CHAPTER I.

THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. The Old Testament commences with one of its most interesting myths, that of the Creation and Fall of Man. The story is to be found in the first _three_ chapters of Genesis, the substance of which is as follows: After God created the "Heavens" and the "Earth," he said: "Let there be light, and there was light," and after calling the light Day, and the darkness Night, the _first_ day's work was ended. God then made the "Firmament," which completed the _second_ day's work. Then God caused the dry land to appear, which he called "Earth," and the waters he called "Seas." After this the earth was made to bring forth grass, trees, &c., which completed the _third_ day's work. The next things God created were the "Sun,"[1:1] "Moon" and "Stars," and after he had _set them in the Firmament_, the _fourth_ day's work was ended.[2:1] After these, God created great "whales," and other creatures which inhabit the water, also "winged fowls." This brought the _fifth_ day to a close. The work of creation was finally completed on the _sixth_ day,[2:2] when God made "beasts" of every kind, "cattle," "creeping things," and lastly "man," whom he created "male and female," in his own image.[2:3] "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the _seventh_[2:4] day God ended his work which he had made: and he _rested_ on the seventh day, from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because that in it he had _rested_ from all his work which God created and made." After this information, which concludes at the _third_ verse of Genesis ii., strange though it may appear, _another_ account of the Creation commences, which is altogether different from the one we have just related. This account commences thus: "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day (not days) that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." It then goes on to say that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,"[2:5] which appears to be the _first_ thing he made. After planting a garden eastward in Eden,[2:6] the Lord God put the man therein, "and out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the _Tree of Life_,[2:7] also in the midst of the garden, and the _Tree of Knowledge_ of good and evil. And a _river_ went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted, and became into _four_ heads." These _four rivers_ were called, first Pison, second Gihon, third Hiddekel, and the fourth Euphrates.[3:1] After the "Lord God" had made the "Tree of Life," and the "Tree of Knowledge," he said unto the man: "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, _for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die_." Then the Lord God, thinking that it would not be well for man to live alone, formed--out of the ground--"every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." After Adam had given names to "all cattle, and to the fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field," "the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he (the Lord God) took one of his (Adam's) ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof." "And of the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a _woman_, and brought her unto Adam." "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed." After this everything is supposed to have gone harmoniously, until a _serpent_ appeared before the _woman_[3:2]--who was afterwards called Eve--and said to her: "Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" The woman, answering the serpent, said: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, _lest ye die_." Whereupon the serpent said to her: "Ye shall _not_ surely die" (which, according to the narrative, was the truth). He then told her that, upon eating the fruit, their eyes would be opened, and that they would be as _gods_, knowing good from evil. The woman then looked upon the tree, and as the fruit was tempting, "she took of the fruit, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband, and he did eat." The result was _not_ death (as the Lord God had told them), but, as the serpent had said, "the eyes of both were opened, and they knew they were naked, and they _sewed_ fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Towards evening (_i. e._, "in the cool of the day"), Adam and his wife "_heard_ the voice of the Lord God _walking_ in the garden," and being afraid, they hid themselves among the trees of the garden. The Lord God not finding Adam and his wife, said: "Where art thou?" Adam answering, said: "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." The "Lord God" then told Adam that he had eaten of the tree which he had commanded him not to eat, whereupon Adam said: "The _woman_ whom thou gavest to be with me, _she_ gave me of the tree and I did eat." When the "Lord God" spoke to the woman concerning her transgression, she blamed the _serpent_, which she said "beguiled" her. This sealed the serpent's fate, for the "Lord God" cursed him and said: "Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and _dust_ shalt thou eat all the days of thy life."[4:1] Unto the woman the "Lord God" said: "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, _and he shall rule over thee_." Unto Adam he said: "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, _for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return_." The "Lord God" then made coats of skin for Adam and his wife, with which he clothed them, after which he said: "Behold, the man is become _as one of us_,[5:1] to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" (he must be sent forth from Eden). "So he (the Lord God) drove out the man (and the woman); and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life." Thus ends the narrative. Before proceeding to show from whence this legend, or legends, had their origin, we will notice a feature which is very prominent in the narrative, and which cannot escape the eye of an observing reader, _i. e._, _the two different and contradictory accounts of the creation_. The first of these commences at the first verse of chapter first, and ends at the third verse of chapter second. The second account commences at the fourth verse of chapter second, and continues to the end of the chapter. In speaking of these contradictory accounts of the Creation, Dean Stanley says: "It is now clear to diligent students of the Bible, that the first and second chapters of Genesis contain two narratives of the Creation, side by side, differing from each other in most every particular of time and place and order."