it has been said: *Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and the fruit-tree yielding seed, bearing fruit: and it was so* 37. But here it says again: *And God planted a paradise in Eden*. A If the paradise had been filled with common trees and shrubs, it would have had its own composition from the primeval generation of plants, and the trees that afterward grew within it would not have required a special planting by God. But as it is, since other [trees] far more excellent both in form and in taste than those which had previously sprung up spontaneously from the earth were later fashioned there by God Himself, it is manifest from the very Scripture that they are of every kind of plant.
348 2. *And He produced*, it says, *yet from the earth every tree beautiful to the sight and sweet to eat* 38. For just as He deemed man worthy of an exceptional formation above other living creatures, so He willed that the dwelling-place of man should be the work of His own right hand, having selected a place suitable and excelling the whole of creation, shaded by no clouds due to its altitude, admirable in beauty, secure in its position, brilliant in its superiority over all things, and illuminated by every rising of the stars, surrounded by the most limpid air, and having the most delightful and at the same time the best moderation of the seasons. B There, therefore, God planted Paradise, where there is no violence of winds, no intemperance of the seasons of the year, no hail, no fiery cyclones, no storms, no twisted and violent lightning, no winter frost, no spring humidity, no summer burning and heat, no autumn drought; but a temperate and peaceful harmony of the seasons of the year, each clothed with its own proper beauty, and nothing fearing any stratagem from its neighbor. For neither would summer, perhaps prematurely occupying its own time, blight the spring flowers; nor, again, would summer and autumn fruits, having been scorched by the disorder of the air, often wither and perish; but all the seasons would orderly circle that place as in a chorus, placidly and without any flaw or distress intertwined and linked together among themselves; C and so that each, in its own time, might contribute as a gift what was exceptional and unique to itself, without anything being harmed by the injury of another. That land was rich and soft, and flowed altogether with milk and honey, and was suitable for the production of every species of fruit, irrigated by most fertile waters. The waters themselves were most beautiful and sweet, and very fine and limpid, which would afford the greatest utility, more than the delight they gave to the eyes.
3. Therefore, He first created the place itself, so that it might be ready for the divine planting, and so that nothing might be abhorrent to it. Afterward, He planted in it every kind of most beautiful shrubs, which would have the highest grace to the sight, and provide the highest sweetness of taste to man. In what way can I clearly bring before your eyes the beauties of the fatherland from which you have fallen? So that, being deeply grieved D as is fitting for the loss of these things,
A you might at long last be able to recall yourself from exile, and return postliminiously to those firm and delectable goods, which are unmixed with any evil or sorrowful thing?
4. Indeed, there is no lack A of flowering meadows, B beautiful and pleasant to the sight: consider in your mind what it is that gives them such great charm; in what way the rose lies hidden here with the thorn, whose joy is accompanied by unpleasantness, and B testifies to us that all the joys of this life are mixed with sorrowful things. For in truth, nothing among human goods is sincere and pure; but immediately upon every worldly joy, sorrow and pain are attached: to marriage, widowhood; to the raising of children, anxiety and care; to the having of excellent children, their loss; to conspicuous honors, the disgrace of infamy; to pleasures, the wasting of the limbs; to health, sickness. The rose is flowering, but it fills me with sadness. For as often as C I see the flower, I am reminded of my sin, by the guilt of which the earth was condemned to sprout thorns and thistles for me. And here, indeed, the grace of the spring flowers is short-lived, leaving us while we still desire them; for we have not even finished gathering them when they wither in our hands. But there, the flower is not one that shines for a short time and then fails, but possesses a constant and eternal charm, an enjoyment that does not end; the fragrance is insatiable, the beauty of color shines forth continuously. No violent winds trouble them, no calms make them wither, no frosts choke them, no burning of the sun scorches them; but a moderate breath, providing a certain thin and sweet breeze, and blowing upon them lightly and gently, preserves their grace indomitable by time and unfading.
5. The beauty, too, of the plants, D which befits the work and plantation of the Creator: whatever is of vine-stock, and whatever is shrubby, single-stemmed, multi-branched, high-topped, shady with green, leaf-shedding, ever-leafy, those that shed their leaves, and those that are ever-verdant and flowery, fruit-bearing and fruitless; of which some are destined for utility, others contribute to the enjoyment of pleasure: all excelling in size and beauty, shadowy in their branches, thick with foliage, teeming with fruits, filling every need and delight alike in abundance; for in each of these fruits there is much that is charming, but even more so, the usefulness of what is pleasant.
6. What power of speech will D represent that excellence? For if anyone should compare the things that are there with the things that are here, he does injustice by the comparison, rather than providing you with any clear evidence of that reality from the likeness, because the likeness falls far short of the truth of the prototype. All things are perfect, all things are mature, not increased by little increments (for they do not progress from a flower to their peak in time), but sprung up immediately from their very birth with their own highest perfection and vigor, being the effects of nature, not of human industry.
