Chapter VII: Sixth Day (5)

“He views the vast creation o’er,
Marks his own structure more than e’er before;
Sees all the creatures with their co-mates blest,
Himself left pensive, far unlike the rest;
Without compeer with whom his hours to spend,
Or jointly at the sacred altar bend.
_Religion_--sacred to the first great Cause:
_Philosophy_--the voice of Nature’s laws;
And _social dictates_, all at once combine
To teach their pupil, that the whole design
Is not completed, while his lonely life
Is left without a helper, friend, and wife.
Refulgent Sol, while traversing his way,
Has Luna shining with her lucid ray;
And though her glory is a borrow’d light,
She reigns sole empress of the sable night.
Soft purling streams to rivers speed their course,
And blend themselves with their capacious source.
The spreading branches of uxorious vines,
Clasp round each other with encircling twines.
The climbing Ivy does the Oak embrace,
And meets with verdant wreaths his bending face.
The feather’d tribes that wing the firmament,
By instinct led, to wedded love consent:
They range the neighb’ring meads in quest of food,
And guard and cherish their young callow brood.
And shall the creatures without just pretence,
Alone possess this high pre-eminence?
Though with abounding earthly comforts blest,
Shall man pre-eminent still want the best:--
A bosom friend, than virgin rose more sweet,
And whom he can with heart-felt rapture greet;
Of pleasing form, equal and tender mind,
To whom he can in closest ties be join’d?”

God did not approve of this state of solitude: he said, “It is not good that man should be alone,” or only himself. The Creator had not yet finished his works. He saw it necessary to relieve man in his solitary situation; and his goodness and power were ready to concur with the dictates of his wisdom. He said, “I will make him a _help-meet_ for him;” i.e. his counterpart, one like himself in shape, constitution, and disposition; exactly adapted to both his body and mind, the very image of himself, _a second self_.

“Must the fair creature promis’d to be giv’n,
Be sent to earth from the abode of heav’n?
Angelic nature could not well supply
The craving void, remote, and far too high.
Will God select amongst the brutal race,
One, and refine it for his fond embrace?
Nay, that would be too mean for his respect,
Beneath his nature, void of intellect.
The wise Creator, to complete his plan,
Resolves to make a _help-meet_ from the Man,
Procure the stamina from him alone,
Thus constitute her “bone of his own bone.”
From Man! but where? what part can he forego,
From head majestic to the servile toe?
The head imperial would be much too high,
Lest she, perchance, should for the mast’ry try.
The toilsome feet are base, of low renown,
Lest he should trample the fair creature down.
In Man’s organic structure, mark! the part
Is that which lies contiguous to the heart;
Main spring of life, whence all the frame looks gay,
Centre, where all the lovely passions play;
Under the shield of the protecting arm,
Which can defend her from impending harm.”

Accordingly, God proceeded in his work: not as before, when he made man, and formed his body of the dust of the earth; but he took of the substance of man, and of that formed an associate for him. The process is mentioned by Moses, “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman.” The word תרדמה translated _a deep sleep_, signifies such a sleep as renders a man insensible of any thing done to him; which was not natural but an extraordinary sleep; not occasioned by any act of violence done to nature, but the immediate effect of the hand of God upon him. Sleep, says a German author, is one of the most remarkable effects of the Divine goodness. It is certainly a proof of the wisdom of our Creator, that we fall asleep imperceptibly. Sleep comes unsummoned: it is the only change in our manner of existence in which reflection bears no part; and is alike independent of the understanding and the will. Our situation, indeed, during the time of sleep, is wonderful. We live, but without knowing or perceiving it! The palpitations of the heart, the circulation of the blood, the process of digestion, and, in a word, all the animal functions continue to be performed without interruption. The mind appears, as it were, to suspend its activity, for a time: by degrees, it looses all sensation, every distinct idea. The senses are deadened, and stop their wonted operations. The muscles, by degrees, are moved more slowly, till all voluntary motion ceases. This change begins in the forehead: then the muscles of the eye-lids, and of the neck, arms, and feet, are so much deprived of their activity, that the man seems to be metamorphosed into a plant. The situation of the brain becomes such, that it cannot transmit to the soul the same ideas as when we are awake. The soul perceives no object, though the nerve of vision is not altered; and it would see nothing, were the eyes to be even open. The ears are not shut, and yet they hear nothing. In a word, we find an unceasing source of admiration, in the wonderful preparations, and the tender care, which the Divine Being has employed, to procure us the blessings of sleep. The following epigram, translated from the Latin by Dr. Wolcott, is beautiful:--

“Come, gentle sleep, attend thy votary’s prayer,
And, though death’s image, to my couch repair!
How sweet, thus lifeless, yet with life to lie,
Thus without dying, oh how sweet to die!”

