GEN357 The first sin in history was brought about through the power of speech. Had not the serpent convinced Eve through words to eat of the fruit and then, later, had not Eve convinced Adam with words to similarly sin, the course of human history would have been very different, as the punishments of the serpent, woman, and man changed their natures forever. Midrash, Tanchuma, Genesis 8.  Proverbs 18:21 tells us that the tongue can control life and death, that is, through our use of speech.  Indeed, many of the most terrible killers in the history of mankind, such as Adolf Hitler, did not actually murder anyone with their own hands but used speech to inspire many others to kill.  AMEMEI 276