A And with all kinds of birds, offering a certain wonderful enjoyment to the beholders by the brightness of their plumage and the sweet melody of their song, so that man might be gladdened through all his senses, seeing some, hearing others, touching others, smelling others, and tasting others still. Along with the birds, there were sights of terrestrial animals of every kind, all tame, all accustomed to hear and speak with one another with such a natural disposition and temperament that they were understood without any difficulty. The serpent then caused no horror, but was gentle and tame; it did not crawl upon the face of the earth in a wild and savage manner, wriggling and dragging its belly, but moved along upright and elevated on its feet. So too were all the other beasts that now are untamed and wild, gentle at that time.
There, therefore, God placed the man whom He had fashioned. He fashioned him elsewhere, and brought him there. For just as God first created the luminaries and placed them in the firmament, so He fashioned man from the clay of the earth, and then placed him in paradise. Note, however, that it is not said, "Whom He had made," but, "Whom He had fashioned." For what He made is according to the image; but this is incorporeal, and what is incorporeal is not circumscribed by place. Nevertheless, the creation necessarily follows the fashioning—that is, the soul follows the body; for the composite must exist simultaneously. But primarily the place belongs to the body, while the soul B is enclosed in place consequently, by the relationship or union which it has with the body, but not by its own nature—that is, in that part which is a substance endowed with mind.
Have I gladdened you, I ask, by recounting the delights of paradise, or have I rather caused you greater sorrow by comparing them with these things which perish through corruption? Yet surely your mind and spirit, which savor things on high and superior to the world—as one whose citizenship is in heaven—and which have their light directed toward things above, were pondering the things of the promise, and were watching to hear something of those goods which are promised to us: "Which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man." Who, therefore, is he that can describe them, if the eye has not seen? If the ear has not heard, how shall your mind receive them? If they have not entered into the heart of man, how will our intellect grasp them? We do not, therefore, reject the bodily while we seek the spiritual. For just as under the Law there was that which fell under the senses, yet no less provided a figure of that which is understood by the mind, so also we understand paradise in a bodily sense, but we also interpret it C allegorically in a spiritual sense. "God therefore planted a paradise in Eden toward the east." The names of the plants and trees are passed over in silence, but the place in which He planted it has been declared; that is, in pleasure. For Eden is interpreted as pleasure and delights.
8. Does He therefore call "delights" those things which enter through the mouth into the belly, and whose end is the dung-heap? And did He deliver as delights things which perish? And is this the grace of God toward man, the filling of the belly, and the comfort of the flesh, and the diffusion
A of that which creates pleasure and lust? But to say this is not even pious. For to gorge the body abundantly, and to overwhelm in such a state the soul dwelling within by a multitude of foods, is a kind of provision for wantonness, lewdness, and impudence, and renders it prone and headlong into every sin, and whatever else is among the forbidden things.
9. Other delights therefore must be understood, such as are worthy of God, and such as may be perceived by the mind, which might be reckoned a plantation befitting the cultivation of God. What pleasure, then, can there be that is suitable for the saints? Hear Him who says: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the petitions of your heart."
10. Since, therefore, the variety of virtue is infinite, and its beauty unspeakable, and it has taken its origin from the manifold wisdom of God, for this reason it is written B that "God planted a paradise," not toward the east, but toward the eastern regions. For each of the plants sown by the Lord shone forth, adorned in its own light of virtue with excellent cultivation and ornament. "There is the rushing of the river, which makes glad the city of God." In another place it is called a "torrent of pleasure," nourishing and drawing to the just growth the beauty and comeliness of those intelligible plants; which also in the following text of Scripture is called the river going out from Eden to irrigate the paradise. Now, it was written in the previous accounts that having first completed the creation and established the world, He thus introduced man into it as if into a principality and dominion; but here, conversely, He first formed man, and then planted the paradise. And the reason is this: that there, indeed, the purpose of the counsel was to introduce the master of the house immediately into a full house, C so that He might not create him poor and later bestow upon him an abundance of goods. But here, since He was granting that perfection which comes from progress, He created him elsewhere, and later settles him in the paradise; so that having learned the difference between the life outside and the way of life in the paradise, by the comparison of both, and by experience itself, he might recognize the preeminence of the beauty within it, and might fear the loss of his fall.
11. But that you may understand a plantation worthy of the divine hand and work, remember those things said by the Lord to the disciples in the Gospel: "You are the branches, and my Father is the husbandman," manifestly being planted by Him. Of this plantation are also those who are planted in the house of the Lord, as it is written, D "and blooming in the courts of our God." The same is also in the prophet: "I planted a fruitful vine, all true." And the imitator of Christ, Paul, dares and says: "We are God's fellow-workers; you are God's tillage. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." The just man also in David is said to be like a tree planted by the streams of waters, "which will yield its fruit"