The word צלע _tsela_, and in the Septuagint πλευρα, rendered a _rib_, most probably means _bone_, and _flesh_, not a naked bone, but one with flesh adhering to it. “And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, _made_ he a woman,” or, according to the Hebrew, _builded it up_ to be a woman; signifying, that the human species was perfect when the woman was created, which before was like an imperfect building. This implies, an old author intimates, that as children are derived from their parents to build up the family, so the woman was derived from Adam to build up his great family, mankind, of his own nature and substance; and that his posterity might spring wholly from him, both in respect of himself, and of his wife, their common mother, who was taken out of him. What amazing wisdom is herein displayed; not only in producing a creature _like_ man, but out of _a part of man himself_! God could have animated and organized the dust of the earth, and of it formed the woman; but had he done so, she would have appeared in the eyes of man as a distinct being, to whom he had no natural relation.[205]

“Her form completed, lo! she rises fair,
Possess’d of beauties far beyond compare!
This last production of the Artist’s skill,
Best effort of his wisdom, might, and will,
Gains science’ height: the high-wrought features shine,
Her form displays a symmetry divine.
Her pleasing gesture, as she walks along,
Exceeds the powers of harmony and song.
Her fine exterior, by her Maker drest,
Is but the mansion of a brighter guest,
To flesh superior far, howe’er refin’d;--
A pure, reflective, comprehensive mind!
Expression soft sits sparkling in her eyes,
While from her bosom heavenly raptures rise;
Intrinsic worth, comprising every grace,
Displays its radiance in her roseate face.”

When the woman was formed, “God brought her unto the man,” i.e. he presented her to him to be his wife. We are not to imagine, by _bringing her to the man_, is meant, that God merely placed her before his eyes, and thus exhibited her: but that he joined the man and the woman together in marriage.

“Attending angels strike the choral lay,
And hymn your anthems on this bridal day;
While the first Pair unite their willing hands,
Whose hearts are join’d in love’s eternal bands.”

On receiving the woman, Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” Adam was the common stock and root of all mankind; not only all his posterity were wholly contained in him alone, but also the first woman, the mother of us all, had her vital life in him, and was part of his living flesh and bones: he saw that she was of the same nature, the same identical flesh and blood, the same constitution in all respects, having the same physical powers, mental faculties, and inalienable rights. He added, “She shall be called _Woman_, because she was taken out of man;” i.e. she shall partake of my name as she does of my nature. A literal version of the Hebrew would appear strange, says Dr. A. Clarke, and yet a literal version is the only proper one. איש _Ish_, signifies _man_; and the word used to express what we term _woman_, is the same with feminine termination, אשה _ishah_, and literally means _she-man_. Most of the ancient versions have felt the force of the term, and have endeavored to express it as literally as possible. The Vulgate Latin renders the Hebrew _virago_, which is a feminine form of _vir_, a man. Symmachus used ανδρις _andris_, a female form of ανηρ, _aner_, a man. Our own term is equally proper, when understood: it is a literal translation of the original; and we may thank the discernment of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors for giving it. Wombman, of which _woman_ is a contraction, means the _man with the womb_. Verstegan, in his Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, justifies this sense of the word, on the ground of antiquity and propriety, and says it should be so written. The term _woman_ was not peculiar to her, but common to the sex; she differing from man in sex only, not in nature. Afterward Adam called her חוה _chavah_, which answers exactly to ζωη of the Septuagint, both signifying _life_, because she was the mother of all _living_.

“Oh blest existence! (now the man exclaims,
And higher praises of his God proclaims.)
My cup with blessings hast thou amply fill’d,
Consummate joys for my great portion will’d:
No wants are left, no good hast thou denied,
Thy lib’ral hand has all I wish’d supplied.
Thou Fount of being! source of pure delight!
In thee my comforts center and unite:
Thyself I love, thy vast perfections see,
And all thy gifts receiv’d enjoy in Thee.

He turns to Eve, whose charms are all in view,
The perfect form which highest wisdom drew:
Her sweet attractions touch his yielding mind,
As three-fold cords his willing passions bind.
Sensations soft with quick transition roll,
And raise the transports of his grateful soul:
While thrilling raptures through his bosom move,
He feels his heart the seat of GOD--and _love_.

Their minds now glowing with celestial fire,
They jointly bend before their gracious SIRE;
Devotion’s flame with greater ardor burns,
And both are vocal in his praise by turns.
While thus their pow’rs in pleasing acts employ,
The _social_ worship much augments their joy:
Their warm addresses to the sacred throne,
Ascend as incense, and bring blessings down.”

