fion to the doctrine of the trinity. But if there had

been any foundation for this it mnft derstood by Moses and the Jews.

have been fo unBut no Jew, antient

or modern, knew any thing of the doctrine of three per fons in the god head. When the idea was started by Christians nothing could fhock them more, and to this day it is the greatest objection that they, or the Mahometans, allege against Christianity.

31. It seems from this, that man was originally intended to live on vegetables only. But as no change was made in the structure of men's bodies after the flood, it is not probable that any change was made in the articles of their food. It might also have been inferred from this paffage that no animal whatever was originally defigned to prey on others. For nothing is here faid to be given for meat to any beast of the earth besides green herbs. Otherwife this must have preceded the creation of carnivorus animals.

Ch.II. 1. As the creation was completed in fix periods, whether days or longer portions of time, it pleased the Divine Being to appoint that the feventh day should be confidered as facred to him, probably with a view to call mankind to reflect on his power and providence in the creation, and to attend to the relation in which they ftand to him as the creator, and fovereign difpofer of all things; fo that the world could not have been eternal, or a deity, an object of worship, as it was with the heathens in general.

Time appears to have been divided into periods of feven days by all antient nations, long before the age of Mofes. Both the Egyptians and the Hindoos made use

A 4

use of it. Those nations gave the names of the heaven. ly bodies to each of thefe days; but this must have tas ken place in after times, when aftronomy was ftudied.

6. No mention is made of rain till after the deluge: Before that a heavy dew might supply its place.

7. It is clear from this account of the formation of man, that when the body was formed, nothing was wanting but the faculty of breathing. Nothing is faid of an immaterial foul as a neceffary conftituent part of man; whereas, if it had been fo, it must have been con fidered as of far more confequence than the body, which according to that system is nothing more than its habitation, or rather its prison, impeding the exertion of its powers. It is evident alfo, that in the idea of Mofes whatever be the living principle in man there is the fame in brute animals; for the very fame language is ufed with respect to both.

9. What these trees were, or whether there be not fomething of allegory in the account, it is in vain for us to conjecture. According to the literal account, the fruit of this tree contributed to make man immortal.

12. Bdellium probably fignifies pearls, especially as the manna, which was white (Exod. xvi. 14. 31.) was of this colour. The onyx is commonly called cornelian. It was one of the precious ftones in the high priest's breast plate.

14. The most probable account the fituation of Paradife is that given by H. Reland, who fuppposes it to have been in Armenia, near the fources of the great rivers Euphrates, Tigris, Phafis, and Araxes. According to him, Pison was the Phafis,a river of Colchis, empting

itself

itfelf into the Euxine fea, and where is a city called in Greek Chabala the pronunciation of which is nearly the fame with that of Havila, and this country was famous for its gold, whence the fable of the golden fleece attempted to be carried away by the heroes of Greece from that country. The Gihon he makes to be the Araxes, which runs into the Cafpian fea, both the words having the fame fignification, viz. a rapid motion. The land of Cush, which was wathed by this river, hê fuppofes to be the country of the Cussai of the ancients. The Hiddekel all agree to be the Tigris, and the other river Phrat to be the Euphrates. All these rivers rise in the fame tract of mountainous country, tho they do not rife from one head, which might be a geographical miftake of Mofes.

This paradife being called a garden gives us the idea of an inclosed spot of ground, and of no great extent. But all that we are to understand by this description is that the first human pair were placed in this part of the world, which was well watered, where the climate was temperate and which abounded with every thing that was neceffary for the fupport of life.

It is evident, however, to the flighteft reflection, that befides the formation of man, he must have had much inftructtion given him, before he could have been able to provide for himself in the most favourable circumstances that can be imagined; and the probability is, that divine goodness was not content with teaching man what was barely neceffary to his fubfiftence, but that he was infpired with a language, and had communicated to him the knowledge of his maker, and of a method of

expreffing the homage that was due to him; that the moral rules of life were explained to him, and that he was informed concerning a state of future retribution. For all these were neceffary to him as a rational being, and what he could not have difcovered of himself.

19. Confidering how long time, many generations. no doubt, would be neceffary to man's acquiring any articulate speech, we must suppose that Adam was infpir ed with a language;and as all the names that occur in this part of the history have fignificant roots in the Hebrew, this language, or one fimilar to it, muft have been the primitive language of mankind.

24. This was probably either a figurative representation of the near relation that fubfifts between the male and female part of the human race, or a vifion, in which it might be thus reprefented to Adam, in order to imprefs his mind more strongly with the idea of their near relation and equality to each other; whereas it was the opinion of fome heathen nations, that women had some different and inferior origin, that they were made merely to be fubfervient to man, and not, as we here learn, a help meet for him, or a rational affociate.

Ch.III.7. It is evident from the speedy fall of Adam and Eve that there was no difference between the moral con. ftitution of their nature and that of ours,fince temptation had the fame power over them that it has over their pofterity; fo that there is no foundation for the doctrine of the corruption of human nature. We are now as God first made man, with appetites and paffions that may be indulged to excefs, in which confifts fin, and with reafon to control them, tho' it is often too weak for the purpose

ThatAdam was our federal head, fo that we are punishable for his offence, is a notion two abfurd to need refutation.

8. It is not faid in what manner the Divine Being manifested himself to Adam and Eve. If the phrase walking is to be understood literally, it was probably in a human form, as he appeared to Abraham afterwards. While there was no danger of idolatry, no incovenience would arise from the Divine Being manifefting himself in any particular form His almighty power, and univerfal knowledge, were all that was neceffary to be known concerning him. Children first of all conceive of God as a man living above the clouds, and seeing all that is done on the earth; and by this their minds are very ufefully impreffed.

15. If ferpents were originally made as they now are, and crept on the ground, all the mischief they could naturally do to man would be to bite his feet, or legs, while the man could kill them by treading on their heads. The author of this tradition must have fuppofed that ferpents were originally formed in fome different man

ner.

17. In the idea of Mofes man would not have been fubject to death, if Adam had not eaten of this tree. Perhaps he thought that they would all have been tranflated, as Enoch was, without dying. For in order to provide for a fucceffion of individuals, there must have been fome method of removing fome to make room for others, and a fucceffion is neceffary to the improvement of the fpecies; prejudices remaining long with the old, and feldom giving way to reafon, except with the 21. Accoryoung.