the amount of human happiness more, than if the like pre-emi- 

 nence had been granted to any other art or profession. True, 

 we have not now a paradise to cultivate : and the thorn and th« 

 thistle starting up on every side of us, are mementos of that 

 curse which followed man from the Garden of Eden. Still, in 

 that curse we perceive a mixture of mercy. The heart of infi- 

 nite benevolence seems to have yearned towards our guilty race, 

 even at the moment when they were driven from Paradise, and 

 the sword of a broken law turned every way to prevent their re- 

 admittance. In the bitter cup that was given man to drink, 

 there was mingled an antidote to the poison. Though he must 

 henceforth eat his bread in sorrow and in the sweat of his f&ce, 

 yet would that very hibor prove the greatest alleviation of his tri- 

 als that could be granted to a fallen being. 



In this light have almost every age and nation regarded agri- 

 culture. National and individual happiness has ever been known 

 to be most intimately linked with the successful cultivation of the 

 soil. VV^e cannot say much, indeed, concerning the views and 

 efforts of the antediluvians on this subject. We have but one 

 history of those times, and this so concise, that it casts but a glim- 

 mering light on that long period of darkness. All the vestiges 

 of science and civilization, that might have existed, have been 

 swept away by the deluge : and the flood of the world has prov- 

 ed almost the flood of oblivion. 



Nor are the ages that for a long time followed, involved in 

 less obscurity. The building of the Tower of Babel indicates a 

 state of prosperity, and an acquaintance with architecture ; and 

 hence we derive presumptive evidence in favor of a correspond^ 

 ent advancement in agriculture. 



When the descendants of Abraham were securely settled in 

 Palestine, they devoted themselves almost exclusively to agri- 

 cultural pursuits, from the chiefs of the tribes to the lowest me- 

 nial. 



The Chaldaens made improvements in husbandry, before un- 

 known. They seem to have ascertained some method of recruit- 

 ing an exhausted soil, and were thus prevented the necessity of 

 frequently changing situations, like most other ancient Oriental 

 nations. 



