ADA 
creature-.—His heavenly parent did not leave his offspring 
in a deditute hate to fhift for himfelf ; but planted a gar¬ 
den, in which lie caufed to grow not only every tree that 
was proper for producing food, but likewife fuch as were 
agreeable to the eye, or merely ornamental. In this gar¬ 
den were afiembled all the brute creation ; and, by their 
Maker, caufed to pafs before Adam, who gave all of them 
names, which were judged proper by the Deity himfelf.— 
In this review, Adam found none for a companion to him¬ 
felf. This folitary Hate was feen by the Deity to be at¬ 
tended with fome degree of unhappinefs : and therefore 
he threw Adam into a deep fleep, in which condition he 
took a rib from his (ide, and healing up the wound form¬ 
ed a woman of the rib he had taken out. On Adam’s 
awaking, the woman was brought to him ; and he imme¬ 
diately knew her to be one of his own fpecies, called her 
his bohe and his'flefh, giving her the name of woman be- 
caufe fliewas taken out of man. 
The. fird pair being thus created, God gave them au¬ 
thority over the inferior creation, commanding them to 
fubdue the earth, alfo to increafe and multiply and fill it. 
They ^yefe informed of the proper food for the beads and 
for them ; the grafs, or green herbs, being appointed for 
beads ; and fruits, or feeds, for man. Their proper 
employment alfo was affigned them ; namely, to, drefs ike 
garden and to keep it. 
Though Adam was thus highly favoured and in drafted 
by his Maker, there was a (ingle tree, which grew in the 
middle of the garden, of the fruit of which they were not 
allowed to eat; being told, that they (houtd furely die in 
the day they ate of it. This tree was named, the Tree of 
the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This prohibition, howe¬ 
ver, they loon broke through. The woman haying en¬ 
tered into converfation with the Serpent , was by; him per- 
fuaded, that by eating of the tree die Ihould become 
as wife as God himfelf; and accordingly, being invited 
by the beauty of the fruit, and its defirable property of 
imparting wifdom, (he plucked and ate ; giving her huf- 
band of it at the fame time, who did likewife eat. 
Before this tranfgreflion of the divine command, Adam 
and his wife had no occafion for clothes, neither had they 
any fenfe of diame; but, immediately on eating the for¬ 
bidden fruit, they were alhamed of being naked, and made 
aprons of fig-leaves for themfelves. On hearing the voice 
of God in the garden, they were terrified, and hid them¬ 
felves : but, being quedioned by the Deity, they confefTed 
what they had done,,and received fentence accordingly ; 
the man being condemned to labour ; the woman to fub- 
jeftion to hqr hufband, and to pain in child-bearing. 
They were now driven out of the garden, and their ac- 
cefs to it prevented by a terrible apparition. They had 
clothes given them by the. Deity made of the (kins of 
beads. In this date Adam hadfeveral children; the name 
of only three of whom we are acquainted with, viz. Cain, 
Abel, and Seth. He died the age of 930 years. 
Thefe are all the particulars concerning Adam’s life, 
that we have on divine authority : but a vad multitude of 
others are added by the Jew's, Mahometans, and others; 
all of which mud be at bed conjeftural ; mod of them, in¬ 
deed, appear downright falfehoods or abfurdities. The 
curiofity of our readers, it is prefumed, will be fufficiently 
gratified by the few which are here fubjoined. 
According to the Talmudids, when Adam was created, 
his body was of immenfe magnitude. When lie finned, 
hisdature was reduced to an hundred ells, according to 
fome ; to nine hundred cubits, according to others ; who 
think this was done at the requedof the angels, vvho were 
afraid of fo gigantic a creature. In the idand of Ceylon 
is a mountain, called the Peak or mountain of Adam, from 
its being, according to the tradition of the country, the 
refidencc of our fird parent. Here the print of his foot- 
fteps, above two palms in length, are dill pointed out. 
Many reveries have been formed concerning the perfqn- 
al beauty of Adam. That he was a handfome well-lhaped 
man is probable; but fome writers, not content with this, 
Vol.. I. No. 7. 
