1825.) 
an hypothesis. Yet this theory — 
wild and visionary as it is, has not 
wanted advocates; and it has been in- 
sinuated by one: of them, that some 
passages:inthe Mosaic history of the 
world imply the existence of “ another 
race of men, beside that descended from 
Adam,” 
. * We, no where”’ says White,“ read of 
Adam and Eve having any daughters, until 
it is said, that their eldest son, Cain, ‘ went 
out from the presence of the Lord, and 
dwelt in the iand of Nod, on the East of 
Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she 
conceived, and bare Enoch.’ Who, then 
(he asks), was Cain’s wife? And whence 
did she come? Indeed (he continues), it 
is said, that ‘the days of Adam, after he 
had begotten Seth, were 800 years; and 
he begat sons and daughters.’ This. then, 
it should seem, took place after the birth of 
Seth, and consequently long after Cain had 
his wife, for Seth was not born till after the 
death of Abel: If Cain had sisters prior to 
that period, from amongst whom he might 
haye taken a wife, it is a singular circum-. 
stance that Moses should not have noticed 
them.” 
This, then, is the strongest argument 
which can be brought forward to prove 
so improbable a circumstance; and it is 
adduced, too, by one who boldly ima- 
gines that the Mosaic account of the 
creation is “ merely an allegory.” 
Allowing the narrative of Moses to 
be true,—the idea of “ another race of 
mankind, beside that descended from 
_ Adam,” must be regarded as a mere 
chimera. He, who would have recourse 
_ to two primeval races of mankind, must 
either wholly deny, or at least, limit the 
extension of the deluge to the parts of 
Asia where Noah then dwelt ; 3 and it 
is not, we trust, necessary, in these 
times, to contend for the universality of 
this awful visitation. But leaving the 
deluge and its effects entirely out of the 
question, we can show, farther, the fal- 
libility of this peg 
“ Tt was not necessary,” says an elegant 
modern critic, “ that the holy penman 
should condescend to gratify our curiosity 
in a matter so totally unconnected with his 
main subject. But that which Moses has 
omitted to mention,—namely, from whence 
Cain took his wife, is said to have been 
recorded by some of the earliest Eastern 
writers; and there is still a current tradi- 
tion among the Hebrews and Arabians, 
that twin sisters were born with Cain and with 
Abel. _ Nay, they even go so far as to men- 
tion their names. However this may be, as 
the sacred writings _were given for a dif- 
ferent purpose than to instruct man in 
philosophy and natural history, we totally 
Gradation of Universal Being. 
309 
disapprove of all attempts to establish 
philosophical opinions on so precarious a 
foundation.” 
Let. us now consider in how. great a 
degree the inferior animals approach. 
man in his noblest attribute—reason 5 
or, in other words, let us examine to 
how great an extent their sagacity. may 
be carried. The reader, no doubt, can 
recollect many instances of sagacity in 
the larger and more common animals : - 
the following, we believe, are not gene- 
rally known. 
“On the 10th of May 1762,” says Mr. 
Bolton, the ingenious, but unfortunate, 
author of the Harmonia Ruralis,—“ I ob-— 
served a pair of goldfinches beginning to 
make their nest in my garden. They had 
formed their ground-work with moss, grass, 
&c., as usual ; but, on my scattering small 
pieces of wool in different parts of the gar- 
den, they, in’a great measure, left off the use 
of their own materials, and employed ‘the 
wool; afterwards I gave them cotton, on 
which they rejected the wool, and proceeded 
with the cotton ; the third day I supplied 
‘them with down, on which they forsook 
both the others, and finished their work 
with the last article.” 
' The same benevolent naturalist, ane 
appears to have paid great attention to 
the habits of the feathered race, relates 
another example of what he has termed 
“ the reasoning faculty,” in a very com- 
mon bird—the martin. 
“ During my residence at Wilton,’ he 
writes, “early one morning [ heard a noise 
from a couple of martins, who were jumping 
from tree to tree close to my dwelling. 
They made several attempts to get into a 
box or cage fixed against the house, which 
they had before occupied; but they always 
appeared to fly from it with the greatest 
dread, repeating those loud cries which first 
attracted my attention. Curiosity induced. 
me to watch their movements. After some 
time, a small wren flew away ; when the 
martins entered their cage,—but their stay 
was short. Their diminutive adversary 
returned, and made them fly with the 
utmost precipitation. They continued 
manceuvring in this manner the whole day, 
and I believe the wren kept possession 
during the night. The following morning, 
on the wren’s quitting the cage, the mar- 
tins immediately entered, and took posses- 
sion of their mansion,—which consisted of 
twigs of different sizes, and, setting .to 
work, with more ingenuity than I thought 
them capable of exerting, they soon,suc- 
ceeded in barricading their doors.’ The 
wren returned again, but could not re-enter. 
She made attempts to storm the works, but 
did not succeed. I will not presume to 
say (continues our author) that the martins 
followed Our modern pee and. carried 
with 
