Adam s Conquests 295 



nature. Ever since man has marched, his fiery- 

 sword in hand: sword, winged steed, domestic ser- 

 vant, whatever he willed it to be. On the wings of 

 fire he flies across the continent. With hands of fire 

 he beats down the waves of the ocean and triumphs 

 over them. With his hammer of fire he smashes 

 rocks beneath the sea, and in the heart of the moun- 

 tain, and in the depths of the mine; with his hand 

 of fire he hurls missiles upon his enemies miles 

 away. All came of Adam's listening to the bass- 

 viol of the forest. 



If Adam had been armed with claws and fangs 

 like the tiger, he never would have risen above the 

 moral and intellectual plane of the tiger. Com- 

 pelled to rely upon intelligence and reason, these 

 faculties distinguished him and set him at the top 

 of the scale of life. The lion needs no leonine 

 friends and has none. He has no need for protec- 

 tion by the united force of a society, so he has no 

 social instincts. Out of man's weakness came his 

 strength; out of his dependence came his self-reli- 

 ance; out of his dangers came his safety; out of 

 his hatreds came his loves. 



Adam lived long, but not so long as Israel, for 

 both were more than individuals, and their time far 

 exceeded the life of a man. Their names, origi- 

 nally personal, became ethnical, and they lived in 

 their descendants. This was the only perpetuity 

 and immortality that they knew. It was not till 

 their family, their gens, perished, or were merged 



