Character of Dignity and Holiness upon them.. Just like fome of the ancient Heroes, and other vain Fellows, that would pretend to be Bastards to fome God, or other, that they may ride top-gallant upon the Necks of other People. And for my Part, I cannot fee, that the Jewish Legiflator had any other Defign in this Relation; for he intimates, that there were more Men in the World than the two that were thus miraculously created. For he perfectly relates two Creations of Mankind, one of the common Race of Men within the fix Days, Gen. i. 27. and another of the facred Race of the Jews, Gen. ii. 9. Before God created Eve, he faid there was not a meet Help for him, that is none of the wicked Ante-adamical Race, were fit Wives for that holy Man. When Mofes faid Cain was a Tiller of the Ground, he muft needs fuppofe, there were at that Time all the Artificers which have Relation to Tillage, not only Smiths and Carpenters, but Millers and Bakers. So when Cain murthers his Brother Abel, he entices him into the Field, for Fear any Body fhould fee him; which fuppofes, that they dwelt in fome Town where there were too many Eyes to watch him, where note, the word Field does plainly anfwer to Town or City. When Cain fays, Every one that findeth me fhall flay me, he fuppofes a great Number of Men in the World: And when God fet a Mark upon this Parricide, for fear any one should flay him, it fuppofes there were many Men in the World which might accidentally do it. Befides, Mofes fays, Cain went into the Land of Nod, and married a Wife, and builded a City, where it must be thought, there were Women for him to marry, and Men to inhabit his City. But Jofephus is more plain, for hẻ fays he ftruck in with a Pack of rafcally Robbers, and became their Head. Now it is plain from all this, that Mofes would not have it prefumed, that he wrote here of the primitive Parents of all the World; feeing that within a few Lines he lets fall fo many Expreffions which denote the contrary. He defigned only to give an Ac *Præadamit. Lib. 3, Cap. 4. O. R, count Adam. count of the Origin of the Jews, as other Legiflators have given out of other Countries; but the later Jews, out of Partiality to their Country, miftook his Meaning, as if he had delivered the Hiftory of the univerfal Creation; and they have led the Chriftians by the Nofe ever fince. Cred. Well, I fee there is nothing fo plain and literal, but Men of a paradoxical Humour will strain to an odd No Race of Meaning. One would think, the Mofaical Writings were Men before fo plain in making Adam and Eve the firft of Mankind, that no one could either miftake or pervert their Meaning till the contrary was maintained from them by the Author of the Praadamite, or Men before Adam. And yet all that that Author could do with the Affiftance of a great deal of Wit, and a confiderable Degree of Learning, was only to put fome odd Gloffes upon a few Texts of Scripture, to make them look to his Purpofe; which tho they may feem a little furprifing as he has dreffed them out, make nothing at all for him, when ferioufly attended to; nay, he is fo far from proving Præadamites from Mo fes, that not only the exprefs Affertion of that holy Wri ter, but the whole Tenour of his Book contradicts it. It is needlefs to caft about for Arguments and Paffages of Scripture to confute fuch a wild Paradox; for that one Paffage, Gen. iii. 20. muft for ever overthrow it. And Adam called his Wife's Name Eve, be caufe fhe was the Mother of all Living. Now if this be Scripture, the Hypothefis of the Praadamites, as grounded upon Scripture, is neceffarily falfe, unless the Scripture can be at the fame Time falfe and true. So that I ftrangely wonder at the ingenious Author of that odd Book, that he should take no Notice of this Text that confutes his whole Hypothefis; for he was a Man of too much Scripture-learning to be ignorant of the place, and one would think, of too much Senfe to be guilty of The Argu- fo palpable a Difingenuity. But to fpeak to the Arments for the Pre- guments you have urged out of him. As for the two fedamites an- veral Creations which are pretended in the firft and fecond fwered. of Genefis, there is nothing like it. Not that we need have Recourse to Father Simon's Whim of the Scribeoffices, as if this was (as he pretends) a Repetition, occafioned by the scatter'd or mixed Copies out of thefe Repofitories. But Mofes having given an Account of the fix Days Creation in general; in the fecond Chapter, he reaffumes the Argument, and treats of the Creation of Man in particular. Now to confider the Nobleness of Man, whom God defign'd the Lord of the Creation, the more particular Concern we muft needs have to be informed of our own Rife, and the great Importance this bears in Order to a holy Life, and a religious Gratitude, I think this is no more, than might well be expected in this Cafe. But, however, to defer a remarkable Paffage in History, and to reaffume it to fpeak more largely of it in another Place, is a Thing common