THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY,

AND

MONTHLY REVIE W .

• DEVOTED TO THE EXPOSITION

OF THE

PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY

TAUQHT IN THE WRITINGS OF

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.

CONDUCTED BY

G~ORGE BUSH, A. M .

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~ ~.... ....

VOL. V. ...

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J ~

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NEW-YORK:

PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETOR, 16 HOWARD-STREET.

.
LONDON: J. 8. BOD80N AND W. N&WBZ:ay•

1852.
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J. P. PBALL, Prl.';",· '
No.-J.~,.~~.- .r..
 INDEX.
ORIGINAl.. PAPERS.
PA...
Aphorisms on Slavery and Abolition, 182,216, 268,2DI,3d7,38'
BOok., - • •
Chapram J onatban. Recollections of,
• .. • • • - 481
- 3M
13
Charity, true, • • •
China, Importahce of N. C. Mi••ion to, • 604
Cburch Orpnization-A Dialope, • 437
Coaflrmation-Remarks, .- • 445
• I"
Cotenant. the.
U Delta." conclulion of Reply to, 301,356,398
DiYiDe Word', three Degrees oC the, • 2~0
Eanb, the Man of the, It
Egypt. AntiqoitIes of, • 23
E.U and the Rella, Eternit, of,
Free DilCDHion, - -
GraYitation, Tbougbta OD the Cause of,
•
- • 381
• 461
"
Hamanity, tbe Divine, 61
Infinite and Eternal, tbe, · III
Jehovah-God-Lord, • • ~81
Letters to a Trinitarian, Rept, to, • 5
Lot. the Use of, in relation to N. C. Min11ur. 134, 153
MalOo's Letter-Remarks on, • • • 2~5
New Cburch, Earl, History of the, • 315
do. in Charlelton, S. C., Organization of, • • 322
Old Chareh Mini.ters, the Dllty 0(, who receive N. C. Doctrines, • 10'
Opposing tbe Free Choice of others. • 410
Order, external Law. 0(, - • • 363
Parables. the, Explained, • • 74, 114, 158, 201,259, 318, 361, 401, 453, 481
~ in tbe A. E., Mlatranalation of, • 318
Peaalty, the D.th, •• 80
Preaching, La"
Psalms, the.
Pleodo-Spirltualism,
• - 305
• 334, 373, GOD, 533
"
Rabbiaical Proverbs, • 651
Sermon on Matt. vi. 13, • 141
do. Luke vi. 38, • 146
do. Rev. iy. 2, • 294
do. Is. dUe 6-'1. • 341
Soul, the, of MaD, • 131
Spirit, the Holy, 11
Spiritual Creation, • 500
Structure, the true, of Mao', Nature. - 516
Tabemacle Service, viewed iD a Spiritual Import, 15. 33, 101, 1'72, 201
POETRY.
Diyine Loye, • 212
Origin of tbe Eartb t • • 5:56
The Pore iD Heart see God, • ~83
CORRESPONDENCE.
Letter from a We'tern Correspondent, giving striking case of Spiritual Experience, 30
II (tom a gentleman in Bath, Me., correcting Error in Mr. De CharlDs' Report
00 the Trine, • • • • • • - • 82
ftom a Methodist Clergyman, • 37
(rom a ProfeBllional Gentleman of Distinction. 80
c, tram a Friend containing Narrative o( an Apparition, 81
Cl on N. C. Order, • • • • - • 141
(rom Rev. Wm. MaJOn, • 188
Crom U Delta." • • 223
le from Hr. Saxton on Distribution ofN. C. Book., - 22:5
.. f,om R. H MOflay 00 Case of Rey. H. Weller,
..
from an Ortbndox Clergyman, with Reply,
OD SpiritualllaDir.-tiOD••
•
•

•
· 221
~S,
1111
if' IlfDU.

PAG ••
Letter on Dieeueaioo of tbe Slavery Q.ueetioD. .. • • • • 2'73
If Translation of a PaAale in Swedenborg's Cl Adversaria," requested and givell, 379
•• Extractl from various, on Slavery Diecu9sion, • 418
" from Rev. W. Brace, on EngH!b Translation of H. & H., .. 48..
from S. H. Worcester-TranslatioD ora Passage in the .: Adversaria," • 467
from a Soutbern Corretpondent-Swedenborg 00 Slayery,.. .. • 469
.. from D. Gilmour, Glall0w-Prospectul oC a Dew PublicatioD. .. 472
•• (rom the South-Epistolary !'estimonies, ... .. 476
from ollr English Correepondent-Some Particulars in the early History of the
N. C. in England, _....... - .. 516
&I from a Westena Corre.poodenl-True Mode of dealing with Social Evils, • 51S
•• 'rom a New England SublCri~er. with Remarks, • ~61
.. from Rev. HeDry Weller. .. 563
MISCELLANY.
Cue of Rev. H. Weller, • 284
Db80hltion of the CeDtral Convention. • 584
Distribution of N. C. Books, .. - 3~. 84, 008
Formation of N. C. Society iD San FraDciaco, • 296
General Convention-Proceeding. of. • 409
Haddock'. Lecture Oil Science and PhilOlOphy of SWedenbor,. • 524
New Church Work! wanted. • J91
Proceeding. of Michigan and Indiana ASlOCiatioD-Rev. Mr. Field's Protes., - 273
Swedenborl Vindicated, • 231
BOOKS NOT1CED.
Apocryphal New Testament, • 381
Anderion'. Course of Creation, • 147
Autobiography 01 a Ne,,'cburchman. • 6~7
Barnes on tbe Book of Revelation. • 380
Bonar'. Mall-his Religion and hl. World, - 231
Bush's Note, 011 the Old Testament. 98
Butler's Analogy oC Religion, .. 6iS
Caldw~1l on the Unity of the Race, 95
Carne.' Journal of a Voyage &0 Africa, • 4~2
Carlyle's Lire or Sterling, • • - 8S
Clissold's Spiritual E~position of the Apocalypse, .. 233
Clowes' Gospel aecording to Luke, - 382
De Quincey'. Literary Reminiscences. 38
Edwards on Cbarity. - • 90
i'iehbough'a Macrocosm and Microcosm, • 572
Fry's Christ our Example, • 382
Gl1nnison's Mormon., .. 4-'0
Hayden'. Science and Re~elation. • 41"1
Hengstenberg on the Revelation, - 429
Holcombe's Scientifio Basis oC H01lKeopath" - 239
Holland's Essays and Drama. • • 5'3
Hooker's Examination of Hommorathy. 93
Huc's Journey through Tartary, Tbibet, and China. • 289
Kenrick's Ancient Egypt, • 571
Kitto's Daily Bible Illustrations. ~401479
Layard'. Discoveries at Nineveh, .. 383
Ma~n on the Homan Soul, and Passion oCthe CtON. 92
Men of the Time, • 421
M'osheim'. Historical Commentaries, S6
New Tbemes for the Proteltanl Clergy, - 290
Niebuhr's Life and Letters, • 481
Nineteenth Century, 38
Portals' SignifioRtiOll or Colors, 92
Redtield's Comparative Physiollllomy, .. 572
Richardson's SearcbiDK ArCl!C Expedition, • 481
Sbelton's Salander and Dragon, .. 575
Swedenborg'. Animal Klngdonl, • 233
Tafel's Vindication of Swedenborg, .. 427
Tappan's Step from the New to the Old World, • 432
Taylor·s Indications of a Creator,· • 92
Trench on the Study of Words. - 430
Uncle Tom'. Cabin, - 380
Wright on Soroer1' and Mqic,
'S
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AJlD

MONTHLY REVIEW.

'.1. ,. 11111118'1, 1812. le. I.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
A.RTlCLE I.

REPtY TO LETTERS TO A TRINlTARlAN.

No Ill.
ZLUIIlIATIOR 01" JZnDI THDlD AlID I'0171lTB, OK TID bIVIlU~ BUIUJnTY•
• BA. SI&,
THBK. ar~ three things that strike me as remarkable in your letters,
1~ your confident appeal t on all occasions, to what you call reason
as a sufficient subjective guide ;-2d, in strong contrast with thil,
your manner of citing continuaUy the writings of Swedenborg IUI a
direct objective oracle j-and, 3dly, in still stronger contrast with
both, the little use YOQ make of the Old Scriptures regarded 88 COD-
elusive, either by way of inward or outward authority. Of the first,
DO particular examples need be brought; they are to be found every-
where. In respect to the second, I need only remark, how very
similar your manner of qooting Swedenborg is to that which Chris-
tians have generally used in citing passages from the Bible. It is
Dot as an interpreter, or commentator, or a profound theologian,
whose views are of great value in the elucidation of the Sacred V 01-
ume, but as a direct a priori authoritYt by no means to be questioned,
or requiring any extrinsic or collateral support of argoment or tes-
timony. In other words, YOQ never seem to think of bringing Swe-
denborg to the standard of your reason as you do the Scriptures. In
reading him, you find no places which compel yOIl to say. this " seems
to mean" so and so, but c, it must assuredly mean something else" to
be consistent with right reason, or. "to Call back here upon the but-
tress of the literal averments" of our great prophet" would be a pos-
ture of spirit deserving to be regarded &8 a strange psychological
curiosity" (Letters to Trio. p. 38). Why this great difference? I have
pressed the question before, and I pr~JIS it again; for it seems a most
YOL. v. I
 Reply to·Letter. to tJ Trinitaritm.-No.lIL [Jan.
important one in deciding the true character of your creed, and the
true name to be given to it. Why do yoa never think of bringing
Swedenborg to the standard of your reason, a~ you do the Scrip-
tures 1 Why do yoa never employ any modifications of exegesis to
make sense out of his nonsense, or to give a consistent meaning to
apparent irrationality t The Scriptures are dark, bllt he is clear;
be "is never even apparently irrational. The'Scrlptures are full of ap-
parent contradictions, and even its truths are many of them " apparent"
only in distinction from" real." In Swedenborg, on the other hand,
the spirit shines through the letter so clearly, 80 fully, so rationally,
that we read him without that vail whioh is upon the face in the
study of Christ and MOHes. All is transparent as noon-day. No
'Wonder you turn away from the dark pages of Paul and John to sach
an authority. No wonder that you quote him precisely as the Py-
thagoreans of old quoted their master.-'A"I'oc'to (ipse dixit), "80 Ae
'aid," was enough for them, and "thu8 8wedenborg teache,," seems
often with you to stand in place of all rational argument, as well as
of all Scriptural proot: That you should thus cite him in addresses
to your own followers, or fellow disciples, might not seen 80 strange,
but I certainly have reaHon to wonder that you should 80 freqaently
employ the same method in your Letters to a Trinitarian. Exam-
ples of what I mean are to be found on almost every page. One iD-
stance, which still serves as a good representative of others, I will
give from letter iv. page 32. It is a perfect specimen of the manner
ill which you usually make the Scripture take its place behind the
dicta of yo'ur oracle, on the ground that it must rnean something COD-
'Iistent with his revelations, or else have no meaning at all. You
are endeavoring ~o pro\-e that heaven is not a place, and this is yODr
argoment-
" Heaven in general with all, and in particular with eacb~ is a reception of the iD-
Iu, which is the Divine essence. Tllus teaohes Swedenborg; ana if revelation
does 110t ~ressl,. ,ay &8 mach, it; mwt U8uredly mean it, and the meaning of the
WOM is the Wold. The true BeD88 of the Scripturee can be no other than that;
I8DI8 whioh -is aocording to truth."

I need not dwell on that mixture of truisms with a show of argu-

mentation, which is so strikingly exhibited in this passage. or
course, "the meaning of the Word is the Word" (although you some-
times talk of a Word which has been in the world for centuries
without any available meaning at all), and, of course, "the tme
lense of Scripture is that sense which is according to truth!) Tbere
was no need that one should have visited the spiritual world to he
able to teach us that; although just such bald truisms as these form
every where the great staple of Swedenborg's writings; but it is
quoted here "to illustrate your mode of dealing with the Scriptures.
What, then, is your grand authority in respect to the highest truth 1
Oertainly the ode to which you resort the oftenest-to \\"hich you go
with the most tonftdence-with which you have the least difficulties of
interpretation to make out of it "the sense which is according to truth."
Tested by all these, and how would the balance stand between Swe-
denborg's Arcana Cmlestia and the Bible? In your 118 pages of Let-
1852.] Reply to L,tten'to tz Tri7litaritm.-No. liL ,
ters to a Trinitarian, what proportion do the quotations (rom the one
bear to those from the other? If you quote Swedenborg ten times
to Christ once (to say nothing of the apostles), and that, too, in a dis-
eo.ion respecting Christ's own person and office, can there be a
doubt as to the fair conclusion to be drawn from these simple arith-
metical premises?
But reason, you will say, is a higher guide than all. It is (rom
reason we most first determine who Christ is. and what is the troe
mode of tbe Divine existence. It is reason which must first reveal to
us .. tbe mystery oC Godliness," and "declare the genel·ation" of HIm
"wbose goings forth are of old! from the days of eternity." In other
words-and this is the substance of page after page in your l~tters-­
three per80ftS in one God is an irrational dogma, but three apparent
Belfhoods in one person, addressing each other, and being addreSsed.
at the same time, as though they were distinct personalities, aDd
that, too, without any apparent reason for so unreal an appearance,.
-all this is perfectly rational. So' also teaches Swedenborg; and,.
therefore, "if revelation does not expressly say so," or if it seems (as
in John xvii. I ; John xii. 27; Matt. xxvi. 39; Luke xxii. 42, and
other places) to say just the contrary, " it assuredly must mean" the-
former, because" the meaning of the word is the word, and the trae-
sense of the Scripture can only be that which is according to.
truth." Q. E. D. ·
But I am too moderate in my statement of your position. You aPe-
actually beginning to thrust Swedenborg in the face of other people's
progress, just as an old-fashioned theologian would employ the Bible·
for a simila.r purpose. This is shown in your late discussion with
Mr. Fernald, to which I would not allude, were it not so perfectlr in
the spirit of some things in your letters to me. He claims the right
of exercising his understanding on the dicta of the New Church Scrip-
tures, of showing their apparent contradictions, and their repug-
nance, in certain cases, to right reason. Now it is really amusing to
see how you meet all this. Of the teachings of Christ you do not
hesitate to say (Letters to fL Trinitarian, iv. p. 38) that the" man
who would fall back upon His literal avermentH" (of a personal dis-.
tinction between himself and the Father), "or who would rebuke
with them the prying researches of the human mind, presents a
strange psychological curiosity." Paul has been made out in yoar-
pages to be little more than an erring egotistical mountebank. Yon
acqoiesce in Swedenborg's consignment of David to one of his cold
hells, as a just doom for his false teachings and his falsA spirit. And
then, when one of the admirers of your prophet venture.4J to express
1\ timid doubt of his infallibility, you bring him sbort up for such a
contumacious use ofhis " God-gi ven" reason. You claim, in your pro-
gress, to have rea80ned away beyond Prophets, Apostles, and the
" literal averment¥' and "apparent truth" of Christ. Another thinks
that the grand discoveries of the 19th century, the floods of light
which have been foured from clair,"oyance, from Davis'Revelations,.
and from Spiritua Rappings, forbid that we should remain content
without making a little advance, and reasoning OD, a little beyond.
 • &ply to Letter. to a Trinilaria..-ND. Ill. [Ju.
8wedenborg. I am amused, I lay, at the way in which you meet this
modest 8.88ertion of the rights of the human intellect-at the shock you
feel on the hare supposition, that one who professes to be an admirer of
the Swedish Seer sbould dare to "treat his eternal truths as the mis-
taken speculations or vagaries of an erring mortal," an~ above all,
the stern rebuke with which you visit the neological impiety that
would "venture, for a moment, to questio~ tbe infallible truth of
heaven. or let up our puny reason or phil080phy agail&6t a Diviu
did. ." (See these remarkable words N. C. Repository for Nov. 1851,
P. ~08). Is there not something really ludicrous in the manner in
which you thus throw yourse) f back in your new conservative saddle,
and pull hard up the reins of your boasted progress as against all
who may think there is yet some more light left in reasoD, and some
farther illumination to be expected from the spiritual world 1 In
view of so strange a spectacle as this, I can only express my thank-
flllness that error has its Jaws of development as ,,'ell as truth. You
.cannot stop this genius of progress you have assisted in conjuring up.
It must develop itself. It is yet to teach you and others, that in a de-
parture from the Old Church doctrine of revelation there is really no
ato:fping place short of that stultification of all reason which must
en in the most naked naturalism. I r~Joice in \vhatf'ver tends to
this speedy development. The more rapid the progress, the better.
The 'sooner the crisis, the sooner the cure. Elements',thus combined
,must explode; and the earlier this takes place, the earlier must that
period come, which certainly will come, when our exhausted reason
.hall confess its utter incompetency to solve the great question of
·hoalan destiny, and tbe soul shall go back with a. child-like docility
to the Old Written Word, the Old Christianity derived therefrom-
believing in it with a stronger faith than the world has ever known
before, holding it all the more precious from the fier)· ordeal through
which it has had to pass, resorting to it from an invincible nece'SSity
when science and philosophy are found to give oat darkness more
-rapidly than light, and finally, after all its wanderings, rejoi9ing in
the Bure Word of the Lord as" in the shadow of a great rock in a
.dry and ,,'eary land."
I have deemed these remarks essential, because of that view of
the Scriptures, and of the modifications they are to undergo from
·reasoD, which meets as 80 frequently in your Letters to 1\ Trinitarian,
.and especially in t.he 3d and 4th, which I would/rooeed to consider
in the present communication. Whether I shoul agree with you, or
'not, in respect to your distinction between objective and subjective
'yision, as set forth· in your I st and 2d letters, there is nothing in it
~haviDg llufficient bearing on the points most in dispute between us
.Co warrant my dwelling on them. I concede at once that God may
,manifest himself in any way he pleases, objectively, or subjectively,
.in a humaD, or angelic form-in a bush, or a flame, or in any outward
-he chooses to assume; and that, too, whether the Divine Nature
-consist in a single person thus revealing himsel~ with nothing behind
the revelation, or in a plurality of personalities, one of which is, by
way of eminence, the Revealer, in distinction from the other, or others.
1852.] Reply to Lettiw,'to a Tnnitandn.-No. III
On these matters I know nothing from reason-nothing but what re-'
velatioD teaches me; bot as far as the theophany alone is conceme~
it does not at all settle the questions in discussion between us; and, I
therefore, I shall not waste time on this part of your correspondence.
Your third and fourth letters are occupied with the Divine Hu-
manity, as you style it,-meaning, not tbe iocarnation, as would ~.
at first supposed, but 8. very different d~ctrine. I might pass by these,
also, on the same ground; but there is something in your mode of
reasoning bere that too strongly tempts me to take a different course..
Your position is, that irrespective of what is called the incarnation,
irrespective of any becoming in tim~ or of an)" assuming of humanity
into ppr800al union with the Divine: God is eternally, and essentially,
or of his very nature, man. Without deciding on the intrinsic troth-
of this very strange doctrine of reason, permit me to say, that your
argument for it seems very much like a game of words. If you
choose to magnify the idea of hUlnanity to infinity, and then, after
clotbing it with all the Divine attributes, call it God, or call God
"the Divine Man," I CBD regard it as nothing more than the sbeerest
verbal speculation. " Man," you say, "has will and understandiDg,~
p. 26. 11 These are the finite counterparts to the infinite love and
wisdom of his Maker." c, How is it po~sible then to avoid the COD-
clusion tbat there is in God a Divine Humanity 1" I must say that
I see here no conclusion either to be avoided or to be reacbed. Any
other name or names, embracing any conception of something that
may be common, or may seem common, to God and man, or God ~nd
anytbing else, would furnish the 'elements of an argument of equal
logical force. If by tbe Divine Humanity you mean only another
name (or infinite love and wisdom. it resolves itself into the merest
verbal truism; if you do not mean this, your reasoning has DO COIl-
clusiveness whatever. Doubtl~ss the declaration, that man W1UI
made in the image of God, implies something in Deity corresponding
to man in a higher sense than to any lower parts of the creation.
Nor is this merely matter of degree in the same kind. Man has
some things belonging to the Divinp, which the lower animals have
not at all; and, therefore, in respect to this, and in comparison with
them, as anyone may see from the context of the declaration, he is
said to be in the image of God. He belongs, with Deity, to that
legical genus rational (if we cboose to made such a classification) in
which they are not included; but how monstrous, 8S well as illogical,
the conclusion, that tbere is, therefore, no essential or Ipecific differ-
ence; or, in otber words, that Divinity and bumanity are the same
6pecie8 homo, differing only in extent I In such a sense as I have
mentioned, it is doubtless true, as you say, that It man could not be
an image of God, were not God an exemplar of man;" but if you
mean anything more by this than wbat is contained in tbe West-
minster catechism on the same subject, I do not see how you have
made it out, either by the aid of reason or of Swedenborg. If you
mean the same, then all tbat I can say, is, that you ba,'e not balf 80
well expressed it.
I would Dot dwell farther OD yol11' reasoning here, were it not fur
 10 Reply ID Leltw61D a TriRilllriaL-ND. Ill. J....
the impious conclusion, as it seems to my reason, to which it inevit-
ably leads. Let me state briefly, yet clearly and fairly, the substance
or your argument in letter IlL, pages 25 and 26 :
Every mFect is potentially in ita 0&1118.
Therefore, whatever is in the human spirit is normally repreeented iD the hUIII&D
,
bocl • • • •
But man 18 made m the lDlag8 or God•
. Henoe, &8 ev~ eJfect is potentially in ita oaUl8, the human spirit is, therefore, re-
presented in God.
But the body is repre&ellted in the human !pirit.
Therefore tlie human body also, in all its paN, is repreeented in Gocl.
TAtrtjor, God u tJ&e DiviM MGD.
Now the short objection to all this is, tbat it runs us straight out
into downright pantheism. It is the same argument, substantially.
applied to man and the human microcosm, which Spinoza extends to
tlie whole universe. Oan you fsil to see that from this simple pre-
mise, "every effect is potentially in ita cawe," employed just as YOQ
employ it, one may with equal conclusiveness prove that the animal
creation, too, are in God. Your argument cannot p~ssibly stop short
of it. You mnst go away beyond your Divine Man, to the Divine
,..... containing within itself every' other sW-, or every grade of
animation. and not man merely. In short, you and Swedenborg have
landed in the old doctrine of the un,iver,al animal, 1'0 tWo. '~%OI' ..
itlurr; 1C0.1'0 CWo ".pd%OP, the 8entient animal compri8ing within i',el!
all other animal8, which you will find 80 copiously set fortb
in Plato's Timmus, only, however, with this difference in favor of the
speculating old heathen, tbat he does not dare to make his Anima.
Mundi, or univer8al animal, the Eternal God, as be reverently styles
him, or Aven an emanatioll from him, but a direct creature of his Al-
mighty power and wisdom. produced in time, and ulentially distinct
from himself: Plato is much nearer to the Scriptures here than Swe-
denborg. To find the troest exemplar of his doctrine. we must have
recourse to the monstrous pa.ntheisms of the old Eastern World.
The wonder is that you should conceive your grateful thanks due to
Swedenborg for the discovery of this original view of things, and re-
gard it as one of those self-evidencing proofs of his mission that dis-
pense with all miraculous attestations. No one, you maintain, ever
before thought of this doctrine of the Divine Man, so beyond all
human investigation, and yet so consonant to reason wh~n discover-
ed. Therefore Swedenborg was inspired with it from heaven (see p.
'25, 26). Now we sa)", that it had before been thought of; it had en-
tered into the depraved human imagination; it had been incorporated
into the most monstrous systems of religion, or rather irreligion ; and,
therefore, Swedenborg was not an inspired messenger from Heaven.
But to present another specimen of your r~asoniDg on this head,
!] give your words from p. 27. You say-
" Love and wildom O&Dnot subsia, or be conoeived, apart from a mbjeot in whom
'tIley inhere. 'No intelligent penon,' _ye Swedenborg, 'oan deny that in God are
Love and W18dom, meroy ana clemency, and good and truth itsel~ for theY' are
from Him; and .. he cannot deny that theee thiDga are in God, neither can he denT
that God is man; for nODe of these things can uist abltTlUledly from man; fJIG" U
.dlir tubj,ct, alld 1o IIpGrat. tMm from Uarir nbj,a iI to IQY tlult tJwr do not aUt.
1811.] llr
'11aiDt of wiedOlll, ud mppaee ii 011. of maD j is il aD~ !' Indeed the i4•."
IoTe and wisdom emting out of a ptrsonallUhject is as absurd 88 to suppose that the
heut and lungB can emt and act apari ftom a body which they actuate. We are .
IImt up, t.hereFate, to the concllllion, that God is Very Man-tlie Inbite MaD.n
I must confess myself exceedingly at a 108s how to take this. I
have the most unfeigned respect for the general strength and clear-
ness of your nnderstanding, and the criticQ.l acuteness of your reason
ing, especially on topics where you are yourself or (pardon me for
saying it) are out of the vapors of your mystic creed; and therefore
I must not pronounce it nonsense. It, doubtless, to your reaSOD, pas-
Besses 8 convincing force; but mine utterly fails to di8cov~r it. It..
does strike me that your "therefore," in the concluding line, is the
most perfect specimen ofa non ,equitur it has ever been my lot to meet
with in the field of argumentation. Can you not see that iD the
parts which I have put in italics, there is a gratuitous assumption of
the whole thing to be provell? "Man u their 8'lbject." True. But
is he the only being who is their subject, or in whom "they inhere 1"
Every thing depends on the right answer to this. Without it, your
formal" therefore" is an empty sound, signifying nothing, except to
tickle the ears of your readers with a mere jingle of logical ter-
minoloUa Y 00 yourself betray a latent feeling of its defect by
changing, perhaps uncoD8ciouslYt your principal term. It was Dot
wide enough; and so you slide gently from " man" to "1)ersonaJ
subject," as though they were identical. I~ ~o avoid this, you affirm
that angels and all other conceivable beings, or ., personal subjects,"
in· whom love and wisdom may inhere, are meD, what else do you
do but enlarge the definition of a term, so as to include in it as much
as you choose. and then delude yourself with the idea tbat you have
really proved something concerning a subject 80 arbitrarily extend·
ed as to fill any predicate yOIl may see fit to attach to it 1 Let IBe.
exhibit the absurdity of your reasoning, by putting it in a more
concise and formal shape-
Love and wiIcIom inhere in a ~ subjeot.
Love &Dd 1riIclo. inhere ill GOd.
Therefore God iI man.
Had it been capable of taking this form'-:"
All ~ IGbjeotB in whom love and wisdom inhere are-men;
God 11 a ~Dal 811bjeet in whom love and wisdom inhere ;
Tbeletore God is man-
Your argument would have been syllogistically perfect; but then,
tb6re wo.:dd stare you directly in the face the irrationality of auum..
iog. in your major premise, the very matter you set out to prove.
Have I done your argument any injustice 1 Have I at all separated
it from its logical context, so &8, in any degree, to mar itl just force t
I would not dwell on this 80 minutely, were it Dot that it forms a
general feature of YOQr reasoning in the most important portioDS or
these letters. It cODsists in assuming a larger sense of a word thaa
has ever before been employed, then proving something (perhaps UD-
deoied) respecting it in the common restricted sense, aDd then boldly
11 Rep'1/1o LelltJr, 10 tJ n-iRiItlria.-No.lIL [Jane
drawing your conclusion commensurate with the wide es:tent of
meaning implied in your premise.
In this view of the matter, the qoestion, whether or no God may
be called the Divine Man, becomes ODe of the idlest Jogomachies OD
which the human mind ever employed itself: Only make your terms
large enough, and you may, in the same way, prove him the Divine
Animal, the Divine World, the Divine Anything. How does ODe de-
claration of the Scriptures, in which words are taken in their estab-
lished human sense, scatter all this show of argument to the winds I
" Lo, I am God, tmd not man, the Holy One in the midst of thee." " I
am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel." "For my
thougbts are not your thoughts; neither are )Tour ways my ways,
saith the Lord." I can well imagine the smile with which you·
woold receive such an attempt to confront th~s monstrous fancy or
Swedenborg with the plain letter of Scripture. You might too, per-
haps, deny its literal application. Nothing, however, can be clearer,
than that, by such strong assertions, the prophets meant to express,
Dot a mere diversity of rank and exaltation, but the most striking
generic difference between the Creator and his creature. It is not
merely the great with the small, but humanity contrasted with Deity.
Thus, in another place, "God is not man, that he should lie." If
10U say the added words take away the universality, and. therefore,
the appositeness of the declaration. I answer that this is the very sob-
stance of the argument by which your whole doctrine is thrown
down. God cannot lie. Why not 1 Because" He is God, and not
man-the Holy One." For, in respect to lying and ignorance, and
malevolence, as well as love and wisdom, it may be said, to use your
own language, that" man is their subject," or "they inhere" in man.
Of these, too, it may be affirmed that" they cannot exist abstracted-
ly" or "away from a personal subject it' and, therefore, " we are shut
up to the conclusion" that tbey must be in God; or if not, then" God
is not man:' but the" Holy One," as a greater prophet than Sweden-
borg has 80 sublimely affirmed (Hosea xi. 9; Isaiah xliii. 15; Iv. 8).
There is no avoiding the first of these conclusions, unless you take
the expression-the image of God-as our catechism does, in a par-
tial and comparative, instead of a universal sense. Your use of the
wordftnite win not help the matter; for, as far as your argument is
concerned, it would only denote a smaller, in which, without the ex-
clusion of any particular, there is some point corresponding to every
point in the greater. It is only enlarging or diminishing the scale of
the same specific subject. If you say, again, tbat these evils were
not in the original image, but belong to the fallen state, you only
make wider and wider the essential, or specific, difference. 'God,
then, it may be replied, is Dot man that he should fall, or be capable
of becoming, in 8ny respect, unholy. And this is the very point or
the prophet's remarkable contrast (Hosea xi. 9), "He is not
man, but God-The Holy 0ne"-~1"~ mi'1i'.. You know the
force or the Hebrew word-the Separate One-as it aod the cor-
responding terms in all the primitive languages signify; just as the
opposite class of words denote that which is COm",OR, mixed up with
1852.] Reply 1o Letter. to tJ 7n1litariGn.-No. IlL 18

other things, and thus, in respect t<;t itself; and its own rank, becoming
..,,],oly (im-punu, i"..muMUI) or prcif'ane. In this way it is that God,
although by his power and pre8ence pervading the universe, is yet, in
respect to his essence, or absolute being, eternally ,eparate from all
things else; that is, in the highest sense, Holy. In this and similar
expressions I have quoted from the Hebrew propbets, we find the
most direct antagonism to tbat pantheism, into which some of the
most ancient religions fell, and to which such mystic theosophists as
Swedenborg have been ever inclined to run. No possible difference
of Aind can be greater than that which must exi25t between the
Creator and the creature, even of the loftiest rank; and it is, doubt-
less, for the want of this idea, that no sach thing as creation, in its
true sense, is anyw~ere recogni'led in the writings of Swedenborg.
Man is strictly eternal; his Cl goings forth are from everlasting," the
world is a never beginning, never endingtgenelia; all is e1flux, influx,
emtl1VZtion. In the Scriptural view, on the other hand, the genus 6,6"
if we may reverently use the expression, stands by itself in the eter-
nal loneliness of its essential being, and in direct contrast with all
that is created. It may take op' humanity into union with its life,
but Dot to a participation of its IDcommuniable e,sence (or that which
makes it what it is), unless you confound alllangoage, and all ideas
BDd all things, in one all-absorbing pantheism, or pan-anthropism,
whicbever term your theology, or your anthropology, may most ap-
p~priately require.
Yoor 4th letter is a continuation of the same subject-the Divine Hu-
manity. In it, however, you proceed to give more fully what you and
Swedenborg intend by a trinity, as existing in the Divine Man. Y OQ
are careful enough, and clear enougb, in stating that you do not mean
a trinity of pers0R8t which yon regard as so utterly irrational that
Scripture never could have taught it, and, therefore, never has taught
it. But of your logic on that head in some other place. You must,
however, somehow find a trinity in your conception, or a subjective
trinity, and yon proceed to deduce it in the following manner. You
distinguish between what you call the eaae, the ezistere. and the pro-
cedere, in the Divine Nature. The first is tbe Divine Love; but this
cannot be ,een unless it takes form. This form is the Divine tkought,
or wisdom, which you style the emtere.
" If now we add the idea or tUtitm, operation, prou,diftg, 'flrr~1J, we complete our
COftuption of a trinalDeity, without, at the eame time, mentally dividing him into
three. There is, indeed, a triplicity of aBp'';'" in whioh he is preeented to the mind,
but not one that can with &Dy proj)riety be laid &8 the foundation of a tripenonal
distinction. The tel1D8 Fatlier, SOn, and Holy Ghost, denote no' three per,onl, but
tAr. aaential, of on'P'TIOft."-P. 23.

If ever a man should be clear and careful, it should be on soch sub-

jects liS these; and, therefore, J may well ask, What do yon mean
here by the word ",entials? The use of it evidently shows embar-
rassment, and that you want to make your trinity something more
than the inside, and outside, and both sides, of the same conception, or
three shadows of the same object cast from three differen t points of
 Repl, to Letter. to tJ rn.lana.-No. IlL [J...
view. I mean DO irreverence, but find these the best methods of ex-
o pressing my conception of your coneeption. You want more of real-
Ity, or objectivity corresponding to these striking names, 80 sig-
ni6cant of something like personality, and personal relation; and )'ou
seem, therefore, to have been led to the use of this word e,.entiah.
But wha.t does it avail you? If you mean by it three appearance.,
or phenomena, the word is very much out of place; you could not
have chosen a worse one for that purr:.se. If you mean three ",enca
in one perso,,,, then indeed you have anded on a mystery vastly tran-
scending the one you deem 80 irrational, of three ~80R6 in one
u,ence; unless you take essence in the chemical sense of component
element, and make the Deity a co_pound of spirit, motion, and
m~~~ 0

But, to return to your trinal division. The first question is, What
'Would you make out of it 1 Suppose we admit all you say, it would.
not at all affect any view we might take hereafter of the person-
al distinction. Mystical dreamers, in all ages ofthe charch, both among
heretics and the nominally orthodox, liave bettn fond of these me~
physical trinities; some, in connection with a personal distinction of
hypostases, and others. without it. They are Dot inconsistent with
each other. The former, too, have generally presented the same con-
ceptions-Love, WisdolDt Energy, or sometimes slightly varied- .
Goodness, Intellect, Life. They all seem to have come from the PI..
tonic, Aya8.-Hoiir-.,,%t). I would not waste time upon these
~eculation.. were it not that it furnishes another specimen of the
Swedenborgian logic, or of the manner in which an air of vast pro-
fundity may be imparted to the most simple conceptions, and. the
plainest thoughts (plain, but none the less valuable on that account)
may be buried, and made unnecessarily obscure, under an ocean of
mere words. Let me imagine myself a teacher in a Sabbath School.
To a class of ordinary intelligence, and nothing more, I am endeavor-
ing to present the best conceptions I can form, from reason and the
Scriptures, of the Divine character and govemment. I tell them that
God il good-that He is love, but that in order to the manijutatioll of
these attributes, there must be objects for him to love. and to whom
He is good. Hence, from H-is love, or goodness, there would be the
purpose to create worlds inhabited bl men, and angels, aDd higher
and lo\ver beings. This was God's thought; and I might call this
thought the fon", of His love, witbout much confounding tbeir uDder-
8&aDdiag; although you apologize lest I migbt find the term a dill.
oaM ODe!' or a " stone of stumbling" from want of acqaaintance with
the deeper Swedenborgian philosophy. Connected with God's good-
ness, thus taking the form of a thougAt, or purpose, there would be a
png-fortA (a much better term this genuine old Saxon than your
Latin procedere) of action necessary to carry this feeling and this
f!unlgAt into execution. In this WilY, I might tell them, God becomes
known; and this is what the good men, who made the catechisms,
meant by his declaral.ive glory. We cannot lee His goodness until it
thus takes form in His ttiought and consequent actioD. ADd so that
which in iu.lf is UDseeD, becomes visible; and then I miibt quote to
18U.] Reply to Let,.,., 10 tJ 7n,.itariaa.-No. m. 1.
them the letter of the 11th Psalm: "The HeaTen. declare the glory or
God i" and Romans i. 20, "For the invisible things of Him are clearly
seen from the creation of the world, in tbat they are understood from
the things that are made, even His eternal power and Deity." All this
from the simple literal Scripture and catechism, without any e'le, or
eNtere, or procedere; and yet, I ask, what would there be lacking
of any essential conception which you set forth in your labored and
scholastic IOheme 1
How easy, too, to apply the same method to any rational BOUI. We
never strictly,ee each other. That which is 6Ub,tance in man, al
well as God, is no matter of sense, but is under,tood from the things
that are done, even our temporal power and humanity. Perhaps you
would claim this as a part of your theory; but as applicable to any
rational agent, divine or human, what does it amount to but this t
In every exercise of the sow there are feeling, thought, and action.
There can be no feeling or desire, without some knowledge of what
is desired. There can be, on the other hand, no knowledge without
IOme degree of interest in. the thing known, aDd there CilD be neither,
without some energizing, either outwardly or inwardly, of the soul.
In other words, in order to act, we must knmD, and we will not know
unless there is some _felling prompting the knowing and tbe acting,
and which must itself be known and acted out. This is a very good
and useful view, but why put it forth as something so profound, and
with .nch an array of scholastic language, as though it were abso-
lutely essential to an argument on the Old Testament theophanies, or
the New Testament doctrine of the incarnation 1 God may manifest
himself in his works; He may send a prophet to declare the fact of
His goodness, but what proved necessity from this for His manifest-
ing himself in a human form, unless there were other end, in view,
aDd other tAougAt8 than ever entered into the Swedenborgian K"P'u ,
The design of all this is not very obvioas, unlea it be to prove that
God cODld not be objectively known to the universe, or· to the human
mind, unle. the Divine Nature had this triplicity of aspect involved
ill the ale, the e:ri8tere, and tbe procedere-or, in good Anglo-SBDD,
6eiftg. revealing thought. and going fortA. This, however, .,OD would
conclude. is only for ODr minds, and therefore, the trinal division i.'
onl1 in appearance, a~d for the Divine Mind has no reality.
Now, tlie opinion may reverently be advanced, that if there be any
DeCeII8ity here at all, it mast be carried farther. The idea of a real
plurality in the very Divine Nature itsel~ seems to have anciently
aommended itself to the retUOR of some minds, from the seeming iJD-
poaibiJity of otherwise forming a satisfactory notion of the mode of
the Divine Existence. A pure monadity, with nothing objective to
IOTe, nothing objective to know, in the fullest and highest seDse (for-
even if an eternal creation is supposed. it must fall inftnitflly below the
all perfect idea·required to fill the Divine Mind and the Divine aWeo-
tion), was totally inconceivable. It was the most difficult of all
thoughts. Hence the mind seems driven to think of some real di..
tinction, in order that Deity might be objective to itsel~ and ODr own
thoughts get relief from this inconceivable subjectivity. Hence the
18 TAe Tabernacle Service viewed in it6 8pirituallmport. [Ian.
conception of a self, knowing a ,elf objectively, and of ,elf, loving
a ,elf objectively, and, at the same time, being objectively known and
loved, even as it knew and loved. Hence the absolute necessity ot
Borne such conception as that of two or more personalities, or brpos-
tases, distinct, yet bound in a unity transcending, in its oneness, aD)·
conception of the term as employed to denote any human, or any
created relation.
Now, we venture on any such speculation as this with all rever-
ence. We would rather trust one single text of Scripture than pages
of such philosophizing; and yet we cannot belp thinking that it is as
good as yours, and that it possesses a better ground in the reason than
any view which would resolve the plnrality in the mode of the Di-
vine Existence into mere phenomena, having no reality in the Divine
Nature, representing no true bypostatic plurality, and therefore, in
fact, a false manifestation, a deceptive phantom, without any corre 8-
ponding objectivity behind it.
But the farther .consideration of this topic, and of your subsequent
letters, must be deferred to another opportunity.
Yours, &c.,
T. L.

ARTICLE 11.

THE TABERNACLE SERVICE VIEWED IN ITS SPffiITUAL IMPORT.

No. I.

TBB PRIESTLY OARBUTS.

Ix a previous series oC articles we have gone at length into a con-

sideration of the Jewish TabernaclA, with its various appendages, and
endeavored to show, by the light of the New Church, the spiritual sig-
nificancy of each. In the present, and several articles to follow, we
enter upon another department of the same general therne, and,
guided by the same clew, propose to unfold the interior import of the
Sacred Garments, in which the priests were called to minister. This
forms the subject of the xxviii. chapter of Exodus, in which we have an
account of the setting apart of an order of men to officiate as minis-
ters of the Tabernacle worship, and a minute description of the vest-
ments by which they were distinguished. Previous to this time the
patriarchal mode of service had no doubt obtained, every master of a
family being a priest to his own household; but now, as a Taberna-
cle of the congregation was about to be erected, as a visible centre
of unity to the nation, the Lord saw fit to order the institution of a
public priesthood, and, according to previous intimation, Ex. xxvii. 21,
AaroD and his SODS are fixed upon as candidates for the high distino-
J 8&2.] The Ta6erntJCle Service vietIJBd in iU Spiritual I_port. J'1
tioD. or the four SODS of Aaron here selected, the two eldest, N adab
and Abihu soon proved themselves unworthy of the bonor now con-
ferred upon them, and perished miserably in consequence of profan-
iug the sacred things with which they had to do in the discharge of
their office. The succession then reverted to tbe line of Eleazer aDd
Itbamar, in which it was perpetuated down to the latest period of the
Jewish polity.
In the discharge of the office to which they were now called, Aaron
and his SODS sustained a purely representative character, and there-
fore DO inference caD be drawn from this fact relative to their personal
character. From what we learn of Aaron there is little reason to
think that he possessed the qualities which intrinsically correspond
to a priestly function. But this was no detriment to his fulfilling the
duty to which he was now designated by the following order : -
Ex. nviii. 1-5, U And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and bil101l1 with
.ce,
him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the prieerl
evm Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleasar and Itl1amar, Aaron'IIODI. Ana thoa
Ibalt make haIr garmeng for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty. And
ihoa ahalt s~ unto all t!&at are wiIe-hearted, whom I have filled with the &piritor
wisdom, that they may make Aaron's ~enta to consecrate him, that he may min-
ister unto me in the priest's office. And these are the prmente which they shall
make; a breast-plate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and
a girdle: and they shall make no11 ~eng for Aaron thy brother, and hiI IOD8,
that he may miniater unto me in the priest'. oIiee. And they eh&ll tab pld, sad
blue, and purple, and scarlet, and !ne linen."

Take ihou unto thee. Heb. :1~j;)n hakreb, caule to come nigh. Gr. "potlt&-
,.,.., bring near. The original root :1~t' karab, is of the most frequent
occurrence in relation to sacrifices, and is the ordinary term appJied
to the bringing near or preaenting the \"'ariOU8 offerings which were
enjoined under the Mosaic ritual. It is wholly in keeping with this
usage to employ it, as her(', in referenc,e to perlons who by their dedi-
cation to the service of the sanctuary, were in a sense sacrificially
offered up and devoted to the Lord. But, in a higher sense, thid caus-
ing Aaron and his sons to approach denotes the conjl1nction of the Di-
vine Good, represented by Aaron, with the Divine Trutb, represented
by Moses. The conjunction of these two principles is represented in
the Word by two conjl1gial partners, and also by two brothers; by
the former, when the subject treated of is the heavenly marriage of
Good and Truth; and by the latter, when the subject treated of is
concerning the two-fold ministry of judgment and worship; the first
being performed by those who were called judges, and afterwards
kings, and tbe second by those who were called priests. The spirit-
ual import of brothers, therefore, in this relation is not very unlike to
that oC Church and State.
Tl"at he may miniater unto ~e in the priest'. office. Heb. ,~~
lekaAano, from the root ye kahan, of which Kimcbi says the primary
meaning is the rendering of honorable and dignified ,enJ;ce, such as
that of officers of state to their sovereign. In accordance with this it
is used concerning the sons of David, 2 Same viii. 18, who could not,
strictly speaking, be priests; and on the same grounds the substan-
 re ne Tabernacle Bervice metDed in it, Bpi'ituallmport. [Jan.
tive ~~ koAanim. is in several places in the margin rendered
"princes." But as prifICe, or courtiers wait on th_ king, and are hOD-
ored by nearer access to him tban others; so the priests under the law
"ere assumed into this Dear relation to the King of Israe). and for
this reBson the term in its ordinary acceptation is applied more espe-
cially to the duties of priests in administering before God at his altar.
Of the duties pertaining to the priestly office we shall have occasion
to speak in detail in subsequent 'notes; but we may here observe
briefty, that although as high functionaries in the court of the Great
King, many of their duties were of a civil natare, as might be expect-
ed under a system in which church and ,tate were united, yet those
that more properly belonged to thenl in their sacerdotal character
were mainly the followiog: They were to pronounce the benediction
upon the people aDd to conduct the whole service of the holy place.
Theirs was the business of sacrificing, in all its rites, in all offerings
upon the altar of bllrnt-offerings. The government and ordering of
the sanctuary and of the house of God lay upon them. They kept
the table of show-bread properly supplied; they attended to the
lamps of golden candelabrum every morning: at the same time they
burnt the daily incense, which prevented any offensive scent from the
dressing of the lamps from being perceived. It was their duty to
ke;r ap the fire upon the bnLzen altar, that the fire originally kin-
ell from heaven might never 00 extinguished. It was their office' to
make the holy anointing oil; and theirs to blow the silver trumpets
at the solemn feasts, and also before the Ark at its removals. While
their numbers were few, there was occupation enough to keep them
all employed; but when they aft~rwards bAcame numerous, they
were divided ioto twenty-four bands, or courses, each of which un-
dertook weekly, in rotation, the sacred services. But this regulation
belongs to the time of David. Although the Most High had before,
Ex. xix. 6, said of Israel in general, "that they should be to him a
kingdom of priests:' yet this did Dot militate with his concentrating
the office, in its active duties, in a single family, as he now saw fit to
do. It was only in this way that the great ends of the institution
could be attained, in which, however, we are to recognize far more
than what pertained to the mere external institution. The priest-
hood, in the supreme sense, denote! every office which the Lord dis-
charges as Saviollr, and whatsoever he performs in this capacity, is
from Divine Love; thus from Divine Good, for all good is of love i.
hence, also, by the priesthood, in the supreme sense, is. signified the
Divine Good of the Divine Love of the Lord, while the regal office
points to the Divine Truth thence derived. Mention is often made
in the Word, in one series, of kings and priests j also of kings, princes,
priests, and prophets. and in such passages are signified, in the internal
sense, by kilJg8, truths in the complex; by prince8, primary troths;
by prie,u, goods in the complex; and by prophet', doctrines.
And thou ,halt make holy garments for Aaron tAy brotAer. Beb.
."p -,,= bigd~ kode,h, garments of holinea,. Gr. ottoJ." cif., a /wly
.tole, or perhBps collectively, a quantity of /wIg ,tola. These. gar-
ments are called "ho)y" because they were designed for holv men,
18&1.] ne Tti6ernac1e &mce viewed in it. Spiritual Import. 19

and because they formed part or an establishment whose general

character was koly. Indeed, whatever was separated from common
use, and conseerated to the immediate service ofGod, acquired there-
by tJ reltlti"e holines,; 80 that we spe the amplest ground for the be-
stowment of this epithet upon the sacred dresses. In ordinary life,
when Dot engaged in their official duties, the priests were attired like
other Israelites of good condition; but wben employed in their stated
ministrations, they were to be distinguished by a peculiar and appro-
priate dress. Of this dress, which was kept in a wardrobe somehow
conneeted with the Tabernacle, and which was laid aside when their
ministration ceased, aod returned to the wardrobe, the Jewish writers
have much to say. According to them the priests could not officiate
without" their robes, neither could they wear them beyond the sacred
precincts. Under the Temple, where the usages were no doubt sub-
stantially the same as in the Tabernacle, when the priests atrived to
take their turns of duty, they put off their usual dress, washed them-
selves in water, and put on the holy garments. While they were in
the Temple, attending upon their service, they could not sleep in their
sacred habits, but in their own wearing clothes. These they put off
in the morning, when they went to their service, and, after bathing,
resumed their official dress. But we shall treat of the details in their
order.
The spiritual explication of this part of the Levitical economy will
be easily inferred when it is understood that garments in general
denote the things that are without, and which cover those that are
within; they signify, therefore, a man's extern hI or natural, for this
covers his internal or spiritual. Where the internal is the celestial,
the investiture that clothes it is the spiritual, as the truths of faith
are the proper covering for the goods of charity. In the present
case, as Aaron in bimselfrepresented the Lord as to his Divine Celes-
tial principle, so his garments, being an investment of his person, re-
presents tbe spiritual kingdom of the Lord adjoined to his celestial•
.. The Divine Spiritual principle," says Swedenborg, c'is the Divine
Troth proceeding from the Divine Good of the Lord; this in heaven
appears as light, and also is the light which illuminates the sight of
angels, both that which is external and that which is internal. The
modification of this light according to the recipient subjects, which
are angels, presents various phenomena to the sight, as clouds, rain-
bows, colors and brightnesees of various kinds, as also shining gar-
ments about the angels. Hence it may be manifest that the spiritual
kingdom of the Lord was represented by Aaron's garments of holi-
ness; for there are two kingdoms into which the heavens are di-
vided, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, see D. 9277 ;
they who are in the celestial kingdom appear naked, but they who
are in the spiritual kingdom appear clothed. Hence it is again
manifest, that the Divine Truth, or Divine Spiritual [principle],
which appears as light, is what invests [or clothes]. But who can
at all believe, that within the Church, where yet the Word is, aDd"
thence illustration concerning Divine and celestial things, 10 great
ignorance prevails, that it is not known that angels and spirits are
10 ne Tabernacle Service vieUNJtl in ~ Bpirituall111porl.. [Jan.
in a human form, and appear to themselves as men, and also that
they see each other, hear and converse togf'ther; and that it is still
less known that they appear clothed in garments. That this is the
case, not only falls into doubt, but also together into denial with those
who are so immersed in things extemal, as to believe that the body
alone lives, and that that is nothing which they do not see with the
bodily eyes, and touch with the bodily hands, see n. 1881 ; when yet
the heavens are full of men, who are angels, and tbey are clothed in
garments of various degrees of splendor. These however cannot be
at lill seen by man on earth through the eyes of his body, but through
the eyes oC his spirit when opened by the Lord. The angels, who
were seen by the ancients, as by Abraham, Sarah, Lot, Jacob, Joshua,
Gideon, also by the prophets, were not seen by the eyes of the body,
but by the eyes of their spirit, which were then opened. That they
also have appeared clothed with garments, is manifest from the an-
gels that sat at the Lord's sepulchre, and were seeD by Mary Hag-
dalene, and Mary [the wife] of James in white shining garments
(Matt. xxviii. 3; Mark xvi. 5; Luke xxiv. 4); especiall~ from the
Lord when seen by Peter, lames, and John in His glory, when he had
a white glittering garment as the ligbt (Matt. xvii. 2; Luke ix. 29) :
by ,..·hich garment also was represented the Divine Spiritual [princi-
ple,] or the Divine Truth which is from Him. Hence it may be. mani-
fest what issignified by white garments in the Apocalypse, • Thou
hast a few na.mes in Sardis, which /Ulve not polluted their garment.,
and they 8hall walk with Me in white, because theyare worthy. He
that overcometh ,hall be clothed with while garment,,' iii. 4, 5. Gar-
ments in this passage are spiritual truths, which are truths derived
from good, as was shown above; and wbite is genuine truth, n.3301,
4007, 5319. In like manner iD another place, 'I saw heaven penedt
when behold a white horse, and He that sat on Him wa ocalled
Faithful and True, who in justice jud~eth and comba.teth; His ar-
'mies in Heaven followed Him, clothed in fine linen white and clean,'
xix. 1I, 14. And in another place, 'On the thrones I saw twenty and
four elders clothed in white garment,,' iv. 4."
For glory and for beauty. Heb. ~~.bn~i ,~~. lekabod u-letipha-
relh, for glory, or hanor, and for bea,.ut'!l, ornament, decoration. The
expression is very strong, leading us to the inference that a special
significancy and importance attached to these garments. They were
to be made thus splendid in order to render the office more respected,
and to inspire a becoming reverence for the Divine majesty, whose
ministers were attired "'ith so much grandeur. As every thing per-
taining to the sanctuary was to be made august and magnificent, 80
were the dresses of those who ministered there. Yet that a spiritual
design governed the fashion of these gorgeous robes no one will be
apt to doubt, for whose benefit these explanations are indited. As
glory signifies the Divine Truth, in its internal, so does beauty, .in its
,external form; for the brightness or comeliness of Divine Truth ap-
pearing in externals, is intimated by the term beauty. The import of
the expression is, therefore, that the Divine Truth, such as it is in
the spiritual kingdom adjoined to the celestia~ i. e•• luch as it is in
1852.] The Holy Spirit. 11

internals and externals, should be presented or exhibited in the style

of these sacerdotal garments, in every minute detail of which there
was wrapped up a spiritual and a representative meaning. The ex-
plication of this hidden import, so far as it reg8.rd~ the Ephod and
the Breast-plate, will constitute the subject of our next article.
(To b, continued.)

ARTICLE 11.

THE HOLY SPIRIT.

TUB Holy Spirit is light from the Lord, revealing His Divine Form
as the alone Truth, and His Divine substance as the alone Good.
The operation of the Holy Spirit in ma.n is according to the laws of
order, revealing first the external of the Lord to the external percep-
tions of the natural mind of man; then His Divine inner to the inner
spiritual perceptions of man; then His Divine inmost to the inmost
eelestia.l perceptions of man's love.
Swedenborg tells us of the exact workings of the light of the Di-
vine Truth in the human mind, viz., tha.t it produces Reformation,
Regeneration. Renovation, Vivification, Sanctification, Justification,
Purification, Remission of Sins, and Salvatioq.
Reformation has to do with man's external thought; this is filled
with falsities, with utter denials of the Divine truth. For, even if
man is jnstructed to say that Jesus Christ is a Divine being, he says'
it ,,"itb his lips, but his thought says, "How ,vas He divine 1 He
was a man as other men:" or else he does but think and speak as a
parrot. But when man, from the literal sense of the Divine Word,
sees and acknowledges that Christ was "God manifest in the flesh,"
and that in Him "all the fnlness of the Godhead dwelt bodily," tben
light from the Divine Natural has penetrated his natural mind, and
his understanding is reformed. But this is " cold unproductive light;
it has nothing of the life of good in it, and is an acknowledgment
such as the evil spirits may and often do make.
But if from this light of natural truth man goes about to do good,
because Christ went about doing good, then the light grows,. and he
distinguishes tDore and more clearly between good and evil; and Dy
potting away evil, the love of doing good grows upon him, and re.
generates his will. Thus his outermost degree of life is brought into
the sphere of the Lord's person. The reformAt.ion of his understand-
ing, and the regeneration of his will, bring hi In into a perception· Gf
his true eternal spiritual being. Thus is he re7lovated. Heretofore the
spirituAl man ha.s heen dead; no\v he realizes it; Hght has shone
upon it, and with his spiritual understanding he begins to discern
spiritual troths-a something within the mere literal meaning of the
YOL. v. 3
22 ne Holy Spirit. [Jan.
Word; not only the Divine perSOD, but the Divine wisdom, gmws
upon his perceptions; the dead spiritual man is renovated, but a per-
ception of the Divine wisdom is but a receptacle in him of a feeling
of the Divine LO\l'e; and thought, animated by feeling, is vivified;
it lives and acts; and the reformed natural understanding, and re-
generated natural will, become the fitting receptacles of the reno-
vated spiritual understanding, and the vivified spiritual will. MaD
now lives in a higher degree, but as yet he is in the full recognition
of himself; he loves this beautiful truth a$ his truth; he walks OD
the walls of the spiritual city of his mind, peopled 'with living forms,
and adorned with the gardens of intelligence, and refreshed with the
sparkling fountains of natural truth; and he says, .' Is not this great
Babylon \\~hich I have built 1" But while the words of self-gratula-
tion are bursting from him, gone is the glory; darkness ha.s veiled
from him the light of the sun; thert' is yet 1\ loftier height to which
he must attain before the sun can forever shine upon his perceptions;
he must realize that in man is no truth; that God is the alone Truth,
whence all truth flo,,'s into him simply as a Divine gift, as a Divine
possession in him. He must look upon himself as insignificant 8
medium of truth as any tiny vein in his own body which bears his
thought upon the red flood that flows through it. When he has at-
tained to this perception, then the truth in him is sanctified; it is
the Lord's truth, not his; and Sanctification leads to Justification.
For if God i~ the alone truth. He is the alone Life, and man being &
form, receptive of Life from God, all the good that he does is from
·the Lord, and man is just because God is just. Thus the renovated
.and reformed human ~nderstanding is sanctified and made holy, and
the vivified, regenera.ted will is justified, and then comes a yet more
interior perception of the celestial purity of the Divine Wisdom;
:and this looking upward to the Divine innocence, causes nlan to see
lmore clearly his own innate and total depravity and total corruption;
.aad by looking away from himself to the Lord, he becomes purified
.irom self-intelligence and self.love, and he comes then into a pertect
trast in the Lord, and yielding his inmost will to the Divine will, his
sins are remitted, or are put away from the centre to the circum-
ference; for the Lord becomes the centre and soul of his being.
Thus is ,alvation wrought in the man by the gradual revealings of
that holy light that flows from the body of our Divine Lord, bring-
ing him into the very sphere of the celestial personality, of the Di vine
'individuality, resulting from the perfect wisdom which is the form
of God, and of the infinite purity of love, \vhich is the substance of
that Divine Form. And when the human mind attains to a percep-
tion of absolute perfection, and the human heart realizes a love, that
will forever satisfy its requirements, then is the hunger and thirst
of the soul ministered unto, and man reposes in an eternal joy, \\rhich
is Bal»ation.
•
EXTRACT.
The .R'Hat maR reasons acutely and with readiness, because bis thought is so near
bis speech as to be 81mo~t in it, and because he places all intelligence ID discourtiug
from tue memory alone.-.d. C. 19:>.
1852.] Tile Antiquitie, of Egypt.

ARTICLE 111.

THE ANTIQUITIES OF EGYPT.

TUB contributor of the series of papers entitled" The Droidism of

Ancient Britain," published some years since iu the· Repository, per-
formed a service worthy of gratitude. It tended to call into notice
what \va.~ else obscure, and gave to British archmology a post of hon-
or, which could not fail to be gratifying to those who love the name
of Cymbri, and are interested in the lore of the bards. In the ideal
Taliesin, & personification of the Genius of Druidi~m, we observe a
fonn of speech not far remote from tbat employed when the man
Adam of the Most Ancient, and Noah of the Ancient, church are men-
tioned in the Ward.
Our interest in these memories of the hoary Past was again excited
by a hasty perusal of Gliddon's "Ancient Egypt." Mr. Hayden in
his justly popular "Reply to Dr. Pond" made a few citations from
this work, and had aroused 8. curiosity which oar immaturity of per-
ception precluded from being satisfied. Finding valuable assistance
from a perusal of these lectures, we were impelled to suppose that
otherg would share the delight which we experienced, and th~refore
concluded to embody several of the prominent statements of the au-
thor in a communication for the Repository.
Many of our friends are aware that Swedenborg· affirmed many
things in regard to which subsequent explorations were needed for con-
firmation. Those who receiyed his testimony \vere not so insanely in
love with tbe marve]ous as their opponents vainly endeavored to re-
present. They sent no embassy to China, or Great Tartary to find
those lost books of the Word which the Lord had given to the An-
cient church. They emplo~'ed no trav~ller to roam through Africa in
quest of the people "more internal than the rest of the Gentiles,"
whose manners were simple and affections ennobled. New-church-
men, eager to verify tht' teachings of the illuminated scribe, exhumed
not Egypt or Ethiopia. Men who disregard the instructions of Moses
and the prophets will not hear though we superadd testimony from
one ,,"ho spoke fl'om the spirit-world.
Yet as time dre\v on, the providence of God afforded confirmations
to the words oftbe gifted Seer. Demonstrations were Inade here and
there, \\'hich evinced that the region of departed souls ,,"as not far re-
mote from the d\vellers in material bodies. Nations were found in
Africa, whose character indicated that Swedenborg had spoken truth.
Large cities inhabited by millions of people have been discovered in
l'artary. l'races of books have been obtained, possessed of a peculiar
character and style, among a people not Paynim nor Pagan.
Egypt, the mystic hOlne of the Gods, a pioneer of hunlan civiliza-
tion. has already revealed secrets of vast importance. The research-
~s of archmologists ha,-e not been in ,~ain, as is manife8t in the pamph-
let before us. The author has been very judicious in his selections ~
from the materials afforded him by his own observations, and the
labors of others.
 24 The Antiquitie, of Egypt. [JaD.
The art of writing, '\\.~ are assured, is of \pery remote antiquity. It
. was in existence before history had a being. The older portions of the
Bible were compiled from more ancient documents. The book of Job,
for example, was an Arabian production, and composed among a lite-
rary people. This is evident from these expressions, "Oh. that my
words ,vere written I Oh, that they were PRINTED in a book I" He un-
doubtedly meant engraved like the Chinese works, not by modem
typographers. Again:" My desire is that my adversary had written a
book." Long before Moses "·88 born, written chronicles and the 8ub-
Jimest poetry were extant.
" The Book of Genesis is divided into two perf"ctly separate histo-
ries. The ftr8t part is an account of the CREATION, and the general
history of manltind up to the building of the Tower of Babe). The
8econd part is the history of Abraham and his descendants." Swe-
denborg· and Dr. Lamb, from whom Mr. Gliddon made this quotation,
divide this book at precisely the same point, and include ten chapters
and nine verses of the eleventh, in the first part.
But fanaticism, accident, and casualties have destroyed the great
mass of ancient literary productions. We can allude to "the various
instances of the annihilation of ancient archives in Asia Minor,
Greece and Syria;" the destruction of the Ptolemaic Library, also
of the Alexandrian collection; the destruction of the Chinese annals
by the Tartars, and likewise of the Indian and Central Asiatic libraries
. by other hordes of the sa.rnA nation; the Turkish devastations, the
perishing of Tyrian literature at the conquest by Alexander, and of
Roman annals when Brennus entered that city; the conflagration of
Phmnician manuscripts by Marius at Carthage, and of the Hebrew
archives by Titus Vespasian. "Mahomed Ali has permitted the des-
truction of more historical legends in forty years than had been com-
passed by eighteen centuries ofRoman, B)·zantian, Arab, or Ottoman !

misrule." The history of Hecateus, and the annals of l\lanetho, Hero-

8US, and Eratosthcnes are lost, all but a few mutilated fragments. So
are also the records of a still earlier period, " saye.such as ChampollioD
has pointed out on the monuments and papyri of Egypt." That
there was a vast number of books is shown by the enumerations no"·
extant. At the date of 625, B. C. above t,,'enfy thousand volumes
were " in constant, universal and popular use among the inhabitants
of Egypt, the productions of a Saphil, Athothil, Necho, and Pet-o,iri"
all Egyptian Pharaohs; no less toaD of priests and other philosophers,
who lived, nearly all of them, ages before Moses."-Poems, especially
epics, were common: and Homer, who visited that country eight hun-
dred years before our present era, stands charged by t.he Egyptian
poet N aucratis, "\vith gleaning from Egyptian bards the ideas
which, with such sublhnitl" of thought and diction, he perpetuated in
his Iliad and Odyssey."
But the original documents are lost forever; the glori~s of ancient
Nile have perished; and the prediction of the Hermetic books is ful-
filled: 'c Oh, Egypt I Egypt I the tjme will come, when instead of a pure
religion and a pure belie~ thou shalt possess nothing but ridiculous
fables, incredible to posterit)'; and nothing shall remain to thee but
1852.] The Antiquitie, of Egypt. 26

UJOnU engf"acen on ,tone,-the only monuments that will attest thy

piety."
The ChnldeaDs from whom the Hebrews originated were literary
at a very early period. Their astronomical observations date as far
back as 2234, B. C., or seyen hundred years before Moses. " Yet Di-
odoru4J distinctly avers that the Babylonians learned astronomy from
tbe Egyptians, , being tl,e1llselve, an E~ypti(11l colony.'" Mesopotamia
also was at that same time tributary to Pbaraonic rule. "Berosus gives
a Chaldean history of the ten antediluvian generations, that differs but
iD names from the Hebrew account." To Xisutbru8 (or Nosh) he
gives the credit of compiling the memoirs of the preceding ages.
Many centuries must have elapsed before those nations could possess
the requisite mental discipline to enable them to attain such perfec-
tion in science and letters. But it should be Doted that these dates ex-
tend back to tbe popular ~ra of the Flood, without alluding to any
such catastrophe! A significant omission.
Mr. G. himself remarks: " I cannot reconcile with scriptural chro-
nology, however extended, the lapse of time adequate for the rude un-
instructed savage to acquire among the myriads of progressive steps
towards civilization, the art of writing, whether by symbolic or alpha-
betic signs. Writing may be forever u1,necesslWY to vast tribes of hu-
man beings who are far above the lavage in the scale of civilization,
and would, assuredly, not have been the &l-t which for many genera.
tions, 8 savage community would strive to acquire, or to which their
first efforts would be directed. Centuri{'s would elapse before the hy-
pothetical savage could reach that wonderful process, attested by
Egyptian monuments, still erect on Nilotic shores, whose construction
precedes Abraham by unnumbered generations." He therefore con-
cludes that civilization was not attained at first by long ages of dis-
cipline; but was of hea.venly origin.
Grecian philosophy as well as poetry gre\\t' from the Egyptian
stock. The sages of Hellas resorted to that country (or those lessons
which at home they reproduced in their writings, made sacred in their
mysteries, and taught in their schools. All the world went thither.
Solon, the .. \visest of mankind," was a student in Egypt. " The
Egyptians had intercourse '\vith Hindostan, the Spice Island~, and
China, long before that period." 'l'heir ships doubled the Ca.pe of
Good Hope; and they made other important explorations.
The discovery of America must undoubtedly be placed to their cre-
dit. We admit the testimony of the Norwegian and Icelandic skalds,
'\vho have chronicled in their sagas the adventures of Eric, who some
nine centuries ago sailed to a countl-y west of Greenland and going
down its coast found a region heavily covered with forest, and spent a
\vinter where there was no sno\v. Runic characters on New-England
rocks have also sbo\vn that this land 1ias "been visited by the bold
Scandina\'ian. Columbus spent a season in Iceland before he project-
ed the discovery of the western continent. But we are now dealing
\vith a remote antiquity. .
Authors have appealed to the religious ceremonies of the Aztecs
and Peruvians to prove that their origin \\'8S similar to that of t.he
 The A7Itiquitie. of Egypt. [Jan.
Phenicians and other Oriental nations. In social eostoms and re-
fined civilization they did Dot contrast very unfavorably with their
Spanish conquerors. But we soppose that another circumstance
precludes this hypothesis. The Egyptians, Phenicians, Carthageni-
ans, Persians and other ancient people were of the Caucasian race;
which wa.s not the case with the Southern aborigines.
Plato relates that Solon was informed by Sonchis, an Egyptian
priest, . "of the existence of the Atla1ltic [,lea; which Sonchis said
were larger than AFRICA AND ASIA UNITED." On returning home the
Athenian statesma.n wrote a poem, in which be made mention of the
" VAST ISLAND, which had sunk into the Atlantic qcean."

11.
The religion of the ancient nations \vas " Monotlleism, mystically de-
veloped ill triads, the existence of which pure prim~val creed among
the Gentiles is shown by the mythological systems of the Hindoos, the
Pelasgic Greeks, the Orpbic philosophers, the Tyrians, the Sidonians,
the Syrians, the Edessenes, the Chaldeans, the Peruvians, the Chinese,
and Ultra..Gangetic nations of the remotest antiquity to have been tbe
same, as thoroughly demonstrable by hieroglyphical discoveries, it is
now proved to have been the faith of those initiaterl in the hierophan-
tic mysteries of the traduced and misurfderstood ancient Egyptians."
The old nations ,,'ere peculiar in their modes of writing. The
Mongolian tribes never attained to an alphabet. The Chinese and
Tartars employ symbolic signs ,vhich express one or more words in
a single character. In Egypt "the art of writing was a combination
of alphabetic or PHONETIC signs to express a letter; oC FIGURATIVE signs;
and of SYMBOLIC signs; ,vith some curiou~ and useful abridgments
from the hieroglyphic (which composes the whole ofthA above three
classes) to the hieratic cbaract~r, and in comparatively modern times
to the demotic or PDchorial." The Hebrew phonetic was doubtless
borrowed from the Eg)·ptian alphabet.
In this S)-ste1!l there were many characters or homophones to repre-
sent each letter; and each character had a symbolic signification as
well 8S a phonetic po\ver. Thus he spells out A,lIerica. with appro-
priate Egyptian homophones, as follows: A, asp, s)·mbolizing sove-
reignty; M, mace, s)-mb. military power; E, eagle, symb. courage; R,
ram (the head), syIJlb. frontal po\\rer or intellect; I, infant, symb.
extreme youth; e, cake, symb. civilization; A, tan (an a in pbonetic
use), symb. eternal-life. Thus by a judicious selection of appropriate
signs we have the whole character, &c. as well as the word. We
should remember that this specimen of orthography is anglicized;
though sufficiently Egyptian to illustrate the principle.
The intelligent reader ,viII obtain some idea of the correspondences
employed in the \vritings of the Ancient Church; and will readilyob-
serve the importance ,vhich ever)" horn of a letter or inflection must
have in each word. A sense existing within each fraction ofevery letter
interiorto anyphonetic value or natural idea, affords amedium or men-
struum for the presence of angels, \vhiJe the reader is occupied in the lit-
teraI sense of the Word. The ancient V\'ritings having characters pro-
1852.] TIle Antiqui'iea of Egypt. 27

perty adapted to the use, are far better for a. langoage of symbols,
than modern compositions written in alphabetic signs, endowed only
with pbonetic power. .
The Egyptia.n language was constructed of monosyllables; those
words of more syllables were compound. Its syntax strongly
resembles that of the French dialect. Dr. Leipsius"thinks the Coptic,
Sanscrit, and Indo-Germanic languages to have a common relation, if
Dot the same origin.
The arts were cultivated in Egypt to ft. high state of perfection.
Moses indeed wrote when the world had gro\vn old. ., Philologists,
astronomers, chemists, painters, architects, physicians, must return
to Egypt to learn the origin of language and writing-oftho calendar
and solar motion-of the art of cutting granite with a copper chisel,
and of giving elasticity to a. copper s\vord-of making gla..~ with
the variegated hues of the rainbo\v--of moving single blocks oC
polished s~"enite, 900 tons in weight, for any distance by land and
water-oC building arches, round Rod pointed, with masonic precision
unsurpassed at the present day, and antecedent, by 2000 years, to
the "ClORC& Magna" of Rome-of sculpturing a Doric column,
1000 years before the Dorians are known in history-of fresco
painting in imperishable colors-and of practical knowledge in
anatomy. Everyeraftsman can behold in Egyptian monuments the
progress of his art 4000 years ago; and whether it be a \vheelright
building a chariot-a shoemaker drawing his t\"ine-B. leather-cutter
nsing the self-same form of knife· of old, as is considered the best
form now-a weaver throwing the same hand-shuttle-a. white-
smith using that identical form of blo\\ypipe, but lately recognized
to be the most efficient-the .seal-engraver cutting in hieroglyphics
such names as SHOOPHO'S Lcheops] above 4300 years ago-or even
the poulterer removing the pip from geese--all these, and. many
more astounding evidences of Egyptian priority, now require but
a glance at tht' plates of Roscellini.
.. Are not the symbols of the Egyptians similar to those of the He-
brews T Did not Moses,' , learned in all tbe wisdom of the Egyptians:
fo1low in the Aurim and Thumim of the Hebrew judicial breast-plates
the symbolical and long anterior types used by the Egyptian high
Priest T Can we soppose this similarity to be the effect of chance 1
Must we not attribute the identity to R common primeval and sacred
source, more remote than the establishment of either Dation? In
both nations, none but the Arch Judges and high priests could wear
the brea.~t-pI8te of lights and perfections" [Urim and Thummim].
" It is proved beyond doubt by Portal that from the remotest times,
calor had a symbolical meaning; and that remarkable analogies ex-
ist in regard to the mystical acceptation of every color, "among the
Persians, Indians, Chinese, Hebre\\"s, Eg~"ptians, Greeks a.nd Romans,
preserved through the middle ages of Christianity-the last relics of
which remain to our day in Heraldry.
"The study of prirniti\"e arts and doctrines, whether in respect to
the origin of writing, or to the sources of the Unity in Trinity, identi-
cal wit.h the fountain springs of our subJimest conceptions, leads by
28 ThB Antiquities of Egypt. [Jan.
different roads invariably to the same point, the common primeval
origin of all things; aod attests that the God. of Israel was the God
of the Brahmins; the God of the Chaldeans; as Champollion's dis-
coveries enable us to hope, that shrouded under the vail oftbe S&DC-
tuary he was likewise the Deity of those who were initiated into the
mysteries of the early Egyptians."
In chronological computations Mr. Gliddon, thoogh sufficiently
obedient to the popular sentiment, 8S to adopt the Septuagint era of
the Flood. yet distinctly avers that it is too contracted. "If one thou-
sand more years could be shown admissible by Scripture, there is no-
thing in Egypt that would not be found to agree with the extension."
Yet this Septuagint computation allows 1000 more years than the
one commonly employed.

Ill.
In the fifth chapter of his book Mr. GIiddon devotes several pag~
to finding out the Egyptian roots for some of the proper names used
in the 10th chapter of Genesis. Ham is from khem .e tbe dark twin ;"
Shem from ,hemmo the stranger, or as a Hebre\v term "the \vhite
twin," Canaan is derived from Kanana, a barbarian country; Miz-
raim is " Hebrew plural term (erroneously set down dual) signifying
fortresses; Phut is traced to Niphaiat, " the country of the nine bows,"
or Libya; Cush, the epithet of the negro race, he renders a barbarian
country, a perverse rac~. "Caphtor has been ingeniously traced to
Ai-caphtor, or covered land, possibly referring to the annual covering
of Egypt by the ,,'aters of the Nilotic inundation. Hence byelis-
ion we obta.in Aicapht or Aicopht; and b)" transmutation with
Greek, Aiguptos, Egypt; which may deri\"e some confirmation frolD
the Arabic, ' Gypt,' or 'Gupt,' or 'Qooft,' in relation to our word Capt.
In Sanscrit Egypt is termed Gupta-shan, covel-ed land, wherein we
trace the same root."
Th·e Governm~nt of Egypt, as far back as it is traced, was theocratic.
Not priestly, as we now define that function, but in a more nobly ex-
panded sense. "A theocracy, or a government of pI-jests, was the
first known to the Egyptians; and it is necessary to give this \vord
priest_f, the acceptation that it bore in remote times, when the minis-
ters of religion were also the ministers of science; so that they united
in their own persons two of the noblest missions with which man can
be invested, the worship of the Deity, and the cultivation of intelli-
gence."
The sacerdotal becoming corrupt was superseded by a secular
government, \\,hich remains in different forms till the present time.
"This grand political revolut.ion had over ,the social \velfare of
the nation an influence most salutary and durable. From a sacerdo-
tal despotism, that in the name of Heaven exacted implicit obedience
to the privileged members of the hierarch~", the Egyptians passed under
the authority of a temporal civil monarch~', and acquired a constitu-
tion that rendered them free as well as happy."
The female sex were appreciated in respect to their moral capabil-
ities, social '9irtues, intellectual attributes, and civil rights. The
1852.] The Antiquitiea of Egypt. 29

Je\vess never attained the honor of her Egyptian sister; nor was her
nation as noble. In Egypt, women were priestesses and queens in
their o\vn right. "We have the most positive and incontrovertible
evideDc~, in a series of monuments coeval with Egyptian events for
2500 years, to prove that the female sex in Egypt wa.~ honored, civil-
ized, educated and as free as among ourselves; and this is the most un-
answerable proof of the high civilization ofthat ancient people."
"The ro)'al authorit)· \vas not absolute. The sacerdotal order
preserved in their councils their rightful positions-the military \vere
there to maintain order and to strengthen the monarchy, but were
citizen-soldiers; and in the great assemblies (panegy,·ies), wherein all
religiou~, warlike, civil, administrative, commercial, political, statisti-
cal, internal and external affairs were periodically treated; the
priests, the military, the corporations, aDd the people were represent-
ed, and the intere.~ts of all were protected."
According to the old chronicles, there are three categories of
Egyptian rulers; 1st, the Gods, Pthah (Hephestus or Vulcan), Helius
(the sun), and Chronus and the twelve divinities, sa.id to have lasted
33,984 years; 2d, the Demigods; and 3d, the dynasties of men end-
ing with the Macedonian conquest. These spaces of time, fabulous
as they appear, indicate the ages of gold and silver. Indeed the Gods
are called aurittB or children of the sun. Aurum or gold is evident-
ly derived from the same term. The Demigods are also termed Mes-
treans or "begotten of the sun." The" reign of men" is evidently
the period when idolatry overspread the world.
We observe that Egyptian mythology is sublimer than the Grecian•.
Ptbah, their Vulcan, is the Creator and Father of the universe; no pit-
iful~ detormed cuckold, the scorn or the cele~tials. Chronus is the
Deity of "time immeasurable." But no absl1l"d fiction of descent
from the Gods was entertained b~' Egyptians. "On the contrary they
ridiculed the Greeks for supposing themselves to be a heaven-de-
scended race, in a right line of succession; for the Egyptians were a
practical people and a sensible."
" Finally the time-honored chronicles of Eg)'pt carry us back to
the remotest era of earliest periods; and even then display to us the
wonderful and almost inconceivable t'vidences of a government or-
ganized under the rule of one monarch; of a mighty and numerous
people skilled in the arts of war and peace; in mt}ltifarious abstract
and practical sciences; with well framed laws and the social habits
of highly civilized life, wherein the female sex was free, educated
and honored; of a priesthood possessing a religion, in which the uni-
ty of the Godhead and his attributes in trinities or triads, with a be-
lief in the immortality of the soul, a certainty of ultimate judgment,
and H. hope of the resurrection of the dead are discoverable."
\Vith the subject of the thirty-one dynasties \ve have little to do,
as it is not congruous to our present purpose. So also the demon-
stration that the Egyptians were of the Caucasian and not of
the Nigritian race, yet these subjects are interesting and entitle Mr.
Gliddon's lectures to a dili~ent perusal. It still impresses us with
the melancholy conviction of ho\v much is lost. The arts and sci-
ences were practiced in the land of Ham, quarries were worked,
80 [Jan.
mines opened and explored, temples built, and we are destitute of
their history. The papyri of Manetho are probably lost forever; nor
have we much hope ever to acquire the books of Hermes. Yet \vhat
we have learned, an points, whether we will have it so or not, in the
precise direction indicated by the scribe of the New Church. And in
spite of all efforts to make these historical reminiscences seem fabu-
lous, it is worth a notice tha.t whenever in cotemporary nations a re-
ference is made to Egyptian aonals, it never contradicts, but COD-
firms the statements made by the fragments of Egyptian records
now exta.nt.
Is it not more than probable that the origin of the Hebrew race is
traceable to the people of the Nile 1 Abraham was a Chaldean and
Chaldea. \vas an Egyptian colony. The first chapters of Genesis fol-
low an Egyptian model. The Nofttic flood, fifteen cubits above the
highest mountains, resembles a NiJotic inundation which rose above
its usual height, and exceeded its usual extent. The names also indi-
cate a copying from Egyptian records. But we forbear conjecturing.
We hope that as future explorations are made, more confirmatory
evidences may be found; though it is impossible to convince a wil-
ful skeptic. But for the weak in faith, whoAe honesty is great, but
perceptions feeble-for them would we write and speak. It is a
charity to feed them, and to afford them confirmations which will serve
them as a defence against antagonistic spirits. And we regard it as
of the Divine Providence that at the present time a series of explora-
tions are going on in the countries of remotest antiquity, the res,uIts
of which are to confirm the testimony of Heaven's chosen seer.
A.W.

CORRESPONDENCE.

JEFFERSONVILLE, lliDIANA, Nov. 16th, 1851.

PROP. BUSH,
IN a back No. of the N. C. Repository for this year is an editorial item on Spirit-
uall\lanifestations, or, the opening of the interior sight, and an invitation given to
any in possession of facts on this 8U bject, to offer them. When I read the article I
thought of 0. leaf in my diary which recorded something of the kind, and which oc-
curred in my early life before I ever heard of a New Church.
I have copied it just as I then wrote-it down, word for word; if it may serve &Dy
use in making up the article you speak o~ I offer it freely.
I was in my seventeenth year, engaged in teaching Or sma.llschool in the country
district where I was brought up, when I was taken suddenly sick with a fever, and
my thoughts was arrested to think on death. I felt unprepared to enter a world
of spirits, and J sou~ht earnestly for mercy at the hand of God. I knew that I had
not been U bom agaIn," and I cried constantly to the Lord that I might be born of
the Spirit, and my sins forgiven. Fierce disease was preying upon my body, the
development of a moral malady which lay festering WIthin. The streams of life
1852.] CorrB6pondence. 81
were poifloned with hereditary evil, and they broke forth from their heart-prilon,
and soul and body I saw and felt· to be one m&88 of vileness and depravity. My
little world of mind, that I had thought 80 wise and good, was &8 a nest of unclean
birds, an unsightly field of iniquitY" where were evils and plagues, and roots of bit-
ierneas. I murmured against my God, while I called upon him for mercy, and in
my pain I could not be patient, for evil tempen and feelings ruled over me, and I
had no more innocence or love or peaoe. The more I cried unto God, the farther
did he seem removed from me. Inmostly I wished to do right, but there was a
deadly strife within, an armed power, that resisted every etrort at self.control, and
I groaned more desperately under the thraldom of sin, than the long and painfully
protracted sufterings of the body. All my soul became a void and thick dulm. .,
yet the mercy of Jehovah brooded over the aby88. Of all the world I felt myself
moat wretched and depraved. For weeks and months I fluctuated between life
and death, for when the fever-crisis past, dangeroU8 pulmonary sY'mptoms appeared.
However, my constitution triumphed, and I slowly recovered. The turbulence of
my wayward passions also, in a meuure, subside<1; but I found not the peace I
sought, and a settled gloom gathered over my 80ul ! Penitence, tears, and prayer,
were my only relief or 801ace. My fonn was bowed together, and my food was as
the taste of ashes and wormwood. I said there is no ransom for my 8Oul, and des-
pair planted its deadly fangs within me, and I seemed gradually sinking into a pit,
to be forever lost. The promises of the Word were not for me, and darkly died
within me every ray of hope and light, which had hitherto sustained me abOve the
dread abyss. I was alone in my grief and woe, and there was none to deliver.
Thu did I sink in the deep waters. U The weeds were wrapped about m1 head-
the earth with its bar' was around me forever." Yet there was a voice Within me,
crying as did Dand, " Oh, Lord, I beseec/" th~, dtliver my soul."
But I continued steadily rending the Word and religious tracts. One day the
Dame Jesus attracted my attention. It seemed to brighten and glitter as I looked
upon it. I mentally exclaimed, U I will supplicate Jesus." I entered a room alone,
and fastened the door. I fell upon my face, and cried, "L01'd JesUefl, have mercy on
m,!!' Oh, help me, or I peris1i. But here will I lie till thou dost make me whole.
If I perish, I win perish at thy feet. Night closed in upon my prostrate fonn. I
coBtinued crying till my Boul was spent. There was not another word in my mouth
to ~ak_ Still and hushed as that silence which rei~ed in heaven was all within
me. I knew not vhat had befallen me! I thought" Ho'UJ dreadful is this plau,"-
would it were the gate of heaven to me. Slowly I raised my body from its prostra-
tion, and my soul, in ita humiliation, rested in the U God-man." For thirty.cie;ht
hours was I kept in this profoundly still and quiet state, until the Sabbath mornlng
came. I went to church for the first time since my illness. I went through the
morning service, with my open book of prayer, and when the sermon commenced,
I bowed my head upon tbe slip in front Of me, that I might liBten undisturbed, and
instantly I /o~t my outer consci01Unes.~! My spiritual sight IDQ, opened! Lo! I saw
the Lord. With great wonder and a8tonishment I exclaimed-it is Je8us! Jesus!
U Thou art the fairest among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovel~." Oh,
that countenance! That celestial body! In form a man, in feature God. .AB I
gazed intently upon the Divine, just above me, a little at the right, a voice, 88 of an
angel, was heard in mine ear, saying-U as far 88 the east is from the west, 80 far
is thy sins separated from thee."
A!i I still wondered and adored, from this form divine proceeded ,·ay! of light
floltin~ down, and infilling my 8oul. No language can describt 'he sensations that
1'tTvaded nle. My soul and body seemed all wrought into light and liCe !-clear,
luminous, crystal-like and without weight. When I retumed to consciousness,
they were leaving church. I rose to follow, but felt no floor or ground. I seemed
gliding above the earth, and love unutterable filled me full. J reached home. I
entered my room. I took up my Bible. I opened it. But 10! from between its
leaves there issued & dazzling flame, like as or the finest particles of pure gold! It
80 glittered that I closed my eyts, and then the book, and pressed it to my heart
worshiped ! Again I opened it, curious to understand the g.:eat phenomenon, and
an.
lo! its glittering was like rays of light, shining like burnished sih-er. In profound
and deep acknowledgment again I bowed' and .worshiped and adored! Surely this

j
 Corre'pondence. [Jan.
was a heavenly revelation, and from the Lord alone. Those were happy, happy days,
that followed, and I said to those around me, U Draw near, all ye that fear the Lord,
and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul !" There is but ODe God, aDd his
Dame Jesus! He is in the inmost of our being, and it requireth but only a certain
.tate to 8" /aim.
A.'-G.

AN ERROR CORRECTED.
BATH, Dec. 1851.
)tIR. EDITOR :-Will you allow a smallspBce in your columns to be occupied for
the purpose of correcting an erroneous representation which has been sent forth to
'he New Church public, and reiterated inadvertently, we conolude, by one of your
correspondonts 1
In an article, a second part of which appeared in the February number of the
Repository, on Mr. De Charms' le Report on the Trine in the l\finistry," over the mg-
natnre of U A. W." we notice the following paragraph, viz: "The 12th Convention
was held in Philadelphia. This was the last time the Church in this quarter ever
tDent into the motion of making rules of order for the New Church in this country."
U The Bath Sooiety in Maine reported their Institution on the Boston conjugial

plan, by Mr. T. Worcester." Mr. De Charms objects to this mode of doing busi-
ne88, because, first, an ordaining minister has no more right to do 80 than a distin-
guished personage had to offer the kingdoms of this worlrl to the Lord if he would
{all down and worship him; secondly, because the rule is devised by rtfr. Thomas
Worcester, as our law..giver, without reference to the Word, or the writings of Swe-
denborg; thirdly, it is contrarI to the Lord's way of forming Societies of the New
Church. They come into such forms' &8 from themselves.' There is just as much
need of ordainmg ministers to institute flocks of birds, or herds of cattle."
On turning to the report in question, we find that the quotations here indicated,
are correctly made, and the whole paragraph seems to be a fair representation, as
far as it goes, of the contents of about seven pages of that report, which are occupied
to prove the prevalence here of a mysterious c011jugial theory, and U the epi.scopal ten-
dency in the measures of our Eastern brethren."
Speaking of the U peculiar" manner in which the formation of the Bath Society
was conducted, the author of the report says: U There is no question in our mind
that it ftows direct from the conjugial theor.r, whether the originator of that theory
and the devisor of this order [Mr. Thomas Worcester] thought 80 or not."-P. 239.
The formAtion of the Boston Society is alluded to as "a transaction someu,hat simi-
lar," but let it be remembered that that transaction took place about eleven yea.rs
earlier, and, a considerable time, we believe, before the conjugial theory, so called,
was agitated, and by the aid of the Rev. Mr. Carn, who would not have been
likely to have favored any such theory, at that time. But the author of the report
goes on to say; U Here, therefore, in the Institution of the Boston Society, the prin-
ciple. first oame into form and into sight. A similar transaction in first forming a
Society of the N. Church, in EOJ5land or in this oountry, had never, we believe, oc-
curred before. It took its rise Wlth those who originated the theory of a conjugial
relation between a pastor and his society. It germinated and sprung up in the same
soil, and almost simultaneously with the first sprouts of that theory which we saw.
We have not the least doubt that it was a sucker from that theory, as a bulb or root,
and we therefore aver, that the existence of this princirle in the Rules of Order of
the General Convention now, is proof that the conjugia theory is still carried out 08
existing in the constitution of that body-all the verbal renunciations of tha.t theory
by the originator of it himsel~ and 0.11 the 00icial disclaimers of its existence or
Operation in the Convention, which may have been made by his minions, to the
contrary notwithstanding."-P. 240.
Now, we shall not presume to deny to the writer of said report, the possession of
that deep penetration which is capable of scanning the first springs of action iD
others, and of judging more correctly of their motives and purposes, than they can
do themselves; nor are we at all ooncerned to disprove the existence of the "conju-
1852.] Oorre'pondence. 33
gial theory" in the Convention. But we are conoemed to promote the prevalence of
truth and charity, and we feel it to be a duty to object to those statements quoted
from the report, 80 far 88 they go to impute to Mr. Thomas Worcester and others,
from the Boeton Society, who assisted and participated on the occasion of constitut-
ing the Receivers in Bath, a regular society of the N. Church, acoording to an., U Boa-
ton conjugial plan" or U devioe." We object to all thil 88 gross misrepresentatIon, and
we deprecate the whole tenor and apparent aim of it and its context, as injurious
aspersion, being apparently designed and calculated to place one section of the Re-
ceIvers in this country in an offensive and disadvantageous light before their breth-
ren in this and other countries, and a mlUlifest departure from the Divine rule of ea-
timating others by the conformity of tl!eir lives to the commandments of the Lord.
Now, we know that the methoCl of procedure adopt-ed at Bath did not in any ma-
terial point originate with Mr. Worcester, or any member of the Boston Society, and
we are entirely satisfied that no idea of any thing which may be called a conjugial
the0"1' entered the thought, or influenced the conduct of the Bath receivers on this
OCC&81OD. •
Our present object is not to vindicate Mr. '\Vorcester, and our other Boston breth-
ren, nor shall we attempt to refute the assumption that the Bath Society was insti-
tuted according to a conjugial theory or princIple. We trust that the laws peculiar
to the marriage of good and truth might have had some influence over the transac-
tion in question, well knowing that those laws are most interior and universal, and
that, on their prevalence, the order and happiness of the very heavens depend.
\\'rhen the paragraph quo~ from the Repository first arrest-ed our attention, we
U1oo~ht it unworthy of notice or refutation, concluding that it would 800n pass into
obliVIon; but meetiug lately another aspersion against the Eastem brethren of the
N. Church, and espeClally those of Boston, which, on glancing at the above Report,
was found to have originated there, and which we must regard as neither accoraing
to truth or charity, we realized more than before that a great majority of the Re-
ceivers at this time are liable to be impoeed on by erroneous representations made
of transactions, ~purpoaes, and motives existing in the Church 20 or 30 years back, and
that charity may demand soma efFort for their protection; for we have had occasion,
repeatedly, to deprecate the manifestation in the same quarter, of an apparent di.a-
position to place in an offensive light the Receivera in New England, ana we have
been not a little astonished at the power which a detennined pur~ of ~aining a
particular point has seemed to give to an individua.l to twist and tum Incidents,
having no real bearing upon it, to his aim, evincing a degree of apparent insanity
and blindness to the real truth, which renders the subject of them, wherever met
with, most truly, an object of pity.
\Vith regard to any manifest disPOfJition on the part of any of our ministers to be-
come U law-givers," or U devisers" of rules for the govemment of others, sub8equent
to the period to which we are about to refer, we have nothing to say, but that the
author of the Report appears to have evinced a full share.
In the year 1829, the small number of Receivers in Bath, v~ nearly, if not all,
members of Congrtgational Calvinistic Churches, and hereditarily, as well as by edu-
cation, very free of any Episcopal tendencies-perhaps five men more 80 could
hardly be met with than were the five males of thIS nucleus-had long been strug-
gling to rise above their own doctrinal prepoese88ions, with a strong sphere of bitter
opposition around them, such &s is hardly any where to be met with now, while but;
very few Receivers existed in the State, or even in New England, to sympathize with
them, and but one organized Society to extend to them countenance and support.
They at length found themselves 80 far liberated and united, and resolute, trustiDg
in the Lord, 88 to withdraw from their old connexion8, and decide on opening a
meeting for religious Sabbath worship, and the enjoyment of the ordinances, in aue
time, of a Society of the N. J. Church. .
Free aB they felt in this movement, all their sentimentB prompted them to seek the
sympathy, countenance, and co-operation of others, on the joyful occasion of their
commg together, U as from themselvea," to form a community desirous of attaining,
both internally and extemally, something of the order peculiar to the human form,
and they were at the same time deeply impre88ed with a aeDBe of the propriety of
having the occasion solemnized in a religious manner, and by an ecclesiastical fUDe-
34 Oorrupondence. [Jan.
tionary; and for these purposes they addreseed a letter to the Boeum Society, through
their pastor, expre88ing tlieir U desire to beoome constituted a Society of' the New
Jerusalem Church," and requesting their aid for such purpose.
In compliance with this application, the Boston Society p&88ed resolutions, re-
questing the Rev. Mr. Worcester, their pa&tor, to proceed to Bath, and elected de-
legates to accompany him for the purpose proposed.
On arriving at Bath, ~fr. Worcester was consulted respecting the manner in which
he thought it would be proper to proceed on the ocoasion, to which he replied, 8.8 is very
well remembered, in 8ub8tance, that he had no plan or mode to propoee, and in turn
asked what ideas we entertained respecting it; when it was suggested as a natural
and common sen8e coune, that U masmuch as a letter had been addressed by the
Bath receivers to the Boston Society, and acted on by the latter, it might be well,
on opening the meeting, first, to read that letter, and the consequent doings of the
Boston Society; then that he should announce the presence of himself and dele..
gates, for the purpose of complying, making inquiry if the Bath receive1"8 were de-
sirous and ready to proceed in the business of the occasion, which bein~ signified by
the candidates rising, and the record, in which were inscribed the artIcles of faith
of the N. J. Church already signed, being handed to him, he should proceed to read
those articles in the presence of the meeting, and on their being aseented to by the
Bath receivers, they should be pronounced U a regularly constituted society," &0.
To this !\tlr. \Vorce8ter's reply was, that U he saw no objection; it seemed orderly,
and if it 8uited us, as we had no precedent, it was well to adopt it," or to that eiFect.
We distinctly remember being struck with the unlUlJuming manner with which the
subject was treated by him. Mr. Worcester, in conducting the meeting, accord-
ingly having read the articles of faith, pronounced the following interrogations, viz:
"1st, Do you believe in these Doctrines 1
"2d, DoloU wish to live aeoordins to them 1
u3d, An ,do you/orm yourselves moo a society for that p~oee 1"
So much for the agency of Mr. Worcester in U devising" the form of proceeding,
and we are not aware that he had any more in any of the introduQto!'l movement8.
The five brethren who constituted the male portion of the Bath receivers, had no
pretensions but to plain practical common sense, enli~htcned in some degree by the
dawning light of the New Dispensation; but it may m truth be said of one of their
number, and one of the earliest readers in this count~, but now departed, that he
possessed l\ nice discernment of external order, and had some experience in the
practices which prevail with other fratemal communities as the effect of a common
OT general influx from tILe heaven" and the fact that these proceedings have been
somewhat extensively approved and followed since, may, perhaps, be regarded as
affording o,s much evidence that thel were orderly and correct, 8.8 that they were
from the arbitrary dictation of any mdividual, or the result of any preconceived
theory, as the report labors to make it appear; but which we regard 0.8 preposterous
and absurd, and even worse.
In conclusion, we have only to add, for we have already much exceeded the
limits we intended, that we deeply regret having had occasion to make some
of the personal allusions we have done, but we have done it under a conviction that
it is quite time a more full and frequent expression should be ma.de of sentiments
which are extensively prevalent in the Church, to rebuke that spirit of crimination
and re-crimination-that, sitting in judgment upon, and condemning tbe personal,
but unessential opinions and practices of others; and raking up, coloring, and
sending forth to the world, &8 evidence of present states and views, the fruits of
those which may have lone; since passed away-a spirit and practice which have
too much prevailed in thIS country, though entirely repugnant to the geniu8 of
N. C. principles. Ra.ther let us fulfil the true mission of the Newchurchman, by
affirming that truth, in living according to it, and rejoicing that a diversity exists
amongst us as tending to that variet~ which is the perfection of beauty, so long as
in the main, the aim is right; for, If all stood on the same point of view, the com-
pass of vision would be comparativeI,. limited, and would contract still more in pro-
portion to our tenacity of the imperfect appearancel within the per~iew of our own
personal range. Let us remember that good, and not truth, is the first essential of
the Church-that without the former, the latter cannot exist, and tha.t true charity
affords the only soil in which a sound faith can germinate, live, and grow.
AN ORIGINAL M.ulBER O~ THE BATH SoCIETY.
 1852.] ~liscellan!l. . 35

MISCELLANY.

DISTRIBUTION OF NEW CHURCH BOOKS.

BUFFALO, N. Y., DeC. 8, 1851.

PROFESSOR BUSIJ,
Dear Sir,-It i8 my intention to visit the towns between this and Albany. Can
you ~ve me the names of persons interested in the N. C. who live on the railroad
or within twenty miles of It 1 If you will do so, you will confer a lavor, and assist
me in performing 0. DSC. Also, please give me any information which you think
will be orose.
Please lend the Repository for Nov. and Dec. to Buffalo. The package of back
numbers which you eent to Detroit was received. You may conaider me a sub-
scriber for next year, and I will try and send,0U the money soon.
I f you think. the following report will be 0 UIIe, you may print it in the Re~­
tory. Several persons who reaa the former reports have req uested me to cODtinue
them.
I think ODe of the most important uses for the New Church to perform at the
present time is the distribution of the books. If all the persons who are now inter-
ested in the New Churoh were asked what firBt directed their attention to the Hea-
venly Doctrines, a large proportion of them would reply that it was something
which they read. And nearly all would say that they obtained moat of their know-
ledge oC the Doctrines from books.
During the last six weeks I have BOld 264 books for $!)2 53. The books BOld are
as follows: 8 True Christian Religion; 17 Book of Doctrines; 23 Heaven &. Hell ;
8 Divine Providence; 8 Divine Love & Wisdom; 2 Apocalypse Revealed; 4 Conju-
Itial Love; 9 Sacred Scripture, Whiw Horse, and Summary of the Prophets and
Psalms, bound together; 13 Earths in the Cniverse; {) Heavenly Doctrine and Brief
Exposition, bound together; 8 Last Judgment; 5 Life of Swedenborg, by Hobart;
IH Do., by Rich [Detroit edition]; 1 \Vorship & Love of GOD; 6 Way to a Know-
ledge of the Soul ~ 16 Books for Children; 15 Bush's Reasons; 9 Ileat & Light; 1
W ~~in~ Ring; 1 vol.um~ of ~UBh's Swedenborg Library i 2 Bush's Letters to a
Tnmtarian; \} Antediluv1&n History i 2 Growth of the ~hnd; 21Iuman Progre88;
6 Two \Vorlds; 6 Weller on Marriage; 7 Religiou8 Phil080phy, including Des
Gua~ Parson's Essays, and Influx, bound together i 3 Regenerate Life; 6 Broce on
1\larriage; 3 Dictionary of Correspondences; 15 Cosmogenia, or Philosophy of the
World; 1 Index to the Arcano,. i 2 Religious Philosophy, by DC8 Guays; 3 Im-
mortal Fountain; 1 Doctrine of the LoRD; 1 Doctrine of Life; 1 Influx; 2 Coronia ;
1 name for the N. c. ~Iessenger; 1 name for the ltIedium.
l\lore than half of these were sold in Detroit, which proves that the circulation
and reading of the books may be very much increased 6y carrying them to the pe0-
ple, even in places where they are kept for sale.
One man, a Newchurchman, bouglit between $3 and $4 worth; and I suppose he
has Dot bought a N. C. book before in fifteen or twenty years. He had none e:&-
. cept two or three volumes of Sermons. He hu a family of children growiug up
around him, and these books will no doubt be very useful. The reason why he has
not bought any before, is, that he has not felt able to pay the high prices which
have been charged for them. And on this occasion he would not have bought more
than one or two, if he had not been attra.cted by the low prices.
He showed his books to an acquaintance, and informed him of the prices, and
this man came more than a mile one stormy night to find me, and get some books.
He was afraid if he did not come then, that I should be gone, and he would lOBe the
opportunity of getting them at those low prices. He also bought about $3 worth.
A considerable part of the books were sold to those unacquainted with the Doc-
trines. Visiting on Jefferson Avenue, I sold some books to a young lawyer. Two
or three days after I Was visiting on another street, and called on a younl; man, who
.id he had borrowed one or two books of the lawyer, and wae reading them. He
86 Mi~cell(Jny. [Jan.
a180 bought another book, and invited me to call again. Theee perIODS have Dot
before read the N. C. writinge.
On the 8th and 9th of Nov. I attended the Calhoun County N. C. Quarterly
Meeting in Battle Creek, and sold $16 worth of booka. I also sold $6 worth in the
cars on my way out, and $1 worth returning. I first went through the cars and
distributed about 100 of the U Address to the People of Michigan and N orthem In-
diana;" and as I passed through again to get my books, a gentleman saluted me,
and inquired if I was not U acting contrarv to N. C. principles, by trying t-o di88Cmi-
Date the Doctrines in this way." Said he; U I have recently been in Musachuaetts,
and was there informed· by a N. C. minister that they do not approve of this mode
of operations; that the brethren in the West sometimes.do it, but in the East they
do not regard it 0.8 j uelicious." I remarked that we believe these are important
trutlu, designed for the good of an who oan receive them, and that therefore we
think it is our duty to use all proper means ~ make them known, for there are
BOme in every community who can receive them. He replied, ., I think BO, too, and
I believe the8e writing! have been kept too much covered up under 0. bushel, and
that they ought to be brought out, and made generally bown." He bought a
copy of Heaven & Hell, and recommended the books to the gentleman sitting with
hiin, and he bought the Life of Swedenborg, by Hobart. I conversed two or three
houn with other persons, and sold books to at least a dozen inelividuaJa. One gen-
tleman bought $2 worth, and wu very glad to get them.
At the meetin~ one of the brethren informed me that a book which I sold in a
village a short tune before, had "set one man all on me." Said he: U It was just
the thing for him; he read it, and believed it, and went to a Newchnrchman to
borrow more." I was informed that the book which he bought W88 the Last Judg-
ment, which proves that we cannot tell which book will be most useful. I seldom
Bell the Last Judgment 88 an introductory work, but if persons want it I let them
have it.
I am selling the books at low prices. True Christian Religion, $1 25; Heaven &
HeU, 50 to 60 cents; Book of Doctrines costs me 52 cents, and I frequently sell it
for 50. Hobart·s Life of Swedenborg costs 50 cents, and I often sell it for the same.
The Heavenly Doctrine, bound with the Doctrine of the LoRD, or Brief Exposition,
in neat red and blue cloth, costa 24 cents, and I sell it for 25. I design to make the
booka pal for themselves. Perhaps I receive from 5 to 10 per oent. more than the
cost. I Intend to report accurately at 80me future time. If the uee cannot be sus-
tained without high prices, I think it cannot be with high prices; for if the books
~hould be held at the former retail prices, the sales would tie very much diminished.
Since Aprill, I have sold 1961 booD for $573; but if they had been held at the
usual retail prices, I think I should not have sold more than 1200 booka for $400.
I depend for support upon the contributions of thoee who favor the UBe. An ac-
count of recei~t8 and expenscs has been kept, and will I?robably be reJ!?rted at tJOme
future time. In behali of the use~ I acknowledge WIth gratitude the 8.88ist&nce
which has been rendered by brethren in Ohio and Michigan, and al80 in Chicago.
On my way from Detroit I 8pent a short time in Cleveland and vicinity, and Bold
$14 worth of books. A perl'on to whom I sold booka last summer informed me
that they have been very useful. He lent them around, and one man has become
a receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines, by reading the books, and conversing with
the lender.
That these booka may lead many to the Fountain of Love and Wisdom, and t.here-
by make them happy, it the desire of
Yours, sincerely,
H. M. SAXTON.
1852.] Miscellany_ 87

MISS BREMER ON THE SPIRIT KNOCKINGS.

NORTH S\VANZEY, Mass., Dec. 31, 1851.

B•• BUSH :-In the Dec. number of the Repository; Miss Bremer gives her opinion,
Tery {rankly, of the "Spirit Knockings." Now, opinions never alter facts. . It is
wonderful how a little popularity will give to some folks great boldness, not to say
impudence. It may be asked, what does Miss Bremer know about the laws of or-
der and spiritual manifestatioDs1 It is very easy to go with the popular cry, it is
an humbug, or, at most, evil spirits. But it will not be very easy for one like me to
giTe heed to the scandals of a mere novel reader and writer, against the spiritual
manifestations which our ble88ed Lord has been pleased to vouclisafe to my fellow-
eoontrymen, in thiB our glorious day. It is said that by the mouth of two or three
witnesses, every thing shall be established. Now, the writer of this article, through
the mercy of the Lord, has three ways by which he knows, that good spirits may,
and do, knock to him, and may also knock to others; and he may add, a fourth way.
wbich is proof of the verity of the thing. And, moreover, those who have evil and
low spiri t8 knocking to them, call them in by the means of the low physical and
spiritual company which they call about them. The three senses, i. e., seeing, hear-
ing, and feeling. The writer of this article, has seen, heard, and felt spirits for
more than thirty years, both obscurely and clearly. Jn the mean time, rappings-
haTe been in my study, on my table, on my books and writin~. The spirits seen,
have testified; the spirits heard, have testified; and the spints felt have testiled to
the verity of the spirit rappings. We could, if called upon, give tomes of testimony
10 the verity of the phenomenon in question. Hundreds come to bear us preach from
time to time, being sent there by the Lord through the medium of rapping spirits,
which spirits, &8 far as we are concerned, always bear testimony in favor of the
N. C. doctrines. Hundreds of N. C. books have been bought in pur8uance of the
advice of rapping spirits. The poesibility of spirits rapping audibly is proved from
the writings of Swedenborg, by the Rev. S. H. Worcester, of Framingham, and we
think the proof incontestible. The word of the Lord, as well as the Word of the
A~tles, prove the verity of the spiritual rappin~.
That the Word of the Lord testifies to the spiritual rappings, is obvious from the
following: "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for unto him who knocketh,
it shall be opened. Behold! I stand at the door and knock; if anyone will open
the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me." And in the
ActB of the Apostles, it is obvious that the Apostles believed that angels knocked, in
that they believed that it was not Peter that knocked, but his angel. This is a great
8Qbject; but I must come to a close, by saying, ha.d Miss Bremer, or any others, who
ridicule the rapping8, heard, seen, and felt, one half of what the writer of the above
article has of that truly wonderful phenomenon, there would be no more ridicule
heam from their lips or pen; but they would sit in silence, until they had learned &
lesIOn from Him whose ways are past findin~ out, and who maketh His angels spir-
its, and His ministers, a flame of fire, to mimster to those who are heirs of salvatIon.
ELEAZER SMITH.

The following is from a venerable clergyman of the Metbodi~l denomination, whose

corre!poDden~e has before enlivened our page~, and wbo!1e reception of the doctrines is
becoming daily, we helieve, more full Rnd decided. The query proposed 8t the close we
regard as one of Kr~ut practical moment, and we shol1ld be gratified to receive from
1'Ome of onr r.orre~pondent8 a thorough di!lcussion of the subject as B question of N. C.
C8!1uistry, In the deteflnination of which multitudes in similar oircumstances feel a deep
intere!ir.
C-· PARK, Dec. 31, 1851.
My DUll BBOTHER,.. I think the New Church Repository ought to be 11J8.med, to
vo~ ~ 4
38 Notices of Bou1t8. [Jan.
the end that the true Philosophy and Theology of Emanuel Swedenborg may be ex-
tensively made known; and, particularly, that, &8 illustration from. the Lord through
his providences, and by his Word and Spirit, shall be given, it may be free11 pub-
lished for the benefit of the New Church itself. It has, almost from the begmning
of my acquaintance with the N&w Churoh, appeared to me that the writers, since
Swedenborg, have sucoumbed too much to the old churoh authoritieR. What is it
to a Newchllrchman what Paul and Peter and John have written &8 men not inspir-
ed wit1l absolute truth l If their inspiration was not infallible, then their writings
must be judged by the Word, and not the Woni by them. They are Dot authority;
they are to be received only 80 far as they aid to illustrate the Word. The Word
is the 8tandard of truth and the only standard; and Swedenborg is the only ade-
quate expositor. The Word understood in the light of Swedenborg is the only safe
guide to the New Church. If there shall be hereafter a revealer of the sense of the
celestial, &8 there has been of the spiritual-when such revcalcr shall be able to
oonfirm his mission by the ditfllsion of celestial light, as Swedenborg has his by
the communication of spiritual light, we will then aooept the addition, and rejoice
in the greater futness; but let the Church be on its guard in yielding to "imagina-
tions on thia subject. The probability is, that the celestial church will, for the pre-
Bent, live in the heart of the spiritual church without distinct manifestation.
I am waiting for further light to know my duty. Where I am, I perceive I
can be useful by ~adually opening to my hearers, &8 they are able to bear it, Di-
vine Truth. But It must be done without mention of the name of Swedenborg. Is
it right to do good in this covert way 1 Shall I, in appearing le88 enlightened than
I aID, thereby injure my own state before God 1 I see not how I could reasonably
hope to do mach good as a publicly acknowledged Newohurchman. In my present
relation I can declare and illustrate mllch truth to hundreds every Sabbath; but
should I come out as a Newchurchman, 80 far as I can 8e~ I could hOj>e to preach
to but few, if at all. Will it be better to do nothing than to do a little Imperfectly ~
Am I, iD the bad sense of that word, a hypocrite, if for good I appear to be what I
am not 1
Youn, &e.,
c. P.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

I.-LITERARY REMINISCENCES; from tJu Autobiography of an EftI1;lish Opiam-Eatno.

By THOMAS DJ: QUINCEY. Boston: Ticknor, Reed & Fields. 2 vols., 1851.

