Mind of the Church

The mind of the Church, faithfully rendered into English

Library / Commentaries and Disputations on Genesis, Volume I

Book Three — Paradise

DISPUTATION. On the tree of life

LatineEnglish

DISPUTATION. On the tree of life.1

DISPUTATIO. De arbore vitae.

GENESIS 2, verse 9. — The Lord God also brought forth the tree of life in the midst of Paradise.2

GEN. 2. VERS. 9. — Produxit etiam Dominus Deus lignum vitae in medio Paradisi.

HEBRAICE ad verbum est Lignum vitarum, in quo duplex est Hebraismus: nam et vitarum dictum est pro Vita, et rursus Lignum vitae, consuetudine linguae Hebraeae quae caret adiectivis, positum est pro lignum vitale seu vivificum—scilicet quod miram haberet vim atque naturam non solum ad vitam hominis conservandam, sed etiam perpetuandam et velut quodam immortalitatis genere donandam. Lignum quoque pro arbore positum est. Sed qui curiose mysteria undecumque (etiam ubi nulla sunt) eruere student, lignum vitarum non sine magna ratione dictum putant: varias autem ipsi eius appellationis rationes afferunt. Prima ratio, quia longissimam homini vitam tri[bueret]...
In Hebrew it is, word for word, Tree of lives; in which there is a double Hebraism: for "of lives" is said for "life," and again "tree of life," by the custom of the Hebrew tongue (which lacks adjectives), is put for "vital" or "life-giving tree"—namely, one which would have a wondrous power and nature not only for preserving man's life, but even for perpetuating it and bestowing it, as it were, with a certain kind of immortality. "Wood" (lignum) too is put for "tree." But those who are curiously eager to dig out mysteries from everywhere (even where there are none) think "tree of lives" was said not without great reason: and they bring forward various reasons for that name. The first reason, because it would bestow on man the longest life [of all]...3
...[quia longissimam homini vitam tri]bueret, et quod una instar esset multarum vitarum quas nunc homines agunt. Longissima enim vita hominis nunc est centum circiter annorum; ac fructus illius arboris vitae potens fuisset producendi vitam hominis, verbi gratia, ad tria vel quatuor millia annorum, quod tempus quadraginta nostrates vitas continet: merito igitur appellatum est lignum vitarum. Secunda ratio, quia fructus illius arboris tres hominis vitas (vegetativam dico, sensitivam et intellectivam) integre ac perfecte in suo quamque virore ac vigore conservabat. Tertia ratio, quia non uni tantum Adamo sed omnibus eius posteris (si quidem status ille innocentiae stetisset) vitam illam immortalem suppeditasset. Quarta ratio, quia dupliciter fovebat et sustinebat vitam hominis: tum quia consumptum humorem naturalem vi caloris fructus illius arboris resarciebat ac reficiebat (idque erat illi commune cum fructibus aliarum Paradisi arborum); tum quia (et hoc proprium erat illius arboris) humorem naturalem imminutum ac deperditum redintegrabat pari puritate et synceritate ei quam prius habuerat etiam in ortu hominis: ipsum etiam calorem naturalem ita corroborabat, ut etiam si continenter agendo (ut fit) nonnihil pateretur, beneficio tamen illius cibi ita confirmabatur ut nunquam debilitatus flaccesceret, unde senectus nascitur et qui senectutem comitantur complures defectus naturales. Quinta ratio, duobus modis dicitur vita: nam ipsum esse in viventibus dicitur vivere, non esse autem mori; praeterea vero ipsum esse, vacuum tamen molestiis et doloribus et cum tranquillitate ac voluptate coniunctum, proprie appellatur vivere; ex adverso autem vivere in miseriis et doloribus mors dicitur, sicut vita eorum qui sunt in inferno in sacris litteris mors appellatur. Ergo vocabatur lignum vitarum, quia non solum praestabat homini vitam longissimam, sed etiam quietissimam, iucundissimam, omniumque malorum expertem. Haec si tam placuerint lectoribus quam auctoribus eorum placuerunt, non fuit fortasse nullum operae pretium ea prodidisse.
...because it would bestow on man the longest life, and because one [life from it] would be as it were equal to many of the lives which men now lead. For the longest life of man is now about a hundred years; but the fruit of that tree of life would have been capable of prolonging man's life, for example, to three or four thousand years, which span contains forty of our lifetimes: rightly, therefore, was it called the tree of lives. The second reason, because the fruit of that tree preserved the three lives of man (the vegetative, I mean, the sensitive, and the intellective) wholly and perfectly, each in its own greenness and vigor. The third reason, because it would have supplied that immortal life not to Adam alone, but to all his posterity, if indeed that state of innocence had stood. The fourth reason, because it cherished and sustained man's life in two ways: both because the fruit of that tree repaired and restored the natural moisture consumed by the force of heat (and this it had in common with the fruits of the other trees of Paradise); and because (and this was proper to that tree) it restored the diminished and lost natural moisture to an equal purity and integrity with that which it had had before, even at man's birth: it also so strengthened the natural heat itself that, even if by acting continuously (as happens) it suffered somewhat, yet by the benefit of that food it was so confirmed that it never grew weak and flagged—whence old age is born, and the many natural defects which accompany old age. The fifth reason: life is spoken of in two ways: for in living things being itself is called living, and not-being, dying; but moreover being itself, free however from troubles and pains and joined with tranquility and pleasure, is properly called living; on the contrary, to live in miseries and pains is called death, just as the life of those who are in hell is called death in the sacred writings. Therefore it was called the tree of lives, because it gave man not only the longest life, but also the most quiet, the most delightful, and free of all evils. If these things please readers as much as they pleased their authors, it was perhaps not without some worth to have reported them.4
ILLUD autem quod inquit Moses, Arborem fuisse in medio Paradisi, vel est Hebraismus significans eam arborem in solo Paradiso, extra illum autem nusquam alibi fuisse (nam habitare in medio populi vel civitatis vel aliquorum, secundum phrasim Scripturae, significat habitare inter cives seu populares aut inter aliquos); vel significat eius arboris dignitatem et excellentiam, inter omnes Paradisi arbores principatum obtinentis; vel denique significat eam arborem fuisse in meditullio Paradisi, quod terra eius loci aut excelsior aut felicioris esset fertilitatis, et quo undique ab omnibus commodius adiri posset. Sed illud In medio Paradisi non est accipiendum de medio Mathematico, sed physico vel morali: non enim sola arbor vitae erat in medio Paradisi, sed etiam arbor scientiae boni et mali; duae autem arbores non potuissent esse in eodem medio loco, subtili[tate mathematica designato]...
But that which Moses says, that the tree was in the midst of Paradise, either is a Hebraism signifying that the tree was in the soil of Paradise alone, and nowhere else outside it (for to dwell in the midst of a people, or a city, or of some persons, according to the phrasing of Scripture, signifies to dwell among the citizens or fellow-countrymen, or among some persons); or it signifies the dignity and excellence of that tree, holding the chief place among all the trees of Paradise; or finally it signifies that the tree was in the very middle of Paradise, because the soil of that place was either higher, or of happier fertility, and to which it could be more conveniently approached from all sides by all. But that "in the midst of Paradise" is not to be taken of the Mathematical middle, but the physical or moral: for not the tree of life alone was in the midst of Paradise, but also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; and two trees could not have been in the same middle place, designated [and defined] by mathematical [precision]...5
...[in eodem medio loco] subtilitate mathematica designato ac definito. Ceterum, quoniam haec arbor vitae multas habet quaestiones multaque dicta mira et explicatu difficilia, deinceps singulas quaestiones enucleate ac subtiliter explicabimus.
...in the same middle place designated and defined by mathematical precision. But, since this tree of life has many questions, and many statements that are wondrous and difficult to explain, we shall next expound the individual questions clearly and subtly.6

