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VRSZ
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Translation
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What the Fathers say
Eastern Fathers
Desert Fathers
A hermit said, 'If a man has words but no works, he is like a tree with leaves but no fruit. Just as a tree laden with fruit is also leafy, the man of good works will also have good words.'
Western Saints
Augustine of Hippo
In this place we must guard against the error of such as imagine that the two trees refer to two different natures; the one of God, the other not. But we affirm that they derive no countenance from these two trees; (Manichees, vid. infr.) as it will be evident to any who will read the context that He is speaking here of men. (De Civ. Dei, 12. …
Thomas Aquinas
He proves this with an example: Every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. From this the Manicheans assumed two natures, namely, good and evil. But this is not true, because we see good fruit formed from an evil creation, and vice versa. Hence from this you should understand that the tree is the principle of the fruit. But there are two principles: that of nature and that of conduct. The principle from nature is the soul, and whatever comes from it naturally is good. …
Rabanus Maurus
And man is denominated a good tree, or a bad, after his will, as it is good or bad. His fruit is his works, which can neither be good when the will is evil, nor evil when it is good.
Translation