The relation between _husband_ and _wife_ is the strongest union that results from the highest obligations of nature. “Therefore,” said Adam, “shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Here we perceive, as Dr. Delany intimates, that Adam had a perfect idea of father and mother, before any existed; that he had clear ideas of the affection arising from that relation, before any children were born into the world: and yet perceived that the endearment arising from marriage should be stronger than these ties, so as to attach a man with warmer affection to his wife, than to those very parents to whom he was indebted for life. Now if the received doctrines of philosophy be true, that the senses are the inlets of ideas, and that we can have no ideas without objects: then we must conclude, that as he had these ideas, and had them not from nature, he must have received them from express revelation. Hence our Saviour, in his answer to the Pharisees, informs us, that the words pronounced by Adam on this occasion, were the declaration of God himself. “Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh.” These two shall be considered as _one body_, having no separate or independent interests: or, these two shall be _for the production_ of one flesh; from their union a posterity shall spring, as exactly resembling themselves as they do each other. The Greek word προσκολληθησεται, translated _one flesh_, signifies shall be _glued_ to her.

How happy must such a state be, where the parties married come up to the design of this sacred institution! Dr. Hunter observes, “What an important era in the life of Adam! What a new display of the Creator’s power, skill, and goodness! How must the spirit of devotion be heightened, now that man could join in _social_ worship! What additional satisfaction in contemplating the frame, order, and course of nature, now that he possessed the most exalted of human joys, that of conveying knowledge to a beloved object! Now he could instruct Eve in the wonders of creation, and unfold to her their Maker’s nature, perfections, and will!” Oh happy state! They are happy in the constitution of their nature,--being innocent, upright creatures; and in having their pure minds perfectly united in love and kindness to each other. They were happy in all their united acts of adoration and praise to their Creator,--exact harmony, unmixed delight, and untainted piety, residing in each breast! They lived in communion with God, enjoyed a transporting sense of his favor, walked in the light of his countenance, and were raptured in their meditations on the Divine glory!

We have here the first institution of marriage, and we see in it several things worthy of peculiar attention and regard. 1. God pronounces the state of celibacy _not a good one_: and the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone,” לבדו _lebaddo_ only himself. It was neither for his comfort, who was formed for society, nor for the accomplishment of God’s purpose in the increase of mankind. Though he was created in the image of God, and enjoyed delightful intercourse with him, his solitary condition required a suitable companion. 2. God made the woman _for_ the man; he was not made _for her_, but she was made _for him_, and derived, under God, her being from him. The apostle says, “Neither was the man created for the woman: but the woman for the man,” to be a suitable helper and comfort to him. And thus God has shown us, that every son of Adam should be united to a daughter of Eve to the end of the world. 3. God made the woman _out_ of the man: as Adam was immediately from God, so Eve was immediately from Adam; “the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man:” made of a part of his body, taken out, not of his head, to show that she was not to exercise dominion over him; nor of his foot, to indicate that she must not be his slave; but of his side, to intimate that she needs his counsel and direction; from under his arm, to teach him that he must protect her; and near his heart, to tell him that he must love her as himself. The closest union, and the most affectionate attachment, should subsist in the matrimonial connection. The man should ever consider and treat the woman as a _part of himself_; and as no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and supports it, so should a husband evince the greatest tenderness and affection for his wife: and on the other hand, considering that the woman derived her being from man, and was made _for_ him, therefore the wife should “see that she reverence her husband.” “For as man is the image and glory of God; so the woman is the glory of the man.” 4. God himself instituted the marriage union, and being appointed and established by him, it must be an honorable state. “Marriage is honorable in all,” being a Divine institution; and consequently suitable for persons of any rank, or employment, either civil or sacred. The corruption of manners has strangely perverted this original purpose and institution of God. However, he will never accommodate his morality to the times, nor to the inclinations of men. What was settled at the beginning, he judged most worthy of his glory, most profitable for man, and most suitable to his nature. 5. Marriage was instituted immediately on the creation of man and formation of the woman; whence it is evident that God never designed that mankind should be preserved, and the earth peopled any other way. And as the marriage union took place while man was in a state of innocence, upright and pure, just such as his Creator made him, it is therefore suitable to the greatest purity both of heart and life. 6. The design of this institution was, that man and woman might be mutually helpful to each other, in all the necessities and uses of life partaking of the cares and labors of each other, reciprocally sharing in each other’s delights and pleasures, and combining together to love, serve, and please God.

