migration of mankind; and in so far as this was the case, their situation answered to the peace and repose which man had once enjoyed in paradise. A similar blessing was pronounced both on Adam and Noah, and before the descendants of the latter multiplied, the fierceness of the wild animals emerging from the ark, was doubtless restrained, or otherwise the eight who were preserved in the same vessel with them, would have presently fallen a sacrifice to their natural rage or hunger. Here, therefore, the parallel is observed again of the harmony between man and the brute creation, existing first in Eden, and afterwards in Armenia, where Noah and his sons settled on the retiring of the waters.†

Ebn Patri

* It is a very remarkable fact, that there was a town at the foot of Mount Ararat, said to have been built by Noah, called Thamanim or Tshaminim, which name signifies "The Eight." The region round about had the same appellation, as also the mountain on which the ark rested. cius writes, "vocatur autem hodie terra Themanim.” In another place, he adds, "Cumque egressi essent, urbem extruxerunt, quam Themanim appellarunt, juxta numerum suum, quasi dicas, Nos octo sumus!" vol. i. pp. 40 and 43. vide Calmet. Bochart Geog. Sacra. Phaleg. p. 20.

+ This parallel of one ancient tradition being compared with another, may be carried to a surprising extent. Thus, between the history of Noah and Moses, as there is in some

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Another cause of perplexity has been from the prevailing practice amongst every nation, of adding to their own native histories, all or many traditions of important events, which regarded equally the whole human race. The credit often of these, each separate colony is found to have appropriated to its own more immediate ancestors; and hence it will be seen that accounts of paradise, of Noah, and the deluge, were limited by the heathen to this or that country, without any regard to the actual site of the event, or its history; and very often, as might be fairly expected, these accounts came to be mixed up with foreign and extraneous circumstances, and were varied according to the prejudices of each particular people. Especially is this the case with regard to memorials of paradise, the cherubim, and the creation of the world; which, as they could only come to the knowledge of the postdiluvians through the hands of Noah and his family, we generally find all confounded with the deluge, and described as happening nearly about the same period. The case of the ancient gentile writers

points a great similarity, so the traditions relating to these great characters are proportionably intermixed, and confused.

may be compared to that of the traveller looking back upon a range of mountains, over which he passed during the night: he sees them now, but at a distance, with some rising behind and over the tops of others, but all appearing in the prospect as blended together. Now none, as was observed before, could have instructed the gentiles as to the forms of those mysterious beings who guarded the way to the garden of Eden and the Tree of Life, except those eight persons who had seen what existed previous to the flood, and gave those descriptions of them, which were afterwards handed down from generation to generation of their posterity. Hence, very frequently, compound figures of animals came to be worshipped by idolaters, as types of the Baalim,* who were in fact none

* Particularly winged figures, for these certainly took their rise from corrupted traditions of the Cherubim. A good illustration of this will be found in the Egyptian representations of the god Cneph. "Cneph pingebatur ab Egyptiis supra caput habens πτερον βασιλειον-πτερον alam significat. Huet. Dem. Evang. p. 141. The Cherubim were undoubtedly winged, and they dwelt before Eden in a tent or tabernacle, called in the Hebrew, Shechinah; hence Пrεрov, Okηyn. Suidas. The very word 1 Cneph, and its plural, will be found used for the wings of the Cherubim in Exodus xxv. 20. xxxvii. 9. 1 Kings vi. 24. Wings are also attributed in Scripture to the true God, in allusion, doubtless, to

other than their own deified ancestors;* and to them also the sacred gardens, called Paradisi, were consecrated. Let us now. enter more fully upon the subject under consideration. The scriptural account of the scene and circumstances attendant upon the fall of man, is as follows:

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. 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 also in

the wings of the Cherubim.-Ruth ii. 12. Psalm xvii. 8. lxi. 4. xci. 4. In all these four texts the Targum paraphrases the expression by the "Shadow of the Shechinah."Parkhurst's Lex. Heb. vox. 1. Deos omnes alatos fingebat Taautus, teste Sanchoniathone apud Eusebium.-Præp. Evan. lib. i. cap. 10.

* That is, the Baalim composed the sacred Ogdoas of Egypt, and many other countries; and this Ogdoas was the "family of eight," preserved in the ark, from the deluge. They were often represented by other types indeed than compound animals, though these seem to occur most frequently. Thus the sun was the emblem of all the gods, and of Bel or Baal among the number.-A flaming fire was also a frequent typical representation, and when looked upon in the light of a guard or protection, and preserved in a sacred Tursis, appears to have derived its origin from the "flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life." Gen. iii. 24.

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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. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which encompasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that encompasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 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. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him an help-meet for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And