God saw the light was good;

And light from darkness by the hemisphere
Divided; light the day and darkness night
He nam'd. Thus was the first day ev'n and morn ;
Nor past uncelebrated, nor unsung

By the celestial quires, when orient light
Exhaling first from darkness they beheld;
Birth-day of heav'n and earth; with joy and shout
The hollow universal orb they fill'd,

And touch'd their golden harps, and hymning prais'd
God and his works.

4. The waters were then replenished with an abundant variety of fish; the odoriferous air was fanned by the pinions of innumerable birds; the verdant meads were stocked with cattle; and every part of the earth was inhabited by its appropriate tribes. To complete, and truly to excel the whole, on the sixth day, God created man of the dust of the ground; and breathing into his body the breath of life, or immortality, caused him to become a living soul. Shortly subsequent to his own creation, Adam was thrown into a deep sleep, during which the Almighty took from his side a rib, formed it into the body of a woman, and endued her also with life and immortality.

5. Now heav'n in all her glory shone, and roll'd
Her motions, as the great first Mover's hand
First wheel'd their course: earth in her rich attire
Consummate lovely smil'd; air, water, earth,

By fowl, fish, beast, was flown, was swum, was walk'd
Frequent; and of the sixth day yet remain'd;
There wanted yet the master-work, the end,
Of all yet done; a creature who, not prone
And brute as other creatures, but endued
With sanctity of reason, might erect
His stature, and upright with front serene
Govern the rest, self-knowing, and from thence
Magnanimous to correspond with heav'n,
But grateful to acknowledge whence his good
Descends, thither with heart and voice and eyes,
Devoted in devotion, to adore

And worship God supreme, who made him chief
Of all his works.

6. When Adam first beheld the fair partner of his life,

finding her of his own likeness and complexion, he was struck with a secret sympathy, and exclaimed with rapture, This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. He easily foresaw that the love and union which were now to take place between them, were to be lasting. 'The divine hand which conducted the woman to Adam, did it in the light of a matrimonial father; and having joined them together, he pronounced upon them a benediction, intimating, that they might live to see the earth replenished with a numerous progeny.

7. Thrice happy man,

And sons of men, whom God hath thus advanced,
Created in his image, there to dwell

And worship him, and in reward to rule
Over his works, on earth, in sea, or air,
And multiply a race of worshippers
Holy and just; thrice happy if they know
Their happiness, and persevere upright.

8. Thus, by the creative influence of the Eternal Spirit, were the heavens and the earth finished in the space of six days so admirably finished-an unformed chaos changed into a system of perfect order and beauty-that the adorable Architect himself pronounced it very good, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.

9. The Creator from his work

Desisting, though unwearied, up return'd,
Up to the heav'n of heav'ns his high abode,
Thence to behold this new created world
Th' addition of his empire, how it show'd
In prospect from his throne, how good, how fair,
Answering his great idea. Up he rode
Follow'd with acclamation and the sound
Symphonious of ten thousand harps that tun'd
Angelic harmonies: the earth, the air

Resounded,

The heav'ns and all the constellations rung,
The planets in their station listening stood,
While the bright pomp ascended jubilant.

10. According to the Bible, or Hebrew chronology, the creation of the world is placed in the year 4004 before the

What is the chronology of the creation of the world?

Christian era. The Chinese, Hindoos, and Egyptians, hav made pretensions to a much earlier origin; but these pre tensions are supported by no decisive historic document and must therefore be attributed to national vanity, whic prompts every people to trace back their origin into the re motest antiquity, in order to give additional eclat to the

nation.

PARADISE.

1. To facilitate the intended happiness of our first pa rents, the Almighty Creator had provided for their residenc a most delightful spot, called Eden. It was watered by fou rivers, and from its natural fertility and the richness and va riety of its productions, it was fitly called a Garden. Amon its vegetable productions, were two remarkable Trees, on called the Tree of Life, and the other the Tree of Know ledge. It is supposed, that the first of these trees communi cated immortality to all who should eat of it; or that it fur nished a sovereign remedy against all the evils incident t the life of man; and the latter was to enable persons to dis tinguish between Good and Evil.

