Monday, April 10, 2023

The Book of the Gentile and the Three Wise Men, by Ramon Llull

MIGHTY GOD, whose power has no measure, nor quantity, nor time, with your grace and blessing, and with your help, so that you may be honored, loved, and served as befits your unending dignity, and with the small power of men, begins the BOOK OF THE GENTILE AND THE THREE WISE MEN.

Prologue

Having spent a long time with the infidels and having understood their false opinions and errors, so that they may give glory to our Lord God and come to the way of eternal salvation; I, who am a guilty, wretched, poor, sinful man, despised by the people, unworthy that my name should be written in this book or any other, following the manner of the Arabic book “Del Gentil,” I will strive with all my power, relying on the help of the Most High, to present new ways and new reasons by which the erring may be directed to eternal glory and avoid infinite labors.

Every science needs the words by which it may be made more manifest; and for this demonstrative science, expressive words are needed which are not in use among the common people; and since we make this book for the common people, we will speak briefly and plainly about this science. And relying on the grace of Him who is the fulfillment of all good things, we hope that by this means we will expand the book with more appropriate words for the literate, lovers of speculative science. It would be an injustice to this science and to this art if it were not demonstrated with the words that are appropriate to it, and if it were not signified with the subtle reasons by which it can be demonstrated.

This book is divided into four parts. The first part aims to prove the existence of God and that in Him are the flowers of the first tree, and that there is resurrection. The second part is about the Jew, who seeks to prove that his belief is better than the belief of the Christian and the Saracen. The third part is about the Christian, who seeks to prove that his belief is worth more than that of the Jew and the Saracen. The fourth part is about the Saracen, who seeks to prove that his belief is worth more than that of the Jew and the Christian.

By the ordinance of God, there was a wise philosopher among a people in a certain land, who considered his vigilance, death, and the blessings of this world. That gentile had no knowledge of God, did not believe in resurrection, and did not believe that he would be anything after his death.

While he was considering in this way, his eyes were filled with tears and weeping, and his heart with sighs, sadness, and pain; because the Gentile was so pleased with this worldly life, and the thought of death was so horrible to him, and the hope that he would be nothing after his death was so unbearable that he could not console himself or stop crying, nor could the sadness in his heart be eased.

While the Gentile was in this state of mind and in this trouble, it occurred to him to leave that land and go to a foreign land, hoping that he might find a remedy for his sadness there; and he thought that by going to a great forest, which was deep with many springs and many beautiful fruit trees, he could find life for his heart.

In that forest, there were many beasts and many birds of various kinds; and for this reason, he thought of staying in that hermitage to see and smell the flowers, to enjoy the beauty of the trees, and to feel the refreshing waters and herbs in order to have some relief for his heavy thoughts that tormented him so much.

When the Gentile was in the great forest and saw the rivers, the springs, the meadows, and the birds of different lineages singing very sweetly under the trees, and the roe deer, deer, gazelles, hares, rabbits, and many other animals that were very pleasant to see, and the trees were loaded with flowers and fruits of various kinds, from which emanated a very pleasant smell, he wanted to console and rejoice in what he saw, heard, and smelled; but the thought of his death and the uncertainty of his being multiplied his courage in pain and sadness.

While that gentile was in these thoughts, which increased his sadness and multiplied his torments, he had the will to return to his land; but he thought that such thoughts and such sadness in which he was could not be removed from his heart by any help or any chance. And so, he restrained his courage from returning and went on, from place to place, from spring to spring, and from meadow to riverbank, to try if there was any pleasing thing he saw or heard that could divert his thoughts; but the more he went to beautiful places, the more strongly the thought of death weighed on him.

The Gentile picked the flowers and ate the fruits of the trees to try if the fragrance of the flowers and the taste of the fruits would give him any relief; but as he thought that he would die and that there would come a time when he would be nothing, then his pain, his weeping, and his troubles multiplied.

While the Gentile was in this trouble, he did not know what advice to take because of the great anguish of thoughts in which he was; and he fell to the ground, lifted his hands and his eyes to heaven, kissed the earth, and said these words, weeping and sighing devoutly:

Oh, wretched me! In what anger and pain have I become a captive! Why was I born or came into the world if there is no one who can help me in the troubles I endure, or if there is nothing in the world that has so much virtue that it can help me? Why does mercy not come from you? And why do you not cast these thoughts from your heart that do not stop multiplying the heavy torments you endure?

When the Gentile had said these words, he felt that he should leave that place and go from one place to another until he could find some remedy. While the Gentile was going through the forest, as if lost, from one place to another, he came upon a very beautiful path, and he thought that this path might lead him to a way out of the trouble he was in.

It happened that while the Gentile was going along that path, he met three wise men at the entrance of a city. One was a Jew, the other a Christian, and the other a Saracen. When they were outside the city and saw each other, they greeted each other and kindly received each other and accompanied each other. Each one asked the other about their status and their faith, and what their will was; and all three agreed that they should behave to refresh the soul that was exhausted from the study they had been in.

The three wise men continued discussing their beliefs and the knowledge they taught to their students, until they arrived at the forest through which the gentile was traveling. They came upon a beautiful meadow with a lovely fountain that watered five trees, symbolizing the five trees mentioned at the beginning of this book.

At the fountain, there was a very beautiful young lady, nobly dressed, riding a beautiful steed which was drinking from the fountain. The wise men, who saw the five trees that were very pleasant to behold and the woman with a very agreeable appearance, approached the fountain, and very humbly and devoutly greeted the woman; and she graciously returned their greetings.

The wise men asked her name, and she told them she was Intelligence; and the wise men asked her to tell them the nature and properties of the five trees, and what the letters written on each of their flowers signified. The woman answered and said:

The first tree, on which you see 21 flowers, symbolizes God and His uncreated essential virtues, which are written in those flowers, as you see. This tree has two conditions, among others. One is that one must always attribute and acknowledge to God the highest nobility in essence, virtues, and works; the other condition is that the flowers do not oppose one another, nor are any less than the others. Without understanding these two conditions, one cannot understand the tree, nor its virtues, nor its works.]

The second tree has 49 flowers on which are written the seven virtues of the first tree and the seven created virtues, through which the blessed go to everlasting happiness. This tree has two conditions, among others. The first is that the created virtues become greater and nobler when they more strongly signify and demonstrate the great nobility of the uncreated virtues; the second condition is that the uncreated and created virtues are not opposed to each other.

The third tree has 49 flowers, in which the seven virtues of the first tree are written, and the vices, which are the seven deadly sins, through which the damned go to hellfire. This tree has two conditions, among others. The first is that the virtues of God are not in harmony with the vices; the second is that the virtues of God are better signified to human understanding by the vices, and all that is contrary to their greater significance mentioned above, and that which is less contrary between the virtues of God and the vices of man, should be denied, except for the conditions of the other trees.

The fourth tree has 21 flowers on which the seven created virtues are written. This tree has two conditions, among others. The first is that none of those virtues is opposed to the others; the second is that in what they most agree to be greater, and to have greater merit for man through them, is truth, and the contrary is falsehood, except for the conditions of the other trees.

The fifth tree has 49 flowers on which the seven main created virtues and the seven deadly sins are written. This tree has two conditions, among others. The first is that virtues and vices do not agree; the second is that virtues that are more opposed to vices are more lovable, and vices that are more opposed to virtues are more detestable.

The aforementioned ten conditions go by two conditions, that is, by two beginnings. One is that all ten conditions agree to one end; the other is that they do not oppose that end. And the end is to love, know, fear, and serve God.

By the conditions mentioned above go the flowers, which are beginnings and teachings to guide erring men who have no knowledge of God, nor of His works, nor of the belief in which they were. And by the knowledge of these trees, one can console the disconsolate, and one can alleviate the troubled. And by these trees, one mortifies temptations, and purifies the soul of faults and sins. And by the usefulness of the trees, whoever gathers their fruit escapes infinite labors and comes to everlasting rest.

When the woman had spoken these words to the three wise men, she took her leave from them, and they left; and the three wise men remained at the fountain, beneath the five trees; and one of the three wise men began to sigh and say:

Ah, God! What great happiness it would be if, through these trees, we could all be in one law and in one belief, all the men who exist; and that hatred and ill will would not be in men, who hurt one another by disagreement and by the opposition of beliefs and deeds; and that just as there is only one God, the father and creator and lord of all that exists, so too all the peoples who are, would unite in being just one people, and that they would be on the path of salvation, and that they would all have one faith, and one law, and give glory and praise to our Lord God!

Consider, sirs, how many are the harms that are done because men do not have just one law, and how many are the goods that would be done if we all had one law and one belief.

Since this is so, does it seem right to you that we sit under these trees, next to this beautiful fountain, and that we dispute what we believe, according to what the flowers and the characteristics of these trees signify; and since we cannot agree by authorities, should we try to agree by demonstrative and necessary reasons?

Each of the wise men approved what the other said, and they sat down; and they began to look at the flowers of the trees, and they remembered the characteristics and the words that the woman had said, and they proposed to follow the method in their disputation, according to what the woman had signified to them.

As soon as they wanted to start raising questions against each other, they saw the Gentile coming through the forest. He had a long beard and long hair; and he looked like a tired man, and he was thin and discolored from the labor of his thoughts, and from the long journey he had made; his eyes were full of tears, his heart could not stop sighing, nor his mouth lamenting. And due to the great anguish of his labor, he wanted to drink from the fountain before he could speak or greet the three wise men. When the Gentile had drunk from the fountain, and his soul and spirit had recovered some strength, the Gentile greeted the three wise men in his language and according to his custom. And the three wise men returned the greetings, saying: May that God of glory, who is the father and lord of all that exists, and who has created the whole world, and who will resurrect the good and the evil, help you and assist you in your labors!

When the Gentile had heard the greeting that the three wise men had given him, and he saw the five trees, and read the flowers, and saw the strange appearance of the three wise men, and their strange clothing, he then began to think, and he marveled greatly at the words he had heard and what he saw.

Good friend, said one of the three wise men, where do you come from, and what is your name? You seem to me to be very troubled and disconsolate for some reason. What troubles you, and why have you come to this place, and is there anything we can do to console or help you? Let us know your thoughts.

The Gentile replied, saying that he came from distant lands, and that he was a Gentile, wandering as a man exiled from his land through that forest; and chance had led him to that place. He recounted the pain and sorrow in which he found himself.

And since you have greeted me, saying that may God who created the world and who will resurrect men help me, I am very amazed by this greeting, for I have never heard of the God you speak of, nor have I ever heard of resurrection. And whoever could demonstrate to me the existence of resurrection through living reasons, could remove from my soul the pain and sadness in which it is.

Well, my friend!, said one of the three wise men, do you not believe in God, nor do you have hope in resurrection?

Sir, no, said the Gentile; And if it is something you can signify to me, by which my soul can have knowledge of resurrection, I pray you to do it; for indeed, know that the great pain in which I am is because I see death approaching, and after death, I do not think there is anything.

When the three wise men heard and understood the error in which the Gentile was, and the passion he suffered because of that error, charity and pity arose in their hearts, and they decided to prove to the Gentile that God exists, and that in him there are goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection; and that through the flowers on the five trees they would prove these things, so that they would bring him to the knowledge of God and his virtues, and to the hope of resurrection, to rejoice his heart and put him on the path of salvation.

One of the three wise men said:

What method shall we use to prove these things? The best counsel we have is to follow the method in which Lady Intelligence has directed us. But if we prove these things through each of the flowers, the matter will be too long; so, for this reason, it would be good for us to focus on some of the flowers to prove that God exists, and that he has the aforementioned seven virtues, and that there is resurrection. One of you should begin with the first tree and prove through it; and the other should prove afterwards through the second tree; and thus, in order, let us prove through the five trees and demonstrate to the Gentile what is necessary for him to know.

The two wise men agreed with what the third wise man had suggested, and one wise man began to say:

Which of us shall begin first?

Each of the wise men honored the other and wanted to give honor to the other by starting first; but the Gentile, who saw that they were delaying and prolonging the beginning, asked one of the wise men to begin, for it greatly troubled him that they were taking so long to begin what he so desired.

The first book begins, which is about God and resurrection.

The First Book, About God and Resurrection

The First Tree

On Goodness and Greatness

The wise man said: It is clear to the human understanding that good and greatness are related to being, for the more something is good, the more it is closely related to essence, virtue, or perfection. Conversely, evil and smallness, which are opposed to good and greatness, are related to non-being. The greater the evil, the more closely it is related to lesser being than to greater being. If this were not the case and the opposite were true, then it would follow that every person would naturally prefer non-being to being, evil to good, lesser good to greater good, and lesser being to greater being. But this is not true, as reason and experience show us in visible things.

“Sir,” said the wise man to the Gentile, “you see that all the goodness that exists in plants, living things, and all other things in the world is finite and limited. If God did not exist, it would follow that no good could be infinite, and all existing goodness would be finite and limited, and being infinite and non-being would be incompatible. However, since lesser good is related to lesser being, and infinite good is related to greater being, and because infinity and greatness are related, as are finiteness and smallness, it is significant and demonstrable that if a finite good, which is lesser and related to non-being, exists, then a greater, infinite good that exists is also possible. This good, my dear friends, is our Lord God, who is the source of all good things, and without whom all the aforementioned inconveniences would follow.”

On Greatness and Eternity

If eternity were nothing, everything that exists would have a beginning. If everything that exists had a beginning, then it would follow that it started from itself. This, beautiful friends, is not true, as you see. For everything that has a beginning must have started from something that has no beginning or end, which is the God of glory. You see that the sky is movable and revolves around the earth day and night. Everything that is movable must be limited and finite in quantity. Therefore, the quantity of this world is finite. Since eternity has no beginning or end, it is incompatible with beginning and end. If there were no beginning, there could be no eternity. Therefore, it has been demonstrated that eternity is more related to infinity than to the finite world, which has a finite and limited quantity. If the finite world were not supported by the eternal and infinite greatness that gave it a beginning, it would end, that is, cease to exist. Therefore, it has been demonstrated that eternity, which is more related to infinite greatness than to finite greatness, is God, in whom we believe.

On Eternity and Power

It is certain that eternity and power are related to existence. For if what is eternal did not have the power to be eternal, it would not be eternal due to lack of power. If eternity did not have the power to be eternal by itself, and was not sustained in its existence by any power that is not eternal, it would follow that there is greater power in things that have a beginning than in that which is eternal. This is impossible, and therefore it has been demonstrated that God exists, who is eternal by his own power, from which emanates influence and grace to the souls of men and angels to endure eternally. The Gentile replied that it was possible that the world was eternal and had the power to be eternal by itself. But the wise man refuted his argument, saying that just as the world, due to a lack of power, fails to have infinite quantity, in the same way, due to a lack of power, its quantity is finite and limited, and it is sustained by eternity, which has no end or beginning.

On Power and Wisdom

It is a true thing that power and wisdom are connected to being, for without power, wisdom could not exist. Therefore, just as power and wisdom are connected to being, their opposites, namely the lack of power and ignorance, are connected to non-being. If they were connected to being, it would follow that power and wisdom would also be connected to non-being. If that were the case, then one would naturally desire things that lack power and wisdom to exist, and that is not true. Therefore, if the lack of power and ignorance exist in being, even though they are connected to non-being, power and wisdom must exist even more in something where there is no lack of power or ignorance, and that is God. This is because in all other things, there is a deficiency of complete power and complete wisdom.

On Wisdom and Love

Wisdom and love are connected to being because the more wisdom exists in something, the more love it can have for that being. Otherwise, wisdom and love are disconnected from being because wisdom can create something that love might not want. Wisdom can create something that love might criticize, and there are things that wisdom does that love would not want it to do. Similarly, there are things that love would criticize that wisdom believes should be loved, and things that love would love that wisdom believes should be criticized. In another way, wisdom and love are disconnected from being because wisdom cannot always do what love can do in the realm of faith, while wisdom can do things through moderate will that love cannot do through excessive fervor or little will. Therefore, while wisdom and love are connected to being, they are in opposition when present in one being. It is more likely that they exist in another being where they can be connected without being in opposition, and that is God. If God did not exist, it would follow that wisdom and love would be more connected to non-being where they could be in opposition, rather than to being where they could not be in opposition, and that is impossible. Therefore, it is proven that God exists.

On Love and Perfection

Love and perfection are related to being; and being and perfection are related, while non-being and imperfection are related to non-being. If non-being and imperfection were related to being and completion in humans and other things in the world, it would follow that being and completion would be related to something that is not non-being or imperfection. And if this were not so, then being and completion could not be related to anything, including themselves. Thus, being and completion must be related to something that is not non-being or imperfection. That something is God, who does not contain non-being or imperfection and who embodies being and completion. In humans and other things in the world, there is non-being insofar as they did not exist at some point in time, and there is imperfection insofar as they do not have total completion. However, there is some completion insofar as they exist, which is completion insofar as they are preserved from non-being.

If there were no being in which love and perfection could exist without non-being or imperfection, then love would naturally love imperfection as much as perfection. But this is not true, as imperfection cannot have being or completion. Therefore, it follows that God exists in whom love, being, and perfection coexist without non-being or imperfection. This is because love and perfection coexist in being where there is privation, that is, non-being or imperfection, by the influence of God, which is coexistent with being and perfection without non-being or imperfection. The five flowers that we have discussed show that God exists and that the flowers, which are virtues, are a necessary result of God’s existence. We do not need to exemplify the existence of God through other flowers in this tree since we want to make this book as brief as possible, and we aim to prove resurrection. We will use five flowers in this tree to prove resurrection, which can also be proven by other flowers in this tree. However, in terms of the essence of God, we do not require that the flowers of the first tree exhibit no diversity. But for our understanding, it is clear that they appear differently based on the variety of their work.

On Goodness and Eternity

God’s goodness is eternal, and God’s eternity is God’s goodness.

As eternity is a greater good than what is not eternal, if God created the human body to be lasting, the end, which is the reason why God created the human body, is a greater good than if the body had an end or non-being, which it could have been. Therefore, if the human body is resurrected and lasts forever after resurrection, the goodness and eternity of God will be signified in greater nobility and work. According to the conditions of the trees, God must have a greater nobility, and according to the divine eternal influence, it must be arranged that grace and blessing come to the human body through that influence, through which resurrection is attained, and the human body lasts forever.

On Greatness and Power

In nature, greatness and power are coupled, as by nature, a grain of wheat returns to the grass or tree of its lineage; but it does not return to that same tree, but to another tree. The same applies to the generation of humans, animals, and birds, as by nature, a human is born from another human by generation, but not that same human who died, nor that same animal, but another human and another animal.

If nature had such great power that that same human, and that same animal, and that same tree that died could return to life, then it would have even greater power. But if God did not resurrect that same human who died, it would not demonstrate that his power is greater than the power of nature. Since his power is greater than the power of nature, if he did not do it because his power was greater than that of nature, it would be contrary to his own power, his love, his perfection, his goodness, his wisdom, and the other flowers of the trees, and that is inconvenient. For this inconvenience, it is evident that there will be a resurrection, and that your own body will be resurrected to demonstrate that God has greater power than nature. When the Gentile heard these words and remembers the other proofs mentioned above, his soul, which was troubled, begins to clear up, and his courage begins to rejoice, and therefore he asks the sage if the animals and birds would also be resurrected. And the sage replied no, because animals and birds do not come from reason or free will; and if they were resurrected, God would act against his justice and his wisdom, and that is against the conditions of the trees.

On Eternity and Wisdom

As we have already said, eternity and power are coupled, and power and wisdom are coupled; and therefore it is necessary that eternity and wisdom be coupled. If they were in conflict in God, it would mean that eternity is against the power that is coupled with wisdom, and wisdom is against the eternity that is coupled with power, and that is impossible. For this impossibility, it is evident that eternity and wisdom are coupled; and from this coupling, it is manifested that God himself made justice eternally wise, for if he knew injustice, he could not have made it eternally good.

As many people are wicked in this world, whom God does not punish, and how much people in this world, for the love of God and through works of charity and justice, repent and endure hunger, thirst, cold, torment, and death, and are not rewarded in this world, this signifies the resurrection. For just as a person is that thing that is in this world, good or bad, justice must reward or punish that thing which is a person, which would not be a person if it were less than a human body; and justice would not be coupled with the flowers of this tree, and the flowers would be contrary to each other if there were no resurrection.”

On Power and Love

Lord, said the wise pagan, “as much as the love in a person wants to will, that much they can love; but as much as they can will, they cannot have; and therefore it is demonstrated that their will can love more than have what they want to love. So if power and love were combined in a person in such a way that everything their will could want, they could have, there would be greater harmony, perfection, and equality in a person than if their will did not have the power to have everything they could want to love. As greater harmony, perfection, and equality are more in agreement with being, than lesser harmony, it follows that if there were lesser harmony, perfection, and equality in being, there would be greater disharmony, imperfection, and inequality. And if this were not so, there would be incongruity between being and greater, and there would be more of lesser, and deficiency, and inequality with being, than greater equality and perfection, and this is impossible. For if it were possible, greater and non-being would be combined, and lesser and being, and this is incongruous. Therefore, it is signified that there must be something necessary in which power and love are equally combined, and that love can will and have everything that power can will; and that thing can only be God, for no other thing could have as much as it can will.”

On Wisdom and Perfection

The more perfect the work, the more significant it is of the wisdom of the master who made it. If God created humans with the intention of resurrection and durability, then God had a nobler intention in creating humans than if they were created with the intention of not being durable. And the more noble the intention and the more careful the attention, the greater the work shows, and the greater the nobility and perfection of the work, the more strongly the wisdom of the master is signified. As according to the condition of the first tree, humans already give the greatest nobility to God, and resurrection is signified by the nobility, therefore resurrection is provable and demonstrable.

When the wise person had proven to the pagan that God exists and cares for the flowers of the first tree, and had proven that resurrection could exist, then the other wise person began to prove these same things for the second tree, selecting some of the flowers to prove the same things that the first wise person had proven for the first tree.

The Second Tree

On Goodness and Faith

Faith is a good thing, because one believes in it and loves what the mind cannot understand. And if there were nothing that one could not understand, one would not love it, because one would not know it.

Since one cannot understand everything, and since the mind is directed to understand through faith, because one loves what one does not understand, one desires to understand it. If one understands it, one would not believe in it if one did not desire to understand it, so it is manifest that goodness and faith are connected. And since disbelief, which disbelieves the truth that the mind cannot understand, is a bad thing, because it is contrary to goodness, it is signified that if God exists, the person who believes in him is greater and better, and the person who disbelieves in him is lesser and worse; and there is no greater opposition between goodness and disbelief than there would be if God did not exist.

According to the condition of the fifth tree, the greatest opposition between virtue and vice is more fitting to be, to signify greater virtue and greater vice, because virtue is more lovable and vice is more hateful. For this reason, it is signified and manifest that God exists; because if God did not exist, what made virtue and vice less distinguishable would diversify them more, and what made them more distinguishable would contradict them. And if this were so, virtue would not be so lovable and vice so hateful. Since what makes virtue more loved and vice more defamed is fitting to be with existence, and the opposite with non-existence, God is manifestable to human understanding through divine faith, and the opposite of him are more diverse and more contrary.

On Abundance and Hope

As long as a person has more hope in God’s abundance of goodness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, perfection, mercy, justice, and other virtues that are inherent in God, the more abundance they receive. If there was no abundance in God for these aforementioned virtues, then hope would not multiply abundance for those who hope in God’s virtues. In this case, it would follow that the more a person hopes for these virtues in God, the more their hope would become dissimilar and contrary to God’s virtues. Moreover, other inconveniences would follow, namely that hope would correspond more with less quantity and less with more, which is impossible. Therefore, it is evident that there is abundance in God, namely infinity of goodness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, perfection, mercy, and justice. The abundance of these virtues implies that they exist in God. Without these virtues, such abundance could not exist.

On Eternity and Charity

Humans must have charity, which is love for God, because God is eternal. If humans are resurrected, and through the influence of God’s eternity, they are perpetually enduring in glory, then God’s eternity is more lovable through charity than it would be if humans were not resurrected and were finite. According to the condition of this tree, the greater the harmony between eternity and charity, the more likely they coexist. Conversely, the lesser harmony between the two, the more they are incompatible. Eternity and charity coincide, whereas falsehood and non-existence do not. Therefore, the resurrection proves that there is great harmony between God and creatures through His eternity and charity.

On Power and Justice

Power and justice are related to eternity because in this way God can judge creatures eternally, if the creature could be without beginning, as He cannot judge eternally if the creature is without end. If there were no resurrection, it would mean that if the creature could exist without beginning, then God could not use justice on it eternally. It is significant that God can use eternal justice on creatures without beginning, if they could exist eternally without beginning. Divine wisdom, will, perfection, and other divine virtues have ordered that there should be a resurrection and that justice should have the power to preserve the eternal life of the soul, torture the guilty, and make it last, so that justice is victorious. Resurrection makes the power and justice of God more demonstrable, therefore, according to the conditions of the trees, resurrection is demonstrable.

On Wisdom and Prudence

Prudence is the freedom of the heart that speaks and wants to choose good and avoid evil or to choose greater good and avoid lesser evil. Since prudence is a virtue due to the aforementioned property, the more concordance there is between wisdom and being virtues, the more wisdom is caused to be wisdom by choosing good and avoiding evil, or by choosing greater good and avoiding greater evil. Since the choice of these opposing things requires non-existence, there can be no eternity with prudence. However, even though prudence is related to non-existence and imperfection, it is still prudence. The more concordance there is between wisdom and being, where there is no non-existence or imperfection, the more wisdom there is. If this were not the case, it would mean that wisdom and perfection do not coincide with being, and prudence and imperfection coincide with being. This is impossible because what is of lesser nobility cannot coincide more with being than what is of greater nobility, as being and greater nobility coincide, and non-being and lesser nobility coincide. Since this is so, it is significant that wisdom is in being, and this wisdom is God, as there is no other wisdom without imperfection, which requires non-existence.

On Love and Fortitude

In the heart of a person, love and fortitude are combined, for through love, one can have a noble heart and be strong against wickedness and deceit, which are defamed by the love that cherishes courtesy and kindness. If love makes a person so strong in noble courage against vices, and if a person is a creature, mortal, and subject to many imperfections, then it is even more necessary for God to be love, through which God loves what is good and avoids evil. If this were not so, it would follow that humans are nobler in love, hate, and strength than God, and that is impossible. Therefore, this impossibility shows to the human understanding that God is love.

On Perfection and Temperance

Temperance is in the middle of two extremes, and that is why it is possible for temperance to be associated with imperfection, in that it is possible that there is no middle ground between the two aforementioned extremes due to intemperance. If temperance is associated with being and with perfection, being limited in the middle of two opposite extremes and opposed to them, then the more perfection there can be without being between extremes, the more infinite it is in goodness, greatness, and other flowers of the first tree. If this were not so, it would follow that temperance is more associated with being between two extremes that are associated with imperfection and non-being than with perfection, and that is impossible. Therefore, this impossibility shows the perfection that is God, which is not associated with anything but God. The human body, in that it has a beginning and is mortal, is in the middle of beginning and end. If the body is not resurrected, temperance will be associated with less perfection and will be associated with more if there is a resurrection. If temperance were associated with more perfection, it would give greater significance to the perfection of God who created it. Therefore, the significance that gives greater evidence of the perfection of God should be attributed and loved, and that is why resurrection is a necessary thing to be demonstrated and loved.

The Third Tree

On Goodness and Gluttony

The other [branch] said: Goodness and gluttony are opposed in their being, for goodness preserves being, and gluttony corrupts it, yet they are in the same subject. If goodness, which is a virtue, and gluttony, which is a vice, coincide in one being, then goodness must necessarily be in something where there is no vice, for if it were not so, there would not be such a great opposition between good and evil as there is when good is in something where there is no evil. And since the greatest opposition is what gives the greatest evidence, it is thus indicated that God exists, for if God did not exist, the opposition between good and evil would be less. And if being were more in agreement with less opposition between good and evil, it would be possible for good and evil to be the same thing, which is impossible. Thus, it is indicated that God exists.

On Greatness and Lust

The more lustful a person is, the greater the sin; and where there is a great sin, there is more existence. And if this were not so, then chastity would not coincide with being, nor would lust coincide with non-being, which would be inconvenient. Therefore, the greatness in God is indicated, for if there can be greatness in lust and sin, which coincide with non-being, then it is necessary that there is divine greatness in God, which coincides with being. If there were no greatness of justice in God, who could punish someone for great lust? And if there were no resurrection, in whom would great lust be punished? And if there can be great injury in humans due to great lust, then how much more can there be great justice in God, who possesses goodness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection?

Therefore, for all these reasons, it is clear that there is greatness in God and that resurrection is necessary, for if it were not so, then all the inconveniences mentioned above would arise.

On Eternity and Greed

Greed and generosity are opposite, and generosity and eternity are compatible; and therefore greed and eternity are opposite. If there is a resurrection, God’s justice will punish physically, spiritually, and eternally those who die in the sin of greed; and if there is no resurrection, they will only be punished spiritually. And since the greatest punishment is both physical and spiritual, rather than just spiritual, in order for the punishment to be greater, and since generosity and eternity are more compatible against guilt and greed, the resurrection is given significance. If it were not necessary to give necessary significance to that which more signifies concordance between the virtues of God and the vices that are in man, then it would follow that it is not impossible for there to be concordance between the virtues of God and the vices that are in creature, and that is impossible; and for that impossibility, it is indicated that necessary significance is necessary for that which most signifies concordance between the virtues of God to be used by the creature against the vices that are in man.

On Power and Sloth1

Sloth defames common good and special good; and therefore sloth is contrary to charity, which loves common and special good. And since power and charity are compatible, it follows that power and sloth are incompatible; for if they were not, then either charity would not be compatible with power, or it would not be contrary to sloth. And since sloth has the power to defame good and the power to love evil, which is contrary to good, it is even more necessary for some charity to be so compatible with power that it can love good without being able to love evil. And since such charity and power can only exist in God, God is therefore demonstrable, in which such power and charity as described above can exist, and which cannot exist in anything else except God.

On Wisdom and Pride

Pride and ignorance go hand in hand because a person who is proud thinks they are more honorable and noble than they actually are, which leads to them being despised and looked down upon by others. Therefore, ignorance and pride are related, and because pride is contrary to wisdom, there is a contradiction between wisdom and pride. As ignorance is associated with inferiority and non-being, and wisdom with superiority and being, it is therefore suggested that wisdom exists in some being where there can be no room for pride or ignorance. If this were not the case, then wisdom would not be more fitting to being than pride and ignorance. As wisdom cannot be associated with anything where there is a possibility of ignorance, except for being where there is perfection of goodness, power, and love, it is suggested that wisdom exists in God.

On Love and Envy

Love and justice go together, and as envy is associated with injury, which is contrary to justice, there is an inconsistency between love and envy. As love is good and envy is evil, the greatest inconsistency must be acknowledged, which makes good and evil more opposed to each other. Acknowledging such an inconsistency means acknowledging greater harmony between love and justice against envy and injury, and it means acknowledging that a person deserves greater merit for having more love and justice, and greater guilt for having more envy and injury than for having less. Denying the existence of resurrection means denying greater harmony between love and justice, greater merit, greater guilt, and greater punishment. As denying these things is an inconvenient thing according to the conditions of the trees, resurrection is manifest to human intelligence.

On Perfection and Anger

Anger and charity are opposite, and charity and perfection are in agreement; therefore it follows that perfection and anger are opposite. If they were not, then it would follow that charity and anger are in agreement. And if they were, it would be possible for two opposites to be the same thing, and that is impossible. For if different agreeing things cannot be the same thing insofar as they are different and remain different, then even less can different, opposing, and non-agreeing things be the same thing.

If charity and anger could be the same thing, then anger would not be opposed to perfection. It would follow that charity and perfection could also be in agreement and disagreement equally in the object of being the same thing. As perfection and charity are created in the same way by conjunction, and charity and anger are separated by disjunction, it is therefore significant that perfection and anger signify the resurrection. For if there is a resurrection, anger, which is imperfect and in agreement with it, will be more severely punished than if there were no resurrection. And since anger will have a greater punishment, because it is opposed to perfection, it will show the perfection of God more strongly. If God did not do this to show his perfection, it would be contrary to his very nature, and that is impossible. Therefore, the resurrection is shown to be true.

