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a place and a dwelling worthy of him who is according to God's image, in which none of the irrational creatures lodged, but only man, the handiwork of the divine hands. In the midst of this, God planted the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. The tree of knowledge was a certain test and trial and exercise of man's obedience and disobedience. For this reason it was also called the tree of knowing good and evil, or because it gave a power of knowing one's own nature to those who partook of it, which is good for the perfect, but evil for the more imperfect, and still for those more greedy in perception, just as solid food is for those still in need of milk; for God who created us did not wish us to be anxious and troubled about many things, nor to become carers and providers for our own life. Which is indeed what Adam suffered; for having tasted, he knew that he was naked, and made a covering for himself; for taking fig leaves he girded himself. But before the tasting, "they were both naked, both Adam and Eve, and were not ashamed." God wished us to be passionless like this (for this is the height of passionlessness), and also free from care, having one work, that of the angels, to unceasingly and uninterruptedly praise the Creator, and to delight in contemplation of Him and to cast their own care upon Him. Which He also declared to us through the prophet David; saying, "Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee," and in the holy Gospels, teaching His own disciples, He says: "Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on," and again: "Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you," and to Martha: "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful; for Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her," that is, to sit at his feet and to hear his words. But the tree of life is either a tree having a life-giving energy or edible only for those worthy of life and not subject to death. Some, then, imagined paradise as sensible, others as intelligible. Yet it seems to me that just as man was created both sensible and intelligible, so also his most sacred precinct was both sensible and intelligible and had a twofold aspect; for with his body he lodged in the most divine and exceedingly beautiful place, as we have related, while with his soul he dwelt in a higher and incomparably and more exceedingly beautiful place, having God as his indwelling home and having Him as a glorious garment and being clothed in His grace and delighting in the single sweetest fruit of His contemplation, like another angel, and being nourished by this. This is indeed what was worthily named the tree of life; for the sweetness of divine communion imparts to those who partake a life not interrupted by death. This indeed God also called every tree: "Of every tree that is in paradise," He says, "you may eat;" for He is the all, in whom and through whom is the all. But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the discernment of manifold contemplation. This is the knowledge of one's own nature, which is good for the perfect and for those who have lived in divine contemplation, making public from itself the mighty work of the Creator, for those who do not fear a fall because through time they have arrived at a certain habit of such contemplation, but not good for those still young and more greedy in their desire, whom, on account of the uncertainty of their perseverance in what is better and not yet being firmly established in devotion to the only good, the care for their own body is wont to draw back and distract toward itself. Thus I think the divine paradise is twofold. And truly the God-bearing fathers have handed down, both those teaching thus and those teaching in that other way. It is possible to understand "every tree" as the knowledge of divine power that comes from all created things, as the divine apostle says: "For his invisible attributes, since the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood through what has been made." - But of all these concepts and contemplations, the one concerning ourselves is by nature higher, that of the

