242. Verse 14. And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above every beast, and above every wild animal of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. By "Jehovah God said unto the serpent" is signified that they perceived their sensuous part to be the cause [of their fall]. "The serpent cursed above every beast and above every wild animal of the field" signifies that their sensuous part averted itself from that which is heavenly, and turned itself to that which is of the body, and thus cursed itself; the "beast" and the "wild animal of the field" here signify affections, as before. The "serpent going upon its belly" signifies that their sensuous part could no longer look upward to the things of heaven, but only downward, to those of the body and the earth. Its "eating dust all the days of its life" signifies that their sensuous part became such that it could not live from anything but that which is of the body and the earth, that is to say, it became infernal.