The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-30
FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE.

Ask any one with what fruit Eve tempted Adam and the reply will be With an apple"
 They are wrong. however. It was an orange!
 It is not at Once clear why the pre- | vailing fancy should be that Eve tempted the first man with an apple Genesis does not say that the forbidden tree was an apple tree. Those who consider the account in Genesis an allegory give themselves no concern about whether the forbidden fruit was an apple or a gourd. However, some years ago Basque preacher attempted to prove that the forbidden fruit was an orange! He proceeds in a way of his own, and some of the processes by which he arrives at the conclusion that the forbidden fruit was an orange are herewith translated.
 As a preliminary 1t may be we'll to state that the <Basques speak very ancient language, one peculiarly their own. The origin of the Basques Is doubted. They inhabit triangular district, the base of which is the Bay of Biscay on the north, and the apex, the town of Logrono, on the south, the boundary lines of Navarro on the east and Santander and Burgos on the west. forming the two sides. Hum boldt thought them descendants of the
 
 whole of the peninsula. and spoke the language now confined solely to tho Basque provfndes, while an opinioA is held by others that the language is of Tartar origin. The Viraire de Cam pagne holds that the Basque Is a Phoe- nician tongue. Vo1taire says in his philosophical dictionary: They say the Basque understand one another, but I do not believe it." The claim has also been made that no one excepting the born Basque. can ever acquire this difficult tongue.
 The Basque Language.
 Presupposing one original and uni- versal language, the vicar says the first language of the world received an ir- remedial check at Babel; but this does not go to say that 1t was totally anni- Inflated. and nothing proves that 1t was. Moses does not say that it was. The character of the primitive languages proves that some beautiful remnants escaped the general catastrophe and came out whole and alive. The Basque is one of the remnants.
 In the language that prevailed before the confusion of aingues on the plain of Sennaar, the vicar claims may be found natural and remote history of the world, from its creation up to the Tower of Babel. A French journal had once asserted that the Basque lan-
  ter ns. This the unknown vicar refutes by giving the etymology of the Basque terms. Gorphutz for the body and arima for the soul; and claims that the Basque is a living proof of the veracity of Genesis.
 From the name Cainan (of the race or Cafn), We understand that Enos had taken a daughter of Cain unto himself as wife. and it Is natural and just to think that this wass the grandest glory of the Creator--to lead the holy patriarch into a marriage that at first would naturally be regarded as danger ous, remembering how manners and morals suffered before the union of children of God with children of men, Adam was still living. The name of his grandson. Maleleel, with whom Enos lived several hundred years, leads us to believe that he considered it his duty to make use of conciliatory expedients to attach the children of Cain to the seervtce of the Lord. It Is known that the cherished sacrifices of thia prim- itive man were the offerings of the fruit of the land. The denomination Maleleel means to us that the patriarch who bore the name offered often and many fruits to the Lord.
 The term Maleleel is composed of three words. The first syllable, Ma" conveys the ideas of multitude, centre, abyss, source, plentitude, intimate af- lection, etc. It is only In this sense that Ma" is employed in Basq ue. "Ef' and "Her convey the ideas of invocation, appeal, approach. etc. It is impossible to attribute any other meaning to these words.
 Cain and Abel.
 Cain and Abel were the first chill dren of Adam. The first name offers the idea of a man who committed bad deed and the second that of a man who invokes by sacrificing ani- mals. Ca" means anything odious or detestable to mals. Are not these the notions that which has been done | Thus the name Abel conveys to the | mind the idea of a man who invokes, | appeals to another. who Is approached of another. who arrives unto another | by means of animals. Are not these | the notions that Moses gives us of | these two men? Now "Lala" Is the | only term that pure Basque posses for | fruits. The vicar makes observations | on the wordd ''MalalaeT (French for | MaleleeD and claims that this word | prove the originality of the Basque | language. An orange is called by the | Basques 'lalanta," or better, 'laranja." The wordd ''laranja." according to its etymology, conveys to the mind (Basque) the idea of the fruit that was first eaten And from this he holds 1t to q be verity that the orange was the fruit borbidden our first parents.
 Every one would agree with this in- if proved that .ja' In la ranja" has anything in common with the idea of eaten or eating. And 1t is, too, a remarkable fact that the verb to eat in every dialect of the Basque Is expressed by ia tea" "Ja" Is the na- tural expression of the sound produced by the lips. the tongue and the palate in the operation of masticating food l. and 1t should be pronounced in a man. ner as near as possible resembling this sound, which. being not uniform to all people, has likewise divers pronuncia- tions in the Basque dialects The vicars etymology of the word Eve (Eva) is also interesting. We are in- formed by philosophers that judgment consists in simple operation of the spirit, by which anything is affirmed or denied. The basque name Eva (pro- f nounced Eba) is the expression of the first judgment of Adam. when God, hav- ing created his companion. presented to him. "E" in Basque signifies no, ne- gation, etc. The Basque has no other words for expressing admiration than 'Ba" and Bay" The ctymology of Eva is than no and yes, negation and admiration. being and not being. To others the words Eva means life, and when one takes into consideration that being the vicar's point is well taken.
 ApOstrOphe to Limburger. Freewater (Ore) Times.
 Owing to the fact that the restaur- . n nf nf