ON ACCOUNTS OF THE CREATION. 235 



busy and restless generation sought relief and refreshment in 

 going back to the calmer atmosphere and less feverish life of 

 the remote past. It is true that much of the re-discovered 

 matter is little more than the driest and crudest materials 

 for history. Beauty of style and elevation of thought are 

 rarely present in these archaic records. This drawback is 

 inevitable, and is really a measure of the enormous moral and 

 intellectual debt which the world owes under Providence to 

 the Jew, the Greek, and the Eoman. Still, if the facts are 

 often barely stated, they are, nevertheless, facts, and throw a 

 flood of light on the early condition of Western Asia and 

 Egypt. Few branches of study are more aifected by this 

 novel and powerful instrument of research than Biblical 

 archaeology. The late highly-gifted decipherer, George Smith, 

 went so far as to call his interpretation of some clay tablets 

 the Chaldean account of Genesis. This ardent enthusiasm is 

 pardonable in one of the pioneers of a new study, for without 

 it who would face the terrible difficulties which lie in the way 

 of the beginner ? But subsequent reflection will usually 

 estimate the results gained more soberly. At any rate, the 

 Creation-tablets are interesting, although their relation to 

 Genesis may have been entirely or partially misconceived. 

 Above all, they suggest the question which I propose to 

 discuss this evening. Is the account of the Creation in 

 Genesis one of a series? which to many minds would mean. Is 

 it a mere human tradition or legend, or does it stand alone as 

 the sole authentic form of an original revelation ? 



But our knowledge of the infancy of our race is too imper- 

 fect to allow anything more than a probable answer to this 

 question when treated from a purely historical point of view, 

 which I conceive to be the only mode of treatment which 

 suits a Society like the Institute founded for impartial 

 investigation. 



2. It would be impossible, within the limits of this paper, 

 to give an exhaustive account of all the traditions of the 

 Creation to be found scattered about among the nations of 

 the whole world. Nor is it necessary for our purpose. They 

 are generally to be reduced to three classes — the philosophical, 

 the mythological, and the historical ; and we need only con- 

 sider the oldest or clearest types of each class. The myths 

 of savages have scarcely any historical value. They are 

 usually recent in date, — or, at any rate, cannot be proved to be 

 old. They are often mere ignorant distortions of Christian, 

 Jewish, or Moslem teaching which have filtered through the 

 intervening strata of population from some civilised settle- 