When the wise man has proven and shown to the Gentile the reasons given in the third tree, then the other sage proceeds to prove them through the fourth tree.

The Fourth Tree

On Faith and Hope

Matter, form, and generation are related to plurality and unity. They relate to plurality through differentiation, which is between matter and form; they relate to unity through their combination to produce a body and a substance through generation. However, matter, form, and corruption are related to plurality and destruction of unity. They relate to plurality insofar as matter and form are different; they relate to the destruction of unity insofar as matter and form are separated, through which separation the body is annihilated and becomes nothing. Given this, if God exists, faith and hope are more related to plurality and unity. They are related to plurality insofar as each demonstrates a greater and nobler virtue if God exists than if God does not exist; they are related to unity insofar as unities are more closely connected to taking the same object if God exists than if God does not exist. And since being is more related to that with which it is more unified and plural, and non-being is more distant from being and unity, and the contrary of unity is more related to non-being against being, it is thus signified that it necessarily follows that that by which faith and hope are more related is being; which is God, without whose being they could not be related as they are. And they are more related to non-being than to being if God were nothing; for if one believes in God’s existence and confidently hopes in God, they are greater than if one does not believe in God or have hope in God. If God were nothing, faith and hope would be more related to that which is not than to that which is, and this is not true. Since it is impossible for that which is not to be a nobler virtue than that which is, God’s existence is manifestable; for without His nobility and multitude of virtues, faith and hope would be more related to what is not than to what is, and that is not true.

On Hope and Charity

Hope waits for charity, and charity loves for hope; for where there is more hope, there must be more charity, and as one loves more strongly what one trusts in, so one loves hope more strongly. Therefore, it is evident that just as physical eyes see through the air, spiritually hope uses its property through charity, and charity through hope. If in a person, where the opposite of hope and charity can exist, there is hope with which charity is consistent and charity with which hope is consistent, it is believed, without comparison, that the charity of God has in God, to whom it is consistent, goodness, greatness, and the other flowers of the first tree. And if there is charity in God with these flowers, it follows that they exist in God, and that there is charity in Him; and if the flowers were not in God, charity in humans would be nobler than charity in God, which is impossible; therefore, this impossibility demonstrates that there are virtues in God without which God could not be nobler than humans. When the pagan hears talk of hope in this way, he then asks if hope is in God. The wise man replies that hope is not present in God, because everything that is in God is God. Since hope shares with faith, which is consistent with ignorance, faith and hope cannot be divine. For if they were, perfection would be inconsistent with goodness, greatness, and the other virtues of the first tree, which is impossible. “Then,” said the pagan, “can God give hope to a person if He does not have hope?” The wise man replied, “God can give hope, bodies, money, and other things to a person, without that person being the things that God gives him, nor is God the things He gives; but in what He gives, God can give what He does not have, insofar as He gives money or other things that are not Him. Similarly, God can give these things more abundantly through creation and possession, just as a person can give money, horses, and castles through possession. Therefore, God is excellent above nature, as He cannot give what He does not have.”

On Charity and Justice

Charity and justice are opposed to anger and injury; and if in finite human beings, in whom the opposite of charity and justice can exist, charity and justice are opposed to anger and injury, then it follows that in God, who is infinite and in whom that opposition cannot exist, charity and justice are opposed to anger and injury. If there is a resurrection, then charity and justice have a greater concordance in God against the anger and injury of the sinner, who is guilty of both bodily and spiritual works, than they would if there were no resurrection. And since the greatest concordance is attributed to God according to the conditions of the trees, resurrection is manifested.

On Justice and Prudence

Justice and prudence are compatible with being human, and being human and eternal are not compatible, since eternity has no beginning or end, while being human is compatible with a beginning and end. If God did not exist, justice and prudence would be eternal, without being human, or they would have a beginning and end themselves or through some other cause that would have a beginning and end. And since justice and prudence cannot be in a being that is generated and mortal, and since nothing can have a beginning and end at the same time, it is therefore evident that God exists, who by creation gives a beginning and end to justice and prudence, which are both human attributes.

On Prudence and Fortitude

If God exists, He can possess more prudence than if God did not exist; and fortitude cannot be greater than its opposite if God exists, than if God does not exist. Because if God exists, it is possible to have infinite goodness, greatness, power, wisdom, love, and perfection. But if God did not exist, it would be impossible for infinitude to be found in the aforementioned things. And because being and greater wisdom and fortitude are related, and non-being and lesser prudence and fortitude are related, it is therefore evident that wisdom and strength exist in God, by the influence of which prudence and fortitude exist in humans.

On Fortitude and Temperance

If there is resurrection, there can be a nobler and stronger courage against sin and guilt, than if there is no resurrection, because hoping for resurrection, bodily well-being in glory celestial is desired. And sin and guilt, the greater they are, the more they are related to non-being, and they are more contrary to being. Therefore, it is necessary that there is being in order for sin and guilt to be more contrary to being, and they are more related to non-being. If there is resurrection, temperance can be stronger in the middle of two vices than if there is no resurrection, desiring bodily well-being in glory, and fearing infernal and bodily punishment. And since the middle, which is more expressly and purely between the two extremes, which are vices, is further from the two extremes than the middle, which is not so perfectly in the habit of temperance, it is necessary that what makes temperance stronger is according to the influence and order of the flowers of the first tree and the conditions of the trees. And if it were not so, it would follow that the opposite of temperance would be more related to majority and being than temperance; and that temperance would be more related to minority and non-being than its opposite, and this is impossible. Therefore, the resurrection is evident by this impossibility. When the wise man proved the aforementioned things through the fourth tree, then the Gentile asked the other wise man to prove, through the fifth tree, that God exists, and that goodness, greatness, and other virtues exist in Him, and that there is a resurrection. However, he wanted to know if God was the creator of the world, or if the world was eternal or not. But the wise man said that in the other books, it would be evident to him that God is the creator of the world, and that the world has a beginning.

The Fifth Tree

On Faith and Desire

If God does not exist, there is an inconsistency between being and occasion and chance. For if God does not exist, chance is more likely to exist than occasion.

As things that are by occasion are more frequent than those that are by chance, and occasion and being are related, while chance is related to non-being, it is therefore evident that God exists, without Whose existence the above mentioned things would be contradictory.

If God does not exist, belief in truth and falsehood would be based on chance, for there would be nothing that directs it to believe in truth or that punishes it for believing in falsehood. The soul would be believing falsehood due to its grace being lifted, and without support to believe in truth. But as reason shows, the soul is directed to believe in truth through the light of divine grace, and by sin, it becomes ignorant of the truth, which is why God exists, who through the light of divine grace illuminates the soul to believe in truth, and through the sins that soul commits, God abandons it, causing it to believe in falsehood at times, thinking it is truth.

The soul, by itself, does not have the power to believe in truth, as it does not understand the truth in which it believes, through necessary reasons. Therefore, whatever it believes to be true, it must be due to a higher power that helps it believe what it cannot believe through its own power alone. And that thing is God, which is a virtue, and virtue and truth are related, while desire is a vice, and vice and falsehood are related, and as truth and falsehood are opposite, so are desire and faith.

If God did not exist, desire and chance would be related equally, but if that were the case, truth and falsehood would be mixed up. As truth is related to being, and falsehood to non-being, it is evident that God exists, through Whose being truth and being are related, and falsehood and non-being are related. This relationship corresponds with occasion and desire, and the conditions of the trees are related.

On Hope and Lust

It is certain that hope and spiritual things are compatible, and lust and physical things are compatible. If there is no goodness, greatness, power, wisdom, love, and perfection in God, which are spiritual virtues, then by hope, which is a spiritual virtue, the soul of humans would be more noble than God. Since this is impossible, it is indicated that God exists, having the aforementioned virtues, without which humans would be more noble and God less noble, and this contradicts the conditions of the trees.

Lust and chastity are opposites. Through chastity, hope waits for the reward by merit of chastity, and through lust, justice gives fear of punishment, and punishment for guilt. If there is no resurrection, the pleasure that humans have from lust is greater than the reward they hope for physically by the merit of chastity, which reward does not exist without resurrection. And since hope, which is a virtue, is compatible with being, and lust, which is a vice, is compatible with non-being, it is indicated that there is a resurrection, in which humans will have physical benefit from chastity and punishment for lust. If it were not so, hope and lust would not be so opposite. And since the greater opposition is compatible with being and the lesser with non-being, according to the condition of this tree, for this reason, the resurrection is manifested.

On Charity and Greed

Charity and generosity are congruent; and since greed is against generosity, charity is against greed and greed is against charity. There is nothing more contrary to the essence of charity than greed, and if charity is in a person in whom greed can exist, then it is even more necessary for charity to exist in something in which greed cannot exist, which is God. And if God did not exist, it would follow that existence could be more contrary than not contrary, which is impossible, since in one and the same entity, one contrary is congruent with non-existence and the other with existence, for they could not be contrary in any other way.

Charity is congruent with spiritual nature, and the soul, due to its corporeal nature, is prone to greed, due to a corrupt ordering of spiritual action and habit. And if God did not exist, corporeal nature would follow its course more often, and it would be more congruent with truth than spiritual nature; and it would follow that the soul would be less noble than the body. However, if the soul were to fail in thinking about God and, instead, to focus on things that do not exist, it would fail more times than the body with its five senses relying on corporeal things. But since the soul is the form and complement of the body, and the body is corruptible and mortal, it is demonstrated that the soul is more noble than the body. And this greater nobility is congruent with greater truth than the body, which is why God’s existence is more manifest. Without God’s existence, the soul could not naturally be congruent with existence and truth as much as the body.

On Justice and Sloth

The human body is neutral, which is why the rational soul is inclined towards merit or fault; for without the body, the soul could not merit justice or fault for sloth, since the body is the instrument by which the soul can perform virtuous or vicious acts. If there is a resurrection, and God rewards in glory the body that was an instrument of justice, and punishes the body in hell that was an instrument of sloth, God’s justice is more in line with human justice, and God’s justice is more contrary to the slothful human than if there were no resurrection. And if this were more in line with being, and this alignment did not exist in being, this alignment would correspond both to being and not being, and the opposite of this alignment would correspond to being and not being, and each of these alignments is a contradiction, which is impossible. Thus, the impossibility of this contradiction makes it clear that there is a resurrection, and through its existence, no inconvenience arises.

On Prudence and Pride

It is possible for a human to have both pride and the opposite of prudence, while currently possessing humility and prudence, whereas pride and prudence are in the stone. And if it were not so, there would be no opposition between the aforementioned opposites. But since the stone is an inanimate object, it is impossible for there to be opposition of virtues or vices in it, as if there were, it would be an animated object. So, if it is impossible for a human to possess imprudence and pride at the same time, it would be impossible for the stone to possess imprudence and pride. This is because it is possible for the opposite of imprudence and pride to exist in a human. Since prudence and humility correspond to being and their opposites to non-being, and since their opposites correspond accidentally to being, in order to correspond prudence and humility to non-being, and since accidentally prudence and humility correspond to non-being due to their opposites, which accidentally correspond to being, it is evident that if pride and imprudence, and prudence and humility have a subject in which they exist, then it is necessary that there be something in which wisdom and humility can exist, and in which imprudence and pride cannot, and that thing is God. And if this were not so, it would follow that stones and inanimate or irrational animate objects would correspond more to being and nobility than humans, inasmuch as there would be no possibility of virtues and vices in a human. And since humans are of a more noble nature than inanimate and irrational animate objects, it follows that there must be some essence more noble than humans, which has virtues, and cannot be subject to vices; and that is the God in whom we believe.

On Fortitude and Envy

Fortitude is a virtue, and envy is a vice. And since virtues and vices are contrary, fortitude and envy are contrary. If in God there is goodness, greatness, power, wisdom, love, and perfection, fortitude resembles God more than if there were none of these aforementioned virtues in God. And the more fortitude resembles God, the more dissimilar and contrary it is to envy. If this were not the case, then fortitude and envy would not be contrary. And since they are contrary, and since fortitude and envy are more contrary if the aforementioned virtues exist in God, it is manifest that in God are the virtues of the first tree. Without them, God and envy would not be as contrary as they are, and fortitude would not be as contrary to envy as it is. And since that for which fortitude is more like God and is more contrary to envy, and since God is more contrary to vices and more like human virtues, is granted, fulfilling the conditions of the first tree, it is manifest that in God there are goodness, greatness, and so on.

On Temperance and Anger

Intemperance and anger could not exist in the soul without the body, and intemperance and anger do not die in the soul of the sinful person who dies in sin, for they die with the death of the body and are more akin to the body than the soul. And as they are more related to the soul than the body, according to the bodily and spiritual nature, and as the soul is immortal, the guilt of intemperance remains in the soul, and so does anger.

And as the body has been the occasion for the soul, the body must be resurrected and punished for as long as the soul endures for intemperance and anger. And if it were not so, there would be a failure of justice and perfection in God, and there would not be such a great contrariety between temperance and intemperance, or between charity and anger, and the conditions of the first tree would be destroyed. And as all these things would be possible if there were no resurrection, resurrection is demonstrated, and human understanding is made manifest.

When the three wise men proved to the Gentile that God exists through the flowers of the trees, and showed him that in God there is goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, love and perfection, and they demonstrated to him the resurrection, and the Gentile remembers and understands the above reasons, and he guards the trees and the flowers, then a divine light illuminates his mind which was previously dark, and his heart is enamored with the path of salvation; and by the power of God the Gentile speaks these words: “Woe to the guilty! For as long as you have received divine gifts in this present life from the Most High, who has given you existence, and you have eaten and drunk his goods, and he has given you your clothing, and he has given you your children and the riches that you have, and he has kept you alive, and has honored you for a long time among the peoples, you have not given thanks for any of these things, nor obeyed his commandments.”

Woe to the miserable wretch! And how have you been deceived by ignorance that has blinded the eyes of your soul, and you have not known this honorable and glorious Lord, worthy of so many honors! When the Gentile spoke these words, he felt his soul delivered from the torments and sorrows, from where error and infidelity had long and grievously tormented him. Who could recount the joy and happiness the Gentile felt? And who could tell the blessings he bestowed upon the three wise men?

The Gentile knelt on the ground and lifted his hands to the sky, and with tearful eyes and fervent heart, he adored and said: “Blessed be the glorious God, Father, and powerful Lord of everything that exists!”

Thank you, my dear, for remembering this sinful man who was at the gate of infinite infernal curse. I adore you, my dear, bless your name, and ask for forgiveness. My hope is in you, I hope for your blessing and grace, and I pray that if my ignorance has caused me to forget you, the knowledge that you have given me will make me love, honor, and serve you. From now on, all my days and all my physical and spiritual strengths will be devoted to honoring and praising you, and nothing else will be in my heart but you. While the Gentile was worshiping our dear God in this way, his soul remembered his land, his father, his mother, his error, and the infidelity in which they had all died. He remembered how many people were in that land who were on the path of everlasting fire, which they ignored and from which they were deprived of grace. As the Gentile remembered these things, he wept bitterly out of pity for his father, mother, relatives, and all those people who had lost the glory of God because they did not love Him, nor know Him, nor obey Him, nor have hope in Him, nor fear His high majesty. He implored the wise men to go to that land, to preach to them, and to teach him how to honor and serve God to the best of his ability, so that, by the grace of God and through their teaching, he could bring many people who were on the path of everlasting fire to the path of salvation. When the Gentile spoke these words, each of the three wise men responded and said that he had converted to his faith and his belief. The Gentile then asked, “Aren’t all three of you in one faith and one belief?” To which the wise men replied, “No, we have different beliefs and faiths, for one of us is a Jew, the other is a Christian, and the other is a Saracen.” “Which of you,” asked the Gentile, “has the better faith, or is any of the faiths true?” Each of the three wise men replied and spoke against the other, each praising his own faith and refuting the other’s. The Gentile, who heard the three wise men argue and each say that his faith was the error by which people lost the celestial blessings and went to eternal punishment, was at first angry and sorrowful. But then his anger turned into greater anger, and his heart was even more troubled, for he was sure that if he was not on the true path, all punishment was prepared to torment his soul after his death, forever. “What a fortune,” he cried, “that has thrown me into such great error, in which my soul is returned to much greater pain than before. How can I endure this?” The Gentile was in great despair and his soul was deeply troubled for a long time. Finally, he humbly begged the three wise men to debate in front of him, and each spoke his reasoning as best he could, in order to see which of them was on the path of salvation. The wise men agreed to this, and before the Gentile arrived, they had already decided to debate, in order to find out who was on the true path and who was in error. One of the wise men said, “What method shall we use in this dispute that we are about to enter into?”. And the other wise man replied, “The best method we can use, and by which we can declare the truth more clearly to this wise and noble man who so passionately requests that we show him the path of salvation, is to use the method that has been given to us by Lady Intelligence, and with the flowers that we have proven to be in God and possess virtues and resurrection, each of us will strive to prove the articles that we believe in, by the faith of which we believe we are in the true path. And he who can most closely align the articles he believes in with the flowers and the conditions of the trees, he will give the significance and demonstration that he is in a better faith than the others.”

Each of the wise men considered this to be a good idea, and each of them hesitated to start first in order to honor the other. But the wise man asked which religion came first, and the wise men replied that it was the religion of the Jews. And so the wise man asked the Jew to start first. Before the Jew began, he asked the wise man and his companions if they would object to his words. And at the request of the wise man, an arrangement was made among the three wise men that one should not contradict the other while he was presenting his argument. For by contradicting, bad intentions arise in the heart, and by bad intentions, the understanding becomes confused. But the wise man asked the wise men that he alone should be allowed to respond to their arguments, according to what he thought, so that he could better understand the truth of the true religion, which he so eagerly desired to understand. And each of the wise men agreed to this request.

The Second Book, Which is About the Beliefs of the Jews

At the beginning, the Jew offered his prayer and said: “In the name of the powerful God, the One in whom we place our hope, who will deliver us from the captivity in which we are.” And when he finished his prayer, he said that the articles in which he believed were eight, namely:

The first article is to believe in one God only.

The second article is to believe that God is the creator of everything that exists.

The third article is to believe that God gave the Law to Moses.

The fourth article is that God will send the Messiah, who will deliver us from the captivity in which we are.

The fifth article is about resurrection.

The sixth is about the day of judgment when God will judge the good and the bad.

The seventh is to believe in heavenly glory.

The eighth is to believe in the existence of hell.

When the Jew had recounted his articles, he began with the first article.

The First Article: On One God Alone

The Jew said to the Gentile that he had many manifest reasons to prove that there is one God alone, but among other reasons, he wants to prove it with four reasons, briefly summarized by the flowers of the trees. Of these four reasons, this is the first: It is evident that man is ordained, as we see, to one end; and nature does everything for the preservation of that end. And this order and natural disposition signify and demonstrate that there is only one God, for if there were many gods, there would follow many ends, and some men would be naturally ordained to love one God, and others would be ordained to love another God; and the same would apply to other creatures, for each creature would differ from the other in signifying the God who had created it. And if each God had not ordained in his creature its goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, and will, it would be imperfect; and if he had, it would be impossible for his gods to exist. For just as it is not fitting for a creature to be a creator, even less so to be imperfect in goodness, greatness, etc. For God requires all nobility, according to the conditions of the trees. The second reason is this: Is God’s greatness infinite or not in essence, in goodness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection? If there were two or three or more gods, it would be impossible for God’s greatness to be infinite in essence and in the virtues mentioned above; and if there were only one God, it is possible that God’s greatness would be infinite in essence through all the virtues mentioned above. And since possibility and being correspond, and impossibility and non-being correspond, it is manifest that there is one God; whose essence is so great in goodness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection, that no other essence or thing can limit or comprehend it, but it limits and comprehends all things within itself and is essentially within and outside all other things, for if it were not, it would be limited and finite.

The Gentile said to the Jew: According to natural operation, it is evident that the four elements are mixed in each compound body, and in that body each element is essentially, virtuously, and actively present; so it is possible that there are many gods, and that some are mixed with others, and that each god’s greatness is infinite in essence through all virtues and places.

The Jew replied and said: It is certain that in a composite body, each element terminates in the other, according to its own virtue; for the power of fire terminates in the power of water, which is its opposite, and the power of water in the power of fire, and the same follows for air and earth. And just as they terminate in each other in virtue, so does the operation of each terminate in the operation of the other, because their works are diverse and contrary. And for this reason, each element must be simple, and by itself, and without the other elements; for it would be more in agreement with its own being and its own virtue, if it could exist without the others, than if it were mixed with them. And therefore, it is evident that if there were many gods, the power and goodness, et cetera, of each would be limited and finite in the power, et cetera, of the others; and it would be better to have one God who is in his essence and power, et cetera, than all those gods. And it would be more fitting, since it would be impossible for him to have envy, pride, and imperfection if he were mixed with other gods. And as the greater nobility, and that which God most agrees with being, must be attributed to him according to the condition of the first tree; and as faith, hope, charity, et cetera, can be more consistent with goodness, greatness, et cetera, and can be greater and more contrary to vices, it is demonstrated by these conditions that one God must necessarily exist.

The third reason is this: If there is one God who is in one place alone, and another God is a part of that God in another place, and another God is a part of that God in that place, it is fitting that there is an infinite God who terminates and comprehends those gods, and that he is more fitting to be God than the others. And if this is so, it follows that the greater God would be infinite, the lesser gods finite, and the greater God would be terminated and finite in the lesser gods, according to the physical properties that are attributed to everything that is confined to a place, that is, high and low, right and left, front and back. And if this were the case, it would mean that he has a body. And if his body were finite, then all bodies would be finite, because they are confined to form, surface, and matter. Since it is contradictory for God to be finite and infinite, and the greater God would be finite in the lesser gods and infinite in part of the lesser gods, it is evident that it is impossible for there to be many gods, but only one God, without whose unity and singularity he would not have perfection of goodness, greatness, et cetera.

The Gentile said: “It is possible that there is one God in one place, and another God in another place, and thus there may be many Gods, infinite in works and finite in number.”

The Jew replied: “Perfection of goodness, greatness, eternity, power, and so on, requires infinity of essence where there is perfection of goodness, greatness, and so on, and it cannot be in things that are limited to a place and multiplied in number, for in an infinite number there cannot be perfection of goodness, greatness, and so on in each of the things that are included in essence; for if it were so, perfection, goodness, greatness, and so on in a finite thing would be as noble as in an infinite thing, and that is impossible. Therefore, the impossibility is indicated that perfection of goodness, greatness, and so on, is required in an infinite essence in goodness, greatness, and so on, and it cannot be in many finite and diverse essences, for if it were so, it would be the same to have perfection in an infinite thing as in a finite thing, and that is impossible.”

The fourth reason is this: hope can be formed better by trusting in one God, Lord of all things; and charity can be formed better by loving one God who is infinite in goodness, greatness, and so on, than if there were many gods or if one God were divided into two or three parts. And since hope and charity are related to greatness, they are related to truth, and their opposite to falsehood, according to the conditions of the trees. Therefore, it is evident that there is only one God.

The Gentile said, “It is possible that there is one God in one place, and another God in another place, and thus there could be many gods, infinite in work and finite in quantity.”

The Jew responded, “Perfection of goodness, greatness, eternity, power, and so on, require an infinity of essence where there is perfection of goodness, greatness, and so on. And it is incompatible with things that are limited in place and multiplied in number, because in an infinite number, there cannot be perfection of goodness, greatness, and so on in each of the things that are included in that essence. If it were so, perfection, goodness, greatness, and so on would be the same in a finite thing as in an infinite thing, and that is impossible. Therefore, perfection of goodness, greatness, and so on, require an infinite essence in goodness, greatness, and so on, and not many finite or composite essences, because if that were the case, perfection would be the same in a finite thing as in an infinite thing, and that is impossible.”

The fourth reason is related to the development of hope and charity, which can only be fully realized by trusting and loving one God who is infinite in goodness, greatness, and so on. The Jew argues that the nobility of these virtues requires an object that is perfect and infinitely great, rather than one that is limited or composite. The Gentile responds that one could love a God who is limited or composite, but the Jew counters that this would imply a lack of perfection in the object of one’s love.

The Jew then proceeds to argue that the existence of a malevolent God is impossible, since such a God would be contrary to the good God, and the good God would not possess goodness, greatness, eternity, power, and so on, if He did not exclude the malevolent God. Moreover, the existence of a malevolent God would imply a lack of nobility in the created will, which is contrary to the nobility of the Creator.

The Jew then asks the Gentile if he is satisfied with the proof of the unity of God presented by the four reasons or if he wants more. The Gentile replies that he is satisfied but would like to know more about the nature of God. The Jew responds that in this life, humans can only know what God is not, but not what He is, since God is beyond human comprehension. The Jew further argues that the nature of God cannot be fully understood in this world, but only in the next.

The Second Article: On Creation

It is proven that God is the creator of all things, as evidenced by the flowers of the five trees, among others, and by each of these flowers, a clear demonstration is given.

On Goodness and Eternity

Eternity is a good thing, since being and existence are compatible with eternity, and eternity and goodness are compatible with being. If eternity were an evil thing, being and goodness would be opposed to existence and eternity. If this were so, all humans, plants, and animals would naturally desire non-existence, which is impossible, as everything that exists desires to exist and abhors non-existence.

The Jew said to the Gentile: If the world is not eternal, and God did not create it, then the world must have had a beginning, either from itself or from something else. The world cannot have had a beginning from itself, since nothing can give rise to itself, for if it did, something would come from nothing. If the world had a beginning from something other than God, and that something had a beginning from something else, and so on to infinity, and if God is not the beginning of any of these beginnings and creations, then goodness is more compatible with a created beginning than with eternity, which is impossible. This impossibility means that if the world had a beginning, it must have had a beginning from eternal goodness or from something that had a beginning from eternal goodness. Since we have proven that there is only one God in whom eternal goodness resides, it is evident that if the world had a beginning, it must have had a beginning from God or from something that had a beginning from God.

If the world is eternal and not created, then it is equal in durability to God’s eternity. However, since the world is divisible into parts that have decay, evil, and corruption, namely the things that are limited in quantity, corruptible, mortal, passible, and ignorant, and since these things are evil insofar as they lack goodness, the world is not as good as eternal goodness, which has no division, decay, or evil, and is eternal insofar as it has no parts or finite things. Therefore, it is evident that the goodness in the world has a beginning, for if it had no beginning, it would be as good as eternal goodness. And if the created good has a beginning, then the evil that accompanies it must also have a beginning, for if evil were eternal without beginning, then eternity would be incompatible with goodness, since it would be compatible with the opposite of goodness, which is evil, and this is impossible. This impossibility means that the world is created and has a beginning.

The Gentile asked the Jew if God had created evil.

The Jew replied that evil can be considered in two ways: culpable evil and penal evil. Culpable evil is opposed to goodness and must have been created, while penal evil is necessary for the perfect justice of God to punish sin and for the perfect wisdom of God to signify the good of grace. Therefore, penal evil must have been created by the sovereign eternal goodness.

On Greatness and Power

Greater power signifies that God is the only one who created the world, than if the world were eternal; for it takes greater power to create such a vast and beautiful world out of nothing, than it would if God had not created it. And because the greatness and power of God are so closely connected, it is evident to the human understanding that the world was created from nothing, and that it had a beginning. If the world were eternal and enduring either by its own power or by the power of God, it would be incongruous for it to have an end in terms of quantity, time, or durability, and it would not be necessary for God to have created it. Moreover, it would be less fitting for the world to have a finite and transitory existence than for it to have had a beginning and to have been created by God, since it is more natural for something that comes from nothing to not exist than for something that is eternal to have never existed. And since it is more difficult to bring something into being from nothing, and to keep it in existence, than it is to prevent something from coming into being or to make it cease to exist, the more power there is in God, the less likely it is that the world will revert to nothingness. Therefore, the greater the power, the greater the goodness in God is implied. It is strange and inconsistent to think that the goodness and power of God, which are synonymous with eternity that had a beginning and an end, should cease to exist, while it is more consistent to think that the world, which was created and came from nothing, should cease to exist. Thus, in considering that the power of God is so great that he could have brought the world into existence, even if it were eternal, it is reasonable to consider that God could have not existed if goodness were eternal. Conversely, in considering that the world was created and that God could give it an end, since he created it from nothing, it is far-fetched to consider that God could not have existed. And since the consideration that most accords with the great divine power is the most convincing, it is evident that the world was created by the great divine power.

On Perfection and Charity

Perfection and charity signify in the things of this world that the world is created; for fire and the other elements attain their perfection by generating and corrupting things that are generable and corruptible, in which they do not find their perfection. And that is why they day and night do nothing but generate and corrupt by their natural desire, which they have in their fulfillment. If the world were eternal without beginning, there would be no decay in the elemental natural desire and there would be no generation and corruption, and there would be no first man, no first tree, no first beast, no first bird, and so on with the other things. And if there were no first in the things mentioned, it would be impossible for there to be last. And if there were no first or last, the elements would be infinitely imperfect and would desire perfection but never achieve it, and that is inconvenient and contrary to the influence of divine perfection, which is equally and eternally the cause of imperfection and the desire for perfection. And this desire for perfection would be imperfect if it were eternal and never achieved fulfillment. And because this is inconvenient according to divine perfection and love, it is demonstrated that the world is created and that imperfection has a beginning, for which fulfillment is signified.

The Jew said to the Gentile: “We have shown and proved by bodily nature that the world is created. Now we want to prove it by spiritual nature, that is, by the soul. It is manifest to human intelligence that the rational soul cannot be fulfilled in this world. And that is why, just as bodily elements move toward their fulfillment by generating and not finding it, as we have said above, the spiritual soul also moves toward its fulfillment and does not find it, for it has only one thing that it desires to have always and does not desire anything else. And since this is imperfection of charity, it is signified that the soul is created, for if it were eternal, it would have no imperfection. And if it had imperfection, the sovereign perfection and love, that is, God, would be the cause of eternal imperfection, and that is impossible and contrary to the conditions of the trees. And because of this impossibility and contradiction, it is signified that the soul is created. And by the creation of the soul, it is signified that the nature of the body is created, for if the soul, which is of a nobler nature than the nature of the body, is created, it is even more necessary that the body be a creature. For if it were not, the nobler thing would be reduced to non-being, and the less noble to being and eternity. And that is contrary to the perfect charity of our creating God.

On Perfection and Justice

Perfection and justice are consistent with God. As it is proven in the first book, that resurrection is true, it is signified, by resurrection and by what is written above, that the world is created. For if the world were eternal, it would follow that God would eternally create elemental matter, from which rational bodies are composed. But the elemental matter of this world would not suffice for so many animated bodies, resurrected with merit or fault, which ought to be resurrected, according to God’s perfect justice. And since it is not fitting to attribute to God the infinite creation of ordial matter or place, nor that God lacks perfect justice, it is inconvenient to deny creation. To affirm that the world is eternal without beginning is a denial which denies that the world has a finite quantity, or that it is located in a finite place, and is a denial which implies the affirmation that God eternally creates souls, and bodies, and infinite places in number. And this is impossible, against the conditions of the trees, and is a contradiction.

On Eternity and Pride

If eternity and pride were consistent, it would follow that eternity is consistent with pride against humility, which is consistent with goodness, greatness, power, wisdom, love, and perfection, and this is impossible. Therefore, by this impossibility it is signified that eternity and pride are incompatible. By this inconvenience it is signified that the nature which is subject to pride, that is, human nature, is incompatible with eternity. And by this inconvenience, it is given a manifestation that the world is created.

The Gentile replied and said: Humility and pride are contrary, and human beings are subject to humility. Therefore, if human nature is consistent with eternity, which is consistent with humility, human nature is eternal by humility, and it is created by pride.

The Jew replied: That in which divine eternity is consistent with humility against pride in human beings, is by the influence of the gift of grace given to human beings against the punishment of pride. And therefore, a certain eternity is signified which is called “aevum” in Latin, and is an eternity that has a beginning and no end, and is created by the sovereign eternity that is without beginning or end. The sovereign eternity has created it to reward human beings for humility and to punish them for pride, so that human beings, without end, may have a connection to the flowers of the first tree. If the world were eternal, then human beings would be of eternal nature, and would exist in an eternal place. And the eternity of God would not be contrary to pride or to human arrogance, as it is if the world is created. For pride, human beings, their nature, and the place in which they exist would be as durable as the eternity of God. And since, according to the conditions of the third tree, God’s virtues are more opposed to vices, it must be acknowledged that if the world is created, then God’s virtues are more clearly opposed to pride than if the world were eternal. Therefore, it is signified that the world is created.

