Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence
16. Can this be no joy and rejoicing? And should not that be a pleasant thing, with the many thousand sorts of angels to eat heavenly bread, and to rejoice in their communion and fellowship ? What can possibly be named which can be more pleasant ? Where there is no fear, no anger, no death : where every voice and speech is salvation, power, strength, and might, be to our God ; and this voice going forth into the eternity. Thus with this sound the divine virtue of paradise goeth forth ; and it is a mere growing in the divine centre
p. 160
THE THREE PRINCIPLES
[Ch. 10 of the fruits in paradise. And there is the place where St Paul heard words unutterable, that no man can express. Such a man was Adam before his fall. And that you may not doubt, that this is very sure and most truly thus, look upon the circumstances.
17. When God had created Adam thus, he was then in paradise in the joyfulness ; and this clarified
1 illustrious [or l brightened] man was wholly beautiful, and or shining.
full of all manner of knowledge ; and there God brought all the beasts to him (as to the great lord in this world), that he should look upon them, and give to every one its name, according to its essence and virtue, as the spirit of every one was figured in it. And Adam knew all what every creature was, and he gave every one its name, according to the quality [or working property] of its spirit. As God can see into the heart of all things, so could Adam also do, in which his perfection may very well be observed.
18. And Adam and all men should have gone wholly naked, as he then went ; his clothing was the clarity [or brightness] in the virtue [or power] ; no heat nor cold touched him ; he saw day and night [clearly] with open eyes ; in him there was no sleep, and in his mind there was no night, for the divine virtue [and power] was in his eyes ; and he was altogether perfect. He had the
2 seed. zlimbus, and also the3 matrix in himself; he was
8 womb- no [male] or man, nor [female or] woman ; as weCh. 10] THE CREATION OF MAN, AND HIS SOUL 161 in the resurrection shall be [neither]. Though indeed the knowledge of the marks [of distinction will] remain in the figure, but the limbus and the matrix not separated, as now [they are].
19. Now man was to dwell upon the earth as long as it was to stand, and manage [rule and order] the beasts, and have his delight and recreation therein : But he ought not to have eaten any earthly fruit, wherein the corruptibility [or transitoriuess] did stick. It is true he should have eaten, but only with the mouth, and not into the body ; for he had no [entrails, stomach, or] guts, nor any such hard dark flesh, it was all perfect ; for there grew paradisical fruit for him, which afterwards l went away, 2 when he went out of l Or dis-
£LDD6&r6(i.
paradise : And then God cursed the earth, and the a because that heavenly limbus was drawn from him, together he> with that fruit, and he lost paradise, God, and the kingdom of heaven. For before sin, when paradise was upon the earth, the earth was not bad [or evil, as now it is].
20. If Adam had continued in innocency, then he should in all fruits have eaten paradisical fruit, and his food should have been heavenly, and his drink [should have been] out of the mother of the heavenly water of the source [or fountain] of the eternal life. The 3 out-birth touched him not, the 3 Or the maelement of air he had no need of in this manner [as now] ; it is true, he drew breath from the air, but he took his breath from the incorruptibility, for he
p. 11
p. 162
THE THREE PRINCIPLES
[Ch. 10
1 Or was not did not l mingle with the spirit of this world, but united.
16. Can this be no joy and rejoicing? And should not that be a pleasant thing, with the many thousand sorts of angels to eat heavenly bread, and to rejoice in their communion and fellowship ? What can possibly be named which can be more pleasant ? Where there is no fear, no anger, no death : where every voice and speech is salvation, power, strength, and might, be to our God ; and this voice going forth into the eternity. Thus with this sound the divine virtue of paradise goes forth ; and it is a mere growing in the divine centre
p. 160
THE THREE PRINCIPLES
[Ch. 10 of the fruits in paradise. And there is the place where St Paul heard words unutterable, that no man can express. Such a man was Adam before his fall. And that you may not doubt, that this is very sure and most truly thus, look upon the circumstances.
17. When God had created Adam thus, he was then in paradise in the joyfulness ; and this clarified
1 illustrious [or l brightened] man was wholly beautiful, and or shining.
full of all manner of knowledge ; and there God brought all the beasts to him (as to the great lord in this world), that he should look upon them, and give to every one its name, according to its essence and virtue, as the spirit of every one was figured in it. And Adam knew all what every creature was, and he gave every one its name, according to the quality [or working property] of its spirit. As God can see into the heart of all things, so could Adam also do, in which his perfection may very well be observed.
18. And Adam and all men should have gone wholly naked, as he then went ; his clothing was the clarity [or brightness] in the virtue [or power] ; no heat nor cold touched him ; he saw day and night [clearly] with open eyes ; in him there was no sleep, and in his mind there was no night, for the divine virtue [and power] was in his eyes ; and he was altogether perfect. He had the
2 seed. zlimbus, and also the3 matrix in himself; he was
8 womb- no [male] or man, nor [female or] woman ; as we
Ch. 10] THE CREATION OF MAN, AND HIS SOUL 161 in the resurrection shall be [neither]. Though indeed the knowledge of the marks [of distinction will] remain in the figure, but the limbus and the matrix not separated, as now [they are].
19. Now man was to dwell upon the earth as long as it was to stand, and manage [rule and order] the beasts, and have his delight and recreation therein : But he ought not to have eaten any earthly fruit, wherein the corruptibility [or transitoriuess] did stick. It is true he should have eaten, but only with the mouth, and not into the body ; for he had no [entrails, stomach, or] guts, nor any such hard dark flesh, it was all perfect ; for there grew paradisical fruit for him, which afterwards l went away, 2 when he went out of l Or dis-
£LDD6&r6(i.
paradise : And then God cursed the earth, and the a because that heavenly limbus was drawn from him, together he> with that fruit, and he lost paradise, God, and the kingdom of heaven. For before sin, when paradise was upon the earth, the earth was not bad [or evil, as now it is].
20. If Adam had continued in innocency, then he should in all fruits have eaten paradisical fruit, and his food should have been heavenly, and his drink [should have been] out of the mother of the heavenly water of the source [or fountain] of the eternal life. The 3 out-birth touched him not, the 3 Or the maelement of air he had no need of in this manner [as now] ; it is true, he drew breath from the air, but he took his breath from the incorruptibility, for he
p. 11
p. 162
THE THREE PRINCIPLES
[Ch. 10
1 Or was not did not l mingle with the spirit of this world, but united.