The name and fame of De Quincey may be 80 little familiar to our readers that
many of them may be obliged to tax their own U literary reminiscences," and tax
them in vain, too, to call up such a celebrity to their minds. Even those who may
have heard of or read the U Confessions of an Opiam-Eater," one of the most remark-
able books in the language, may not have been aware of De Quincey's being the au-
thor, &8 it is in faot but within a comparatively recent period that he has taken that
place in English literature which he is doubtless destined long to hold. Ilia works
have appeared within a year past from the press of Ticknor & Co., Boston, in the
most exquisite style of typography, and are rapidly working their way, by their in-
comparable graoe and nervousness of diotion, to the very apex of popular favor.
It is singular enough that the work before us opens with the dedication oC twelve
pages to the subject of Swedenborg and one of his most distinguished advocates, and
it is tbia fact rather than ita literary merit which has won it a notioe in our book
1852.J Notice, of Boou 39

department. We like to keep our readers advised of all the various phases whioh
the New Church or ita apostles may from time to time assume in the eatimate of the .
world and its wise ones. The oommenoement of the U Reminiscenoes" presents us
with the (allowing specimen:
" It was in the year 1801, whilst yet at 8chool, that I made my first literary ac-
quaintance. This was with a gentleman now dead, and little, at any time, known·
in the literary world; indeed, not at all; for his authorahiJ! was confined to a de-
partment of religious literature 88 obscure and as narrow in Ita influence as any that
can be named-viz. Swedenborgianism. Already, on the bare mention of that word,
a presumption arises again8t any man, that, writing much (or writing at all) for a
body of doctrines 80 apparently crazy as those of Mr. Swedenborg, a man must have
bid adieu to all good sense and manlineaa of mind. Itldeed, this is 80 much of a
eettled cue, that even to have written again,t Mr. Swedenborg would be generally
viewed as a 8U8picious aot, requiring explanation, and not verl easily admitting of
it. Mr. Swedenborg I call him, because I understand that h18 title to call himself
'Baron,' ia imaginary; or rather he never did oall himself by any title of honor-
that mistake having originated amongst his followers in this country, who have
chosen to designate him as the ' Honorable' and &8 the 'Baron' Swedenborg, by way
of translating, to the ear of England, 80me one or other of those irrepresentable dis-
tinctions, Ltgations-Rath, HO/Tat", &c., which are toesed about with. 80 much pro-
fusion in the courts of oontinental Europe, on both aides the Baltic. For mlself, I
cannot think myself qualified to speak of any man's writings without a regular ex-
amination of some one or. two among those which his admirers regard as his best per-
formances. Yet, as any happened to fall in my way, I have looked into them; and
the impression left upon my mind was certainl, not favorable to their author. They
labored, to my feeling, with two opposite qualities of annoyance, but which I believe
not uncommonly found united in lunatic8~xcessivedulness or matter-of-factnessin
the execution, with excessive extravaganoe in the conceptions. The result, at least,
W88 most unhappy; for, of all writers, Swedenborg is the only one I ever heard of
who has contrived to strip even the shadowy world beyond the grave of all its mys-
tery and all its awe. From the very heaven of heavens, he has rent awa1. the veil; DO
need for eeraphs to & tremble while they gaze;' for the familiarity With which all
objecta are invested, makes it impossible that even poor mortals should find any
reuon to tremble. Until I saw this book, I had not conceived it possible to oarry
an atmosphere 80 earthly, and steamingwith the vapors of earth, into regions which t
by early connexion in our infant thoughts with the 88nctities of death, have a hold
upon the reverential affections such &8 they rarely lose. In this view, I should con-
ceive that Swedenborg, if it were at all p088ible for him to become a popular author,
would, at the same time, become immensely mischievous. He would dereligionize
men beyond all other authon whatsoever."
This paragraph, occurring 88 it does in the very outset of the work, when the
reader·! interest is fresh, his attention awake, and his memory tenacious, is well cal-
culated to fix upon his mind a prejudicial impression, that he will scarcely fail to
earry with him through life, unless circumstanoes should chance to throw in hie
way some such correction 88 we could rain wish to administer in the present oonnec-
tion. The critique is not intrinsically of much weight, Dor entitled to disturb the
eonfidence of those who have done what the writer evidently has notr--to wit: given
Swedenborg's writings, to a greater or le88 extent, 8 thorough and candid examina-
tion. But the extract has an invidious and dispa.raging air about it, caloulated to
produce an injurious impression upon the casual reader, of which every fair mind
would be glad to be diBabused if it could be. With this aim we are prompted to
oiler a few pn contra remarb.
The Reminiscent appears to be solicitously on his guard against giving Mr. Swe-
denborg more than hie due, on the 8core of honorary compeIlation, 81 he is careful
40 Notice8 of Book•• [Jan.
to inform his readers that his frequent title of U Baron," is purely imaginary, baring
originated in a U mistake" on the part of his followers, who were dispoeed to mag-
nify some petty, presentable distinction, very common in the courta of Europe, into
a high-sounding epithet, that would give a fictitioos eclat to hia name. Now, the
faot upon this head is simply this: Swedenborg tDas ennobled by Queen IDrica Eleo-
nora; his name changed from Swedborg to Swedenborg, by whioh his Dobility was
8ignified, and he thenceforward took his seat with the nobles of the equestrian order
in the triennial assemblies of the States. This did not' constitute him, teehnically, a
Cl Baron," in the English sense of the word, but he was hereby constituted a noble-

man, and would have been oalled a U Lord" in Great Britain; but the prevalence or
feudal ideas in most of the countries of Europe, where the great distinction was an-
oiently between U Barons" and peasants, or serfs, undoubtedly gave rise to the title
in que8tion, whioh is at present seldom applied to him by hiB advocates. It is, evi-
dently, no great mi8llomer, though intrinsically of very little moment, as Swedenborg
himself says ofit,·when speaking in his letter to Hartley, of the various prerogatives of
his rank : U For, what far exceeds them," says he, "I have been called toa holy office
by the Lord himael~ who most graciously manifested himself in person to me, his
servant, in the year 1743, when he opened my sight to the view of the spiritual
world, and granted lD:e the privilege of ·conversing with spirits and angels, which I
enjoy to ~8 day (1769-26 years)."
The claim here &88erted to spiritual interoourse and 0. divine illumination is, doubt-
Ieee, the great stumbling block with all the impugners of the illustriou8 Swede, and
the main barrier to that oandid examination of his works, which De Quincey himself
acknowledges to be requisite to an adequate judgment of the man.. Yet, it is clear,
in his own cue, that he was incapacitated for such a judgment. His testimony is
ruled out or court by his own decision. " I cannot think myself qualified to speak
of any man's writingS: without a regular examination of Bome one or two among
thOle whioh his admirers regard aB his best performances." Well, and does he eay
that he took this method to qualify himself for pronouncing an equitable sentence ~
cc Yet, BS any ha.ppened to fall in my way, I have looked into them; a.nd the impres-
sion left upon my mind, certainly was not favorable." And why should it have been 1
How could the impression well have been otherwise than unfavorable with one who
obviously contented himself with mere transient glances and broken perusals of writ-
ings which require, for a fair estimate, the most deliberate and patient investigation ~
Under these circumstances, what respect is dae to the verdict of U dullne88" and
"extravagance,n in the disclosures made of the astounding phenomena of the other
life 1 How can such narratives be dul~ whatever the style, provided they be true 1
And the question of their truth. is the real question with which the objector has to
do. As to "extravagance in the oonceptions," it is very e&8Y to undentand that
the soberest description of the realities of heaven and hell, should appear extrav8pnt
to one who has not studied with 80me degree of attention the laWI of pyschology
upon which they depend, and which have of late years become far more developed,
than at the period to which De Quinoey refers; although one would think that his
own opium-bred visions would have read to him a le880n of credence on this head,
which could not easily have been gainaayed.
But SwedenOOrg U hu oontrived to strip even the 8hadowy world beyond tbe
grave, or all its mystery and all its awe." Here, alas! ia the real pinoh. The un-
1852.] Notice, of Boob. 41
seen world has been, indeed, a U lAadOll'y world ;'" and such do the great mass of
men prefer it should remain. But Swedenborg, speaking a8 he was moved by his
supernatural experience, has not sWFered it thus to remain. He has tom away the
veil, and instead of innocuous shadow, has di:scloeed an array of substantial and eter-
nal realities, calculated to awaken a sensual world from its slumben, as with the
trompet-peal of judgment. This is the head and front of his offending, and it is
from this source and this alone, that he is likely to become U immensely mischievous"
&8 eome men oonnt mischievoumesa, in proportion as he becomes popular. Hence i~
is that he bids fair to "dweligionize men beyond all other authors whatever." Troe,
indeed. it is, that his revelations are likely to make sad havoc of that religion which
consista with a gross ignoring of the interior struoture of man's nature, and of the
laW8 by which his life, i. e. his life's love in this world, works out his destiny in the
next; and the sooner this result is accomplished, the better. When his sublime and
supremely rational disclosures of the allotment of souls in the other life have sup-
planted the vague and sentimental fancies that now prevail on the subject, it will be
aeen whether familiarity with the scenes depicted, U will leave poor mortals nothing
to tremble at." As well might it be said that Belshazzar had nothing to tremble at
when the mystio writing on the wall was decyphered.
But this harsh and disparaging estimate of Swedenbatg we can forgive to the
author Cor the sake of the admirable sketch which he has given of ,the character,
person, and domestio life of the Rev. John Clowes, a man to whom the N. C. can
never fail to look up with the profoundest respect as one of its earliest propaga-
tors and brightest lights. Who can but be grateful that 8uch a testimony &8 the
following is elicited from one whose general impression of the system of Swedenborg
would doubtless have predisposed him to a lower estimate of the mental and moral
worth of his venerated friend.
U Little could this character of Swedenborg's writings-this, indeed, least of 0.11-
have been suspected from the temper, mind, or manners of my new friend. He was
the most spiritual-looking, the most saintly in outward aspeot, of all human beings
whom I have known throughout life. He was rather tall, pale, and thin; the most
untleehly, the most of a 8ublimated s~irit dwelling already more than half in some
purer world, that a poet could have unagined. He was already aged when I first
bew him, a clergyman of the Church of England; which may seem strange in con-
nection with his Swedenborgianism, but he was however 80. He was rector or a
large parish in a large town, the more aotive duties of which parish were discharged
by his curate; but much of the duties within the church were still discharged by
himself, and with such exemplary zeal, that his {larishioners, afterwards oelebrating
the fiftieth anniversary, or goldlll Jubilee of hlB appointment to the living, (the
twenty-fifth anniversary is called In Germany the silver-the fiftieth, the golden
jubilee,) went farther than is usual, in givin~ a public expression and a permanent
.h&pe to their sentiments of love and veneration. I am surprised, on reflection, that
this venerable clergyman should have been unvexed by Episcopal censures. He
might, and I dare say would, keep ba.ck the grosser parts of Swedenborg-s views
from a public di8play; but, in one point, it would not be easy for a man 80 consci-
entious to make a oompromise between his ecclesiastical duty and his private belief;
for 1have since found, though I did not then know it, that Swedenborg held a very
peculiar creed on the article of atonement. From the slight ~phlet which let me
mto this secret I could not accurately collect the exaot d.iHtinctions of his creed; but
it was very dift'erent from that of the English Church.
U However, my friend continued unvexed for 0. good deal more than fifty years,

enjoying that peace, external as well as internal, which, by 80 eminent a title, be-
longed to a spirit 80 evangelically meek and dovelike. I mention him chiefty for
42 Notice, of Book•• [Jan.
the sake or desoribing his interesting honae and household, 80 difFerent from all
which belong to this troubled age, and his impre88ive style of living. The house
leemed almost monastic; and yet it stood in the centre of one of the largest, busiest,
noisiest towns in England; and the whole household Beemed to have Btepped out of
their places in some Van dyke, or even some Titian picture, from a forgotten century
and another climate. On knocking at the door, which oC itself seemed an outrage
to the spirit oC quietness which brooded over the place, you were received by an an-
oient man-servant in the sober livery which belonged traditionally to Mr. CI--'s
family; for he was of 8 gentleman's descent, and had had the m08t finished educa-
tion of a gentleman. This venerable old butler put me in mind always, by his
or
noiseless steps, of tho Castle Indolence, where the porter or usher walked about in
shoos that were 8hod with felt, lest any rude echoes might be roused. An ancient
housekeeper was equally venerable, equally gentle in her deportment, quiet in her
movements, and inaudible in her trea.d. One or other of these upper domestics, for
the others rarely crossed mYjath, ushered me always into some room, expressing, by
its furniture, its pictures, an ita colored window!, the solemn tranquillity which, for
half a century, had reigned in that mansion. Among the pictures were more than
ODe of St. John, the beloved apostle, by Italian masters. Neither the features nor
the expression were very wide of 1Ylr. CI--'s own countenance; and, had it been
possible to forget the gross character of Swedenborg-s reveries, or to sub8titute for
these fleshly dreaD18 the awful visions of the Apocalypse, one might have imagined
ea8ny that the pure, 8&intly, and childlike evangelist had been once again recalled
to this earth, and that this most quiet of mansions was some cell in the island of
Patm08. Whence came the stained glass of the windows, I know not; and whether
it were stained or painted. The revolutions of that art are known from Horace Wal-
pole's account; and, nine year8 after this period, I found that, in Birmingham..
where the art of staining g1.188 was chiefly practised, no trifling sum was charged
even for a vulgar lacing of no great breadth round a few drawing-room windows,
which one of my friends thought fit to introduce os an embellishment. These win-
dows, however, of my clerical friend were reanl 'storied windows,' having Scriptu-
ral histories represented upon them. A crownmg ornament to the library or prin-
cipal room, was a sweet-toned organ, ancient, and elaborately carved in its wood-
work, at which my venerable friend readily sat down, and ferformed the music of
anthems 88 often 8S I Bsked him, sometimes accompanying It with his voice, which
WR8 tremulous from old age, but neither originally unmusical: nor (1\8 might be per-
ceived) untrained.
u Often, from the storms and uproars of this world, I have looked back upon this
most quiet, and believe most innocent a.bode (had J said saintly, I 8hould hardl! have
erred), connecting it in thought with Little Gidding, the famous mansion (in Hunt-
ingdoDshire, I bebeve) of the Farrers, an interesting family in the reigns of James I.
and Charles I. Of the Farrers there is a lon~ and circumstantial biographical ac-
count, and of the conventual discipline maintalned at Little Gidding. For many
years it was the rule at Gidding-and it was the wish of the Farrers to have trans-
mitted that practice through succeeding centuries-that a musical or cathedral ser-
vice should be going on at every hour of night and day in the chapel of the man-
sion. Let the traveller, at what hour he would, morning or evening, summer or win-
ter, n.nd in what generation, or century socver, happen to knock at the gate of Little
Gidding, it was the purpose of Nicholas Farrer-a sublime purpoee-that always be
should hear the blare of the or~R.n, sending upwards its surging volumes of melody, .
God'8 worship for ever proceeding, anthems of praise for ever ascending, and juhi-
lates echoing without end or known beginnin~. One stream of music, in fact, never
intermitting, one vestal fire of devotional praIse and thanksgiving, was to connect
the beginnings with the ends of generations, and to link one century into anothet·.
Allowing for the sterner asceticism of N. Farrer-partly arising out of the times,
partly out of personal charo.cter~ and partly, perhaps, out 'of his travels in Spain-
my aged friend's arrang(\rnent of the day, and the training of his household, might
seem to have been modelled on the plans of 1tfr. Farrer, whom, however, he mi~ht
never have heard of. There was also, in each house, the same union of religion ""lth
some cultivation or the ornaMental"arts, or 80me exprcs.~ion or respect for them. In
. each case, a monastic severity, that might, under other circumstances, have termi-
1852.J Notices of Book•• 43

Dated in the gloom of La Trappe, and been softened, by English aociality, and by
the habits of a gentleman's education, into a devotional pomp, reconcilable with Pro-
testant views. When, however, remembering this last fact in Mr. CI--'8 case (the
fact I mean of hie liberal education), 1 have eodeayored to explain the poeeibitity of
one 80 much adorned by all the o.ccomplishmen ts of a high-bred gentleman, and one
10 truly pious, falling into the grossne88-o.lmost the sensuality-which a ppeara to
beaeige the visions of Swedenborg; I fancy that the whole may be explained out of
the same cause which occasionally may be descried, through a distance of two com-
plete ce~turiee, &8 weighing heavily upon the Farrel'8-viz. the dire monotony of
daily life, when visited by no irritatioDB either of hope or fear-no hopes from ambi-
tion, no fears from poverty.
U Nearly (if not quite) sixty years did my venerable friend inhabit the same par-

lIOIlage-house, without any incident more personally interesting to himself than a

cold or a BOre throat; and I suppose that he resorted to Swedenborg-relnctantly,
perhaps, at the first--as to a book of fairy tales connected with Ilia profeasional
Btudies. And one thing I am bound to add: in candor, which may have had its
wei~ht with him, that more than once, on casually turning over a volume of Swe-
denborg, I have certainly found most curious and felicitous passages oC comment,-
passages which extractea a brilliant meaning from numbers, circumstances, or trivial
accidents, apparently without 8ignificance or object, and gavc to thingM, without a
place or a habitation in the critic's regard, a valuo as liieroglyphics or cryptioal
ciphers, which struck me 88 elaborately ingenious. This ackriowledgment I make
not 80 much in praise of Swedenborg, whom I must still continue to think a mad-
man, 88 in excuse for Mr. Cl--. It may easily be 8up{>osed, that a per80n of Mr.
CI--'8 consideration and authority, was not re~arded With indifference by the ge-
neral body of the Swedenborgians. At his motion it was, I believe, that a society
WaB fonned for procuring and encouraging a translation into English, of Sweden-
borg'8 entire works, m08t of which are written in Latin. Several of these transla-
tiODS are understood to have been executed personally by Mr. CI--; and in this
obscure way, for any thing I know, he may have been an extensive author. But
it shows the upright character of the man, that never, in one instance, did he seek
to bias my opinions in this direction. IJpon every other subject he trusted me con-
fidentially-and, notwithstanding my boyish years (15-16), as his equal. His re-
~rd for me, when thrown by accident in his way, had arisen upon his notice of my
fervent simplicity, and my unusual thou~htfulne88. Upon these merits I had gain-
ed the honorable distinction of 0. general Invitation to his house, without exoeption
as to days and hours, when few others could boast of any admission at all. The
common ground on which we met was literature--more especially the Greek and
Roman literature; and much he exerted himsel~ in a spirit of the purest courteBy, to
meet my animation upon these themes. But the interest on his part was too evi-
dently a secondary interest in fne, for whom he talked, and not in the subject. He
or
spoke much from memory, &8 it were things that he had once felt, and little from
immediate sympathy with the author; and his animation was artificial, though hiB
courtesy, whicli prompted the effort, was the truest and most unaffected possible.
l. The connection between U8 must have been intere8tin~ to an obscrver; for.
though I cannot say with W ord8\vorth, of old Daniel and hiS grandson, that there
were ' ninety good years of fair and foul. wea.ther' between us, there were, however,
sixty, I imagine, at least; whilst, as a bond of connection, there was nothing at all
that I know of beyond n common tendency to reverie, which is a bad link for a social
connection. The little ardor, meantime, with which he had, for many years, par-
ticipated in the interests of this world, or all that it inherits, was now rapidly de-
parting. Daily and consciously he was loosening all ties which bound him to earlier
recollections; and, in particular, I remember-because the instance was connected
with my last farewell visit as it proved-that for some time he was engaged daily
in ftDouncing with 801emnity (though often enough in cheerfol words), book after
hook of classical literature, in which he had once taken particular delight. Several
of these, after taking his final glance at a fe,v passages to which a pencil reference
in the margin pointed his eye, he delivered to mc as memorials in bme to come of
himself. ~ne la8t of the books given to me under these cireumstances, was a Greek
'Odyuey,' in Clark'8 edition. ,rThis,' said he, 'is nearly the sole book remaining
44 Notice, of Book,. [Jan.
to me of my claesicallibrary, which for years I have been ~rsing among my
mends. Homer I retained to the last, and the' Odyssey,' by preference to the
• Iliad,' both in compliance with my own taste, and because th18 very copy was my
choeen companion for evening amusement, during my freshman'8 term at Trinity
College, Cambridge, whither I went early in the spring of 1743. Your own favorite
Grecian is Euripides; but still you must value-we must all value Homer. I, even
old &8 I am, could still read him with delight; and as long &8 any merely human
composition ought to occupy my time, I should have made an exception in behalC
of tliis 80litary author. But I am a soldier of Christ; the enemy, the last. enemy,
cannot be far oft'; ,arcinas colligere is, at my age, the watch-word for every faithful
aentinel, hourly to keep watch and ward, to wait, and to be vigilant. This very
day I have taken my farewell glance at Homer; for I must no more be found seek-
ing my pleasure amongst the works of man; and that I may not be tempted to
break my resolution, I make over this my last book to you !'
U Words to this effect, uttered with his usual solemnity, accompanied his gift;

and, at the same time, he added, without any separate comment, a little pocket
Vir~il-the one edited by Alexander Cunningham, the bitter a.ntagonist of Bentley
-WIth a few annotations placed at the end. The act was in itself a solemn one;
something like taking the veil for a nUD-a final abjuration of the world", giddy
agitations. And yet to him-already and for 80 long a time linked 80 feebly to any
thing that could be called the world, and living in 0. seclusion 80 profound-it was
but &8 if an anchorite should retire from his outer to his inner self. Me, however,
it impressed powerfully in after years; because this act of self-dedication to the
next world, and of parting from the intellectual luxuries of this, was also, in fact,
though neither of U8 at the time knew it to be such, the scene of his final I?arting
with myself. Immediately after his 80lemn speech, on presenting me wIth the
'Odyssey,' he sat down to the organ, sang a hymn or two, then chanted part of the
liturgy, and finally, at my request, perFormed the anthem so well known in the
Enghsh Church service, the collect for the seventh Sunday after Trinit.y (Lord of
all POtetr and might, 4-c. l. It was 8ummer, about half after nine in the evening;
the light of day was still lingering, nnd just strong enough to illuminate the Cruci-
fixion, the Stoning of the Ploto-martyr, and other grand emblazonries of the Chris-
tian which adorned the rich window8 of his library 0 Knowing the early hours of
his household, I now received his usual fervent adieus, which, without the words,
had the sound and effect of a benediction-felt the warm pressure of his hand, s&w
dimly the outline of his venerable figure, more dimly his saintly countenance, and
quitted that gracious presence, which, in this world, I WQ8 destined no more to re-
visit. The night was one in the first half of July, 1802; in the second half oC
which, or very early in August, I quitted 8chool clandestinely, and consequently the
neighborhood of !tlr. Cl--. Some years after I saw his death announced in all
the public journals, &8 baving occurred at Lcamin~on Spa, then in the springtime
of its medicinal reputa.tion. Farewell, early friend. holiest of men whom it has
been my lot to meet! Yes, I repeat, thhoty-five yearS bave pa.88ed since then, and
I have yet seen few men ap~roaching to this venerable clergyman in paternal be-
nignity-none certainly in childlike purity, apostolic holiness, or in perfect aliena-
tion of heart from the spirit of this fleshly world.

. This, 80 far as the venerable subject is concerned, is just what we could have de-
Bired. As to the author, we feel deep regret that he should not have proseouted
the investigation 80 far as to have disabused himself of the false impressions under
which he 18,bored, especially when invited by the U curious and felicitous passages of
comment-passages which extracted a brilliant meaning from numbers, circum-
8tances, and trivial accidents." But with De Quincey, as with thousands of others
who have merely dipped into the writings, the ~eil of unbelief was permitted to remain
On their eyes, from the la.ckor the requisite moral conditions for seeing. l-Iow fear-
fully thick was that veil in the present case, the reader will too plainly perceive
from the following additional paragraph:
1852.] Notice' of Boolu. 46
U It eeems surprising that a spirit 80 beneficent, and, in the amplest ReDse, charita-

ble, 00014 coalesce in any viewa with Swedenborg, who, in some senses, was not
charitable. Swedenborg had been scandalized by a notion which, it seems. he
found prevalent amongst the poor oC the Continent-viz., that, if riches were a drag
and a negative force on the rood to religious perfection, poverty must be positive
title per u, to the favor of Heaven. Gnevously ofFended with this error, lie came
almoe& to hate povert1 &8 a presumptive indication of this ofFensive heresy; scarcely
lIrould be allow it an Indirect value, a8 removing in many cases the occasions or in-
citements of evil. No: being in itself neutral and indi1rerent, he argued that it had
beeome erroneously a ground of presumptuous hope; whilst the rich man, aware of
his danger, was, in BOme degree, armed against it by fear and humility. And, in
this course of arguing and of corresponding feeling, l\1r. Swedenborg had come to
hate the very name of a poor candiaate for Heaven, as bitterly as a sharking attor-
ney hates the applications of a pauper client. Yet 80 entirely is it true, that 'to
the pure all things are pure,' and that perfect charity 'thinketh no ill,' but is ~fted
with a power to transmute all things into ita own resemblance-so entirely 18 all
this true, that this most spiritual, and, as it were, disembodied of men, could find
delight in the dreams of the very' f10shliest incubus' that has intruded amongst hea-
.,.e~ly objects; and, secondly, this benignest oC men found his own pure feelin~ not
oUtraged by one who threw a withering 800wl over the far larger half of h18 fel-
low creatures."
How strangely sounds this to those who are oonversant with the true genius of
the heavenly doctrines. How glOBS and groundless tho &888rtion, tha.t Swedenborg
U came to hate the very name or a poor candidate for Heaven!" How alien from
the truth that he W88 U one who threw a withering scowl over the far larger hair
of his fellow-creatures !" And how ingeniously perverse the construction put upon
~Ir. Clowcs' devotion to the teachings of the illumined Seer, that it was owing
ratber to an excess of charity than to an intelligent perception of truth-rather
to an amiable weakness in the pupil than to the intrinsic strength of the mas-
ter ! To all thia the proper reply is furnished by the simple citation or the docu.
menM impugned. One has but to tum to the chapter on "the Rich and the Poor
in Heaven," and he meets with the express declaration, that U heaven is for all who
live the life offaith and love, ",1iether they be rich or poor." U The poor do not come
into heaven on account of their poverty, but on account of their life; the nreof
every one follows him, whether he be rich or poor; there is not peculiar mercy for
one more than for the other; he is received who has lived well, and he is rejected
who livest ill." At the same time it is beyond question that he does aim distinctly
to do a way the impre88ion of the 8uperior advantages or the poor over the rich-ad-
Tantages 8Upposed to accrue from their poverty alone. And is this a course justly
liable to exception 1 Do we not find a warrant for it in the letter of the Levitical
code! "Thou shalt Dot follow a multitude (Reb. the great, the mighty, the dis-
tinguished) to do evil; neither Shalt thou countenance (Reb. honor) the poor in hie
ca.use.'~-Ex. niii. 2. 3. The original word dal rendered poor mall, and signifying
alknuated, exllawled, is here probably put in opposition to rabhim, g1·eat, and mak-
ing the SCDSC to bc, U Thou shalt neither be inlluenced by the g,"eat to make an un-
righteous decision, nor by the poverty and distress of the poor to give thy voice
against the dictates of justice and truth." Thus too the ancient paraphmsts; Chal.
.. TI10u shalt Dot pity the poor man in his judgment." Targ. Jon. ".And the poor
who shall be brought into judgment thou shalt not compassionately respect, for
there is to be no respect of persons in judgment." In general there WBS no doubt
more danger that the cause of justice would be biased, and injury connived at in
48 Notice, of Boo/u. [J'ao.
favor or the rich than of the poor; yet there might be lucb a thing 88 under the
plea of charity in compassion, making a man's poverty a shelter for his wrong-
doing. Naw it is, we think, the ,pirit of this injunction which is to be recognised
in Swedenborg's teachings on this subject. He would go against the popular idea
that riches, in themselves considered, and apart from the ends with which they are
acquired or expended, formed a bar an but insuperable to admission into heaven,
while poverty, on the other hand, was to be regarded as little short of a positive
passport to the celestial mansions. U Poverty," our enlightened author tells WJ,
1& equally seduces and withdraw8 man from heaven &8 wealth: there are very many

among the poor who are not contented with their lot, who seek for many thing&, and
believe riches to be blessings; wherefore when they do not receive them they are
angry, and think evil ooncerning the Divine Providence; they also envy othen
their good things; moreover, they equally defraud others when occasion is given,
and they also live equally in filthy pleasures. . . . From these things it may
be manifest, that the rich come into heaven equally as the poor, and the one 88
easily &8 the other." The contrary impression has doubtle88 been received from
.the letter of the divine beatitude-" Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven ;" but a proper understanding of the spiritual import of the terms ric/I and
POOT in the Word will not fail to correct the erroneous view often conveyed by thia
language of the Saviour. By the riclt. are meant, in the spiritual sense, those who
abound in the knowledges of good and of truth, and by the poor those who are
wanting in those knowledges, and yet desire them. Thus explained, we oan lee
how it is tha.t the poor are candidates for blc88ings which do not acorue to the ricb,
inasmuch as a spirit of self-reliance and self-elatioD is the usual accompaniment of
those knowledges which constitute the wealth of the spiritually rich.
On the whole, then, it is not difficult to lee how gr088 ia the injustice done to
Swedcnborg's enunciations on this head by the author of the Reminiscences, although
it is very improbable that our remarks will ever reach a thousandth part of those
who need the antidote they contain. We console otlrselves with the belief that the
testimony borne above to the distinguished merits of the disciple, will go far to
counteract the disparagement of the master. A cbamcter of 80 much excellence
wil~ in spite of every drawback, speak the praises of the system under the influence
of which it was formed, and that so emphatically as very much to break the force
of all such objections as that under consideration.
2.-THE NINETEENTH CENTURY; or the New Dispensation j being a brief Exam;taa-
lion of the Claims and As.~ert;ons of Emanuel Su·edtnborg. By A LAYMAN. New
York: John Allen. Boston: Otis Clapp. 1851. 12mo., pp. 425.
The slight announcement which wc have already made of the work has prepared
our readers, we trust, Cor a tone of high commendation in what we have further to
say of it. The grand idea pervading the volume from b(lginning to end is, that the
state oC the human mind at the present day is such aB imperath"ely to demand pre-
cisely that new order of things-that ulterior dispensation-which Swedenborg has
announced, and which is now being ushered in. From the moral exigencies of the
age in which we live-an age of reason and research-the writer argues with ireat
etrength and conclusiveness, that either the Holy Oracles must by some menns be
caused to open their revela.tions with new light and beauty, in a way satisfactory to
the rational powers, or there is evident danger that in the struggle between reason
 1852.] Notice' of BooTt,. 4'7
and faith, their authenticity will, by th01l8aDds, be given up. In the place of a
blind fai&h there is springing up on every side a spirit of inquiry and investigation,
aD eager desire to know the truth, and the foundations of all things. Deism and
eecre' infidelity prevail to a great extent; the creeds or Christendom are void of
"taUty; and the pulpit comparatively powerle88. Sabbath after Sabbath present.
ihe .d spectacle of congregatiODl listening with little interest to what is delivered
with little life.
In this emergency U A Layman" has come before the Christian public with a power-
ful array of testimonies to the existence of a grand desideratum in the religious
teachings of the age, amounting in fact to little ahort of a positive charge against
the prevailing Church of giving ita children stones for bread and BCorpioll8 for eggs.
Still the impeachment is made in a kindly and gentle spirit, without asperity or
rudene88. If a sore place is touched, it is not with lunar caustic, but with healing
unguent, though the IIOrene88 may make the patient sensitive even to that.
In bearing witness, 88 we cordially do to the general ability and well-timedneas of
the work, we would not imply that it is a profoundly philosophical view of the
8QbjeetB discussed, or that the author's aim has been to address mainly that.. order.
of minds which are most enlisted in a philosophical view of discussion. It is, in ita
generalBCope, eminently popular. It directs ita appeal to the plain sounllaenee of
the ma88e8. Discarding all ambition and ornateness of style, it aims to work con-
viction with no eye to admiration. It goes straightforward to its great objeot, which
is to expose the utter incompetency of the resouroes of a consummated Church to
respond to the demands of the soienoe and enlightenment of the era in which it is
our lot to live. In aocomplishing this task, the reader is struok with the wide range
of the author's study, and the admirable tact with which he brings everything to
bear upon the end he has in view. It would aeem that in all his reading, he was
continually intent, like a lawyer in or088-queationing a witne88, upon eliciting some-
thing which should tell upon the interests oC the cause he has so muoh at heart.
The extent to which he makes the existing systems of theology testify to their own
defects. is surprising. But in thus exposing the barrenness of the old, he does not
rail to set forth in contrast the sufficiency and adaptedne88 of the new. He shows
that where the one is poor the other is rich; that where. the one is dark the other is
light; that where the one is cheerless the other is full of consolation. Accordingly,
in the course of the volume, nearly all the distinguishing features of the New Dispen-
sation are in some form introduoed to the reader's notice.
\Ve should be glad, did our limits pel·mit us, to make copious extracts from our
~'Layman'8" pages; but perhaps the insertion of the heads of his ohapters will an-
.wer an equivalent purpoee.
U Introduction; Neee88ity for an Internal Sense to the Scriptures; Necessity of

Discovering a Key to the Scriptures; Con8equences resulting to the Christian Reli-

gion Crom the want oC 0. Key and of a fixed and permanent method of interpreting
ihe Scriptures; Inference in respect to the necesaityof a New Revelation Farther
examined; The Creation; The age of Happiness, and the Fall of the Race: The
Fan of the Race continued; The Spiritual World; Regeneration and Free Agency;
The Atonement, or Reconciliation; The Trinity; The Second Advent; The Resur-
rection; The Divine Providence; Conclusion. ApPENDIx.-Davis' Revelations; The
Color and Civilization of the Ancient People; The Origin of Idolatrous Worship;
The Deluge; Sensationalism or l\laterialism of the Age; Swedenborg"s Memoraolo
Revelations; Illustrations of the End or
the Church; Life and Biography of S\VC-
48 Editorial Item•• [Jan.
denborg, take!" ~rom the London Penny Cyelopldia; Stlmma~ of the Doctrines of
the True Chnstian Church, extracted from Swedenbo.rg·s UniversaJ Theology."
It Ut obvious that if these subjects are treated at all in the manner they deserve,
the work cannot fail to be one of great interest to the candid reader of the Old Church,
and of little less to the Newchurchman, who mW!t a.lways be anxious to know what
is provided in his name for those who are at present standing without. We have
DO fear but that both parties will be satisfied on the whole. There are, indeed,
traces and indications interspersed of a first attempt at authorship, and, in some few
minor points, a little room to question the writer's positions, but the wonder is that
for a first essay it should be 80 competent to pass the ordeal of criticism unscathed.
From the manifest prevailing love of truth, from the exeml)1ary diligence, from the
keen observation, from the sound judgment of the author, the Church which he de-
lights to honor may, we presume, promise herself yet richer fruits in time to come.

EDITORIAL ITEMS.
CHAT WITH SUB~CRJBB:~s.-Thefourth year of our Ec.litoriallabors closed with the issue
or tb~ preceding No. We have decided to try the experiment of its success for another
year. We 8veak of it as 3n experiment, because, as there is usually a considerable falling
off at the close of each yenr, we are never qoite certain at the outset wbetber the work
will be sustained to the end. Tbus far indeed our annually repeated fears have been in
gl)od rt;Iea8ure groundless, for whicb we bave reason to he abundantly grateful to our
friends; but the:are are some ·causes wb ich operate at the pre&eDt crisis to increase our
apprehensions beyond thore of any former period. Of these lhe priftoi(lul is }lerhapl
the somewhat wide-spread dissatisfaction with the controvea"sial vein of tbe Repository.
From numerOUat It'tters we are forced to the inference, that a very considerable number
of our readers are averse to any thing of the nature of controversy, howev~r milo and
moderate its tone, or however intrinsically important the subject matter of discussion.
As a sp£-cimen of tbe style of remOllst!"anCe on thilJ ~core, which is not unfreqnently
addressed to us, We present to our r~ad~rs two or three extracts frOUl letters recently
r(~ceived : -

cc Will you Allow me to tlultKe4jt whether it would not be better to break entirely loo!te, 81
well from those who clinJ( to the skirts of ortbodoJ£Y, on the one hand, as thol"e who nre run-
'ning tbe wild (>base of Davisisnl, on tbe other, and abandon con.trovtr'lI to tlJe disciples
of error Oll both extrelnes 1 If tbey are wedded to their idols, a8 seel118 to be the ca~e,
let them alone. The simple promulgation of truth, in the spirit of charity, geetns to mo
to be tbe most efficient nlode of jts diss~mination to mankind, whether they will h~ar
or whether they Will forbeilr, and certainly nlost in harnlony with the! Heavenly Doctrines
\VC proress.. . I hold tlHlt the true New Church mode of di9po~ing
of error is to give it the" go·by," and ceft~e reasoninK and contending about it ft1to~ether.
We hnvfl but merely to send out the light of truth, nnd wh~revcr that penetrate!', error will
disappear. \Vherever that CRnnot penetrate, error cannot Le erudic8ted. To witneF8
tbe full efficiency of its influence will of ·course take tiane, perhaps I luight say cternilr!'

Of a somewhat similar vein is the following:

" My brother will goon forwurd you Iny suh!-cription. 1 felt almost determinfld to
withuraw my subscription, for the work does not po~~etols the claaructer that! would like
it to havfll. The' Mediurn' snits bettpr to hnnd to 111y n~ighhors. Rnd to sflorVl~ u!' nn in-
troduction to Swedenborg's o\vn writings. What inrerest do tbo!~ WlaOID 1 wOl1ld jnvit~
1852.] Notice, of Book,. 49
to the investigation of these writings take iD luch wild locabrations and perversion. a.
those" of Fernald's, in advocacy of universal salvation? Do these inquiries about Paul,
• In what light is he to be viewed l' serve any other purpose than to deter others from
reading the writings 1 I subscribed for the Repository for tbe public reading·room and
Lyceum, but tbere are very few numbers that will do to be placed tbere. Your earlier
publicatioDs, made upchiefty ofeztracts from the writings, with youf able remar~l, were
of the highest utility."

This is rather cold comfort; but then, as an otr~t, we received on the same ~ay with
the foregoing, a letter Crom a highly respectable source, of which the following is an
extract:

" The communiclltions of Mr. Fernald on the subject of the • Eternity of Eyil,' &0.,
inter~sted me 80 much that I commenced preparing an article on tbe same subject; but·
professional engagements intervened. And now the matter is 80 much out of date, and
has been so much canvasaed, that it may be well to l~t it drop."

Thus it appears that different estimates of the same matter will be formed, and that in
aiming to adapt ourselves to the taste of one, we are Yery liable to come athwart the pre-
dilections of another. It is, howevel', on the whole, tolerably evident to .us that contro-
versial articles are distasteful to a majority oC our readen, and as we have givAll no
particular promise of amendment on tbis score, we shall be rather surprised than other-
wise if there is not for this reason a very considerable 8ooouction from the names on onr
list for the current year. Indeed a goodly number have already announced to us their in-
tention on this score, and for the reason 8uggestt:d.
With others the ground of discontinuance is the lack ofsutlicient variety to give zeat
to the pages of the work, and especially the predominanct' of articles both long and I
heavy. We mUlt cODfess in candor that there has all along been somewhat of a desider·
atum on this score, although we have not seen precisely how to remedy it without
lreatly diminishing the amount of original matter. We are of ne>cesaity depelldent to a
great degree on tbe contributions of our friends, and must take such as they send U8, or
.upply their place by selections, 01' the effusions of our own pen. which is more than we
can weIJ undertake 10 do. As it is our pages probably exhibit more original editoria
maller than is to be met with in almost any periodical in the country. Yet humRn power
bas its limits. and we are forced to leave not a little for otherll' to do. Still, as we tbink an
improvement in this particular rather desil'1lble, we shall endeavor by degrees to bring it
ahout.
So of. other departments. We are Dol unlnindful of the suggestions made by our
friend!, and shltll aim to act upon their hints as (a!lt and as far as circumstances shall
make practicable or discreet. In theory we assent to the proposition, tbat the positive
enunciation of truth is more congenial with the true spirit, and more promotive of the
true ends, of the New Church than any course of polemical debate in favor of its doctrines,
however lORicaU, triumphant in its results. But we are 8till far from abjnring contro-
versy in our efforts to advance tbe interel5t8 of the New Jerasalem. for the dissipation oC
error il in ita place no less important than the implanting of trutb. Thunder and light-
ning, storms and tempests, the war of the elements, are the needed precursors of serene
Ikies, and a pure and wholesome atmosphere. Tt is, in our view, a very morbid state of
mind wbich would altogether repudiate resort to religious controversy, and though onr
pag~ have perhaps contained more of it than were desirable, yet we have not bad at any
time the de!ign of di!('ensing with it altogether; and it so happens that at present we
have certain things of this nature on hand of which we cannot immediately discharge our-
selves. The papers or Prof. Lewis, in reply to le Letters to a Trinitarian," we are bound
to iDsert, and when the series is complete, we shall very probably feel impelled to submit
a rejoinder, as we perceive already leversl points Cl between tbe joints of the harness"
 Editrnial Item,. [Jan.
\\·h~re the arrow of refutation may .any inflx itselt; bat we have pledged ourselves to
lilence till our opponent has reaobed his tlnale. So also two or three otber topics we do
not consider as yet entirely disposed of, but on the whole our purpose is la Cl alter our
voice" by degrees, and to come nearer to the ideal .tandard oCpositive iDculcation which
we have in our own minds. We belpeak onJy a realOnable measure of indulgence and
of patience OD the parl of our readers.
From all this our readers will be able to catch the contour of onr views. A C\JDsider-
able number of our 5ub!Cribers for the preceding year have fallen off, and stHl more will
probably follow their example; but some new ones -have been added, and as we have a
pretty strong confidence that oar programme will meet the approbation of liberal-minded
and judicious Newchurchmen, we shall trust the omens of the Divine Providence for
anotber year; and if those who sympathize with us jn o,n plans and ahn. would put
fortb some little effort in our behalf, tbe vacant places in our lubacription list would soon
be made good.
The highest pa,iflg number on our books for the last year 11'11. about '150. This Dum-
ber for the present year wHI be diminished about 100, leaviDg our maximum Dumber
about 650. This, with punctuality OD the part of lub60ribers, will pay expenses. and
leave a small overplus, but nothing like an adequate remuneration. It has, however. long
been our lot to labor for a bar, ""tltlafl('e, and we.re still willina to continue in the vine-
yard of use on the same terms.
At the commenceluenl of another year, we are gratefal for the privil~ of looking
round with our brethren, and beholding the manifest tokens or the advances of the Lord'.
New Church during the tweh"enlollth jUlt elapsed. The teltimonies are indubitable- that
witbin that space of time the Heavenly Doctrines have found tlleir way to hundreds at
least of minds previously unvisited by their light, unblossed by their consolations. The
ualne and claims of Swedenborg are continually receiving a more and more respectful
consideration; he is being more and more regarded as an avthority in spiritual matters,
especially where abnormal phenomena suggest the value of an authentic test; while tbe
palpable affinity between his doctrines and those spreading sentiments of justice, right,
love to the neighbor, sympathy with the oppressed, and charity towards all men, inspires
a growing convi~tion that the man himlelf spake with a wisdom more than human, and
that his teachingl are no longer to be made light of. If the feeble efforts put forth in and
through the pagcs of the Repository shall have contributed in any measure to this result,
we shall ff!el that we bave never-ceasing cause of gratitude to the cc Divine mercy of the
Lord," and shall take it as all earnest that our future labors in the sanle blessed cauae
will Dot be whhout their fruits.
From tbe expos6 made above of the state of our lubscription list, it is obvious that Wt'
oannot safely commence the Dew year, as is often the wont of periodicals. with the prom-
ise of new and important improvements in our work. Such improYemente neceuarily
involve expense, and increased expense our patronage does not warrant. The Repository
will exhibit the same general features as heretofore. Our original matter will consist of
the free-will offerings of our friends, who are prompted to seek a medium for the utter-
ance or their thoughts. In proportion to the depth and intensity of holy affections in the
Churcb will be tb~ abundanceofsuch offerings, and as we have ne\"~r yet fO\1nd ourselves
forsaken in this respect, 10 we have no {ears tor the future. Tbit-, bowever, does 110t pre-
clude as Crom expressly soliciting the continuance of tbe favors in this line for which We
haye hitherto bad 80 much occasion to be grateful. Our pages have from the first been
liberally open to the discussion of all lubjects bearing upon the well-being of tho Ne\v
Church, and neither the pro', Dor the COA'. on any topic bave had reasonalJle ground of
complaint. This trait or fretdom we design tbat our pagei' shall still retain, botb a8 it
respecta our own remarks at Editor. ftnd tbe cOll1mllDicadoD1 of our_fellow-loboter!. At
1852.] Editorial Item,. 51
the same time, it will be wholly against our lettled purpose if tbe laws of charity or cour-
tesy are yiolated in regard to thole who may differ from UI. We have for oUfeelves pecu-
liar yiews on several matters of lOOial reform, church order, and others, which we sball
feel at fuU liberty from lime to time to enunciate, and in doing 80 we shall only ask that
forbeaJ1loce and candor ofconstruction which we shall always be ready to evince towards
those who may feel oonstrained to di8lenl from our opinions.
\Ve (reI, however, that we are cODtiDoally in danger of postponing the claims or Good
to those of Truth, and of making our pages an arena of intellectual !Jrowess instead o( a
pal«./ra", for the exerciee of the virtues of the heart. On this score we would invoke the
aid of ODr correspondenta, in behalf of OIJrselves and of our readers. We would have
them share with us, in a kindly solioitude, to give that prom inence to the demands of Love
which we are ever prompted to bestow upon tho!o of the Uuderstanding. In this way
we may hope to render our work an auxiliary to the regeneratioll, as well as a minister
to the intellectual interests of our fellow-men.
Finally. we are disposed to thank God and take coorage. The falling off number!
above alluded to is not like)y, from all we can see, to prevail to such an extent as to I're~
vent the work's clE'aring expense., and so long as this is tbe case Ol1r present purpose is
to hold on in the enterprise. We have abundant reason to beHeve it has been hitherto an
innrument of good on somewhat oC a wide, scale, and with the same resOUrces and succor.
we know no re&!On to doubt that it may cootinue to do so, and in an increasing degree.

From the Dec. No. of the Iotellectual Repository we learn that the TAodon Cl Parlor '
Magazine," No. 15, a work intended for the millioo. and having a most extensive cir-
culation, contain. an article headed .. 00 the Metallorgy of Iron. By Swedenborg!'
After quoting leveral paragraphs from this work of the illustrious Swede, the Editor ex-
claims," These are anuredly noble word" and such a. mark clearly Swedenborg's F'-
lftItimmt as to the fature influence of metallurgy on tbe destiny of nations. We may
seek in vain in all the authors wbo, before his time, trealed of this lCience, for views
thus liberal and profonnd. Although written more than a century ago, one migbt almolt
imagine these words to be an utterance of our day. It Is the distinctive mark or
most
great miods thus to speak tbe language of posterity; and therefore it ia, that whilst in
their 01DI& age they are too often reyiled and misunderstood, po,t,rit, treasures up their
sayings."

" The Shekinah" is the title of a Quarterly Review reoently established by S. B. Brit-
tan, ot Bridgeport, Conn., and devoted to the elucic.lation of vital, mental, and spiritual
phenomena: and the progress of man. It is publisbed by Stringer &: Townsend in this
city, and two Nos. have already appeared. The second, for Jan., 1852, is before us.
One of iu promineDt departments is devoted to sketches of the live~ of the most distin-
guished ~ers, and in this No. Swedenborg leads the van-a very beautiful portrait ac-
compaoying the memoir. Thi!' memoir, which ia frOln the pen of an anonymous Uni-
tarian clergyman, is well framed, and as the 8unl of his testhnony the \vriter eays, cc from
all we know of Emanllel Swellenborg, we may safely say, that as a scientific man and
a philosopher, the world yet waits to see his equal. But we leArn from bis own testi-
mony, and that of his friendtJ, that be regarded Rll his va!t Btores of knowledge, all bis
profound stadies in philosophy, nil hip wonderful attainments in !cience, as merely a
preparatioD for Ilis lony spiritual mission." In the suhsequent series of this department
we shall probably have Jacob Behmen, John Engelbrecht, the Maid of Orlean", &c
The other departments of the work will contain. "Elements of Spiritual,"" Classification
of Spiritual Phenomena," and U Psychometrical Sketches." Under this latter hend we
have in this No. Sketches of Prof. G. BllSh t Horace Greeley, Sarab H. Whitman, Rev.
52 Editorial Iten,•• [Jan., 1852.
Theodore Parker, Alice Carey, and Virlil C. Taytor. These sketches are delineatloDI oC
character made by holding a sealed letter against the forehead, when a sympathetic
union is entered into with the writer wbich enables the Iltbjeot to make a revelation of
hi, internal man. The cc Skekinab" does not, that we can peroeiY8, make the doctrines
or informatiou! of the New Cburcb in spiritual matters autboritstive, though it evidently
regards them with general respeot j but it is interesting a8 a liRD of the times, and will
undoubtedly elnbody a mass of materials that will prove in many re.peals attractive to
the members of that Churoh al collateral confirmations oC it. truths.-Price '2 per an-
num, in advance.

We are happy to learn that near 2000 copies oC the Report of the Speeches delivered at
the public meeting of the New Churcb at London in August last have already been cir-
culated in England. It makes a handsome pampblet of 64- pages, and can be obtained
here at about 12 1-2 cents per copy. We cordially agree with the opinion of a writer in
the Cl Intellectual Repository" for Dec., that this Report cc is admirably adapted for giv-
ing, lending, and otberwise circulating throul(hout the entire comnlllnity. B~ing the re-
sult of many minds, all speaking wi'th the same object, all differing, yet all agreeing,
like a beautiflll chord in music, where each note difters, yet combines with all the others
to produce the harmonioQs whole. Respectable in appearance, tbis pamphlet can with
propriety be laid on the table oC tbe drawing-room, yet so low in price, that it is placed
withill the most limited means. It is well calculated for extensive purchase by the
aftllleftt, who, we tru!'t, will procure it by the dozen, and eircldate it among all classes by
eyery means with wbich Providenoe has blessed them." We presulne, lhat upon appli-
oation to Mr. Alien, of this city, or Mr. Clapp, of Boston, the Report could be obtained,
at least after a few week~. in any quantities.

OBITUARY.
Mrs. MART G. THURMAY, of Chillicothe, Ohio, left this for the spiritual world, on Suo-
day, the 14th Dec., 1551, aged 62 yeafs. She was the wife of the Rev. Pleasant Thur-
Inan, tbe nlother of the Hon. A. G. Thurman, lately elected a Judge of th6 Supreme
Court of Ohio, and sister lo the Hon. Wm. Alien, ex-Senator of Ohio.
Mrs. Thurman possessed a strong and well cultivated mind. She was ardent in her
alt8cbments, firm in her principles, and kind and benevolent in her feelings. Few
women could speak aDd write: in a more easy, or a more forcible and logical manner
than she.
Some twenty-three or fonr years aRc she left the Methodist connexion, and avowed her
belief 1n the doctrines of the New Jerusalem; since which time she has been a zealons
reader and defender of these doctrines. She was the ftrttt, by several yearl, to receive bap-
tism into the Ne\v Church at Chillicothe; and has since been respected, consulted, Rud
loved by our little society here as a mother.
For many years her frail tenement has served her but imperfectly, and several times
has it cOlne near dropping off, yet, although almost a constant sufferer, Ihe still retained
her lively, cheerful disposition.
On the evening before her death she was seized with a paralytic stroke which deprived
her of speech, and probably of consciousoest'. She was thus saved the pain of parting
\\ ith her friends. She needed DO warning, for her lamp ,vas burnioR.
A.D. S
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHL Y REVIEW.

'.1. Y. FEBRUARY, 1852.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.

THE TABERNACLE SERVICE VIEWED IN ITS SpmITUAL IMPORT.

No.II.
THE PRIESTLY GARMENTS.

THE general significancy of garments we have shown to be Troths,

and the garments of Aaron the priest, in accordance with this, de-
note the Divine Truths of the spiritual kingdom, as adjoined to the
Divine Good ·of the celestial kingdom. With this general interpreta-
tion as a basis, we are 'prepared to enter upon the consideration of
the several details, and first of
TBB EPOOD.
U And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of sca"let, and
tiDe twined linen, with cunning work. It shall have the two shoulder-pieces there-
oC Joined at the two edges thereofi and 80 it shall be joined together. And.the
cunous ~e of the epliod which 18 u~n it, shall be of the same, according to the
work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
And thou shalt take two onyx-stones, and grave on them the names of the children
of Israel. Six oC their names on one atone, and the other six names of the rest OD
the other stone, accordin~ to their birth. With the work of an enpver in stone,
like the engravings of a 81gnet, shalt thou engrave the two stones WIth the Dames of
the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. And thou
shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto
the c1ii1dren of Israel, and Aaron shan bear their names before the Lord upon his
two ahoulders·Cor a memorial. And thou shalt make ouchel of gold. And two
chains oC pure gold at the ends: of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and Caaten
the wreathen chaiDl to th~ ouchea."-Ex. nviii. 6-14. .
They 8hall make the Ephod, &c., Heb~ "~., ephod, Gr. 'ICQ".J., ,"oul-
. der-piece. The original comes from ' '1*
aphad, 1o bind or gird on, and i
therefore signifies in general ,omething to be girded on; but 88 to the- J
YOLe v. 6
.. The TQbtrntlcle Service vUlMd in it. Spiritual Import. [Feb.
precise form of the vestment itself it ill difficult to gather from the
words of the ol\trative a very distinct notion; and even if we suc·
ceed in this, we must still depend mainly upon a pictured represen-
tation to convey an adequate idea of it to the readf'.r. From an at-
tenth'e comparison of all that is said of the Epbod in the sacred text,
comm",nta.lol1l are for tbe most part agreed in considering it as ap.
proaching to the form of a ,lUJrt double apron, baving the two parts
connected by two wide straps united on the shoulders. These are
called, v. 7, the two Ihoulder-piece., which were to be joined at the
two edges thereof; i. e. on the very apex of the shoulders. This
junction W8a effected in some way under the two onyx-stones and at
the precise point where they rested upon the shOUlders. Tbf"se
stones are said by Josephus (who c1\1I~ them" sardon)·x-stones") to
have been very lIplendid, and Bahr think8 that the s)·mbolicI\J signi.
ficancy of the Ephod was mainly concentrated in tbese" shoulder-
pieces," which, like our modern epauleUe3, were a hadge of dignit)",
authority, command-an idea to which we shall ad\'ert in the sequel.
The two main pieces or lappets of tbe Epbod hung down, the one in
front, tbe other behind, but to what lenglh is not stated, although
Josepbus says it was a cubit, whicb would bring their lower ex-
tremity about to tbe loins. It seems to UiiI probable on the whole
that tbe posterior portion hung down from tbe shoulders considerflbly
lower than the anterior. But without some otber appendage the~e
dorsal and pectoral coverings would hang loose upon the person, to
prevent which a. .. curious girdle," forming an integral part of tbe
Ephod itllelf, and composed probably of two distinct bands issuing
from the Nides of either tbe frontal or hinder portion, passp.d round
the body jUlIt under the arms, 110 as to encircle it over the region of
the heart. Tbe anllexed CUl will aid tbe reader's conception. The
open space ill the front piece is designed for the insertion of the
Breast-plate. The appendAnt straps when brought around the body
formed the" curious girdle of the Epbod."
 1852.] The Prie,tly Garmenu. 15
Such appears to haye been the general form .of the Ephod, and
the manner in which it ,vas made to be fitted close to the body. As
to the material of which it was made, this was evidently the same
with that of the interior curtains and the separating vail of the
Tabernacle, and wrought like it, except that in this ephod-tapestry
the figures of cherubim were \\·antin~, and instead of them there was
a rich intArweaving of threads of gold, which, togeth~r with the
beautiful colors embroidered, must have given it an "ir of inexpres-
sible richness. On this point the Jewish writers say, "The gold that
was in the weaving of the ephod and breast-plate was thus wrought:
He (the cunning workman) took one thread of pure gold and put it
with six threads of blue and twisted these seven threads as onc.
And so he did ODe thread of gold with six of purple, and one with
l'ix of scarlet, and one with six of linen. Thus these four threads of
gold and t\venty-eight threads in all."-Maimonidea in Ainawof·th.
This is a very probable account of the mode of texture, though the
proportion of gold strikes us as very small. From the allusion in the
description or our Saviour's dress, Rev. i. 13, .. Clothed with a gar-
m~nt down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a /{oldenlfirdle,"
it is reasonably to be inferred that it contained a pretty copious in-
sertion of gold in its texture, from which fact the curious girdle of
the Ephod was usually distinguished by this epithet. Though proper-
• Iy and primarily a vestment of the High Priest, yet it appears tha.t
garments of the same name ,,'ere worn by the inferior priests, but
they were plain ones of linen. . It does not appear that even these
were ,vorn at first by the common priests. But we after\\rards read
of common priests wearing Ephods; and indeed Samuel, who was
only 8 Levite, wore one; and David, who W8H not even a Levite, did
the same \vhen he danced before the arl(. On one occasion Saul
consulted the Lord by Urim, and consequen)y used the Ephod of the
High priest, 1 Same xxviii. 6 i and on another occasion David did the
same, 1 Same xxx. 7. It is thought by some, however, that Saul and
David did not themselves use the Ephod, but directed the priest to
use it.
Thou 'halt take two Ollyx-Itones, &c. On each of the connecting
pieces that went across the shoulders was set an arch or socket of
gold, containing an onyx-stone (Chat. "Beryl-stone'') on which the
names of the tribes of Jsrael were flngraved, as in a. seal, six on each
shoulder. Thus Mnimonides; "He set on each shoulder a beryl-
flltone four-square, embossed in gold; and he graved on the two stones
the names of the tribes, six on one stone and six on the other, accord-
ing to their births. And the stone whereoll Reuben was written, was
on the right shoulder, and the stone whereon Simeon was \vritten,
was on the left." The Rabbins say, moreover, that the letters were
so equally divided in these two inscriptions that Joseph's n81ne was
written" Jehoseph" in order to make just t,venty-five letters in each
stone.
In determining the spiritual significancy of the Ephod, we shall
naturally be governed by its position rel4tive to the other articles of
the sacred vestment. The three distinguishing garments of the priest-
66 The Tabernacle Service viewed in it. Spiritual Import. [Feb.
hood were, the Ephod, the Robe of the Epbod, and the embroidered
Coat or Tunic, hereafter to be described. Of these the Epbod was
the outermost, and therefore naturally suggests the idea of e~ternal.
or ultill,atea. Such in fact is its import as a constituent ,part of the
sacerdotal costume. It signifies Divine Truth in that external form
into which interior things close. That which is outermost Dot only
contains the interiors, but the interiors also close into it. The manner
in which this is done will be more obvious when it is remembered that
the breast-plate with its precious stones was inserted in the Ephod,
and this was representatively a closing ill of interiors in ultimates,
somewhat as the interior intelligence of the human mind closes in,
and makes itself manifest in the physical ultimates of the eye. We
there behofd the spiritual revealing itself in the natural. That a pe-
culiar sanctity should attach to the Ephod might be inferr~d from the
general fact, that all power is in ultimates, inasmuch as what is ex-
ternal contains all interior things in their order, and serves al~o to
bind and to keep them together in form and cODnexion, so that if the
external . w ere removed the internal would be dissipated and abolish-
ed. As the Ephod, therefore, represented what was most external of
the Lord's spiritual kingdom, it was consequently holy above the rest
of the garment. The principle on which this holds good cannot be
expected to be very obvious to any others than those wbo have be-
come masters of some of the fundamental positions of the New
Church philosophy. To such as have the analogy of End, Cause,
and Effect, will readily occur. The End is first in order, the Caase
is second, the Effect is last: but in the effect, which is last, the
Cause is present, and in the Cause the End. Hence the Effect is the
complement or completion, in which interior or prior things are con-
centrated and extant. The same analogy is found in Willing, Think-
ing, and Doing, in which last the two preceding co-exist; for so far
as Doing contains in it \\"hat man Thinks and Wills, so far interior
things are kept togE'th~r in form and connexion. Hence it is that a
man is said in the Word to be judged according to his doings or ac-
cording to his works, \\"hich implies that he is to be judged according
to his thinking and willing, for these are involved in his doing, as the
soul is body. Inasmuch then as interior things present themselves
together in what is ultimate, therefore the ultimate, if order be per-
fect, is accounted holy above the interior things, inasmuch as the
holiness of the interior things is then complete. ]t is clear then from·
this that the reason why the Ephod was accounted more holy than
the rest of the garments of the priesthood was, that it was rf!preSeD-
tative of what is ultimate in the Lord's spiritual kingdom. It was in
fact for this reason the principal article of the priestly attire, and is
occasionally used for the whole. It was constructed of interwoven
threads of gold, together with blue, purple, an dscarlet, double-dyed,
and fine twined linen; the gold indicating the presence of the good
of love throughout, and the other materials that of good of charity
and faith. The fact of the gold being so freely inwrought in the
texture of the Ephod denoted that the principle of love was to be
'11niversally regn811t, and what reigns universally, or in all and sin-
1652.] The Divine Humanity. 67

gular things, has an undisputed prevalence and dominion. 1'he vest-

ments of Aaron represented indeed the spiritual, and not the celestial
heaven, but even in that the truly dominant element is good, as it is
also in the natural heaven, though the proportion of the intellectual
:8 greater in the one than in the other.
G. B.
(To be eontinUld.)

ARTICLE D.

THE DIVINE HUMANITY.

Ir there is any idea contained in our writings more prominent than
another, or one which forms the pivot upon which the entire system of
the New Church rests, and upon which it revolves, it is that vast
idea, expressed by the two words, " Divinum Humanum" or " Divine
HU1IUl1lity."
How shall the finite mind begin to contemplate the infinite things
embraced in that expression I Do we possess any stores of knowl-
edge, any methods of reasoning, any powers of comparison, any
modes of illustration, that will enable us to realize even a small por-
..&on of its immensity and its infinity 1 Is there any thing stored up
in the rmemory, borrowed from the volume of nature, or from the
Divine Word, that will furnish materials which will open the mind to
the feeblest perception of its grandeur 1 There is a power by which
the mind (by comparing great things with small) can rise from the
known to the unknown, from the visible to the invisible, from the ex-
ternal to the internal. "For the invisible things of God, from the
creation of the world are clearly 8een, being under&tood by the things
that are made, even the eternal power and Godhead" (Rom. i. 20).
Let us begin then by a.pplying the powers of analysis, and analogy-
Divine-Human. Here we have the Divine on the one side, and
the Human on the other; what are the elements and the attributes
of the former 1 What of the latter 1 The elements and attributes of
the former are life itlelj, the uncreate, self-existent, infinite, eternal-
the elements of the latter, are derived life, created forms, finite, tem-
poral. The former elements are all embraced in the glorious expres-
sions, Infinite Love-Infinite Wisdom. "God i, Love."
Divine Love and Divine Wisdom are ONE, but the~' 8re di&tinctly
one; they are the essence and the form, the soul and the body, the
divine and the human, the Father and the Son. United inseparably,
they are life itsel~ uncreate, the self-existent fountain of life in all
forms and degrees. "As the Father bath life in Himsel( so hath He
given to the Son to have life in himself:" ,This Divine and tAu Hu-
man have existed as one from eternity; the essence must take to it-
self a corresponding form, the soul must have a body; otherwise the
quality of the essence or soul could not be manifested; the Divine
love could not ftO\V out or render itself visible iD a creation without
68 TAe Divine Humanity. [Feb.
Divine Wisdom; the Father could not act or create without the Son;
hence the Son, the Divine Humf'n, is "the beginning of the creation
of God." "All things were made by Him." " The Son is the bright-
ness of the Father's glory, and the express image of Hi, per'.,l."
We know that human elements or faculties, such as will, under-
standing, reason, and intelligence, of which man is the recipient from
God, must dwell in a human form; so the infinite attributes of
God must dwell in a similar form; it is hnpossible to conceive of
any other form; the incarnation was a human incarnation; it
could be no' other. Man was created in the image and likeness of
God. The word Divine implies the infinite and the eternal; the
created Human. implies the finite and the temporal. There is a hu·
man that is uncreate, having life in himself and consequently divine.
How then shall the infinite attain to or reach the finite? How caD
a divine human commullicate with a created human 1 Without con-
junction with, and communication from, the spiritual world, all things
would perish; since every created form, whether angelic or human,
rational or irrational, is void of life in itself; it must therefore be a
recipient from the uncreated fountain of life; each one according to
its form and the place it occupies in the vast chain of being. There
can be but one infinite, and as the Divine Humanity of the Lord has
life in itsel~ it follow~ that this humanity is the living fountain,
whence every created existence receives life. But how 1 How can
the infinite extend itself to the finite 1 Ho\v can life communicate
with death 1 In order to comprehend this in any degree, we must
summon to our aid the doctrine of influx, of mediums, of correspon-
dences, and representatives. If there is a fountain of life, and created
forms to receive it, there must be a flowing in of that life, and this
influx is both im,,,ediate and mediate. The vital fountain is love in-
exhaustible; which may be seen from analogy, thus: the natural sun
emits both heat and light continually, without exhaustion or diminu-
tion; thiM heat and light flows into susceptible forms, each form in
the three Itingdoms being influenced according to its nature. But
this beat and light before reaching t.he earth's surface, must pass
through mediums, highest, middle, and lowest, and be transmitted
from the first, through the middl~, to the last; these mediums are,
the aura, the ether, and the atmosphere, ,vhich last rests upon the
earth. Thus reasoning from thfl kno\\rn, we may ascend in thought
to the invisible by analogy, until the thought extends to the sun of
the spiril'lal world in the midst of \vhicb is the divine mon, clothed
with a sphere of ineffable glory. The spiritual sun, acts immediately
and mcdiately through the three heavens of angels and good spirits,
down to man upon earth, flowing immediately into the principle of
good, and mediately through the principle of truth ortbe Word. This
sphere of glory is not the Lord himself: but the first divine proceed-
ing; "Thou coverest thyselfwith light as with a garment" (Ps. civ.2).
l'he Word is a universal medium, by which the infipite cornmuni-
cates with the finite. In its abstract nature it is divine wisdom pro-
ceeding from divine love; it is divine truth, divine order; it is the
Word ., which was in the beginning with God and which was God,"
1852.] TAe Divine Humanity. SD

the son of the everla~ting Father, the divme human by whom the
worlds were created, by whose perpetual presence they are sustaiu-
ed, and in whom is life itself. In its manife,ted form it accommo-
dates itself to the finite minds of angels and men, and is the medium
of that vitality by which all things are sustaine4. ,. All power is
given unto Me in heaven and on earth."
This Word, or divine truth, is accommodated to the states and the
wants of the church in the heavens and on the earths, under every
dispensation, being received and understood according to the state of
created intelligences. In the golden age it was manifested in a mode
adapted to a high and interior state of perception, in which state the
body and all material visible things were regarded as secondary, and
were suggestive of their spiritual causes in the invisible world to
which they correspond and which they represent. In the succeeding
age, the same divine Word was manifested in another and more ex-
ternal form, and as the human race continued to decline, it &-Jsumed
lower and lower degrees, until nothing remained but the mere repre-
sentative of a church, whose worship consisted in ceremonials, not al-
together empty, because of divine appointment, and because the sym-
bols of their worship Were correspondential and of course representa-
tive of spiritual things; thus a connexion was maintained between
angels and men, heaven and the church, the divine and the human.
If all things were made by the Word, if the W OM was God, it must
be divine, it must be the Son of God or the divi"e Human, having life
in Himself: Th~ visible creation then is an outbirth or a manifesta-
tion of the Word or divine wisdom; it must, therefore, stand in rel~
tion to it and consequently represent it. There can be no true re·
presentatives without correspondences, no effect without a cause, and
since the divine Human is the first cause, and" the things that are
made," the last effect, it follows that between the two there is a cor-
respondence, and that thus the infinite dwells in the finite, as the soul
dwells in the body, imparting its derived life thereto, and directing
all its activities, but without commixing with any thing material.
The works of God and the Word of God, are both manifestations in
different forms and degrees of the same Divine Humanity; infinite
love, infinite wisdom, power, benevolence, and beneficence are com-
mon to both; they are both effects of the same cause, outbirths of the
same principles, manifestations of the same uncreated, self-existent
life. Having a common origin, having the same relation, therefore,
the same immutable stability, the same correspondence and represen-
tation must be predicated of both. There is then a representative
humanity and a manifested humanity, both divine, having a common
origin in first principles, proceeding to the last or ultimate 'degree in
the visible creation, thus uniting the last with the first in the "Gold-
en Girdle" of divine love, the self-existent life and the visible creation
existing from that life and perpetually sustained thereby, are the first
and the last, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. All
things in the works and in the Word of God represent the Lord, and
every manifestation of divine goodness and truth in every age, in
every dispensation, has been a Divine Humanity. The Incarnation
 nB DeatA Peaaltg. [Feb.

was a descent from the first into the last or ultimates oC creation, &
putting~on of all degrees and principles in the heavens and in the
earths, in the works and in the Word of God. "Jehovah bowed the
heavens and came down, He rode upon a cherub and did fly, yea, He
did fiy upon the wings of the wind" (Ps. xviii. 9), and this to the end
that the heavens inight be restored to order, the powers of hell sub-
dned, the Word fulfilled, that be might lead captivity captive, and ac-
complish the mighty work of redemption. A new snd living way
was thtlS opened, communication restored between the infinite .and
the finite by the glorification of the HUMAJlITY. " God was manifest
in the flesh."
M.M.C.

ARTICLE Ill.

THE DEATH PENALTY.

. We are well aware that there is often something of a ha7.ardous assumption in claiming
for aJa1 particular Nntimentl on matters oC science, doctrine, or morals, that they al8 strict-
)y and emphatically ,he NtvJ Chwch "il1l1' of the ..hjed, inasmuch .. other Newcbllrch-
men Dla1 think that aD entirely different view is that of the New Ohurch as taught in it!
writings; yet we must still judge. eaoh one for himee) f, as to what is most In accordance with
the letter and spirit of the HeaYenly. Doctrines. In the exercise of this liberty we have, for
ouraelvel, long linea .ttled down firmly in the belief of the intrinsic right and justice of
"apit&l punlehment for the crimf' of murder. and consequently as we can only conceive of
the N. C. doctrines as harmonizing with the eternal principles oC order and equity. we
cannot but regard thOle doctrines ae sanctioning this feature of the criminal code of most
Christian countries. We know, indeed. that many Newehurchmen have been led to adopt
a durerent oplnloD, which ofc011r18 we have no desire they should relinquish tin they see
ample reason for it. But it surely i. not too much to ask that tlaeylhaU weigh with candor
the alJUment propoeed in the following paragraph from Rey. Mr. Noble's cc Sermons on the
DIYlne Law" (Serm. ltVTIl.), in whioh the Iubject comee up for remark under the precept
Cl Thou shalt not kill." Aner observing that a mOTe oorrect translation of the words would
~.. Thou ehalt do DO murder," inasmuch BI the taking away life under.11 cirCumstan-
ces. Is not inteuded to be prohibited, neither has the Hebrew term strictly the latitade of
meaDing implieci in our Eugliah word "to kiU"-he g088 OD to.,:~

cc THAT any circumstance should ever arise which make the taking
away of the life of a fellow-creature necessary, is deeply to be de·
plored; but that such cases may and do exist, it seems to be only
pseudo-philanthropy, and a high degree of fanaticism, that can deny.
Thus, the punishment of death, for great offences, is most indisputably
allowable; nor does it appear that any advantage can accrue, either
to society or to the criminal, by not awarding it. There are some
crimes which so close the interiors of the human mind, shut Ollt the
influences of heaven, and induce, consequently, such callousness of
feeling and hardness of heart, that it is next to impossible that the
person who has been guilty of them should ever be reformed; but, in
1852.] TAe Deatl& Pe7UIlty. el

general, continuance in life would only be applied by such a being

to further confirmation in evil, and to the opening in his soul of lower
and lower depths of iniquity,-thus connecting him with, and finally
sinking him into, a more direful hell. Nor can the reformation of
any person take place, or have its first commencement, in any state
\vhich is not one of perfect liberty: but would it be wise, or justifia-
ble, in &.py government, for the sake of the very slight probability of
a great criminal's reformation, to let him loose again upon the pub.
lic, to see whether or not he would repeat his former crimes? Would
it be right, for instance, to allow a person who had comrnitted the
crime which our law calls murder, being the same that is chiefly
meant in the literal sense of this commandment,-which is, the de-
liberately, and with previous malice, destroying the life of another,
--ever again to go at large, affording him again the opportunity of'
destroying the lives of unoffending members of society? No specu-
lator. I believe, in theories of legislation, has ever c~rried his tender.
ness to criluinals so far as this; but many have recommended that the
greatest of criminals, even the most desperate murderers, instead of
being put to death, should simply be condemned to perpetual impri-
sonment,-which some would make solitary confinement, The in-
congruity is rather palpable which supposes, that a person who has
committed the most irreparable of crimes, by depriving an innocent
fellow-citizen of his life, and has thus rendered it impossible that he
can ever aga.in be admitted within the pale of society, should, ip'o
faCIO, and as if he were the injured party, have acquired a title to
sllpport, at the public expense, for the rest of his days; much more
just and reasonable does it appear to be, that the community should
undertake the maintenance of the widow and children of the inno-
cent man. who has been exposed to be murdered through the ineffi-
ciencyof the police regulations. But leaving out of the account the
consideration of expense (though it may wall be doubted whether
there is not something radically defective in all those forms of intended
punishment, which, while they entail a continued heavy expense
upon the public, in too many instance~ only operate to the perfecting
of criminals in their arts, and as a bonu, upon the commission of
crime; but leaving out of the account the consideration of expense),
it is doubtful whether the supporting of the murderer in prison would
be &oy real charity to the wretched culprit. Our doctrines evince
most clearly, that no real repentance,-such repentance as changes
the heart,-can be con,menced in a state of constraint; and ho,"-
ever, in such a state, a man may profess contrition, and persuade
others, and even himself; that he is an altered character, still, set him
at liberty, and the state of mind, and of superficial reformation, in-
duced during confinement, will speedily wear oa: a.nd, in a little time,
tbe state will return in which he was prior to his apprehension~ and
the individual will be again just what he was before. If indeed a
man, after having been goilt)'" of a crime, begins truly to repent, and to
become a reformed character, before he is brought to answer for it to
the law, thus while he is in a state of freedom, his repentance and
reformation may be confirmed and advanced during his confinement
 62 The Man of the Earth. [Feb.
after\vards; it ,,,ill also, whether he continues here or not, greatly
affect his state in the other life; but if amendment had not begun be-
fore, it cannot efficiently be afterwards produced. A Htate of con-
straint quite closes the interiors of the mind; so that any change
which may be commenced in such a state affects the exteriors of the
mind only; and it is all abolished again, whenever the interiors re-
sume their action. As then the safety of the public will not allow of
the turning of a ~reat criminal again loose upon society, by which
alone he could ha.ve an opportunity of beginning an effectual repent-
ance; as, in the great majority of cases, instead of then truly repent-
ing, he would return to the commission of his former crimes; and as
the keeping of him in prison till released by death, however long that
. consummation might be protracted, would not enable him to make
any better preparation for his final change than if sent to meet it at
his first apprehension i-there seems to be no reason, either of expe-
pedif'ncy or charity, for departing, in the punishment of great crimi-
nals, from the course pointed out by the common instinct (so to speak)
of manldnd, sanctioned, as it is, by the declara.tions of Scripture; all
which unite in "deciding, that' Whoso sheddeth man's blood (in the
way of murder), by man shall his blood be shed' (Gen. ix. 6). And
there are some other crimes to which the same law justll' and rea-
sonably applies."

ARTICLE IV.

THE MAN OF THE EARTH.

WHEN we realize the oneness of the human race, its individuality,
its human form, and its one divine soul and life, how the heart warms
to oor brother maD; what an active energy of ,love we feel in the
perception that our existence is of use in the universal mall of the
earth, that like some delicate fibril of a. nerve, we are receptacles
and conductors of the essence of life. What all incitement to us is
this, to seek to purge from ourselves every obstruction of the fa.lse and
evil, that the will and understanding of our divine soul, may flow
throuJth us with a bounding joy of life, and with the falness of all its
infinite, eternal purposes.
At present, the man of the earth is undergoing a process of regener-
ation. The physical-sensual man has become a perverted form of
life. But in the natural good, preserved by the external influx of the
iivin~ soul, has been born a perception of an inner life. The world
sated in wickedness, like a weary man, dreams of tha.t good and beau-
tiful time, when in the innocent lovingness of a young child it rested
in its mother's bosom, unstained with crimes, and ~oing in simple
obedience the will of its divine Father. Thus from the remains of its
infancy, in an hour of natural good, is born a disgust for its present
vile condition, and the yearning for the beautiful innocenc~" of wis-
1852.] TAe Man of tluJ Earth. 63

dam, and that freedom of virtue which will break the slavish bonds
that bind the strong man to vice.
Who can doubt but that the Lord, as the divine soul, will aid the
human spirit to triumph over its material organization; that the form
may become the means and not the end of life. It is just as certain,
that the Lord will aid the universal regeneration of the man of the
eartb, as that He does that of the individual man who is an atomicsl
form of the universal man. That this process is correspondingly slow
and grievous to be borne; that it consists of six \veary days of com-
bat with the false and evil hefore the celestial rest of the Sabbath is
attained, we all know, but like the tired laborer, we may solace our-
selves in our labors \vith the vision of the peaceful and beautiful Sab-
bath, when we may rest in the bosom of love. This vision grows in
our hearts. it is a perception born- of our love, it looks not for its com-
ing joys in the outer world, bat within to the serene heaVE'D that un-
rolls itself in the knowledge and thought of man. Yes, it is to hea-
ven that we look for a picture of the world's future. Through S\ve-
denborg, the Lord has revealed to us the inner life that is seeking to
ultimate itselfupon the earth. It is not what man will do, but what
the angels of God will do through man as a voluntary, free a.gent,
and co-worker with the angels, that will make the Edens of hea.ven
to bloom upon the earth. The Lord has revealed to us the art, the
grace, the purity of the spirit-life that must descend from spirit into
matter, that must be born through men upon the earth, that there
may be harmony and accord bet\veen the internal and external man
of the universe; that the joy of the Lord may be perfect in the in-
finite fulness of His divine being. from firsts to lasts.
The order of heaven is the type of the order that will reign upon
earth, and what is this order 1 Heaven is composed of innumerable
societies in the form of man, looking to the Lord as their soul and
life, as their will and understanding. In heaven there can be but one
government, one sovereign will and Lord, in whom omnipotence, om-
niscience, and omnipresence, are essentials. Heaven is ruled as the
finite human body is by its soul, with the same universal power, pre-
sence and knowledge, with which the soul dwells in the human body,
and carefully guards it from evil, and feels its slightest sensation of
pain and pleasure, and knows the uses nnd capacities of its various
organs. Does the Lord live in heaven 1 Th~n a.s every sensation of
the body must refer it~elf back to the soul, so every sensation of hea-
ven must refer itself to its divine soul, and every society in heaven
must recognize itself as an organ of that infinite soul, and must ac-
knowledge the divine will in it as its only ruling principle. This. too,
must be the ultima.te order of earth. The unregenerate man is ruled
by appearances of truths; he lives in a world of representative
form~, and he bows to the serIlblance as to a reaHty. But the spirit
is being revealed to man, and representatives and appearances will
then be in great measure done away with. Kings, and thrones, and
principalities and powers, have been representatives of the divine
power; but when the Lord reveals Himself in the fullness of His
humanity, then He alone will be worshiped; nations, like organs
of use, will refer themselves to His will, and He will be the highest
64 . The Man of tAe Eartla. [Feb.
in each Dation who is most absolutely divested of self-will and the
love of dominion. The earth then will be full of the glory of the
Lord, law will lose its terrors, and become simply the order of life.
It will not be fear but love, that shall govern each individual. "Is
it good 1" will be the guiding question in every act of life.
This process of regeneration is beginning to work itself out upon
the earth. The embryo life of love is felt in the New Church.
Those who are in truths have consociated themselves together to do
good, to communicate each one his troths to the whole, thereby in-
creasing the medium ofcirculation for goods. As a celestial church,
we hold the most important relations to man, however individually
insignificant we may be. As the heart and longs of the Dew
man of the earth, we are the centre and medium of life to the
world. Let us look upon our high aod holy mission, and realize its
vast use, that we may truly glorify the Lord our God, and perform
our use with rejoicing hearts, and in an utter self-abnegation. To
us there is no more real ground of self-glorification than there can
be to some tiny blood vessel that bears the r~joicing life-blood to the
heart, or some invisible nerve, that, like a magnetic cord, receives its
impulse from the brain and writes its will D\lon the external world.
We are but mediums. We have not chosen ourselves, but the Lord
has fashioned and fitted us for our work.
The New Church, 8S the bride of the Lord, is to be the mother of
all coming generations. From the dust of the nations He has lifted
her up, and by an external Bct He has co-joined Himself to her.
Wh~n Robert Hindmarsh and the few simple believers in the New
truths, banded themselves together in the single and unselfish desire
to communicate these goods and truths to others, and asked of the
Lord a token of His willingness that they might sign the New believ-
ers with the holy sign of baptism into the New heavens, and seal
them with the.holy seal of the Lord's Supper, in conjoining them to
the personal sphere of the divine good and the divine truth; then
did the church take fm-m upon the ea.rth in the celestial-natural de-
gree. Then did the divine love flow into her as an organ receptive
of life, and virtue go forth from the office of one appointed by an
external act, the result of an internal impulse of the divine love
and wisdom, that illustra.tion from the divine intelligence might be
communicated to those who approach the Lord in faith.
The New Church was formed as unobtrusively as our Lord was
born upon the earth. He descended to the earth, not to awaken
in man a love of worldly pomp and earthly grandeur, but to show the
nothingness of these when compared with the glories of the inner
life. It was that He might draw the thoughts and affections of man
upward and within that He lived so humble and quiet an external
life; and thus it has been with the New Church. Beginning like an
embryo life, it has attracted for nearly a century no outward obser-
vation. Men are drawo to it by interior perceptions of truth, and not
by any glare of worldly hope. With the forms of worn-out hierar-
chies it has nothing to do; it is a banded brotherhood of the love of
truth, because it is truth.
1852.] 85

The New Church is essentially different from all other churche:

because it is a. celestial church, and the type of its intellectual beini
can only be found in a loving woman. Her simple love of the Di
vine Wisdom makes her receptive of ideas; hence she arrives a
tnlth,llot by logical conclusions and mathematical deductions, bu"
by interior perceptions. With her science confirms truth. But truth
itself is a simple and definite revelation from the Divine man she
lo\·es. For this reason the New Church is most pecoliarly a form of
charity. In ber feminine grace and perception she is a being of love,
and wordy discussions and rude attacks from her gentle bosom upon
any earthly form, are wholly out of place. The Bride of Heaven
looks ,vith a serene lovingness upon mankind, and utters pure truth and
loving words, not to coerce the mind of man, but to draw him gently
by the cords of love into a conviction of the truth. Every individual
member of this Celestial church should take its character from the
whole. We are possessed of truths above the attainments of human
rea...~D. It is vain to reason with an unregenerate man of our truths ;
be can only deny them, because in the light of reason he cannot pos-
sibly see them. But we should be full to overft(Jwing of our beauti-
ful truths; to pour them into the eRrs of all who desire them, for
from desire or love is awakened intellectual perception; and no New
Church member in this world is unlinked with the human race by
external ties of relationship and friendship. Ollr Lord has thus
placed us that \ve may become Dlediums of good and truth to others;
our whole lives should be devoted to awakening the most kindly
and gentle affections in those \vho surround us, that through their
love for us they may desire to know our inner thoughts and feelings,
which we will communicate to them openly as Ne\v Church doc-
trines, for it is not permitted to as by persuasive arts to insinuate
truth. No. Openly and avowed, as members of the New Church,
wc must liv'e~ that all men may know the form of our fa.ith, and not
be beguiled into a partial reception of it, and afterwards profane it
by rejecting it when they find that it is not a brilliant speculation of
the imagination, but the simple revelation of a fact.
It is good for us to come out and stand apart from all churcbes-
not that we may oppose them or overcome them, hut that OUI- faith
may not be suffocated. For, had the early Christians remained in
the Jewish church to listen to thE; teachings of the Rabbis, that the
~Iessiah was yet to come, and that the man Jesus \va.s an impostor,
could their faith ha.ve grown upon such spiritual nourishment 1 Th~
spirit of man is formed by the truths that he hears: and can the
Newchurchman, who believes in the trinity of a personal God, listen
to the teachings of the old church as to three Divine persons, and
have his interior man to grow 1 No; in accordance with the laws
of order he must be d\va.rfed; he cannot attain to the full stature of
a man. For this reason our Lord has provided us with an altar and
a sanctuary, to which we can bring all the offerings of our hearts
and minds, and from which ,ye can receive the precious gifts of our
brethren. The church in its humanity has a will and understanding.
The male principle in it is the understanding, which is to set forth
66 TAe Man cf tAe EartA. [Feb.
truth, to be lQved by the feminine principle, the will. Throogh the
understanding of the man of the church, the spiritual meaning of the
Divine Word is to be revealed, because man through erudition at-
tains to so full a knowledge of the literal sense of the Divine Word.
The woman of the church receives this revelation of the spiritual
meaning into her warmest love, and plants it as seed in the tender
minds of infants and children. Thus, as by the action and reaction
of the heart aDd lungs in the individual man, does the church live
and grow. And the church is the only true man of the earth, it
is the image of God upon the earth. It is the form receptive of the
Divine Life which holds this '\vorld in connection with the Infinite
Life. How high and holy th~n are its duties to mankind, and how
like the interior organs of life should it work-so quietly, unseen, and
unobtrusive, and yet its life-giving effects should pervade the uni-
verse-and, like these unseen organs of life, it works not by the will
of man, but by the will of the Creator. God is its soul, and every
infinitesimal ,"es~el should hold itself open to the Lord. How beau-
tiful it is to Ne\vchurchmen to sit calm and still, amid the storm of
de.magogic commotions, which rages in the external, and feel that
all their light and hope and strength flows from within; to realise
that the humblest human soul that turns itself in B trusting love to
the Lord, is aiding in bringing down the light and freedom of hea-
ven to the oppressed and troubled.
It is not for us to look without and mingle in the strife and tur-
moil of agitatAd actors. We must work as well as they; but our
work is different, as different as is the use of the red blood in the
human organization from that of the nervous fluid; ,ve act within
to give life to the external.
The doctrines of man rock on the heaving billows of the sea of
life, like somn cumbrous unwieldy ship in which a horrid mutiny has
taken place, but some faithful sailors look to the golden orient and
behold the Captain of their salvation throwing out cords by which
they may draw the wretched ship to a land flowing \,·ith peace and
plenty. Eagerly they seize these cords, which are as streams of
golden light fto\ving into praying souls. While such humble and
faithful workmen are on board, the ship cannot be lost.
As NewchurchmenJ we must cultivate our warmest affections for
our church. We must regard it not as an hierarchy to attain world-
ly ends, but as a consociation of love, that ,,"e may act in unit.y of
purpose. The church is a holy marriage union, in which good and
truth meet; hence all jars and excitements are as truly out of place
among the members of the New Church as they would be in a beau-
tiful conjugial union of man and \"oman; as they ,vould be in thA
organs of life. Let us seek the health of the man of the earth by
looking away from ourselves, and resting all of our thoughts and
affections upon our glorious Divine soul, who will transmit the purity,
beauty, and tender, loving grace of His life, through us, to the Lody,
in which He seeks to clothe Himself upon earth-that through that
body He may bless the earth, and crown it with all the joys of
Heaven. _
1852.] TAe Eternity of Evil and the Helll. 67

A.RTICI.E v.

Cl THE ETERNITY OF EVIL AND THE HELLS."

l\{UCD as has already been said on this subject, there is nevertheless
)~ft unexplained the very point or item which seflms to give so
much offence to Universalists and others, who, strong in natural
JCJv~s, and at the same time tenaciously holding to their own erro-
n~ous conception of ,vhat Infinite love' and mercy is, cannot entertain
th~ idea of an Eternity of E,,,jJ and of the Hells. The extract of 8,
l~ttpr on page 570 in the Itlst volurne of the Repository, goes indeed
far in the vindication of truth, but it is by no meaDS so conclusive to
the mind which is firmlv imbued with the idea of a "final restora-
tion," as the \\'riter the~eof seems to think, for though such a resto-
rator may well perceive and also freely admit, that 8 man can grow
and continue and confirm himself in evil and therefore in misery, un-
happiness and insanity, and that he makes it all his own by his
o,,·n free \vill, love and consent, )-et such a person can for all this
not se~, that a God of iflfinite mercy, love, wisdom and power has
not m~ans enol1gh in store to turn e\ren the greatest sinner back-
,,·ard and make him see and abhor his evils, especially \vhen he reads
in S\vedenhorg's description of Heaven and Hell of the enormous
,·l\Sfations and punishments, which some of the blessed ha.d to under-
go before their admitt.ance into their happy mansions or state. Such
a person ther~fore requires a further elucidation of tbis momentous
subject. and charity truly entitles him to ask for it, whilst it is the du-
ty uf the Church to gi\re it, not in authority but in charity also.
The concisf! ans\ver to the point in question may to the unpreju-
die~d mind he summed up in the last sentence of this article, but as the
~Iucidation is to be gi\~en to minds laboring under strongly cherished
pr~judice~, by the \\phich even they think to offer a greater share of ho-
nor to the great Fath~r of mercies, the God of Lo\'e, therefore \ve must
pndra \·or to com~ down to their own plane, so that ,ye may be able
to Innke them see and apperceive the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, the
Red~emcr and Saviour of the whole ,,,"orld.
'{'he \\9hole tenor of S\v~denborgtstheological writings doth clearly
sho\v, and the general and manifest experience throughout the present
epntury doth conclusivpl)" prove, that by and through the gru\vth in
goodness and truth of the Grand ~fan, there did, and further on there
,,·ill, take place 8. continual amelioration in the gf!neral condition
and ~tate of the human face at large, and cons~quently also in the
",-US and falsities-the miseries and insanities-of the opposite part of
the Grand Man. The present despotic demonstrations in Europe,
and the insane productions of certain clairvoyants on both sides of
the Atlantic, seem induced to indicate and prove the contrary; but
the first are most probably permitted by a wise Providence to oppose
and keep in dread or subjection that torrent of infernal lib~rty which
separated from Religion as its true basis, wills Dot tha.t the Divine,
 8S The Eternity cif Evil and tle Hell•• [Feb.
Man Jesus sit upon the Throne, and whom it will not obey, and in
virtue whereof it desireth to overthrow by and by all the thrones es-
tablished under the title "by the' Grace of God ;" whilst those pro-
ductions of the clairvoyants are not the less calculated to effect the
very same end, thus unitedly establish on this earth the kingdoms of
the devil and of Satan.
The old adage, "where God builds a church, there the devil builds
a chapel," holds still good, and the productions of hell will ever and
anon keep pace, in their degree and order, with the revelations from
heaven; but \w.'ith the latter are al\vays given higher degrees of ligbt
for the understanding, and of freedom of the will, and at the same
time also a stronger influx of good into the affections thereof; thus
always a fresh outpouring of the Holy Ghost; whilst then, on the
other hand, the fires of the infernal lo\"es which produce such eman-
ations of falsehood are to some degree deprived of their virulence and
power, and are permitted to pass off in smoke, by their being allowed
to give free vent to their evil affections and thoughts by open, unre-
stricted publication thereof; wht'n they can and will be met and
o\'erthrown by statements of truth or by logical arguments. Thus
men of all the various degrees of good and evil It'arn to bear one
with another, and learn also freely to submit to law and order, whence
it seems to be clear and evident, that the dispositions, states and con-
ditions-thence also the misery and unhappiness of the evil minded
portion of the community-are modified and mitigated, and not Aeigl.-
tened. Bq.t this amelioration of the states and conditions of the
human race will by and by spread over the whole face of the earth,
and will be established, and increase for all generations to come, and
at the same time it will most assuredly have also a retrospective effect· I

upon all and singular the ages and generations \vhich ere this ha\"e
passed over into eternity; the inhabitants of the various hea\"ens will,
not only in consequence of their own free willed reception of the or-
derly influx of good and truth from the Lord, become daily more good
and ,vise, but they will also have a conti nuous better footing therein,
by their own transmi~8ion to, and by their reception of, such divine
influx by the inhabitants of the earth; for Swedenborg informs us,
that the angels did complain and lament, that on account of the un- I

belief in the Word of the dwellers on earth, and hy the extinction of

charity amongst them, they, the angel~, have no foundation under
their feet whereupon they mi~ht rest. Just as the inhabitants of the
heavens and the men of the church on earth shall continually increase
in goodness and truth, and consequently also in society and in hap-
piness, even so "rill the states of ~the ungodly on earth and of
the wicked in the hells be modified, and their miseries be abated,
for like as the Grand Man of heaven will grow in numbers and
stature, so also the Grand Man of hell will have a similar increase;
but the sLates of the new corners from earth being continually more
and more ameliorated by their having become more disposed and
qualified to submit to and live under the existing laws of God and
man, and under the order and regulations of society, there will be no
need whatever to have applied to them in Hades such tremendous
torments and vastations as were iD former times of\en needfully ap-
 1852.] The Eternity of Evil and the Hell,. 88

plied to wicked spirits, in order to reduce them to such states of sub-

mission as to render them fit to live peaceably ,,'ith their miserable
fellows in their own inferna.l societies. What then and there had to
be gained by punishments, is now and will henceforth be gained OD
earth by the pro~ressive states of society at large, in virtue of and
by the stronger influxes from the heavens, so that, '\vithout doubt, the
various hells \vhich yet \vill come into existence, will have through-
out a milder aspect; and 8S, according to order, the new hells or bell-
ish societies will always be established on the tops or in the inner
degrees or circles of their old corresponding ones, these \vill thu~ at the
same time be continually farther and farther removed, or sink down
to the extremities or uttermost boundaries, Of, perhaps more correctly
said, the boundaries will b6 farther and farther extended by them;
by their sinking deeper they ,,'ill be fartber removed from the presence
of Him who sitteth upon the Throne and the Lamb, which presence
it is that causes their torment, as it is written by St. John the apostle,
,vho heurd them cry out, " Ye hills fall upon us and ye mouDtains
oov"r us," and, as Swedenborg testifies, ., that they hide themselv~s
in the clifts of the rocks before the divine sphere and dare not to put
forth a finger from the fear of torment;" thus also each new society
being upon the top of an old one, will serve that as a covering and
mediating means to absorb, weal(en, and modify such tormenting in-
flux of life and light; thus also, the deeper they sink, or the farther
they are removed to the extremity, just so much more they lose, or
Bre deprived of their sensuous life, and thus of their real or actual
miser)-, and torment. Here we must consider the true im-
port of the \vords misery, unhappiness, insanity, as they' are
commonly used and understood, and 8S th~y are applied and
understood by Swedenborg himsel~ for \\?b~never Swedenborg
applies any of these terms, he applies and understands them
in the feeling and language of the good spirits a.nd angels; ancl to
them the farthest removal from the source of life and light is the
greatest misery, but in the feeling and language of the devils, just
the very opposite is true; the farther the space, and the more block-
ed up from and against the hateful tormenting influx, the greater the
insensibiHty and quietness, till at last, spnsuous life is at a stand still.
There and \vith them death is indeed cast into hell, and even there
the wicked cease from troubling, for these beings will he mere dead
cada,·erous forms of life,-life unconscious but not extinct, but able
lo be recalled again any moment it pleases the Lord of life and
light to open such hells for any purpose whatever. A sober reflection
on those states and on this sort of miser)" and degradation of the un-
happy in hell, and the increase thereo~ will surely con\'ince any un-
prejudiced mind that a transforma.tion of deuth into life, of evil into
good, is utterly impossible, and which \\9jJJ be still more apparent by
, taking into consideration, that the ,,'icked arrive at their unhappy
states after they had· undergone all their respective various torments
of Hades requisite for their vastation, but with no other consequences,
than to throw out of their own free accord all their Remairu of ~'
Good and Trol'" which but tormented them, but by which alone man
YOL. v. 6
70 Lay Preaching. [Feb.
can be transform~d, after ,vhich they hate God anti his angels,-good
and truth and the affections thereof, ,vitb 8. perfect hatred; and then
all and singular the influences of good and truth, Rnd also further
vastations nnd punishments, serve only to increase such hatred, but
never to turn them from their evils and falsities.
We are howev~r not left in this momentous question to our mere
speculations and conclusions which we can and may draw from
Swedenborg's writings, and which in gC'neral wc are apt to intel·pret
according to our o\vn preconceived ideas; but in endeavoring to learll
to know oUI·selvel; and in learning to understand ~\'ell and practically
the proce" of rejormclfion and regeneration going on \\-ithin o~r­
selves, \ve conceive and learn how, hy the mercy of the Lord, our
Re,nflina of Good and Truth are strengthened and our evils and falsi-
ties obliterated or remov~d farther and farther to the circumference,
where, by continual victories over them, they are laid lifeless and
powerless at our feet. Just so, in the most strict analogy, as the
Grand l\fan rises triumphantly higher and higher, bis enemies ,viiI be
laid lower and lower, until it can be said of them: "death where is
thy sting, and hell \\'here is thy victory!" but all honor, prH.i~e and
adoration be unto Him who sitteth upon the Throne a~d to the Lamb
for ever and ever, Amen. E.
BerliD, c. w.

ARTICLE VI.

LAY PREACHING.
IT has long been a matter of surprise, that the receivers or
t.he
doctrines in the United States have not adopted the pra~tice of lay
preaching, which has been successfully practiced in England, ever
since the doctrines were first publicly made kno\vn.
Th~re is scarcely a Society in the church, \vhich has not one or
more members, who could not with advantage both to himself and
others, cultivate the faculty of pr~senting th~ heavenly doctrines to
the public. There are several Societi~s in this country, to my certain
kno\vledge. which have more than a dozen m~mbers who could in a
short time prepare themselves for eminent usefulness in this field of
labor.
ThiR could be done without interfering \vitb their regular uses.
There are little clusters of scattered recei,·ers all over t.he country
where a Ne\v Church discourse has never been heard, \\"ho would be
warmed and strengthened by an occasional visit of this kind.
My attention has been called to this subject by a COll,·ersation held
with a brother recently from Manchester, England, ,yha has sho\vn
me a number of hand bills, containing \vhat is called "l\fissionary
Committee's Quarterly Arrang~ment."
Thesf1 tables show so strikingly the practical \,"orkings of the sys-
tem, that I send you one of them, which I hope you will be able to
print. 1'his copy is for three months in 1823. I have copies before
me also for the three previous years.
..
~

MISSIONARY COMMITTBE'S QUARTERLY ARRANGEMENT --

0' THE V191TI:40 )lI~I'TI:RI .r.LO~orSO TO TU£ NEW Jt:RU'ALi:~1 C!t[nClI,
,
nr THE :If£(OHIORIlOOD or IUIfCJI£ST£R.

Jail., FehrWJfl' "farcA. April

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1823. 19 2G 2 9 16 23 2 9 16 23 30 6 13 2."""Rc'f. Rich'd Jontl.
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10. Mr. John BircbwOOd .
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72 LQg PreacAing. [Feb.
At BOLTOJf, Mr. BlaCBWOOD will deliver tJle following Coune of Lectures, lis':
January 26IA. On the neCellitJ of loving the Lord above all things, and our neigh-
bar 88 ouraelvea.
FefJrtcary 9th. On the nature and U88 orthe Sacramenta ofBaptism and the Lord·.
Supper.
F,brUtJry 23d. On the peculiar formation oC U1e H1IID&1l Mind, ahowing the variou.
degree. of which it consists.
March 9th. On the nature of Blasphemy against the Holy Spiril.-Matt. :Di. 31, 32-
or
March 23d. On the certainty the eternal duration of Hell torments.
.April 6th. Recapitulatory Lectu~, conveyiJtg a brier statement of the leading
cIootrines of the New Jerusalem, and showing their great importance.
Mr. BIBCBWOOD will also deliTer Leeturee at TILMLJ:Y OD the following subjects,
'fis:
F,lwunry 19th. On the fall of Man, with remarbon the doctrine concerning Elec-
tion and Reprobation.
Ftbruary 2d. On the Penon and Character of the Dinne Redeemer.
Felrruary 16th. On the Redemption and the Atonement.
March 2d, On the nature of the New Birth, and the danger of trusting to Faith
alone.
Ma,iIa 161A. On the eDstence oC MaD, after the death of hia material body; aDd OD
IUa future state, 88 revealed in the Word of God.
March 30th. On the Joumeymga of the Children of Israel, through the Wilder-
. _ te tho promised land.
A General Meeting of the ministers, leaders, and SUbllCribera, will take place at
half put seven o'clock, OD Friday evening, the 28th of March, in the Sohool Room or
the New Jerusalem Churoh, Peter-atreet, to whioh all frieltds are invited.
The Committee particularl,. request that every Society will appoin~ without de-
lay, one person or more to conduct the eervice, that they may regularly enjoy the ad-
ftntages of public worship, whenever the visiting minister, through unavoidable
oircumstanoes, Ihould be aosent.
The Committee ha vinS considered that the Miaaionary Institution will deriv. great
advantages by contributions collected quarterly, requeat ever! Society io rorward, u
early &8 possible, their quarterly 8ubscription&, with &.Dy information they have
to communicate on the 8tate of their Society. The Committee ClU'theJ' desire an
their country friends to favor them withfrequmt eommuniea";un, " as they are en-
abled by luch information to be of greater aenice to the IDBtitation.
In this list it will be perceived that fourteen out of tbfl sixteen en-
gaged in these ministrations, .are },'ymen.
Among the places CAmed'. in this scbedale is Accrington. It is
worthy of remRrk, thBt the New Church Society in t.his place is now
the largest in England; and this Society, in its torn, is sending forth
its corps of lay missionaries in a similar manner.
Those early and efficient pioDAers in the Church, Clowes Rnd
Hindmarsh, co-operated with this movement. Why can it not be in-
troduced here 1 In this way, the members of the New Cburch can
more effectually conform to our Lord's command, 'e Go )ge into the
world and preach the Gospel to.every creature." "By creatures," says
Swedenborg, in his explanation of. this passage, "are meant all who
are in a cnpacity 19 be regen~r"ted."
x. Y. z.
1852.] True Charity. 'a
ARTICLE VII.

TRUE CHARITY.
THB exerc~se of CHARITY ms)" be seen in the organizations of the
Old Church manifesting itself almost ~ntirely outwardly; whoever
adjoins himself to them, finds his reward in it, fulfilling, as is thought,
these words, "Behold these Christians how they love ODe another."
The first Christian church became a literal church, and therefore
died, because the lett~r killeth, and now that it is dead and buried,
there bftS arisen from its a8h~s (because it is said that it has failed
in the ends of its creation, tbH.t is, of Charity ILnd Brotherly Love,
various associations among men, as 8 substitute, in "Odd·Fellow-
ship," Life Insurance Companies, and the like, all of which are of
the earth, earthy. King-craft and priest-craft have brought the hu-
man race, both in polities and religion, down to tbe lowest d~gree of
degradation and suffering. The oppression and sufferings in Europe
at this time, 8.8 heretofore, answers the question, "Is thy servant a
dog that he should do this thing. 1" How shall redemption manifest
itself in this state of tbings? Eviuently on Hommopathic principles
of like curing like. Kossuth, the great Peter the Hermit of this day,
arouses the slumbering Old Church \vith his bewitching oratory, until
there is now, as then, one exclamation, "It is God's will," in our
Great West, that" there shall be liberty throughout the world" (as
on the State-House bell in Philadelphia). Who does not see that
this event contains the true principles of cure? The Church of Faith
separate from Charit)", as antidotal to Peter with the key of Heaven!
The New Church, or the Church of True Charity, can have little to
do with tbis crusade but to behold and see the glory of the Lord,
because it is spiritual and internal, its work is higher and holier; its
working is unseen to the natural mind. True cba.oity in the church
OD earth does not manifest itself before men, to be seen of them, but
its duties and labors are in giving bread to the hrlRgry, and drink to
tie tAirlty 80al.· Outward alms, temples, kings, and priests, are not
to be built to its god. The temple, which was forty years in build-
ing, shall be thrown d<JwD, RDd one raised up, not built with hands,
eternal in the beav~Ds. It is lamentable to see the consequences to
tbe rising generation, who wish to obtain a subsistence for them-
selves and families, jf they do not unite themselves to a popular
eborch. Masonic Fraternity, Odd-Fello\vsbip, Whiggery, Democracy,
Free-soil, or Insurance on Lives; it haR become to the common na-
tural mind, almost a certainty, that 'there is "no God in Heaven and
earth, to save the 8001 and body, ~xcept these associations. But it
behoves the man of the Ne\v Chur'ch, to place himself on this rock,
" They that put tbeir trust in God, shall never be confounded," "He il
the bread of life," Jet us put our trust in Him. .._.,___ ;
J. A. A.
'14 Ti,e Parables Erplained.-No. I. [Feb.

ARTICLE VIII.

THE PARABLES EXPLAINED.

No. I.

INTBODUCTIO~.-TnE WISE AND THE FOOLISH BUILDER.

Ju compliance ,,·ith an earnest antI repeate-dly ~xpre8sed wieh, on the part of some or (tur
most respected readers and sllb~ribers, to be favored, throngh the pages of the Repoeitory,
with a 8piritual exposition of tbe Pam1"les, we have concluded 10 appropriate a portion of
eacb No. to one or more of tbe l'xplanations contained in the Rev. Mr. Clowes' work OD tbat
.ubject. His little volume entitlt.'fl, " The Parables or Jt:8US Christ, explained in the wa1 of
Question nnd Answer," is decidedly the best, if it be not tbe only, work of tbekind, to whicb
tbe New Church can lay claim, and as it is exceedingly scarce in this country, ""e sball
doubtless be perforoling a valuable service to a large majority of our readers, particularly
lhoee in tbe 'Vetttern and Southern States, by bril1ging it in this way before th~m. Proba-
bly many new receivers are scarcely aware of the t-xistence of the work, and if our ineer-
tion should provoko a demand for its re-publication, tbe result will be still Dl0re happy.

INTRODUCTION.

Q. WIJ.~T do you mean by a ptll·oble 1

A. The word parable is derived from a Greek verb, signifying to
compa're, and therefore it means a comparison made bet\\"een things
in their o\vn nature dilr~rent, but which yet in some points have a
resemblance to each other.
Q. In what respect do the parables of JESUS CURIST differ from
other parables or comparisons?
A. They differ in this respect, that they Rre not mere co,"parilons.
hut real agreements or currespondellceJ, between the things compared;
thus thpy are the agrepments or correspondences between things 1lQ-
tUTal and t/linga spiritual.
Q. And in what do )·ou conceive these agreements or correspon-
dences to be founded 1
A. In the eternal Jaws of creat.ion, by which it is ftpp~inted that
all natural things and object.s shall be the reprcsentati\-e images and
figures of those spiritual And etel'nlll"ealities in \\,hich they originatp.
and that thus the universal \\'orld of creation, with all its parts, may
he 8. representative theatre of that eternal \vorld from which it i~ de-
rived, and \vith \\'hicb it is in perpetual connexion. \Vhen JESlJ~
CHRIST, ther~fore, spoke in parables, He expr~ssed eternal spit·itual
truth8 relating to His kingdom, u"de,· iT,ulge.Y of II(Jtural tlli1lg., rela'"
'f.g to tile kingdom of tl,is u'orld, and in this figurative language im-
pressed those truths more hpautifully and affectingly on the minds of
His hearers, than he could ha\~e done in any other way.
Q. What then \vould you say "vas the rCll.SOn \yh), JESUS CHBl5t'"
spoke in parables 1
A. This mode of speaking ans\l\pered n. double purpose; first, in
communicating to IIis humble and sincere disciples the lessons or
1852.] · '16

Eternal Truth in the most siJtnificative and impressive language;

aod, secondly, by concealing Truth from others who ,,·ere not in a
dispositjon to receive and profit by it, and \vbo consequently might
have suffered injury b~J' its reception.
Q. Is it possible, then, tha.t any man can suffer injury from admit-
ting the Truth into his understanding 1
A. Yes; ~an has no greater enenlY th.an the Eternal Truth, if he
be not in a disposition to form his life accordingly, by rejecting thosE'
evils which tbe truth makes manifest, and by cherishing those gra.ces
and virtues which the 1'ruth recommends, and at the same time
communicates; JESUS CHRIST therefore says, " This is the cunae'"nation.
that light U ClJme into the ll,orld, and me", love darkness ratltel· tl"an
light, because tJ"eir deeds are evil." (John iii. 19.) In receiving, there-
fore, ioto our understandings the knowledg-e of the Eternal Truth, \V8
receive either life or death; life, if we suffer it to influence our wills,
and conduct us to the possession of the SUPREME Goon, \vhich is the
love of GOD and our neighbor; Rnd deat/I, if we sufrer it to remain
fruitless. by burying it under the mire and clay' of our l1atural evils,
unforsaken and unrepented of.
Cl. Is it said that J ESU~ CHRIST spake nothing without a parable 1
A. Yes; in 1\'latt. xiii. 34, Marl( iv. 34; from ,vhich we are plainly
taught, ho\v.important it is to understand the parabolic ltt.nguage of
Scripture, if we would be " wise. unto salvation;" and the object of
the following exposition is, that the devout reader of the Holy Word
may have an enlightened and spiritual discernment of the divine
things contained in the parables of our SAViOUR GOD, in order that
his mind may be more opened to receive and to love the things oC
heaven and eternal life.

THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH BUILDER.

