The Literal Meaning of Genesis (continued)
BOOK SEVEN 17 and earth, which form the solid mass of the body and are more disposed to be acted upon than to act.37
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Sensation and spontaneous motion distinguish men and animals from plants and trees.
22. The statement, Man was made a living being,?® in my opinion was made precisely because he began to have sensation in his body, a clear sign of animated and living flesh. Trees, indeed, move not only by reason of an external force striking them, as when they are shaken by the winds, but also through an internal motion by which the growth of a tree according to its kind takes place and by which moisture is drawn into the roots and is changed into that which constitutes a plant or tree. This process never takes place without internal motion. But this motion is not spontaneous as is that which is connected with sensation for the management of the body, as is the case in every kind of animal, which Scripture calls a living being.27? Even in our own case, unless that first kind of motion were also in us, our bodies would not grow nor would they produce nails or hairs. But if it alone were in us without sensation or spontaneous motion, man would not be said to have been made a living being.
Why God breathed the breath of life into the face of man.
23. The front part of the brain, from which all the sensory nerves are spread out, is placed near the brow, and the organs of sensation are in the face, with the exception of the sense of touch, which is diffused throughout the whole body. But even this sense is known to have its path going from the front part of the brain back through the top of the head and then to the