אליגוריות החוקים, ספר א י״טAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis, Book I 19
א׳
1[63] “A river goes forth from Eden to water the garden: thence it is separated into four heads; the name of the one is Pheison; this is that which encircles all the land of Evilat, there where the gold is; and the gold of that land is good; and there is the ruby and the emerald. And the name of the second river is Geon; this encompasses all the land of Aethiopia. And the third river is Tigris; this is that whose course is in front of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates” (Gen. 2:10–14). By these rivers his purpose is to indicate the particular virtues. These are four in number, prudence, self-mastery, courage, justice. The largest river, of which the four are effluxes, is generic virtue, which we have called “goodness.” The four effluxes are the virtues of the same number.
ב׳
2[64] Generic virtue takes its start from Eden, the wisdom of God, which is full of joy, and brightness, and exultation, glorying and priding itself only upon God its Father; but the specific virtues, four in number, are derived from generic virtue, which like a river waters the perfect achievements of each of them with an abundant flow of noble doings.
ג׳
3[65] Let us look too at the particular words used. “A river,” it says “issues forth from Eden to water the garden.” “River” is generic virtue, goodness. This issues forth out of Eden, the wisdom of God, and this is the Reason of God; for after that has generic virtue been made. And generic virtue waters the garden, that is, it waters the particular virtues. “Heads” he takes not in the sense of locality but of sovereignty. For each of the virtues is in very deed a sovereign and a queen. “Is separated” is equivalent to ‘has boundaries to define it.’ Prudence, concerned with things to be done, sets boundaries round them; courage round things to be endured; self-mastery round things to be chosen; justice round things to be awarded.