[5:2] Bishop Colenso, in his very learned work on the Pentateuch, speaking on this subject, says: "The following are the most noticeable points of difference between the two cosmogonies: "1. In the first, the earth emerges from the waters and is, therefore, _saturated with moisture_.[5:3] In the second, the 'whole face of the ground' _requires to be moistened_.[5:4] "2. In the first, the birds and the beasts are created _before man_.[6:1] In the second, man is created _before the birds and the beasts_.[6:2] "3. In the first, 'all fowls that fly' are made out of the _waters_.[6:3] In the second 'the fowls of the air' are made out of the _ground_.[6:4] "4. In the first, man is created in the image of God.[6:5] In the second, man is made of the dust of the ground, and merely animated with the breath of life; and it is only after his eating the forbidden fruit that 'the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become _as one of us_, to know good and evil.'[6:6] "5. In the first, man is made lord of the _whole earth_.[6:7] In the second, he is merely placed in the garden of Eden, 'to dress it and to keep it.'[6:8] "6. In the first, the man and the woman are _created together_, as the closing and completing work of the whole creation,--created also, as is evidently implied, in the same kind of way, to be the complement of one another, and, thus created, they are blessed _together_.[6:9] "In the second, the beasts and birds are created _between_ the man and the woman. First, the man is made of the dust of the ground; he is placed by _himself_ in the garden, charged with a solemn command, and threatened with a curse if he breaks it; _then the beasts and birds are made_, and the man gives names to them, and, lastly, after all this, _the woman is made out of one of his ribs_, but merely as a helpmate for the man.[6:10] "The fact is, that the _second_ account of the Creation,[6:11] together with the story of the Fall,[6:12] is manifestly composed by a _different writer_ altogether from him who wrote _the first_.[6:13] "This is suggested at once by the circumstance that, throughout the _first_ narrative, the Creator is always spoken of by the name Elohim (God), whereas, throughout the _second_ account, as well as the story of the Fall, he is always called Jehovah Elohim (Lord God), except when the writer seems to abstain, for some reason, from placing the name Jehovah in the mouth of the serpent.[6:14] This accounts naturally for the above contradictions. It would appear that, for some reason, the productions of two pens have been here united, without any reference to their inconsistencies."[6:15] Dr. Kalisch, who does his utmost to maintain--as far as his knowledge of the truth will allow--the general historical veracity of this narrative, after speaking of the _first_ account of the Creation, says: "But now the narrative seems not only to pause, but to go backward. The grand and powerful climax seems at once broken off, and a languid repetition appears to follow. _Another cosmogony is introduced, which, to complete the perplexity, is, in many important features, in direct contradiction to the former._ "_It would be dishonesty to conceal these difficulties. It would be weakmindedness and cowardice. It would be flight instead of combat. It would be an ignoble retreat, instead of victory. We confess there is an apparent dissonance._"[6:16] Dr. Knappert says:[7:1] "The account of the Creation from the hand of the _Priestly author_ is utterly different from the _other narrative_, beginning at the fourth verse of Genesis ii. Here we are told that God created Heaven and Earth in six days, and rested on the _seventh_ day, obviously with a view to bring out the holiness of the Sabbath in a strong light." Now that we have seen there are two different and contradictory accounts of the Creation, to be found in the first two chapters of Genesis, we will endeavor to learn if there is sufficient reason to believe they are copies of _more ancient legends_. We have seen that, according to the first account, God divided the work of creation into _six_ days. This idea agrees with that of the ancient _Persians_. The Zend-Avesta--the sacred writings of the Parsees--states that the Supreme being Ahuramazdâ (Ormuzd), created the universe and man in _six_ successive periods of time, in the following order: First, the Heavens; second, the Waters; third, the Earth; fourth, the Trees and Plants; fifth, Animals; and sixth, Man. After the Creator had finished his work, he rested.[7:2] The Avesta account of the Creation is limited to this announcement, but we find a more detailed history of the origin of the human species in the book entitled _Bundehesh_, dedicated to the exposition of a complete cosmogony. This book states that Ahuramazdâ created the first man and women joined together at the back. After dividing them, he endowed them with motion and activity, placed within them an intelligent soul, and bade them "to be humble of heart; to observe the law; to be pure in their thoughts, pure in their speech, pure in their actions." Thus were born Mashya and Mashyâna, the pair from which all human beings are descended.