LatineEnglish
VERSE 17. For in whatever day you eat of it, you shall die the death.1
VERS. 17. In quocunque enim die comederis ex eo, morte morieris.
CONTINENT verba haec minas terrorémque: namque Adamo si praevaricaretur de arbore illa edens, denuntiavit Deus certissimum mortis exitium, volens scilicet eum illiusmodi minis & poenae periculo velut quodam freno cohibere. Tribus enim maximè rebus permoventur homines ad observandas leges sibi latas: Primò legislatoris amore ac reverentia, cuius praeceptis ob magna beneficia ab eo accepta, vel ob excellentem eius sapientiam auctoritatémque, & legitimum in eos imperium, debere se obedientiam agnoscunt: Deindè, praemiorum spe quae parentibus legi promissa sunt: Denique, metu suppliciorum quibus praevaricatores & violatores legum subiiciendi & plectendi sunt: atque hoc postremum expressum est illis verbis, In quocunque enim die comederis ex eo, morte morieris. Maiorem enim vim ad commovendos animos nostros habet metus quàm spes, comminatio poenae quàm mercedis promissio, dolor denique quàm voluptas. Quanquam multis visum est, etiam praemium Adamo si legi obtemperaret, esse à Deo promissum, licèt id Moses non exposuerit: promisisse enim Deum Adamo facultatem edendi ex arbore vi-[tae...]
These words contain threats and terror: for to Adam, should he transgress by eating of that tree, God denounced the most certain destruction of death — willing, namely, to restrain him by such threats and by the danger of penalty as by a kind of bridle. For by three things especially are men moved to observe the laws borne to them: First, by love and reverence of the lawgiver, to whose precepts — on account of the great benefits received from him, or on account of his excellent wisdom and authority and legitimate command over them — they acknowledge that they owe obedience; Then, by the hope of the rewards which are promised to those obedient to the law; Finally, by the fear of the punishments to which the transgressors and violators of laws are to be subjected and chastised; and this last is expressed in those words, “For in whatever day you eat of it, you shall die the death.” For fear has greater force to move our minds than hope, the threat of penalty than the promise of reward, and pain, finally, than pleasure. Although to many it has seemed that a reward too was promised by God to Adam, if he obeyed the law, though Moses did not expound it: for God promised Adam the faculty of eating from the tree of [life...] [continues]2
[...promisisse enim Deum Adamo facultatem edendi ex arbore vi]tae, cuius esu immortalem vitam non interitus modò, verùm etiam laboris omnísque molestiae nesciant & expertem degere posset, idque ex his ipsis Domini verbis licet evidenter argumentari: Si enim Deus comminatus est Adamo, fore ut edens ex arbore scientiae boni & mali, necessariò moreretur: ex eo concludere licet, si non edisset, nunquam eum fuisse moriturum. Quòd si quis roget, num Adam ante peccatum comederit ex arbore vitae? Respondebo, mihi admodum [credibile videri eum nequaquam comedisse...]
[...for God promised Adam the faculty of eating from the tree of] life, by the eating of which he could pass an immortal life, ignorant of and exempt not only from destruction, but also from all labor and trouble; and this can be evidently argued from these very words of the Lord: for if God threatened Adam that, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would necessarily die, from that it may be concluded that, had he not eaten, he would never have been going to die. But if anyone should ask whether Adam ate from the tree of life before sin, I shall respond that to me it seems quite [credible that he by no means ate of it...] [continues]3
[...mihi admodum] credibile videri eum nequaquam comedisse: tum quod brevissimo tempore Adam in Paradiso commoratus sit, & fructus arboris vitae non erat futurus quotidianus hominis cibus, sed ad corroborandam facultatem vitalem hominis per certa quaedam intervalla sumendus, vel ut alimentum pariter atque medicamentum: tum etiam quòd si vel semel fructum arboris vitae comedisset Adam, longiorem proculdubio vitam vixisset: potentissimus enim erat fructus illius arboris, vel perpetuandi vitam hominis, vel multa in saecula producendi. His accedit, quòd propterea Deus post Adae peccatum, eiecit eum ex Paradiso, eiúsque loci aditum inaccessum atque impenetrabilem fecit, ne scilicet Adam in Paradisum ingressus & ex arbore vitae comedens, in aeternum viveret. Sic enim dixit illi Deus, Nunc ergo ne forte mittat manum suam & sumat etiam de ligno vitae, & comedat, & vivat in aeternum.
[...that to me it seems quite] credible that he by no means ate of it: both because Adam tarried a very brief time in Paradise, and the fruit of the tree of life was not going to be man's daily food, but to be taken at certain intervals for the strengthening of man's vital faculty, or as food and medicine alike; and also because, if Adam had even once eaten the fruit of the tree of life, he would doubtless have lived a longer life — for the fruit of that tree was most powerful, either to perpetuate man's life, or to prolong it for many ages. To this is added, that for this reason God, after Adam's sin, cast him out of Paradise, and made the entrance to that place inaccessible and impenetrable — lest, namely, Adam, entering Paradise and eating from the tree of life, should live forever. For thus God said to him: “Now therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”4
Translator’s notes
- Scripture lemma (marked VERS. 17., the verse in italic) opening the next stretch of commentary — the threat of death. ↩
- Large decorated initial 'C'. The threat as a bridle. The three motives to obey law (love of lawgiver / hope of reward / fear of penalty), fear being the strongest (this verse). A reward implied: the tree of life. Marginal glosses: 'Tria inducunt homines ad observantiam legis'; 'Quod praemium Deus promiserit Adae, si non ederet ex illa arbore.' ↩
- The tree of life would have conferred deathless, painless life. From 'you shall die if you eat,' it follows: had he not eaten, he would not have died. The question of whether Adam ate from the tree of life opens. Marginal gloss: 'An Adam comederit ex ligno vitae.' ↩
- Pererius: Adam probably never ate of the tree of life (brief stay; not daily food; one taste would have lengthened life). God barred Paradise lest Adam eat of it and live forever (Gen 3:22). ↩