The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1870-03-23
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sAseptly beyond . reasonable doubt, that
4 lss world had existed many Thousands
years before tho Adamic era. The
sidences existing 10 tho strata Of the
aA6Itb showed to . demonstration that
sffait animals now extinct, had lived
sapop It's surface Thousands Of years be-
slore the historic period. Remains Of
ssade Implements Of war aud the chase,
had related the history ofprimeval men
tiSho lived and died in on apparently
savage state, at times infinitely more
remote than tho records Of Genesis.
The sciences Of Ethnology and
Pathology had established the ever ex-
sisting differences between the
Caucasian, the negro and the Mon.
gol. Differences in structure of the
body and Of tho language, whick proved
the existence Of distinct races of men,
differing from each other, not as the
,smepbers of one family may do, in form
and feature, but US the dog differs from
the wolf, and the wolf from the jackal.
! These conclusions, 'dcduced from the
irrelutable facts which modern research
es had established in the minds Of mon,
placed tho religious man in an awkward
dilemma lie must either deny the
evidences of his own senses, and the
hdpbitahle proofs Of science, or he
must throw himself blindly into the
arms Of an unrcasoning faith, and de.
elare himself believer in the sacred
record Of Genesis, simply because he be-
lieved.
Then camo 20 tie rescue Of tho cause
Of truth, Hugh Miller, who taught US
that the siH days Of creation meant i'm
meise divisions Of time; and as the or
der Of creation as expouuded'by by science
corresponded with the biblical dcscrip-
tion, this theory was gladly adopted by
many who had begun to waver in their
religious convictions. 10 the deeply
learned this doctrine was no novelty, for
hlaimonides, in his "Guide to the doubt.
full" had said, as long ago as the
twelfth century, that it was incorrect to
say that the Lord created the world in
six days, because the torn "bercshect"
means not "in tho beginning" but "with
The beginning" that ia to say, when time
was created, God also created the hcav.
ems and tho earth, the entire creation
consisting of six different degrees, the
term days being used as it frequently is
IN Scripture to denote a period Of time.
*For. this aud similar efforts to recon-
eile reason with religion, he was excom
munlca.ed and his works burnt by the
ialmudists Of France, but he was sustain.
ed by those celebrated schools of learning
in Spain whore the light Of Jewish lit
sraturo burned so brightly, und his
prosecutors at last convinced of their
error, sent dcputation to his grave to
ask pardon ofhis ashes.
But the time had not yet come to give
credit to Jew fer cnlightcning the
christian world, and SO men plodded on
III their blindness, until Hugh Miller
drew those splendid word pictures which
once read can never be forgotten.
Sill there remained the difficulty
concerning The origin Of mankind. The
race of Adm we Know haa existed not
much longer than six thousand years,
while vestigcs Of human beings are
found who lived at least twenty thou
sand years ago
Again, the race Of Adam, or what is
commonly called the Caucasian race,
although scattered aud dispersed over q
large portion Of the globe, are identical
in origin, as shown from their physical
and intellectual pcculiari!ics, and from
their language. While the other races
Of man arc totally different from the
Caucasian and from each other.
To reconcile these apparent contra
d;ctions, was this book written. And
well aud nobly is the work performed.
In one snail volume Of 3l8 pages the
whole argument rs condensed in Ian
gnogo chastc and concise, in style sim.
pic ind elegant, and in reasoning clear
and convincing.
Let Us state briefly the authors views.
Lie contends that the Scripture account
Of the crcatiouoE Adam is not incon-
sistcnt with the rrc-exiStcnce of in.
fefior races of men. In fact, that the
language of Genesis clearly indicates
that other families Of men existed Mt,
and befrc the formation Of Adam.
Hn regards the biblical history as the
history of the Alamic race only, and
though the existence Of other races is
admitted by that history, yet 10 special
description is given Of them, it being
unnecessary to the purposes Of Scrip