On Hope and Charity

If the world is created, there is greater harmony between hope and charity in loving God and trusting in Him, and their opposites, which are vices, are more contrary to their opposites than if the world were eternal. For God has shown greater grace to man by making him something that he was not, that is, a being that was not eternal, and by providing him with what he needs to sustain himself. And the greater the grace that God has shown to man, the greater the charity that man can have towards God; and the greater the charity that man can have towards God, the greater the hope that he can have in Him; and the greater the hope and charity that man can have, the greater the love that God has and can have for him. And there is no inconvenience that follows if the world is created. But if the world is eternal, it follows with inconvenience and contradiction. And so, by this inconvenience and contradiction, it is signified that the world is not eternal. And if it were not so, it would follow that hope and charity are associated with non-being and imperfection, and their opposites are associated with being and perfection, which is impossible and contrary to the conditions of the fourth tree.

On Prudence and Sloth

Prudence and sloth are opposite in that prudence is a virtue and sloth is a vice. If the world is eternal and prudence is present, sloth would not be as contrary to prudence and other virtues as it would be if the world were created, because sloth defames and makes one negligent and idle, and takes pleasure in evil, which is more in line with non-existence, since it desires what does not exist and defames what does. If prudence knew that the world was eternal, it would assert that sloth would be more in line with non-existence than existence, and this is impossible because it would be self-contradictory. If the world were eternal, sloth, being an eternal subject, would be more in line with existence than if its subject, i.e., human beings, were not eternal. Since the work of sloth is contrary to existence, it is more in line with non-existence if the world is created than if it is eternal. Therefore, since the eternity of the world contradicts what prudence would assert, and prudence and sloth are more opposite if the world is created, it is signified that the world is not eternal, which is something that cannot be self-contradictory. It is also in line with the conditions of the fifth tree that what makes prudence and sloth more contrary must be affirmed.”

The Gentile said, “I am satisfied with the meaning and the manifestation by which you have proven that the world is created. But please tell me, what was God doing before the world was created? For nothing is nobler than God, if He is eternal and His creation has a beginning.”

The Jew said, “The philosophers2 mostly try to prove that the world is eternal in order to give honor to the first cause, that is, God, from whom the philosophers trace everything back and assert that if God is eternal, then what is caused by Him, that is, the world, must also be eternal. But we who believe that the world is created honor God more and attribute greater honor to Him, because we say that God has an eternal work within Himself, loving and understanding Himself, and glorifying Himself, and understanding all things, and we say that this work is prior to the work that God did, and which brought forth the world, which the philosophers did not do, because they did not recognize the work that God has within Himself and did not attribute to Him a work that is within Himself, but a work that is not within Himself, namely, the world; and they said that it is equal to Him in eternity. And so, according to the first condition of the first tree, one can attribute greater nobility to God, and therefore it is demonstrated that the world is created by God, who is the first cause, and that the work He has within Himself came before the caused work, that is, the world.”

The Gentile said to the Jew, “I cannot understand in any way how something can be created out of nothing.”

The Jew said, “Nature is human understanding, which understands differently whether a thing exists or not, and how the thing is made; and by the conveniences and inconveniences mentioned above, it is proven that God is the creator. But the way in which God makes something out of nothing, human understanding cannot understand in the created thing. And why is that? Because the understanding in nothing understands nothing, and because understanding cannot understand how the thing is made from what it does not understand; therefore, you cannot understand in that which you do not understand. But in the perfect divine will, which has perfect power and perfect wisdom, you can understand that God can create something out of nothing, because His will can desire it, His power can do it, and His ability can make it. It is clear to your understanding that you have a soul and a body, but the way in which the soul is joined to the body, that it cannot understand. And so, if in something that is within yourself your understanding fails to understand, how much more does it fail to understand in something that is not within you? It is enough for you to understand whether a thing exists or not in this world, and you do not need to know about how the thing was created or not.”

The Gentile said to the Jew, “The firmament, the celestial bodies, and their movements are not corruptible, and therefore it is indicated that they are eternal without beginning.”

The Jew replied, “Insofar as the firmament and the celestial bodies are finite in quantity, they signify that they are created; for eternity, as it is understood with duration that has a beginning and an end, is also understood with a quantity that is finite, terminated, confined, and movable; and this is the firmament that generates time in the first and the last, by which the eternity is indicated. Therefore, the reason why the firmament, the celestial bodies, and their movements are not corruptible is that God has created them incorruptible to show His great power. For if God had not created corruptible things, he would not have demonstrated his great power, which can create or destroy incorruptible things as easily as corruptible ones. But since the philosophers did not have a perfect understanding of divine power, wisdom, and will, nor of his perfection, and they saw that the firmament and celestial bodies were incorruptible, they held the opinion that they were eternal, without beginning or end, and for this reason denied creation.”

The Third Article: On the Law That God Gave to Moses

To prove that God gave a law to Moses, we must gather flowers from the five trees that demonstrate it. We will provide this proof as succinctly as possible.

On Goodness and Greatness

If God has given a law to his people which includes commandments on what one should do to honor and obey God and to receive blessings, as well as what one should not do to avoid God’s curse, then this signifies greater goodness in God and greater significance in the heavenly reward and infernal punishment. If God had not given a law or commandments, then goodness and evil would be in discordance, as doing good is aligned with existence and doing evil is aligned with non-existence. Commandment is aligned with existence and non-commandment is aligned with non-existence.

If the commandment to do good and avoid evil is aligned with existence, then non-commandment is aligned with non-existence, and doing evil is aligned with non-existence, which is in discordance with existence and doing good. Therefore, if God had not given a law and commandments to do good and avoid evil, God would have created discordance between commandment, existence, and doing good.

Since God is supposed to be good according to the conditions of the trees, it is clear that God has given a law to humanity. The glory of heaven and the punishment of hell are so great that God’s commandments are necessary for humans to attain eternal life. If temporal things, which are of little importance, require commandments and laws, how much more so do the great celestial and infernal things, which are without end.

If laws and commandments were not given by God’s goodness, then it would follow that God’s goodness is more aligned with things of little value and less so with things of great importance. This would also mean that the material cause is the final cause and the final cause is the material cause, and that lesser goods are greater than greater goods, and greater evils are lesser than lesser evils. This is impossible, so it follows that God’s great goodness is evidenced by his giving a law and commandments to humanity.

On Eternity and Power

It is incongruous that eternity and power are not in accord in the work of God. If God has given a law to humanity and commanded what should be done and avoided, then humans are better directed to do good and avoid evil than if there were no law. If humans do good, divine power is more in harmony with them, giving them eternal glory, and if they do evil, divine power is more in harmony with them, giving them infinite punishment. If there were no law, divine power would not be as relevant to God’s work, and divine eternity and power would not be as congruous in judging humans for eternal glory or eternal punishment. Therefore, the fact that God has given a law is demonstrated to the intellectual mind.

On Wisdom and Prudence

Wisdom and perfection are congruous in God, and from this congruity flows the influence on prudence, which is congruent with the wisdom of God. If God has given a law, prudence is more in accord with the wisdom of God, from which it derives greater influence, including strength against vices and love for God and one’s neighbor. If there were no law, falsehood and error would befall all those who believe that a law was given, and it would follow that prudence would be more in accord with the wisdom of God in those who believe falsehood and error than in those who do not believe that a law was given, and this is impossible. If it were possible, then falsehood, error, and ignorance would be good things, and their opposites would be bad, and prudence would be more in accord with strength and charity through ignorance than through wisdom, and this is impossible. Therefore, it is evident that God has given a law.

On Power and Justice

Justice and ignorance are opposite in humans; and therefore justice and wisdom are aligned in humans. Where humans do not have the power to judge what they do not know, then there is a deficiency of power in justice; but where humans have wisdom and do what they ought to judge, then their justice has power. While in humans, who are creatures, mortal and finite, there is a concordance between power and justice, it is even more fitting that there is concordance between the divine power and the created justice in humans. For if there were not, the concordance between one created virtue and another would not come from the influence of the uncreated virtues, and that is impossible; therefore, this impossibility indicates that the created justice and the divine power are aligned in giving power and grace to justice, and in receiving grace for justice, such that it is against ignorance and injury. If God has given law, then God’s power has illuminated justice with the light of wisdom in what is allowed to be done, judged, and avoided. And if God has not given law, then justice is only illuminated by natural law.

And when created justice has greater fortitude against ignorance and injury through the grace and natural law of law, than through natural law alone, if God does not make use of his power to give what causes created justice to have greater power against injury and ignorance, then it follows that divine power is aligned with sloth, and that is against divine perfection and love, and that is impossible, and against the conditions of the trees; therefore, the impossibility and contradiction show the manifestation of the grace of law.

On Faith and Hope

Through faith, humans have belief in God, and through hope, they wait for grace and blessing from God. If God has given law of grace, then faith and hope are more strongly aligned; and if God has not given law of grace, then they are not so strongly aligned in contemplating God. If the law of grace were not pleasing to the will of God and God did not love giving it to humans, then it would follow that faith and hope were less pleasing to the will of God in contemplating God and His glory, and that is impossible and against the conditions of the trees. For if it were possible, it would follow that the will of God is contrary to goodness, greatness, and perfection, and is aligned with sloth and envy, and that is impossible. Therefore, this impossibility shows that God has given law of grace so that faith and hope are more aligned in being against their opposite, which is aligned with non-being.

On Temperance and Gluttony

Temperance and gluttony are opposites, and therefore temperance is in agreement with obedience, and gluttony with disobedience. If the grace of the law is given, it follows that commandments are given against gluttony, which is in agreement with non-being, to strengthen temperance, which is in agreement with being. If grace is not given, it follows that the grace of God is contrary to being, and that it is in agreement with non-being. If it were so, it would be signified that God and non-being are in agreement with gluttony against being and temperance, and this is impossible and contrary to the conditions of the trees, and against this art. For this impossibility, the grace of the law is manifested.

The Jew said to the Gentile: “I could signify and demonstrate to you the grace of the law, which God gave to the prophet Moses on Mount Sinai, through many other flowers besides the five trees; in this law the ten commandments are written, and there are many other commandments, and in this law the creation of the world and the beginning of the first parents were revealed to Moses.”

But since we have already exhausted the reasons by which we have proven that God has given the grace of the law, and since it burdens our companions to speak many superfluous words, I will not speak of all the flowers of the trees by which the grace of the law can be proven.

I am satisfied, said the Gentile to the Jew, “with what you have said, but tell me the truth: do Christians and Saracens believe in the law that you speak of?”

The Jew replied: “It is certain that Christians and Saracens believe that God has given the law to Moses, and each one believes that our law is true. But since they believe in other things that are contrary to our law, when they believe in what is contrary to our law, they depart from our law. But we differ in the interpretation and in the glosses that are contrary, and therefore we cannot agree on authorities, and we make necessary arguments that we can agree upon. But Saracens agree with us in part with the text, and in part we dispute it; and for this reason they say that we have changed the text of the law, and we say that they have a text that is contrary to ours.”

The Fourth Article: On the Coming of the Messiah

The Jew said to the Gentile: We believe in the coming of the Messiah who will deliver the people from captivity, that is, the Jews, and will be a prophet and messenger of God. To prove that the Messiah will come, we need to gather the flowers of the trees with which we prove it.

On Greatness and Wisdom

In God there is great wisdom, which has created and ordered everything that exists. And since the world is the work of God, it must be ordered; for if it were not, the work created and made by the great wisdom of God would not signify great wisdom in God, since the more perfect and ordered the work, the more significant is the master who has ordered it. We have proved that God has given us the law. If the law that God has given us did not have a subject on which it could be and remain ordered, the greatness of the wisdom that gave us the law would be less significant. Since we rely on the bondage of all peoples, due to the failure of our first parents, and due to the bondage in which we are, we cannot keep and fulfill the law that God has given us, which we would have and could keep and fulfill more easily if it were ordered according to its nature, if we had it. Therefore, it is necessary for God to send the Messiah to deliver us from the bondage and captivity we are in, and to have freedom, and to have kings and princes as we used to have. And if this were not the case, the great wisdom of God would be contrary to the holy law that he has given us. And since it is impossible and contrary to the conditions of trees that God is opposed to his work, it is evident that the Messiah will come.

On Goodness and Charity

The goodness of God and the charity that we have towards God are in agreement. If they were not in agreement, it would follow that charity is not a virtue, or that in God there is not perfect goodness; and each of these two inconveniences is impossible. Since we, through great charity that we have towards God, have endured and sustained for a long time the heavy captivity in which we are, in which we are much oppressed and despised by the people of the Christians and Saracens, by whom we are forced and compelled to toil and to receive tributes every year; and we love to sustain and endure all this to show our love for God and not to abandon the law or the way in which we are led, it is necessary that the goodness of God, who is full of mercy and grace, moves to pity us and sends us His messenger who will deliver us from this captivity, to love, honor, and serve Him. If the goodness of God did not help us or come to our aid in our labors and tribulations, especially because we could have liberty if we wanted to abandon the law in which we are, it would mean that in the goodness of God there is no perfection of greatness, power, and love; and this is impossible. Therefore, by this impossibility, our charity and hope make it clear that God, in His great goodness, will send Messiah to deliver us from the captivity in which we are.

The Gentile asked the Jew: “Have you been in this captivity for a long time?”

The Jew replied: “We have been in two previous captivities, one lasting 70 years and the other 400 years, but this one has been for more than 1400 years. Of the first two captivities, we knew the reason why we were in them, but of this captivity, we do not know why we are in it or why we are not delivered from it.”

The Gentile said to the Jew: “It is possible that you trust in some sin, by which you go against the goodness of God, and in which sin you do not think you are, nor do you ask forgiveness from the goodness of God, which is in agreement with justice; for which justice does not want to deliver you until you confess your sin and ask for forgiveness.”

On Power and Hope

The Jew said to the Gentile: It is clear that hope is a virtue, for if it were not, despair would not be a vice. Therefore, since power and hope are in us, in that we hope in God to help us to escape from the captivity in which we are, in which hope we could not be if we did not have the power to hope; and since the power of God is greater than ours, if our power, which is less, is consistent with virtue, even more so the power of God, which is greater, must be consistent with our hope. And if it were not so, it would mean that our power and our hope, which rely on the power of God, are more consistent than the power of God with our hope. And since this is impossible, for if it were possible, our power would be more perfect than the power of God, it is impossible that the divine power does not send us deliverance from our captivity, from which we hope for deliverance through the great power that is in the power of our Maker, God. All the Jewish people hope that by the power of one man, that is, the Messiah, all the power of the men of this world, under whom we are in bondage, may be overcome and defeated. This indicates that the power of God is great, who will give to that man, that is, the Messiah, such great power, and has ordained that we have hope in that through one man we may hope to be delivered from the bondage under which we are with so many men. Therefore, God has ordained that we have faith in the captivity in which we are, and that we have faith that we will be delivered by the power of God through the power of one man alone. And for this reason, it is proven that the Messiah must come for us to be delivered, and thus we have greater hope, and have greater understanding of the power of God. And since this is consistent with our being and the conditions of the trees, it is signified that the Messiah is the one who is to come for our deliverance, and to fulfill our hope.

On Faith and Justice

Faith and justice are connected in the Jewish people, because we believe that the tribulations we endure in captivity are for the justice of God. Therefore, our faith and justice are connected to the justice of God, which requires our faith and justice. If it were not so, it would mean that our concordance and charity are more in line with our faith and justice than with the justice and charity of God, which is impossible. This impossibility indicates that God will send the Messiah to deliver us, and without this sending and deliverance, it would not be clear that the justice and charity of God are as much in line with created virtues as created virtues are in line with uncreated ones. According to the conditions of trees, the concordance of uncreated justice and charity with created virtues is more feasible than the concordance of created virtues with uncreated ones. Therefore, it is clear that the Messiah will come, and he will be sent with divine justice and charity, which will satisfy our faith and justice.

As we are more tormented and oppressed by captivity and are aware that we suffer justly, and as we understand less why we are in captivity, our faith and justice are stronger. Our sense of justice is more pronounced because we judge that we should endure the tribulations from which we could escape if we wished. This truth of the greater concordance of faith and justice with magnitude and being against their opposites, which are more aligned with less and non-being, necessitates the advent of the Messiah. Therefore, the divine order, which is not contrary to the magnitude of faith and justice, must send the Messiah to deliver the people of Israel.

On Fortitude and Pride

In fortitude, humility is in agreement with virtue; and in pride, strength is in agreement with vice. And since pride and humility are opposites, the strength of humility and pride is different and contrary. And since virtue is in agreement with being, and vice with non-being, the strength that is in agreement with humility overcomes and conquers the strength that is in agreement with pride. And if this were not the case, it would follow that virtue is not in agreement with being, nor vice with non-being; or that strength is in agreement with non-being, and weakness with being, which is impossible. For this reason, the strength that is in humility in the hearts of the Jews conquers and overpowers the strength that is in pride in the hearts of the Christians and the Saracens.

Despite the many insults and torments, and many captivities that the Jewish people have suffered, they were not conquered or made to abandon the faithful law that God gave to Moses. Since this is the case, and since fortitude is in direct opposition to the pride that exists in the Christians and Saracens, who hold us captive due to their pride, it is true, according to the conditions of the tree where this flower of fortitude and pride is written, that God must send the Messiah to completely destroy the pride of the Christians and Saracens who hold us captive, and that we may be lords while they are our slaves and captives.

How so? asked the Gentile to the Jew, “If I, who am free, were to become a Jew, would I be in the captivity you are in? And to come out of my error, would I become a slave through sin, as you say you are, and thus be in captivity because of that sin?” “This,” said the Jew, “does not seem to me to be in agreement with the ordinance that should be established by divine wisdom, goodness, power, and justice. A better order, which would be more in agreement with the conditions of the tree, would be for someone who is free in body and sensual pleasure, but a captive in error in his soul, to enter into bodily freedom while abandoning his error. He could better keep his faith and not move from one error or sin to another, which is not the same as sinning out of ignorance, which results in captivity.”

The Fifth Article: On Resurrection

The Jew said to the Gentile: In this article of resurrection, there is no need to give any other proof; for it is already manifestly proven in the first book. And I am well satisfied with that proof, and blessed be their trees, their conditions, and their flowers, which have illuminated my soul to have hope in resurrection. However, I must inform you that the Jewish people have become divided into three opinions on this article of resurrection. The first opinion is this: Some Jews are those who do not believe in resurrection, and they assign this reason, namely, that the body, being corruptible by nature, cannot be restored to the same being it had before death, nor could it sustain itself without food and drink, nor could it endure the infernal punishments, and paradise is not a place for bodies, since the body is not in any way necessary in order to maintain its weight. And for these reasons, and many others, they deny and despise resurrection. But I am not of that opinion, rather I believe in resurrection, and I am certain that divine power, which has perfection in all things, can hold the body in heaven, given that it is not a natural place for the body, just as the soul dwells in this world, which is a place of corporeal things. And just as God, by his power and his virtue, has created the soul incorruptible and immortal, likewise, after the resurrection, he can preserve the body and give it an immortal nature, without food or drink, wherever it may be, to demonstrate his power and his justice. And if God did not have this power, the flowers of the first tree would not be perfect, and all the conditions of the trees would be destroyed.

The second opinion is that some Jews believe that resurrection will come after the end of the world, and after the resurrection, there will be peace in the whole world, and there will be only one race of people, and it will be that of the Jews, and they will have wives and children, and they will eat and drink, and they will not sin, and they will be in this state for a long time. However, they say and believe that a time will come when all will die, and from then on there will be no resurrection, and the souls of those people will have glory, without the body being resurrected. There are many Jews of this opinion, and I was of this opinion before I came to this place, and I had no knowledge of the flowers of the aforementioned trees, as is indicated in the first book.

The third opinion is that some Jews believe in resurrection, and they believe that everyone will be resurrected after the end of the world; and those good men will have eternal glory, and the wicked will have punishment for a certain time; and then, since God will have punished them for the sins they committed in this present life, he will forgive them and give them glory forever. However, some men will remain in hell forever, and these are of a small number, and they are so guilty that they are not worthy of any time being forgiven them. In this opinion, I am and wish to be, confident that there are fewer Jews than in the other aforementioned opinions.

The Gentile said: I am greatly amazed at you Jews, how is it possible that you are divided and separated into different opinions on this necessary article? And so, it seems to me that your divisions are due to a lack of knowledge or contempt for the other faith.

“Sir,” said the Jew, “we are so eager to regain the liberty in which we used to be in this world, and we are so convinced that Messiah will come and deliver us from the captivity we are in, that we hardly pay attention to the other religions. Moreover, we are occupied and burdened by living among the people who hold us captive, to whom we pay a great tribute every year, as otherwise they would not allow us to live among them. Furthermore, you should know that we have another obstacle, which is that our language and writing are in Hebrew, which is not as commonly used as other languages, and it is abbreviated due to a lack of education. Therefore, we do not have as many books on philosophy and other subjects as we need. However, we have a science among us called Talmud, which is great, very sophisticated, and subtle. It is so great and so sophisticated that it keeps us from being familiar with other religions, especially since through this science we are inclined to do what is right, so that we can enjoy the benefits of this world.”

The Sixth Article: On the Day of Judgment

This article is provable by the flowers of the five trees, for if the Day of Judgment did not exist, the conditions of the trees would not exist either. And since they are necessary, it is manifest through the flowers that the Day of Judgment will come, of which we gather six proofs to establish this article.

On Greatness and Power

The Jew said to the Gentile: The power of God is so great and excellent that it is evident to all men both in particular and universally. And since the great power of God must be manifested universally to all, it is necessary that we are all gathered in one place and that we see together the great power of God. Therefore, we will all be brought together in one place, and God will judge the good and the bad: the good will be judged to everlasting blessedness, and the bad to infernal pains. And no man will be able to excuse himself or contradict the just sentence of God. If the Day of Judgment did not exist, the great power of God would not be so demonstrable in the presence and community of so many people. And it would follow that the goodness, greatness, wisdom, love, and perfection of God were contrary to the greatness of God’s power, which is against all the conditions of the trees. Therefore, the Day of Judgment is made evident to human understanding, which can receive the significance of the flowers of the trees.

On Perfection and Wisdom

Just as the influence of the celestial bodies brings about generation in terrestrial bodies, according to natural law, so too, in a much more perfect and incomparable way, the perfect wisdom of our Lord God bestows influence and blessing upon the created wisdom that is in human beings. Therefore, when we all are gathered on the day of judgment and come to understand that God will judge each of us according to our deeds, we will have a greater understanding of God and His wisdom in this way than in any other. Each one will comprehend their own sentence as well as the sentence of others, and all of us together, at the same time and in the same place. Through this understanding, knowledge and comprehension will increase in each one of us. And those who will be on the path of salvation will have as much love and benevolence as the understanding they will have of God’s sentence. And those who will be on the path of damnation, the more understanding they will have, the more they will be in sorrow and curse. Therefore, with this judgment, in connection with the perfect work of our Lord God and with the created wisdom that must exist in human beings, so that it may be very great in order to have an understanding of the most perfect and great wisdom of God, the day of judgment is manifest. Without it, the reasons mentioned above and the conditions of the five trees would not be as obvious.

On Greatness and Justice

Know, Gentile, that custom and usage among us dictate that the greater the sentence, the more witnesses there must be and that it must be given by nobler and more just people, in the presence of more and better people. Thus, the greatest sentence that could be given is that all the people who have been, are not, and will be, are gathered together in one place and that God judges all of them in the presence of each other, and that the sentence is one of everlasting glory and infernal fire. And if such a sentence were greater than any other sentence where we were not all gathered together and judged by God, then there would be a contradiction and inconvenience between greater justice and greater sentence, and the greater justice would be more significant if the greater sentence were given, rather than if the lesser sentence were given. And if God’s will was that the lesser sentence be given and not the greater, then God’s will would be contrary to the great justice of God in that God’s will would not love what would make the great justice of God more manifest. But since it is impossible for the justice and will of God to be in conflict, it is manifest in the agreement between the perfect justice and love of God that the day of judgment will come and that on that day the great justice of God will be manifest to all. Each one, in themselves and in others, together will comprehend the great divine justice.

On Power and Pride

The Jew said to the Gentile: Beloved son, know that power and justice go hand in hand against pride and injury, and therefore, princes are established on earth to be just and powerful against arrogant and injurious men. And to manifest that the power and justice of God go against sinners who are full of pride, arrogance, and injury, and that they will be defeated, humbled, and confused by the power and justice of God, God wills that there be a day of judgment, and that all men have knowledge of the great power and great justice of God at the same time. In that power and justice, they will see the proud and injurious men judged, confounded, and conquered. If there were no day of judgment, the power and justice of God against pride and injury would not be so manifest to people. And since the power and justice of God is more manifest to human understanding, it must follow, according to the conditions of the trees, that the day of judgment is manifest.

On Faith and Hope

That which faith and hope contemplate in God must necessarily be ordered by the perfection that exists in goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, and love. For if it were not so, it would be meant that faith and hope could contemplate God more than God would order or will, which is impossible. For if it were possible, it would follow that perfection is more in harmony with created virtues than with uncreated virtues, and that is impossible. Due to this impossibility, the day of judgment is manifest, without which faith and hope could not contemplate God as well as they do in what is believed, and hope awaits the divine judgment of God in the presence of all His people.

On Fortitude and Lust

Fortitude may be more potent against lust in the absence of people than in their presence, as shame mortifies courage in the face of lust when one is in the presence of others, before whom one feels ashamed to commit adultery. Therefore, fortitude cannot be as contrary in the heart of someone who loves chastity in the presence of others as in secret. As fortitude and lust are more opposed in the absence of people than in their presence, as previously stated, the merit of fortitude must be revealed to people, and the guilt that one has for lust must be made manifest to them. And if the opposite were true, perfection and justice would be contrary in God, which is impossible. Thus, the day of judgment is manifested as impossible, in which fortitude and lust will be made manifest to all, so that each virtue will be more deeply affected by the justice of God and each will be more punished and shamed in the presence of people and of all the people.

When the Jew had proved the aforementioned article to the Gentile by means of the six aforementioned flowers, the Gentile said to the Jew, “If God is invisible, how can he judge people who cannot see him? It would be better and more orderly if all the people could see the one who will give the sentence. Therefore, it seems that if God is not visible on that day, the conditions of the trees will be corrupted.”

It is true, said the Jew, “that God is invisible. But just as he showed himself through some visible semblance to Moses when he gave him the law, he will also show himself through some semblance on the day of judgment when he gives the sentence to all the people.” The Gentile replied, “That semblance will not be God, and therefore God will not give the sentence, but the semblance will give it. If it were possible, it would be good for the same one who judges to be seen by all the people he judges, as it is fitting that the one who judges should be seen by those he judges.”

The Seventh Article: On Paradise

This article can be proven by all the flowers of the five trees; but we need not collect six flowers to prove that Paradise exists.

On Goodness and Greatness

The goodness of God is infinitely great in eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection; for if it were not, there would be no perfection in the goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, and love of God. And if that were so, then God would be nothing, which is not the case because it has been proven in the first book that God exists. Thus it is evident that the goodness of God is infinitely great in eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection. This manifestation, made to the human understanding, signifies and demonstrates that Paradise exists; for if Paradise did not exist, there would be no perfection of justice, generosity, and goodness in the work of God, and God’s will would be in agreement with sloth, envy, greed, and injustice, which is impossible and contrary to the conditions of the trees. Therefore, it is signified that Paradise exists due to this impossibility and contradiction.

On Eternity and Love

It is proven that God exists, and therefore it is proven that divine love does not have a beginning, middle, or end in divine eternity. For if it did, divine perfection would not exist in the goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, and love of God. And if that were the case, God would not act in accordance with justice, generosity, and goodness and would be in opposition to laziness, envy, greed, and injury, which is impossible and contrary to the conditions of the trees. This impossibility and contradiction indicate that paradise exists.

The divine love flows eternally, and it gives rational creatures the influence to love and the eternal glory that has no end. This signifies that divine love has perfection in eternity, giving eternal glory to creatures. This eternal glory is paradise that will have no end. If paradise did not exist, justice in God would not have perfection. If paradise was not eternal, divine love would not have perfection in loving rational creatures eternally. It would then follow that divine power could not, divine wisdom would not know, and divine love would not want to love rational creatures eternally. If that were the case, there would be imperfection in eternity’s goodness, greatness, power, wisdom, and love, which is impossible. This impossibility proves that paradise exists and is everlasting without end.

It is a fact that a creature cannot receive eternity without a beginning, for if it did, it would be caused without a beginning and without an end, and it would be equal in duration to its cause, which is impossible. The cause must be superior in power to its effect, and it has greater power in giving than the creature has in receiving. Therefore, a creature cannot exist without a beginning, and the first cause has the power to give existence to the creature without a beginning if the creature could receive it. If the glory of paradise were finite and not everlasting, it would not signify that God, who is the first cause, could give everlasting existence without a beginning if the creature could receive it. Therefore, according to the conditions of the trees, the everlasting without end of the celestial glory is demonstrable to show God’s goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection.

The Gentile said to the Jew, “It is clear that if eternity has no end, then it has a beginning, and if it has a beginning, it has an end. If God can give eternity that has no end, and the creature can receive it, as you say, it appears as if the creature could be caused without a beginning.” The Jew replied, “There is a significant difference between the influence that the creature can receive from God to be everlasting without end and the influence that the creature cannot receive to be without a beginning. The influence that it can receive to be everlasting without end is through the completion of the first cause that creates that everlasting without end. The creature cannot exist without a beginning because it needs to be completed, which gives it the everlasting without end. If the creature did not have this completion, then it would be eternal with a beginning and end, which is inappropriate and against the conditions of the trees.”

On Perfection and Charity

Assuming that paradise exists, created charity can be more perfect in loving the divine perfection than if paradise did not exist. The thing that allows charity to have greater perfection in loving the divine virtues must be more closely related to it than the thing that limits charity’s ability to love. If God did not love what charity is more suited to love, and loved things that charity could not love as much, it would mean that created charity is more suited to love perfectly than God is to creating charity, and that is impossible. If it were possible, then the thing that allows charity to have a greater capacity for love would be uncreated, which is impossible. Therefore, the existence of paradise is demonstrated, because without it, charity would be able to love more than God could accomplish.

On Eternity and Avarice

In God, blessed be He, eternity and generosity are compatible. If they were not, it would mean that God’s generosity in giving to creatures would have to come from somewhere other than Himself, or that eternity is not God. Each of these things is impossible. Since eternity and generosity are compatible in God, and since generosity and avarice are opposed to each other, it is demonstrated that eternity and avarice are opposites. According to the conditions of the trees, the existence of paradise is demonstrated because eternity and avarice are more opposed to each other than if paradise did not exist. If eternity and avarice were less opposed to each other, then eternity and generosity would be less compatible. If that were the case, then what is more noble would be compatible with not existing, and what is less noble would be compatible with existing, and that is impossible, and contrary to the conditions of the trees.

It is natural for a master craftsman to make a durable work, and for the sake of avarice, a master would make his work less durable if he did not have generosity in giving to the work what is necessary for durability. Therefore, durability, wisdom, and generosity are compatible in a work made by a master who has wisdom and generosity. Since in God, wisdom, eternity, generosity, and perfection are compatible, paradise is conceivable. If paradise did not exist, then the work of God would not be so durable, and there would be a lack of durability due to a lack of power, wisdom, eternity, or will, which is in accord with avarice. Each of these things is contrary to the perfection of God, and the perfection of God shows that His work is durable. Therefore, the durability of paradise is demonstrated.

On Faith and Hope

If paradise exists, faith and hope are much more in agreement than if paradise does not exist. And if paradise does not exist, faith and hope are more in agreement because of non-existence than because of existence. And it is impossible for non-existence to be such a great occasion for agreement as existence. For if it were possible, it would follow that occasion, agreement, and majority would agree with non-existence, and their opposites would agree with existence, and this is impossible. Therefore, paradise is demonstrable in the great agreement between faith and hope, believing that paradise exists and hoping for the heavenly glory.

