De trivus paradisis, et comparatione trium lignorum quae sunt in eis.
The Three Paradises
The text introduces three paradises—earthly, faithful, and heavenly—each associated with a different Adam and a different mode of divine dwelling.
There are three paradises. The first is earthly, and its inhabitant was the first, earthly Adam. The second is the faithful paradise, which is the Church of saints, founded and indwelt by the second, heavenly Adam — that is, Christ. The third is the heavenly paradise, which is the kingdom of God and eternal life and the land of the living — or rather, the living land in which God dwells.
The Three Trees of Life
Each paradise bears a distinct tree of life: the material tree, the humanity of the Savior, and the wisdom of God the Word.
In the first paradise, the tree of life is a material tree. In the second, the tree of life is the humanity of the Savior. In the third, the tree of life is the wisdom of God, the Word of the Father, the fountain of life and the origin of good — and this is truly eternal life.
A Call to Compare
The author signals a transition to the comparison of the three trees and their powers.
Now let us come to the comparison.
From Bodily to Spiritual Nourishment
The earthly tree sustains bodily life, but Christ, the tree of faithful paradise, offers eternal life only to those who receive him spiritually through the Word, not merely sacramentally.
Surely the tree of life that stood in the earthly paradise could only give bodily life, nourishing it without fail. But the tree of life in the faithful paradise — that is, Jesus Christ — gives a promise of eternal life to those who eat his flesh and drink his blood. Yet, wanting to show just how far the Sacrament is from its power, he himself says: 'The body is nothing; it is the spirit that gives life.'✦ It's as if he were saying: 'If you receive me bodily in the Sacrament, don't think that's enough for you — unless you also receive me, the Word of life, as the one who enlightens souls, justifies sinners, and gives life to the dead, and spiritually feed on me.'
Read the original Latin
Tres sunt paradisi. Unus terrestris, cujus incola fuit primus Adam terrenus. Secundus fidelis, quod est Ecclesia sanctorum, quam fundavit et inhabitat secundus Adam coelestis, id est Christus. Tertius coelestis, qui est regnum Dei, et vita aeterna, et terra viventium, vel potius terra vivens, in qua habitat Deus. In primo paradiso lignum vitae est arbor materialis. In secundum lignum vitae est humanitas Salvatoris. In tertio lignum vitae est sapientia Dei, verbum Patris, fons vitae, et origo boni, et haec est vere vita aeterna. Nunc veniamus ad comparationem.
Certe lignum vitae, quod erat in paradiso terrestri, corporalem solummodo vitam sine defectu vegetare potuit. Lignum autem vitae fidelis paradisi, id est Jesus Christus manducantibus carnem suam, et bibentibus sanguinem suum vitam aeternam repromittit, et tamen idem ipse exprimere volens quantum distaret sacramentum a virtute, ait: Corpus nihil prodest, spiritus est qui vivificat. Quasi diceretur: Si me corporaliter in sacramento sumitis, non hoc vobis sufficere credatis, nisi etiam me quemadmodum verbum vitae sum illuminans animas, justificans peccatores, et mortuos vivificans, spiritualiter edere dediceretis.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.6.63 — It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no benefit. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
De Arca Noe Morali et Mystica (On the Moral and Mystical Ark of Noah) companion
Keep the ark under construction
Hugh's method only works with daily practice — the Chosen Portion app gives you a short, structured devotional every morning, free.
Hugh's daily discipline of ordered meditation continues in Chosen Portion, which serves one structured devotional portion each day so the mind returns to the same interior work Hugh prescribed.
- A 10-minute structured meditation delivered each morning
- Progress through classic texts like Hugh's in small daily portions
- Build a 30-day streak of ordered prayer instead of improvised moments