The _situation_ of Adam and Eve is worthy of our attention. The sacred historian says, “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” The word עדן _Eden_, signifying _pleasure_ or _delight_, is expressive of their excellent residence. The Septuagint render the passage thus: εφυτευσεν ὁ Θεος παραδεισου εν Εδεμ, _God planted a Paradise in Eden_. The Fathers of the Church; says Huet, both Latin and Greek, all the Interpreters of Scripture, ancient and modern, and all the Orientals, do agree, that Eden is a local name taken from the beauty of the place. The Garden or Paradise was situated in Eden, being two different places, as the whole from its part. “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. And the name of the first is Pison; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.” The most probable account of the situation of the terrestrial Paradise, says Dr. A. Clarke, is that given by Hadrian Reland. He supposes it to have been in Armenia, near the sources of the great rivers, Euphrates, Tigris, Phasis, and Araxes. He thinks Pison was the Phasis, a river of Cholchis, emptying itself into the Euxine Sea, where there is a city called Chabala, the pronunciation of which is nearly the same with that of Havilah, or חוילה _Chavilah_, according to the Hebrew, the _vau_ ו being changed in Greek to _beta_ β. This country was famous for gold, whence the fable of the Golden Fleece, attempted to be carried away from that country by the heroes of Greece. The Gihon he thinks to be the Araxes, which runs into the Caspian Sea, both the words having the same signification, namely, a _rapid motion_. The land of Cush, washed by the river, he supposes to be the country of the Cussæi of the ancients; a nation of Asia, destroyed by Alexander to appease the manes of Hephæstion. The Hiddekel all agree to be the Tigris; and the other river, Phrat, or פרת _Perath_, to be the Euphrates. All these rivers rise in the same tract of mountainous country, though they do not proceed from one head.

Man, says Faber, was placed by the Deity in the garden of Paradise. The beauty of its scenery, the salubrity of its climate, the variety and excellence of its fruits, all contributed to the beatitude of the first pair, and tended to elevate their thoughts to that Being, who was the author and contriver of such numerous blessings. Trained, says Bishop Horne, in the school of Eden by the material elements of a visible world, to the knowledge of one that is immaterial and invisible, Adam found himself excited by the beauty of the picture, to aspire after the transcendent excellence of the Divine original.

From this, says Dr. A. Clarke, the ancient heathens borrowed their ideas of the gardens of Hesperides, where the trees bore golden fruit; the gardens of Adonis, a word which is evidently derived from the Hebrew עדן _Aden_; and hence the origin of sacred gardens, or inclosures, dedicated to purposes of devotion, some comparatively innocent, others impure. From the holiness of the garden of Eden, says Faber, the Pagans probably borrowed their ancient custom of consecrating groves to the worship of their various deities. The description given by Quintus Curtius of the sacred grove of Jupiter Hammon is singularly beautiful, and almost presents to the imagination the deep shades and the crystal streams of Eden. “At length,” says he, “they arrived at the consecrated habitation of the deity, which, incredible as it may seem, was situated in the midst of a desert, and shaded from the sun by so luxuriant a vegetation, that its beams could scarcely penetrate through the thickness of the foliage. The groves are watered by the meandering streams of numerous fountains; and a wonderful temperature of climate, resembling most of all the delightful season of spring, prevails through the whole year with an equal degree of salubrity.”

This golden age is described by Plato, in a manner which, independently of his confession (namely, that he gained his information from the Phœnicians, who received it from their ancestors,) proves him to have derived it, not from written records, but from traditional reports. His mansion of primeval bliss was not in this dark, diminished, and deformed, this corrupted globe, but in a pure, ethereal, and lucid orb of unlimited extent, where men breathed, not air, but light, drank nectar, and partook of fruits spontaneously produced. The inclement seasons were unknown, raiment was not yet invented, and nakedness produced no distress. When weary, the inhabitants reclined to sleep on soft herbage, which received the influence of one eternal spring. In these delightful regions no stormy winds interrupted their calm repose; no evil passion disturbed their serenity of soul; and reason, guided by benevolence, bore a universal sway. Whilst this state continued, man conversed freely with those animals, which, now wild, avoid his presence, and fly at his approach.

Virgil was no stranger to a golden age; and Seneca has well described the peaceful state whilst Saturn reigned. But of all the representations, that which we find in Ovid is the most beautiful, and, allowing for poetic imagery, is accurately just.

“The golden age was first; when man, yet new,
No rule but uncorrupted reason knew,
And with a native bent did good pursue.
Unforc’d by punishment, unaw’d by fear,
His words were simple, and his soul sincere.
Needless was written law where none opprest:
The law of man was written in his breast.
No suppliant crowds before the judge appear’d;
No court erected yet, nor cause was heard;
But all was safe, for conscience was their guard.”

