I once took three crayons: red, for the descendants of Shem; black, for the children of Ham; and blue, for those of Japheth. I then tried to place the names of Gen. x, with interesting results. I came to a conclusion that the land called Canaan was probably a part of the donation to the sons of Shem and not to Canaan or the sons of Ham. Gen. x, xi, seems to point to something that began a long series of recurrent wars, Ham and his descendants trying to occupy and plunder the lands that were the birthrights of the sons of Shem. This reminds me of those centuries of wars between France and Germany, that seem to have been begun by one Orgetorix, as described by Julius Cæsar in his Gallic Wars, bk. I, chap. 2-5. 66 Mr. AVARY H. FORBES said: Man is not provided with fur or feathers or anything to protect him from the cold. May we not argue from this, that the climate of Paradise was, as Milton puts it, where spring perpetual smiled on earth with verdant flowers " (Paradise Lost, X, 679)? Shakspere has the same thought in As You Like It, where the Duke, in the Forest of Arden, says: "Here feel we not the penalty of Adam-the season's difference." ["But," for "not," is another reading; but that does not affect the argument.] Man in Paradise needed no clothing, as he knew nothing of shame or indecency; so neither did he need any against the weather, as there was no inclemency in it. It would even seem that we have inherited a relic of this immunity. An ancient Greek king, riding by in winter, stopped to commiserate a half-naked beggar. "How can you possibly stand the cold?" asked the king. "Does your face stand it?" said the beggar. "Well, yes; but no other part of my body could." "Well, I'm all face," returned the other. This points to a very remarkable fact, for it is surely by a special Providence that the face, which includes (in the under-lip) the most sensitive part of the skin, can stand cold such as the coarsest parts of the body-the hands and the feet-cannot withstand ? By the way, how does the lecturer know that man in Paradise "did nothing to subdue the earth, or keep the Garden in order,” or "had not put his capabilities into exercise"? For aught we are told, he might have been at work there for years before the Fall. Colonel H. BIDDULPH, C.M.G., D.S.O., writes: Does not Dr. Kyle, on pp. 130 and 131 of his valuable paper, assume that the temptation of Adam was the same as that of Eve? The Bible record appears to me to make a most definite distinction, and to show that Adam's temptation was of a more complex and subtle character. Eve's temptation was as described by Dr. Kyle; being deceived, she was in the transgression, but Adam was not deceived (1 Tim. ii, 14). The simple, primitive temptation deceived Eve, whose spiritual perceptions perhaps were not on the same level as those of Adam. Eve having transgressed and fallen before Adam, the temptation presented to Adam was God's companionship without Eve's, or Eve's companionship at all costs. Was he to revert to his former condition or not? Here we see the devilish subtlety of the temptation of Adam, for God Himself had said: "It is not good that the man should be alone (Gen. ii, 18). It is difficult to imagine a more cruel temptation for the man; and, unlike Eve, he sinned with his eyes open. 66 Further, with reference to the statement on p. 133: The genealogy of Moses presents three generations from Levi to cover a period of 430 years," it should be noted that the Samaritan Pentateuch (with which the Septuagint is in substantial agreement here) reads in Exodus xii, 40: "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel and of their fathers, which they dwelt in the Land of Canaan and in the Land of Egypt was 430 years"; a statement which is supported by the Palestine Targum on this passage: "Now the days of the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt were 30 weeks of years, which is the sum of 210 years, for the number of 430 years was since the Lord spake to Abraham in the hour that He spake with him on the 15th of Nisan, between the divided parts (Gen. xv, 9-18) until the day that they went out of Egypt." The AUTHOR'S reply: Referring to Mr. Collett's remarks he said:"That skill is an attainment that comes from practice, but as this 'primitive' man was the very first man at the very beginning, who had not yet practised, he could not be otherwise than unskilled." L · 676TH ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING, HELD IN COMMITTEE ROOM B, THE CENTRAL HALL, DR. JAMES W. THIRTLE, M.