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2. If we inquire as to the nature of the interval which separates man from the lower animals, we find that it exists with reference both to his rational and physical nature. With respect to the first we may affirm in man the existence of a lower (psychical) intelligence, similar to that of the inferior animals, and of a spiritual nature allying him with higher intelligences, and with God Himself. Rightly considered, this places the doctrine of creation in a very firm position. Those who deny it must adopt one of two alternatives. Either they must refuse to admit the evidence in man of any nature higher than that of brutes—a conclusion which common sense, as well as mental science, must always refuse to admit—or they must attempt to bridge over the 'chasm,' as it has been called, which separates the instinctive nature of the animal from the rational and moral nature of man—an effort confessedly futile.
3. As to the body of man, the case is different, but still perfectly in harmony with the idea of his higher nature. Man, as to his body, is confessedly an animal, of the earth earthy. He is also a member of the provincevertebrata, and the classmammalia; but in that class he constitutes not only a distinct species and genus, but even a distinct family, or order. In other words, he is the sole species of hisgenus, and of his family, or order. He is thus separated, by a great gap, from all the animals nearest to him; and even if we admit the doctrine, as yet unproved, of the derivation of one species from another in the case of the lower animals, we are unable to supply the 'missing links' which would be required to connect man with any group of inferior animals. This physical distinctness has also a special significance, inasmuch as it depends on certain negative peculiarities such as the absence of clothing, of natural weapons of attack and defence, as well as on the positive properties of the erect posture, the hands adapted to various kinds of manipulation, and the special sensory gifts. Thus viewed in relation to his environment, his wants as well as his possessions in regard to structures and powers, would be fatal to any creature not possessed of his intelligence, and we cannot conceive how such privations or such gifts could spontaneously arise in nature.
4. No fact of science is more certainly established than the recency of man in geological time. Not only do we find no trace of his remains in the older geological formations, but we find no remains even of the animals nearest to him; and the conditions of the world in those periods seem to unfit it for the residence of man. If, following the usual geological system, we divide the whole history of the earth into four great periods, extending from the oldest rocks known to us, the eozoic, or archæan, up to themodern, we find remains of man, or his works, only in the latest of the four, and in the later part of this. In point of fact, there is no indisputable proof of the presence of man until we reach the early modern period. This is, no doubt, what was to have been expected on the supposition of the orderly development of the chain of animal life in the long geologic eons; but it is not by any means the only hypothesis that was possible when, for example, the Book of Genesis was written. A more fanciful cosmologist might at that time have given precedence to man, and might have supposed that the other animals were produced later, and for his benefit, or his injury. This is the view of the sacred writer himself with respect to the local group of animals intended to be in immediate association with the first man. Restricted in this way, the statement of a group of animals created with man in his earliest abode is not contradictory to the order in Genesis first, nor scientifically improbable. We have seen that in any case the deductions from geology are in harmony with the earliest revelations made to the human mind on the subject, and in accordance with all the later facts of actual history.
5. The absolute date of the first appearance of man cannot perhaps be fixed within a few years or centuries, either by human chronology or by the science of the earth. It would seem, however, that the Bible history, as well as such hints as we can gather from the history of other nations, limits us totwo or three thousand years before the Deluge of Noah, while some estimates of the antiquity of man, based on physical changes or ancient history, or on philology, greatly exceed this limit. If the earliest men were those of the river gravels and caves, men of the 'mammoth age,' or of the 'palæolithic' or palæocosmic period, we can form some definite ideas as to their possible antiquity. They colonised the continents immediately after the elevation of the land from the great subsidence which closed the pleistocene or glacial period, in what has been called the 'continental' period of the post-glacial age, because the new lands then raised out of the sea exceeded in extent those which we have now. We have, as stated in a previous chapter, some measures of the date of this great continental elevation, and know that its distance from our time must fall within about eight thousand years. Many indications, both in Europe and America, lead to the belief that it is physically impossible that man could have colonised the northern hemisphere at an earlier date than this geologically recent continental period.
