are symbolic, or to which they correspond, were not so very difficult.
That in ancient times the tree of life was used in a figurative sense, is evident from the manner in which it was employed by Solomon. Thus he says in his Proverbs, "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom; . . . she is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her; and happy is every one that retaineth her" (iii. 13, 18). And again, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life " (Ib. xiii. 12). The wise man, in accordance with the usage of his day derived from a higher antiquity, applied this term to anything that gave new life or vigor to understanding, heart, thought or desire. A tree of life was that, whatever it might be, from which mental or moral life refreshed or renewed itself. We have no warrant for believing that the term in olden times was ever thought of except as a symbol. Certainly all references to it in the Bible disagree with the literal idea and sustain the figurative. But this use of the term, as seen in the quotations from Solomon, was on a somewhat lower plane than that in which the Lord uses it in the books He has given in his own name. What He says, while it has a mental and moral, has also a spiritual import. The whole Word of God in its inward meanings, announces spiritual truths.
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