[7:3] The idea brought out in this story of the first human pair having originally formed a single androgynous being with two faces, separated later into two personalities by the Creator, is to be found in the Genesis account (v. 2). "Male and female created he them, and blessed them, and named their name Adam." Jewish tradition in the Targum and Talmud, as well as among learned rabbis, allege that Adam was created man and woman at the same time, having two faces turned in two opposite directions, and that the Creator separated the feminine half from him, in order to make of her a distinct person.[7:4] The ancient _Etruscan_ legend, according to Delitzsch, is almost the same as the Persian. They relate that God created the world in _six_ thousand years. In the first thousand he created the Heaven and Earth; in the second, the Firmament; in the third, the Waters of the Earth; in the fourth, the Sun, Moon and Stars; in the fifth, the Animals belonging to air, water and land; and in the sixth, Man alone.[8:1] Dr. Delitzsch, who maintains to the utmost the historical truth of the Scripture story in Genesis, yet says: "Whence comes the surprising agreement of the _Etruscan_ and _Persian_ legends with this section? How comes it that the _Babylonian_ cosmogony in Berosus, and the _Phoenician_ in Sanchoniathon, in spite of their fantastical oddity, come in contact with it in remarkable details?" After showing some of the similarities in the legends of these different nations, he continues: "These are only instances of that which they have in common. _For such an account outside of Israel, we must, however, conclude, that the author of Genesis i. has no vision before him, but a tradition._"[8:2] Von Bohlen tells us that the old _Chaldæan_ cosmogony is also _the same_.[8:3] To continue the _Persian_ legend; we will now show that according to it, after the Creation man was tempted, and _fell_. Kalisch[8:4] and Bishop Colenso[8:5] tell us of the Persian legend that the first couple lived originally in purity and innocence. Perpetual happiness was promised them by the Creator if they persevered in their virtue. But an evil demon came to them in the form of a _serpent_, sent by Ahriman, the prince of devils, and gave them fruit of a wonderful _tree_, which imparted immortality. Evil inclinations then entered their hearts, and all their moral excellence was destroyed. Consequently they fell, and forfeited the eternal happiness for which they were destined. They killed beasts, and clothed themselves in their skins. The evil demon obtained still more perfect power over their minds, and called forth envy, hatred, discord, and rebellion, which raged in the bosom of the families. Since the above was written, Mr. George Smith, of the British Museum, has discovered cuneiform inscriptions, which show conclusively that the Babylonians had this legend of the Creation and Fall of Man, some 1,500 years or more before the Hebrews heard of it.[9:1] The cuneiform inscriptions relating to the Babylonian legend of the Creation and Fall of Man, which have been discovered by English archæologists, are not, however, complete. The portions which relate to the _Tree_ and _Serpent_ have not been found, but Babylonian gem engravings show that these incidents were evidently a part of the original legend.[9:2] The _Tree of Life_ in the Genesis account appears to correspond with the sacred grove of Anu, which was guarded by a sword turning to all the four points of the compass.[9:3] A representation of this Sacred Tree, with "_attendant cherubim_," copied from an Assyrian cylinder, may be seen in Mr. George Smith's "Chaldean Account of Genesis."[9:4] Figure No. 1, which we have taken from the same work,[9:5] shows the tree of knowledge, fruit, and the serpent. Mr. Smith says of it: "One striking and important specimen of early type in the British Museum collection, has two figures sitting one on each side of a _tree_, holding out their hands to the fruit, while at the back of one (the _woman_) is scratched a _serpent_. We know well that in these early sculptures none of these figures were chance devices, but all represented events, or supposed events, and figures in their legends; thus it is evident that a form of the story of the Fall, similar to that of Genesis, was known in early times in Babylonia."[9:5] [Illustration: Fig. No. 1] This illustration might be used to illustrate the narrative of _Genesis_, and as Friedrich Delitzsch has remarked (G. Smith's _Chaldäische Genesis_) is capable of no other explanation. M. Renan does not hesitate to join forces with the ancient commentators, in seeking to recover a trace of the same tradition among the Phenicians in the fragments of Sanchoniathon, translated into Greek by Philo of Byblos. In fact, it is there said, in speaking of the first human pair, and of Æon, which seems to be the translation of _Havvâh_ (in Phenician _Havâth_) and stands in her relation to the other members of the pair, that this personage "has found out how to obtain nourishment from the fruits of the tree." The idea of the Edenic happiness of the first human beings constitutes one of the universal traditions. Among the Egyptians, the terrestrial reign of the god Râ, who inaugurated the existence of the world and of human life, was a golden age to which they continually looked back with regret and envy. Its "like has never been seen since." The ancient Greeks boasted of their "Golden Age," when sorrow and trouble were not known. Hesiod, an ancient Grecian poet, describes it thus: "Men lived like Gods, without vices or passions, vexation or toil. In happy companionship with divine beings, they passed their days in tranquillity and joy, living together in perfect equality, united by mutual confidence and love. The earth was more beautiful than now, and spontaneously yielded an abundant variety of fruits. Human beings and animals spoke the same language and conversed with each other. Men were considered mere boys at a hundred years old. They had none of the infirmities of age to trouble them, and when they passed to regions of superior life, it was in a gentle slumber." In the course of time, however, all the sorrows and troubles came to man. They were caused by inquisitiveness. The story is as follows: Epimetheus received a gift from Zeus (God), in the form of a beautiful woman (Pandora). "She brought with her a vase, the lid of which was (by the command of God), to remain closed. The curiosity of her husband, however, tempted him to open it, and suddenly there escaped from it troubles, weariness and illness from which mankind was never afterwards free. All that remained was _hope_."