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χωρίον καὶ ἄξιον τοῦ κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐνδιαίτημα, ἐν ᾧ οὐδὲν τῶν ἀλόγων ηὐλίζετο, μόνος δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, τῶν θείων χειρῶν τὸ πλαστούργημα. Ἐν μέσῳ τούτου ξύλον ζωῆς ὁ θεὸς ἐφύτευσεν καὶ ξύλον τῆς γνώσεως. Τὸ μὲν ξύλον τῆς γνώσεως ἀπόπειράν τινα καὶ δοκιμὴν καὶ γυμνάσιον τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὑπακοῆς καὶ παρακοῆς. ∆ιὸ καὶ ξύλον τοῦ γινώσκειν καλὸν καὶ πονηρὸν κέκληται, ἢ ὅτι δύναμιν ἐδίδου γνωστικὴν τοῖς μεταλαμβάνουσι τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως, ὅπερ καλὸν μὲν τοῖς τελείοις, κακὸν δὲ τοῖς ἀτελεστέροις, ἔτι καὶ τὴν αἴσθησιν λιχνοτέροις, ὥσπερ στερεὰ τροφὴ τοῖς ἔτι δεομένοις γάλακτος· οὐκ ἐβούλετο γὰρ ὁ κτίσας ἡμᾶς θεὸς μεριμνᾶν καὶ περὶ πολλὰ τυρβάζεσθαι οὐδὲ φροντιστὰς καὶ προνοητὰς τῆς ἰδίας ζωῆς γενέσθαι. Ὅπερ δὴ καὶ πέπονθεν ὁ Ἀδάμ· γευσάμενος γὰρ ἔγνω, ὅτι γυμνὸς ἦν, καὶ περίζωμα ἑαυτῷ περιεποιεῖτο· φύλλα γὰρ συκῆς λαβὼν περιεζώσατο. Πρὸ δὲ τῆς γεύσεως «γυμνοὶ ἦσαν ἀμφότεροι, ὅ τε Ἀδὰμ καὶ ἡ Εὔα, καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνοντο». Τοιούτους δὲ ἀπαθεῖς ἐβούλετο εἶναι ἡμᾶς ὁ θεός (ἀπαθείας γὰρ ἄκρας τοῦτό ἐστιν), ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἀμερίμνους, ἓν ἔργον ἔχοντας τὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ὑμνεῖν ἀλήκτως καὶ ἀδιαλείπτως τὸν κτίσαντα, καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ κατατρυφᾶν θεωρίας καὶ αὐτῷ ἐπιρρίπτειν τὴν ἑαυτῶν μέριμναν. Ὅπερ καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου ∆αυὶδ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀπεφθέγξατο· «Ἐπίρριψον ἐπὶ κύριον τὴν μέριμνάν σου», λέγων, «καὶ αὐτός σε διαθρέψει», καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς εὐαγγελίοις τοὺς οἰκείους μαθητὰς διδάσκων φησί· «Μὴ μεριμνήσητε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν, τί φάγητε, καὶ τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν, τί ἐνδύσησθε», καὶ πάλιν· «Αἰτεῖτε τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, καὶ ταῦτα πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν», καὶ πρὸς τὴν Μάρθαν· «Μάρθα, Μάρθα, μεριμνᾷς καὶ τυρβάζῃ περὶ πολλά, ἑνὸς δέ ἐστι χρεία· Μαρία γὰρ τὴν ἀγαθὴν μερίδα ἐξελέξατο, ἥτις οὐκ ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀπ' αὐτῆς», τὸ καθῆσθαι δηλονότι παρὰ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκούειν τῶν λόγων αὐτοῦ. Τὸ δὲ τῆς ζωῆς ξύλον ἢ ξύλον ἔχον ἐνέργειαν ζωῆς παρεκτικὴν ἢ τοῖς τῆς ζωῆς ἀξίοις καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ οὐχ ὑποκειμένοις μόνοις ἐδώδιμον. Τινὲς μὲν οὖν αἰσθητὸν τὸν παράδεισον ἐφαντάσθησαν, ἕτεροι δὲ νοητόν. Πλὴν ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ, ὅτι ὥσπερ ὁ ἄνθρωπος αἰσθητὸς ἅμα καὶ νοητὸς δεδημιούργητο, οὕτω καὶ τὸ τούτου ἱερώτατον τέμενος αἰσθητὸν ἅμα καὶ νοητὸν καὶ διπλῆν ἔχον τὴν ἔμφασιν· τῷ γὰρ σώματι ἐν τῷ θειοτάτῳ χώρῳ καὶ ὑπερκαλλεῖ, καθὼς ἱστορήσαμεν, αὐλιζόμενος, τῇ ψυχῇ ἐν ὑπερτέρῳ καὶ ἀσυγκρίτῳ καὶ περικαλλεστέρῳ τόπῳ διέτριβε θεὸν ἔχων οἶκον τὸν ἔνοικον καὶ αὐτὸν ἔχων εὐκλεὲς περιβόλαιον καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ περιβεβλημένος χάριν καὶ τοῦ μόνου γλυκυτάτου καρποῦ τῆς αὐτοῦ θεωρίας κατατρυφῶν οἷά τις ἄγγελος ἄλλος καὶ ταύτῃ τρεφόμενος. Ὅπερ δὴ καὶ ξύλον ζωῆς ἀξίως ὠνόμασται· ζωῆς γὰρ θανάτῳ μὴ διακοπτομένης ἡ γλυκύτης τῆς θείας μεθέξεως τοῖς μεταλαμβάνουσι μεταδίδωσιν. Ὃ δὴ καὶ πᾶν ξύλον ὁ θεὸς ἐκάλεσεν· «Ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ βρώσει», φησί, «φάγεσθε·» αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστι τὸ πᾶν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ δι' οὗ τὸ πᾶν. Τὸ δὲ τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ τε καὶ κακοῦ γνώσεως ξύλον ἡ τῆς πολυσχεδοῦς θεωρίας διάγνωσις. Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ τῆς οἰκείας ἐπίγνωσις φύσεως, ἥτις καλὴ μὲν τοῖς τελείοις καὶ ἐν τῇ θείᾳ θεωρίᾳ βεβιωκόσιν, ἐξ ἑαυτῆς τὴν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ μεγαλουργίαν δημοσιεύουσα, τοῖς μὴ δεδιόσι μετάπτωσιν διὰ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ χρόνου εἰς ἕξιν τινὰ τῆς τοιαύτης ἐληλακέναι θεωρίας, οὐ καλὴ δὲ τοῖς νέοις ἔτι καὶ τὴν ἔφεσιν λιχνοτέροις, οὓς διὰ τὸ ἀβέβαιον τῆς ἐν τῷ κρείττονι διαμονῆς καὶ τὸ μήπω παγίως ἐνεδρασθῆναι τῇ τοῦ μόνου καλοῦ προσεδρείᾳ ἡ τοῦ οἰκείου κηδεμονία σώματος πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἀνθέλκειν καὶ περισπᾶν πέφυκεν. Οὕτω διπλοῦν οἶμαι τὸν θεῖον παράδεισον. Καὶ ἀληθῶς οἱ θεοφόροι πατέρες παρέδωκαν οἵ τε οὕτως, οἵ τε ἐκείνως διδάξαντες. ∆υνατὸν δὲ νοῆσαι πᾶν ξύλον τὴν ἐκ πάντων τῶν κτισμάτων τῆς θείας δυνάμεως γινομένην ἐπίγνωσιν, ὥς φησιν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος· «Τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα καθορᾶται». - Πασῶν δὲ τῶν ἐννοιῶν καὶ θεωριῶν τούτων ἡ καθ' ἡμᾶς ὑψηλοτέρα πέφυκεν, ἡ τῆς