Therefore, whosoever beareth these sayings of mine, and doetb them, I will liken him
110to a wi$e man which built his house upon a rock j and the rain descended, and tho
ftood~ came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was
founded upon a rock. And everyone tbat heRreth these saying' of mine, and doeth them
DOt, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the Aand; and the
rain descended, and the floods carne, and the winds blew, alld beat upon ~bat house; aod.
it fell: and Jjtreat \vas the fall of it. (~iAT"r. vu. 24-28.)
Q. \VOAT do you here understand by the sa~'ings which JauI
CBRIST calls TI'y sayings 1
.A. By the sayings of JESUS CHRIST are to be understood the words
which he spake, and which contain the whole of his DIVINE Love and
\VISDOM in close conjunction. Thus the sayings of JESU~ CHRIST are
to be regarded as the complex of all divine good and divine truth, in-
tended to form in man the divine image and likeness, by opening in
him the kingdom of Heaven, by purifying him from all his natural
evil~ by restoring him to the form and ord~r of Heaven, and by final-
ly leading him to an eternal conjunction of love and of life with the
GOD OF HEAVEN.
Q. But a distinction is here made bet\veen hearing the sayings of I
JESUS CHBISTand doing them. Can you explain to me the ground

J
and meaning of this distinction?
76 TIas Parable, Ezplained.-No. L [Feb.
A. By heari"g the sayings of J BSUS CualsT, is to be understood their
reception in the memory and under8tflnding, where they appear and
are stored up under the form of truths; but by doing them, is to be
understood t.heir reception in the will, or love, and their consequent ope-
ration on the thoughts, words, and works of the devout recipient.
Thus hearing the sayings of JESUS CHRIST denotes their admission
into the external ma.n or mind only, by virtue of which the external
thoughts, \vords, and \vorks are in a measure directed and controlJed ;
whilst doing the sayings of JESUS CHRIST denotes their admission into
the inlernal man or mind, by virtue of which admission, interior evils
are seen and combated, interior goods are manifested and exalted,
and thus the whole ma.n, both interna.l and external, is brought into
submission to, and conformity with, the divine 10,"e Ilnd wisdom.
Q. And what do you further understand by the comparison which
J ESU8 CHRIST here rnal{es, when he says, I will liken him unto a wi8Cf
(or prudent) man, which built his I,ouse upon a rock 1
A. All the comparisons applied by JESUS CHRIST are to be regarded
Dot as mere comparisons only, but as agreements or correspondences
between the things compared; which agreements, or corresponden-
ces were established at creation, and ftre the results of the relation-
ship subsisting betV\reen things spiritual and things natural, in
consequence of the derivation of the latter from the former, and
thus of their constant connexion with each other. The comparisons,
therefore, applied by JESUS CHRIST, differ from other comparisons
principally in this respect, that they are comparisons, or agreements
and correspondences between thing8 natuI'al and thing' spiritual;
whereas other comparisons are comparisons only between things na-
tural, which bear some kind of resemblance to each other. When
JESUS CHRIST therefore saith, I will like 71 him unto a wise man which built
his huuse upon a rock, he means to declare the existence not only of a
,imilitude between the two cases. but of a real agreement or corre8-
pondence, and this of such a nature, that, when considered in reality
and truth, the things compared are the same. Thus, in the present
instance, the things compared are a person who Aeareth the sayings of
J £8U8 CHRIST and doeth them, and a person whu buildeth his ',ouse upon
a rock. When, therefor~, JESUS CHRIST says tha.t these persons are
like unto each other, he intended to mark, by the most significant
terms, the proper character of the person who heareth and doeth h"
,ayiRf.(s, and to say, not only that he re8emble, a person who builda hi6
MUle on a rock, but also that he really and virtually is such a.person,
which will be further evident from the consideration of what is to be
understood by building a hou,e upon a rock.
Q. And ,,"hat is it ~'ou understand by this expression T
A. By the Aouse here spoken or is manifestly :to be understood
a spiritual house, ,,·hich is no other than the interior and exterior
mind of man, \vhich is called a house in consequence of bfling the hab-
itatioD, not only of the man hiln8el~ that is to say, of his supreme
love, with aB its deri\"ative affections and thoughts, but also of the
LoaD himsel~ with his divine love and wisdom, together \'1ith all the
angelic host, who constitute his eternal kingdom. This house is said
 TAB Wue and tile Fooliala Builder.
1852.]

to be built upon a roek, ,vhensoever man opens his mind to the recep-
"
tion of the divine troth of the MOST HIGR, and especially to that highest
and most sublime troth, the manifestation of GOD in the .f'.e,h, or his
Tevelation of himself in the DIVINB HUMANITY of J.ESUS CURIST. For
in the Sacred Scriptures all truth is called a rock, by reason of its
consistency and durability, and the term is applied pre-eminently to
J mu! CURI8T as being THB SUPREME TRUTH, agreeably to his own de-
claration, where he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. (John
1
xiv. 6.) 1 he first step, therefore, towards building this spiritual house
is to believe in JESUS CIIRIS" as the SUPREME GOD, and thus as the
source and fountain of all divine truth, and the building is afterwards
advanced and perfected in proportion as man forms his mind and his
life in agreement with the precepts of J BSUS CHRIST, and especially of
that most edifying and purifying precept, to shun all evil as sin
against that GREAT and HOLY GOD.
Q. But it is said of this house, that the rain dt,c~nded, and the
flood. came, and the wind, blew, and beat upon that hot,se, and it fell
not ; for it was built upon a rocle. What do you here understand by the
rain descending, by the floods co",ing, and by the wind, blowing, and
beating upon that house?
A. 'fhe rain. the .flood., and the unnd" here spoken of: are to be un-
derstood spiritnall)", or according to a spiritual idea, because they are
here mentioned as beati'lg upon a Ipiritual house; and by rai", ac-
cording to a spiritual idea, is here meant the assault of false princi-
..pIes and persuasions in their opposition to the truths and precepts of
the revealed wisdom of the MO~T HIGH; by floods, a destructive ac-
cumulation of tbose principles and persuasions; and by wind", the
infernal influences with which they are in continual connexion, and
from which they derive all their activity, force, and overwhelming
operation. By rain, indeed, and by UJind, when applied in a good
sense, as the terms frequently are applied in the Sacred Scripture, is
to be understood the descent of the heavenly doctrine of truth and
wisdom, operative under the influence of the power and spirit of the
MOST HlOR; but in the present instance the two terms are manifest-
ly applied in an opposite, or bad sense, and accordingly denote, as
was said above, the assault RDd operation of false and destructive prin-
ciples and persuasions infased by the powers of darkness.
Q. And in what sense do you understand the expression, where it
Is said of the above rain, and tloods, and winds, that they beat upon
that house?
A. The term beating has here relation to the assault made by
false principles and persuasions against the principles and persua-
sions of heavenly truth in the human mind, and therefore it relates
to a state of trial or temptation, which is necessary for all to under-
go, before the principles and persoasions of heavenly love and wis-
dom, or, what is tbe same thing, of heavenly goodness and truth, can
be folly fixed and confirmed in the mind and life of man.
Q. But it is afterwards said of the house, when thus be8t~n by

011 a rock.
wa,
the rain, the flt!!Jd" and the wind" that it fell not, for it founded
What do you concei\ye to be here meant by the house
not falling, aDd by the reason given, For it UKU founded on a rock 1
 78 Ti,e Partible, Ezplained.-No. 1. [Feb.
A. By jtllli,'g, when the term is applied to 8, spiritual house, is to
be understood the separation or disjunction of the house, and of aJl
things contained in it, from thfl di vine love and wisdom of JESus
CHRIST: for \vhen this is the case, the house then of necessity fflll6..
since it is then placed only under the rule and government of selfish
and \vorldly love, which lov~, in respect to hea\·enly love, is gro\"~I.
ling and debased, and destitute besides of all order, strength, and
consistency necessary for the support of a spiritual building. \"·hen,
therefore, the house, as in the present case, is said not tu fall, the ex-
. pression was intended to denote, that what i~ signin~d by the bousp
was still kept in conjunction with t.he divine love and \visdom of
J E8US CURIST, and consequently that the trial, or temptation, signified
by the beatillg of the rain, the .flooda, a.nd the 'OiOO3, had prod uced no
other effect but. to strengthen the f()undatioos of the house. For
such is the nature of all opposition from the po\vers of darl{ness,
when exercised on the \\'ell-disposed mind, that, instead of destroying,
it strengthens the heavenly principles which ~t assaults, by bringing
those principles more into exercise, by leading man into de~per hu-
miliation, and Ly thus elevating him to a closer conjunction \vith the
powers of heaven and their GOD than could otherwise have been
effected. The ALMfGIlTY, therefore, permits such opposition on ac-
count of the end which is accomplishf'd by it, and which is no other
than the more radical purification and regeneration of his children,
agreeably to his own declaration, where he says, Ye shall be sOl-row-
ful, bllt yOU1- sorrow shall be turned into joy. (J uhn xvi. 20 )
Q. And \vhat do you concei ve to be further meant by the reason
here assigned why the bouse did not fi\ll, Jor it was founded UTJOI& a
rock?
A. By the roel, here spotten o~ as was shown above, is to be un-
derstood the LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRrST, or the INCARNATE GOD,
together with all the truth, or wisdom, \vhich proceeds fronl him;
and the nature of man's connexion with thi~ LORD and SAVIOUR is
such, that if he be wise to open his mind to the reception of hirn, and
of the beavenly principles of life and love, which proceed from him,
by renouncing all those evils \vhich are in opposition to those prin-
ciples, he then connects himself \\'ith the Omnipotence of that GREAT
GOD and SAVIOUR, and thus cannot perish, since none is able to pluck
Il.im out of tltat SAVIOUR'S I.alld. (John x. 28.) \Vhensoever, then,
man is wise to build his llouse upon tllis 'roc/" he may then console
himself with the blessed conviction, that it can never fall, but is
that house not built with Iland" of which it is said, that it is eternal
in the !,eavens. (2 Cor. v. 1.)
Q. You have already told me what is meant by the sayings of
JESUS CHRls·r. and what by llearing and doing theln. It is plain,
therefore, what is meant by hearing and not doing them: but can
you give me any reason why the man, "rho heareth them, and doeth
them not, is likened unto a foolill" man, who built Itis hOutle upon th,
.and?
A. He is likened unto a foolish man, because he is a foo1i~h man,
agreeably to what is said above concerning the LOBD'A comparisons;
1852.] The Wile and tl"e Fooluh Buildel·.

and therefore the LoRD would her.~ teach that this is the very: esseDce
of all folly, to !,enr his sayings and 1Iot 10 do them; ill other word~, to
acquire speculati,-e kno\vledge of hol)' things in the lllemory and
understanding. \vithout sutrel'jn~ that kno\vledge to influence the life
and coo,-ersation. And this folly J ESU8 CHRIS1' further marks by the
significant expression of buildiflg tlte house upon ti,e ,and. For sand,
\ve know, is a. strong substance \\pithout coherence and consistency,
and therefore is an exact rep..e~entati\pe figure of all that truth in the
human mind \vhich is not reduced to practicf~. by hein~ allowed to
go\·ern and control the love and the life, in which case, hcing depriv-
ed of the heavenly conjnininK spirit of love to the LORD and n~igh- ·
borly lo\"e, it has nothing to give it consistencE' and coberencf», con-
s~quent.ls, nothing to give it strength and stability. As, therefol'e, a
material/louse must soon fal), if it hath no other foundation for its
security than mate10ial sand, in like mann~r, a .'piritual hlJ1Ue must
soon fall, if it hath no other security than spiritual sa"d; in other
,,"ords, if it be built on mere speculative truths, or l\nowledges,
which, being separated from heavenly life and lo\·e, are of conse-
quence di~oined from each other, and therefore incapable of supply-
ing a fiJ-m and durabl~ foundation. It is accordingly said, that when
the rain delcef.ded, a1.,1 the floodl came, afl.d ti,e winds blew, alld beat
upon that house, it fell, and great u'as tile filii of it, to denotE', that in
time of spiritual trial or temptation, truth alone cannot stand; in
other words, that the man of the church cannot be supported under
spiritual conflicts, only so far as ]<no\vledge is formed into life, spe-
culation brought into practice, and the \vhole Rlan thus, both internal
and externa], restored to an eternal connexion a nd conjunction of life
,\\"ith the divine fountain of all good and truth, whose high and holy
name is J gSUS CURIST.
Q. But it is said, that great was the fall of it. What do you COD-
ceiv~ to be here involved in the term great 1
A. l'he fall here spuken of is called a gl-eat fall, to distinguish it
from lesser falls, and to teach the edifying and R\\·ful lesson, that the
greatest fall, to \vhich the spiritual hous~ of man is exposed, results
not from ignorance, but from the kno\vledge of hea'genly trutb re-
ceived in his understnnding, when it is not suffered to operate and
produce its proper fruits in the will and life, by purifying mall from
all his natural evils, and restoring him both internally and externally
to the love and the practice of h~aven]y g'ood. JESUS CHRIST there-
fore sa)Ps in another place, If t.he light which, is i" thee be dlJ1-/tlleS8,
ltow g,-eat is that darkness! (~Iatt. vi. 23,) to instruct us, that g'reat
darkness doth not result frorn Dlere ignorance. or the want of spirit-
ual light, but that it results from spiritual light itsel~ when it is
either perverted, suffocated, or rf'jected, in consequence of not apply-
ing it to the purposes for which it is given, viz., purification, reforma-
tion, and regeneration of the heart Rnd life. 'fhe same truth is again
inculcated in tbese \vords of JESus CHRIST, TI,at servant, wll,ic!1. 1t,leUJ
IIi8 Lord's utill, and prepared not himlelf, neither did according to Jau
u:ill, ,hall be beateft wit/I. many 'll·ipel, but he that knew flot, llM ye'
did COll,,,,;t thil',!.' worthy of 'tripe." shall be beaten with few stripe,.
(Luke xii. 47,48.)
 80 Corre&pOndence. [Feb.
Q. What then is the general instruction which yon learn from this
parable 1
A. I learn, in the first place, the distinguishing marks and ebarac-
ters of 'nisdom and/oily, and what it is which properly constitutes
the essence of each. For I am taught, that the proper mark and
character of wisdom, is both to hear and to do the sayings of JE8UI
CHRIST, whereas the proper mark and character of folly is, to "8flr
only, and not to do. A man therefore cannot properly be called wise,
merely because be hath much l(Do\vledge, or, because he abounds in
. the science even of things the most beavenly and sublime, but he be-
comes wise in proportion as he suffers such knowledge and science
to elevate his love and affections to raise him above bis corruptions,
and to conjoin him with the F ATIIER OP HIS BEING, the HIGH and HOLY
GOD. Neither can he be properly called fooliah on account of any
defect in Jtnowledge or science, but he becomes foolish by the pos-
session of knowledge or science unpractised, in consequence of not
suffering it to convert him from the love of evil to the love of good.
and thus to intluence his life and conversa.tion. I am instructed yet
further by the above parable, that in building my spiritual house, I
ought both to hear and to do the words of J ESU8 C,IRI8T, and thus to
lay the foundations on '" rock; in other \vords, I ought to believe in
the INCARNATE GOD, and to form my life in obedience to his heavenly
precepts of love and charity, in which case my house can never fall,
because it will ever be kept in connexion with the ETERNAL, and un-
der the support of his OMNIPOTENCE; whereas, if I only hear, and db
not, I shall tben build my house un the 'and, a.nd when trial, or temp-
tation assaults me, it will fall, and its fall will be the greater, be-
cause I knew my duty and did not practice it. I am resolved, there-
fore, from henceforth, to endeavor to acquire the blessed ehat·acter
of true wisdom, and for thi~ purpose, both to learn what my HEAVBNLY
FATHER requires of me, and also to pra.ctice it, that so, when the bour
of tria.l and temptation cometh, I may stand steadfast and unmoved,
and may enter into all the comfort of the blessed declaration, it feU
not, for it was foululed on a ruck. AMEN.

CORRESPONDENCE.
The following ie from a gentleman of died notion, who formerly held a seat in the
councils oftbe nation, and who now holds a high judicial post in 1\ neilbboriDg Itate.
I am glad that Pro£ Lewis has resumed his repl,. to U Letters to a Trinitarian."
Be intends, I find, to confine the discussion on 1ii8 part, to the separate pBlOnality
of the three eesentials of the Trinity. It is Dot difficult to anticipate his course oC
ar~ument, if he adheres to the mere letteT of the Soriptures, and e8pecially of Paul'.
Epistles. The burden of his discourse will consist in an accumulation of all those
text-. in which dil'erent otIices and actions are ascribed to Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost. If 80, he can adduce nothing new. The Old Church adherea to the m-per-
IOnality, bec&uae to BlU'I'ender that is to yield the doctrine of vicarioUl atonement,
and or faitA, alone 88 the only means of sal vatiOD.
1852.] Nt..rrative cif an .Apparition. 81
I have DOW' almost all the theological works of E. S., and continue to read with
~ g interest and pleasure. The more I read, the more am I amazed that these
writings are rejected by the theological world. They are 80 full of spirit and life
that i* is wonderful to witneaa the inditrerence of goOd men to· their Bublime teach-
ings.. They 1&,. all human philosophy in the shade, and unseal the fountains of
light which are locked up in the let~r of the Holy Word. I occasionally, in my pere-
Krinatiooa, meet with a reader or a receiver~ and others who desire to read; but they
are rew and £...r between. I frequently endeavor to interest my friends in the sub-
ject by conversation; but almoet all are blind-as insensible to its beauties as is a
blind man to colore. Ita progress must be slow. The world is so wedded to do~­
mu and creeds; 80 intent ul!On pleasure, or gain, or fame, that few will pause 1B
their career to..investigate. 0, how few, "few," in my poor conceptions, are on the
true road to the New JertuJalem. Is it bigotry to say this ~ 18 it uncharitablo,
...heD we lee the world wedded to creeds which deny the efficacy of charity, and
clamor luatily for faith, faath, in absurdities 1 0, what a weight of guilt must be
mcurred by the clerical world! Where is the apology for their sneers-their in~f­
ference-aye, their bitter hate against the doctnnes of the New Jerusalem ~ rrhey
IeeDl to forget that trutl" is from God-is the very manifested form of his /.()1Je to tho
mind of man, and to think that they can with impunity neglect its claims upon them
for an honest and fair investiption. How long 1iefore they shall have the 8cales tom
from their ey. ~ If all truth is from God, then he who rejecta truth, rejects Him,
and to refule to examine, is to reject.
Yours, &0.

NsW' Yoa., Jan. 12, 18&..1

PaoP. Bu_.-
D8' Sir :-10 looking oyer recently cc Pinkerton'8 RecoJJectionl of Paris," published In
LondoD in 1806, 2 vols. 8"0., I was somewhat strock with the truthful air of the follow-
inr narratiye or an apparition, translated from the works of the benevolent and philosophfe
AbW de 81. Pierre (Tome IV. p. 57), author of the U SLudies of Na.ture." Should you
deem the ioeercioD of it compatible with the purpo888 or the Repository, you are \velcome
ID the UR of the volume whicb contains iL
Yonfs. &e.
n, Haring been told lately (says St. Pierre) at Valogne, that a good priest or the
town, who taught children to read, and was called M. Belucl, haa seen an appari-
Don in broad day, ten or twelve years before; and as the story had excited great
8eIl8&tion, on account of his well-known character ofprobity and sincerity, I had the
curiosity to hear him tell his adventure himself. A reration of mine, a lady who knew
him, invited him to dinner ,esterday, the 7th of January, 1708; and as, on one side,
I testified my deaire of heanng the circumstances from his own mouth, and &8 on the
other he eeemed to view the event as an honorable distinction, he repeated the whole
to 118 before dinner, in the most simple and ingenuous manner.'
RELATION.
" l·1n 1695, .id M. Be8uel, being a young scholar of about fifteen years of age, I
formed an acquaintance with the two sons of Abaquene, a la~er, scholars like my-
Elf. The eldest W88 of my age; and the other eighteen months youn~r. This last
wu called Delfontainee: we took our walks, and formed our parties of pleasure to-
gether; aDd whether it were that Desfontainee had more friendship for me, or was
more gay, eomplaiant, and intelligent than his brother, I liked him. better.
1& & In 1196, 81 we were both walking in the oloister of the Capuchins; he told me

that lie had read, a little while ago, a story of two friends, who liad promiaed to eaoh
~er thM tbe tint who died should return, and inform his comrade of his situation:
that the dead maD did appear, and told him llUrpJ"ising things. Desfontaines then
.id that he had a raTor to ask, which he most eameetly aeaired; thil wae to make him
a like prtaille ia COD~aenee of his: but} .id I ne"er would eOD88Jlt. He r&-
peated IUa propoerJ dUftng ."era! months, and mOlt eerioualy; bat I alwap ~
82 Currespondence. [Feb.
ed. At last, about the month of AU~8t, 1696, u he was about to depart in order
to pursue his studies at Caen, he pressed me 80 much, with tears in nis eyes, that
I consented. lIe instantly produced two little japers, ready written, and one signed
with his blood, in which ho promised, in case 0 death, to return, and tell me his sit-
uation ; while by the other I made the same promise. J pricked my finger, and with
a drop of blood signed my na.me. He wa.s delighted with this so-much desired con-
tract, and eDlbraccd me with a thousand thanks.
" 'Not lung after he d('partcd with his brother. Our separation occasioned much
mutual rt\gret, and we wrote to ea.ch other from time to time; but six weeks had
ela.psed sinco I had received any letter, when the event happened which I am going
to relate.
h ' On the 31st July, 1697, it wa.s a Thursday, I 8haH remember it all my days, the

late ~1. de Sortoville, with whom I lodged, and who showed me great kindness, de-
sired me to go to a lncadow near the monastery of the Cordeliers, to bast.en his scr..
vants ,,"ho ,,'ere making ha.y. I was not there a qua.rter of an hour, when, about
half an hour after two o'clock, I felt myself, as it were, stunned, and seized with
great weakness. I tried to support myself on my ha.y-fork, but WM obliged to si~
down OD a hea.p of hn.y, where it was half an hour before I recovered llly 8cnsC8.
'fhis pn.~ed awny; hut as nothing similar had ever happened t.o me before, I was
8urpri~cd, and feared the attack of some disease; yet the rest of the day little im-
pression remained, but I slept less than usual the followinp; night.
,- , On the Ulorrow, at the 8B.Ine hour, as I went to the meadow with M. de S. Si-
man, grand~on to ~1. de Sortoville, a boy of ten years of age, I felt myself seized OD
the ron,d with the snmo well,kncss, and &\t down on a stone under the shade. rrhis
also soon pl\8sed away, and we continued our walk. Nothing further happened that
day; but I did not sleep the whole of the night.
•, , At last, on the next day, the 2d of August, being in the loft where they were
putting the hay, now brought from the meadow, and precisely at the same hour, I
was seized with the same giddiness and weakneas; but this attack being more se-
vere than the two others, I tainted away, and lost all senee. One of the servant.
.perceived it; and, as I was afterwards told, he asked me what was the ma.tter 1 to
which I answered. "I have seen what I never would have believed." But I remem-
ber nothing, either of the question nor the answer, though they correspond with
what I remember to ha.ve scen, like a person naked to the middle, whose face I did
not however recollect.
U , I WllS assisted in descending the ladder, and held firmly by the steps, but when

I saw my comrade Dcsfontaines-at the bottom of the ladder, the wcakncSB again at-
tacked me; my head fell between two of the steps, a.nd I again lost all knowledge.
1 wa.s ta.kcn down, and placed on a large beam, serving 0.8 a 8eat in the adjoining
square of the Capuchins. Sitting there, I did Dot perceive 1\1. de Sortoville, nor w.
domestics, although present; but seeing Desfontaincs near the bottom of the ladder,
he made me a sigil to come to him. 1 drew aside on my seat, as if to make room for
hint; and they who sa,v me, but whom I did not see, though my eyes remained
open, obsorved that motion.
" , As he did not come to me, I rose to go to him; when he advanced towards me.
took my left arm in hie right, n.nd led me about thirtY'paces into a by street, still
retaining his hold. The domcstics believing that my tiuntnc88 had passed, and tha~
I was going on some occasion, went about their business, except a little lacquey, who
came and told 1\'1. de Sortoville tha.t I spoke to myself. M. de Sortovillo believed
that I was drunk; he approached and heard me make some questions and some an-
swers, which he repeated a.fterwards.
" , I was nearly three quarters of an hour in conversation with Desfontainee. " I
have pledged my promise tolon, said be, that if 1 died before )"ou, I should give yoo
information. I was drowne the day before yC8terday, in the river of Caen, much
about this hour. I was walking with 8uch and such persons; it was very hot, we
pro~ to bathe, but a faintne88 seized me in the river, and I8unk to the bottom.
The Abbe de MeniI-Jean, ono of my comrades, plunged to bring me up, and I seised
his foot; but whether it were that he thought it was & salmon, &8 I pre98ed it hard.
or found it neceasary, for his own safety, to remount directly; he shook hi8 leg with
10 much violenoe, that he gave me a hard blow on the breu~ and threw me to the
bottom of the river, which is vel1 deep in that part."
1852.J Narrative of an Apparition. 83

" l Desfontaines told me afterwards, all that had bappened on their walk, and the

mbjects of their convenation. I then asked him questions, if he W88 saved. if he

was damned, if he was in purgatory, if I was in a state of grace, and if I would fol-
low him 800D ~ He continued his discourse as if he had not heard me, and a8 if he
did Dot choose to hear me.
'" ~ I often approa.ched in order to embrace him, but it appeared to me that I em-
braced nothing, though I felt well that he held me 8tron~ly by the arm; and that
when I endeavored to tum away my head, bpcause I could not support the sight
withollt aftliction, he shook my arm, as if to oblige me to look at him and to hear
hint.
... , He appeared to me always taller than what I had scen him, taller even than he
must have been at the time of his death, though he must have grown during the
eight~n months that we had not seen each other. He alwo.Y8 appeared to Dle only
as balf a naked body! his head uncovered, save his beautiful fair locks, and, as it were,
a white billet twisted into the hair upon his forehead, which contained some writ-
ing, hut I could only read the words, 1n, etc.
h , The sound of his voice was the same as 'When alive, and he did not. appear to
me either gay or sad,! but in a calm and tranquil temper. He bcg~d me,
",hen his brother should return, to tell him certain things to be repeated to his father
and mother. He desired me to Bay the seven psalms. enjoined to billl RS a peni-
tence on the preceding Sunday, and which he had not yet recited. In fine, he re-
peated hiA entreaties that I would speak to his brother, and then bid me adieu, and
left me., saying, ju-slJ1Us, ;usques, his usual phrase when we quitted each other, after
our walks, to return home.
u, He told me also that.when be was drowned, his brother, who was occupied with
his theme, had repented that he had permitted him to j!,o, as he feared some acci-
dent. He 80 perfectly described to lne the spot where he was drowned, and the
tree of the avenue of Louvigni, where he had cut some woods, that, two years after-
wards, being in company with the late Chevalier de Gotot, one of those who were
with him wben he was droWDed~ I pointed out the precise spot; and then counting
the trees on the side that Desfonta.inc8 had specified, I went straight to the tree, &Dd .
found the writing. Gotot likewise told me that the article of the seven psalms was
true, and that, on leaving the confessionsl, thel had told each other their enjoined
peniteoces. His brother has Also told me that It is true that he was composing his
theme, and reproached himself for not being of the company.
U 'As more than 8. month pused before I was able to execute the commis.oD

which Desfontaine8 had given me to his brother, be appeared to me two other times.
ODe was before the hour of dinner, at a country house, a league from hence, where
I went to dine. I found myself suddenly taken ill, and desired to be left alone, said'
it was nothing, and that I would 800n return. I then went into a comer of the
garden, where Desfootaines appeared, and reproached me that I had not yet spoken
to his brother. Hc talked a quarter of an hour, but would never answer to my
questions.
,:. 'One morning, when I was going to the church of Notre-dame de la Victoire, he
again appeared, but for a shorter space, pressed me to speak to his brother, and
quitted me, saying, as usua.l, jU'Iques. jU.'1ques, without answering my questioDs.
•• . It is a remarkable circumstanoe, that I always felt 8. pain in that part of the
arm where he held me the first time, till I had spoken to his brother; Dor did I
sleep during three nights from the effects of my astonishment. Immediately after
the tir8t conversation 1 told M. de Varauville, my neighbor and school-fellow, that
Desfontaioes was drowned, and that he had just appeared to me, and told me 10.
He ran to the relations to know if the fact was true: news had been received, but
by a mistake, he supp08ed that it was the elder brother. He assured me that he had-
read tho let,ter, and Insisted that it was 80; but I told him that it could not be, &8
Desfonto.incs had appeared to me hiDl8elf. He returned, came back, and told me
wit.h tears, that it was too true.
u, ~othing has happened since; 8.nd I have now told you all m1. adventare. I~
has been sometimea clianged in she repetition, but I have never told It otherwise than
as I have now repeated. The late Chevalier de Gotot told me that Desf'ontain. aleo
appeared to M. de MeniI-Jean. But I have not the pleasure of his ~uaiDt.Doe;
he li\""cs twenty leagues henoe, towards Argentan: and I can add nothing further
on the subjeot.' n
 84 ~Iucellang. [Feb.

MISCELLANY.

DISTRIBUTION OF NEW CHURCH BOOK!.

. ROCHESTEll, N. Y., January 10, 1852-
During the last month I have distributed 224 booka, for which I have received
S68 24. Tho books circulated are as follows: 39 Heaven and Hell; 19 Life of Swe-
denborg, by Hobart; 42 Life of Swedenborg, b1 Rich (Detroit edition); 2 True
Christian lleligion; 7 Divine Providence; 6 DiVIne Love and Wisdom; 5 Book or
Doctrines (including 7 Works); 6 Heavenly Doctrine and Doctrine of the LoRD,
bound to~ether; 3 ConJogial Love; 5 Earths in the Universe; 2 Last Judgment;
1 Sacred Scripture, White Horse, and Summary Espomtion, bound together; 1 D0c-
trine of Faith; 4 Way to a Knowledge of the Soul (Philosophical Tract); 1 Diction-
ary of Correspondences; 1 Religious Philosophy, Parsons' Essays, and Inft1l%, bound
together; 6 Religious Philosophy, by Des Guays; 5 Nineteenth Century, or the
New Dispensation; 1 Parsons' Essays; 1 Rice~8 Physiology; 1 Bush's Reasons; 16
Heat and Light for the Nineteenth Century; 3 Human Progress since the Lut
Jodgment; 1 Two \Vorlds; 8 WcIler on Marriage; 25 Bruce on Marriage; 1 Re-
generate Life; 12 Cosmogenia or Philosophy of the World.
About $50 worth oftheae booka were sold in Buffalo. I have also visite.d Attica
and Batavia. 1 think there have never been any N. C. lectures in either of'theee
places. A very few individuals in Buffalo had some of the books. Some of thOll8
books bad been lent aroond ~d caused a desire for more. One gentleman who had
borrowed and read a little bought $4 worth. I handed a boolt to another gentle-
man to look at, and when he had read the title and the author's name. he inquired,
U What is the price of it 1" At the .me time taking out money to pay for" it. I
asked him if he had read any of the booka. He answered, U I have read enollgh to
. wish to read more."
Some persona-having read ne~per articles, or revieW! written by opposers or
the Doctrine_are prejudiced against the writings; and probably there is no better
way of removing tlleir prejudiceB than by inviting them to read the original worb
instead of disconnected extracts. I went into a gentleman's office and informed him
that I had some of Swedenborg's writings for salo. He shook his head, U Don't want
any," .id he. I asked him if he would pleue to look at one and read the indez.
He took it, and at the same time I handed a oopy to a young man in the room. Af-
ter reading a part of the indes, one said to the other, .., Will you go me halves and
buy it 1" U Yea," he replied, and they joined in buying a copy of Heaven and Hell,
which at first they thought they did not want.
I visited a clergyman, and when I informed him what books I bad, he Baid with
8Qlp~~sis, "I (lon't want 'hem." I inquired if he had ever read any oftbem. He
replied, "I have read review8 containing extracts from them, and think that is 80ffi-
eient." I asked him if he did not suppose the Bible might be made to appear to be
a bad book by making diacoDneeted extract8 from it and perverting them. He aaid
be thought it might. I then asked him if in like manner he had not poesibly re-
ceiveel a wrong im~oD conceming the writings of Swedenborg. He replied,
'c Perbafi I haTe." By this time he W88 willing to look at the books, and among
othera, handed him a small book containing the Heavenly Doctrines and Doctrine
ofthe LollD, bound in blue muslin, with the gilt title U HeavenlJ Doctrines," and
told him I would sell it for 25 cenu.. After glanciDg at the title page, &te., be
. handed me the price of it, saying, ,. I will buy this ana read it."
I carried mI boob into the \Vatch HoW18 one eYening. The Captain oC the
Watch .id he bad read some of Swedenborg'8 eoientific works, and liked them very
much. He bought a oopy of tho Divine Love aDd Wisdom. I also conversed with
an intelligent German, and BOld him a oopy of Heaven and Hell, and a oopy of Reli-
~ Phif08Ophy, by Des Guayl. He -.id he had seen some of Dr. Tafel'8 writings
'ID the "Old CoUntry." Said lae, U I'm a Ca~olio, but I belleve in examining other
.clootrlD. too."
]852.] Mi,ceZlany. 85
Almoeteft~ man wh9 buYB the boob becomes a centre ofinftuenee tor commu-
nicating the doctrines to others. A physician bought some of the boob, and a few
days after, I went in~ hiI of6.oe, and lie wu reading from one of them to an acquain-
t&Dce of hi&. I sat down without interrupting them, and he read for half an hour or
mON. After whioh, the person who . t listening bought a oopy of the book which
was read from, and three other volumes. He iI a IOhool teacher.
~Iy path is not always smooth. Some ~1'80D8 manifest envenomed hatred against
the 1>oOb and him who carries them. And if they were in p088Cssien of inquisito-
rial power, it is probable that I should be burned at the martyr's stake, and that the
hooka would be COllsumed in the laDle fire. I umally let such tenons alone when
I learn their state, for having lost their reason, it is a waste 0 time to talk with
them. It is &8 true now &8 at the loRD'S first advent, that U the light ,hine'''' iA
dariaeu, and fhl darknul comprehend"'" it not."
I called on some of the booksellers in Buifalo to see if they would take some of
the books. One man rejected them entirely. Another man had half a mind to
take lIODle, but thought he could buy them cheaper. 1\1y visit, however, had the
deet to stir him up on the subject, for he told me afterwards that he intende6l to
eend and get a hundred dollars' worth. A man at the Post-office, who deals in
cheap publications., &0., bought about $6 worth, and sold a part of them beCore I
left.
I frequently have occasion to notice the operations of the Divine Providence, even
in little thiD6!I' .I was pusing up a street one evening to the house of a gentleman
who had inVIted me to take supper with him. I had my books with me, and on my
way I passed. a la~r'8 office. After I had passed, I felt a strong impression that I
ought to go in. [stopped and hesitated whether to go on or go baok. I went in
and found the lawyer conversing with another gentleman concemmg the existence
and continuance of evil. I remarked that perhaps I)lad some bookS which would
give light on the sobject, and asked them if they would pleaae to look at them.
The lawyer eDDlined them and bought a copy of Religious Philosophy, by Dee
Guaye, and a eopy of the Life of Swedenborg, by Rich. On the day I left BWFalo,
I prepared to leave in the moming train of cars. On my way to the station I no-
ticed that J was twelve minutes in advance of the city time, and thought I should
haTe ample time for the oars; but I was disappointed, for they moved off when I
W88 witliin a few rods of them. And I learned that there was a ditrerence of fifteen
minute8 between the city time and the railroad time. At first I was disposed to
blame myself for negligence; but a second thought led me to believe that the Di-
vine Providence had frevented me for some purpose. And the next question was,
for what purpoee 1 oame to the conclusion that there were some persons who
wanted hOokS, and that it was my duty to go and find them. Accordingly I went ou~
with a carpet bag well filled with books, and within about an hour I found two
profe&Bional gentlemen who said they had it in mind to get Borne of the boob for
theI desired to read them. And within an hour I sold two copies of Heaven and
Hell, and three copies of the Life of Swedenborg. One gentleman manifeeted a
Itrong desire to get some of the books, but said he had no money to pay for them,
and regretted that I intended to leave so soon. He manifested BO much earnestness
and einc:.~W' that I told him he might take BOme of the books and send me the mo-
ney by .. He ~ladly accepted the offer, and took a copy of Heaven and Hell,
and a copy of the Life of Swedenborg. .We exchanged cardS, and he said he would
IeDd me the money within a week. Since my arrival in Rochester I have received a
letter from him enclosing the money. In the aftemoon I visited a German physi-
cian, and sold him a copy of the Divine Providence. He intormed me that lie had
lODle of the books both in German and English; and that he had Been Dr. Tafel,
aDd knew something of his writings. During the day, I sold n\J1e books, and left
on the evening train, better aatided than if I had left in the morning, and without
any extra expeDBe.
A gentleman in ~Iichigan, to whom I BOld six Tolumes last summer, has recently
BeDt me a letter. He says, u By mean8 of the books received Crom your hand, Divino
Truth is UDlocked and flows into m1 spirit, causing me to love the LoaD Wld my
neighbor, and to shun sin beC&UIe it 18 from hell, and to love good, because it is from
&he LoAD."
VOL. v. ?
86. Notice. of Book8. [Feb.
u ~Iay the loaD "hIe.. you with HIS HOLY SPIll IT, and watch over you that you
may progress in your labor of love."
, It gives me pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of a valuable package of parnpb.
lets, tracts, &c., for ~tuitou. distribution, from the American New Church Tract
and lVlissionary Society. The package contained 153 miscellaneous pamphlets,
parts of the U Swedenborg LibrsII;" 418 Ohio tracts; 5 Bush's Reasons; 10 Hea-
venly Doctrines; 5 Doctrine oC LIfe; 4 Dootrine of the I..oRD; 2 Divine Lo\"'e and
\Visdom from the ApocalJll88 expla.ined, bound in cloth.; 2 Character and \Vork of
CHRIST; 9 Glasgow Juvenlle tracts; 3 Address to the Clergy.
Since June 1st, 1850, I have sold and distributed 3,074 books for $888 90. In fa-
vorable ciroumstances it is probable as much or more, might be accomplished in a
year.
That the loaD may cause the seed SOWD to bring forth much fruit, i8 the desire of
Yours very truly, H. )1. SUTON.
P. S. I take this method of acknowledging the receipt of two letters, which I have
Dot had time to answer. A very interesting letter from ?tlr. Samuel L. \Valdo, of
New York, and another enclosing $2, for books, from ~Ir. Thomas Weller, of ~lar­
shall, l\tichigan. I hope IDl friends will excuse me if I do not write often. I have
written twenty letters durln~ the last month, a.nd have it in mind to write many
more as soon as I ahall have bme.
Persons wishing to writ.e to me, may direct letterR to H. M. Saxton, box 1157,
Cleveland, Ohio. And a worthy individual will see that they are forwarded.
Since the I!receding was written I bave received 0, letter, dated January 7th., from
a gentleman In Ohio, to whom I 80ld books last summer. He had never purchased
Bny before, although he had heard something about the Doctrines, and perhaps had
read a little from liorrowed book8. He bought the True Christian Religion, Heaven
nnd Hell, Divine Providenee, Diyine Love and \Visdom, Conjuginl Love, Life of
Swedenborg, &0. He 8ays in his letter, u I am well pleased with the books. Am
8urprised that the principles have not been more taught and explained by those
that have l188umed to be teachers of the \Vord. \Vhat a glorious state of things it
,rill be, should men generaliy live according to them. Another thing that sur-
prises me is, that the doctrines set forth should hsye been looked upon a.s dangerous,
and persons holding and living the Doctrines should be looked upon with suspi-
cion."

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

1.~HISTonICAL COMMENTARIES on the State of Christianity during the first th"ee hun-
d"ed and t'WentY:!ive years from the Christian ETa j being a Tran~lation of" TI£e
Commmtan'es on the .Affair! of the CI,.ristians before the time of Constilntine tl.e
Great." By JOHS L.t,vRENCE VON ~IOSIlEIr.f, J.). D. 1,.~ two volumes. Vol. I.,
tl'anslatedf1'om tltt ori/{inal Latin by ROBERT S. VIDAL, Esq., F. A. S. Vo!. II.,
tran,lated, and boil" edited by JAMES 1fluRDocK, D. D. New- \-ork: S. Convene.
1851.
}108heim~8 U Ecclesiastical History," is doubtless our best known book on tbo.t sub..
ject, of which a great many editions have been published in this country and in En-
gland. It still maintains its place in the popular esteem, though a more thorough-
going mode of treating the general theme has of late years obtained, among the
scholars of Europe, and is now demanded by the acholara of all countrie8. The pre-
sent work is a nearer approximation to the modern stand in this sphere of research.
By confining himself to Br limited period, the author has been enabled to go more into
detail on the various topics of interest, and it is astonishing to witnel8 the extent oC
1852.] Notices of Book,. • 87

his range and the minuteness of his investigation. It is hardly possible to start an
inquiry of interest, but the fullest satisfaction now attainable is afforded upon it.
No more valuable work upt>n Christian antiquity has appeared in our country dur-
ing the present century, and though the outlay necessary to its publication must have
been very large, yet we cannot doubt it will be re-imbursed in the end.
We can scarcely trust ourselves to the temptation of extracts, as the choice mor-
BeaUS are so immensely numeroUl; but we cannot resist the following:

U ALL THE PRIMITIVE CHURCHES INDEPENDENT. Although all the churches were,
in this first age of Christianity, united together in one common bond of faith and
love, and were in every respect ready to promote the interests and welfare of each
other by a reciprocal interchange of good offices; yet with regard to govemment
and intemal economy, every individual church considered itself as an independent
community, none of them ever looking in these respects beyond the circle of its own
members for assistance, or recognizing any sort of external influence or authority.
l':eitber in the New Testament., nor in any ancient document whatever, do we fiIid
any thing recorded, from whence it might be inferred that any of the minor churches
were at all dependent on, or looked up for direction to, those of greater magnitude or
consequence: on the contrary, several things occur therein, which put it out of all
doubt that every one of them enjoyed the same rights, and was cOD8ldered &8 being
on a footing of the m08t perfect equality with the rest. Indeed it cannot,-I will
not say be proved, but even be made to appear probable, from any testimony, divino
or human, that in this age it was the practice for several churches to enter into, and
maintain amongst themselves that sort of 8B8ociation, which afterwards came to sub-
sist amon~ the ehnrcheB of almost every province: I allude to ~. 153) their as-
eembling by their bishops, at stated periods, for the purpose of enacting generallawa,
and determining any question or controversiel that might arise respecting divino
matters. It is not until the second century that any traces of that sort of associa-
tion, from whence councils took their origin, a.re to be perceived: when we find
them oecurring here and there, some of them tolerably clear and distinct, others
again but elight and faint: which seems plainly to prove that the practice arose sub-
sequently to the times of the apostles, and that all that is ur~ed concerning tho
eonneil8 of the first century, and the divine authority of councils, 18 sustained merely
by the m08t uncertain kind of support, namely, the practice and opinion of more re...
cent times."-Historical Commentaries, Vol. I. pp. 196-197.

'\"e are much disposed, from a priori considerations, to take this as a true view
80
or the subject that we readily wave all questioning of its historical authorities. If
they are doubted, let them be disproved.
The recent discussion in our pages of the use of the Lot 88 an instrument of di&-
covering truth or duty, will give fresh interest to the ex~rll.ct that follows.

"An the commentators agree in representing Mo.tthias as having been chosen an

~tle by lot, a~reeably to the ancient Jewish practice. On a more attentive con-
SIderation, however, of the words of the sacred historian, I rather think it would be
found that this commonly received interpretation of them is what they by no means
authorize. St. Luke commences his account by stating, tha.t Peter, in a 8uitable
speech, pointed out to the people who were assembled the necessity of electing a new
apoetle. After this, at verse 23, he adds, that two men equal to the station were set
forth in the midst, in order that one of them might be chosen to (p. 79) underta.ke
the office. As to the persons by whom these men were produced and recommended,
he is quite silent. His words are simply Kat CtTr'l"all ~vu tl1ey appointiOO (or set forth)
two: but I have not the least doubt that we ought, in this pla.ce, to conSider the word
, ap08tles,' as meant to be understood~ For who can possibly b . vet hat the Chris-
tians of the ordinary rank, who were in so many respects inferior to the apostles,
should have assumed to themselves the right of selecting two of their own order, and
recommending them &S fit for the ap08tleship' I therefore consider it as certain
[8 · Notice' of Boob. [Feb.
that the 81M11tlee made the lelection of theee two perlODl from &lDem'- the plenJ
body of cfuistians at that time resident in Jerusalem, and directed the ueembly at
largo to choose one of them for an apostle. The narrative cODclodes with an BC-
-count of the manner in which this mandate wal oompliea. with; deecribiBg it • foJ...
,10WB: ~fld thq gaw/oTtk tl&eir 10" j and the lot/ell uptm Matthias: GRa lUtIIGI tI""'-
bereft with tJae,]evm apostla, T. 26. Now, in this passage all the commen'-to1'8 attri-
bute 80 much force to the word 1C).'1PO{, which pro~rly 8igniles a lot, that they
unanimously consider the true interpretation of the flr8t branch of the IeDteDee to
be, et jecerunt IOTttl torum, & and the, cast their lot:e,' and hence conclude tba~ Mat-
thiu was choeen by lot. But to me It appears that this interpretation is entirely re-
pUgBUli to the Greek idiom: for wbenever the oaltiag of Iota is spoke. of by
tbe Greek writer&,.."e constantly find the verb {Ju.).w, '0UJlt, joiRed with .l.,~
and therefore, if St. Luke bad meant to indicate wbat theee commeatatore • •
]X*8, he would have written d& .Ila).•., .rA"pov, or .A~pG'DS, tJury uut lot., and D~ I.",.."
which latter word was never, at least 88 Car .. I know, .pplied iD this way. It wu
eq..oy un_al for the Greek writers to add the pronoun ._nil.,
tlaftT, after ~'AJ,,-s, ",beu
the latter was used by them in the Benlle of a lot that W88 throwD. They.y simply,
with Homer, I/Id).o,nr>'flp",. 'they cut; Iota.' And certainly, what occasion there could
be fOl' St. Luke to add this pronoun in the passage UDder eoosideration, if he W88
.~aking of casting Iota, I am quite at a loa. to conoeiYe. All the eommeDtatorB
refer it, and, ooDBiatently with their inte~atiOD of the ~ could only Nfe~ i'
to the candidates for the &p08t1eship, Mattbias and Barsabas. Bu~ in what 1eD88
oould thOle lots be .id to De theirs, which, if the abo"e OpiniOD be just, were tbrowu
in that ueembly 1 Correctly 8peaking, GaD the Iota, by which an election is ~ be
determined, be termed the lote of the caudidates or pe1'8OD8 to be elected 1 CODBid-
ering the weight of these and other objection&, wnich oppoee themselves to the
commonly received interpretation of the above pueage, I cannot help thinking tha'
in theae worde of St. Lake we ought to understand the term .)."pas aB having the
.me aipification with y,~os vis. a suffragt, or what in COtDIDOD language i& temled Cl
.. ,.; aDd that what he meant to sal was limply, tbia, 'and theee who were present
gaTe their votes.' In tbis cue, it will be perceived that for .eN., I Ihould 8uDstitute
.i.1"lJ.. ConBidering this to have been the mode which was adopted for the app?u.
ment of a new .'POStle, it would, in a very striking degree, correspond with ~he form
"hlob W8'8 observed by the most ancient Christian churches, in electing their teach..
en and puton; and whioh, in my o:pinion, there is efery reason to think was fOODded
on the manner of proceeding to whIch the a~lee had reoOtll'Se OB this occuion.
When a presbyter or a bishop was tu be elected, thoee who presided over the ehurch
proposed certain candidates for the office, of approved wortn and ability. Of these
the &ll8mbly at large pointed out by their sutrrages, and no~ by lot, him whom they
ieemed the most deserving; and wLoever had the majority of votes in his fa vor was
considered as elected through divine preference. Such was the form observed by the
primitive churches, and I conceive 8uch to have been the form to whioh the &pOStlel
had recourae on the above-mentioned occasion; and that the greater DlIBlber of
thOle who coDBtituted the then infant (p. 80) church of Jerusalem gave their suf-
frages for Matthiu, in preference to his companion Barsabas."

i. TBJ: LIFE 01' JOHN STER.LING. By THOMAS CA.LYL~. Boston: PbiInps, Samp-
IOD. & Co. 1851. 12mo. pp. 344.
The name of Sterling is much le88 known in the literary world than thatorCarlyle,
"and the interest of the reader is much greater in the biographer than in hia 8ubjle~
To the admirers of Carlyle the work aiFords a rich treat; but as we ourselves do DM
atand high on that list, we are doubtless liable to a leB8 enthusiastic appreciation of
the volume than it probably desenee. Still we are happy to give our readers &
taste of the Carlylean feut prepared for those who can ren.h it in the following
character of Coleridge : -
U The good maD, be "88 DOW getting old, towards ~ perhape; and gave ~u
the idea ef a life that had been full of "eringe; a life he',.,.~laden, halt-ftDquiah-
t811.]
..., . . nriamiDg painloD, iD leas or JDabifeld physieal and other bewilderment.
~ and head were round, and of ma88ive weignt, but the face was 8abby and if-
reIOIute. The deep eyes, of., Hght huel, were ae fall of Borrow as of iB.apiration;
eont1uect pain looked Dilldly from them, 88 in a kiBd of mild utonishment. The
whole 'gue and air, good and amiable otherwise, might be called flabby and irre-
8Ohlte; expreBBi'Ye of weaDeM UBder poeeibtlitI of 8trength. He hung 1001811 OD
hie limbs, with kneee bent and stooping attitude; in walking, he rather shUlled-
than decilivelI stept; and a ladr once remarked, he never could fix which aide of
the ~en walk wOuld 8Ilit him beet, but oontiDually shifted, in corkscrew fashion,
&acfkept trying both. A heavy-laden, high-aspi~, and surely much 8ldFering man-.
If.. voice, Jlatually soft and~, had contracted Itself into a plaintive 81lutJle and
.mg-eoag; he ~ke &8 if preaching-you would have said, preaching earneetly, and
aIIO ~esaly the weightiest things. 1 still recollect hia 'object' and '8ubjeot,'
tenae of continual reeurreaee iD the Kantean province; and how he aung and
_ded them into 'om-m-mject' and 'mm-m-mject,' with a kind of80lemn shake or
quiver, .. he rolled along. No talk, in hi. oentury or in any other, could 1te more
earpriain~.
• • • • • • * • •
&& To sit as a ~aaaive bucket, and be pumped ink), whether you consent or not, can
in the loog-run be exhiluatin~ to no creature; how eloquent soever the flood of ut-
teruee·that is deeoending. Bat if it be withal a confued unintelligible flood ot
.u.uee tbreateaing l8Iadmarb of thought, and to drown the world aDd 10U !-I
laaft heard Coleridge talk, with eager mWJi~ energy, two strioken houn,. hia face
ndiaDA uacl 1DOist, and communieate no meaning what80ever to any individual of hia.
_ of whom, I for ODe, .till kept eagerly listening iD hope; the ~
had loug before give. u" and formed (if the room were large enougl1) I8COIldary
hqm~ gJ01IpI of tMlr OW]l. He began anywhere; yOl1 put 801118 que.. to-
Idm, IJC*8 81IIgeltiY8obeelrvatiOD; iD8te&d 01 alUlWeftDg thi8, or decidedly set-
~ O1It tow'" answer of i~ he would accumulate formidaDle apparataa, 10gieal
ewiaa-bladdera; tanlCelldeota1liCe-preeerven. and other precautionary and vebicu...
1Mor.J geMt fOr letting 08.; perhape did at last get under way-but waa. swiftly . .
liaitBcJ. tamed: uide b, the pce of some radiant Dew ~e OIl thia hand or tha~
into Dew C01II'888: and ever mto new; and before long mto all the UDiveme. where
it wu uncertain what game yOl1 would catch, or whether any.
&&IWJ talk, alas, was distinguished, like himsel~ by irreIolutioD: it dialiked to be
tIoublect with cODditiOD8, abltinences, delnite fulfilmenta-Ioved to wander at it.
own sweet will, and make itll auditor and hia claims and humble wishes a mere p8&-
si" b.oket tor itself! He had knowledge about many things and topics; much
euri01l8 readillg; bll~ gene.lly all topiOl led him, after a p688 or two, iDto the high
... or theoeopbic pbilOlOphy, the Jiuy infinitude of Kantean tnmcendenta.J.iIID.
wi&a ita '.ua-m-mjectW IUld '8OID.-m-mJect.' Sad enough; for with IRlch indolen'
iapatieace of the claims and ignorance of others, he liad not the Jeaat talent for
e~J..jDiDg dUe or anJ1;hiDa unknown tD them; &Dd"ou swam and ftuttered ill the
lIliatieat wide unintelIigible deluge ot things, fOI moet part in a rather proflt1ela up.
eomCortable IIlUlner.
U Gbio. ialetl, too, I have le8D rile out of the hue; bat they were few, BIlClIOOD

. .&1lo..ed in the general element again. Balmy sunny ialet.-wets of the bleat an4.
the intelligible-OD which occamona those secondary humming_groups would an
eeue· bumming, and ~ hreathlell Upoll the eloquent words; tUI once your iBlet-
p wnpt in tie mi8t aplD, and they would re-coaunence hummiDg. ElOq.......
t.Utieallyexpl'el8ive woids 1QIl &1"'.'8 bad; {>iercing radiancea of a Dloet Illbt1e iq~
mght came at intervals; tones of noble 'pIOUS sympathy, recognizable as jioua
thOQgh strangely colored, were never wanting long: tiut in general you coul no'
call t},.i. aimleu, cloud-eapt, cloud-based, lawlese1y meandering human diac~ of
reaIOn by the name or 'excellent t41k,' but only of 'surprisin~·' and were remilld-
eel bitterly oll:lazlitt'., account. of it: 'Excellent talker, v.erJ.-IC you let. him -tan
from DO premises and come to no conclusion.'
U Coleridge was not without what talkers call wit, and there were touches of

prieklll&reum iD him, contemptuous eDou~h of the world and- its idole, and ~
PuIar dipitariel; he had trait. even of ~tic h1UDOI': but in geaeral he .eDie4
C1elcien' in laughter; or, indeed, in sympathy for concrete hUJDall things, either OD
90 Notice, of Book,. [Feb.
the BUDDy or on the stormy side. One right peal of concrete laughter at lome COD-
flicted flesh·and-blood absurdity, one burst of noble indignation a.t some injustice or
depravity, rubbing elbows with us on this solid earth, how strange would it have
been in that Kantean haze-world, and how infinitely cheering amid ita vacant air-
castles and dim-meltin~ ghosts and shadows! None such ever came. His life had
been an abstract thinking and dreaming, idealistic, passed amid the ghosts of de-
funct bodies and of unborn ones. The moaning sing.80n~ of that theOlOphico-meta-
physical monotony left on you, at last, a very dreary feelmg.
le In close colloquy, flowing within narrower banks, I suppose he was more de-
finite &Dd apprehensible. Sterling in after times did not complain of his unintelli-
gibility, or Imputed it only to the abstruse high nature of the topic8 handled. Let
us hope- so-let us try to believe 80 ! There is no doubt but Coleridge could speak
~lain words on things plain: his obsenatioDS and responses on the trivial matters
that occurred were 8.S simr1e as the commonest man's, or were even distinguished by
8uperior simplicity 8.8 wel 8.8 pertincncy. & Ah, your tea is too cold, Mr. Coleridge l'
mourned the lSood Mrs. Gilman once, in her kind, reverential, and yet protective
manner, handing him a very tolerable though belated cup. 'It's better than I de-
serve!' snuftied he, in a low hoarse murmur, partly courteous, chiefly pious, the tone
of which still abides with me. & It's better than I deserve!'
* * * * * * * *
U The truth is, I now lee, Coleridge's talk and speoulation was the emblem
* or
himeelf: in it, as in him, a my of heavenly inspiration struggled, in 8. tragicall~
ineft"ectual degree, with the weakness of flesh and blood. He says once, he 'had
skirted the howling deserts of Infidelity;' this was evident enough: but he had not
had the courage, in defiance of pain and terror, to press resolutely aerOM said de-
Berta to the new firm lands of faith beyond; he preferred to create lo~ca1 fatamor-
ganas for himself on thi8 hither side, and laboriously solace himself WIth these.
"To the man himself Nature had given, in hie;h measure, the seeds of a noble en-
dowment, and to unfold it had been forbidden hIm. A subtle, lynx-eyed intellect,
tremulous :pious sensibility to all good and all beautiful; truly, a ray of empyrean
li~ht--but unbedded in such weak laxity of character, in 8uch indolences and ea-
unences, as had made strange work with it. Once more, the tragio ltory of a high
endowment with an insufficient will."

3.-A NEW ltIETHoD of learnin~ the German Language ,. embraeing both the Ana-
lytic and Synthetic Moot, of Instruction; being a plain and practical !Day of at:..
quiring the Art of 'ftading, speaking, and composing German. By W. H. WOOD-
BURY. New-York: Mark H. Newman & Co. 1851. 12010. pp. 526.
4.-A NEW MZTIIOD of lear'lJing the French Language j embraci·ng both the Analytic
and Synthetic Mode6 of 1nslruction ; being a plain and pradical tDO!I 01 acquiring
the Art of reading, 'peaking.. and composing French. On the plan of Woodbury'~
Method, tDith German. By LoUIS FASQUELLE, L.L.D. New York: MarkH. New-
man & Co. 1851. 12mo. pp. 499.

Those works are constructed on. a plan admirably suited to the porposes ofa Gram-
mar. The theoretica.l and the practical, the principle and the application, the doc-
trine and the illustration are most skilfully blended in the execution of the work.
From our own experience of their utility we can safely recommend them as exceed-
ingly valuable manuals to the student of either language.

5.-CHARITY AND ITS FRUITS; or Christian Love as manifested in tile Heart Q'Ild Life.
By (Pres.) JONATHAN ED\VARDS. Edited from the Original Manuscripts, with an
Introductum by TRYON ED\VARDS. New.~ork: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1852.

.A. theological curiosity meets us in the present volume. The prince of New Eng-
land divines of the olden timet the author of the far·famed Treatise on the Freedom
 1852.] Notice, of B001t8. 91

or tile Will, and the redoubtable asserter aDd vindicator of the leading tenets of
Calvinism u opposed to Arminianism, here appears 88 the sensible and edifying up-
bolder of the claims of Charity to an indisputable pre-eminenoo in the scale of Chris-
tiaD virtues. The NewChurchman cannot well avoid feeling a warm Bide towards a
writer who discourses upon this subject in the following style:

U Troe love ;. an ingredient in tru, and living faith, and it fDhat is most tJ!tntial

o,ul di&tingui,kiflg in it. Love is no ingredient in a merely speculative faith, but it

is the life and soul of a practical faith. A truly practical or saving faith, is li~ht
and heat together, or rather light and love, while tha.t which il only a 8peculatlve
faith~ is only light without heat; and in that it wants spiritual heat or divine love,
is in vain and good for nothing. A speculative faith consists only in the assent of
ihe undel"8tandin~; but in a saving faith there is also the consent of the heart; and
that faith which 18 only of the former kind, is no better than the faith of devils, for
they have faith 80 far &8 it can exist without love, believiD~ while they tremble. Now
,the Rue spiritual CODBent of the heart, cannot be distingwshed from the love of the
heart. He whose' heart consents to Christ as a Saviour, has true love to him as
such. For the heart sincerely to consent to the way of salvation by Christ, cannot
be distinguished from loving that way of salvation, and resting in it. There is an
act of choice or eleetion in true snving faith, whereby the BOul chooses Christ for ita
Saviour and portion, and accepts of and embraoes him as luch; but, as was observed
before, an election or choice whereb1 it 80 chooses God and Christ, is an act of love7
the love ora soul embracing him MIte dearest friend and portion. Faith is a duty
that God requires oC every one. 'Ve are commanded to believe, and unbelief is a sin
forbidden by God. Faith is a duty required in the first table of the law, and in the
first command of that table; and therefore it will follow, that it is comprehended in
the great commandment, & Thou shalt love the Lord thl God with all thy heart,' &c.
-and so it will follow that love is the most e88ential thing in a true faith. That love
is the T~ life and spirit of a true faith, is especially evident from a comparison of
this declaration of the a~ostleJ that 'faith works by love,' and the last verse of the
second ohapter of the epIStle of Jamcs, which declares, that & as the body without the
spirit is dead, 80 faith without works is dead also.' The working, active and acting
nature ofanything, is the life of it; and that which makes us call a thing alive, is,
that we observe an active nature in it. This active, working nature in man, is the
spirit which he has within him. And as his body without thi. spirit is dead, 80 faith
without worb is dead also. And if we would know what 'the working active thing
in tme faith is, the apOstle tells us in Galatio.ns v. 6, & Faith worb by love.' So that
it is love which is the active working spirit in all true faith. This is its very soul,
without which it is dead, as, in another form, he tells us in the text, B8.yin~ that
faith without charity or love, is nothing, though it be to such a degree that It Cwl
remove mountains. And when he says, in the seventh verse of toe oontext, that
charity & believeth all things and hopeth all things,' he probably refers to the great
virtues of believing and hoping in the truth and grace of God, to which he compares
chari~ in other parts of tlie chapter, and particularly in the last verse, & Now abid-
eth faith, hope~ charity,' &c. Yor in the seventh vel'8e he gives the preference to
charity or love before the other virtues of faith and hope, because it includes them ;
for he says, 'charity believeth all thin~ and hopeth all things·' 80 that this seems
to be hiB meaDing, and not merely as It is vulgarly underst~, that charit~ believ-
eth aDd hopeth the best with regard to our neighbors. That a justifying faith, as a
moet diatinguiahing mark of Christianity, is comprehended in the great command of
loving God, appears also, very plainly, from what Christ says to the Jews, John v.
40-43, &tc."
\Ve cannot. of course, 8&y that every thing in the volume is equally unexception-
able with the foregoing, but in the main it contains but little from which we are
diapoIed to diesent. It does not, indeed, discriminate very clearly between thOle
forms of love which the New Church recognizes as having, the ODe for its object the
Lord himself; and the other, the neighbor, but the superlative importance of the
 [Feb.
principle itlel( .. the very eeI8Ilce of religion, ho very diatinoUy aobowledgee. On
t.he whole, the ooming to light of this excellent volume or 18rIDODB, a&r the lapee of
a century from the authora time, almost induces upon us the fancy that we ha" •
doeDlDent 88Juring 118 of the author'. acoession to the New Chmoh in the heaveaa.

6.-TBE SIGNIFICATION OF COLOR8 in all .Ages. lnrluding al& Explanation of the

Mytholof(it;al and othu Rnnain, of .A1ltiquity. From llu Frmrit of M. PORTAL,
with extra N<HelJ, lnt".oduction, te. By EuHU RICH. London: Wm. Newbery.
1851. .
To a system whioh deals- 80 much in Symboliam 81 that of lhe New Charob, the
sigoi6cancy oC colon mat ever be an important element. The disclosures of our
illumined author, respecting the emblematio use or colore in tile other life suggests
the value of any illustrative ligbt which can be thrown upon i~ by the labors of ~
learned. In the present work M. Portal, distinguished UIlODg our Fnnch N. C.
brethren, has drawo largely upon the archmological monuments of Egypt, and other
ancient countries, with a view to adduce some general1aws which ah&u goTem the in-
terpretation of the language of oolors. and we are grateful to Mr. Rieh for haYing
made the book available ~ the English reader. To the Btudeat or oorre8pondeDooa
it opens a vastly interesting vein of inquiry and reftectioIlt and to the antiquariaa
and the artist, it ofFers itself 88 a companion abounding. in the moG opport\1D8 ....
geetionl.

7.-WHAT IS TBl: HUMA.N SOUL? By REv. W. MASON. London.: 1. 8. BedBon.

1851.
8.-THE PASSIOlf 01' TU. CROSS; i"duding an EzplanatioR of flu l.po,., ftf u- Bloetl
of CI",ist, tU mentioned iD the Holy Scripture&. By R&v.. W. MuoB.. LoadoD:
J. S. Hodaon. 1851.
It is BUfticient to say of these two pamphlets, from the pen of the author or U Job
Abbot," that the]' are distinguished b, the uual ante disorimination and oJeap
logical argument of the &utboJ'. The ordinary prevalent &neiee anti &llaciee OD
these subjeots are dispelled with the hand of a masterll and the opposite truths fully
established.

9.-THE INDICATIOJiS 01' THE CREATOR; OT ,A. No'uNl EvidlflUf" G Fi'4ol Ca...
By G&ORQE TAYLOB. New York: Charlee Serib... 1861.
We have in the present volume a specimen of' rele&Nh and diaoa&8ion whieh is
very Beldom to be looked for from a pen almoet eonatantly ooeupied in *he dry and
formal details of a lawyer'8 oflioo. Mr. Taylor is a respected and laborious member
of the New York Bar, to the busine88 or which his intenectual tastes, as is enden'
from the present work, are not confined. He tinda a congenial el1maeDti for mmtaJ
expatiation in the physical BCieDCM and theology. Thu he ciipeM88 to good eWed
from the legal routine i8 evident from the sterling merits or the work now given to
the public. Under the general heads of The Nebular Hypothesis, Astronomy, Geo-
logy, Comparative Physiology, and Physical Geography, he has, with mlJO~jQdgment
and ability, condeDJled the reewtB of all modem research in theee deparimenUJ, and
1»rought them to bear very elicientl,. upon the establishment of - graad position,
the existeDce and ever-aetive presence and goodnees of a Great InteDigeBt Fus.
Cause, by whose de8igning wisdom every part of the stupendous whole i& iD8epa-
1852.] Notice, of Books. 93
rably interwoven with every other, and under whose controlling auspices all worb
together as some mighty piece of mechanism, in which nothing is wanting, nor can
any thing be taken away.
In his chapter OD the Nebular Hypothesis, if we rightly apprehend the author, he
COlUIiden the reeollltion of several of the principal nebulm into stars, as disproving
eDarely what is termed Ule nebular theory or lbe origin 01 the solar and planetary
B)'Sfems. So far, indeed, as that theory BUppOle8 the formation of our own and
other 81ID8 to be the re&Ql~ of the oondeusatiOD of .. tJui61, nebuloWJ IJQbstanoe dif-
fused throup t.he boUlC11el8 fields of space, the hypothesis of Laplace may be faUa-
eWu. but that that part; of the theory which makes the planete to have origioate4
f1un.1ihe body of the lUll. by the breaking up aDd 8llbsequent conglomeraiioD of itlt
incrusted surface, is 12D8OUDd, we bow of no good r.eaeon· for belieriDg.. Indeed, we
thiDk Hi will hQ. found Utat, 80 W as "onOln!' takes. oognilU'ce of QOIIIlGg9DY, ~
ill the coDoluaioll in which it is-settling dO\11l.
lO.-A TUATISE on Phy,ical Geography. By A. BARJUNGTON. Edited by CH~8
BO.DETT. Thin/, EdItion. New-YoRK: M. H. NEWIIAN. 1851.
From having had occasion reoentIy to eoDBUlt & work of this nature, om attentioll
W&8 directed. to the pte88ll.volume, whioh we have found rioh and .tisfactory in the
department of Ge.olo"" Hldre1ogy.. Zoology, Geoposy, Me~orolOQt AnthropolOQt
Botan1·
11. BOJlO:OPATBlC DoMESTIC PHYSICUN L containang tlu Treatment of Diseas" i flJit"
popular Explrmations of .Anatomy, .l"All,iologJ, Hygime, and H'!Idt"opathy: allo
cn& abrid«1d Matma MBdietJ. By J. H. PuLTZ, M. D. Third EtJititm, ,.,,,illd OM
alarg•. New-York: At s. ~ at Co.. 1852. .
From thOle who are competent to judge, abundant testimonials are giTeD. of the
intrinsic value of the preaent work. Into u. medical merits, .. comp8J!8d with
other worb of • Bimilar oharactu, we are not prepued to enter; but it may be de-
sirable to many of our readers to be informed that one leading objeot of ita anthem
has been to furniah a manual of Homooopathic practice for the UI8 of famili-. and
thoee who 111&1 not be able at all times to avail themselves of the servioes of a phy-
sician. That he hu succeeded wen in this ia to be inferred, not onll from the am-
ple testimonials of the profe88ion, but also from the faot, that upwards.ot: twelve
hwLdred copies were. sold in Cow: wmthL
l2. HOKCEOPATHY: .An Emmination of th, Doctrine, and EtJid,ac;,. By WOll-
7HIlfQTOlf Hooua,. M. D. New-York: CaRIes Seribner. 1861..
If the objeat of this work were to be attained, an efFeotual and final extinguisher
would be put upon the foregoing and everything of the lind. Dr. Hooker is
neu1eDt QpOIl the wJ.oJe theory, and. l~ esaminatiDD!' iD his ti...page, a.ns l& an-
nihilation." It eo l1appeM, bowever, tltatt the system. will not COD8eot to stay 1LDIli-
hiIated. but. is ince.eB&Dt1y puitblg forth aigua of DeW vitality aad vigor. It is.all
the time gaining gro1llld ia ~ oordidmaoe of ~e puhlio, beaaU88 it ia seen to. be ~
cacious in ita administration. To this, however, Dr. H., in the name of .. host of
opposers. replies-" That persons have been seen restored to health while taking
tbeIe remedies, I will allow; but tIUe by DO means' proVeI that the Nmediee eured
them." But the Inge18 need to be well panoplied on the hand that wields this two 4
94 Notices of Book,. [Feb.
edged instrument. How can our good allopathio Dr. H. prove that his remedie8
cure hi, patients 1 Homreopo.thy has not much to fear, when the arguments UBed
against it turn out such downright/elo de ,e',.

13. MORAL REFLECTIONS, SENTENCES, AND MAXIMS OF FRANCIS, Due DE LA ROCHE-

J'OUCAULD. NttDlg tramlatedfrom the Irench. With an Introduction and Note&;
to fDh.ich are added Moral Se1Itmct.• and Maxi"., 01 Stanislaw, King 0/ Poland.
New-York: William GOW&ns. 1851.
There is little in the present volume to bring it fairly within tlle range of our
book notices, except the fact of ita lending a collateral confirmation to N. C. doc-
trine by its masterly and manellous tact in laying bare, &8 it were, to the very bone,
"the inwrought selfishness of man's nature. In this respect it is scarcely to be paral-
leled. The author, it is true, W&t1 a man of the world, a courtier, a chevalier, and
there is no reason to suppose that he knew anything practically of the remedy p~
vided by the clemency of heaven for this deep-seated depravity. In his estimate, the
whole world of men and women was probably obnoxious to the charge of dominant
self-love, even in their most plaUlive demonstrations of virtoe and benevolence. In
this of course we recognize an arrearage to the cause of justice and truth. There
are in this world h good men and true," though suoh a character comes not by in-
heritance, but by engraftment. But leaving this class of men out of the question,
and fixing our regard upon the great mus of natural, worldly, unregenerate men,
their hollow-heartedness was never shown up more effectually than in these cauetic
maxims. They probe the gangrene to its centre, though unhappily they offer no
balm or antidote to the evil. We present the reader with a few specimens, in which
he will perceive a certain undercurrent of coincidence with thOle portions of Swe-
denborg'ls writings, in which he occasionally lays open the festering corruptions of
the human heart.
U Self-love is the gre&OOst of all flatterers.
Whatever discoveries may have been made in the territory of self-love, there still
U

remain in i' many unknown tracts.

" We have all of us sufficient fortitude to bear the misfortunes of others.
cc If we had no faults ourselves, we should not take 80 much pleasure in remark-
ing th~m in others. ·
U Pride has a greater share than goodne88 of heart in the remonstrances we make
to those who are guilty of faults; we reprove not 80 much with a view to eorrect
them, 88 to persuade them that we are exempt from those faults ourselves.
UA man oft.en fancies that he guide. himself when he is guided bv others; and
while his mind aims at one object, his heart inaenaibly draws him on to another.
U We are never 80 happy, or 80 unhappy, as we imagine.
"Men who fancy they have merit, take a pride in being unfortunate, to persuade
others and themselves that they are worthy to be the butt of fortuno.
" Nothing ought 80 much to diminish the good opinion we have of ourselves as to
lee that we diaapprove at one time what we approve at another.
" Truth dOO8 not do 80 much good in the world as its appearances do evil.
U Love of justice in the generality of men is only the fear of sutfering from in-
justioe.
]852.] Notice. of Books. 05
" \Vben we are tired of loving, we are very glad of some act of infidelity towards
o1lJ'8elves to disengage us from our own fidelity.
i' The head is always the dupe of the heart.
U lVe often do good, in order that we may do evil with impunity.
" Ifwe resist our pB88iona, it is more from their weakness than from our strength.
U The art of being able to make a good use of moderate abilities wins esteem, and

often confers more reputation than real merit.

,~ It is never so difficult to speak as when we are ashamed of our silence.
Cl Our repentance is not so much regret for the evil we have done, as fear of its
consequences to us.
U 'When our vices quit us we flatter ourselves with the belief that it is we who

quit them.
" We eaaily forget our faults when they are only known to oursel~es.
U There are some people of whom we .hould never have believed evil unleas we

had Been it, but there are none at whom we ought to be surprised when we do
see it.
U It is to be a truly virtuous man to wish to be always exposed to the view of vir-

tuous people.
"All the sentiments have a tone of voice, gestures, and counteD&Ilces, peculiar
each to itself; and this conformity, as it is good or bad, agreeable or disagreeable,
C&U8eI people to be pleasing or displeasing.

Cl We always love those who admire us, and we do not always love those whom

we admire.
Cl It is diftieult to love those whom we do not esteem; but it is not less so to love

thOle whom we esteem more than ourselves.

"The extreme pleasure we take in talking of ourselves 8hould make us fear that
we give very little to those who listen to us.
Cl \Ve conf881 our little faults only to persuade others that we have no great ones.
.... "We 8Ometimos fancy that we hate flattery, but in reality we only hate the man-
ner oC flattery.". .
It must at least be admitted that these apothegms discover an amazing aeutene88
of insight into the darker chambers of the human heart; but we are still conscious
that a morbid view of our nature predominates, and that a deplorable lack of charity
marks every utterance, however racy and epigrammatic. We are prompted there-
foro to characterize the work, in this relation, by one of his own aphorisms applied
to himself:
U It is with certain ~ood qualities as with the senses; those who are entirely de-
prived of them can neither appreciate nor comprehend them."

14.-TRotJGHTS on th, Original Unity o/th, Human Ract. By CUARLJ:S CALDWELL,

M. D. Second Edition, with ~dditionl and Improvements. Cincinnati: J. A. &
U. P. Jamea. 1852.
The Newchurchman will, of course, estimate the valuo of any ~ork on this sub..
ject just in proportion 88 its positions coincide with the teaching of ~at illuminate4
96 Notica of &olu. [Feb.
miDd which haa been pemUtted to rend the veil &om luch a multitude or subjeeta
pertaining to the past and the future of our race. Judged by this standard, Dr.
Caldwen's work bids higher Cor our favor than of ihe elaboraM .<»rta of Pri~,
Bachman, Smyth, or othen who have felt religiously bound to take Cor granted the
truth of the mere letter oC revelation, and to shape an their conclusions in accordance
with it,. The author of this work, with beUer judgment, tabs ~er ground, and
fireata the subject OD ita own evidences, which will of course bring us to resultB har-
monious with the true sense of Holy Scripture, 10 fa.r as they are themlelvea true;
Cor no two or more truths can be at war with each other. In the prosecution of his
argument he grapples manCully and powerfully with the B88umptions of the opposite
IOhool, and, to our view, makes out Batiatactorily that neither cUmate, food, oocupa-
tion and pursuit, modes oC liCe, manners, customs, habit&, exercise, chees, or exposure,
are caues adequate to the proda.otion of thOle ph:rsical and moral changes which
must have been wrought in a comparatively short period of time, provided the whole
human race were descended from a single pair. Indeed, his reasoning throughout
strikea us &8 irresistible to any mind which is not absolutely closed against the en-
tnnoe oC new ideas. We ahould be glad to be able to deal ia large extracta from
Dr. Caldwell's lively and vigoroUl pages, but must content ourselvel with the
following, on the collateral topio of Noah's Ark.

U It has long been a matter oC surprise to me that no writer competent, to the tat,
on the score of talent add inCormation, and. at the aame time, exempt from preju-
dice and supentition respecting it, has not undertaken to demonstrate the tofal UD-
Itne81 of thi8 piece of walier architecture, in "try point of vitw that 08.D be takenor
it, for the great P~OIe for which it is represented to have been construoted. I .y,
, in IVlry point Of 11"w-not merely in ita dim~'I,iom, the incalculable insufIicieney
of which has been satisfactorily e:&posed by various writers, but more pre-eminently
by the late Rev. John Pye Smith. The fault of the ark, to which I eepeciall.llnow
allude, is 80 broad aDd llaring, that no persoD. of intellipn~ who will oarefiUll ex-
amine the following directions for the bui1dinS of it, can tail to perceive it. .
"Genesi~ ohapter vi. verse 14: l Make an ark oC gophir-wood; rooms shalt thou
maD in the ark, and &halt pitch it within and withou' wi~h pitch.
u & 15. And this is the faShion which thou ah&1t DULk.e it of; the leBgth of the ark
shall be three hundred cubits (450 feet), the breadth of it fifty cubits (75 feet), and
the height of it thirty oub. (45 feet).
" & 16. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou flniah it

aboft; and the door oC the ark shalt Ulou set in the side thereof; with lower, Be-
cond, and third stories ehalt thou make it. .
" & 18. And thou shalt cODle into the ark; thou, and thy BODS, &l)d~ thy wires and
thy IODS' wives with thee.
'" 19. And of every living thin~ of aD flesh, two or every sort, shalt. thou brmg
iDto the uk, to k88J» them. &live WIth thee; lAd the,. shall: be male and. female.'
U SQCb. waa the Size and such the structure of the &rk-a veesel of immense cIimeIJ.-

aio~ crammed with living beings of every description, with all their discharge,
solid, liquid, and aeriform, in fulf 'p1a:y, and" ventilated by one door, and one maall
window (' in a cubit shalt thou fin18h It').
" Such J8 the representation of the ark and its population. And it is truly,tartling
aM ojf,mifJI. As a hum&n residence, the ' BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA' was a. para-
dise to it! and it destroyed human life in a few hour8. Yet Noah and his talnil}',
and the hosta oC anima.Ie enshrined with them in the horrid dormitory, withoot &11",
without light, and filthier Car than the Augean stables, emerged from it iD health,
after a eoaking ill it oC a hundred. and 1lftY daye!
U But we are told, by the fanatical defenders of the scheme, that the liveeorNoah

and his retinqe were saved by miracle. By a miracle it was, and one of the mOBt
stupendous the Deity ever performed. Arid as easily, and in a much less o~enaift
1851.] Not~e, ef Boou. 9'7

.,1e, oonld he ba"fe .ved them on a few ftoatmg planb, a Beet of ~ells, or th&
1UlCOvered and obedient aurf&oe of the waters. Better still-a single act of his own
ALMIGHTY WILL could have performed the miracle, without the aid or agency of any
other means.
" The imputation to an .1l.wi!e and all-peifect God, of. 'BCDeme of action so CoUl,
unnatural, and odious, should be disavowed bY'every one, whether heathen or Chris-
tian, who venerates and adores him.
u I~ instead of this multiplex and tangled "story about the arit, the deluge, MoUl1t
Ararat, a raven, a dove, and sundry other things, involving a train o£miracles, "hieh
naB through a hundred and fifty daye, aDd continued B8 loDg afterward as was
nee~ to render a desolated world inhabitable by man, and other animals that
subsist by similar means and 8imilar functioD8--~ instead of this misty, mu!, and
inCODSistent account of thiD~ we had been simply told that the Deity, moved and
~ended by the wiokedne18 of a disobedient earth, had destroyed, by a Iweeping'
miJ'acle, the whole of ita inh..bit..nt8, except Noah and hie family, whom, on ac-
count of the superior course of rectitude pursued bI them, he had selected and pre-
served, 88 a human stock, for the purpoee of repeopling it with a leM rebellious, cor-
ra~ and obdU1'ate race, and BB many of every species of inferior animals as would
pnldueet "ith J'e2II,l'd to them,' similar reewt; and that all this had been done
miraC1doasIM, witliout any show or t>retence of eS-ecting it bI phylirol means, or
agency-had this been the narrative unparted to us by Moses, the act disclosed by it
~h, have been regarded as ~he doing of a GOD; and its belief might have been
held admissable, without any derogatory imputations to its DIVINE AUTHOR. But to
charge HIM with the issuing of mere physical o1·derl, or the performance of phy,ical
4ctS, which needed the aid of miracle piled on miracle to sustain and carry them out
to their intended reault-such a representation is 80 utterly destitute of tJraisemblance
and therefore self-destructive, that to exact trom an enlightened, independent-
mioded people, Ul unconditional belier or it, amounts'to aD outrage on human ore-
dWity."

Equally emphatic is the author·s repudiation of tho literal account of the longevity
of the antediluviaDl.

Cl Nor is the story of the urk and its cargo, the only portion or the writings of Moeel
destined, during the present century, to 6e sujected to a more stringent critique than
it has ever yet sustained. I allude to that of the IO'IJgevit y oC the antediluvian popu-
lation. And, without engaging in the discussion myeelf, I frankly acknowledge my
ignorance of any principle, law, or single fact that r would venture to offer in sup-
port of the Mosaic creed re8pecting it. On the contrary, the whole tenor of my phy-
siological knowledge and belief discountenances it.
U Nothing short of direct miraculous aid could enable the present organization of

the human body to maintain its living condition through the Immense span of eight
01' nine hundred years. And neither the revelation by the works of God, nor that
by his writton word, give8 us the slightest hint of ..n1 change in it, for either better
or worse, since the subsidence of the Noachian deluge. Nor h..ve we aDy right or
authority to a88ume one.
u EstBbliBh the fact that the antediluvian people lived, as the ftaturallerm of their
liY&lt from four or five hundred to near a tl"oruand 'y,aTI1, and you l'rol'e them to
have been a Tau or 'pecies (call it which of the two you pleaso) essentially ddFerent
from. that which has populated the earth during the last four thousand years. And
that will be DO improvement of the doctrine against which I am contending-but
ratiber a detel'ioration of it. Opposition is unhesitatingly challenged to furnish a
lOaM reason for believing that man, before the flood, W88 either corporeally larger,
IkoIlger, or longer-lived than he is at present. And it is further chanenged to make
it a~, that &D1 sentiment, growing out or thi8 call, offers either disrespect or in-
jury to the Christian religion.
U The well-informed physiologist does not need to be told that, in all civilized and

oal~vated ooon,ne., tM Gv,rag' of human longevity i, ,vidtntly on the inereas,."

98 Notice. of Book,. [Feb.
1S.-NARRATIVES of Sorury arad Magic j from tlu most autMtltic Sourcn. By THO-
MAS WRIGHT, M. A., F. S. A. New-York: Redtield, Clinton Hall, 1852. 12mo.
pp. 420.
This work, both in itB inditing and its imprinting, may undoubtedly be regarded
&1 a product of that revived or reviving faith in the reality of supematural appear-
ances, by which the present day is distinguished. Owing to various causes the con- I

nction is becoming very wide-spread that there is something more than the vagaries I

of a diseased imagination in the belief of such spiritual agents and agencies &I are I

involved in the asaertion of the multitudinous facts of witchcraft, ghost-seeing, spir-

it-rapping, spirit-writing, &0. To meet the growing demand for well-authenticated
and veritable narratives of this kind, the present work is written. The author has I

performed his task in a very creditable manner, coDBidering that he seems to have had
no clew to a right bowledge of the laws upon which all such phenomena depend.
He has brought together from a wide field of records an imposing oollection of cues, I

in regard to most of which it would Beem to be imp088ible to doubt that the actings
of spirits from tho other world dord the only fair solution of the facts recited.

16.-BusH's NOTES on th, Old Testament. Critical, Exegetical, and Practical. Set~'1
volumes, 12mo. !oith Illustratiom. New-York: Newman & lvi80n.
The publishers of these works have lately issued the following Circular which win
supersede the nece88ity of any remarks of our OWD.
U N EWMAN & I VISON, Publishers, 199 Broadway, N ew-T ork, by a recent arrangement
with the author, have become the 801e publishers of this valuable series of Notes,
which now comprises Beven volumes, and covers the entire Pentateuoh, with the ex-
ception of Numbenand Deuteronomy, to wit:
GENESIS, 2 vols., $1 75
EXODUS, 2 vols., $1 50
LEVITICUS, 1 vol., 75
JOSHUA, 1 vol., 75
JUDGES, 1 vol., 75
U The last two have been for Bome time out of print. They are now published in
uniform style with the others, and we are prepared to furnish the work in any
quantities.
U The character of Prof. Bush's Note. has become amply eBtablished, and the
growing demand from year to year makes assurance doubly sure, that 88 a help to
biblica.l instruction in that department of the Scripturel which they occupy, they
are truly invaluable. During the twelve years that the work has been before the
publio, from thirty to forty thousand copies have been sold, and from present indica-
tions this number is destined to be vastly increB8ed. For a clear and accurate ana-
lysis of the force of original terms-Eutting the English reader almost upon 0. par
with the Hebrew scholar-for a satisfactory solution of difficulties-for felicit.ous ci-
tation of pa.rallel passages-and for 0. vein of pertinent and impressive practical re-
marks- it would not be easy to name any work in the lan~age of superior merits.
The testimonials received in great numbers from pastors and Bible-cla.ss teachers in
all sections of the country, put its va.lue in these respects beyond question.
U Another striking -feature of these Notes is the pictorial illustrations by which they

are distinguished, and which throw such important light upon many subjects of an-
tiquity, that urgently require it. The whole Leviticaf servIce-the Tabernacle and
all its appendages-receive from this source a fulIne. and distinctness of elucidation
which were otherwise impossible.
" It is presumed to be generally known that Prof. Bush, since the original publica-
tion of these volumes, has embraced peculiar views of Christianity, to whioh he iB at
present zealously devoted. This fnct, however, leaves the volume! in qU(lstion in all
1852.] Editorial Items. 99
their intrinsic value. Ther contain no traces of his :present theolopcal sentiments.
The 'Volumes are stereotyped, and the plates remain In our p08868810n, and we can
testify that they have received DO touch of alteration or emendation from the hand
of the author or anI ODe else.
U The publishers feel warranted, therefore, to aamre the Christian publio that in

these ~ otes a service h&s been performed for the exposition, as far &8 they go, of the
Old Testament wholly equal to that rendered by Mr. Barnes to the New; and when
the title-pages contain the significant announcement of fifth, sixth, eighth, or tenth
edition, it will be readily inferred that the work is not now put forth in an improved
and elegant dress 88 an experiment."

BDITORIAL ITEMS.
The following suggestion is offered by a Correspondent in a letter lately received. .. It
I judge aright from the signs of the times, the whole subject of Church order will have to
be discussed anew, and thoroughly, before there can be any thing like stable peace and
co-operation in the N. C. And for me, I care not how 800n, so it be done with modera-
tioD, fairness, and good temper. But is any paper like yours, addressed, in a great mea-
lore, 10 those without as well as to our brethren, the proper arena for such a conflict 1 Or
,lua1ltJ fInD plTiodkal bt temporarily.tt agoing for thi. spfc;al purpost, dirtcttd to our brtt1&-
'111 alOM, aftd optf& to all parties who adhert to the jtUt rule. of ccmtrofJtr.y1 Think of tbi,
suggestion; propose it to friends all around, and let me know what they say." We take
this method of complying with our frielld's request. Our readers are the only part of tile
N. C. pu bl ic to Which we can bring the scheme a. referees, and they will decide upon it.
'Ve are fuUy apprized of the response which many of our readers would give to such a
proposal. They wQuld say that the N. C. has had enough of discussion on the subject of
the external order of the Church, and that it would be for the interest of all parties to lel
the topic sleep in silence, at least, for BOrne y~ars to come. For ourselves t we dissent en-
tirely from this view oftbe matter. We believe there is but one rl1le by which to jadga
when a question of truth and duty ha. been sufficiently discussed, and that is, when a
man's convictions are so clearly and firmly settled on the question at issue, that he is not
only prepared, but resolved, to ultimate tlltm. When ,peculation has reached the poinl
where it feels that it must turn itself into actioD, then farther discussion inay properly be
waved. But so long as the mind i8 still afloat, seeing some truth and some error on both
sides, and thus uncertain where to fix, it is evident that the time has not yet arrived for
the entire suspension of discussion.

To the Newchurchman who has a watchful eye on the various signs of the times prog-
nosticating the breaking up of the old order of things as introdl1ctory to the establishment
oCthe new, such an itetn 815 the following, from the Concord (N. H.) cc Congregational
Journal," (orthodox) carries with it a weighty significancy. It is part an article made up
ofreftections on the state of religion in that quarter, at the commencement of the present
year. U The annual reports of Conventions and Associations, both in our State and ont of
it, all declare in words and figures, a steady religiolls declension. The tendency is dOltm-
ward-with an ever-increasing momentum in the force which is driving on to ruin. The
number of members in the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in the State are 1es8
by BOrne four thovtafld than they were lome years sin~e: the Minute. of the Baptist
Convention of New Hampshire of the last year, report a ditninution in the churches of he-
tween two and three thousand within six yea", or, upon an average, four It...ndrtd a ,tGr:
while other denominations probably could make no more satisfactory return.. Many
100 Editorial lte",,_ [Feb., 1852.
churches are dwindled to extinction; young men are Dot converted in sufficient numbers to
!~pply the ranks of the ministry, or if converted, have not the qUlllifications and spirit to
~!Her it i while the gospel iJS nearly powerless in the belt ordered eocietiea aDd the largeR
f!)ngregations. Revivals, which hav" been the characteristic and die Ilory of oar obamhew
f!"'3m time immemorial,and the secNt of their power aDd pqreu, _'We Dearly di_ppear-
{Id, and wi U 100ft be foand only in the records of the pa.. A t this prelellt time only 0 _
sncb spiritual rerre.bing i. reported. 80 rar as we are informed, in all the evangelical de-
unmmations oC New Hampshire, and that t008t a I8880D when uaually lOch blesliugsar8
p.:xanted, if granted at all. Nor is this statement confiaed to our _now territolJ-it ap-
1'1 ies witbout eS8ential nlodiftcalion to the di1ferent eva'Jlelical denominations of our COUD-
•-:y. We ask all considerate and intelligent men if the present condition Alf religion is Dol
u.\fk I And il Dot the pruepect darker still?"

We are not sure but our brother, E. Smith, in his communication in the last No. or the
Repository, has laid himself 80lnewhat open to the caustic interrogations that follow.
cc What does your corretlpondent (E. S.) mean by applying the Word, as he does, to proYe
the truth of the • knocking. l' Does he mean to eay that the 'Yord is if&/i"it, in ita ap-
pliclltion, to prove 8Dy thing, and of course, the C knockings I' Doe'a be not treat the
Lord as though he were a finite spirit, standinl8t people's doore, knockinl, as the spirh.
are represented to be knocking at doors, and in rooms 1 I think such applications oC the
\Vord as he has made in his letter, gross perversions of its literal and spiritual senses. I
do Dot believe the Lord hitnself ever did or can approve of such a ule oC Hi. Word. So
1'130 what he lays about the angel'. knocking is litlle better. Who can wonder that some
irreverent caviller should say that the Word was like an old fidtllt on which a mIlD
nlight play any tune he pleased 1"

From the last report of the J.. .o ndon Printing Society, it appears tbat it is energeticaUy
llddressing It.-.elf to the good work to which the Divine Providence, by the signs of the
times, is calling it. During the last year it has printed 500 copies orits edition of cc Hea-
ven and Hell" from the stereotype plates, and that 1000 more copies have been taken by
tbe Manohester Scllool Union, at the mere cost of press-work and paper, to be distributed
In penny numbers among tbe children attending the schools. One thousand copies of the
tenth volume of the Arcana, revised and corrected by Mr. Butler, have also recently been
s:ruck 08". One tbol1sand copies moreover, of tbe new Jndex to the Arcana, elabol'tl tel1
.-,repared by Mr. Rich, in connection with Mr. Larkin, are now being printed. The re-
vision of the .. Apocalypse Revealed," has been undertaken by the Rev. Mr. De Soyres,
ftod an edition of 1000 copies is now in press. This work has been ror IOme time out of
print. Tbe I t Conjugial Love," and other works are under advisement, as they will soon
require re-printing. Tbe total number of booka sold during the rear was 1.740; value at
the trade prioe. about 81,200.
The U Manchestor Tract Society" peems not, accordiog to its sphe-le and its means, to
fall behind its London compeer. Five thou.and copies eaoh at the minor works of Swe-
denborg, to wit: The Doctrine of the Lord-of the Sacred Scriptures-oC Faitb-ofLife
-of the Interviews between the Soul and the Body-the Heavenly Doctrine. of the New
Jerusalenl, and the Brief Exposition. have recenl1y been published, and at the 10.81t
possible prices, so that every facility may be afforded for their widest diuemioation.

The Rev. Mr. ClinoId's U Spiritual Exposition of the Apocalypse," i. now published
eomplete in foor vols. 8vo., at a price whicb will not with us vary far from 812. This
work we have anticipated with much interest (or some years, and as loon a. our copyar-
rives we Ihall siye a full and eDct notice of it.
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHLY REVIEW.

,.1. V. MARCD, 18a2.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.

THK TABERNACLE .SERVICE VIEWED IN ITS SpmlTUAL IMPORT.

No. Ill.

TBB IRBABT-PLATL

U And thou aba1t make the breast. plate of jadpnenl with caDlliq work, after the
work of the el!hod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of p~le, and oC lOarle~
or
and he twmed linen ,halt thou make it. F01U'!!9u&re it sliall be, being doubled i
a IJIUl shall be the leD~ thereof; and a span shaD be the breadth thereof. Ana
thou ahalt . , iD it lettiDgI of stones, eyen four rows of stones; the Ird row mall be
a eudiaa. a topu, and a carbaDcle: 'hie shall be iIle .... row. Aad the IeOGIId
IOW aball be an emerald, a .pphire, and a diamond.. And the third row a ligan,
an agate, and an ame~byet. And the fourth row a belYI, and an onp, and a ju-
per: they shall be eet in gold in their enclosings. And the stones shall be with the
Dameeof'hechildrm ofIarael, twelve, acoordingto tbeirnamee, like tile engrsvmp ora
~t; every ODe with his name shall they be acOording to the lweJft tribtl. AIld . .
• alt make upoD the breu'-plaM ohainl al tbo endB Of wreathen wOJlk er ~ gold..
And thou ah&lt make u})C?D the breu'-j)late two rinp of gold, and ahalt put the two
rinJ58 OD the two ends of the breast-plate. And thou malt po' the two wreathen
cIuUDa of gold in the two rings whieli are OD the euda of the breast-plate. And the
other two eads of the two wreatben chaiu thou ehal' fasten In the two ouehee, ud
put them OD the aoulder-piecee of the epbod before it. ADd thou aball make two
riDge of gold, and thou ab&lt put them 11~ the 'wo ends of tIae breut-Dla.. in the
borCler tliereof; which i8 in the side of the ephod inward. ADd two otLer ringe of
KOld thou shalt make, and shalt pat them on the two aides or the epbod underneath,
&oward the forepart thereo( over against the other coupling thereo~ aboTe the curi·
. . pie of the ephod. AB. they shall bind 'he bl888t-plate by the riDgI daereGf
. .tic» tb riDge or the ephod witll & lac,) m blu, tha' it may be above die eanOlll
DNle of \he ephod, aDd Ulat the breast..p1&te be Dot looeed &om the ephod. ADd
l&1'OD shall bear ihe DUDes of the children of lsn.el in the breast-plate orjudgment
u~ his hea~ when he goeth in unto the holy place, tor a memorial before the
LOrd eontiD~. ADd thou abalt put in the breUt-pJate of judgment the Urim and
the ThWDDlim; and iIley ahall be upon A.aron'. ~ wbeB he peth iD bet. . aM
vo.. v. ~ .
102 ne Tabemacle Service tJietDed in ill Spiritual Import. [March.
Lord: and Aaron ab&ll bear the judpent or the children of Iarael upon his h.n b&-
Core the Lord oontinually."-Ex. xxviii. 15-30.
"Thou shalt make the breast-plate ofjudgm~nt/'&0., Heb. t)"m~ 11'",
ho.then muhpat. This would perhaps be better rendered in our ver-
sion pectoral or brea,t-piece of judgment, 8S brea't-plate conveys the
idea of a military accoutrement, which is not implied in the original.
Greek )Dy". t'"c.l., .pleJ''''., the ,·ationale of judgment', as it is also rendered
in the Lat. V ulg. The etymology of the originAl term '\I'M ho.then, is
entirely unknown. Gesenius indeed refers to the Arabic ha,hner, to
be/air, beautiful, splendid, as perhaps having 8;ffinity \vith its root,
with which he compares the German .,cheinen, to appear, Bchon,fair,
8Dd Eng. • hine. But though it is equR.lIy a matter of conjecture, we
for ourselves prefer the suggestion of Avenarius, that it comes by
transposition of letters from 1Dn~ nahfl,h. to augur, to divine, a sense
very nearly akin to tha.t of 6eeking i~for"&ation by consulting an oracle.
Yet we are still unable to e,tabli,h this or any other as the legitimate
formation of the word, and are compelled therefore to content our-
selves with such a view of the material, form, and uses of the hoshen
8S can be deduced from the text independent of philological or col-
lateral aid. It WAS caned " breast-plBte of judgment" from its being
worn by the High Priest when he went into the Most Holy Place to .
consult God respecting those matters of judgment which were too hard
for the inferior judges, and which had reference to the more important
civil or religious concerns of- the nation. Comp. Dent. 17, 18, 19.
The cloth which formed the ground of tbe Breast-plate was of the
same rich embroidered stuff or brocade as the Ephod, of two spans in
length and one in breadtb. Consequently when doubled it was just
a span or eighteen inches square. For what reason it was doubled
is not apparent. Some suppose it was to gi,"e it more strength in
bearing the precious stones "ppended to it. But for ourselves ,'''e a.re
unable to see how the back fold could have aided in supporting the
weight of the stones in front. The object of it, we think, was that
one part might fall as a lappet over the other in '\\'hich the precious
stones were set. Unless wben the stones ,vere to be displayed in all
their splendor, it would be desirable to have them covered, and this
would be ,,·ell effected by its being constructed in the manner describ-
ed. At el\cb corner of the Breast-plate thus made into a square form
was 8, golden ring. To the two upper ones were attached two goldrn
chains of wreathen work, i. e. chains made of golden threads or wires
braided together, which passed up to the shoulders and were tllere
somehow fa.fttened to the shoulder-pieces or to the onyx-stones. By
means of these chains it was suspended on the breast. But to rend~r
it still more firm in its position, two laces or ribbons of blue were
passed through the two rings at the two lower corners of the Breast-
plate, and also through t\VO corresponding rings in the Ephod, and
then tied together a little above the girdle of the Ephod. This ren-
dered the Breast-plate and Ephod inseparable, so that the latter could
not be put on without being accompanied by the former, and the
punishment of stripes was decreed against him who should attempt
to divide the one from the other.
18511.] 101
The UDflZed cat conformed to our view of it. fuhion, will doubt--
lea convey a tolerably COlTf'ct adcaof the gCllcrftl form aod apPf'fl.rance
or the Breaat--plate. Tbe English name we conlider aa unfortunate-
lyehMeIl. Pectoral, i. r:. bncut1'i«:e, i. decidedly preferable. Jose.
pbu calli it Eum.

~ Thou shalt (let in it settings of stonc.." Heb. milliltAa bo milluatA

. . . thou ,hall fill in it jilli"K' of ,lOIlI':', The import, uodoubtedly is
that these .ton~ were to be ,et or cnchal'ed in eoekets of gold or lome
other metal, and they 8~ c"lIed jlling. beuulMl the atones when iD-
_rteel filled up the cavitiefl prepared for tbeir reception. The preeiae
maoner in whieh theee twelve precious stones. which bad the oamM
of the twelve triba engraved upon them, were attached to the BrelUlt-
plate i, not eJ:preued in the text. though it is usually uuden!ltood by
eommeAtatora to b"ve been upon the outaKle, ftDd that thf!Y were al-
way8 expoeed to view when wom npob the Higb Prielllt'. bolIom. Tbb,
however, is not aaserted in the text, and we sball soon aUKgat several
~lUIOna for doubting whetber it were the fact... It is certain that the
atones were in IOme WRy appended to tbe Brel!l.ll~plate. Md that they
were arranged in four rowll, three in eacb., but .. to tbe peculiar
manner in whicb tbey were adjusted to the IUpportiag ground of the
Ulpeetry, tbis il a point which ill to be inferndfrom aD attentive COD-
aideratioD of all tbe circumstances relating to the fabric italf••od
Qpoa lba we .han be more full in a aubeequeot bOto.
104 TAe Tabernacle 8e.... _ _ in ita 8pirituall.pori. [M. . .
The Damel of the twelye IODS of Jaco~ whiob were the Dames of
the twelve bibe. of Israel, are to be supposed to be eDgraveo OD, tile
little squares representing tbe preoious SCODe. in the lower fold
. A. these stones bold a conspicuous place in the arlaDgemenUl of
the Breftst-plate, it may be well to devote to them BOfDe oonsidera-
tion, though we are constrained to remar1\ that after all the re-
search expended by antiq~rians. \lpOD the IUlbJect, much uncertainty
still rests upon it. The~ euno' be ",ti,raotorily identified. We can
only approach a probability. mare or le88 "rong, that the gems which
we now call the topaz, emerald, sa,phlre, carbuncle, &c., do truly an-
.wer· to the original ter. . wlticb they are thus made to represent in
English. Our explanatioDs must he taken therefore by the reader
subject to the necessary .batement on this score. .
1. SA.DIUS. Heb. od.m, frOQl t"o radical adma. to be ruddy or red.
Ch"t. ,amkan and ~a,.lce'''aJ red. Gr. 8C1rdi(m, .ardine, a Dame sop-
posed to be taken from &rdi. or aardinia, where it was originally
found. It \vas a stone of the nby class. and answers to the carnelima
of the ~oderns. The finest speoimens DOW eome from Surat, a city
near the gulf of Cambay in India. Swedenborg 88YS, however, that
tbe true etymology and the exaot color is unknown, but that it proba-
bly denotes a flaming hue.
~. TOPAZ. Heb. pitdal. Etymology unknown. Gr. toptJ%ima, a
name \vhich PUoy says is derived from .Topazo" an Island in the
Red Sea. Chal. yarltaR and yar!etAa, signif)"ing green. ]t is suppos-
ed to be the modern chrylolittl, and ita color to have been a transpar-
ent green-yellow. b eomes DOW from Egypt, where it is found in al-
luvial strata. Swedenborg, however, classes it among the reds.
3. CAaBUlfCLB. H.l». IxlreketJI, from bat'"Il, '0 ligAteR, 8'itter, or
8'i8ter; answering to the anthraz, of the Greeks, so called because
when held to the sun it resembles a piece of bright burning e/,arcoal.
Indeed its name carbunele means a little cqal. and refers us at once to
a lively coal-red. Its modern name is the garnel. The Septuagint,
Josephus, aDd Late Vulgate, bave rendered iD this place .by
,marogdu, .merald. But this is more properly the rendering of the
Bext in order. The carbuacle aDd the emerald have in fact in some
way become transposed in the Greek version.
4. E••BALD. Heb. _opA,}. Gr.. antlanu:. This- gem is undoubted-
ly the same with tbe ancient lfIIflTagi..., or, eaerald, ODe of tbe IDQIt
beautiful of all the precious .'olles. It is eharacterilloo by a 6rigAl
green oolor. with soarcely aay mixtulet though dift"eriDI somewhat ia
degrees. The true Oriental emerald is BOW very scarce. The Mat
tbat are at present accessible ar~ from Peru. In the time of MOl..
they came from India.
5. SAnBlaA. Heb••appir.l. 01\ 8appAiro.. The word is very ne.......
Jy the same in all known luguages, and as to the sapphire itself it
i, after,h. diamond, th" most valuable of the gems, exceediolJ all
others in lustre and hardness. 1& is of a M,-blue, or fine azure 00101',
in all the choicest specimens, though other varieties occur. Indeed
among practical jewellers it is a Dame of wider applic&tiQD perhaps
thaD that of any of the rest of the preeiollS ltoDes. Pliny says that ill
1808.1 IUI
Ilis titDe the belt sapphires eam" from Media. At present they are
_Dd iD greater or Jels perfection in nearly every country.
. . DrA.OXa, Heb. Jalw.loFll, from IuJltJtII, to beat, to maite upon, . .
ealled from its extraordinary hardness, by which like a hammer it
will 6«Jt ,. piece. any of the other sorts of stones. Thus the Greeks
called the diaMotul, GtltlmtU, from Greek., not, and dtz'llltlo, to aulJ.
dlle, OD aeoount of its supposed invincible Iw.nl7le6.. Accordingly
Pliny _ys ofdiamoads, that "they are foond to resist a stroke on the
anvil to suel1 a degree that the iron itself gives way and the anvil is
ebattered to pleceL" Thi1l is DO doubt exaggerated and fabulous, but
it is BUdieiebt to jaltify the propriety of the Hebrew name, that dia-
moods are ",d luJrtler than other precious stoDes, and in this all are
agreed. This quality of the diamond, together with tt. incomparable
brilliallcy, renders it by far the most valuable of all· the gems. 'fhe
Gr. here has jcupu or ja8per.
7. LICO.B. Heb. le~ltell&. Gr. ligurioa. This is <me of the most
doubtful of the precious stones 88 to color. It is sopposed to be
clOtJely related to the AgtJJCiRtA (jacinth) of tbe modems, which is G
red .,rongly tinged IDitA ora"ge-yellow.
S. AeA"'" Heb. ~hebo. Gr. «haw,~. This is a stone of a
great variety of hues. which is thought by some to be identical with
&be dary..,-a, and if 10 it is probable that a golden green was the
predominant co)or.
9. AKBT8Yft. Heb. aAlaffttlA. Gr. arnedag6to., from ., ROt, and
"'ruto.t, d,.Male"" because wine drank from an amethyst cup was
.apposed by the ancients to prevent iaelJriation. The oriental am~
thyat is a transparent gem, the color of which seems to be composed
of a "II"K bl.. aDd a deep redt and according as eitber prevails, af-
fordiDI differellt tinges of purple, and sometimes even fading to a rOI~
color. It eomes from Persia, Arabia, Armenia, and tbe East Iodie..
10_ BsaYL. Heb. car,iUA. Gr. • yaitllJM. A pellucid gem of
d.«I or blu.' greea. Bat it; as h18ny mineralogistB and critics 8U~
~ the beryl is the same 88 the Clarg6toliM, it is a gem of yell.UJUi
6ree8 color~ aDd ranks at present among the ttJpau••
11. O.TI. Heb. • hDlMJm I called onyz from Gr. onyz, from the resem-
blance of its ground color to that lonated spot at the base or the ha-
man nail, which the Greek word signifies. It is ft setni-pullueid stone
of a fine flinty texture. of a wateri.h .1ty-aJDred ground, variegated
with hands oC uJiiu and 61'0"'" which run parallel to each other. It
is here rendered by the Gr. beryUiDlI, beryl, from some apparent con.
fusion in the order of the names.
11. J.utBL Heb. yaMepht!la. Gr. onucAion. The similarity of the
Hebrew name has determined most critics to con8id~r tbe ja."er as
the gem IBtended by this designation. 1~hi8 is a stone distinguished
by such a vast variety of hues, that it is extremel)- hazardous to fix
upon anyone as it. distinguishing eolor. Tbe brown Egyptian
variety i. coDjectured to have been the one seJected for the Breaa.
plate.
Eaeh of these stones has its spiritual signific&ncYt which is fully
lIDfolded iD Swedenborg'. writings, and the substance ofwbich will be
106 The Tabernacle 8erDice vie_din it. Spiritualllllport. [March.
found very happily condensed in 1\lr. Hindmarsb's little volume OD
the subject, lately re-printed in London. Our limits preclude us from
enteriog into details, but we may state in brief that the foor roWI or
orders of stones, three in a row, denote the conjunction of all troth.
derived from ODe good and thereby perfection; for by four is signi-
fied conjunction, and by three perfection. These twelve stones, in-
asmuch as they repre.,nted all truths derived from good, hence repre-
sented also the whole heaven, for heaven is heaven by virtue of the
Divine Truth proceeding from the Divine Good of the Lord. Hence
the three stones which are in the first order represent the inmost hea-
ven, conseqaently the love which is there which is called the celestial
love of good, and the celestial love of troth; the stones which are
in the first orde' the celestial love of good, and those which are in the
second the celestial love of truth. The reason wby those stones re-
present that love, is grounded in the color, for the precious stones re-
present according to their colors; for in the heavens there appear
colors of ineffable beauty, inasmuch as they are modifications of hea-
venly light, and heavenly light is the Divine Troth proceeding from
the Lord. The fundamental colors to which all the rest have refer-
ence are red and white, the former being a representative of good and
the latter of truth. As therefore the stones of tbe first order an par-
take of red, they represent the celestial love of good, the second dis-
tinguished by the blue derived from red, points to the celestial love of
truth; tbe third, of which the dominant color is blue deriv.,d from
white, sets forth the spiritual Jove of good, whicb is eharity towards
the neighbor; and the fourth, of which the roling calor is white de-
rived from blue, signififls the spiritual love of truth. Our author sums
up the import of the precious stones of the breast-plate as follows : -
"Heaven is distinguished into two kingdoms, the celestial and spirit-
ual; the good of the celestial kingdom was represented by the two
first orders (or rows) which were on the right side there; and the
good of the spiritual kingdom there by the two following orders, which
were on the left side. The internal good of the celestial kingdom is
the good of love to the Lord; this good is what is meant by the celes-
tia.l love of good; but the external good of the celestial kingdom is
the good of mutual love; this good is what is meant by the celestial
love of truth. But the internal good of ihe spiritual kingdom is the
good of charity towards the neigbbor; this good is what is meant by
tbe spiritual love of good; and the esternal good of the spiritoal
kingdom is the good of faith; this good is what is meant by the
spiritual love of truth.It-A. C. 9873:
.' Aaron shall bear the names of the children ofIsrael in the breast.
pJatfl of judgment upon his heart." The phrase "upon his beart" is
not properly to be understood in this connezion in a TJ"g8ical seDse. as
if equivalent to "upon his breast," "upon his bosom." This is not
the usage of the Hebrew in regard to the word Cl heart." After a
pretty thorough examination of the many hundreds of cases in which
the form occurs in the sacred writers, we have not been able to find
tJ .ingle in,'ance, apart from the present, in which it is unequivocally
employed in a physiological sense, to deqote that grand organ of the
1851.] T1&e Du'y of O. O. Mi"iller.IDAo receive N. C. Doctriu,. 107

human body which anatomists call "the heart." According to

the prevailing usage of Scripture, the heart is regarded as the
seat of intelligence Rod emotion. The feelings of love, hope,
fear, joy, Borrow, &c., are referred to the heart; and in the
present case we cannot question that although as a matter of
tact the breast-plate was worn over the region of the heart, yet
the dominant idea conveyed by the phrase is, that Aaron was to bear
th~se names of the tribes in lai8 /ri1ld and ajfectioTUlte remembrance,
whenever he went into the holy place. The beautiful sculptured
gems were to be to hi11l a memorial or memento of the fact that the
interests of the wbole people were committed to him as their repre-
sentative, and that be should never cease to feel bardened in soul
with this grave responsibility, especially whenever he was called to
act in his capacity as ,aeerdfltal judKe of the chosen tribes. In this
fact we are no doubt at liberty to read one very interesting feature of
the typical intent of the jewelled breast-plate.
And we have in this circumstance a clew to the spiritual significancy
o( the breast-plate. It was placed directly over the heart, and the
heart corresponds to celestial good, which is the good of love to the
Lord, and the twelve precious stones with which it was adorned cor-
respond to the Divine Truths thence derived. Hence by the breast-
plate, which received its main symbolic character from the stonf\8
which pertained to it, is signified, in the Supreme sellae, Divine Troth
shining forth from the Divine Good oC the Lord. These transparent
and re~plendeqt stones placed directly over the region of the heart,
might almost be considered as a \vindow through which the spJendon
of truth emanating from good rayed forth. But a farther and fuller
eltlcidation oC the spiritual uses of the breast-plate will be given in
our next article, in which we shall treat oC the Urim and Thummim.
G. lJ.
(To b, eontinu,d.)

.ARTICLE 11.