[10:1] Among the _Thibetans_, the paradisiacal condition was more complete and spiritual. The desire to eat of a certain sweet herb deprived men of their spiritual life. There arose a sense of shame, and the need to clothe themselves. Necessity compelled them to agriculture; the virtues disappeared, and murder, adultery and other vices, stepped into their place.[10:2] The idea that the Fall of the human race is connected with _agriculture_ is found to be also often represented in the legends of the East African negroes, especially in the Calabar legend of the Creation, which presents many interesting points of comparison with the biblical story of the Fall. The first human pair are called by a bell at meal-times to Abasi (the Calabar God), in heaven; and in place of the forbidden tree of Genesis are put _agriculture_ and _propagation_, which Abasi strictly denies to the first pair. The Fall is denoted by the transgression of both these commands, especially through the use of implements of tillage, to which the _woman_ is tempted by a female friend who is given to her. From that moment man fell _and became mortal_, so that, as the Bible story has it, he can eat bread only in the sweat of his face. There agriculture is a curse, a fall from a more perfect stage to a lower and imperfect one.[11:1] Dr. Kalisch, writing of the Garden of Eden, says: "The _Paradise_ is no exclusive feature of the early history of the Hebrews. _Most of the ancient nations have similar narratives about a happy abode, which care does not approach, and which re-echoes with the sounds of the purest bliss._"[11:2] The _Persians_ supposed that a region of bliss and delight called _Heden_, more beautiful than all the rest of the world, _traversed by a mighty river_, was the original abode of the first men, before they were tempted by the evil spirit in the form of a _serpent_, to partake of the fruit of the forbidden tree _Hôm_.[11:3] Dr. Delitzsch, writing of the _Persian_ legend, observes: "Innumerable attendants of the Holy One keep watch against the attempts of Ahriman, over the tree _Hôm_, which contains in itself the power of the resurrection."[11:4] The ancient Greeks had a tradition concerning the "Islands of the Blessed," the "Elysium," on the borders of the earth, abounding in every charm of life, and the "Garden of the Hesperides," the Paradise, in which grew a _tree_ bearing the golden apples of Immortality. It was guarded by three nymphs, and a Serpent, or Dragon, the ever-watchful Ladon. It was one of the labors of Hercules to gather some of these apples of life. When he arrived there he found the garden protected by a _Dragon_. Ancient medallions represent a tree with a serpent twined around it. Hercules has gathered an apple, and near him stand the three nymphs, called Hesperides.[11:5] This is simply a parallel of the Eden myth. The Rev. Mr. Faber, speaking of _Hercules_, says: "On the _Sphere_ he is represented in the act of contending with the Serpent, the head of which is placed under his foot; and this Serpent, we are told, is that which guarded the tree with golden fruit in the midst of the garden of the Hesperides. But the garden of the Hesperides _was none other than the garden of Paradise_; consequently the serpent of that garden, the head of which is crushed beneath the heel of Hercules, and which itself is described as encircling with its folds the trunk of the mysterious tree, must necessarily be a transcript of that Serpent whose form was assumed by the tempter of our first parents. We may observe the same ancient tradition in the Phoenician fable representing Ophion or Ophioneus."[12:1] And Professor Fergusson says: "_Hercules'_ adventures in the garden of the Hesperides, is the Pagan form of the myth that most resembles the precious Serpent-guarded fruit of the Garden of Eden, though the moral of the fable is so widely different."[12:2] The ancient _Egyptians_ also had the legend of the "Tree of Life." It is mentioned in their sacred books that Osiris ordered the names of some souls to be written on this "Tree of Life," the fruit of which made those who ate it to become as gods.[12:3] Among the most ancient traditions of the _Hindoos_, is that of the "Tree of Life"--called _Sôma_ in Sanskrit--the juice of which imparted immortality. This most wonderful tree was guarded by spirits.[12:4] Still more striking is the Hindoo legend of the "Elysium" or "Paradise," which is as follows: "In the sacred mountain _Meru_, which is perpetually clothed in the golden rays of the Sun, and whose lofty summit reaches into heaven, no sinful man can exist. _It is guarded by a dreadful dragon._ It is adorned with many celestial plants and trees, and is watered by _four rivers_, which thence separate and flow to the four chief directions."[12:5] The Hindoos, like the philosophers of the Ionic school (Thales, for instance), held _water_ to be the first existing and all-pervading principle, at the same time allowing the co-operation and influence of an _immaterial_ intelligence in the work of creation.[12:6] A Vedic poet, meditating on the Creation, uses the following expressions: "Nothing that is was then, even what is not, did not exist then." "There was no space, no life, and lastly there was no time, no difference between day and night, no solar torch by which morning might have been told from evening." "Darkness there was, and all at first was veiled in gloom profound, as ocean without light."