soul." "And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone, I will make an help-meet for him." "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman, and brought her unto the man; and Adam said, this is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man."

I have, somewhere, met with an account of an infidel, more ingenious than wise, who proposed to put the Mosaic history to the test, by examining whether man was deficient of a rib, in one of his sides. It would have been as reasonable, to have examined, whether every male descendent of Adam had the scar of the wound, made in the side of the first man. If Adam had remained, all his life, destitute of the rib which was taken away, why should it be supposed that this defect should be transmitted to his posterity? But he laboured under no such defect, for the opening made was closed up with flesh instead of that which was taken away. The rib was not taken on account of any difficulty to obtain materials, but to show that a man and his wife were one, and that a man should ever cherish his wife, as his own flesh. The word here translated rib, properly means, a side; for aught that appears, the whole side of the man might have been taken, to form the woman; but this is a matter of no consequence.

Infidels have been fond of turning this simple and beautiful history, of the formation of the first man and the first woman, into ridicule; but if man had a beginning, and was created by the Almighty, what account could be imagined more natural and reasonable, than this? Let the scoffer produce his own hypothesis, and subject it to the test of examination-but he has none. He laughs at the Bible history, and at the same time has nothing to answer as a substitute.

But to men of sober minds, who wish to be acquainted with their own origin, this narrative is most satisfactory and instructive. We know that man must have had a beginning, and consequently a Creator; but reason could not inform us how, or in what circumstances, he commenced his existence: that, therefore, which we wish to know, and need to know, is distinctly revealed, and plainly recorded in the Bible. Man, instead of being from eternity, is of yesterday; -instead of springing, like a mushroom from the putrid earth, he came from the forming hand of the great Creator; instead of being at first an ape or ourang outang, he was made in the likeness, and after the similitude of God. The Bible, then, explains to us, our own origin, and the origin of all creatures. It teaches that man was made out of the clay of the earth, but this clay was wrought into shape, and wonderfully and fearfully organized, by a divine hand.

3. The physical history of man exhibits some very remarkable phenomena; among which, none have attracted the attention of the inquisitive so much, as the striking variety, in the complexion, hair, size, and figure of the species, in different countries. Of complexion we find every shade of colour from white, to sooty black; and of hair from the silken or flaxen locks of the North of Europe, to the crisped and curled wool of the guinea-negro. In the formation and prominence of the nose, lips, and cheeks, there is also a remarkable difference in different nations. These striking and numerous varieties have led some philosophers to adopt the opinion, that mankind are not descended from one stock; but that originally, there must have been parents, corresponding with the several classes of men. It is an obvious objection to this theory, that the several complexions of mankind are not distinctly marked, but run into each other, by imperceptible shades; so that, if we suppose more species of men than one, we know not where to stop. If every considerable variety must be the foundation of a distinct

species, we must adopt the hypothesis, that originally, God created a multitude of human beings, of different complexions.

It is also a fact unfavourable to this hypothesis, that there are striking varieties in complexion, hair, &c. among those known to have proceeded from one stock. In the same nation, some whole families or tribes are distinguished by fair hair and a ruddy complexion; while others are equally remarkable for dark complexion and black hair and eyes. These varieties in the same nation are known also to be transmitted from father to son, for many generations. we are unable to account for this variety; and if such a difference may take place, when the external circumstances are nearly similar, why may not the greater varieties of the human species be owing to the great difference of climate and other circumstances, of the nations of the earth?

But

Since a more accurate knowledge has been obtained of the numerous tribes inhabiting the islands of the great South Sea, some very interesting facts have been brought to light, respecting the origin of these insulated savages. The information collected by Dr. Prichard and published in his PнySICAL HISTORY OF MAN, goes far to prove, that men who have at a remote period, sprung from the same stock, may so diverge from each other, in features, complexion, hair, &c., that they form distinct classes, and seem to be as widely apart from each other as almost any of the differing tribes of men. The identity of the origin of some of these islanders, whose appearance is so dissimilar, is ascertained by the radical sameness of their language; and it is a thing unknown in the history of savages, to change their vernacular tongue. It is manifest, therefore, that there are natural causes in operation, whether we understand what they are or not, sufficient to produce all the varieties observed in the human. species.

The diversity of features and complexion in the Jews,

who have long resided in widely different climates, and who it is known do not intermix with other people, affords a strong confirmation of the same truth.

It is also as remarkable as it is obvious, that, for the most part, men of a certain complexion are found in a particular latitude, unless they have been recently removed from their own country. We do not find the black skin and crisped hair in high latitudes; nor the fair complexion and light-coloured hair, under the equator. From the first glance, therefore, it would seem, that there is some connexion between climate and the complexion. Whether a difference of climate is sufficient of itself to account for these varieties, need not be determined. There may be other causes combined with this, some of which may be unknown to us. Animals carried from the temperate regions, far to the North, become white, and their fur becomes much thicker and warmer. The final cause of this change is manifest, and indicates the wisdom and goodness of the great Creator, but we know not how to account for it. The fact is certain, but the process of nature by which it is brought about is concealed; at least, it has not yet been discovered. Now, there may be, in the constitution of man, a principle which accommodates itself to different climates, for purposes equally important. Indeed it is a well known fact, that black people can endure a tropical sun, much better than white men.

The analogy derived from other animals and vegetables, also, forbids the multiplication of the human species. The changes produced in the different species of animals, which can live in climates widely different, are as great, and in some, much greater, than in the human species. Take, for an example, the canine species. How great the difference between the large mastiff, and the diminutive lap-dog. These varieties in animals of the same species, extend not only to their size, colour, and shape, but in a very remarkable degree, to their instincts.

Seeing then, that this is the common law of animal nature, why should we expect that the physical nature of man should be exempt from changes, induced by a diversity of climate? And when we observe, that the varieties of the human race have a manifest relation to the climate of the respective nations, the conclusion, upon all just principles of natural science, must be, that the human species is one. In all cases, where there is a difference of species, there is a marked difference in the internal structure of the body; but among the different tribes of men, no such diversity has been observed, as can be the foundation of a diversity of species. The most exact anatomical dissections have discovered no permanent parts or contrivances, in one nation, which are not found also in all others. They all have the same bones, the same joints, the same system of nerves, the same number, use, and position of muscles, the same bloodvessels, glands, and digestive organs. Not only is the external appearance of the parts the same, but the interior texture and constituent particles composing the respective parts of the human body, are the same in the white man, as in the black, the olive, the red, or the yellow.

It is scarcely necessary to observe, that all men have the same external senses, and the same bodily appetites, the same instincts, the same susceptibility of forming habits, and the same natural passions and desires. Those things in the constitution of man which have no resemblance in other species of animals, are found in all the nations of the earth. The risible faculty, and the faculty of weeping; and especially the possession of articulate speech, all serve to prove, the identity of the human species. And if, from the body and its functions, we ascend to the mind, here we find the same original faculties, in all the varieties of the human race. We observe in all, not only perception, consciousness, and memory, of which the inferior animals seem to partake, but the power of reasoning; the faculty