Page:Arcana Coelestia (Potts) vol 1.djvu/99

 fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. The "fruit of the tree of the garden," is the good and truth revealed to them from the Most Ancient Church; the "fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, of which they were not to eat," is the good and truth of faith, which they were not to learn from themselves; "not to touch it," is a prohibition against thinking of the good and truth of faith from themselves, or from what is of sense and memory-knowledge (sensuali et scientifico); "lest ye die," is because thus faith, or all wisdom and intelligence, would perish.

. That the "fruit of the tree of which they might eat," signifies the good and truth of faith revealed to them from the Most Ancient Church, or the knowledges (cognitiones) of faith, is evident from the fact that it is said to be the "fruit of the tree of the garden of which they might eat," and not the "tree of the garden," as before when treating of the celestial man, or the Most Ancient Church (ii. 16). The "tree of the garden," as it is there called, is the perception of what is good and true; which good and truth, because they are from that source, are here called "fruit," and are also frequently signified by "fruit" in the Word.

. The reason why the "tree of knowledge" is here spoken of as being "in the midst of the garden," although previously (ii. 9), the tree of lives was said to be in the midst of the garden, and not the tree of knowledge, is that the "midst" of the garden signifies the inmost; and the inmost of the celestial man, or of the Most Ancient Church, was the "tree of lives," which is love and the faith thence derived; whereas with this man, who may be called a celestial spiritual man, or with this posterity, faith was the "midst" of the garden, or the inmost. It is impossible more fully to describe the quality of the men who lived in that most ancient time, because at the present day it is utterly unknown, their genius being altogether different from what is ever found with any one now. For the purpose however of conveying some idea of their genius, it may be mentioned that from good they knew truth, or from love they knew what is of faith. But when that generation expired, another succeeded of a totally different genius,