The Admonitions II – THE EVIL OF SELF-WILL

ADMONITIONS II – THE EVIL OF SELF-WILL
St. Francis of Assisi

The Lord said to Adam: Eat of every tree; you may not eat, however, of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (GN 2:16,17)

He was able to eat of every tree of paradise, because he did not sin as long as he did not go against obedience. For that person eats of the tree of the knowledge of good who makes his will his own and, in this way, exalts himself over the good things the Lord says and does in him. And so, through the suggestion of the devil and the transgression of the command, it became the apple of the knowledge of evil. Therefore it is fitting that he suffer the punishment. 
Source: St. Francis of Assisi, The Saint, Early Documents