2. CHAP. II.
THERE is no fact that has proved
more stubborn than the diversity of
the human species; especially that great
extreme of diversity in the natives of Africa.
How the descendants of Adam and
Eve, both good looking people, should
ever come to be a vile negro, or even a
mulatto man or woman, is puzzling.
Some have conjectured, that a black
complexion, frizzled hair, a flat nose, and
bandy legs, were the mark set on Cain,
for the murder of his brother Abel. But,
as the deluge drowned the whole world,
and only one family was saved, the blacks
must have all perished; like the Mammoth,
whose bones are found on the
Ohio, and other places, which was too big
for Noah to get into the ark.
Some suppose, that it was the curse pronounced
upon Canaan, the son of Noah,
for looking at his father's nakedness. They
got rid by this means of the difficulty of
the flood; but by Moses' own account,
the Canaanites were the descendents of
Canaan; and we do not hear of them being
negroes; which, had it been the case,
we cannot doubt would have been laid hold
of by the Israelites, as a circumstance to
justify their extirpating, or making slaves
of them.
Lord Kames, in his Sketches of the History
of Man, solves the difficulty, by supposing,
that, at the building of Babel,
there was a confusion of complexions, as
well as languages. But, besides that it is
not to be supposed, that the historian would
pass over so material a circumstance, without
particularly mentioning it, it is introducing
a miracle, which we are not warranted
in doing, unless it had been expressly
laid down to have been wrought.
The last theory, has been that of accounting
for the change, from the climate,
and accident of wind and weather;
calling in aid, in the mean time, the imagination
of the mothers. This does not appear
altogether satisfactory. At least, there
are those who would not be averse to hear
some other solution of the difficulty. I
have thought of one, which I would suggest
with great diffidence; the authors of those
before me being great men, and their hypothesis
not lightly overthrown.
I am of opinion that Adam was a tall,
straight limbed, red haired man, with a fair
complexion, blue eyes, and an aquiline
nose; and that Eve was a negro woman.
For what necessity to make them both
of the same colour, feature, and form,
when there is beauty in variety. Do not
you see in a tulip, one leaf blue, and another
white, and sometimes the same leaf
white and red?
As God made Adam in his own likeness,
so it is to be supposed, that Adam
begat some in his; and these were red
haired, fair complexioned, blue eyed, proportionably
featured boys and girls; while,
on the other hand, some took after the
mother, and became negro men and women.
From a mixture of complexion, the
offspring, at other times, might be a shade
darker, in one case, than the father; and
a shade lighter, in another case, than the
mother; and hence, a diversifyed progeny,
with a variety of features; from the
bottle-nose to the mire-snipe; which is that
of the people in the west of Ireland; and
from the auburn of the Corsican hair, to
the golden locks of the Caledonian beauty;
and from the black eye, to the hazle
and the grey.
It may be asked, How at the flood?
when Noah, his wife, his three sons, and
their wives, eight persons, only were saved?
It is but giving some of the sons negro
wenches for their wives, and you have the
matter all right.
