The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1905-01-11
JANUARY ~. 1906.
THE LOST PARADISE
THEORIES As TO THE LOCATION OF
THE GARDEN OF EDEN

Ewes Original Home "ns on the
Great BnbyIoninn Plnin.
kI,nost a,.e,.,. snot of t6a e,lal,a. has
-, -, ...,,- ,,.l-..rc ~
-,
= . '''' ''''' - '''',-''' 49,.
teiSoha stem aT't'a On 'i'S '''es ''i''
paradise mas d'SaPp''I'a lioi" '''
midst. HE question is, Nhrfc was il
fituatedt To those Who deny the Bin
Hcai story Of mans genesis the gues
ton takes another form aud they per
pick themselves as Ia the spot III which
man first appeared nu his earth
Some evadc the difficulty by saying
tHt man appeared ia many different
aBots that he did NOT spring from
one original
If we accept The doctrine OF the bar
wlnlans we are forced to confess that
the place where man first evolved must
have been anything but a garden Of
Eden. 1t must have bccn a haunt Of
mere anlmallsm, and its food would
certainly not have been fruit Rough
ly speaking, therefore. there ire two
schools those who believe that man
came from divine original. but fell
away from his first estate, 10 which
with infinite labor he may return and
those who believe that lie evolved from
the beast and Is still evolving to the
greatness that ne may ultimately at
tain. Setting inside these somewhat
discordant theories. We may We'll ask
Where was Eden?
The soundest scientists are agreed
that mankind came from Il single orr
whether distinct creation or an
evolution is beside the mark and the
original man must have had local
habitatIon. The geographical manuals
md maps OF the middle ages leave Il
good deal TO be desired in the matter Of
accurate detail. but they have mt least
the merit Of boldness. aud If we 70 10
them for M answer 10 our question We
may get something like definite re.
ply According TO an Old man of the
thirteenth century,. paradise is Il cir
cular island living near India. 1t Is
surrounded Inv 81 vail I'm which is n
gateway onenIng n the west The
cato 10 closed and tbp wall quite In
surnountoble Our later aliases do
not locate this happy island
on,o. oa,.lr nan, 4,-a,,Id b.,se as he
,io,a that nj, Iot==t In central china
Wa con ga with fhese ancient gcog-
ronbera 90 far as ta Mace the Brobable
slto os nau,s tfrtb,,l.,,a In ksf8 lint
tho corsensra of tsarned apfufan docs
rot ,n.lIn. ettt,nr "a Ind. ar china
Eminent outhorftv surports tie idea
that Edan Law sorney,herez an fire GREAT
poh,ionIan nlatn yaferod nv the Tj-ris
md tho Funbrates The peratt and
uiaael.I ,f Gcnesis atIrr,uthoritfez
giye thefr vote for ArneaIa nossfblv
influenced Inv the tradition which saws
thot tho Ar, restnd ON Mount trarnt.
Int this tradition would only point to
,r,,ori, 40 tho nrohohle first home of
nostdiln,fan mon
nroeossor Delityseh mud Professor
eo,,o, fa,,c,. uot,,.Ion. tIctdcfocr fnvors
Palestine. Media Arabia and the up
nor Nile hive NIL their supporters. Qun
trcfarcs treating the subject solely
from scientific standpoint. concludes
that linguistic and other human types
nninf
eide on any precise locality.
With the author of Genesis as Or
Kalisch has remarked. Eden Is geo
graphically described in manner
which leaves no doubt That distinct 10
rolity was before the mind of the au
thor" Even to those who think that
this author was building on uncertain
Int 4.
know what this locality was. Babylon
was the most fertile land known to the
ancient world; its poorest fields repaid
cultivation fftyfold. its better hun
dredfold. Its luXuriancc of fruit and
grain was so great as 10 be actually
embarrassing. There is no question nj
nil that this district was the seat of
Asias earliest civilization and there
fore why not say of the world'sf
The Idea of man created perfect and
living in "A garden of fruitful loneliness
has always had IL fascination for poor
humanity. recognizing its present i'm
perfections and the frequent distress
ing dlsmalncss of its present surround
ings. Even those who knew nothing of
the Bible story pictured such spot for
themselves Every early mythology
has It's fortunate isles. It's Atlantis, Its
Hesperides, Its Arcadia and its Golden
Age
Some persons even couIeetured that
paradise had not been ON the earth at
all. but was an island floating in the
air something like the island visited
by CULVER They did not wish To
think that the sacred spot could be
submerged by the waters of the del
uge and bv this device they raised II
above any such calamity. ON this is
lHuu uNtil Tue StNltNl I'iiNAlNs NV
wen OF me uoN'u eHN''' 'A1S NiANt "
iIiiiti'i any ~" y " - -