Such notions of the felicity enjoyed by man in a state of innocence, were not confined to Italy and Greece, but have been discovered equally among the Persians, Indians, and Chinese. The Brahmins say, that in the beginning of the world, plenty was every where diffused, and milk, with wine and honey, flowed from fountains. Similar images were used by the Persian magi to convey a notion of primeval happiness.[206]

Thus Adam and Eve were happy in their situation, being placed in Paradise, which was delightful for agreeable and pleasing accommodations of every kind to regale their senses; it was stored with the utmost profusion of Divine bounty!

“O Jesus! at thy feet we wait,
Till thou shalt bid us rise,
Restor’d to our unsinning state,
To love’s sweet paradise.”

* * * * *

Footnotes - Chapter VII

[157] The _marine_ Polypus is different in form from the
fresh-water Polype; but is nourished, increased, and may be
propagated after the same manner. When it produces its young,
they issue from its sides, as branches from a tree; these young
shoots are no sooner detached from their parents, than they
become separate Polypuses, and fish for prey.

It seems that every part of this animal possesses a
principle of life. If it be cut into three pieces, it is so far
from being destroyed, that it becomes three polypuses: the head
produces a body and tail; the body, a head and tail; and the
tail, a head and body. When a Polypus is cut in two lengthways,
these close themselves, the wounds are healed in a few moments,
and in the course of some hours they will eat greedily. If
these Polypuses be again cut into four, or six pieces, these
divisions of the animal will also become Polypuses; but they
will not be matured, nor capable of eating, for some days.
If this creature be turned like a glove, by pushing the tail
into the body until it come out of the mouth, after such an
operation it will still eat, and continue to produce young
ones; so strong and vigorous is the principle of life which it
possesses.

There are other insects which possess similar properties;
and it is certain that nearly all plants which are produced
from suckers, have no part which may not become either a stem
or branch, and which will germinate, and furnish one, or even
many plants.]

[158] For the contrary opinion, see Fragments appended to
Calmet’s Dictionary, pp. 114-117.

[159] “Some time ago, a person in the Isle of Wight,
digging the ground for the foundation of an out-house,
discovered the nest or magazine of a field-mouse. It was of
large dimension, and was stored with acorns, which were laid up
in the neatest and most compact manner imaginable. These were
so numerous that he was induced to count them, and found, in
the whole, no fewer than _eight hundred and two_. How wonderful
are those faculties with which the beneficent Creator of the
world has endowed his creatures, for the purpose of providing
for wants which they have no power to foresee, and yet, without
which provision, they must, during the severity of winter, be
inevitably destroyed!”--New Monthly Magazine, July, 1814, p.
531.

[160] See Dr. Paley’s Natural Theology, pp. 296-299.

[161] To this may be referred an economical experiment
well known to the Dutch, that when eight Cows have been in a
pasture, and can no longer get nourishment, two horses will do
very well there for some days; and when nothing is left for the
Horses, four Sheep will live on it.

[162] The Arabians, when travelling, and in want of water,
frequently kill their camels to obtain a supply, which, though
taken out of the animal, they find perfectly good.

[163] Dr. Paley’s Natural Theology, p. 278.

[164] Dr. Percival’s Instructions, p. 23.

[165] See Annual Register, vol. iii, p. 90.

[166] Dr. Beattie’s Dissertations, Moral and Critical.

[167] Dr. Percival’s Instructions, p. 8.

The Chinese consider the flesh of this animal as a dainty,
and public shambles are erected for the sale of it. In Canton
particularly, there is a street appropriated to that purpose;
and, what is very extraordinary, whenever a dog-butcher
appears, all the dogs in the place pursue him in full cry.
They know their enemy, and persecute him as far as they are
able.--Goldsmith’s History of the Earth.

[168] Wesley’s Philosophy, vol. i, p. 233.

[169] For a description of the _Crocodile_, given by
Divine inspiration, see Job chap. xli. It is a great question
among learned men, says Mr. Benson, what creature is meant by
לויתן, _leviathan_. Our translators were evidently uncertain
respecting it, and therefore have given us the original term
untranslated. The Seventy, however, have rendered it δρακων,
_the dragon_; but that is far from being correct. The dragon is
a genus belonging to the order of amphibia reptilia. There are
two species, 1. The volans, or flying dragon, with the wings
entirely distinct from the fore-legs, which is found in Africa
and the East Indies. 2. The præpos, with the wings fixed to the
fore-legs, which is a native of America. They are both harmless
creatures; and feed on flies, ants, and small insects. The word
לויתן, _leviathan_ is supposed to be derived from לוי, _levi_,
_joined_, or _coupled_, and תן, _than_, or תנין _thannin,
a dragon_, that is, a _large serpent_, or _fish_, the word
_thannin_ being used both for a land-serpent, and a kind of
fish. And “after comparing what Bochart and others have written
on the subject, it appears to me,” says Parkhurst, “that the
compound word לויתן, _leviathan, the coupled dragon_, denotes
some animal, partaking of the nature both of the land serpents,
and fishes, and, in this place, signifies the _crocodile_,
which lives as well under water as on the shore.”