THE DUTY OF OLD CHURCH MINISTERS WHO RECEIVE

NEW CHURCH DOCTRINES.
IIR. EDITOR,
I VEKTURZ 8 few remarks on the question you have propounded in
the Jan. No. of the Repository, Whether one who is a minister of
some Old Church organization should continue his connection with it,
after embracing the doctrines of the New Dispensation, for the pur-
pose of more effectually promulgating his new convictions.
For my own part, I cannot see how such a proceeding accords with.
what is common I)' called honesty, or, in New Church phraseology,
\V itb wbat is ., just and right." Let us look at the matter iD this
 Its ne Du" of Old CInereA MinUIerI [March,
poiBt. of view. Every church has a certain set of doetrina1s. which it
prizes al its very life, and the corruption of which, in ita own estima-
tion, is equivalent to Ipirit.ual diseue, aDd eventually lpiritual death.
It therefore guards them in every possible way. It pre-ocoupies the
hearts of cbildren with them by means of catechisms. It imprints
them on the general mind of its communion by frequent inculcatioD
from the pulpit. It insinuates them in devotional works aD') at-
tacks the errors opposite to them in works of controversy. Among
~ its principal expedients in this kind is this, that it refuses to admit into
the number of its authorized instructors any who deny these dootrines.
ADd to provide even against any future change in the opinioDs of .u~h
&s are once admitted, it exacts a solemn promise from them at the
time of their ordination, that they will teach DothiDg but what is ill
accordance with its received interpretation of Scripture. Thus, in the
Episcopal church, the candidate for the office of a priest, assents to
the question, "Will you then give your faithful diligence always 80
to minister the doctrine and sacraments and tbe discipline of Christ,
as tbe Lord hath commanded arul tU IAi. cAurch Aath received the
Mlme," and every candidate for the office of a deacon, subscribes the
following declaration, "I do solemnly engage to conform to the doe-
. trines &Dd worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United
States of America." Something like this also is required in the Me-
thodist IlDd Presbyterian churches. The obvious intent and meauing
of the pledge thus given is, that if the candidate shall, in the exer-
or
cise of his unquestionable right free inquiry, conclade that the doc-
trines of his communion are 110t scriptural, be sballlionestly declare
the fact and leave it, or, at least, shall not inculcate anything incom-
patible with, or hostile to, his former faith. True there is no ezplicit
statement of the case of a change of doctrinal views; the church will
not harshly put into words, especially public ones, a supposition from
which its candidate as well as itself shrinks with a species of horror.
But it doe, meet the case in fact, by providing that be shall come
under obligation not in any case to teach within its borders RDd in
the character it has invested him with, what ~t conside~s mischievous
error.
The question then is, whether this solemn engagement may
be justly and lawfully broken in case the candidate, after having be-
come a minister, abandons his old yiews for those of the New Church.
" Casuistry" it8el~ it would seem, must answer, No, on such a case
put. For it tDU a solemn compact and ~romise.. The candidate so
considered it at the time. If he did Dot, his assent was a mere piece
of Jesuitical double-dealing, a., if he bad said in his heart, Cl Good pe0-
ple, your meaning in this promise is that I shall preach nothing con·
trary to your creed, either now or hereafter, aDd so the words to
whioh I outwardly assent do run; but as I in my secret heart, deem
the exacting of this promise a mere robbery of my inherent
right to proclaim what I take to be tMlth at any time and every-
where, my meaning is, that this undertaking shall be mere wind to
me whenever I see fit." Who would ever admit of himself that be
entered into ODe ofthese engagements with such an animu, 1 The man
 1852.] IOU
has boaod himself; aDd if lae i. Dot prepared to incur the shame, of ac-
lnowledging base and treacheroQs dealing, lie must admit that he
-eallt to bind himsel£ And now what absolves him from the duty
GC performance when the case contemplated by both parties has come
to pass t Is the plea set up that the church had no right to exact of
Ilim a promise not to preach according to his conscientious views, and
that he had no right to give such a promise 1 -It must be admitted
that meA an engagement would be ip80 facto void. But this is Dot a
true statement of the case. The church only says, "I bind you by
your own free p~mise, Dot to preach your future opinions, within my
pale, bat as regards your individual rights, you are left perfectly free
to adopt such a creed as yOIl see fit, just as I myself hold myself
free to change my standard it: as' a general body, I am convinced that
either in whole or in part, they do not correspond with Scripture."
He, on the other hand t promises only the counterpart of this. He
does not bind himself to keep his present opinions for ever, nor to
suppress his new futore ones. He only undertakes not to proclaim
them uDder cover of that name, station, post and credit, which be de-
rives from the churcb, and which the church ga\~e him on the ground
or this very stipulation. ThtJ ab,tract truth of the doctrinals them-
selves is a point entirely one side of the true issue. A false church
may do many things in themselves just and proper, and have rights
which all are bound in the name of religion to treat conscientiously.
We can no more exempt ourselves from oomplying with a promise
made to such a church, concerning a matter not unlawful in itself,
than we can be covenant breakers with an indifferent member of
society. An engagement of the kind under consideration i8 ajust and
lawful ODe in itself: because it is plainly in furtherance of that law of
the Divine Order which looks towards ft, separation of things hetero-
geneous in the world ofopinion, RS well as in natural things, and a claSll-
ification of them under their proper heads; and this because together
they produce commotion, but sundered they can be in some kind of
peace. It would seem, therefore, that the question to be decided was
the simple question, whether a man ought or ought not to keep a
spontaneous, useCul t and lawful promi.e.
It is no objection to say, that the imposition of creeds has been one
or the great evils of the past. It is, indeed, very ill-judged in any
eharch to impose all the detail. of its doctrinal system, as terms of
communion, or of the freedom of the pulpit. But it is clearly right
and necessary to demand assent or consent to ,ame leading one••
The New Church in this oountry has recognized this principle, by
requiring the assent of its members to its great leading doctrines,
and providing for the trial of ministers who deny the doctrines taught
in the writings of Swedenborg. If doctrinal truth in 80y church does
not surround itself with some hedge of this kind, it lies open to the
invasion of any error. Who does not see, that if Dr. Busbnell should
be permitted to oome ioto the societies of the New Church, and
preach Ai. views of .e God in Cbrilt," and your correspondent, W. M. F.
could do the like with his views on the Etemity oC the HeHs, and
they could do this, absolutely, on the same footing of right and pro-
110 ne Duty of Old CIa"reA MiaUt.,.. [Marob,

priety that its membe~ and ministers teach the proper doctrines of
the New Church, we should be doing a gross injustice to Di vine
Truth in favor of a spurious liberality 1 Oaf o~n safety, then, under
the Divine Providence, rests, in some measure, on the right of a
church to exact from its teachers a bond of conscience not to pulJ
down the house as an enemy after getting admission into it as a
friend. We have done wisely in exacting consent only as to geDera~s,
and churches of the old faith unwisely in exacting it as to all the
multitudinous points of a doctrinal system; but the question of Iww
far is always a question of judgment, and an error jn this respect, an
error of jl1dglnent. Now, an error of judgment may make the com-
pact between the parties an unwise one, but cannot nullify it.
If the above argument is good, a convert of the New Churcb, ","b~n
he occllpies an old post, to promulgate its doctrines, is acting contrarJ I

to what is "just and right." Of course he will be hurting bis own I

spiritual state by such a proceeding. He is aoting, in some measure,

clandestinely, and the clandestine principle will creep, gradually, from
his advocacy of religious truth inlo all the elements of his character.
He will not promulgate his views, he will iruinuate them, in a bad
sense of the word. Feeling \\'eak by reason of bis false positioD, he
will not be open where he migl,t be open, to the best advantage, lest
some champion of the old belief within his denomination should take
him on his vulnerRble side, and say, U We waive all question about
the truth or error of your new ideas, and fall back upon the solemn
proDlise you gave us, and on the faith of which we let you in, that
)·ou would preach nothing adverse to our system. Why are you false
to this engagement 1" Not willing to encounter an appeal so mani-
festly fair, he will practise a degree of concealment to avoid it. He
will maintain a certain reserve, !lot dictated by charity, but by fear.
A certain dictate of conscience that he is not acting a fair, noble, and
honorable part towards his former co-believers, will be ever stri~·iDg
for recognition within him, and be, on the other band, will be always
striving not to recognize it. A man in this position may be doing
something for the heavenly doctrines: but assuredly he is Dot doing
much for himself in the particular article oC cultivating a frank, open,
and sincere coarse towards all men.
If what is " just and right" is violated by such a course, then plainly,
fidelity to truth, or conscience, or duty, can be pleaded for it but in
vain. These are only other terms for love to God, and the love of
God dwells only in what is just and right towards man. It never
yet Will invested, except for bad ends, or in the darkness of ignorance.
with any other covering. The New Church preacher in an Old
Church pulpit, when called to account, will, almost of necessity, run
from his wea.k point to his strong one-he will put himself on the
truth oC his new views. But when the charge against him is, that he
is preacbioll them in the wrong place, he can find nothing to say OD
this head which is not fallacious, and, showing no basis in what is
"just and right" towards hi~ former Church, for his duty towards God.
t he very doctrines he has espoused, thus far, condemn him.
 1852.J VJAo 'receive Nm OlmrcA Doctrine•. 111

It is alleged, OD the other hand, that, by retaining his old connexioDH,

he can be doing a greater "'6, by having a larger audience, and more
frequent opportunities of addressing them on the doctrines of the
New Churcb, and thus procuring for ,them,a wider acceptance. Let
us examine this point.
In the first place, there are, at the utmost, only 1\ few who are re·
eeptive of these doctrines. The doctrines themselves declare the mel.
ancholy fact, and experience confirmrc it. The reason is a 8ubi.~tive
one, lying in states, that is, in all the past life, and therefore cODsider- .
ably independent of circumstantialities. If the ground is not good,
the particalar mode of cultivation is comparatively unimportant.
Delve in sand, and torn it over with this instrument, or with that, once
" week, or seven times a day, it amounts to the same thing-it wilt
yield you DO corn. It seems a great point to have a large audience
before you, if you are teaching, and so it is, if they are receptive;
but, when you have the general certainty, that only three or four can
be swayed by what you say, it is a very indifferent reason for sacri-
ficing a principle. Trust in Providence, take some other way, and
those few will find you out, or you will discover them.
Bat ~ain, as to this point of use, the style of preaching will una-
voidalfly be affected by such a position. It will be covert. Every.
thing must be inlinuated. New Church ideas must be introduced
-into any sermon sparingly. The proper phraseology of the system
most be avoided. There can be no explicit recognition of the fact of
a new revelation from heaven. The proper authority of the writings
containing it cannot be urged, and even the name of their author
must be suppressed. What results, but that the troths of the New
Church are shorn of their glory, divested of their strength, and so pre-
sented, that only half their beauty .can be discerned 1 If even a
fe\v troths are received by some in this way, yet but little good is
done, for it is Dot a few truths which profit, but an abundance of
them cohering together. Why should a maD voluntarily condemn
himself to this balf·way-going presentation of the New Church 1
There is this also to be further taken into the account, that a collision
between the Old and the New is sure to take plac" in the end. Owing
to the radical diveraity between them, effervescence cannot be last-
ingly staved oft: 1'he preacher's first departure from a cautions state-
ment, the first convert made who does not keep it secret, rouses into ac-
tion the jealousy which was not asleep from the beginning. Th"
heretical minister is regularly impeached, and tried, or a faction is
raised against bim in his society. The whole matter comes into pub-
lic discussion, and the end is, that, having few or none to back him,
be is expelled from the ministry, or forced to resign the pastorship.
Sam up the resulting good, at the end of the altercation, and what
does it amoont to 1 J maintain, that the doctrines have had injustice
done them by their mistaken advocate. He has produced them be-
fore the public in bad company, and the public has jlldged them from
their company. They say: "This man has not learned froln his new
faitb how to keep a solemn promise, and to act an open and manly
part. We \V8nt no faith of this sort." 00 the other hand, there is
I1I [March,
lOIDething whioh inspires respect when the adoption of these views
carries a man clear out of his old ecclesiastical connectioDs. It is
aD open, honest, striking testimony to the troth aDd efficacy of the
new doctrines. Such a course attracts at once the attention of those
who can receive, and closes the lips oftbe unreceptiv6, at least, as to
an argument they would employ effectaally in the other case.
To take such a step, however, involves in most cases several sacri-
fices. To announce one's self distinctly of tbe New Church fa.ith is,
in most places, to take, iD the public eye, the position of one misled
into weak notioDs, the dupe of an enthusiast. the fellow of the
Mormon, the friend and associate of rappers and magnetizera.
Why can we Dot enjoy at once the consciousness of holding & pure
and noble faith, and the esteem we have been accustomed to from
the world and ollr own denomination' The question of support also
comes in-whence are food and clot.hing for one's self and one's own
to come in case old connections are severed' These and other tem-
poral considerations concurring, make the strongest possible appeal
to the natural man, and set bim to ingenious reasonings about the
honesty find usefulness of putting his "new wine into old bottles.JI
This is the real parentage, it is much to be suspected, of doubt. I
.would by no means speak harshly of tbose whose minds ar3 influ-
enced by these considerations. I \vould be careful how I bound for
another maD'S shoulder a burden I mysel~ in bis case, might not, per..·
chance, touch with my little finger. I would not even "judge"
harshly those who succumb to them. Bot when we are appealed to
for an opinion on the abtitract right of the thing, I think it behoves 1l!
to say plainly, it. is not right.
It were, indeed, a thing much to be deprecated, that tbe New Church
should be cOhsidered as maintaining the opposite view. It would
place us in a position by no means desirable in t.he e)-es of the world.
•, Behold a sect," it would then be said, and ;u,tly said, R which, to se..
core the spread of its peculiar tenets, fa,·ors the idea, that any convert
may retain the name, garb, official standing, and all the givings out
oftbe Episcopalian, Presbyterian, or Methodist he formerly was, in
order the mm--e effectually to spread them-thus breaking down all
the lawH of truth and honesty that bind the members of a denomina-
tion together, even their own." Tbere are false reproaches enough I

against U8 in tbe mouth of the world. Let us shrink from incurring

a true one. The former will Dot burt us. the latter will tell against
us, or ratber against the truths we desire to see universally received.
The general principle of withdra\ying tram old connections seems
to be now pretty generally acknowledged as the true ODe for the la)".
members of Old Churches embracing the ne\v faith. This is pretty
plainly the right course; indeed, it is almost ama-zing'that aoyother
idea should ever have been entertained, and that a contrary ODe still
inheres in the minds of a few. But if it is true, advisable, or right,
8S regards laymen, much more is it so as regards clergymen.
There are tbose who have taken the direct, and the indirect course
in this matter. If they could testify, respectively, the former, most
probably, \\"onld declare a full conviction, that they had been led in
1861.] I1I
the right way, while the latter, on review oC the past, would acknowl-
edge that the way of entire secession would have been the better on8.
The writer of this commooioatioD, at least, can record a thankful
conviction of the former kind.
The ease of the Rev. Mr. Clowes, to whom the New Church owes
such a debt of gratitude, will naturally be pleaded here. It be may
suspected, indeed, that an example .0 respectable has hlUl considera-
ble iDlla~nce in closing our eyes to the intrinsio merits of the question.
Mr. Clowes' case has its extenuating circumstances, one of which is,
that a greater practical freedom of opinion obtained in the Church of
England, in his day, than can be fOQod, generally speaking, in oar
Churches. But, would he not have acted more truly and nobly, set a
higher example, and done more good, if he had not penisted in preach-
ing opinions alien to the doctrines of the church, which had con6ded
to him one of its in81lential posts, on the faith of his subscription to
its articles t Let DO ODe answer here, as to the point of usefulness, in
the negative, until he knows what amognt of reproach, on the score
oC bad faith, cleaves, in the English min'.l. to the New Church, from
this very case of Mr. Clow82I. In the meantime, we bave the well
known fact that his preaching in his Manchester parish made no con·
verts.
It may very often be doubtful what amount of deviation from the
doctrinal standard demands withdrawal. Only very scrupulous con-
sciences would regard hair-breadth deviations. BlIt the case be-
comes clear, as primary troths are involved, and clearer according to
their number. It would seem as if it ought to be exempt from all
doubt, when the doctrines embraced differ from those of the standard
Ietoc(Zlo_ -
There may be churches where there is DO definite stipulation of
the kind we have bee~ speaking Qf; bot if there is 8 recognized
creed, and I believe tbere is sach in every Congregational Churcb, the
cue does Dot seem to be much varied. The only -genuine exception
would be, any independent church, knowing their preacher's change
or views, should say to him, either explicitly, or by mutual understand-
ing, " Preach as yoo like, we are willing to hear wbat you have to
say."
A.E.F.

EXTRACT.
U The natdra) mind is full or all kinds of evils, as thefta, adulter(etlI, marders, tal. wit-
nesses, concupisconcea, yea, of blasphflllliea aad profaDHtiOl1s ot God ; these e"nl. aDd
ma.DJ otbers, reside iD that m ind, for the love. of them are tbere. and. theoce tbe delights
of tbinkin(, willing. and doing them j these things are iDnate iD that mind from the pa-
reDta, for man i. born aod growl up into the things which are in that mind, oul, be is
restrained b, the boDd~of civil law, and by the bonds of moral law, from doing tbem, aDd
thereby from manit~lting the teodencies of bil depraved will. Who cannot 'Qe that the
Lord cannot 1Iow·in from heaven with man, and teach. him and lead him, before thOle
"ill are removed. for tbey wilbltand. repel, pervert, and s01l"ocate tbe troth. aod good.
of _vea. which l1111e01l, press, powerfull, apply. and endeavor to Bow·in trom aboYe;
for eyiJ. are infernal. and goods are celestial, aDd all that is iDftunal burns with hatred
IpIDst all tbat is celestial. Hence noW' it is evideot, that before the Lord can flow-in
from baveD ..lab beaYeIl, and form man to the image ot heayeD, tbe eyUI Inust nec• •-
rilr be remo.ed wbich !'elide beaped up toptber in tbe natural mao."-..4. E. 969.
114 ne Partl6le, EzplaiMtl.-No. IL [March,

ARTICLB Ill.

THE PARABLES EXPLAINED.

No. 11.

A rlECK OP NEW OLOTH ON AN OLD GARMBNT,~.

No man putteth a piece ot new cloth upon an old garment; tor that which i. put io to
III it ap taketh from the garment, and the rent is made WOI'M. Ne-ither do mea POI new
wine jnto old bottles, &c.-(M.n. IX. 16-18.)

Q. WHAT do )~oU understand by these words 1

A. JESus CHRIST here speaks by correspondence, and thus represents
spiritual things under natural im&.JP;8s, agreeably to His usual mode of
speaking.
Q. And in agreement with this mode of speaking, what is here to
be understood by a piece of new cloth, and an old garment 1
A. The cloth here called new, in the original Greek is called un-
wrought, and since cloth, according to its spiritual correspondence!
signifies truth, inasmuch as it is applied to cover, defend, and keep
warm the body, as truth is applied to cover, defend, and keep warm
the spirit of man; therefore, by the unwJ-ought cloth, here spoken oi:
is signified the truth of the Gospel, or the spiritual truth of the Chris-
tian church, as opposed to tbe old garment, or old truth, of the Jewish
or representative church. JESUS CURIST, therefore, here teaches and
warns his hearers of the difficulty and the danger of imbibing the
truths of the new Christian church, whilst the truths of the old or Jew·
ish church, which were external and representative truths, "'ere suf..
fered to prevail, and to influence" the persllAsiollS and the conduct of
their adherents. He says, therefore, that that which i8 put in to fill it
up tuketh f,·om tl'e gar",e"t, because the trut.hs of the new Christian
churcb, ,vhich are internal spiritual truths, if commixed with those of
the old representative church, rob them of their importance and influ-
ence, on \\rhich account, He a.dds, tile ,'ent is made u;orse, since there is
no agreem~nt bet\veen the precepts and commandments deJi\·ered by' I
the LORD hi:nself, and the statutes and judgments of the Je\vish
church, ""hich were principally concerning sacrifices and repr~senta­
tive ,,'orship.
Q. And \vha"t do we understand by the new u'ine and old buttlelt, of
which also JESUS CHRIST here speaks 1
A. By the neu, wine is again signified the trut.h of the new Chris-
tian church, in like manner as by the unwrought cloth above, but \\pith
this difrerence, that by new wine is signified a more interior order of
truth, than by unwrougll,t cloth, because wine is for internal nourish-
ment, whereas cloth is for external covering; still however the sellS.
is the same, as denoting that the internal truths of the new Cbristian
church do not accord ,,·ith the external truths of the Jewish church,
which external truths are here called old bottles, of which it is said
1852.] .A P~ce of NeVJ ClotJa on an Old Garm,ent. 115

tbat if new unne be put into them, 'he bottle. bur.', and the wine run-
.,11 out, and the bottle. peruh. ~
Q. How do we understa.nd these words'
A. By tAe bottle. buraling, if new urine be put into them, is denoted,
that the truths of the Jewish church, which principally relate to sac-
rifices and representative worship, have no coherence with the truths
of the Christian church; and by the wine running out, is further to
be understood, that interiorspiritoal truth is dissipated, when represen-
tative truth is alone seen and acknowledged; and, lastly, by the bot-
tlel perUAi"g is denoted, that the external laws relating to sacrifices
and ordinances are done &\vay as soon as ever the things which they
represent are fulfilled. 0 • •

Q. But it is added, that they put new wine into new bottlea, and both
are prt!$erved. What do you conceive to be the import of these
words 1
A.. The new wine, as was shown above, is the internal spiritual
troth oftbe Christian church, which was opened by the manifestations
of GOD in the fle,h, on ,\,hich occasion all the representatives of the
Jewish church were fulfilled and realized; and by putting this new
,vine into new bottles is denoted, that this interior spiritual truth ,vas
to be taught, and admitted into human minds, b)· doctrines ,vhich
were in agreement with it, an~ derived from it, thus by doctrines
which would tend a.t once to promote its reception and perpetuity, on 0

,,·hich account it is added, that both a,·e pre,erved, viz., both the truth
and its doctrine, for the doctrine is what contains and conveys truths,
and is distinguished from truth 8S the bottle which contains wine is dis-
tinguished from the wine itself: When, therefore, doctrine is in agree-
ment \\"ith truth, then both are pre,erved because truth gives life
and consistency to doctrine, whilst doctrine in its turn gives determi-
nation and support to truth.
Q. Can you see any other sense to which the words or the above
parable extend '1
A. Yes; the old gaJ ment and old bottlea will apply, 88 apt figures,
4

to tbe persua.~ions and sentiments of the old and Datural man, in his
unconverted st8t~, before he begins to taste the new wine, snd to pot
on the Reil' gllrme"t., of evangelical truth and righteou~ness. Accor-
ding to this application. the parable also teaches a lesson of ilnpor-
tant instruction and caution, hy pointing out the extreme danger of
commixing the principles of truth ""ith those of error, or of imbi-
bing heavenly knnwledge, whilst the lirA and love of earthly science,
nnd of vain imaginations, remains in its full force, unmortified and
unsubdaed. In this case, too, the divine declaration, that flew wine mu,'
be put into new bottle" is full of wisdom and weighty obligation, enfor-
cing on man the eternal law, that the persuasions dictated by the love of
evil ought first to be combated and removed, before the new wine of
the everlasting Gospel is received, and that thus new opinions, new
persuasions, new principles, should bOe formed, capable of admitting
and preserving the saving truth communicated from above.
Q. WhRt, then, is the general instruction which you derive from this
parable t ~

~
118 ne Parable, EzpltJiftetl.-No. 11. [March,
A. (am taught, in the first place, from the tenor of this parable,
that the truths of the Jewish church, whieh related principally to
sacrifices and external ordinances, d'o not accord with the troth. of
the Christian church, which inculcate principally the law of love and
charity, and thus the observance of intemal worship, and that, con-
sequently, the former are not to be cornmixed with the latter. I learn,
in the second place, that the truths of the Christian church, being all
of them from Heaven, are internal, spiritual, pure, and holy troths, and
therefore require that the persuasions, sentiments, and ruling maxims
of ma.nkind should be in some sort of agreement with them, other-
wise they will be dissipated, defiled, and destroyed. I am resolved,
therefore, from henceforth, to form my whole mind and life according
to the wisdom contained in the above parable, and whilst J venprate
the law of the Jewish rituals, as being a law of divine revelation,
and the best accommodated to the temper of the Jewish people, for
whose use it was given; yet I will not conceive myself bound to ob-
serve it according to its letter, now that I am favored ",itb the inte-
rior spiritual law of the Christian dispensation. I am resolved,
further, now that I have begun to pot on the ftao garmeftt, and to
drink the 'UHD wine of evangelical truth, to lay aside the old garment,
and discard the old bottle8 of my former mere natural ideas, senti-
ments and persu8.lions, so that "0 rent may be made in the fleW gar-
ment, and the new wine may not Mln out. Thus may I hope that the
Eternal Wisdom will obtain a safe and undefiled reception in my
humble bosom, and, connecting itself with persua.sions which are in I

agreement with itsel~ ,,·ill conduct me to all that security and happi-
DE'SS announced by the GREAT REDEEMER, when He says, They put Re.
wine into new bottlea, and both are preserved. AMEN.

CBILDllEN SrrrING IN THE MABKETS.

Bllt whereunto sballl liken tbis generation 1 It is like unto cbildren sitting iD &be mar-
kets, and callingllnto their fallows, and saying unto them, We have piped unto you, aDd
y8 have Dot danced; we have mourned unto YO\1 t and r8 have Dot lamented, &0•• &4:.-
(M£on. XI. 16, 1'7.)
Q. WHAT do you here understand by this generation 1
A. According to the letter of the expression. it means the people
who lived at that time in Judea; but according to its spiritual sense,
it means the state of the church among that people, in regard to tbeir
reception of the eternal truth, for such is the spiritual idea of gener-
ation, whensoever the term occurs in the WOBD OP Gon, inasmuch as
that Holy Book treats oory of spiritual generatiolls, which are those
of goodn~ss and tt·utb, and not of natural ones, which relate only to
this world and the flesh.
Q. And why is this generation said to be like unto cAildrea mtin,
in the market8 ,
A. Because, by children, or, 8S it is expressed in the original, infant
boy" are not here to be understood children, or infant boy., but the
things signified and represented by them, which tllings are Bothing
else but the truth cif innocence, wbich were at that time revealed
18&t.] Oliltlrm Sitting in ,", Marlle". 111

from Heaven to the Jewish people, in order to make tbem a church

or tbe people, of God.
Q. And why are thes~ children, or infant boya, represented 8S .it-
'iRg in the markeu 1
A. Because b)- the mor1cets are figured natoral minds, or the com-
mon states of the life ofnatoral men, which are tberefore called mar·
ket" because all the goods and truths contained in tb~ WORD OF GOD
are there presented for purchase, and everyone, who is so disposed,
may there become a purchaser, a.nd thus acqoire the eternal pos-
session of those heavenly blessings. It is on this account that men-
tion is again made of a market-place in the parable of the householder
who hired laboret-8 into hi. vineyard, where it is written, that he 8aw
other. standing idle in the market-place, for, by .tanding idle in the mar-
let-place, is signified, that they neglected to cultivate the natural
mind, by preparing it for the insemination and growth of the ETEBHAL
TBUTB. In the present parab]~, however, it is not said that the chil-
dren were standing idle in the markets, but that thflY were ntti"K
there; because, by the term sitting, whensoever it occurs in the Sacred
Scriptures, is always expressed a state of the will, or love, as the term
altmding is uniformly applied to express a state of the understanding
or thooght.
Q. But it is further written of these children, or infant boy., that
,e
IA~ called unto their fellow8, and 8aid, We have piped unto you, and
have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye "flve not ItJ-
_mUd. What do you here understand by the children calling unto
tAeir fellow, and 8ayinK 1
A. The tArm here renderedfellolDs is expressed in the original by a
word which properly signifies companion.; and companions, accord-
ing to the spiritual idea, are all such 88 are associated with each
other by knowledge and acquaintanceship, but not so much by love
and friendship. When, therefore, the children are represented as call-
ing to their fellows (or companions), it is to denote that tbey addressed
themselves to the intellectual principle. in order to secure its attention
to the truth of innocence, of which they were the representative
figures. It is therefore written, that they called and mid; because,
calling is an expression which relates to the win-principle, or love, as
,aying is an expression which relates more to the understanding, or
truth, and tber~fore the two expressions are combined, ,,'ith a view to
point at that heavenly marriage of love and wisdom, or goodness and
truth, which constitutes the very life and sonl of the RBVBALI:D WOBD,
and is accordingly marked even in the letter in numberless instances.
Q. And what do you conceive to be the import of what the chil-
dren say on this occasion, We have piped unto you, and ye have not
danced; IDe have mourned unto YOIl, and ye have not'lammted 1
.A. The term piping, as it is here used, is expressive of the affection
or pod with whiCh troth is taught. and which it is intended to excite.
I'or mch is the spiritual signification of all instruments of music,
whensoever they are mentioned in the WoaD of GoD, that they are all
applied to denote affection, but with this difference, that the wind-in-
ItnUDfJIIW are applied to denote th~ affection of good, and the string.
901. v. 8
118 ne PtJruWe, Ezplained.-No. 11; [March,
instruments to denote the affection of truth. Thus, when it is said,
Praue Him with the lound of the trumpet; praise Him uti-tA the p.al-
try and harp; prai,e Him with the timbrel and pipe; prtli6e Il.im u.jth
.tringed instMlmentl and organ.,; praise Him upon the loud cymbals;
praue Him upon the high-Ioundillg cymbals (Ps. cl. 3,4, 5), it is to de-
Dote that the LoRD is to be worshiped from every affection both oC
good and or trutb. The piping, therefore, abo\·e spoken ot: has rela-
tion to the heavenly affection which influenced the truths signified by
the children; and when it is added, ye have not danced, it is to denote
further, that a reciprocal affection bad not heen excited in those to
whom the trutbs \vere addressed. For da1lcing, according to its lite-
ral signification, is a motion of the body, corresponding ,vith the
musical sounds by which it is excited, and thus, according to its spir-
itual Hignification, it denotes an affection of the mind, corresponding
with the affection by which truth is addressed to it, agreeably to
which sense of the word it is writt~n, Let them praise his Tl.aTne in tAe
dance (Ps. cxlix. 3), to teach the instructive lesson, that man ought
to glorify His Maker by receiving the truths of His HOLY WORD with
a corresponding affection. To the same purpose it is written iD
another place, TI,OU /,ast turned fur me my mourning i11.to dancing
(Ps. xxx. 11), denoting that hea.venly truth was received \vith the
hea,·enly affection \vhicb it is calculateu to inspire. When, therefore,
it is said, as in the present case, Ye I,ove not danced, nothing else CBn
be meant, according to the spiritual idea, but that the truths of Heaven
had not excited a correspondent aff~ction.
Q. And how do you understa.nd the remaining words, We '"ave
.oumed unto you, and ye hal'e not: lamented'
A. These words are contrasted with the foregoing, and, therefore,
as by piping was signified the bea,'enly affection with \vhich truth
was communicated from above, alld as by not dancing ,vas denoted
that it had not been received with correspondent affection, 80 by
mourning is here signified truth communicated without affection, and
by not lamenting is further denoted that the truth so communicated
had not produced reciprocal and correspondent fI"fJurning.
Q. What is it you mean by truth communicated \vithout affection,
which you here call mourl.ing 1
A. JESUS CHRIST explainH the nature and quality of this kind of
truth in His illustration of this parable, where he sa)·s, For John
came neither eating nor drinkillg, and they say he !lath (, devil. For
John, as a teacher of truth, represented the HOLY WORD, but then he
represented it as to a lower or more external order of truth than ,,-hat
was afterward taught by the INCARNATE GOD; on which account be
bears this witness concerning himself; I i",deed baptize you with water
unto repentance, but He that comet/I after,ne is mi~htier than I, whole
.h~8 1 am not wa,·thy to bear; He shall baptize you witll. the Holy GAolt,
and with fire. (Matt. iii. 11.) For it deserves well to be not~d, that
the written Word of God contains truth of several orders and degrees
adapted to different minds, and to different states of the same mind,
answering to the several instruments in hu~handry, by which also those
orders and degrees are expressed in the Sacred Records, such as the
1832.] CAildren .Baiting i. 'Ae Mar.l6. . III

plough, the harrow, the sickle, the thre./,ing in'trumenl, the fan; all
of them useful in their several places, because all of them sel'vice-
able for the production of heavenly love and charity, and its incorpo.
ration in human minds. John the Baptist \vas a representative figure
of one of these orders of truth, namely, the lo\vest., or most external,
ada.pted to the state of natural minds, to convince them of sin, and
lead them to repentnDce, but not fitted to communicate any heavenly
good with its interior truth; on which account it is said of John, that
lie came tteit/ler eating nor drinking, to denote that, by this order of
truth. no interior good of heavenly love and charit)·, with its atten-
dant truth, could be appropriated. JESUS CHRIST, on the other hand,
opened a new order of interior truth, which, being nlore closely con-
nected with heavenly love and cha.rity, gained more interior admission
into human minds, and communicated to thenl a measure of tbe
hea\"enly Spirit in whicb it originated; on which account it is said of
Him, that He came eating alld drillking, to denote that both the good
and its truth might be incorporated into the life of man.
Q. But it is written, that or John they 8ay, He ha. a devil, and of
J DUS CnRlsT they say, Behold a gluttonolU man, and a wine-bibber, a
friend of publicam and ,i"nera. \Vhat do you concei ve to be the im..
port of these words 1
A. These words are another proof how difficult it is to adapt
heavenly truth to the general reception of mankind, and how prone
men are to frame excuses against admitting it, by vilifying both it ~nd
its teachers. 'rhus, in the present instance, the apparent severity of
the troth taught by John the Baptist, is imputed to diabolical agency,
whilst tbe more consolatory BDd cheering doctrines deli\"ered by the
G.BAT SAVIOUR, are reprobated as allowing too many indulgences, and
giving too much liberty to offenders against its sallctities. Never-
theless, the Divine remark which closes this parable, that Wisdom i.
jU8tijied of her c/"ildren, must forever .remain true; because the chil-
dren of wisdom u.re all those \¥ho are born of wisdom, not according
to a figure of speech only, but in the greatest truth and reality, ina.s-
much as they are born of Gud, or of wbat the Apostle calls incorrupti-
ble seed, by the UJOl'd of God which liveth and abideth forever. (1 Peter
i. 23.) These children, therefore, are tau~ht by their Divine Parent to
see that truth is of several orders and degrees, which Inay, in general,
be di!5tinguisbed into two, viz., truth of judgment, and truth of com·
fort, or, to ex·press it otherwisA, truth opposed to, and combating,
evil, and truth cherishing and communicating good; the former being
apparently harsh and severe, thus apparently separated from good,
whilst the latter is soft and consolatory, and thus apparently nearer
to good. Accordingly, as in the building of a house, there are a vari-
ety of \vorkmen, and an equal variety of tools or implements of work.
manship employed; 80 in the building of that most grand aDd magnif.
icent of all houses, the H OUS6 of GOD, or His Church here on earth, a
Jike variety of spiritual artifices are employed, and likewise of spiritual
tools and implements of building, agreeably to '''.~hat is \vritten in the
Prophet, So the Clupenter ellcourageth ti,e gold,mith, and /lim that
allloothelA witl, the hammer him that 8mnle the anvil, '('!ling, It i8 read
110 Reply to. Leu.r. 10 G- Tri........-No. IY. [March,
for tile ,olderi"g; and A. ftuteJIed it 1Di'" fUlm 'M' it 6Aould IIOt 6e
NfIIOUed. (Isaiah xli. 1.) The c/aildren of tDi.dom, therefore, jOltify
their DIV1lf. PARJDfT in this application oC & variety of tool. to effect
her own blessed purposes, and especiall)· in her adaptiDg the two di»-
tinet dispensatioD8 of truth above adverted to, viz., the pipin~ aDd the
fIIOUrninK; the ODe figurative of the consolatory doctrine delivered
by the G.ZAT RZDB••U ; and the other, of the apparently more severe
and austere doctrine taught by His forerunner.
Q. What, then, is the general instruction which you learn from
this parable 1
A. I am tanght by this parable, that the ALIIIGHTY applies a variety
of instruments to effect His saving purposes, and that His HOLY WOILD
is acconlingly stored with a variety of heavenly truths, suited to dif-
ferent persons, and to the same person at different times. I learn
further, that this variety may be distinguished, in genera), into two
orders of truth; ODe of which is attended with the love and joy iD
which it originates, and which it is calclllated to inspire; whilst the
other appears harsh, austere, and, so far from promoting joy, is pro-
ductive rather of sorrow and severe suffering. I am instructed l·et
further, tha.t, in a corrupt state of the Church, both these ordent of
truth are unattended to and rendered ineffectual, but that by the cAil·
dren of wiadom they are BeeD to be alike profitable, because proceed-
ing from the same divine mercy, and productive of the same divine
effects. I am resolved, therefore, to attend carefully to thp~e two di.
tinct orders of truth, and to keep my ears ever open to their heavenly
BOund, whether it be that of piping or of mourning, that 80, in the one
case, I may be found dancing, and in the other lamenting. Thus will
each order of truth become my friend aDd benefactor, whilst by the
piping I receive consolation and support, and by the mourning am led
to a more vigorous repentance and sorrow for my sins: and thus,
finalJy, may I hope to rank amengst those pure and heavenly beiop
of.:wbom it is writt.en, Wi.dolll i6jUBtiJied of her children. AMBit•

.&BTICI.B IV.

REPLY TO LETTERS TO A TRINITARIAN.

No. IV.
EXAMINATION OP LBn'BBS P1PTB AltD .rXTB.
DBAR 81.,
Youa Letters fifth and sixth I am strongly tempted to pass wholly
over, 8S containing matter of assertion and argument having little or
DO connection with the great question; or, rather, the one great
question in issue between UB. But 88 you evidently view them in
a different light, courtesy, if nothing else, requires that I should pay
them some degree of fo~al attention. They both have the lame
title, and in that title is contained the polition you profess to. be aim-
ing to establish. This is nothing else thaD the propositioa dial
Iq'.J Reply 10 Le'... ID fI Trirailtlrilm.-No.lY. 121

JeAovaA U JeftJ8. Bot why,'I ask, since your letters are addressed
to me, and some reference must therefore be supposed to be had to my
opinions as a Trinitarian-why is it thought necessary to prove what
you most be aware I most cordially admit! In doing so, however, I
admit no more than when I repeat the common formula of our creed,
ftnd say that OAri,t is God. The whole of )'our argument in these
letters fifth and sixth, seems built on the implied supposition (im-
pJied, I say, for ~·ou no where openly express it) that this sacred name
is 80 uniformly significant of one person in the Godhead, or, to use
language you will like better, God in one person, that proving that
it ma.y be predicated of Christ, is actually proving any thing you may
need in the argument. But what rigbt have you to assume such a
ground in respect to this, rather than in respect to any other of the
Divine names 1 Why would not your reasoning apply just as well
to El, Eloah, Adonai, Shaddai, Elioun4 &c.! Jehovah, you may say,
is the highest of them all; but this, if it were 80, would prove noth-
ing in respect to this point. Nay, more-it might fairly be maintain-
ed, that if there itJ such a distinction of persons (a question which
must be settled on other grounds), this nalne, of all the rest, would
most logically embrace it, because there is no other appellation which
is 80 abstract, 80 general, and, on this account, we may say, so imper-
sonal in its significance. It d~notes, as you very well know, that
IDAic/. Aas being in itself-which is simply on the ground that it iI.
It seems to me, too, that there is no other divine name more directly
SIt war with your favorite distinction. Christ is that aspect of the
Divine person which you style the eziatere. This is the groundwork
of your whole argument. But certainly, if any reliance can be
placed on etymology, and Rn etymology, too, directly sanction~d by
God's own annooncement (Exod. iii. 14), Jehovab would denote the
very being, or e88e, of Deity. We may regard it as referring to the
common eS6ence, of which all the ppr8ona, or if you prefer it, RII the
tl6peCt8, partake; but, on )~our own ground, any application of it to
one alone, 88 peculiar to that one, and above all to the one you style
the ezutere in distinction from the e8se, would be logicall)F as well 88
etymologically untenable.
If then, to resume your ground, the proposition, CAri8t is Je1loooA,
necessarily excludes the idea of his being a personality. distinct from
the Father, much more would the proposition Christ is El, or Shaddai,
or Adonai, or Elioun (the Most High), have the same effect, because
these names are still more distinctly associated with that outward
manifestation of ,visdom or power to whicb you give the name or
uUte,-e. In other \\-ords, the name of Jehovah is the widest, the
most abstract, and, in itsel~ the most impersonal of them all, and
therefore more easily admits a distinction of person, or aspect, or at-
tribute, to be embraced in it. 'fhe same or Himilar reasoning is ap-
plicable to our word God. But if you take the ground that the pro-
position, Christ is God, does. of itselt~ exclude all personal distinctions,
tor \vhat purpose, Jet me ask, was your book of 118 pages ever
written 1 le the ver'J statement of the doctrine against which yo,
contend involves a manifest absurdity, why such an apparent arra
 122 Reply 10 Letter. 10 a Triaitllrian.-No. lY. [March,
of argument to prove it f"ls8' I say apparent-for whoever will
closely examine the course of your reasoning, will find it ever amount-
ing to this, and that in every pinch of the argument you invariably
come round to the same old stand-a tripersonal distinction in Deit)·
is absurd, and therefore it cannot be, and no amount of Scripture can
prove it. Now tbis, besides being very trying to the patience of your
readers, and of your respondent, is derogatory to ~'ourself. It is cer-
tainly not very rational to \\'rite a book in disproof of a self-evident
·absurdity. There have been, it is true, SORle men in the world who
have beld the dogma-such, for example, 8S Augustine and Athana-
'sius, and .~nselm and Bernard, and Aquinas and MelancthoD, Rod
Bacon and Ed\vards; but why reason with men who have 110 r~ason.
and "rho manifest it by holding to such an irrational proposition 1
What \\'ould you think of a volume to pro,·e that two and t\\"O can-
not make five 1
I ha"6 heard it maintained, and )·ou perhaps might take the ground,
that Jehovah ill the proper name of Deity, and therefore more dis-
tinctly personal, or rather uni-personal, than the others; just ft.S
Jobn, James, &c., are names of distinct uni-personalities amonJt men.
But there is not a particle of proof for this in tbe 8cri ptures; and be-
sides, it \\'ould involve an almost blasphemous absurdit)'. Proper
names are names of distinction from otber individuals of the same
genus, such 'llS ZAUS, Apollo, &c. Now since God is one (as we both
profess to believe), he cannot, as God in distinction from what is not
God, have a proper name. lf the conception is to be admitted at
all, it can only be on the ground of some such personal distinction in
the unity as will require distinct appellations and distinct persona)
pronouns. Jesus is a true proper name, distinguishing him who
holds it from all other men. Christ is the name of office. Son, or
the Son, denotes a real personal distinction, or it denotes an aspect, a
phantom, in which we can disco\-er no rational ground for this name
rather than any other. Why should it be given to your e.£ialere, even
admitting your distinction to be real? What relation of sonship is
denoted by it ?
But I cannot dwell on these positions. It is for you to show that
the title Jehovab necessarily excll1des all personal distinctions, and
this, too, more than any other of tbe Divine names. But )·OU have
not shown it, and cannot sho\v it. I might, ther~fore. treat the
whole argument of these lettArs (V. & VJ.) as not at all affecting
any position I might hold. Your array of Scripture to prove that
. Christ is called Jehovah I should not., of course, think of calling in
question. It consists of a list of passages in which the New 1'esta-
ment writers apply to him texts in the Old where the Divine name
Jehovah occurs. 1'he rea~oning I recognize as sound and legitimate to
prove the proposition that Christ is God. I might add to it other pas-
sages in proof of the same doctrine, but with this differencflt that the
name from the Old Test.ament \vould be some other of the Divine ap-
pellations. The argum~nt from the use of .oupCOS Lord, ) acknowledge
J

I\Iso as of weight, although in consequence of the indefinite USl\ge of

the Greek word in the N. Testament, I should not attach so much
1862.] Reply to Letter, to t.I Trinitaritm.-No. IV. 128

importance to it as to Borne otbers. I bave but .Iittle to object to what

you say or the Shekinah. Your view in respect to the term J.oyof,
Log08, having a Jewish rather than a Platouic origin, has also my con-
cnrrence, although I ,,"oold attach bot little importance to any argu-
ment, OD this head, derived from the Targums, or anything which
came into the Jewish philosophy or Jiterllture after the days of the
Platonising Philo.
With these remarks I might perhaps dh;miss these two letters aB
needing no farther review. I must., hO\VeVflr, dwell longer on some
things contained in tbem, not so much on th6 ground of their being
important in themselves, but because you deem them so, and many
of your readers might think that in neglecting them I had betrayed a
conscioDsness of a for-ee and bearing upon the argument they do Dot
possess.
You bring up her~, again, your favorite doctrine of the e,.e and the
eri8lere, and from the mftoner in which you present it, seem evidently
to regard it as one of irnmense '\\"eight in settling all matters in dis-
cussion between us. I would only d\vell upon it as another instance
to show bow constaDtly your reasoning runs out into mere verbal
propositions, in \vhich the predicate is only a repetition of the sub.
ject. ]t is true, that in many such cases neither your position nor
my refutation of it has a direct bearing upon the main question; but
it is of no small ser,"ice to my side of the argument to evince the
folly of preferring such empty scholasticisms, wbich S\vedenborg had
derived f.·om the yery dregs of the schoolmeo, to views grounded on
the limpid truthfulness and strong common s~nse, ,if \ve may employ
the term, to be found in the plain lettt'r of Scripture. Thus you say
(Letters to a Trinitftrian, p. 4'7), "So far 8S the manifestation is con-
cerned, this is b.lways predicated of the latter (the exi,tere) and not of
the former (the e8IP.)" Now as far 88 I can attach any meaning at
all to this, 1 can only understand :you as saying that that a'pect of
Deit)' you call the existere. is the manifestation in the Old Testament
th~ophany. But "'hat does it manifest 1 If you say it manifests it-
,elf, \vhich yoa must say if th~re is only one ,elf in the Godhead, then
the Re\·ealer and the ]{evealed are not only one person, but one as-
pect; for if they are two, then one aspect reveals the other aspect,
which is RD absurdity hoth in word and idea. If ,'on say the exis-
tere manifests the esse, then you have ftDother difficult}· for your boast·
ed reason. Between the manifestation, or the monife,ter, and the
manifeated, there is no other difference but in the manifesta.tion'; and
every other logica 1 dijferentia failing (such as selfhood. personalitl·,
&c.), this also fails-in other words, becomes perfectly ideoles8 for
any human intelligence. You have words remaining' Rnd nothing
else. All of difference that our minds could grasp has utterly,'anish-
ed. There is nothing belonging to the existere \vhich does not belong
to the ease, and nothing can be predicated of the ease which cannot
a)so be predicated of the ezistere. From such an absurd barrenness
of all idea, the mind finds relief in the literal Scripture so distinctly,
as "pe think, revealing a plurality of persons and relatidRs as exist-
ing in one eternal and indivisible unity. It may be treated as a
 &ply.to £e't"'6 to Cl Trinitariall.-No. IV. [March.
mystery, but the terms in which it is stated in the .~tbana8ian and
Nicene creeds steer clear of all logical contradiction and absurdity.
Again, you say that the medium was an angel, and, as far RS I can
understand, you maintain that before the birth from Mary there waa
no distinction of aspect, any more than of a personal sonship accord.
ing to the common notion. In other words, you deny any distinction
of sonship before the incarnation, whether of person or aspect. This
Dame, this relation, or this aspect, according to your view of it, d~tes
alone from the human birth of Christ in Bethlehem. I wiH not COII-
tend with you about names, although I regard the old doctrine of the
Eternal sonship, denied as it is by some Trinitarians, I\S one of im-
mense importance. The great question at present is-Did this di.
tinction in the Divine nature which you caU an aspect, and I term a
person (a selfhood), exist before the incarnation 1 I understand you
as maintaining the nrgative. But if so, then all you have said res-
pecting the Old Testament theophanies, and all you maintain in res-
pect to the ease and exi,te"e, a.nd of manifestation being predicable
only of the latter, appears to my reason the merest collection of UD-
meaning tautologies I have ever met with. " The conclusion reach-
ed," you say, p. 42, "cannot well be any other than that they \vere
really manifestations of the Supreme Jehovah in his undivided per-
80n, llnd made through the mediull1 of an angel, because tlley could not
po68ibly ~ mi!-de in any other way." The reason \vhich follows is not
only inconsistent with what you seem to say respecting the Logos,
but presents another specimen of the manner in which you try the
patience of those who look closely to discover the real point of )·our
argument disentangled from the mere terminology in \\?hich it is en-
veloped. "The manifestation," you say, " could not have been made
in any other way than through an angel," and this is the way you
proceed to prove it, p. 42-" The Di vine is infinite, and the infinite
cannot be conjoined with flnites, thus not with the angels in Heaven,
ezcept by the putting on of .,ome finite fir,t, and tIle,,, by accommoda-
tion to ,-eceplion." The italics are your own, and by 80 marking the
sentence, you evidently regard it as presenting n clearing up of some
very difficult and iroportant point. But what have we here but the
same old tautology of which 1 have given other specimens. It seems
at first vie\v somewhat profound; but dig out the concealed trea-
sure-in other \yords, reduce it to its essential terms, and \vhat does
it amount to but this 1 7'he infinite canoot be conjoined witl" finite6,
ezcept by first putting on finite.,. Unless, then, yOll are prepared to
make some irnmense and inconceivable difference bet\veen the degree
of nearness and relation expressed by a conjoining u,';th and 8 putting
on-unless there is some transcendental sense in the prepositions
which escapes the notice of the ordinary reader, as it did that of the
ordinary writers of the Bible, your deep scholasticism runs right down
to this-the i,ifinite cannot put on the finite, without putting on some
finite first, as a preparation for such putting on. But this requires
the putting on some other finite as a preparation for it, and some
other finite as a preparation for that, and so 011, with a regres.4I to in..
finity J It is like the play which Aristotle first commenced, and
1852.] &pIp ID Le"", to tI Trilli4arit.&-No. IV. 111
some others have followed up in alllleriousness, on the word to . _ .
A man ooly can be said to lenow, when he k1&01D6 that he IcnOlD8. But
if this be so, then it would follow that he must /mow that he kllD_
that he knoUJ8, and 80 on 'If ~ •.,.. Bllt really, in this W&)P, how
is the infinite ever to be revealed'
For myself I attach DO importance whatever to these or any simi-
lar logomachics. The Scripture says, in its majesty and its simpli-
city_a' The Word wtU God-TAe Word was with God-The Word
became .fle6h and dwell alllo~ U8; and toe beheld /.1.8 glory, the glory
of the only Begotten ~f the Father·." I believe in the personality or
selfhood of eacb. The Father and the Son; for with such and simi.
I~r Ia.nguage before me, I find no faculties of my soul that will enable
me to think out of, or (l,fDlly from, the ideas of such personal relations.
Neither do I believe thn.t you have, or that Swedenborg ever had,
any such faculties. This whole language of infinite and finite, of
e.t$e and exutere, &c., is not only foreign to the st)'le of the Bible,
but involves us in a vortex, or rather a Maelstrom, of words, ever
whirling us round and rounq in a circle, without our making any
real advance towards the proving of any truth or the disproving of·
any error. But still, as you have presented the questions, the reader
has some right to expect a solution of them OD your own principles,
and in your own language. I am content with whatever the Scrip-
tures may reveal to me or the way or ways, as matters of fact, in
which God makes himself known, whether wholly or partially,
whether in nature, or by a supernatural exhibition, or b)' an audible
speaking voice, or by an angel, or hy a prophet, or by a Divine per-
sonality partaking in his essence of that very divinity which he re-
veals. On all these points I know nothing but what the written re-
velation teaches me, and the language which it employs for this
purpose I must suppose to be just that which is best adapted to the
human faculties, not only for one period, but for all periods during
which the sool is surrounded by the same human relations, and
compelled to think tbrough the same conceptions.
'fherA is, however, one passage which, it seems to me, you have
strangely overlooked. After sfAlecting three Old Testamt\Dt texts,
which hl\rdly any theologian would rely upon as proof pa8Bage. in
favor of the ante-incarnate sooship, or ante-incarnate personal dis-
tinction in the Deity, you sum up by saying "you know of no others
that can be relied upon." Now, to say nothing of the omission of
Micah. v. 2, in which He who was born in Bethlehem is described 8.
one ,. wh08e going, forti, were of old from the d(lgB of eterl&ity," yoo
have altogether pllssed by, as though it had no bearing on the ques-
tion, the remarkable passage. John i. 14," No mall hat/" 8eeft God ul
any time; the only beg!!tlen Son, who i6 ill the 60'0111 of the Falker, H.
Aath declared him." You certainly must be aware that it is ,this pas-
sage on which, as on its corner-stone, rests mainly, if not wholly, the
entire doctrine of the Old Testament Christology. In themselves con-
sidered, and without any light frorn the later Scripture, there would
be no iosurmollntable exegetical difficulty in referring those Old The-
opbanies to ..be immediate appearance of God, or the mediate mani-
festation of an angel; but here is something which certainly seems
118 Reply to Letter. to (J Trinitaritm.-No. IY. [March,
to pot another aspect on tb~ whole matter. The declaration appears,
at first, to be in opposition to some of the most explicit announce-
ments of the Old Scriptures. No man hath seen God at any time.
How then, the Jew might ask, are we to take those passages which
seem to assert such theophany 1 The answer is evidently framed in
reference to such a supposed objection. "It is tbe Son ,vho bath
made the revelation;" and to remove all doubt respecting the term
Son, the epithet I&(WOYI"~', only begotten, is added, and to establish
beyond all cavil the permanence of the relation, or it.R super-muD-
dan~, and ante-mundane, in distinction from its merely earthly, exist-
ence (as you ,,'ould maintain ill your doctrine of a sonship. derivtd
only from the conception of Mar)'), there are annexed the descriptive
words, c\ ~ '" 'to. ~o).lCfW '1'0;; f(G'I'pOS,- The Son who i8 in the bosorll of the
Father, He hath declared·-whom t The pronoun him, in this verse,
you kno"r, has nothing corresponding to it in the Greek; but if the
context did not indubit8.bJ)~ refer the action of the 'gerb to the last an-
tecedent, the Father, all doubt ,,"ould be remo,~ed by the kindred and
perfectly parallel passage, John vi. 46, "Not that anyone hlll1& ,em
. the Father, except He who i8 from God-He IUlt/1 seen the Father." It
was b}- the first of these texts that the Old Church commentators felt
themselves forced to refer the Old Testament theophanies to Christ,
Rod as he had not then become incarnate, or been born of MarYt th~y
were also compelled to ackno\\'ledge an ante-incarnate existence in
Christ, and an ante-incarnate relation to the Father, which could be
described by no other term than that of sOllship.
Now, if you choose to call this an aspect, instead of a hypostasis,
or a personality, you must make "'hat meaning out of it )~OU can. As
you S8)- of the mystery you affect to regard 8S so irrational, 80 I
,vould say of your absurdity, not to call it mystery, U my mind utterly
fails to grftsp tbe idea.," not on account of its transcendency, hut be..
cause there is actually no idea there. I can well conceive bo\v, by
the use of such terms, one might cheat himself into the notion that
he had "grasped" something, when a clo£e analysis ,vould sho\v that
he has fltrasped nothing but words, and that the \vhole effect of this
uDscriptural dialect of the" ease and the existere," and of" finites and
infinites," and of" the descent of first principles into ultimates," is to
fill the mind with a gaseous gnosticism, which,so far from being
harmless in itsel~ utterly unfits the soul for the reception of the sim-
plicity of I'the truth as it is in Jesus."
But to return to our text, " The only begotten Sun who is in the bo$om
of the Father, He kath declared him." An imposing sho\v of mystic
language, and an arid barrenness of thought appear to me to be the
leading characteristics of the Swedenhorgian ,vritings. Of coarse
you think very differently; but you "'ill allow mf! to describe them
8S they appear to my ,-eason. I would prefer the literal sense of the
Bible, even of the Old 1'estament, ,vbich seems to you like a root out
of dry ground, having no form or comeliness, to all the spirit that by
any process can be extracted from the Arcana Cmlestia. I have en-
deavored to get fairly at the sense of these writings, and of the un-
varying changes they are eyt'r ringing on a few terms, such as good
 ]85t~] Reply to LdlaT8 to a Trinitarian......No. IV. 12'7

and ,ratA, and love and wi.dom, and light and .phere8, d~gre~. and
tdtillUlte., and sometimes the searoh may seem to be rewarded by an
attractive elevation and consistency of idea, but, in general, the closer
they are examined, the more rapid the evaporation of the thin mean-
ing they may appear to possess, until often the application of the logi-
cal glass leaves us R;azing at utter vacancy.
Just a reverse effect is exp~riellced from an examination of the
st~·le Bnd language of the Scriptures; I mean the literal Scriptures.
Thoughts which in their h~ight and depth exceed the mensuration
of the loftiest intellects, are clothed in a simplicity of language of
which a child might be tht' safe expositor. Take as s specimen,
" Christ died for us, the just for the unjust." The wea.kest, unsophis-
ticated intellect cannot wander out or its interpretation-the pro-
foondest human or angelic mind cannot take in the full measure of
its mea.ning. The representatives of these ideas in hutllan speech
have their roots in the nearest and best kno\vn human relations, not
as a system of arbitrary correspondences, but because these relat.ions,
though infinitely lower in" rank and magnitude, contain, nevertheless,
an idea essentially the same with that \vhich exists in its widest and
loftiest application to the highest of beings. Sonsbip is the going
forth of one personal being from another, in all which constitutes its
existence, "'bather of spirit from spirit, body from body, growth from
growth, or life from life. As far as the essential idea is concerned, it
is as easy to think of one spiritual being thus going fOI·th from or
out cif another, as to think the same in respect to a being partly spir-
itoal, and partly materia). It is as easy to think of an a.n~el having
a HOD, as to form the same conception of a maD. Tha mode is otterly
incomprehensible, even in respect to ourselves. Even human gene-
ration baffles all our physiology, and that in its lowest aspect of ma-
terial origination, " We know "ot how ti,e bones do g"-ow if& the u'omb of
Mr tlwt i& with child." How then shall we ., knoUJ the woy of the
'pirit r' Above all, how shall we dare to decide what is possible, or
not possibl~, in respect to a divine generation 1 But if the mode is
so unknown, e,-en of ourselves, the fact, on the other hand, is perfectly
comprehensible, even of the highest personal existence of which we
can form any conception. One personal being derived froln another
personal beiog,-tbus distinct in personality, and yet holding to eRch
otber a relation which they bear to no others. Neither call we I\t all
tell how much unity, or rather how strict a unity may be consistent
with personal distinctions. There is a unity, among material
4Jubstances of the same nature-a higher unity in organic substances
of the same class-a higher unity in inanimate vegetable existences
of the same species-a higher unity in animal individualities of the
same kind, and a higher unity still in rational humanit)'. There is an
organic unity-a generic unity-a specific uriity. No\\?, there may
bet and \ve believe there is, another unity rising above all these-sucb
8.i ~xists in the Divine Hypostasis-a unity tra.nscending the generic
unity of humanity as much, or rather, far more, than it tt·anscends all
belo,,", and yet r~mbling the inferior kind in this respeot, that it is
consistent with the idea of distinct personalities, or selfboods, em-
braced in this highest of all uniting essences.
lIS lhply ID Letter. to tJ TriaiIaNII.-No. IV. [March,
Such a unity, with soch a di,tiftctioll. we can believe iD, if revealed.
For, while nothing in soience, or philosophy. or reason, can contradict
it, all lower analogies converge to demonstrate its possibility. la
this way the mind unperverted finds DO difficulty in conceiving or
God's having a Son, Bn DIOR Son (allOf), (John v. 18), an only begotteD
Son, which Son of God. of course, is God, just as the Ion of man is
man,-spirit of spirit, life of life, light of light, very God of very God.
Some might say the terms are only used by way of accommodation-
the divine relation is ineffable, and the human is the nearest symboli-
cal representative. although in itself denoting sometbing every way
diffflrent, in essence as well as mode. But there is no necessity for
this, and there would be no re!4orting to it, were it not for the mis-
taken apprehension that bodily, or material generation is ttssential to
the very idea of sonship. If this, however., be only an accident at-
tending the hurnan relation, then no reason, or science. or philosophy,
can deny that God, the Highest Spirit, may have a Son in the only
true and literal sense of the term-a Son going forth from His very
essence, as the Only Begotten, maintaining to Him a relation of SOD-
ship which no other being in the universe does or can maintain.
I am aware how many apparent difficulties might be stated from
carrying other huma.n accidents into the essential notion of 8onship-
such 88 birth in time, and hence, juniority, inferiority, subordination,
dependence. I think, too, that I could show that logically this essen-
tial idea of sonship is above, and distinct from, therD all. Even in
the human relation there is no impossibility in the way of conceiving
of the going forth of 1\ son from the father, and that, too, from the
very beginning of the latter's own existence, in8t~ad of being deferred by
a law of nature to a subsequent period, in which supposed case the pre-
judice of juniority, and the other kindred notion~, would not necessa-
rily accompany the idea. Or, stripping it of all accidents whatever,
we may tftke the most general conception of finite soDship, or of one
finite personality proceeding from another, as spirit from spirit, and
carrying with it in its new commencing individuality the same idea,
or Jaw of being. Now in this there certainly ,,'ould be a moment in
which the personality of the SOil is for the first time severed from that
of the parent, in order to bt'gin its distinct existence: and thi~, too.
in thf' closest connection with a moment in which there is to each a
higher and closer union than the subsequent generic unity. In ac-
cordance \vith such a supposition, it is not at a]l impossible for the
mind to carry the one conception indefinitely ba~k, and the other iD-
definitely forward, so as in idea to preserve both during the \vhole
period of united, yet distinct existence. Now, ontologically, as well
&.fJ psychologically, this is conoeivable; and since the period of the
Divine existence is eternity, we have the id~a of an eternal genera..
tion, and of an eternal sonsbip. Neither are we compelled to bring
in the notion of inferiority, or of dependence. 1'hese spring out of the
imperfect human relation. But if it is the very nature of Deity (and
what science or philosophy has ever ascended high enough to dis-
prove it, if revealed 1)-if it is the very nature of Deity, thus to exilt
eternally as Father and Son, then the Father, although the fountain
1852.] Repl, iD Leaer. 10 (J Trimlaritna.-No. IV. 121
of Deity, and, therefore, iD the highest senSfl, 1Ik00.of, God in Hi"..
6elf, can no more be without tbft Son, than the Son without the Fa-
ther. The dependence and the inferiority, if there be any room at
all for sach ideas, is as much on one side as on the other. Subordina-
tion is a conception very differ~nt from either. It indicatE'S not any
order of rank, or of age, bot of relation simply, as of one being pro-
ceeding from another; but still, it may be, an eternal relatio~, an
eternal order, and therefore wholly exclusive of all notion of juni-
ority, or inferiority, or generic difference.
Bot, in the consideration of this text, for the purpose I now have in
vie\\?, and in respect to its bearing on your Sabellian bypotbE'sis, I am
not concerned about avoiding any of the objections of the Arians.
They are not the class of persons with whom I am no\l' contending;
and, I say agaio, as I hav6 said before, that if compelled to choose
between their positions, and the Swedenborgi&n phantom of a Trin-
ity. I should, without hesitation, take the former. Let them prels,
then, or do you press for them, the objection that a true sODsbip in-
volves a birth in time, and is, consequently, at war with the notion of
a co-equal and co-eternal Trinity; still, I am content \\pith the simplp
idea of a Divine Sonship, whate,'"er it invol ves. J Uf't as plainly as Adam
had a son, so do the Scriptures teach me that God has a SOil, an own
Son, aD only begotten Son, a weIJ-beI0'ged Son, who was in the bosom
of the Father before the incarnation, "whom He spared not, but gave
him up freely" for the work of our salvation. They teach me that
this SOD is in relations of intimacy with the Father which are main-
tained by no other being whatever, that He it is who reveals the
Father to the world, and that all this is predicable of an ante-incar-
Date. 88 well as a post.incarnate period.
ThB only begotten 80n who i. in the 0010111 of tle Father. Whatever
diflicalties it may involve as to the mode, 1 could desire no plainer
language as to the fact of the relation. I could not trust my philo-
sopbic reaaon for a moment here, but my philological reason which
liod has condescended to address, and which he calls me to exercise,
recognizes a neceMJity of thinking and conceiving, growing directly
out of the terms employed, and evidently employed by the merciful
Revealer as indicative of relations I clearly and familiarly under-
stand. They derive all their force from a supposed knowledge and
feeling of such relatioD&. My &loved Son ill who. 1 am ever well
pl«ued. How utterly cold and barren are your u.e and ezU'ere,
yoar descent of principles into ultimates, &c.. when employed in ex-
plaining, or rather in totall}? obscuring, such glowing and breatbiDR
language as this of the literal Scripture t Had your gnostic dialeot
beeD a better mode of conveying the ineffable truths it would doubt-
less have been adopted by the voice that spoke from heaven, and the
church would have been saved from the error into which for so many
centuri88 she has fallen, of regarding these words as declarative oC a
rrAI 8Onship, and a real di1ference or personalities, such as is insepar-
able, accordiog to all the present laws of the human mind, from the
idea of ODe speaking, and another spoken to, or epoken of: I 8&y
agaia, I have nothing to do with any Arian objections. The precious
 180 Reply to Letler. to a Trm,-larilm.-No. IV. [Marcb.

tmth of the sonship with all its moving associations 88 conneeted

with our sa]\-ation, this is the doctrine I would maintain '\\·bRte'~er
_ else it involves_ It is enough for my present argument that this f.ext,
and others which I hope to pr~sent, do teRch distinctly the differenc~
of persoDl\lity in the only mode in \vbich langua.ge can eonvey it. If
the Son and the Father here are one person,-jf the Revealer is
also the Revealed, then mal{e the sub~titutions and read it boldly
through, but never more have anything to say of dogmas too hard for
reason. The Son who is in the bosom of tbe Son he bath re,"ealed
the SOD, or the Father who is in tbe bosom of the Father he hath re-
vealed thA Fatber. In this YerSiOD, if I may repeat )·our own lan-
guage, U the mind utterly fails to grasp any ideR.." The more familiar
the terms employed, tbe greater the ftbsurdity,-the Dt'arer lh~y come
to our best kno\vn relations, the farther are they from presenting ftDy
definite conceptions,-the more the author of re\'elation has conde-
scended to my knowledge, the greater the darkness in which I am in-
volved.
It was my intention to press farther what may be called the difficul-
tie. of the SloedenborgillR theology, or the irrationalities of tbat rellson
you would put in the place of Scriptural exegesis,-but t.he present
letter has already heen continued to too great ft. length. I most,
therefore, close with a notice of one position in letter fifth, \vhich, al-
though of no great value in our argument, deserves some attention
on account of the importa.nce yon appear to attach to it. I would
dwell upon it here, because it cannot so well be brol1ght in in any
other place. In the course of what you say on the esse and tbe
tzi,tere, or the Divine Love and Wisdom, you take the ground that
God must be ever manifesting himself and going forth in creR.tion-
that is, he must be ever creating. Thus ~'ou say, page 52, '·Itdoubt-
less seems to our lintited view RS if the work of cre,\tion were finish-
ed, whereas it is going on at this moment as it was millions of ages
ago. For the Divine Love and Wisdom can never intermit thf!se ac-
tivities. I might fairly ask you how you came by this " unlim.ited
view," which you admit Sf.'ems to surpass the ordinary reason; hut
let us rather proceed to examine it. If you are contending against
those who maintain that God has so ceased from creating that he
will never create any more, you are certainly fighting a shadow. I
never heard of anyone who maintained such a view. If you meaD
to impugn the common belief of the Church, that God intermits crea-
tion at certain periods, in which, instead of it, he carries on a work
of preservation and providence, and moral government-and if yon
do so on the ground of an inherent necessity in the Deity to be ltlway,
creating, or always" developing," to use one of your fl\vorite terlllS,
the answer which shows the absurdity of your position is ,·ery short.
Whatever belongs inherently to the Divine nature must be as true of
it in respect to space as in respect to time. It~ therefore, there is' any
thing which his immutability requires him to do always, it must re-
quire him to do every where, because the Divine Wisdom nnd Son are
infinite, and only a nnite portion Ca.D be occupied in any finite act or
acts. Observe, \ve are speaking not of being or essential attributes,
1852.] n, Soul of ltlaft. 181

bat of duing. Whatever it is God·s natore to do, and which He can·

not intermit, he must be doing always, and if so, for the same reason,
must he be doing it every u,here to the fullest extent of the infinite
measure of His efficiency. For any intermission, either in intensity or .
extensity, in space as ,veIl 8S in time, \vould be so far a lion-user of
His infinite energies, and liable to all the objections you urge
against the" limited view" aforesaid. It ,,"ould inevitably follow,
therefore, that He must be not onl}p always creating, but every where
creating, and not only this, but always and every where creating
everything He possibly could create. 1'here is no f'scaping such a
conclusion if \ve adopt as a premise J'our view. that any intermitting
of the Di vine energies, or, in other words, Bny change of action,
would be an impeachment of the Divine immutabiIit)'. And yet
your r~asoning ,vould seem fair enough as far as its m~re logical
terminology is concerned. If then, the absurdity of the conclusioll
stares you in the face as being opposed to the best known facts, as
,veil as to the rnost express declarations of the literal Scripture, you
may t81<e it as another specimen of the dangar of attempting to be
wise above what is revealed to us on certain subjects. It may fur-
nish a lesson on the unprofitableness of playing with certain words
which are merely negative creations of the mind, expressive only of
the mind's own imperfections or inadequacies, and having DO repre-
sentation in any fanliliar human ideas.
T. L.

ARTICLE v.

THE SOUL OF MAN.

TUE soul of man is a form recipient of life, lil(e as the eye is a form
recipient of light. It has not life in itsel~ any more than tbe
eye has light in itself: It is a hE-Rutiful study to draw out tho
analogies between the outer material form of the eye, and the inmost
cel~8tial form of the soul. The material sun is the fountain of light
to the eye, and behold how wonderful and beautifully delicate is the
mechanism of that organ, and how marvellously it is adaptpd to re-
ceive light from the bright orb of day-how the all of the sun is re-
ceived into it, and yet no more than is for use. The image of tbe sun
is reflected on the retina, and its likeness beams forth in the sunny
look of the light of intelligence. And then the seven priSD18tic ra)9s.
combining all the varied principles of light within one, are so accu~
rately received and shed forth upon the surrounding objects, that
what is subjective in the eye, becomes its objective. Light received
IDitJlin the eye, creates for the individual man his outeJ· world.
Then again, how wonderful is the conjunction of the e)-e \vith the
IUD. Tbere glows in the depths of the VI\St empyrean a fiery orb of
light and glory, spreadiDg its countless rays into infinity, lighting ditt-
taDt worlds, and yet essential to the optical economy of eacb mite
181 ne Soul of Man. [March,
that crawls upon these conntlesg worlds-visible to all according to
their states of reoeption-Iending beauty, and joy, and blessedness to
each insignifioant recipient, and holding each ODe in actual commu-
nication with his own vast Rod fiery centre, by a distinct visual ray,
conjoining each separate eye to himself. This is wonderful !-it is
one of thosf' grand and simple facts \vorthy to be dwelt upon as a
plane of thought into which a great spiritual troth may flow, for as
is the sun to t.be eye, so is God to the soul. He is the centre and
fountain of life, which life flows into a (orm, an exquisite mechanism,
fashioned after His own Divine image, und receptive of Him 8S a
whole, and in His parts, conjoined to HilD by a living distinct ray of
being, while He, at the same time, dwells far above the highest con-
ception of mao, in 'His own Infinite effulgence, as the alone self-sub-
sisting life. No human 8)'e has or ever can fathom the material son;
it can but reflect its image, and appropriate its own atom of light at
a distance 80 immeasurably great, that the inner depths of that vast
luminous and burning orb can never be scanned. And }"et its natore
may be predicated from its out..ftowing glory of light and heat. Man
may study the laws of its operation, and its effects, and he looks not
from the earth to the suu, but from the sun to the earth in this study_
Thus it is with the soul of man. It looks not from its innate black-
ness of darkness to the Divine Life, but from that fountain of life it
looks into its own being, and thence receives illustration.
Let us then look up and seek to know the nature of the Di viDe
Life. The Divine Word tells us that God is Love. What can ,,~e know
of Love, bat its operation in us 1 We cannot penetrate to its in-
most fountain; we can only feel and perceive that which Bows into
us, and when we acknowledge that what we have flows from the
Lord, it becomes to us a holy thing, as a part of His own Divine Na-
ture; and each impulse of gentleness, mercy, compassion, anti for-
giveness is to us an inner revelation of the Divine, as actual and spe-
cifio as is each ray of light to the eye a revelation of the Bun to our
external perceptions. But if the e)-e closes itself against the rays of
light, into what darkness is the man immersed I How small his world
becomes I Centered in his own individual existence, he sees not from
the sun surroonding exis·tences, and high and beautiful worlds. Thus
it is with the soul of mao, if it is closed against the Lord. It is cut
off froOl His expansive, di1fusive life. It is immersed in the dark and
narrow limits of sel£ or love it has nothing t.o give forth, because it
receives nothing. Like the ray)ess eye of the blind, the self-depend-
ent soul is unmo\~ed, and a perfect blank to all, but that which comes
into contact with its individual being. To the physically blind, the
jewel-crowned heavens, and the earth's soft and varied beauty, are
an inconceivable vision; by the mentally blind, the sparkling intelli-
gence, the beautiful and ever-changing emotions of others, are un-
seen. How sach a 80ul must grope in ignorance; bow it falls foul
of useful things, and breaks itself against the goods and truths of ita
Inner existence. If man will turn himself from the Lord, he can no
more have intelligence and love, than can the seJtclosed eye have
light, simply because the BOul is nothing hut a form. And immerwd
1852.] The Soul of Man. laB
in sel~ it may not see even reflected light; the self-intelligent ca.nnot
see wisdom but in himself; he is 8S effectually cut off from all hu-
man wisdom, as from all Divine wisdom, because there is in fact 110
human \visdom apart from the Divine. The eye may sa, of ita sun
as does the lOul of the Divine SOD, "Whom have I in the heavens bat
Thee, and there is none upon earth that J desire beside Thee." For
while the sun is the light and glory of the heavens, even an igni,
fatuw may not flit above the bogs and fens of earth, that has not de-
rived its component principles (perverted though they be) from the
enduring fountain of light and heat, and this universality of the sun's
power, in the dark places of the earth, is but a faint type of the deri-
vation of those self-lighted torches of truth that flicker fitfully over
the night of the human mind, revealing the dense darkness, the wofuJ,
weary places of those blind, haunted souls that are not lighted froul
above, but from beneath.
The children of light follow not these earth-born f1ame~, but they
look. ap into 'he infinitfl, all-glorioDs expanse of light, and from that
out ioto the universal creation, and, from a fixed centre, behold a vast.
circumference, like as the philosophic eye looks to the sun as the cen-
tre of a planetary system, does the loving spul look to God as the cen..
tre of all creation, and from this radiant centre flows forth upon
streams ofthe light of truth, to distances that would bewilder the self-
intelligent, far more than would the Copernican s)~stem have bewilder-
ed those small philosophers ,vho regarded the earth as the centre,
round which revolving worlds moved. The soul that is conjoined to
the Lord, cannot but receive of His infinity. It mounts to Him, and
flows forth into a boundless love to all creation. It rejoices that one
Heaven is to receive all created beings; that thus its love may reach
all, because all are in one, and the soul that looks up and drinks in
this infinity of-love, must pour it forth, even as the e)"e does the gleam-
ing brightness which glances upon it from its great fountain of light.
How beautiful is the eye in that light, and how it clothes surrounding
objects in the glory and beauty of the fair sun light; even thus to the
loving soul of man is beauty granted from the DiTine sun, and even
thus are all whom it loves, beautiful in the beauty of the Lord•
•

EXTRACT.
' l The Lord 88 to His Divine Hmuauity is aalled the faithful witD888, because
dirine tnltb proceeding from Him in Heaven witnesses ooncerning him. This testi-
18001 is universally present in divine truth there; which mal apj)ear from this ci1'-
comstance, that the anseIs of the interior Heaven cannot think otherwise of the
Divine Bein~ than as eDstin~ under a human form, and thus of Ute Divine Human-
ity; which proceeds from th18 cause, that the DiviDe Humanity of the Lord fills the
oaivelal heaTeD aDd farms it, "Dd the thoughts of the angels ~eed and How ac-
eotding Cd the fODD of Heaven. Hence it is, that the testimony of Jesus Christ Big-
DifieB.tbe acknowledgment of the Lord'8 Divine principle in His human."-~. E. 27.
• OL. Y. 10
 184 ne U.e oft1l, Lot in relation to [March,

ARTICLE VI.

THE USE OF THE LOT, IN RELATION TO THE NEW CHURCH MINISTRY.

No. I.
IIR. EDITOR,
I suppose I ought to take blame to myself for negligence in that I
did Dot read the communication entire of your correspondent, "Delta,"
until long after it appeared. On its first coming to hand, a glance
at the opening paragraphs left the impression that this was but one
of " the novelties that disturb our peace," and for which of late there
has been quite ft, rage. Passing on towards the close (in which I
Inight naturally feel a more personal interest) I saw no force in cer-
tain objections as there presented, and therefore laid aside the article
for deliberate perusal at a more convenient season. That season did
Dot arrive until more than one person inquired whether J had nothing
to offer in reply to this startling theory, which had engendered doubts
in quarters where such an effeot was little anticipated. In answer
to these appeals, and regarding this as a subject whose importance in
the present state of the Church can scarcely be o,,-er-estimated, I must
again solicit the attention of your readers.
Many of them, ] hope, are now prepared to unite with" Delta" in
thinking that "whether or not there ought to be a distinction of
clergy and laity 1 is a question by itself: the discussion of which may
for the present be suspended." The affirmative testimony of Swe-
denborg in this behalf; as heretofore collected and presented to yoor
readers, is such, both in kind and quantity, so explicit and clear, that
it would argue little respect for their understandings to offer any thing
additional, until some farther effort shall have been made to explain
it away.
According to this writer, however, "a preliminary inqu.iry of more
importance" remains to be settled. "I)id the selection by lot, of Ho-
bert Hindmarsh, in the year 1787, 80 transfer him from the ranks of
the laity into the order of the priesthood, as to confer upon those
whose ordination springs from him, that official distinction, \vhich, it
is contended, upon the authority of Swedenborg, properly character-
izes the priestly class t" This he denies, and in the present paper
ofters his reasons for his negative position. And this is virtually to
declare, as we hope to show in the sequel, that there should have
been no separation from the Old Church, either antil some one of its
di\·isions should in a body come over to the New, or until some of its
ordaining clergy should have done 80, and transmitted their authority
to others who might then legitimately and officially propagate its
faith, and administer its ordinances.
Whatever doubts those members of the Church of England, who,
at that day favored the Dew doctrines, might have had on this point.
or whatever difficulty the adherenu of established churches there or
on the continent of Europe, who have imbibed similar sentiments,
may now have in discerning the particular line of their duty iD rela..

rn
 1852.] tAe New CAurcA Mini,try.-No. 1. J lli

tion hereto, we hardly supposed that in a land of religious liberty,

whose go,·ernments favor no particular creed, this would now be re-
garded by Newchurchmen as an open question. Even then, those in-
England ,,·ho retained their connesion with the state religion, ac-
kno,,·)edge that if that tie were severed there was no motive for
entering the pale of any existing body of dissenters, while for dissent-
ers themselves on principle, there remained no other alternative than
to form a new Society, as a rallying point for the converts to tbe new
doctrine. Had this pretended to be nothing more than a "Reforma-
tion" of a church not hopelessly corrupt, as in the cases of Luther,
Calvio, and Cranmer, they might naturally enough have thought it
better to continue the followers of the better disposed clergy of the
Church then virdbly extant. But believing, a8 they did, and upon
good authority, that the first Christian Churoh, in all its sects and
parties, had virtually and spiritually come to an end, and the bigotry
and intolerance, which has ever attended such bodies in their expiring
throes, having had full time to exhibit themselves, thoughtful men
must then have seen, that to this complexion it must come at last, and
that separation at some time was inevitable-that the favorers of
the new system in America, where every such pretext and refuge is
done away, should hesitate on this point, must create some surprise.
Still, those who pretend to a rational faith should ever hold them-
selves in readiness to give a reason for the same, and as the subject
has be~n re-opened-albeit, 10 late in the day-we may not flinch from
inquiry.
" Prima facie," says Delta, " the use oC the lot in this selection, UD-
accompanied as it was by any ordination or inauguration into the
ministry, did not effect such a tra.nsfer." Just here we take issue
with him, and maintain that ir the N. C. were ever to appear in a
separate form with a ministry of its own, this was the only probable'
and legitimate method in which such a ministry could have beeD'
originated for ber-that if we consider the end in view, the occa-
sion, and the actors in the scene, they were "shut up" to the coarse
which they actually punued.
Bot to his reasons: Swedenborg, who recognizes the distinction
between clergy and laity, says that the former receive illustratiun
and other gifts proper to thft discharge of their office, by inaugura-
tion, which is effected by the covenant of the Hol)- Spirit, and the re-
presentation of its translation, or "imposition of hands."-T. C. Re
146; CGnoru iv. 7. " Now, the very moment," says Delta, "at which
the clerical order dispenses with either of these conditions, tbere is
left only one side oftbe question,"-" a positive law is inflexible. H.
man governments may in great emergencies swerve from the strict
I~tter, and be forgiven, because of their imperfect knowledge. :But
the Divine Law is perfect, comprehends eternity, and can ne,~er be
changed, except as to the letter."-" And whereas, Mr. H. lacled tAu
badge of his office and ministry, he and his clerical 8occessors did Dot
become official members of the order of the priesthood.."
It is difficult to treat such an argument with the gravity becomiag
the discuslion of a sacred theme; but though its sopbistry must be
138 [March,
transparent to maoy of your readers, othen may Deed to have itl fal-
lacy ex~osed. " The· clerieal order cannot dispense with the imposi-
tion ofclerical hands in receiving ordination." Very well. Bat most
there not be clerical hands before this Jaw can be ebeyed t And in
thil case where were these to come from, unless directly from the
fountain of all priestly authority T And is "Delta" 80 verdant as to
believe that a bishop of any church then in being would lend himself
88' such towards the institution of a miDislry. for ODe whose avowed
object and hope was to supersede them all? And does our great
Task-master require us to make bricks without straw 1--or to erect a
house without first giving us tools. to work with? It is ••w a lawof
physics that the planets revolve in fixed orbits at. a distance from the
8UD. But they originated from that son, and time was when they
adhered to his surface before they were lent off into space to per-
form their annual rounds. A moving body must have reeeived aB
impulse before it can observe the laws of motion. Vegetables are
now propagated from seed or grafts, animalR are produced by their
like, and the human race is now co·ntinued through parents as medi-
ums, aDd all this proceeds according to laws of Divine ordinance.
But the first pluts and trees, the tint animals aDd birds, the first
mall, we take it, proceeded directly from the bands of the Creator,
without predecesso~s in their respective kinds,-if it. be any thing
more than an Irish hull to say 80. Even DO\V when taere is " failure
of pl&Dt8 and animals in certain pisces, owing to any particular ca-
lamity or judgment, \\'0 have reason to believe that there is & new
creation of the same or different species, according as Divine Provi-
dence shall see fit. Once more: it is a law of the same Providence
that the adult shall ordinarily derive the means of his sustenance
from the earth. Bat it was a law of nature that the same adult
when an infant should draw his nourishment directJy from his
mother.
In accordance with these analogies. we insist as strenuously 88
., Delta," that clergymen should DOW be ordained by the imposition of
the hands ofother clergy; but we want not the authorit)· of Sweden-
borg, or any thing morE' than common sense to show us, tbat before
obedience to this law is possihle', a clergy must be origina.ted. Should
.. Delta" i.sist that there was no such necessity. that such a priesthood
was then extant, and that it was the duty of those who in spirit w~re
of the N. e., to wait until some olergyman of the proper grade in the
Old, should come forward and proffe~ bis services to this end. Wt' re-
plYt that tbis is begging the question: that this matter ,vas fully con-
sidered by those who took the important step, to which they felt them-
selves urged by the Word of their Divine Master, as expounded by
His heaven-taught scribe, and that they declared their reaSOQS for
their procedure-some of which we will re-produce ere we close, tbat
tile existing generation of our brethren may judge of their force.
But the writer, as if not fully assured of the sufficiency of his first
objection, proceeds to assail the manner of instituting this nlinistry,
the which he would have U8 to believe \vas vitiated in its origin by a
resort to the lot. "The Divine Law." says hil, ., can Bever be ebaac-
18&2.] tie NfRD a'-reJa MiaUtrg.-No. 1. 137

ed, except as to its tetter, and that only by distinct revelation from
the Supreme Lawgiver. Needful revelation has always heen made
in the follnels of time. The admission of the Divine Perfection pre-
supposes that such revela.tion always will be made. Hence, in the
absenee of a new revela.tion, man is bound by what has already been
revealed." And adds: "The Sortilegists of 1787 took it upon them-
selves to sapply the defects of Revelation, by follo\ving the preeedeDt
e.'ablished by u"e llD.an soldier. at tM foot of the· Oro", and sano-
tioned by the Apostles in the choice of MatthiL'-" The" ungracious
flint(' in tile first part of this sentenee is but one of many whieb gi""
this essay the appearance of having been guided throughout its entire
course by a desire" to make oat a ease." The Roman soldiers were
Dot the first who were recorded in Scriptare as having resorted to the
lot either for an unholy or legitimate pnrpose, and ~'Delta" himself
has referred to earlier instances. Nor w~re these soldiers ChristiaD8
then, whatever they may have beeome afterwards. They thererore,
did Dot establish the ·precedent which was followed either by the
Apostles 01' .' the Sortilegist8 of 1787.99
Neither did the latter undertake to supply the defeets of revelation.
It is not aeeeslary to resort to supposition here. The narrative of their
doings Oft this memorable occasion is on record. From it we may
colleet all needful information as to their object. and motive-Cl, the
prineiple on which they proceeded, and the manner of carryin~ oat
their ends. They believed that the first Christian Church had come
to an end, and tbat the New Christian Church waB to be its succes-
sor. The same authority which assured them of this coming event
allO deelared the essential distinction between el~rgy and laity. and
by eonsequenee tbe importance of this church having R ministry. It
assured them. moreover, that this ebureh was not to be .,stablisbed by
mirade. (Coronis ad finem), but by the rational and voluntary action
of its members co-operating with the Divine Providenee. They klNtw
as well &8 Delta that" needful revelation has always be~n made ia
the fallness of time." and that, Cc in t.he absence or snch new revels,.
tion, man is bound by what has already been made." Axn SUCH • •
VBLATIOK THEY ALREADY RAD. They could hardly have bRen ignorant
that under the Jewish dispensation. when human sagacity waa at a
loss, lehovah had coam&tUkd the nse of the lot. But they did not
plead these 8S the exemplars of tbeir conduct. The ons lufticieut
£hrutian precedent which they avowedly pursued, tlHU· that by UJAd
MattAia8 UHJ. c1Io,ea to fill the ~aney in the rank of tAs Apo.tlu, and
the principle by which they felt tbemselvea justified in following their
examples 88 a guide, was announced in the fir,,' work of the Herald
of the New Church whieh had ever been translated into the vem....
eolar tongue.
The course of remark in which Delta has thought prop~r to indulge
in hia comments on this tran8&etioD, renders it necessary that it be
~samined with some degree of minuteness. But before entering on
the task let QS advert to some other matters which bfl has passed
under review, in order to show that where tbt'y are not irrelevant to
the present question he has wholly mistaken their meaning.
188 [March.
We may well concede that the use of the lot was unknown to men
of the Most Ancient Church. They needed not to resort to it for any
such purpose BS that now in question. When the mind and charac-
ter were mirrored in the face, and there was a perfect conformity be-
tween the inward and outward man, they could discern the spirits of
men by the ordinary exercise of their faculties, without the guidance
of that revelation from the higher powers, which W8fC their special
and constant privilege, and make choice of individuals for variollS
fanctioDs, with the certainty of their being the most eligible. Bot
what has this to do with the subject before us 1 or hoW' can it prove
that in the degeneracy of the race, when the interiors of men are
known with certainty to the .Lord alone, and men are often perplexed
in their judgment of charaoter, that at particular crises, when much
depends on a proper choice of agents, they should 110t make a direct
appeal to him ~ who knoweth the hearts of all men."
But he offers it 8S a strong presumption againlt the use of the lot.
cc that the least that can be said of those who act according to its re-
sults, is, that they are governed by the Divine Providence in ultimate6
rather than intimates." And here we may as well gather up seve-
ral intimations of the same 80rt scattered through the essay, as ODe
answer will suffice for all. " As there is but ODe step from the ulti-
mate to the magical, we may imagine that haruspicial practices 8000
followed." "1'he representative character of the lot has failed, for its
design has been superseded. t, ,. The attentive reader of the Arcana
will discover a difference between the significatives derived by the
Jews from the Most Ancient Church through the collection of cor-
respondences made by the Church Enoch, and thost\ things which were
subsequently made representt\tive from the fact that they had be-
come esteemed of especial sanctity by the posterity of Jacob-such
as sacrifices, which were first used in worship by the church named
from Heber." "Anyone can see that the lot, like sacrifices, would be
unacceptable to God, because his love towards men is such that he
dbsires them to be His temples, and tha.t their paths should be illumi-
nated by spiritual light, outshining from Himself within."
If all men had continued like those of the Most Ancient Church, we
should have had no articulate language, no written Word, no separate
priesthood. The Incarnation of Deity itself would have been un-
necessary. But they declined from their high estate and other means
of instruction were furnished. Had they descended no farther thaD
the Ancient Ohurch, the Ancient Word would ha,·e sufficed. Bat
there was yet a lower path down the vale, anc1 a new Word was pro-
vided. Magical practices arose from the perversion of corre'PORden.-
ce8, and yet Omniscience framed this latter as well as the former
Word aocording to the principles of that science. Sacrifices were
not employed in the beginning, but both they and I.Ae lot were at
length enjoined on the Jews, and the instruction to be derived from
their ritual as written enures to all future generations. And shall
we never have done repeating, that the abu.e of a thing originally
good, and which may be agaiIJ, according to circumstances, is) in it-
self no sufficient argument against its proper use.
1861.] t1uJ NaD OAureA Miftutry.-No. 1. 188

Without doubt, reason should be employed where\yer it is availa.

ble. But \vhere it has been beclouded by evils, inherited and appro-
priated, of the individual or his predecessors, or both, and DO longer
serves to lighten the path before him-while yet to go forward is
necessary--does it Dot show a reverent and proper disposition to ac-
cept of such indications of the Divine Will 88 are placcd within his
reach, although they be "external to themselves," rather than do nD-
thing. And should Dot we be grateful that the Benevolent Parent,
M whose tender mercies are over all His works," has followed His

children in their wanderings, and accommodates His precepts to

their altered state 1 That, like a wise physiciaD, He adapts his reme-
dies to their diseases, if; peradventure, they may at length return to
the light, and become, once more, what He has ever desired tbey
should be, fit Temples for His Holy Spirit. But who that looks
around and sees a world weltering in sin and misery, needs to be re-
minded how far they still are from the desired goal?
Delta does not deny that the Jot was in use in the Jewish Church,
and that in several instances by Di,"ine command. But he would
foresta) the natural inference from this fact by urging the extremely
low and external state of that nation, which placed them, spiritually,
at the very Nadir of humanity. Bad as they were, however, they
could repr.aent a church. They could enact ceremonials, and yield
obedience to commands which required the pel-formance of some out-
ward act, and the former might be representative. and the Ifttter
signi6cative of trutha, though themselves might be ignorant of the
1acL
Nor was any thing enjoined them which \vas not thus representa-
tive or significative. Thus, of two most important truths-that the
Lord by his secret Providence operates every thing in mao's regene-
ration; and that He disposes every thing as to the state!l, conditions,
and apparent localities of the heavenly societies, the one behoved to
be rec~gDized by the men of the future New Church, the other by the
denizens of the spirit-land. Now, the first of these WAS shadowed
forth when Aaron was commanded to cast lot, on the two he-goats, to
determine \vhich of them should be offered in sacrifice, aod which
sent as a scape.goat into the wilderness (Lev. xvi. H). The other \\'as
signified by the command to divide the land of CanaRD among the
tribes and families of Israel, by lot (Num_ xxvi. 55) ; the which was
carried oot after its conquest by Joshua (Josh. xv. 1: xvi. 1, &c.),
and that the Lord disposes of our states both here and hereafter, \\"a.
also indicated by the Prophet Ezekiel being borne in vision to the
Land of Israe), and being ordered to divide the land by lot among the
people and the strangers who sojourned among thflm.
Now, these things were known to " Delta," for in his essay he has
expounded them better, and more at large than we have here. And
yet, although this significant act is clearl)' to be interpreted in a good
sense in all these instances, he turns around immediately afterwards,
and tells us tbat "the real [and he would have us believe the only]
signification of casting lots, is to dissipate or disperse truth8 by false••"
In proof of this he adduces four passages of Scripture, with their spir-
itual sense, as given by Swedenborg. Three of these are from the j 'i
140 ne u" of tAB Lol in reltltioll ID [Marell,
Prophets, and one from the Gospels. The former are as follows:
., Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity; her Y011ngchil-
dren also were dashed in pieces at the top of a.1I the streets; and they
ca8t lot. for her honorable men" (Nahum iii. 10). "In the day that the
strangers carried aWRy captive his forces, and foreigners entered into
his gates, and ClUt lot' upon JtTUsalem, even. thou wast as one of
tbem" (Obad i. ] I). M And they bave ca,t Iou for my people" (Joel iii.
3). In the first of these the Prophet is denouncing wo to Ninet:M, the
bloody Assyrian capita), because of ber hostility to the people of God.
That she should no more esoape retribution than did the Egyptian
city Amon..No, whose infants and honorable men were treated as
there described. In the seoond it is foretold that punishment
shall also overtake Edom c, because of his violence against his bro-
ther Jacob," and of "his standing by while the alien and the stranger
carried him away captive, aDd cast lots on the Holy City." Jebovah
speaks by the mouth of his prophet in the third as follows: "I will
gather all nati0R8, and will bring them down into the valley of Je-
hosbaphat, and will plead with them there for my people, and for my
heritage IWllel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and
parted Iny land, and they have cast lots for my people." The fourth
instaDce was that of the Roman soldiers at the foot of the cross, and
the spirit which actuated them needs no comment.
Now, it is very true, that in Iheae particular in.tance" our author
declares that by casting Jots is signified, the dispersion of troths by
means of falses; and we might have inferred as much from the Da-
ture of the subject in all. In each of them the deed is perpetrated by
the enemies of Jehovab t who are offering violence to his church, a.nd
its sacred truths, while they are pretending to claim both as their
own property. But does either or all of them tend to show that such
was the "original meaning" of this significftDt act. Should we Dol
rather infer that it was a perversion and profanation of what in its
b~gillning was dpsigned to convey a far different meaning. And
does ., Delta" require to be informed that ma"" nay, most eqre.simu
if, Scripture will bear two len.ges, one of wAich i, the VUY OPPOSI'rZ" of
the other, or that from the subject ,,,atter, or the contezt, the intelligent
reader may generally determine with cflrtainty as to which should be
adopted. (A. 0.3703, 4816.) Of this he will find many examples in
our author's tractate on the Sacred Scripture, Nos. 84, 86.·
Of this most important canon of spiritual interpretation, however,
be appears to hal·e lost sight throughout the present essay. The
first ordaining minister of the N. C. was appointed by lot. He de-
sires to show that this mode was unauthorized, unlawful, ineffectual,
and, therefore, in its consequ~llces, caD impose no obligation on others.
He looks into the pages of Swedenborg, and finds that where easting
lots is mentioned in certain places of Scripture, he ex~ounds it to
mean" the dissi pation or truths by falses," an(l then hastily concludes
that such is its purport throughout. This is the 1JpOf"ot' «'cuw~, the
prhnal error from which all the others take their departure, and

• Mr. Madely in his late volume on le Correspondence•." ha. liven many oilier i1l1lltra-
dons of the.me principle. See pp. 36-41.
18M.] the NeuJ C1a~rch Mini,try.-No. 1. 141

which, when once imbibed, causes him to look with jaundiced eye
OD every part of the sacred record, where such a proceeding is men·
tioned. Bat let this rule be re-instated in its proper authority, and
how will it operate 1 If moat expressions in Scripture are suscepti.
ble of two opposite senses, and if this is sometimes employed in a bAd
seD8e, will it not elsewhere admit, nay, require a favorable interpre-
tation!
We have already spoken of three instances where the use of the
lot was positively commanded by Jebovab. There are others in
which it Wag permitted without tbe slightest hint of disapprobatioD.
The cases of Jonathan and JonRh are well known, 1 Same xiv. 41-2;
Jon. i. 'I. In reference to the former, Swedenborg says in his adver-
saria on Samuel, "Quod ,ortem jacerent cum aliquis deprehenderetur
D0C8DL" That when a guilty periOD was to be detected, tMy ,hould
cart Iou. No intimation here of any thing wrong. . To this may be
added that or Achan, Josh. vii. 14-18. For, though the precise term
is not here used, commentators have generally believed, from the simi.
larity oC the language in other respects to that used when Jonathan
was taken by lot, as also that the object was the same on both occa-
sions, that the same means were 8lnployed. Israel, though victorious
OYer Jerieho, had fled before the men of Ai, and Joshua desponded.
" And Jebovah said to him, Iwael ',nth ,inned" In the morning ye
lhall be brought according to your tribes; and it shall be that the
tribe--the famil}9-the household-the man which 'he Lord taA,tA," +:.
"And Sanl said unto the Lorll God of l,rael, give a perfect lot.
(Marginal reading, • Show the innocent.'] And 8au) and Jonathan
were taken. And Saulsaid, ca,t lot. between me and Joostblin my
100, and Jonathan was taken."
If this be 80, a8 is generally received, there i. another passage of
8eriptare on which we would briefly remark, as pertinent to the sub-
jec" when Jehovah had assented to the petition of Israel for a king,
be pointed out to Samuel tile Seer, the person whom he had chosen for
that office, and the prophet proceeded to annoint him, whereby" he
became another man," and received the gifts suited to his new runc-
tioo. Nevertheless, Samuel caned the people together to Mizpeh,
and said, "Present yourselves before the Lord, b)'" your tribes and by
your thousands. And when Samuel bad oaused all the tribes of Is-
rael to come near, the tribe of Benjamin, t.be faolily oC Matri, and
&Jul the son of Kish, were succes8ively taken" (I Same chap. ix. 10.)
Now, why betake themselves to the lot when he had already been
designated by the Lord, and anointed hy His prophet as the future
ca·ptain of Israel? This might be sufficient for Samuel, whose spiritual
eyes were open, but it was not enough for Saul, for be had hid himself
-far less for the people. It ,vas therefore ordered or permitted tbat
the latter should have their fut.ure king discovered to them by a me-
thod more satisfactory to the whole nation. They doubtless felt
what was afterwards ezp'relled b)" the wise king of Israel, when he
laid, " TAe lot is cast into the lap, but the whole di-J!Oftog thereof i.
of the Lord." And again," The 101 cauI,tl, contention. to cea,e, and
parteth between the mighty" (Prov. xvi. 83, and xviii. 18).
(To 6t continUltl.)
l.u Corrupondence. [Marcb,

CORRESPONDENCE.
We iDeert the following from an elteemed brother at the West, becaule W~ are alwaJl
happ, to receive the friendly hints or brethren in the Church, and becalll'e it dom. UI an
opportunity of adding a few words OD tbe pnerallubject to which the writer alludes.
M - C-, Feb. 1, 1852.
DBAR SIB,
Inol08ed you have two dollars for the current year of the Repoeitory. Mr. S., whose
IUbseription I eent last year, is not dispoeed to renew; the course or the Repository
the past year has not been attractive to novitiatee.
For myself I have been highly interested in the diacuuiODB on the subjee\ or
Church order, though they appm' to have occupied too large a space. I cannot,
however, apart from this, acknowledge myself satisfied with the style of most or the
articles on these subject8. Eaoh party seems to view but MU ,i,u of the queetiODl
at issue, and to be anxious rather to present their own partial conceptions, than to
develop those universal prinoiples in which truths of every phue are seen to har-
monise. Hence but little progress is made; few are .tisfied, and if any are
Bilenced, it is becauae they are weary of the subject, rather than convinced or en-
lightened. Eaoh party appean to withhold the light from the very part of its J?OBi-
tion which is earnestly questioned by the other Bide-whether f'rom C0D8C10Ul
weakness or distrust does not clearly appear.
The party of U order" are careful to say very little about the lOuroe of their au-
thority, or of those grand principles of freedom of thought and freedom of utterance
which.· are supposed to confliot with their pretensions. On the other hand, the {l&r-
tisans of U liberty" are equally silent upon questions of organislt.tion, subordination,
and authority, which are ~erally herd to be essential to united and harmonious ac-
tion, and when preued WIth quotations from Swedenborg, have been fain to ap~
to other quotations from the same authority, with ac&rcely an attempt to reconcile
~~. .
Now I hold"that sueh a state of things is dis~ful, especially when taken in
connection with the pretensions of the New Church to superior illumination, and
I do most sincerely h~ and pray that this one-sided business mal cease. Let none
presume to dogmatise till he can cover the whole ground, and WIthout evasion har-
moniously reconcile order with freedom, the right8 of man with hia duties, as involved
in this question.
A slight attempt was made to accomplish this in the argument from analogy
which formed a ~ of the Majority Report on this subJect to the Seventh Annu&l
Meeting of the MIchigan and Northem Indiana Aasociation, which report you were
pleased to notice in a very favorable manner. I think that the principles presented
m that re~rt, if properly developed, will be found to meet the difficulties of the
subject in the most satillfactory manner. I am aware that some 'portions of it have
been subjected to an unfavorable criticism in the (English) New Church Review,
and for some time I oontemplated a reply, in which I should have shown, that in
the most important matter of difference the report was misunderstood by the ~re­
viewer; but want of time, and finally the withdrawal of the copy of the review it,..
eel( prevented me.
However, should the subject be ptU'8ued in the Repository, and should circum-
stances favor me, I will, with your permiBllion, endeavor, in a brief article, to preeent
the matter anew, with moh further explanations and developments &8 may seem ad-
visable.
I remain, very truly yours,
R.B.M.
REMARKS.
We have before taken occasion to expresa some degree of surprise that the tborough dis-
c08lion of the'subject of church order in our pages should have proved 10 diltasteful to a
large portion of our readers. It cannot be denied that the subject il intriosic.Ur import-

n
1851.] CorreqKnUleftce. 148
ant, aDd therefore entitled to the mOlt candid aDd lerlous cODsideration oC ever, member
oC Ihe Church. Nor do we see &Dy reason to doubt that views have been held and ....
lamptioDS pot forth, in conueotion with this theme, whleh it was perfectly proper should
be called in q aeation, aDd submitted to the ordeal of the Wonl and the wridngs. So rat as
our own humble es.....'s are cODeemed, this i. what we have attempted to do. Omen who
have shared iD our sentimenta, have ably eeconded our e1foN. aDd. .ubjected the oppoait.e
viewswasearching analysis. M_ntime we have freel1op~ned onr pages to tbe advoaale!
oC the prevailing .. order," and given them every opportl1nlty to defend and eoofirm their
poeitioD8. So far no just exceptiODS, we think, caD be taken to our course. No one oan
object to our Aiviog a fair heariug to both sidel ofal1 important but disputed topics. The
exception taken, however, by OQr correspondent. is Dot 10 much to the fact of the discus-
sion as 10 the fIlOtl, in which it has been conducted. Each party has taken a OAf-rided view
ot the matter. and aimed to pretent et i t8 own partial conceptionl, rather than to develop
thole uni.ersal prinoiplea iD which trutb. of every pbase are eeen to harmonize." This
may be 80, but such a proceu of umpirage is usually the result of the successive p1eadinp
of the parties coneemed. when each hal brought Corth and let ID array the 8'roul realOns
upoa which ita opinion. are baaed. Tbe first object in luch a dilCu8Iion is generally to
....il some established error ofrahb or inl&itutioD, and to expose the tallacy of tbe reason-
ings OD which it rests. This can eeldom be done without cODverti~ mild discussion Into
excited conlroyersYi tor there are usually so many interests wrapped up in existing sys-
tems. tbat the least approach to an investigation awakens a' once the lignal of alarm, aDd
the whole torce of the citadel_lUes forth to repel the invaden-who mUlt be enemies of
eoune-from the conleCraled precincts. The &elf-styled assailed can seldom see a.y other
than sinlder motives in the UllaUants, as they are inVidiously termed, aDd the bam mea-
!ore of censure and reproach which they are prone to deal out, no doubt tends very much
to awaken somewhat oC a similar spirit, and both parti6s beconle more or less blinded to
the real merits of each other's positions. In this way the spirit of eharity is wounded. and
the intereets of truth fot a time .ufFer. But in the meanwhile light has been elicited from
the collision oC views, and wbeD the excitement ot tbe occasion has palled away, some more
dispassionate mind takes up the subject of debate from a higher atand-roint. and brings it
precisely to nch an issue as our Criend desiderate8 in the above letter.
Of the two paniee hinted at and designated by our correspondent, we should ourselyel un-
doubtedly tall into that of Cl liberty,r' and ot this be lays, that the partizaos are .. silent upon
questions of organization. subordination, and authority, which are generally held to be es-
IeDtial to united and harmonious action, and when preased with quotations from Sweden-
borg, bave been faiD to appeal to other quotations from the .me authority, with scarcely an
attempt to reconcile them." Now to this we have IOmething to offer by way of reply. 11
woaJd be strange indeed if we had much to propound ot the nature of IC organization, lob·
ordination, and authority;" when this Is the very rock on wbich, in our Yiew. the Church
has )wen in danger of splitting, and of which we have been anxious to wam her. What
IJ'ltem of external lC organization, subordination, and authority" have we to propose, when
the yery drift of all our reasonings has been to .how that oharity is itself an eleentially or-
pniziDg principle, and that no man or society can poaibly be in the geouine cbarity of
the Church, withOQt beiDg aotually organized tn reference to ewry other maD and soelety
that i. UDder the infiDenoe of the same principle. On this head we beg leave to introduce
a paragraph from an artiole of our own, published under the signature of "Eulebhas" iD
the Repository for Jan. 18~O. cc Every aociet1 (in the New Churcb) is to be left iD tbe
fuRestenjoymentofits freedom in themanagementoftts ownconcems. It is responsible to
DO power or tribunal.Ye that of the Lord, eltcept jOlt 10 rar as every organ and member
or the human body is reJponlible 10 the whole, a8 being a component part of the whole,
ad required to conspire, in its place and office. to the production oC the geDeral unity of
144 [Mareb,
efFeet in the whole. 80 tar .1 one Ure, in ita orderly iDtlU~, perftdes and goYem!l the ea-
tire body of the Church, so far there will necessarily be a qmpatbette and reciprocal eo-
working of ItI multiform constituents, aD tendin, to one ptlrtLmOUDt result, and that
whether th«e be any looh thing as eonventions or councils, or Dot. If tile DiviDe inJI.x
be rightly and adtoquately received by any arganinD, whether pbysical or spiritaal. there
will of necessity b. a consentaneoQS action of the IeYeral oomponent part., umdiDg to c.
ruling end, just a. real and as effective as if it had proceeded from the tHl...,,,,ry and ~
.ciou purpoee of those parte. An associated religious body, i. e. a body aasoeiated by die
Profession oC the same faitb, existing in true order. may be cOtlsiderecl al having a etrr6fl-
ItHII whiGh presides over all Its involuntary motions, as welt as a cm6rtMn that controll the
YOIuntary, and the functions or the former are no Jess conducive to the weal or tbe whole
than it they were governed by the direct eonscioU8 volition of the cerebral intelligence.·
Now in this we deem oureelves to have alserted a genuine principle at the New Cbureh,
and if so it is entitled to be imperative upon oar faith, if not" let tu fallacy be shown. Bat
it will perhaps be said that though the principle is correct, yet our inference from it is
uneound-tbat an internal organization win neoessarny ultimate ibelfin an extemal oDe,
and thus we shall of necessary-consequence have essentially tbat ~Iible church order which
Is contencled. for. To this we reply, that there can be DO ettd to be answered by an eDer-
mal organization scept an HUl of . ., for .., Is what is eonltantJy regarded by the chari-
ty of the church "'1 an internal organizing principle. And what Is the rrand use whieh
the life oC the church incessantly breathes after and aHectll Is it Dot the Increase and
propagation of itselfl I. it not the dUrutlOIl and multiplication oC ita traths and goods?
OODsequently wharever r1 a~iated or co-operative eiFortl ma, be requisite fOI thi. eDd.
and. wllich shall Dot trench upon the perlOnal freedom, or aupersede the individual BC!!OD,
of eacb member, is entirely proper, e~pedient, and wi.. But this conce.ioll "W aiOnl
GO warruat for an,. legislative council or COllvention. The Cburch has DothiDg to legis-
lace about. Ita lawl are all made and have only to be liwd. The IDle uses to be auam-
ad b,. occasional or statecl meedugl oC New Church men or New Church lOOietiN ale
or
thoM which respect the ordering of ita WOI'ship, the promotion ita .plrituallife, .nd cM
widest dillftDiDation oC its doctrinel as embodied in the writiap of the Churcll. The c,..
don ora ministry is DO part of the (unctioDs of .uch meetings. The mini'try is entitely
.Dd eEolllaiYely tbe oft"spriftl of the aeveral societiel oompOIIing the larger bodies. and
theee bodies ue merel, Yoluntar,. anemblagellneetinl (rom. time to time as COD'YeDieace
of locality mar dictate without being organically oonlOlidated into permanent eocle-iuli-
cal union., analogoul to the political oonfederaciea whioh we caU Stale.. Tbe claim OIl
the part of conventional bOOiea to be tbe true IOQrce of minilterial power cau ne". be aI-
lowed without at the .me time plantinl tbe seed from 1Vhich the tree oC hierarchy will
be lure to grow. The minutrJ is evermore prior to all bodiel oomposed in whole or in
part of ministels. Whatever, theJl, be the U88 of conyenlions, it i.something apart C....
&he creation of a clergy. But upon this pojnt we have beeD suBlcientlyexplioit 011 former
ooo.lioOI,
Our leading idea on 0 rpllizadon will be mad6 sun olearer by reCerring again to the
prototypal form and fabric of the human body. What were more strange or . " ,
&han to imagine the di8"erent organs and viecera takiDl COUIl.} together aDd enteriD,
into a oompaet to act iD unisoo in producing the Dormal etfects oC the severai foeti. . 1
What il tbe a.e ofauoh a compact when every portion of the body perfolms ha ofBce b,
virtue oC hs being. the body and gowemed by its influent liC.l So in the spiritual body.
the Church. Every one by living and actiog in his place moat perfectly fulfila his ...
and WOrkl for the welfare of the whole. What other orlanization is needed in the 1&uer
bod, any more than iD cbe former 1 Occasional or evea stated meetiDCs within their ca-
1852.}
tain territorial lim itl, for eousulaUon or co-oper&'loa «1088 H' amount to aDy estemal
organization of the Church in strict propriety or speech.
They are more nearly allied to the great benevolent IOCletlee of the age, which would be
acting a strange pan it tbey were to identify them.lves with the churcb, and maintain
that their organization was the organization of the Church. All genuine New Cburch
associations and conventions we hold to be or a .imitar character-simply an expedient
for furthering the interests oC the church without aspiring to (arm an essential part ot ill
constitution.
'What then meaD8 our correlpondent by saying tbat the cc partiAuI of liberty are lileDt
upon questions of organization, subordinatioD. and authority!' Wbat shall we say about
them 1 What iw to be organized 1 What il to be subordinated, and to what? What au-
thority i8 la be assumed and acknowledged 1 Can he or will he define his drift on the..
poiDts 1
Bat he intimates again that the party in qoestioD It when pressed with qUOlatiOD8 Crom
Swedenbmg have been rain to appeal to other quotations from the lame autbority, with
aea.rcely an attempt to reconcile them." And why should we attempt to reconcile them 1
What have we to do to alsume the tau which devolvel on oat opponenta 1 We urge,
upon the aothority oC oar lreac teacher, one grand fandamental principle-to wi t, tha'
nerJ man of tbe church is a church in the least form. Thi8 principle in~lve8 in e1£ect
the whole of ollr positions on church order. It is clear, deliberate, distinct, indubitable.
Apinst it a man may heap up detached quotations till doomsday. and what does it
aftil' Here stands the inespagnable principle, and by this principle 8tand we. We have
nothing to do with quotations till the truth oC this principle is denied and its fllllacy shown.
So 100'88 the principle remains unshaken, we know that DO quotation. rightly cODstrued,
can countervail it. If there appear. to be a literal con1lict that is the concenl of our op-
ponents, and not ours. We recognize no con8ict, no discrepancy. In our view all is con-
aistent and harmonious. On this ground we await cahnly the result. Hith~rto there has
beel') the most earefal ahuDlling of contact with the principle above stated. Tbe writer.
OIl the t.ather side have played around and around it, buc have neyer ventured direotlJ' to
~nter it. What woDder that 10 little progreaa is made in the discussion when our
maiD ayerment is left argumentatively untouched, and merely a host of quotatious.like
those ueumulated by Mr. eabell in reply to A. W., are arrayed against it 1 To the force
of all ...ch quotations we are uuerl, insenlLble 10 long as the c_tral fortress of oar
mascaiDl ia winked out of light.
To the judgment of atU readers then, we eubmit whether the intimation! of our eor~·
pondenc are well founded. The discussion hu, indeed, in a Mnse been Ofte-,idtd, tor OD
our parl it has beeD what we deem the advocacy of the aide of truth agaiDst the side of
error. and in this cODtroveny we do not oa~e to be found OD hoth sides. It were a sing.-
lar impucation tQ bave cut 1Ipoll Luther aDd hie compeer.a tbat in exposing tbe abomi-
Dation. of Popery that tley took entirely a Oftf-ritled view of the l'ubject. They would un-
doubtedly at ODce have owned to the charge while they greatly wondered at it. If it be
said that our positions are too sweeping, that we would abolish what is good as
well .. what il evil in the existing order ot things, we can only sa'lbat we would be
pateful for IpecUJcatioDa on ,hi. head. We woald DOt. abolish meetings nor mlniltries.
We 'Would not etlapenle' with order nor Iorm. But we would plead for true order and
trne form-for right meetings and right ministries-and what these are in contradistinc-
tion from thole hitherto established cannot but be gathered from the drift ot what we have
10 abundantly said on the subject. Should tbere, however. be any point on which we
CIOaId be desired to speak 1B018 esplieidr. we mall be bappJ to retpoud wben the de-
sideratam il indicated..
148 CorrerpondeflCI. [March,
LETTER FROM A CLERGYMAN.
The following is from a Joung clergyman of the orthodox rank. iD New Englaud. whOle
mind. it i. evident, is anxiously craving more solid food. than it finds in the creeds of
Geneva, or Westminster, 01 Cambridge. The preleut letter was preceded by another, in
which the writer I.YS: 'C I take the liberty of addressing to you an inqairy. le is con-
Dec~ with the history of the Canon or the origin of our.oreel books--the Bible. From
YOllr opportunities of researcb, and from your candor and reverence for God and truth.!
Ihould attach great weight to your opinion on the following questions: taL 18 there aa1
lucb inspiration to be attached to the writings of Moses as is claimfd. by our ortbodoJ:
divines? 2dly. If not, how are we to account for the prophetio power exhibited in the
XVth chapter of Genesis and elsewhere 1 J know that these questions open the whole
subject of Inspiration. If it should not be in your power at present to write. I would nol
ul'le it. (But) the explanation of the simple phrase, I And the Lord said.' would be
worth ingots of gold to thOle who are eeekiDg tor light on the great theme of Divine com-
munication to the fallen Ions of man. I have read yoor work on the Resurrection with
great intel'est, and with increasing conviction of ill worth. I think you have been slight-
ed and wronged by your brethren, ",ho may have withdrawn their sympathy, because or
the nature and range arrour inquiries. I should like much to receive a li,toryourworb,
and a mention of those ot Swedenborg to which you have added Dotes. P. S. )f ,our eD-
gagements are such at present aa makes the fulfilment of my request a burden, could 1 011
Dot direct me to some author who discusses with fairness and ability the sources of the
aqle or the sacred writers, and their claims to special Divine teaching. I have read
Korell with pleasure and profit. I was surprised at some statements OD ,his point, by
Andrew Jackson Davi...•
To this letter an anewer was returned. to which tbe present i. a reply. Other leuers
OD both aides will proba)'l, tollow.
L-----, Feb. 11, 1852.
MY DEAR SI&,-Your interesting letter came to-day, and I thank you for it. Per-
haps I ought not to have left you to inquire, U Are you a clergyman 1" But haTing
ceued to regard with much interest the i"cidtnlal position ofany one, and my own with
none, I forgot to BAy that I am the religious teacher of the Congregational Church in
L--; am son-in-law of Rev. Dr. H--, once of A--, and have occasionally COD-
tribute<! to the Theological Publications of our Beet. U ThoughtB on the Atonement,
with Remarks on the Views of S. T. Coleridge,n were mine when I wrote them iD
the July No. of the Biblical Re~tory of 18~9. And with a modification which
does not a1Fect their substance, but would materially ex~nd a portion of the piece.
I have 88 yet DO other view. A sermon in the National Preacher of 1849, entitled
the "Revealing Process," will convince 10U that I am ~oeed to look at that great
occllrrence called the Judgment in the light of cODstitutionallawa, rather than UD-
der the aspect of Hebrew and oriental costume. For want of something better at
hand, and with a sense of ita deficiency as to any strict phllOllOphical accuracy, I
eend you a little matter spoken in the Pittsfield Cemetery.
I must confess that I am hampered by the narrowneae of our prevailing theol.
cals~tems. It is not BO much by their positive errors, 88 by their defioiencyand
their distortion and disp!oportionate proJection of minor points that I am ~ed.
The intuitive nature, and toe whole sphere of its re&pODIeI, are pused by in their
reoognitions of humanity and it. thirsts. Hence, as ap~D8 to mental philOlO"
phy, I have gained much from Coleridge, and more frOm Morell. Still, 88 to the
P:8at questions that appertain to the soul's futurity, U It doth not yet appear to me
with the distinctness (wnich I must believe the Father of lights vouchsafes to many)
what we shall be."
For the actual 8Our0e8 of Itren~ to the will in its conftiote with temptation, I still
inquire, both for myself and for thOle I teach, with earneetneea.
The letter of the Bible troubles,me often. Between what is Hebraistio, what
OOItume, and what eternal verity, I cannot always decide. Hence my interrogatories
1852.] Notice. of BooIc,. 14'7

to you respecting the tUUI lDQfUf&lli and the law of inspiration in the anoient and
aerecI booD of the canon. r mew that you had embraced some of the 'VieW! of
8wedenOOrIS. Bat of coune I judge of no man or IJ8tem by a name. I have read
with much mtereei Wilkineon'l Liro or
the Swedish Seer. I received inten8e quick-
eninl and DO littJe e~anBion of sow from his ar~ent for the emtenC8 of a God,
written, he _ye, before his illumination. This 18 to me his muterpiece. I have
read hie Heaven at Hell, and find no Cault with his conviotion that the endleea lif'e
tU. the form and direction of the stron~ natural aftinity of the soul. I account
for hill pictures on the ground of his vivia aensibility and an abnormal imagination,
but I haYe supposed him open to the criticisms of R. W. Emerson in his " Repreeen-
..uve Men." 1 own his U Christian Theology," but I have yet not been impreSsed by
it. I have (and theI hav6 dwelt amoDgst un) most intelligent friends who nave em-
braeed his vieWB. I could state to you with some fullness, if Dot with precision,
what views I entertain on the cardinal revealed doctrines. But I dare not weary
you. As it is I feel that I am treapueing. I dare not give up the New Testamen'
.. my authorauv8 guide. It is to me &8 God. ADd yet, .. hell is a fearful, awful
dUng, ita occasional words of venr;eanoe pain my lOuI, and the unbroken solemniV
of the Redeemer's liCe and death 18 oppressive. Still I love and adore them. He 18
my all in all. At this moment may He forgive me if in aught that 1 have written I
haftJ erred. I would not injure Him or His oa1188. But I long for lOJDe e~laDatioDl
of Hie words, and of Paw's Epistles. ThOle arguDlentB are written eVIdently to
J8WII or Pagaoa. They are to tnem ad Iwmirau. They are like lpecial pleaa. The,
are clothed in the mode ofthou~ht prevalent at the day. And to separate what 18
local and tempo~ from what 18 permanent and universal, is no easy matter. No
doubt it ca.n tie done and will be crone. No doubt there is a principle of interpre-
tatiOD, rounded on the knowledge of the opinions, phrueology, habits of the pnmi-
Dye eru-or on some clearer diBoemment of the structure and lawa of the human
lOUt, which will throw great light on the revealed Scriptures and the unrevea1ed
future. But where is the man that has stated it 1 You may have found him.
You may be in ~on of the very aeoret for which 1 Beek; if eo, can you do &
better Bervico (I know you oannot tmd a higher ple&81U"e) than to oommunicate to
roan. very sincerely, &to.
P. 8.-Do you believe in the porBbility of illuminatiop, at the preeent day, in the
faculti. of the mind from the p-eat centre of light-an illumination which is more
than or difFerent from regenoration &8 usually unCleratoodj or the effectual wlling of
the eatechimn 1 For your " Statement of Reasons" I shall be grateful.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.
THE ~OU:asE 0)1 C~EA!IO... By JOHX ANDEBSON, D. ~D., vitla G G10lltWJ of Bci-
entific Term.. Cmclnnati: Wm. H. Moore. 1851. 12mo. pp. 384.
The object of this work is to popularise the leading results of modern Geology,
and to demoD8trate their bearing upon the influences of religion. The field from
which he mainly draWl) biB faots is somewhat contracted of design, being princi-
pally CODfined to Scotland and EnglaDd, though touching C1U'8orily upon France
aDd Switzerland. It hu the merit of taking the reader along from the radimentary
facta of the science to ita more matured stages, instead of confounding him at the
oali8et with technicalities of whioh he knows nothing. In the COIll'88 of the work he
treata TerJ fully of the dil8rent theories of organic life, especially the speeulatioD8
of the le Veetigea of the Natunl History of Creation,"-of analogical order, physical
and moral--of progreeaion-of the extinotion and re-creatiOD of organic lif~f
time, and the geological epoohs--of the reconcilableneea of the facti of geology with
dle Mc..io account of the creation, and varioua other topiOl of oommanding inter-
est with the religioua Daturaliat, who would Cain .tiaty himself of the perfect haJ'o

J
148 OIJiIuary. [March, 185~.

many of ecienoe with an enligbtened faith. We could not endorse all his conclu-
sions. but we are happy to be able to poiDt out the work to Ute truth-loving inqairer
of tIfIry DaIIl8.