Translator’s notes

  1. A new disputation begins: On the Tree of Life. It will be subdivided into numbered QUAESTIONES. ↩
  2. Scripture lemma for the disputation: the clause of Gen 2:9 on the tree of life ("in the midst of Paradise"), set off as a centered head with the side-reference "GEN. 2. VERS. 9." ↩
  3. On the Hebrew: literally "Tree of lives" (Lignum vitarum), with a double Hebraism—the plural "lives" for "life," and "tree of life" (Hebrew lacking adjectives) for "life-giving/vivifying tree," one with wondrous power to preserve, perpetuate, and grant a kind of immortality to man's life; "lignum" (wood) also stands for "tree." Those eager to find mysteries everywhere give various reasons for the plural name "tree of lives" (five reasons follow). Continues onto next page (catchword "bueret"). ↩
  4. Marginal gloss: "Cur Hebraice dictum sit Lignum vitarum." The five reasons for the plural "tree of lives": (1) it gives the longest life—one life worth many of ours (man's max now ~100 yrs; its fruit could reach 3,000–4,000 yrs, = 40 lifetimes). (2) Its fruit preserved man's three "lives"—vegetative, sensitive, intellective—each in full vigor. (3) It would supply immortal life not to Adam only but to all posterity, had innocence stood. (4) It sustained life doubly: repairing natural moisture consumed by heat (shared with other Paradise fruits), and—uniquely—restoring lost moisture to its original purity and so fortifying the natural heat that man never declined into the decay that breeds old age and its defects. (5) "Life" = bare being (vs. death), but properly = being free of trouble and joined with tranquility/pleasure (life in misery is called "death," as the damned's life is in Scripture); so "tree of lives" because it gave the longest, most peaceful, most delightful, evil-free life. A wry close: if these please readers as they pleased their authors, perhaps it was worth reporting. ↩
  5. Marginal gloss: "Quomodo intelligendum sit, arborem vitae fuisse in medio Paradisi." On "in the midst of Paradise": three possible senses—(a) a Hebraism meaning the tree was in Paradise's soil alone (as "in the midst of a people" = among them); (b) the tree's dignity, holding the chief place among Paradise's trees; (c) literally Paradise's center, the soil there being higher/more fertile and accessible from all sides. But "in the midst" means not the *mathematical* center but the physical or moral one—since both the tree of life AND the tree of knowledge were "in the midst," and two trees could not share one mathematically-defined center. Continues onto next page (catchword "subtili"). ↩
  6. Conclusion of the "in the midst" point, and transition: because the tree of life raises many hard questions, Pererius will now take them up one by one as numbered QUAESTIONES. ↩