[170] Bingley’s Animal Biography, vol. ii, p. 410, &c.

[171] Dr. Paley’s Natural Theology, p. 286.

[172] Aristotle asserts that _spinning_ and _weaving_ were
first learned from the spider. Thence it has its Greek name
αραχνης, Latin _Aranea_, French _Araignce_, from the Hebrew
_Aragnevit_, _texuit_, or _Arach, textura_. And it is not
improbable that our English word _Spider_ is but a corruption
of _Spinner_, for _Spinn_ is the German word for _Spider_. With
this agrees that poetic fancy, that _Arachne_ an excellent
_spinster_, was by _Pallas_ turned into a _Spider_. Pallas
was the goddess of wisdom, war, weaving, spinning, and the
liberal arts; and she was invoked by almost every artist,
particularly such as worked in wool, embroidery, painting, and
sculpture.--Edward’s Demonstration, &c.

[173] See Jones’s Disquisition concerning clean and unclean
Animals.

[174] See D’Assigny on the Hieroglyphics of Egypt.

[175] Epist. cap. v.

[176] Simil. ix, sect. 13.

[177] Ad. Autol. lib. 2, p. 96.

[178] Lib. iv, cap. 37, et lib. v. c. 15.

[179] Lib. iv, cap. 75.

[180] Adv. Prax. c. 12.

[181] Cap. 21, 25.

[182] Cont. Cel. lib. i, p. 63.

[183] Socrat. lib. ii. c. 30, where the Creed may be seen
at large.

[184] Hæres. 23, n. 2.

[185] Hæres. 44, n. 4. See Bibliotheca Biblica on the place.

[186] Lib. iv, cap. 37.

[187] Two Dissertations, &c. pp. 29, 30.

[188] Among the numerous traditions of the New-Zealanders,
says Nicholas, there is one which is very remarkable. It
refers to the creation of man, and has been handed down from
father to son, through all generations. They believe the first
man to have been created by three gods, Mowheerangaranga, or
Toopoonah, or grandfather, Mowheermooha, and Mowheebotakee; but
give the greatest share in the business to the first-mentioned
of these deities.

[189] Moses says, “the _life_, נפש nephesh, of the flesh is
in the _blood_.” And St. Paul affirms, “God hath made of _one
blood_ all nations of men.” This sentence of Moses, which, in
conjunction with that of St. Paul, contains a most important
truth, had existed in the sacred Scriptures for 3,600 years,
before it arrested the attention of any philosopher. This is
more surprising, as the nations in which philosophy flourished,
were those which especially enjoyed the Divine oracles in
their respective languages. That the blood actually possesses
a _living principle_, and that the life of the whole body
is derived from it, is a doctrine of Divine revelation, and
which the observations and experiments of the most accurate
anatomists have served strongly to confirm. The proper
_circulation_ of this important fluid through the _whole_ human
system, was taught by Solomon in figurative language, Eccles.
xii, 6; and discovered, as it is called, and demonstrated by
Dr. Harvey in 1628; though some Italian philosophers had the
same notion a little before. This distinguished anatomist was
the first who fully revived the Mosaic notion of the _vitality_
of the blood; and which correct view was afterwards adopted by
the justly celebrated Mr. John Hunter, whose strong reasoning
and accurate experiments have served to sanction and give
publicity to a fact so long unknown to mankind. The doctrine of
Moses and St. Paul proves the truth of the doctrine of Harvey
and Hunter: and the reasonings and experiments of the latter,
illustrate and confirm the doctrine of the former.--See Dr. A.
Clarke on Lev. xvii, 11.

[190] As an instance of this I may mention the case of
a gentleman who was subject to frequent attacks of asthma,
to such a degree, that if he were not relieved immediately
by bleeding, he was in danger of suffocation: by being so
frequently bled in that state, his blood at length became so
pale as scarcely to stain a linen cloth, in consequence of the
particles of the blood being so slowly renewed.