IIIIOB.I!L ITIKS.
The lalt No. (nt) of o. A. BrOWDIOB'S Qaareerl, lleYiew launoh. forth a terrible
tirade aS8ln.,l Protescandlm. of wbich die folto1ViDg are IOme of the choice apeoimeDs.
The Editor, it is pretty generaIJy known, thoagh reared a Protestant, and having been by
tams a Calvinist, Universalist, Infidel. and Unitarian, has fiDaJly brought up in the bo-
lom oC the Roman Church, and become its fiercest champion in this eouQlly. 6C Protu-
tautism, i8, no doubt, a heresy, but all heresy i. at best only inchoate heathenism, aDd
need. on1y time and freedom to become folly developed headt8Dlmt j for it is the ......
tlon of the natural against the supernatural, the secular against the spiritual, the human
apinst the divine. Protestantism is civilized heathenism, in its natural Corm.
Protestantism, whatever its pretensions, is really heathenism, and nothing else.
It is al"ay8 folly to talk or reason of Protestants, taken al. body. a8 if they had religion,
or cared a ptn'. head Cor religion of any 1011. Set them dowD always as modem hea-
thens, and go and preach to theM u the Fathers did to tho Gentiles, or you will neftr
touch them. • • • The great error into which we fall is that of considerin, Protes-
tanuam as a (orm oC religion, and adhered to Crom religiouI motives. If such was ever
the oue. it i. nol now. With here and there an individual exceptioD, Protestanta coosti-
tate Dot a lelilioul, but & political aDd 8OOi.l part" and what they 18' in reCereDoe to
religion is ..id only in furtheranoe of thei' 6eCular movements or desires, whether they
themselves are distinctly conscious that it is so or not. We d'o it too Dlucb honor when
we condescend to dispute with it as a form of religious error. • • • We tell our read-
ers again and again, that the tbeologtcal matters dilCuseed between Protestants and \U
aN Dot Ibe real question. at i.ue. They oare ll~thiDI, . s . body, for doctrinM. They
bave DO doctriDeI that 'bey cannot rift up at a moment. warning. if neceeeal'J' to I80Qte
their secalar 8uo~ee8. The whole question turns on the unity and catboticity or the
Church, as the means of maintaining the supremacy of the spiritual order." What caD
be more amusing than to hear ProteMaatism ooodemned aa virtual heathenism. and .1
opposed to Romanism as is the secular to the spiritual. Rome. great conservative spi-
ritual power I Look at the throne (1) oC the Pope upheld by standing armies, and hi,
Gourt perhap. the moat oorrupt in Europe I

OBITU jBY.
No public notice b&s yet been taken of the death of MARGA.n BAlLXT, who died at Ill.
hoo. of ber brother-in-law, John H. James. of Urbana on the 22d May, 185J, aDd aorne
memorial of it is yet dlle to her excellent character, 8Dd to the wide circle of her friends·
She was. native or Pennsylvania, and the elde.tt daughter of tbe late Franc;s Bailey or
Philadelphia, wbo wa. probably the first penon in America to embrace the doetriaes of die
New Cburcb, as he wu the first to contribute to their diffusion by publishing several of the
works oC Swedenborg, and among others, the True Christian Reli~ion. The daughter was
born aa it Were In the New Church. lived a winftlDg example of the benign formation which
the aft"ectiona take UDder ita doctrines aDd a conforming lite 'of purity. Religion call no
Iloom on ber path, but eerved to inspire serenity within, and to diffuse cheerfulness around
her. For more tban eight years she had suffered from partial paralysis, and her long con-
tinued pains were endured with admirable composure. Her mind throughout. was calm.
viFrous and clear, directed by turns to the society oC friends and to her most CODSlact booka,
in patient waiting on the long deferred consummation of her lite here. Her interment wa.
made tbe occa,ion of consecrating to tbe dead a new Rural· Cemetery iD d:le vioinityof.
U.....UMl them" wal bDrieclat DOOD on the ~&lL
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHLY REVIEW.

'.1. ,. APRIL, 1852. • •• t.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.

SERMON,
BY THE L.lTJ: a.v. 8.lMUEL 'VOaCKSTEB •

•, Tben He opened their under8tanding. that they might understand the ~cril)turel."­
Luke xxiy. 45.

THE spiritual world is so distinct from the natural world, and spirit-
ual things are so distinct and different from natural things, that a
Inan's ha.ving a good knowledge of the natural world and of natural
life, does not necessarily imply that he has any l(nowledge of the
spiritual world and of spiritual life. Indeed, it has long been very
common for the most learned in natural things, to be the most ignorant
in spiritual things.
Men are, however, required to know spiritual things aod to live
spiritual lives, while they are in this world; and, if knowing natural
things does not make U8 kno\v spiritual things, it is plain that some
mode for acquiring spiritual knowledge must be resorted to, very dif-
ferent from the modes that are commonly adopted. And this is the
more evident from the fact, that even thos~ who devote themselves
most to the study of the literal sense of the Sacred Scriptures, do oot
at all agree as to the spiritual instruction which the Scriptures give.
Their understandings are opened only fa.r enough to enable them to
know the letter which killeth,-not far enough to E\nable them to know
the spirit which giveth life.
It has, however, pleased the Lord to make known at this day the
means by which men may have their understandings so opened, that
they can understand both natural a.nd spiritual things at the same
time; so that they can know the Lord, and the things of,heaven and
VOL. v. 11
150 Sermon on Luke xxiv. 45. [April,
of hell, and of their own minds, as well as they can know the things of
the natural world. And it is now made manifest, that to understand
these spiritual things, our understandings must be so opened that we
can see all these things taught in the Holy Scriptures.
It was known to the apostles who had their understandings open-
ed, and to some others in later times, that the understtnding of man
does not consist of merely those faculties by which he linows worldly
things. There are high~r or more interior faculties or degrees of the
human understanding, which are adapted to the knowledge or know-
ing of spiritua.l things, as the lo\ver or more exterior faculties are
adapted to the knowing of natural things. At the present day, ,rery
few men are aware that they have these interior faculties of under-
standing, which must be opened in order that they may understand
the Scriptures. They do not desire to know spiritual trut.hs, and
therefore those mental faculties a1-e closed, by which aloDe such
things can be known_
But there is very full information now given 8S to the proper man-
ner, and the only mode, by which these faculties can be opened, de-
veloped, and brought into exercise; and those who will know any-
thing on this subject t mu~t read the writings of Swedenborg.
With everyone "yho desires to b~come better than he is,-who is
in any degree \vilJing to be taught the W&)' of life, tllat he may walk
in that way,-there is some opening of the understanding, giving him
some capacity for understanding spiritual truths; and to such ouly
should our teaching be addressed, because they are the only person!il
who can b~ profited by it. It is of no importance to gratify the cu-
riosity which proceeds from any other love than the love of knowing
what we must do that we may have eternal life. All who have this
love, desire to have their understandings opened that they may under-
stand the Scriptures: for they already know that the words of the
Scriptures are the Lord's words, and that His words are spirit and
life.
The Scriptures teach very plainly and fully, even in their literal
sense, that those who do evil hate the light or spiritual truth; and .
that what they are thus opposed to they are not in a state of mind to
understand according to its proper meaning.
Tliis shows that in order to understand the Scriptures, it is neces-
sary first of all, to have a disposition to shun such sins as we know,
and to learn the truths of the Word for the sake of knowing our duty
more fully, that \ve may do it more perfectly.
But in order to understand the Word in such a manner as to derive
heavenly wisdom from it, it is of very great importance that we should
also have a right view of the peculiar manner in which it is written.
While we regard it as written like human compositions, and apply to
it the same principles of interpretation, we cannot have our under-
standings so opened as to receive its interior and heavenly truths;
aDd the greater part of the Scriptures, when thus interpreted, is only
.a description or record of worldly things and gives no spiritual in-
1852.] SerMon on Lulce xxiv. 45. 151

struction: only a very small part of it teaches anything concerning

the Lord, heaven, bell, and preparation in this life for the life to come.
The new doctrines which are now rev~aled as the Heavenly Doc-
trines of tbe New Jerusalem, and which arc to be received by the
New Church which the Lord is beginning to establish, are derived
from the Sacr~d Scriptures by a mode of interpretation which is al-
most wholly unknown to those who have not read the writings of this
New Church.
In order to be prepared to understand how the Word or Sacred
Scripture is ,,-ritten, we need first to have an acknowledgment that
it is the Word of the Lord,-tbat it consists of divine truths. And
,ye must extend this ideA. so far as to admit that what the Lord says
must express the Lord's thoughts, and that His thoughts are not limit-
ed in their meaning or extension, like man's; but that His thoughts,
t'xpressed in words dictated by him, must have an infinite fulness of
mea.ning. They must contain eyery degree of wisdom from highest
to lowest. [0 whatever forms or language they may be expressed,
every expression must contain infinite degrees of wisdom; and what
is not brought forth in the literal sense of the expressions, most be
contained in interior or higher senses of the expressions. Those who
can think thus highly of the Sacred Scriptures, and are willing to do
,vhatever they can see that the Scriptures teach, are prepared to
learn how the Scriptures are written.
The doctrine of the New Church on this subject teaches that the
Word is written by CORRESPONDENCES. 1'his requires explanation,
and an effort shall be made to explain it.
Thoughts are spiritual things; it is the mind or spirit that thinks.
Wm-da are natural thin~s; the body or natul-al part of ma.n utters
words; and the words are expressed in the natural world, while the
simple thoughts are in the spiritual world.
Now consider V\ hat is the relation and connexion between thoughts
7

and words. Thoughts are spiritual; words are natural; bat the
thoughts are the causes of the words; the words exist from the
thoughts, and are the external impressions or manifestations oC the
thoughts.
In this case it is evident that the relation between an idea or
thought, and a ,vord by which that thought is expressed, is that of a
spiritual cause to a natural eff~ct. The thought is a spiritual cause
producing a ,vord as its natural effect.
A moment's consideration will show that there is the same relation
between a man's volitions, affections, \vishes, or feelings, and his ac-
tions or doings. He does what he wills. His willing is the work of
his mind or spirit; his doing or action is the work 9f his natural
part or body. The willing is the spiritual cause; the doing is the
natural effect.
When one thing iH spiritual, as a thought or a volition, and it pro-
duces a natural thing, as a. word or an action, we say that the two
things cm-respond. We do not mean that they are similar, in any
sense of the term. How very dissimilar, how distinct in character,
 &rlllOll on Lde mv. 45. [April,
how unlike. how very different in their essential composition, are
thoughts and words: yet thoughts are the causes of words; and
thoughts in the world of mind, answer the purposes of words in the
natural world. We say therefore that they correlpond the one to the
other.
Let us next say that every natural thing is the effect of some spi-
ritual CAuse. The spiritual world is within the natural, as a soul
within a body: and, as the body actH from, or is actuated by, the
80nl,80 all things of this Datural world act from, or are actuated by,
the spiritual things to which they correspond. The sun, the earth,
every particular of the earth, all vegetables, and all animals, are
productions in the natural world from causes in the spiritual world;
and the relation of each thing in this world to its spiritual cause is
OORaSSPOlfDBIIOB.
There was a time, long ago, when men understood the correspond-
ence between natura.l things and spiritual. Their understandings
were so opened, that when any natural object, or any natural opera-
tion, was seen or spoken ot: they knew the spiritual object or operation
which was the cause of it, and to V\'hich it corresponded. The peo-
ple of that age had not their hea.rts and their thoughts set on natural
things, like men at this day; but whenever any na.t.ural object or
operation was presented to them, they saw and attended to the spi-
ritual cause of it. In their conversation and \vritings they described
heavenly things by worldly things; but they cared only for the bea-
venly things.
The whole Sacred Scriptures is written in this manner, and with
infinite perfection in its composition. Being written in this mann~r,
it has other senses besides the literal sense. The literal sense relates
principally to natural things; the higher senses relate wholly to
spiritual and heavenly things. This may be best illustrated b)" some
examples.
In the literal sense ,ve read of the creation of the heavens and the
earth. Every part of this account has a spiritual meaning, in which
is described the manner in which men are spiritually created, or re-
generated. So in other parts of the Word, the same work of regen-
erating man is described by the terms, creating, makinlr, and farming.
We also read that the Israelites sojourned in Egypt, ,vere led out
of Egypt and through the wilderness, and brought into the land of
Canaan. ]n tbe spiritual sense this describes man's remaining for a
period in a natural worldly state of mind, and his being led out of
this state, and through many spiritual temptations, into a spiritual
or heavenly state of lnind. Thi~ spiritual state is meant by the land
of CanasD. But after man comes into this state, he has much spi-
ritual warfare with his natural evi I and false principles; and this is
represented by the wars of the Israelites.
It is in soltJe degree appa.rent to meD, even at this day, that the
parables recorded in the Word ha\~e a spiritual sense within the
literal. Now, most of these parables are in the form of narrative or
history; and if they have a spiritual meaning, it is plain that all the
history in the Scriptures may have such an internal sense.
1851.] Sermon 0" L_ Div. 41. lIB
.In like manner every miraole describes a spiritl1al miracle. Open-
ing the eyes of the blind, corresponds to opening mants understand-
ing, that he may understand the spiritual truths of the Scriptures.
Curing every disease of the body, corresponds to curing every diseue
of the soul. Raising the dead corresponds to giving spiritoal life to
those who are dead in trespasses and SiDS.
The prophecies, which literally relate to worldly events, bave res-
pect internally to things done in the spiritual world, and in the mindfJ
of men. And throughout the whole Word, the natural sense is only
a covering or veil placed ovftr the spiritual sense, whicb may be
made transparent so as to permit the internal light to descend, just
in proportion 8S we ha\"8 our understandings opened.
A great part of the narratives in the Word are literally true; but
they all have a spiritual meaning; and this spiritual sense is wh8't
principally concerns os as beings who are to live in the spiritual
world forever.
What we ha.ve said may receive some illustration from a few ex-
amples of the spiritual meaning of particular words. We will take
some examples of which the spiritual m~aning is not wholly lost.
The natural sun corresponds to the Lord Himsel~ who is caIJed &
sun in the Scripture. Natural light and haRt correspond to wisdom
and love, which are often called light and beat. Cold and dark_
signify the deprivation of love and wisdom: hence we speak of &bY
one as cold in respect to what he does not love, and as in darkDeBB
in respect to what he does not understand.
By water is also meant troth. Thus the wat~r8 of life mean the
trotbs of the Word. The like is meant where the Lord says, "The
water which I will give him shall be ill him a well of water spring-
ing up into eternal life."
By the different kinds of natural food, the different kinds of spiritual
food are signified; and by all the varieties of natural operatioD&, spi-
ritual operations corresponding to them are signified in the" internal
sense of the Scriptures. .
It is not to be understood that either the literal sense or any spi-
ritusl sense of the Scriptures which men or even angels can under-
stand, comprises all the wisdom which the Scriptures contain. The
truth or wisdom in the Scriptures is infinite. They are tbe Word of
the Lord: and, as the words of a man contain the kinds aod degrees
of wisdom or truth which are in his mind, so the words of the Lord
contain the kinds and degrees of wisdom or truth which are in the
Divine Mind.
The literal sense of the Word comes down to the capacities of
merely Datural men. But everyone whose understanding is in any
degree opened to understand the higher or more interior truths of
the Word, sees that these wa~ers do not spring up merely into the
present life-that they do not flow merely in this world-that they
do not nourish merely temporal things; but that they are living
waters springing up into everlasting life ;-w8ters flowing fortla
from Him \vho is the Living Fountain, and giving drink to all who
thirst for them, in heaven and in earth.
114 &T1IIOR on Luke xxiv. 45. [April,
The few examples which have been given may serve to show what
is meant by the doctrine of the New Jerusalem, which teaches that
the Word is written according to the correspondence of natural things
with spiritual; and that, being written in this manner, it is adapted
to give to all orders of men and angels all the truth or wisdom
which they are able to r~ceive. Those who are willing to know and
do the truth, may now have their understandings opened to under-
stand the Scriptures, 80 as to learn from them the very doctrioefll
which are believed by the ~ngels in heaven. They can easily learn
innumerable things concerning the Lord and His divine providence;
concerning hea\yen and hell and the state of men after death; and
also concerning the connexion and intercourse between all things of
the natural world Bnd the corresponding things of the spiritual
world. E,rery part of the Word, when illterprE'ted in this manner,
gives instruction concerning those things which concern our spiritual
welfare.
The writings of Swedenborg explain the Scriptures after the man-
ner now described; and these writings are the meaDS now furnished
by the Lord for opening the understandings of men to understand
the Scriptures. Men at this day are not to be enlightened by any
miraculous operation on their minds; but the means of obtaining
spiritual knowledge are given them, and they are required to use
these meaDS as faithful disciples. They are to be treated as free and
responsible agents. They can neglect or reject the light that has
now come into the world, or they can comE' to the light~ have their .
understandings opened to receive it, and can walk in it. Only a fe\\"
of those to whom the truth is presented at this day, have any sincere
affection for it. No man having drunk old wine immediately desireth
new, for he 8sith that the old is better. The doctrines which he has
long believed and defended become conformed to his ruling loves,
and he loves them as a part of himself:
The duty of those who believe the heavenly doctrines which are
now revealed, is to teach them openly, and to live according to them.
In this way they will let their light shine before men; they will be a
city set on a hill, which cannot be hid. Those who have an affec-
tion for th~ light, will then come to the light and have their under-
standings opened to receive it; but those \vho love darkness rather
than light, will still abide in darkness.
When the Lord establishes A. new Church on the earth, only a few
of those who had received the false doctrines of the former Church
can receive the new doctrines. The new Church must be formed
~rincipally among the Gentiles. But to all, the Spirit and the bride
say, Come: and let him that heareth say, Come; and Jet him that
tbirsteth, come; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of
life freely.

N. B. Tbe foregoing diecoorse, so clearly setting forth the nature of Correspondenco, is

th.lnt of a eeries which we are permitted to pubUsh from the same sonrce.
1852.] ne U,t of tAe Lot in relation to the N. C. Mini,try. 116

ARTICLE 11.

THE USE OF THE LOT, IN RELATION TO THE NEW CHURCH MINISTRY.

No.. 11.
WB come at length to the case of Matthias, the real and sole pre-
cedent by which they were guided who first instituted a ministry for
the visible N. C. on earth, and against which Delta has directed his
principal battery.
And here we have a notable discovery, viz: That the apoltles
were altogether in the wrong when they attempted to supply the
vacancy occasioned by the defection of Judas. Vf~ say attempted;
for, astounding to relate, the world has been in a delusion on this
subject for eighteen hundred years, and it is now announced for the
first time tha.t they failed of their purpose, their act being wholly void
from the beginning! Of this, however, presently.
Delta thinks they erred for two reasons. First, The twelve
apostles representpd the Church in genera), and each of them some
essential principle thereof. Judas represented it as it then existed
among the Jews. And as the Jewish church had th~n come to an
end, so the repre,entative character of Judal had ceaaed, and it was a
t~rusting of their own short-sighted counsels among the Divine pur-
poses to attempt to suppJy his place. Such is his first argument to
show that men, who have heretofore been regarded as inspired in all
they said and did on this occasion, were, after all, but following the
sUjtgestions of their own proprinm.
Now the present writer does not pretend to be wiser on this head
than whn.t is written in the Acts of the Apostles. But as a set-off to
the above piece of reasoning. he will offer another, which may go for
what it is worth. The Twelve represented all tbings of the church,
aod each one of them some primary and universal principle thereof:
Bat essential principles cannot be destro~'ed, and the church cannot
be perfected, without the presence and aid of' each and of all. Now
the Dame of J adss is the same \vith that of Judab, whose original
signification was tI,e celestial principle of Love to the Lord; but this
bein~ now in a state of utter perver8ioft among the Jews, as such was
it represented by Judas. The" first pa.rt of the divine annunciation,
"The first shall be last," had come to pass. It reml\ined that a type
and pledge of the fulfilment of its counterpart " The last shall be first,"
should also be given. The church of the Jews by his and their act
had come to an end. As B nation they were doomed: as a people,
to be scattered into corners, and a new church was to be gathered
from the Gentiles, to take the place of the former. The election of
Matthias not only filled up their rnystic number twelve-which was
required for other purposes-but served to 8SSUI·e them that this or
some other principle would be restorecl 8S a new" gift" to this church.
aDd complete the tale of those which were necessar)" to the perfect-
ing of its members.
118 ne u. cf tie Lot i. Nlatiora to [April,

His other reason is as follows: cc The eleven remaining apostles

immediately became, by their very number, representative of the
state of the church as it was after the Jewish consummation. That
state was a state of beginning-a state of reception. and we read in
Swedenborg that eleven (then the number of the apostles) 'denotes a
state not yet full, but a state of reception, such as pertains to well
disposed children and infants' (A. E. 194)." And this he confinns
by the fact, that oor Lord addresses the eleven as little children.
That such is the spiritual signification of this number, and an apt
description of their then state may readily be granted. But does it
follow that such was always to be their state 1 They were like well-
ditlpOsed boys and girls; and do not such, when under the special goar-
dianship of Divine Providence, advance in the divine life, and grow
to the fulness of perfect men in Christ Jesus; and is not the number
twelve as significant of this, as eleven was of their former condition 1
That "oor Lord did not orally appoint a twe1t~h apostle" makes noth-
ing for Delta, but rather favors 'the present view. Did he sanction
the appointment as afterwards made by the eleven t and while they
did it a8 of themselves, was he present and eo-operating with tbem
by his Providence"
We next have a reflection on P~ter for his "fflr,vard zeal" on this
oocasion; a comparison of him with Judas to the prejudice of the
former, and something more than an intimation that he had misquot-
ed Scripture in claiming a divine warrant for what was dODe of bis
own motion. It was with both pain and regret that we read lan-
guage to which we know p~ no paraIJel out of the books of Infidels.
Now Delta may, if he chooses, adopt the crotchet of Dr. Adam Clark
-who has taken the character of Jttdas under his particular patron-
age; but we cannot forget that Peter, if he did deny his master un-
der very trying circumtttances, had not sold him or betrayed him with
a kiss. The disciples, like other Jews, had looked for an earthly de-
liverer, and had trusted that" this was he" who should have restored
the kingdom to Israel. But, in the hour and power of darkness. see-
ing the failure of this their earl)' and cherished hope, they all forsook
him and fled. Lamentable especiaIJy was the fall of Peter; bot a
look from the Saviour brought him to repentance, and he went out
and wept bittflrly. He was the foremost of them at the Sepulchre;
the first to hail his risen Lord; to the thrice-repeated probing ques-
tion of the Searcher of Hearts, "Lovest thou me 1" he had boldly
answered, Them knowesl that I love thee; and his whole subsequent
life, crowned by A. martyr's death, was 8 proof of the sincerity of the
.declaration. When once his mind was enlightened 8S to the troe
and comprehensive plan of the Messiah-to percei\l'e that the Great
Captain had come to rescue them and t.he whole world from worse
than Roman or ER'yptian bondJ\ge; when once he had waked iJp to
the grandeur of his own mission in connexion therewith, never more
do we hear of any flinching from duty or peril on his part. Ifhe ap-
peared 88 the leader and spokE'sman of his brethren on the present
occasion, he was equally conspicuous on the day of Pentecost, before
the Sanhedrim, in proclaiming the gospel first to his countrymen and
1852.] tAe Ney C_eA Mini.trg.-No. 11. 16'7

afterwards to the Gentiles; in the face of danger, and in spite of

stripes or bonds, Peter was moreover the representative of Faith; the
first iD appeara~ if not in essence. of the principles of the church;
and his prolninence in her early history, which 80me have ajfect~d to
trace to presumption or vehemence, may have been owing as much
to his representative as to his personal character.
After this strong impeachment of the brave old apostle, which in-
cluded in its scope the remaining ten, alii also the hundred and twenty •
-all of whom, he seems to think, followed Peter with 8S thoughtless
precipitancy as a ftoc1( of sheep do their bell-wether in leaping a
ditch-we need not be surprised a.t the conclusions embraoed in
the following paragraphs:
u We regard the selection of Matthias, therefore, as being merely a void act-not
vesting him with a Divine CommisBion. There was no inaugura.tion of him into the
apoetleship--no representation of the tranalation oC the Holy Spirit, for the Holl
Ghost, the promise of the Father, could Dot then be oommunioated by the apostles,
nar did they pretend to do it. The Holy_Spirit had not yet been given, and could
Dot be imparted. The lot fell upon Matthiu, and he was, by men, numbered
with the &poat1ea-that was all. He is neither heard nor read of before or .inee.
The hundred and twenty disciples who engaged in this transaction were free agent.
-free to judge and act In accordance with their own mistaken views of the proJlriety
of things. Thev oould not have been prevented, without a violent interruption Of
their freedom. -Acting npon their own pardonable assent to the suggestion of Peter,
they 8elected two of their number, and determined, of their own he&de, that one or
the other oC them, it mattered not which, should be a Dominal apostle. Ha~
formed this determination, in making choice of ,the two, they assumed the faot that
the Lord had ohoeen one, whereas tliey had choeen both; and in aooordance with
thill.8I!IWIled pJemi!e, they logically prayed that the Lord would show, by means of
the lo~ which of them He had ohoeen. Their names were then_placed in the 1U'DI.
One of them had to be the object of the selection, or else the IOrtilegiBta must be for-
cibly prevented, by a miraole, from doing what they proposed, and they did seleot
one j that was all. They selected a man-unit, but an apostolic-cypher."

Worse still: "The church WRS not in them." c, They were not e\fE'D
in a holy external of worship." "The Lord was not present with
them, and the result of their lot was of no moment to their guidance
as a cburch." " They dirper8ed the truth-by adopting the contrary
jalle," and confessed by their acts that " they had no perception of ~ooi
or urulef",ttmding of truth I"
These are bitter words I Now if we can show that this terrible
indictment is wholly without evidence to sustain it in the original
record-that tbe disciples in this affair were most probably carrying
ant the commands of their Master, who certainly sanctioned after-
wards what was then done; nay, that he is doing so at thu hoUT,
we hope your rE'a.ders will concur with us in thinking this to be
~omething more than 8. " peccadillo"-a grave offence, for whicb noth-
Ing short of the ameflde Aonorable can atone.
What saith the Scripture:
U And in tllose days Peter stood u~ in the midst of the disciples, and said (the
number of names together were about ODe hundred and twenty), Men 8D4
brethren, this Scripture moat needs have been ftillilled, whioh the Holy GhOli by
the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, whioh was guide to them that
took Je&II8. For he W88 numbered with us, aDd had obtained pa.rt o~ this miDilu,.
168 ns U,e of tk Lot in relation to [April,
Now thiJ man purchased a field with the reward otiniquity; Uld falling headlong,
he bUlBt asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was moWD
unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as tliat field is called in their proper
tongue, Aceldama, that is to .y, the field of blood. For it is written in the bOok
of PI&1ma, Let his habitation be deaolate, and let DO man dwell therein: and his
biah0frick let another take. Wherefore of theae men which have eom~ with
us al the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among ua, begiuumg from. the
bap~ of John, unto that .me day that he was taken up from us, m1l8t one be
ordained to be a witne88 with us oC his resurrection. And they appointed two,
Joeeph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthiaa. And they pray-
ed, and said, Thou, Lord, whioh lmowest the hearts of all mm, MOW' whether or
these two thou hut choeen. That he may take part of this miniltry _and apostle-
ship, from which Judas by trans~on fell, that he migb.t go to his own place.
And the, gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthiu; and he was nUDl-
hered. WIth. the eleven apostles."-Acta i. 15-26.
Now this, be it remembered, was their first official act after the
resurrection. And I ask, does not the narrative carry an air of pro-
bability and good faith on its face 1 Is it not true that Judas-
whether he was ever a bishop or not-bad been numbered with the
apostles, and taken a part of their ministry 1 (Mark Hi. 13-19; Luke
'''i. 13-16; Matt. x. 2; Mark vi. 30; Luke ix. 10; xvii. 5; xxii. 14;
xxiv. 10.) And when he had forfeited his interest in the high voca-
tion, which involved a mission to all nations, does not Peter give a
sufficient reason for choosing another in his stead 1 " This Scripture
mfJst need' have beenfulfilletl'-" Wherefore of these men • • •
must one be ordained . • . to be a witness with ua of hi, RESUR-
RECTION." One of the very injunctions which their Lord had laid on
them (John xv. 27), that they should testify to that fact which \-vas
then regarded as the very corner-st.one of Christianity. 1 Cor. xv.
14: "They prayed moreover and said, Thou Lord which knOlDe8t the
hea,·ts of all men [and of ourselves at this present], sbow whether of
these two thou hast chosen." Now, if during all this while the)" were
but wresting his word to cover a deed for ,,'hich they had no au-
thority, and concluded this solemn appeal by ascribing to their Maker
their own act, far from being worthy to engage in the high and holy
service \vhich awaited them, and which required the utmost sincerity
and truth, they must have been in connexion \\·ith the deepest bell of
the deceitful. And then, it is possible to believe, that Peter, ,vhose
bold earnestness has been thou@'ht by some to S8\"Or of rashness, that
he should have acted a lie, and called God to witness it I-when so
800n thereafter he was prompted to denounce, officially, the retribu-
tions of heaven on Ananias for the first recorded deception of a pro-
fessing Christian 1
Nor is it true that his citations from Scripture were either forced
or inapplicable. The first is from Ps. Ixix. 25 :
cc 'Let their habitation be desolate; let no one dwell in their tents.' Other pu-
_gel in the same connexion are these: 'I am become a stranger to my brethren,
and an alien to my mother's SODS.' 'Let their table become a 'MTt before them,
and let their TftDQrd be a trap.' 'Let them be blotted out from th, boo" of life j and
let them not be written with the jU8t.' (Ib. 8, 22, 28, Clowes' Tr.) The 8J>iritual
88DBe of this part of the P.1m is as follows: That he will be treated ignommiously
by thos, among tJJhom the church u-vs. 8-12. When he desired the gOod and the
*ruth ot the church, they gave him what wu false and evil, tU upon tlu croa gall
185i.] ,le New OAurc1& Minutry.-No. IL IS9
all "irwpr-2l. Tlwrl/or, t1JnJ tIIill b, datroyttl-2S-28. The other il from
Ps. cU. 8, 'Let another take his 0408.' In other verses of this Psalm we read thus:
& The mouth of the wicked, 'and the mouth oC the deceitful, are opened a~inat me;

they speak against me with a l~g tongue. Yea, they encompa88 me with words
of hatred, ana fight againat me wi~hout cause. . . . They place u~on me evil
tor good, and hatr,d/or my ltne. Set thou over him a wicked one, and let Sataft
Jland at 1&" rig'" hand. . . . Let his days be few. . . . Let his children b,
/at1an'Ia.. and hi, tJ1I/, a widow. BeoaU18 he yenecuted the afllioted, Ito., to the
death. Let mine adversaries be clothed with dISgrace, and let them be covered
sA.tmu .. with a mantle' (V8. 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 16, 29). The internal sense here allo
tDi,'
treat. & of the Jewish church-that it rejeoted the Lord and de8pi&ed and hated him:
1-6; that they will perish in the judgment, and that otler, will be r,ceived in tluir
llead.'-7-12."
The quotations from the Old Testament in the New, having been
made by variou~ writers for different purposes, are very rarely exact,
though always sufficiently so in the sense intended. It can hardly be
n~cessary to adduce the various rules which have been compiled by
Biblical critics, as having regulated this matter. It is enough to say
here, that prophecies are cited to show that they have been fulfilled,
sometimes literally, sometimes spirituall)", at others onll~ by way of
accommodation, or as in a parallel case. The passages in question
were quoted from the Septuagint. The latter, and most material,
with literal exactness-the former nearly so, except that, for a suffi·
cient reason, it is given in the singlllar, rather than tbe plural num·
ber. Now, leaving oot of view the received opinion that Peter was
inspired to give bis present interpretation, be would be cleared of cen-
sure if the prophecy was applicable to Juda.s in either the second or
third sense, and it would come under either. For Judas represf\nted
the Jewish churcb, and as he represented them in the heginning and
course of his official career, so also should he to its end and in its re-
tributions. The sacred Word is, moreover, a code of eternal princi-
ples, and wlwlOever comflS within the scope of its warnings or de-
nunciations, must expect to have them fulfilled sooner or later in his
own person. Look now to the other passages from those two Psalms,
aud Jet the reader say if the treatment of Messiab, 8S there foretold,
together with its results, is not admirably descriptive of the conduct
of Judas and its retributi ve issues.
U Thu much as to the internal evidence of truth and propriety in this portion of

Scripture history. Let us now look for a brier while both at ita anteceaentB and
conBequent8 88 pl'8Iented in the Sacred Record:
" & The wordS that I speak unto you they are spirit, and are lile'-John vi. 63

(spoken in Capemaum).
U l Why do ye not understand my speeoh 1 Beoauseye cannot hear my word. '-16.
rill. 43 (addrelBed to the Jews in Jenualem).
" l But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will Bend in my name, A.

Jllaall ttac1& you all thing', and bring all thing. to youT rtmtmbrance, whatsoever 1
Aaw said unto lou'-John xiv. 26 (addl"e!8ed to the eleven after the last 8upper).
,,& And he laid unto them [the elevenl, These are the words which I apake unto
1oa.. while I was yet with you, that all things mUBt be fulfilled which were written
m the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the PSALM&, concerning me. Thtn
open_ lat their undn,tandiftg, lliat they might undtr,tand tlu SeriptuTa'-Luke nil'.
.(4, 45 (after the Resurrection)."
Thus saith the Scripture; but Delta has discovered that "their
interiors were still closed," and that" they had no perception of good
or understanding of truth t"
188 The U" of the Lot in rela'iDn to [April,
Cl Then JeBl1I _id again, Peaoe be unto you : _ my Father bath lent me, ,",en BD
I8Ild I yoa. And when be had eaid this, 7u breathed ~ tMm., and aith unto them,
1l&cJ:IVE YE TIU: HOLT SPD.IT."-Johnu. 21,22.
This also was done in Jerusalem, and before the Ascension. Bat
Delta sa)'s that, at the election of Matthias, "The Holy Spirit had
not been given, and could Dot be imparted." The general strain of
his essay is highly original and peculiar, but he is more excusable
here for having adopted an error common to Cbrilltians generally,
and to some Newchurchmen who ought to know better. The Holy
Spirit, with its enlightening and sustaining influences, was needed b)t'
the disciples in their individual character and as private Christians,
during their" ante-pentecostal state.'· Other gifts, of which it was
the medium, were in reserve, to be manifested then and afterwards,
as occasion should require.
Cl Jesus was taken up, atler that He through the Holy Spirit had given CO• •AJfD-
IIDTS unto the &p08tles whom he had choeen, . . . being Been of them forty I

diJys, and SPEAKING 01' THE THINGS PERTAINING TO THE IINGDOM 01' GOD, and being
8886Dlbled together with them, oommanded them that they should not depart from
Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father which ye have heard ofme. . . I

Ye shall receive the pOrDn- of the H. S. coming Q})O!l you, and ye ,haU be tDitneaa
unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Jades, and in Samaria, and unto the utter-
most parts of the earth.n-Aota i. 2, 3, 4, 8. .
It seems' then that he gave these "commandments," and conferred
with them thus long on the affairs of His kingdom then about to com-
mence. And is it credible that the first official act of men whose
minds were thus enlightened, and who had received the most solemn I

charge ever laid on mortals, should be one of disobedienc~, or simply

nugatory 1 or that their leader should, in his justification, have wrest-
ed a passage of that very book which they had all been supernatu-
rally enabled to understand.
u Th~y [the Eleven] returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were tOfttifltUll1J
in the Temple [i. e. at the regular h01lr8] PUlSING AND BLaBIKG GoD."-Luke ~.,.
52, 53.
And how does this accord with the assertion of c, Delta," " that they
were not 80 much &8 in a holy external of worship 1"
U These all [the Eleven who are enumerated by name in the preceding verse] GOD-
tiaued with ODe acoortl in pray". and sv,Pf'lietJtion, with the women, and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."-Aote i. 14.
A fit preparation truly, and appropriate company (.of the solemn
fa.rce which they were about to enact I for it was "in those days that
Peter stood up in the midst of the discipJes" and delivered the address
which led to the choice of Matthias. And did it never occur to
Cl Delta" to inquire, whether these men, while thus employed, would

have dared to enter on the appointment of AN ApOBTLB! without a

divine command 1-and to be followed by a thunderbolt rather thsD
the divine 8cquiescence-or, what possible ,elfish motive they could
ba,·e had in seeking to share their sacred mission and authority
with another f
1852.] c1ae NeID Clare'" MiI.utry.-No. 11. 181

But we forbear farther comment OD matters preceding this event. I

that we may note some of those which followed.
And first, the narrative itself is closed with the remarkable state-
meD~ that" be [Matthias] was "Kmbered with the KLBVBJI Apostles"
(Acts i. 26). Of course, whatever is recorded by the same historian
as having been done or suffered by these Twelve, or by the Apostles
generally, is predicated of Matthias, equally as of the rest, although
he be not mentioned by name, a similar silence having been observed
as to most of his fellows. Let us, therefore, gather into one ,-iew
some of these incidents as they stand dispersed through the book of
A.cts.
I' And when the day of Penteooei was fully come, they all [the apostles] were with
ODe accord in one place. And 8uddenly there came a lOun71 from Heaven, 88 of a
rashing, mighty wmd, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there
appear8d unto them oloven tongt!eB as of fire, and it sat upon ,a,h of them. And
Spirit pve them utterance. . .
wi.-
die,. were all filltd tlJith the Holy Spirit, and began to speak other tongua as the
. Now, when this was noised abroad, the
moltitade came together.. . 'Bat Peter, lltanding up with the ELEVEN,' de-
Dl'ered his well known addreu. . . • Now, when they heard thia, they were
pricked in their hean, and said unto Peter and tlu Tut 01 th, ~p08tla, Men and
&etMeDt \Vhat shall we do 1 . • . And they [the baptised. converts] cootin-
uad I&eadtu~ in the ~postlu' dookine and fellowship. . . . And many wooden
aod agr. were done by the Apoatla ."-n. 1-4, 6, 14; 37, 42. 43.
Peter and John haTing healed the lame man in the temple, and preached with
great effect to the admiring crowd, were arrested and impnsoned by order of the
priesthood, who questioned them the next day 88 to their doings. Tlie two a~ea
boldly confeaeed the name of JesU8, were threatened and dismissed. U And beIng let
go. _they went to tMir 01.Ift t»mpGny, and reperted all, . . . . and when they
had heard that, they li.fted up their voice to God with. OM G~OTd. • • • • Ana
when the,.
bad ~ra1ed, the place W88 ahaken where they were 888embled together. .
. . . And 'WIth great power gave th, Ap08tlu witnel!l8 of the resurrection of the
Lard Je&118."--iv. 23, 24, 31, 33.
The ~ of lands and hOU8e8 BOld them, "brought the pieces and laid them
at the apostles' feet," for dietribution among the needy bretliren.-Ib. VI. 34-31;
\'.1, 2.
I.l And by thehanda ofth, .Apostlu were manl signs and wonders wrought among
the people; and thel were all with one acoord m S-olomon's porch. And of the rest
dunt DO man join himself to th,m, but the people magnified them." . . . . But
the authorities "laid hands on the ~pOlIla. and put them in the common prison. But
the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison-doore, and brought them forth, and
said, Go. stand and speak in the temple to the people all the worda of this life. And
when they heard that they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught."
. . . . When the high priest and the rest heard the8e things, U the captain with
the ofticel'8 went and brougllt them without violence, and set them before the COUD-
cilt " who again questioned them. U Then Peter and the ot/a.,. .ApOItlu answered, and
aid, We ought to obey God rather than man," &0. When they heard that, they
took counsel to IIlay them, but were dissuaded by Gamaliel. U To him they agreed,
and when they had oalled tlu ~pOltlu. and beaten them, they commanded that they
Ibould D~ ~ in the Dame of Jelua. And they de~ted from the preeeDC8 of the
OCMIDcil, rejoicing that the, were ooanted worilly to sder shame for hiB Dame. And
dail1 in the kmlplee, aDd m ever'! houe, tAeJ uiuld raot to teach and preaoh J. .
CIariaL"-16.... l2, 13, 17-21, 24, 26, 27, 29, 33, 40-42.
WheD d«JumI were to be ohORD, "the TWELVE called the multitude of the diaoi-
pIes, and aaid,'t . . . . U Look ye out amoDIYou.va mm of good report. Cull
 169 The U,e of tAe Lol in Relation to [April,
of the Holy Spirit and wildom, whom W ID&Iappoint OYer thia basinel8." The~­
IOD8 choeen were U set before tAl Apoatk" ana wlien they had prayed theylaUlA'"
OD them."-l'i. 2, 3, 6. .
On the martpdom of Stephen, Cl a peat peneoution &rOle against the church
which was at Jernsalem: and they were all BO&ttered abroad tlirougbo1lt the le-
gioDl of Judea and Samaria, excqt tA, A.poItla. . • . . Now, when the Apoe-
ties whioh were at Jel'U8&lem heard that Samaria had received the word of God.
tM!I "nt unto tMm Peter and John, who. when the} were come down, prayed for
~em that they might receive the Holy Spirit."-vih. 1: 14-, 15.

U Barnabas took Saul and brought him. to tM .Ap08tlU, and declared unto them how
he had seen the Lord, &0. • . . . .And he (Saul) was with them, coming iD.
and going out at JerUlalem."-ix. 27, 28.
U And tlu .Apostl" and bPethren that were in Jode&, heard that the Gentiles had
also reoeived the Word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jem.lem, the1
that were of the circumcision contended with him." But he j118tified himself. U And
when they heard theae things they held their peace and glo~d God, saying, Then
bath God alao ~ the Oentilee granted repentance unto life."-n. 1, 18, 19.
When men from Judea disturbed the church at Antiooh by insisting on the cir-
cumcision of the Gentile converts, u they determined that Paul and Bamab.. . .
should go up to Jerusalem unto tA, ApOltl" and Elders about thi8 question. . . .
And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the ehurch, and of
the Apostles and Elders. . . . . .And the Apostles and Elders came together
for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much diaputiDg"-wheo
Peter, and Paul, and Bamabas had spoken, James summed up their decision, which
was embodied in a letter, and sent by chosen men to Antiocti. The letter UBerta
that their judpent was suggested 1>y tll., Holy Spirit, and IT SETTLED THX QUE!-
TION.-XV. 1, 2, 4,6, 7, 12, 13, 22, 23, 28, SI.
Finally, we are told that Paul and Silu, U a8 they went through the cities, deliv-
ered them th, decree, for to keep, that were ordained of th, ApOltle, and Elders which
were at Jerusalem. And 10 were the churches "tablilhld in the faith.-xvi. 4. 5.
In Rll these important transactions, it is fair to presume that Mat-
thiss bore his part officially with the eleven. Most certainly the
cloven tongues rested on him on the dsy of Pentecost, and he stood
up \vith the rest when Peter addressed the multitude; and as cer-
tainly did he aid in ordaining the seven deacons. Pretty ,,"ell for
., an apostolic cypher," who is neither heard nor read of before or
&ince."
But is Luke, who \vrote the book of Acts, good authority 1 For
" Delta" says that "Matthias \vas by men numbered with the Apos-
tles-that was 8]]." And this inquiry is made in the belief that there
is a lurking doubt on this point in the minds of many Newchurchmen,
because S\vedenborg has declared that this book, like cert.ain others
which are bound up in the Bible, has Dot the internal sense. If so,
any such unworthy suspicion should va.nish on reading what follows:
In the T. C. R., No. 154, we find it thus written: cc It is known that ~ .Jfpostla,
after they had received the 2ift of the Holy Spirit from the Lord, preaohed the go&-
pel through a great part of the world, and that the! promul~ted it by speaking and
writings; and they did this of themaelvea from the LOrd i for Peter taugtit and wrote
in ODe manner, James in another, John in another, and Paul in another; each ac-
oording to his own intelli~nce; tAe Lord filled tAtm all vnth hi, Spirit, but each
took of it a portion according to the quality of hi. perception, and they exeroi8ed it
aocording to the quality of their ability.n
185'.] tAe New Church Ministry.-No. 11. 103

It is known-and how 1 Himself shall explain. In the" General

Summary, No. XI." of the "Coronia" to this work, we are informed,
"That the periodical changes, which succeeded in the fourth or Chris-
tian Churcb, are described in the Word of both Testaments; in par-
ticular, its Rise or Morning is described in the Evangelists, in the Acts,
and in the writings of the Apostles; its Progression towards Day, in
Me Eccle&iaatical Biltoryof the three first centuries," ~.
In accordance herewith, we find that he has quoted the Book of
Acts repeatedly in this very work (Nos. 4, 107, 121, 137, &c.), as also
in the Apocalypse Revealed (Nos. 31, 642, 820), and elsewhere in
works published by himself: .
In a posthumous tract, which the Editor, Dr. Tafel, entitles, '11 Dicta
Probantia," it being a series of texts drs\\'n from both Testaments in
proof of the doctrines of the New Chutch, and which must have been
compiled after the year 1766, for it refers to the Apocalyse Revealed,
which was published in that year-his citations from the Acts oC the
Apostles are nearly as frequel)t as from any other part of Scripture.
And the following remark from the body of the tract may further
serve to show his estimate of its character. "In Actis Apostoloruln
legitur solum quod prmdicaverunt Dominum Christum, ac ut crede-
rent in ipsum, et nullibi quod in Deum Patrem." In the Acts of the
Apostles we read only that they preached Christ the Lord, and
that men should believe on him, and nowhere on God the Father
(pe 39). But, what is more to our present purpose, here also f\ppear
most of the passages we have quoted above; especially those from
Chap i., which speak of his interviews with the Apostles during the
forty days, and his cornmands concerning his kingdom (pp. 60, 61).
\Ve will add but one other, which ought to be decisive, " MOSTOLI
NOIIINANTua, Acts i. 13, 26" (p. 33), viz: "The Apostles are mention-
ed by name" in those two verses, the last of which expressly states
that ., Mattbias was numbered among the Apostles." And this is fol-
lowed by a reference to others \vhich relate the horrible cnd of "Ju-
das the Traito)I." Is not the juxtaposition here very significant 1 And
is the testimony of Swedenborg of weight with us, and must he not
ba~e believed that in this transaction all was right a.nd as it should
be 1 Can there be any escape from this 1 and will" Delta" now come
forward and ingenuousl)' confess his error 1
Before we leave this subject, ho\vever, we ms)" hear from him once
more; bat first we will advert for a moment to another autholwity.
, I l\fatthias," sa.ys Delta, ,. is neither heard of before or since." "The

progression of the first Christian Church towards Day is described in

the Ecclesiastical History of the three first cell.luJ·ies," says our au-
thor. Now the only writer who has given a continuous history of the
Church during this period, from original record~ or traditions yet
fresh, is Eusebius. This learned Father, who lived in an age when
letters were cherished, and Christian documents were numerous,
though dispersed, from his position as Bishop ofCesarea, and favorite
of the Emperor Constantine, had access to the best sources of infor-
mation in compiling his history, which, as to plain olatters of fact, is
 184 ne U,e of tile Lot in relation t.D [April,
therefore worthy of our acceptance. And he has not forgotten to
mention the man who was admitted to this honorable fellowship.
le The names of our Saviour's al)08t1ee are suf&cientlI obvious to every (De &om the
goepell; but of the 'IWfIty disciples DO catalogue is given anywhere. . . Clem-
ent, in the fifth of hie Inetitutions, .~ that Matthiu, tDho ~ numb".. witA t!e
Apt!,tlt. in tilt p/au of Judu, i, said to have been deemed. worthy ofthe8&D1e calling
WIth the seventy" (B. I. chap. 12). Again:" First, iD tAt plau of Jadtu, tJu
traitor, Matthiu was chosen, by lot, who, as Wall shown above, WBI also one of the
disoiples of our Lord."-(B. 11. chap. I.)
And this is the narr~tive of Luke confirmed by the first and only
historian of the early Church. A later writer has mentioned that
when the Apostles separated, his province was assigned him, in whieh
he labored successfully, and that he died a martyr to the faith at Se-
bastopol. However that may be, Newchurchmen have heard of him
still more recently, and b)" one wbom they regard as worthy of credit.
In the T. C. Re the follo\'1ing relation is in substance thrice re-
peated:
U Some months since, i. 8., June 19th, 1770, th, twelvt apostles were called •

getber by the Lord, and sent forth into all the ~iritual world, tu ~Jort tlley ~t
lido flu natural tDOrld, with the command that they should preaoh this gospel; and
then every apostle had his province assigned to him; which command also they are
e:ucuting with all zeal and induatry."-(No. 108, COT. 4,791.)
The twelve Apostles ,,'ere not sent abroad into the natural world
.until after the death of Judas. Matthias, therefore. must be one of
the number who are employed on the sacred errand which imports so
much to us at this hour. HerA, then, is confirmation strong for Ill,
if any were needed, of the validity of the original appointment.
Verily, the wise king of Israel was right. "The lot is cast into the
lap; but ti,e whole disposing herpof is of the Lord." "The lot causeth
contention to ~ell8et and parteth bet,,·een the mighty." The only doubt
of the pertinency of the proverb to the subject before us may be sug-
gested by the fact, that until now neither contention nor question as
to the apostlesbip of Matthias has evel' arisen.
And this, we repeat, is the one Christia.n precedent, which was fol-
lowed by" the Sortilegists of 1788." If we have dwelt on it at a
length disproportioned to its apparent importance, let the reader re-
member that " Delta" has aimed" a blow at the root," which must be
warded off in justice to the living and the dead.
There remains but the comparatively easy task of vindicating the
men who, on the ever memorable 1st of June in that }gear, under God,
first gave 8 ministry to his Ne\v and True Church, and whose conduct
therein should excite in us no other sentiments than those of wonder
at their discernment of the signs of the times, of admiration for their
moral courage, and gratitude for their inestimable services.
N. F. C.
P. S. The Editorial notice of "Mosheim's Historical Commenta-
ries," in the Februa.ry No. of the Repository, is accompanied by two
~.xtracts from the work, in their purport antagonistic to the principles
we maintain. Mosheim is certa!nly a name-with multitudes oC
1861.] , . NtIUJ CA.reA MinUtry.
, 185

_ptized ohri8tians. And, of all men, IDe are 8IpfteiaJly bound to res-
pect truth aDd· reUOD wherever we Ond them. Bat I know not why
we .hould be awed into silence by his authority as to a matter of fact
or opinion, wheD we can go to the sources u well "s be. For New.
churchmen have been at the burial of too many defunct reputations
to preveat their taking even tbis learned Professor by the beard when
he presames to triOe with the truth.
The first paaage, or one very similar, baYing been cited for a like
purpose beretofore, its erroneous statements were exposed in tbe
Letter on the Trine (pp. 61-64, or De Charms' Report, pp. 886-889).
The exposure may be repeated and extended at a future day. Bat
Jest we sbould seem to shun at present an argument which we fear
to meet, we will again but touch its weaker parts.
We have just seen that" the Rise or Momingor the first Christiara
Church is described in tho Evangelists, tile Acta, and in the writings
of the Apostles, its progression towards Day in the Ecclesiastical His-
tory of the three first centuries." Now, in opposition to the mon-
strous assertion that the primitive churches \\"ere wholly" Indepen-
dent," and that neither in "tbe New Teatammt Dor in any ancient
document wbate,"er" do we find an~" thing of a contrary aspect, we
would simply refer the reader to xv. ohapter of Acts, \vbich gives an
accoont of what chu~ch historians have ever called "the first gene-
ral Council," and its decrees, and to vs... and 5 of the xvi., that be may
judge whether those decrees were regarded 8.8 binding. The rights
of the Apostolic Order may be inferred from the general spirit of this
book, and of the Epistles. For tbe practice of I)aol in particulllf, let
him look to 1 Cor. iv. 17; vii. )7; xi. 2; 2 Cor. xi. 2ft; 2 Thes. ii.
15; iii. 14. So much for the New Testament. l'be main question
then resolves itself into another: ., Whether, in the titler history of the
ehorch, there were persons who succeeded to the rank and authority
of the Apostles, though under 8 different name 1" which. has also been
sufficiently discussed in the Letter.
Mosheim asserts that there is no trace of any thing like a Council
before the 2d century. 1'bis is Dot true, as we have just seen. Nor
is other proof wanting. But if it were, what of that 1 The church
eontinuf'd M to prCJgre,a towards Day during tbe first three centuries."
And this was also its season or "state of llUtructicm" (Gen. Sum. ]JI).
During the first century, himself tells us, that" all the churches were
united in one common bond of faith and love," aDd therefore there
was the less need for the assembling of bishops to determine points
of faith or discipline. There were also other reasoDs which rendered
it imprudent, in view of the secular powers. But the right of con-
vening for soch purposes may have been inherent, thol1gh reserved
for better times. All the precedents or rules for the government oC
the church in after ages may not have arisen in that its formative
state, Of, if known to a few, they may have been proclHimed to the
church in general, only as occasion required. Nor does be deny that
Paul of Samosata, A. D. 270, was ftrraigned and condemned, for
heresy and iJnmorality, by a conncil of his peers, the bishops of the
neighboring provinces.· But enough of this just now.
• Eo•• B. VII, chap. Dvll.-DS. Gibbon,obap. xvt.
YOL. T. 11
188 The U'8 of tile Lal ill relatioa to [April,
The second excerpt might excite ODr 8urprise, iC the demaads oC
paradoxes more recent and startling had let\ us any such feeIiDg to
8pare. Bat as it has a direct bearing on the question now before us,
we may not wholly pass it over. The historian coDcedes that" all
the commentators agree in representing MatthiaN as haviDg been
chosen by lot, agreeabl)· to the Ancient Jewish practice." lIe chooses,
however, to dissent from the unanimous impression of predecesson
and contemporaries as to the meaning of a passage 80 plain that he
who runs may read it, and OD which perversity itself had never be-
fore raised a question.
He thinks the Apostles did not east lots, but merely picked out the
two, and that the rest of the hundred and twenty brethren decided by
their votes, which of the twain should fill up the Dumber of the
Twelve I-And what are his reasons 1 The origina.l says, .a-x..
al.tzpOllS tW1'w., they gave forth their lots. Now, he grants that the sec-
ond word" properly signifies a lot;" but, this term in classic GreE-k
aothors. who would convey the idea. supposed, is generally preceded
by another verb, .~c4cw (they cast), instead of that used by Luke, which
signifies, " they gave or offered." Then be tampers ,,·ith the text, and
would substitute for the third term a variation of the same pronoun,
which limits the predicate to two persons. And lastly, it \VR.S after-
wards the custom with primitive Christians to choose by suffrage the
person \vhom they would havE" ordained as their bishop or presbyter.
He therefore, " cannot help thinking" that "'1l poS has here the same ttig-
nification with ~.OS, a vote, viz: a meaning the very opposite of that
it usually bears I-for the lot was never used except \vhen they did
not feel prepared to vote, and under the pressure of doubt preferred
leaving the matter to divine decision.
It has been pleasantly said, that" ft, German Biblical Critic, \vho
bas broke from the moorings of orthodoxy, needs not a dr&g-cha.io-
only a slender philological thread, to draw him from the broad da)·.
light into a region of mist," and that" not content \.vith the obfusca-
tion of his own intellect, he must attempt to throw dust into the eyes
of his readers." There may have been some spleen in this; but stilJ,
we are unwilling to surrender our common sense for the guidance of
ft. perverted ingenuity. Mosheim ought to have known, unless he
was of the company which came under the lash of Porson's fa.moul
epigram,
"The Germans in Greek,
Are sadly to seek," &e.,

that the writers of Classic and Hebraised Greek often differed in their
respective styles. 'fhe phrase he objects to might not be such as an
Athenian purist \vould have used, and yet it may convey a clear
enough idea of what was done. The Christian expression is also
more respectful than the Paga.n, and therefore the more appropriate.
Let us suppose that the Apostles, by common consent, placed two
written names, or something to represent them, in an urn, and tbat,
after the prayer, that of Matthiss was first dra\\'D out. By a ,~ery
common figure of speech, the names, or their lepresentatives, would
1811.] tAe Ne", CAMreA Jliau'ry. 181'
be called tle lotl, of the persoDs from whom a selection was to be
made. Now, where is the impropriety of saying that they (the Apos-
tles) gave or offered the lots of those (the candidates);-that is, to the
Lord, for Him to indicate which ha had chosen.
And this leads directly to another question, which ought to dis-
pEtrse all this fog at once. The Apostles prayed thus: "Thou Lord,
who knowest the hearts of all, show tbe one of these two [not whom
our brethren here ought to vote for-that's none of their business on
tbis occasion, whatever may be lawful for them in like cases here-
after, bot] whom THou hut chosen," &c. Where would be the pro-
priety of such a prayer. on Mosheim's hypothesis? or of that other
expression. "the lot fell on Mattbias 1" Bot take the receiv~d inter-
pretation, BDd all is plain; the answer beiDg found in Prove xvi. 33,
as already given.
No doubt the brethren present concurred in accepting the result of
the lot; and such assent is implied in the term (tr"Y.CM'",,"cJ8'l), used
to signify that Matthias was numbered, or rat.her "recogllized" a.mong
the ele\"'en Apostles. It may also be noted, that the theme of this
word (~,) is the proper Greek term for "a suffrage or ,"ote," which
shows that Luke may have employed it RI the antitheai. of ..'pos, to
express the acquiescence of men in the will God, for as such was the
result of the lot regarded. This novel exegesis, then, has too much the
appearance of having been dictated by caprice, or a rage for singu-
larity, or the desire to ma.intain a foregone conclusion, or a favorite
hypothesis. But with these observations we hope it will prove harm-
less to your readers. In conclusion, we must express our belief that,
though the booli under notice be free from most of the faults of the
author's" History of the Church" proper, both works of the pains-
taking German must, in no long time, go by the board. Already, and
justly, is he beginning to pale his ineffectual fires before the superior
light of NeaDder, who, in his doctrinal system, has made a decided
advance in the direction of the New Church. But he also has fallen
into some-of the radical notions of his predecessor on the matter oC
church governnlent. And perhaps it was but natural that the Jew,
in his rebound from the tyranny of Rabbinism, should recede to the
opposite extrf'me. 1'he entire history of the First Christian Chorch
is yet to be re-written in the light of the New.
N. F. C.

HaR.-That tbe lo-called CouDcil of the Apoltle., fpokeD of in Acta xv., does not mili-
tate witb the primitive independence of the Christian churches, has been, to our mind.
abundantly proved by OweD, Campbell, Baldane, Glas. CarBon, and others. who have 10
elaborately and ably com bated Ibe Epiecopal and Presbyterian theories.-ED.
 n. PtWtMe, BqWaed.-N•. IlL [April,

AJt'l'lCr.B al.

TRB PABABLES EXPLAIMED.

No. Ill.
TIIK IOwa•

.. And he lpake many thing. unto them in parables, .,Ing, Behold, a sawer weD!
fbrth to IOW'; and wben be lO.red, tome eeeds fell b, the wa,..fde, and the fowla came
and devoured them up: 1ODI8 fell 11pOD lton, pt-aea, where &bey bael IIOC I1IUeb eanb;
and forthwith tbeyspruDI up, because t1l£'y bad no deepness oC earth; aDd wben the
lun wal up, the, were scorched; and, tJt,cause they had no i'oot, the, witbered away;
and IOme fell amoDI 'borne; and the thorns IPrunl up and ohoked tbem : but others reu
into lood (round, and broulhl forth fruit, some an hundred-rold, som. sixty-fold. . .e
thirty-rold. Who halh ear. to hear, let him hear.It-MATT. xiii. 3-10.

Q. WHO is tl1e Sower T

A. The Son of Man, or J.us CHRIST, in His DiviDe Humanity.
Q. Why is ]£8US CHRIST cftUed the Sower 1
A. Because the seed sown is the Eternal Trutb, or the WORD or
GOD, and all Troth. properly 80 called, is from Jaul CBaI8T, who on
that aceonnt calls Himself the TRUTH.
Q. Wbat is to be understood by sowing, when spoken of Jam
CUBIST 1
A. The insemination and implantation oC His Divine Ttuth, or
Wnrd, in the understandings and lives of men.
Q. And bow is this sowing effected with respect to maD 1
A. By man's hea.ring, or reading, the WORD OP GOD, by his medi-
tating on what he bears or reads, but, above all, by the application
of what be bears, or reads, to the purpose of reforming his lifp, by
separating from himself all evil ends and purposes, and by loving,
thinkin" and doing those good things which the Woan OP GOD
teaches to be good.
Q. Do mankind, then, differ in their ways or receiving and ad-
mittioJt the ETERNAL TRUTH 1
A. Yea; and this difference is described in the parable to be four-
fold.
Q. How do yon distingoish this four-fold reception of the WORD
OP GOD'l
A. It is distinguisbed in the parable, first, by lome Bted falling by
,IN may rid,; secondly, by some falling upon .ttlfty place" wlaere tAey
Aave "ot mueA earth; thirdly. by lOme fa11i"K aMang thorru; and,
lastly, by .ome falliftK i,.,o good ground.
Q. And what do yoo understand by tbe first of these distinctions,
described by lome 8eed falling by the way-ride 1
A. This distinction includes all tbose who receive the WOIlD or
GOD, or the ETEBNAL TRUTH, without affection.
Q. What do you mean by receiving the WoaD or GOD witAout of·
fection?
A. Everyone receives the WOIlD 01' GOD without affection who
bears it, and reads it, and yet is not interested in what he hears and
J~]

nUs, having hi. afFeotions imme~ merely in the things of time aocl
of . . ., without aDy elevation to the great things of ETuKln.
Q. ADd what do you uDderstand by the second of the above dis-
tinctions, described by Ills Hed. wAicA fell uptJa .toag plaaJ8, ",lere
u.y have not f1JucA eartA 1 •
A. This distinction includes all those who hear, or read, tbe WoaD
or GOD, and imbibe its truth, yet not from a genuine affection for that
truth, but from external ftffection which regards only the gain aDd
glory of this world: t.bos they love the trotb, Dot for its own sake,
but for the sake of their own temporal interests, which they think to
advance and secure by means of the knowledge of truth.
Q. ADd what do you understand by the third of the .bovedis-
tinctions, described by tAe .eed. whicA fell among t/wm. 1
.A. This distinction includes all those who bear. or read, the WOO
OP GOD, but without any desire to remove t1uI 001lmlP~U of evil,
and who thus are desirous to become iDtelligent in heavenly know.
ledge, but Dot for the purpose of purifying and reforming their own
hearts and lives in tb.e Right of GOD.
Q. And wh.t do you understand by tbe Jut of the above distinc-
tions, described by the .eeth wAicAfelliRto good ground 1
A. This distinction inoludes all those who receive the WORD o.
GOD, and its Eternal Troths, with a geRUin6 and devou, 0.lectio", at
the same time applying them to the purposes for which they are
given, viz., the purification, reformation, and regeneratioD oC their
hearts and JiV8S in the sight of GOD.
Q. You have properly described the above distinctions. Will you
now e~plaiD to me the effect. of these different receptioDs of the
W OBD 01' GOD in the miDds of men, as they are described in tb.
parable!
A. The first e1fect is described in these wordtj, The fowl. came arul
devoured them up. .
Q. ADd wbat do )·OQ understand by tbe fowl., in this passage, and
what by their devout-ing up the seeds of truth t
.A. By IlIsfowl., in this passage, are to be understood allfal8e per-
mariun.t of doctrine and of life, which always occupy the minds of
those who are destitote of affection for the ETBRIlJAL TRUTH; and by
devouring lip the seeds of truth is to be understood, that where the
WO.D 0 .. GOD is receivf!d without affection it cannot produce its
proper fruits, becftul'e it is liable to be perverted and destroyed by
fahe per.UtUwu, which occupy the n$tural mind of every man be·
fore he admits with affection the light of the ETBRNAL WoaD.
Q. What is the next effect of a wrong reception of the WoaD or
GOD!
.A. It is described in these words, Forthwith they sprung up, becau.
they had 710 deepness of earth; and u:hen the ,un lOO8 up, they ~
xorcAed; and bee","' tAey had no root, they witAered away.
Q. What do )90U here understand by the seedll 8fJringing up, be-
carue they Md RO deepne,. of earth 1
.A. This is to denote, that where the ETBIlMAL TaD1'B is received
from an affection not genuine, that is to say, from an affection
1'70 TAe Parabk, Ezplaifted.-No. Ill. [April,
grounded in worldly gain or glory, in that mind an appearance is
presented of the growth of truth, but then it is a gro\vth in the me-
mory and unde,·,tanding only, and not in the wil" or lODe; therefore,
it is said, becuua£ they have no deepness of eart"-, for the earth, in this
case, relates to the will, or love, and its deepne,s h&8 relation to the
inmost principle of each.
Q. ..~nd what do you mean by· the ,un being up, and they were
scorched 1
A. The sun, a8 applied in the Holy Scriptures, is used both in a
good and bad sense, according to the subject treated of; and in a
good se11se, it relates to the LoBD Himsel~ and to the DIVINB LovE
and W,SDOM which proceed from Huw; but in a bad sense, it is ap-
plied to denote the destructive principle of Belf-lot'tJ, when it is ex-
alted in the human mind above the Jove of GOD and Heaven. By the
seeds being scorched, then, is to be understood, that where the troth is
Dot received \vith a genuine affection, or for its own sake, in that
mind it is with~red and destroyed by the influence of 6elf-love, wbich
will not allow it to take its proper root, and bear its proper fruits;
therefore, it is added, because they had no root, 'hey withered away, to
teach the important lessoo, that where aelf-love is predominant it is
impossible that the ETERNAL TRUTH should gain 8 placft in the Datoral
mind of man, so as to produce all its blessed and saving effects.
Q. What is the third effect of a wrong reception of the W OIlD or
GOD!
A. It is described in these words, The thorns 8prung up and clwktd
them.
Q. And \1'hat is it you understand by tlte thornl which are here
Bpoken of; and what by their c/,oking the good 8e'ed of truth 1
A. By the thorm are to bA understood the concupiacences of euil,
which JESus CHRIST, in his explanation of the parable, calls the cares
of thil world, and tI,e deceitfulness of richel by whicb are meant, all
those anxieties, concerns, a.nd affections of the merely external maD,
which prevail over the better desires of the internal man; and by
choking the seed of truth, i~ to be understood, all that su ffocation of
the pure knowledge of GOD, and of His Holy Word, which must of
necessity take place in that mind, where the appetites of the body,
and the concupisceuces of animal life, are suffered to exalt themselves
above the higher interests of man's spiritual and eternal life; there-
fore, it is added by JESUS CHRIST, that such a mind becometh unfruitful,
because the fruitfulness of heavenly truth can only be found in its
effects upon the natural mao. by purifying his ends of life, and form-
ing him to every good thought, word, and work; in case, therefore,
that the operation of heavenly truth is resisted by the natural mind,
it is impossible there can be any fruitfulness of truth· in the natural
man.
Q. And what is the fourth effect resulting (rom the reception of
the ETERNAL TRUTH 1 .
A. It is described in these words, It brought forth fruit, 80mfJ on
Aundred-fold, lome aizty-fold, 101116 'hirtg-fold.
Q. And what is it you here understand by bringing forlA fruil.
1852.] TAe &wer. 171

A. By f,..il is to be understood, all the good of love and charity,

that is to say, of love towards GOD, a.nd charity towards our neigh-
bor; and by bringing forth this fruit is to be understood, that this
good of love and charity manifests itself in the natural man in all
good thoughts, words, and works, of a holy and useful life, agreeably
to those words of JESUS CHRIST, where he says, Let your light 80 ./"ine
before men tAat tAey may 'ee your good work." and glorify your F A"THEa
UJlaicla i. in Heaven (Matt. v. 16); and in another place, If ye know
tIu!.e tlaing., happy are ye if ye do them. (John xiii. 17.) It is there-
fore said in the parable, that other seed feH into good ground, to de-
note that the reception of truth, in this case, was an interior recep-
tion, or 8 reception in the inner man, that is to say, in the will, or love,
M well as in the under,tanding and melnol·Y. 1'herefore, JBSUS
CSRIST, in explaining this reception of the ETERNAL TllUTH, says, He
that receiveth seed into good ground is he that heareth the Word and
ullder,tand~th it, to instruct llS, that a right and profitable recep-
tion of the ETBRN AL TauTH is a reception both in the will, signified by
Maring, and in the intellect, signified by underatandi!1lf; and, to in-
struct us yet further, that all fruitfulness of the Holy Word is the re-
sult of this two-fold reception, or ,vhat may be properly called the
heavenly marriage of good and truth, and not from the single recep-
tion of either of those principles separate from the other.
Q. And what do you understand by the three degrees of fruitful-
ness, expressed in the parable by hundredfold, suty-fold, and thirty·
fold.
A. These distinctions are intended to express the different d~grees
of fruitfulness of the ETERNAL TRuTII in human minds, \vhich \,-ill
ever depend upon the degree in which good and trutll are united, or
in which the will and understanding are conjointly affected. As,
therefore, in some caees, this conjunction may be less perfect than in
others, in l.ike manner it is to be supposed, that the fruitfulness ,viII
vary, and this agreeably to the distinctions here mentioned of an hun-
dred-fold, sixty-fold, and thirtyfold. .
Q. But JBSUS CHRIST concludes this parable by saying, He that ',atA
ear' to hear, let Ilim l1ear. How do you understand thi~ 1
A. J £SUI CHBIST meant to teach us by these words, that He intend-
ed his instruction only for those "yho were in a disposition to receive
it, and not for those who were in no dispo~ition. For by those ,vbo
have earB to hear He meant to describe all sincere and upright minds,
,vhich are desirous both to receive and profit by the lessons of the
ETERNAL WISDOM, th~refore, He ssys of tbese, let them hp-ar, in oth~r
word", let them understand and receive, because to them it is given to
/mow the mysteries of the killgd01n tif Heaven, inasmuch as they are in
a. right state of mind to profit by those mysteries; whereas to other, it
18 not given, since others are not in a ~tate to know such mysteries, be-
cause tbey are not in a state to profit by thern, and, therefore, j f such
rn)'steries "·ere made known to them, they would but profane and
defile them, and thus increftse their condemnation, agreeably to those
words of Jr..~U8 CHRIST, THIS IS 'rUE CONDEMNATION, that LIGHT i, come
;"to tlae ICOrld, and -men loved da,-kne" rather tha" light, becau,e thei,-
dud. were BVIL.-(John iii. 19.) I

~
 1ft ne TalMruck &rvice .ie.i. i,. Spiritual l_porL
Q. Wbat. theD, is tbe le..-al in.traction to be deriyed from this
[April,

parable!
A. That men ought to be very careful in beariog. or readiDg the
WOIW OF GOD, to Dote the offecl.ion from which they hear aDd read,
and to see that this affeotion be pure and geouine, faulting from the
love of truth, for ita uwn ,ake, and not for any earthly ends of tempo-
. rat gain and glory. We learn, yet funher, from this parable, that the
ETBBMAL Tllu'fa can never produce ita full fruitfuloe81 in the mind and
life of man until it operates conjointly on his UJilI and t.nuler.tarulittg,
that is to say, OD his love and tlwugAt; but that when it is attended
with this double operation, it forms in man the tra.e Aeavellly 1IItlrri"'e,cre,
by virtue whereof he has eternal conjunction with J EaU. CaalsT and
His kingdom, and through that conjunotion i. formed to every good
thought, word, aDd work.

ARTICLE IV.

THE TABERNACLE SERVICE VIEWED IN ITS SPIRITUAL IMPORT.

No. IV.
TaB VIlI.. AND TRUIIMDI.
TBB Ephod and the Breast-plate, as the most conspicllous articles
of the priestly costume, have been treated at length, in preceding
numbers, and their symbolical uses adequately explained. Though
distin!Jt in themselves, they were yet intimately connected together,
maIling, in fact. one significant whole, with a two-fold phase of mean-
ing. The import of truth is predominant in both, but in the case of
the one, the Ephod, we recognize truth reigning, and in that of the
other, the Hoshen or Breast-plate, truth judging, which ",'e are in-
formed has relation to doctrine and life. This is evident from the
flLct that the distinguisbing feature of the Epbod was the &Aoulder-
piece, composed of the curiously wrought onyx stones, and the $/,ouldtr,
both in sacred and profa.ne antiquity, denotes 8overeignty-a fact
u,bich is expressly affirmed by Swed~nborg, A. O. 1085, 4U37.
TbuA Isaiah says of the Messiah, ch. ix. 5, "And the governrnerl/, shall be
upon his shoulde,-." So also according to an Indian myth, wh~n the
different castes came forth from the bad)· of Brahma, king. and war-
like heroe, issued from the ,houlder. Tbat the same idea was fami-
liar among the Romans \voulcl appear from the words of Pliny
(Panegyr. 10), "Cum abunde expertus esset pater, quam belle hume-
ris tuis sedet imperium," .ince (thy) fatAer /lath abundantly proved holD
well d071l.inwn ,it, upon thy ,houlder.. The s~'mbolical import is the
same \vhen upon the shoulder of a statue of the Eg)'ptian king Sesos-
tris the inscription was read: I hfl.ve acquired tAu pr()vin~e by my
./WUlder8. In accordance with this, the usual insignia of ruling, viz.,
aword and keys were suspended from the shoulder. Thus, Is. xxii. 22,
"And the key of the house of Da yid "pill I lay upon his ./wuld,r; so
1_] 1'8
he .hall open. aDd DODe sball shut; and be shall abut, and Dons sball
open." That the sword hung from the &houlder amQng the Greeb
aDd Romans, will be leen by refereDC8 to Hom. 11. 11. 45. LipsiD8 i.
Tac. AnnaL I. as. Aa to what related to the judicial prerofrutiw, we
need Dot go beyond the designation given in the original to tbe Breast-
plate, viz., AMken milApat, bretUt.plate of jUdgmsRt, to show its sym-
bolical beariog. If this view of tbe 8ubject be well founded, we think
there is strong reason to believe, that the use of epaulette. as a badge
of autlwrily and i"'peraltn·ial command is to be traced back througb
the line of past centuries to the Shoulder-piece of the ancient EpAod.
This article of military accoutrement forms at any rate a lubject of
very curious historical interest, which might well demand a thorough
investigation. But ioto tbis field we cannot now enter. W r have
before us the spiritual exposition of the Urim and Thommim, and we
begin by citing as usual the words of the order respectiDg their UIe.
11 And thou shalt put in the breast-plate or judgment the Urim and the Thum-
milD; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LoRD : and
AUGIl.hal1 bear the Judgment of the ohildren ot IlI'Ul upon his bean before the
U»&D OOIltiDually."-Ex. uviii. 80.
• Thou shalt put in the breast-plate ofjudgment the Urim and Thum-
mim." Heb. urim ve-eth hattummim, tI,e Light. and rthe PerJectioru.
Gr. the Manifestation and the Truth. Aquina," Enlightenings and Cer-
tainties." .Samarit." Elucidations and Perfections." Syr. "the Lucid
and the Perfect." Arab. "Illuminations and Certainties." Lat. Vulg•
.. Doctrine and Verity." Luth. "Light and Right." The Hebre\v terms
signify primarily fire. or light., and perfectiona or truth. Ptrfectioll.
L e. entirene'8, intef.(Tity, and truth are in Scripture style virtuall)-
equivalent in import, as will soon be confirmed from tbe testimony ofour
enlightened expositor. The sacred writers, therefore, who often con·
join synonymous terms, have brought these epithets together in seve-
ral instances, as Josh. xxiv. 14, ,. Fear the Lord and serve him in per-
feclion and truth (betum1l&im ubeemetl1)." Others, however, understand
the phrase as an instance of hendiadys, denoting under a double de-
nomination one and the same thing, or BS equivalent to malt perfect
light or illu7n;nfltion. The same figure occurs Deut. xvi. 18. Matt. iv.
16. comp. with Job x. 21. John Hi. 5.
In the Urim and Thummim, a subject of great interest, and at the
same time of great difficulty, opens upon us. Various and volumi-
nous bave been the speculations of learned men in respect to what is
meant by these objects, and the precise manner in which they were
mRde instrumental in obtaining oracular responses from God. 'Ve
cannot, in consistency with our general plan of exposition, avoid en-
tering somewhat minutely into the investigation of both these points.
And 6rst, as to theit· nature. What were they 1 Certain it is, that
we find DO previous mention of them; DO ol·der given for their COil-
strnction; and no intimation that these name. were ever applied to
any of the articles which Moses was directed to make. The ob-
8curit)· in \vhich the subject is involved in the sacred text, together
with tbe infinite conje.ctures to which it has given rise, has led some
commentators to the conclusion that the matter is, and was intended
174 The Tabernacle Service wielDed in it, 8pirituall.port. [April,
to be, one of inscrutable mystery, which it is vain to think of pene-
trating. In this they \"irtually subscribe to the opinion of tbe lea.rned
Kimchi, who remarks, that" he is on the safest side who frankly con-
fesses bis ignorance; so that we seem to need a priest to stand up
with Urim and Thummim to teach UII what tbe Thummim were."
The question, however, may be properly narrowed down to a single
point, which perhaps admits of solution, viz., were the Urim and
Thummim identical with the stones of the Breast-plate, or something
distinct from them 1 On this question the mass of commentators di-
vide. Sevftral of the Jewish Rabbis among the ancients, and Spen-
cer, Michaelis, Jahn, and Gesenius among the moderns, cont.end that
they were something entirely distinct from the Pectoral, Rod deposited
within the pocket or bag made of its folds. Some of the earlier He-
brew doctors say that what is call~d the Urim and Tbummim \vere
or
nothing else than an inscription upon a plate gold of the Tetragram-
maton or fhur-Iettered name of God (mM", Yehovah) , by the mystic
virtue of which the High Priest was enabled to pronounce luminow
and perfect oracles to th~ people. But this is a conceit which may
be safely passed to the account of the wild and childish figments of
the Talmudical Rabbins, which it would require the same weakness
to refute as to adopt.
Another and much more probable opinion relative to the Urim and
Thl:lmmim is, that they were in fact identical with the stones of the
Breast-plate, but called by this name from the inatrlllnentol u.tes \\rbieh
they \vere mad~ to subserve in the symbolical economy of the priest-
hood. This opinion, which is held by Josepbus t Philo, and nlost of
the ancient Je"'ish doctors, Rnd has been generRll}~ adopted by tbe
moderns, is supportpd by the following considerations:
(1.) lf the words Urim and Thummim be regarded as epithets rather
tban name" applied to the stones, nothing could be more appropriate.
From their intrinsic properties of splendor, brilliancy and lu,,,inou8nell,
they might very properly be termed Lights and Perfections, an ex·
pression supposed by many to be grammatically equivalent to mad
perfect light,. This is the view of Branniust who says, that not only
were precious stone~ to be employed, but they were to be the most
shining and perfect of the kind. Accordingly, v. 30 ma.y be considered
as in fact aD emphatic repetition of v. 29, intimating that the work
commanded should be executed in the most exact and scrupulous
manner; that such stones should be provided and so exquisitely pol·
ished and set, as to present the most brilliant appeRrance, and be en-
titled to the 8i~ni6ca.nt designation of Light, and Perfections.
(2.) If the Urim and Thummim were not the same with the gems
of t be Breast-plate, it is wholly inexplicable that the sacred uarrati,"e
gives us no account of them. While every other part of the ritual is
described ,vith the most scrupulous minuteness, as if not a pin of tbe
TabernaclA or a thread of the prieRtly garments were to be made
without exprAss direction, ho\," comes it that nothing is said of an ar-
ticle which, in obtaining responses from God, was absolutely indispen-
sable and which ,vas in every respect among the most important items
of the whole apparatos 1 The silence oC the historian, therefore, OD
1852.-' TAe Un", and TAu".".i"•• 176

this point must be regarded as strong evidence that the Urim and
Tbnmmim were identical with the stones.
(3.) It will be observed upon comparing Ex. xxxix. 8-21, with Lev.
viii. 8, that in the description of the Breast-plate, given in the former,
while the rows of stones are mentioned, nothing is said of the Urim
and Thnmmim; while in the latter, which speaks of the investiture of
Aaran with the pontifical habit, the Urim and Thummim are men-
tioned, but the stones are pas"ed over in silence. What inference
more obvious than that these objects were in fact one and the same'
(4.) Our array of testimonies on this head may be considered as
amounting to demonstratiol1 from the fact that Swedenborg expre!t9-'
Iy affirms the identity uf the stones of the Breast-plate and the Urim
and 'rhummim. "Hence it is evident what was represented by the
twelve stones, which were called Urim and TJ,ummim" (A. C. 0873).
Indeed this is assumed all along in the course of his explanation, the
substance of which we present to the reader. "That by the Urim
and Thummim is signified the shining forth of Divine Truth from
the Lord in ultimate~, "ppears from the signification of the breast-
plate of judgment, as denoting Divine Truth shining forth from the Di.
vine Good of the Lord; and from the siKoification of Urim and
Thummim, as denoting light and the shining forth [6%plendescentia]
thence. The reason ,vhy the Urim and 1'hummim denote light and
esplendescence is, because by the stones in the breast-plate the light
of hea.v~n shone forth with variety according to the responses which
were given by them, therefore also they were of different colors; for
the Divine Truth proceeding from the Divine good of the Lord ap-
pears before the angels 88 light, hence is all the light of heaven.
The colors thence derived, which are the modifications of that light,
with the angeba, are variegstions of the intelligence and wisdom ap-
pertaining to them, for all wisdom "Dd intelligence is from that Di-
vine Truth or light. Hence it may be manifest that by the shining
forth lexplendescenc~J of various colore from that light 8·re presented
Divine Truths, which are responses in the heavens; in like man-
ner by the Urim and Thummim, when the Divine [being or prin-
ciple] was interrogated. But it is to be noted, that when the explen-
descence "ppeared, then at the same time the response to the suhject
of inquir)' was pronounced in an audible voice [viva voce]; which was
done by the angels, to whom by such explcndescence it wa.s revealed
from the Lord; for, as was said, the Divine Truths, which are res-
ponses, so appear in the heavens. That this is the case, is also mani-
fest from the signification of Urim and Thummim, for Urim signifies
fire lucent, and Thummim the explendescence; fire lucent is the Di-
vine Truth from the Divine Good of the Divine Love of the Lord, and
the explendesceuce is that truth in ultimates, thus in effect. And it
is to be denoted, that Thommim in the Hebrew tongue denotes integ-
rity. but in the angelic tongue erplende,cence. It is said in the angelic
tongue, because the angels discourse with ea.ch other from the very
essence of a thing perceived inwardly in'themselves, thus according to
its quality; the discourse thence flows forth into a conformable
8onorous [expr~ssiol1], audible only to the angels; the explendes-
)·'8 TAe Tabernacle 8crt*. oieJDe4 ira iU Spiritual I-port. [April,
ceoce of the Diyiu8 Trutb &Bd the IOIlOrOUI [expression] islA._.i-,
hence now is its denomination. The like il perceived by the angels
when tAum is read in the Hebrew tongue, by which is signified wbat
is entire, or integrity_ HeDce it il, tbat by entire. in the internal
.-eOBe of the Word, is signL6ed Di vine Truth in effect, which is & liCe
according to the Divine precepts, as may be maDifest from several
pasl8ges ill the Word, as in Joshua, chap. xxiv. 14; iD the book of
Judges, chapter ix. 16, 19; BDd in David, Psalm xxv. 21; Psalm
sxxvii. 37; Psalm Jxxxiv. 11; Psalm ci. 2; Psalm cxix. 1. Heuce
also it is, that the Urim and Thummim are called thejudgmerat of tM
'GU of 16rael, also the brealt-plate ofjudgment, aDd likewise t1&ejlUlg-
1I&ent of Un"" for judgme.ntsignifies Divine Truth ill doctrine and life.
From these considerations it may now be manif6st, that- the breast-
plate by Urim aDd Thummim, that is, by the explendesc80ce of the
light of heaven, revealed Divine Trutbs in a natural sphere, thus iD
pltimates. A like explendescence is also presented inwardly with
those who are in truths derived from good, which dictates, and as it
were gives responses, when truth is inquired after from affection of
heart, and is loved as good. That there is such an explendp"scence,
whereby Divine Truth from heaven is revealed in the natural man,
with those who are illustrated from the Word, is not perceived in the
world, by reason that it is unknown that any light from hea,-en ilius·
~rates the iotelleotual principle of man; but that it is so, has been
given to percei,,"e, and also to see. It is to be noted further, that that
expleadescence appears in ultimates, since all things which are of
light from the Divine [being or principle], descend even to ultimate
~nd8; and because they descend thither, they also shine forth there
~nd thence. Hence now it is, that the breast-plate was set upon the
ephod and upon its girdle; for the ephod represented DiviDe Truth iD
ultimates, and its girdle represented a common bond, that things
might be kept in connexion. Therefore it is said, And they U&all tie
the brefUt-plate from it, rings to the rings of the ephod, to be upol." tlu
girdle of the ephod, nor ,hall the brelUt.plate recede from being upon
the ephod, verse 28 of this chapter. The reason why the names of
the SODS of Israel were also engraven was, because the twelve tribes
Jikewise represeoted all things of the Divine Good and troth in the
heaven&, cODsequently heaven with all t.be societies there, and various
things according to the order in which they are named in the Word."
. G. B.
(To b, conti.ued.)

EXTRACT.
.. IDasmueh a8 the win 01 mUl is his love, and the will of God I. hi. divine love, it is
I!lain what is UDder~tood in the spiritual sense by doing the will of God, and the ",iU of tbe
Father, namely. tbat it ia to love GtXJ above all tbinga, and our neighbor as our~lves.
And innlmurh as to Jove is to Will, 80 likewise it is to do, for what a 0180 lovel, that he
will., and what he will. be al80 dON. Hence by doing tbe will of God, or of cbe father, i.
understood to do his preceptt, or to live Ilccordinc to them from the aft"~tiOll of love or
cbRrit,."-~. E. 295.
)852.] 1'7 J

ARTICLB V.

THE COVENANT.
ONCB upon a time (as the old divines tell us), before the creation oC
this nether world, the three persons of the Trinity had an interview
with each other. The occasion was a very important one. A por-
tion of the angelic hosts had fallen from their 11 rat estate, abd, by do.
ing so, had left a large part of Heaven unoccupied. It was resolved,
therefore, in solemn council, to create a new race of beings-men,
who, after spending a few y~ars upon an earth that was also to be
specially created for their benefit, were to be ele\·ated to H~aven in
order to supply the places of the angels who bad fallen. This, say
the old divines, was a happy thought. So also says the poet Milton,
who, next to Calvin and the other Reformers, is to be regarded 8S one
of the founders of a great system of theology, that has been much in
repute since their time. It was, perhaps, a defect in the scheme that
was to supply Heaven with inhabitants, that man was to be created
with a weaker nature than the angels, and more liable to fall on his
first exposure to temptation. Rut then, again, the divines, who seem
to have heen in the secret, although they were not present at the
original consultation, tell us, that the very infirmity of man's nature,
and his liability to sin, were indispensable to a grand scheme of sal-
vation, in which the three persons in the Trinity. were, like three
actors upon the stage, to perform respectively certain important parts!.
in which the justice of one, the mercy of another, and the holiness or
the third were to be signally displayed. Man, therefore, was to be
created weak, with a capacity for sinning. He was, I:I.lso, to be con.
stituted a representative oC his race through all its countless gAnera.
lions, to the end of time, even before they were brought into being,
and, of course, before they could have the possibility of consenting to
the arrangement. If he sinned, his descendants, conseqnently, were
to sin in him and with him. If he obeyed, his obedience was to be
their obedience. He, in a word, was to act for himself; and for tbem,
and they were to be responsible for his acts. If he disobeyed, tho
penalty of his trangression, and, ex vi termini, of theirs also, was to
be death-death temporal, and death eternal; in other words, by eat.
ing of the forbidden froit, his whole soul was to be infected with "
mortal disease, reRcbing to the very fountains of )ir~, and the whole
of his posterity were to be brooght into the world with a corrupt na-
ture, subject to the wrath of God in this life, and to the intolerable
pains of hell hereafter. 0, Adam ! what a terrible responsibility
rests upon thee I If thou sinnest, how canst thou clear thy skirts of
blood 1 Thou art the murderer of thy posterity to the latest genera-
tion!
. Fir" Pe,-,on. "I perceive, 0 Son, that mao, whom we are about
to create, will certainly fall, like.the angels before him. I perceive a
soaring pride in his heart, that will lead him to aspire to the highest
places, and which will tempt him, if it were possible, to dethrone his
 178 TIle Coven_f. [April,

Maker. His disposition will be much like that of Lucifer, Son of the
Morning."
Second Per8OR. " True, 0 Fatber, I see in him a thirst for things
which it would Le far better for him never to know,-a fearful crav-
ing for forbidden knowledge, the knowledge of Good and of Evil."
Third PerMJn. "0 unholy passion! Worm of the dust I Yes, he
\villstretcb his puny arm up to the et~rnal throne, and desire to be 88
God."
Angl!u• •, Alas I alas I man will fall as our ill.fated companions
have fRllen. Who, then, "'ill sopply their places in these bright
abodes?"
Second Person. "But man is not )·et created."
Angel,. ., 1\lay he never be I Better that he should never exist.
thRn exist as a sinner, suffering, \vith his numerous posterity, the mis-
erahle consequences of his sin to all eternity."
First Person. "The decree has gone forth, ye angels, and is Dot to
be recalled." ·
Second Person. "That is true, and yet the object of man's creation
will bave failed. How is Heaven to be supplied with inhabitants 1"
Third Per.on. "Certainly not from a corrupt and wretched race of
mortals. What say ye, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and ye heavenly
hosts 1 Here is a difficulty to be met. 'fhe decrees of God must
stand. Yet maD falls, and, falling, he can never enter Heaven."
-.. Angel,. "Gladly would we save man, if V\re could, but no created
arm can save him."
Second Per,oll. "What say'st thou, 0 Father, must maD certainly
perish? Is there no WRy b)· which the consequences of his transgres-
sion can be warded off?"
First Per,on. "I have no proposition to offer, but ,,"ould glad.1y
hear any which you may have it in your power to make. A law
once enacted, must be obeyed. If violated, the penalty annexed to
its viola.tion must be inflicted on the offender. Justice must be satis-
fied. This is too evident to be disputed."
Second Per,on. "I grant it, and yet it seems a hard cas~, that all
mankind, consisting of myriads upon m)"riads of buman bt"ings,
should suffer so severely for one man's fault. That Adam should suf-
fer the consequences of his own transgression, being free to act, is
reasonable; but there seems to me, I must confess, a species of in-
jostice in inflicting upon so many others, woo are equally free, the
wretched sufferings which are to follow upon the isolated act of a
single individual. While, for Adam, who offends, nothing can be said
in justification of his voluntary crime, yet I would fain plead for
mercy to his unfortunate descendants, \vho never can be said to have
known the law, while they are made r~8ponsible for the guilt of its
violation."
Fi,·.t Person. "This is not a case in which the claims of mercy can
be heard. It is a case which belongs only to a tribunal of inexorable
and infinite justice. Justice, I repeat, must be satisfied, and the dig-
nity of the law maintained."
18~.] ne Covenant. 179

Second Per'OIL ., True, 0 Father, the law mast be maintained in

all its force; but will mankind be satisfied of the justice of a ]a\v
which punishes the innocent for the offences of the guilty 1 Casting
my e)~e along the vista of coming ages, I see a monarch who in-
scribes Jaws for the government of his subjects on a lofty pillar, be-
)-ond thf'ir sphere of vision, that th~y may not be able to read them,
and )"et punishes them for their violation. I see that all mankind,
",-ithout & dissenting voice, denounce this monarch as a tyrant-a
monster of injustice. But what will they think of the divine justice
of a law \vhich condemns countless millions to everlasting punisb.
m~nt for the offence of an ancestor ""born they never knew, and who
livrd Rod died, it may be, ages before they were brought into being 1"
First Per&on. "The opinions which men entertain of the justice of
their Creator, a.re immeasurably vain and inadequate. Adam \,-i11
be the representative, the federal bead of his posterity, and conse-
quently his sin will be their sin, and its consequences will fall upon
their heads justly."
Secund Per,on. "Yes, I grant it, if Adam \vere constituted their
federal head by his descendants themselves, for then th~y would act
by and through him, and would accordingly be responsible for his
acts; hut how can th~y enter into such a league with their ancestor,
and gi ve their consent to such an arrangement, when they are not
)·et themselves in being t" .
Fir&t PerIoD• •, The consent of Adam·s descendants will he unneces-
sary. l~he compact will be entered into between Adam and our-
selves. He will be constituted their representative by a divine and
immutable decree. He will be informed, in due time, that jf he sins,
the consequences of his sin will he visited upon his posterity, to the
latest generation-that his sin will be imputed to them, and, under
such a compact, or covenant, no injustice will be done either to him
or to them."
Second Perlnn. " Is this, 0 Father, divine justice 1"
First Perloll. "0 Son, it is."
Angels. "Alas, for man I 0, miserable, undone creature I 0, aw-
ful justice, how terrible are thy demands I"
Secolld Person. "If this really be justice, I see, or think I see, a way
by which mercy may be shown to man, and justice, at the same time.
vindicated."
A"gtl&. "Joy! joy J a way of escape for man is foond! Listen I
o listen It'
First Perlon. "\Vbat is it that you propose, 0 Son 1"
&cOlld Person. "I propose, 0 most just Sire, to die for man, in or-
der to Hatisfy the demands of infinite justice. As the sin of Adam
may, consistently with justice, be imputed to bis posterity, so may it
be irnpoted to me, and, tl)'ing, &s ( propose to do, in his stead, my
righteousness may be irnJ\uted to him, and so he may be saved."
First Persoll. "You propose, 0 SOD, to suffer and die for mankind,
yet lPoU are aware tl~at God can neither Buffer nor die."
Second Pel·'oP •• J intend, 0 Father, to become a man, in order
that 1 may Butler and die."
180 [April,
Fir.' PerlDlL '- But it is only in your charaeter of God, suffering as
Mtcb, that I can accept yOIl as man's substitute. Sin ill an infinite
evil, and requites an infinite satisraction. Man cannot render Bach
satisfaction. God only can do it." .
Second PerllO". "But I .hall be both God and man, in two distinct
persons, and the connection of my divine and human nature will im-
part to my finite acts an infinite value."
Fir.' Perlfm. "That is, will render your finite acts infinite I A
mere theological figment, 0 Son, that will not bear tbe test of exami-
nation. Still, such is your anxiety, 0 Son, to save the human race,
that I think I may consent to accept your proposition."
Third PerMm. "But what part aiD I to take in effecting tbe salva-
tion of man 1"
Fir,' P".'911. "The case is already fully provided for. The infinite
merits oC the Son, applied to man, \vill be quite suffioient to Have Him,
without any aid furnished on your part."
Third Per,on. "I cannot consent to an arrangement which ex-
cludes me from any share in so great and important a work."
Second Per8on. ., A part, then, shall be assigned you, 0 Spirit. Man
is a sinner, and cannot be saved without repentance and regenera-
tiOh. Be it yoars to touch his soul with sincere sorrow for his sins,
to change his heart, and sanctify his whole nature."
Third Per8on. "I accept the trust, if the Fatber consents."
Fir,' PerlOO. ,e Most readily. I am still, however, of opinion, that
we are doing more than is necessary to meet the exigencies of the
case. If the law is satisfied and made honorable, I can demand no-
thing more. You, 0 Son, propose to do this. It is enough. J see no
oceasion for any farther proceeding in the matter. But I shall be
pleased with such a distribution of tb6 several part. or this great
drams, as may seem equitable to the parties. It strikes me 8t this
moment, that I myseJf perform no very amiable part in it, insisting
as I do, only upon the demands of the most rigid justice."
Third Person. "It falls to my lot to convert the sinner. Be it fOun,
o Father, to pardon the "ooer, upon repentance."
Fir,t Per8on. ., That I will do with all my heart; but still, as it
.earns to me, tberA is no necessity. 1'he SOD proposes to take upon
himself their sins, their guilt, and their punishment. What is there
to pardon 1 They owed the debt of obedience to the law. That debt
is paid by the Son, and the whole account is canceled. Besides, man
is converted by an act of irresistible grace, and there is nothing '·01-
notary in his repentance."
Second PerlOn. 6. Still, if he repents at all, it is bat just that he
should be pardoned."
First Per8OR. "Be it so, then, but he will be pardoned less for an
enforced repentance, than for \vhat you, 0 Son, will have voluntarily
done for him. Upon the whole, I am satisfied with this arrangement
of the respective parts we are to pertorm in effecting the restoration
of the huma.n race. But there are still importau~ 'loints to be settled
between us, which seem to have escaped your notice'. We are seve-
rally equal to each other in all divine perfections. If justice is to be
1852.] 181

satisBed in my C8IJe, it is to be eqoaUy 80 in yours,O Sou, and in yours,

also, 0 Spirit." .
&mnd Per,on. "I freely forego and give up all claim of satisfac-
tion myself; I ask no sacrifice: I call for DO victim."
Tlaird Person. "Neither do It for although not inferior to either of
you in justice, yet there are insurmountable difficulties in the way of
preMiog our several claims, if the original plan be carried out to com-
pletion. We are all equal, and our claims are equal, bat it would
introduce great confusion into the government of the world, and might
be attended with serious consequences, if we were all three to die in
order to satisfy the justice of each other."
Fir.t PeTMJ1I. "That is very clear, and the terms of the agreement
must stand as at first proposed. But I canDot help thinking th"t the
verdict of the world will be, that) am more inflexibly just than either
of )·ou ; that you, 0 Son, will be regarded as the most merciful, and
you, 0 Spirit, as the most holy person in the Godhead."
Third PerlO1l. "Not at all unlikely, but while we know ourselves
that we are co-equal, we may regard the opinions of mankind on
the subject with indifference. Is it understood between us that I am
Fir.,
to convert all the fallen Ions of Adam 1"
P~r801I. "By no means. Only a small portion of them. They
all deserve my wrath and corse for the sin they will commit through
Adam, their representative. I shall seleot a few only from the cor·
rapt mass, and have them duly enrolled among the elect. The rest
I shall pass over and condemn to everlasting punishment, for their
sins, to the praise of my eternal justice."
SecolUl Per80n. 'f I had hoped, 0 Father, that I should have paid
the entire penalty-that I sbould t by dying, have atoned for • the siRS
of all mankind.'"
Fir,' Per,on. "Only for those of a part, 0 Son. Tbe greater part
oftbese transgressors mOlt die."
Second Person. 'e Must it be even 801"
Fir.t Per,on. "It mllSt. Such an example is necessary in order to
vindicate the principles of unalterable justice. The elect only can
and will be Bayed through your intervention."
&cond PerlOn. "If it must be 80, I submit, although I would have
preferred more liberal terms for man."
'naird Person. "I am content, believing that this scheme of salva-
tion will enable each of us to perform our respective parts effectively
and creditably,-tbee, 0 Father, to maintain the dignity of thy offend.
ed law; thee,O Son, to redeem, and ultimately save the eJect; and
me to sanctify those who are redeemed and saved."
First Per6on. "It is, then, a solemn covenant between us, binding
us jointly aDd severally to the performaace of our respective obliga-
tions."
&cond PerMm. "It is."
TAird Person. "Throagh all ages it is binding upon 118, aDd we
acknowledge it to be 10."
First Person. "Witness it, ye angels, who stand around our several
tbrones,-witness this solemn and e,·erlastiDg covenanL"
VOL. Y. 18
182 N. C. ApAorum. on Slawn~ and Abolition.-No. L [April,

. Angel,. "We do. We witness it, and may it stand forever stable
aDd sure, holding out, as it does, some hope, at least, for fallen hu-
manity."
Fi,·,t Perlon. "Now let us break up this consultation, and dissolve
this assembly."
&colld Perlon. "And let us proceed forth to the great work before
us-the work of creation."
Third Per,on. "So be it I"
Such is the grand scheme. which, in the opinion of all orthodox
Christendom, even at the present day, was or-iginally contrived in or-
der to save a few, and consign over to perdition the great majority of
the human rac~. Such is the nature of the covenant, in all its parts,
which tlivines, mor~ presumptuous than wise, assure us was entered
into between the tbref' Persons of the Trinity, before the foundation of
the world. Were there any traces of either to be found in the Word
of God, we might be able to account for the fact that they are so
generally RCl\epted by the Christian world as indicating the terms
and conditions of man's salvation; but both the scheme and the cove-
nant were invented by theologians, in order to support a system of 80-
called divinity, equally unscriptural and irrational, in which three in-
finite beings are introduced as filling distinct and separate offices, and
performing parts equally silly, ungenerous, and unjust, and which
would subject human beings to universal censure, reproach and ridi-
cule, were they to act in a similar manner. We confess we feel no
reverence for a system which rnns directly into tritheism by the as-
sertion of a tri.personal God,-which represents the Creator as a par-
tial ancl arbitrary tyrant, and ma.n as a- mere machine, conscious, it is
true, of happiness and misery, but, in consequence of the vice of his
nature, rendered utterly incapable of securing the one, or avoiding the
other, by the free exer~ise of the rational powers with which he was
endowed by God for the express purpose. Such 8. system, howe,·er
fortified by time and prescription, cannot stand long before the search-
ing spitit of inquiry, to which its inconsistencies will be subjected in
an age like the present. The darkness which broods over its unfath·
omable mysteries, will be sure to be dissipated, as thoughtful men turn
to\\·ards the East, and rejoice in the morning beams of the New
Church, which are already darting ahove the hori'~on, affording the
promise of a brighter day for the world.
D.K. W.
Columbia, 8. C.

ARTICLE VI.

NEW CHURCH APHORISMS ON SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.

No. I.
We have tor lome time been conscious ot a prompting to broach in lome way, in our
pages, the subject oC the PreSf'Dt oommunication, as we have no doubt tbat it may be dil-
cUlsed al a department of New Church duty in a New Church spirit. Large numbers of
our brethren ot the church residing in the Southern States are connected in one way or other
1852.] N. C. Aplaorianu on Slavery and Abolilion.-No. 1. 188
with the institution, aDd as the moral eentiment of the North, representing both the New
Chureh and the Old, i. at thll day .riousJr and IOmewhat sternly interrogating the whole
spirit and genius of the system, it seems no more than is due from the courtesy ot fellow re-
cipients of'the heavenly cloctrines that they should account to each other for any modes of
thinking or acting which are calculated to give offeoce or wound the spirit of brotherly
JoYe. If Iuch a JequiBition be IDade in the spirit of meekness, with no intention to de-
nounce, vilify, or irritate. but simply from the promptlngs of the great law of charity, and
with the most .incere design to give a candid hearinK to every aJ'Rument or apology that
ma, be offered in behalf of the cause which they are upholding, we are unable to see in
this aDy real ground of complaint or disaffection on the part of oar Southern friends. We
are weD aware indeed that the subject has not always beeD broached in a manner adapt-
ed to secure a kindly or even patient attention on the part of Slaveholden, and we can
make all charitable allowance for the sensitiveness with which every thing in the form of
remonstrance, however re!pectlul, or even of discussioD, however candid, is prone to
be met. But that thi,eensitiveneeB should be 80 intense in tbe minds oC Newchurchmen as
to make them frown upon the attempt to canft. ill merits upon purely moral grounds,
we cannot well conceive; nor will we allow ourselves, without evidence. to anticipate a
lrinblter reception of what our paFs may contain on the lubject. We will not look for an
enterllllnmeot of oar sugettionl at the hand of our brethren which would imply a If:cret
mi!living .. to the intriosic character of the cause in question.
For oureelves, we are free to say that we regard the system of Ilavery aa it exists in the
Southern States as an evil oC such magnitude a8 imperatively to appeal for a remedy to the
COUSCieDCe8 of all concerned in any way in its support and perpetuation. But while we say
this we are at the same time conscioul of no acerbity of spirit towards the persons of tbole
who are engaged in~upho)dinc it. We say it in full view oC all the peculiar circumstances
that go to qualify the evil as fsr as the agency of individuallupp.rters is concerned; and
we.y it under the firm conviction of deep and merciful designs, on the part of the Divine
Providence, hereafter to be gloriously developed, beariDl upon the destiny of the colored
race-deaigns which will have the effect to convert their residence in this land to the most sig-
nal blessing that could have befallen them. Nevenhelels we clearly perceive a great moral
8yil and wrong in the system, against which we are inwardly moved to lift up a voice of
protest, and to bring the question home. a8 one of practioal import to every receiver of the
New Churcb, whether there i. Dot something positive tor him toclo in effecting itll removaJ.
In thus coming before our brethren at the slave States, we sboald feel that we were greatly
wronged if met by an ill construction ot motives. 'Ve are conscions of Bothing that should
give o&nce. We have no railing acousations to bring against any. We feel the drawing
ot a kind and christian affection towards our brethren. We think, indeed, we see reason to-
rear that their spiritual states may be iojured by the relation in which tbey stand to an evil
thiDg. Under this impression, we come to them in a spirit of meekness, and virtually eay,
" Come, brethren, let us reason together of this momentous theme. Let us see whether pos-
sibly we may not IUggeSt to you some considerations deserving at most Berious thought.
But do not, at the: outset of the conference, count us your enemies because we propose it-
because we wish to open our minds with fraternal freedom on a point that weighs heaYi1y
with us, aDd which In our jndgment ought thus to weigh with you. If it does not, pray
show us why it does not. It it does, expound to us the measures you propose to adopt to do
away the evil. Aa we are willing and anxioul to listen to you, 80 refuse not to lend an ear
to DS. Say not that it is a topic with which we have nothing to do. We all have to do with
each otber'. spiritual welfare if we would be faithful to the law of love. We cannot proper-
ly stand aloof from our brethren and forbear to utter a word of warning if we deem them
. placed in circumstQnces of danger, and where silence would be recreancy to justice, affec-
tion, and truth. • Thou shalt not suffer sin upon tby n~igbbor,' is a precept of which the
literal and the splriiual senee are at one. Let UI then in all Chrilti.n amity compare views
184 Ne O. AplwrUIII. on Slavery Gnd Abolition.-No. I. [ApriJ,
on tbe IUbject, aDd lee how far we hold ill commoD, aDd where. and bow far we
trom eaoh otber."
di.,..
II is in this Ipirit that we approacb the subject. and we cannol ba' kGst that oar aim
will be duly appreciated. Let it not be .id that ahou,h denizen. of the Nonb we are iD-
competent CO treat the theme, from igooraDce of lbe real POS&Ur8 of tbiDgl iD 1he Soutbera
States. This is a very deep-seated impreaaion with our frieDds in that resiOD. It elllbadia
itlelflo the spirit of the following extract from a letter recently received from a relpee1Dl N.
C. brother in Virginia. ac I Dever yet saw a Northern man who thoroulbl, gDderatood tile
lle&TO character-the relation of master and slave, as it exists here-the alate of dab popu-
lation-and the difticuhiea which environ the whole subject. As 10 lb•• msder. eYeD i.le&-
ligent aDd sincere men with you seem 10 be absolutely impenetrable-" From dlis pGlhiOD
we ale forced to diuent. We are utterly unable to see why. sound ud unimpeacbaWe
judgment of the.ortJle of slavery may not be formed by any man oC ordiDIUJ iDteUi~
thouSh he may never have I8t foot upon Soulbem lOil, or made himself master oraU tbr
thousand-fold details of the system. And it i. only in ita Dloral as~t tDaa we propoee to
con.ider 11. Ita lOCial and political bearings we leaye to ot1ler& I"charaetet, as compar-
ed with the perfect stalldard of .. justioe, S0odDeaa. and trulb." h. wbal we WOGld faiD ...
certain, and this we do Dot reprd as aQ achievemeot requirius. previous perlOP&1 eODtact
with the SJ.&em iD ita praotioal working.. The fact i., there g an aQcecedeD& probabiliq
that those who have been bOln and bred iD \be naicla' of lbe ',Item. who have al••,.
breathed ita atmosphere•• nd who have, .. it were, worn it aa a prment, are . . ., liable
to be blinded to its essential geniu8 than those who yiew it from wilhout. Bu' w)ae~
we understand it in all ita1ensth and bread1h or DOt, we deem oarselv8I luftic.i_tl, ac-
quainted with it to eall io question !ome 01 ha fundamental priaciplea; and to dli. there
can be DO .reaeonab1e objection, provided it be dcme iD a proper-spirit.
A reply to our remarke-end perbap. more tban one-may be pro&red b11Qi1M of OB
Southern, or. probably. our Nonhern brethren. 8uoh a reply, written iD the spirit or GUr
own essay, we ahan molt readily and cordially iDleR. B"t we must be allowed to iu.ill
that it ahall be a reply to our arrameDta and to DO otber-that it shall con8De itself to the
lingle point in debate. which is the absolute ,ilht or wrong of .layery, and alae coueqUe81
duty of thOle engaged in its supporL It will avail Qothinl to the delenDioatioa of 1he
Iraod queation to BlIue ever 80 elaborately that the African race iD this countTJ' is
beller o~ in bondage than in freedom-that in this atate tbey are tor the most part
kindly treated, Dot ovenvorked in health, nor ne-sleeled iD lickness-tlaat the inslitutioD is
patriarchal iD ita character, and warraDted by the 1t"If' of hol, writ (as i. also war .ad
polygamy), and that the achemea of abolitioDiltl are fra1llht with iDfinite mischief, eb:.,
etc. To ~e of this we fully •••ent. and therefore it is needless to dwell upon iL & to
other items we migbt be willin. to conllder them on anotber occasion or uDder a differeDt
iune, bot at pretent they are aside ot the main point, and we would Dot waste time or
anxiety on irrelevant topics. We would limply 88Y, as to one intimation, tbat we ant
accountable for nobody'. abolition (jut our OWD. and for tbe pouine eft"eots of that we are
ready at any time to be respOD8ible. We belonl to DO abolitioa society or clique, Dor do
we speak in the name of aDy. Our 8elltimeDta on the aubject low direotl.7 from Olll yiews
of the lreal principle. of reatitude aDd trQtb. aJM1 al &0 who ma, 8.ree or di...,
with u.-thl. ia a matter of iDdUfereuoe.
The true tone and temper in which we tbiDk the .ubjeot ODlht to be broached i. well
let forth by Mr. De Charms iD hi. valuable pamphlet OD Freedom and Slavery :-" The
wiee aDd proper COul. is to reason with our brethren in lrae politicallove-ao sbow
them. if we caD. tbeir error io kindDels; aocl by cODvincing their re&1OD. 10 act upon
their own will. as to pt them. to work dlemeelves in freely and rationally pattinc off . .
acknowledged evil." \Ve are oolOOlllCioua ofbein"ovemed by an, other spirit in deal·
1111 with '~e subject in ollr papl. Nor do we deem oonelvea jgs&lyliable to tb.8 ch.,.
 1852.] N. O. Ap1uJrUnu on Slave,., and Abolition.-No. 1. 185
or undue U8umptioD OD the lOON of virtue or Dnclity. In thuI pro1Ferlng oor I8Dtimentl
10 our brethren. We are deepl, .ui\?le oC oar evil, and inJlmlitles in many reapectl.
bat we humbl, aim to put them away "beD discovered, &Dd we do Dot and a complete
exemption from defeots In ounelYel reqnired at • pre-requisite to the duty oC pointing out,
iD brotherly kind Del" the defect. of othert.
Our first intention was to haft penned a (ormal article, or eenes oC articles. OD the lub·
ject, dileuuln, it excluliftly on its moral,lOl1udl. Meantime the enluing U Aphorisms"
treIe prolered tor publication, and we have coneloded to make them'a text for a series of
eommentl in which our 1eadina view. OIl the general topic will appear.

