Chapter IX.
God gave a command to man concerning food; and why, when pronouncing the punishment, was it not said 'you will die', but 'you will surely die'?
Now let us consider what that reason is, why He, when He gave the command to man, directing him in that marvelous and blessed life, that he should not die by violating the commandment about eating and not eating, thought it necessary to command. For there are some who think that this command does not in any way befit the heaven and the earth and the Creator of all; it is not worthy of the inhabitants of paradise, since that life is similar to that of the angels. And therefore we cannot consider this food to be earthly and corruptible; for those who do not eat or drink will be like angels in heaven. Therefore, since there is neither reward in food because our nourishment does not commend us to God, nor great danger because what enters the mouth does not defile a person, but what comes out of the mouth, it seems without a doubt that this commandment is not from such a great author, unless you refer this food to that prophetic one, because the Lord promises a great reward to His holy ones: 'Behold, those who serve me shall eat, but you shall be hungry.' (Isaiah 65:13). For this is the food by which eternal life is defined, and whoever is deprived of it will die in death. Since he himself, the Lord, is the living and heavenly bread, who gives life to this world. Hence he himself says: Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have eternal life. Therefore, there was some bread that the inhabitants of paradise were commanded to eat. Who is that? Listen to whom he says: Man ate the bread of angels. For bread is good, if you do the will of God. Do you want to know how good this bread is? The Son Himself eats this bread, of which He says: My food is to do the will of My Father who is in heaven (John 4:34).
Again let us see by what reasoning the Lord God said to Adam, 'you will die by death': what difference does it make whether someone says 'you will die' or adds 'by death you will die'? For we must show that there is nothing superfluous in God's command. Therefore, I think this. Since death and life are two contrary things, according to simple speech we say that we live from life and die from death. But if you want to emphasize both, because life makes life, it is said, 'life lives', as you have it in the law. And because death causes death, it is said that he shall die by death. However, this duplication is not superfluous: there is life unto death, and there is death unto life; for someone both dies while living, and lives while dying. Therefore, there are four distinctions: life to live, death to die, death to live, life to die. Since these things are so, we must exclude the prejudice of usage and custom; for usage has it that one is commonly said to live, both he who lives for life and he who lives for death, and that one is commonly said to die, either he who dies for death or he who dies for life. So out of those four, two have a meaning, that is, to say that the living person lives, and does not distinguish between better and worse, and to say that the dying person dies, and does not seem to have a distinction between a bad and a good death. For a certain indiscriminate life is signified, such as that of irrational beings or even of children, and an indiscriminate death as well.
Therefore, with the common use being set aside, let us consider what it means to live life, what it means to die death, what it means for life to die, and what it means for death to live. For I believe, according to the Scriptures, that life signifies a certain admirable and blessed life, and that this use of living and breathing, as if joined with the grace of a blessed life and mixed with a certain participation, seems to demonstrate. For this is to live life, to live by virtue, to have the acts of a blessed life in this life of the body. But what else is it to die against death, if not to signify the deformity of the dying body with death, whose flesh is also deprived of the common function of living, and whose soul cannot have the use of eternal life? There are also those who die while alive, just as those who live in the body, but they die in actuality: such are those of whom the Prophet says: 'They descend into hell alive' (Ps. 54:16). And that of which the Apostle says: 'For she who lives is dead' (1 Tim. 5:6). There remains a fourth category, those who even in death are alive, like the holy martyrs, who certainly die in order to live. The flesh dies, but the grace of the dead lives. Therefore, let it be far from us to live as participants in death, but instead let us die as participants in life. For the holy one does not want to be a participant in this life, who says: I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ; for it is much better. And another says, Woe is me, that my sojourn is prolonged! Certainly, one may grieve when they hope for the fellowship of eternal life, which is contained within the fragility of this life. And for this reason, I can say the opposite, because although it is good to live life; it is uncertain to live life, for one can say that to live life is to wage the eternal battle of the body. It can also be said that to live life is to desire the physical aspects of this life, be it anyone or be it the holy ones; for example, if one believes that it is noble to live in order to attain longevity through good deeds, which is what many weaker individuals find pleasing in this life.
45. Therefore, just as we have learned what it means to live the life, let us also learn what it means to die to death, or rather to live to death. For there can be those who die to death and those who live to life. For one who does not live in such a way that they live according to the death of their soul, they die to death, because they are not subject to death, that is, they have lost the connection to the agonizing death and are not bound by the chains of eternal death. They have died to death, that is, they have died to sin, they have died to punishment. The opposite of punishment is to live, that is, when someone lives in punishment, they live in death. But whoever dies to punishment, dies to death. There is also one who in this life dies to life, as He Himself says: 'But I now live, not I, but Christ lives in me' (Galatians 2:20). For he who is dead to sin, lives to God; that is, death is dead in him, but life lives, who is the Lord Jesus. Therefore, the life of those who live to God is good, and the life of those who live in sin is bad. There is also a middle life, like that of other living creatures, as you have written: 'Let the earth bring forth the living soul according to its kind' (Genesis 1:24). There is also a life of the dead, like the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; for God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. There are also those in whom there is a connection between death and life, about whom the Apostle says: If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him. For if we have been united with the likeness of His death, we shall also be united with the likeness of His resurrection: knowing that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. For whoever has died has been justified from sin (Rom. VI, 5). Just as we have spoken of many figures of life, so also we will find figures of death. Death is said to be evil, according to this: The soul that sins shall die (Ezek. XVIII, 20). Death is also commonly spoken of, as you have for example: Because Adam lived so many years, and he died, and he was joined to his fathers. Death is also said through the sacrament of baptism, as you have: We were buried with him through baptism into death (Rom. VI, 4). And elsewhere: But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him (Romans 6:8). You see that death indeed may be called by name, but this life is ours.