Earth, dust, and sand

Meaning

Earth has two different illustrative functions in Part IV: the spiritual comparison · unit 2. Adam’s return to earth explains bodily mortality after the Fall: the material from which he was taken has no life in itself. The dust of the earth, alongside sea-sand and heavenly stars, then figures the multitude promised to Abraham’s descendants. The earth marks mortal origin and return; the dust and sand express the promised multitude. These related materials do not function as one fixed symbol. The English distinguishes “earth” from “dust of the earth” and “sand of the sea.” These familiar visible things support the author’s defence of divine teaching through accessible figures; they are not listed as ingredients of the Stone.