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., IN THE CHAIR. The Minutes of the previous Meeting were read, confirmed, and signed, and the HON. SECRETARY announced the Election of B. W. Matthews, Esq., as an Associate. The CHAIRMAN then introduced Dr. Edwin L. Ash, to read his paper on "Psychotherapy." THE PSYCHOTHERAPY. By EDWIN L. ASH, Esq., M.D. HE human Self results from the persistent action and interaction of various forces, including The primal CREATIVE IMPULSE; The inertia of MATTER ; HEAT; LIGHT; ELECTRICITY ; Undefined PSYCHIC INFLUENCES; Undefined PHYSICAL INFLUENCES acting on our Planet. There is a balance of these forces set up, so that some uniformity of vibration is secured within fairly wide limits. When the balance is such that there is harmony of vibration, the individual usually "feels well." When there is disharmony, the individual may "feel ill." The experience of Self at any moment depends on consciousness and various impressions coming to consciousness from (1) the body, (2) sub-consciousness. Nevertheless, however much we appear as Mind-Body combinations in the everyday world of physical relationships, our entire experience is essentially mental. It is the translation of physical impressions into ideas and thoughts" about things that gives us all our knowledge of what is going on. But the Self is not, or need not be, a passive soul meekly registering impressions and accepting fate. The individual has certain active mental powers, among them will." You and I are not only able to say I am ; we can say "I will," and by means of the mental and physical machinery evolution has placed at our disposal, we are also able to say "I can." To put it the other way round, the Self finds itself not only possessed of certain means, commonly called mind and body, but finds itself in possession of an active agent for their use—will. The whole question of using mind-power turns on the ability to use the will. It is by will" that one turns one's attention this way or that. You use your will to direct your thoughts to whatever end you desire. Even if you want to bring imagination into play, you do so by an effort of will to give the process of imagining a start. When you wish to stop imagining, you use will to do so. It is, of course, a bad thing to let your imagination run outside the control of your will. Directed by will, imagination can be a useful servant; uncontrolled, it is apt to cause trouble. By exercise of will to direct thought in particular ways, we are able to overcome many disabilities; obtain poise and peace of mind; become more efficient in our work and so more successful; improve our nerve-power and mental strength; prevent a host of nervous troubles; cast out fear; secure better health; be happier, and more comfortably adjusted to life. The infant is conscious of I will before I am; the adult is commonly conscious of I am before I will. The infant comes into full consciousness as if awakening out of ordinary sleep; it is aware of things outside itself before it is aware of itself as a separate being. It wants to touch things outside itself; it mentally says "I will" to them before it is conscious of its indi vidual existence. I will and I am are the foundation of our whole human mindlife. As a child grows up its sense of I will and I am both develop. Where strength and vitality are prominent, then I will dominates individual mentality. I will and I am together are the basis of Self. Too great a sense of I am with weakness in the sense of I will is a foundation for nervous breakdown and mental disorder. Too great a sense of I will may lead to physical breakdown. Harmony in the balance between the two makes for health, peace of mind, and success. Will is the moving force in human activity; it can be trained and developed to a remarkable degree. The methods in use for exercising the Human Mind curatively are: SUGGESTION, AUTO-SUGGESTION, PSYCHO-ANALYSIS, the general term PSYCHOTHERAPY conveniently covering the whole field of Mind-Cure. At first sight the very idea of such a thing as Psychotherapy or Mind-Healing seems to controvert all common sense and the familiar scientific principles. There seems no reasonable connection between what one person is thinking and what another person is suffering. Can it be possible that whilst you are suffering from influenza, mental depression, rheumatism, appendicitis or indigestion, or anything else, someone else can really influence your bodily condition for better or for worse by any process of thought unaided by physical remedies? Yet this is the claim of Psychotherapy, in effect! Mind-Cure either can exert an influence, or it cannot. This issue cannot be shirked. Nature of Mind-Body Action. The inquiry necessitates an early consideration of Mind-Body action in any form-that is, of physical results following mental action. Whenever we translate our sense of I will into physical action, we illustrate a definite Mind-Body effect. Thus, I hold out my hand. My sense of I will has come into play and translated the wish to hold out my hand into action; and to do this, changes of a chemical, physical, and electrical nature have been carried out in a number of brain cells, spinal cord cells, nerve cells, and muscle cells. |