2. Into this earthly Paradise did the Almighty conduc Adam and Eve, giving them orders to take care of the garden and to superintend the plants. He granted them permission to eat of the fruit of every tree, except of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This he strictly charge them not even to touch, on the penalty of incurring his dis pleasure, and thereby entailing upon themselves and thei descendants, mortality, disease, and death. With this sma restraint, God left them in the garden of Eden, where ever thing was pleasing to the sight, and accommodated to the mutual enjoyment.

3. Thus fixed in the most beautiful situation, possessed o innocence, devoid of guilt, and free from care, the happines of our first parents seemed complete

Have any nations pretended to an origin more remote than th given to the creation of the world by the chronology of the Bible -What was the name of the garden in which Adam and Eve we placed? What two remarkable trees are named as being in it Under what prohibition were Adam and Eve placed in Eden?

Perfection crown'd with wondrous frame,
And peace and plenty smil'd around;
They felt no grief, they knew no shame,
But tasted heaven on earthly ground.

But alas! their bliss was transient, their innocence fleeting, and short their exemption from toil and care.

4. The devil, viewing the felicity of the first human pair with those painful sensations which are natural to depravity of heart, determined to allure them from their innocence, and to stimulate them to the crime of disobedience. In consequence of this infernal design, he began by persuading Eve, through the agency of the serpent, to taste the prohibited tree of knowledge, telling her, that by so doing, both herself and her husband would become sensible of the difference between good and evil, would acquire much additional happiness, and even not be inferior, in point of wisdom, to God himself.

5. Unhappily the artifices of the serpent prevailed. Eve gazed on the tempting fruit till her appetite was inflamed; its beautiful hue made her fancy it a most delicious food; and, at length, she sacrificed her duty to gratify her curiosity. She stretched forth the presumptuous hand, took of the baneful fruit, and eat, to her own destruction.

-She pluck'd, she eat;

Earth felt the wound, and nature, from her seat,
Sighing through all her works, gave signs of wo
That all was lost.

6. Pleased with the taste of the fruit, and fancying herself already in possession of that additional happiness the serpent had promised her, she flew to Adam, and enticed him to participate in her crime.

-He scrupled not to eat

Against his better knowledge; not deceiv'd
But fondly overcome with female charm.
Earth trembled from her entrails, as again
In pangs, and Nature gave a second groan;

Sky lower'd, and mutt'ring thunder, some sad drops
Wept at completing of the mortal sin.

Did they comply with this prohibition ?-What induced them to violate the law of God?

7. Remorse, the natural consequence of guilt, now open ed their eyes to each other's nakedness. No longer shielded by innocence from shame, they were mutually shocked at the reciprocal indecency of their own appearance. Art was now substituted to conceal what their criminality rendered too obvious; aprons were made of fig-leaves; and they doubtless highly applauded themselves for acquiring, at the expense of their integrity, the faculty of invention, to remove difficulties which their former simplicity prevented their perceiving,

8. While they were in a state of innocence, they no sooner heard the voice of God approach them, than they ran with ecstasy to meet him, and with humble joy to welcome his gracious visits; but now their Maker was become a terror to them, and they a terror to each other. Their consciences painted their transgression in the blackest colors, all hope was banished, and nothing remained but horror and despair.

9. When, therefore, after their transgression, they heard the voice of the Lord in the garden, instead of running, with cheerfulness and joy, to meet him as before, they flew to its most retired parts, that they might conceal themselves from his sight. But the Almighty soon called them from their dark retreat; they were unable to escape the knowledge of his omniscient eye, though covered with foliage; they both appeared before him, and acknowledged their guilt.

10. The man, however, attempted to excuse himself by laying the blame to the woman, and pleaded her persuasions, as the cause of his criminality. The woman endeavored to remove the crime from herself to the serpent; but the Almighty thought proper to make all three the objects of his distributive justice. As the serpent had been the original cause of this evil, God first passes sentence on him, which was, that he should ever after creep on the ground, and thereby become incapable of eating any food, except what was mingled with dust. The woman was given to understand, that she had entailed upon herself sorrow and pain, and subjection to her husband. The punishment of Adam consisted in a life of perpetual toil and slavery, in order to

What was the curse pronounced on the serpent for his agency in the apostasy of our first parents?-What was the curse pronounced on Eve?-On Adam?