[12:7] The Hindoo legend approaches very nearly to that preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus, it is said that Siva, as the Supreme Being, desired to tempt Brahmá (who had taken human form, and was called Swayambhura--son of the self-existent), and for this object he dropped from heaven a blossom of the sacred _fig_ tree. Swayambhura, instigated by his wife, Satarupa, endeavors to obtain this blossom, thinking its possession will render him immortal and divine; but when he has succeeded in doing so, he is cursed by Siva, and doomed to misery and degradation.[13:1] The sacred Indian _fig_ is endowed by the Brahmins and the Buddhists with mysterious significance, as the "Tree of Knowledge" or "Intelligence."[13:2] There is no Hindoo legend of the _Creation_ similar to the Persian and Hebrew accounts, and Ceylon was never believed to have been the Paradise or home of our first parents, although such stories are in circulation.[13:3] The Hindoo religion states--as we have already seen--Mount Meru to be the Paradise, out of which went _four rivers_. We have noticed that the "Gardens of Paradise" are said to have been guarded by _Dragons_, and that, according to the Genesis account, it was Cherubim that protected Eden. This apparent difference in the legends is owing to the fact that we have come in our modern times to speak of Cherub as though it were an other name for an Angel. But the Cherub of the writer of Genesis, the Cherub of Assyria, the Cherub of Babylon, the Cherub of the entire Orient, at the time the Eden story was written, was not at all an Angel, but an animal, and a mythological one at that. The Cherub had, in some cases, the body of a lion, with the head of an other animal, or a man, and the wings of a bird. In Ezekiel they have the body of a man, whose head, besides a human countenance, has also that of a _Lion_, an _Ox_ and an _Eagle_. They are provided with four wings, and the whole body is spangled with innumerable eyes. In Assyria and Babylon they appear as winged bulls with human faces, and are placed at the gateways of palaces and temples as guardian genii who watch over the dwelling, as the Cherubim in Genesis watch the "Tree of Life." Most Jewish writers and Christian Fathers conceived the Cherubim as Angels. Most theologians also considered them as Angels, until Michaelis showed them to be a mythological animal, a poetical creation.[13:4] We see then, that our _Cherub_ is simply a _Dragon_. To continue our inquiry regarding the prevalence of the Eden-myth among nations of antiquity. The _Chinese_ have their Age of Virtue, when nature furnished abundant food, and man lived peacefully, surrounded by all the beasts. In their sacred books there is a story concerning a mysterious _garden_, where grew a _tree_ bearing "apples of immortality," guarded by a winged serpent, called a Dragon. They describe a primitive age of the world, when the earth yielded abundance of delicious fruits without cultivation, and the seasons were untroubled by wind and storms. There was no calamity, sickness, or death. Men were then good without effort; for the human heart was in harmony with the peacefulness and beauty of nature. The "Golden Age" of the past is much dwelt upon by their ancient commentators. One of them says: "All places were then equally the native county of every man. Flocks wandered in the fields without any guide; birds filled the air with their melodious voices; and the fruits grew of their own accord. Men lived pleasantly with the animals, and all creatures were members of the same family. Ignorant of evil, man lived in simplicity and perfect innocence." Another commentator says: "In the first age of perfect purity, all was in harmony, and the passions did not occasion the slightest murmur. Man, united to sovereign reason within, conformed his outward actions to sovereign justice. Far from all duplicity and falsehood, his soul received marvelous felicity from heaven, and the purest delights from earth." Another says: "A delicious _garden_ refreshed with zephyrs, and planted with odoriferous trees, was situated in the middle of a mountain, which was the avenue of heaven. The _waters_ that moistened it flowed from a source called the '_Fountain of Immortality_'. He who drinks of it never dies. Thence flowed _four rivers_. A Golden River, betwixt the South and East, a Red River, between the North and East, the River of the Lamb between the North and West." The animal Kaiming guards the entrance. Partly by an undue thirst for knowledge, and partly by increasing sensuality, and the seduction of _woman_, man fell. Then passion and lust ruled in the human mind, and war with the animals began. In one of the Chinese sacred volumes, called the Chi-King, it is said that: "All was subject to man at first, _but a woman threw us into slavery_. The wise husband raised up a bulwark of walls, _but the woman, by an ambitious desire of knowledge, demolished them_. Our misery did not come from heaven, _but from a woman_. _She lost the human race._ Ah, unhappy _Poo See!_ thou kindled the fire that consumes us, and which is every day augmenting. Our misery has lasted many ages. _The world is lost._ Vice overflows all things like a mortal poison."[15:1] Thus we see that the Chinese are no strangers to the doctrine of original sin. It is their invariable belief that man is a fallen being; admitted by them from time immemorial. The inhabitants of _Madagascar_ had a legend similar to the Eden story, which is related as follows: "The first man was created of the _dust of the earth_, and was placed in a _garden_, where he was subject to none of the ills which now affect mortality; he was also free from all bodily appetites, and though surrounded by delicious _fruit_ and limpid _streams_ yet felt no desire to taste of the fruit or to quaff the water. The Creator had, moreover, _strictly forbid him either to eat or to drink_. The great enemy, however, came to him, and painted to him, in glowing colors, the sweetness of the apple, and the lusciousness of the date, and the succulence of the orange." After resisting the temptations for a while, he at last ate of the fruit, and consequently _fell_.