to all Hiftorians. But they that ground a new Creation upon that Reaffumption or Repetition, may as well make as many Creations as they find the old one mentioned in the Pfalms, or Prophets, or New Teftament. As for the next Argument of Adam's not finding a Help meet for him; that does not in the leaft imply, that there were a Number of other Men and Women in the World; but it only denotes, that there was as yet no Woman in the World. Which is an Expreffion not unlike that of Ovid. Sanctius his Animal mentifque capacius alte, Now one might with as good a Colour pretend, that the Poet allowed with the Author of the Praadamites, that there was a wicked Generation of Men before, and his Defcription is the Generation of the Holy one. But to be short, methinks this Expreffion, confidering the Circumftances, is very appofite in the ordinary Senfe. Adam had juft before all the Animals, Male and Female, brought before him, to name them; now he might very well think it strange, that he of all the Creation fhould be the Simon. Crit, Hift. V. T. Lib. 1. Cap. 8. fingle Species, and fo might the Reader of this Relation, as well as he; and therefore Mofes fubjoins, But for Adam there was not found an Help meet for him; for God had deferred the Creation of the Woman, till fome Time afterwards. And I don't fee, how any other tolerable Senfe can be put upon the Words. As for your next Objection of Cain's being a Tiller of the Ground, which requires the Affiftance of many other precedent Arts; this is eafily to be answered, by faying, that this Art of Tillage was not in its full Perfection in Cain's Time, that he might be a Tiller of the Ground without all thofe Inftruments we ufe for our Convenience now; he might make ufe of wooden Ploughs or Spades; and form his Tools with fharp Flints or Shells, inftead of Knives and Hatchets, which were the first Inftruments of cutting*, and were retained in religious Ufes in latter Times, as in Circumcifion, Exod. iv. 25. Jof. v. 3. Herod. Lib. 2. and in Caftration of the Cybeline Priefts, Plin. Lib. 35. Juv. Stat. 6. So when Cain is faid to have flain his Brother in the Field; the word Field is not oppofed to City, but to the Place of Abode, the Houfe or Tent where they dwelt. And again, as for Cain's faying, Every one that findeth me, shall flay me; God's fetting a Mark upon him, his marrying a Wife and building a City in the Land of Nod; it does by no Means fuppofe a former Gcneration of Praadamites. For the word Nod does not neceffarily fignify a Country, but it may fignify a Fugitive; fo that the Senfe may be, he lived a Fugitive, or Vagabond in the Land. Neither, if we fhould grant, there were a confiderable Number of Men in the World at that Time, would it make for this Praadamical Hypothefis; for they might all be defcended from Adam. For this Murther of Abel happened, in all Probability, in the 129th Year of Adam. For the Scripture fays exprefsly, that Seth was born in the 130th Year, Gen. v. 3. and Seth was given in the Lieu of Abel. For Eve fays, Gen. iv. 25. God has appointed me another Seed instead of Abel, Devolvit ipfe acuto fibi pondera filice. Catul, de At. whom whom Cain few. Therefore it is most probable, that he was born the Year after the Murther, to be a Comfort to the firft Parents after fo fad an Affliction, having never feen the Death of any of their Off-fpring before. So that then Cain must be 129 Years old, when he took his Flight, at least. Now 'eis no Wonder that then there fhould be a confiderable Number of Inhabitants in the World; for it is not likely that Adam and Eve had no Children all that Time; it is probable they had a great many, and that there was a competent Stock of Mankind by this Time, to the Number it may be of an hundred thoufand, confidering the primitive Fecundity. For if the Children of Ifrael from 70 Souls in the Space of 210 Years became 600,000 fighting Men, whereas a great Number of them died during the Increase, we may well enough fuppofe that the Children of Adam might amount to 100,000 in 130 Years, which is almost five Generations. So that Cain might very well build a City, or grow out of the Knowledge of many, when there were fuch a Number of People in the World. AM 30 130 10. 100. 60 90 1000. 120 10,000. 100,000 111, 110. 1. Subftra&t 111, 109. Phil. Another Thing*, which makes my Faith strain a little, is the making Adam give Names to all the Animals in the World in one Bit of a Day, and this upon mature Confideration of their Nature and Faculties, and playing the Philofopher upon each of them, as the Divines will have it. And indeed he must be a very expedite Philofopher, and they must be very nimble Creatures, to come and go in that little Time of this Day allotted by Mofes, for this Purpose. For a fmall Pittance of Time muft ferve for this, when the Day was taken up with fo many other Matters. This, believe me, is the bufieft Day of all the reft; for Mofes then makes the Deity beftir himself to O. R. p. 46, 47. From Gataker's Cinnus. H fome |