The languages are better guides than physical characters for researches on mankind, and roots more important than grammars.--KLAPROTH.
Language belongs to man from origin, he never was a dumb animal, else he would always have remained so. All languages have something in common, and something peculiar.--BEATTIE, _Theory of Language_.
A thousand nations with a thousand idioms, are spread over a thousand places on earth. Thrown against each other like the waves of the sea, they blend and tend to unity. Several rival languages are formed, polished by contract, which overspread the earth; and break to pieces as well as nations and empires. Others arise from their ruins, and strive again for ascendency, until at last a people and language, son and daughter of all the previous nations and idioms, heirs of their dominion and wealth; shall perhaps invade the whole earth, and produce again the unity of speech and rule.--D'OLIVET, _End of Hebrew Grammar_.
It is said, _In the beginning God made Heaven and Earth_, that is to say, the seeds of heaven and earth, since their matter was yet in confusion in a potential way.--ST. AUGUSTINE _on Genesis_.
In the whole _Mosaic text_ there is no Eden, no tree, no apple, no rib, no woman, no snake, no ark ... but other words thus improperly translated to veil the sense.... Adam is not a man, but mankind, _Aish_ intellectual men, _Ashe_ mate or potent will, HUE our Eve is living existence!... The names of patriarchs are all expressive of operations of mankind.... Yet Moses' Unity of God, and Belief in Immortality is evident throughout; although so obscured by the translation as to have been doubted.... Moses with his veils is made absurd; raising the veils he appears wise, deep, consistent, even more enlightened than our age on many points.--D'OLIVET, _Notes on Genesis_.
Whenever the numerical letters of Moses are taken in their material sense, inextricable difficulties have arisen; and which is the true version out of the 3 is doubtful: the deep mosaic meaning and import shall never be known, until the ancient lost science of numbers is restored, which was once known from China to Egypt and Europe.--D'OLIVET, _last note_.
Eblis or Satan was disgraced from Heaven, where Rezoan was his successor, and exiled to Seyestan, with the Snake and Peacock tribes his followers, Adam was exiled to Ceylon, Eve to Arabia &c.--PRICE, _Translation of Abijauffer's History of Arabia_.