[15:2] A legend of the Creation, similar to the Hebrew, was found by Mr. Ellis among the _Tahitians_, and appeared in his "Polynesian Researches." It is as follows: After Taarao had formed the world, he created man out of aræa, red earth, which was also the food of man until bread was made. Taarao one day called for the man by name. When he came, he caused him to fall asleep, and while he slept, he took out one of his _ivi_, or bones, and with it made a woman, whom he gave to the man as his wife, and they became the progenitors of mankind. The woman's name was _Ivi_, which signifies a bone.[15:3] The prose Edda, of the ancient _Scandinavians_, speaks of the "Golden Age" when all was pure and harmonious. This age lasted until the arrival of _woman_ out of Jotunheim--the region of the giants, a sort of "land of Nod"--who corrupted it.[15:4] In the annals of the _Mexicans_, the first woman, whose name was translated by the old Spanish writers, "the woman of our flesh," is always represented as accompanied by a great male serpent, who seems to be talking to her. Some writers believe this to be the _tempter_ speaking to the primeval mother, and others that it is intended to represent the _father_ of the human race. This Mexican Eve is represented on their monuments as the mother of twins.[15:5] Mr. Franklin, in his "Buddhists and Jeynes," says: "A striking instance is recorded by the very intelligent traveler (Wilson), regarding a representation of the Fall of our first parents, sculptured in the magnificent temple of Ipsambul, in Nubia. He says that a very exact representation of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden is to be seen in that cave, and that the _serpent_ climbing round the tree is especially delineated, and the whole subject of the tempting of our first parents most accurately exhibited."[16:1] Nearly the same thing was found by Colonel Coombs in the _South of India_. Colonel Tod, in his "Hist. Rajapoutana," says: "A drawing, brought by Colonel Coombs from a sculptured column in a cave-temple in the South of India, represents the first pair at the foot of the ambrosial tree, and a _serpent_ entwined among the heavily-laden boughs, presenting to them some of the fruit from his mouth. The tempter appears to be at that part of his discourse, when '----his words, replete with guile, Into her heart too easy entrance won: Fixed on the fruit she gazed.' "_This is a curious subject to be engraved on an ancient Pagan temple._"[16:2] So the Colonel thought, no doubt, but it is not so very curious after all. It is the same myth which we have found--with but such small variations only as time and circumstances may be expected to produce--among different nations, in both the Old and New Worlds. [Illustration: Fig. No. 2] Fig. No. 2, taken from the work of Montfaucon,[16:3] represents one of these ancient Pagan sculptures. Can any one doubt that it is allusive to the myth of which we have been treating in this chapter? That man was originally created a perfect being, and is now only a fallen and broken remnant of what he once was, we have seen to be a piece of _mythology_, not only unfounded in fact, but, beyond intelligent question, proved untrue. What, then, is the significance of the exposure of this myth? What does its loss as a scientific fact, and as a portion of Christian dogma, imply? It implies that with it--although many Christian divines who admit this to be a legend, do not, or do not _profess_, to see it--_must fall the whole Orthodox scheme, for upon this_ MYTH _the theology of Christendom is built_. The doctrine of the _inspiration of the Scriptures_, the _Fall_ of _man_, his _total depravity_, the _Incarnation_, the _Atonement_, the _devil_, _hell_, in fact, the entire theology of the Christian church, falls to pieces with the historical inaccuracy of this story, _for upon it is it built; 'tis the foundation of the whole structure_.[17:1] According to Christian dogma, the Incarnation of Christ Jesus had become necessary, merely _because he had to redeem the evil introduced into the world by the Fall of man_. These two dogmas cannot be separated from each other. _If there was no Fall, there is no need of an atonement, and no Redeemer is required._ Those, then, who consent in recognizing in Christ Jesus a _God_ and _Redeemer_, and who, notwithstanding, cannot resolve upon admitting the story of the Fall of man to be _historical_, should exculpate themselves from the reproach of _inconsistency_. There are a great number, however, in this position at the present day. Although, as we have said, many Christian divines do not, or do not profess to, see the force of the above argument, there are many who do; and they, regardless of their scientific learning, cling to these old myths, professing to believe them, _well knowing what must follow with their fall_. The following, though written some years ago, will serve to illustrate this style of reasoning. The Bishop of Manchester (England) writing in the "Manchester Examiner and Times," said: "The very _foundation of our faith_, the very _basis of our hopes_, the very nearest and dearest of our consolations are taken from us, _when one line of that sacred volume, on which we base everything, is declared to be untruthful and untrustworthy_." The "English Churchman," speaking of clergymen who have "_doubts_," said, that any who are not throughly persuaded "_that the Scriptures cannot in any particular be untrue_," should leave the Church. The Rev. E. Garbett, M. A., in a sermon preached before the University of Oxford, speaking of the "_historical truth_" of the Bible, said: "It is the clear teaching of those doctrinal formularies, to which we of the Church of England have expressed our solemn assent, _and no honest interpretation of her language can get rid of it_." And that: "In all consistent reason, _we must accept the whole of the inspired autographs, or reject the whole_." Dr. Baylee, Principal of a theological university--_St. Aiden's College_--at Birkenhead, England, and author of a "Manual," called Baylee's "_Verbal Inspiration_," written "_chiefly for the youths of St. Aiden's College_," makes use of the following words, in that work: "_The whole Bible_, as a revelation, is a declaration of the mind of God towards his creatures on all the subjects of which the Bible treats." "_The Bible is God's word_, in the same sense as if he had made use of no human agent, but had _Himself spoken it_." "The Bible cannot be less than verbally inspired. _Every word, every syllable, every letter_, is just what it would be, had God spoken from heaven without any human intervention." "Every scientific statement is infallibly correct, all its history and narrations of every kind, _are without any inaccuracy_."