[191] Two of these causes are peculiarly important and
interesting. When an animal has lost a considerable quantity
of blood, and faints in consequence, the power of the blood to
coagulate quickly is greatly increased.--When, for example, a
sheep is bled to death, if you receive a cupful of the blood
which first issues from the throat, and a cupful of the last,
you will find that the latter will coagulate sooner, and become
much more solid than the first portion. By way of experiment,
the large artery of the thigh of a dog has been divided and
laid open; the animal bled till he fainted, and on recovering
had no return of the bleeding. On examining the artery, its
divided end was found plugged up by coagulated blood, and much
contracted in its diameter; this natural means, however, of
checking hæmorrhage, we shall afterwards find, is assisted by
the contractile power possessed by the vessel from whence it
is effused. Hence it appears that fainting is favorable to
checking hæmorrhages, as far as it puts a temporary check on
the circulation, and should always be encouraged to a certain
degree. Another cause which influences the coagulation of the
blood, is inflammatory diseases. Under such circumstances it
remains much longer in a fluid state, but coagulates at length
more firmly. This coagulation of the lymph is the first step
towards its conversion into various parts of the body, or the
union of divided parts. When, for example, the coagulating
lymph is thrown out upon inflamed internal parts of the body
which lie in contact, as the intestines or lungs, it becomes
solid, and connects them loosely together. Blood vessels shoot
into it, and convert it at length into cellular membrane,
forming what are called adhesions, and in a similar way it
is converted into the nature of various parts of the body.
We may therefore say, that the coagulating lymph is the most
important part of the blood, inasmuch as it is subservient
to the formation of various organs in the body. Many parts,
particularly the muscles, very nearly resemble it in their
nature.

[192] Substances may even be introduced into the blood
directly. By way of experiment, Ipecacuanha, or a small
portion of Emetic Tartar, or Jalap, have been infused into the
veins: the result of this has been found to be, that they have
produced the same effect as if introduced by the stomach; the
former produced vomiting, the latter purging.

[193] Mr. Hunter, however, found that this natural
inclination might be changed by education, for he taught
an Eagle, which is a carnivorous animal, to subsist on
farinaceous food alone. The plan he adopted was this: he began
by abstracting the flesh meat, and substituting bread and
butter, till at length the meat was entirely taken away; he
then by degrees diminished the quantity of butter, till at
length the animal fed on bread alone. It appears, however, from
experiment, that this transition cannot be made suddenly, as
the gastric juice of the animal is not adapted to act upon an
opposite kind of food. It has been found that a quantity of
pear or apple introduced into the stomach of a Buzzard Hawk
was not digested, but remained unacted upon when the fowl was
killed for inspection many hours afterwards; yet the stomach of
this animal habitually digested bone.

[194] Dr. A. Hunter says, “When we consider the delicacy
of the internal structure of the stomach, and the high and
essential consequence of its office, we may truly say, it is
treated with too little tenderness and respect on our parts.
The stomach is the chief organ of the human system, upon the
state of which all the powers and feelings of the individual
depend.

“The stomach is the kitchen that prepares our discordant
food, and which, after due maceration, it delivers over by
a certain undulatory motion, to the intestines, where it
receives a further concoction. Being now reduced into a white
balmy fluid, it is sucked up by a set of small vessels, called
lacteals, and carried to the thoracic duct. This duct runs up
the back-bone, and is in length about sixteen inches, but in
diameter it hardly exceeds a crow quill. Through this small
tube, the greatest part of what is taken in at the mouth
passes, and when it has arrived at its greatest height, it is
discharged into the left subclavian vein; when mixing with the
general mass of blood, it becomes, very soon, blood itself.”

[195] Dr. O. Gregory observes, “Animal heat is preserved
_entirely_ by the inspiration of atmospheric air! The lungs
which imbibe the oxygen gas from the air, impart it to the
blood; and the blood, in its circulation, gives out the
caloric to every part of the body. Nothing can afford a more
striking proof of creative wisdom, than this provision for
the preservation of an equable animal temperature. By the
decomposition of atmospheric air, caloric is evolved, and
this caloric is taken up by the arterial blood, without its
temperature being at all raised by the addition. When it passes
to the veins, its capacity for caloric is diminished, as much
as it had been before increased in the lungs: the caloric,
therefore, which had been absorbed, is again given out; and
this slow and constant evolution of the caloric in the extreme
vessels over the whole body, is the source of that uniform
temperature which we have so much occasion to admire. Dr.
Crawford ascertained, that whenever an animal is placed in a
medium the temperature of which is considerably high, the usual
change of arterial venous blood does not go on; consequently,
no evolution of caloric will take place, and the animal heat
will not rise much above the natural standard. How pleasing it
is to contemplate the arrangements which the Deity has made for
the preservation and felicity of his creatures, and to observe
that he has provided for every possible exigency!”--Lessons,
Astronomical and Philosophical, 4th edit. p. 87.

