The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-12-11
WHERE Is THE LOST EDENP
Geographical Maps and Manuals
Leave Much to he Desired.

Leave Much to Be Desired.
Almost every spot of the globe has
is the site of vanished Eden" Most
persons seem agreed on the fact that
Paradise has disappeared from our
midst. The question is, where was IL
situated? To thase who deny the BIZ
biical story of MATS genesis the ques-
ton takes another form, and they per-
pick themselves as to the spot in which
man first appeared on this earth Some
evade the difficulty by saying that man
appeared IN many different spots-that
he did not spring from one original
If we accept the doctrine of the Oar
winians, we are forced to confess that
the place where man first evolved must
have been anything but a Garden of
Eden. 1t must have been a haunt OF
mere animalism and its food would
certainly not have been fruit Roughly
| speaking, therefore, there are two
schools-those who believe that man
came from divine original. but fell
away from his first estate, to which
with infinite labor he may return: and
those who believe that he evolved from
the beast. and is still evolving TO the
greatness that he may ultimately at
tain Setting aside these somewhat
! disc0rdant theories. we may well ask,
Where was Eden?
The soundest scientists are agreed
that mankind came from a single origin
whether distinct crea ton or an evo-
luton is beside the mark: and the
original man must have had a local
haoitation. The geographical manuals
and maps Of the middle ages leave a
good deal to be desired in the matter
of accurate detail. but they have at
least the merit OF holiness; and If we
M -. . =.
ton we may get something like a def
mite reply. According to an old map of
! the thirteenth century. Paradise is a
circular island lying near India It is
| surrounded by a wall, in which is a
gateway opening to the west; the gate
Is closed. and the wall quite insur-
mountable. Our later aliases do not
locate this happy island.
Other early maps would have US be-
lieve that Eden lay in Central China.
We. can go with these ancient geog-
! raphers so far as to place the probable
site of mans birthplace in Asia. but the
cOnsesus Of learned opinion does not in
cline either to India or China. Eminent
authority supports the idea that Eden
| lay somewhere on the great Babylon
ian plain, watered by the Tigris and the
Euphrates-the Perath and Hiddekel
" OVHSSic- ONicI duNiOtlNlCS give lutlI
vote for Armenia-pOsSibly Influenced
/ by the tradition which says that the
] ark rested on Mount Ararst; but this
| tradition would only point to Armenia
as the probable first home OF post-di-
| luvian man.
i Professor Dentzsch ad Professor
/ Sayce favor Babylon: Heidegger favors
| Palestine: Media. Arabia and the upper
/ Nile have al their supporters. Quatre-
/ FACES, trea ting the subject solely from
a scientific standpoint, concludes that
/ linguistic and other human types point
! to Central Asia, but does not decide on
any precise locality.
With the author of Genesis. as DR..
Kalisch has remarked. Eden is geo
/ graphically described in a manner
which leaves no doubt that distinct To-
cality was before the mind of the au-
thor" Even TO those who think that
this author was building on uncertain
| traditions, it must yet be of interest TO
know what this locality was. Babylon
was the most fertile land known to the
ancient world; its poorest fields repaid
cultivation fiftyfold, its better hun