ORIGINAL FOOD OF MAN.

CHAPTER I.

EVIDENCE FROM THE WRITINGS OF MOSES
AND FROM TRADITION.

Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν παντα χόρτον σπόξιμον σπεῖρον σπέρμα, ὅ ἐστιν ἐπάνω πάσης τῆς γῆς καὶ πᾶν ξύλον, ὅ ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ καρπὸν σπέρματος σπορίμου, ὑμῖν ἔσται εἰς βρῶσιν.

GEN. i. 29.

1. INFORMATION respecting the Original Food of Man, is necessarily included within very narrow limits; but all accessible sources are decidedly in favour of its having been derived from the vegetable kingdom. Sacred and profane authors unite in representing the progenitors of our race as frugivorous. At a subsequent period, they are stated to have fed upon plants of a more herbaceous character; and, at a still later period, they are recorded as having become riotous eaters of the flesh" of other animals. These periods are also characterised by different

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states of innocence, virtue, justice, and happiness; and correspond to the golden, silver, brazen, and iron ages of the poets.

2. Moses, after describing, with great force and beauty, the progress of creation, and finally the production of (D)* Adam, or man, thus proceeds:-" And God said, Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;-to you it shall be for meat." (Gen. i. 29.) Here we have plainly and distinctly stated, what God intended should be the food of mankind; and which, no doubt, would be best adapted to his nature, most conducive to his health, happiness, and longevity; and the best calculated (so far as food is concerned) for preserving purity of mind, and for subjugating the passions to the mental powers. Man, at his first creation, was placed in a situation in which he might find abundance of such delicious fruits as were adapted to please his eye, gratify his taste, and contribute to his bodily and mental vigour; for we are further informed, that "The Lord God planted a garden † eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to

* Gesenius, and other Hebraists, do not consider as the proper name of the first man; but as an appellative referring to the race of mankind.

The Hesperidum Horti, or Gardens of the Hesperides,-producing golden apples (as the mythologists represent),-appear to have derived their name from V (HEZ PERI) a fruit tree; and in allusion to

the Garden of Eden here described.

grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food: the tree of life, also, in the midst of the garden ; and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." (Gen. ii. 8, 9.) "And the Lord God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying-Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Gen. ii. 15-17.)

3. No one, I think, can mistake the language here employed; or arrive at any other conclusion, than that fruit and herbs bearing seed, were expressly granted as the food of man; and we shall find that his organization was in perfect harmony with this divine command. He was placed in the garden of Eden, or "garden of delight", that he might "dress it and keep it", for the purpose of supplying him with all such fruits as were "pleasant to the sight, and good for food.". Some have contended, that this food is not sufficient to sustain the health and vigour of man; but we may rest assured, that what is of divine appointment, will be amply sufficient to produce the effect intended.

4. In the works of the Greek and Latin authors, we meet with frequent allusions to this period, in which man lived in a state of innocence and happiness;—the "golden age", when he fed upon the delicious fruits of the earth; when his bodily strength and mental energies were in much greater perfection; when human life extended through such long periods of time, that the men or heroes

of those days were considered immortal; when peace reigned throughout the whole creation; and when a perpetual spring rendered the earth abundantly productive. Ovid* thus describes this state:

"The golden age was first, when man, yet new,
No rule but uncorrupted reason knew ;
And, with a native bent, did good pursue.
Unforced by punishment, unaw'd by fear,
His words were simple and his soul sincere.
Needless was written law, where none oppress'd;
The law of man was written in his breast.
No suppliant crowds before the judge appear'd ;
No court erected yet, nor cause was heard;
But all was safe; for conscience was their guard.
The mountain trees in distant prospect please,
Ere yet the pine descended to the seas:
Ere sails were spread, new oceans to explore,
And happy mortals, unconcerned for more,
Confin'd their wishes to their native shore.

No walls were yet ; nor fence, nor moat, nor mound,
Nor drum was heard, nor trumpet's angry sound;
Nor swords were forged; but, void of care and crime,
The soft creation slept away their time.
The teeming earth, yet guiltless of the plough,
And unprovoked, did fruitful stores allow :
Content with food which nature freely bred,
On wildings, and on strawberries they fed;
Cornels and bramble-berries gave the rest,
And falling acorns furnished out a feast.

The flowers, unsown, in fields and meadows reign'd;
And western winds immortal spring maintained.

* METAMORPHOSES. Book I. L. 113. Dryden's Translation.