I.
Slavery, in all States where i' exists, is a public or national evil.
This is plain frorn its origin in the Slave-trade, which is now univer-
sally condemned-from the fact that it deprives men of various na-
tural rights-and from several unhappy consequences resulting from
it.
This ia doabdHe very BOund as tar a' it goes, but we should have given more exteDsion
eo theevit.. It i. noC on11 all publio or national," but I prtnte or pel'lOnal evil. Inasmuch
as it is lIaltaiDed by individual_geney. The habit at contemplating it mainly as a cc pub.
lie or national" evil. is apt to induce an obliviousness of its moral featurea which have e..
peeial relatiC!D to the will ot the individual alaveholder. It is u8ually of but little account
for men to acknowledge the existence oC public and national evils, so long a8 they 1018 Eight
of the quota wbich they each in their individual capacity. contribute to tbeir existence or
contmoaDCe. The slavery which uists in any slave State i8 the alavery which ha. been es-
tablished iD legal (arm by the collective will oC the people of that State, and no ODe can
blink the share at responsibility which fairly pertains to him .. an upholder ot the laws
which uphold slavery. It is on the ground of this responsibility that the intelligent aboli-
tionist of the North appeals to hil Southern brother. He would kindly admonish him of
the fallacy of the attempt to stave 01' the demands of dnty under the plea that the system
Is the creature oC the State, and that until the laws at the State are repealed. his aim il
powerless to attelnpt an, thing towards its removal. But in matters oC moral moment
the voice of duty i. direct to the fJI4. rather than to the citizI". The ma. stand. in this
respect alone before God, and has no counsel to take with flesh and blood. The only
point to be 88ttled. Is, whether any enactment, usage. or institution is intrinsicaJlyevil,
and whether we, as individuals, have any agency in maintaining it. Let these two
tbings be established. and the sequence is inevitable, that a man is solemnly bound to
ignore, withdraw,'repudiate and abnet{ate tbat agency which be may previously have bad
iD lustaining the system. In what precise way this is to be done, we shall venture to IUI-
aeatln the lequel.
JI.
The State in which slavery exists cannot plead, in excuse of this
evil, the good results which may be shown to attend the institution,
such as the civilizing and christianizing of the Africans, &c. Ever)·
evil committed by man has similar good results educed from it by the
Divine Providence, and might be excused on this ground.
Here Ilptn the Indi"ldual ie meJ'led tn the State. Why could Dot the writer have laid,
If& who bold. his fellow-man in bondage cannot plead. In flSCUse of thil evil, the good
reaults whloh ma, be ,hOWD to attend the Institution," &0. With tbis modification we
accept and endorse the apborism in all cordiality. The principle here embodied il one
10 wlaloh we woolcl elpeoialJ, iDvl,. the aueDtloD oC Southern NewohurcbmeD. It touGh.
186 Corre8fJ!J'Ule"ce. [April,
the point where, if we miltake not, they are extremely liable to .etde down iD a fallacious
view of the doctrine ot the Diyine Providence. We cannot indeed easily concel.., that
an intelligent Newchurchman should serioully and of set purpose make the providential
permission of an evil a plea for contented acquiescence in it, yet when the current of self·
interest runs strongly in that direction, there is doubtless d~nger of the PTtJCtiaJI adOptiOD
of luch a plea. "If the Divine Wisdom and Love tolerates such aud such eyi.., why
Ibould not we," il a language whioh the heart may utter when the lips would shadder to
pronounce it. But surely the permimOftl of the Divine Providence can never be fairly con-
Itrued into a sanction of the reason, or a pith.. of the oonscience, that is concemed with
them. The position of the aphorism, however, is 10 clear and express on this head as \0
preclude the necessity of reiteration or enforoement from us.
(To bt continued.)

CORRESPONDENCE.
LETTER FROM REV. WM. MASON.
We insert with great pleasure the ensuiDgletter from our transatlantic brother, who
evidently writes under the stimulus of the impression produced by the perusal of the ar-
ticle on tbe use oftbeLot in the establishmentortheN. C. Ministry. We esteem it,how-
ever, a privilege to have the opinion of one who was conyersant with the actors in that
memorable scene, and who wal himself one oC the first links in that ~hain of mini!terial
succession which extends down to the present day. A few years :Dore and the men of
that generation will bave passed away. As the argument respecting the Lot is Dot ourl bllt
et Delta's," we assume nothing in relation to it but simply to aJrord the opportunity of fair

discussion. The pro'. and COft'. are before our readers, and they will judge for themselves
on which lide the truth lies. As, however, the first part of the letter refers to a qUestiOD
proposed by ourselves, we may properly advert to it for a moment. We had quoted the
following lentence from the H. D. respecting the duties of prie8ts :_11 They are to teach
men tbe way to heaven, and likewise to lead them thither. They are to teach them ac-
cording to the doctrines of tl.tir church (tccl"it2 .uce), which is derived from the Word oC
God," &c., and put the query to our correspondent, what he suppoled was fairly to be un-
derstood by it on the theory that the chapter respecting U Ecclesiastical and Civil GovW'O·
ment" relates exclusively to the New Church. cc Does it not," we 88y, ,. t mply that tbe
priests or ministers of the .,veral churches in Christendom, as the Lutheran, the Calvinis-
tic, the Episcopal, the Baptist, the Methodist, eto., are to teach accordioug to the tenets
which tbeec bodiel hold as being, in their view, derived from tbe Word of God I" We
say in addition that our correspondent Cl will no doubt find some way of getting smoothly
over the difficulty," and how correctly we prophesied is evident from his present rejoinder
in which he explains thtir church to mean cc that particular church under tbeir individual
ministry." This is a !ummary solution wblch rather c·lts the Gordian knot thaD unties
it. It Is baled upon an assumed sense of the word church (tcclnia), of which we are quire
confident that not another instance can be found in all Swedenborg's writings. Where
does he speak of single societies oC the New Jerusalelu as churcM.1 This is not his
phraseology at all. The term ehurth, in that relatiOD, is used in its oollectiY8 or universal
lense, denoting the totality of tbose who compose it. But in reference of the Old Churcb
he does frequently employ the plural; as in speaking of the r'formed chtwtht, in the A. E.
and A. R., and by that term pointl undoubtedly to what Mr. M. would oalllCCUJritMI
ahurohestsucb al we bave desiloated by way of example. So far then al we aaniudge.
185fl.] Letter from Rev. Wm. Maaon. 187
tile scope of this chapter oC the H. D. is to atate what Ot6g1t to b" in respect to laored anti
ciyiI order, iD an advanced state of human society, rather than prescribe Cormal rules or
either eeculsr or ecclesiastical polity. Indeed, the first section of ~ the chapter appears to
be a key to its genuine drift :-" There are two classes of affair. amongst men which
oasht to be conducted according to the laws ot order; namely that which relate. to the
1hinga of heaven, and that which relate' to the thiDgs of the world. The former are caU-
ed ecclesiastical, and the latter civil affairs." There is bere no specific mention made of
the New Church, but the affairs spoken of are "affairs amongst men" widely and
pnerally taken, fully justifying. if we mistake not, the cODstru'ctioD we have put upon the
language. It is left, however, for the reader to decide.
As to the Posueript we have little to 8ay, as it conceml merely a matter of opinion.
We beg our friend, however, to be assured that not the slightest disrespect was intended to-
wards Mr. Hancock by designating him CC a Mr. Hancock.·' The fact is, we had never
beJDre beard bis name, and we presume it was equally unknown to our readere on thi•
• ide the water. So allo in regard "to the Society under whose auspices both versions were
originally brought Ollt, we lay nothing more disparaging than what is read in the follow-
lug 8entence, in which we are speaking of the critioisms that appeared in the Intellectual
Repository on Mr. Noble's translation. .. Those criticisms strike us a8 singularly llncandid
and illiberal, and it is now difficult for us to realize that they should ha,-e had 80 much
inftoence with the London Printing Society, u to have induced them eveDtually to aet
this t11loslation aside, and adopt another in itB.lead, which, a. a whole, we are constrain-
ed to regard a. deeidedly inferior." Now it is very possible we may Dot have done full
justice to the reaSODS which weighed with the Society in its choice, whose labors we very
highly appreeiate, but we 8till have some curiosity to know whether it was solely a
ceneral dissatisfaction with the style of Mr. N.'s versioo·that led to its abandonment, or
whether there might have been at the time some peculiar circumstances. unknowD to UI
in Aluedca and which have long since paued away, that had, perhaps unconsciously,
more or leas inflneooe in governing their decision. But whether we are ever enliRhtened
on tbis head is of littte consequence. Both translations are before the public. Both have
their peculiar merits j and both render " ..ith sufficient fidelity the stupendous truths em-
bodied respecting heaven aDd hell.
DERBY (England), Feb. 18, 1852.
To the Editor of fA. Anglo-Anuriasft N. C. R'pOlitory,
D~R. SIll. :-As ODe of the suppoled "hierarchy" of the New Church, criticised in
your Journal, 1 beg permission to state, with the utmost brevity possible, my indi.
'Vidual impreeaioDs &8 to the relation I believe I ItaDd in towards the U 1&ity;" and
when I have made the statement, yoo will not. I think, be surprised that I eonsider
yoar moltifari01l8 articles 00. the New Church clergy might have been dispensed
with. But posaibly, all N. C. miniatera may Dot accord with my simply practioal
'riewB OD the mbjeet.
In the fint place, I beg to thank you for the remarb you favored my communi-
eation with in page 216 of your May nUD;lber, notwithstandi!1~ they eft'ected no
.Jumge in my VleWB. I have forbome to otrer any reply, oonC8lVlD~ that, although
your Journal is caned U The .At1glo-~m,riCtJA N. c. Rtp081'tory," the presence of an
uninvited Engliah corre&pODdent in ita pages, might be felt &8 lcaroely allowable.
I only observe, that I ~ther from some of yOur remarks, that the bulk of American
receivers of the doctrinea must be far more "apt to teach," than, at theae early
times, is the case in this country. But in reg&rd to your query addresled to me.
marked (e), relating to the chapter in the H. D., OD eceleaiastical and civil govern-
meDt, I may.y a word or two, lest I should. Beem wanting in oourtesy. When ~
me.eager nom Heaven (E. S.) tells us that "ministers are to teach accordin~ to the
doctrine of their ohurch" [that ~ioular church under their individual nnnistry],
I cOllclllde that he must mean such ministers only to be understood as shall accept
iu mtaagl. or at leut become acquainted with the ~ge prescribing their duty,
which is incompatible with my understaDding them to be of the description of C. o.
188 [April,
IIOtarian miniaten to whom ~U I1IP~ the author &Dud., who notorio1lllI njee&.
and relue even to read his writiDga. There oould be no 1118 in his .~g 1I'hU OR-
tain perlOns should do, while, in t6e nature or~ he knew that thOle ~
could not possibly be co~ant that he had said 80. This would be writing for DO
practical purpOl8. Of what use could it be , How can a law be ifttmded for per-
IGD8 who Will Dever 188 it' or will be seen only by thOle orthe N. c., to whom, JOG
.y, it doel Dot apply , You aJ!J*U: to me to plaCe Swedenborg iD the ~tion ,. •
man who mould elaborately wnte a book, bowing it will Dever be reed. Upoo m-
other point referred to b1.-,"ou in the same cha~r, I must beg to .y, that IOUI' fre.
sident is &8 truly and reaDy a monarch, in my view, &8 Queen Victoria, ana in f~
~ meana of hiS ",to, I01Mthing mor,. But this being forbidden grotmd, I retreat
from it. It is, however, my conviction, that if the New Church doctrineB were taU-
wrltJlly reoeived, what Swedenborg .~ of the duties of JdngI, the Amerieao PnBi-
dent would perceive, applied moet *iotly to himlelf. But to Dll especial ~.
I have been twenty-IBX years a minister of the New Ch1ll'Oh, m colURant emplo,-
ment. From the first, I was aware of the ciroUlD8tanoe of the lot, 10 elaboratelJeIiII-
C1II!8ed by U DELTA" in your Deeember number i and, notwithstanding I admft the
or
great ~wer the writer: I think he has laborea to DO .P!I'otical ~. Wha' is
the naked fact 1 It ap~ that Uteen honed, religi01lll1 ~ folio.... '"
Swedenborg had .-embled ~ther on the oeoui.OIl ~ reeoriing to Wa lot. ThfU
minda were strongly impressed with the Deoeeeity of a*teDdiDg to two obvioua duties.
First, to assemble on the Lord's day for worship, &0., in ~meJlt with theu- doc-
trines, according to the Christian practice in all ages; and, IeCODdly, to take advan-
or
tage of the practice in general use, to propagate the knowledge theirpecuJiar doe-
er
trineI by meanl of the pulpit. ·In thiS tiley were all agreed, and, coune, relt
\he
necessity of having a Dllnieter to perform the8e duties for them. But here a dilioall!
arose: "How is the minister we may select to be formany 0IdaiDed 1" .ADd iDsteaa
of wasting their time in bandyin~ about the entreat,. from one to the other, "Now,
do you, Mr. - - undertake this office," and receiving the reply, "No. reaDy,
Mr. - - you are the more p~r ~" tbey cot the matter short by plttin~ tile
deoiaioD &8 to who should officiate in the formality of ordaining the I8leoted miDiBter,
to the lot, not, as I 8Uppose, in the way of a IOleDm ap~ to He&yen, haYing IIODI8
bearing upon, or resemblanoe to, the election of Matthias by lot to the &~tl8Bhip;
but DJ a mn, matt". of COfttJmi,nc,. Indeed, if any of the sixteen had any supenD-
tious thoughts about the matter, I will be no partl to them. Had I been one or the
sixteen, laDould have voted for the lottin~ merely as the beet practical method of
getting out of the di1Iiculty. This I con81der to be the real character of the mode
of commencin$ the N. c. mini~ in England. It was merely a tempol'lU'y ape-
client. It origmated, I conoeiy8, m pl~ common I8D88 praotic8J news -ofatility,1i.r
away from the ethereal ideu whioh haTe floated out of "DELTA'S" mind into JOur
Jl&f&r I bad been appointed (U.at ill, ordained, for the appaiDtmeat ill the , . .
dinatioD, in m1 view) b,. aN. C. Society to be their miDiater; and after their aeJeo.
tiOD had been approved of by the Gener81 CODferenoe a8 mitable, Mr. Hindmazah or-
clained me formally. Now, what did all thiI amount to 1 No more than this. Ml
eervices were desired as a minister, and I conaented to yield the.. What £oIloweCI
~h the instrumentality of Mr. HiDdmarsh, amounted to no more t.haD a deaen'
fl recognition of my engagement to OODtinue iD the Lord'I aenice 88 • ~,
10 lOD~ U, through His grace and providence, I should be acoeptable to tha. Chmoh
or SoCiety, Ol', in the event of my beiug led by ciroumstances to lean it, to lIOIIle other
N. C. Society, my remma! to which I regard, a1thoa«h DO eeremonial took plaee, tII
G fruh ordination Of' appointmnat to ,la.mini,try. I canno* aee in all this anything
that calls for discDMion, or is reuonablyliable to question. It is a plain, practical,
common 1eD88 proceeding.
And now a word on tile sappoeed pre811mptuoQl originator of oar ministry. Mr.
Hindmanh was as true a JD&D 88 ever trod thi8 ~11 earth. Well did he answer to
Paul's beautiful exhortatory description in 1 Cor. siv. 20. I loved. and TeDeJ'atecl
him while here, aDd ~tly shall I rejoice to IDee' him hereafter, it; tHough the
Divine Mercy, moh meeting be permitted. I did not ~e with all his opinion&, but
be wu the lut man to dictate, or treapaIB on another'8 freedom. Mr. Hindmanh,
J85S.] Letterlro. Re". Will. MtUOfI. 18.
iD rep], t4 my gueetion as to the 1JI8 of wearing an ofIoial cm., told me he thought
it. iDduOed a ministerial ltate j but ftnding ita ilitluenee ~n me every way unfavo~
able, I lp88di!y disaondnued It, and told him the reason, without the least o~enoe.
B1I.' I may1)e asked, U Why was 10ur selection of a person formally to ordain )'C?tl
emdlned to the list of ordaining ministers 1" To this I reply, that in all things suit-
abiligr should be considered. The list of ordaining ministers I have ever regarded
llimply &8 a list of ~I, Iftlitable to ordain ceremonially, and kindly to adTiBe with
the new minister, and give hili the benefit of their greater e:z:perienoe. Their TO-
caROB 88 ordaining miniaten is purell ministerial, w carry out the approftl of the
Conference, OD their reoeiving a certifioate thereof from the Secretary. It is well
mown that I never oonlider8d the perBODI in this list 88 inherentJy and e:z:clUBiTely
llaitable to ordain. If any persons connected with my ordination, entertained 8U~r­
IltitiOB noti0D8 about an exohuive BUitability, I Deyer particip8~ in them; aDd if
1Ul~ N. C. Society, for ~ood and valid re88Oll8, mould prefer & ceremonial ordaininl
"ci.tor (to ordain thmr mlniBt«) whoee name is not in the list of ordaiDing min-
lsten, even if he were a U laymtm," I bave DO doubt the same advantage-a purely
deYOtiODal one-.ould accompany: hiB ministration OD the aeouion, as would acoom"
pany that of any other person, and whether he used imposition of handl or not. The
Lord'. inlnite goodnesB does not limit its oOlDDlonicationa of ~ to 'he use of this
or that; hWD8D formulary. We aN !lot a repreeentatiTe Church whOle hopee are
bound up with the observance of certain forms.
And iD res,eot to the administration of the sacraments being conftned to minDteN
who are OD the Conference List of Ordained Ministers, it is well known that I baTe
. flYer regarded this restriction merely &8 a matter of generally admitted expedienoy,
aad Dot as an emibition of priestly e:z:clusivenefIJ. I have never concealed my con·
notion, that an equal benefit would accompany the administration of the sacrameate
~ a "layman,'" ordained or appointed by any Church or Socie~ which mi~ht pre-
fer to receive them at his hands, either ~nerally or on some J>artioular OOC881OD.
Ladly, in the chap~r of the H. D. above reFerred to, IIUIlisten or U priests" are
spoken of as "goYemors" in things relating to Heaven, or things ecolesiastical; now,
what id. Engliah N. C. people may think ~. S. attached to the word" governon," I
bow no~ but this I knOW., from my twenty-six years e~rienee 88 a minister, tbI"
~ minister of the present day (whether ~tuitoU8 or paid), had better confine hie
goyel'llDlent to the narrow bounaary of h18 pulpit, for if he ~en himsell to be car.
ried away by his zeal to attempt &n1 other BOrt of ~vernment, he will probably 800D
&Dd him8elf in an undesirable position. Nay, he 18 not .re even there from I&:r at-
tempts to go.-em him. N. c. ra~en in this country will not be governed by minis-
ten in any common aeceptation of the word Cl govem.'" They are all too fond of
lihe~, whioh., in a rew c&aeB, runs occasionally into licentiousnelll, rendering the
miDisterial ofBce no bed of roees. If the ministers are U governors" at all, it is ODl1
in this eenBe, that they announce from the pulpits the law by which their heaten
ought to be ~verned, that le, ought to govern tliemeelveB.
I therefore beg that yaor 8llbscriben will be pleased to aoept me flom n.biHt,
to the fulminatiOll8 in your P&~8 against our supposed too arrogant "hierarchy,"
who are said to derive their olencal authoritl (whatever this may mean) from the
lot that lell on our late dear friend, the good, upright, talented, and yet child-like
Mr. Hindmarsh.
If there be &Dy or oar Conference ministen who entertain superstitious notions
ooocemiDg panieU1ar form, or ordination, as oonrerring more gifts than are oonferrecl
acroording to the univenal Divine Laws of Order relating to the Divine operation and
human co-operation; or who have superstitious notions about the ]!Ower of particular
perton6 e:z:cfusively to confer, or bring down from Heaven, suoh gifts, I have no sym-
pathy with them. Wherever there may exist o:z:travagant clerical notiona CIf pre-
tensioDB, I cannot but attribute the fault to the men rather than to the Conference
Reptions, althoagh I am not prepared to admit the reuonablene. or cob!iatenoy
or an theee regulations.
With vers great respeot, yours,
WILLLUI MAlO.,
On, 01 tla, Britil" Con/w'n" Mini.tw•.
190 Corre8pOndence. [April,
P. S.-As I am writin~ to IOu, permit me to add a word OD your comparilOn of
the two Translations of the H,aven and Hell, bl Mr. Noble and Mr. Hancock, in
your &,08itoT!f for August last; the fonner bemg the London Printing Soeiety~8
abandoned vermon, and the latter their latest and present version. I agree with you.
88 to the" bad taste" of Mr. Hancock's preface (I expreaeed my diasatiSfaotion with
it to Mr. Woroester, when in England), and, IMfor, your RlfJiefD tame out, the COlD-
mittee of the Society, at my remonstrance (on the ground that this particular Preface
had DO claim to exemption from the general rule of tile committee agam. all Pre-
faoes from living translators), had tcitlulf'own it altog'thnandrtmowd itff'OfI& the t:1OI-
umu on ,alto But I think very differently from IOU of Mr. Noble's Preface, which
occasioned muoh paiD to many who are proud of his reputation Z but on this point I
forbear to dwell. In respect to Mr. Bancock.'s name not appeanng OD the title page
of the Soeiety'8 version as the translator, to which you obJeot, you will find, on ex-
amination.. that it has not been usual to insert the names of traDslators and reviaera
in the title pages of the worb published by the Society, except in the instance of Mr.
Clowes, whose traD8lation of the .A.rcana has undergone revision from Mr. Noble
and others before re-printing, without any intimation having been given of the name
of the reviser.
It has not been the oustom of this country heretofore to question the translations
put forth by this trUltVJOTthy society, except in the case of obvious and accidental
mistakes. General imputations were first had recourse to by Mr. Noble'. partiizaDs.
as well a8 minute criticisms. Still the committee of the society oonaider Mr. Ban-
cock's t~latiOD, after all the zealous siftings to which it hu been 8ubjeeted, to be &8
accurate &8 is required, and as accurate in the oonveyance of the sense intendm by
E. S. &8 Mr. N.'s. Whether the two P888&~es contrasted in your review from the two
translations, or any similar contrasts tnat mIght be presented, show lfr. N. or Mr. H. to
be the best writer of English in the form of translations, will be matter of taste. Few
will be able to see and show in Mr. N .'s greater number of words, a jot more meaning
than is contained in Mr. H.'s smaller number; and IOme, perhaps, may think that Mr.
H.'s more natural English justifies the departure from what you deem U the preciBe
shade of the original." No doubt IUch oontrastl will oiren al?pealsuccessfully in be-
half of Mr. Noble to those minds, and they are numerous, whloh entertain a natural,
if not perfectly reasonable prejudice in Cavor o~ and a jealousy of the least departure
from, a mo,t liberal translation of BUd" a writer &8 Swedenoorg; even if the closer
adherence to it should occasion 80me oddity in a sentence. To Buck a feeling may
the preference given by your Swedenborg ~ociety to Mr. N.'s translation be not un-
fairly attributed 1 It may, therefore, be a nice question of policy, hotD far, in the
tran81ations of E. S., cloaenees of rendering should yield to general readableness, &Dd
thereby facility in conveying the series of ideas effectually to the reader's apprehen-
sion and liking. The committee assuming fidelity as a thing easily enough obtain-
ed, and Dot likely to be wantonly departed from by any translator whom they maY'
deem personally deserving of their confidence, have only to conaider what kind of
tranelation is the best to convey pleasantly, and therefore most clearly, the author's
ideas; or, in other words, their question is this-suPPOBin~ two translators to be COD-
veying their own original ideas in their translations, tJJhlch !bould the "tader be liuly
to Fonounce th, best English tDTiter 1 I need Dot tell you, that he is the best translator
of a ~ood author of whose translation it can be truly said, U I have no doubt the an.
thor, If he had been an Engliahman, would have expressed himself in nearly the same
language 88 that given to' him by his translator." Now, those who have not llreferred
Mr. N.'s translation, believe that if it were of Mr. N.'s original authorship, It would,
as an Engli8h compo,ition, be justly deemed far belOfD anything he Aa. publislud. Had
he written the work which he has translated, &s his own original production, I haw
110 doubt the composition would have been very superior to that under question.
Even in the citation from Mr. N. which you have just put in contrast with the pa-
rallel passage of Mr. H. (for the purJM?1!8 of~raising the former and deprecating the
latter), you have overlooked that at the end Mr. N. has made the autlior utter non-
sense, which it is impossible he could have meant to say, namely-speaking of biB
conversing. with epints, U 1 could not tell but that 1 teas conversing with men on
,art/&," while Mr. Hancock, instead of this lumbering piece of nonsense, has made
the author say what must have been the truth- U 1 felt ezactly as if conwrsing witl&
men on eart4."
1852.] Letter from Rev. Will. MtU07I. 191
If I llave correct1Y8tatAd the equal general fidelity and accuraoy of both the trana-
latiOIUl, Ihm tAt que,tiOft tU "'U, u tak,n altog,tlwr out of tit, haniLs of tla, l,aJ·ned. It;
is competent to plain English scholars, tUewt01Md 10 ,.,li.h tJ", beauli" of their own
laDguage, to decide between the two translations, by reading them togethn in com-
pan!!_ I have taken every opportunity of thus balanoin~ the two translation&, se·
lecting promiscuously for comparison, with all the best Judges of the English lan-
~ in the churoh who have oome in my way, including BOme of Mr. N.'s parti-
Cular friends, and I never failed to get a verdict in favor or the eooiet:r's translation
in every reBpeOt. I Bent a letter to our RepOlitory, suggesting the propnety of a gene-
ral pursuance of this COW'8e in the ohuroh, but it tDaI refused in.wtion, although I
made no depreoiating remarks on Mr. Noble's translation, and although I have been
the largest contributor to the magazine almost from ita commencement; in 1812, and
was one of ita editors 30 years ago.
There will probably be little opportunity of instituting such a comparison as that
just recommended in your country; but still I would beg to recommend its adoption
as far as ~ible, ana then I am confident &8 to the result. It will then be found
Ulat the preference you have given to ,ome parts of Mr. Hanoook's translation, for
u com:P8'ctne88," &e., is, in strict JUDOe, applicable to almost every pa~ of it, and
1IOID9 Will think that, if you had awarded to it ill. praise or
more dignity and ele-
gance, and more e&l7 and graceful flow, &8 well aB compactness, &0., you would not
have departed from Justice. The phrue UBed by you-" a Mr. Hancook"-has ita
.iftcance. But you should recolleot, that the real ~y to be approved or con-
demned is tAc ,oci,ty whioh he has gratuitoudy served, and which has preferred his
Uanalation to that t»reviously purcha88d by them of Mr. Noble. The 8Ociet,. has an
equal right to justice with Mr. Noble. The question is not WHO the tranfJlator is,
whether it be a "venerable" Mr. - - , or merely" a" Mr. - - , and it ill becomes
an ultra-ecclesiastical reformer to look at such an issue as that under view, as in any
degree a personal one. The plain fact is, that the society, whose respectability has
DO superior in the ohurch, published successively two traD8lations of the work in
questioD, believing them equ8J.ly faithful in realizing the author's intention, and the
society believes 80 still. When the first had been printed, disaatiafaotion with ita
EngliSh style was expressed, and some persons, of whom I was one, preferred &8 an
English eompoeition, although somewhat antiquated, the supeneded translation of
l\1r. Clowee, ~cially if its antiquated features were removed. So thought Mr.
Bancock, and the committee, who adopted that view, requested him to modernize
llr. CloW'M' translation in order that it : t take the place oC Mr. Noble's. Mr.
B. mbeequen'ly, tU It.. proutdtd with his obtained the _notion of the committee
to extend the character of his emendations more than he had done at the beginning;
the coDleqUenee of thia was, that the earlier part of his first edition or translation
more nearly resembled Mr. Clowes' than the fatter part of it. This was made the
pound of allegation with some, that it was a patch-work performance; and SOt
when the edition was exyeuded, the committee were 80 well satisfied with Mr. H. 'a
EnJ51iah style in translating, 1,1 well as with his fidelity, that they requested him to
be~ and complete the translation afresh for a stereotype edition. Whereupon Mr.
Noble l'8Iumed to himself the translation he had BOld to the lOOiety, and wliiob the
lOCiety had abandoned, and re-published it on his own foundation. Hence it hap-
peDS that two translation8 are before the publio, and as they both stand on the same
level as to essential accuracy (althou~h tnere may be ddFerence of opinion as to the
degree of minuteness ofaocuracy whloh is expedient), the ~ublic hu to deoide, eaoh
individual for himsel~ which is the best English compositIon. Mr. N. asserts hiB
great,r a,cuTtUy, and some will be swayed by his Ulertion, and your review will ap-
pear as uoonfirmation strong:" the committee affirm ,qual acouracy, and better Eng-
lUh r,ading in their venion, and in their last annual Report, published under the
aanction of the aociety, they make the following announoement :-" The committee,
from baring had their attention reoalled to this work since ita publication, and from
the testimony of competent judges, feel confidenoe in recommending it &8, upon the
whole, the best V8l'aion that has yet been given of this work." You, Mr. Editor, are
too just and too generous to sup~ that the IOciety, in its final choice of a transl..
tion, bave been actuated by personal consideratioDs. Had the! been 80, a "venera-
ble name" lDust have weighed with them more than the name of a pel'8OD who is ODIJ
1" Milcellany.
entitled tG be mentioned as cta Mr. Hanoock." You will eonsider that they have
[April,

oODlICientiously choeen that translation which jp, in their opinion, best caJcu1&ted-
by its more agreeable readableness and freedom from enCUlDoering le rotunditiee"-to
convey the &eD8e of the author attractively to the reader, especially at his 8rBt read-
ing of 80 extraordinary a publication, and therefore caloulated most effectually to
lead to an increase of reoeivers.
I eould make aome more pointed remarb on some parts ot lOur review, but 88 the,.
would Dot be of a commendatory character I repre88 them. I have only to add, that
the aoeiety'8 edition may be obtained, with Hartley's preface, when desired ( of which
you eeem unaware), 8.8 well as Mr. Noble's.
T011 will pleue to excuse the unexpected length ot this postacript. I was Secre-
tary to the London Printing Society 30 ~ since, when I resided m London, and I
feel an interest in its oharacter, which is left under imputation by your review.
W.ll.

MISCELLANY.

NEW CHURCH WORKS WANTED.

The folloWing books and pamphlets are wanted for the New Church Library hl Cincln·
a.ti, Ohio, where an effort is being made 1.0 form _ complet, eollfeti. ef all th.' 1uJ• •.". ...
,""tilled i. tlat CltWtA. Such a Library does not now exist in the Uolted State.. The
member! of the New Church whose attention may be called to this subject. are therefore
earllestlylnvited to assist in the acoomplishment of this important object. at a . . of tJw
alvel& ".,rtdl" by contributini as tar.1 they caD, or by agreeiDl10 di'poM of aub por-
tions oC thisUat as they may have in their pOseesaiOD and an!' williDI to part with. Comma·
Iliealionl 011 the lubject to be addreaeed to 8. S. Carpenter, Librarian, Clncil'1nad.

Second Advent of *he Lord: & DiJ. Reports of MiM. and Tract Soc. of the
00UJ'fJeon the Jubilee, 6d. N. J. C., London, except 13 and 14.
Woodman's Brief DilC1II8ion on the Re~ of MiBI. and Tract Soc. of the
claims of E. S. N. J. C., Manchester.
On the Will and Understanding ... con- Reports of Manchester PrintiDg 800.
18'Uting the Human MiDd. (London uoept 15, 16 aDd 18.
MU.. SOc.) Report. of the London Printing Soc.
Novitiate'! Preee~tor, in Monthly NOI. except 12, 23,27, 35, 34, 38. Alf doc..-
(6 N. C. Maguine.l mentl relating to *he hiItory of the
ThODlU Wdson'. Lectures. Church.
Hindmanh'l Christianity, 1'1. Deism, Hod8on'8 Catechism on the Christian
Materialiml and Atheism. Name. 6d.
Last IlIn_ and Death of Mt. Mar- Sibley'l Sermon on the Second Ad-
dock. vent.
Goyder'. Little StrealDl. 8mitluon's Two Letten to Rev. G.
" Twenty-four Lecturel. Gibbon.
R. Hindmanll'. Sermon on Waterloo Goyder's Dawn of Light.
Road Church. U New Jeruearem Maguine (3
Proud's Unitarian Doctrines oompletely vols. 01' 4 vola).
refuted, London, 1806. 6d. Wisdorn's Dictates.
Bradley'l Coune of ~ n Leoture&. Beauties of Swedenborg.
John Parry'. Sermoollt Doctrinal, &0. Gems of Wiedom.
bdI. 1829. Goyder'. Lamp of Truth, 1820.
Churohhill'B Sermon OD M~ Minting. Proud's Fifteen Sermon•.
The Contrast; The Nataraland Spirit- Talk'8 Aphoriams on the Law. 01
11&1 Man Compared. 6d. Creation.
Hindmarsh's Ciroular Letter, contain· Glasgow Traots, 5 and 18.
ing Forty-two Theological PropoeitiOD8, . Manchester u 20, 57, and all above
1788. 62.
1852.] Editoriallt6"". 181
IrlDdmarah'.Reuou why the members London Tracts above No. 30.
or the N. C. mould form themaelvee into Hindmarah's Let*en to Prieetly•
• distinct oommtmity. Goyder'8 Conoise History of the New
Hindmanh'. ReIeotiOlll on the Unita- Church.
rian and Trinitarian Doctrines. Goyder's Biblical AMistant.
Hindmanh's Interview Extraordinary Goyder's Book of Practical Pie9"
with Athanamua, Arius, &0. Othodoxy Examined (in Nos.). London.
Hindmarsh's New School of Theology. Goyder'8 Twelve Lectures.
Robinaon'a Eternal World. Is. Intellectual Repository, for the years
Juvenile M~e, an,.
volumeaexcept 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826,
the years 1846, 1849, 1850. and 1828.
Clowea' Letter to the Editor's of the Clowea' Dialoguea between a Churall·
Christian Obeerver, in reply to their re- man and Methodist.
marks OD a few plain anawen. Clowes' Church Catechism. .
The Temple of Truth, a Maguine. U Sole and Exclusive DiviDit1 of
New Church Advocate,-a N. C. Mag. J88IlI Christ.
Vol. 2. Also Supplement to it. Clowes' Letter to a Friend OD Roby'.
New Church Cliristian'8 Pocket Maga- Pamphlet.
sine and S. S. Reporter, 1824, London. Clowes on the Divine Person and Char-
New JeraMlem Maguine and Theo- aoter of Je8WI Chri8t.
1o«ioal ~ctor, 1828. ClOWN' Family Praren.
'l'anaday'B The Protection of Kinp. the U Letter to Proud OD. Separatiou
eecuritl or Thrones, &0. from Old Church.
J. Hill, Th~ Greatest Truth ever pub- Brief View of the Heavenly Doctrines,
liahed, &c. An explanation oC the Holy 12mo. 48. M.
Trinity Mason's Companion to Cont'erenoe
W_om in Miniature. H~Book.
Clowee' Only Real Road to Wealth, Muon's Liturgy for Society at Derb,.
1825. 4a.
The New Church Preacher, 2 vola. Magazine tor Children of the New
D. M. AlIen's Two SermoDS on the Re- Church, 1 vol., London, 1842.
deemer and Redemption. 6d. George Windeld's_ Spiritual Thoughts,
Arbouin'8 Three Sermons on the Lord's & Poem. LonClen, 1846.
Pra,er. Is. Friendly Dialogue between Paal, of the
ArbouiD'. Select Aphorisms for New Protestant Christ's Church, and Peter of
Jeru.-Iem Church. Is. the N. J. C., by J. Williams Yeovil.
Arbouin'e, The Mirror· a Poem. Is. 6d. Bristol, 1823.
Minutes of the Gene;;J Conference, ex- Richard Jon.' FrieDdly AddreM to N.
cepting Nos. 1, 19, 23, 29, 30, 37, 38, 39, J. C. Receiven on the propriety ofado~
to,~. ing suitable forms of exteinal worship.

EDITORIAL ITIMS.
The proceedings oC the tenth annual meetinl or the Mlchipn and Northem Indiana
Association of the New Church ha~e just reached UI in the Medium of February 16. The
repon contains an unulual amOQnt of interestinglUattet, much of which we should bave
been happy to transfer to our pap' had we received the doeument at an earlier date.
AmODg other things we learn, that the Rev. Abiel Silver wal Inducted i.to the oflioe of
Ordaining Minister, with appropriate aDd Impressive ceremobies. taken mO$tly from the
Eoalish N. C. LltulJY. An introductory address was delivered by Rev. Jabez Fo~. who
then, in behalf of the auociation, proposed the prescribed questioDI and delivered the
charp. The occasion appears to have been ODe of Interest and solemnity, though the ne-
cessity tor the meaaare II Dot quite 10 obvious to us as it probably was to the brethren al-
Iemb1ed.
Another Item oC Interest ocours in the (oUowiPI resolution., presented by R. H. Mllr.
ray. &Dd whioh, aner considerable discl1l1ion, were adopted 1 -
 194 Editorial IterM. [April,
W'Mrea., a communication received. by thil ASlOClatioll from Henry WeBer, oC Grand
Rapids, topther with Yarioul other letters received b1 other members thereof, and others
from the same source, do most conolu8ively demonstrate, in him, a ltate of mind emi-
nently unfitting him fo:' the useful disoharge of the duties ot a pastor or miDlater, there-
fore,
R,.ol",tl, uftGftimOUll" Tb8t this Association no lODger reoopi. the _id Henry Weller
aa a minister of the New Cburch.
Rtlol",d, That A. Silver, E. M. Chamberlain andJ'ohn B. Niles. be appointed .oommittee
to correspond or confer with said Henry Weller, and endeavor to draw him, 8S a mis-
guided brother, from the lamentable delusion into which he has fallen.
RI.ol",d, That recent occu rrencel afford new testimony in support of Swedenborg's oft-
repeated cautions upon the dangers of open intercourae with SpUib, and should be receiy.
ed as a lpeoial waroingto New Churchmen.
These relOlutionlltrike us al somewhat singular, leaving very StroDg doubts whether
the action of the auociation in the prem ile. has not been precipitate. A hitherto res-
pected and beloved brother in the ministry, whose Jabors In hi. fUDctioo ha. . beea at-
tended witb signal tokens of the Divine blesling. i. aD oC a .uddeD, and without &DJ
specific charge that appears OD the record alleged against him, declared to be ill Cl a
Btate of mind eminendy unfitting him (or the useful dilObal'l8 of the duties oCa paltor or
mini.ter:' and thereupon a resolution unanimously paseed, cc no longer to recognise the
laid Heory Weller as a minister of the New Church.·' The grounds of such a summary
proceeding may. for aught we know, bave been very clear and satisfactory to the mem-
bers of the association, who bad the c. conclusive demonstrations" before them; but. as
distant outsidera, we confess the action of that body bas an afr of cc hot haste," Dot ex-
actly accordant with the calmneu and deliberation which Itrike us as the natural dictate
of the jUlt and charitable spirit of the New Church. An ecclesiastical sentence oC this
nature inevitably throws. degree of odium upon the lubject of it, which is a serious in-
jury to hia good name; when yet, at the lame time, no specific reason is assigned for the
extreme measure resorted to. But it is Daturally supposed that a severe penalty would be
visited only upon a gTave offence, and, whether deserved or not, the imputation of luch
aD offence relts upon him. To those who haYe only the published minutes of the proceed-
Ings to judge from, it will obviously occur as a query, what has Mr. Weller tlOA' to lor-
feit so suddenly the confidence of his brethren 1 Has he been guilty oC any immorality t
Has he broacbed dangerous error of (loctrine In his teaching 1 And, whatever may have
been hiloJfence, were there any efforts put forth to convince him of his errors or eyilJ,
and in the spirit of brotherly love to reclaim him (ram them 1 And did be meet such ef-
Carts with contumacy and contempt 1 It appears, indeed, that aft". the above resolution
was adopted, ·a committee oC three was chosen to cc oorrelpol1d or confer with Mr. W.,
and to endeavor to draw him, as a misguided brother, (roln the lamentable delusion into
which he ha. fallen." But, was any thing oC tbi'l nature proposed and acted upon "t-
for. this decisive step of virtual excision wal taken 1 Were the allOCiated brethren per-
fectlyalsured beforehand that DO fraternal admonitions or remonstrance would anil to
reclaim Mr. W. from the error of his ways? Would it not have been much better to
withdraw an erring brother from his delusionl prior to declaring all confidence in his mi-
nisterial fitness at all end 1 If 80. would it not have been better to make the attempt to
do it? •
But what alter all is the head and front of the offending which has thus alienated the
confidence and respect ot brethren in the Church? We are len IOIe11 to inference. The
closing resolution utters a solemn caveat in view of the lignal dangers resulting from open
intercourse with spirits, for which we presume there Is sufficient occalion, and this
is doubtless the ground on which the association has felt iteelf compelled to mak~ the
declaration in question. Indeed, we have learned from other sources that Mr. W. had re-
cently become what is lermed a ",riti"g ""di""" and not onty 10. but that he deems himself
1852.] EditoriallletlU. 195
gifted with a degree of intromission into the Ipiritual world, in oODseqaence ot which he
i. enabled to hold intercOll11l8 to a certain extent with the spirits of the departed. NoW',
we are 100 little acquaiDted with the facti in this cale to be able to judge how far our bro-
ther ha. fallen into delulion, and how hopeless il hil recovery. We have no doubt there
u daDger to be apprehended from this lOurce, and feel that the greatest wisdom and dis-
cretion is requisite on the part of Newchurchmen in dealing with the spiritual phenomena
that are now rife all over the country. Yet we are not prepared to say that there may not
be a portion of the precious mixed up with the vile, and tbat genuinely truthful commu-
nicatioD' may not be imparted, although it be granted tbat for the most part th~ eleD':ent
of falsitJ' Bleatly preponderates. Much lesl would we question that there ma, be an or-
decll OpeniDI at the spiritual 8en18S at the present day, and if Mr. W. claims this privilege,
as we unclentaDd he does, it is a matter to be decided. on its own evidence, and ,the lim-
pIe fact oCsDch a claim cannot, oritselC, we Ihould suppose, fairly subject him to 80 8eyere
a lentence as that involyed in the action of the Association. It mUlt be grounded on the
intrinsic character of the utterances emanating trom the state of alleged illumination,
aDd theee ought to be of a gr08s1y erro!W'oul and perniciou8 character, giying plain tokens
oC an iDfemal origio, to jllltlfy the total withdrawment oC fellowship with Mr. W., as a
miDltter of the New Church. We repeat, that the brethren ot the Association ma, have
had such evidence before them in coming to their decision, but no such evidence is giyen
to the public, and the oonsequence is that a painful impression is left upon the minds of
many iD the Church that justice may not have been done-that the penalty wal dlspro-
portioned 10 the ofl"enoe-that palsion and prejudice may have had undue sway in 10Y-
emiug the issue. For thia realOD we'tbink it due to the demandl of justice and truth that
some more definite statement oC the Brounds oC their proceeding should be made by the
ASIOCiation to the Church at large, to which the characler or its teachers is deservedly dear.
We say not thia aa partizans oCMr. W., with whom we have no personal acquaintance,
but simpl, .. advocates at abstract right. and equity.
We may mention in this connection, that we have received the Prospectus of a new
periodical, entitled. U The Crilil," to be published at Grand Rapids, Mich. t under the
editorial charp ofMr. W., of the !Cope of which an idea may be formed from the follow-
iog paragraphs: Cl The object of this publication is to supply a want pressing universally
upon tbe whole Christian Church. And this want is a reliable guide through the difficul-
ties aad perplexities wbich are more and more thickening around the pathway of spiritual
experiences. The events of the past two years have indeed brought a crisis upon the
whole Religious community. This Done oan deny. And therefore, a work adapted to
tbis peculiar state ot affairs Is most needful at the present juncture. We hold it as an es-
tabliehed faet, thal. this world i. now lubject to continual, direct, open visitatione from the
Spiritaal World. The evidences ofthis are too many and too strong, to be ayoided or de-
nied by any who will take the trouble to inquire. It will form no part ofour object to fur-
nish such evidences. We allame the fact as granted. Moreover, we Rssume the faet also,
tbat these manife8tations have been instrumental in bringing a cri.i. on the Church-
bI'KkiDI up all the theologiea ot the day_nd threatening the de.trnction of all church
orpDizations. Now, it follows from these facts, that the whole world is on the verge oC
a most awful catastrophe. being launched into a l8a of Dew and llntried spiritualspeeu-
lalions, without a beacon to warn of danger, or a light to guide the course of the vessel.
For if the Church fail to furDish this light, wbe~ elee shall we look for it? That the
Cburch ia Dot now cc a city eet upon a hill, whose light cannot be hid," is pl3in from the
fact, tbat instead of furnishing a guide through the labyrinths or spiritual manifestationa,
it either denies them altogether. or attributes the whole to the devil or infernal agencies
It caDDot. however, be that the world will be left without some clear spiritual light upon
J98 [April, 1852.
a .object IDvolviDSlach momentous iD&erea&a. HQI' O&D it be pemitted that old tbiDaa
.howd p.... awar until tbere is a bellDnlDlof all • • beoomiDl MW. t BeJaold. I . . . .
all things pew.' is the declaration of the Lord, and thu. a bllildlnc up mUll be sillull.ae-
ous with a breakln, down. All thinp are broken and lOattered. We propose to deYOl8
our 8Dergie. toward. the buildiDg up, a. the Lotd liYeI us wiU aad uDdentallcliDI. or Hie
Church in true Life, Doctriae, aDd Order. The publication will date trom tbe am of
April, 18~2, althoulh the actual iaue may be delayed. It is hoped. that eublCriben wiD
eend in their name. before dlat dace, al no more copies will be printed mu the Illblcri pe
&ion Ust will warrant. I' will be published in quarto form of eilht pa,. . treble oolaDlDa.
with entire Dew type, aDd OD a luperior quality oC paper. Prioe. ODe Dollar per annum,
ia advance. Printed and published by JOhD S. WeBer, to whom all communicadODa
(pOlt paid) are to addreued. A,lOOo al the 11lblOriptioa lilt wartan&l. this paper will he
published _Ml, ou die same term•• "
We rive &hi. information not .1 a.amin, thereby anJspeclal patronap of the enter-
pri., but merely .. chrooiolen of the pal.in, eTeDts oCthe cia,•
.
The re-print of Cl The A.oimal Kinpom" l.0f!SwedenboJ'l. ha, at leagth been MOOID-
pUshed by Mr. William.. oC St. Clainville, Ohio.. We bad prepared Ul uteDded DOQce
of it Cor this No. which we are obllpd to defer to oar aexL

A new .tereotyped ecUtioll oC Cl Barrett'. Lectul8l" has jalt beeD published by the Micb-
Ipn and Northern Indiana A'lOCiatloll of the New Church. OC this we shall .-11:
more particularly hereaIcer, as also oC Dr. Boloombe's Cl Scieotilo BulloC Bommopa&b,,-
whioh has just appeared from the Cineinnati p....

The Committee appointed by the General CoaveDtiou to reviselhe Book of Wonhip aDd
report such alterations and amendments .. they might deem desirable, have jut cloeed
their ...ioo iD BOlton. The reslllt. have Dot yet traupirecl.

The American Swedenborl PrlDuDg and Publishi... 30ciety haye reaolftd to Wme tbe
" True Chriatian Relislon" u the next in their eeries of re-prIDta.

Rev. Sabin Houah Is preBchiDI iD Boatoo,u aD • •1.lanL to B.eY. T. Woraetter• •bOle

h.lth yet remain. feeble.

We insert the foUowiDg from the N. Y. TribaDe for_bath is wortb.-'c Rn. H. B....
nell, of HartCord, Coon., has been leoturiDlat length on • Sapernataraliam'-oCcolU8e, iD
opposition to the modern • ManifestatioDs.' Andrew JaoklOD Dayl, hu more noeotIJ
been replyiDI to him. One evening I••t week Dr. BUlhnell wa. to live his closiD(r leet1Ue.
and Davis gave one the eveninl before, iD the eoune oC it he _id in aabllaDce, 'Ladi.
and pntlemen, aB one evidence of the reality and accuracy of this ClalrYOY8JlCe, PreYUiOD,
or whatever you please lO term it, I will now live 1011 the Lectare which Dr. BumDeU
will give to-morrow eV8niog'-whereupoD he proceeded to read o~what he declared that
LectUJ'e would be, sevoral ot the audi"nce lakinl notes. Tbeee walkecl in at Dr. B.-,Iea-
tare nut eveninl, note. In hand. aDd 1o! the Dr.'. Lecture proftd ...belli. what Davis
had declared it would be the eveniD, beCore. W. rive this lto.,. u It ia Sri. . aboat. W.
underltand that the faces iD the cue, whatever dieT maT be. 8ft to be duI, aatbeDlloallcl
aDd published.It
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHLY REVIEW.

,.1. ,. DIIY, 1~2. 10. I.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.

SERMON,
BY THE LATE R.EV. SA.MUEL WORCESTER •
•, Lead us nol into temptation: but deliver us from eyil."-M'ATTH.W vi. 13.
IT is expressly declared by one of the Apostles, that God cannot be"
tempted, and that He does not tempt any man; and all who have Rcquir-
ed any rationality in spiritual things, have been able to see that it
would be inconsistent with the Lord's character to Jead anyone into
temptation. But these words of the Lord's Prayer have been gene-
rall}r understood as implying. that the Lord does lead into tenlptation ;
and a great many have been led to ask, why we should be taught to
pray the Lord not to do what ,\\'e know He never does. It seems to al-
most everyone, that praying that the. Lord will not lead us into
temptation implies, that He has some disposition to lead ns into
temptation; and, therefore, that such prayer is an impeachment of
his goodness.
In order to remove the difficulties presented by this text, we sha.ll
endeavor to show,
1st. The reason ,,·hy it is implied in the literal sense that the Lord
leads into temptation.
2d. That the language of the text does not necelsarily imply, that
the Lord leads into temptation; and that it fairly admits of a con-
struction which is in conformity with the true doctrine concerning the
Lord's goodness.
3d. That, by being written in this manner, the words of the text
are adapted to all the states of men and angels.
I. The reason why it is implied in the literal sense that the Lord
leads into temptation is, because all men, before they are regenerated,
Yo~v. 14
 J98 &,.".011 on Matthew vi. 18. [May,

if they believe in a God, believe thftt He leads them into temptation.

Many natural men can, Rnd do understand the truth, that the Lord
leads no one into temptation; but thi~ is a very different thing from
practically believing it, or having f8ith in it. When natural men are
iD any trouble, affliction, adversit)~f or tempta.tion, they think that the
Lord or the Lord's Providence is against them i they really ascribe
these things to Him. Th~y may believe that He afflicts them for
some merciful purpose-that He will cause their troubles to work for
their good. But they do think, that it is the Lord who is the author
their troubles.
They as yet know nothing of spiritual temptl\tions, but only the
trials of natural life; and the term temptation, in the text, as it ap-
plies to natural men, means only their natural troubles, difficulties.
and trials. They ascribe these to bad weather, in health, accidents,
and numerous otber things, "rhich th~y regard as under the control
of the Lord's Providence: thus they ascribe them to Him. So far as
they have any regard for spiritual lifp, they suppose His Providence
to be very arbitrary"-they think that he gives or withholds His spirit-
ual blessings at pleasure. When they hs\'e fallen into any sin, or neg-
lected any duty, they excuse themselves by tile peculia,' circumatance,
unde'" which they were placed; and they suppose that the Lord pro-
duced these circumstances.
That natural men do regard the Lord as leading into sach tempta-
tions as they are acquainted \vith, is very manifest from what we
know of the Gentiles. They are natural men, and they ascribe to
their gods all things which they regard as prosperous, and all which
they regard as adverse.
1'he same is very apparent, if we look at the Jewish nation-the
lowest class of natural men. This ftppears from t.he literal sense of
the Word, in nearly ever)' part of it. It speaks of the Lord's being angry
and punishing thcln when they did evil, and of His repenting and be-
stowing His blessings upon them when they did well. ]t relates, that He
led them into difficulties to try t.hem and prove them, whether they
would obey Him or not. Anll, although the apostles had some perception
that the Lord does not tempt man, stiJl they taught that, " Whom the
Lord loveth lIe chasteneth, and scourgeth e,'ery SOil \vhom He receiv-
eth;" and this involves the same view of the Lord as sR)9ing that He
leads man into temptation.
A little reflection ,viii satisfy anyone that all natural men think of
God, and also speak of Him, in this manner. Those of thenl who ha~·e
learned that He is never angry, that He never punishes, and that he
never tempts, do not cease to think and feel concerning Him as if He
did these thillg~. They cannot really regard him other\\rise, except
so far as they r i.~c out of their natural state into heavenly states of
mind.
The reason ~·l.y the Word imputes to the Lord that He leads men
into temptation, is therefore t.he same as why anger, wrath, revenge,
punishment and doing evil are ascribed to him, viz.: that such is
the appearance of the Lord's character and Providence to the natural
man.
1852.] Sermoll on Matthew vi. 13. 199

We can therefore make no obj~ction to the expression, Lead UI not

iJlto temptation i nor is it more difficult to reconcile it with what we
know of the Lord's trufl character, than the greater part of all the
expressions in the literal sense of the Word.
If. We parposed to show, in the second place, that the language
of the text does not necessarily imply that the Lord leRds into tempta-
tion; aod tbat it fairly admits of a construction \vhich is in con-
formity with the true doctrine concerning the Lord's goodness.
It is to be admitted, that the natural man, and the external thoughts
of all men, most readily derive from the text the meaning, that the
Lord does sometimes lead men into temptation. This sense of the
words is the most consistent with the state of the natural man: it is
on a level with his comlDon view of the Lord. But there is a simply
rational interpretation of the words, which many natural men can
understand when it is presented, although it is generally hidden from
them. Let us examine 8everal other expressions of the Prayer, and see
whether they do not involve the same natural and erroneous view
of the Lord's character as the expression, LefJd UI not into temptation.
We are directed to say, Thy kingdom came. This petition would
imply that the Lord does not bring down His kingdom or government
ioto the earth without being supplicated to do so. And this is the
~iew of natural men. They think that their prayers move and per-
suade the Lord to do the things which they ask Him. The same may
be said of the petition, Thy will be done, as in Heaven so also upon tAe
earth.
The expression, Give u, this day our daily bread, implies to the
merely Dfttoral man that the Lord sometimes does not give 08 our
daily bread, and that He may be made willing to give it by our
prayers. But He i~ always infinitely desirous-to give, and is alwa.ys
gi,·ing it: but we are not always in a state to receive it. To ask
Him to give, seems to imply, that He needs either information or per-
saasion; but he needs neither.
The petition, }i'orgive us our debts as ,De also forgive our debtor.,
conveys the common idea of the natural man, that the Lord is angry
\vitb him Cor his sins, and needs to be appeased and made forgiving,
after the manner of men. We know that this is a great error; but
it is tbat obscure, erroneons vie\v of the Lord, which belongs to the
depraved state of the natural maD. This, and the rnost external idea
of all the other petitions in this pra)'er, are precisely on a lev~l with
the idea, that the Lord leads into temptation, and that He needs sup-
plication and persuasion in order that He may deliver from evil.
Now, the correct, rational vic\v of all these petitions is, that they
are not only petitions, but confessions of facts, truths, or realities.
Thus!, when we say, Thy killgdom come, thy will be done, as in Heaven
'0 al.o u~ the earth, \\re should .say it as a confession and a~kno~­
ledgment that the Lord does rule in Heaven and among the InhabI-
tants of the earth-that His throne is prepared in the Heavens, and
that His kingdom ruleth over all.
This is the meaning of these words, a, a confessiU1& or aclmmDledg-
meJU of what u really true. .AI a petition, we should use them to ex·
200 Sermon on Mattllew vi. 13. [May
press an earnest and hearty desire· and effort, to come into such a
state of mind that we shall love to have the Lord's kingdom come,
and His will done, in us and in all others.
When \ve say, Give us this day OUt· daily bread, we should thereby
ackno\\'ledge and confess with thankfulness, that the Lord dops in
every day or state give us every blessing which is best for U!iI. And.
a8 a petition, we should express by these words a sincere desire and
effol·t to bring our minds into a state to receive the daily bread-all
the nourishment of natural and spiritual life-as the Lord's good, im-
parted for our good.
And \vhen \ve pray the Lord to forgive us as we forgive others, \ve
ought not to think that there is anything less than infinite forgi\"en~$
exercised by him constantly to\vards us. But our prayer should be
confession and acknowledgment, as "'ell as petition. Wc should
confess that be does forgive; but, also, that he can make us receptive
of His forgiveness, or make his forgiveness available to us, only in
proportion as we forgi\l'e our debtors. And we should ask, petition,
or "import,une most earnestly for forgiveness-meaning th~r~bYt that
we desire, or endeavor to desire, and use every effort to come into a
state to forgive and be forgivt-n.
And to say, Lead u, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
need not, and should not, carry the idea, that the Lord does lead into
temptation. It may, and should be accompanied by the thought, COD-
fession and acknowledgment., that He does not lead into temptation.
but does deliver from evil. In this case, as in the others, the petition
is n. declaration or a conf~ssion of a known truth, viz.: that the
Lord does not lead into temptation, but does deliver from evil. And,
as a petitio., these words express our desire Rnd effort to come into
that heavenly state, iD which \ve shall ascribe no evil to the Lord,
and shall Dot think that allY temptation is the result of Ilny thin~ but
our o\vn evil conncxion \vith wiclted spirits-that state in which ,ve
shall not incline to evil, and shall not therefore think that the Lord's
Providence tempts us to evil. .
If we consider, that prayer implies not only petitions, hilt acknow-
ledgments, confessions, thanksgivings and praises, we shall see that
RH these must be contained, and should be understood, in \vhat are
expressed in the Lord's prayer in t.he external forIn of petitions. And,
when we come into this rational view of the expressions, they DO
longer present any thing that is contrary to heavenly doctrine. Jo
saying, Lead us not into te"'ptatioll, but deliver U8 fro"" evil, t.he first
exercise of our minds is the confession and ackno\vledgment that the
Lord leads not into temptation, but delivers from evil; the second
is thanksgiving that lIe leads not into temptation but delivers from
evil; the third is confession that temptation, and evil which causes
it, are from aurael ves and hell; the fourth is petition, or looking to
the Lord with sincere desire and effort to come into a state that \vill
enable us to shun and overcome all the evils by which \ve are infest-
ed, and which cause our spiritual combats. In all this there is the
g~neral consideration, that we are wholly evil, and that the Lord
alone can redeem, deliver, saye and raise us up above our evils.
1852.] 201

Ill. We proposed to show, in tbe third place, tha.t, by being written

in tbis manner, the words of the text are adapted to all the states of
men and angels.
The languuge of the prayer comes down, as we have endeavored
to show, to the natural state of man. This is the lowest state. And
it is necessary that the words should descend so Jow. The ladder
mu~t rest on the earth; and then it serves for ascending even from
this lowest state to all the higher states.
Wben anyone who is in a natural state prays sincerely that the
Lord may not Jead him into temptation, but deliver him from evil, he
does thereby express feelings opposed to the evils by which he is
tempted. There is something of desire and effort to be a bptter man
-to be in a state, in which he will not be thus tempted, troubled,
tried and cha!ltised. And, although he is in the mere appearance of
truth, and not the reality, in respect to the cause of his temptations-
although he ascribes them to the Lord and not to his own evils, yet this
error is one thR.t he cannot avoid in that state; and it is excusable.
And if he prays sincerely, Lead U8 not into temptation. he will endea-
vor to shun the tempting evils, and also to overcome them when he
is tempted by them. And by thus praying and striving against his
evils, he will overcome and put them away; and then he ,viII come
into a higher state, and can see the Lord in a higher and purer char-
acter.
Thus it appears that the langua~e of the text is really adapted to
the state of the natural man. And it is also adapted to the natural
part of thos~ who are in some degree regenerated. Until the ex-
ternals of the mind are regenerated, man's external thoughts and
feelings do ascribe to the Lord leading into temptation; and in that
state, man prays externally, or with the external mind, according to
the ultimate sense of these words, but internally according to the
spiritual sense. In order that the Lord may corne to, operate upon,
and give saving life to each degree of t.he mind, His \,·ords must come
down to the state of each degrE'e of the mind.
In proportion as man ascends into a more heavenly sta.te, he loses
tbe idea that the Lord causes temptation, 8S he loses the idea
that the Lord is angry, that he punishes, and casts into hell. In
the higher states of lire man loses those external views, and sees
clearly that his own evils produce these effects. In every state he sees
that degree or sense of the divine truths \\'hich is best adapted to
raise him into a higher state, and to give him all the good that he
is then capable of recei \,ing.
In this expression of the Lord's Prayer the angels do not see any-
thing that implies that the Lord leads into temptation. rl'hey do not
understand temptations to be natural troubles, nor external entice-
ments to sin. By telnptations they mean the states or humiliation to
which they are reduced by seeing how evil they are, al1d the spiritual
cOfnbuts by which men overcome their evils and faIses. The idea
that the Lord causes or leads into these temptations does not enter ~'
their mind.. ; they see the real truth, and not the natural appearance
of iL
 The Para6lu Eqlaiaed.-No. IY. [MaJ_
This may be easily understood by us all. We ean remember when
we thought that the Lord loved His friends and bated His enemies ;
and, in that state, we thought that His character, and His treatment
of HiM friends and His enemies, were just such as are df',scribed iD the
literal sense of the Word. But now we have acquired somewhat
more elevated views of Him; and in our most interior states we do not
think of Him 8S e\'er angry. nor as doing any evil, nor as leading into
any temptation. In these states we read about His being angry.
punishing, casting into hell, and RH similar things that are ascribed to
Him in tbe literal sense of the Word, \vithout thinking of the literal
mea.ning of the expressions. We receive only that more interior
sense, which is adapted to our state. While our thoughts and af.
fections are devoted to thfl i ntprnal SADse, the literal sense does not
harm us; indeed, it does us much good, although "ye do not distinctly
think of it. It-is adapted to the external part of our minds; and tbe
Lord is present in it, sod operates by it, to keep the externals sub.
servient a.nd quiescent, so that they may not lead us into telnptatioo.
It is thus that each expression of this divine prayer is adapted to
every degree and state of the minds of men and angels.

ARTICLE 11.

THE PARABLES EXPLAINED.

No. IV.
TUB TARB8 I~ THE PIELD•
... Another Parable pot he forth unto tbeln, laying, The Kingdom of Heayen is likened
unto" man which Bowed good seed in his field; l>ut while men slept, his enemy C81ne and
BOwed tarel among the wheat, and went bis way. But when the blade was sprung up.
aDd brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servonts of the hou8eholder
aame and said unto him, Sir, didst thon not sow ROod seed in thy field? From whence
then bath it tares? He said unto tbem, An enemy bath done thi!!!. The servant! sRid
unto him, Wilt tbou then that we go and gather thenl up? But he ,aid. Nay; lest, while
78 gather up tbe tares, ye root up also the wheat with tbem. Let both grow togetber.
until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gatber ye to-
ptber, first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn t(Wlll, but gather the wheat into
my barn."-MATl'. xiii. 24-31.

Q. WHAT do you mean in this parable by the Kingdom of tAe Hea-

ven,l
eA. The Kingdom ~f the Heavens is the government of the divine
love and wisdom of JESUS CHRIST, and therefore wheresoever this die
vine love and wisdom is allowed to have rule, \vhetber it be in he.a-
Yen or on earth, there is the Kingdom. f!.f the Heavens.
Q. And why is this Kingdom of the Heaven, likened to a maR 10ID-
mg good ,eed in hi, field 1
eA. Because it begins from a seed, which, lilte other seeds, increases
and multiplies after its kind, and brings forth fruit, which also COD-
tains new seeds, and thus is capable of indefinite increase.
18S~.] The Tar" ill the Field. 901
It

Q. And what i. this seed of tAe Kingdom of lAB Beavena, and who
is tbe man that soweth it t
A. The seed is the WoaD OP GOD, \\'hich is the Divine Truth of the
Ilivine Love; and tbe man that sowet.h it is JBSUS CHIUST, or GOD in
his DIVINB HVIfANlTY, because all Divine Trutb, which is of the Di-
vine Love, proceeds from that IJlOARNATE GOD, and is implanted by Him
in the hearts of true believers. The seed is, therefore, ~alled good
seed, to denote that the Divine Trut.h, represented by the seed, is al-
ways in connexion with the Divine Good of the LoIlD'S mercy and
love.
Q. And what is it you understand by tbejield here spoken of?
A. By the field is meant the church here on earth, or the congrega-
tion or all good people who believe in JESUS CIIIUST, and receive the
seed of His Holy Word in sincerfl and devout hearts. This field is,
therefore, called His field, because the church is Hi" inasmuch as it
is formed from those eternal principles of heavenly love and wisdom
which proceed from Him, and ,,'hicb properly constitute Him.
Q. Wha.t do you understand here b~' the men sleeping 1
A. By sleeping, according to a. spiritual idea, is to be understood,
the leading a 1Ultural life, separate from 'pi,-ituallije, which life, in
tbe Sacred Scriptures, is always called sleep, as spiritual life is always
called a state of wakef"'Re8••
Q. And what do you mean here by thn enemy wh~ is here said to
come 1
A. By the enemy is meant the Devil, or tbe Spirits of Darkness,
who are always present with man, watching and laboring to destroy
the good seed of the kingdom.
Q. And wbat are the tare, which this enemy is said to SOlD in the
midst of the loheat 1
A. The tarea denote all evil principles and false persuasions arising
from selfish, worldly, and corporeal loves, which chok~ all the plants
of heavenly growth, springing from the seed of the divine love and
wisdom.
Q. And what do you mean by this enemy going hi, way 1
A. By going his way is to be understood, hi~ concealing himself;
and appearing to be It.~ a distance; for so it seems to the natural maD,
nor cftn be be persuaded to believe, until he becomes spiritual, that
his spiritual foes, the Powers of Darkness, are always near at hand,
and ready to do him the greatest mischief:
Q. But it is said, that when the blade sprung up and ba,·e fruit, tAen
appeared ai86 ti,e tare,. What do you mean here by the blade rpring-
ing up!
A. By the blade is meant the first appearance of truth in man's
uaderstanding, and by its 'pringing up is meant its growth in the UD-
derstanding; for the seed of the Eternal Truth is first sown in man's
memory, where it remains as a mere seed, until man begins to feel a
concern about it, on account of his eternal salvation, in which case
he iM led to meditate on the great truths of GOD, \vhich were deposited
in his memory, and in consequence of such concern aDd meditation,
those truths are exalted to a more interior place in the mind, where
it appears as a blade.
204 The Parable, Ezplained.-No. IY. [May,
Q. And what do yoo meaD by this blade bearing f,·uit 'I
A. This denotes a still more interior reception and exaltation of the
Eternal Truth, which takes place when truth begins to affect the will.
or love; for spiritual fruit is love and chftrity, love towards GoD, and
charity towards oar neighbor, and this fruit never appears until man,
from a deeper concern "bout his salvation, is led to form his life se-
cording to the truths which he has admitted into his understanding,
and thus to obtain a new will, capable of loving GOD above all thiDgs,
and his neighbor as himself.
Q. Can you give me any reBSon why the tares should then appear,
that is. when the blade sprang up and bare fruit, and not before 1
A. The reason is, because the tares, as was said, denote all evil
principles and false persuasions of selfisb, worldly, and corporeal loves,
and these tares do not show themselves until there is some growth of
the heavenly principles of love and wisdom in the human mind, for
error can never be seen but from truth, neither can evil be seen but
from good, and therefore, until some degree of good and of troth is
formed in the mind, errors and evils do not appear.
Q. It is said, that the servant, of the Householder came and 8aid
to him, LORD, did,t thou not BOW good seed in tl,y field 1 Whence then
Aatll it ta,,.e8 ? And He ,aid to them, An enemy had done thu. What
do yoa understand here by the servants of the Householder, aod what
by their coming, and ,aying unto him, LORD, did,t tlwu not IOW good
"ed in thy field 'I Whence the,,, halh it tares 1
..A. By the ser,"ants of the H01lseholder are signified, those who are
principled in the knowledge of truth, because all such knowledge is
called a ,ervant in the Sacred Scriptures, as administering to the higher
principles of the good of love and charity, this being the great use and
design of all knowledge: and by their co",ing llnd laging to the Hou,e-
holder, LORD, did.flt thou not BOW good seed, is signified their perplexity aod
concern at finding evil mix~d with good, and error with truth, and their
anxious inquiry concerning the cause. For nothing is more perplexing
to the human mind than the origin of evil, and therefore instruction
from Heaven is solicited on this occasion, and in consequence of such
soJicitation is imparted. For GOD never excites any inquiry in the
regenerate mind, but with a view to gratify it, a.nd he excites it for
this purpose, that it may be gratified.
Q. But mention is now first Ina.de of a Houleholder, who was be-
fore called a 1J'Ian. What do you conceive to be the reason of this 1
..A. Both the Man and the Houlel&older relate to J E8US CORls·r, who
is called a Man from the principle of Divine Truth, during its insAmi-
nation in the hurnan mind, But \vhen this truth begins to spring up,
and bea.r the heavenly fruit of love and charity, He iA then called a
Householder, becaust' a house, wbensoever it is mentioned in the Sa-
cred Scriptures, has relation to Jove 80d charity, and since all love
and charity are from JESUS CHRIST, and under his continual govern-
ment and protection, therefore he is called an Householder.
Q. What do you mean by the enemy who halh d01te thi8 1
..A. The enemy is that principle in the human mind, \\·hich opposes
GOD, by not submitting its judgment and determination to the Divine
Will and Wisdom i and 011 this account, the Devil is called the great
)852.] 205

enemy, because he is always opposing the will of the MOST HroR.

And here \\'e may discover the true origin of all evil, and also of the
evil ODe himself: called, in the Sacred Scripture, the De1Jil and 8"JttJ1I.
This origin is not from GOD, because from GOD can come nothing but
good, inasmuch as HE is essential goodness; but it is from the deter-
mination of human minds, in the abase oC that freedom of will in
which they are created, and without which they could not be men.
From the moment, therefore, that the human ,,·ill inclines to call any-
thing a good, separate from GOD, from that moment it creates evil,
which, in iblel~ is nothing else but a good so separated.
Q. But we read that the servants said to him, Wilt tlwu then that
we go a,ul gather them together 1 But he 'aid, Nay; le8t, while ye
gather together the tare., ye root up the wlleat together with them. Let
botl, grow togethe7· unto the harvest, and in the li,ne of harvest I will.ag
to th, reapers, Gather together tl'e tare8, and bind them in bUlldle. to
burn them, but gather tl&e wlleat into my barn. \Vhat do you suppose
to be tbe reason of this delay on the part of the Householder, in sepa-
rating the tares from the wheat, or the evil from the good t
.A. He explains the reason himself: when he says, Le6t, wl,il,t ye
gather togetheJ· the tares, ye root up the wheat with them.
Q. And how do you understand this reason 1
A. The Householder teaches by these words, that it is dangerous to
attempt the entire extirpation of things evil and false in the human
mind, until the principles of goodness aod truth from Heaven "re fully
formed. The Divine Law, therefore, on this occasion is, tha.t man
should labor for the implantation and formation of those heavenly
principles in himself: bearing patiently \vith the opposition arising
from contra.ry principles; in which case, those contrary principles
will assist him, by their opposition, and the spiritual combats to which
he will thus be exposed, in effecting a more perfect reception of hea-
venly principles, and their deeper irradication in his mind and life.
When, thflrefore, the opposing principles have thus fulfilled their ap-
pointed purpose, they are then separated, but not before.
Q. What is it, then you understand by the harve,t here spoken oft
.A. By the harve,t is meant, the-full formfttion of goodn~ss and truth
in the regenerate mind, and, in this case, the s~paration of those prin-
ciples of life which are in opposition, and cause combat and disturb-
ance.
Q. And what is it you understand by the reapers 1
A. By the reapers are meant the angelic helll'm, inasmuch 8S the
LoRD, by and through the angelic heaven, effects such separation.
Q. And what do you mean by bi"di"g the tares 11& bundle' to burn
them?
A. By the tare., 8S was said, are meant all evil and false principles
of life; and to bind them ita bundles, denotes that such principles
are in arrangement one under anotlier, and are thus connected one
with another. It denotes, tberefore, that the Divine Wisdom, iQ ef.
fecting the separation of t.hose principles, first discovers such arrange-
ment aDd connexion, and how the general principle of what is evil
and false in man consists of innumerable evil and false principles
 [May,
which thus make a one, which one can never be separated until it iaJ
thus viewed minutely and distinctly as to the varieties oC which it il
composed.
Q. And what do you mean by the IDAeal, bere spoken of, being ga-
tAsTed into the barn 1
A. By the wheat, it has been already seen, are signified all heaven-
ly principle~ of goodness and truth; and by their being gal/'ered iJllo
the barn, is signified being brought into heavflD, because heaven is
~be grand receptacle of all those principl~s. The barn, therefore, is
here called my barn. that is to say, the LORD'S ba,.", because heaven
is from the LoaD, and in continual eonnexion with HIM, as are also
all the principles of goodness and truth, which constitute heaven.
Q. What, tben, is the general instruction which you learn from this
parable?
A. We learn from this parable, that man is placed here belo\v be-
tween two kingdoms, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of dark-
ness, and that JESUS CHRIST, from his kingdom of light, is al\vnys eo-
deavoring to inseminate in the human heart, the eternal principles of
His own most pure love and wisdom, ,,'bilst the Spirits of Darkne.~~.
from their kingdom, are endf!8.voring to inseminate their o\vn wicked
principles of evil and of error. We learn, farther, that the principles
of evil and of error can never be discovered until the contrary princi-
ples of heavenly love and wisdom, or, what is the same thing, of hea-
venly goodness and truth, begin to grow and produce their proper
fruit. We are instructed, }·et further, not only concerning the origin,
but also concerning the 8f-paration and removal of evil and of ~rror
from the regenerate mind, being taught to expect that these effects
cannot be produced ,uddenly, but in tbe divine order of grad'll,(J, ope-
ration. We are, therefore, Jastl)~ iustructf!d, that we ought to run our
Christia.n course in patient subrnission to tbe Divine Will, during the
~ontest between good and evil, being well aware, that in such contest
the opposition of e,·iI is made to administer to the fuller implantation
and fructification of good, and that, finally, through the Divine M~rcy.
the, entire separation will be a.ccomplished, when all of evil and of
error will be put down into its own kinRdom, and all of heavenly love
and wisdom will be exalted to conjunction with Jaus CHRIST and the
eternal happinest!I of His kingdom.

EXTRACT.
cc 'And J wilt write upon him the name ormy God'-Tbatbeteby i. lignified their qua-
lity according to divine truth implanted in the life. appears from the aiKnification of writ·
ing upon anyone, when it is .aid to be done by the Lord, as denoting to implant in the
life. Also trom tbe signification of name, al denoting the quality of their state. And
from tbe 8ignification of God, 81 denoting divine trutIJ proceeding from the Lord in Hea-
ven, and thus the Lord in heaven. The reason why writing upon anyone denotes to im-
plant in the life, is, hecause to write, is to commit anything to paper from the memory,
tboulJht, and mind, in order tbat it may pndnre or remain; wherefore, in the spiritual
I8nee. it eit(nifiel tbat which is to remain in the life of mao, being inscribed and implanted.
iD him. Thu8 the natural sense of this expre~8ion is turned into the spiritual sense; for
it is natun,l to write upon paper or in a book, but it is spiritual to inscribe on the life,
wbicb is done when it is implanted in tbe faith and love, for love aDd faith constitute tbe
IpiritllalliCe oC man."
186'1.] ne Ta6erlltU:lB &ruice VNfDed in it. Bpiritulllllport. 107

ARTICLE Ill.

THE TABERNACLE SERVICE VIEWED IN ITS SPIRI11JAL IMPORT.

No. v.
THE ROBE OP THE EPIIOD.
IN the discussion of the Urim and Thummim, in our previous num-
ber, we should have been glad, ba.d our limits allowed, to present the
evidence of the probable derivation of this and sevpraI otber items
of the Jewish economy from th~ Egyptians. In fact, nearly every
article of the sacred costume prescribed by the Lord to Moses, has
its counterpart in the pictured dresses of the Egyptian priests. Not
only the ancient paintings exhibit the pectora) ornament answering
to the Jewish hoaken or breast-plate, but Diodorus SicuIus says that
,"vhen a case was brought for trial. the arch-judge used to put a gold-
en chain around his neck, to which was suspended a small figure of
Truth, omamented with precious stones. These, however, were
doubtless vestige!4 of the rituals of the ancient Church. But we have
DO\V to iJIustrate tbe RQbe of the Ephod.
&& And thOIl shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And there shall be an
hole in the top of it,' in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work
round about the bole of it, 1\8 it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.
And beneath, upon the hem of it, thou shalt make pomegranates of bIDe, and of pur-
ple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them
round about. A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate,
upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron, to minister:
and his BOund shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LoaD,
and when he cometh out, that he die not."-Ex. uviii. 31-35.
"Thou shalt make the robe of the ephod," &c. This is a garmeDt
distinct from any that has yet been mentioned. It is called the" robe
ef the ephod:' simply because it was worn immediately under it. Its
Hebrew name is me;'l, rendered in the Gr. "ftO&t'l" 1(OO'lP'l, aT' under-gar-
,nent reaching down to tl'e feet. V uIg. " l'unic of the Ephod." Arab.
"A rain-shedding cloak." Luth." A silk robe." Belg." A mantle."
Jun. and Trem. "Pallium, Q clollk." -The meil was a distinguishing
priestly vestment, and thorefore the Lord appears, Rev. i. 13, "cloth-
fl.d with (I garment down to the feet" (ftoMtP'l), to show himself the Great
High Priest of the church. It was a long linen gown of sky blue
color, reaching to the middle of the leg. It was RH of one piece, and
so formed as to put on, not like other garments which are open in
front, but like a surplice, over the head, baving a hole at the top for
tbe head to pass through, \vhich was strongly hemmed round with a
binding or welt to prevAnt it from rending, and with openings or
arm-holes in the sides in place of sleeves. I{ound its lower border
were tassels, made of blue, purple, and scarlet, in the form of pome-
granates, interspersed with small gold bells, in order to make a DoiSft
when the High Priest went into or came out from the holy place, the
reason of which is given below. We are not informed of the exact
number of the pomegranates and bells. The Rabbinical .writers are
mostly unanimous in s6)·ing, tbere were 72 in all, which is doubtless
as probable as any other conjecture on the subjeot. It will be ob-
208 T~ Tabe",acl~ &rvice vi~lDed in its Spiritual IMport. [May,
served, that while the body of the Robe was entirell of blue, this or-
nBmental appendage in the skirts was richly d)'ed 0 variegated hues.
aOl! must have rendered the whole a Vei!ltmeDt of exquisite beaut)'.

TilE B08E OF TOE unoo.

A. to the spirituuJ significaney of the garment here prescribed. it
will be understood of course as having primary reference to Divine
Truth, the import of all garments. But we recognize something
more specifio in the present case. The truth which is indicated by
the f'phod.robe is internal truth as contrtsdistinguished from external
on the one hand and inmost on tbe other... As the 8piritual kingdom,"
8ays our author... is distinguished into three degrees, the inmost, the
middle. and tbe outermost, tberefore by a robe (pallium) is signified
that which is in the middle of that kingdom. The reason why that
kingdom is di8tinguished into three degrees is, beclluse tbe illmost
then communicates with what is called celestial, and the outermost
with what i~ natural, and the middle thus partakes equally of
both. To the intent also that anything mAy be perfect, it must be
distinguished into three degrees, the ground and reason of which is.
because everywhere there must he end. cause and effect; the end
must be inmost, tbe cau!16 the middle, fl.nd the effect the ultimntf', that
it may be perfect. From these considerll.tions it may be known why
the gArments of holiness of Aaron were an epbod, a robe and a waist-
coat; and that the ephod represented the external, the robe the middle.
and tbe waistcoat the inmost of the spiritual kingdom." Inasmuch as a
robe represented th., trutbs of the spiritual kingdom, called spiritual
truths and seated in the intellectual part of man, we perceive in a
striking light the inner intimation convt')'ed in the words of our Lord
(Matt. xxiii.5): "The Scribes a.nd Pharisees do all their work tbat
tbey may he seen of men; they enl(lrge the bordtrs of their robes;" by
which is signified, flays Swedenborg, the speaking truths magnificent-
ly, only to be heard and seen of men. Having thus obtainf'd a clew
to the general and particular import of the robe here described, it is
not difficult tOlerceive tbat as the neck, to which tbis aperture in tbe
robe was flue, signifies from corrf'_spondence, the inftu~t ~~~lcpmmu.
DicatioQ and the conjunction of things celestial with things ipiritual,
1852.] The Robe of the EpAod. 209

PO by" the mouth ofthe head oftbe robe" is denoted the rationale oftbat
inBux, or its circumstantial adaptation to its end. It is, moreover to be
noted, that angels and spirits appear clad in garments, e,pery dis-
tinct item of which is representati\ee. In like manner, tbe various parti-
cular parts of Aaron's dress ,vere rppre.~ent8tivesof 8uch things as are
in the hea\"ens in the manner heretofore and hereafter explained.
"And there shall be Rn hole in the top of it, in the Jniddle there-
o£" This is more literally rendered by Swedenborg, from the He-
brew, "And the mouth (or apertur~) of the head thereof shall be in
the rnidst thereof." The difference is of some importance in the ex-
plication of the spiritual sense, Recording to which this particular in
t.he d~scription of the robe denotes the rationale or peculiar mode of
influx from a. superior principle into an inferior. "The reason why
the mouth (or aperture) of the h~ad of the robe in the midst thereof
has this signification is, because by the robe is signified the spiritual
Itingdom, and specifically its internal principle, and by the neck, \\'here
the month of the head of the robe was, is signified the influx, the
communication and conjunction of things celestial with things
spiritual, for the head with man correspond~ to the celestial kingdom
of the Lord, and the body to his spiritual kingdom; hence the inter-
ceding neck, which the mouth of the head of the robe encornpasses
and clothes, corresponds to the intermediation or influx of the celes-
tial kingdom into the spiritual kingdom." That by the garments of
Aaron ,vere represented in general the things pertaining to the spirit-
ual kingdom of the Lord, as has been previously remarked, and the
truths of that kingdom are derived originally by influx from the good
of the celestial kin~ffom. This is in fact indicated by the blue
or azure color in which the robe was to be dyed, for blue denotes
the celestial love of truth, which is the good of mutual love, and the
good of mutual love, we learn, is the external good of the celestial
kingdom. The reason why blue has this signification is, because it
is of a celestial calor, and by that color is signified truth from a celes-
tial origin, ,vhich is truth divine from the good of love to the Lord.
This good reigns in the inmost heaven, and presents in the middle or
second heaven a purple and blue color. For colors in the other life,
and in beaven itself appear most beautiful, and all take their origin
from good and truth. As then the blue calor of the robe represents
influx from the good of the celestial kingdom, and this good is the
good of mutual love from which flows the good of cha.rity, \\'e recog-
nize in the robe and the color the idea of interior spiritual truth per-
vaded and animated by the influent spirit of love and charit.y derived
from a celestial source.
" ]t shall have a binding of\voven work round about the bole of it,
88 it ""ere the hole of a babergeon (or coat of mail), that it be not
rent.'" As the explanation given of this item by our author hl"jngs to
light a striking and confirmat.ory correspondence, we shall transcribe
his o\\'n \\"ords: "That hereby is signified thus strong and secure
from hurt. appears from the signification of a coat of mail, as denoting
what is strongly woven together, ,,·h.erefore it is said, lest it should be
rent, that is, that it may be safe from hurt; such a woven [substance]
is signified by that term in the original tongue. The idea of that woven
210 The Tabernacu StnJice vielDtd in it6 Spiritual Import. [May,
[substance] mllY he hlld from correspondence; for the subject bert
treRted of in the internal sense is concerning the influx of celelltisl
good into spiritual good. This inftux is whllt is signified by the mouth
of the bead of the rohe, and is dflscribed by tbe work of a wea\'er Md
of a coat of mail; and to that influx from the heavens corresponds
the influx of lirA with m"n from the hp-ad through the neck into the
body, and since it thu~ corrfisponds to it, the tf'xture of the neck is of
stronlit' nerves, and below thc texture is as it were a circular (assem-
blagf'] of bones, hy which the influx is rendf'.red secure from all hurt j
bt'ncfl, as WM 8Rid, Rn id~R may be formed of the singular things COD·
fftined in tbis verse, namel)", what is signified by the mouth of the ht'lld
in thll midst, by the hrim which is round about it, by the work of a
weaver, and by the mouth of 1\ cant of mail, ",hich is to it., lest
it should be rent. It is to be noted, that all represflntfttives in
nature have reference to the human form, and are significati\'e ac-
cording tn their relation to it."-A. C. 0916.
.. And beneath, upon the hem of if, thou shalt make pomegranates,"
&c. Heh. ,.immon. The tcrm .. pomegranate" is compounded of poma.
apple, and granatu, g,.ai,lerl, from its resemblance, when opened, to
"" apple full offrain. It grows wild in Palestinf!, and in othcr ports
of S)'ria, as wel as in Persill., Arabia, Egypt, and the southern parts
of Europe, and in some portions of England. The fruit is the
size of an orange, flattened at th6 pnd like an apple; and when cui·
tiv8.ted is of a beautiful color and hi~hly grateful flavor. The rind
it at first green; but in August (lnd Spptember, when the fruit is
ripe, it assumes a. brownillh·red color, becomes thick and hard, )'et
easily broken. The inside of the pomegranate is of a hright pink.
with skinny partitions like those of the orange, filled with a subacid
juice and a great multitude of white and purplish red seeds, The
flowel', which is of a scarlet color, is peculiarly beautiful, and it is
proba.bly to the flower that ftllusion iN had, Cant. iv. 3, where the ro}"al
bridf"groom compares the cheeks of his bride to a .. piece of pome·
granate," though others understAnd h)' this a section of the fruit illielf.
the cheeks being called in the Talmudic language, the pomf'grallate$
of the face. Thl': annexed cut will give an idea of the form of the
fruit and flower of thill plant, botb which are among the most strik·
ing objects of the vegetable world.

TilE POMBORANATE.
The Pomegranate abounw. more particularly in Syria an~ the aD·
lee.] TIN &be of the Eplwd. 211

cient Assyria, where it was held sacred and entered into the 8)9mbols
of tbe heathen worship,.as 18 plainly to be inferred from its giving
name to an idolatrous temple, 2 Kings v. 18, called" the house or
Rimmon," i. e. the Pomegranate. In Persia the heads of sceptres and
honorary staves wer~ formed in the shape of a Pomegra.nate. It was
also held sacred in Eg.ypt; and in all countries where it was not to
be found, the poppy, which also abounds in seeds, was chosen in its
stead. Both were dedicated by the pagans to the generative powers,
their numerous seeds rendering them an apt emblem of prOlific proper-
lie.. Hence at marriages the bride was crowned with a chaplet in
which were inserted the flowers of pomegranates and poppies as an
omen of fruitfulllel.. But whatever were the peculiar notions of the
ancients in regard to the symbolical import of the pomegranate. they
were doubtless I\t a great remove from the spiritual sense ascribed to
it by Swedenborg, according to whom they denote the scientifics of
good. "The reason why pomegranates WAre set in the borders of
the robe was because borders Hignified the ultimates or extremes
of H~aveo and the Church, and those ultimates or extremes are
seientifics. The scientifics of good and of truth, signified by pome-
granate!\, are doctrinals from the Word, which are scientifics, 10 far
as they are in the memory, which is in the external or natural man.
But when they enter the melnory, which is in the internal or spirit-
ual mao, which is the case when the life is formed according to them,
then the doctrinals as to truth become things of faith, and as to good,
become things of charity, and arc called spiritua.l." Their being set
upon the borders of the robe denoted that their place \VAS in the ex-
tremes, \"here the natural principle is, for the extremes of the spirit-
ual kingdom are things natural. The pomegranates, therefore, sus-
tainf'd the same relation to the robe which the scientifics of good
and of truth do to the spiritual principle in man.
" . .~nd bell~ of gold between them round about." By this appurte-
nance to the robe was signified "all things of doctrine and worsbip
derived from good passing to those.who are of the Church." By
.. passing lo those \vho are of the Churcb," is to be understood their
being participatAd in by the people. The reason of this is, that by
means of the bells, the people heard and perceived the presence of
Aaron in ministering, as by the people are signified thosA who are of
the Church, and by the ministry of Aaron, all things of doctrine and
worship. These bells were arranged alternately with the pomegran-
ates on the borders of the robe, because the holy things of doctrine,
the lIcientiftcs of truth and good, are in the extremes, where also and
whence is bearing and perception.
" And it shall be upon Aaran to minister; and his sound shall be
heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and
wben be cometh out." By his "sound being heard," is denoted the
inftux of truth with those who are in the heavens and in the earths,
8S receptive and perceptive. Hence also influx, for the things \vhich
are received and perceived must tiO\Y in. The word rendered
"sound," is in the original·' voice," and voice hnplies annunciation;
and that \vhich is announced, is the Divine Truth, that fills all things
of Heaven, and cODstitutes all things of the Church. By" going out
212 TA. Infi"ite anti E'er-w. [May,
aod coming in," is denoted every state of good and of truth in wor-
ship, inasmuch ftS all thingM of worship with tbe Israelites were re-
presentati\pe of int~rnal worship, and internal worship is from good
and truth, or from the affection of goods, and from the fai1.h of
truths.
" I~est he die." That is, lest the representative perish, and tbereby
conjunction \vith the heavens ceas~. The internal state of the J~w.
i~h people \vas not such that R. genuine Church could be established
among them, but they could still act as the representative of a Church.
and their rites and ceremonies in these circumstances would serve as
forms into which 8 conjoining inftux from Hflft.ven could flow. This,
hoV\'e\-er, required that the prescribed ritual should he very exactly
observed, as other\vise it ceased to be receptive of the appropriate in-
flux, and those engaged in it incurred the peril of being suddeoly cut
o~ like Nadab and Abihu, who offered strange fire before the Lord.
In like manner if Aaron had ministered in any other than the corn·
mftuded costume, he ,vould have died, not, howe,·er, as an expression
of ])ivine wrath, by a direct judgment from Hea.ven, but by reason of
his falling under th~ power of the hells, which would have him at
every advantage when the breach of the established order of repre-
sentation had thrO\VD him out of the pale of the Divine protection.
G. B.
(To be contifttUd.)

ARTICLE IV.

THE INFINITE AND ETERNAL.

le TUE infinite a.nd eternal are the Divine itself." It is Dot in
space that \ve look for infinity, nor in time that \\'e look for eternit}" :
as well, were it, that we should Dleasure the duration of the sun of
this planetary system, by the changing seasons of this rolling earth,
which, were it blotted frolD the face of creation, \vould stilt leave the
sun in its untouched glory; or, as well were it that we should at-
tempt to bound the capacit.y of the sun for sending out rays of light,
by counting the beams that have already spread forth their creative
light and heat to revolving \vorlds.
In itself is the light and heat of the sun, even though its planetary
systelD were not. And in the self-existent, UDcrea.te Divine is the in-
finite and eternal, without respect to the times and spaces of crea·
·tion.
But from the great type of the spiritual sun, which has been bung
in our material heavens, 8S a daily revelation to our senses of the
oneness of God, of his fixedness of form and state, and of how He is
omnipresent and omnipotent-of how from Him are times a.nd spaces
-and yet in Him are neither time nor space; let us turn to man who,
as being created in the" image of God," reveals Him to our spiritual
conceptions.
185•.]
Mao is.a.mbstance.aad form: -es..entiallya one, but bis oneness or
iodividualitJ is not a simple substance or form; it is a complex of in- .
Domerable varieties. ADd if we remove the exterior envelope of the
physical maD, we perceive, by the most transitory .glanc~, the vast
combination of veins, arteries, sinews, nerves, bones and Besh which
ool18utute the substance of man, and the minute and every varying
8rlJ8DS that go to make up his form; and when science is brought to
bear upon these generals. the thought and perception of UlaD is lost in
a maze of particulars. The most minllte investigation cannot enable
him to fathom tbe cou.ntless things of his physical being, for even as
he counts, the beiDg grows and changes with every pulsation of the
heart. every respiration of the lungs. There is an enduring oneness
and fixedness of form, combined with a ceaseless change. But when,
from this shadow of the infinite and eternal in the ph}·sical man, we
. .eDd to the spirit-world of causes, and perceive the ceaseless ebb
and How of thought and feeliQg that animates this ever varying com-
plex human form, the image of a spiritual infinity and eternity is re-
vealed to us. The- endless complex and variety of feelings, and their
coosequent thoughts, t4at have swelled the heart and animated the
mind of man, are 80 vast and unfathomable, 80 incomparably greater
tban the number ultimated in his outer acts, that we readily perceive
that the finite maD oarries his infinity within him; and that if he
should for ever go on in an endless course of action, he could never
mauat bis capacity for feeling and thought. The mote forms ot
beauty the artist executes, the more he dreams oC; the more of science
that the thought of 1\ man is occupied with, the more boundless becomes
his field ofobservation and combination. Feeling produces thought, and
the Dew forms of thought react upon the sensations of th~ soul and be-
come new subjects of affection. Thus must it be in the Divine feeling
and thought. The lo\~e of God prompts him to create; the created form.
thrill His lensitive being with the delights and pleasantnp.,ss of love;
hence the love of his 80ul with its creati\·e po\ver is for ever called
into action by its precedi ng action.
Th" DiviDe soul is never \veary of ereating forms of Qse and beauty
with which to delight and serve its inna,te capa.city for love. Worlds
Are created, peopled, and adorned out of the fulness of tbe love of
God; the universe is His embodied thought, but it is not the limit or
His capacity for thought, aDd must for ever grow, like the thought
aDd feeling of a wise man. Every new creation adds to tbe perfec-
tion of the universe, to its beauty ,and order, as every n-ew thought oC
wisdom and feeling of love perfects th~ Dlind of man.
If we take a man oC the earth, whose soul is full of a goshing love,
and whose thought is e\·er active to ultimate this love for the good of
others, is it possible for him ever fully to realize all his inteutionl
and c~pabilities1 No; they must for ever grow and develope into
.warmer intentions and more expanded views; because, the more he
acta, and through this action op~ns his interiors to tbt' influx of life
from the Lord, the more he becomes an image of the infinite; and ill
this image how plainly we p~rceive that the infinity is tDitllin th~
man, and not without him. We perceive that the infinity of his love
YO~ ~ 16
IJ4 TAe Infinite Grad Elernal. [IIay,
and the cOD8equ~nt perp~tDiry of his thought are the man hilD!elf i
where. then, shall we look for the infinite and the eternal, bat iD the
Divine Himself? All our perception8 of the ,-astnesl, and variety,
and pflrpetuity of the creation must converge to that one heart and
mind from whence they proceeded; and when we behold the" works
of the bands of Jebovah," our soul bows in adoration, and we can
only exclaim in rapture, ., Lord I how great is thy goodness, and hoW'
rr"ftt is thy beauty."
The organization of man-the image of God-reveals to as. that
all sensation and perception exist in the mao, and not out of bim. We
perceive that the sight of the eye and the hearing of the ear are 8Ub-
8tances and forms, which must be acted upon by things external to
themselves, that delight may be felt within tbemselyes. 1-brough
this revelation we realize how the infinite Divine Substance and eter-
nal Divine Form has an absolute necessity for subjects, which are ex-
ternal to Himsel( upon which to expend His thought and feeling that
He may in Himself perceive blessedness and delight. Let the eye,
10 delicate and sensitive to forms of beauty, and the ear, so finely at-
tuned to the vibrations of harmony, be sbut off from all extemal im-
pressions, and where is tbe delight and pleasantness of these suscepti-
ble substances? The more delicate and perfect, and the more bighly
developed is their organization, the greater is the necessity, aDd the
more intense is the desire for these external impressions.
The substance of the Divine love is the most perfectly organised,
the most susceptible thing in the universe; with an infinite capacity
for blessedDe~, an endless power of enjoyment, God must seek out of
Himself forms which react upon His capacity to love. Thas tbe love
of man, though he is a dead form, acted upon by the indwelling vi-
tality of God, is as ~ssential to the happiness of God, as is a beautiful
form to the delight and enjoyment of the eye. But in the love of
God there is not the Jeallt atom of self·love. He loves us wholly ~x­
traneous to Himself, even as the eye delights in the form of the Sow-
er, wholly without and external to itself: We cannot add to God,
any more than the substance of the Bower CBn add to the substance
of the eye. On the contrary, the slightest atom of the pollen of the
flower would rack thf' e)'e with all the agony of disorder.
But while man is wholly without, and immeasurably removed from.
the pure, infinite and delicately suscpptilJle substance oftbe Divin~, he
yet acts upon the seoHitive love oC God, awakening in it its own Helf-
existent capacit.y for blessedness. Ob, man' when it is given to thee
to minister to the happiness of the Infinite, hOlY great a joy and tue i.
revealed in thine existence; and how, like a blooming and odoroul
plant, thou shouldst rise to the great Master who hath planted tbee
by the waters of lif~, that He may delight Himself in thy beft,a~1 and
fragrance I That God Jives for tbep, and thou livest for God, is the
harmony of conjunction throughout the creation. It is as the mar-
riage of the eye with form, which it adorns witb its own indwelling
light, and of the ear with sound, which it attunes by the barmoD)' of
its own delicate ~rranization.
1861.] III
l
I

., We are, because God bl," is the glory of our existence; it inv811b

us with a use 8S created beings; ~e do Dot waste oor sweetness upon
the desert air; we are fto\vers that bloom in the .. garden of God."
But, without this warm, loving bllmanity, creation would be but a
flowery wildern~S!I, without order, beauty or ule.
Ifit were a cold, impassive Deity \ve worshiped, how painful would
be the sacri flces of our adoration. But when we realize the warm.
sentient, human 80ul of God. that thrills to our every thought and
feeling, how beautiful it is to love such a being., If oar love, weak
and imperfect as it is, were wholly anneceQary and unessential to
God, ho,v pained would be the heart; the church, as the bride or
God, would feel ·her 80ul grow faint within ber, and her hands fall
powerless, as does a loving woma.n when she perceives herself totally
unnecessary to the happiness of the man whom she marries. Ifhe loars
in a sphere of pride far above her gentle affections. aad. self-subsistent,
lives in bis own cold life, the woman is p"ralyzed; but, when she
lees a man with a vast capacity for love. who breathes'but in the at-
mosphere of aiFection, bow joyfully her heart rises to the wisdom of
soch an one-how happy she is tha.t this great soul is to her a stringed
instrument upon which her lightest touch awakens an electric joy or
love. It is not of her, or in her, but in him that she l·ejoices-in his
capaeity for love; and it is human souls that are most capable of af-
fection to whom aiFection is most necessary; and to an Infinite Di··
vine soul, whose every infinitesimal atom of being is susceptible of an
eternal joy. how infinitely nece!tsary must love be. His boundless
wisdom makes Him conscious of the infinite blessedness He is SOI-
ceptible o( and He is ever seeking to reveal to 11s how great is His
love and how greatly He desires to be loved. In a true love there
is no concealment of affection; the more that is given the more one
desires to give in return, that the response of sympathy lJ1ay be per-
fect. God has not concealed his yearning desire for human affection.
He would open to us His whole soul; He would give to us the ful-
ness of His ,,·hole being. If we had but heart and mind enough to
perceive the infinity of God, He \vould reveal to us the illimitable eK-
panse of His inmost soul. But the church turns, with a vain and
trifling air to the ea.rth, like tlie inant, frivolous bride of a great-Iouled
man, who will look away from his vast, beautiful inner world ofthought
and feeling, to please herself with the nothing of this transitory out-
side world.
But the church will yet be lifted out of this narrow sphere or
thought and feeling; through the tender love and patient endurance
of the mercy of the Divine she will come into an appreciation of His
humanity-she will learn to delight herself in His infinite love, and in
His eternal wisdom. Then will the earth become the paradise 0
conjugial love; a new Eden will bloom, filled with noble Adams ana
fair Eves, who will for ever respond with a living joy to the ble...
edness that their b6ing awakens in the Divine soul; and, as flowers
that are bathed in the li~ht of beauty in the human eye, will these
pure, loving souls bathe themselves in the beautiful presence of God•
•
118 N. o. ApAoriml. on Binet., _ .A6oIition.-No. IL [May,

ARTICLE V.

KEW CHURCH :A.PHORI8MS ON SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.

No. 11.
Ill.
S,.AVERY is imputable as R sin in a tllreefold mRnn~r; first, to those
who are actnally slave-nolders; secondly, to those who favor RDd up-
hold it socia.lly; thirdly, to those ,,'ho favor and uphold it politicalIr.
Everyone is in fault according to the degree in ,vhich, besides being
the holder of slaves, he asserts and defends the institution.
So tltr as slavery Isa ein, it can lCarcel, be laid to be imputable in more tball on~mUl·
Be" thoogb it may t.e impoted to difftarent claMea and in durerent degrees. Tbi.. we
presume, Is the writer's meaD lng, and wllb a mere exact IpecUlcation oC 'be fint cl_
we e'hould Dot probably dlsl80t from it. But OD this whote subject, the nioell·diKi~
are Imperatively required. .. Slavery Is Dot impu'able ea a sin to tboee wbo ar~ act-U,
,lave-holders." Yet, In a lab,equent a,)horilm, the writer .'1, U Hcmce ODe ma, be
a Ilave-bolder, and )el be II111y exculpated from an, slaue iD the evil," aDd ill lIlat which
Immediately followa we read that •• tbe, ha" tIOll1avery impated to them who acknowl-
edge it to be all e"iI, aad act for Ita remon'." It il evide.t. t'berefore, that the phra••• ac-
tualllava-bolder," requires eKplica,lon, a. tbe obaraoteroC the Ilaye.holtli.,can neyer be
_tieraclority determined apart from 'be ta"i... oC the slaM-loWer in luataiDlng the reIa-
lion. Doubtl. ., olrc:umltancn mayaist whioh ,11.11 ell8ntially change the oharacter Gl
tbat relation. Take, for instance, the case or one (would chat their Dumber we", iD·
ereased a thouland fold!) who haa hitherto been a bolder of e1aYeI, but who b..-DO
matter how-bec~e oonyinced tlat tbe relation,.. ,A. light .. tDhit'" " Ita. gJl alott,
.ietDed it, and in wbloh it i. cenerally ylewed. il one wbioh oannot be austaiDed withollt
Iln, and ,,·bo, under the Corae of tbil conviction, IS'Ilncerel,and deeply deeiroDs of extri-
cating himeelf from tbat relation, and of retrieving the wrong which be may have done
to a fdllow-ereature. Of, at least, to tlte 8pirit of jOltioe,-sball we lay that his retaining his
bond-men, in this IUlte of mind, is Decessatill and pt!r'f a'ln 1 Surely, if the maD il
honest in his oonvictions, and this we IUppOse, he will Dol relt witbout efforts to releue
himself f,om the dilemma in whiob he i. placed, aftd he will not t~el at liberty to retain
in hi.. pOII8l,ion tbi' IpecieloC property. lO-caHed, any longer than the embarrassments
of his condition and a regard to tluir best good will aUow. He will look upon the rela-
tion ftl a merely temporary one, which be is willing at any time to dIssolve, al soon as he
-BeeS olearly wbat tbe Lord, Ipeakingln bis I' royal law" or charity, would have him to
do. Jt must be obvious, that 10 long as one remains in this transition state. holding bis
alaves in trust and 110t in fee, be oomes not into the same cat8Kory with the self-satisfied.
unqneltioning, unteBecting .Iave-master, ruling as by a divine right. The distinction is
evidently an important one. and ODe that rt-quired to be clearly made in the aphorism, ••
the position will not hold good, unless by cc actual slave-holders" the author has iD
his eye those who have no scruples on the lubject, who never interrogate themselYeS, or
permit the interrogations of others, in respect to the moral a'pects ot the relation. In refer-
ence to persons of this description the rosition i" doubtlestl, lOund, and though we are Dot
"dispoeed to make muoh of the d.ltinction between tboie who uphold the institllttoD I f s0-
cially," and thOle who uphold it I f politically," yet we rr~ly aSleDt to the general purport
of thMpborism. While, howeYer, we believe that U alavery il imputable as a aia 10 thOle
who ate utoaU, aJave·bo1de.," in the . a . above deftned. we- do not, at the lame tlm.,
_rpt thac maoh charitable allowaDoe il to be made for those who have had the Iflte..
llaDamitred 10 them from their fathere, who baye been born aDd nurtured uDder its iDfll.l-
eaee. aDd who have eeldolD or never heard it Galled in question.. Tbe diotatea oC a reDIl-
iae oharily will DOt permit UI to 1018 ailht of whatever exaeoaatinl ciroumatance. ma, "
cited iD ooonexion with aDy partioular form oC e,"i). On this bead we acknow1ed&e all th.
forGe of Dr. CbaDDius'a maatedy appeal in hj, U Letter to the AbolhioDi.ta :"
. . . . IUl eample of the uDjaeL leveri&J wbich 1 blame. it may be .ta.ted, that eom•
• moD& 701l have beell acc1Uwmecl to denounce alaveboldera al. • robben and man-ateal"
....' Now, robber)' and atealiDl are word. or »)ain sigDUlcatioa. The, imply that ..
D'I&D &ak.. COfWiotlll, al1cllDilA ~~ what belonga to anolb.r. To steal. ia to eei...
pz-hril,;. to rob, ia to teiae bJ force tbe GcaOtl1hd"d properlY of oDe'. neigbbor. Now, q
1IlellaYebolder ID be ohatKeel with ,heee.criDlea' Doe. he how lhat the 11aYe he bolda.l,
IIOC bia owa 1 00 Ihe CODtr• .,.. is &bere.aD)' part of hi. property. to wbiClh he thiDk.hhn-
.-1110 have a .roDpr riab& 1 llPUU ....' tbo deluion i. a IJlOD.lJ'01lS 000. I re,el wit"
hOl'lDt &be claim oC.oWDerabip of .. human beiDB. I ca. a. easily tbink of ownio& al') aD-
pi. .. or owDiDI & maD. But do we not know, that there are men at tbe North, who, re,
..rcliac &be . .'uteo-book .. oCequal autbority with the Sermon on the Mount, aDd lookins
OD lee-I a. 11nonymouI with moral right, believe that the civil law can create property iA
a man .. easily •• a brute, aDd who, were they consistent, would think themselvel au-
thorised to piU their parent. undet the lash, Ihould the legi!lftture decree, that a' a certalo
. . . the pareDt .hould become the .lave of the child 1 Is it wonderful, then, that mea.
ItIO..ht up la light ofeula"ed lIuma. being., in the habit of treatinK thom .. ohatte1l,
and amidst lawl, religiou8 teachings, and a Il'flat variety of institutions, which recopi_
t.bia horrible claim J should serio_ualy think \hemselves the owners of their fellow-creatures'
We are lwe, that the, do view the alave .. property; and thua viewing him. they are no
mole lailty oC robbing and atealiog, than one of you would be, wbo, by milappreheD.ioa.
Mould appropriate to bimself what be)oDgI to another. And are we authorized to sa,.
aaa' the. are Done III tU South. who. if they ahould discover their miaappreheDlioDe
wCMlId chooee to impoYoriah themlelve.. rather than live by robber, aDd crime I Ar. all
heaN open 10 ow inspection 1 Has God assigned to us hia prerorative ofjudlment 1 la
1& aot .. violation of \be lawa oC Cbrildall charity, to charge Oil men. whose leoeral de.
portmen' Ibow.. a 1eD88 of ju.tioe, lOCh .a,rant orimea .. robbery aad theft 1 It it aaid.
that, b, luch allowancel to the master, I hayeweakened the power oCwhat I bayewrittea
_iuc slavery. that I have furaished a pillow fot the conscience or the alaveholdcr. Bill
. . . i. tnatla, and we IDOl' DeYer wiok h out oC aisht fo, 1he ake of e6e0L GocI DeecIa
DOl th~ help of our IOphiltry or esaggeration. For the sake or awakeoir., lenlibilit" we
IAU. Dot.. in our deacription.. add the weight or a feather to the Iwreriugl of the slave, or
the faintest sbade 10 the gllilt of th. ma.&er. Slav.r1 ind..d, rep.Ided &1 a violauoA of
m.a'a most sacred right., should always be apoken of by 01 with the deepest abllorreaoei
and we ought not to conceal our tear, that, amonl those who vindicate it_ in thil free aD(l
Clad'tia. land, &here mUlt be mu, who wilfullJ abu' tbeiJ ey. on U. wroDII, wboara
.ictinl. ofa volQntary blindneu, as oriminal a. known and oboeen tranlpaloa. Let.
-peak the truth, and the wboJe truth, and speak it in the lan,uap or strong convlcUoa.
BII& lel. oehber policy DOe , . . .io.oarry us beyond1be truth. Let a IeVeJ:8 prinoiJ»le 01
dut,••tlODger than esoite018Dt, watch aDd preside OMl' aU our auaa.ce. It
)n tbil relation we cannot refrain from alluding to a paragragh in Mr. De Charm"
pDeraUy excellent U View. oC Freedom ud Slavery, in the Light of the New Jerusalem."
ID tbi. pamphlet be .'pes ftrf conclusiwel,. ma' Africa. l1oYer)' la a civil, Iolitiou.
moral, and Ipiritaal evil, wbIJe. at the lame time, he holds that in our Southern Sta_
1& Ill.' not bo a. Ai., but ia ralbeJ: \0 be reJarded at a cbronic CODltitutioDal diseue. whlo1l
118 Ne C. ApAorUlIt' on SlaDe,., Gild A6olilioa.-No.ll [lIay,
entItle. our Southern brethren to oar kind conslde-ratlon, and impoees OD "I tile .atr or
co-operation with them In gradually geniag rid 01 it.a an hereditat, twit Tbal thi. pro-
position la not devoid of truth, we are ctee to admit, while. at the .me time, we ue
I»rced to regard it as a truth 10 much diluted by the escaaatory elemeutl vi.... wb~b
11 11 mixed, as very serious'1 to prevent any erosive eff'eat that it might otberwiae1ta.,.
upon the cODsciences of tbose for wh?m it waa, or at least, oUKht to bYe been, InteDd·
ed. '['he naked proposition that .Iavel')' mll, .01 be a Iln with our Southern bretbreDt
leay.. tbe matter very muob at loose end., 10 10nK al there is DO .peci&catioo 0I_1eS
and conditions that Iball throw light upon the caluistry of the 'llbj~t. The poeitioa ma,
be ealily oft"set by the count.:' a'lertioD that slavery aa, H a ain with l1anbolders
.. well as an evil, and what adnDce il made towards a practical vieW' oftbe troth alll. .
the doe dilOrimlnations are made, and the parties aided in Mttting the question for them-
lelvea in what cases it i, a sin, and in what Dot 'I On tbis bead we cODsider tbe ~1
IOmewhat defecthre, (or we do not perceive that Mr. De Charms' reasoDing meelS the
demands of an awakened oonscience, or woold be very apt to awaken a sleepinr ODe.
We were, in fact, rather lurprised to flnd no more tban coor pages 01 the whole work de.
'Yoted to tbll particular point, which evidently requires the moat elaborate aDd thoroaCh-
lOin, d ilcusllon. The 8ubstance of hi. argument on this h.d il contained iD the iIIlow-
lDI paragraph:
cc Slavery, though undoubtedly an evil, may not, in all caset, be a sin. Or, if a siD,
may be one wh ich the apostle deems • not llnto death;' but which lDay be 'prayed for.'
The apostle declares, • all unrigbteousness is lin:' that is, sin consists in all tran.~ioD
or tbe divine laws. BOI, says be, • there is .. lin Dot unto death.' Doobtlea, the aiD
which il unto death is voluntary lin; and that which il Dot unto death, is iDYoloD-
tary. The !'in of ignorance is involuntary sin. So is the sin of hereditary traDsm issioD j
10 far aalt does not become actual evil by one'l own irrational volition. Still, both theM
kinds of involuntary lin, although not unto death, must ocoasion to tbe committer of them
JOme degree of penalty. • The Lord,' saYI the doctrine of our church. • requirea DO
more of a man than that be .hould do according to what he know, to be true.' The lame
doctrine is taught by our church in this form: • TbOle who know tbeirduty, and not those
who are ignorant of it, are the objects of imputation, whether it be of ri~bteousneu 01 01
Built j jUlt .1 blind men, when they stumble, are no objecu of blame; for tbe Lord
11 If ye were blind, ye wOltld have no ain; bat now you say, We see; tht)refore yOUf sin
.'1.
remaineth," John ix. 41.' (U. T. 127.) Hence the r.ondemnation and fatality of an ,in
lie in a man'l knowing what is true, and yet willing and acting oontrary to it-in • loy-
Lord's will, and does things worthy of Itripes, he aball be beaten with ma.,
Ing darkness rather tban light, becauee hia deed. are evil.' So that, if • maD • knows bi.
stripes.' But,
ffhe knows not hil Lord's will, and yet doel things worthy of Itripes, he Iball be beaten
witb ftvJ Itripes.' In both casei, a penalty il in6icted j but in the former a heayY, aDeI
In the latter a light one. Hence, if Ilavery be a n evil, all wbo are implicated iD it-eft'D
thOle wbo are innocently implicated-m Usl Iufi"er in lome degree from it. But those wbo
do not know, or believe, it to be wronlh are not condemnable on account or a,
it ai•.
Neither are thOle RuiJty sinnerl, who have had Ilavery entailed on them by hereditary
trulmi.lion. Yet to thOle who do know, or ~lieve, it to be .infal, the implication or i&
i. indeed a heinous oft"ence both against God and maD. For slirely no one can doubt,
that. while voluntary lervice, or tbe lervi~e of love and therefore of freedom, is superDal,
forced service, or tbat eervice which fear renderl to imperious masterdom, il infernal.
If Now, we cannot believe that Ilavery In our Southem Slates il heinously linful. W.
do indeed believe it is an evil; but we hold it to be an evil mercifully permitted, iD the
divine reltorative economy. for an ultimate or final good. What that is, we shall see al
'We proceed. Or, if Southern IlaYery be a sin, we are lure it is not one tbat is unto d••tb.
1& la. venial tranlmitted sin. The inlthution ofllavery was entailed upon the SoutherD
Statel by the mother COl1Dtry'S cupidity. Hence. we reprd it there in tbe light of an be-
reditary evil, \vhich rtquirel mucb love and wisdom-great prudence. care, patience, and
tender solicitude-in its eradication. It mUlt be regarded a. a politically constitutioDal
elleeaee. which can be cured only by time, wise political dieteticl, and intelligent akill, ex-
cltlog the body politic'. recuperative enf'l'IJie.. All nature il a. abhorrent to .udden
chaage .1 to a vacuum. And the lin of Ilaverylinks into absolute insignificance in com-
parilOn with the egregious lin of thOle political or morbid.ly philanthropic quacks, who.
b1lhe1r ",roic treaUDeDt QC ~1I diaeaae-by tbeir IlIddeu alaerativ88. lbeir decided. bloacl--
lea] N. C. ApAorinu 011 8ltIve,., and Abolilioa.-No. 11. 218
~ ,_Ir d..etic p..... their "iolent coa.t....irrltull, ud their o~er ,trot&,reme-
die_would either kill the patient, or inflict UpOD bil sbattered constitullO~ vastlr ,rester
and more incurable (actitious diseasel, if, bylOme mercifully providential (ortnIIY. he
slloalcl hap,. to let well in Ipile oC tbeir pbJ'.ic! No true maD Will be fort:M to do
..-.ea wbal i. riable And tbe very worst el"~t of all objlulalOry and eyeD leeminl cona-
paho" efforts to destroy the evil or slavery in tbe Soutb aB damnial sin, bll' been the
driYiol or 0111' Southern bretbren into the jUltification of it at a diviDO insdtotioD, and a
positive pod. Thul do uuemea beptextremee." •

The distinction betweeD SiD' of iporance and alDI of Irnowledp la certalDl, ..en foand-
ed ; bat when the author, with a mere whilper 01 a qualifloation, pute Cl the aiD or bere-
dicaq tlansmi..ioo" into the ame calel0ry with liol of ilnorance. we '.-1 that he disre-
p.• • point of the utmost moment 10 a jUlt eatimate of lhe more', or the lubjecL .e Tho.
who do Dot know or believe it (1Iavery) to be wrong. are not condemnable 00 8CCOtlD 0
it .. ai-. Neither are those guilty liDoera who haye had l1avery entailed OD Ihem b, be-
redilarJ traD,mi•• ioD.'· Tbe, are not ofcour. made pilly by the almple faot oCme ea-
lailment; but h il dolnllreal injllstice to truth to omit to ltate mOll clearly under what
eiJc1Imataaeee Iuilt is incurred in luch cue.. T,ue, we lod ID a pre"iou. eeotence •
lew wordt oC quali4catloo-u Tbe aill or ipor&Dce i. inYolDDtafJ ain. So i. the aia of
bered i &a17 tra.lmiuion. 10 far aa it does Dol become actual evil oC one'. own irrational
volition." This i. "eryayllable that we find in the pamphlet ~Ddinl 10 qualify a pOll-
tion which will be very certaiD to operate al aD opiate to the CODscience unles'loarded b,
the mosl expJici& IblemeDt;o( 'laalitleationa and exceptiont. We will. therefore. supply the
omi.ion by ciliDI an authority which Mr. De Chalms ia not prone to undeorvalue- u No
ODe e"'et' lu1£ers punilhmeoDt in another life OD account or hereditary evil, becaase it ia DOl
biB, cooleqlleotly be i. not blameable for it; but he lu1I"erl pUDis\amenl 00 account of
actaal evil wbit'h ia bis; .0 ala" a. by tuttMJllif' 1, b. IJl'Fopritd,d to 1&i"."l/ ""',dito"
"il."-~. C. 2308. Thil pUll tbe matter upon the ril(bt basil; aDd our IOtuhern CrieDc:la
can avail tbelnselyel jl1stly of the above concessions oDly 10 Car al they are cODIcioua of tbi.
Doo-appropriation oC tbe evil inheritance bequeathed them by their (athere. Bulon thi.
eeore we regret to ea, that we perceive very, very little evidence that tbe Southern people.
a •• body, give any indication. or a state or mind aimilar to that which elicited the enco-
miums ot an apostle-u For behold I.bis .elf-aame thing, that Y8 aorrowed, alter a lodl,
IOrt, what carefulneu It wrol1gbt in you, yea. what clearins of younelve., yea, wbat Ira-
dipadoD, yea. wbat rear, yea. what vehement delire, yea, wbat zeal, yea, wbat revenp !
ID .n thiDgs re have approved youraelvea to be clear in tbia matter!' We fear that the
priocipal vaN".,. oC the wroDg-doing chargeable upoa .laveholden ia a refu.t to reces'-
from the way. ia which their propllilor. have .alked-a resolute clOlin. of the e)'81
...iast the li.bt that wOllld faia vi'it tbem-a perllltenl repellency put forth toward. every
appeal, however kindly aDd well meant, addressed to their ratioDal and relisiouI prlnci-
plee-a pelpetllal proce•• oC self. ju,ti8catioD-a prODeness to relent and treat a. imperti-
neDI eft..,. anaeedoD implyiug that a lacred moral duty relts upon every holder oC IlaYeI
to Inveatipte caDdidlyand thorough1, the genial of the inltitutlon, and solemnly to repu-
diate wbaleyer elemen& lhere i. In it oC ol"eDce towards God aDd of Injo'1 toward. meD.
Bo.eYer we m.rarent lbat an intemperate and Isbmaelitic zeal may In IOme caeea have
characterized the wartare that bat been wapd aaalnlt slavery, Itill even lucb a Ipirit iD
a_ilaolS doe. DOl lIuUify tbe moral potericy of tbe trutLs which they utter or write, DOl
warraat tbe turllinl a deaf ear to all proteetation and admonition addreeeed. b, con-
Rio... philanthrop, to apprehended oppreulon which, the men of the south are apt to
eviDce. There il trul, luch a thing aa an unexceptionable end in the appeall of chriatiaa
meoD in tbe free Scatea to their brethren in the lIaYe Scate.. There I, luoh • cb inl .a a
pauinel, benevolent concem for the .plritnlt weal of the partin invoked. and which, ha
the .llb& or b••yea, 1. entldecl to a kiadl, and courteoUI enlertalDmeaL 8ucb appea1l
 EarlylLtory of tAe Ne. ChreA. [Kay,
mllY appear barsh. limply because they probe deep; but, Cl ftlltblbl are the WOII'" or •
friend." Tbe, have for their aim tbe breakiDI up of the CaJ.. calm of a pUlive, iDert.
Dd CODNntiDI acquieaeence ID a .tate of lbiD" wbleb, beyond an qaeltion. aDd . . .
Withstanding all DiviDe permi••ion, InvolV81 a gm. moral enl that impenoalll, ...
maDd. a remed,.
(To 61 coati. . . .)

