1with Adam as to the tempting tree, as it is pleasure in it
written ; and God suffered all sorts of trees to
spring up in the Garden of Eden ; and in the
midst of the garden the Tree of Life, and the Tree
of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
6. Moses saith : God suffered to spring up out
of the earth all sorts of trees pleasant to look upon,
and good for food. But here is the veil in Moses,
and yet in the Word it is bright, clear, and manifest, that the fruits were pleasant to behold, and
good to eat, wherein there was no death, wrath, or
'corruptibility, but [it was] paradisical fruit, of "corruption.
180 THE THREE PRINCIPLES [Ch. 11
which Adam could live in clarity [or brightness]
in the will of God, and in his love in perfection in
eternity ; only the death stuck in the Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil, that only was able
to bring man into another image.
27. Now we must needs clearly [conceive, or]
think, that the paradisical fruit which was good,
was not so very earthly, for (as Moses himself saith)
they were of two sorts ; the one good to eat and
pleasant to behold, and the other had the death
and corruptibility in it : In the paradisical fruit
there was no death nor corruptibility ; for if there
had been any death or corruptibility therein, then
Adam had eaten death in all the fruits ; but seeing
there was no death therein, therefore the fruit
could not be so altogether earthly ; though indeed
it sprang out of the earth, yet the divine virtue of
the second Principle was imprinted therein, and
yet they were truly in the third Principle, grown
[or sprung] out of the earth, which God cursed as
to the earthly food, that no paradisical fruit did
grow any more out of the earth.
8. Besides, if Adam had eaten earthly fruit, he
must then have eaten it into his body, and have
had guts [or entrails] : And how could such a
stink [and dung] (as we now carry in the body)
have been in paradise in the holiness of God ?
Moreover, he would, by eating earthly food, have
eaten of the fruit of the stars and elements, which
would presently have infected [or qualified] in
Ch. 11] CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE TEMPTATION 181
3him, as was done in the fall ; also so his fear over
all the beasts would have ceased. For the essences
of the beasts would presently have been like the
human essences in virtue [and power], and l one1 Or the
would have domineered more strongly over the would have
domineered
Other. over the
9. Therefore it was quite otherwise with Adam ;
he was a heavenly paradisical man, he should have
eaten of the heavenly paradisical fruit, and in the
virtue [or power] of that [fruit] he should have
ruled over all beasts [or living creatures], also over
the stars and elements : No cold nor heat should
have touched him, or else God would not have
created him so naked, but like all beasts, with a
rough [or hairy] skin [or hide].
10. But the question is, Wherefore grew the
earthly Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil? For if that had not been, Adam had
not eaten of it : Or wherefore must Adam be
tempted ? Hearken, Ask your mind about it,
wherefore it so suddenly generateth and conceiveth in itself a thought of anger, and then
of love ? Dost thou say [it cometh] from the
hearing and seeing of a thing ? Yes, that is true,
this God also knew very well ; and therefore he
must be tempted. For the centre of the mind is
free, and it generateth the will from hearing and
seeing, out of which the imagination and lust
doth arise.
11. Seeing Adam was created an image and
182 THE THREE PRINCIPLES [Ch. 11
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.