ADA Jto$ 
affirm, that God, intending to create man, clothed Himfelf 
with a perfectly beautiful human body, making this his 
model in the formation of the body of Adam. 
Nor has the imagination been lefs indulged concerning 
the formation of the human fpecies male and female.—it 
would be endlefs to recount all the whinillcal writings on 
this fubjeft; but as Mad. Bourignon lias made a confi- 
derable figure in the -religious, or rather Juperjhticus, world, 
we cannot help inferring fome of her opinions concerning 
the fird man, which are peculiarly marvellous. Accord¬ 
ing to the revelations of this lady, Adam before his fall 
poflefled in himfelf the principles of both fexes, and the 
virtue or power of producing his like, without the con¬ 
current adidance of woman. The divifion into two (exes, 
die imagined, was a confequence of man’s (in; and now, 
die obferves, mankind are become fo many morjlers in na¬ 
ture, being much lefs perfect in this reipeft than plants 
or trees, who are capable of producing their like alone, 
and without pain or mifery. She even imagined, that, be¬ 
ing in an eedafy, the favv the figure of Adam before he 
fell, with the manner how, by himfelf, he was capable of 
procreating other men. “ God,” fays die, “ reprefented 
to my mind the beauty of the fird world, and the manner 
how he had drawn it from the chaos : every thing was 
bright, tranfparent, and darted forth light and ineffable 
glory. The body of'Adam was purer and more tranfpa¬ 
rent than crydal, and vaftiy fleet'; through his body were 
feen vedels and rivulets of light, which penetrated from 
the inward to the outward parts, through all his pores. 
In fome vedels ran fluids of all kinds and colours, vafily 
bright, and quite diaphanous. The mod ravifhing har¬ 
mony arofp from every motion ; and nothing refided, or 
could annoy, him. *His datiirewa's taller than the prefent 
race of men ; his hair was fhort, curled, and of a colour 
inclining to black ; his upper lip covered with fiiort hair : 
and, indead of the parts which modefly will not allow us 
to name, he was falliioned as our bodies will be in the life 
eternal, which I know not whether 1 dare reveal. In that 
region was diffufed the mod delicious fragrancy and per¬ 
fumes; whence alfo men were to iifue, all whofe principles 
were inherent in him ; there being in the genital fydem a 
veflel, where little eggs were formed; and a fecond veflel 
filled with a fluid, which impregnated thofe eggs: and, 
when man heated himfelf in the love of God, the defire 
he had that other creatures Ihould exid befides himfelf 
caufed the fluid above mentioned to drop on one or more 
of thefe eggs, with inexpreffible delight; which being 
thus impregnated, iflued, fome time after, out* of man, 
by this canal, in the fhape of an egg, whence a perfeft: 
man emerged by infenfible degrees. Woman was formed 
by taking out of Adands fides the vedels that contained 
.the eggs ; which (he dill poflefles, as is difeovered by ana- 
tomifls.” 
'Many others have believed, that Adam at his fird crea¬ 
tion was both male and female : others, that he had two 
bodies joining together at the fhoulders, and their faces 
looking oppofite ways like thofe of Janus. Hence, fay 
thefe, when God created Eve, he had no more to do than 
to feparate the two bodies from one another. 
Various eonjeftures have been formed concerning the 
place where man was fird created, and where the garden 
of Eden was fituated’; but none of thefe have any folid 
foundation. The Jews tell us, that Eden was feparated 
from the red of the world by the ocean; and that Adam, 
being bamfhed therefrom, walked acrofs the fea, which 
he found every way fordable, by reafon of his enormous ' 
dature. The Arabians imagined paradife to have been in 
the air ; and that our fird parents were thrown down from 
it on their tranfgreflion, as Vulcan is faid to have been 
'thrown down headlong from heaven by Jupiter. 
Strange dories are told concerning Adam’s children. 
That he had none in the date of innocence, is certain 
from feripture ; but that his marriage with Eve was not 
confummated till after the fall, cannot be proved from 
thence. Some imagine, that, for many years after the 
E e fa\l, 
