St Maximos the Confessor | Since man came into being, composed of noetic soul and sentient body!

Since man came into being, composed of noetic soul and sentient body, one interpretation could be that the tree of life is the soul’s intellect, which is the seat of wisdom.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil would then be the body’s power of sensation, which is clearly the seat of mindless impulses.

Man received the divine commandment not to involve himself actively and experientially with these impulses; but he did not keep the commandment.

St Maximos the Confessor