On Prudence and Sloth

Prudence and sloth are opposites, and they have this opposition mainly in greater things than in smaller things. For as much as there is prudence in greater things, so much is prudence a greater virtue. And where there is a greater virtue, it is more opposed to vices. The same follows for sloth, for the more slothful one is, the more he is opposed to greater good than to lesser good. Therefore, if paradise exists, prudence cannot be more opposed to sloth, and sloth to prudence, than if paradise does not exist. And since the opposition between prudence and sloth is greater, according to the conditions of trees, paradise is signifiable. The Gentile said to the Jew, “I am satisfied with the proof that your words have shown me of the celestial happiness. But I beg you to tell me, will there be women, will one give birth to children, will people eat, drink, sleep, and so on, in that heavenly glory?” The Jew replied, “Paradise is not a place for all those things you mentioned, for in all those things there is deficiency, and all those things are given to man in this world so that man can live, and so that the world does not perish in human species. You should know the truth that paradise is a complete place, where there is fullness of all goods, seeing God, from which sight man has so much fullness that none of these temporal things are necessary for him.” The Gentile replied, “If in paradise people do not eat or drink, it follows that in hell there will be no hunger or thirst. And if it is not so, how will those who are guilty of gluttony and drunkenness be punished by God?” The Jew replied, “In hell there must be hunger and thirst in those guilty people to show the justice of God. And if there were foods in paradise to satisfy the glorified body, it would not mean that the present sight of God would be inferior in giving glory to the human body. And if it did not, there would be a deficiency of perfection in the goodness, greatness, etc., of God, and this is impossible and contrary to the conditions of trees.” The Gentile said, “Please tell me if in paradise there will be memory of this world, and will some people have connection with others?” The Jew replied, “If there were no memory of this world in paradise, man would not have memory of the merit he has from his good works. And if he did not have it, he would not understand the justice of God. And if some people did not have a connection with others, some would not have glory in the glory of others. And if they did not have it, the divine will would be in agreement with sloth, envy, and imperfection, and this is impossible.”

The Eighth Article: On Hell

The Jew said to the Gentile: “From every tree, we have enough evidence to prove that Hell exists with just one flower.”

On Greatness and Power

Everything that God has created, he has created to demonstrate his great power, which power would be much more significant to his people if Hell exists than if it doesn’t. For in that God, by his power, is able to preserve eternally in the infernal fire the body of the sinner, without letting the fire consume it, while the damned suffer greatly from hunger, thirst, heat, and cold, and suffer without end, all by the power of God, which manifests his justice in them eternally. Thus, the reason for which God has created humanity is more closely connected with its existence than if there were no Hell. And since there is a greater connection between the reason for which God created humanity and its existence than if Hell did not exist, and since God’s power is more clearly manifest in the existence of Hell, Hell is significant.

On Eternity and Justice

When a sinner sins, he sins against eternal justice, which justice is in God, and he sins against eternal goodness, greatness, power, wisdom, love, and perfection. Therefore, the sinner must bear infinite guilt for his sin. If this were not so, there would be a defect of infinite greatness in God, which would not be in eternal justice. And since it is impossible for there to be a defect of eternal justice in God, the sinner who sins mortally must bear a guilt worthy of eternal punishment, which punishment would not exist if Hell were not eternal.

The Gentile said to the Jew: “If the sin of the sinner is terminated and finite in time, how can he be punished eternally for that sin without end?”

The Jew replied: “As has been said and indicated above, it must be so, according to the great justice of God. For if the infernal punishments had an end, those who would leave Hell would have glory, which they would have without free will and without the choice to love God and love justice. For it is a fact that those who are dead in sin have no liberty to choose good and avoid evil after death. Therefore, for the reason you state, there are many Jews who believe that the infernal punishment will have an end, but I am not of their opinion. Rather, I believe that infernal punishment will be eternal, for if it were not so, the conditions of the trees would be destroyed, and the people who are in glory would not receive as much grace from God if Hell were not eternal. For it is according to the conditions of the trees that the saved have more glory, receive greater grace, and have more love for God. Thus, according to the conditions of the trees, Hell is manifestly eternal.”

On Love and Wrath

The divine love loves endlessly those who are in glory. And why is that? Because the divine love and goodness are joined to love endlessly the inhabitants of glory; for if they did not, the glory that the inhabitants have in paradise would end; and we have proven that this glory will last forever. Therefore, just as love is joined with the divine goodness to love the inhabitants of glory endlessly, so is divine justice joined to defame the damned sinners perpetually, who would not be defamed perpetually according to justice if they were not punished perpetually.

On Prudence and Fortitude

Prudence and fortitude are virtues that are contrary to their counterparts, which are imprudence and cowardice. If hell exists, prudence and fortitude are even more opposed to their counterparts. And the more they are opposed to their counterparts, the more they are distinctly different from imprudence and weakness of character. If there were no hell, the great divine justice would be even more contrary to imprudence and weakness of character. If there is a hell, which there is, it is because it is significantly consistent with the above, and it would be inconsistent with it not to exist. Therefore, existence and consistency agree, and non-existence and inconsistency, which is why hell is demonstrable.

On Charity and Sloth

Charity and sloth are opposites, because through charity one loves good and loves to avoid evil, while through sloth one loves evil and avoids good. If there is an inferno, then a person is more prepared, considering the infernal penalties, to love good and avoid evil than if they did not consider or believe that there was any infernal punishment. And since the infernal penalties give a person reason to love good, to do good deeds, and to avoid evil, a person is more opposed to sloth. And because, according to the conditions of the trees, virtues and vices are more strongly opposed to each other, and the less opposed they are, the less they agree with being, and this is in accordance with the concept of infinite duration. Therefore, inferno is manifested to human understanding, which has such a consideration.

When the Jew had demonstrated the above articles, the Gentile let out a very sorrowful sigh and said, “Oh, the guilty ones! In what danger have you been for so long! How much great and enduring labor you have had, had you not been in error and in the darkness in which you were!”

While the Gentile was saying these words, the Jew asked him if he was satisfied with the articles he had demonstrated from his law. He replied that he was not fully satisfied, but was expecting to hear from other wise men. “But tell me,” he said, “where is this inferno located, and what is the punishment of those who are in hell?” The Jew replied, “The people of the Jews are divided in different opinions about what you are asking. Some believe that inferno is in this world in which we live; others say that it is in the air, and others say it is in the center of the earth. Some say that inferno is nothing but not seeing God and realizing that they have lost the glory and the sight of God. Others say that hell is to have the body perpetually in fire, ice, snow, sulfur, boiling water, and among demons, snakes, and serpents that will torment them without ceasing. And the punishment of the soul will be greater as it realizes that it is to be forever and that its torments will never cease. And it will realize that it has lost the glory that will last forever.”

When the Jew had spoken these words, and many others that would be too long to recount, he said, “We have proven and demonstrated that the people of the Jews have a true belief, and it is in agreement with the flowers of the trees and their conditions. If our belief is not a path to salvation, we would not be able to have agreed on the flowers and conditions of other trees with the articles we believe. We have shown and demonstrated this agreement, blessed be God for it. And since the laws of the Christians and Saracens are contrary to ours, it is clear that they are in error. Therefore, you, Gentile, will have greater guilt than before if you abandon the path of salvation and take the path by which sinners fall into the eternal fire and lose the glory that has no end.”

The Third Book, Which is About the Belief of Christians

Which of you two will speak first? said the Gentile.

The Jew replied, “According to order, the Christian should begin first, because his law existed before that of the Saracens.”

Then the Gentile asked the Christian to begin to prove his faith and the articles in which he believed. But the Christian replied and asked the Saracen if he would like to start, as the Gentile wished. The Saracen replied that he agreed. The Christian then bowed and kissed the ground, raised his thoughts to God, lifted his eyes and hands to heaven, and made the sign of the cross saying these words: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.” When the Christian had paid reverence to the divine unity and trinity, he made the sign of the cross again, and in honor of the humanity of Jesus Christ, he said these words: “We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee, for by thy cross thou hast redeemed the world.”

After the Christian had finished his prayer, he said that the articles of his law were fourteen, seven of which pertain to the divine nature and seven to the human nature of Jesus Christ. Those that pertain to the divine nature are as follows: One God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Creator, Redeemer, Glorifier. The seven articles that pertain to the humanity of Jesus Christ are as follows: Jesus Christ conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, crucified and dead, descended into hell, resurrected, ascended into heaven, and will come to judge the living and the dead on the day of judgment.

Before the Christian began to prove his articles, he said these words to the Gentile: “Know, Gentile, that the articles of our faith are so high and so difficult to believe and understand that you will not be able to understand them unless you use all the strength of your mind and soul to understand the reasons why I am proving the aforementioned articles. Many times it happens that one sufficiently proves some things, but because the one to whom it is proven cannot understand it, it appears to that person that what is provable is not trustworthy.”

The First Article: On One God

God is one, and we believe in one God; and we declare that God is simple and perfect, and is the fullness of all goods; and in Him are all the flowers of the first tree. All the nobility that the Jews or Saracens cannot attribute or compare to the unity of God, all that nobility the Christians attribute and compare to Him, and even much more than the Jews or Saracens can assign or attribute. And this is because they believe in the Holy Trinity of God, and in the glorious incarnation of the Son of God. Proving that there is one God, the Jew has indeed proved it, and if you want me to prove it with many other reasons, I am prepared to do so. The Gentile replied: Indeed, I am convinced by the proof that the Jew has given of the unity of God, so you don’t need to prove the first article, as it is already proven; and please proceed to prove the other articles.

The Second, Third, and Fourth Articles: On the Trinity

To prove that the Trinity exists in God, we take this flower of goodness and greatness from the first tree, by which we will prove that according to the conditions of the five trees, it is necessary for God to be in Trinity.

By proving the Trinity, we will prove three articles, namely, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and we will prove that these three articles are one essence and one God.

On Goodness and Greatness

The goodness of God is either finite or infinite in eternity, power, wisdom, and love. If it is finite, it is contrary to perfection; if it is infinite, it agrees with perfection. And since, according to the conditions of the trees, it is impossible that the goodness and greatness of God be contrary to perfection in eternity, power, wisdom, and love, it is demonstrated that the goodness and greatness of God are infinite in eternity, infinite in power, infinite in wisdom, love, and perfection.

It is certain that the greater a good is, the more strongly it is combined with perfection in eternity, power, wisdom, and love; and the smaller a good is, the closer it is to imperfection, which is contrary to perfection. Therefore, if in God there is a good creator, who is infinite in goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection, who generates an infinite good in goodness, greatness, power, wisdom, love, and perfection, and from the good creator and the generated good there is an infinite good in goodness, greatness, power, wisdom, love, and perfection, the flower in God, that is, the goodness and greatness, is greater than it would be if there were only three, because each of the three goods mentioned is equally good and great, for all the flowers of the tree, as would be the unity of God without its trinity. And, according to the conditions of the tree, the greatest goodness must be attributed to and acknowledged in God, which is why there is a trinity, as demonstrated above, which is more manifest.

The Gentile said to the Christian, “According to what you say, it follows that the unity of God would be in greater goodness if there were four, or five, or an infinite number of those goods you mentioned, rather than only three; for goodness and greatness are multiplied more by a number of four than by a number of three, and by a number of five more than by a number of four, and by an infinite number more than by a finite one. Therefore, if there were four, or five, or a thousand goods in God, the goodness of God would be greater than if there were only three.”

The Christian replied to the Gentile, “This question can be answered by the same solution given above, for in God there can be only one generator, one generated, and one proceeding, because each of these three has complete and perfect goodness, greatness, and the other attributes. And if there were more than three, none of the three would have complete goodness, greatness, eternity, and the other attributes; for in this case, as in the case of there being many gods, one God suffices to have all the goodness, greatness, and other attributes that they would have collectively, and even more than they could collectively have. Similarly, one generator suffices to have all the goodness, greatness, and other attributes that two or more generators could have, and more than they could have, because two or more generators, even if they were infinite in number, could not have infinite goodness, greatness, eternity, power, and so on, as only one could have. The same applies to the generated and proceeding.”

The Gentile said to the Christian, “The same applies to the unity of God; for if unity does not suffice to be infinite in goodness, greatness, and so on by itself, without being three distinct divine persons, then there is a deficiency in the same goodness, greatness, and so on.”

The Christian replied, “No, that is not true, for if in God there were no distinct personal properties, there would be no work by which He is infinitely begotten in greatness, eternity, and so on, from infinite being in greatness, eternity, and so on. And if there were no infinite being in greatness, eternity, and so on, from infinite begetter and infinite begotten in God, the flowers of the tree would not serve their purpose in perfection, and this would be a deficiency in the aforementioned work in the unity of God. This work is infinite in goodness, greatness, and so on, and this work, and the three distinct persons, each having their own distinct, personal, infinite properties in goodness, greatness, and so on, are the same divine unity, which is one in essence and three in persons. And since being and work as glorious as the aforementioned ones are fitting, and a lack of this work and being are not fitting, and since being where there is good work is fitting in greater nobility than being where there is no work, and since the essence of God is fitting to be given and attributed greater nobility, it is indicated that it is necessary for there to be work in the trinity of God. For if there were no work, it would be a contradiction in the flowers of the first tree, and this is impossible. Therefore, the trinity is demonstrable by this impossibility.”

On Power and Wisdom, on Power and Love, and on Wisdom and Love

To prove the Trinity, I must choose examples from the three flowers of the first tree. It is certain, Gentile, that the leaf must be illuminated, and the fire must be heated. And why is that? Because the leaf is its own radiance, and the fire is its own heat; so if the leaf is not illuminated, nor the fire heated, the leaf and the fire will be discovered as to what they truly are, and that is impossible. For if it were possible, each one would be discovered with corruption and deprivation, due to the inconvenience of its use, which each one would have in itself, and that is impossible and against the rules of philosophy, of which you are called a master.

God, may He be blessed, is His own power, His own wisdom, and His own love; so if the leaf and the fire, which are creatures, need to be used, as we have said before, the more the flowers in question, which are the three, need to use God’s power, wisdom, and love in the creatures. For if He did not, it would follow that the leaf and the fire would be more in line with perfection of power than with divine power, wisdom, and love, and that is impossible. Therefore, this impossibility indicates that if the chambers in question, which are the flowers, need to be used in the creatures, the more they need to be used, that is, to enjoy in themselves.

And if this were not the case, it would follow that God would be more in line with a work outside Himself than with a work within Himself, and that is impossible. Therefore, this impossibility indicates that His power must be empowered, His wisdom must be wise, and His love must love, and that in infinite goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection. This necessary agreement could not exist without distinction of personal properties, each one distinct from the others, and that they are together one divine essence, infinite in goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, and so forth, and that those are the three personal, distinct properties, by essential, generative personal, engendering, and by essential, generative personal, engendered, and by personal, essential, procession. Each one has all the flowers of the first tree and together they are a flower where all the flowers of the tree are. Therefore, according to this necessary agreement, the Holy Trinity that we believe in is indicated and demonstrated.

On Eternity and Perfection

Infinite power, which begets infinite power and infinite wisdom and infinite love; and infinite wisdom, which begets infinite power and infinite love; and infinite love, which begets infinite power and infinite wisdom; and infinite power, infinite wisdom, and infinite love, which come from the infinite begetter and the infinite begotten, these three entities are much more closely related to the aforementioned flower than just an essential power, an essential wisdom, and an essential love that lacked the three aforementioned entities. And since what is most related to God’s eternity and perfection should be attributed to God, it follows that everything that can be attributed to God’s eternity and perfection should be attributed to God; for if not, it would signify that the human understanding could understand more and the human consideration could consider greater nobility of eternity and perfection than that of God, and that is impossible. For if it were possible, God’s eternity and perfection would be finite and limited; and if they were, they would be contrary to the flowers of the tree and to the aforementioned flower, and that is impossible. Therefore, the Trinity is signified and demonstrated to the human understanding, which understands, and to the human consideration, which considers the significance and demonstration.

On Power and Love

If someone can create and wants to create their own likeness, they have greater power and love in creating their own likeness than in anything else that is not of their own kind or as noble as themselves. Therefore, if there is someone in God who can and wants to beget God’s likeness in being God and being eternal and infinite in perfection, they have greater power and will than if they did not have such power and will. And since God must be attributed the greatest power and will, and since all things, according to their nature, desire to beget their likeness in kind, it is thus signified and revealed that God is the Trinity.

The pagan said: “How can God make an eternal likeness of Himself when everything that is created must have a beginning?”

The Christian replied: “A creature cannot exist without a beginning, for otherwise, it would not be a creature. Therefore, God cannot create anything without a beginning. But since God is greater than a creature, God has within Himself the ability to receive and to beget without beginning. For if not, God would not be greater in power than a creature perfectly.”

On Wisdom and Perfection

The Christian said to the Gentile: The ultimate cause, that is, the main reason why God created man, is so that man may have knowledge of God and love God. And the second intention for which God created man is so that man may share in the glory with God eternally without end. And if it were otherwise, it would follow that the aforementioned flower would be contrary to the other flowers on the first tree, and this is impossible. Therefore, it is evident that man is primarily created to know and love God, and secondarily created to glorify God. Thus, the holy Trinity of God is manifested, because if God were one and not in Trinity, it would be much more difficult for the world and its parts to know and love Him, than if He were in Trinity but not one. For the world is one and consists of only three things, more or less, namely, the animal, the sensual, and the intellectual. In the animal nature, all living and sentient things are composed of body and sensitive soul. In the sensual nature, all things are corporeal and lifeless. In the intellectual nature, there are angels, souls, and everything that is incorporeal. And these three natures are the world, and the world is made up of these three natures.

Each of these three natures has its own individuals, in one nature and in three.

Thus, the Trinity of God and His Unity are manifested by the unity and trinity that exist in all creatures. If God were only in unity and not in Trinity, the unity in which creatures exist would signify to human understanding only its unity; and the Trinity that exists in creatures would signify falsely that there is Trinity in God. And if creatures were not in Trinity, and were created only in unity, they would signify more about God if God were only in unity, rather than if they were created in Trinity. And if God had not created creatures in the state where it is most significant to know and love Him, it would be a deficiency in the wisdom and perfection of God. And as it is impossible for there to be any deficiency in God, it is demonstrated that what God is most clearly manifested to man through creatures must be true. Therefore, it is demonstrated that the Trinity is demonstrable.

On Goodness and Charity

If you could do a good deed that is infinite in goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection, and you had good will and perfect charity, you would do the aforementioned good deed. Since God has perfect charity, perfect goodness, and perfect power, it is necessary that He does what you would do if you had the power. And if He did not, you could have better will than God if you had His power. And if you, who are a creature, could have better will than God, there would not be perfection in God’s charity. And since that is impossible, it is indicated that in God, His perfect power, goodness, skill, and will do what you would do if you had His power and His perfection. Thus, the Trinity is indicated, according to the words aforementioned, for as much as the aforementioned flower indicates it.

As much as a lesser charity is less like a greater charity, the greater it is in goodness and virtue than the charity that is less like the greater charity or that does not have as much to do with it. And so, if God is in unity and Trinity, a human being who is in unity and Trinity is no less like God than he would be if God were not in unity and Trinity. And as much as a human being is like God, he is more prepared to be good and to have greater charity towards God, himself, and his neighbor. Since, according to the conditions of the second tree, people grant that which the created goodness and charity most agree with the uncreated goodness and charity of God, the Trinity is indicated according to those principles.

On Goodness and Charity, and on Greatness and Charity

If the work that the soul does, in understanding and loving God, is better and of greater charity than understanding and loving oneself or another creature, it must necessarily be that God does greater charity in understanding and loving Himself than in understanding and loving something else. And if this were not so, it would follow that the work that God does in understanding and loving a creature is equal to the work that He does in understanding and loving Himself, and this is impossible. For if it were possible, His goodness would be as great as His goodness towards Himself, and this is impossible, and it goes against the conditions of the trees. Thus, it is indicated that God has some work in Himself that is necessary, and this plurality is indicated. For without plurality, it is impossible that there be work. And if God has no work in Himself, His great goodness would be greater if He had works in Himself, than if He had no works in Himself. And as goodness, greatness, and charity are more in agreement with having works than not having works, it is necessary that in God, goodness, greatness, and charity are in agreement with having works. Furthermore, being created, which requires having works in oneself, would be more noble than being uncreated, and this is impossible. Thus, the work in God is indicated by the flowers and the aforementioned words, and by this work, plurality is indicated. And by this plurality, the Trinity is manifested in the unity of God.

On Goodness and Charity, and on Power and Charity

Created charity can love created goodness in the same way; and therefore, because of the difference between goodness, power, and charity in creatures, charity can be a lover and can have a beloved. And since such power can be greater and better in loving and being loved, than in loving without being loved or in being loved without loving, it follows that in God, goodness and charity are coupled with power, by which it is possible for God to be a lover who is not the beloved, according to one personal property, and for the beloved not to be the lover, according to another personal property, while the lover has a beloved. And from these two, lover and beloved, there arises another personal property which is both lover and beloved, and the three persons, lovers and beloved, are one essence that loves and is loved in the same infinite goodness and infinite power.

And if this were not so, it would follow that goodness and power are more closely related to created charity than to uncreated charity, and this is impossible. Therefore, by this impossibility, the Trinity is made manifest. In this world, greater goodness, power, and charity are in a person who loves God of necessity and freely than in one who has free will to love God. And since the charity of God is coupled with greater goodness and power than created charity, it follows that God has the nobility that created charity would have if it could. And if this were not so, it would follow that uncreated charity could not have the goodness that created charity cannot have, and this is impossible. Therefore, by this impossibility, it is made manifest that the charity of God necessarily has power and freedom to be a lover and beloved, so that his goodness is coupled with perfect power.

Therefore, in this way, the Holy Trinity is demonstrated by perfect and complete necessity and freedom. It is the exemplar and form by which the human intellect can know the Holy Trinity that we long for.

On Power and Prudence

The greatest impossibility that exists is for God not to be, and therefore, the greatest possibility that exists is for God to be. The greatest impossibility that is against generation is corruption, and the greatest possibility that is against corruption is generation in which there is the greatest possibility against corruption. And if this were not the case, it would follow that generation and corruption are not opposed. Since in all created generation, corruption and impossibility are opposed, it is necessary that there be generation in God to which corruption and impossibility are not opposed. And if this were not the case, prudence could not have knowledge of the greatest possibility that God has in being, namely, that God exists, and the greatest impossibility that God does not exist, which is opposed by power in God. And since prudence can better understand the power that God has in being, it follows, according to the conditions of this tree, that generation is signified to be in God against corruption, which is opposed by non-existence, and for this reason, generation and corruption are signified in God to be paternity and filiation.

That which is most opposed to inequality is equality, and that which is most opposed to contrariety is concordance. Therefore, if there is equality and concordance in God, it necessarily follows that prudence recognizes in God greater power against inequality and contrariety than if there were no equality or concordance in God. And since the greatest work that prudence can have in understanding the great power of God is related to being, according to the conditions of the tree, it is necessary that there be equality and concordance in God. And if there is equality and concordance in God, it follows that there is plurality, for without plurality, there could not be equality and concordance. And since there is plurality in God, for this reason, trinity is signified in equality and concordance to prudence by the power of God.

On Goodness and Pride

The Christian said to the Gentile: Pride is against goodness, for the proud person loves what is vile over what is noble and defames the good of their neighbor.

And so humility, which is its opposite, is in agreement with goodness, which loves the more noble good over the lesser good, and multiplies both the greater and the lesser good; and it loves equally the good that is between the greater and the lesser good. If in the goodness of God there is a good that gives infinitely of itself in goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection to a good that is infinite in goodness, greatness, etc.; and if the aforementioned good gives of itself without diminishing itself; and from the good that gives and the good that is given arises a good that is infinite in goodness, greatness, etc., and is equality in the good that gives, the good that is given, and the good that proceeds; if this is so, then the goodness of God is more opposed to pride than it would be without the aforementioned giving and receiving of goodness. And this is why such giving would not be so noble in the goodness of God, nor would it be so well in agreement with humility; and with lesser humility, the humility of God would not be so opposed to pride. And as, according to the conditions of this tree, the greatest opposition between the goodness of God and pride is that of giving, it is therefore evident that in God there is a good that gives of itself to the given good, and that from the good that gives and the good that is given arises a good that is given. And as this is so, according to the conditions of the tree, the Trinity is manifested.

On Greatness and Pride

If pride had such great power in itself that from itself it generated infinite pride in greatness and power and in eternity, and from both there existed pride that is infinitely great in power and in eternity, and that together they were an infinite pride in power and in eternity, it would be impossible for humility to overcome the aforementioned pride, nor for humility to be anything. And since pride is associated with the lesser and with non-being, and humility is associated with the greater and with being, it is necessary that there be a humility in God that is greater than any pride that one could consider, estimate, or form in one’s own thoughts. And if this were not so, human thought could consider pride greater than God’s humility, and the soul of man would be greater in considering pride than God’s humility, and it would be greater in greatness, and this is impossible. In this impossibility is signified that in God there is a humble one who from himself generates another humble one in infinite goodness, greatness, and so on, and from the humble generator and the humble generated, infinitely in goodness, greatness, and so on, another humble one is produced, and together these three humble ones are one humble essence in infinite goodness, greatness, and so on, in which the Trinity is signified, according to the aforementioned demonstration.

The Gentile said to the Christian: If God has such great humility as you say, and since humility and pride are contrary, how can it be that God’s humility does not prevent pride, which is evil?

The Christian replied: If God did not give man the freedom to be proud or humble, God’s wisdom would be contrary to man’s humility, through which man can have merit and grace from God. And since the flowers of the second tree are neither nor should be contrary, according to the conditions of the tree, nor in the first tree can there be any opposition of one flower to another, therefore the humility of God allows pride to exist, so that created humility, through uncreated humility, can counter human pride, and created humility gives honor to uncreated humility.

On Love and Greed

In humans, love and greed are opposite, as a lover is associated with generosity, which is contrary to greed in the beloved, and greed takes and does not give, and is associated with despair, contrary to hope, which is associated with love and generosity. Therefore, through the virtues and vices mentioned above, the Holy Trinity that you ask for is represented by the opposition between virtues and vices. For if there is a lover in God who loves God so much that he gives everything to Him, and if the lover gives everything to Him, and the lover is infinite in goodness, greatness, and in all the flowers of the first tree, then there must be infinite generosity in goodness, greatness, and so on in the lover, and as generosity is greater, divine love becomes more opposite to greed. And since the greatest opposition must be acknowledged, as was understood first in the conditions of the trees, Trinity is represented in the greatest condition of this tree, which is in lover and beloved, and each of the lover and beloved is a lover and beloved, and from both lover and beloved, lover and beloved come out, and together they are an essential, infinite love in lover and beloved, in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on.

If greed had infinite power, it would destroy all generosity, as nothing can oppose infinite power. And as God has infinite power, He, through infinite generosity, is contrary to greed. If there is an infinite liberal in God in generosity, who gives infinite generosity, then the generosity He gives is from His own infinite generosity, as if He were to give another generosity, it would not be His infinite generosity. And if there were no infinite generosity in God, who gives noble generosity infinitely, there would be no infinite love that loves to give such noble gifts infinitely. And if there were a lack of love in God to give, and if God had complete gifts to give, there would be a contradiction between giving and loving. Since it is impossible for the flowers of the first tree to be contrary, Trinity is demonstrated as the aforementioned words signify.

On Faith and Hope

The Christian said to the Gentile: “If there were no Trinity in God, there would be no work, which means that God would have no work within Himself, and the best work that could be in existence would be the heaven that God has in creatures. However, according to the conditions of the trees, there must be a work within God that is better than the work that God has in creatures; otherwise, perfection of work would not be in goodness, greatness, and so forth. Therefore, it is demonstrated that there was and is a work within God that is beyond the work that God has in creatures, which is to engender the Father, the Son, and to exhale the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, and to be all three persons one God, and this work is infinite in goodness, greatness, and so forth. If this is so, whoever believes in such work will be greater and more perfect than if they were smaller and less in Trinity. As it is impossible to be smaller within God, and to be greater if one is not in God, Trinity is manifested in that the person who believes that there is one person who engenders another person infinitely in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so forth, and that from both comes another person infinitely in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so forth. If there were no work within God before the world existed, hope could not be so great in man, and man could not have such confidence in God without hope that Trinity is not, nor could God have work within Himself, and man could despair that there was to be eternal existence. For one could believe that in the same way that there was no work within God before the world existed, that time could come when nothing existed, and that all that exists was gone. But when man believes that God has eternally and infinitely within Himself work of such great and marvelous influence, he can have hope that the world will endure eternally without end. As hope is greater in God because it is more congruent with being and existence, it is of the conditions of the fourth tree, and hope can be greater and can more concord with faith if Trinity is. Therefore, in the majority of hope and the greater concordance that man has with faith, Trinity is represented and manifested in the eyes of human reason, which considers as mentioned above.”

The Gentile responded: “According to your words, faith and hope could be greater if there were a quaternity of persons in God or if there were an infinite plurality of persons in God, not just a Trinity of persons in God.”

The Christian responded: “If there were no work of three persons in God, and if there were no need for more to be perfect in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so forth, hope could not be so great, nor could it be so contrary to despair. Neither could one believe in such noble paternity, filiation, and procession if perfection in God required two or more paternities and filiations or three or more processions. As there are no more than three persons in God, as we have already demonstrated in other solutions, and since faith and hope would not be diminished, your question is contrary to the nobility that is associated with the plurality that could exist in God, and it is contrary to the majority and concordance that could exist in faith and hope.”

On Charity and Justice

Charity and justice are opposed to malice and injury. If there is a trinity in God, then charity and justice can be even more in harmony in humans than if there were no trinity in God. By trinity, we understand that there is a loving and just creator in God who is infinite in charity and justice, and this infinity of charity and justice is infinite goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, and perfection. Therefore, created charity and justice can be greater due to the influence of uncreated charity and justice than they could be without the charity and justice of the creator. The same is true of the son and the holy spirit, as each is loving and just in and of themselves and infinite in goodness, greatness, and so on. According to the conditions of this tree, it follows that created charity and justice can be greater in humans if there is a trinity in God than if there were no trinity in God. Therefore, trinity is manifested.

On Prudence and Fortitude

Actual understanding is multiplied by trinity and unity more than by unity alone. If there is a trinity and unity in God, the human understanding can comprehend more in God than if there were no trinity in God. For example, a person can understand more about plants than rocks, more about animals than plants, and more about humans than animals. This is because there are more things in plants than rocks, more things in animals than plants, and more things in humans than animals. If there is a trinity in God, the human understanding can be more ignorant of things in God than if there were no trinity in God. This is similar to how understanding can ignore more things in plants than rocks, in animals than plants, and in humans than animals.

As there are more things in a thing, the understanding can be more ignorant of it. Since this is true and the conditions of the first and fourth trees demonstrate this, it shows that the human understanding can be more noble in comprehending great things in God, and those great things are more noble in that the understanding cannot comprehend all of their nobility. Therefore, trinity is represented in that the understanding can be nobler and more elevated in comprehension and can be more comprehensive in incomprehension. As these two conditions are in harmony, according to the nobility of God and the nobility of the understanding that is a creature, it demonstrates the great nobility that is in the flowers of the first tree. Therefore, trinity is demonstrated to exist in God. As the human understanding strives more strongly to comprehend God, it is more in harmony with fortitude and multiplies the quantity of prudence. As the understanding is more comprehensive but cannot comprehend all of the nobility of God and gives way to faith in what it cannot understand, it strengthens faith and mortifies itself. Therefore, there is a greater harmony between prudence and fortitude. This greater harmony can be due to the divine trinity, and without the trinity in the divine nature, there could not be such great harmony between prudence and fortitude. Therefore, trinity is signified and demonstrated in this greater harmony, which is in harmony with the conditions of this tree.

On Charity and Envy

The Christian said to the Gentile: Charity and envy are opposites; for through charity, one is inclined towards generosity and loyalty, and through envy, towards greed and deceit. If one has charity towards God, it is more contrary to envy than charity towards one’s neighbor; and this is because God has greater generosity and charity than any creature. And if one is envious of God’s goodness and honor, this envy is more contrary to charity than if one is envious of the goodness and honor of one’s neighbor. And this is because the goodness and honor that are due to God are greater than the goodness and honor of any creature.

According to what has been said above, trinity is signified in God to be, as the aforementioned flower signifies. For if in God there is a charity that begets equal charity from itself, and from the begetting charity and the begotten charity, there is an equal charity that emanates from both the begetter and the begotten, and this is through the will of the begetter and the begotten, then envy is far from resembling the charity of God, which would not be if there were no charity in God, as has been said above. And since it is an attributing thing that envy is further from resembling God, according to the conditions of the first and fifth tree, therefore trinity is demonstrable in the greatest contrariety that exists between the divine nature and envy and sin.

On Fortitude and Wrath

One might argue that fortitude and wrath are opposite to each other. When wrath overcomes fortitude in someone’s heart, then fortitude is defeated by weakness and the failure of courage. But when fortitude overcomes wrath, then wrath is defeated by the excellence and nobility of courage. The greater the fortitude that overcomes wrath, the greater the virtue. And the greater the wrath that overcomes fortitude, the greater the vice and sin.

It is certain that a likeness strengthens against its opposite and its unlikeness. If God is in trinity and unity, then the person who is one in trinity, that is, the soul and the body and the conjunction of both, which are three in one, is more like God than if God were one person without the trinity of persons.

Since one is obliged to love God more than anything else, and since there are many creatures that resemble us in unity and trinity, one should love their unlikeness more than their likeness. And because by loving one’s likeness, one may be more opposed to their unlikeness, which is wrath, one who loves God, resembling Him in unity and trinity, can be stronger against wrath than one who loves their likeness and fights against wrath. No other thing is as contrary to wrath as God. Therefore, in God, trinity is manifested in the greatest likeness that one must have in what they love most, and it is manifested in the fact that one who resembles God more can be stronger against wrath. Since this is so, and fortitude can be stronger against wrath, it is an attesting thing according to the conditions of this tree that trinity is signified in these conditions.

On Hope and Sloth

It is certain that sloth is more contrary to hope the greater the thing is; for the more negligent one is to desire the less noble things over the more noble things. Therefore, since God has infinite goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, who generates infinite goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, and from both proceeds another who is infinite in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, and in whom the three together create an infinite essence of goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, the soul of man should desire these things in God, and to have these things in glory is to have hope. The greater the hope that man has in God for great and marvelous things, the greater the virtue he possesses; and the greater the hope that is conquered, the greater the vice and sin of sloth.

It is certain that the more similar one thing is to another, the more it strengthens against its opposite and its dissimilarity; therefore, if God is in Trinity and Unity, the more similar one is to God who is one in Trinity, that is, soul and body and the union of both, which three are one man, the more he can be strong against sloth. And because fortitude can be stronger against sloth, it is an attribute that is given, according to the conditions of this tree, to the Trinity, which we signify, as it is demonstrated in the greater opposition between the divine nature, sloth, and sin.

As for the mode of being of the three divine persons as one divine essence, without being composed of the three persons, the Christian said to the Gentile: “Composition cannot be made except of finite and bounded things; therefore, it cannot be made of infinite things in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on. And if simplicity could not be of infinite things in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, then things that we call infinite in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, would be finite in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on. Therefore, since they are infinite, by their infinity and infinite power, they can be one simple divine essence without any composition.”

The Gentile asked: “Why is the Trinity in God in paternity, filiation, and procession, and not anything else that is not father, son, or Holy Spirit?”

The Christian replied: “According to the conditions of the first tree, the greater nobility that one can consider should be attributed to God. Therefore, since there must be a Trinity in God, as we have already proven, we must understand the Trinity in those virtues and properties by which the Trinity of God is signified and demonstrated to our understanding in greater nobility. Therefore, since generating and being generated, loving and giving, that is, proceeding from another, are more closely related in nature to one another than to anything else from which there is no generation or procession, it is necessary that this be in the unity and Trinity of God, so that the one divine person is closer to the other in virtue, in nature, in goodness, greatness, and so on, to be one essence that is good, great, eternal, powerful, and so on. And if this were not so, it would follow that perfection is contrary to goodness, greatness, and so on, and that is impossible. Therefore, the impossibility shows that it is necessary for the Trinity in God to be father, son, and Holy Spirit.”

The Gentile objected: “According to the nature of things, the father exists before the son; and therefore, if God has a father and a son, it follows that the father existed before the son.”

The Christian replied: “There is a great difference between created nature and uncreated nature, and this is because eternity and perfection belong to the uncreated nature, not the created one. Therefore, the generation and procession that exist in God are different from those in creatures. Just as a stone cannot be a human being, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, having perfection and eternity, cannot have a beginning or end. But because you have a beginning and an end, you can have a father through another nature that is not the nature of the supreme good, and you can exist before your child in time.”

The Gentile asked the Christian about how the Father begets the Son.

The Christian replied, “Consider, Gentile, in your understanding, how one plant is generated from another, and how one human being begets another. Just as you need to imagine different ways of generation from generation between what is made of herbs and plants and what is between animals, you need to consider different ways of generation from generation between what the Son of God receives from the Father and what is in creatures. And this is because the way of generation in God is higher and more noble than that in creatures. Just as considering the generation that exists in creatures requires you to imagine the operation and properties of creatures, considering the generation that the Son of God receives from the Father requires you to consider the flowers of the first tree, through which generation is signified. By loving and understanding the divine Father Himself, and His goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, He generates a Son who is like Himself in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on. And by understanding and loving the Father who is equal to Himself in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, the Son is begotten, who is equal to the Father in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on. And if the Father did not have such understanding and desire, there would be fewer flowers on the first tree, by which the Father knows, wills, and has the power to generate the Son.”

The Gentile then asked the Christian how the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

The Christian answered, “Based on the solution to the previous question, you can be answered this question, for the flowers of the first tree signify the way, and signify that way being different from the way creatures generate each other. Because divine perfection requires goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, by understanding and loving the Father Himself and the Son He generates, and by the Son understanding and loving the Father Himself, another person equal to them in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, must also exist, and that is the Holy Spirit you are asking about. And if, from the understanding and love of the Father and the Son, and also from their goodness, greatness, eternity, power, and perfection, no other person equal to the Father and the Son in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, existed, it would be a deficiency in the understanding and will of the Father and the Son, which is impossible.”

The Gentile asked the Christian why the Holy Spirit does not proceed from one person only but from both persons.

The Christian replied, “As much as the Father is associated with nobility, and the Son with nobility, the Holy Spirit would be less noble if He proceeded only from one person. Therefore, since the flowers of the tree are more associated with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit must proceed from both the Father and the Son.”

The Gentile asks, “Why doesn’t another person equal to himself in goodness, greatness, and so on, come from the Holy Spirit? Or why doesn’t the Son beget another person equal to himself in goodness, greatness, and so on?”

The Christian responds, “Just as you are fully human and cannot fail to be human, similarly, and much more so, surpassing all comparison, the Father possesses such perfection in goodness and greatness within himself, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, that he cannot fail to be the Father of another Son, nor can another Holy Spirit proceed from him. For if he did, he would desire superfluity, and this very perfection begets the Son and the Holy Spirit. And therefore, it preserves its perfection in the flowers of the tree and in each of the persons. And if it were not so, it would follow that there is no perfection in goodness, greatness, and so on in the persons or in the flowers. Therefore, it is necessary that there be only one paternity, one filiation, and one person of the Holy Spirit in the divine essence.”

The Gentile then asks, “Why is there a Trinity of persons in God? Couldn’t God be complete without a Trinity? And why would two persons suffice for what three persons achieve?”

The Christian responds, “It is evident that the Trinity can be in God, as we have already proven through the flowers of the trees. Furthermore, we must note that there can be more numbers of one and three in creatures than other numbers. For though every creature is in one substance and composed of three individuals from which the substance is formed, as in the case of a body, which cannot be one without length, width, and depth, nor can length, width, and depth be one without the body being one. Thus, just as creatures can have more numbers of one and three, it follows that in God, who is more perfect than creatures, he can have both one and three in number. For if he did not, it would follow that being and number are more present in creatures than in God, and this is impossible. Therefore, it is demonstrated that God must be one essence in three persons, without more or less. For if this were not the case, there would be no agreement in the flowers of the first tree, and its conditions could not be preserved.”

The Gentile then asks if one person could be more noble than another in God, or if one person could be less than the other, or if each person in God is self-subsistent.

The Christian responds, “If one person were more noble than the other, then there would be imperfection in the more noble person. And if one person in God could be less than the other, then the unity of God without the Trinity could exist, and we have already proven that there must be a Trinity in God. And if each person in God were not self-subsistent, then there would be no perfection in goodness, greatness, and so on, and since each person possesses such perfection, then each person is self-subsistent.”

Finally, the Gentile asks the Christian if the wise men who were with him understood that he believed in the Trinity of God.

The Christian responds, “The Jews and the Saracens do not understand the Trinity that we believe in, and they think that we believe in another Trinity that does not exist in God. Therefore, we do not contend with them, nor do they with us. But if they understood the Trinity that we believe to be in God, then by reason and agreement with the flowers of the first tree and its conditions, they would be inclined to conceive the truth of the Holy Trinity of our true God.”

The Fifth Article: On Creation

The Christian intends to prove to the Gentile the existence of God through the creation of the world, but the Gentile argues that he doesn’t need to be convinced of it, as the Jews have already proven it to him. Thus, the Christian doesn’t attempt to prove this article and moves on to the next one, which is about recreation.

The Sixth Article: On Recreation

On Goodness and Charity

The Christian says to the Gentile: “In nothingness, there can be no good, for if there were any good, it would follow that there is something. Therefore, if God creates good from nothing, the greatness of God’s goodness in this act is greater than if He were to create one good thing from another. However, if God takes one good thing, which is of another good thing, and unites it with Himself, and makes that good thing one person with Himself, then the good in that good thing is greater than in the good created from nothingness. And it is also greater in the good from which that good thing proceeds, which is not the good that is created from non-being.

This is due to the nobility of the divine good, and of the good that is united with God, and of the good from which the good that is united with the divine good proceeds. For the good that is created from non-being is one only in its creation, while the good of God, the good united with the divine good, which is the humanity of Jesus Christ, and the good from which the humanity of Jesus Christ proceeds, which is our Holy Mary, are three goods. Therefore, the good in this act is greater than the good created from non-being.

If it were not so, the goodness, greatness, eternity, and the other flowers of God would be against perfection and greatness, and that is impossible. For if it were possible, inferiority and imperfection would coincide with the flowers of the first tree, and that is impossible. You understand, Gentile, that according to the conditions of the first tree, the greatest nobility that one can conceive or understand must be attributed to God. For otherwise, the flowers of the tree, human thought, and understanding would not be in harmony.

To make known that God is the creator of all that exists is to make known the great goodness of God. And to say and think and know that God wishes to be one and the same with some created good is to know and love the good of God and the good united with Him. And therefore, the great goodness of God is more significant in infinity, greatness, eternity, and power. And since the great goodness of God is more manifest, it can be affirmed, according to the conditions of the tree, that recreation is affirmed.

This recreation was done with the good that God has in Himself and with the good that He unites with Himself, which was taken from another created good, that is, our Holy Mary. In nothingness, there is no fault or sin, for if there were, nothingness would be something. Therefore, to remove fault and sin from a good thing is a greater thing than to create something from nothingness, for sin and fault are contrary to good and merit.

Therefore, if God’s creation, which does not involve as much good as removing sin and fault from a good thing, is known, then it is more fitting that God’s recreation, in which there is more good, be known. This greater good is the union that must be made between created good and uncreated good, so that created good, corrupted by sin and fault, is recreated and exalted by the union with uncreated good.

Therefore, since a greater and better work signifies and demonstrates more the great goodness of our Lord God than a lesser work, therefore in this greater demonstration of the great goodness of God, recreation is represented to the human understanding, which has a connection to this greater significance. This recreation is the adjustment of the Son of our Blessed Lady, the glorious virgin, blessed be she and her virtue, with the adjustment of the Son of God. Through this adjustment, and through the passion of the human nature of Jesus Christ, the world was recreated from the original sin, which we inherited from our first father, Adam, who disobeyed God’s commandment, and through which we became mortal and suffer from hunger, cold, ignorance, and many other deficiencies that we would not have had if Adam had not sinned. And if the Son of God had not incarnated and died as a human being, we would all be in the eternal flames of hell. But through the holiness of the adjustment of the Son of God and the human nature of Jesus Christ, who are one person only, and through the holiness of the precious blood that Jesus Christ shed to recreate the world, we are, all of us who believe in recreation, delivered from the power of the devil and called to a glory that has no end.”

On Power and Charity

The Christian said to the Gentile: It is certain that God has created creatures and their properties to signify His great power and His great charity. And for this reason, He has given to fire the property that its quantity would extend to infinity in burning wood if it were given an infinite amount of wood and an infinite place that would correspond to the fire, according to the place in which we are. But because fire does not have infinite matter, it does not burn infinite bodies. Therefore, if the body, which is a finite and limited creature, has this power and property, and this power and property do not belong to it, but rather belong to God who has given it to it, then how much more does God have the power to make infinite good be in a creature if the creature could receive it. And if this were not so, it would follow that God’s will and power were contrary, and that God had given more power to fire than to Himself, which is impossible.

If God has created a creature, and that creature is better than all other creatures, and has greater power, knowledge, and will than all other creatures, it is more significant that God would make an infinite creature in power, wisdom, and charity, if the creature could receive it, than if God did not make such a creature. And because the power and charity of God are more demonstrated by making infinite good in a creature, if the creature could receive it, it is necessary that God has made a creature that is more noble in virtue and virtues than all other creatures. And because this creature could be better than all other creatures if it were adjusted to be one with the nature of God, it is therefore closer to being infinite in virtue if it could receive it, than if it were not adjusted or united with the power and charity of God.

And because God demonstrates His power and His charity more in making infinite good in a creature, which is possible only if the creature could receive it, it is an attribute of God. Therefore, in this attribution, which must be contrary to its opposite, that is, negation, the recreation that we seek is manifested.

If created power and created charity are in a created man, who is a person with an uncreated person, there can be no greater agreement of power and love between uncreated power and uncreated charity than between created power and created charity, than if an uncreated person and a created person were not one person. And because it is an attribute of God that uncreated virtues and created virtues are more compatible, and it is more impossible that they be contrary, the adjustment of a created person to an uncreated person is demonstrable. Therefore, manifestly, recreation is demonstrable and representable.

On Perfection and Gluttony

It is a greater thing to recreate than to create, as God created Adam. However, Adam fell into the sin of gluttony, by eating the fruit, and he fell into the sin of pride, by not being obedient to God; and in the humanity of Jesus Christ, no sin could happen. Thus, in the work where no sin can happen, it is nobler and more perfect than the work where sin can happen; and as much as the work is more perfect, it is more contrary to fault and sin. Therefore, if a person who is united with God can be more contrary to gluttony and pride than a person who is not united with God, then that person who can be more contrary to sin can be more perfect; and as much as his perfection can be greater, as much more can it represent the perfection of God. Therefore, in order for the perfection of God to be more demonstrable, recreation must be demonstrable in the greater significance of God.

The perfection of God is more in forgiving than in creating; for it is a greater thing to forgive a fault than to create, since nothing is contrary to God, and fault is contrary to God. Therefore, if the sin of Adam was general, it was a greater fault than if it had been special; and as much as the harm of sin was greater, as much more mercy in forgiving and saving signifies greater perfection in saving general sin than in saving special sin. If the sin is not general, the perfection of God will correspond to the goodness, greatness, power, etc., in creating general good, and not in corresponding with mercy in forgiving general fault. Therefore, since the perfection of God and mercy are the same thing, as everything that is in God is the same thing, therefore, general sin in human nature is signified, which signifies the work of mercy in saving general harm; through this generality, recreation is signified.

On Faith and Hope

Faith is the virtue by which man has belief in God and in the glory of paradise; and hope is the virtue by which man trusts in the mercy of God and in His justice. Just as you, Gentile, see with your bodily eyes the material things, with faith and hope, which are spiritual eyes, man sees the spiritual works of God. And the greater the faith and hope, the more one sees the works of God. Therefore, if God has become man and suffered death for man’s sake, in order to recreate man, faith and hope cannot be greater than if God had not become man and had not died for man. For as much as God is more for man, man can have more faith and hope against disbelief and despair, which are vices and sins. And as it is more fitting to have greater faith and hope than lesser, therefore, according to the conditions of the trees, what is the occasion for greater faith and hope, there it is necessary to be greater; and in this greater being, recreation is signified, which you ask for.

On Justice and Anger

The greatest thing that God can give to a creature, and the greatest thing that a creature can receive, is that God makes the creature to be one thing with Himself, and that, in order to recreate and exalt the creature, that creature, which is one thing with Himself, should suffer passion and a greater death than any other creature can endure. Therefore, if God became man to recreate the world, and that man died for justice and to pacify the human race with the anger of God, in which man had fallen through the sin of the first father, justice is greater and anger less. And since greater justice and being are fitting, and lesser anger is more fitting than greater anger, therefore, in the aforementioned greater and lesser degrees, recreation is signified, according to the conditions of the trees. Greater justice is done when a king is punished with death than when a peasant is punished; and greater justice and mercy is done in the innocent man who bears the guilt of the guilty man, than in the guilty man who receives justice. Therefore, all the greater justice that God can do in a creature, and that which is more fitting with mercy, is that He should become an innocent man and that that man should be punished for the guilt of the whole human race. And if this were not the greatest justice, then its opposite would be greater than the flowers of the first tree, and this is impossible; for this and in this impossibility, recreation is manifested. If the Son of God took on human nature, and that man died to save the people of God, the justice of God and the anger of the damned sinners who will have anger as the damned will become more opposed. And if the man who remembers in this present life that the Son of God took on human nature and died for him to redeem him from the power of the devil is occasioned to anger, he can more strongly mortify his anger with the aforementioned memory than anyone else who does not believe that the Son of God was incarnated and did not suffer death as a man to save man. And if the Christian, who is more occasioned to mortify his anger by reason of his belief, does not mortify his anger, the justice of God is more multiplied in that punishment than in the punishment of a non-Christian. Therefore, since all the aforementioned similarities are true, it is signified to the human understanding that the recreation you ask for must exist, with all the conditions of the trees.

The Seventh Article: On Glorification

The Christian said to the Gentile: To prove this article, first let us examine this flower.

On Wisdom and Love

Which is in God, as was proven in the first book. If God had not created man with the intention of giving him glory that lasts forever, there would be a contradiction between the flower and eternity and perfection. And if God had not created man to be lasting in glory, the flower would be in harmony with eternity and perfection. And because there must not be contradiction between the aforementioned flowers, it follows that there is existence according to the conditions of this tree; and because they must not be contrary, there is non-existence. Therefore, it is evident that God will give eternal glory to those who have been saved after the resurrection.

On Perfection and Hope

It is proven that in God there is work of personal attributes, which work is distinct from the others, because the divine persons are distinct. Since God is the ultimate good for all creatures, His work must be above all other works; and therefore, the most perfect work in which one can have hope is the work in the three divine persons. If the soul has hope in this work, it has the most perfect hope it can have. And if it had hope, but that hope did not come to perfection, then that hope would be contrary to God’s perfection. But if that were the case, the will and perfection of God would be in contradiction, and that is impossible. Therefore, it is signified by this impossibility that God’s perfection must fulfill hope. For if it did not, the soul of man would be in a nobler state by having hope than the perfection of God would be by fulfilling that hope, and that is impossible. Thus, in this impossibility, the heavenly beatitude in which we have hope is signified.

On Eternity and Anger

If God were to give glory after resurrection, but humans did not have that glory eternally, it would follow that humans would have eternal anger in that they had lost the glory they had seen. And if that were the case, it would follow that the eternity of God and His justice would be in conflict in infinite goodness, greatness, power, etc., and that is impossible. Therefore, this impossibility indicates that God will give glory that will last eternally without end. And if God did not give glory after resurrection, it would contradict the agreement among the flowers, by which the Christian has proven the existence of the glory of paradise. Therefore, this proof signifies the article mentioned above, without which the glory of paradise cannot be proven.

On Hope and Fortitude

If a person who has hope in the celestial glory is tempted to commit a sin, they are stronger against that sin than a person who has no hope in the celestial glory. If the celestial glory exists, hope, fortitude, and truth are compatible. But if the celestial glory does not exist, hope and fortitude are not compatible with truth and are instead compatible with falsehood. They are more significant in falsehood than in truth. As truth, fortitude, and hope are compatible, while despair, levity, and falsehood are compatible with one another, the celestial glory is signified in this regard in which truth, fortitude, and hope are more compatible against their opposite and falsehood. If this were not the case, it would be contrary to the conditions of this tree.

On Prudence and Sloth

Prudence is to choose the greater good and avoid the greater evil, and by sloth, one is negligent in choosing the greater good and avoiding the greater evil. However, that sloth is greater by which one is more negligent in choosing the greater good than the lesser, and in avoiding the greater evil than the lesser. Since this is true, God is shown to be glorifier; for if there were no glory, there would be no infernal punishment, and the greater good would not be eligible, and the greater evil would not be avoidable as strongly as it is if there were no celestial glory. And if there is infernal punishment, and since it is necessary for it to be so according to the conditions of this tree, prudence and sloth become more contrary. Therefore, celestial glory is demonstrated in that which pertains to being, and that which does not pertain to being would perish, and that which pertains to being would not perish. And the conditions of this tree would be destroyed.

The Gentile said to the Christian: “You have sufficiently proved the above article to me, but preach to me and tell me in what manner God will glorify the saints with glory.”

The Christian replied: “The manner in which God will glorify the saints is higher than the human intellect can understand in this present life, for if you could understand it, you would have as much glory in this world as those who are in the other world in glory. However, I can signify to you some things according to this similitude. You believe that in essence there must be being, in intellect understanding, in will loving, and similarly of other things that resemble these. If you were to see, with the eyes of your mind, the manner in which your intellect must understand and your will love, and if you were to see each of these things as distinct and different from the others, you would have a very pleasant pleasure in seeing these things, for if you were to see a ship being built, you would have more pleasure than if you were to see a bench being made. And if you were to see the sun and the moon and the stars, and the sky and the sea and the earth, and everything that is in the world, you would have more pleasure than if you were to see a ship alone. And if you were in glory and you saw that the Father understands and loves Himself, and understanding and loving Himself, engenders the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son; and if you saw that the Son, understanding and loving the Father and the Holy Spirit, Himself is engendered by the Father and the Holy Spirit proceeds from Him; and if you saw that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, loving and understanding the Father and the Son and Himself; and if you saw infinite goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection emanating and coming from God, and saw that all three persons are one infinite essence in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so forth, you could think that great glory would be in store for your soul, which glory you will have if you enter into glory. In glory, you will see the human nature of Jesus Christ being a person with God the Son, and you will see the manner in which the Son of God assumed human nature; and you will see how the divine nature and the human nature are one person only, and how the God the Son and the humanity that He assumed understand and love each other; and you will see that that human nature is better and more noble than all the creatures that can possibly exist, and you will see how the humanity of Jesus Christ loves and honors our Lady, Saint Mary. You will see all the saints in glory honoring Jesus Christ and our Lady, and you will see the ranks of angels and archangels, and the ranks of martyrs, virgins, and confessors, all giving glory and praise to God and to the human nature united to God. If you consider all of this, you can imagine the great joy that you will experience in glory, if God calls you to His glory that has no end. In paradise, you will not eat, drink, or sleep; because in this world, the human body labors for the love of our Lord God. Therefore, to reward the body in glory, you will see and hear about the body of our Lord Jesus Christ united to God the Son. When you think about how your body and the body of Jesus Christ are of the same nature, and how that body was given to you for your redemption, the glory that you will see in that body so glorified, you cannot ask me to describe it, because I cannot recount it, nor can anyone describe the outpouring of love that He will give you.”

After the Christian had explained this to the Gentile, he said: “According to what is ordained, as you can gain an understanding of the faith that is better than the others, you can conclude from the aforementioned glory that the faith of the Christians is superior to the others, because the best and greatest glory corresponds more to the conditions of the trees, rather than to the lesser glory, which is opposed to the greater. And this greater glory cannot be expressed as well by the faith of the Jews or the Saracens as it can by the faith of the Christians.”

The Eighth Article: Christ Conceived by the Holy Spirit

On Goodness and Greatness

The Christian said to the Gentile: The goodness of God is great in eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection. To signify such great goodness, as the goodness of God, it was fitting that, by the work of the Holy Spirit, the Son of God should be united to human nature in the womb of our blessed Virgin Mary. For it is a greater good to draw such a noble good as the humanity of Christ from human nature, which was corrupted by sin, than all other created goods. And if human nature had not been corrupted, the goodness of God would not have been so greatly signified. And so that the goodness of God may be signified more greatly, it is fitting that it should correspond to being, that is, incarnation. Therefore, in that conformity of being, this article is signified. Without it, the work of the great goodness of God would not have been made so manifest. If a good thing is drawn out of a corrupted thing, which was not good, then it is shown to be better and greater than all created goods, before it was corrupted. And if a good thing is drawn out of a corrupted thing which is equal to a good thing drawn from an uncorrupted thing, then the uncreated good is shown to be greater in drawing a created good that is incorruptible from a corrupted good, than in drawing an incorruptible good from an uncorrupted good. And since it corresponds more to being that greater works and greater goods signify greater greatness in the goodness of God than lesser works and lesser goods, therefore this article is shown to be true.

If our blessed Virgin Mary, glorious virgin, blessed be she and us through her, has conceived, by the work of the Holy Spirit, a Son who is both God and man, then she is closer to the great goodness of our Lord God, and farther away from our understanding, which cannot comprehend all the greatness of the good that is in her Son and in her. And as much as the human understanding is farther away from comprehending the created good through the goodness of God, so much farther away is it from comprehending the goodness and greatness of God, who has created that good in our Lady and in her Son. And so, it corresponds to being that the great goodness of God is more exalted, so that it cannot be comprehended by our understanding, and the goodness and greatness of God correspond more to that which corresponds more to being, than to that which does not correspond so much to being. Therefore, the conception made by the work of the Holy Spirit is signified by necessary reason.

It is proven that there is a Trinity in God, and the greatest good that can be made is in the work of the Trinity. And the greatest good that the Holy Spirit can make in a creature is his work, in which the Son of God, who is himself a creature, is united to himself, and our Lady, who is a creature, is the mediatrix between the creature and the Creator. If the Holy Spirit defamed such a good and such a work between Creator and creature, it would be against the greater and better goodness that can exist between Creator and creature. And if this were the case, it would be greatly contrary to the goodness of God, which is in eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection, and this is impossible. For this impossibility, and in this impossibility, the conception that our Lady had of the Son of God, by the work of the Holy Spirit, is demonstrable.

On Love and Justice

If the Son of God had not become incarnate, divine love would not have been so strongly and explicitly infused and brought into harmony and justice in humanity. Justice is good and injustice is evil, and divine love is more signified by greater justice than by lesser justice. And faith, hope, charity, prudence, fortitude, and temperance are more in harmony with greater justice than with lesser justice, and greater justice is more contrary to vices than lesser justice. Therefore, it is signified, according to the conditions of this tree, that the Son of God is conceived by the Holy Spirit. If it were not so, the flower mentioned above would be contrary to the harmony and conditions mentioned above, and that is impossible.

On Power and Prudence

The power, wisdom, and love of God converge perfectly in three things: through power, He can make it; through wisdom, it is known to be done; through will, He desires it to be done; through perfection, it is allowed to be done. If this harmony did not exist, it would follow that there would be a contradiction in the flowers, which cannot be. The greatest power that God can have in a creature is that He can join it to Himself, and this is itself derived from His creating, willing, and perfecting it. And the greatest power that a creature can understand or desire in itself is to understand and to love one person with the divine person. Since this is in harmony, it is manifest by the nature and properties of the flower mentioned above and by the conditions of this tree that the Son of God became incarnate. If the greatest power that can be or exist is to engender infinite power in goodness, greatness, etc. from infinite power in goodness, greatness, etc., and from the engenderer and the engendered, infinite power in greatness, goodness, etc. comes forth, it necessarily follows that the greatest power that can be or exist between infinite and finite power is that infinite power can join finite power to itself. And if this were not the greatest power between infinite and finite power, it would follow that infinite power is not greater than finite power and that finite power is greater than infinite power, and that cannot be. And if prudence did not understand infinite power as greater than finite power, it would be contrary to the flowers of the first tree, to the conditions of this tree, and that is impossible. Therefore, it is demonstrated by this impossibility that according to the conditions of this tree, that thing must be, for power and prudence to be more in harmony, and in this greater harmony, the article mentioned above is signified.

On Perfection and Sloth

Perfection and sloth are opposites; for in perfection there is no deficiency, which is in agreement with sloth, nor is there perfection in sloth, which is contrary to deficiency. Therefore, if the Son of God has taken on human nature, God has infused greater perfection into human nature than if He had not taken on human nature; and as much as God has infused greater perfection into human nature, so much are uncreated perfection and created perfection more contrary to sloth and everything that is in agreement with sloth. And since the greatest opposition is between perfection and sloth, the incarnation of the Son of God is therefore evident in this greatest opposition.

On Faith and Hope

The Christian said to the Gentile: disbelief and faith are opposites, and hope and despair are opposites. Therefore, since faith and hope are virtues, and their opposites are vices, as much as faith and hope are greater, so much more do they agree against their opposites. Therefore, if the Son of God has become incarnate, those who believe in the incarnation and the hope that is through the incarnation cannot be in humans at a higher degree than they are. And if the Son of God had not become incarnate, faith and hope could be in humans in greater agreement and at a higher degree than they are. And since faith and hope have greater nobility, it is in agreement with being, according to the conditions of the tree, that the holy humanity that the Son of God took on in our blessed virgin is signified in that greater degree and agreement of being.

On Fortitude and Gluttony

Fortitude and temperance are opposed to intemperance and gluttony. And since humans eat and drink every day, and since the things that are eaten and drunk are pleasing to the mouth, God has ordained that fortitude and temperance should be opposed to intemperance and gluttony so that the soul may find pleasure in having fortitude and temperance. And since, in order to gain merit, one often fasts during the day and mortifies gluttony, God wills that there be great strength and great temperance in man in order to honor God and love what is pleasing to God. This is why God took on human nature out of love to save man, and that man, in order to honor God and love what is pleasing to Him, mortifies gluttony with greater temperance and fortitude. This greater temperance and fortitude can be in man more through the incarnation of the Son of God than without it, and in this, the conception of the Son of God is more signified.

The Gentile asks the Christian why all three divine persons did not become incarnate, but only the person of the Son took on flesh.

The Christian responds that to signify more distinctly how each of the three divine persons is distinct from one another, it was ordained by God’s great wisdom that only one person be incarnate, in order to avoid confusion of distinction among the divine persons. And to signify that one paternity, one filiation, and one person of the Holy Spirit is existing in the Trinity of God, the Son of God alone chose to become incarnate. For if more than one person was necessary for the incarnation, greatness and perfection would not be signified in God.

The Gentile asks the Christian about the opinions of Jews and Saracens on this article of conception.

The Christian responds that due to our sin, we Christians have been negligent in signifying and demonstrating our belief to the unbelievers, and they have had the courage and understanding to comprehend our law. And since we do not believe in the incarnation that they think we do, and the belief that we have in the incarnation of the Son of God is different from what they think, we cannot agree, and we differ on various opinions.

The Ninth Article: Jesus Christ Born of a Virgin

On Goodness and Greatness

The Christian said to the Gentile: As much as a good thing is greater than another good thing, so its work must be greater and better than that of the lesser good thing. The greatest and most noble birth that can be or could ever be is the birth of the Son of God, who is born of God the Father. This birth is infinite goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, begetting infinite goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on from infinite goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on. Therefore, if a unity is made between a being born infinitely in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, with a created, finite, born being, and both of them are born of a virgin female, the greatest and noblest birth that can be of a creature is the union of God and man born of a virgin female who is just, holy, and virtuous.

And if this is not the noblest birth that can be in a creature, then the birth of the Son of God, who is born of God the Father, would not be nobler than any other birth. As much as goodness needs to be praised and greatness needs to be magnified, so does significance need to be signified. And as the greater the good thing, the greater the significance can be made through great significance, according to the conditions of the tree, God chose to take on human nature in a virgin female, and chose to be a person with human nature, and chose that person to be born of a virgin to exalt the birth made in a creature and to demonstrate the great birth made in the Creator.

In nature, there can be no birth without a beginning or corruption from a female. In God, the Son is born of God the Father alone, without beginning, and the conditions of this tree are that the flowers are not contrary. Therefore, if the Son of God wanted to be born of a virgin female without his will being contrary to eternity, which has no beginning, and the will and the power are consistent in that God can be born of a virgin female, it is more evident to the human understanding that the flowers cannot be contrary to anything.

And if the Son of God did not want to be human or be born with human nature from a virgin female, then the impossibility that the flowers are contrary would be more significant. Therefore, this impossibility is manifest in the holy birth that we believe in and find in the above necessity, by which the concordance of the flowers of the first tree is signified.

On Power and Perfection

The greatest perfection in natural works is that, according to the course of nature, one thing is born of another. Therefore, the greatest power, and the most noble that nature can have, is that, through its work, one thing can engender another, and that one thing can be born of another. If it were not so, it would follow that natural perfection and natural power would be contrary, and that is impossible; and for this impossibility is signified the nativity in which Christians believe in God and in creature. For from the influence of the nature of God the Son, who is born of God the Father, there can be another nativity less noble than the nativity that God the Son has from God the Father, and that is more noble than the nativity that is in creature, according to the natural course, to signify greater perfection and greater power being in God than in creature; which creature has no power or perfection above itself; for if it had, it would be its own created power and its own created perfection, and that is impossible. Therefore, if Christ’s nativity were not above nature, power and perfection would not be as well suited in a work that is between God and creature as they are when it is a nativity above nature, and in that nativity, He is the Lord of nature and nature itself. And as the greater concordance of power and perfection signifies greater nobility in God than lesser concordance, and the greater nobility must be known to God, according to the condition of the tree where the flower of power and perfection is, therefore, in the condition, the nativity of Jesus Christ, God and man, and the virginity of our holy Lady Mary is signified. The power and perfection of God are so strongly united in infinite goodness, greatness, etc., that according to the course of nature, they have given virtue to the sunbeam that passes through the glass to illuminate the room without corrupting the glass and without the sunbeam being interrupted. If the wheel of the sunbeam passed through the whole glass without corrupting the sunbeam or the glass, God would have placed a more noble perfection of power and virtue in the sunbeam and in the glass than in itself, insofar as the sunbeam could not pass through the whole glass without breaking, nor could the glass remain whole if the wheel of the sunbeam did not pass through it. And since by the power and perfection of God, a glorified body will not be hindered from passing through another body, according to the condition of the flower, God must have ordained that the passing of the glorified body be signified, and that that passing be signified by man being born of a virgin, therefore it is necessary that man be born of a virgin, to signify to human understanding the aforementioned passing, without which nativity the conditions of the flower would not have been as evident.

On Wisdom and Charity

God has wisdom, and in humans there is charity. As much as by the wisdom of God, there is greater charity in humans, so much more can the charity in humans love the wisdom of God. Thus, if the Son of God assumed human nature, and was born into the world with that humanity, and that humanity was illuminated with greater wisdom than all the wisdom that exists in all angels and all humans, and in that humanity was infused with greater charity than all other created charities, it follows that in the nativity of the humanity that the Son of God assumed, there is no greater created wisdom and charity than all other created wisdom and charity. And if there is greater wisdom and charity, the uncreated wisdom and love will be more known and loved. Therefore, in this greater fittingness of being and truth, the nativity of Jesus Christ is manifested.

On Perfection and Avarice

You, pagan, know that in perfection there is no avarice; for if there were, it would be a defect against avarice. And in avarice, there is no perfection; for if there were, perfection and defect would agree. Thus, if an animal is born from another, a more perfect nativity is that if a tree is born from another; and this is because nature is nobler in animate beings than in beings of sensuality. And if a man is born from a woman, a more perfect nativity is that if an animal is born from another. And why is this so? It is because man is born with a rational soul, and the animal is born with a soul without reason.

So, if a man is born from a woman, and that man is God, it is a more perfect nativity than the nativity of all other men. And as the nativity is greater in perfection, it more strongly signifies the generosity of God, which is contrary to avarice; and avarice is against generosity. Therefore, according to this, pagan, you can understand and know that God shows greater generosity when He benefits His creature more strongly; and the more generosity is shown, the more it signifies to humans that they should be enemies of avarice. And as in this greater significance of perfect generosity, there is a need for the nativity of God with and in the creature, the nativity of God and man is signified. God gives a more perfect gift to a mother when He gives her a son than when He gives her a daughter. And why is this so? Because man is more perfect in nature than woman. And if God were to give you as a son to your mother, and you were born with all the wisdom you have, and that you will have by knowing us, He would give her a nobler gift than if you were born from her ignorant. Thus, if God gave His Son to our Lady Saint Mary, who was born so wise, as wise as He was since the beginning of His birth, He gave her a more perfect gift than if she had given birth to someone ignorant. And if that Son who gave so much generosity gives everything to the human race, to receive and sustain poverty and torments and painful death, it is contrary to avarice that would not be if He did not give Himself to these things. Thus, as greater created generosity signifies more perfection of uncreated generosity than lesser generosity, the nativity you inquire about is signified in the greater and lesser things mentioned, according to the conditions of the trees and their flowers.

On Prudence and Charity

The Christian said to the Gentile: “The more you understand, the more you can love or defame what you understand; and the more you can love or defame it, the more you can understand it. If God is a man, and is born as a man from a virgin woman; And if you understand and love this, it signifies a greater thing than if you love it but do not understand it, or if you understand it but defame it. If this were not so, it would follow that prudence and charity are contrary to each other, and that prudence and the opposite of charity are in agreement, and that charity and imprudence are in agreement, and this is impossible. In this impossibility, it is signified that what makes prudence and charity more congruent, must necessarily exist; And if it did not exist, its opposite would be congruent; and it would follow that being is more congruent with what makes prudence and charity less congruent than with what makes them more congruent, and it would follow that being and greater virtue are in contradiction, and this is impossible. For if it were possible, it would follow that God is not in agreement with lesser being against greater being, and this is impossible and against the conditions of trees; in this contradiction is signified the nativity of the Son of God. Through the miracles and works that God performs against the course of nature, you can multiply the habits of prudence in your understanding and the habit of charity, loving knowledge, more than just understanding miraculous works in creatures. If this is true, you can multiply the habits of prudence and charity more in your soul, if God performs a miraculous work in himself, taking human flesh and being born of a virgin, than if God did not perform a miraculous work only in creatures. And since what makes this habit greater in understanding and loving God is in accordance with the conditions of trees, therefore, in the greater significance of the miraculous work done in God and in creature, the nativity of God and man is signified.”

On Justice and Pride

Justice and pride are opposites; in our father Adam and our mother Eve, sin and transgression were born out of pride. As pride and injury are in agreement against justice and humility, therefore, according to the conditions of the flowers, it is fitting that justice and humility should agree with the birth of the best creature of all, because there is greater justice and humility in this creature than in all the fault and sin born in humans out of injury and pride. And if this were not so, the conditions of the flower would be destroyed, and there would be a contradiction in the flower of perfection and justice, and this would signify an agreement in the flower of perfection and pride, which is impossible. In this impossibility, it is signified that the Son of God was born with a human nature, so that there might be nothing in human nature greater than the virtue of justice and humility.

When the Christian had proved the above article to the Gentile, the Gentile asked him, “Tell me, this woman of whom you speak, from whom the Son of God was born, of what king was she the daughter, and what nobility of woman was sufficient for God to want to take on human nature from her and to be born of her?”

The Christian replied, “It is true that our Lady Saint Mary was of the lineage of David, who was the most honored and noble king that ever lived among the Jewish people, but the father of our Lady Saint Mary was not a king, nor was her mother a queen, for they were poor people, and our Lady Saint Mary was a poor woman in these temporal goods, but she was richer and nobler in virtues than any other creature, except for her blessed Son. And this woman was so poor that when the Savior of the world was born of her, there was no house in which to lay him, and in the stable, which is like a house for beasts, he was laid. All this was a sign of the great humility of the Son of God, which is more contrary to pride than any other creature. For if the Son of God had wanted to be born of a queen who was the queen of all the kingdoms in the world, he could have been, but it would not have signified such a great agreement of humility and justice against injury and pride.”

The Tenth Article: Jesus Christ Was Crucified

On Greatness and Eternity

Listen, Gentile, glory and suffering are opposites, and therefore you can understand that suffering, when it is coupled with non-being, is contrary to eternity and glory, but when it is coupled with being, it is coupled with eternity. And since being and non-being are opposites, and non-being is coupled with less and being is coupled with more, therefore it is more coupled with eternity; this coupling was signified in the passion of Jesus Christ. For if the Son of God was a person with the humanity of Jesus Christ, and that humanity died and suffered through which it died, and was made no longer a man by death, and the nature of the Son remained in his greatness and eternity, without any alteration of infinite goodness and greatness, then the Son of God shows himself impassible and immortal, more strongly than if he had not taken on the human nature that he did, and without the passion and death of human nature. And because the Son shows himself to be more immortal and impassible, he signifies greatness and eternity. According to the conditions of this tree, it is affirmable that the passion of Jesus Christ is manifested in the affirmability of this greatness and eternity.

An angel and a rational soul are immortal creatures, and since a soul and a body are one person, that is, one man, and in the death and separation of that man, the soul does not die but remains in itself; therefore, by experience, the immortality of the soul is more significant to the human understanding than the immortality of an angel. And for this reason, it is signified that in demonstrating his immortality, God wanted his Son to be a person with a human being, and that the death of the human being was not the cause of his Son’s immortality. And because the immortality of the divine nature is more significant, it is coupled with being; therefore, in this coupling of being, the incarnation of the Son of God and the death of the human nature he took on are manifested.

The Christian said to the Gentile, “We believe that the Deity remained with the body of Jesus Christ, which remained hanging on the cross while his soul descended into hell; and we believe that the soul departed from the Deity, just as it departed from the body.” If the Deity was thus one and the same person with the humanity of Christ, then after death, as before death, the nature of humanity, which was not a man after death, provides a greater demonstration of the greatness and eternity that exist in God. For as long as the Son was on the cross with his body and in hell with his soul, which descended into hell to bring out Adam and the prophets, his greatness was manifested, and insofar as the unity of the divine nature and the human nature remained, the death of the human nature showed the eternity of the unity of the Son of God. If a person was thus united with human nature, then the fact that human nature is mortal, while the Father and the Holy Spirit, who are immortal, are one in essence, proves that they are one person in the Deity.

In demonstrating this unity of persons in the Deity, he showed his greatness and eternity in the passion and unity of man; by this will, which is coupled with perfection, the passion of Jesus Christ is manifested, without which the greatness and eternity would not be manifested in God so perfectly.

On Love and Charity

The Christian said to the Gentile: According to the qualities of the first tree, it is necessary that we recognize and attribute to God the greatest love that can be attributed to Him; for if we did not do so, it would be contrary to the nobility of God, who is connected with infinite goodness, greatness, and so on. Therefore, the qualities of the first tree lead to the qualities of the second tree, that is to say, that the thing for which one can be more obliged to love God must be connected with being; for if it were not so, it would follow that it is a bad thing to love God, which is impossible. In this impossibility, it is signified that God, according to His love which is in harmony with infinite goodness, greatness, and so on, wanted to be human in order to love humanity more; for the lover is more loved by the beloved, when the lover wants to be one with the beloved, than if the lover did not want to be one with the beloved. In this greater love, it is demonstrated that God wanted to be human, and how much God can love humanity, for this reason, because He wanted to be human and die for humanity when He was human. Such great love could not exist in humans without God being human and Jesus Christ dying for humanity; therefore, in this great love, the passion of that human being whom God wanted to be is signified. If this were not a true signification, it would follow that the conditions of the trees were false, and this is impossible. According to the aforementioned qualities, it follows that what is most inconsistent with the love of God for humanity and the charity of humanity for God must be connected with non-being; and what causes the love of God and the charity of humanity to be contrary must be connected with non-being. Therefore, charity cannot exist in humanity as long as humanity is opposed to the love of God. Since this is the case, and since there is no other way that is so inconsistent, such as being contrary to the will of God and the will of humanity, that is, being God and humanity, and that human being dying to save humanity, it is signified that God is human, and that that human being died for humanity so that humanity’s will would not be contrary to divine love.

On Goodness and Gluttony

It is certain that divine goodness exalts human nature above the sky, the sea, the earth, and everything composed of the four elements, for no other creature is as noble as humans. And since Adam sinned by gluttony and disobeyed God in the terrestrial paradise, human nature was in greater disgrace than all the creatures mentioned above, even though Adam’s sin and fault were contrary to the goodness of God, which is not contrary to the above-mentioned creatures. Therefore, according to the goodness of God and the qualities of this tree, it is necessary to have faith that if Adam destroyed what God had so exalted, God would return human nature to a higher state than before, and this more noble state would not be completed without human nature being a person with infinite goodness, greatness, and so on. Because of this person, our nature is recreated, so that it returns to be in harmony with the final reason for which we were created: to contemplate God in His glory.

On Charity and Justice

As much as charity is the greatest love one can attribute to God, justice is the greatest way to hate injustice; and as much as one hates injustice, one loves justice; and as much as one loves justice, one can love God. Therefore, according to these conditions, there must be harmony between charity and justice in serving God. If it is true that God is human and has judged that human to suffer and die, in order to fulfill the great service that God desires from the charity and justice that exist in that human, and has also wanted to judge that human to death in order to save all who are loved by that human, and who love that human, it is evident that there cannot be greater harmony between charity and justice in you, me, and that human, and we cannot be more contrary to the opposite of charity and justice, which would not be possible if God were not human and that human was not dead to save humans. And according to the conditions of this tree, since virtues are combined with being, being is necessary. Therefore, in the conditions of this tree and in the aforementioned flower, the holy passion of our Lord God Jesus Christ is symbolized.

On Hope and Greed

Greed is contrary to hope; and therefore, poor people despair of the rich and avaricious, and have hope in the generous and liberal. If God is human, and that human died to save me, you, and all humans, think about it for yourself, as there is no other way: through this, you can trust and hope in God more than any other thing and you cannot be more contrary to greed. And through the incarnation of the Son of God and the passion of Jesus Christ, you can have greater hope and be more contrary to greed. Therefore, in the greatest hope and in the greatest contrast of hope and greed, the incarnation of the Son of God and the passion of Jesus Christ are symbolized. The Saracens say that Jesus Christ did not die. Why do they say this? Because they think they attribute greater honor to him by not dying. But they do not understand the honor that Jesus Christ takes in being hope and consolation for all, no matter how poor or guilty they are. For this would not be true hope if he were not God, if he were not human, or if he had not died to save humans. “I am amazed,” said the Gentile, “that Jesus is left alone, since he was so noble in person, as you say.” The Christian replied, “You hear, but you do not understand, and so listening without understanding engenders amazement, which generation is corrupted by hearing and understanding. Therefore, according to these conditions, understand that in the human nature of Jesus Christ and in his passion and death, God shows the perfection of the flowers of the first, second, and fourth trees. And just as your descendants are demonstrated in the bad people and those who are against God, the flowers of the third and fifth trees are shown, without which the third and fifth trees would not be so clearly evident to human understanding.”

The Eleventh Article: Christ Descended Into Hell

On Greatness and Perfection

The Christian said to the Gentile: The greatest perfection that can exist in a creature is to be united to the Creator in being a person with the Creator. If this is the noblest perfection in a creature, then the noblest use that can be made of a creature is to use it for God. If this use is the greatest and noblest use that can be made of a creature, then the noblest use that a creature can receive is to be used by God. If it were otherwise, it could receive a use that is nobler than what it has received, and it would follow that greatness and perfection would be contradicted by the flower with goodness, eternity, power, and so on, and that they would be in agreement with greed, sloth, and pride, which is impossible. This impossibility is indicated by the fact that in a creature there are as many uses and as much sovereignty as can fit, according to the conditions of the trees. Therefore, the use and the capacity for power are indicated by the incarnation of the Son of God. And through the incarnation and the flower mentioned above, the passion of Jesus Christ is indicated. And through the passion, the sovereignty that the human nature of Jesus Christ has over creation is indicated, which represents, according to the flower, that the soul of Jesus Christ descended into hell to deliver Adam, Abraham, and the other prophets, so that they could fulfill their hope and that their sin could be forgiven by means of the divine nature, with which it was united and by which it had greater perfection than all creatures, indicating that the flower mentioned above was in God. Perfection in the foliage is to send its rays through the soil and through the muddy places without being corrupted by them, and perfection in the soul is to be one with the heart and not to be corruptible by the corruption of the body. Therefore, just as the foliage and the soul have something to demonstrate their perfection, so the perfection of God must also have something to demonstrate it. If it did not have anything to demonstrate it, it would follow that the perfection of God is not greater than the perfection of the foliage or the soul, nor is it as great as the perfection of the foliage or the soul, and that is impossible. Therefore, the impossibility of this indicates the greatness and perfection of God, and this demonstrability indicates that the soul of Christ must have descended to the place where the souls of the prophets were tormented and not have suffered any torment, indicating his perfection. This perfection has the divine nature, indicating that the divine nature was with Him in that place of hell without any passion of the deity or the soul. And if the soul of Christ did not suffer, much less did the deity suffer in the place of hell, which confirms that it is essentially present there. Therefore, without the descent of the soul of Christ, the divine greatness and perfection are not so well indicated, and this greatness and perfection can be indicated, as is the case and according to the conditions of the flower.

On Greatness and Eternity

Infinite greatness cannot be moved from one place to another, as everything is limited and finite; and eternity cannot be altered or changed, as everything that is alterable and changeable has a beginning. To signify the greatness and eternity of God, the soul of Christ, which is one with the Son of God, who is one with the heart of Christ, descended into hell, signifying that the Son was in the heart and in the soul, so that it is not as if the soul were in one place and the heart in another, and that the heart is subject to change from life to death, and the soul subject to change from one place to another. And thus, such a signification is fitting to signify the flower in the person of the Son, and that signification is made true if the soul of Christ descends into hell.

On Power and Justice

If the greatest nobility of any power can be known through the power of God, then the greatest justice that any creature can possess is known through the soul that is adjusted to the divine power. In the greatest created justice, the greatest uncreated power is manifested, elevated above all other created justices. And if the soul of Jesus Christ is descended into hell to demonstrate justice, so that the divine power may be manifested through justice, it follows that justice demonstrates the power of God more than anything else. And thus, the fact that the soul descended into hell signifies the manifestation of the power of God through truth and being.

On Goodness and Pride

The goodness of God creates the angels in paradise and Adam in the terrestrial paradise; and through pride, the demons fall from heaven, and Adam is expelled from the terrestrial paradise. This signifies that the goodness of God is strongly opposed to pride and that one should be so humble as to unite created humility to oneself, which is present in the human nature of Christ, who was humbled to death to restore what man had lost through pride and that the heavens would recover the truth, which is signified and seen in them. And to make this signification, it is fitting that the soul of Christ represents in hell the humility of the heart that died on the cross, and the goodness of God, who called the souls of Adam, Abraham, and other prophets and saints to ascend to heaven, from where the demons had fallen through pride. And if the soul of Christ had not descended into hell, the above demonstration could not have been made fittingly, and thus, in the greatest fittingness, according to the conditions of the tree, it is manifested that the soul of Christ descended into hell to call the souls of the saints to eternal glory.

On Faith and Hope

Abraham and all the other prophets believed and had hope in the coming of the Messiah; the Jews who exist now believe that the Messiah has yet to come to bring them out of temporal captivity. But Christians believe that the Messiah has come and fulfilled the prophecy of the prophets, and that the prophecy was fulfilled to exalt the human nature in the union with God, and to be recreated from original sin. And since this Christian prophecy is greater and more necessary than the one the Jews believe in, faith and hope are more in agreement with our belief than with the belief of the Jews. And since greater and being are united, therefore in the greater and being of faith and hope, ours is signified to be true, and it could not be true if we believed that the soul of Christ did not descend into hell without it actually descending. Therefore, in the greater agreement of faith and hope, it is manifested that the soul of Christ descended into hell.

On Charity and Wrath

If the soul of Christ descended into hell to bring the saints and the body of Christ was dead to recreate them, greater charity is not signified in the soul of Christ, and in God, if He is one with the soul and body of Christ; and greater wrath is held by those in hell, and their conscience is more severely burdened with punishment. And since charity and wrath are further from each other, and charity is united with greater glory, and wrath with greater punishment, in being, according to the conditions of the tree; therefore, in the greater distinction of charity and wrath, and in the conditions of the tree, it is signified that the soul of Christ descended into hell to signify the greatest distance and estrangement that can exist between charity and wrath.

The Twelfth Article: Christ is Resurrected

On Greatness and Perfection

It is certain that every creature has a purpose, that is, to that purpose for which it is most suited. And if there is a creature that is the final reason for all other created purposes, and the final reason for that creature is God, greater perfection is not signified to be in God and in creatures than it would be for a creature that is not the end of all creatures, but stands in the middle between God and creatures. And since greater perfection is more signified in God and in creatures, it is more fitting to be, according to the conditions of the tree, for this reason the incarnation of the Son of God in a creature is signified, by which creature is signified death, which is the final reason for resurrection, and by which resurrection, the flower mentioned above is more signified than by any other resurrection; the nobility of which resurrection signifies more nobility than any other less noble resurrection. For if it were not so, the flower mentioned above and the conditions of the tree would be contrary, and this is impossible.

On Power and Hope

Souls have hope that they will recover their bodies to return to the humanity in which they were with their bodies. And if the body of Jesus Christ is resurrected, the souls who understand it in paradise have more power to hope than if the body were not resurrected. And where souls have greater power to hope in resurrection, they receive more power from the divine power, and where they receive more, they know and love Him more, and the divine power is more beneficial to the souls of the saints in glory. Since this is so, if the body of Christ is resurrected and in glory, the flowers and the conditions of the tree are more in agreement. And for this reason, in that which is more fitting, and in the conditions of the tree, resurrection is demonstrable.

On Perfection and Sloth

It is proven in many places of this book that the Son of God was incarnate, and that the flesh that He took died to save the human race, and to represent the perfection of God, and the perfection that God has been able to put in a creature. And in the body of Christ, by the will of God, what pleased the Son of God was fulfilled; but the fulfillment of the body would not have been in the body if it had not been resurrected. And if it were the case that the body of Christ was not resurrected, there would be greater perfection in the body than in the Son of God; for the body, through His passion and death, would have complied with the will of the Son of God, and the Son of God would have agreed with sloth, against that same body, with which He is one person, and this is impossible; for this impossibility, the resurrection of our Lord God Jesus Christ is demonstrable.

On Faith and Hope

The Christian says to the Gentile: Neither the Jews nor the Saracens believe that any body will be resurrected; but you, when you go to the desert, are sad, because you have no hope or faith in resurrection.

Think, therefore, within yourself, if you have so much joy against the sadness in which you were, if you have faith and hope in resurrection. And if you believe that any body is resurrected, how can you not have faith that no body is not resurrected? Therefore, because faith and hope more concur to multiply your joy for resurrection, it is more in agreement with the flower, that for which you do not have so much joy, against the sadness you had when you did not believe in resurrection. And since faith and hope more concur against sadness, it is more in agreement with being, therefore, in this greater concord, the resurrection of Christ is signified.

On Justice and Gluttony

Your body, my body, and his body were mortal because of the sin of gluttony, which our father Adam committed; in justice and temperance, which are against injury and gluttony, they ought to be in some man, by which the body recovers immortality, to which every human body was created, but by the accident of the aforementioned sin, it became mortal. Therefore, since the body of Christ died for justice, that is, by excellent temperance he mortified gluttony, and by excellent justice he mortified injury, it is fitting that if by the fault of one body it became mortal, by the merit of another body it became immortal. And if it is not so, it would follow that injury and gluttony have more power against immortality than justice and temperance against mortality, and this is impossible; in which impossibility the incarnation and resurrection are signified, and it is signified that the flesh which the Son of God took should be resurrected before any other body; for if it were not so, the conditions of the trees would be corrupted, and this is impossible.

The Thirteenth Article: On the Ascension of Jesus Christ

On Greatness and Perfection

The sun gives greater brightness in the day, and the moon in the night, than all the other stars. So, if there is a creature in heaven through which glory is more noble than through all other creatures, greater perfection is made known in God. If the human nature of Jesus Christ were not in heaven but on earth, there would not be a creature in heaven that gives the perfection of glory to all creatures, for which it is fittingly signified the perfection of God. And if it were not so, it would follow that the will and power of God were contrary to the aforesaid flower, and this is impossible. For this impossibility, the human nature of Jesus Christ is signified to be lifted up to heaven. If Jesus Christ were still on earth and had not ascended to heaven, the justice and charity that are in the souls of the holy men who are in heaven would be more pleasing to the flower than the justice and charity of Jesus Christ, and this is impossible. For if it were possible, the flower would be against greater charity and justice, and this is impossible. For this impossibility, the humanity of Jesus Christ is signified to be in heaven.

On Wisdom and Justice

It is certain that a glorified body has no place in this world, nor does any rational soul have such a place elsewhere. So, if the humanity of Jesus Christ, who came to die to save us, were not in its place, the wisdom of God and the justice of Jesus Christ would be contrary. And if they were not, created justice and uncreated justice would be contrary. For this contrariety, uncreated wisdom, which agrees with uncreated justice, would be against created wisdom and created justice, which agree, and this is impossible. For this impossibility, the ascension of the holy humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ is manifested. The wisdom of God has honored many saints and many martyrs in this world, and has made many princes honored in this world. So, if the human nature of Jesus Christ were in this world, the aforementioned would be more honored in this world than Jesus Christ. And if they were, the wisdom of God would do injustice to himself, and the wisdom of Jesus Christ would do justice to himself. And since one person is the wisdom of God with the humanity of Jesus Christ, and justice and injustice are contrary, therefore, as stated above, the ascension of Jesus Christ is signified.

On Power and Pride

The Christian said to the Gentile: The demons fell from heaven because of pride, and the body of Christ came to death because of humility, by which we could ascend to the place where the demons fell. If we can ascend there through the advent and death of Jesus Christ, as we have proven that Jesus Christ is the recreator, it is necessary that Jesus Christ, according to his divine and human power, can ascend to heaven before any other man. And if he did not, it would follow that his power is no more opposed to pride than our power, and this is impossible. In this impossibility, and in the conditions of the trees, the ascension of Christ is declared to the human understanding that understands it in this way.

On Hope and Love

Know, Gentile, that if Jesus Christ is in heaven, and you have hope in him who helps you, forgives you, and gives you glory, whom you can love, and you can have greater hope in him than if Jesus Christ were on earth and you believed he was in heaven, or if he were in heaven and you believed he was not in heaven. Since this is appropriate, because hope and love can be more compatible, for this greater compatibility, according to the conditions of the tree, the ascension is demonstrable.

On Love and Anger

If Jesus Christ is in glory, the saints have greater love in glory for each other and for themselves than they would if he were not in heaven. And if this were not true, the saints in glory, who have greater glory for each other and for themselves than they would if they were not in heaven, would be more covered with glory than the human nature of Jesus Christ, and this is impossible. Therefore, the impossibility indicates that Christ is in glory, and that through his glory the saints do not have greater love for each other. And as their love is greater, their love is further from the anger that is in the damned, whose anger is greater where the blessed are more glorified. And since, according to the conditions of the tree, this is why love and anger are more strongly opposed, the greatest opposition of love and anger is indicative of the ascension of the Son of God.

The Fourteenth Article: On Judgment

The Christian showed the Gentile the flower of the first tree, as proof that Jesus Christ will come to judge the good and the bad on Judgment Day. The Gentile replied that he did not need proof of Judgment Day, as the Jew had already proved it sufficiently. But the Christian answered that since he believed that Jesus Christ is both God and man, it was necessary for him to prove that He who is both God and man would give the judgment.

On Greatness and Power

The Christian said to the Gentile: “If you had such great power that you could judge all men who are in glory or in pain, you would not be a creature, but a creator. And why is this? Because only God has such power. The power that could transubstantiate you, a creature, into a creator, could only exist in God. If God were not a creator, He would not have such power. And if you could engender an infinite power that judges all men, you would be even more like God for engendering such power than for creating creatures. And why is this? Because it is more to engender an infinite power than to create a creature. And since this is true, it is demonstrated to you that there is someone in the Godhead who engenders infinite power, for if you, by creating creatures, are transubstantiated into a divine being, then all the more can a creature, by being united with infinite power, be and must be judged by God above all creatures. And so it is demonstrated to you that infinite generation exists in God, by which it is demonstrated to you that the Trinity exists in God, and by which it is signified to you that the judgment that must be given must come from God and man. For if you, by creating creatures, are transubstantiated into a divine being, how much more can and must a creature, by being united with infinite power, be judged by God above all creatures, according to the conditions of the tree.”

On Greatness and Wisdom

The Christian said to the Gentile: “Justice requires greatness and wisdom, for the more wisdom there is, the more justice is directed to judge rightly, and the farther it is from ignorance. If the judge who will give the judgment on Judgment Day is a man, and that man knows all the good and bad that other men have done, and that man has great wisdom, because he is suited to be a person with infinite wisdom, which God has in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, then the great wisdom of our God must be even more signified and more concordant with justice than if He were not also a man. For, according to the conditions of the tree, it must be that which makes the great wisdom more signified and more concordant with justice. Therefore, in this greater signification, it is demonstrated that the judge who will give the judgment must be both God and man. For if He were not, God’s will would be contrary to that which is most revealed to the human understanding in the aforementioned flower, and this is impossible.”

On Greatness and Justice

There is a certain thing among us, gentile, that the greater a man’s virtue or sin, the greater his judgment can be, either for greater reward of good or for greater punishment of guilt. And therefore, the more justice can be applied to him, the more his greatness is shown; and if this were not so, it would follow that you would not have greater care in giving yourself to God than in giving a penny, nor would you have greater punishment for killing a man than for committing a venial sin, and this is impossible.

In God, justice and mercy are the same thing; and therefore, mercy is equally coupled with the same greatness, with which justice is coupled. As much as you are more sinful and have contrition for your sin, so much more can the mercy of God forgive you of greater guilt and sin; and as much as He forgives you more, so much more can you understand Him. Know, gentile, that there are not as many religious men, martyrs, men who give alms, and men who abandon the world for God among the Jews or the Saracens, as there are in the Christian people; and therefore, it is signified that the great justice of God is more inclined to reward great virtues in those who do not do as much for the love of our true God as in other men. And if this were not so, it would follow that greatness and justice were contrary, and this is impossible; in which and by which impossibility, it is signified that those are on the true path, in which justice can reward more.

And if they believe that the judge is God and man, then it follows that He who will give the sentence is God and man. If the Son of God, who is such a noble Lord, as you can consider, and is even greater than you can understand, even He, for the love of saving His people, was willing to be a man, and He wanted to deliver that man to poverty, and torments, and death for the sake of man, because the Christian men who sin against that man are more sinful than the infidels who sin against him in ignorance. And if they were more sinful, they can be judged with greater labor, or their greater sin can be forgiven than other men. And if this is so, justice and mercy can be more significantly demonstrated in greater greatness for the Christian people than for any other people. And if this is so, the Christians must believe in the way of salvation. And if they believe that the judge is God and man, then they must believe it; for if it were not so, they would be in error, and it would follow that those for whom justice and mercy do not so strongly meet in a creature of such great greatness are on the true path, and this is impossible; for if it were possible, the conditions of the tree would be destroyed, and this is impossible.

On Love and Wrath

If the judge is God, the sentence would be more pleasing, true, lovable, and fearsome than if it were given by anyone else. And if the judge is God, it is necessary that his essence be intelligible to the souls of those he judges, and of corporeal nature resembling those he judges. And if God and man were not one person, it would be impossible for him to judge as is necessary, since God is invisible to corporeal eyes, and his essence is not visible to the spiritual eyes of sinners whom he judges with infinite labor; they could not have the pain of seeing him or the wrath of his sentence. And if they did not, the sentence would not give them passion or wrath, and that is impossible; for if it were possible, the vision would be contrary to the sentence, and that is impossible. Therefore, by this impossibility, it is signified that the judge is God and man.