.&BTICLE VI.

EARLY HISTORY OF THE NE\V CHURCH.

lIa. EDIT0K,
I withhold for the pre1'ent tbe remarks in cOllclol1ion of the Reply
to Delta, and beg to he indulged in a seemio! digression, which, bow-
.-ver, may prove the surest and shortest way of reaching the goal in
.iew.
ft is to be regretted that we have no contiollous history or the New
Church in print. The late Mr. Robert Hindmarsh left such 8 work
in manuscript-as complete, I suppose, as he could ma.ke it with his
material~, and f>rougnt down nearly to his Ia.tter yeats~ It fitin re-
mains in MS., and we know not ho\v long it may be before it win be
published. - In the meantime, those who feel the want of such a
work, and they are many, have to pursue the more public history or
the Church through the journalH of the English Conference and of the
American Conventions, the Reports made to them and to the various
societies of the Church, the correspondence of individuals. the memoirs,
obituary, and other notices of deceased members dispersed through

• The followin'llocount of this work I. taken fl'om Mr. Noble's sermon un tbe dt-lIth of
Mr. Hindmar.h, which was inserted in the Jntt'lIectual Repository for l\f'uch, 1835:-
,. Besides hit pabU.bed \Yorkl, Mr. Hindmanb ha. left in manuscript, ready ror pabliea•
. . ., a 1ID8U work iu apoea re of tile erron aael eor,uptiona 01 abe Cliarob of BnglMMtr
aDd" copiou. SUlorr of tAt .'VttIJ ClatWrh. Tbe laller work, if priated in-the manur 0'
his E . ., Oft th, Lord·, R"urrtcliOfl, and his Lamb 81ai.., would make two octavo Yo-
fames or near 700 pages; or, if printed in a elo!'er form, of ber~eD 300- and 600 pages
. .h. Ae tbe bringinl oat or sucb a work would cost a lalp IUm, and the _le, from the
..ice at whioh tbe oopies m ust be lold, o~uld not be yerT rapid, we fear &here hi not mnelal
,rolpeel of ita early appearance. Mr. Henry Hindmarlh, to wbom his father'. books aDd.
Dianu!criptl have been bequeatlled. hRS lib~ralty offered to allow the work to be printed
"POD the mere eonditioft of recei.inr flny co!'. for d ilt.ribution 8fnf)Dg hi. (riend., tbe pto-
lu,lfan)', to beli~D lo a New Church fre.school; but we bave not pt heard ofaDJ paatift
who are willing to undertake tIle risk upon these or any otber terml. The early parlo(tbe
fiarrative being likeTy to be tile most interesting, al tbe lea8t k!10Wn, It b81 b~n suggested
. ., tb It or an abridgement of it, might'" printed eeparately: but Mr. H. Hindmard.
with a laudable yeueratloD for tbe labol'lof hi. admirable pareD&' object. to allow tbe worII
to appuar at all otherwise than .s his father Jen it." We would bere propoee the inq.uirJ
whetber it is Dot a matter of jnst reproach to the N.C. both in England and. in this coon-
.." that they ba-.e made no propet'" effort to 181 the above work before ber mem bers 1 If
"'e propolal wben I ...t mlde ..a. premature, il it 10 now 1 and it OUl' brethren dUI" eootel
Dot do it then or now. cODsil'tently with other duties, can it nor be done now with tbe jOiDl
oertion. ofboth 1 Mr. D. G. Goyder's " Hi"lorical Sketch" 1 have not leeD, and caD sal
dedliDc oC lu merits or defect.. It I, allO 011I of print.
 &.rlg But"" tf tlie New CAureh. III
her periodicals. Moch material of tbis sort is extant and some in re-
serve, which will be essential aid to the future historian. Besides
these, informatioD, both interesting and important, but not 80 well
Buited for present publication, has been gathered hy se,·eral oC our
clergy and laity who ha.e visited England and the Continent of Eu-
rope. Mr. De Charms, in his Report OD the Trine, has given the full-
est Darrative that th.. public has yet receivf!d oC the early ministerial
arraD~ements and ordinatioft8, both in England and America; but, in
eeJmpiliDg it, he felt 'be want of certain. doc1Iments which WQuld .
probably have throwa a farther and much. tlesired light OD these initial
movements. But how many alnong us, eMpecially of those who have
recently entered our pa.le, have acc~s8-1 will not 8ny to all-but to
80 much as a tithe of'th-ese sources of information"
It surely is, and e~er will be, desirable to know. why the early re·
eipients of the New Doctrines separated from the Old Church, ,,·hy
they instituted worship ia accordance with thf!ir Dew faith, and both
why and bow the new ministry was originated Cor the administration
of its worship and ordinances. We naturally wish to learn the mo-
tives of their proceeding in tb-ese several particulars, not as given by
conjecture, but as avo\ved by themselves publicly or in private to
those ,vho aCterward~ reported them. Had only & small modicum or
authentic information on· these several heads been generally diffused
through our body, I hardly think the alSau)t oC Delta on the character
aDd motives of thOSA men would have been ventured on; or, if haz-
arded, that it could have occasioned more than transient uneasiness
to the most sensitive conscience among 11S.
I have therefore td request that )·ou will re-publish in your next
Dumber the article on the origin of the N. C. Ministry, from the N. C.
Advocate, vot. 11. p. 172; and, as introductory to, and confirmatory of
its statements, the severn} passages indicated on the private notft, from
the sermons oC Messrs. Noble. Sibly and Madely, occasioned by the
death oC l\lr. Hindmarsh; your readers will thereoy, in judging oC the
expediency and propriety of their oou,rse, have the aid of the best ovi- I

dence which the nature of the case admits•.

N.F.C.
I REMARKS.
We shall be hap~y to oomply with the request of ODr cofteSpondent; and If we are not
disappointed at to finding all rhe reqoisite materials on band, tbe series oC extracts will
be liyen in 001 next. We have no doubt they will Corm a paper of much iraterest &0 N. C.
Jeadets.

EXTRACT.
.. That the blood or tbe Lord signifte. trathe derived rrom lood. thus truth. from the

J'
Lord. ean leareely be perceived and believed by those who are unacquainted with tbe tn-
~rnal .ense of tbe Word j besides, it appears a namote interpretation oC the me.nins oC
bis blood, to I.y that it denotes truth from the Lord; and yet, nothing elee i. nnder!'tood
bJ the blood of lit,.. Lord in Heaven: tbe re8lOn i8. beeeuee me Lord there i. the Divine
Truth united to niyiDe good, wherefore no one the.. think- or his flesh and his blood a
lach a thought concerning them they oall IDalerial. wbicb 11 DOt. admitted by them."-
..t. E. 30.
- Poar,.

POETRY •

... tJae N... Cllurell . .pelt.",.

DIVINE LOVE.
(Tnulatecl rro. the Portap•• of VioJeaM cl. lA., bJ BOil. IIr. Bow"".)

.. God 10 loyed the world that he gave hi. onl,. beg~tten IOn~ that whOlO8ftr be-
lined OD him .hollld not perish but haTe eTerlastmg liCe."-JohD ill. 16.
In lach a marvelou8 night, 80 fair,
And full of wonders strange and new,
Ye Shepherds of the vale, aeclare
Who saw the greatest wonder' Who'

lea", the trembling Ire look wan,

Il&w the 8un shed teara of blood,
I BaW a God become a man-
I I&W a man become a God.

o wondrou8 marvels! At the thought

The b08Om's awe and rev·rence move;
But who luch prodigies bath wrought'
Who gave mcn wonders birth 1 'Twu Loft !

What called from heaven that flame divine

Which streams in glory from above;
ADd bids it o·er earth's bosom shine,
And blesa us with ita brightness 1 LoTe !

Who bade the gloriou8 ann arrest

His COU1"88, and o~er heav'n'a ooncave move
I n tears-the saddest, loneliest
Of the celestial orba , 'Twas Love !

Who raised the human raoe 10 high,

E'en to the starr,. seats above,
That, for our mortal pro~ny,
A man became a God' 'TwaI toTe !
Who humbled from the Beats of light
Their Lord, all human woes to prove j
Led the great source of day to night,
And made of God a man' 'Twaa Love!

Yea! Love has wrought, and love alone,

The victories all-beneath, above;
And heaven and earth shall shout, as one,
The all triumphing lOng o( Love.

The long through all heaven"s arches ran,

And told the wondrous tale aloud;
The trembling fire that looked 80 WIUl-
The weeping lun behind a cloud-
A God-a God became a man!
A mortal man became a God!
 CORRESPONDENCE.
-
LETTER FROM le DELTA."
March. 1852.
DZAR SIll:-Your opistolary direction ot my attention to the second estract from
Moeheim, in your February No., prompts me to eend you a few lemarb, IUggestecl
by it. Adam Clarke, also, in his Commentary on the place, .ya it is poIBible Mat-
tliiaa was elected by vote; but neither his suggestion nor MOBheim'. rouoning, iD-
dllCM my acquiescence. If Matthiaa wu really elected by vote, there would be aD
end of controversy on my main argument; but like highly favorable newI in the
pneral. it is rather too good to be true.
Among the Athenians, there were two modee of eleoting magistrates; the one, by
holding up the hands, i. e., voting; the other, by Iota. The modem ballot does n~
.ppear to have been kDOwn~ The former method WaB described by a single word,
X'.~&'" to hold up th, hand j and the IUcce88ful candidates, elected tllue, were
called ~cr,an• .,ro" from the l&IDe verb. ThOle elected by lots, were caJled .A",.,.".._,
c6o.n bg lols, from a verb aigt!ifying to choose by lot, the theme of which is .AJJf'OC.
No ODe could try his fortune for an 05ce, when the choice was byloUl, onl_ he
bad ant been aJlproved of by the _people; that is, put in nomination by the ~PQ1ar
..oiee. Thil role did not prevail in regard to tn8 xr1poro• .,,...-for a Domination
by the majority, in their case, would have been an actual election. Hence, I con-
IIider t.he preliminary nomination of Joeeph and Matthias, u a strong ciroumltanoe
to ahow that the election was by Iota; and the analogy of the Athenian OUBtom
would equally indicate that this nomination was made by the ~eneral body or com-
pmy of the disciples presen*. In further support of whiob, It may be remarked,
that Peter~8 nddreea was to the disciples, and the action was responsive to his ap-
~l.
The e~ression rcrnrcr••, they plaud, or caUNd to "aM (translated, "'hey appoint-
ed," T. 23), also indicates that the election Wal b,10ta. In Robert8' Oriental Illutnr
tiOD8, the author, in the oaae he puts oC a determmation by IoU, as to which one oC a
Dumber of girls a youn~ man should marry, repreeentB the youth as seated apart, in
front; of the temple, while the drawing ie oonducted. I qaote his acoount from your
ftluable Illustrations of SoriptUl'e, p.~. He 8818: U The name ofeach Ioung lady
is written on a separate piece of ol&h; and theD all are mized togeUter. The ,oath
and his friende tlien go to the front of the temple, and being seated, a ~rson who
i8 ~ng at the ume is called, and requosted to take one of the peoes oC olah" OD
which a lady"s Dame ia iDBOribed, and place it near the oandidate. This being done,
i'is opened, and she whOle name is written there, becomes his wife." This oustom,
aDd tJie obviooa propriety and good order of placing the candidates apart, by them..
ee1vee, as under tbe Immediate speoial cognizanoe oC Heaven, leads me to the opinioD
~at .crr'1f141V, in the text, has this meaning, and points to a selection by lot. DODn&-
po•• prinoipal deftnitioD of Iflr"I", is, to plau, put, or ca,", to ,'and, when said or pe"
lOllS or things; to pia" in dUI ord,r, when oC troops. The preliminary nomioatioD
is included and implied in the comprehensive announcement that the diaoiplea
"placed" the candidates; or caused them to stand in the midst or ap!u"t.
~he invocation (v. 24, 25) is another oiroumstanoe to prove that Iota were aeed.
With the Greeks, in divination. by lots, after the pebbles or dioe were depoeited iD
ihe veael, and beCore they were drawn, 8upplioation was made to the Gods to direct
the ilsne. So in the oase of &ul and Jonatnan (1 Same DV. 41). Sanl P1'8yed the
Lord, after the U pIGcing"* 000llrred, to give a perfect lot; or, as 'the margin has itt
to mow the inDooent. "'The onl1 Divine manifestations reoogniled prior to the day
of Penteooat, under the recent dlspens&tion, were of an external charaoter-euoh ...

• In rh is case, Sau1 Itadoned himself and J onathan OD one aide. and the childruD of
uraet Oil the other.
 "~, ...
lots, miracles, miraculous signs, annunciatioo8 by prophets, and dreams. The diseiplel
[May,

knew comparatively nothing of interior intuitioDe, apringinl up in answer to prayer,

or oC interior guidance through an enlightened consciousness, or the faculty of epir-
itual perception. Hence, apart from philological diflioulties, there is an incODgJ"1!ity
in the idea that they prayed for interior light &8 a guide in giving their votes. Bot
~e vert point of tlieir prayer, uaArtlol' (v. 24), lamely tranBlated ",how," euIi-
oie~mdicatell what they had in view. The word meaDS properly, to ,},O/l1 fortA,
by "Rtf up to ",iltD j to dis~lay, tJ ,;gJUJl: to make known, 6V tJ ,ign, Ite., and en-
dently aims at a more full ana conclusive indication of the DiVlne pleasure, than one
wbio& might be iocWrerently inte!preted U IeCretly guidiag the majority in one way,
ead. tJhe·lIli.Dority iR aDo'her. HeDGe their prayer was that the Lord would OODkOI
die isaue,. • u aotually to diatiDgui8h that OD.8. of ~e· two. whom He might haye
"0 to. reeeive the lot.
Modeim u.kes.. paiDC OD. the word .vHfI', u'ar (T. 28), as 1I.Ied in coDjunoti_
"*h.lots,; denying &DJ ouatolll of the Greek writers 10 to espN88 tbemselvea, aa4
asking, whether the Iota by which an election is to be dekwmiDed, can oorrectly be
iermed tile Iota, of the oAudidates. I certainly abo.1d feel myself inoompetent to
1nIIg& a batde of the booD, with even • chance oompanion of the ancient clulitt
"boa--soloog i. U linee IDY easuallOjCRlrD in 'heir CODlpeay. Mach lees, t.beB.
I4Mdd I dilOll88 a, ct11.8lGio. of iaiom with an ltabitue oC they. porticOGIt like M08heim.
Du' it ia well knoW1l that in cues oC di rinatioD8 by lotlJ, amoag the Greeks, it wu
GIIItomarJ to deposK iD the urn, with the beana. or pebbles, &Dd draw out fiNt, aB
olive lea~ dedicated to Mercllrl, &8 the patron of suoh proceedings, aDd hence callecl
Ep,... a>'"poc" Me,cury" lot. TbIS e1~on or term, u it see. . to me, viDdicat. the
idimBatie coJrrectne-, at least, of coupling & n01lll or pronoun, in the p088e88ive, witla
the word lot.; aDd provea that tha prODOWl h t!uir," in the teD. may well app11 to
the caudid.tee.
The diatiDguiahed: hiatorian further objecta that the phrue "they ga. for-tit
their lots." aeems to ltim repugnallt to the Greek idiom, if an appeal to }4'ortWle or
Providence be im~lied, because in such oue the Greek wri~rs constantly ue the
_lib 8tiAA,., to CGlt, ID eoqjunotion with ")."f'''f. Bu' Lu.ke, in this place, is not speskiDS
ofcasting the lots, or throwing them inro the urnl. That was done before the invu.
-tioa, and would DUurally eaoap& spesial JDention, u implied in the general ae-
eoant or the prooeedings. The giving fol'th, presentation, 01' exhibition, of the loy,
eride&tly refers,. Dot to the oasting. but to tile drawing and puhliahing; ia which
18D88, adO"UI", or some equivalent word, would eeem to be alone proper. In
Edeek aDd LatiD Teetameat, the translation ia, "e' dederun_ BOnes eoram ;"- not
Leuad.'.
jeeer"-. A.acI OD8o of the general deftnitiona of dtd.,~ it. 00 ,,-amI, or off".. if .....
Iota, .,on bemg drawn, were plaeed near or haDded 00 the CUldidatea. u in the in-.
DDee oited. from RoberiB, the aptitude of the word (omiWog "forth," whioh ~
ut legitimatel, belong there) would be beyoDd cavil. la a word, r/l.).." cA~
tJur caM lot, 11 pro~rly desoriptive of the entire traIl8&o~~
~ (the) I~ of the partio81&r inciclent.
caJ._ .~."oos, tAeJ'

I. COBCIWliOD, let me add, geoerall,: The one bundred aDd twe.ty, preaeali OIl
tIae: ooeaaion, coutitllted by no means the whole _umber of disciples at the ti~
(. . 1 Cor. xv. 6), but no doubt represeRted the whole, at least, iD feeling. AvaitiDg
8anel~es of ODe of tIlose delightful coincidences, which are 80 numeroU8 in the writ-

GeD_
ings of SwedeDbol'g, we lad that the number, one hundred and twenty (given ..

--I ch.. -d. 3, as the ,ear, of th, lit- of man) reprelenta the remaiDs of faitJa
(.A. C. 575). These .iaci~1 really reptel8DtAKl .ad em~odied the remains oC faith ~
at the tim~an.d.'llelrlUUD.ber ..aa happily coincident with ~e faot. That faith,
_~ wu limply historical (~. E. 815). Taey belie\'ed Christ to be that ProJ)!ael
. whG was to oome into the woriel. From esteraal evidenoea. His miracles, and Ilia
. .ulfto*ioa, they regarded. Him as the Son or God. They attributed to Him Om...
cilD08 of the human heart, and Omnipo*eD.ce over corporeal death. But they did ad
OOIlOeive of Hi. &8 the Regenerator or that heart, and tlhe conqueror oC the . .oo4
. .Sh. Their hopealtill skirted the visible hONOD, which he had lately tnmllOad..
ed, in the simple-minded anticipation or HiB speedy re-appearanco for the tem~
redemption of His enslaved Israel. They ardently gazed after IJim, objectively.
They looked Cor external maniCestation8 of His will through dumb physical mediume.
aDd invoked Him after the custom of heathen divmen. The,. wero in that darkeat
 •
111I.] DUtrihtiora an~ s.z. " NfMJ Church Bookl.
lIoar-just before day:· tlle lay of !Penteoon. What woader that they could ...
anticipate its UD~ented glories; or hear beforehand the inward apeakillg.of the
Holy Ghost, d88iguating by D&JDe the Lord'. choeen agents, aDd 8&ying to His ~
pbetllt separate me Baroab.. aDd Saul, for the work where1lDto I have oalled·them.l
So ~ cut Iota, and the lot fell u~ Matthiu. Their moUft and method of desig-:
Il&tiDg a mere witneea or the phySIcal r8anrrection, illnsba&ed at ODoe their new or
the apoetleehip, and the ~atore of their faith. That faith, minim tbough it"Was, w..
the maximum of Fai&h, in tbe crisis of the world. Ye' it "u the mudud Beed
which became a great tree; &Dd all the fowls of the &ir lodged in the bnmchel
thereo£ It was Faith alou8-ante-Penteooat&1 Faith-not imbued with Charity, •
Power, from on high. No won,der then, that Luke, mindful of the .\lbsequent ID&II).
lestatiODS of the LOrd to His people, does not .y that Matthi.. waa made actaally
an Apoetle; but, waving a direct impeachment of biB apostolic rank, diamieees the
abject with the qualified statement, that he W88 numb,red, or ",cional, with those
eleyeD whom he .ylee Apostles indeed.
Thas we see that the Old Church took its rise from the remain8 of Faith, which
is first in point of time; but the New Church springs up from the remain. of Cbario,t
which is first in respect to the end. Faith may appear to exist, without Charity;
but Charity cannot have even the IeDlblance of life, without Faith. It behooves '8Jl
to inquire whether the nominal New Church has not been ltarted from the ltand-
~iDt, of Faith alone, illustrated by the nee of the lot, while the real New Church ia
8ilently descending, or preparing to deeoend (with but little observation, as yet) &018
God out of Heaven. ,
I remain, yoars truly,

DISTRIBUTION AND SALE OF NEW CHURCH B09KS.

UTICA, N. Y., April 1, 1862.
REY. G. BUSR,
DM.,. Sir:- The rollowin~ is a Btatement of my sales., receipts, and expenses trom
Mareh 1, 1851, to April 1, 1852. And if IOU think proper you may present the sub-
jeet to the New Church people in New-York, or elsewhere, and solicit their assist-
..nee for another year.
I have purch88ed books to the amdnnt of $918 63, including transportation. I
have recel\"ed contributions of books to the amount of $19 95. The amount re-
ceived for sales is ~902 53. I have received contributions as follows, in cash, ~253 33 j
in books, $19 95; and profit on books equal to t34 26, making in all, ~307 54.
My espenses tor travelling far~ board, washing, l!.08tage, &0., amount to $262 86;
~ltieh amount deducted from the amount of contributions and profits, leaves $44 68.
I have books in hand amounting to $70 81, ·and cash equal to $24 50. I have just
received a contribution of $50 from Mr. John 'f. Martin, of Cincinnati, to be appr~
priatOO tor future operations. Thi! is not included in the contributions mentioned
aboye. This 1 have u8ed ro pay for books, and am still owing for books $132 21.
Since March 1, 1851, I have distributed by sale, twenty-eeven hundred and thirty
books, without including one hundred and forty-rour Miniature of the New Jerusa-
lem. The books distributed are as follows: 312 Heaven and Hell; III Book of
Doctrines, including 7 small works j 127 Divine Providence; 73 Divine Love and
Wisdom; 9 Do. cheap Boston editIon; 26 True Christian Religion; 13 Four Lead-
ing Doctrioes; 2 sets ot the Arcana Coolestia, and 2 sets oC the Apocalypse Explain-
ed, making 86 volumes; 3 Apocalypse Revealed; 56 Earths in the Universe: 19 Last
Judgment; 14 CODjugial Love; 14 Sacred Scripture; 22 Sacred Scripture, White
Hone, and Sllmma~ of the Prophets, and Psalms bound together; It; Doctrine of
the LoRD; 22 Brief Exposition; 48 Heavenly Doctrines; 100 Heavenly Doctrines
and Brief Exposition,. bound together; 9 Heavenly Doctrines and Doctrines of the
LoRD, bound.together; 43 Doctrine of Life; 25 Heavenly Doctrines and Doctrine of
Life, bound t06ether; 4 SWDma~ of the Pro~hets and Pmlm8; 14 Doctrine of
Faith; 10 Chanty; 11 CanoD8; 7 Coroni.; 2 Index to True Christian Religion; 1 ha-
dex to Atcana; 46 InJIux; 20 Poethumoll8 Physiological Tract j 93 Life of Sweden-
...
bcq, by Hobari; 8 Do. b1 Wilkill8Oll; 10 Do. by Rio" Detroit Editiatl; 100 . .
[lIay,

pap~cal Sketch of Barretli; 18 ReligioWl PhilOlOphy, PanoDI' E..p, and lnlu.

1MMmd together; 45 ReIigiOWl PbilOlOphy, by Des Gaaye; 7 P&r8OIl8' EesaJB; 6 Ser-
moDS OD the l.oaD'. Prayer j 8 S. W orcellter'. Sermons; 81 Antediluvian Hiatory j
10 Nineteenth Cent~, or the New ~DI&tiOD; 4 Noble'. Appeal; 19 Regenerate
Lifej 15 Growth oCtlie Mind; 10 Judgment Day; 28 Ohio Tract Book: 178 Bub-,
Beucma; 30 Letters to a Trinitarian: S Bush~s Sermon OQ H.yen; 23 Dictionary
of Co~dence; 5 Character and Work of Christ i 6 Book of W onhip; 2 Clowee'
Dialogues; 87 Swedenborg Lib~; 1 Volume of tbe Swedenborg Litirary; 4 Do-
mestio Education, by MuOn; 88 Golden Wedding Ring j 102 Weller on ltlarriage;
35 Bruoe on Marriage; 7 Open interoouree with the Spiritual World; 1 C18old·.
Letter; 1 W orahip and Love of God; 1 W orceJ~r on the Sabbath; 2 Spiritual Re-
teotioDB, by Goyder; 1 Economy of the Animal Kingdom, and 1 Principia, makinK
4 'Volumes; 1 Divine Humanity, inolading MasoD'. two worD OD the Body of dI.
LoRD; 1 Hymn Book; 11 Illl18trations of Physiology, bI Dr~ Rice; 60 Heat &Dd
Light for the Nineteenth Century; 98 Coemogenia or Philosophy of the Warld j
61 Boob for Children, inoluding six or oight varieties; 67 Human .Pro~ since the
Last; Judgment; 74 Visible and Invisible Worids; 43 Immortal FountalD; 10 Name.
for the N. C. Meeeenger; and 5 Namee for the Medium; embracing 77 varieties.
These books have been diatributed in 57 cities and villagee, which are as follow:
CincinDati, Xenia, COOanille, SHin&, South Charle&ton, London, West Jetrene.,
Colambua. Newark, Granrille, Mount Vernon, Gambier, Mansfield.. Shelby, \Vel-
UngteJn, Oberlin, Cleveland, Ohio City, Rockport, .Newbery, Bedford, HudsoD, Raftll-
ha, New London, Plymouth, New Hayen, Monroeville, Norwalk, Sandusky, Detroit.
y ~aDti, Ann Arbor, Marahall, Ceresco, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, PawPaw,
Pontiao, Nile&, Edwardsburg, New Buffalo, Michigan City, Laporte, Chicago. AI-
bion, JacUon, Buffalo, Attica, Batavia, Rochester, Geneva, Auburn, Syracue, CaD-
utota, Peterborough and Utiea.
ID Rochester I sold upward of $100 worth; fortY' volumes were purchased Cor the
AUleneum Lib~, inoluding a se' or the Arcea Cmlestia and a set of the Apoca-
lypse Explained, both newly bound in U sheep extra." In Syracuse, $125 wol\h
were purchased, including $45 worth for a library.
Boob distributed in this wa., are like seed 80WD upon the earth; it may no&
all grow directly, but 80me oC It falls upon ground, 80 warm and receptive, daat it
Ipringa up immediately and puts forth leavea. I would here mention some incidentAl,
tiut have ecarcely time; ano ea I intend to make a report for publication in the Re-
~tory, 1 will defer some items till then.
The work thuI far hu been sustained almost entire1) by the liberality or Mr.
John T. Martin, a warm-hearted New Churchman, ofCinclDnati. He has contributed
1225 during the past 1.ear, and hu jU8t sent me $50 more, making f2i5. He i,
willin~ to contributo liberally for continuing the work another year, iC othen wiij
join With him. But he is not willing, and perhaps is not able, to carry on the work
alone. In a letter recentl.l reoeived from him he writes ea follows: U It a~pcan there
is no person or ~rson8 Willing to do an~hing to aid in this ~ work; If so, it mOl&
of oourse stop. I was in hopes there might be about Cour "found with sowenoogh
to join in carrying on this useful work. I would be one of the number, .baring
equally the expense. I consider this of far more im~rtance than building church.
and paying preachers; yet, means can be had for the one but not for the other.
Now, if you can find three to join me in c&rrying on this businelB, the expeD881 to be
.hared equally, I am on hand; if not, I am compelled to see it stop, and would ad-
1iee you not to undertake to go on unleas permanent provision can be arran~ed for
the ex~DBe8. I am always f5lad to hear trom IOU; and for your effort. in tlus good
O&D88 the LoRD, I am Bure, wdl ble88 you and give you peace."
You eee how the subject Btanda, and if there is anYlDdividual, or &Dy namber of
individuals, in New York or elsewhere, who will jointly contribute $100, or if i* can
be raised by a colleotion on the Sabbath, or otherwiee, I will try to obtain enough
elsewhere to continue the work. But unIeu this lum can be raised, I see Do* bow
it ill pOlBible to go any further.
I may here lay, that I am engaged in DO other bl18in881 than the diatzibugon of
N. C. booka. This employment ia worth,. or \he eaoriloe or M leut one maa'llOGl
1811.] C. . of. Re". H. W,ller.
_ . body. For it is only b1 mealll of tbe trutba in theM boob &hat m_ OlD be...
deemed, and enter into the J01 of the Lord.
H. M. SAXTON.

CASE OF THE REV. H. WELLER.

The (oDowiogletter from Mr. Marray ha. been elicited, _ wiU be IMft, b, the re-
....kl in our April No" relatiye to the action of the MichipD Association, In the ca. of
ollr brother. H. Wel1er. Tbe impression produced upon our minds by the action of cb.
above hod,. we know 10 baye been sbared in by multitudes of our readers, who could not
help feeling that the measure adop&ed wal premature in view of the ablehCe oC &Dy'pe.
ci6c groond assigned for it iD the record. Tbe present communication throws liaht apoa
the data which cbe Auociation had before them in guiding their resolveI, ~Qt we cannot
"1' that it quite comes up 10 our idea ofa sufficient reason for 10 important a Itep. But
we are not called to ,it in judgmeot on tbe proceedings of the AuociatioD, and tully be-
lieYiDg that our brethren, the alentl on the occasion, were prolDpted by good moti ve.. and
pided by what they considered adequate light in the matter, we leaYe their esplaDatioD
10 produce its e8"ecca upoa those who may take on interest in It. So far as we are able to
judp, Mr. W. bas submitted himself to influences that are utterly unreliable, buc our
cODfidence In hi, general character gives ulltrong auurance that he will repudiate these
errors or erratici.m., aDd Blain cun, reinstate bimaelC in cbe eateem and l'8Ipect oC bia
brelhreD.
MICBIGAX CITY, A.pril13, 1852.
ulTOa 01' Jl.POITOaT,
D«Jr SiT :--Your number for April ia just reoeived, wberein I notice ebictulel
~ .. portion of the ~roceedinp of the last annual meeting of the Michipn and
Indiana AsIociation. Being mentioned ea author of the reeorutioDI in queetio~ hay-
ing reference to the caee of Henry Weller, it seems incumbent on me to reply.
The Preamble and Resolutions were maturely oonsidered, with an aDD0U8 desire
that DO more should be done than was imperatively demanded by the oiro1UD8t&noee
of the cue. The, express what we believe to be the exaot troth. Without infer-
ences or implications the Preamble fully justifies the Resolution&, and there the A.-
IOCiation has left them, less careful, it would seem, to explain ita own action, than to
avoid needless accD8&tions of others. However, it may be permitted an indiridual,
ill reply to a call publicly made in the name of jU8tiae and truth, and iD new of
the doubts you esp~18, which may be shared by others, to atate a few facti, iD B-
planation of what was done. .
1•. The simple fact tha& Mr. W. olaims to have the privilege of open interooune
with spirita lelU not the ground ot the action of the A88ooiation' it 1M' u the intrin-
lie character of the uttp..rances emanating from the 8tate of alleged illumination,"
which wu thought to ""qu;T' not, properly8peaking, the total" withdrawment of
fellowlhip," but the withdrawal of the support and countenance of the A8IociatiOIl
towards liim ea towarda an authorised ex~under of the truths of the New Church.
U was a painful dut,., incumbent U~D 118, in self-defence, and 8.8 the responsible or-
pn of the New Churoh in the distnct of ooun~ repreeented by the A8800iation.
ind. Although the time wu ahort between the promulgation of the Ediet from ,,,.
~,irituGl Worlil, which wu the lrat prominent development of tho Itate intowhioh
Mr. W. had fallen, and the meeting of the AlB)Ciation, let a number of letten had
been addreeeed to him, mowing tile f&laity and absurdity of what he had reoeived
aad lent forth, and how impoesi.ble it was that those things could have ori~ated
from the BOuroeI to whioh lie attributed them. His alllwers to theee, aDd hIli oom- I

mwcation to the A8Ioaiation plainly showed that he wu more ready to evade and
aplaiD away th_ objectiOD8, than to profl& b,. the proof they afForded of the falaiV
~biI famiJi&n; iba, he ..... 1ID&ble or uowilliDS to abandon tbelpben or inla.ac.
 •• Corr,.-tleat.-e..
!'r whieh he J.4 becm iha tleeei.ed; tllat aItho~h his zeliance ~ them had led
hun into the most absurd mistakes, he WaI still wdllng to cultivate their acquaint-
ance, and.11 cherished the fond idea, first derived, as appears f'rom theee very im-
postors; and, in fact, he unhesitatingl,. proclaimed, that lie was specially and far-
mally commiaaioned to reform the Choroh, and by the aid of meaD8 aim.iJ.&r to those
whioh had proved 80 deceptive.
More might be a&id OD this subject, but I oonfine mysel!to the mildelt statement
that will meet your inquiries. .
anl. AJJ to the oharacter oC theee spiritual communications, lOIDetbiDg might be
iDf'erred from the Proepectua oC U The Crisis," from whioh ~ou have «Iuoted., tnough
the full Bipificance is Dot apparent to those not familiar WIth what liu transpirecL
The u Lite,,, and the U DoCtrine" contemplated in that Prospectaa, are untmcep-
tionable, being derived from. 80urcee open to all; the peoWiariiy is included in whai
is laid upon "Order," 88 folloWl :
.'Order. The Lord's church in the heavens is a kingdom of' UseR, and such must
and will be the church on earth, when is realized the petition of the Holy Prayer,
'Thy kingdom come.' Use, then, must determine all things or order. .And ftt1t
m.erely use, on ,arth, but al,o tAe reciprocal we fDhieh tartlt ~"form, tOVJtlnl. HetJtJefI GI
th, footstool oJ flu Divine. That theee U888 may become more and more perfect, the
order of thiD~ in Heaven will ft.ow down, and be ultimated on earth, tArough proper
.....ium. find CJuJ,~rull appoint,d by flu Lord. We believe that the time i, comt, when
&his state of true order Will be commenced, and a leading feature of our publication
will be w enunciate frem time to time, tU ~~ght fto~, in from Htawn, the true form
and order into which the Lord's church will be initiated OD earth."
The italics, you will lee, are mine.
I WaI a little ~riaed that in quoting from the Prospect~ you should have failed
to have noticed this remarkable feature. Suffice it to say, th&t we believe the pre-
teDBiOD8 of Mr. Weller, on this 8u~ject, are calculated to originate the most danger-
ous, in fact, alm08t the only form of fanaticism to which the New Church is liable,
and thoughlrofeuing the utmost regard for freedom, are in reality deetrucmve of all
freedom, aD would bind the Church, ltand and foot, to the dominion oC familiar
lpiritB.
4th. Mr. W. 'I energetic and public proceedings, in carrying out his ideas (or the
commencement of "true order," had been the cause of scandal out of the Church, as
well &8 in; numbers of his own Society were looking to the A880ciation for couneel,
and, withal, his ability, determination, and activity, were RO apparent, that the case
did Dot admit oC the year's delay which would have enaued upon a postponement or
the verdict of the A8800iation.
I hopetheee remarks wjll not by any be ~oDsidered an attack OD Mr. 'Veller. Re
h .. been the familiar household friend of the writer, who hopes yet t-o meet him in
the 1aJD8 character, and would carefully avoid the least occasion of personal al"ence.
I have written, a8 the .A8aociatiOD haa acted, in defence only.
Youra truly,
RoBT. H. MURJU.T.

A LETTER FROM AN ORTHODOX CLERGYMAN.

L-, FEB. 19th, 1852.
BEV. PROJ'ES80lL BU8B,
My De(J" Sir :-Never have I read a more lucid, eandid and ooherent deYelop-
ment of a mental proce88 than that you have put forth in your u Statement of ReA-
1008." Ita eloquence and cogency of expression gives it an enviable charm, apart
from the grandeur of its theme. It is, without qUt?8tion, the iinJehed produoi-the
Dltimation-of a acholar, earnest, di8criminating, sincere and bold. .
And DOW, why do I not believe 1 Why do not your reasons CODvmoe and ~
me to your conclusions and hO~81 It is not from want of interest in the subjecL
What thoughtful man CaD be without an intense desire to know more reepectiDg the
mode of hie future existence, and the nature and lawa of hilloul'. po1Rh and cl..
1852~] Letter from an Ort1uK1o~ Clergyman-witl. a Reply. 229

tin,., I' • not beca11l8 I do Dot apprehend the import of your language, and that of
Swedenbol'g, quoted and commented upon. There is profouna p&iloeophy, and
Ba
wide range, and wonderful tracing of C&UBe, e1fect and ultimate, and amazing in-
sight int() mental operations throughout his works. Tn many aspects they are capti-
vating beyond expre88ion. Why, then, do I not receive them &8 true 1
In the first plaCe, I think I oan account for them, &8 for Andrew Jacbon Dam',
on other grounds than that of his spirit having penetrated the spiritual spheres. An
acute, BtrODI5t pbiloeophicaJ. mind, stored witli ltnowledge from every depal'tment of
ecience, disciplined in tracing the connections between cause and effect, charged
with creative power, and with imagination far beyond his fellows, might, it seems
to me, under conditions of nervous excitement, abnormal and prolongea, ha'Ye writ-
ten biB worb. The product is one of the mightiest achievements of the human IOW and
brain, I admit; ifany should call it the miglitieat, I would not dispute with them. But
others, Theremier, Jacob Bmbme, BUD1an, and numbers more, have done enough in thiI
line (bating the philosophy) to convInce me that a thoroughly-trained, well-stored,
highly-endowed, superlatively vigorous German mind, fond of truth and cal!able of
the interior eDlar~meDt and expansion produced by disease, or mesmerio inBuenoe.,
voluntarily inducid, could have wrou~ht out his works.
But thiS is only incidental. }Iy suliJect is your U Reasons." Excuse the dogmatia
and feebly developed mode of my expreuion; I am aiming to communicate in a few
words my i:rst impressions. Three things, it ap~rs to me, have concurred, and
in a most remarkable manner, to prepare the wa,y for your reception of Swedenborg'l
system-in a manner strange enough to be called miraculous. In the first place,
you wrought out an independent investigation of the doctrine of the Resurrection.
and found confirmation on every point from Swedenborg 1 In the second pla08t
Jour work OD the Millennium ~repared 'loa ro look for the 2d Advent of the Redeem-
er, ai a lime coeval with the mtroouction of Swedenborg'8 syt:tem. Thirdly, You
have bad ocular, sensible, and perhaps peychological eJ:~rience 01 the existence of
abnormal states at the preeent aay in the human mind, tiringing with them ~at in-
terior expansion and illumination. Hu any other living man, of equal intelligenoe
and ICholanhip with yourself; had 80 much to predispose him in favor of any 98-
tem of truth H YOG have had to ally you to Swedenborg. Can I be ~rised tl1at
l 0U are where you are 1 Can you expec* another to follow without a:-81Dlllar con-
Juncture, an unprecedented one, or by a process different from your oWn 1 Have I
spoken in haste, or with indecoroU8 preci~itancy 1 If I have, attribute it to any other
C&tUe than 'he want of respect and gratitude in you. 'Vith fraternal a&eOtiOD &D4l
the profound. christian cOnfidence, yours, truly,
H.N-.
REPLY.
Rav. • 'a. N--,
DtflT S:'r :-Your fllvorable opinion of the le Statement of Reasons" is of course I1'8.tlfy-
ins, bot the acknowledgment of the pleasure conveyed by your intimatioDs OD thilscore,
I should leareety regard al in itself a sufficient motive for a formal reply. I have the con-
aciouloess of too maDy imperfections in the work, compared with the cogency of the in-
trinsic evidences of the cause it advocates, to be flattered by complimentary notices, even
if luch a thing were UDder any circQmstaneee a proper .ource afaeIC-feliohation.
BLllyour letter invites remark OD other grounds. Notwithltanding Its rhetorical and
other merits, the " Statement," it appears, has failed to convince ),ou of the sound.eu of
Swedenbor.'. claim to reception a. a divinely illuminated messenger from Heaven. You
deem Jourself able to account for the phenomena in his case on other grounds than thOle
asserted by himself aDd biB espousers. And, so in my own case, you have an InpnioQI
theory of solving the circumstance of my embracing SwedenboJ'l's doctrinee trom certain
predispositions, originatiD, In the course of my studies and exper..i~nce, 'while you are ,i-
lenl u to the influence which the legiti mate internal evidence of the doctrines may have had
upon me. As far a. I can perceive, you resohre the whole into predisposition. In this tact, I
ftnd a IUftlcient counterbalance to all the cemplimentl )'ou have seeD It to beltow apoa
YOL. v. 18
230 Correlpondence. [May,
the" Re8IODS.- It il, In my view, quite the reYerle oC creditable to my ondel'ltandiog.
that I should haye been conducted to my present belief simply by the force of accidents
ud idiosyncra.ies. And this is tbe same as 18ying that J should link aa low in my own
eeteem al it Is posaible I could do in that of the moat hearty contemner of Swedenborg~
had not the Internal 8yidence of the trutb of his teachings been 10 Itrong as '0 command
my intelligent and cordial aaeent. apart from the operation of all adyentitious caa...
And here. you muat permit me to say. I recognize a weak point in your letter. Yoo
lpeak a. if the whole system were a 'yltem of visions. and suppoling tbat these may be
pl)'cbolOlicall, accounted for without the admiuion of a supernatural origin, you appar-
ently pa, no reprd to the doctrines. diltinctiYely lucb. which are more or lesa clearly Rl
fortb in my pamphlet. Why are these oYerlooked 1 Wily is no yerdict pronounced upoa
them as true or false 1 The doctrines. Cor iostance. 01 the Trinity. of tbe AtonelneDI, of
RegeneratioD. of Justification, &c.-Why are not tbeee advened to, and tried upon their
intrinsic merital Our claim il, that OD the whole sul>jeot or dogmatic theology, there is
a preleDtation of truth in these writings, of an order valtly &ranscending any thing hitherto
oJrered to th~ world. This truth, we affirm, may be seen to be truth by the mind that
fairly and candidly ponders it, and that there is notbing in thft .1,1001 which is entitled to
vacate ita force. Indeed, i& Inatters not, on this head. whether ~wedenborg was the yie-
tiro 01 the wildest hallucinatioDs that eyer crazed the brain of ~ii·~ntbu.iast. We still ap·
peal to the intrinllc eyidence of truth in hi. doctrinal teachioll. lVe challenge, iD their
behalf, tbe strictest scrutiny, whether before the tribunal of lealOD or reYelatioD. And
while this proces. is going OD. we will pretermit entirely tbe question of his persoDalstate
ID the delivery of these doctrines. Suppose him. if you pleale. to have been at the time
the inmate of a lunatic asylum. Yet. here are the doctrines. and we demand that th~y
thall be judged by their own merits. Haye you aught to say against them 1 Nay. more,
are you not conltrained to respect and admire them 1 Prorelsiog to come from God. are
they not worthy oftbelr alleged source 1 Can you conceive of any thing more pure, more
elevated. more logical, more rational, more Scriptural? Do you recognize in them any
thing that would lead you to IUSpect. in the least dpgree, tbat they had emanated trom a
mind di. .eed 1
And here. permit me to S8Y. ia the point wbere the question of mental etate P~SIeI
bard upon the inquirer. He is foreed to interrogate the phenomenon before him. cc Are
these the wordl of one that hatb a devil, or is mad ,', How is It possible tbat soch a
masterly system ot (loctrines could have originated in a mind which wal at the _ane time
the abode of the mOlt crude. disjointed, and preposterous phantasies? Does the same
fountain lend forth, at the same time. such sweet and bitter waters 1 Why should nGC
the truths have nullUled the phantasies. or the phantasies the truths 1 This is tbe probe
lem which demand81OIution in Swedenborg'. case, and which it would eeem that the
Chrlltian world at large are determined never to accord to it. Yet, why not? 11 the~
not something due to the testimony of those who have grappled in earnest with the prob-
lem. aDd who. in despite of all previous prejudice. have yielded to the force of evidence
tustaining the claims atserted 1 They bave done this with tbeir eyes open to all the.,.
JlGr",t extravagances and absurdities of the system. Their realOniDg led them to the con-
clusioD that a mind which could pour fonh. through thoUland. of pages, such a wealth of
wisdom. could DOt be. at the same time, the victhn of the most pitiable delusions. They
were accordingl, induced to turn their attention to tbe diaclosures bearing upon tbe other
lite, aDd lubmit them to a more rigid aDatysil. and here too. a nearer inspection revealrd
. to them a character of trQlh, which grew inee.andy upon them t11e further their exami-
nation was pusbed. for they perceived In tbe elemental principles of ,heir own nature \be
warrant for eYe", pDd developmeDt made in the Memorabilia.
1851.] Letterfrom an Or~ CI£rgy'lIan-witA a Reply. 281
ADd wbr. I would ask, is Dot this the legitimate course to be pUrll1ed in an inquiry
oeIe.osibly oC 10 much moment 1 18 there aoy other which really does justice to the sub·
ject 1 An 1011 _tilfted, upon review, with the IOlIlldoeal of the reaSODS which deter yUIl
Crom acceding to.the claims oC the New Dispensation? You speak of Swedenborg's works
a.
as ODe oC the mightiest achievements of the human soul and brain," and if any should
tu
call it et mightest," you would not dispute with him. Blit then you 10 on to say that
•• man1 others, loch al Theremier, Jacob B<2hme (Behmen), Sunyan, etc.• have done
enough in the same line (b'1ting the philosophy) to oonvince you that a thoroughly train-
ed, weU-stored, highly endowed, superlatively vigorous German mind. fond of truth, and
capable oC the interior enlargelnent and expansion produced by disease, or mesmeric in-
Jlaence voluntarily induced, could have wrought OUl his works. U U BtJtif&' the philoaoph,"
--eh, indeed! That is an abatement worth merationing j for what is the philOltJphg in this
cue, but the truth. If it be Dot a true philol5Ophy, what is it but empty IipeculatioD, or
idle dreaming I BY10ur own showing, is not Swedenborg differenced from the above
named visionaries by propounding to the world tDluJt it i.tl, to 6t tfltitl~4 41'''ilotophg, in
contradi.tinctiou from vagaries and dreams_lbeit, we haye 110 disposition to detract
from the theoaophy of Behmen? Even if you should rejoin that S\vedenborg's ph'ilolOph)"
was Dot. demonstratively true philosophy, yet you have liven it credit enough as a rational
and plausible system to constitute an obligation to make yourself tborouably acquainted
with it. No Inan can consistently pronoullce a eystem to be tbe cc mightiest achievement
oftbe humftn soul," and yet remain ignorant of its essential contents or constituents. You
are morally bound Dot ooly to study the case, but to study the \vritings which give to the
cue all iu peculiarity and importance.
The siDIDlar inconsequence of your reasoning appears strikingly in your mode of ac-
couDting for my own conversion to the faith I now hold. cc In the flrst place you wrought
out an independent investigatton of the doctrine of the Resurrection, and found confirma-
tion in every point from Swedenborg." Very well; ill were satisfied with the truth of my
own conclusions on that subject, and subsequently found them abundantly confirmed by
SwedeDborg, bad I not ample reason for coDsidering him al in the truth also 1 Could I
have been faithful to the laws of evidence to come to any oth~r result 1 But, cc In the eec-
ond place, your work on the Millennium, pre?sred you to look for the Second Advent of
tbe Redeemer at a time coeval with the introduction of Swedenborg's system.1t And whac
tbeD 1 Was my expectation built upon a sound or a hollow basis? If I had pre,iously
.wed it in my OWD mind, tbat the event of the Second Advent was to be fixed to the era
specified, and I found in Swedenborg's writing the dt'claration of a coming of the Lord
at tbat period which answered, in my view, all the demands of the locred predictioOI,
had I not another valid reason for listening to and acceding to his assumptions as a Di-
yiue measenger 1 Again. after speaking of my experience or observation iD JW!gard to va-
.ioas pqcholOlical phenomena, you ask, "Has any other living man of equal intelligenct'
and leholuabip with yourself, 10 much to predigpo!e him in favor of any system ot truth
u YOD bave had to ally yOll to Swedenborg? Can I be .urprised that you are where you
are 1 Can you expect another to follow without a similar conjuncture, an unprecedent-
ed one. or by a process different from your own 1" Most allured., I expect it, tor. as
tbousand. have prec~ded me in tbe adoption oftbese views witbout rny experience, wh1
sbould Dot thou.nd. follow 1 Besides, you must anow me to insist that it waa Dot theM
collaterat eoincidenees that achieved my conviction, but the intrinsic truth or the disclo-
sures them!elves. The cir('umstances to which you allode, no doubt, operated to direct
and determine my attention to the writings themselves j but when this wal done, the work
was done. It was the positive and serious examination of the .ystem at its fountain head
that effected my conversioD, and the lame proeels, I will venture to predict, will eft"f!ct
fOUn. With aentimentl of bilb f81ard, I remain Joun. &e., G. B.
 232 ltli8cella7lY· [May,

MISCELLANY.

SWEDENBORG VINDICATED.
The following candid and generous testimonial appeared some time .iDee in .. The
Church Times," an Epiecopalian paper, though tbe Editor ha. very carefully headed il
with a disclaimer of fe8ponsibility fOf the opinions or statemenu of correspondenll. We
have no idea of the source from which it emanates, nor do we know any tbing more, than
is to be gathered from the reply, ot the tenor of the commuDication which caDed it fonh.
It is dated Baltimore.

MR. EDITO_,
R,wrmd and D,ar Sir .--1 take the liberty of calling y01ll' attentiOll to all &rtiele
which appeared iD 10ur 1I88ful paper of Aug. 17, 1848, headed U Swedenborgians io
the Cnitoo. States," in which a number of char~8 are preferred agaiDst Emanael
Swedenborg, 10 completely and utterly destitute of truth, that I thiDk they should
be e~08ed and corrected. It i. tbere said, "Swedenborg stated, that the ,.ear 1852
iI to tie decisive of the destiny of bis Church. If ite doetrine be Dot then exteIUIift11
embraced, it is to be aecoQnted .. false." Now, my dear air, I have beeR more or
Ieee cODversant with his writings, both philoeophical and theological, (gr Dearly 6ftJ
years; and I a88ue you, I have Dever therein met with the most diBtant hint at such
a sentiment, nor do r believe that any such 888ertion can be found iD any of his TO-
luminoU8 worb, nor that such an exprelBion ever fell from hie li~ to any ODe .poD
earth; for, in Ipeaking of the Church, he uniformly style8 it the Lord'S Chunh, not
Ai.; and it il certain, that he Dever attemJ.lted to raise a Church, or a IeCtariaD es-
tablishment, nor were eitber hp or his wrltingl ever made ale of for 8uch p~
by anyone, during his life. Aa 1,0 the DoclrintR promulgated in his Theological
Works being extensively embraced, that has alreadl taken place, long before the
year 1852, fOr they have been for many years estensive11 circulated, ~ and em-
braced throughout tbe whole ChriBtian world. They have been traulated into al-
most every language in Chriswndom, and received aDd embraoed ))1 1D&D1 both or
the clergy and laity in nearly every cootry in Europe.. In England, lDUlyof the
Re~ar Clergy ot the Eetablished Churc"b, have oordiaUy embraced them, and
preach them to their relpeetive congregatioDs.
It is also stated bI your writer. relpectin~ Emanuel Swedenborg, that && be !eject-
ed a lar~ portion of ~e Scripture8 as Dot UlIpired;" "and he al80 rejeeted most rL
the leadIng dootrin. of the Orthodox 8J8tem, lueh as the Trinity, the AtoDemeDt,
J ustificatioD by Faith, RegeneratioD by the Spirit of God, &Dd the Ree~tiODof the
Body." Thee assertion&, my dear air, are as wide from the truth, as the Eaat is
distant from tbe We8t; for the whole burtben of hiB Theology, from beFDing to
end, strenuously inculcates all those U leading doctrines" of ouiholy Catholic Church.
As to his "rejecting a large ])Ortion of the Soripturee," the real mct is, that he R-
jecttd none; but out of the 66 Books contaiDed iD. our Bible, he quotes liberally from
44 of them in illustration and proof of hie own ~catioD8. ADd as to the 001II-
~i8on of his system with that of Mohammed, the idea is perfectly ridiculous.
The writer of this communication hopea it may Dot be coDBidered obtrusive, ita
object being not to elicit or excite discU88ion, but merely to correct milrepreaeDta-
tions, and to'Vindieate the character of an illustrious member of our own Cburoh,
for such was Swedenborg. Hi, father was Biahop of W.t Gotha in the kiDadOlll oC
Sweden; tho &OD mUlt therefore haTe been Ixwn in th, Church, &lOBi probalilJ 6a~
riud ,n tA, Church, Iwougkt up in 11" Church, mOlt 888llredly li1Jed in th, Churda
during a long and protractjd life, and tlnally died in tla, Church, receiving the hoIl
Sacrament of the Lord's Su)per from the hands of an Episcopal Clergyman OD his
death-bed. Though the 80ltif a Bishop, he never enteT8d hlinselfinto holy Orders,
but continued an humble and'UlIefullayman to the end of his da)'B..
Pleue to excllSe, my dear .ut the liberty I have taken, and believe me to he
Re1'81"eDU,. aDd aa-eotioD&WJ :roan,
AJt E'P1KO.ALWl.
1):(
l..
J85~.] Notice. of Book,. 233

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

1.-TaE ANIB.lL KINGDOM, COftrid..,d .Anatomically, Ply,ically, 4nd PhilOloph;cally.

By EM.A.KUEL SWJ:DEKBORQ. Tr(Jn,lal,d from tll' Latin, by JAMES JOHN GARTH
'\-VILIWf80N. TfDO tJOlume. in one. St. Clainville, Ohio: Published by J. H. Wil-
liams. 1851.
We have here aB achievement worth recordiBg. The great work of our great
aathor ma the " A.aim&l KiDgdca"-wbich, by the way, aB he treats it, embraces only
the h1UD8ll bady--ectaaUy stereotyped and publiahed in an inland town in the State
oE OIaio. hd what is m.ore, the entire credit of the publication is due t4 private
aDd mlprofelllional enterpriee. What DO bookseller iD the country would have un-
dertakea haa been &8I1IJDed by a humble C)itisen or the West, and in the faee of great
dif&culties earried tDrotagb to ita eOD8QlDlD&tioa. This worthy individual has under-
fakeD tM work, Bot beoaase he bad wealth to lavish upon the eoterpriee, but be·
eaule he ba4 an ardent seal f~ the propagaQOD or those spiritual truths which find
a ICieotifto buis ill this wOIlderCol expose ()f the eooacmy of our frames. In view of
the immenee Jabar IIld oo.tlay which the get\iDg up of 81Ich a work must neeessarily
haw EVolved, we oanaot but feel that Mr. Williams ba8 laid an oblig&tioD on the
whole New Church iD ~ land, to come forward ad len. him all the aid in their
power in giving circulation to this priceless volDJDe. The stereotyping mast, we
ahcmd jaclge, have eoBt sevEn! thoa.-d. doUan, to _y nothing of paper, press-work,
ancl binding. The English editim hu been for eeveral yearI out of print, and a
very high price demanded for such occasiooal copies &8 might chance to be met with.
The woti: is BOW put withia the reaeh of an who may be disposed to pay aomewhat
I. . thaa half the priee of the ~gli8h, that is ~ .y, $4, or perhaps $3 75.
The eKecau<a of the work typograpbieally is not aD that we could have deaired.
A IBistake, we think, was made in adoptiDg the 88IDe type f~ the text and the DOtes,
.... the Jlft'll-Work evidently hu DOt been wen clOD8, as the imprMlioo iI obscure.
Bat we do not forget that the work was DOt intAmded by ita preeent publisher for the
metropolitan marb~ aDd therefore is not to be judged by a metropolitan standard.
I t is got up in plain 8I1bBtantial style, and in DO other style could it have answered the
ell. ofeheapB8I8, which the pubJisher hed in view. Still, we have our rears that
even New Church" eyes may have acquired 80 much of faatidiouane. from the
prevalent .tyle of book-printing and book-binding, that they wiU be too IittJe &~
tr&cted to the present re-print to make their interest in it remnnerative to the pub-
lisher. Thi.e we .hou1d deeply regret, for we think that the enterprise of Mr. \".
lays a valid eJaim t4 the eoDJiderate patroaage of the mea of the New Church.
0tiJ Clapp, Boston, Joh. ADen and Fowlers & Wells, New-York, and E. MendenhaU,
Ciaebmati, 0., bave die work oout&ntly OIl l&1e.

2.-TBlC SPDlITUA.L EXPosITIO. of tlu .Apor..alyp...e j a! dwiwd from. tlte teriting, of

tA. Hon. E1fIIJn.,1 S",edmOOrg, ill..tral,tl and coofirmed by ,A",imt Gad Modwn
o.thorUu.. Bg tl, Rev. AUGUaTUS eLIS.OLD, M. A. In !OfI.r oolumu. London.
1861.
The Apocalypse or
John, though confeaeedly the ob80lIrest book in the Sacred
CaDoD, hu beeD, from the fint, the most abundantly commented upon. The bibli-
234 [May,
ography of the book has already become voluminous. It is now enlarged by the addi-
tion of the four goodly vollllDee whioh we have the pleasure of aonoanciDg to oar
readers as published, and in the market. They oonstitute a most valaable acceesion
to the department oC 8&ored literature, and viewed 88 the product of a N. C. pent
and devoted to the confirmation of the N. C. exegesis of the Apocalypse, we eoatem.-
plate the work with an honest pride. Mr. Cli8lO1d's two previous volllJDeS-u A Re-
new of the Principles oC Apocalypticalloterpretation,"-had prepared us fora eeqael
of no ordinary interest, but we conle. to the agreeable surprise which has attended
our perusal, thus tar, oftheae elaborate pages. We are amued at the extent or
reading whioh has accumulated luoh a stupendous mU8 of illustrative matter, all
going more or lees directly to establish the 8Oundne&l of Swedenhorg'a exposition of
this remarkable book. Our own studies of the Apocalypee, in former days, had taken
aB over a pretty exteD8ive range of ita literature, but we now perceive what a ,..
t,rTa ineognittJ we hAd left wholly unexplored, and how rich are the testimoaiee to a
spiritual sense of these prophetic oracles which pro1Jably would D8ve~ haw been 1ft-
aented to the view of the N. C., but for the indefatigable labon of Mr. CIitBoId. EYeD
had they been discovered by others, the probabilities are extremely small that the,.
would have been made available to the Church, &8 the inevitable expeDM of publica-
tion, ooupled with the limited sphere of 8&le, would have deten-ed all the hOUBe8t
great and amall, from embarking in the enterprise. 10 the present ease, we eanoo'
but recognize a pecnHarly favoriDgprovidence, in the union of mental taste to pr0se-
cute, and worldly ability to publish, the rese&rebes contained in this work.
The plan whioh the author has adopted ia undoubtedly the beet f. his purpose.
He make8 the shorter or summary expositions of Swedenborg in the A.pot:alJP" R~
tlea/ed, the basis of his illustrative oitations, whieh occupy the place of the fuller in-
terpretatioDs given by SwedeDborg of each verse and phraee in eYery cODBeOUtiv8
verse throughout every chapter. The authorities thus adduced are coDected from
an immense variety of sources, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, and .11 bearing upon
the interpretation given by Swedenborg, and discloeiog affinities and parallelisms,
more or lees obvious, with its general tenor. The following may 88"8 aB a speci-
men of the method which prevails thJlOughou~ the work.
u SWEDENBORO, 'ApOCALYPSE REVEALED,' ohapter xi., verse 1;-
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod,' rignijies, that the faeu1~ and
U ,

power of knowing and seeing the 8tate of the ehurch in heaven and in the world wu
given him."
" HlLymo, A pocalypse, chap. xi. ; -
" , By a rttd we must understand that which is produoed by a reed, that is, Dil'i~
Seriph.'; because the ancients wrote with a reed. Whence also the reed itself is nol
without meaning j but it is SRld to be like unto a rotl.. For in the rod we are to UDder-
stand tbe rectitude or the Sacred Scripture. in wbich there is DO lifl. no error, as in tbe
books of philosophers, JewtI, and heretics, whose doctrine is full of falsehood. Sacred
Scripture, however, is in every part of it straight, and therefore is ri~btly compared to a
rod, as the Psalm iSl lay'; U.A straight rod i, the rod of thy kingdom. JII Otherwise: kiDgs
carry a rod in their hand al a sign of tbeir power, by which il exprelsed their regal
potDtT.' "
U So Primasius, Apoealypee xi., 1, who likewise observes that the ,."d is rightly

said to be like unto a TOll, because' the rod desi~ateB firmness byreuon of ita nam-
ra18trmgth, which is to be referred to the ,trmgt" offaith.' Similar is the interpre-
tation both of ,.eed and rod by Ambroee Ansbert. See here Gagne118."
U Marloratus, Apocalypse, chap. xi. 1 j -

U C After that John is instructed how great the force of God's word is, commission i.
liven him to view, judp, ODd discern the church. which is the very temple of God ac·
185~.] Notice, of Boolu. 235
eotding to tbe doctrine of Paul. who laith, ff The temple of God is holy which is you."
I Cor. Hi. 1,; 2 Cor. vi. 1ft! (Gasper Megander.)W
~ Patrick Forbes, Apocalypse, chap. xi., 1, p. 88;-
et.Here the effect in some degree is showed, of that which typically was spoken of John
io the last verse of the former chftpter, in that the little book, being eaten, giveth to the
eaters Cl fanJlr to due"", tlu trw clurch from tJu fal. ; by uei.lanc8 and instigation of
the ,reat Bogel who giveth it.' tt
U Brightman, Apocalypse, chap. xi. 1, p. 347;-
It • The r~trl that was giYen, II a potI1eT that was aranted to hOlD t1&f truth, whereby tbe
saints might measure the length and breadth of tbe true and lawful worship, lest that in
eo great a contusion tbey should stray from a just proportion,' &c."
u SWEDJ:l'BORO, &APOCA.LYPSIC REVEALED,' veree 1;-
" , And the aDgel stood by, -yinS, Rile and meaaure the temple of God, and the
altar, and them that worabip therem,, .ignijiea, the Lord's presence and his com-
ID8Dd that he should see and know the etate of the church iD the Dew heaven."
U Pareus, Apocalypee, p. 312 ;-

•• • He is commaaded therefore to Ineaeare the temple, &e., being a plain allueion (as be-
f'ore I showed) unto the propbecy of Ezekiel, chap. sI.. where the an~el i.s commanded to
measure tIle fIaD tttnpz. with a reed; iD which vision God promised the restoration of
tbe temple destroyed by tbe Babylonians, not indeed materially but spiritually under the
Gospel. For tbe outward tempJe built by Zerubbabel after their retllrn, dotll not at all
answer to the dimensioos of tbat vision, neither shall anyone be like unto it; and there-
fore that measuring was a prophecy of the (• •r, rtformati_ of tlte .piritwJl templ, by
Christ. By tbe tike metaphor the restoring of Jerusalem is promised in Zecb. L, 1ft ;
C My boose ehaU be buHt in it, saith tbe Lord of hosts, and a Hue sball be stretched forth

UpoD Jerusalem.' "

U TychoniuB, Worb or Augustin, voL xvi. p. 639;-

.. , Measure the temple and the altar and them tbat worship therein.' He orders tI" tIe-
~OWMt to be taknt of the cburcb, and that it be prepared. for the last; a8 also of those that
worship therein. e • • • But tbe court which is witbout the temple,' &0. 'l"hoee are the
eOllrt who seelD to be iD the cburcb, and yet are witbout, whether heretics or wickedl,
liviDg catholics." ~
~, JOBes in his Lecture. on the Apocalypse observes, that to ".'alure tlu ttfllpl, sig-
r
nifies here to 'ill'titute~ an inquiry into -t7", church Mr. Lord, in his Exposition, p.
250, tilat it signifies to ,_" arullt4rnllu trutJu tlJuglU i. tIN &riptuTII.' See alio
Poole'a Synopsia."
U Vitringa, Apocalypse, p. 450;-

u, In general by tbe 1'''1'11 and holg ~jt, are understood Christian people. in 80 far u
tbey constitute a church and polity (civitat,m). That by temple is understood the Claris-
titln eburch, in so f-ar as in it and its communion God is publicly worsbiped in Chrlat
Jesu' t no one denies, and the aaered Scriptures clearly teacb. Which same cburch 00-
curs in the prophecies undel'the emblem of the holy city, or mystical Jerusalem, for rea-
SOIlS known to aIt and unnecessary for me now to explain, Is. Ix. 11 j Apace xxi. 2.' "

l: Sir lsaao NewtoD, Observations upon the Apocalypse of St. John, p. 272;-
U , This measuring bath reference to Ezekie-l'. measuring the temple of Solomon; there
the whole temple, including the outward court, was measured, to signify that it should be
r~6.at ita the lGttw dart. Here the eourte* of the temple and altar, and they who wor.hip
therein. are. only measured to signify thl hMilding of Cl ucOftd ttmpl, for those that are
sealed out of all the tribes of Israel, and worship in the inward court of sincerity anti
truth; but John is commanded to leave out the outward court, or outward form ot reli-
gion, and church government, because it is given to the Bab,loniaD Gentiles.' "
u A~ain, p. 284, the llUDe author observes j -
.c • By killing all that will not worship him and his Image, the
fiflt temple, inuminated
by the lamps of tbe !even churches, ie dtmolilJud, and a tlno ttflfple built for them who
• .. , \Vitb the buildinp thereon,· at the author had previously defined his meaning."
tae Notice, of &ob. [May.
win Dot worship him; and the outward court or this.,., lmaplt or outward rorm tA.
church is given to the Gentiles who worship the beast Rnd his image; while they WbD
will not worship him are sealed with the name of God in their forehead•• and retire intD
the inward court of this tMtI1 ttmple.'"

Cl Now we have already seen, and shall ~et have fartber to 8e8, that by tnRpII is
here signified a churdt, thus that to rebuild the ternplt is to rebuild the ihurrA, anti
hence by a RN temple is meant a ftftD church. This is clearly ihe view or Sir leaac
Newton; as indeed it previously was of Sebastian Meyer and others. Accordingly
when we refer to the vision in Ezekiel, to which, as Sir Isaac obeerves, the measur-
ing of the temple here alludes, we find the same general viewrlthe sabject confirm-
ed by Bishop Lowth, Scott, and others."
U From the foregoing interpretations we learn *hat the measuring or the temple
here commanded, has reference to the measuring of the temple commanded in the
prophet Ezekiel; and (1.) that this measuring presignified the building of a new
material temple for the Jews after the destruction of tne former by the BabyloniaD8;
(2.) that the bnUdin~ oC this new material temple, and the new allotment of the
land, was typical of tile new spiritual temple to be built up by Christ, and the new
or Christian dispensation; (3.) that it prefigured also a new spiritual temple to be
boUt ap in the latter days, after the former had been destro~ by Antichrist. It
.hould moreover be observed! that if the .me prophecy apphes to the aeoond ~t­
ual temple as it did to the first, then, if in the first case it Implies a new dispeosatioa
or economy, 10 it does in the second.
U Are then Protestants prepared to .y that at the Reformation a new church was
established, and a new di~D8atiODcommenced 1 For nothing short ofUlis will an-
swer to the symbols. It would seem indeed 88 if eome Protestant oommentawra
were diepoeed to ado~t this language: the larger class, however, woald I'e}>udiate it.
Hence Mr. Pearaon, Christian Advocate at Cambridge, OD the .. Prophetie81 Charac-
ter of the Apocalypse,' p. 172, observes that the prophecy could be fulfilled only par-
tially in the Reformation, and that its complete folfilinent must refer to events in eome
subsequent period, inasmuch as the Reformation ia not adequate to t~SJlDbola here
employed. 'Hence also,' says he, p. 173, 'we -may well belieVe, that 80 great a
ohange in the moral and religioos eondition of mankind may be aceotb~ '6J' eome
evident display of Almighty power not inferior to that whioh accompanied the fir-'
triumphs of the Gospel over the powers and darkness of the heathen world;' whicb
I8eJDS to impl,. an approaching change not inferior to that of whioh we have beeD

~.subjeot will howewr be further eollllidered iD oar rebWb upc>D the New
Be.vellS, the New Earth, and New Jerusalem."-Vol. Ill. p. I-IT.
The striking character of the ooincidences here exhibited is obvioas, and in the
~hO'll8&Dda of paragraphs which precede and follow the above scarcely one will be
found which does not disoover ,om,point of analogy with SwedeDboJg's explicationa.
The N. C. reader is astonished to find to what extent, under tbe ~ divenity of
particular interpretations, a general inftUJ: of truth has diotated tbe adoption of a
spiritual sense in the solution of the Apocalyptio enigmas. The phraseology or
oourse 'is exceedingly unlike that with which we are familiar in the Writings or our
illuminated ScnDe. but the burden is palpably the same. '
We have been BtruCk, too, with ihe fact that the fUther we retire into the pat,
the more nearly do the expoeitiODl approximate to the tmth. The tendenoy to &
groa literalism beoomes more manifest &8 we near the period in whioh we live, when
it has reached ita acme, and ran to Beed in the absurdities of MiUeuarianiam and
MUlerism. The oommeDtaton of two or three C8Dtuiea baok,lftloh •• Aloa8&1', Cal-
met, Cocceius, Lapide, Zanchius, ?tfayer, Menochius, and others, are for the mod
part OD an entirely di1ferent scent in ~heir perquisitioo8 into the hidden drift or
these oraoles. Yet we desiderate in the whole tribe of expositors prior to Sweden-
1859.] Notice' of BooM. 187
borg, the development or the genuine law or interpretation 81 .pplio-ble to the book
berore 111, and the evidence is cODclUBive that amdng them haTe been HOme who were
not only aware of the necessity of a olew to the prophetio riddles which had h8Ter
yet been found, bat who even became 80 muoh of propheta themaelvel, a.a to predict
the rising of an enlightened hierophant poeeeBBiDg in himeelC all the requisite quali-
fications for removing the veU from these deep mysl8riea. The following will be
8eeIl to be a most rema.rkable vaticiDation to this etrect. It OCC1U'8 in a letter of
Mr. box to Mrs. Hannah Moore, found in hi. RtrlUJi,." Vol. Ill. p. 213.
,& Probably I shall not live to Bee what I am wiahingfor, but I haf1enot th, ,mallest

doubt of iu laking plau., and that at no very distant period. Som, mltTFtt,r, one or
a thousand, will come forth and throw 80 new and so bngJd a Jig/lt, both uJ>C?n ha·
man nature and upon Scripture, and will 80 conrinoingly demonstrate that there ia
a genuine philosophy (most profound in its prinoiples, most sublime in its results,
yet when laid open 80 self-endent as to be irresistible) whioh is common both to ha-
man nature and Holy Scripture, and which COD8titUtes the most exquisite harmony be-
tween them; that capablo minds (and luch are multiplying) wdlyield thelD8elvea
to the view thus opened upon them, with a fullness of satisfaction and a complete-
ness of acquielCenC8, never, a8 I believe, till then exemplified."

We have already expressed our astonishment at the boundl811 ra~ge of readibI

Minced in theae volumes. It would not be easy to name a work on the ApocalYJ*t
which doea not somewhere find a notice in our author·s p~ but it would be a mis-
take to suppose that his authorities are conftned simply to those who have comment..
ed upon the visionl of John. He aocumulates evidence also, when it is neoessary.
of the truth of those interpretations which Swedenborg givee of certain paseages in..
volving a charge against the ohurches of Rome and the Reformation, of the grossest
corruption of the true system of doctrine. Thus, for instance, under the head of the
d«ItA of tIu vitnl.'" he brings forward a multitudino1l8 amy of citatiOll8, teaching
beyond all question the tenet of justification by faith alone, while, at the same timo,
he adduces proof that others beaides Swedenborg have regarded this as the doctrine
Dot or• standing, but of a falling eharch, and the canker-worm at the heart of all
true faith. Were it only for fumiahing the advocate of N. C. truth to his hand, ..nth
the weapons by whioh he is to carry on his warfare with falsity, he would have ao-
complished a .nice of incaloulable value, for the quintesoenoe of scores of venerable
tomes ia here conoentrated, and a world of labor spared in taming over their Dl1lIty
pages in confirmation of positions knOWD to be true, but Dot withoat learned toil
shown to be 80. The old oaroases whioh have fed 80 long the eagles gathered t&-
gether are here made to yield. tribute of sweetnees as did that of the lion to ~­
BOD. In the name of the New Church, to wh<18einterestl this great work, the fruit
of years of indefatigable labor, and a monument of princely munificence, is dedicat-
ed, and in the name of sound learning and biblieal literature, we reDder our pro-
Coundeat gratitnde to the author of the U Spiritual Espoeitien."

3.-l\IAN : -his Religion and his World. By the Rev. HORATIt1S BOND, ICelso, Saot·
land. New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1851.
Our attention was directed to this work by " friend who thought he detected in i'
a strongly marked vein of N. C. thought. Our own inspection has disclosed 'to us
enough, at least to aooount for our friend's opinion, though oar mental eye peroeivee
or
s. vaat expanse stretching between the utmost limit the author". teaching and the

•
 Notice, of Boole,. May,
outerm08t boundaries of the N. C. doctrines. Still the book bu & stirring tone, and
BOunds a vigoroua note of alarm in the ears oC the euy religionist of the preeent da1
who has such cODvenieDt methods of Batiafying coD8Cience while, at the 1&ID8 time,
he does not let go his hold of the world.
The following paragraphs dord a fair specimen of the searchiDg analysis of the
writer, and our readers will see that they savor IOmewhat of that peculiar pungency,
in the enunciation of truth, which is characteristic of our illumined .uUlar. His ~
marks are founded on the words of Jeremiah (ch. :uiii., 30.), U Behold, I am against
the Prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words everyone from his neighbor."

U There is a certain olass of prophets here described by DO means like the common
run of faIse teachers. The cralS is a peculiar one: I do not .ya small one, but
still a peculiar one; and while the description suits t,achers, it equally suits bearen
and learners. God does not accuse them of setting up a false reli~ion in opposition
to His. He does Dot charge them with uttering lies, or misleadmg the peo~le by
perverting and distorting tlie truth. It is Dot' corruption of his word' (2 Cor. n. 17)
that He is speaking o~ nor of a religion founded upon 8uch a corruption, but a far
more subtle and specious thing. Nor does He condemn them for uttering words of
their own-words that were not His, whether true or false. This is not the evil
complained of, and the sin denounced. He allows that the words spoken are really
BiB, for He calla them 'my words;' but His accusation is, that they were 1101 laonutly
-t:011U by j that, instead of being obtained from the ODe lawfulaource-tha.t is, Him-
Belf-they were surreptitiousl, aeized upon from other&--thel were .tolen. His
charge is, that, instead of comIng directl~ to Him, &8 the fountain head, to be taught
from His own lips, and by His own Spint, these men got all their religious know-
ledge, all their acquaintanoe with His words., at Beoond-hand, thus preferring man'8
teach~ to God's, eschewing everything like personal contaot and communication
with GOd, and th\18 foregoing the freshness and power which words comin~ strai~ht
from His mouth could not fail to poeeess, u well u forfeiting the blessing WIth which
God accompanies all that He conveys to the BOut.
U But how, or in what oiroUlDltanoes, may we be .id to steal God's words from

our neighbor! This is a question of vast moment, inumuch as it leads to an inquiry

regarding counterfeit reli~on; that is, religion which, while admitting nothing falae
into the creed on which It bues itae~ is yet, after all, a mere fac-!imilt,'and noi the
authentio reality-religion whioh is thoroughly and eaential1y human, while, in all
its visible lineamente aDd confeaeed articlee of faith, it is divine; for man-s perver-
Bity is seen juat u much in his counterfeiting or mimicking the true, &8 in his up-
holding the f&lle.
u 1. We 'steal God'. words' from our neighbor when we imbibe our religious opi-
mons or theology from education, or hearaay, or companionship. We have been
taught certain articles of belief, and we have never either questioned their tru~ or
gone about to establish them 80 al to set them beyond question. In 8uch a
case we have stolen God's words from our fellow men. They may be all strictly true
and Divine, :ret the, have not been honestly and lawfully obtained; we have Dot
~tten them from Hun who alone ean give us true poese.ion of them-fJuch poeaee-
mon of them as will make them entirely our own, by His gift and impartation.
u 2. We do 80 when we adopt opinions, however BOund, upon human authority. In
that cue our faith stand! in 'the wisdom of men;' and the fear of God is taught us
by man's precept. It we receive truth because our fathers received it, ours is a he-
reditary creed; if we reoeive it because the Church has transmitted it to us, it is a
traditional creed; it we receive it because of its venerable agf'" it is an antiquarian
creed; if we receive it because great, or even good names are affixed to it it, is a man-
taught creed; if we receive it because reason has wrought it out and recommended
it, it is an intellectual creed. In all theee cues it is a human creed, resting upon
human authority. It can be traced no higher than a human source, however true in
iteelf. In other words, it has not been hone8tly come by-it has been' stolen.'
God Himself is the only authority we oanrecogniso; and' GOd has said it' is the only
resting-place for our faith. If it contents itlelf with any other foundatioD, it is
1852.] Notice, of Book,. ~89

either crednlity or unbeHe( or both to~ther. ' God bath spoken' is the one founda-
tion of our faith; not our fathers held It, or our churchrecelved it, or our authorized
creed embodies it, or our best divines have maintained it, or reason has demonstrated
it; for to believe what God has said is one thing, and to believe it simply because
He has .id it, is another. Itie quite ~ble to receive God's words, yet not to re-
ceive them 80Iely beca1l88 He has spoken them.
u 3. We do so, when in our inquiries, we cODsult man before consulting God-when
we study first and pray afterwards, or when we study without pra:rer at an. In such
study much apparent progress may be made in apprehending 'God's word;' much
troth may be reached, 10 that oar orthodoxy will be unchallengeable even in its min-
Utest/ol'mw<Z, but it will not be laonutly attained-it will be 'stolen;' notgotten from
ita true Owner, but derived from man or from self; God not being consulted in the
matter. Ab! it is not, first the study ana then the closet-but, first the closet and
then the study; it is not first the commentary and then the Bible-but first the Bible
and then the commentary; it is not, flnt theology and then Soripture-but, lrat
Scripture and then theology; else we are but purloiners of Divine truth, not hon.
purchasers of Him who has said, 'Buy the truth and sell it not.' It is in fellowship
with Father, Son and Spirit, that we must acquire our orthodoxy, and arrange our
~1DSt and ~t hold of th~ form of sound words. and etablish ourselveB in the faith.
If this eonneXlon be dialocated, if this order be reversed, then are we pursuing aD
unlawful and unblest course; we are stealing God's words from our neighbor instead
of getting them where He would have us get them, in a far truer and more blessed
way-direotly from Himself.
u 4. We do 80 when we borrow the religious or spiritual experience of others, and
uae it &8 if it were our own, plying ourselves with It: and endeavoring to make our
souls to undergo it, as necessary to our religious character. A stolen or borrowed
experience is just as unprofitable and hateful as stolen or borrowed truth. It is jU8f;
another form of the lIame evil, another development of the same diahonest pro~eD­
Bity; and it is, ifpoesible, more sad and perniCIOUS than the other. Yet it is no le88
common. Perhaps a certain standard of experience is set up, and it is given out that
all must oonform to this. Conversion must consist of a certain number of items ar-
ranged in certain theological order; it must embrace and embody certain classified
elements; it mut originate in a specified way; it must proceed according to fixed
and unalterable rules; it must count up a eertain number of definite stages!"
U Sach are some of the ways in which many get p088e881on of the truth of God,

and acquire their religious experienoe. I do not deny that what they have gotten
is truth; all that I aftirm is, that they have not gotten it in the laWful way, and
from the accredited source. It may not be 'from beneath i' but then it is assUredly
not trom above: it is from around and from within.
U In opposition to theae disoreditable ways of obtaining truth and e~rienoe, we
must learn the only lawful one. We must draw them fresh from God. He is ever
willing to impart them. There is no reluctanoe on His part to teach and to enlighten.
He does not stand upon ceremony with us, nor compel us to stand on ceremony with
Him. I I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will
guide thee with mine eye' (Ps. uxii. 8). 'It i. written in the prophets, And theI
shall be all taught of GOd. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and learned or-
the Father, cometh unto me' (John vi. 45)."

This will be admitted to be a very keen and discriminating insight into the true
purport of the Divine Word as bearing upon spiritual theft i and, though there may
be no other passage that comes quite 80 near home to aNewohurchman as the above, yet
there is much in the volume that is most forcibly put in the way of laying open the
shortcomings of the piety of this age.

4.-THE ScIENTIFIC BA.SIS 0 .. HOMCEOPJ.THY. By'VILLIAII H. HOLCOMBE, M. D.

Cincinnati: H. W. Derby & Co. 1852.
The present volume presents us with the result. of a proce88 of earnest and honeet
inquiry, whioh ended in the complete abandonment of a former theory and practioe,
fUG Notice, of Boole,. [May,
aDd the adoption of another. The change wu wen OODIideled aDd 4eliberate.
U After a whole year of lJuperticial investigation, I pronounced eentenae agaiDlt Ho-

mooopaUly, which wu only reversed after six month. of r,al study and real experi-
ment. An untoreeeen argument with an eminent Hommopatbiet happi1ylt.imulated
me to push my inquiries. But he who venturee to pronounoe an opinion OD the lRIb-
ject of Hommopo.thy, before he has spent an entire year in the earnest dudy of the
science or Pathogeneais, and before he has tested the medicinee practically, both OIl
him8elf ad others, many times, and in many ~OreDt oueI, does a great iDjutiae
to Hommopathy, and a still greater injuatice to his own profeational character.'"
The le argument" to which allusion i8 here made was probably that which found a
place iD the pages of the Repository a year or two aiDOe, when the author's mgn.-
tare, &: W. H. H.," was attaohed to a very able article iD reply to Mr. De ChlLl'llll.
How BOund hu been his conversion the reader is here furnished with the means of
judging from the tenor of an U argument" puraued with great vigor, originality, BUd
power of style, through & range of three hundred pa~. Neither the scope or our
journal nor our own knowledge of the BUbject will enable us to do full jutice to the
volume by going into a detaft of ita reasonings. But we have examined it sufticiently
to be able to promise a rich treat to those who find interest in the moet tborough-go-
iDg diJeUBlion of the pbilOlOpbioal principles which lie lA the buia of the whole sci-
ence or Disea. and Cure.

5.-DAILY .bIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS: ~ing Original Reading, for a Ymr, on IUhje,u frora
SaeT~ History, Biography, Geography, Jfntiquiti"and 7'heolog)/ ;tBpeciall!lduig»ed
for tlat Family Circle. By JOHN KITTO, D.D., F.S.A., Editor Of Th, PictOf-ial Bibl"
Cyc.lopedia of Biblical Literatur" ~c., te. New York: R. Carter &. Brothen.
S vola.
AmOtlg all the names which in our own day have acquired eclat in the field of
Biblioallearning and exposition, there is none that we feel disposed to honor more
linoerely than that of the author of the prell8llt work. At a former period, when
oar own labors were chiefly bestowed in this department, we became acquainted
with the work-" The Pictorial Bible"-which first introduced him to the Christian
public, and trom that and hie U History and Geography of Palestine" derived, per-
h&pe, more aMiltanoe in our comments on the letter of the Saored Volume, 80 far ..
matters of sacred topography, ancient monument&, and oriental manners, custom£',
laws, &a., &0., were conoerned, than from any other source. To the value of hie
uplaDatiOD8 in thMe respects we have always been prompt to bear & very emphatic
testimony. With the change that has come over our views in reg&rd to the true
genius and structure of the inspired Word, it is but natural that the estimate of the
vallle of all luch works, our own amOllg the rest, should be very considerably modi-
fied, to.y the least. We perceive, of course, that 'there is a deeper reach in the
holy oracles than his explanations recognize, and one depending upon laws worthy
his most serious investigation; but we are Dot on this aocount insensible to the great
merit, Critical and historical, of the present" Illustrations." He has brought together
in them a vast amount of literal elucidation, and furnished the material for a series
of profitable moral reftectiob8. Though designed for family reading, it is oot in its
leading features preci8ely devotional, and if we were to take the style of these e.ays
.. a oriterion of the demands of the Christian world, we should be conatrained to
M1, that ~ey were .tided with far 1e88 than would be requisite to feed a truly
185t.] Notice, of Boob.
epiritual mind. We observe, however, with pleaaJUre, that a more practioal vein
penadee thOle reftectioDl whioh are intended for the Sabbath of each week.
\Ve perceive that, 88 a general charaoteristio of Mr. Kitto'8 expository remarks,
&hey IRlppose the literal truth of moet of ihe antediluvian &Dd P08tdiluvian reCords
to a grea_ extent than we should have antioipated from the nature of his 8tudiee
and the liberal tone of interpratation wbiob. marked the le Cyolopedia" that appeancl
UDder his auspioee. Thus, for instance, in regard to the pualing intimation of the
commerce of the la 8OD8 of God" with the "daughters of men" in an early portion
of Genesis, at\er stating and excepting to a variety of 801utiOlll, he remarks:-
"Taking the text aB it stands, and trying to comprehend what it meana to state,
without any wiBh to extort from it a meaning which might consist better with our
own ideas, we are bound to Bay, that the intrinsic evidenoe appears to us to be in
fa Tor of the opinion, that the sacred reoord means to tell us, that beings not of mortal
race attached themselvee to the daughters ofmen. . . Although it would not be wile
positively to assert this to be the only pOlBible interpretation of this OblOur8 tran8action,
it oertainly hu the advantage ofsimplicity, and of taking the text in ita obvious mean-
ing." But when the simplicity or an interpretation lands us in absurdity, it haslOlt
all ita recommendation. How oould purely spiritual beings-the inhabitants of
heaven-fall in love with women dwelling on the earth, and mbjeot to the COD-
ditioD8 of mortality 1 And how could women reciprocate an affection for husbands
who, for Ute want of material bodies, could neither be seen nor touched ~ How
much more rational the spiritual interpretation-to wit, that the U IOns of God" de-
note the thoughts of the understanding, and the U daughters of men" the luatB of the
will, the conjunotion of which produces eviIB of giant dimenmoDS! So of the ser-
pent in Eden. He does not in the least call in question the reality of a serpent'.
presence and agency in the transaotion related; and to the question, How could
a mere serpent tempt Eve 1 he answers, u that it lay in the repe,ted use by the
Berpent of the forbidden fruit in her presence, without any of the apparent e1I'ecte
upon him which she had been taught to dread. The influenoe of this example,
and the thoughts that hence arose in her mind, are then represented, agreeably
to the genius of oriental and figurative language in the form. of a conversation."
But why is it not equally agreeable to the oriental style of instruction, to con-
sider the serpent himself a symbol as well as his action, and thus avoid the mani-
fold inconveniences of the literal construction ~ If the suggestion might hope to
reach the author's ear, we would respectfully commend to his perusal that ohapter
in 1rh. Rendell'. "Antediluvian History" which treate oftlUs subject, and by that we
8hould hope that he might b, drawn to the consultation of the Arcana itaelf iD whioh
& new world of exposition is opened to view.
But we have much more to commend than to cavil at in the volumes before UI.
They afford a maI8 of rich reading to those who are intent upon mastering the" sense
of the letter of revelation, as the long and oareful thought which the author is known
to have given the subject, and his intimate acqnaintance, from a pe1"8Onal80journ in
that region, with the manners, custom. and ideu of the Eastern nations which mOlt
nearly resemble the ancient Hebrews, 88 well 88 with the geography and the pbJli-
oal conditiOll of the Bible lands, give him advantages in this field of rele&rch to which
few, very rew of the biblioiate of the present day can lay olaim.
 Editorial Item,. [May,

EDITORIAL ITEMS.
The Providence Mirror states that the U Spiritual1oke" or A. J. Davis reeitilll to all
audience a lecture which Rev. R Busbnell would deliver nut eYeniDg, U ,.""..,.ll.
'I'tN, and that Mr. D. has done the like repeatedly-tbat he delCribed to one of bis audi-
ences the tumult and bloodsbed in Paris at the time of Louis Napoleon's asarpadOll, be-
fore tbe tidings had reached tbis country-of all which facta (it mys) there are abondaut
witnessel. We have ourselves convened with an intelligent gentleman who was at Hart-
ford a few days after the occurrence took place, and who made special inquiries OD the
subject, and be .lsurelUI that the {aet il beyondqueatioD, there beinga. manyaltweoty
or tbirty witnesses who attended both Lectures, and can testify to their substantial ideo·
tity. The matter receives still , ...ther conflrmation from the following letter recently pub-
lished iD tbe Tribune:
HAB170..D, 20th Match, lS~2.
Rouc. G••nET, Bsq.•
,. Dlar Sir :-Under the title of • Spiritual 10ke.' a ehort article appeared in tb~ col-
umns ot your paper a few days sinoe, relative to an ocourrence which lOOk place laeeiy at
Hartford. It appears to be causing some discussion here-fof, OD the one band, many
think it strange that in 80 impartial a paper as 71, Trihtu, facts which came under
their own observation should appear as fiction. C'r a jolu, while on the other, owing 10
error in dates. and BOrne eXftggeration, Tfu Hartford COtfnJ.t appears to doubt the uuth
or a decided case of Clairvoyance on the part of Mr. A. J. Davis.
Cl On the J ~th December last, which was sbortl, after Rev. Dr. BushneU had Kinn pub-

lic notice of his intention to deliver a cour. of lectures on Suptrutu.ra'iam, Mr. Davis de-
livered a lecture here, at the close oC which he gave a general outline, and also particular-
ized much of a lecture wbich Dr. Bushnell would deliver on the evening of tbat day, and
if requi.ite I can obtain for you the testimony of quite a number of the good citizens of
Hartford, who were prelent on that day at both lectures, tbat the lecture delivered by Dr.
Bushnell was in method and terms exactly what Mr. Davis bad predicted it would be.
11 With luch facilities as Mr. Davis eYidend, enjoy. for reviewing, it is no "ooder tbat
his Review (just publisbed) of Dr. B.'s lectures, Ihould Dot only not be considered as a
jolt" but be attracting considerable attention.
M I beg to enclOle my card. VUlT••• •

It may be an item of interest to many of onr (riends from abroad who may cbaDce 10
spend the Sabbath in the city, and desire to attend New Church worship, to be informed
that the house recently occupied by the First Society in 8th st, 1.Ial been sold to the R0-
man Catholics, and that on and after the first Saltbath of May, they will enter upon the
occupancy of the large and convenient ucture Room ot the StuyYeaant Institute, in Broad-
way. just abov~ Bleecker. The preaching engagement oC tbe Editor oftbe Repository with
the Society will cease at thst dRte, and he will be ready to enter into arrangemeots for
lecturing on the Sabbath at sucb towns and villages In tbe vicinity a8 can be easily reacb-
ed by railroad. and boah on Saturday, enabling him to retum OD the ensuing Monday.

The le Spiritual nlfgrap1a" Is the title of a weekly paper to be i.ued in this city. com-
mencing the first week in May, designed. we understand, to meet a general demand, b, fur-
nisbinl an earthly channel through which the facts and communicatioDs now emanating
from the Spirit World may be collected together and presented tor the benefit of mankind.
According to the Prospectus. it le will be devoted to an impartial preaentation of tbe evi-
dence of Intercourse between the natural and spiritual worlds, and communicatioDs of
general interest from "piritlt through whatever medium, and wherever they may ha"
been given, and bowever diverse the feDtiments may be in themselYeI, or from thOle held
by mortals; to the end that all the fleta iD epiritual phenomena, and all the eeadmeata
expreued by Ipirita, may b3 brought toplbfr iD ODe .heet, and made aooellible 10 e~J'1
 •
J.852.J Obituary. 243
person--energizing thought, progress, and 50clal intercourse, and exerting their influence
in harmonizing and elevating mankind. Other business resources of tile Publisher pre-
elude the necessity of his depending upon this enterprise tor support. Nor will he accept
or any pecuniary profit that may accrae from its publication; bat be will from time to
1ime 10 illcrease the issue or size of the paper, or reduce its price, as to graduate the terms
to the standard of ita actual cost, that subscribers may have the Cnll benefit of their money,
aDd feel a persooal interest in its wide cireu lalion."
The paper will be published every Saturday, at 81 50 per annum, payable in advance.
Orders and communications to be addressed to Cbarles Partridge, No. 3 Cortlal1dt-street, ·
New-York.

The first N. 1. Society in this city blls tendered to Rev. Mr. De Cbarml, or Philadel.
phia, an invitation to supply the pulpit Cor three months, commencing with the lIrst of
May. They have also resolved, at " recent meeting, to withdraw from their atated. con-
nection with the General Convention. though still professing their willingness to ca-op-
erate with that body in the accomplishment of any important use for the benefit of the
Church.

We would especially direct attention to the letter of Mr. Saxton, under tbe bead of Correa-
pond~nee. It win be .eeD that his very important aDd useful million 18 likely to be sus-
pended, unless efficient aid Is at once afforded him. Any thing entrusted to us for the pur-
po*! sball be faithfully applied. His present address we are unable to give. though we pre-
same a letter directed either to Cleveland or Cincinnati, Ohio, would reach him.

We learn that Rev. Mr. De Charms, of Philadelphia, proposes to revive immediately the
U Newcburchman," so tar, at least, as to publish an .. Extra" number, ODe portion of whiob,
we understand, ,,-ill be devoted to a defence of Honlmopathy, against its New Church as-
sailants.

A handsome pamphlet edition of Rich's I I Sketch of Swedenborg and his Writing"" has
just been publisbed by ,Re,v. Ja~ Fox, at Detroit, and is tor aale by John Alien, 139 Nal-
laD-street, New-York. This is one of the very best Memoirs of our autbor for geueral cir-
culatioo. Price 12 1-2 centJ.

The first No. of Rev. H. Weller'. new publicatioo, U The Cri.il," ha. just made itl ap-
pearaDce. We shall probably refer to it hereafter.

\Ve have just learned that Hindmarsh's manuscript History orthe New Churcb, refer-
red to in the note on page 220, ot lhis No., will lOon be pllblished in England. The iD-
formation cOlnes through the Rev. Mr. Worcester, of Boston.

OBITUARY.
TBa little circle of N. C. Receivers in Syracuse, N. Y., bave been recently called to
mourn tb~ IO~8 of RrcBAB.D S. ~OR"~"Q, Esq., wbo died Marcb 17th, aged about 32
years. H.s disease was consumption, Induced, doubtless, by a general neuralgia of seve-
ral years star ding. which destroyed hi. heahb, and rendered Ilil throat, bronchia, and
luogs peculiarly liable to be affected by colds. For Bome time' before his death his peculiar
neuralgic Buffering! were allayed, but his lungs bRd become too much aff~cted to bts cured
and be gradually sunk under a barralsing cough and copious expectoration. '
Mr. Corning officiated for several years as a clergyman of tbe Presbyterian Church a,,;I
maintained a high ltanding, but not approving of the ~vival measures of Me.r•• Fir
 OhilUllry. [May, 1852.
Burcharcl and Littlejohn, be came into collision with many ot that church wbo.ere de-
termined to Illstain their measure.; difficulties ensuAd, and Mr. Corning finally left tho
Ministry in disguat and took up the profession of the law.
It may readily be conceiyed that this OOUfee would procure fOf him maDy bitter enemie1l_
It did so, and they were vindiotive and implacable. Added to this, tbe peculiarJy irrhat-
lng character of the nervol1s sufferings under which he was laboring affected hitn unplea-
santly, and it w0l11d indeed be strange if at all times he bore the abuse he received "-ith
that patience and forbearance that might have been deeirable.
Near three years ago the works of Emanuel Swedenborg were thrown in his wa" aDd,
aided by the friendship and kindness of the Reeeivers in this city, he became a hearty
and intelligent receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines, and was a constanL attendant upon tbe
meetings of our little circle of Receivers al long as he was able to go out. The change
wrought in him was wonderful. He became ft. eelf-governing and ql1iet IpiriL The
world witnessed tbe change and spoke of it. During his confinement to his room and
ander all hi. su.trerinp, he was an example oC quiet resignation aDd trust in the Diyine
'0odnes8..
In view oChi! former state of mind and bodily suft"erings, he remarked to a friend, that
bat for his knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrines be should probably before that time have
become a raving maniao, instead of now enjoying a sfate of quiet. peace, and confidence_
To his friends of the Did Church be WaI free to testify how much he was indebted to the
doctrines of the New Jerusalem, as taught by Swedenborg, for the light and cOllsolation be
then enjoyed, and many of them were affected to tears. In short, be was a glorious ex-
ample of the regenerating infiuence which the Heavenly Doctrines are calculated to exert
llpon th~ who rec~ive tbem.
Loog shaH I remember the difBdeDce of feeling and conecioul unworthinea be manifested
when first inVited to attend our meetings and become one of our little circle of RfIladers
and Receiver. j but the words of kindness Bnd encouragernent whieh were spoken to him
made hIm feel that there were sympathetic hearts, which could feel for him andappreciare
him properly. He became and continued, a loving and beloved brother. But he has leA us
in the llesh, and we feel hislols mo~t sensibly j yet we know, that thollgh ab.ent in body
he is present in spirit. and operating from the world of causes he can do much more to
advance the interests or the cause he 80 much loved, than when sensibly with us in the
8esh. .
Tbe following extract of a letter from an iatimate friend gives. farther insifht into the
interesting traits of his character :_U Previous to his acquaintance with the writings oC
Swedenborg, his lnind had 108t its hold oftbe doctrines he once so ably preached, and had
\vandered in cheerless infidelity. But these New Doctrines became at an anchor to hi,
loul. I have seldom met with a mind 80 extensively read in all old theology. His library
was extensive and stored with many rare 8tandard works, 10 that no one could conve....
with him an hour without feeling delighted and instructed. A friend who was with him
much in his last illness wrjtes thus, • I am extremely happy to be able to say that he COD-
tinued to derive the greatest ~onsolation from the doctrines and teachings or the N. Chltrch.
even to the last moments of hid earthly life. I was accustomed to visit him often dl1rinc
hi, last illnes!, and never was I more delighted and instructed than in his convetsation.
He seemed to have most clear and definite views of truth, as unfolded in the writings_
His constant companion in his sick chamber was Swedenborg's work H. & H., which b6
told me he had read through several time. with an increasing interest. Every momeot,
when he was able, he was engaged jn reading! A rew hours before be passed into the
spiritual world, when he was too feeble to talk much, he beckoned to me to come near
him, and he took my hand and pressed it with all his power and said, & How gratefal I
teel to all my New Church friends. I have not been able to do them any good here: but.
if it is in my power to do for them in the other world, I shall do it. Give my love to all
oC them ; tell thelD I shall not forget them.' I Ilnderltand there is a ru mor abroad that be
renounced his New Church views before he died. Nothing can be more untrue, and I
feel that something should be pnblished which will set the public mind right. He made
a codicil to his will constituting a New Churchman one oC his executors. This does Dol
look like his losing confidence in New Church truth.
le P.S.. -He has left a large estate; one portion ofwhicb conlilts in a farm of 300 acres.

just on the southern borders oC 8yracuse. He had just completed a most beautiful and
8ubstantial dwelling, upon an eminence overlooking the city, and had only moved into it
80me two months before his decease. The amusement the building of this house furnish-
ed him, he often said, tended to keep him alive. It had engaged his attention some three
,ear.; but it seems leay;nl it gave him littl~ or no pain!'
 •

THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHLY REVIEW.

'.1. Y. 11111, 1812. 10. I.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
A.RTIeLB I.

SERMON.,
BY'I'IIE LAD REV. 8~BL WOBCDTD•
•c With what m.lure re mete, it 'hlill be mealured to you apla."-LWK VI. 38.
IT is well known· that those who are industrious and faithful in do-
ing good to the community in which they live, geDerally enjoy the
favor of that community, 80 that they receive a fair return for all
tbat they impart. It is also plain that those who do e¥i1 are punish-
ed, and thus receive .uch 88 they give; and that those who are indo-
lent and useless, are generally reduced to poverty.
Those things show that the law, With what melUUJ·e ye mete, it
#uill be rneruured 10 you Qgain, generally holds good even in respect
to natural things. It is from knowing this law, that men labor in
their several occupations, and choose and pursue their various courses
of conduct. Whethflr they do or do Dot acknowledge the Divine
Providence, they expect that what they do will produce certain
eJfec~ and place them in certain conditions; that nature, or Provi-
dence, or something else will render to them accordiDg to their
works; that, with what measure they mete, it will be measured to
them attain. . .
If men fully acknowledged the Divine Providence, and lived in it,
all natural things would conform to this law; but, because men live
in opposition to the Divine Providence, there are some cases in which

.t
they do Dot receive according to their ,vorks. Some persons do much
good, or much evil, without receiving a due reward for their deeds.
Bat this is 80 only in respect to the natural reward ; in respect to
the things of spirit11allife, both good and evil, it is 61 rictly true that
tDiIA fllelUur, ye mete, it ,Aall be meuured to you again.
vot. v. 17
 148 &rmon on Lui, vi. 88. [JUDe,
In order to explain the spiritual operation of this Jaw, we mast ad.
duce several examples, showing that he who does good, receives
lood; and that he who does evil, receives evil.
You have doubtless noticed that where you have sincerely endeav-
ond to do good to any person, yoo Jove that person better than be-
fore, and have more desire to do him good. Tbis is 10, whether yoo
had any love of doing him good before you did it, or compelJed yOW'-
self to do it against your o\vn will, because you saw that the truths
of the Word required you to do him good. le you had some love of
doing him good, and acted from that love, yoor bringing it into act
increued it. By that act you removed your selfish loves more than
they had been removed, and then more love of good flowed in from
the Lord. Thus your charity was increased. There was measured
back to you as much spiritual good as you endeavored to impart.
Doing good to your neighbor did you good; you were benefited quite
as much as he was. And if you did not do him good from real love
of doing him good, but only in obedience to the Lord's command-
ments, still, you denied self in doing him good, and you exalted in
your mind the Divine truths, which are the mediums of all good.
You removed your selfish loves by doing the truth; and then the
good or love within that truth ftowed in, and was appropriated; and
then you felt that by doing good you had acquired some love of
lood.
We can all see that the same holds true in respect to onr efforts to
do good to the society to which we bel~Dg. None of us could have
had any strong love for the society, before we began to do it good, or
to honor it as a moth~r. And how plain it is that the society has
been to each of us 8. spiritual motber-a medium of spiritual life-
just in proportion as we have devoted ourselves to the good of the
society. I~ in any particulars, we have faitbfully performed onr
duties as members of the society, it hl\S been obvious to ourselves
and others that we received nourishment, and health, and happiness
in proportion to the honor which we thus rendered to her; and when
we have been negligent of these duties, or have been self-willed, and
disposed to live independently of the society, our spiritual life and
happiness ha.ve visibly declined.
The same is true in respect to the civil community of which we
are members. When we perform the duties of good citizel18, \\'e en-
joy the protection of the laws, and the numerous blessings of civil or-
der; but when we violate the laws, and act against the welfare of
the community, we soon find that retributi\"e justice overtakes us,
and renders to U8 according to our works. But, 8S this is within the
sphere of natural life, the operation of this law is Dot 10 uniform and
perfect. as in respect to our conduct in the religious society to which
we belong.
But in respect to the effects of doing evil, we must give more fall
exp~ anations.
We showed that when we do good to any persoD, either from love
to him, or in obedience to the truths of the Word. we receive good,
or the love of good, and thence happiness. It is equally true that we
1_.] Ber",on CJR Lulte vi. IS.
receiYe evil, or the love or
evil, and tbence misePy, by doing evil to
any penon, or aBy society. Som8thing or the evil that we dOt exists
iD our own minds when we begin to do it. But, with every word
aDd action by which we express tbe evil, more of it flows in to oar
minds, and is appropriated. Perhaps you ha,"e !Men persons begin-
ning aD unfriendly conversation, RDd they were not ,~ery unkind,
and were somewhat careful in their first expressions to avoid injur-
ing each other's feelings; but when they had said one hard thing,
they could say others more easily, and it soon appeared that nothing
but hatred was in their speech, and that this hatred increased with
every expression of it. Some of you may have seen otber modes of
fighting, and noticed that each blow prepared for a more angry blow.
There was a great inerease of the evil feeling, resulting from each
expression of it. And this is a proof that the evil which anyone
does, or seeks to do to another, is actually done to bimsel£ While he
is seeking to do any injury to another, be is spiritually doing it, and
the evil spirits attendant upon him are doing it, to his own soul. "He
that taketh the sword, shall perish by the sword. He diggeth a pit,
and holJoweth it out, and he fallcth into the hole that he bath made.
His mischief shall return upon his own head, and upon his own
crown shall his violence descend. The nations are sunk in the pit
which they made; in the net which they hid is their own foot taken."
A~I this is true, not only in the cases in which we seek to do harm to
others, but in the cases in which we seek to lead them to do aoy evil.
We eannotdesire another to do any evil thing, without internally do-
ing it ourselves; and after death, when all things in the books of our
Jives are laid open, and we are judged out of the things written there-
in, the evil things which we had endeavored to induce others to do,
all appear as really done by ourselves. If we have rejoiced because
an enemy fell into any sin, a.nd was exposed to sbA.me and punish-
meat, it is recorded that we fell into that sin; and the shame and
punishment followed.
When ,,·e say that both the evil acts which man has done, and
those which be has been willing tbat others shol1ld perform, will be
found recorded against him, we do not mean that the Lord keeps a
book of debt and credit with mao, in wbich tluch things are charged
to him. The meaning is that man writes these things in the book of
his own mind, which is his own life, 80 that they become a part of
himself: To write or record I\oy thing means, in the spiritual sense,
to do or to live it; because, by doing or living any thing, it is inscrib-
ed and fixed within the mind, and constitutes a part of man's future
quality and life.
If anyone committed murder a week ago, you say that he i. a
morderer; you do not say that he wa. a murderer last \,:eek. You
suppose that the sin is still in him, and that his present quality is that
of a murderer. And you continue to regard men as guilty of all the
sins they have committed, until you have good evidence that they
have repented of them; have put away the evil loves from \vhich ~
those sins proceeded, and have acquired opposit.e loves.
ADd this shows it to be Rccording to the common sense of man-
kind, that, when a man does any thing, he writes it in living eharalP
,
248 [JUDe,
ters in his mind, 10 that bis mind is really oompoied of the thinp
which he bas done. And tbese tbings remain after death; and they
are the very things which determine bis quality, and make up his
life. Not tbe smallest particular of them is lost.
To open all these things and bring them to light, is to open the
book of man's life; and because every one will be judged according
to those things which be has stored up and made a part of his life,
therefore it is said that be will be judged according to his workL
It is easy to 86e that in ,,11 this, with what measure we mete, it
shall be measured to os again. If we li,Ye a life of charity towards
others, constantly striving to do them good, and shonniDg all evil, we
store up all the good that we do; it is all ,,"ritten in the books of our
lives. And after deatb, when the books are opened, every form and
degree of charity that we have exercised in this world will be devel-
oped, aud become a .living principle. ODr grosser affections and
worldly thoughts, which had covered and hidden our porer affections,
will then be removed; and our charity, if it was our intemal princi-
ple, will ftow forth with a sweetness and fullness unknown in this
world. All that we have endeavored to mete out to others, will then
be measured to us.
And this measuring to us again will consist Dot only in bringing
into full life all the charity that we bad ever exercised towards otbe", ;
but it will consist also in bringing us into sncb society as will exer-
cise towards us 88 much charity as we exercise towards them. In
this world we cannot always find society that will do all their duties
to us, e'len if we are faithful in our duties to them. But we caD go
on doing good, or endeavoring to do good, to all classes of meD,
whether they return us evil or good; and when we come into the
other world, we shall be consociated with those who can and will do
as much for our good, as we are willing to do for theirs. Tbus the
full measure which we have meted to others, will finally be measured
to us again.
It is hardly necessary to state that, if we live in self·)ove and love
of the world, our condition after death will be opposite to what has
been now described. All ODr selfish and worldly act-s make impres-
sions which remain; they are all written in the book of our lives;
and they will be developed with their inmost meaning after death.
It will then appear that they were very different from what they had
pretended and appeared to be. Many selfish and worldly acts as-
sume the garb of decency ftrJd charity_ Many of them conform to the
rules of social order, and even claim to be done from religious prin-
ciples. But when the books of our Jives are opened, what we thought,
felt, and intended, will appear, and not simply what we said and did.
Opening our books will be the searching of our hearts, and the mani-
festation of the internal quality of our words and works.
In the natural world men do many useful things to their neighbors
for the Hake of gain and reputation; but in the other world it will
appear that such acts as are externally good, bat intemally evil, are
not proper expressions of one's thoughts and affections; they are
hypocritical. And, for this reasoD, they are not allowed. Men are
181'4] 8rmon or& Lulce vi. 88.
there compelled to show what they are; and many who had led mural
lives, are wholly devoted in the other world to the most gross and
abominable forms of wickedness.
And what they receive in return is of the same quality. While
they lived in this world of false appearances, what they did to others
and what others did to them, was often friendly and charitable in its
external form. But when the hypocrisy is removed they openly do
evil to others, and others openly do evil to them. And the natural
delights which th~y caused to others, and which they received in their
intercourse with others, are all turned into things as opposite to these.
as these were opposit.e to the internal affeotions of those who revelled
in them.
It is somewhat difficult for U8 to conceive of the condition in the
other world of those who have lived merely selfish Rnd worldly lives,
but have preserved the character of orderly and useful men on the
earth. They conceal their prinoiples under appearances of charity;
and they do this so perfectly that they deceive not only others, but
themselves, in respect to their real characters. Many of this class
10 into the other world in full confidence of being admitted into hea-
ven; and they are greatly astonished and disappointed, when they
find that they have no genuine love of heavenly life, and hence no
ability to live it and enjoy it. They say, " Lord, Lord, have we Dot
prophesied in thy name, and in thy name done man}- wonderful
works." But the Lord says, "I never knew you--d~p8rt from me ye
that work iniquity." Their works are internally evil, because they
are not done from love of the neighbor, nor from obedienoe to Divine
truths, but from selfish and \vorldly loves,
Those who are accustomed to explore their own minds acquire
some ability to judge of the common difference bet\veen the real and
the assumed characters of the men of this age. They see a great dif.
ference between the thoughts and feelings which they sometimes in-
dulge, and the words and actions which they show before others.
They notice a tendency in themselves to do many things which they
are unwilling to have known_ And they see that they have some
intentioDs and ends in a great part of their words and works, which
theyendeavor to conceal even from their most virtuous friends. There
are very few who are not conscious that they are not Israelites in-
deed, in whom is no guile. There are very few who would not drAad
a faU manifestation of all that they keep concealed.
Those who have explored themselves, and learned their own habits
of concealment, can form some idea of the difference between their
apparent and their real characters; and they acquire some ability to
detect the insincerity of others.
Now, if we consider that our ,,·orks are to be estimated according to
their internal qualit}'t it will be obvious that we shall appear after
death very differently from what we appear before the world; and
that wben the internal quality of what ,ye have rendered, to others
is disclosed, what '\\'e shall receive in return will disa.ppoint us in
proportion as we have been deceived by our own hypocrisy.
Let us then take heed in respect to the measure that we mete to
others. Let us not be satisfied with a mere external performance of
 (l. .
oup dutlee to them, bot dafly 8%amine ourselves, ftDd put awayfrom
our thoughts and affitotloos whatever we lee that we ought not to ex-
press openly. Let us oultivate tbe habits or keeping oar minds opea
upwards, that we may see the quality of our lives in the light of Ilea-
ven; that we may see how our words and works appear to the Lord
and the angels, and thus the form and quality of them as they are
stored up within onr minds. And let us pot away the wbole habit of
trying to make our conduot appear better than it is-knowiuc that
there is nothing oovered that shall Dot be revealed, nor hidden that
shall not be made known; and knowing that with what measure we
mete, it shall be measured to us again.

