Philip the apostle said, “Joseph the carpenter planted a garden, for he needed wood for his trade. He is the one who made the cross from the trees he planted, and his own offspring hung on what he planted. His offspring was Jesus and what he planted was the cross.” The tree of life, however, is in the middle of the garden. It is an olive tree, and from it comes chrism, and from chrism comes resurrection.

(4) The same kind of imagery is still current in Europe. German authorities tell us about the ‘Wetterbaum,’ which in some places is called ‘Abraham’s Tree,’ in others, ‘Adam’s Tree.’ The Yggdrasill myth is supposed to have the same origin. The Rainbow is the heavenly Mountain Ash of a well known Swedish and Esthonian riddle. The water from heaven was supposed in Egypt to be especially refreshing for the dead

(5) Therefore the Son came down from heaven, and was incarnate of a Virgin, and took upon Him all our bodily weaknesses, except sin and folly, into which Adam had cast us; and out of all His words and works and limbs and nerves, He made a cord, and drew us so skillfully, and so heartily, that the bloody sweat poured from His sacred Body. And when He had drawn men without ceasing for three and thirty years, He saw the beginnings of a movement and the redemption of all things that would follow. Therefore He said, "And I, if I be lifted up on the Cross, will draw all men unto Me." Therefore He was stretched upon the Cross, and laid aside all His glory, and whatever might hinder His drawing men.

(14) Well, then, that fire like a pillar, and the fire in the desert, is the symbol of the holy light which passed through from earth and returned again to heaven, by the wood [of the cross], by which also the gift of intellectual vision was bestowed on us.

(3) It was my cross that the world did not accept, my apparent exaltation, my third baptism in a revealed image. When they had fled from the fire of the seven authorities, and the sun of the powers of the rulers set, darkness overtook them. And the world became poor. After they bound him with many restraints, they nailed him to the cross, and they fastened him with four nails of brass. The veil of his temple he tore with his hands. There was a trembling that overcame the chaos of the earth, for the souls that were in the sleep below were released, and they arose. They walked about boldly, having shed jealousy of ignorance and unlearnedness beside the dead tombs; having put on the new human; having come to know that perfect blessed one of the eternal and incomprehensible father and the infinite light, which is I. When I came to my own and united them with myself, there was no need for many words, for our thought was with their thought. Therefore they knew what I was saying, for we took counsel about the destruction of the rulers. And therefore I did the will of the father, who is I.

Then justice created the beautiful paradise. It is outside the circuit of the moon and the circuit of the sun in the luxuriant earth, which is in the east in the midst of stones. And desire is in the midst of trees, since they are beautiful and appealing. And the tree of immortal life, as it was revealed by the will of god, is in the north of paradise to give life to the immortal saints, who will come out of the fashioned bodies of poverty in the consummation of the age. Now, the color of the tree of life is like the sun, and its branches are beautiful. Its leaves are like those of the cypress, and its fruit is like clusters of white grapes. Its height rises up to heaven. And next to it is the tree of knowledge, possessing the power of god. Its glory is like the moon shining forth brilliantly, and its branches are beautiful. Its leaves are like fig leaves, and its fruit is like good, delicious dates. And this tree is in the north of paradise to raise up the souls from the stupor of the demons, so they might come to the tree of life and eat its fruit and condemn the authorities and their angels. The effect of this tree is described in the Holy Book as follows: You are the tree of knowledge, which is in paradise, from which the first man ate and which opened his mind, so that he loved his female partner, and condemned other alien likenesses, and loathed them. Now, after this there sprouted up the olive tree, which was to purify kings and chief priests of justice, who will appear in the last days. The olive tree appeared in the light of the first Adam for the sake of the anointing that they will receive.

(32) And as the fierce [wrathful] Essence of the Anger of God pressed into Adam, whereby he entered into Death, of which God spoke, saying, If thou eatest of the Tree, thou shalt die the Death, understand the Death in the Flesh, even while they were in the earthly Life, so the sharp Nails must pierce through the Hands and Feet of Christ, and so he must enter into Death; and as there is in the human Essences (before the Light of God) a Cross-Birth, so when the Light of God shines therein, all is turned into a pleasant flourishing Blossom, wherein the sharp Essences are not found or perceived.

(9) The red sap gushing forth from the tree fell in the gourd and with it they made a ball which glistened and took the shape of a heart. The tree gave forth sap similar to blood, with the appearance of real blood. Then the blood, or that is to say the sap of the red tree, clotted, and formed a very bright coating inside the gourd, like clotted blood; meanwhile the tree glowed at the work of the maiden. It was called the "red tree of cochineal," but [since then] it has taken the name of Blood Tree because its sap is called Blood. "There on earth you shall be beloved and you shall have all that belongs to you," said the maiden to the owls. "Very well, girl. We shall go there, we go up to serve you; you, continue on your way, while we go to present the sap, instead of your heart, to the lords," said the messengers. When they arrived in the presence of the lords, all were waiting. "You have finished?" asked Hun-Camé. "All is finished, my lords. Here in the bottom of the gourd is the heart."

(60) Now Christians know how they can, by the power of this Tree, press out from their death, through his death, to him into his life, and reign and live with him, wherein they also, with their pressing through with their new birth out from this dead body, can be with him in heaven.

(50) And behold, I tell you a Mystery; as all whatsoever Adam was guilty of must stand yet [and be manifested] in this World on the Body of Christ, and must be seen in this World, so also you shall see this Temple (before the Time that the Incorruptible shall wholly swallow up the Corruptible) in the Lily in the Wonders; where the Anger opposes the Lily, till it be reconciled in Love, and till the Driver be put to open Shame (as was done also in the Death of Christ) which the Jews hope for. But their Scepter is broken, and their Life stands in the Birth of Christ; yet they come from the Ends of the World, and go out from Jericho again into the holy Jerusalem, and eat with the Lamb; this is a Wonder; but the a Driver is taken captive, and therefore we speak thus wonderfully; and at present we shall not be understood, till the Hunter is destroyed; and then our Life comes to us again, and stands in the Valley of Jehosaphat. The other Gate of the Sufferings of Christ.

(33) And when Adam with his Soul entered into the fourth Form, into the Spirit of this World, then that Cross-Birth was stirred; and when his Wife was made out of his Essences, he was divided in that Cross-Birth; and so the Woman has the one half of the Cross, and the Man the other half; which you may see min the Skull, as also in the Essences; and therefore Christ must die upon the Cross, and destroy Death on the Cross.

The preceding story is followed by a short anecdote of the infants of the Virgin Mary and the mother of John the Baptist leaping in their mothers' wombs, and in reply to matter of fact cavillers and questioners of this anecdote, the poet says we must look at its spirit and essential basis rather than its outward form. This introduces the story of the tree of life. A certain wise man related that in Hindustan there was a tree of such wonderful virtue that whosoever ate of its fruit lived forever. Hearing this, a king deputed one of his courtiers to go in quest of it. The courtier accordingly proceeded to Hindustan, and traveled all over that country, inquiring of every one he met where this tree was to be found. Some of these persons professed their entire ignorance, others joked him, and others gave him false information; and, finally, he had to return to his country with his mission unaccomplished. He then, as a last resource, betook himself to the sage who had first spoken of the tree, and begged for further information about it, and the sage replied to him as follows: