WERNER'S Readings and Recitations. No. 11. WORLD CLASSICS. THE TREE OF LIFE. GENESIS. AND the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying: "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." And the Lord God said: "It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a helpmeet for him." And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made; and he said unto the woman; "Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" And the woman said unto the serpent: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die." And the serpent said unto the woman: "Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him: "Where art thou? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" And the man said: "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." And the Lord God said unto the woman: "What is this that thou hast done?" And the woman said: "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." And the Lord God said unto the serpent: "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field." Unto the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow." And unto Adam He said: "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it,' cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of 6 it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Therefore, the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man, and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. SCRIPTURE ETCHINGS FOR ARBOR LET the field be joyful, and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. A parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees which are in the vale for abundance. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. Then shall all the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because He cometh to judge the earth. For He shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth in singing, and all the trees of the woods shall clap their hands. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said: "These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth." When thou shalt besiege a city a long time by making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them, for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down to employ them in a siege, for the tree of the field is man's life. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for nourishing, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness; the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel. As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side and as cedar trees beside the waters. The customs of the people are vain, for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of God in their foreheads. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits, camphor with spikenard; a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters and streams from Lebanon. In the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations. He that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. THE TRIUMPH OF HECTOR. S HOMER. Translated by WILLIAM MUMFORD. O equal, then, the war and battle hung, Break now the Grecian wall, and on their ships With transport heard throughout that numerous host! Armed with keen spears, before them held erect; Heavy and craggy, pointed sharp at top, |