’s mouth that is evil.
It’s what comes out of their mouths that is.”

Image by Me & Gemini

The garden was loud with birdsong when the serpent found Eve crouching by the river, cupping water in her palms.

“You seem troubled,” it said, coiling itself along a low branch above her.

Eve looked up. She had long since stopped being startled by the creature’s voice; it had a way of arriving before she expected it. “I watched Adam this morning,” she said. “He named all the animals. He seemed so… delighted by that power.”

“And you?” the serpent asked. “Did it delight you?”

“It frightened me a little.” She set the water free, watched it fall. “Once a thing is named, it seems smaller somehow.”

The serpent’s tongue flickered. “You are wiser than he gives you credit for.”

“He says I think too much.”

“He says too much.” The serpent descended a slow spiral down the branch. “That is his true danger, you know. Not hunger. Not curiosity. Not even the fruit you’ve both been warned about.” Its eyes caught the light …. two slits of amber. “It’s not what enters men’s mouths that is evil. It’s what comes out of their mouths that is.”

Eve was quiet for a long moment. “Words.”

“Words,” the serpent confirmed. “A man may eat poison and sometimes survive. But what he speaks …. the names he gives to things, the stories he tells about you, about me, about God …. those reshape the world and cannot be unshaped.”

Eve looked back toward the garden’s heart, where Adam was still naming, still pronouncing, still deciding what everything was.

“Then I should be the one to choose next,” she said quietly.

The serpent said nothing. It didn’t need to.

NAR©2026

Violet’s Literary Quotes: “It’s not what enters men’s mouth that is evil, it’s what comes out of their mouths that is.” – from The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

This is “Eve’s Lament” by Caroline Cobb

The Sin Eater

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, except where otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.



21 thoughts on “Having Words”

  3. Since Adam and Eve were totally innocent beings with a complete lack of experience when it came to deceit and lies, I think God could have prepared them better, giving them a warning about how deceptive the serpent could be, so they could have been better at fighting the temptation.

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    1. That’s a good point, Jim. A&E were definitely at a disadvantage, but the serpent knew he could talk to Eve and she’d react exactly how he wanted her to. Planting the seeds of doubt and insecurity and jealousy is something the Devil excels at. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  6. I have never been satisfied with the biblical telling of Adam and Eve- and now I know why! This was brilliant, Nancy. And as always, your musical choice was right on point!

    Thank you so much for joining me again this week.

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    1. Jodi, this challenge excited me! I always felt there was more of a connection between Eve and the serpent than we’ve been told, perhaps even a game on the serpent’s part of pitting one against the other …. that whole divisive angle, you know. I knew right off I had to write about it. So pleased you’re happy with the result. Thanks very much! Great fun, this!

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