The word paradise, if taken literally, has no need of any particular explanation; for it means a place thickly crowded with every kind of tree; but symbolically taken, it means wisdom, intelligence both divine and human, and the proper comprehension of the causes of things; since it was proper, after the creation of the world, to establish a contemplative system of life, in order that man, by the sight of the world and of the things which are contained in it, might be able to attain to a correct notion of the praise due to the Father.

And since it was not possible for him to behold nature herself, nor properly to praise the Creator of the universe without wisdom, therefore the Creator planted the outlines of it in the rational soul of the principal guide of man, namely the mind, as he planted trees in the paradise.

And when we are told that in the middle was the tree of life, that means the knowledge not only of the creature but also of the greater and supreme cause of the universe; for if anyone is able to arrive at a certain comprehension of that, he will be fortunate and truly happy and immortal.

Moreover, after the creation of the world human wisdom was created, as also after the creation of the world Paradise was planted; and so the poets say that the chorus of musicians was established in order to praise the Creator and his works; as Plato says, that the Creator was the first and greatest of causes and that the world was the most beautiful of all creatures.