6. There is but one species of man, though many races and varieties; and these races or varieties seem to have developed themselves at a very early time and have shown a remarkable fixity in their later history. There is reason to believe, however, from various physiological facts, that this is a very general law of varietal forms, which are observed to appear rapidly or suddenly, and then in favourable circumstancesto be propagated continuously. It would seem also to apply to the introduction of forms regarded as species, since it is not unusual to find a genus at or near its origin represented by its maximum number of specific forms.
7. The precise locality of the origin of man can be defined on probable grounds as in a temperate region, supplied with the vegetable productions most useful to him in a natural state, and free from destructive animal rivals. We can scarcely suppose that this locality can have been in any of those parts of the world in which man finds the greatest difficulty in subsisting, or becomes most degraded, though this paradoxical view has been held by some archæologists. It must rather have been in some fertile and salubrious region of the northern hemisphere; and probability as well as tradition points to those regions in South-Western Asia which have not only been the earliest historical abodes of man, but are also the centres of the animals and plants most useful to him. It is interesting to note here that Hæckel, on purely physical grounds, decides against Europe, Africa, Australia, and America, and concludes that 'most circumstances indicate Southern Asia.'
8. It is to be observed, however, that the diluvial interlude gives a double origin of man; but the historical accounts of the neocosmic dispersion, as we have already seen, refer us in this case also to the same regions of South-Western Asia. The traditions which ascribe human origin to a 'Mountain of theNorth' refer to the second dispersion, and coincide with the Ararat of Genesis and the 'Mountain of the North' on which the ship of Hasisadra was supposed by the Chaldeans to have grounded.
9. We are now in a position to correlate the historical Deluge with the great geographical changes which closed the palanthropic age. This, when regarded as an established fact, furnishes the solution of many of the most disputed questions of anthropology. The misuse of the Deluge in the early history of geology, in employing it to account for changes that took place long before the advent of man, certainly should not cause us to neglect its legitimate uses, when these arise in the progress of investigation. It is evident that if this correlation be accepted as probable, it must modify many views now held as to the antiquity of man. In that case, the modern rubble spread over plateaus and in river valleys, far above the reach of the present floods, may be accounted for, not by the ordinary action of the existing streams, but by the abnormal action of currents of water diluvial in their character. Further, since the historical Deluge cannot have been of very long duration, the physical changes separating the deposits containing the remains of palæocosmic men from those of later date would, in like manner, be accounted for, not by slow processes of subsidence, elevation, and erosion, but by causes of a more abrupt and cataclysmic character.
Finally, it has been the tendency of modern geologicaland archæological discovery to attach more and more value and importance to the ancient records of the human race, and especially to those precious documents which have been preserved to our time in the Book of Genesis.
We have merely glanced cursorily at a few of the salient points of the relation of the primitive history of man in Genesis to modern scientific discovery. Many other details might have been adduced as tending to show similar coincidences of these two distinct lines of evidence. Enough has, however, been said to indicate the remarkable manner in which the history in Genesis has anticipated modern discovery, and to show that this ancient book is in every way trustworthy, and as remote as possible from the myths and legends of ancient heathenism, while it shows the historical origin of beliefs which in more or less corrupted forms lie at the foundations of the oldest religions of the Gentiles, and find their true significance in that of the Hebrews. To the Christian the record in Genesis has a still higher value, as constituting those historical groundworks of the plan of salvation to which our Lord Himself so often referred, and on which He founded so much of His teaching.
