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The Fall of Man, by Lucas Cranach the Elder [16th c.] (Public Domain Image)
The Fall of Man, by Lucas Cranach the Elder [16th c.] (Public Domain Image)

Paradise Found

by William F. Warren

[1885]


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The location of the Garden of Eden should be one of those unanswerable questions, such as 'what song did the sirens sing?' This has not stopped speculation on the topic. Some of these works treat Eden as a metaphor for the human body, such as this text. Others were much more literal. William Warren wrote this 500 page tome to propose a polar Eden, in some primeval ice-free epoch. He systematically employs data from contemporary geology, ethnology, zoology, botany and paleontology to bolster this argument.

In the 19th century, polar explorers had yet to fill in the blanks on the maps at the poles, and geologists had yet to discover plate tectonics, or create detailed maps of paleogeography. We now know that the last time that the poles were ice-free was long before humans walked the earth. In addition, there is no northern polar continent, and probably never has been. However, recently one author (Out of Antarctica, Robert Argod, ISBN 1902699459) has proposed that humans originated in Antarctica, and migrated north. He uses much the same collection of data as Warren, although he leans very heavily on a hypothetical pole shift, which Warren did not.

The argument of this book is obviously moot, and much of the hard scientific data is either misinterpreted or obsolete. However, Warren's review of the literature of the folklore of the world-mountain, the tree of life, and the earthly paradise is of continuing value, and worth reading if you have any interest in the mysteries of our past.


Title Page
Preface
Table of Contents
Illustrations

Part First

Chapter I. Results of the Explorers, Historic and Legendary
Chapter II. The Results of Theologians
Chapter III. The Results of Non-Theological Scholars

Part Second

Chapter I. The Hypothesis
Chapter II. Important New Features

Part Third

Chapter I. The Testimony of Geogony
Chapter II. The Testimony of Astronomical Geography
Chapter III. The Testimony of Physiographical Geology
Chapter IV. The Testimony of Prehistoric Climatology
Chapter V. The Testimony of Paleontological Botany
Chapter VI. The Testimony of Paleontological Zoölogy
Chapter VII. The Testimony of Paleontological Anthropology and Ethnology
Chapter VIII. Conclusion of Part Third

Part Fourth

Chapter I. Ancient Cosmology and Mythical Geography
Chapter II. The Cradle of the Race in Ancient Japanese Thought
Chapter III. The Cradle of the Race in Chinese Thought
Chapter IV. The Cradle of the Race in East Aryan or Hindu Thought
Chapter V. The Cradle of the Race in Iranian, or Old-Persian, Thought
Chapter VI. The Cradle of the Race in Ancient Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian Thought.
Chapter VII. The Cradle of the Race in Ancient Egyptian Thought
Chapter VIII. The Cradle of the Race in Ancient Greek Thought

Part Fifth

Chapter I. The Eden Stars
Chapter II. The Eden Day
Chapter III. The Eden Zenith
Chapter IV. The Navel of the Earth
Chapter V. The Quadrifurcate River
Chapter VI. The Central Tree
Chapter VII. The Exuberance of Life
Chapter VIII. Review of the Argument

Part Sixth

Chapter I. The Bearing of Our Results on the Study of Biology and Terrestrial Physics
Chapter II. The Bearing of Our Results on the Study of Ancient Literature
Chapter III. The Bearing of Our Results on the Problem of the Origin and Earliest Form of Religion
Chapter IV. The Bearing of Our Results on the Philosophy of History and the Theory of the Development of Civilization

Appendix

Section I. The Earth of Columbus not a True Sphere
Section II. How the Earth was Peopled
Section III. The Reception Accorded to “The True Key.”
Section IV. The Earth and World of the Hindus
Section V. Grill on the World-Pillar of the Rig Veda
Section VI. Homer's Abode of the Dead
Section VII. Latest Polar Research
Section VIII. The Trustworthiness of Early Tradition

 

Index of Authors Referred to or Quoted
Index of Subjects