On Charity and Justice

Charity and justice are in agreement, and the more they agree, the more opposed they are to hatred and injury. Therefore, if the Son of God is a man, and that man comes on the day of judgment and shows the charity he had for his people, showing the cross where he suffered and died, and showing the scars he took to save his people, no greater charity would be demonstrated against hatred and injury; and the more charity is demonstrated, the more justice is shown. And since this is what demonstrates greater charity and justice, it is necessary, according to the conditions of the tree, that Jesus Christ will come to judge his people on the day of judgment; for if he did not, the flowers of the first tree and the flower mentioned above would be contrary, and that is impossible. Therefore, by this impossibility, it is signified that the justice of Christ will be more orderly in the use of those who have acted in this world with hatred and injury against him.

On Hope and Pride

Hope and pride are contrary by the agreement of hope and humility, which are contrary to pride and despair. If you have hope that on the day of judgment you will be judged by a man, your hope is more in agreement with humility. And if you are so proud that you do not believe that a man can judge you or allow you to be judged, your pride leads to greater despair. Since hope and humility are consistent with being, and pride and despair are consistent with non-being, according to the conditions of this tree, hope and humility are more likely to be, and pride and despair are more likely to be. Therefore, it is said in the above majority that the Son of God and man will give judgment on the people of God on the day of judgment.

When the Christian had proved his articles to the Gentile by the conditions and flowers of the trees, he said these words: “You should know, gentile, that the God of glory, blessed be He, has given man memory to remember, understanding to comprehend, and will to love God and do His works. The more the soul remembers, understands, and loves God, the nobler it is, and the more it is connected with the final reason for which it was made and created.”

Therefore, if you remember, understand, and love God more strongly through the words I have spoken to prove my articles, than through the words spoken by the Jew or those that the Saracen will tell you, by which you cannot remember, understand, or love God as highly as by the words I have spoken to you, then my teaching is true.

And because we believe in the Trinity of God and in the incarnation of the Son of God, we can connect with and know God more than the Jews and Saracens can according to their beliefs. And since you can agree more with the flowers and conditions of the trees according to the new order and manner of argumentation that the gift of Intelligence gives us, it is necessary that you believe in more words and reasons if you want to have the grace of God’s glory.

When the Christian had spoken these words, the Gentile responded and said: “I have heard your words, and I have understood your reasons; but before I respond to you, I want to hear the beliefs of the Saracens and the way in which their articles agree with the flowers and conditions of the trees. Therefore, I ask the Saracen to tell me what he understands me to say.”

The Fourth Book, Which is About the Belief of the Saracens

When the Saracen saw that it was now his turn to speak, he went to the fountain, washed his hands and face, ears, nose and mouth, and then washed his feet and other parts of his body, as a sign of the original sin and the need for humility. Then he bowed his head to the ground three times, putting his head on the ground, kissing the earth, and lifting his heart, hands, and eyes to heaven, saying these words: “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, to whom be the praise, for He is the Lord of the world. In Him I adore and in Him I trust, for He is the guidance of the right path of salvation.” The Saracen said many other words according to his usual prayer. After he finished his prayer, he told the Gentile that the articles of his faith are twelve, namely:

  1. Belief in one Creator God.
  2. Muhammad is a prophet.
  3. Al-Qur’an is a book given by God.
  4. The angel demanded from the dead man, when he was buried, that Muhammad should be sent as the messenger of God.
  5. All things will die, except God.
  6. Resurrection.
  7. Muhammad will be summoned on the day of judgment.
  8. We will give account to God on the day of judgment.
  9. Our deeds will be weighed.
  10. We will pass through a bridge.
  11. Paradise and Hell exist.
  12. Belief that Paradise and Hell exist.

The First Article: Belief in One God

While the Saracen was looking at the trees to choose the flowers he needed to prove the existence of God, the Gentile said to him: “There is no need to prove the existence of God, for the Jew has already proven it sufficiently.”

But the Saracen replied that he wanted to prove that God is not divisible, not separated into parts, nor composed. Rather, God is one in all ways, without Trinity or plurality, for if it were so, it would be necessary that God’s composition, goodness, greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, and love be contrary to perfection. And since this is impossible, it is evident that God is not in Trinity.

When the Saracen had said these words, the Christian wanted to reply to him, but the Gentile said it was not the time for him to speak, and that he would reply to the Saracen.

Therefore, the Gentile said to the Saracen: “You can remember that I have already asked the Christian the same question you are asking. From what you have said and what I have heard from the Christian, I understand that the Christian believes in the Trinity of God in one way, and you think that he believes in it in another way. Therefore, I think you cannot agree on the same belief with the Christian. But let us leave this matter and move on to prove your articles, because there is no need to talk further about this first article.”

The Second Article: Creator

The Saracen wanted to prove that God is the creator of the world and everything in it, but the Gentile told him that there was no need to prove it again since the Jew had already proven it sufficiently. However, the Saracen asked if God had created evil, fault, or sin. The Saracen replied: “We believe that God created everything, and we believe that God created evil, good, fault, sin, merit, and that everything comes and has come from God. For if there was something that was created and came from another, there would be two Gods, and that is impossible; for this impossibility, it is proven that evil and good all come from God.”

The Gentile said to the Saracen: “It is a condition of the second tree that the flowers of the first and second trees are not contrary; therefore, if what you say is true, it follows that God’s will is contrary to justice, and that you agree with injustice. If God created sin, it is necessary that He loved creating it; for if He had not wanted to, He would not have created it. And if He created sin and fault, it is unjust to punish those who are sent to hell because they sinned with the sin that He created. And since it is impossible for there to be a contradiction in the flowers of the first and second trees, it is impossible for God to have created sin.”

The Saracen replied: “You say, Gentile, that God, blessed be He, has perfect wisdom, as has already been proven in the first book. Therefore, if God has perfect wisdom, it follows that God knew about sin before the world was created and knew that if He created the world, man would sin. And since God knew about it and still created man and the world, it is proven that God created sin and is the cause of sin.”

The Gentile replied and said: “God has perfection in His power and ability, for if He did not, His greatness would have an end in His power and ability. And since it is without end, it is signified that God can create sin without being the cause of sin through His power, His ability, or even His will. And if God did not have such power that He could create sin without being the cause of sin, then His power, ability, and will would not be perfect. But let us leave this question and move on to proving the other articles, for I do not want to ask any more about this article.”

The Third Article: That Muhammad is a Prophet

On Greatness and Goodness

The Saracen said to the Gentile: “There was a time when all the peoples who were in Mecca and in the city of Iatrib,3 where Muhammad was a prophet, were idolaters and had no knowledge of God, and they were in that error in which you were before coming to this place, nor had any knowledge of God. Just as you needed consolation from the sadness in which you were, so those accursed people needed help and enlightenment. And since the goodness of God is great, therefore God had pity on those people who were lost in ignorance and wanted to enlighten them and give them knowledge of himself and his glory. And so he sent them Muhammad as a prophet, who illuminated them and gave them knowledge of God; and that enlightenment and knowledge must be in accordance with the great goodness of God, without which Muhammad would not be a prophet. And since one good thing must be in accordance with another, it is proved that Muhammad is a prophet of God in the goodness of God and in the good he did in guiding the erring.”

The Gentile replied and said: “According to what you say, it would follow that the perfection of God does not agree with the great goodness of God, as it is a necessary thing that there should be so many people in the world where I came from who go to perdition because they have no knowledge of God. And since the goodness of God does not extend to all good things that are necessary, it is contrary to the greatness of God, which would require that all necessary things be satisfied. And if the goodness of God is contrary to the greatness of God, it is impossible for it to be in accordance with perfection, and this is contrary to the conditions of the trees.”

The Saracen replied and said: “It is certain that God has given man free will to do good and avoid evil. If all the men who existed were on the path of truth, those who are on the path of truth would have no opportunity to exercise their free will. Therefore, God allows some people to remain in error so that we who are in truth, for the love of God, may go and preach to them, convert them, and bring them to the path of salvation, so that we may not be more glorious than the glory of God.”

On Power and Prudence

It is customary for a king to use the customs of his people. Since God has created in man prudence, by which man recognizes the great power of God, he therefore sends prophets and customs in different times to demonstrate that God has the power to make certain things at certain times, and at other times other things. Therefore, he sent Moses as a prophet and gave the law to the Jews, which he wanted to preserve until Jesus Christ, who was the Spirit of God and born of a holy virgin, came as a prophet. He gave the law that lasted until he sent Muhammad, who revealed to us al-Qur’an, which is our law and word of God. And if God did not make these changes of customs and laws through different prophecies and at different times, prudence would not be so enlightened in recognizing the power of God. And since prudence is better able to recognize the power of God, it must be in accordance with being, and therefore, in the being and concordance of the power of God and human prudence, it is shown that it is a message from God.

The Gentile replied: “According to the flowers of the trees and their conditions, it follows that God does not send a prophet against another, nor does one contradict what the other has prophesied from God. But since the law of the Christians and yours are contrary, it is impossible for both laws to be from God. And if they were, it would mean that the flowers of the first tree agree with falsehood against truth, and that is impossible. Furthermore, it would follow that if it were as you say, God would have to send another prophet who would contradict what Muhammad has said, and then another after that, ad infinitum, until the end of the world. And that is impossible and contrary to the wisdom and perfection of God. For every master must have love for his work; and through this love, his work attains perfection, if the master has wisdom and power.”

On Wisdom and Pride

The Saracen said to the Gentile: Muhammad was an illiterate man who did not know letters, and God revealed to him al-Qur’an, which is full of great wisdom and is the most beautiful dictation that can exist. All human beings, including angels and demons, could not produce such a beautiful dictation as al-Qur’an, which is our scripture. It is the custom of people who are wise to be proud and vain, and to despise those who are not wise. Therefore, God’s wisdom wanted to illuminate Muhammad, who had such great wisdom that he could reveal al-Qur’an, which is the word of God. Muhammad did not become proud but destroyed pride and vanity as an example of God’s humility, who wanted to exalt Muhammad’s wisdom and humility. Since there was great wisdom and humility in Muhammad, the greatness of wisdom and humility is a sign that Muhammad is a prophet.

On Charity and Justice

Reverence and honor must be given to those who have charity and justice.

Since Muhammad is so honored in this world by so many people, justice must be in harmony with the charity of God concerning him. If not, God would not allow him to be so honored. If so, it would follow that injury and honor would be in conflict with charity and justice, and this is impossible. Due to this impossibility, it is demonstrated that in the honor that God has given to Muhammad, he is a prophet. The Gentile replied to the Saracen: According to what you say, it follows that Jesus Christ, who is so honored in this world, is God and that his apostles and other martyrs, who are so honored in this world, died in falsehood. If God did not allow the dead who died in falsehood to be honored in this world, it would be necessary for what is said of Christ to be true. If so, your scripture would not be true, and Muhammad would not be worthy of being honored nor a prophet.

On Hope and Gluttony

The Saracen said to the Gentile: According to what is recounted in al-Qur’an, which is the word of God, there will be many great pleasures of various kinds of food in paradise, which will be very enjoyable to eat. There will also be beautiful clothing, beautiful palaces, beautiful rooms, and many beds where beautiful women will be present, providing enjoyable physical pleasures. To destroy the gluttony, avarice, and luxury of this world, God sent Muhammad so that people would have hope in the pleasures of paradise and not sin in the pleasures of this world. As it agrees with the fact that hope and gluttony can be more opposite, it is more contradictory when it comes to the promised pleasures of paradise. Therefore, in the greatest opposition, according to the conditions of the tree in which the aforementioned flower is collected, it is indicated that Muhammad is a prophet. The Gentile replied: According to the conditions of the flowers, it follows that if one flower signifies something, that flower must4 be contrary to the other flowers that signify that thing not being. For if this were not so, the flowers could be in opposition to each other, and this is impossible.

The Fourth Article: On Al-Qur’an

On Power and Love

The Saracen said to the Gentile: Muhammad was an illiterate man, and al-Qur’an is the most beautiful dictation that exists or can exist. If it were not for the will and work of God, Muhammad could not have made or dictated such beautiful words, nor as well-ordered as those of al-Qur’an. And since al-Qur’an is such a beautiful dictation by the power of God, given by Muhammad who was illiterate and had no power in himself to dictate such beautiful words, al-Qur’an must be the word of God. Power and love meet in God, and since in al-Qur’an there are so many blessings that God promises to those who will have the glory of God, the great love that God has for his people is signified by al-Qur’an. And since no other religion promises so many blessings to man as al-Qur’an does, al-Qur’an is more lovable to God than any other religion. And if it were not so, it would follow that one could love God more by promising God fewer blessings than more, and that is impossible and against the conditions of the trees. If al-Qur’an were not from God, it would be contrary to the truth, and since truth has power over falsehood, and truth is loved by God, and falsehood is abhorred by God, al-Qur’an cannot be destroyed by the religion of the Christians or the Jews, so it is signified that it is from God, to signify the concordance that exists between God’s power and will, which meet in that power can, and will will what the people of the Jews and Christians have no power to destroy, only to wish they have.

On Power and Justice

You know, Gentile, that the most honored and desired place that Christians and Jews have in this world is a city called Jerusalem. That city was, at the beginning of the world, the head of the prophets, and in that city, Jesus Christ was crucified and died, as Christians believe; and that city is held and controlled by the Saracens, much to the displeasure of the Christians and Jews; and in that city, al-Qur’an is read, and no book, whether secular or religious, is as honored as al-Qur’an. All this is a signification of the power and justice of God, because since the people of Christians and Jews do not believe in al-Qur’an, God punishes them by placing al-Qur’an in the most honored and desired place they have. And for this reason, it is signified that al-Qur’an is the word of God, because if it were not, it would follow that the power and justice of God would be contrary to the justice of Christians and Jews, and that is impossible; by which impossibility, al-Qur’an is demonstrated to be sent and supported by the power of God.

On Wisdom and Envy

To signify that the wisdom of God is contrary to envy, God has sent al-Qur’an to earth, where he promises many blessings that one will have in paradise, in order to mortify envy in this world of temporal pleasures. No man should envy the women or riches of others, for in paradise there will be such abundance that in this world one should not be envious. Since al-Qur’an promises more and greater blessings than any other book, it mortifies envy in this world. If al-Qur’an were not the word of God, it would be signified, according to the conditions of the trees, that the wisdom of God and envy could be in agreement, which is impossible. Therefore, the fact that al-Qur’an is the word of God is signified by this impossibility.

On Hope and Charity

To promise many noble things signifies charity, and where charity is signified, hope is multiplied more strongly. Since this is the case, when hope and charity are so concordant as to exist in great quantity and actuality, truth is signified according to the conditions of the trees. Since al-Qur’an promises more and greater blessings to man than any other book, it is signified by the concordance of hope and charity that it contains truth. And through this truth, it is signified that God has sent it to multiply hope and charity in man.

On Justice and Anger

As justice is greater, anger can be multiplied by injury in those who are punished by justice. Since al-Qur’an promises so many blessings to those who will live in glory, those who will be in hell and who have not been obedient to God will have greater anger when they remember the glory they have lost, which was promised to them in this world and revealed by al-Qur’an. The Jews and Christians do not have as much glory promised to them in their books as the Saracens do. The greater and lesser contrariety of justice and anger give a sign of truth from God himself, so it is demonstrated that al-Qur’an is the word of God.

The Fifth Article: On the Demand Made to a Dead Person in the Grave

The Saracen said to the Gentile: We believe that when a man is dead and buried, two angels of God ask him five things, that is to say, who is God: his law from which he comes: what is his law: whether Muhammad is a prophet: whether Mecca is to the south.5 And if God grants him the grace to respond that God is his creator, and that his law is of God, and that his law is al-Qur’an, and that Muhammad is a messenger of God, and that he acknowledges that Mecca is to the south, then he will be joyfully and amply in the tomb until the day of judgment, and he will see paradise and the glory that God promises to the blessed, and he will see the infernal pains from which he will escape. And if that man denies the above-mentioned things and is ignorant of the answers that correspond to the questions, then his tomb will be narrow, and he will be in pain and sadness until the day of judgment, and he will see the infernal pains prepared for him and the glory of paradise that he will have lost. According to what has been said above, the Saracens believe in men when they are dead; to prove this article, we first take this flower.

On Greatness and Power

To demonstrate the greatness of God’s power, it is by His power that dead people can see the things mentioned above while they are in their graves. Without this divine power, the demand and vision mentioned above would not be so demonstrable. Therefore, the greatest demonstration and vision of God’s power is shown to prove the truth of the above article.

The Gentile asked, “How can a dead person see what you say, since the body is less than the soul, and the body cannot see, understand, speak, or answer?”

The Saracen replied, “Some of us believe that God restores the soul to the body, while others believe that the soul is between the body and the burial shroud. Therefore, through the power of the divine, and through the soul that is in the grave, the dead person can answer and see what has been mentioned above. If God’s power were not so great that a dead person could do what has been said, then God’s greatness and power would be contradictory, and this is impossible.”

On Greatness and Justice

The Saracen said to the Gentile: It is certain that God’s justice is greater than the justice of humans. Therefore, according to God’s great wisdom, it was necessary to establish a way to show that God’s justice is greater than human justice, which is manifested in the fact that human justice is not sufficient beyond a person’s lifetime. On the other hand, God’s justice exists before a person’s life and after his or her death. This is shown in the existence of Paradise and Hell, which existed before humans and exist after they die. After death, God demonstrates His justice by judging the person according to how he or she answers the above-mentioned questions. Therefore, to prove that God’s great justice is more demonstrated in being greater than human justice, it was necessary to establish the demand mentioned above.

On Goodness and Anger

The Saracen said to the Gentile: Through God’s great goodness, His anger towards sin and guilt is made manifest. To demonstrate that great goodness and God’s anger towards vice and sin, He will reveal to the dead in the tomb, His glory and the infernal punishment, to show that God loves glory and is angry at infernal punishment, and that one can choose blessings and avoid curses in the tomb, if one answers the angels, as contained above. And since one has more time to choose good and avoid evil if the aforementioned request is true than if it is not, the demand is more significant. And in that greater amount of time, the contradiction between God’s goodness and anger, which is vice, is more significant. Therefore, in that greater amount of time that one can choose blessings and avoid curses, the aforementioned demand is deemed to be true.

On Faith and Hope

Faith and hope can be in greater quantity in a person if the demand is made than if it is not. For if a sinner cannot perform deeds in his life by which he can be saved, at least in his death, when the angels ask him the aforementioned requests, he can choose salvation and avoid damnation. And since the demand can more aptly combine faith and hope, it is an affirming thing. And if the demand is present, faith and hope can be more combined. Therefore, in the majority of faith and hope and in their greatest concordance, the demand is deemed to be true, according to the conditions of the tree.

On Charity and Avarice

It is in the nature of charity to be an occasion for a person to reach the truth, and it is in the nature of avarice to cause a person to deny the truth. And therefore, charity and avarice are contrary to each other. And by that contradiction, charity agrees with generosity against avarice, and avarice agrees with anger against charity.

As this is the case, the agreement and contradiction as mentioned above signify that the demand is true. For if it is true and the dead person admits the truth to the angels, it agrees more with charity and generosity against avarice and anger. And if he denies the truth, it agrees more with avarice and anger against charity and generosity. And since charity and avarice are more distant, they contradict each other more strongly, and therefore, the greater the concordance of the demand, the more it is deemed to be true.

The Sixth Article: On the Death of All Things Except God

On Power and Perfection

The Saracen said to the Gentile: We believe that all things die except God; that is, men, angels, demons, and all living things. And this death will happen, then, when Israfil will sound his horn and then die. And nothing that has life will remain alive, except God alone. To prove this article, the aforementioned flower is necessary; because if all living things die, it would signify power and perfection in God; for greater power and greater perfection are in the thing which is not mortal than in the mortal, as it is the case that mortality signifies imperfection, and immortality perfection. And because the power and the perfection of God are associated with greater nobility, it is an agreeable thing, according to the conditions of the tree, therefore it is signified that all things must die and will die, except God alone.

The Gentile said: As I have understood, the conditions of the trees are ordered in such a way: that if by one way and by one flower, greater nobility is signified in God, by another way and by another flower to the contrary, lesser nobility is signified. Therefore, if all things die, it is true that the power and the perfection of God would appear greater in terms of perfect and immortal power. But since the angels and the souls of the saintly men who do not deserve death and deserve life, die, the perfection of God would be against justice and goodness, as it is the case that death brings suffering and damage, which suffering and damage cannot be without guilt. Therefore, since it is impossible for divine perfection to be against the justice and goodness of God, it is signified that what you say is not true.

The Saracen responded: What you say would be true, if God did not restore the angels and souls again. But since all will come back to life, and God will give them everlasting life, therefore God will not do them wrong in death; and He would do wrong to Himself if He did not use His virtues in the creatures so they can be seen in greater nobility and perfection.

The Gentile said: Death is the separation of body and soul. But since angels do not have bodies, how can they die?

The Saracen responded: Angels will die insofar as they will cease to be; and for this it is said that they die.

The Gentile responded: Insofar as they cease to be, God will be contrary to what He should be, as it is the case that the good angels, because they serve God, deserve to exist; And if they cease to exist, the virtues of God would be associated with non-being against being; and this is impossible.

On the Perfect and Justice

The Saracen said to the Gentile: Just as silver or gold is purified in fire, so purification of the saints will occur in death, since all vice and imperfection are obliterated in death. Death is the outcome of justice, in which justice purifies their perfection. It is thus demonstrated that the perfection of God is connected with justice and the purification of angels and mortal beings, and for this reason, God wants all things to die. It is certain that nothing is perfect or immortal except for God alone. If the immortal being did not give death to the mortal, justice, signifying its perfection and immortality, would not prevail. The mortality would not be realized, and it would be injurious to its perfection and immortality, which is impossible. This impossibility demonstrates that everything except for God must necessarily die.

On Power and Pride

To confound the pride, error, and arrogance of those who believe they have eternal nature, God wants all things to die, indicating His eternal power, and that everything created is susceptible to destruction. If not all things were to die, this flower would not consist of such great contradictions, and the greatest contradiction is affirmable. Therefore, the article is provable in the greatest contradiction of the flower, which is between power and pride.

On Charity and Justice

Charity and justice are in agreement. And since charity and fear are in agreement, fear and justice are also in agreement against anger, injury, and despair. And since death signifies fear, God wants all things to die so that man will fear and love Him and fear dying again. If all things die, this flower is more indicative of its opposite flower. And since the greatest contradiction between virtue and vice is connected with being, and death of all things is connected with being, this article is signified in being. Without this, God would be in agreement with non-being, which is impossible.

On Charity and Anger

Charity and prudence are in agreement against anger and imprudence. And since the thing that dies can better understand that it is dead than the thing that does not die, wisdom and prudence are more in agreement in knowing about death in the thing that dies than in the thing that does not die at any time. And since prudence can be greater in causing death, greater charity can be found in the thing that is returned from death to life than in the thing that is immortal and does not die at all. Therefore, it is signified that the angels and human beings will have greater wisdom in causing death if they die, and will have greater charity when they are resurrected than they would have if they were immortal and did not die. And since charity and prudence are more in agreement with greatness, it is demonstrated that this article agrees with greatness in the majority. If wicked men and demons die, they will have greater anger when they return to being, than they would have if they did not die. And since greater anger is a more contrary thing to charity, this article is signified in the greater anger. And that greater anger would not be in the sinners without this article.

The Seventh Article: On Resurrection

While the Saracen was examining the first tree and wanted to choose the flower that proves resurrection, the Gentile remembered that in the first book resurrection was sufficiently proven. And so he said to the Saracen: “There’s no need to prove resurrection, it has already been proven in the first book. But tell me how you Saracens believe in resurrection.”

The Saracen replied: “We believe that all living things will die, and that after eleven days it will rain from the sky water that will be white like milk. Then, like grass, men, beasts, birds, and all other living creatures will sprout. The angel Israfil will blow his horn again, and the people will be resurrected and stand upon their heads. Fire will come from the sky, and the heat of the sun will be very intense, causing the people to approach the very white earth. People will be in sweat, and they will stick out their tongues, and it will seem as though that day lasted fifty thousand years. Angels will descend from the first heaven, who will be more than all the living men on earth, and twice as many will come from the second heaven, and so on from heaven to heaven, doubling the number within the seventh heaven. God will appear with the angels of that heaven and say: ‘I would be unjust if on this day of resurrection I let any living creature escape without taking revenge for the injury it has done.’ According to this belief, Gentile, we believe that the day of resurrection will come, and many other things could be told, but it would take too long to recount them. However, in this debate, we have made an agreement to speak more briefly, so I have briefly told you what our prophet Muhammad recounts in al-Qur’an, and as our wise men say and explain in the commentaries of our law.”

The Eighth Article: How Muhammad Will Be Exalted

The Saracen said to the Gentile: We believe that Muhammad will pray to God for the people, and that he will be exalted. But before I show you, by the flowers of the trees, this article, I will recount to you the manner in which we believe that Muhammad will pray to God and be exalted. On the day when all people will be resurrected, God will gather them all together in one place, and they will have great suffering from the heat and from the stench in which they will be, for some will be in perspiration from the ankles, and others from the armpits, and others from the throat, and others from the eyes, and others will be in such sweat as is in the grape. And this will be according to how sinful they were. While these people will be in pain and sweating, they will remember that they should go to Adam and ask him to pray to God, that he may release them from this suffering, and that those who deserve salvation be admitted to paradise, and those who deserve damnation be sent to hell. But Adam will answer: “I would be ashamed to pray to God, for I was disobedient to him, as when I ate the fruit from which he had forbidden me to eat.” And Adam will say to them: “Go to Noah and ask him to pray for you.” They will go to Noah, and say to him the same things they said to Adam, and Noah will answer them: “I am not worthy to pray to God, nor to be exalted, for I abandoned my people, who perished on the day of the flood. And I am ashamed to pray to God. But go to Abraham and ask him to pray for you.” They will go to Abraham and say to him the same things they said to Noah, and Abraham will answer them: “I am not worthy to pray to God, even though I lied twice. The first time was when I told my father that I had not broken the idols, and that they had broken themselves. The other time was when I said that my wife was my sister and not my wife. Therefore, I am not worthy to pray to God, nor to be exalted. Therefore, I advise you to go to Moses and ask him to pray for you.” They will go to Moses and ask him to pray to God for them, but Moses will answer them: “I am not worthy to pray to God, nor to be exalted, for I killed a man. Therefore, I recommend that you go to Jesus Christ and ask him to pray for you.” They will go to Jesus Christ and ask him to pray for them, but he will refuse them, saying: “I am not worthy to pray to God, nor to be exalted. And I am ashamed to pray to God for you, since people worshiped me as a god without God’s permission. Therefore, I advise you to go to the holy prophet Muhammad, and ask him to pray for you.” They will go to Muhammad and ask him to pray to God to release them from their pain, and that those who deserve to be saved may be admitted to paradise, and those who deserve damnation may be sent to hell. But Muhammad will answer them and say that he will pray for them willingly. And then, in front of God’s throne, he will bow down to the ground and pray to God to deliver them from their pain, and that those who deserve to be saved may be admitted to paradise, and those who deserve damnation may be sent to hell.

While Muhammad prays in this way to God, a vision from God will be heard in heaven, which will say: “Muhammad, it is not the day of prayer or supplication. Ask and it shall be given to you, pray and you shall be exalted.” Muhammad will then ask that God holds people accountable for the deeds they have done, and those who deserve to go to paradise should go there, and those who deserve to go to hell should go there.

God will respond that it will be done according to Muhammad’s wishes. This is one way, gentile, in which we believe that Muhammad will pray to God and be exalted. Another way is when God has judged the good to go to paradise and the wicked to go to hell, and some sinners from Muhammad’s people will be in hell. Muhammad will then pray for that people, and God will take them out of hell through Muhammad’s prayers. We believe in these two ways of prayers, which must be necessary, as indicated by the conditions and flowers of the trees. And to prove that this is true, here is the way in which we demonstrate it.

On Greatness and Perfection

The Saracen said to the Gentile: “Now you have heard what we believe about what has been said above. And because, according to the conditions of the tree on which the aforementioned flower grows, it is necessary to give God greater nobility, by giving Mohammed so much nobility over all other nobilities in being exalted, therefore greater nobility and benevolence in God is demonstrated, for in the greater nobility of the exalted one is signified the greater nobility of the exalter. And where greater nobility is known in the exalter and the exalted one, the great perfection of God is more strongly declared and manifested; the demonstration and manifestation of which could only be made through this article, without which it would not be so clearly demonstrated and shown.”

On Love and Justice

The Saracen said to the Gentile: “We find that all the aforementioned prophets sinned after they became prophets, as we have said, for which sin they turned to pray to God, as we have recounted; but Mohammed, since he became a prophet, we do not find that he sinned.

And in demonstrating that God loves justice very strongly, and now injury which is sin, Mohammed is judged to be honored above the other prophets by being exalted. And because this demonstration of the aforementioned flower is not well made without this article, therefore, according to the conditions of the trees, God has willed that this article and truth should be connected; in the fitting of which this article is proven.”

When the Saracen had finished speaking, the Jew and Christian wanted to respond, but the Gentile did not want to. The Saracen said: “Tell me, did Mohammed sin before he was a prophet?” The Saracen replied: “It is true that Mohammed sinned unknowingly before he was a prophet, in that he believed in idols, as was customary in the land where he was from, and in the custom that his father and mother, who were idolaters, had raised him in.”

On Love and Pride

God loves humility and is angry with pride. And since knowledge is the occasion for pride, to demonstrate that God loves humility and condemns its opposite, He willed that Muhammad should be exalted above all other prophets. Muhammad was an illiterate man who, out of humility, had greater boldness in praying to God than the other prophets who were learned and had much greater knowledge but lacked the audacity to pray to God. This article is very pertinent to the meaning of the aforementioned flower, and so, in the great significance of the flower, it is revealed that the article is indeed true.

On Faith and Hope

It is a certain thing that Jews and Christians do not believe or have hope that any man who has entered into hell will come out through the prayers of another man. But faith and hope are in lesser quantity among Jews and Christians, and are greater among Saracens, who believe and hope that through the prayers of Muhammad the sinners in hell will be saved. As faith and hope are greater, according to the conditions of the tree, it follows that this article is true.

The Gentile interjects: “What you say is true about the conditions of the tree, except that it should not lead to any inconsistency with the conditions of other trees. Inconsistency would occur if it were true that God values love more than perfection and justice, which is impossible. Therefore, your understanding of the conditions of trees is proven to be incorrect.”

On Charity and Envy

The Saracen explains that God will multiply charity and extinguish envy by ordaining that Muhammad should be exalted above all other prophets, so that all the prophets will love Muhammad and not envy the honor that God bestows upon him. And since without the article in question, the flower is not so well signified, nor charity multiplied, nor envy extinguished, it follows that the more something is necessary, the more it should exist, and this demonstrates the necessity of the aforementioned article according to the conditions of the tree.

The Ninth Article: On Being Held Accountable

The Saracen said to the Gentile: You should know, Gentile, that God will hold all men, good and bad, accountable for the good and evil they have done in this present life. And the man who has done harm and wrong to his neighbor and has done some good, God will punish him so severely that the reward he should have received for the good he has done will be given to the man he has injured in this world. And if he has not done any good, God will give him the punishment that some sinners who have done some good deeds deserve, and he will do this to demonstrate his justice. And not only will God hold men accountable, but he will also hold beasts and birds accountable, and for the harm they have done to each other, he will punish them. And when he has punished them, those who return to the earth will speak and they will all come together on earth, and from then on, they will not do any harm.

The Gentile asked: What good will come from the resurrection of beasts and birds and the accountability they will have to give, since they will return to nothing, and they will be without understanding and without knowledge of God’s justice?

The Saracen replied and said: The good that will come from the resurrection of beasts, birds, and irrational creatures is that sinners will desire to return to nothingness, like the irrational creatures, and they will have anger and passion because they will continue to exist.

The Gentile asked: How long can the accounting take, with so many creatures, and with so many injuries they have done to each other?

The Saracen replied: According to our belief, the accounting will only last as long as it takes to cook an egg, and this will serve to demonstrate the power, wisdom, and perfection of God. So, if you have understood the way in which God will hold living creatures accountable, we must return to the way in which our debate was arranged, and we must prove the ninth article with the flowers of the trees.