INDEX
[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L][M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [W] [Z]
AAdam, description of,64Adon, the name,180Akkadian kingdom, foundation of,108Alphabets, early,108Amunoph III.,177Amunoph IV.,177Anakim, the,65Animals, remains of,23,30,38,43,45,46,48,50,74,96,98Antediluvians, identification of,125Anthropic age, definition of,17;events of,39Anthropology,16Archæan age, the,19Ark, the, description of,135Arrow-headed characters, use of,108Artemis,160Aten, worship of,177Atlantis, fable of,156Auriferous gravel, finds in,34BBears, cave,46Beni Elohim,132Beni ha Adam,132Bones, human, gnawed,47Boule, on deposits at Schweizersbild,87Britain, early inhabitants of,103Broca, on skulls,61Burials, discoveries of,56CCain, the race of,131Canaan, migration of,193Canstadt race, the,51,80;age of,70;condition of,75;interments of,77;skulls of,81Carthaillac on palanthropic age,70;on the mortuary customs of,77Carving, specimens of,49Castelnedolo, skeleton at,29Cave dwellers,48;their food,49Caverns, various,42Celtæ, the, description of,104Cenozoic age, the,20;changes of,24;events of,39;relations of,84Chaldean version of the Deluge,137;creation tablets,107;Genesis quoted,113Cheth, children of,167Chipped Stone age, the,69Chronometers, geological,89Civilisation, early postdiluvian,118Clichy skull, the,60Climate of the pliocene,25;of the eocene,27;changes of,35,36;of the post-glacial age,36;of the palanthropic age,38,40,171Creation, the, order of, in Genesis,106,112,114;Chaldean account of,112Cresswell caves, description of,95Cro-magnon cave, the,51Cro-magnon race, the,51;skeletons of,53;skulls of,61,81;age of,70;condition of,75;appearance of,76;belief of,76;interments of,77Curse, the,120Cushite kingdom, foundation of,108Cushite migration, the,192DDawkins on palæolithic and neolithic periods,93Days of creation, the,14,18Delta, the, age of,174Deluge, the, accounts of,107;story of,121;Lenormant on,123;conclusions as to,126;prevalence of story of,127;physical aspects of,135;Chaldean version of,136;history of,137;was it miraculous? 140;was it universal? 147,151Diana,160Dispersion of man, the,108Druses, the,198Dupont on cave of Goyet,46;on primitive man,73;on plain dwellers,74;on Frontal caves,98EEarth, the stages of its history,15,18;age of,18Eber, children of,179Eden, site of,114Edwards, Miss, criticism of,171Egypt, history of,168;first colonists of,174Elephant in Europe, the,38Elevation of land in post-glacial age,36Elohim, use of the name,112Embalming, early practice of,78Engis skull, the,60Eocene age, the,23;changes of,24Eozoic age, the,19Euphrates, the,114Eve, story of,160Evolution of man, the,22;vagaries of,118Exodus, the, Pharaoh of,179FFall of man, the,116Fauna of palanthropic age, changes of,86Flints, worked,28Food of cave dwellers,49Furfooz caves, description of,98GGenerations of Noah, the,184Genesis, order of creation in,106Geologist, the, method of,12Giants, a race of,63Gibraltar skull, the,60Glacial age, the,25Globe, incandescent, picture of,18Goyet, cave of, description of,46Greenwell on men of Britain,103Grenelle, skull of,60;deposit at,94HHale on importance of language,206Hamites, migrations of,188Hasisadra, the Chaldean Noah,118Hebrew annals, truth of,106Heth,167Higher criticism, Sayce on,109Historian, the, method of,12Hittites, the, inroad of,198Holmes on worked flints,31Homeric heroes, reality of,166Horus, sons of,159Hyksos, the,181IIdinu, or Eden,114Ightham, worked flints of,31Interments, discoveries of,56;mode of,77Isha, story of,160Ivory, ornaments of,58;engraving on,74JJahveh,133Japhet, migrations of,189,190Jebel Assart, flint chips at,171Jehovah Elohim, use of the name,112,132Jerusalem, ancient state of,179KKarun, a river of Eden,114,116Kerkhat, the,114Kheta, or