[126] This view does not conflict with the doctrine of the unity of the race. The great difficulty in interpreting the Scriptures is its briefness. A long period of time is comprehended in a very few words, and much is left to inference. The tenor of the Scriptures favors the idea of the unity of the race, still it is not specifically declared. The strongest passage is Acts chapter 17 and verse 26: "Hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." This does not conflict with the idea of there being more than one pair, but their _blood_ is the same. It is not declared that Adam had no ancestors. When it is declared that Adam was the son of God, it is only to trace man's origin to the Supreme Being. If Adam had ancestors, the leaving of them out has no signification, as it was not uncommon to drop the name of unimportant persons. An instance of this kind is given in the genealogy of David. From the birth of Obed to the birth of his grandson David (common chronology) is a period of two hundred and twenty-three years. Evidently one or more members have been dropped. If Adam was a prototype it was not necessary to trace the line any farther back. The forming him of the dust of the ground would give his relationship to the rest of mankind. He was chosen, endowed for the purpose of elevating the race--of becoming the head of a new type of humanity. [127] The Septuagint version is a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, made about three hundred years B. C. The oldest existing MS. of the Old Testament in Hebrew dates back no farther than about the tenth century after the Christian era--_Chips._ vol. i. p. 11. [128] "Primeval Man," p. 86. [129] "Primeval Man," p. 87. [130] "Primeval World of Hebrew Tradition," p. 195. [131] "Primeval World of Hebrew Tradition," p. 222. End of Project Gutenberg's A Manual of the Antiquity of Man, by J. P. MacLean