The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-11-12
LEGENDS OF ADAM AND EVE.

LEGENDS OF ADAM AND EVE.
We are familIar-presumably- the
story Of Adam and Eve as related in Gene
sis. How the Lord fashioned Adam in His
own image. and breathing into him the
breath Of life, set him down in the Garden
of Eden to enjoy the good things prepared
for him. We read also how the Lord saw
that IL was mot good for man to be alone"
and so, causing deep sleep to fall upon
Adam, took rib from his side which He
fashioned into a woman-the origin of the
weak side toward woman which men have
shown ever since-and that when Adam
looked upon the woman he saw she was
fair. and called her Eve. and how the happy
pair were duly married and went to house
keeping in the beautiful garden which the
Lord their God had given them; but, sad
to relate, did not live happily lever after
ward" For further along We read how
they yielded to the tempter. and eating of
the forbidden fruit were driven out of Eden
as a Punishment for their transgression.
The first but by no means the last instance
CT people literally "eating themselves out
| of house and home" 1t is also related in the
sacred story how Adam pleaded in extenua-
ton of his sin that 1.-The woman did It," And
| we know as a familiar fact that the poor
man has been shifting his sins upon the
| shoulders of the woman from that day even
| down unto this.
Such, in brief, is the account with which
we are familiar. but there are innumerable
legends existing concerning the progenitors
of our race not found in the pages of our
sacred literature. The biblical is hut one
of the many accounts concerning the crea-
ton of man which have come down from the
remotest ages among the peoples of Semitic
| origin, changed and modified more less,
doubtless, in their transmission from gen.
GRAFTON to generation and colored by pc
| culiarities of religion and environment, but
all relating to the identical Adam and Eve
of whom we read in Genesis. According to
an Arab tradition-and the Jews and the
Arabs are of the same blood-Adam was
created on Friday at 3 o'clock in the after
| noon. Subsequent events no doubt i'm
| pressed Adam with the belief that Friday
| was an unlucky day. The archangels
| Gabriel, Michael, ISRAELI and Azrael were
| commanded to bring clay from the four
| quarters of the world, and from the clay
| so procured God made the first man. He
| was wondrously beautiful and excited the
amazement and admiration Of the angels.
| who looked upon him with delight and
| reverence. His size was so vast that If
| standing upright his head would reach into
| the seventh heaven. When the soul. which
| had been made for a thousand years. and
| during all that time stepped in the light
| which flowed from the Most High, was
| breathed into Adam and quickened his body
| with life he opened his eyes and beheld the
| throne of God and upon it the inscription,
| There is no god but God, and Mohammed
| Is His prophet
Then God called up all the angels and or
| dered them to bow down before Adam, and
| all obeyed except Eblis, (Satan) who said in
| his heart, why should /, who am made of
| fire, bow before him who is made of clay?''
| The first recorded instance of a refusal to
| worship an image Of clay. For his disobe-
dierce Eblis was cast out from among the
| angels and forbidden entrance into paradise.
| The angels were marshaled in ten thousand
| ranks before Adam, who preached them a
sermon on the majesty and power and good
ness of God and amazed them with the ex-
| tent of his knowledge and learning, for he
| could name every beast in seventy Ian
| guages. The tradition forgets to tell us by
| whom the seventy languages were spoken,
| or whether the angels were versed in so
many tongues.
Still another tradition tells us that when
| God would make Adam He consulted with
man in His own image. and in answer as TO
what sort of creature man was and what
his nature told them that mans knowledge
would exceed theirs. He then placed all
kinds of beasts before them, but the angels
could tell nothing about them, did not know
one beast from another, could not, in fact
distinguish an elephant from blind tiger"
| After Adam was made the beasts were
placed before him and he told their names
/ at once, thus demonstrating that his knowl-
| edge was superior TO that Of the angels and
| going up head. Civil-service reformers
shoold take note of this at the first Compel
| tive examination.
We are told in another legend that when
| God decided to make Adam He ordered
| Gabriel TO bring Him a handful of every
sort of clay. but when Gabriel attempted TO
| get the clay the earth made objection and
swore with a great oath. Thou shalt take
neither clay, nor dust. nor stone" and
| Gabriel withdrew, whereupon God sent
| Michael. whose errand was likewise fruit
| less. Then God sent Asrael, the angel of
death, and the earth. with great oath, re-
| fused him also. but Asrael said, Il must
obey the command of God" and thereupon
he took from forty ellis below the earth clay
OF every sort, and with IT God made Adam
Hence. as all sorts Of clay were used in the
making OF Adam, we have all sorts of men
among us to this day.
| Adam was Of enormous size, and lay for
| forty years before being quckened with a
SOUL He lay extended upon the earth, and
| II would take five hundred years TO
| walk from his feet TO his head. thus furnish
| ing the walking delegate excellent OPP
portunity 10 earn his salary. Hareth SATAN
went to look at him and his wrath and envy
were aroused and he said TO the other
! angels. This thing is but clay. hollow, and