The First Men. 



203 



reddish-brown color. Thej must have originated and multiplied, 

 therefore, iu an age of uniform conditions, and then encountered 

 various natural influences, differentiating them into existing types. 

 The glacial periods alone supply these influences. When Europe was 

 much colder than it is now, Africa was much warmer — we may say 

 hotter. The black pigment is a natural protector against heat. 

 Nature provides nothing not necessary. This pigment, then, was 

 provided under extra-torrid conditions, to protect men who would 

 otherwise suffer from intense heat. 



It will be said, in answer to this view, that Genesis records the 

 existence of but one man and one woman, from the creation of the 

 Adamite until after the expulsion from the garden. This is a mistake. 

 The word used in recording the creation of man is a common noun 

 and not a proper noun. The proper noun is not used until the midst 

 of the scene in the garden, long after the creation of the first men. 

 This scene is a pictorial representation of an historic event of momen- 

 tous importance ; the exact meaning of which it is not our purpose 

 now to inquire. We may say, however, to avoid misunderstanding, 

 that we should give to it an interpretation in no way impairing tlui 

 most rigid orthodox faith, and in no way conflicting with scienti6c 

 investigations into the origin of man. In support of our view that th(3 

 record we are considering covers a very long period, we hold that it is 

 sustained by the established fact that the first chapter of Genesis gives 

 the history of thousands of years, in the most compressed form. It is 

 not probable that the style of the writer suddenly changed toward the 

 close of that chapter, and that he then began to give us an elaborate 

 account of the events occurring in a single year in the life-time of a 

 single pair. From the creation of man to his expulsion from the gar- 

 den a long time elapsed — how long it is not our purpose to inquire, 

 even if it were possible approximately to estimate it. We must bear 

 in mind that the record is simply a toledoth, giving the generations or 

 Genesis of the Hebrew race, and stating only the points of divergence 

 from the main stock, of other races. If we would correctly read the 

 record, therefore, we must consider it as a genealogical tree, and not 

 as a complete history. 



We shall now endeavor to show that the division of the human race 

 into two stocks and various vocations is recorded as having taken 

 place on the sixth day; and, in this connection, we shall advance our 

 last argument in support of the pre-glacial origin of man. 



Two terms are employed in Genesis, from the creation of man until 

 the deluge, evidently for the purpose of distinguishing between two 

 ancient branches of the human family. These are, respectively, Adam 

 and Ha-Adam. If we discrimmate iu the emplo3ynent of these terms. 