[196] A London Alderman, who had accidentally heard of the
thoracic duct, was so struck with the importance and delicacy
of the vessel, that he became very apprehensive lest it should
be in the least obstructed; and, being one day caught in a
crowd, from whence he could not extricate himself, he most
earnestly entreated those who pressed on him, to take care of
his thoracic duct.

[197] This is a good example of muscles, which, under
ordinary circumstances, are directed by the will, becoming
involuntary from an altered excitement.

[198] Dr. A. Hunter remarks, “Were it possible for us to
view through the skin and integuments, the mechanism of our
bodies, after the manner of a watch-maker when he examines
a watch, we should be struck with an awful astonishment!
Were we to see the stomach and intestines busily employed in
the concoction of our food by a certain undulatory motion;
the heart working, day and night, like a forcing pump; the
lungs blowing alternate blasts; the humors filtrating through
innumerable strainers; together with an incomprehensible
assemblage of tubes, valves, and currents, all actively and
unceasingly employed in support of our existence, we could
hardly be induced to stir from our places!”

[199] Mr. Cruikshank, late Professor of Chemistry at
Woolwich, judiciously observes, says Dr. Olinthus Gregory, that
the size of the body, the quantity of food taken in, the vigor
with which the system is acting, the passions of the mind,
and external heat or cold, are circumstances which will ever
occasion considerable variety in the quantity of the insensible
perspiration. This gentleman, assuming that the surface of the
hand is to that of the rest of the body as one to sixty (an
assumption which Mr. Abernethy thinks much too small for the
body,) and that every part of that surface perspired equally
with his hand, concluded that he lost during an hour, by
insensible perspiration from the skin, 3 ounces, 6 drams; and
in 24 hours, at that rate, would have lost 7 pounds, 6 ounces.
Also, that he lost 124 grains of vapor by respiration, in an
hour; or 6 ounces, 1 dram, and 36 grains, in 24 hours; which,
added to the former cutaneous exhalation, would make the whole
insensible perspiration, in 24 hours, equal to 8 pounds, 1
dram, and 36 grains: the evaporation from the lungs will be
little more than one-fifteenth of the whole.

Mr. Cruikshank has not the smallest doubt, but that
_electric fluid_ is also perspired from the pores of the skin:
it appearing to him impossible that an enraged Lion, or Cat,
should erect the hairs of the tail on any other principle:
indeed he strongly suspects that, as electric fire is now known
to be the prime conductor of the variation in the atmosphere,
so it is also the grand conductor of insensible perspiration.
He likewise states it as a matter beyond doubt, that,
independent of aqueous vapor (of fixed air and phlogiston,)
emitted from the skin in insensible perspiration, there is
an odorous effluvia, which, though generally insensible
to ourselves and the by standers, is perceptible to other
animals.--Hence it happens, that a Dog follows the footsteps of
his master by the smell; and, in like manner, with regard to
other animals: the Fox-Hound knows _afar_ the smell of the Fox;
the Pointer that of the Partridge, the Snipe, or the Pheasant;
and every carnivorous animal that of its prey.--Haüy’s Natural
Philosophy, vol. i, p. 27.

[200] Dr. Priestley has positively asserted, that the
doctrine of the soul has no foundation in reason or the
Scriptures. But Dr. Jortin, in his sermon on John xi, 25, vol.
vi, and Dean Sherlock, in his discourse on the immortality of
the soul, completely refute the Doctor’s arguments. In the
fourth volume of the Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical
Society of Manchester, there is a very valuable paper, by Dr.
Ferriar, proving, by evidence apparently complete, that every
part of the brain has been injured without affecting the act of
thought; the reasoning of which memoir, being built on matters
of fact and experience, appears to have shaken the modern
theory of the materialists from its very foundation.

[201] See Wesley’s Sermon on Heb. xi, 1.

[202] Dr. Scott’s Christian Life, vol. v, p. 14.

[203] Practical Treaties on the Holy Spirit, pp. 7, 8.

[204] See Dr. Beattie’s Theory of Language, chap. ii.

[205] It is very singular, says Nicholas, in his very
interesting history of New-Zealand, that the natives believe
that the first woman was made of one of man’s ribs; and, what
adds still more to this strange coincidence, their general
term for bone is _hevee_, which, for ought we know, may be
a corruption of the name of our first parent, communicated
to them, perhaps, originally, by some means or other, and
preserved, without being much disfigured, among the records of
ignorance.

[206] See Townsend’s Character of Moses, pp. 66-68.

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