The Greeley tribune., 1905-06-15
THE LOST PARADISE
THEORIES AS TO THE LOCATION OF
THE GARDEN OF EDEN.
Tse Consensus Of Learned Opinion
supports the Belief That Adam and
Ewes Original Home Was ON the
Grent Babyl0nian Plain.

Great BabyIOnisn Plain.
Almost every spot Of the globe has
had the claim made OH its behalf that
It 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 it
situated? To those who deny the Bib.
heal story of mans 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
II 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 n garden of
Eden 1t must have been haunt of
mere animalism. and its food would
certainly not have been fruit. Rough
ly speaking. therefore, there are two
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
discordant theories. we may well ask,
Where was Eden?
The Soundest scientists are agreed
that mankind came from a single ori-
gin whether distinct creation or an
evolution is beside the mark-and the
original man must have had local
habitation. The geographical manuals
ana maps of the middle ages leave Il
| good deal to be desired in the matter of
accurate detail. but they have at least
the merit of boldness and if we go to
them FOR an answer to our question we
may get something like IL definite re-
ply. According to an old map of the
| thirteenth century. paradise is Il cir
cular island lying near India. 1t is
| surrounded by Il wall in which Is n
| gateway opening to the west The
gate is closed and the wall quite in
| surmountable. 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 so with these ancient Seog-
raphers SO far as to place the probable
| site of mans birthplace in Asia. but
the consensus OF learned opinion does
not incline either to India or China.
Eminent authority supports the idea
| that Eden lay somewhere on the great
Babylonian plain. watered by the Ilgrls
and the Euphlntes-the Perath and
Hiddekel of Genesis. Other authorities
| give their vote for Armenia, possibly
Influenced by the tradition which says
that the Ark rested on Mount Ararat.
but this tradition would only point to
Armenia rs the probable first home OF
postdiluvian man.
Professor Delitzsch and Professor
Sayce favor Babylon; Heidegger favors
Palestine: Media. Arabia and the up
per Nile have all their supporters. Qua
trefaSes. treating the subject solely
from a scientific standpoint, concludes
that linguistic and other human types
point to central Asia, but does not de-
eide on any precise locality.
With the author of Genesis. as Ut.
Kalisch has remarked, Eden is geo.
graphically described in 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 a hun
dredfold. Its luxuriance of fruit ana
grain was so great as to be actually
embarrassing There is no question at
all that this district was the seat OF
Asia's earliest civilization and there
fore why not say of the worlds?
The idea of man created perfect and
living in garden of fruitful loVeiiness
has always had fascination for poor
humanity, recognizing its present I'M
nerfections and the frequent distress
ing dismalness of its present surround
in2s. Even those who knew notnlhg Vi
the Bible story pictured such Il spot iof
themselves. Every early mytholoS!
has its fortunate isles, its Atantls, lls
Iesperfses. its Arcadia and its Golden
Age.
Some persons even conjectured that
paradise had not been on the earth III
all, but was an island floating III 'he
air, something like the island Vlsi'eu
Inv GuIliyer. They did not wish 10
think that the sacred spot could pe
submerged by the waters OF the uei-
uge, and by this device they raised II
above any such calamity. ON TINS Is
land dwelt the sacred pheniX; the
well of life flowed there. the elixir Oh
immortality; leaves never fell from 'he
trees: the sun shone always on per-
petual summer Men declined to De-
lieve that Eden had been DESTROYED
forever. They preferred to imagine
that its gates We're closed to them TOT
Il season. To deem that such spot