[18:1] A whole volume might be filled with such quotations, not only from religious works and journals published in England, but from those published in the United States of America.[18:2] FOOTNOTES: [1:1] The idea that the sun, moon and stars were _set_ in the firmament was entertained by most nations of antiquity, but, as strange as it may appear, Pythagoras, the Grecian philosopher, who flourished from 540 to 510 B. C.--as well as other Grecian philosophers--taught that the sun was placed in the centre of the universe, _with the planets roving round it in a circle_, thus making day and night. (See Knight's Ancient Art and Mythology, p. 59, and note.) The Buddhists anciently taught that the universe is composed of limitless systems or worlds, called _sakwalas_. They are scattered throughout space, and each sakwala has a sun and moon. (See Hardy: Buddhist Legends, pp. 80 and 87.) [2:1] Origen, a Christian Father who flourished about A. D. 230, says: "What man of sense will agree with the statement that the first, second, and third days, in which the _evening_ is named and the _morning_, were without sun, moon and stars?" (Quoted in Mysteries of Adoni, p. 176.) [2:2] "The geologist reckons not by _days_ or by _years_; the whole six thousand years, which were until lately looked on as the sum of the world's age, are to him but as a unit of measurement in the long succession of past ages." (Sir John Lubbock.) "It is now certain that the vast epochs of time demanded by scientific observation are incompatible both with the six thousand years of the Mosaic chronology, and the six days of the Mosaic creation." (Dean Stanley.) [2:3] "Let us make man in our own likeness," was said by Ormuzd, the Persian God of Gods, to his WORD. (See Bunsen's Angel Messiah, p. 104.) [2:4] The number SEVEN was sacred among almost every nation of antiquity. (See ch. ii.) [2:5] According to Grecian Mythology, the God Prometheus created men, in the image of the gods, _out of clay_ (see Bulfinch: The Age of Fable, p. 26; and Goldzhier: Hebrew Myths, p. 373), and the God Hephaistos was commanded by Zeus to mold of _clay_ the figure of a maiden, into which Athênê, the dawn-goddess, _breathed the breath of life_. This is Pandora--the gift of all the gods--who is presented to Epimetheus. (See Cox: Aryan Myths, vol. ii., p. 208.) [2:6] "What man is found such an idiot as to suppose that God planted trees in Paradise, in Eden, like a husbandman." (Origen: quoted in Mysteries of Adoni, p. 176.) "There is no way of preserving the literal sense of the first chapter of Genesis, without impiety, and attributing things to God unworthy of him." (St. Augustine.) [2:7] "The records about the '_Tree of Life_' are the sublimest proofs of the unity and continuity of tradition, and of its Eastern origin. _The earliest records of the most ancient Oriental tradition refer to a 'Tree of Life,' which was guarded by spirits._ The juice of the fruit of this sacred tree, like the tree itself, was called _Sôma_ in Sanscrit, and _Haôma_ in Zend; it was revered as the life preserving essence." (Bunsen: Keys of St. Peter, p. 414) [3:1] "According to the Persian account of Paradise, _four_ great rivers came from Mount Alborj; two are in the North, and two go towards the South. The river Arduisir nourishes the _Tree of Immortality_, the Holy Hom." (Stiefelhagen: quoted in Mysteries of Adoni p. 149.) "According to the _Chinese_ myth, the waters of the Garden of Paradise issue from the fountain of immortality, which divides itself into _four rivers_." (Ibid., p. 150, and Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i., p. 210.) The Hindoos call their Mount Meru the Paradise, out of which went _four_ rivers. (Anacalypsis, vol. i., p. 357.) [3:2] According to Persian legend, Arimanes, the Evil Spirit, _by eating a certain kind of fruit_, transformed himself into a _serpent_, and went gliding about on the earth to tempt human beings. His Devs entered the bodies of men and produced all manner of diseases. They entered into their minds, and incited them to sensuality, falsehood, slander and revenge. Into every department of the world they introduced discord and death. [4:1] Inasmuch as the physical construction of the serpent never could admit of its moving in any other way, and inasmuch as it _does not eat dust_, does not the narrator of this myth reflect unpleasantly upon the wisdom of such a God as Jehovah is claimed to be, as well as upon the ineffectualness of his first curse? [5:1] "Our writer unmistakably recognizes the existence of _many gods_; for he makes Yahweh say: 'See, the man has become as ONE OF US, knowing good and evil;' and so he evidently implies the existence of other similar beings, to whom he attributes immortality and insight into the difference between good and evil. Yahweh, then, was, in his eyes, the god of gods, indeed, but not the _only_ god." (Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 51.) [5:2] In his memorial sermon, preached in Westminster Abbey, after the funeral of Sir Charles Lyell. He further said in this address:-- "It is well known that when the science of geology first arose, it was involved in endless schemes of _attempted_ reconciliation with the letter of Scripture. There was, there are perhaps still, two modes of reconciliation of Scripture and science, which have been each in their day attempted, _and each have