On Wisdom and Perfection

It is certain that God’s wisdom is combined with perfection. To demonstrate that God’s wisdom is perfect, it is necessary for every creature to be held accountable, so that it will be seen that God’s wisdom is perfect in knowing everything that creatures have done. And if this article were not acceptable to God and were not true, it would follow that there would be a contradiction between the wisdom and perfection of God, in that perfection would not have required that God’s wisdom be known to be perfect and complete. And since it is impossible for wisdom and perfection to be contradictory in God, it follows that the ninth article is true.

On Perfection and Justice

Since there is concordance in God’s wisdom and perfection, and since God’s perfection is compatible with justice, God wants to demonstrate that His wisdom is compatible with everything with which His perfection is compatible. Therefore, He has ordained that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to give an account of what they have done in this life in the presence of the people, and every creature will be judged according to what they have done in this world. This sentence and this account will be subject to what will manifest God’s perfection and justice, and this subject could not exist without the article of giving an account. Therefore, it is evident that the article is true.

On Power and Pride

Through this flower, it will be made manifest how God’s power is compatible with greatness against the proud and injurious who have done harm and wrongs to the poor, humble, and righteous people. Then, God will punish them before all the people, and they will have no power to resist the power of God. Therefore, according to the condition of the flower, everything must be done so that it is more evident that the power of God will overpower the proud, and this declaration could not be made so manifestly without the article of power and pride. Therefore, it is evident that the article is true.

On Hope and Justice

As much as hope and justice are more compatible against their opposite, they can be greater and more compatible with each other. The more they are, and the more in concordance, the more strongly they signify the virtues of God. Therefore, if the article of giving an account is true, the injured party can have hope in the justice of God, and the injurer cannot fear the justice of God more than they would if the article were not true. Therefore, everything must be done to make it more evident that people have more hope and more fear in the justice of God. Thus, it is demonstrated that the article is true.

On Temperance and Wrath

The Saracen says to the Gentile: Temperance is a virtue that is in the middle of two vices. As much as temperance is more strongly in the middle of two vices, it is greater and farther from the two vices. The more temperance is farther from the two vices, the more the two vices are seen to be greater and more inconvenient with temperance and with being. Therefore, everything that goes against temperance and makes it distant from the two vices must be a true thing according to the condition of the flower. Therefore, the article of giving an account is true, even though it contains that God will make equality of one good with another by multiplying one merit with another and one glory with another. He will also bring harmony to sinners, matching one sin with another, by multiplying their punishment, taking the guilt of the just injured men away and giving it to the injurious ones, and giving the merit of the injurious ones to the injured.

The Tenth Article: Merits and Sins Will Be Weighed

The Saracen said to the Gentile: We believe that God, after having taken account of the good and the bad, as mentioned above, will weigh the good and the bad that one has done in this world. And if one’s good deeds weigh more than the bad, one will be saved. And if the bad deeds weigh more than the good, one will be damned. And if the good and the bad weigh equally, one will go to a place between paradise and hell, and will stay there as long as God wishes. In order to prove that this article is true, we must first collect this argument.

On Power and Wisdom

It is a true thing, Gentile, that the power and wisdom of God are in agreement; and to demonstrate this agreement, which is in goodness, greatness, eternity, and so on, and that the power of God can make all the good and evil that people will have done; thus, weighing, it will show which person is more good than bad, or which is more bad than good, or which is equally good and bad. And this wisdom of God, which can do so much, will be manifested on the Day of Judgment by the weighing that God will do of the good and the bad. And if God did not weigh the good and the bad, it could not be so manifest, and in order to make the power and wisdom of God more manifest to the people, it is fitting that this article of reckoning must be true by necessity.

On Greatness and Justice

The Saracen said to the Gentile: It is customary among us that kings, princes, and great lords have courts, and they bring people together to demonstrate their power, and the reason why they dispense justice against thieves and murderers in the presence of all, is to show that justice is present in great quantities. All that they do in this world to demonstrate their greatness and justice is like a sign of this article in which we, who are Saracens, believe. And therefore, God, to demonstrate His great justice, will weigh the good and the bad, to show that His justice is so great that He will do no wrong or harm to anyone. And if the weighing of good and bad were not done, the great justice of God could not be so well demonstrated, and in order to make it more manifest, it is necessary that this article must be true.

On Perfection and Pride

Perfection and humility go hand in hand, while imperfection and pride do not. The more a person is proud and thinks they are worth more, the less valuable they actually are and the more they weaken themselves. On the other hand, the more a person is humble and thinks they are worth less, the more valuable they actually are and the more perfection they have in themselves. Therefore, to demonstrate that God’s perfection is contrary to pride, which God despises, He will confound pride with humility in the proud, giving greater weight to the humble than to the proud who think they weigh more. As this flower is better explained to human understanding with this article, which would not be possible without it, it is necessary for this article to exist so that the aforementioned flower is more manifest and the contradiction between perfection and pride, humility and perfection, pride and weakness, and humility and pride is more evident.

On Charity and Justice

If the article is true, you cannot have greater charity and justice in loving God, yourself, and your neighbor than you could if the article were not true. Nor could you better reconcile charity and justice with anger and injury. If it were not true, you would be less virtuous than if it were true. The greatness of God is therefore contrary to the greatness of this flower, and if it were not true, charity and justice would agree with envy and sloth, which is impossible and contrary to the conditions of all trees. This contradiction indicates that the article is true.

On Charity and Wrath

Charity and wrath are opposites, as truth is a virtue and wrath is a vice. If God weighs good and evil and separates good from evil, he will show more charity to one party and more wrath to the other than he would if they were mixed together, as mixing them would confuse one with the other. Therefore, if what we say is true, and it must be true, as charity will be greater in the saved and wrath greater in the damned. If good and evil are weighed and separated, charity will be more virtuous and wrath more vicious. Therefore, according to the conditions of the flower, the article on weighing must be demonstrated to be true and necessary.

The Eleventh Article: On the Race of Paradise and Hell

The Saracen said to the Gentile: We believe that on the Day of Judgment there will be a race in which the blessed who are saved will run. That race will take a thousand years to go up, a thousand years to cross, and a thousand years to go down, and below it will be Hell, into which those who cannot pass will fall. The race will be so narrow that it will be as wide as a hair or a sword’s edge, and some will pass through it as quickly as a flash of light, others as a running horse, others as a person running, and others as a crawling infant. Each one will pass according to their merit, and if they do not deserve glory, they will fall from that bridge into Hell. This is one of the articles in which we believe, which we first prove with this analogy.

On Goodness and Greatness

God’s glory is His own goodness, for God has no glory other than Himself. Since God’s goodness is infinite in greatness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection, His glory, which is His own goodness, must be so great that it is infinite for all the above attributes. Thus, whoever goes to the glory of God must do so with great effort, so that they may merit more glory in God’s great goodness. And since the race we speak of is so high, long, and narrow, with Hell below, so those who pass through it will be in greater danger and will take longer to pass, and they will become more worthy of great glory. And because one can have more glory if they are more deserving, it is necessary that this article is true, as proven by the conditions of the analogy.

On Wisdom and Prudence

The Saracen said to the Gentile: It is natural that the more one understands something, the more they need prudence for their understanding. And the more prudence one has, the more they will develop conscience in themselves, which reminds them of the sins they have committed against God and their neighbor. And where there is greater prudence and conscience in a person, there is greater harmony with the wisdom of God, who created all things. If the race is true, as we believe it to be, the people who pass through it will have greater prudence and conscience than they would have if the race did not exist, or if people did not pass through it. Therefore, because prudence and conscience are more in harmony with the wisdom of God, it is indicated that the race is true.

On Love and Anger

Custom and nature of love alleviate labor. As the races of paradise are heavy and demanding, the more one is strengthened, invigorated, and has fortitude in loving greatly, the more they are strong and love God. And as one becomes stronger in love, the labor that seems heavy becomes light, and they are more loved by God. Therefore, it must be true that the path we speak of is true, where the love of God and the love of humans can be reconciled more through the aforementioned race, and thus it is demonstrated that the path we speak of is true. Anger and love are opposite; if the people who pass through the race grappling and with exhaustion, and those who cannot pass as fast as those who pass like a lamp, if those people are not angry and are paid by great love, and the weak ones who are not angry, then love will be contrary to anger. Therefore, for love to be more contrary to anger, it must be true, and that is why the aforementioned article must be true, without which love could not be so contrary to anger.

On Hope and Justice

Open your eyes, Gentile, and see how the path we believe in is an opportunity and reason for there to be great hope and justice in humans; for those who pass through such a long, high, and narrow bridge, you may think that they are in great danger. And where the danger is greater and more enduring, one must have more hope and justice. And since hope and justice cannot be more fitting and cannot be greater, it is therefore indicated that the race is true.

On Justice and Pride

Justice overthrows pride, even though pride seeks to rise through injustice. Those who fall from the race, which will have a thousand years of ascent, a thousand years of descent, and a thousand years of level ground, will fall from a greater height due to their pride and injustice than if the race did not exist. And because justice must be more contrary to pride, the article must be true. If not, it would follow that the flowers of the first tree were contrary to justice and pride, which is impossible. This impossibility demonstrates that the article is true.

The Gentile said to the Saracen, “According to what you say, it follows that there is another race that is longer and higher than the one you speak of, so that justice is more contrary to pride.”

The Saracen replied, “You would be right if there were no inconsistency in another way with the flowers of the first tree. But since we do not know of Christians, Jews, or other people who believe in a race greater than the one we believe in, it is inconvenient for the race you speak of to exist and to be believed. For if it existed and was not believed, there would still be an inconsistency in the flowers of the first tree, and that is impossible.”

The Gentile said, “If what you say is true, tell me what those who pass through the race by crawling will eat and drink, and in what place the race will fit, because this whole world is not big enough to hold such a long and high race as you describe.”

The Saracen replied and said, “As it is recounted in the Koran and in the Proverbs of Mohammed, God will command the earth to extend so that all people can fit on the Day of Judgment. And this command will also apply to Paradise and Hell so that the heavens that enter can fit. And this will make the power and will of God more significant, for it will be as God commands. And therefore, I tell you that the world will extend so much that the race can fit.”

The Gentile said, “According to what you say, the earth and Paradise and Hell must extend infinitely, and infinite people must be created, so that the power and will of God are more evident.”

The Saracen replied that nothing can be infinite unless it is equal to the infinity of God. Therefore, everything that God creates must be finite in quantity, according to the conditions of the trees.

The Twelfth Article: On Paradise and Hell

The Gentile said to the Saracen: There is no need to prove the existence of Paradise or Hell, as it is well established. But tell me how you believe one can obtain glory in Paradise.

The Saracen replied: We believe in two ways to obtain glory in Paradise: spiritual glory and bodily glory. Spiritual glory is to see God, and to love and contemplate Him. We will have this glory in Paradise, and as our prophet Muhammad says in his Proverbs, those who will be in Paradise will see God in the morning and in the evening, for wherever they turn their heads, through the windows of the palaces they will see God; and that vision will be such great glory that there is no heart that can perceive it or mouth to speak of it. Bodily glory will be experienced through all five bodily senses, with which a person has served God in this present life. For if there were no bodily glory in the five senses in Paradise, God would not have perfect justice or perfect goodness; thus bodily glory is indicative of Paradise. Therefore, to delight your soul in the blessings that you will have in Paradise, if you convert to our religion, I will briefly recount the glory that one will have in each of the bodily senses.

On Sight

We believe that in Paradise there will be beautiful palaces and beautiful rooms made of gold, silver, and precious stones, such as rubies, emeralds, sapphires, pearls, and other similar stones. And by the carving and variety of colors and stones, which will be as great as the great mountains, those palaces and rooms will be very beautiful to behold. In those palaces, there will be many cloths of gold, silver, and silk, which will adorn the palaces, and there will be many beds, curtains, and tapestries of gold, silver, and silk. In those palaces, there will be many very beautiful women, very nobly dressed, who will be very pleasant to behold. Along the rivers and in the meadows, there will be many fountains, many rivers, many trees loaded with leaves, flowers, and fruits, which will provide very beautiful shade. Who could imagine or recount the beauty and ornament of all these things in Paradise? In Paradise, we will see the angels, who are very beautiful to behold, and who are great and beautiful in great numbers. We will see the prophets, the saints, and the assembly of various people, according to the degree in which they have served God in this world. Each person will be brilliant and resplendent, and very nobly dressed. Since this is so, you can imagine that the glory of Paradise will be very great in all these things to behold.

On Hearing

To hear so many angels, men, and women praising and blessing God, one can imagine that it will give great glory to all those who hear these songs, especially since there will be so many who will sing songs of sweetness, glory, and honor. In Paradise, if you are able to enter, you will speak with your friends and acquaintances about all the things you want, and about everything that you have done in this world, and about the glory that you will have; and those with whom you speak will speak with you in a similar manner. Thus, speaking and hearing these words will give a very pleasant pleasure to a person.

On Smelling

The glory that the blessed of paradise will have smelling the scents that will be in paradise cannot be recounted; for in paradise there will be a scent of amber and musk, of leaves, flowers, and fruits in everything that one eats, drinks, touches, and sees. And the wind, which will be soft and pleasant, will carry this scent, which will be so pleasant to smell that all the scents of this world are nothing compared to the scents of paradise.

On Tasting

The Saracen said to the Gentile: “Beloved friend, believe my words, and hear and understand the blessings that one will have in paradise, and desire those. For in paradise there will be rivers of water, wine, milk, butter, and oil; and on the banks of the rivers and fountains, there will be many beautiful trees, under the shade of which one will rest, and with friends and family will drink and eat what they desire. For if one wishes to eat fruits from the trees, they will have them immediately. And if one desires meat or anything else, it will be brought to them and prepared in the way they want. And the flavor and sweetness that one will find in eating and drinking the aforementioned things, who could recount it, especially since one will have much greater power to eat and drink in paradise than in this present life? Therefore, just as the glory of paradise is greater than the glory of this world, it is fitting that one should have in paradise a greater ability to eat and drink.”

On Feeling

In this world, we have pleasure and satisfaction in touching, feeling, and sensing. And so, in paradise, there will be glory in touching, feeling, and sensing white and smooth fabrics, lying on cushions and white beds, and in silk sheets and blankets. To give great physical pleasure to man in paradise, God has created many beautiful virgin damsels for those who will be saved, with whom one will have great pleasure lying down, and they will never age. Every time one lies down with them, they will always be virgins. In paradise, one will be with the women and females whom one had in this world in one’s house, and with whom one had relations. And as some men will be more deserving of greater glory than others, some men will have more damsels, more women, and more beautiful beds than others. To increase the glory of paradise and make it greater than the glory of this world, God will multiply man’s power to lie with women in paradise. Therefore, men will have great abundance of lying with women in paradise so that they will have great glory.

Know, Gentile, that in paradise, men will have all the glories that you have heard from my words. And there are many other glories in paradise that I have not mentioned to you, which would take a long time to describe, and I cannot tell you, for they are so great.

The Gentile said to the Saracen, “If it is as you say, then it must be that there is corruption and decay in paradise because, according to man’s nature, he eats, drinks, and has relations with women. This corruption is a repulsive thing to see, touch, smell, and speak of.”

The Saracen replied, “What you say is true, according to the life in which we are now; but in the other world, everything will be the opposite. And this will be done by the divine work and power that can order and improve all things.”

The Gentile said to the Saracen, “According to what I have heard, the ultimate reason why man is created is to have his glory in God; and according to what you say, it follows that man is made for the sake of having glory in the things you have mentioned. And if this were so, the purpose for which man is made would not be followed. And if it were not followed, then the wisdom of God would not be in agreement with power, love, and perfection, which is impossible and against the conditions of things.”

The Saracen replied, “Man is created primarily to know and love God, and according to justice and the perfection of God, it follows that man should be rewarded in the aforementioned blessings, without which he could not be rewarded.”

The Gentile said to the Saracen, “Preach to me and tell me if it is true that all of you Saracens believe in the glory of paradise as you have recounted it to me.”

The Saracen replied, saying, “It is true that among us, there are diverse beliefs about the glory of paradise, for some believe in having the glory of paradise as I have recounted it to you. And they understand this according to the literal interpretation which they take from al-Qur’an, which is our book, and from the Proverbs of Muhammad, and from the glosses of the expounders of al-Qur’an and Proverbs. But there are other people among us who understand the glory morally and interpret it spiritually, and they say that Muhammad spoke metaphorically to people who were uneducated and without understanding. And because he wanted to make them love God, he recounted the aforementioned glory to them. And that is why those who hold this belief say that in paradise there will be no glory in eating, or in lying with women, or in the other aforementioned things. And these people are natural and great scholars, and are men who in some things do not serve well the commandments of our law, and that is why we consider them heretics among us. They have come to this heresy by listening to logic and nature. And that is why an agreement has been made among us that no man dares to publicly read logic or nature.”

When the Saracen had finished speaking and had recounted all that was necessary to prove his faith, he said to the Gentile these words: “You have heard and understood, Gentile, more words and more proofs, which I have given about the articles of our faith, and you have heard what blessings there are in paradise, which you will have perpetually without end if you believe in our faith, which is given by God.” And when the Saracen had said these words, he closed his book, finished his speech, and the two wise men greeted each other according to their custom.

Epilogue

When the Gentile had heard all the arguments of the three sages, he began to recount everything that the Jew had said, and then recounted everything that the Christian had said, and the same with what the Saracen had said.

The three sages were very pleased when the Gentile had understood and retained their words so well, and they said that they knew that they had not spoken to a man without heart or without ears. The Gentile, who had recounted what has been said above, stood up, and his understanding was illuminated with the way of salvation; and his heart began to love and shed tears from his eyes, and he adored God saying these words:

Prayer

Oh! divine, infinite, good refuge, who is the source and fulfillment of all goods! To your holy goodness, I offer reverence and honor, and to her I confess and thank for the great blessing that I have received.

Lord God! I adore and bless your grace, which is infinite in goodness, eternity, power, wisdom, love, and perfection. Your eternity, Lord, will be glory and praise, as it has no beginning and exists in goodness, grace, power, wisdom, love, and perfection. Lord God! I adore and fear your power, which is infinite in your goodness, grace, eternity, wisdom, love, and perfection, above all other powers.

Beloved God, who has infinite wisdom in yourself, in your goodness, grace, eternity, power, love, and perfection, and in all that you have created! Your wisdom, Lord, I love and adore with all my bodily and spiritual strength.

Your love, which is not like any other love, but is love above all other loves, perfect in goodness, grace, power, and wisdom; that love of yours, Lord, I adore, love, and offer all my will, all the virtue of my intelligence, and all that your love has wanted to give me, to serve and honor your love every day of my life.

Divine perfection, who is light and medicine for all imperfections, who is hope for all sinners, and who is infinite in all your goodness, grace, eternity, power, wisdom, and love; I come to you and ask for forgiveness, and I give, counsel, and help to serve you, and to return to you on the days that I have lost due to ignorance and fault.

When the Gentile, with sighs, tears, and true contrition of heart, had adored the flowers of the first tree, he kneeled and begged and asked God for grace and blessing to give him the flowers of the fourth tree, saying these words:

Oh true faith, you who have taken so long to come and enlighten my intelligence, that the days that have passed are lost and irretrievable! Oh faith, which is not known in the land where I come from, by which ignorance many men go to eternal fire! Beloved faith, you have come into my soul, as my mind is enlightened in you and by you, and you have cast away from my thoughts the darkness in which I have been all my life. You have cast away from my heart pain, anger, despair, anguish, and troubles. I thank and ask you, to grant me, by your virtue, to be your servant all the days I live, and I may recount and multiply your virtue, your fame, and your honor. Dear hope! Where have you been, and where do you come from? Do you know how long despair has been tormenting me? While despair was so grievously tormenting me, why did you not come and help me against your enemy?

Hope, who is the consolation of the disconsolate, and is the wealth and treasure of the poor, and who strengthens the weak against the strong, and who causes the God of glory to be held and loved in the hearts of those who serve and love Him, has entered into my heart so strongly that from now on, I fear not your adversary who has long been a mortal enemy to me. In you, and through you, and with you, I trust and hope in the great power of my Lord, that He may fulfill my desire, which is to honor and serve God, and to make known to those who neither love nor know Him. I am not despairing of my poor power, ability, or will, nor am I despairing of my many heavy sins, for you make me remember the great mercy of that Lord who can accomplish all things, give all graces, and forgive all sins.

While the Gentile was saying these words, he frequently prostrated himself, and struck the ground, and raised his hands and eyes to heaven; and in his will, he felt that with created charity, he adored and contemplated the uncreated divine charity, which is honorable in all honors. And he said these words:

Oh, Charity! Amiable virtue, who has you, and you love, is pleasant and amiable to the divine charity, who loves eternally and infinitely what it loves. Charity, who gives yourself to all those who want to have you, and they cannot have enough of you even if they want to have more, what happiness is this, that you have wanted to have me in your lordship, without my remembering, knowing, or loving you?

Fortune, who has been my enemy for a long time, in you, you have restored all my damages; since I am a poor sinner, how could I ever reward the great good that has come to me through you, by making me love God and my neighbor so much? Oh, woe to the wretched ones who do not love or know charity, for they are all in poverty and misery! What good are riches and blessings without charity in a person’s heart? Beloved God, who have enlightened and warmed me with the fire of charity, enlighten and warm also all the poor, fervent souls of charity who are in the land where I come from, and who, due to their poverty, are going to be misled through dark paths to an endless fire. In those torments, there is no relief, and they do not hope for any refreshment.

Let us not forget justice in our prayer, for divine justice knows all my faults and can punish me rightly for all my wrongdoings. Whether divine justice punishes me and condemns me to eternal torment or forgives me and blesses me eternally, I adore and bless God’s justice and accept whatever he pleases because I love and fear God in his justice, which knows everything rightly. Therefore, it is necessary for justice to have such power in me that it makes me want whatever God’s justice wants to do with me.

Prudence, the light of salvation, through which the wise go to the divine splendor that illuminates all its lovers, my understanding has been in darkness for a long time because you were not in it. So much blessing has come to me through you that I pray that from now on my soul will not be without you. May it please the most high, excellent, and holy God that, with you, I may have knowledge and light of the sovereign wisdom, which is the illumination of you and all other lights. And that, by the grace and illumination of the sovereign light, you may help me to enlighten and guide so many people who are in dark states and times, ignorant of the path of salvation.

Fortitude, who strengthens the noble heart that does not incline to wickedness or deceit, would you like to strengthen the weak heart of a lazy and fearful man who refuses to endure the toils, dangers, and deaths that are necessary to give praise, glory, and blessing to the name of that Lord who is worthy of all honors and who desires to be so honored that no torment is feared in His service? Charity, justice, prudence, and hope, could you all agree to come to our land and do the good that I have received from God in you?

Temperance, abstinence, patience, perseverance, and the other virtues, what are you doing? Do not sleep, for vices, which are your opponents, watch night and day and never cease to destroy the world in the hearts of gluttonous, lustful, greedy, lazy, proud, jealous, and angry people.

While the Gentile was saying these words, he remembered and realized that his eyes were not shedding the tears they used to, and because his heart held back the tears, his eyes were in tears. Therefore, he remembered the mortal sins he had committed in his heart and said these words:

Oh! How wretched are all those who are slaves and captives of gluttony! Gluttony gives torment to its servants every day, and it does not spare any rich or poor person, and death is near, and our hearts become bloated so that we become food for many worms in a short time.

Lust not only flees from the body but also from the memory that reminds you of it, from the understanding that understands you, and from the will that desires you, and it is such a fleeting thing that it is disgusting and horrible to see and touch.

Greed, who impoverishes both the rich and the poor, and who makes man despair of God who has the power to give all good things, what do you do in this world? Why do you make the rich men despise the poor, and the poor men hate the rich?

Sloth, which is a sign of damnation in all its actions, and which makes man lazy in praising and loving God who is worthy of such praise and great honor; those who are poor and helpless, whom you have kept in this state, when will you reward them? Why do you follow your will to defame the good that they do?

Pride, if humility did not exist, what would you be? And if you, who are deceived by humility, rise, what great force you have! And if you cannot be in glory, why do you hinder the humble from rising to glory? For theirs is the glory that you have lost and fallen from.

Envy, which is the sadness of the soul, if you do not die while there is time, when will you die? And if you are not pained by your envy, why do you indulge it? And if you are always angry, when will you give? And if in so many things you deceive and betray, is there anything in which you can trust to be true and loyal?

Wrath, which is darkness of thought, and darkness of understanding, and mortal desire, contrary to charity, what are you doing among us? Why do you hinder us from loving the honor of the Lord who loves the honor of all His servants, and who puts all your supporters in contempt?

While the Gentile spoke these words, and many others that would take a long time to recount, his soul struggled to remember, understand, and love the divine virtue, which gives virtue to his heart as the water from the heart rises to his eyes. The Gentile wept very sweetly and devoutly for a long time, saying these words:

Oh God of virtue! How great a difference there is between the tears in which I used to indulge and these tears that I now shed! For those tears tormented and troubled my thoughts and my heart, and these tears are so pleasant and so delightful that they revive my soul with such great happiness that I would not want any other happiness in this world, but that my soul may dwell in love in this uninhabitable place, and my eyes may weep. But I must go from place to place and return to my homeland, where I must proclaim the honor of God to those who do not know Him, and for which God has given me so much good. And therefore I must work every day of my life. And if it pleases You, feigned God, that hunger, thirst, poverty, weariness, contempt of people, illness, torment, betrayal of my lord, or leaving my wife, sons, daughters, friends, and temporal goods; or experiencing strangeness, or enduring great death, or any other thing, cannot remove from my heart the remembrance of Your honor, nor the exaltation of Your glorious name.

Lord God, who gives and forgives so many things, may it be Your pleasure to forgive the guilty sinner who asks for forgiveness, and who beseeches the blessed saints of glory to thank You for the good that You have given me, which I cannot thank enough. And forgive, feigned God, in this hour, this sinner who gives his soul and all his powers to You, to go through Your paths and to do the works by which You want to be served by Your servants.

As previously mentioned, the Gentile adored, praised, and thanked his Lord and Creator, and he exerted himself so strongly in adoring and praising God and asking for forgiveness for his faults, that the three wise men had great pity on him and marveled at how nobly he carried out his prayer. The devotion that they saw in the Gentile was so great that in their consciences, they felt remorse and were accused of the sins they had committed. They especially recognized that the Gentile had a greater devotion in giving glory to God in such a short amount of time than those who had known God for a long time.

The Farewell That the Three Sages Gave to the Gentile

When the Gentile had finished his prayer, he washed his hands and face in the beautiful fountain, wiping his eyes with a white hood that he wore, which he usually used to wipe his eyes when he wept due to the sadness he felt. Then, he turned to the three sages and spoke these words:

By the grace and blessing of God, it has happened that I have met you, lords, in this place where God has reminded me and taken me to be his servant. Blessed be the Lord, blessed be this place, blessed be you, faithful ones, and blessed be God who willed that you came to this place with the desire to help me. In this place where so much good fortune has come to me, I want to choose and embrace the true faith that has been signified to me by the grace of God and by the words that you have spoken to me. I want to follow this faith and honor and manifest it for the rest of my days.

After finishing his words, the Gentile stood up, but stumbled, revealing the faith that he desired. He saw from afar two gentiles from his land who were also in error like he was, and whom he knew. Therefore, he asked the three sages to wait for those two gentiles who were coming and wanted to reveal his faith in their presence. The three sages said their goodbyes to the Gentile with many blessings and affectionate hugs and tears. However, before they left that place, the Gentile wondered why they did not want to hear which faith he would choose over the others. The three sages replied that since everyone had their own opinion, they did not want to know which faith he would choose. Moreover, if he revealed his chosen faith in front of them, they would not have the same opportunity to debate and determine the truth. After saying these words, the three sages returned to the city from where they had come, and the Gentile, looking at the flowers of the five trees and remembering what he had learned, waited for the two gentiles who were coming.

The Words That the Three Sages Spoke While Returning

One of the three sages said, “If the Gentile, who has been long in error, has conceived such great devotion and fervor in praising God, and says that he would not hesitate to endure any labor or even death to praise God, then how much more should we, who have had knowledge of God for so long, have devotion and fervor in praising the name of God, especially since God has entrusted us with so many blessings and honors that He gives us every day. We should not argue and try to determine which of us is truly in the right or in the wrong. We should have one God, one creator, one lord, one faith, one belief, and one way of loving and honoring God. We should be lovers and helpers of one another, and there should be no difference or disagreement in our customs. It is because of these differences and disagreements that we harm each other, wage war, enslave each other, and the praise, reverence, and honor that we owe to God every day of our lives is hindered by such wars, death, and servitude.”

When the first sage finished his words, the second sage began to speak and said that people were so entrenched in their beliefs and customs that it was impossible to remove them through preaching or persuasion, or through anything that could be done. And for this reason, when someone tries to persuade them and show them the error in which they are living, they immediately reject everything that is said to them, and say that they want to remain and die in the same way as their ancestors.

The third sage replied, saying, “It is true that the soul is more strongly rooted in truth than in falsehood, even though truth and existence are related and falsehood and non-existence are related. Therefore, if falsehood were vigorously opposed by truth and by many men, continuously, it would necessarily follow that truth would triumph over falsehood, especially since falsehood receives no help, no matter how small or great, from God, and truth is always helped by the divine power, which is the uncreated truth that has created created truth to destroy falsehood. But since people are lovers of temporal goods and barely devote themselves with little devotion to God and their own salvation, they don’t care about destroying falsehood and error, and they fear death, sickness, toil, and supporting the poor, and they do not want to give up their riches, possessions, lands, or relatives to draw those who are in error towards the path to eternal glory and to avoid endless toils. They should especially do this because they are praisers of the name of God and to manifest His virtue, as God wants it to be manifested among all peoples, and every day He expects to be honored among those who defend Him, those who despise Him, and those who ignore Him; and we should do whatever we can to exalt the glorious name of God among us. For if we do our best to praise God, God will do more to be praised in His name. And if He doesn’t, it would be contrary to faith itself, to His honor, and that is impossible and against the conditions of the trees. But since we don’t prepare ourselves to receive the virtue and blessing of God, to be His brave servants, praisers, and animated with a strong heart to endure all toils, to exalt His honor, that’s why God doesn’t give us the virtue that should be in those who, through the virtue of God, would destroy the error in which people who are on the path to damnation are and believe they are on the path to salvation.”

While the sage spoke these words and many others, the three sages arrived at the place where they first met when leaving the city, and here the three sages bid each other farewell very kindly and pleasantly, and each forgave the other, and none had spoken any vile words against the other’s belief. And when they were about to leave, one of the sages said, “The fortune that has befallen us in the forest may bring us some benefit. Would it be good for us to dispute every day once, by the way of the five trees and the ten conditions signified by their flowers, and follow the way that the Lady of Intelligence has given us, and that our dispute lasts so long until we all have only one faith and one belief, and that we have a way to honor and serve each other, so that we may agree among ourselves? Because war, toil, and malice, and giving harm and shame, prevent people from being in agreement in one belief.”

Each of the two sages considered what the other sage had said was good, and they arranged the place and time for their dispute, and the way they would honor and serve each other, and how they would dispute. And when they had agreed on one faith, they would go around the world giving glory and praise to the name of our true God. Each of the three sages went to his own dwelling, having fulfilled what they had promised.

Thus ends the Book of the Gentile and the Three Sages. Blessed be God, by whose help it was begun and finished, and under whose protection it is entrusted and placed, and for whose glory it is newly translated. This book is meant to illuminate troubled minds, to awaken the great ones who sleep, and to enter into the understanding and knowledge of those who seek to know which faith it seems that the Gentile has chosen to be pleasing to God.

May he who dictated and wrote this book, and he who keeps and reads this book, be pleasing to the glory of God and be guarded from the paths by which all those who are in the wrath of God go to hellfire in this world.

  1. “Accidia”, which could be rendered “acedia”, is rendered “sloth” throughout.↩

  2. Aristotle.↩

  3. Old name of Medina.↩

  4. The original said cannot, which made no sense, and was probably a copyist error.↩

  5. That is, to the south of Medina.↩

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