Khatti,167Kneeling posture in interments,77LLaugerie Basse, cave at,51;skeleton at,58Lebanon caves, human remains in,43,45;visit to,202Lenormant on the Deluge,123;on the Ark,136Lion, the cave,46Lyell, on Falls of Niagara,124MMammals in palanthropic age, species of,37Mammoth age, cave of,50Mammoth, the, in Europe,38;extinction of,74Man, date of his appearance,21,213;his earliest remains still human,22;antecedents of,23;his remains overlaid,35;in Europe,35;in palanthropic age,40;how distinguished,41;his remains at Nahr-el-Kelb,45;at Goyet,46;gnawed bones of,47;a cave dweller,48;his ornaments,48,58;carving of,49;food of,49;his physical characters,51;his remains at Cro-magnon,51;skeleton of, at Mentone,58;varieties in skull of,60;gigantic size of,62;a feebler race,63;conditions of,71;Dupont on primitive,73;unprogressive character of men of mammoth age,75;beliefs of,76;mortuary customs of palanthropic,77;change of, from palæocosmic to neocosmic,91;neolithic,101;of Britain,103;in Eden,115;condition of palanthropic,116;recency of,213;locality of his origin,216Meeting-place of geology and history,13Mentone skeleton, the,58Mesozoic age, the,19Metals, the knowledge of,118Miocene age, the,23;changes of,24;monkeys of,27Mitanni,181Mizraim,193Monkeys, miocene,27Mortillet on the stone age,69Moses: his knowledge of Divine name,180Mourlon on pleistocene remains,30Musical instruments, invention of,118NNahr-el-Kelb, caverns of,44;people of,203Neanderthal skull, the,60Neanthropic age, definition of,17;events of,39;men of,95Nebula, picture of,18Necklace, a shell,48Neocosmic age, appearance of, men of,91,102Neolithic age, men of,101Niagara, Lyell's use of,124Nile valley, limestones of,168,201;appearance of,174Nimrod, kingdom of,190Noah, story of,121Nuesch on deposits at Schweizersbild,87OOld man of Cro-magnon,53;supposed history of,65Ornaments, remains of,48,58PPalæolithic implements, discoveries of,31Palæozoic age, the,19Palanthropic age, definition of,17;number of species of mammals in,37;climate of,38;land of,40;caves of,46;animals of,50;man of,51;conditions of,69;divisions of,70;tragic end of,85;changes in fauna of,80;subsidence of,88Palestine, people of,197;history of,201Paviland skull, the,60Petrie: his photographic portraits,180Pharaoh of the Exodus, the,179Phœnicians, the,193Pictet on number of species in palanthropic age,37Pinches on Chaldean Genesis,113Plain dwellers,51;conditions of,74Pleistocene age, definition of,17;history of,23;human remains of,30;events of,39Pliocene age,23;changes of,24;human remains of,29;events of,39Polished Stone age, the,69;men of,101Post-glacial age,26;elevation of,36Punites,193QQuaternary period, the,20Quatrefages on Castelnedolo skeleton,29;on Truchère skull,84RRa, worship of,177Recency of man,213Reclus, romance of,208Reindeer age, the,38,50Rhinoceros in Europe, the,38Rivière on Mentone skeleton,58,62SSayce on the higher criticism,109Scale of earth's history, a,22Schliemann, discoveries of,166Schweizersbild, deposits at,87Semites, migrations,189Seth, the race of,131Shell ornaments, remains of,48,58Sickle, wooden,172Silures, the,103Skeleton of Castelnedolo,29;Mentone,58;of Laugerie Basse,58Skull from Val d'Arno,29;of Cro-magnon,53,82;of Clichy, Grenelle, Gibraltar, Paviland, Neanderthal, Engis,60;of Canstadt,81;of Truchère,83Species, number of palanthropic,37Sphinx, the, history of,176Spy, interments at,56Stone ages, the,69Submergence, records of,148Subsidence of palanthropic age,88;date of,90TTammuz, story of,161Taylor on early men of Britain,103Teeth, human, condition of,63Tel-el-Amarna tablets,165,177Tigris, the,114Trenton, flints of,32Tristram on cave shelters,44VVezère, rock shelters of,51WWhistle, bone,116Woman of Cro-magnon,55Woolly rhinoceros in Europe, the,38ZZittel on number of species of mammals,37