Smyrna times., 1905-01-18
THE LOST PARADISE
THEORIES AS TO THE LOCATION oE
THE GARDEN OF EDEN

The Consensus of Learned ODinioD
supports the Belief That Adam an,
Ewes Original Home Was ON NJ
Great BabyIOnian Plain.
Almost every spot of the globe has
had the claim made on it's behalf that
1t is the site Of vanished Eden. Most
persons seem agreed ON the fact that
paradise has disappeared from orr
midst. The question is, Where was it
situated? To those who deny the Rib-
lcal story Of mans genesis the oues-
lion takes another form, and they per-
pleX themselves as to the spot in which
man first appeared on this earth
Some evade the difficulty by saving
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 garden of
Eden. 1t must have been a haunt of
mere animalism, and it's food would
certainly not have been fruit. Rough
ly 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
discOrdant theories, we may well ask
Where was Eden?
The sOundest scientists are agreed
that mankind came from a single Ori-
gin-whether a distinct creation or an
evolution is beside the mark-and the
original man must have had a local
habitation. 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 bOldness, and If we 90 to
them for an answer to our question we
may get something like a definite re-
ply. According to an old map of the
thirteenth century, paradise is a cir
cular island lying near India. 1t is
surrounded by wall in which is a
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 go with these ancient geog-
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 Tigris
and the Euphrates-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 as 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
trefages. 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 DR..
Kalisch has remarked, Eden is geo.
graphically described in a manner
which leaves no doubt that distinct 10
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; it's poorest fields repaid
cultivation fiftyfold. its better a hun
dredfold. It's luxuriance of fruit and
grain was so great as to be actually
embarrassing. There is no question at
all that this district was the seat or
Asla's earliest civilization and there
fore why not say of the worlds?
The idea Of man created perfect and
living in a garden of fruitful loveliness
has always had fascination for poor
humanity, recognizing its present I'M
perfections and the frequent distress
ing dismalness OF its present surround
ings. Even those who knew nothing or
the Bible story pictured such a spot for
themselves. Every early mythology
has it's fortunate isles, its Atlantis, its
Hesperides, it's Arcadia and its Golden
Age
Some persons even conjectured that
paradise had not been on the earth at
all, but was an island floating In the
air. something like the island visited
by Gulliver. They did not wish TO
think that the sacred spot could be
submerged by the waters OF the DEL
uge, and by this device they raised II
above any such calamity. On TINS Is
land dwelt the sacred phenlx; the
we'll Of life flowed there, the elixir OF
Immortality; leaves never fell from tne