the tree of life with the tree of knowledge. In other words, I take very seriously that it is not just the tree of knowledge but precisely and explicitly the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from which Adam and Eve have eaten—that is, the tree of ethical awareness, or the tree of moral integrity, or most simply, the tree of conscience. Our humanity, Genesis concludes, is not distinguished by being immortal, for that is an impossibility, but by being moral—and that is a responsibility. Alone among all the animals, we do not just have instinct to control us but also conscience to guide us.