totally and deservedly failed_. One is the endeavor to wrest the words of the Bible from their natural meaning, _and force it to speak the language of science_." After speaking of the earliest known example, which was the interpolation of the word "_not_" in Leviticus xi. 6, he continues: "This is the earliest instance of _the falsification of Scripture to meet the demands of science_; and it has been followed in later times by the various efforts which have been made to twist the earlier chapters of the book of Genesis into _apparent_ agreement with the last results of geology--representing days not to be days, morning and evening not to be morning and evening, the deluge not to be the deluge, and the ark not to be the ark." [5:3] Gen. i. 9, 10. [5:4] Gen. ii. 6. [6:1] Gen. i. 20, 24, 26. [6:2] Gen. ii. 7, 9. [6:3] Gen. i. 20. [6:4] Gen. ii. 19. [6:5] Gen. i. 27. [6:6] Gen. ii. 7: iii. 22. [6:7] Gen. i. 28. [6:8] Gen. ii. 8, 15. [6:9] Gen. i. 28. [6:10] Gen. ii. 7, 8, 15, 22. [6:11] Gen. ii. 4-25. [6:12] Gen. iii. [6:13] Gen. i. 1-ii. 8. [6:14] Gen. iii. 1, 3, 5. [6:15] The Pentateuch Examined, vol. ii. pp. 171-173. [6:16] Com. on Old Test. vol. i. p. 59. [7:1] The Relig. of Israel, p. 186. [7:2] Von Bohlen: Intro. to Gen. vol. ii. p. 4. [7:3] Lenormant: Beginning of Hist. vol. i. p. 6. [7:4] See Ibid. p. 64; and Legends of the Patriarchs, p. 31. [8:1] "The Etruscans believed in a creation of six thousand years, and in the successive production of different beings, the last of which was man." (Dunlap: Spirit Hist. p. 357.) [8:2] Quoted by Bishop Colenso: The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 115. [8:3] Intro. to Genesis, vol. ii. p. 4. [8:4] Com. on Old Test. vol. i. p. 63. [8:5] The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 158. [9:1] See Chapter xi. [9:2] Mr. Smith says, "Whatever the primitive account may have been from which the earlier part of the Book of Genesis was copied, it is evident that the brief narration given in the Pentateuch omits a number of incidents and explanations--for instance, as to the origin of evil, the fall of the angels, the wickedness of the serpent, &c. Such points as these are included in the cuneiform narrative." (Smith: Chaldean Account of Genesis, pp. 13, 14.) [9:3] Smith: Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 88. [9:4] Ibid. p. 89. [9:5] Ibid. p. 91. [10:1] Murray's Mythology, p. 208. [10:2] Kalisch's Com. vol. i. p. 64. [11:1] Goldziher: Hebrew Mythology, p. 87. [11:2] Com. on the Old Test. vol. i. p. 70. [11:3] Ibid. [11:4] Ibid. "The fruit, and sap of this '_Tree of Life_' begat immortality." (Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 240.) [11:5] See Montfaucon: L'Antiquité Expliquée, vol. i. p. 211, and Pl. cxxxiii. [12:1] Faber: Origin Pagan Idolatry, vol. i. p. 443; in Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 237. [12:2] Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 13. [12:3] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 159. [12:4] See Bunsen's Keys of St. Peter, p. 414. [12:5] Colenso: The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 153. [12:6] Buckley: Cities of the Ancient World, p. 148. [12:7] Müller: Hist. Sanskrit Literature, p. 559. [13:1] See Wake: Phallism in Ancient Religions, pp. 46, 47; and Maurice: Hist. Hindostan, vol. i. p. 408. [13:2] Hardwick: Christ and Other Masters, p. 215. [13:3] See Jacolliot's "Bible in India," which John Fisk calls a "very discreditable performance," and "a disgraceful piece of charlatanry" (Myths, &c. p. 205). This writer also states that according to Hindoo legend, the first man and woman were called "Adima and Heva," which is certainly not the case. The "bridge of Adima" which he speaks of as connecting the island of Ceylon with the mainland, is called "Rama's bridge;" and the "Adam's footprints" are called "Buddha's footprints." The Portuguese, who called the mountain _Pico d' Adama_ (Adam's Peak), evidently invented these other names. (See Maurice's Hist. Hindostan, vol. i. pp. 301, 362, and vol. ii. p. 242). [13:4] See Smith's Bible Dic. Art. "Cherubim," and Lenormant's Beginning of History, ch. iii. [15:1] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. pp. 206-210, The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. pp. 152, 153, and Legends of the Patriarchs, p. 38. [15:2] Legends of the Patriarchs, p. 31. [15:3] Quoted by Müller: The Science of Relig., p. 302. [15:4] See Mallet's Northern Antiquities, p. 409. [15:5] See Baring Gould's Legends of the Patriarchs; Squire's Serpent Symbol, p. 161, and Wake's Phallism in Ancient Religions, p. 41. [16:1] Quoted by Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 403. [16:2] Tod's Hist. Raj., p. 581, quoted by Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 404. [16:3] L'Antiquité Expliquée, vol. i. [17:1] Sir William Jones, the first president of the Royal Asiatic Society, saw this when he said: "Either the first eleven chapters of Genesis, all due allowance being made for a figurative Eastern style, are _true_, or the whole fabric of our religion is false." (In Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 225.) And so also did the learned Thomas Maurice, for he says: "If the Mosaic History be indeed a fable, the whole fabric of the national religion is false, since the main pillar of Christianity rests upon that important original promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent." (Hist. Hindostan, vol. i. p. 20.) [18:1] The above extracts are quoted by Bishop Colenso, in The Pentateuch Examined, vol. ii. pp. 10-12, from which we take them. [18:2] "_Cosmogony_" is the title of a volume lately written by Prof. Thomas Mitchell, and published by the American News Co., in which the author attacks all the modern scientists in regard to the geological antiquity of the world, evolution, atheism, pantheism, &c. He believes--and rightly too--that, "_if the account of Creation in Genesis falls, Christ and the apostles follow: if the book of Genesis is erroneous, so also are the Gospels_."