A.TleL. 11.

THE THREE DEGREES OF THE DIVINE WORD.

TOB science of degrees is the key that unlocks the Divino Word
and reveals to us the most vast and wonderful truths, in the most ex-
.et aDd beautiful order. As yet, we have but partial glimpses of this
order; but, in tbe bright day that has begun to dawn upon the Church,
an ever-growing light will brighten the inner glories of the Word. and
rradually this beautiful order win descend into tbe human mbadt aad
illustrate it to such a degree tbat, as we read the Word, the perceptiye
faculties will at once distinguisb the three simultaneoas and succes-
sive degrees or the Word, as readily as in tbe Datural wo~ld our senses
distinguish earth, water and air.
In reading the Word, we should constantly keep in our conscious-
ness, even wbere perception fails us, that there is first a celestial de-
gree, which is the life of God; second, a spiritual degree, which nar-
rates the work of tbis Divine Life in the individual spirit of man ;
third, a natoral degree, whiob portrays this Divine Life as developed
in the Churcb. These three are one, as end, cause, and effect. Wo
oannot divide them, but may distinguish them, even as we wOllld dis-
tiDguisb substanoe, 61amentt and nerve. The substanoe is the all and
in all; the filament is the form of the parts of the substance; and
the nerve is the complex of the parts which developes the use of the
substance.
The Divinfl Word is tbe thought of God proceeding from his Infi-
nite love; and as no effeot can possibly exist in the external uni.
verse, unless it is preceded by this love and this wisdom, any more
than a nerve could exist without its substance and filaments, it was
absolutelye.-wential to the laws of order that the Divine Word should
be written before the Lord could manifest Himself visibly upon the
earth. In man t the finite image of God, \ve see the working of this
same law of order. There is first a perception born of his love, of
Borne aot or work, that it is beaotiful and good. This sobstaDce of
Jove or desire begins to mould itself into the distinct form of a
thought; and when the image is developed into a cODsoioDS existence
in the spirit of man, then material. from the visible world are col-
1862.] ne 7'ltw ~ If" Divi., Worl. tal
lected together and moulded upoa tbe tbougb~ of the mind. Through
tbell6 materials the man himaelf is revealed to us; without them, be
is to us a disembodied spirit who cannot reach our consciousness.
.Through the fioite we ascend to a perception of the Infinite. When
the Divine. fronl the fullness or His love, created InaD in His own
image, the thouglll of the whole beautiful creation was first in His
mind; and when, from the e1Bux of His own Infinite existence, He
developed His thought, how wondrously beautiful was that work of
the Di vine our imagination caonot now conoei Ye. It is not po.-
ble for us, in oar fallen state, to realize the purity of the beings first
created by God, or the vernal beauty and peace of the new born
earth that WBS mAde a fitting home for those whom the God of the
universe loved. With what an overflowing wealth of art and nata-
ral beauty must these living thoughts of a God have been surround-
ed 1 If the artist now delights in beautiful surroundings for tbat
which is created from his lo,-e and wisdom, how much more mast the
Infinite Creator have delighted in beautiful adornments 1 But His
works ,vere not dead forms-lifeless images. He had breathed into
them the breath of His own pore life. When His divine soul gUlhed
forth in love to these beloyed and beautiful images of His thought,
He could trace upon their pure louls answering smiles of lov~. When
He, iD an infinite IIstisfactioD, pronounced them" good," a responsive
echo went back to Him from grateful loving hearts, "from Thee, most
holy and divine One, is oar goodness.·' Thus God saw Himself iD the
beautiful forms He had created. and his joy must have been infinite.
But a sbadow came over the elysium of ea.rth; a cold, dark cloud in-
terposed between it and the glorious sun of the Divine love. The
Mighty God, in his realm. of infinite light, saw the warm, glowial
forms of life and beauty, whose innocent loves had been a delight to
His existence, growing eold and deformed under the dark cloud witb
which they had veiled themselves from Him that they might please
themselves with self-possessed powers. God, in the fullness of His
love, ha.d given to thelD as much of His divine life as they eouJd pos-
sibly receive. Because He delighted to be loved, He had endowed
them with all powers and capacities with which they might respond
to, and sympathize with, the faculties of His own infinite being. Lik.
a loving bridegroom. who would pour forth all the glowing thoughts
of his mind, the beautiful imaginings of his fancy, the tenderest leoti-
menta of his soul, to the timid and graceful bride whom he has chose.
to r~.spond to his heart's love, that he might win to him her every
thought and feeling, thus did the Divine who had created for Himself
a bride upon earth.
Bot, alas I the woman turned from her first love; all the gift, of
wisdom aDd love were arrayed against the giver. She grew arrogant
in her Divinely bestowed powers, claimed tbem as her own; and
wilb all her rich gifts, she turned from Him who had bestowed them
with the indifference of a loft.y self..elated pride.
Bat the love of God was infinite. With a yearning pity He looked
down from the" throne of His glory and the habitation of His holi.
ilia" upon these beings who had 80 perverted Hi. beautiful gifts. A
divine thought was born in His mind, that He Himself would delOelld
 [lue,
to the strife-torn and hideously marred earth, that He might win back
His beautiful oreation to its first love; bat, with an infinite mercy,
He delayed His ooming. He left tbe human miDd to run its OWD
w~de circle of sin and foll1, to debase its every faoulty, to groan UD-
der the weary bondage of its own degradation, uotil its own fiDite
reason might see that it was not 6t for self-government. God did not
wish to retain the mind in bondage to Him. He wished to give it aD
absolute freedom of will, that it might chooee which it ..GQld serve,
&elf or God. But He, in His infinite power, overruled its wild wan-
derings, and mercifully held it in a state that it might at &Dy and an
times return to its allegiance to Him. HeDce. when wilful man
closed his eyes against the goodDess and beRoty of the Lord. and
worshiped himseJf rather than God, this tlfOf1gAl of God, which was
born of His love, ,,"as made visible upon the sad earth. A WO.D was
written, and in it was all the infinite love and wisdom of God.portray-
ed, that man might not be without a witoess upon earth that, alt~ugh
God hated sin, He was ever willing to forgive and save, to purify an&!
redeem.
He Himself; from the beginning, saw bow He mast reYeaI tbe
image of His Divine purity to tbem; and in His Word was- writteD
the form of His pore love. The man Adam represents t"is thougbt
of God-of Himself; and it also shows the state of tbe iOn0ceDC8 of
ignorance in which He creates every finite mind, and it also repre-
Bents that first Churcb wbieh as yet bad never known sio, bot was
like a heaven upon the tbeQ cha.rming earth; and the six days reveal
to us what infinite things are in the DiviDe mind, which go to make
up bis perfect mao, and how He bestows of all these His possessions
and powers, from the most external to the must iQternal, upon the
human mind; for He desires to Bow into it with eyerything that
He has. And the six days also show with what a boundless profu-
lion of gil\s and blessings He ftdomed the earth of His Church.
But the Infinite, with an internal coDseioasness of an unstained
purity, looked through lhat human finite understanding which He in-
tended to assume, that He might reveal Himself once more to the
knowledge and perception oC His fanen creation. It was this spirit-
ual human mind, wilh which He was to clothe His divine parity,
&hat He has portrayed in His Divine Word, with an its infiDiteyaria-
tions of state, all its ignoranees and vices in its gradoaJly desoeBdiog
pervenioD, until the coating became so thick, that tbe eODS(,10DSD888
of the inmost pore life of God \vas almost wholly deadened by the
boundless floods of evils and falses that overwhelmed the spiritual
human understanding whioh He was to assume, and wlJich He eoold
only bold in liCe by His own indwelling power, which life would ma-
Difest itself, after this great Oood of falsities and evils, as the Church
of Noah. Thus is a spiritual consciousness born into that human
understanding which was assumed by the Lord; and tbus, too, is
portrayed the gradual perversion of the innoc8ncy of ignorance in the
human mind; and in that, also, is an ark that rises above the loads
of evil, and rests upon a lonely mouotain top, and preserves in the
most sinful man a spiritual cODSoiousDess, though he may open it.
to let out wild beasts, the forms of evil thoughts aDd feelinp.
1851.]

And thol, too, was the Charoh portrayed that had turned itself from
love, shut up its heart again. God, and delighted only to retl60ft about
Him. The Ohurch had descended to a lower coDICiousness when,
from a pore love, it had sank into all lin and uDcleanness, through
earthly strife. and ambitions; and then, rousing itself f)'om its over-
whelming evils, it formed itself with but one living family of pore
principles-a spiritual consciousness that tbere was a God.
Thus it was that the all-seeing God forell&w the human understand-
ing that He was to assume, how sensual and vile it was to become,
and how His innate parity would revolt against it. But then, too,
He saw how He would begin its regeneration; of bow, in its vilest
most external sensaalism, a Divine prinoiple of life, a celestial love,
would, from" Ur of tbe Chaldeans," begin to manifest itself: In an
"external worship full of falses," He could see in the child Jesus the
beautiful innocence of celestial love, and this love was portrayed in
the joorneying. of Abraham. Its first lonely wanderings into that
straoge consciousness of an interior life in the midst of Heathen COD-
trarieties of falses and evils, its heaven.bom hope, its trust that it
would become as the "stars of Heaven and the sands of the sea
shore."
ThiB Divine consciousness of the In6nite, born into the external,
how beautifully it grows aDd developes itself to us I How the
spiritual and Datural mind are formed from it, and how the bon-
dage of the cold, hard, scientific mind, begins to weigh Rod press upon
that CODlcioDsness of love, and faith, and natural life of God. " But
out of Egypt He calls His son," and then all those weary wars of
regeneration follow before the Lord gained filII possession of the finite
spiritual mind He had assumed. What innumerable and endless
principleH of evil He expelled from it ; all. all was foreseen before He
came into the world, and fully developed in His thought before He
actfd it.
Bot through this great work alone could the lost humanity He had
created be restored: for the whole plan of regeneration and redemp-
tion, portrayed for the Lord, must be gone tbroagh with by mrln. When
from infancy aDd childhood he has passed to his sensaal manhood, in
the midst of the falses of his external worship, there is also in him a
divine principle of celestial love. An Abraham goes down into the
Israel of his mind to become there a "great people I"~ and when it
progreaes to his natural principles, then tbe complex of the faculties
of his mind are broaght into an Egyptian slavery to the extemal.
From this state he can only be led forth by a Moses, a principle of
Divine truth. How weary are the wanderings of the children of
Abrabam, every child of the Church can testify; and the Church her-
self finds her natural principle oftentimes serving 8 cruel bondage to
the lowest external; all her pore principles are vexed and tried by her
oater imperfect conditions.
Blit, like her Divine Prototype, she must go on, led forth by the es-
sential Divine troth, then by a Joshua, "a truth oombating,'t nntil
she at".ains a heavenly CaDaan, even as He attained to the full po&-
lession of His hwnan spiritual undentanding. After having driven
84 [JaDe,
out the raises and evils, the. jadg8land priests, "tratbs aDd loods,"
ruled in Israe~ until aD appareut troth, representing Divine truth,
ruled in His human understanding. Saul reigns King of Israel, for the
pure hllml,nity seems to be King in the land now so fally possessed.
But a lono.than, the troth of doctrine, allies himself to David, the
el8eDtial Divine humanity, which is to succeed and totally let aside
the mere human. And this Divine humanity destroys Goliath, the
giant of human self-intelligence, and wars upon the Philistioe8, or mere
wisdom separate from love, and weds itself to Bathsheba, the princi-
ple of n8tur&1 good. The external natural is now united to the Di-
vine humanity, that was about to appear, and Solomon is born I The
humanity oC God is perfected upon the earth. His temple is built;
the nations out of the church, Hiram, bring to it offerings of cedar and
fir; hence its eEternal is built of the principle of natural good, and
a spiritual rationality; and for these Solomon gives wine and oil to
Hiram. Behold the inftux of the inmost Divine humanity into tbe
most external. The glory of God and His Divine is made manifest
to the world. He walks the earth in 'the fullest human spiritual COD-
8ciousness that He is the God of the universe.
But from this vast conscioQsness of His divinity in his spiritual ha·
man understanding, which it has made ODe with itsel( it looks forth
upon a natllral human which is to be conquered, and with all its di-
vided and torn 'principles of love and wisdom to undergo fierce com-
motions and the most bitter desolations. All these agonies of combat
between an infinitely pure Divine cased in a perverted, degraded,
finite bU'manity, are carried on to the end of the Divine Word, until a
glorified God has overcome every principle oC falsity, even to the Ipost
external degree of the finite humILn, and made it a Divine natural
body, through. which He can for ever revA8.1 Himself to the love of
man. and the love of the universal Church, and thus remould them
into images of Himself that He may bless them with even still richer
blessings than He did when they were in the innocence of ignorance.
Then the Church was in a pure infancy; now, it hI'S learned the bless-
edness of' wisdom, as contrasted with the vilest folly. After sin, it
loathes" it and detests it. and having drained sensualism to its bitter
dregs, it turns with a yeRrning angllish of spirit to the all glorious
and beautiful Creator: He, with outstretched arms of love, receives
the wanderer back to His bosom, and adorns her anew with garments
of beauty, and again ponrs forth to her His divine intelligence, His
wondrollS words of love. And she, having found the dark places of
earth a weary habitation, retorns to the heavenly Bridegroom with a
fllll consciousness that He alone of all humanity is good, aDd he aloae
is beautiful. And when the Church comes into the clear percelltion
of the thought and feeling of God, I\S manifested in His Divine Word
-when she beholds with what a love He has loved her, and from
what mighty falsities and evils He ha~ redeemed her, then, indeed,
will the marriage union be perfect, and God, and man, and the Church,
will be one. For a perception of God's love awakens love in man, and a
perception of His wisdom becomes troth to man, and love and troth
united iD each form that perfect Church which shines eveD in its ex-
ternal with the glory of God. •
18&]

AltTICLB IlL

REMA.B.U ON THE REV. MR. MASON'S LETTER.

The followiog communication oomes to DB as a poetlCrlpt to thE! articles of N. P. C. Ob
the New Church Ministry, &c.• in reply to U Delta." We take the liberty to iDee" it a.
an independent article.

I DOUBT if any ODe appreciates more highly than the. pl'esent writer,
the services which the author of" Job Abbott" ha~ in that and other
productions of bis pen, rendered to our common oause. Willingly
would I sit at the feet of such a Gamaliel, and learn, so long as that
were consistent with a higher duty. But wben a member, a minister
of the New Church, publicly avows principles, some of whioh fall
far short of; otben are in seeming conflict with, those declared by
Swedenborg, on the same subject; when, moreOVflr, statements are
h.zarded which appear to contradict historic fact, as established by
record, with all our cherished respect for the author, the maD, aDd
his sacred functioD, no other alternative is left us, than to subject
them to a rigid review. Such statements and principles, we eou-
ceive, are advanced in the letter of Rev. Wm. Mason, which appeared
in yo11l' last No.
The New Zion Church, like other denominations of Christians, has
a separate clergy for teaching its dootrines and administering its sac-
raments. But the oircumstances attending the origin of this minis..
try, and the extent and limits of the powers and duties of the class,
are not as well known to all her members 81 they should be. Hap-
py will it be for oar brethren if the attack of "Delta," and this feeble
defence of Mr. M. shall induce them to examine the matter for them-
selves. Their first exclamation, in the event of soch inquiry, would
probably be, "Save me from my friends I"
We might have divined, a priori, the interp~t8tion which would
be put on these early proceedings, and their results, by one who holds
Mr. M.'s opinions on the general subject of church order. And these
opinions, to some on this side of the water, have been no secret for a
long time past.. We can we)) imagine the ground on which he would
have united with the "sixteen hone.t, religioDsly disposed followers
of Swedenborg, who assembled on occ.asion of resorting to the lot,"
" had he been pre.nt." The other extr~me notioDs presented in this
letter are but the natural corollaries from that position. But that,
we respeotfully submit, is not no\v the question. In a matter intrin-
sically 80 important, and so vital in its bearings, we prefer to resort
to higher authority.
We have a dooument on t.he origiD of the N. C. Ministry, whose
genuineness and fidelity of statement 'ye have seen no reason to
doubt. We have Mr. Noble's discoorse in memory of Mr. Hind.
m....b, and pertinent extracts from those of Messrs. Sibly and Madely
on the same subjeot. Now, whatever Mr. M. may" suppose" to the
oontrary, acoording to one or more of these authorities, the sixteen, iD
 [JtlIle,
or
choosing, by lot, twelve their number to reprel8Dt the whole church,
when its first ministen were to be ordained, did consider that act as
"a solemn appeal to Heaven," and though the twelve appointed Mr.
H. to perform the ordination-service, it is equally troe tbat he woald
not have accepted that appointment, unless he had also been desig-
nated for that office in the same way. The compiler of the Docu-
ment and Mr. Noble both declare that in this solemn proceeding they
" did have reference to the case of Ma.tthias." The document says that
Mr. H. was chosen to be an ordaining minister "by the divine 80S-
pices of the Lord!' Mr. Madely says the same thing. Mr. Sibly,
who was present on the occasion, says that he was ., Buperiorly or-
dained," and the sentiment is reitera.ted by Mr. Noble. Mr. Hind-
manh himself; who, Mr. Mason being judge, was no child iD under-
standing, so regarded the incident. He afterwards performed all the
duties of the ministeria.l function without other ordination, offering
this as his reason, and ,vas recognized WJ an ordaining minister by
the English Conference. We question no man's motives, but here is
a serious discrepancy as to a matter of fact, and in sach an issue we
can have no hesitation as to where our credence is due.
In one sense, the twelve may have regarded the use of the lot as "a
temporary expedient." An ordaining minister baving once been ot.-
tained, there has been no farther occasion for a similar direct appeal,
such minister being thenceforth empowered to raise suitable candi-
dates to the same or a lower grade of his office.
But there are other things in this letter which challenge our notice.
Mr. Mason was chosen by a society of the N. C. to be their minister,
and he accepted the appoiDtment. After their choice was approved
by the General Conference, he was formally ordained by Mr. Hind-
Inarsh. Nevertheless," he regards the appointment as the real ordi-
nation;" and "bad he removed to Bnoth.er society, he would view
such removal 88 a fresh ordination to the ministry, although no cere-
monial took place." "Why then," we naturally ask, " submit to the
ceremony at first 1 and why select Mr. H., an ordaining mini8ter, to
perform it I" Oh!" it was a decent formal recognition of his eo..
gagement, nothing more." And then as to the choice oC t1le ageDt,
"suitability" is to be regarded in all things. It was well known, how-
ever, that he. Mr. M., never regarded the ordaining ministers as pecu-
liarly suitable to ordain. If his 60ciety had, for good and valid rea-
sons, (1) chosen anyone else to ordain him, even a layman, and with-
out imposition of hands I it would have done as well. Alld "in all
this be lees nothing that calls for discussion I"
Were it another than Mr. M. who had ""ritten thus, we should be
at no 10SI for a reply. And we cannot now refrain from saying, that
it is no uncommon thin~ for men, able and wise on some subjects, to
be so wedded to outre opinions on others, as not to see that " they are
reasonably liable to question."
The term "real" iD the above connection, is ambiguous, a.nd may
be taken either in the popular sense or the philosophical-eqoivalent
to "essential." As the former is utterly fallacious, we give him the
beDefit of the latter. Now we know from' Swedenborg, that a form
1868.]

withoot an fJl8eDe8, is a yain show. AB ellenoe, Dolea it be ultimat-

ed iD a suitable form, Sows ont into empty space, aDd is dissipated.
BoI1& are neceaary to the stability of any tbiDg. Con.ent, for exam-
ple. is the e.lefttial of marriage, and ,et its consecration by a priest
iJI neceaary to its legitimatioae (C. L. 806.)
Mr. M. recogni~es the distinction between priests and people fIG
clearly laid down by Swedenborg in H. D., but thinks his society
could have made him a priest witbout the intervention of Conference
or an omaining minister. And tbis, with the other part of his theory
of ordination, be offen as "a plain, practical, common sense view" of
the matter. Let us try it by that test.
A minister in the N. T. is caIJed by varioQl names, Iupposed to he
significant; 8uch 88, amb88Sador, pastor, steward, &c. Now, who
commissions Iln ambassador 1 Does the Dation to whom he is sent t
Who appoints a shepherd 1 Does the flock which lie feeds 1 Who
hoosehold 1 Do the servants themselves 1 Who _ad.
gives authority to a steward, or overseer uver the other servants of a
angel, or messenger 1 Do the people who receive tbe message1 ADd
an apostle,

these inquiries may very well proceed from one who is far from deny-
ing the right of a society to choose or r~ject one as a,ei,. minister, who
has been already ordained; or, as in the case of Mr. M. himsel~ to
select and present one to the proper authorities, 88 a fit subject for or-
diDation.
Again: An aspirant, after examination as to his fitness, receives a
license to practice law or medicine. Does ~itber of them forfeit his
right and title when unemployed 1 or resume them when eDgaged in
a new case 1 An army is for defence or aggression. The leaden of
that army, whether generals, colonels, or captains, are commissioned
by tAe gooernment of the country, according to their respective grades.
Bot, when not called into active service, do these leaders therefore
sink into the ranks, without formally surrendering their commissions f
The Christian life is a warfare. The Christian Church is an army.
Can an army be efficient without subordination among its leaders'
(T. C. R. 680.) Priests are "governors in thiDgs ecclesiastical," the
., leaders" of the people in the way to heaven. Why then should the
mere transfer of a minister from one society to anotber be regarded
as a fresh ordination 1 and if choice by a society be the real ordina-
tion in both cases, why should not the form be as reqnisite in the sec-
ond as in tbe first appointment. ?
Yet again: .. The Holy Spirit e • • in the world, passes through
man to man, and in the church clai'!f1y from 'lie clergy to the laity.
The clergy, bec&ose they are to teach docuine from the Word, • •
AaB TO BB inaugurated by the promise of the Holy Spirit, and by t"e
reFe8entation of iu tran,lation" (Canons iv. 7). And this, as we are
told elsewhere, is the imposition of hands" (A. O. 878, O. L. 396,
D. L. W.220). A candidate before ordination is still a la}~man. In the
church. the Holy Spirit passes to such chi~g from the clergy. Inaugu-
ration (wbich brings with it the gifts proper to the clergy, T. O. R. 146),
is by the promise of the Holy Spirit, and the representation of its trans-
lation. How will Mr. M. reconcile this ,,~ith his notions that a lay.
 ReflltJrb mI tu Rev. Mr. ltI'fUOII" Letler. [Jane,
maD may ordftin as well &I aaother! or, that ia the ceremony, impo-
sition oC hands may be dispensed with. .. Good and valid reasons"
will justify any thing. But oan Bach be found to set aside these ex-
press declarRtions of oar teacher 1
He goes farther and does worse. " He is convinced that an eqruzl
benefit would accompany the administration of • Mlcra~ by • a
layman,' appointed by any Society, which might prefer to receive
them at his, rather than clerical bands." M Prie.u," says E. S. "are
appointed to ad",inuter thOle things which relate to divi.
wor,laip" (H. D. 319). "'rhese lIDO sacraments (Bapti8fll and the
'.IDand
Holy Supper) are the ",0.1 holy tlaings of Inor,Aip" (~ o. R. 887).
" The Holy Spirit proceeds from the LOrd through tile clergy to the laity
by preaching, • • • • and ALIO by tAe 8tleraaeftt of. Holy
Supper" (Canons iv. 9). Let the reader judge between the opposite
assertio'n.
"Priests are governors over matters ecclesiastical." "He who
makes disturbance ought to be separated" (H. D. 314, 318). There
stands the principle, and Mr. M. has accepted it. It lurely means
something; but what 1 That they are to govern arbitrarily 1 or, ae-
cording to the known laws of the church 1 Both as Americans and
Newchorchmen, \ve repodiate the former and accept the latter inter-
pretation. Liberty and government are not necessarily opposites. True
liberty, we take it, consists in obedience to law; or, to use tae words
u
of authority, "to force one', .elf to do good and resist evil, free-
dom" (A. O. 1937). Here, then, we acoord with Mr. M. morenear)y
than in some other things. But, at the 8ame time, we can assure
him, that be is not likely to conciliate those who are warring against
his order, by disclaiming its proper characteristics, or surrendering its
just rights. In the event of their success, he would only be the last
to be devoured. That the people should be restive towards their
clerical governors, even when these confine themselves to their pro-
per duty of applying the laws which their people have promised to
obey, is not surprising, when 10 many of that order join the disaffect-
ed in decrying their brethren and weakening their hands, and leave
it to laymen to uphold tl.eir prerogatives in spite of themselves.
In conclusion, ,ye remark, that we doubt the sixteen thought the
UR of the lot "the best practical method of getting oot of their diffi-
culty;" or, that the English Conference believe it " expedient" that or·
dination to the ministry should, with that single exception, be per-
formed by an ordaining minister, after a proper form. ADd why'
Merely because the first wa..4I •• a custom," and tbe other a "suitable"
person, and "decent" form 1 No. But because they believed the
proceeding in each instance was according to " Divine Order," which
is t6 It. perpetual commandment of God."
Jgno~ance or inadvertence may excuse mnch-even tbe omiSSIon
of what is proper to better knowledge. Forms also may be varied
within certain limits; but no form oC ordination should be regarded
88 lawful, which, in the face of the declarations quoted above, ex-
cludes the agency of a clergyman, or the imposition of hands.
186lL]
Mr. MUOIl may brand these seatimentl as "laperstitiouI," with-
out provoking a retort, whicb, however, would be ready at our callt
(or oar Derv_ would Dot be diaoompoeed by the chaoge. We are ill
good compaDy.
N. F. C.

ARTICLB IV.

THE PARABLES EXPLAINED.

No.V.
THB GRAIN OF MU8TABD SBED.

le Another parable pot he forth unto them, saying, The Kingdom of Heayen Is like to •
g:ain of muet8rd.eeed, which a man took, and BOwed in hie leld : whicb, iDd~d, i. the
leut of an .eecb; but when i& i. growD, it is the Irealest &m0Dl.t herb., aDd becomelh
a tree. 10 that the bird. of the air come aDd lodge in the branches thereof."-MAT1". xiii.
31, 32.

Q. You have told me, that by the Kingdom of the Heavens is meant
the government of the Divine Love and \visdom of JESUS CHRIST_
Why is this kingdom here likened to tJ grain of mUltard ,eed, which
a man ,owed in hi. field 1
A. Because the gro\\,th of the divine love and wisdom in man is
from a nnall beginning, inasmuch 8S man, under the first reception of
heavenly truth, is led to snppose that he can do !la good from himsel~
and not from the LoaD, when yet sach good is nothing but evil: but
whereas, be is in a state of regeneration, there is IOmething of good,
but the lea,' of all.
Q. And what is it you understand by this lea.t of all ,eed., when ie
u grur&n, being greater than heJ"ba, and beco7/.ing a tree ?
A. By these expressions is meant, that 8S faith is conjoining to love,
the growth becomes greater, answering to that of the herb, until at
length, when faith and love are fully conjoined, it acquires a full
growth, answering to that of a 'ree,.
Q. And what do you understand, further, by the bird. of tla~heave,.
coming and making their ne,u in the branche. of that treo 1
A. By the birds of the heaven are here to be understood, things in-
tellectua.l, or truths exalted into the higher or inner region of the un..
derstanding; and by the .branches of the tree are to be understood,
the scientific. of those truths, or truth as it is received from the letter
of the Word, when ~t first enters the memory, and is there deposited,
as mere science of heavenly things; and by the birds making their
nest. i,,, these bra1lMes, is denoted, that when faith and lo,·e are fully
conjoined, then troths, or things intellectual, continually muJtiply and
increase their kind in scientific&, which are of the memory.
Cl. What is the general instruction which we learn from this para-
ble t
 ne PtlrtJIJIe, EqWraed.-No. r: [lUlle,
A. We learn, thAt the Kingdom of Heaven, in man, which is the
government of the Divine Love and Wisdom, il small at its begin-
ning, because man, under the fint reception of troth, IUPp0888 that be
does good from himselt: \It·e are instructed further, Dot to be dis-
couraged under these small beginnings, because, if we proceed pa-
tiently to acqoire faith and love, there will be a gradual increase of I

heavenly good, until at If'ogtb, when the conjunction is complete, the

tree of righteousness will grow to its full size, in which case thiDgs
intellectual, which are heavenly truths exalted in the inner man, will
be connected with tbe scientiflc8 of truth in the outward man, and by
virtue of such connesion, will multiply and increase immensely after
their kind, until the human mind is restored to the order of heaven,
through the reception of heavenly truth in all its degree&

THE LEAVEN.
• Another parable speak he unto them: the Klnldom or HeaftD is lilre unto JeaYe1l
which a woman took and bid in three barrels of meal, tin the whole ",as leaYeDed."-
MATT. xUi. 33.

Q. By the Kingdom oC the Heavens, as \va.4J observed in a former

parable, is to be understood, the government of the Divine Love and
Wisdom. But why is this government like unto leaven 'I
A. Because by leaven is effected fermentation, and consequeDt pu-
rification of the bodies with which it is mixed.
Q. What, then, do you understand by this leav~1I being hid in three
measures of meal!
A. Leaven, as beillJl 8. fermenting substance, denotes all false prin-
ciples of the understanding and life, and the three rnealure. of meal
denote all principles of heavenly truth in the regenerate mind. The
comparison, therefore" bere used by JESUS CHRIST, was intended to re-
mind us of tbe combats \vhich take place in such a mind, between
false principles and true, with a vie\v to the purification of the latter.
For the effect of such combats is, to exalt in man the principles or
heavenly love and charity above those of mere speculative troth and
kno",-ledge; and when man begins to act from the former principles,
then the latter become purified, \vhich they never can be so long as
man acts from them alone, and not from the principles of heavenly
love and charity.
Q. What do you understand bere by the Icoman 1
A. By the woman is meant the church, which is called IDOn&aR, from
tbe affection of truth, which makes the church.
Q. \Vhat, then, is the general instruction which you learn from this
parable?
A.. I learn from this parable, that the Kingdom oC the Heavens can
never be opened and formed in man, until truth is purified from what
is false, and that such purification cannot be effected without combat,
by which is produced a kind of spiritual fermentation, in which case,
good is conjoined with truth, and then all false principles are sepa-
rated like dregs.
1862.] TAe T,·ea,ure Hid ill (J Field. ~61

THE nZASUBB BID IN A FIBLD•

•• Again, the Kingdom orHeaven is like m:ato treaMure hid in a field; the which, \vhen a
man bath foond, be lJidetb, and for joy tbereofgoeth and aelleth all that he bath. and buy-
etb. that field.u-.M.t.TT. xiii. 44.

Q. You have already told me \vhat is meant by the Kingdom of

the Heavens, and tha~ by it is to be understood the government of
JESUS CUBIST. Will you no\v tell me why this kingdom is like to trea-
SUTe hid in a field?
A. Because, by the field is here meant the church; and by the
treasure Ilid ill it is understood the Divine Truth in the ORD OF GOD.
,,·hich lies concealed under the letter.
"T
Q. And \\rhat do )'OU mean by a ",an finding this treasure?
A. A man finds the treasure of the f)ivine Truth of Gon's WORD,
when he is enlightened to see the distinction between the letter of the
'Vord, and the spirit, and how the latter opens to him the Kingdom of
Heaven, being in continual connexion with JESUS CURls'r and His
angelic kingdom.
Q. Hut it is said, that '\vhen a man findeth this treasure, he ll.idetli it.
Ho\v do you understand this 1
A. A man is sRid to hide the treasure of the Divine Truth, when he
storeth it up in his interior mind, where it remains concealed from the
obser\"ation of others, and even of himself: except when he is called'
to some particular notice of it; in \vhich case the LORD is said to feed
him \yith the hidden mallna. (See Rev. ii. 17.)
Q. But it is said, that (01· joy thereof he gOfth away, and selleth all
that he halh a"d buyetll. that field. What do you mean b}' the joy here
spoken of?
A. By the joy is meant the delight arising from the affection of
truth: for all joy comes from some affection, and spiritual joy from
the affection of good and truth.
Q. And what do you mean by the man's going away when he
had found the treasure 1
A. His going away denotes that he applied himself to live and act
in agreement with the Divine Truth which he had found.
Q. \Vhat do you mean by his selling all that he hath ?
A. By selling all that he hath, is meant that he renounces his own
8elflove, which had before led him to regard his faculties and posses-
sions as I,is own, independent of ~on, and that he no\v discovers that
he possesses nothing properly his own, because all things are GOD'S.
Q. What do )·ou understand by his buying that field?
A. '1'0 buy is an expression used in the Sacred :Scripture to denote
the procuring of spiritual property; and, therefore, by buying that
field, is meant the procuring to himself the spiritual treasure of the
Divine 'fruth which \\ras hid in it: and this is the case when-
soever man renounces self-love, and exalts the Divine Truth in his own
heart and life, as the blessed source of all that can be good, and wise,
and happy for him.
Q. What, then, is the general instruction which )"OU learn from this
parable 1
YO~ ~ 18
 TAe Parable, Expl~ilJed.-No. Y: [Juo..,
A. I learn, t.hat in the 'VOIlD OF GOD is stored up the eternal treas-
ure of the Divine 'l'ruth, and that when ~ man is wise to discover this
treasure, he storeth it up in the interiors of his mind, and suffereth it
to guide and govern him in all his' affections, thoughts, \vords and
works. I learn further, that t.hrough this treasure he is led to
renounce his self-love, and to 8ckno\vledge all his facultie.s and pos-
sessions, not only to he the gift8 of GOD, but also continually to b~
GOD'S aod that by this acknowledgment he procureih to him",~lf all
the bJesRing, protpction, guidance and government of the EtArnal
Truth, \'7hicb is of JESUS CHRIST, Rnd in continual connexion \vith his
Divine Life and Love.

THE MERCRANT-MA~ SEEKING GOODI,Y PEARLB.

hARain. the K.ingdom of Heaven is like Illlto a merch"nt-man seekinJt goo<Uy pearl~9
wbo, when h" had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had. anJ bought
it."-MATT. xiii. 4~. 46.
Q. What do you understand here by a merchant-man 1
A. A merchant-man, in th~ spiritual seDse of the \.vord;means on~
who procures to himself the knowledges of truth and of good, and
thus attains intelligence and. wisdom, agreeahly to \\rhich idea. it is
said, in the book of Proverbs, that tl"e me,"cllandi86 of v)isdom is better
tJaall the mercl"andi,e of silver, and the gain thereuf tl"fln flue goltl.
(Prov. iii. 14.)
Q. And \vhat do you understand by seelcing goodly pearls 1
A.. By goodly pearls ·are meant the knowlcdges of truth, and bJ'
.eeking those pearls is meant the affection of truth for its o\.vn sake,
because nothing but such an affection can properly discover the
troth. In the same Rense, wc are called to seel, the kingdom of God
and His righteonsnes.CJ, to teach us that we ought to be affected with
the kingdom of GOD and I-lis righteousness above all other things.
Q. And what do you understand by the one pearl of great price?
A . .Hy this one pearl is meant the kno\vledge of J ESU~ CUB.IST, and
especially of the union of His Divine Nature with the human, and of
I the human reciprocally \vith the )ivine, until I-Ie became, even as to
His humanity, the only GOD of heaven and earth.
Q. And why is this pearl called a pearl of great price 1
A. Because the knowledge of JESUS CHRIST is the most precious and
blessed of all other knowledges, being the essential life of all others,
insomuch that without this knowledge, all other knowledges are com-
paratively as dead, having no connexion with their Jiving source.
Q. What do you mean by his fill.diflg this precious pearl?
A. Man is said to find spiritual knowledge, when, from tbe affec-
tion of truth, for its own sake, he seeks it in the WORD OP GOD, and
discovers its brightness and value in his understanding: and he is
said to find the knowledge of JESUS CHRIST when, from the same affec-
tion, he delights in the discovery, from the HOLY \VORD, that JESUS
CURIST IS THE MOST HIGH GOD, because in IIis Divine Pel·son the
FATHER and the SON, or the Divinity and Humanity, are made eter-
nally One, and constitute the Supreme and sole object of all christian
worship.
1862.]

Q. And what do you mean by his going arrd ,elling all tAat lie ltad,
and bllying it 1
A. By his going is meant that he formed his life according to the
knowledge of truth which he had discovered; and by his 8elling all
that he held and buying it, is m~ant t.hat he submitted all things of his
na.tura.l life to be governed and guided by tbe LoaD's life; that is to
say, by His Divine Love and \Visdom".
Q. Wha.t, then is the general instruction \vhich you learn from this
parablA?
A. I learn that every mftn ought to consider himself as a spiritual
merchant-mftn, sent into the world to seek the goodly pearls of the
Eternal Wisdom, which are the bright knowledges of heavenly truth,
procured by devout affection from the WoaD OF GOD. I learn, a)so,
that in seeking these heavenly pearls, if he be sincere in his search,
he is sore, sooner or later, to discover the one peflrl of great price,
'\vhich is the sl\vin~ knowledge of J ES\1B CHa,sT. And, lastly, I learn,
that when he has found this pearl, he goe. and sells all that he Iuu.
and buy. it; in other words, he renounces self-love, thut he may sub.
mit. all his· affections, thoughts, words and works, to the mild and
gentle government of the Divine Love and \Visdom of Juus CURIST.

TOE NET CAST INTO THE BRA•

•• The Kinadom of the HeAvens Is like unto a net lhat was C81't into the eea, and lather~d oC
e'Yery kind, which, when it was full, they drew lo shore, and sat down, and gathered the
good into ve!'selt', but cast the bad away. So shall it be 8t the end oftbe world: the angel.
"hall come forth, and sever the wicked from amoJlK the just, and sball cast them into tbe
furnace offiret there shall be wailing and gnasbinK ofteeth."-MATT. xiii. 47-50.
Q. Why is the Kingdom of the Hea,·ens here likened unto a net ca,'
into the sea ? t
A. Because by a net cast into the lea is figUred and represented a
gathering together of natural men to be instructed ill the knowledge
of the truth, and therefore the apostles were called fisher8 of men,
because they 80 collected and instructed them.
Q. And what do you understand by this net bringing ttJgether of
every kind 1
A. By bringing together of every kind, is to be understood the col.
lecting and instructing of all, both the good and the evil; for amongst
na.tural men there is a difference, some being disposed to receive the
Eternal Truth, and by such reception, to become spiritusl men; whilst
others are disposed to reject the truth, and, by such rejection, to
remain natural men.
Q. But it is said of this net, thA.t when it wasful', they drew it to the
,hore, and, silting dOlon, gathered the good i,l.to vessels, and cast th.e bad
away. What is here to be understood by the net being full 1
A. The net is said to be full when full instruction has been
received, or when all who are in the church have imbibed the knowl-
edges of truth.
Q. And wha.t is to be understood by drawing it to the ,"orB?
 264 The Parable. Ezplained.-No. Y. [JuDe,

A. By drawing it to th, 'Rore is meant a new state, when all \vha

have received instruction Rre to be judged according to the use they
have made of it, in attaining, or not attaining to the good of instruc-
tion, for the end of all instruction is, that man may attain the eternal
good of Love and Charity. .
Q. And what do you mean by their litting down 'I
A. Sitting, in the language of the Sa.cred Scriptures, is an expres-
sion used to denote a state of the will, or love, united with its proper
wisdom; and since judgment is here treated ot: or the separation of
the evil from the good, therefore. sitting down is here spoken o~
because all such judgment is effec~ed from the union of Love and
Wisdom, or of Goodness and 1'ruth.
Q. And what do you understa.nd further by gathering the good into
tJe"el" and ca.ting ''he bad aWllY 'I
A. I understand the accompli~hmentof a work of judgment or sep-
aration, when a fullness of instruction has been received; on ,vhich
occasion, they who are principled in heavenly good of Love and Char-
ity, Rre gifted with all convenient truths and knowledges, by which
the life is perfected to all eternity; whilst they WAO are principled in
. evil of selfish and worldly love, are deprived of all truth and kno\vl-
edge, and left to perish in the fire of their own concupiscences.
Q. What is the general instruction which you learn from this par-
able 1
A. I lea.rn from this parable that all mankind, whether they be
good or evil, receive instruction from heaven, in one degree or other,
whereby they may be saved, and that such instruction i~ first receh·ed
in a natural stare. J learn further, that after instruction succeeds
another state, which is that of exploration, or judgment, concerning
the use which has been made of instruction. And, lastly, I learn
that they who have profited by instruction, so as to attain by it to a
state of heavenly Love and Charity, are then gifted with new truths
and knowledges in great abundance, for their further purification aod
regeneration;O but that they who have not profited by instruction, by
removing the evil of selfish and worldly love, and attaining to heav-
~nly Love and Charity, are, in the Day of Judgment, deprived of all
the knowledge of truth, and left to be consumed and tormented by
their O\VD evil lusts.

THB INSTRUCTED SCRIBE.

ClTherefore, every scribe inltructed unto the Kingdom of the Heaven,. is like unto a maD
that is an Hou~holder, which bringelh forth out of his treasure thinr new and old."-
MATt. xiii. 52.
Q. What do you understand here by (I. Icribe instructed unto the
Kingdom of the Heavens?
A. One who is initiat~d into the goods and truths of the 'VOIlD OF
GOD, from which the I{,ingdom of the Heavens is derived.
Q. And what is to be understood by the HOUe'leholder, to whom he
is likened 1
A. The Householder here spoken of; is the LORD Himself; because
He is the sole proprietor of all things in the Grand House caIJed
Heaven and the Church.
 1852.] TAe .Su.1IImarg, ~. 285
Q. What do )POU understand by being like unto this Householder 1
A. Everyone becomes an image and Iikt'oess of GOD, that is to
say, of JESUS CHRIST, by the reception of His Wisdom and Love,
Wisdom being an i,nage, and Love a likene.fla, and a likeness partic-
ularly in this respect, tha.t man in such C8.~e wills and acts freely as
from him8elf, as GOD wills and a.cts freely froln Himself; but yet
under the full acknowledgment that the all, both of will and action,
is from Gon.
Q. But it is said of this Householder, that M bringeth out of Ai,
treasu're8 tl"ings flew (Ind old. Ho'v do )'OU Uriderstlt.nd this 1
A. The treasures of the great Housebold~r, JESUS CUBIST, are all the
Di,"ine goods and truths of His own MOST HOLY WORD; and the thing.
new and old which he bringeth out of those trfl8.SUreS, are the
interior and exterior goods and truths which he dispenses to man-
kind; the interior things of the HOLY WORD being called new, and the
exterior things being called old, because the interior things are
al\vays filled with ne\\" life from their Living Fountain, whilst the
exterior things, being more remote from that Life, are comparatively
called old.
Q. What, then, is the general instruction to be derived from this
parable.
A. We learn from this 'parablp, that in 'rec~jving into our minds
, and Ji ves the ~oods and truths of GOD'S MOST HOLY WORD, we pugbt
to imitate the Divine Giv~r of that WoaD, hy not separating the letter
from the spirit, nor the spirit from the letter; in other \vords, by not
dividing bet\veen the internal and external sense of the Divine Law.
Thus we learn, that \ve ought to ch~rish Goodness and Truth, in all
their degrees, both internal and external, And to apply them to the
regulation of Ol1r ]jyes, since internal Good and 'frut.h, \\'ithout exter-
naJ, are imperfect and po\\·erless, 88 external Good and Truth, with.
ont internal, want their life and fullness.

TOE SUMMARY

Of the Internlll Sense of tile foregoing parablel, in tlteir connection with

each other.

Q. WHAT do you learn from all these parables in a connected

series 1
A. When viewed in a connected series, these parables express and
describe the whole process of regeneration, commencing with the
first reception of h~avenly Truth from the WORD, and advancing
through all gradations of its 'growth, to the full maturity of heavenly
love and life.
Q. Can you give me an account of this process?
A. The first parable of the .~ou·er, describes the first insemination
of'rruth, \\'hich is the first step to\vards the rpgenerate life: the sec..
ond parable of the Ta'rea of tlte }'irld, describes the manifestation
of evils and flllses in consequence of sllch insemination, \\'bich is a
second step, and an effect of the first: the thirfl parable of the G,·ain
 286 ApAori6m8 on Slavery and Abolition.-No. IlL [JaDe,

of Mu,tard Seed, describes the small increase of heavenly life, whilst

man supposes tha.t he doeth good from himself alone, and not from
the LORD, which is 8 third state in the regene.-stioD: the fourth pa.ra-
ble of the Leaven, &c., describes the temptations consequent on the
reception of heavenly truth and good, which is a fourth state: the
fifth parable of Treasure hid in a Field, describes the further effect of
the reception of heavenly truth and good, in leading man to renounce
his proprium, or his own proper life, that he may appropriate the life
of heaven, signified by selli"g all tl'llt he hath and buyillg that field,
which is a fifth state: the sixth pa.rable, speaking of the Mere/taRt-
man seeking goodly Pearls, describes the flffect of heavenly truth in
lel\ding man to the acknowl~dgmentof tbe LORD, as the alone source
of all good and truth, and to the consequ~nt renunciation of self-love
and its guidance, which is a. sixth state; the 8eventh parable of a
Net cast into the Sea, describes the last effect of the reception of heav-
enly truth and good, in accompli2fbing a fuU and final separation
between goods Rod evils, and between truths and fa.lses, so that
goods Rnd truths are brought into conjunction \vith hel\ven, \vhilst
evils and falses are cast down into hell, and this is the seventh and
last state of the regenerate life.

ARTICLE v.

APHORISMS ON SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.

No. Ill.
We oUJ(ht earller to have lnade the remark that in givinJ( the title, .. 'NttD Ch.reA Apho-
risms on Slavery and AbolitloD~" we have SilUply adopted the tellns which Ollr friend, the
author of the Aphorisms. had affixed to his manuscript. We did indeed profose, from
the outset, to olnit the designation cs New Chllroh,,' and retain only cc Aphorislns," &0 ••
bat by lome oversight the first No. of the series eam" out with the titlt! in fall. and we
have since retained it for the sake oC uniformity, s'till intending, however, to put in our own
exoeptions to it, in the present No. Our purpose; in this respect, is quickened by the re-
cent receipt of a letter from the Soutb, ill whicb the writer, in etlrnestly diSfloading us
trom prosecuting the discutlsion. says: cs We protest against your Aphorisms on Slavery as
N. c. .4phori,m" when Swedenborg, as far as we know, has never mooted the question
,.D1 wbere in his writings. This we regllrd a! a wrong done to him, and to us as New-
ohurchmen. You have no right, RtJ we con!leive, to indulge in your speculations on this
.,ubject, and call theln New Church Aphorisms simply because you are a Newchurch-
man!' We admit the force of this protest, although implying erroneously that the title is
our own, instead of that of the writer. Though agreeing with several of their positions,
we should still be unWilling to bave them regarded as an expouent of Ollr views of N. C.
teaching on thi. subject. and deem it best, on the whole, to omit the epithet in the suc-
ceeding anicles. We look upon it as hardly fair to adopt a title to It discussion which
GII1II7I,., at the outset, a point that may be strenuously denied by an opposite party. Every
receiver of the doctrines of the New Church has the right to judge for bimsf!lf what ·is and
what la not in accordance with those doctrines, and is, in fact, bound to do it. Any pre-
 ApAori81118 011 Slavery and Abolilion.-No. Ill. 287
as5Qmption or forestalling of judgment on this lCore is at variance. we think, with the
crae spirit of the Church. But. on tbe other hand, we are equally opposed to whatever op-
po..- the freeat dilCul8ion oC the hearing of these doctrines upon civil. social, and moral
liCe- With this explanation, we. proceed to consider the fourth Aphorism.

IV.
They have not slavery imputed to them, who acknowledge it to be
a.n evil, and ac.t for the removal of it, fiocialJy and politically, accord-
ing to the laws of order. This is plain from the analogy of the indi-
vidual man, to whom. in the course of reforma.tion and regeneration,
b is evils are not imputed.
We t~ar there Bre those even in the bounds of the New Church who will be very back-
'Yard to Rccept the salvo so kindly provided for them in the above Aphorism. The nOD-
i rnput,nion or slavery as an evil will doubtless be thought very lightly of by those who ac-
knowledge no evil at all in the system. However much of surpri!e it may occasion. yet
t be fact is unquestionable, that a considerable portion of the Southern population. and
among them many Newcburchmen, strenuously maintain that slavery is neither a civil.
political, or moral evil, and, in fact. that the term ,viZ is in no sense predicable of it, vieW-
ed in its t:ssential character. There may be evils of abuse in the practical carrying oot
of the systern, but none in its intrinsic genius. To what extent this view of it is held by
SOl1tb~rn N. C. receivers, we are ignorant; but we flnd it unequivocally avowed in lome
of the communications addressed to us from that quarter, and a Southern paper of late
date embodies. no doubt. a large amount of sectional sentiment in the following asser-
tion: h 11 slavery cannot be defended on the grounds of its abstract justice. it can have DO
defence at all worthy of note; and no good man can give it defence." We can easily discern
the process by which the South is driven to this ultra position, but to 118. we are free to
~ay, this has very much the air or Cl falsI from tvil-of the confirmation oran utterly false
principle from the blinding etrt'ct of a selfhh love. What is the essential genius of slave-
ry 1 Is it not the claim of the right of property in a human being? How was this right
acqllired? Was there no evil in the original acquisition 1 Was it not effected by law-
less migbt over resisting but powerless weakness 1 Was not this all the title which could
be pleaded in the fi~8t instance ror the asserted right 1 Hus the basis of this right subse-
quently changed its natllre? Is the right of the possession any different from the right oC
the acquisition 1 If there was an evil in the circumstances in which the black man origin-
ally came into the hand. of the white man. how and·when was that elernent eliminated.
(roln the relation 1 In the light or the Nuw Dispensation do Wft not learn that the laws of
charity are the standard of evil? Does charity gives its imprimatur to the brand which
proclaims a human being transrormed frC'rp 11 freeman to a slave? , If the law of cbarity
did not preside at the first act. how could it preside at.-ny 8ucc~eding act of the mafl,cipat·
iAg process 'I On this head we have never seton any specimen of slaveholding logic that
was not in our view essentially deft'ctive. May we ask to be informed bow the invasion
of the native freedom of a human being, ftlld his reduction to bundage ogainst bis will. i.
not 11 breach of charity; and if a breach or charity, how it is not an evil; and if it waa
an evil in the outset, how it ceoses to be an evil in the sequel. That the result is so over-
ruled in tbe issue as to be a blessing to the enslaved, we do not quetltion for a lnomeDt;
bat W8! this the moti", of the original slave·oaptors on the coast of Afti(l!a 1 Has any ODe
the hardihood to assert it? If it were not how could the act be devoid of evil? And how
can the whole trail) of sequences, which takes its character from the initiatory step, fail to

J
he tainted with the lame vice 'I
What shall be eaid to the argument inyolved iD the following paragraph 1
 Aphorum. on 8lo.very and Abolition.-No. IlL [JaDe,
.. It were bumiliatinlf to eet about the proof that the slaye .ystem is iocompatible with
Christianiry; because no man questions its incompatibility who knows what Christi-
anity is, and wbat it reqnires. • • • • Look at the foundation of all the rela.tive
duties of man-Benevolence, Love-that love and benevolence which is the fulfilling of
the moral law-that • charity' which prompts to acts of kindnes!, and teoderQe8S, and
fellow-feeling for all men. Does he V\'bo seizes R. person. in GuineR, and drags him
shrieking to a vessel, practice this benevolence 1 When tbree or fOUf hundreds ha.ve been
thus seized, does he who chains them together in a suffocating hold, practice tbis bene.o-
lence 1 When they have reached another sbore, does he who gives money to tbe first for
his victims, keeps tbem as his property, and compels them to labor for his profit, practice
this benevolence? Would either of these persons think, if their relative sitoations were
exchanged with the A rricR"s', that the Arricans u!led therll justly and kindly? No. Then
the question is decided. Christianity condemns the llIystem; and.no further inqt\iryabolll
rectitude remains. The question is a9 distinctly eettled as when a man eommit5 a bur-
glary it is distinctly certain that he has violated the law."-D,mOfUf, ElltJy., p_ a07.

The truth is, we feel reluctant to assume an argumentative attitude towa~ds this posi-
tion. It is giYing it too much significance. The instinct of cbarity perceives itsell In-
stantaneously revolted by the as~ertion that it is not an evil to deprive a man of his free-
dom, and to consign him and his posterity to perpetual bondage. It is a position chat DO
reasoning can Jegitirnate, and one that reany damages the cause it is intended to support.
Far better would it be for the South to confess the original evil and wrong. and to plaDt
their defence on the ground of its unsol icited and d~plored transmission from the men of
another generation-an inheritance Bringing with it a world or enlbarrasslnent as to the
true path of duty, as to wbich, however, they are far, very far, from indifferent. and if
they appear to be tardy in action, that it is owing to the practical difficulties ""hich be-~t
every attempt to apply the proper relnedy. Now. these diffioulties, we shall encleavor to
show, are by no means insuperable.'but they are still difficulties. and the Soath are at fall
liberty to plead them in reply to the rampant urgency of a zeal of reform which is not ac-
cording to knowledge. We look upon it as peculiarly uufortunate that the -Soutbern de-
fenders of the Institution allowed th~mselves to be driven, by the streosl of anti-slavery
Jogic, lO so flimsy a retreat as that oftlle intrinsic harmle,sness of the central principle of
the system. This ground. we believe, was seldom or never takeri in the earlier days of
llavery, nor do we think it would eyer have been resorted to, but for the vigorous onset
made by the anti-slavery sentiment of the North. An evil hard pressed is very prone to
betake itself to a fa.lsity for refuge. For ourselves, therefort-, we are disposed to lake
it for granted that there is, in facI, a latent consciousness of an intrinsic evil adhering to
the system, and not only so, but that this feature of it. is a t!!ou:ce oC earnest and anxious
thought with conscientious men of the South, who find thernselves susta ining the relation,
and who would devoutly desire to acquit themselves to the approbation of the Searcher or
hearts. To all such the prop'osition of tbe Aphorism will not have tbe air of a gratultOQA
moralizing. They will respectfully consider the laws which govem tbe Divine estimate
of evil, and they will agree with us that the acknowl~gmenton lhis SQore which shall se-
care the non-imputation of slavery as a sin, ml1st needs be something more than a mere
genera]. lax, or matter of course a'senling to the proposition which affirms it as an eYil.
A mall may mak~ this verbal acknowledgment, ,,·hile at the 'June time be loses sight C'f
his own agency in the matter, and thinks of it solely as an evil predicable of the commu-
nity at large. Nay, be may even, while inwardly lavoring it in hi8 heart, practise a cere
tain ruat upon bis conscience by such an acknowledgnlent, Rnd secretly Iclncy that he
atones for the evil by confeSSing it. But, plainly, such an acknoe.\'ledgment amounts to
nothing. It must be a sincere, tborough-going rt-cognition of one'! own personal agency
in npholding the system, coupled with a course of positive action tending directly. hotN-
ever gradually, to do away what he professes to deplore. Tbis is doubtless implied in
the words oftbe Aphorism, but it DUlY be well to reiterate it, as the subtlety of the cor-
rupt heaTt of man is such that he will even make the testimony which his moraloatdrt
1852.] Correrpond~nce. 269

compel, him to bear to right, a clOftk for tbe persistent cootinuance iD the very wrong
'W'bieb he would faiD persaade himself be abhors.
The remaining clause of the Aphorism undoubtedly sets forth an analogy pertint-ut to
t.he case before us, and one whi~h is strongly oonfirmatory at the ground we have as-
.umed above. In individnal regeneration the great desideratulD is conscious sincerity,
simplicity, aod honesty of aim. \Vhen this is present, and tbe 80ul is pressing on to high
alld pure attainments, the evils of which it is struggling to divest itself afe not imputed to
i It Dor can they prevent a final relic itous issue. So in the case before us. If tbe slave.
bolder gives mora) principle' fair play, and truly and sincerelylabors to ascertain what the
Lord would have him to do in tbf: circumstances, and is willing to go counter 10 his ap-
p,uent ~'orldly interest, and make sacrifices tor the lake of Ltrulb and rilbleousne'J!', then
he may assure himself that the evil he may have formerly countenanced js not imputt-d to
him I and he may present an unruffled brow to all reproaches and vilifications. But men
tht1S prompted will not take it ill to be reminded that snbtleties and !opb!stries, the otr-
apring of a pervertt!d proprium: will scarcely fail to cloud their perceptions, and warp
their judgment, When they come to grapple in earnest with the problem tbat presses upon
them.
G. B.
(To be e07llintud.)

CORRESPONDENCE.
SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS, AND REFLECTIO~S THEREON.
1--.-, April 28, 1852.
REV. AND DEAR. SIR,-
I am delighted that you are giving place in the Repository, to "The Parablcs Ex-
plained," and I for one, hope that, in due time, the personal history of our Lord, 118
set forth in the Gospels, and His words, other than those' commonly called Parables,
may be made the subject of extended exposition. I hun~r for something or the
kind, and am either becoming more stupia, or more CODSCiOUS of stolidity, for I fre-
qoently feel (as a real want) a desire to read clear expositions of meanings, which,
uDa88isted, I only catch a glimpse of.
The ,. Spirit Rappings" have reached us, and in the course of a few months aner
their advent, have become, as it were, common in the central and northern part of
the State. Last month I attended court at G - - , twenty miles east, and finding
myself in the midst of" knocking," "moving;' and "writing medium~," I concluded
to bring each to the test of personal scrutiny, and did so. I suppose you know all
about such things; let I incline to pen down for your eye a few of the facts, care-
fully scrutinized an. cr088-examine~ by an old hand at detecting fallacies, conned
stories, conspiracies against truth, and efforts at humbug, as the same are practiced
in courts of Justice, and I may·venture upon some speculatioDs or inferences.
I heard a great variety of knockings and frictions, which sometimes were made
voluntarily, or independently, and sometimes in response, apparently, to the knock-
ings or frictions of hying 8ubjects, or to their oral questions, and I.eawa heavy table
movcd in di1ferent directions several feet, and rock both sidewise and end wise, like a
boat on a rough sea. About these things, I am satisfied, U beyond a reasonable
doubt," there was no jugglery. I held a candle in my hand close to the floor, and
took such a position that, had the results been produced by human t'genoyor by ma..
chinery, I must have detected it. The hands of the U medium" were opon the top
of the table, bllt held fiat, and did not grasp any portion of it. Besides, her 8trength,
laid out to th'b best advantage, was manifestly inadequate to produce the violent
rockings and slides made by the table. A giant could not have done it withou'
grasping the table..
2'70 Corre8fXJJldence. [JoDr,
I fancied I perceived a diiFereDce in the motiOD' or the table., and in tlle boek-
in~ a8 slow, and solemn, or rapid, and abrupt, and coold Dot help bllt fttl tbai
this difFerence was indicative of some intent, or meaning, glimpses of which I thought
I pprceived. But wbile I in~iBt upon the verity of the facts which I BaW, I acknow-
ledge scepticism as to impressions, and ask no Faith concerning them from YOI1. An
I have to 8&y tor them is, that they came t.o me. I did flot seek them.
I next visited a u writing medium," a little girl of eleven ,.ean, the daughter of.
much respected friend, a man of wealth and respectability. The mother is • Y«ry
pious, discreet, and intelligent woman, a presbyterian. The little girl is very small
for her &Jl:6, and infantile in appearance, and is delicate, though not in wbas ia
usually called bad health.
In a few minutes after I sat down by the U medium," I called for the spirit of. fe-
male friend, who died twenty-one years ago, of whose general innocence and recti-
tude of character 1 entertained a favorable opinion, aDd whOle gentlen688 was .oh
that I have often felt that to see her, in her spiritual form, would not alarm me.
The medium instantly announced, by writing a bne, that the desired spirit was pre-
sent, and ready to communicate with me. She (the medium) also informed qle
orally, that this spirit was very glad to see me. I asked her how she knew that, and
she said, "I know by the way I feel." At first the res~nse8 were childlike and
playful, which insensibly led me to ask questions of curiOSity about worldly matten..
At tint I received responses, but I could not help but perceive, or fttl that they were
constrained, and almost ungracious. Then they became evasive, or indefinite, and
88 I yet persevered, I met a decided veto. I then 8at for a few minutes silent and ab-
stracted, when the medium called my attention, by touQbing my arm. I tumed my
eye8 to the paper, where these words were written, viz: "Ask me mental questions."
I proceeded to ask many mental questioD8, and received responses. At length I de-
manded the fa(,ts as to a matter of mystery and delicacy, and received a general &n-
ewer, to the purport that my 8urmiRCS were, as to generals, correct. With earnest-
ness I mentally pressed for particulars, as to time, place, persons, &e., and as I
did 80 I turned away. After a few minutes, the medium touched my arm, and with
the pencil which Ihe ordinarily wrote with, pointed to these words, written while my
eyes were averted, via: "Be ashamed, man." To write these words the medium
had discarded her pencil, and they were written with pen and ink, and in a muoh
more distinct aDd roun.d hand than that in which she W&8 accustomed to write. I
tL'as ashamed, and sat averted and silent for some Dlinutes. At length the medium
touched my arm, and on turning to the paper, I found a diagram, made in pencil, as
Collows, only much more tastefully:
JEOVA
OUR SAVIOUR
GOD LORD
AND CHRIST
JESUS
And by words and pencil directed me to read it thus: Jeova, our Saviour, Lord
JesU8 Christ, and Goo. To this diagram I was moat energeticalll pointed with the
pencil, the countenance of the medium expressing, at the same tune, an eagerness,
or
and anxiety, the peculiarity oC which was, I cannot believe, a matter mere im-
agination.
Other 8piritl I could " eall from the vasty deep;" but this one manifested anxiety
on this, my tirst, and at two subsequent visits to the mediubl, to bring about, and
keep u.p an intercolU'86 of thought. At the second and third visits, the medium im-
mediately took her seat at her writing stand, and with paper before her, and pencil
in hand, &ppeared to be waiting, manifesting much eagerneu by her countenance,
and iD a variety of ways endeavorin~ to attract my attention, and on one of those
occasioDs, when I continued to talk With the mother of the medium Cor a few BCcond.,
the medium ...id, calling me by name, U - - - , either she is a1 ways here, or else
yOll bring her with you." At each of the seoond and third visits, when I sat dOWD
by the aide of the medium, I found the name· of my departed friend printed in large
Roman capital., at the top of the page.
Having received Crom this 8uppOsea spirit, 88 well &8 from others, repeat~d admi..
• iODS that there are punishmenta in the other life, always accompanied by tho em-
185~.] Spiritllal ~lanife.'aeiINN alld Rejlectio1l. thereon. 2'11
pha"o declaration that. they are DO' end18l8, I resolved to avail mpelf of a ClOll-
examination of this Ipirit upon that pom" and prooeeded a8 fullowl, via:
Que.,tioll. You.y that plloishmenta, in the other life, are Dot endlesa. For wha'
IeD~h of time are they es~nded 1 .Am1l1tr. U Aocordin,; to ~he deeds done in the
bodY." Q." Do you know the spin' of Po~ Alexander VI 1" The mediwn seem-
ed much agitated, and her hand moved rapidly, laterally and spirally, graduo.llyu-
eending from the lateral to the vertioal, and the motion was continued vertically
and spirally, for near a minute, with grea* rapidity, the medium extending ber band
and ann to their utmost limit, and partly raUlmg herself from her cbair. \V hen her
hand came baok to the Paper, the &nawer was written, ., Yea." I then addreaaed
the medium thus: "SiMy, why did you extend your arm upwards in that peculiar
way 1" Medillm answers, "She was asking God." Q. U Could you not have avoid-
ed raising your hand that way 1" A." Indeed, sir, I oould Dot help it." I then re-
eumed my oross-examination thus: Q. 'L III Pope Alexander VI. happy 1" A." No,
he is miserable." Q. U Where is he 1" A." In hell." Q. U \Vhere is Lacretia
Borgia 1n A.." In hell." Q. U How long do the wicked remain in hell 1" A. U As
long as they are wioked." Q." How long do the wont remain wioked 1" ~.
U How do I know 1 Indefinite."
I asked this spirit and others a great many questions ooncerning matters of mere
worldly curiosity, and, esoept as above stated, was uniCorml.r repulsed. Some or
thoee recently dead repulsed me rudely. I asked many qUestl0~ conoerning facts
boWD to me; and never failed to receive answers in some of the following word..
viz: U YOll know." U You don"t know, do you~" " \Vhy do you ask 1" " Vou
know well enough." U That is a test question." "You can!t 01'088 me."
I propoun<led questioDS as to the state of those I addresaed, and all professed to be
happy. I propounded numeroos ~uestioDI88 to tho &Cenery, &0., of the other life,
aDd the answer was alw&ySt U \Valt and see." ,- You would be too wise." "You
would know too much," or, "Yo.a would be too wiae. Doo't you think 80 1" I ask-
ed many questions concerning matters of religious Creed and Faith, the writings of
E. S., the Trinity, &0., &0, and was uniformly advised to read my Bible, and point-
ed to tho names of the Divine Being, as they were written on the paper before me.
At length I asked the spirit above named, as one most willing to communioate
with me, for an esplanation of there being neither toarriage, nor giving in marriage
in the other life; and was rebuffed with the accu8tomed aoswer, U 'You would be too
wise." I then asked, "Which has precedence, Faith or Charity 1" And in a bold
style of writing, and with much eagerness, the medium wrote the word H Charity."
I make a Dote of a dialogue between myself and the Bupposed spirit of a late mem-
ber of the legal profession, who died two years ago, as f()1l0w8 :
Question. "Are you happy 1" An,u-er. U y'es. I am in the fourth degree of bap-
piness." Q." Are there punishments in the other life 1" .A. H Yea, but not end-
less." Q. U Is this communication between us and spirits to progre88 1" A.." Yes."
Q_ U What will be the next step 1" A.. U You will feel us talk So you." Q. U What
next 1". .A. "You will hear us sing and 8~ak." Q." \Vhat nest 1" A." You will
Bee and speak with us, face to faco." Q. U What good will l'e8Qlt~" A.. u The
thief will no longer steal. Evil doers will forbear, if for nothing else, for charaoter
.ke; for they will know that we will tell on them." Q. How will this make the
human race any better 1" A." In time it will. At &nt it will only make hypo-
crites; bot that will make the world more comfortable to the good." Q. U W by do
you Dot tell on thieves and evil-doers now 1" A." O! that would be too bad."
Q. U Are there none BO wioked that they must be punished always 1" .A. U I am. a
very bad man, and I was not punished always.".
Alllfirits with whom I appeared to oommunicate, agreed upon these points, vis:
let. Al said they were happy. 2d. Tbat there are seven degree. of happine•.
3d. That there are llunishments in the other life, but not endle88. Not one failed to
write these words, VIZ: U God of love, and Dot of wrath," upon the iirat, opportunity
afforded by my questions. Some penned these words, vis: "Love, Love, Love. Goa
of love, and not of wrath."
I failed to meet with any respoDse from any Newchurchman, or from aa10ne who
died more than twenty-one year8 ago.
I expreesed a desire to communicate with the s~irits of many deparied oncs, who
turned oot to be inaocessible. Upon those 000&81008 the hand of the medium per-
formed the spiral motion above desoribed, and when it came down, dropped the pen-
 2'72 CDrr'6pOMellce. LJune,
en. When I requested, through the spirit above named as 80 willing to communi-
oate with me, that I might communicate with the spirit of the late Luciaa Lyon, aDd
failed, it occurred to me that the Newchurchman had U Rone to his own." When:
in like manner, I desired a communication to be made from E. S., the action was
quite violent, and the pencil was dashed upon the table.
I asked my gentle friend, "Do you know Mr. --1" A.. Cl Yes, he lives in New-
York." Q. U 18 my intercouree with him profitable~" if. U Yes." Q." Is he
good '" if. U Just tolerable." I laughed, and fancied that 8he did 80 too. Q." Do
. you know the books which I have princiJ!&lly read lately 1" A." Yes." Q." Do
they contain the truth 1" .If. U Some of it 18 true, but not all." fNOTE. I have lately
4

read little else than the Arcana, newspapers, and a little law.
Now, my dear friend, while these things, and 'many others oC .. similar cbaraeter
traDspired, I could not hel{» speculating upon, and inferrin~ from th~m &8 {ollows:
1st. That. these manifestations are not gotten up by machInery or human ~ncy.
aBd that t,he jttg~lery, if any there be, is concocted in the world of 8pirits. 2d. That
there are seven dIscrete de~ree8 in the world of spirits. [N OTE. This all a.greed in~
and eaeh 8uppoTted the claims of the others &8 to the degree they professed to be in.]
3d. That in the world of spirits there is no other idea of unhappiness, except that
which is deduced from V&8tatin~ punishments there. 4th. That when relea8ed, for
the present, from VR.atating ponIshment&, the spirits 8UPpoae they have seen the lut
of trouble. 5th. That those who talked with me may·have further vastation before
them, and yet Dot expect it. 6th. That they are led into this mistake, and int.o a
confounding of vastating punishment&, and the unhappiness resulting from wicked-
ness into one and the same thing, by Old Church persuaaions acquired in this life,
and henoe, on their first release from vastating punishments, fancy all is well, and,
in a 8ort, adhere to the Roman CHurch notion of Purgatory. 7th. That while many
of these communications may come from spirits who are intelligent and good, much
also may come Crom thORe who, though honest, are in great errors, much from those
who are in evils and falseR, and much from artful 8piri~ R88uming characters to
best answer their deceitful and malign&nt designs., 8th. That (ft.8 a coneequence)
he who is deceived thereby, is not wise. The time has oome when we must '" try the
spirits," &c., especially because from hell will come much truth, artfully mingled
.with plausible lies.
As a Newchurchman, I oonsider it to be a solemn duty to direct attention to these
spiritual manifestations, to avow my full belief that they are such, to endorse no-
thing communicated, and to hold the communications themselves up in their true light,
88 possibly true, quite as possibly false, aDd~rObablY mised. This is a duty, not 80
much for the sake of Newchurchmen (thou some of them seem to be blind to the
we which may be made of these things) as or the sake of New Church truth, to the
eause of which these manifestatioDs are to be ancillar1' or they would not be per-
mitted. They are to be ancillary 8.8 follows: The maJority of mankind in Christen-
dom are either sensual skepticrz, whose spiritual beliefs are slight, and whose aSlent
to orthodoxy is only external, or religious bigots who swear by the creeds to which
they have respectivel,Y subscribed, and negative all else. Botb these cluses ebarge
that" the manifestations" are produced by humo.n &gency and jugglery, until tht'Y
are silenced by ocular proof and scrutiny; and to this scrutiny and proof the1 are
reluctantly induced to attend. \Vhen thus silenced, I have noticed that the IgnO-
rant skeptic contents himself with U cursing the whole ooncern;" the skeptic of
more natural science 888igns the whole matter to the agency of electricity, and ani..
. mal magnetism (as if animal maanetism \vera not either soul, or the lever and ful..
orum ·of soul), while the religiousbigot invariably dogmatizes that (to use the pecu-
liar classics of one of them, &8 lately uttered in my hearing), -, the whole thlD~ is
from the Old Scratch." These manife8tatioDs are U a sign" given to U a generation
of viper!," ~n this sensual age. A sign of what' I answer, A 8ign of the immor-
talit1 of maD, and a future life; a sign that the orthodox idea of'instantaneous intro--
mi88lon into tJery Heaven, or very Hell immediately after death is false; a sign that
the spirits of the recently departed are mainly such as they were in this life; a sign
that many in the other life are in a state of false hope, and carnal security, who, at
eome proper time, willaay, U Lord! Lord !" &c., and be answered, U I never knew
,.Ott," &c.; & sign that there is a progrese in the other life, that the germ of good in·
creaees with the good, and the germ of evil with the evil, till each" goes to bis own
1852.] The DUcuI,ion of the Slavwy Question-with a Reply_ 278

place;" a sign of what is told in the parable of the ebeep aDd the goats, &.c. And
8ball the Newchurchman fold his band~ and fail to hold up this sign, and direct at-
tention to it 1 The Newohurohman has IQuch to gain extemally from these mani.
festatioD8, if they progre88 as we are told, and as I verily believe they will. Evil in
act will be repressed, and the world become., more comfortable reaidence for him.
His pro~rty, pel'8OD, and character will be guarded, by the tears of the wicked that
spirits will expose their villany. He hu nothing to fear from these manifestations;
for t.hey are Dot the kind of open intercourse with spirits whioh E. S. warns us or as
dangeroU& They reach us coldly, through a medium, Bnd aiFact our intelleot alone.
They reach not the heart, to touch the affection of man's love. I caD see much of good
to result from them, and no evil; nor do I believe they would have been permitted, if
evil must needs be the result. I have an abounding confidence in the Lord that none
but one already l08t to the eye of prevision will ever take to himself a U familiar devil"
to prompt his evil loves ; and our Author teaching nothing to tbe contrary, it is clear
that a h familiar anger' can do the regenerate man DO harm, by promptil)g his love
to God and man. It is the man who &leks a U familiar devil," wlio alone will be foud
of one.
Besides all this, the Newchurchman can do muoh good by guarding individual.,
by special efFort, against being misled by U the manifestations." Is not that a charity
-a use ~ And will the Newehurohman fail to avail hi:maelC of it 1 Adieu!
w.

THE DISCUSSION OF THE SLAVERY QUESTION.

EXTRACT OF A LETTER.
U For myaelf, I have ever been disposed to allow the largest liberty and ruDed

discussion. even of delicate matters. But you will pardon me for intimating a doubt
whet.her the adding, at this time, the subject of slavery to the other questions which
are being mooted in l~ur pages: is like to lead to ~ood. The agitation of this topic in
the Congress of the U. S., and the settlement of It by the compromise acta, in rela-
tion to the newly acquired territory, have produced such & 80re feeling throughout
the South, and they feel so severely the enormous injustice which they have suffered
at the hands of the North ~nerally, in relation thereto, that they are in no temper
just now to listen to anythmg farther on that head. It may do harm, and I do not
believe that it will do any goOd. or this, however, you must judge."
Yours, &0.,
N. F. C.

COLUMBIA, S. C., April ~th, 1852.

My DEAR SIR :-1 have just received the enclosed letter from J. H. M--, Esq.,
the oldeat living receiver of the New Church doctrines in C--, with 8 requC8t, 88
you will perceive, from the members of the New Church in C--n, that I should
write to you on the subject adverted to in that letter.
I have not time now to argue the matter, and should not think it desirable if I
had; but I cannot but express ID.,
sincere regret that you have found it necessary
to broach the subject of slavery In the N. C. Rep08itory,-a work to which all our
New Church brethren at the South are sincerely attached. Southern members or
the New Church have reflected on this subject for themselves; they bave formed
their own opinions; they entertain those opinions conscientiously; they are able to
defend them by sound arguments. The question is a Southern, and not a Northern
question. You have no slaves at the North. The responsibility rests with the
slaveholders of the South, a.nd any attempt to agitate this matter by our Nortbem
brethren, seems to us as unju6tifiable interference with our own concerns. I fear that
much harm will be done, if this agitation is permitted to enter within the peaceful
precincts of the New Church, and I deprecate such a Qareer of distraction as one of
the greatest calamities that can befal the Church at this juncture. Let us leave
this matter, as Mr. M--- well suggests, to the overruling wisdom or
Providence.
 Corrt.-"tlence. [Jour,
You a.t the Nortb, 1 fear, do Dot undentaDd the cbarac~r of the iuiita.tioD which
you oondemn 10 unsparingly as .. great wrOD~ dODe to lOCiety, and to the Deg!O
race. I venture to say, if you were to spend 8lX montba in Carolina, and to wime.
the operations of slavery, lRB it is caI.led,) your opinion of it would be materially
chan~ed. Perhaps Providence originally designed that a portion of Dlankind abould
serve another portion of it for the special bene't of the former portion. \Vho ahaJl
.y 1 At any rate, al a New Churchman, I cannot perceive, under esiatiD~ circum-
.nee-, that I am doing anJ wrong in holding slavea; but I will DOt, as I 88Jd, argae
the matter, for I think it UJ one of those topics, the diacllSBion of which doee ~
belong to the New Church.
With aentimenta 'of great regard, and respect, 1 am, dear sir,
Truly, your friend and brother,
D. K. \V.

L - , April 11th, 1852-

)fy DEAR SUl,-Sinee I lert my residenee in the mountains. on a visit here, I met
with the last number of the Repository, at the houlJO of a friend, containing yoar
~ning number on the subject of slavery u it ensts amongst us.
I know it will be in vain to attempt to convince a northern man that he does not,
and cannot understand the bearings of this subject in all its relations; eifort8 to thi8
ha,-e been already made, and unavailingly. Nor shall I trouble you with prot-est&
or remoDstra.nces. The discu88ion of the subject has alread, led to a divuqon of
nearly 0.11 the prominent soots of the Old Church; and I do not, m the least, doubt that
such will be the etfeet in the New. It is in vain to speak of motiv,,; they cannot regu-
late or control r,sults, however they may, in some sort, serve to vindicate conduct
and character_ You have, and I deeply regret to .y it, you have, by this article-
thrown .. buming brand into the midst of oombustibles already sufficiently prepared
to take tire. I do not think that OUT mission required this. It has nodiiD~ to do
with the institutions, civil or political, of this world. It is to preach love to God and
love to our neighbor, and to avoid all oause of offence. llitherto-and we of th~
South felt proud that it was so--the Church has refrained from touching this delicate
and much vexed question. It has left it to the direction of a wise and merciful
Providence; trusting that, if evil, it would, in the course of time, yield to good. Re-
garded in a Christian aspect, it is a matter for individual cODSl}ience. There it mU8t
be left to work ita way, a.nd every effort to order it otherwise will but defeat the end.
I had hoped there were subjects enough in the evils and falsities of the Old Church
to engu,ge our attention for a century to come, without dividing and distracting U!t
on this question of domestio servitude. I do not see how it can possibly lead toO any
good. 1 may be mistaken. The Lord forbid that 1 should desire to make my mind the
rule of other men's-a proclivity to which the human mind is 8(' liable. You may
mllke the esperiment yOI1 propose. The result alone can ahow the good. and the
evil. As to effecting any change in the iostitlltion at this time by discu88ion, I would
as soon expeot to see it remove the Apalachian mountains, and 8ubstitute the An..
des or the Alps in their stead. Things are not ripe for it, even if every man amongst
as deemed it desirable. l\lany years must elapse before it will be thought even pro-
per to discU88 it; and when the time shall arnve, if ever, it will be most prudent,
most tllectiue, to leave the discussion to those whom it more directly concerns.
I write thus frankly AS a matter of duty, and I hope you will regard what I 881 in
the lame kind spirit which prompts me to 8peak.
Yours, &0.,
R.K.C.

M - - , April 12th, 1852.

My DEAR SIR :-1 take the liberty of expreaing to you the pain whioh I feel, ari.
ing from the broaching of the Slavery question in the RepOSitory. If I may do 10
without offence, (as none is certainly intend~d,) I would enter my solemn but re8pec1-
ful remonstrance against the continuance of the disoU88ion. U Cui bono 1 " At the
North and West and East, your argument, however able (and I am qwte lure it will
be able), can do DO good, because not needed; all, without perhaps a 8Olitar1 ezeep-

m
1852.] The Di,cu.,ioll of 'he Sltlwry Que,tion-witll a Reply. 275

tioa, are already iD accord with you upon the abstraoli question. A' the South you
aadienee is Dot in • stat.e of mind to appreciate or even hear, with patience, the
dilcu8&i0D. In thia remark, I do not intend to concede or deny any position al8umed
iD 'lour opening commentariee upon ~he &. Apbori8lD1," for the reason that I do DO&
dSre to join i.ue with you. 1'he subject has been diac088ed in every form aDd'
aspec" and, if ~ble, the parties to the debate are as wide apan as wh~n they
beIaD. You Will escuse me. if I exprel8 my doubt wbether, with your great ability
and learning, you will produce any thing Dew. The country has jOlt, puaed through
a criBis of intenae esoitement on the slavery que8tion, and the ~outhern States are
yet writhing under the chagrin and humiliation of having been robbed in the name
of philanthropy, and under the forms of legi8lation, of a just participation in oor ter-
ritorial p~ioDs. It is true, by large majorities, they have accepted the compro-
mise meaanre8; but it has been under sullen, significant, and fearful protests. 'fhe
Cory oC the tempes' has pa88ed from the bosom of the deep, but ita waters are ye~
agitated to ita lowest cave1"D8. Now, in all cando!", I appeal to your enlightened
jadgment to decide whether this be a propitious time to broach a sobject 80 deli-
cate ~ It IBUst be obvious that you are not speaking to tile North-it is Dot her pe0-
ple that you mainly desire to enlighten; for, as before observed, they are with you
already.. It is the Southern slave-holder that you would reaoh; it is to hisjudgment,
reason, and conscience that you would present your appeal. But you come to him
when he is stung by the remembrance of recent wrongs, when he is eusperated by
what he regardd an attempt by th088, whose busioese it is not to intermeddle with
hia domestio rights, peaoe, and security. Before such an auditory, can you expeot ~
be heard ~ Sir, the argument of an angil would be as impote~ as the wailmga oC
ao infant against the fUry of a tomado.
But let me not do injD8tioe to your position. The spirit of your remarks is geod-
your motive above luspicion, and you propoae &8 • New Churchman to speak- to
New Churchman. You are m08t gu~ed in avoiding the political .peot; you seem
dailfJledlg to withhold all 8ympathy (1 believe you have none) with the fanatioism
or abolitioniam; and yon wish to argue 'the qaestion calmly and dispassionately llpon
New Church grounds. I appreciate the position yon take, and inui vidually, 1 can
_y, that thus far I detect nothing in your remarks in the least offensive. Hut still,
pArdon my candor if I expre88 the belief that the discU88ion will do infinite mi8chief to
the cause of the New Church in the South. In this Bection the number of receivers
ia Il1O&11, they arc scattered and iaolated; if they a vow their doctrioes they are meered
at and denounced as having embraced one among the m08t absurd um, of the day.
Now, in addition to.ll tlUs, oan it be possible that it is the design of a Good Provi-
dence, that they shall be classed with abolitionism 1 You may repudiate abolition
.. earnestly 88 you please, you may disavow it in behalf of the New Church, you
may enter your solemn protest against all ~litical interferenco with too 8uhject, and
yet I must tell you, that the diBcU88ion whioh you have begun will as certainly iden-
tify the New Church with the odium of that despicable ism, in the Southern estima-
tion-jllSt as certainly as you prosecut.e it. No,.. do you wish to place your Southern
brethren in such 0. poeition 1 Is it not a wrong to the New Church to do 80 1 'fhese
are pointed quc8tions, but thel cover no insinuatioo! or reflections. They are
prompted by feelings of great kIndness and respect for you, and deep solioitude for
&he spread of the Heavenly Doctrines.
Perhaps I may add strength to the above remarks, if I tell you, that, 80 far as
relates to the New Church in the South, lour position is both commaDdin~and pecu-
liar. I mean no flattery; but you are highly res~cted in that section of the coun-
tzy Cor distinguished talent and learning, as well &8 honesty of PUrp080 and cOD8cien-
ti0118 J"e8e&rch. You are regarded as a true exponent of New Church ICDtiment,
doctrine and yolicy. Your Southem brethren look to you as an able champion, and
lean on you ID times of conftict and difficulty. .All tIt;, is true. Now, connect it
with the exceeding I18Dsitivene98 of the Southem mind,-the isolated oondition of
your brethren, the weakness of the New Church, the thousand other prejudioes
apinst which she has to contend, and then decide whether it is just to yOurtielf and
juat to Soathem receivers, gravely, at this crisis, to promulgate anti-slavery as the
~u, spirit, tendency of the New Church, aye, and duly of New Churchmen.
Allow me to .y, that 1 think yoo allume & fearful responaibility, in thus occasion-
ing Dew perila and Dew tria1a to the hopes and toils of your ecattered brethren in the
SOuth.
276 [June,
or COUTBe you will reply to all thiB, that the South will have no right to place I1lCh
a cODstruction, that it will be unfair to identif:r. the New Church with abolition a~
such a ground. This may be true. But it wdl not avert the mischief. To,ra18e8
the question of expediency. Then, I would ask, is it inconm8tent with the spirit &Dd
doctrines of the l\ew Church, IOmetimes to consult expediency 'J Your views on the
question of alavery may be BOund; it may be that you can sustain them by uga-
ment, but does duty imperatively demand that you should promulgate them DOW' '!
Is it not lawful, even under New Church lijtht, to withhold them for her sake! Has
she not difficulties enough already on hand r Can they all be dispatched at once ~ le
DOt, and they are to be encountered one by one, why may not tbw be deferred till
she gets more strength, and her policy and spirit shall be better understood !
You see that tho ,·iew I take is purely practical. We must take the world as it is.
God Himself CODSUlted this great principle in giving ~i8 revelation. He suited it to
man 88 he was, natural, IUJ he is, somefDhat spiritual, and .. he shall be, celestial.
Now, without questioning the correctne88 of your opinion, 88 to the genius of the New
Church, in reference to slavery, (for my aim is to arrest rather than provoke a need-
le. discU88ion,) I would ask if it is not equally wise and lawful for lier to approach
man as he is-buried in 8ensualism-and deal with the existing state of things in
the best, DU)8t prudent and expedient way, in order to elevate the race to the spirit-
ual ~lane1
Now, without espreBBin,; anI opinion on the abstract question, my view oC slaTeJ')"
is simply this. The relation of master and slave has been permitted of Proridence
in all ages. I can see that Southern slavery is most wise and benevolent, indicating
the only probable mean8 by which the African race can ever be civilized and chris-
tianized. The work is actuallJ' in progress, but is greatly retarded by the exceeding
kindness of our Northern friendB, who feel very anxious to render some aDistance to
the Lord in etrecting His providential purposes. It ma., be that the Southern
alaveholder is derelict in duty-doc8 not do ~nough. It 18 quite certain that the
Northem so-called philanthropist attempts too much. Then, the position of good
eense is just this: th~ Lord will do all things right; He will work out the ends
designed by slavery. It concerns us, not the North. If we fail in duty, 1C~ are
responsible. We do know a little about relative dutieB, our social interests, our
domestic security; and we hat1e eome idea of accountability for our dealin~ towarda
our slaves. But all this is ignored by the North, and we are classed with piratel
and robbers. If they would only let us alone, how much good sense they would
exhibit!
But you think the New Church has a mission to performQn this 8U~Ject. Yes, and
80 think Northern Presbyterians and Methodists and Baptists in reference to their
leveral sects. And they all bue their opinions upon the abstract qtultion. They all
begin very moderatelv, very gently; offering advice and argument and brotherly
8yrnpathy. But you "'know that they have long since degenerated into the veriest
fanaticism, in both discussion and operation. Now, if the New Church enters the
field, where i8 the guaranty that she will not run into similar folly and extrava-
gance 1 It does seem to me, that the New Church, above all others, should confide
the whole subject to }lrovidence, and trust to the enlightening and elevating ten-
dency of her doctrines.
Southern slavery is destined to run a long career yet. It is a means to a great
end-the ultimate elevation of the African race. ~fan cannot, if he would, abolish
it suddenly. It is upon us; it is ours to do our dut,. to the slave, care Cor his wanta, .
provide for hiB comforts, secure him the benefits of religion, open to his mind the
lofty themes of immortality. This the New Church inculcates by her spirit and
doctrines, in my judgment, more forcibly than the Old. At present, our negroes can-
not be educated. Our safety forbids it. But why 1 Because abolition will tamper
with them, and poison their minds, and make them di88&tisfied. This blessing is
denied them for this reason, and this only. It was not prohibited by law, in most of
the slave States, until the abolition agitation be~n. Now, I am not disposed to
abate a jot from our obligations. They are obvIous; they press upon us; we are
bound to do our duty to them as ,lave,. If we do it, we are free from sin; if we
do it, then the LoI·d will take care of results, and as soon as they are fitted for lib-
erty, he will provide the me&ll8. Freedom flOfD would be to them the greatest calam-
ity. They oould not exist among us. They would be exterminated by a war
1852.] The Di,clU,ion of the Slavery Que8tion-with a Reply. 2'77
between the races. The benevolent and philanthropic North will not receive them.
They cannot be transported; it would eXha118t the entire reeources of the oountry.
How then ~ We are tirought baok again to the ground of common sense. .Ltt tJu
slawholdeT perform ",ith jidtlity, hi, duty to them as slaves, and then confide their future
dntination to tJle developments of a tDise and good Providence; and let these duties b,
Pe170rTMd tDith a spirit of ",tire and p"fect subordination to th, indication. of Prov-
idcnu.
Now, my dear sir, if you are content to rest the subject upon that ground, I think
you will see that your U &J>horisms" and comments are unnecessary, calculated to do
no good, but much mischief. And if to this you will connect the confidence, that we
of the South are daily considering the subject in all its aspects, that there is intelli..
gence enough among us to know our duty, and honesty enough to do it, if we can be
allowed to do it in our own way, without the diotation of thoee whom it does not oon-
cern; and the additional confidence of the elevating and enlightening tendenoy of
the New DispeosatiOD, you need have no misgivings. Slavery will work out ita des-
tiny under the guidanoe of a kind and beneficent Providence. What that destina-
tion may be is among the arcana of the future. But if I were to indulge B conjec-
ture, I would suggest the possibility, that our slaves, following the tide of time and
events, may yet find a home in South America, where climate and soil suit them;
where color does not aft'ect caste in the social organization, and where they may have
a system of government and laws adapted to their gra4e of civilization, whatever it
may then be. Very respectfully and sinoerely,
Your obedient eervant,
H. v. J.
REPLY.
The above communications, penned in so adanirable a spirit, and teeming with senti-
ments of the kindeat personal regard, while at the same time earnest and firm in depre-
cating results which their writers think lure to follow, have come home to us with the force
oC a most powerful appeal. We should be utterly at a loss to know how to be ever on
good terms with ourselves again, were we to be insensible to the plea which is here urged
against the agitation of the subject of Slavery in our pages. The fact is we feel it to. our
heart's core. Not only from the writers of the foregoing letters, but from our N. C. bre.
Lhren at the South generally, have we received so many~aDd such signal tokens ot warm
fraternal sympathy and regard, that the idea of saying or doing anything that shall give
them pain falls upon us like a bar of ice. May we not ask of them the justice to believe,
that nothing short of the most imperiolls sense ofdllty could have prompted the expression
oC views that we could not but know would be mote or les8 unacceptable in tbe quarter
for which they were mainly intended. Indeed, if we were to refer to the feelings of the
martyr going to the "take, 8S a not unfair index of our own in entering upon this d seUI-
.ion, we should scarcely exceed the sobernes!t of truth. We have never in our lives been
more conscious ofa severe struggle between duty urging on and inclination holding back,
dlan on this occasion. It is only by reason of a dear-bought victory over the cl~morous
remonstrances uf a host of opposing considerations that we have at last brought ourselves
to the point of utterance. We foresaw from the first the probable, the almost inevitable,
issue. We were a\vare of 'the cc revolt of mien." of the revulsion of feeling, of tbe altered
voiee. of the weakened sympathy, of the forfeited confidence, ot the tasked charity, which
could Dot fail to ensue. Heaven knows what:an effort it hll8 cost us to come to a decision
which would necessarily put all these things at stake. But the effort has been made j the
decision has been achieved.
If now w( say that the end was too clearly anticipated from the beginning, to allo.
oC retrogres~iol1 after having taken the first step forward, we should be happy could we per-
suade our Southern friends to believe that our persistence in the deprecated course is not the
eft'ect of mere waywardnes8, or of an undervaluing of the force of their argumenb, but of an
YO~ v. 19
 278 Oorrespondence. [June,
bnmoveable conviction that a spiritual use is to be performed, from which we do DOl reel at
liberty to ~hrink. Tbe assurance is wrought in the very depths of our lOul that the best weal
of the New Church demands the discussion of the subject, and that too at an early period
in her history, as such a course now may preclude disDstrolls agitation at a Cutore day.
"redo not indeed as!ume that precisely the views which wen,ay broach are those tbatwill
be eventually rested in, but the cJ:pression of our sentiment! may pave the way for the final
establishment of th~ truth on this head j aDd if there be a special responsibility in broach·
Ing the theme, tbat responsibility we venture to assume. That in the accomplisbment of
our purpose some of the apparently evil eff~cts above predicted may incidentally follow we
think not unlikely j but evcp the positive assurance of this does not strike us as a sufficient
leason for de~isting. since nothing is plainer to our perception than that truth apoktn i.
love ("on flever rtally injure any caU't or iftterelt whirh it i. de.igfled to promote. The
mischi~f is d"ne by an angry and malign spirit, prompting unqualified condemnation,
and urging reform reckless of tile laws of divine order. Of such a spirit we venture to ac·
quit ourselves, Dud eo far as we are free from this, so far we not only ~18im indulgence, in
tbe utterance of our sentilnents, but have also the utmost confidence that no really bad
results will follow. We assume that we are addressing a select and limited public. We
are not throwing pronliscuouslyabroad incendiary and irritating views~; but offering calm
8uggestions to sober minds, to profe-ssed receivers of the teachings oC the New Churcb, in
which we find all ample warrant for the step we have taken.
Among the principles of this sy:;tem of doctrine nothing is more clearly enunciated
than tbut evils must be shunned as sins before any good, that is really good, can be done.
The folloWing propositions constitute several of tbe heads of Swedenborg's little treatise eD-
titled, cc Tbe N. J. Doctrine of Life."-" That all religion has relation to life, and tbe life
of religion is to do good-that no one can do good, which is really good, trom hhnself-
that so fur as mnn shuns evils as sins, so rar he does what is good, not from himself, bot
from the Lord-that the good things wl1ich a man wills and does, befllre be shuns evils as
sins, are not good-that the pious things which a Innn thinks and speaks, before he shuns
evils, are not pi~us-that so far as anyone shuns evils as sins, 80 far be loves truths-
that the dccalogue teaches \vbat evils are sins-that it is not possible for anyone to shun
evils as sins, so that he may hold theln inwardly in aversion, except by combats against
them," &c.
Again, on this subject he remarks, cc \Vho cannot see that the Lord cannot Bow-in ftom
heaven w itb nlan, ond teach him anll lead hiJn before his evils are removed, for tbey
\vithstnnd, repel, pervert, and suffocate the truths and good~ of heaven, \vhieh urgently
press, powerfully apply, and endcavor to flow-in from above: for evils are infernal and
goods are celestial, and nllthnt is infernal burns with batred against all that is cele-stial.
Hence now it is evidellt, that before the l,ord can flow-in from heaven "'Ith heaven, and
form man to the itnage of hcnv~n, the evil' must necessarily be removed which reside
heaped up togt::ther in the natural man. !fow whereas it is the prhnary thing that evils
be rell1oved, before man can be taught and led ty the Lord, the reason is manifest why
in eight precepts of the decalogue the evil worklJ are recounted which are not to be dOfl~,
but not the good works which are to be done: good does not exist together with evil, nor
does it exist before evils arc removed, tbe \vay not being opened from heaven into man
. until this is done j for man i~ as f\ black sea, the waters whereof are to be removed on
either side, before the Lord in a cloud and in fire can cause the sons of Israel to pas1
through·' (.A E. 969).
These are positions \vhich will not be doubted by Newchnrchmen, and tho 01l1y ques-
tion ill, whether there be an evil in slavery which comes into the category of evils that are
to be shunned as sins. And on this head \ve do not see bow we cnn be mbtaken in re-
garding it in this light, for the confe!sion, though not univertlal, is yet very general even
among plaveholders them"selves, that the institution i. an evil whic-h it were better to have
1852.] The ])Ucu8,ion of the Slavery Que,tion-with a Reply. 2'79
abolished, provided the attempt to do this did not occuion, all things considered, a still
greater evil. We venture then to take thil admission as an admission made in earnest,
aDd under the prompting! of charity presume to give vent to sDch sentiments as the sub-
ject in its various relations suggests. They are uttered under the strong impression that
the true development of New Church life may be retarded by the non-removal of an evil
prevailing among those who cordially receive the truths of tbe Church, and who, but for
this evil, would abound in the noblest exemplifications of the transforming power of these
truths. Even granting that we may be In tact mistaken in this impression, yet we can
lee DO offence in this matter worthy of censure; nor is it altogether characteristic of a con-
aciously upri,ht and unassailable moral state to be thus t5ensitive and restive in view or a
candid investigation. The confidence which belongs to a good cause will be little likely
to be tligturbed by the interrogation to which that caule may be submitted by the charit-
able and well disposed.
Still we are well aware of the force with which the question is put : -Why broach the
topic ftOlD when exacerbated feeling closes the mind against all cou.nsel or monition, how
ever well intended, and when too the New Church at the Sou.th, in the feebleness or i18
incipiency, is but poorly able to bear the brunt of obloquy which the assertion of such.
principles, in its name, is calculated to draw upon it 1 Shall we frankly say, in repty to
this, tbat we embrace the present opportunity because, in all probability, it will be the
ortl, ODe of which we can avail ourselves for the purpose. As this may strike our readers
as an enigmatical intimation, we explain ourselves by announcing, th:it we see no prospect,
from present appearances, that we shall be able to carry on. the Repository after the pre-
sent year. The,complaints of the controversial character of the work are so numerous, and
the calls for a change of tone in this respect so urgent, that we are satisfied that whhout a
complete metamorphosis in this particular, we can never satisfy the N. C. public to suoh
all extent as to make it any object, pecuniarily, to continue the publication, especially if
the proceeds of the journal are to constitute our main depE'odence for support. We have
become entirely satisfied that it is out of our power to conduct a periodical, devoted to the
cause of the N. C., without a very considerable infusion of the controversial element. In
A ",·ord, we think that under any circumstances the same general features which have

hitherto marked the N. C. Repository would still adhere to it, for they seem to be dictated
by the natural progress of the Church in connection with the spirit of the age. It is clear,
however, that this character of the journal is not acceptable to the mass of receivers in
our country-those upon whom its sl1pport must necessarily depend--and therefore we
see no alternative but to retire from the field in which we have hitherto endeavored to
accomplish lome use. Add to this that the present discussion itself-as we have fore-
seen from the beginning-will Inevitably have the effect, whether deservedly or not. to tbin
the ranks of our subscribers, as it is palpable that our Southern friends, with their views
of expediency on this subject, cannot, 8S a body, lend their countenance or patronage to
a periodical which takes the grouod that we are constrained to do; and the subduction
of the Southern nantes from our list would leave the remainder, even if controversy did
Dot alienate them, too cc feeble a tolk" to sustain the enterprise.
It is under these circumstances that we have concluded to open the discussion in be-
balf of which we are now offering our plea. We are confident that through no other ac-
cessible organ cOl1ld we utter the sentiments which we hold on tbis theme, and whioh
yet we are inwardly constrained to utter. We have decided, therefore, while the oppor-
tUDity is afforded, to impro~e it. Jt'what we say is entitled to bear weight with it, it will
do 10. If not, Dot; and in either cafe "·0 shall be content under the consciousness ofbav-
iog meant well, and the oonviction of having declared some trttths
From this our readers will eadly infer that we or" not prepared to take quite 80 sombre
a view of cODfequ83cel 81 seem! to foree itself ur-0n the Ininds of the writers above. We
280 Oorre'pondence. [June,
do Dot think. it cc vain to speak oCmotiwi' as being powerleas" to regalate or cODtro1 re-
IUlt. ;" nor do we admit that the present is by any means a ltate oC things in which U clte
argument of an aftgel would be as impotent as the waitings of aD infant against the fary
ofa tornado." We are forced to ptlt this to the account of a certain tendency to exagger-
ation iDcident to impulsive-and fervid natures, especially when kindled by a atroqleDle
of wrong. We, however, do not propose to address an audienoe composed of such ma·
terials. We make our appeal to Newchurchmen, and we do not recognize in Newchurch-
men a liability to fall into a state in which rational argument prompted by pure motim
shan 10 utterly fail of courteous entertainment. We CBn, indeed, make all suitable allow-
ance for the irritation and excitement engendered by stirring political crises, but the in-
junction, 11 III patience possess ye your souls," we mmy presume will not lose its authority
with tho!e whOle inoer ear we would fain gain to our remarks. We cannot, in fact, "ell
conceive aproptr state of mind in which the still small voice oC truth and charity .ball
Dot, with a true man of tbe New Church, make itself heard above the din and turbulence
of party strife or the clamors of otherwise excited passion. If our ,ulgestions .hall be taken
home by each reader to himself, and their possible or probable effects upon others be lost
sight of, we might hope, with much confidence, that the deprecated results would Dot be
at all 80 disastrous as the vivid pencil ofour friends is inclined to paint it. The objeetiODs
urged on this score would be more apropos if we had entered upon a course or a crusade
of indiscriminate propagandism. which is as Car as possible from our intention. We
have an audience of our own. and our drift is to .y to each ODe, How do._ rea-Id
the sentiments which we advance 1 We do bot ask what effeot YOll think they will
have on others. Our conference is solely with you.
There i8 another misapprehension in one of the above lett~rs which we would here
correct. The writer remarks, le At the North and West end East your argumeot, boW·
ever able, can do no good because not needed_U, without perhaps a solitary exceptioa,
are already in accord with you upon the abstract question." Alas, would that they were!
The intimation, we are lorry to say, is far enough from 1he trutb, judging at lea!lt from the
results of our own observation. The verbal concession, indeed, that slavery is intrinsical-
ly an evil is very easily. as it il very generally, made-as it is also in thousands of instan-
ces at the South; but we find, on a little closer interrogation, that the concession is of DO
practical moment, inasmuch as it is also very widely held in the same quarters that there
is DO prospect of getting rid of it for some generations to come. and that our duty as Chris-
tians is to submit to it as a mysterious but wise and beneficent dispensation of the Di-
vine Providence, designed for the ultimate good of all parties concerned, but more espe-
cially of the African race. So far a8 our acquaintance extends this is the prevailing sen-
timent of Newchurchmen in every part oC our land. We know not that we have efer
.conversed with half a dozen individuals of that Church who did not occupy tllis ground-
who apparently felt the least painful solicitude in view of the existence of the institution-
and who would not cordially side with the protesting purport of tbe above letters and won-
der at the temerity of the disctlssion which these letters so kindly bot 10 pointedly rebuke.
This appears to be the general posture of tbe New Church mind in this coontry, and as
we regard it 88 a species of practical fatalism we cannot of course but aim to break it ap,
wherever our feeble voice may penetrate. On dais point, we are conscious, to our re-
gret, of 8tanding very much alone-not indeed in the belief that the evil in question is UD·
der the auspices of the Divine Providence and will be overruled to the final weal of the
colored race. but in regard to the four" of tution which the true princi pIes of charily dic-
tate under the circumstances. The following passage in one of the above letters defines.
It we mistake not, the general position oC the New Church on this subjec t: et I do DOl
think that our mi..icm required this. It has Ilothing to do with the institutions, civil or
pllitical, of this world. It is to preach love to God and love to Ol1r neighbor, and to avoid
1852.] The Di,cu"ion of the Slavery Question-with a Reply. 281
all cause of offence. Hitherto--and we of the South felt proud that it was so-the Church
h •• r~frained from touching this delicate and much vexed question. Tt has left it to the
direction of a wise and merciful Providence, trusting that, if evil. it would in the course
of time yield to good." This paragraph brings to view the question of a principle oC traDI-
ceudant importance iD its bearings upon New Church life. We are constrained to take
pound directly the opposite of that of the writer. We believe the New Church can never
be fully faithful to its mission without entering into direct collision with every form oC evil
&hat exists among men. We have no faith in'mere abstract and general deprecations or
dennnciatioD8 of what is contrary to absolute troth and goad. There must be a hand-to-
hand encounter, a direct looking in the face, an emphatic specification, a stern arraign-
ment at the bar ofeternal right, oC every form oC wrong, whether in oivil, political, or social
spheres. This indeed is to be done in the spirit oC genuine charity, bu.t it is to be done.
Pulpit and press we hold to be recreant to their function, if tbey content themselves with
merely vague moral injunctions, and refuse to tollow men into the minutest ramifications
ottheir worldly callinge and relations, whether public or private, and insisting upon the
rigid ultimation in life oC every principle of religion which they hold, or ought to hold, in
theory. Politicians may talk oC the wisdom of "a masterly inactivity," but it is sadly
oat oC place in the men of the Lord's church. It is, in our view, a very great fallacy to
ezpect that needed reforms will tak~ care of and accom pUsh themselves, and that the aim·
pie preaching of love to the Lord, and love to the neighbor, will renovate 80ciety without
the positive putting the finger upon the diseased parts or the body politic, and actually
grappling with the crooked things that are to be made straight, and the rough places that
are to be made smooth.
These are the views which we are compelled to entertain on the general subject of
which the present is a particular department. And 80 believing, we come directly up
abreast of the theme, and in all honesty and earnestness impart our convictions to our
brethren. We may fail to secure a tolerant audience, but if so, we shall be careful 80 to
Older our speech as Dot to give any jut occasioo to censure, erhnination, or rejection 011
the part of those addressed. If then without occasion, they take exceptions to our plea,
we ahallatill feel mentally at ease, and under no neces15ity, like the restless Roman, to bore
Iowa neighbor's pillow, because we cannot extract repose from our own.
One of our correspondents intimates that we shall probably be unable to advance any
thing new on the subject. Of this, we can give, indeed, no assurance; it is truth rather
than novelty that we aim at; but we cherish still a strong persuasion that at least our
mode ot conducting the argument will be new. The sequel will disclose that without in
the least compromising the great essential principle for which we contend, we at the
.me time make discriminations, qualifications, reservations, which have been hitherto
unknown in the controversy, and which will stfike our Southern readers with the more
force, inasmuch as they bave never supposed it possible that the demands of a stringent
abolitionism could possibly consist with moderation of tone, or sucl1 concessions to the
force of circumstances aa they will find in our treatment of the theme. We can easily
conceive, however, that vdth multitudes, these traits shsll not redeem the discussion from
obloquy; but we can hardly anticipate this reception with those whom we purpose to
leach. Should it be so, we shall regret it nluch for their sakes, but none for our own.
A word aa to the charge of unwarranted interference. "The position of good sense is
jalt tbis: The Lord will do all things right; He will work out the ends designed by
alavery. It concerns ul-not the North. If we fail in duty we are responsible."
" Southern members oC the New Church have reflected on this subject for themselves,-
they have formed their own opinions,-they entertain those opinions conscientiously,-
they are able to defend them by sound arguments. Tbe question ia a Southern and not a
Northern question. You have no slaves at the North. The respoDsibility lests with the
282 Corrupondence. [June,
.1aveboJden of the South, and any attempt 10 agitate thil matter by our Northern breth-
ren seem8 to U8 an unjustifiable interference with our own concerns.'t It would be some-
what hazardous, we think, to this position, to submit it to a very rigid examination.
There can be no U unjustifiable intel'fereDCe" in this matter, unless it involve. in some
way an infraction of the law's of charity. The simple assumption of poioting out to
anotber an apprehended evil of whioh, from the power of circumstances, be may not be
duly aware, is no breach of charity, provided it be done in a spirit of meekness aDd with
the truest regard to the spiritual interests of the party concerned. et It is never allowa-
ble," says Swedenborg, h for ODe man to judge of another, as to the quality of his spirit-
uallife, for the Lord alone know8 this; yet it i. 4Uou1abl, for e1Jtrr 0tIt to jlMlgt of autAer-.
gwUitr a. to moral aM cit1il life, (or tltu i. of cOtStfrft to ,ocilt,." Thta operatioD oC this
priDciple is independent or geographical limits. The laws of Christian brotherhood ig-
nore alllooal relations, as sl)iritual thing8 lie without the conditions oC space. Wherever
there is ocC'Q,iOfl, for tbe exercise of Christian otB~es to a brother or a neigbbor, there is the
. .nYl.. t tor it, and there is a violence done to the spirit of cbarity to visit the intended
good acl with censure. The fact i., DO one wbo is in earnest in the work oC regeneration
desires to 6t le' alOfW ot those who can in any way contribute to his spiritual advancement,
whether by pointing out his evils, or helping him to put them away. All that he re.
or
quires is, that the office rendered shall be one sincerity and kindness, as well a80ffidel-
itr-the product of unfeigned neighborly love. True, a man is Hable to be mistaken in his
judgment ot what u really evil on the part of the neigbbor, aDd he is bound to guard witk
the utmost care against raabnell of decision in pronouncing upon tbe moral, civil, o~
social life of the neighbor, but wben he has pondered it with all the deliberation and CIlU-
dOl in his power, and yet is unable to avoid the conclusion that a positive evil exists, he
is most unquestionably at liberty to state hie impression fairly and emphatically, and
provided the statement is made without wrath or bitterness, without per~nal regards.
bot purely from the love of goodness and truth, it is a positive otr~nce against charity to
relent luch a course as the officious intermeddling of " a bU$y.body in otber men's mat-
ters." The very prompting to put this sinister aspeot upon it is itself an evil, whatever
may be the case in the original instance, and perhaps tbe inference is not wholly unrair
that the evil or condemnation in this case il a proof of the evil of life in question; for other-
wise why ebould the attempted conscientious discharge of a duty of charity provoke an ill
cODstruction and a denial of all right of judgment in the premises 1 May there not be a
Christian duty of charity founded upon the precept, cc Tbou shalt in any wise rebuke thy
nelghbor; and not suffer sin upon him," wher~ the true force of the original term is to
convince or convict ofwrong8 by reasoning or argument; or, as the Greek has it, "Thou
shalt convincingly or demonstratively reprove thy neigbbor." The general import of the
precept is U Thou shalt not suffer thy neigbbor to go on in sin by neglecting to inform him
of it; tbou shalt not leave him under the evil of sin unreproved." We here repeat our
admission, that a maD designing to act nn this injunction may mistake in his judgment oC
the facts in tbe case, but we insist that no territorial or politioal considerations can
justly bring this conduct under the charge of le unjustifiable interference." It is a charge
that we are sl1rprised to see brought.by a Newchurchman, as it cannot at all stand the
test of even a slight cross-questioning.
We might here advert to another consideration in which we find an ample warrant ror
the so-called intermeddling of which onr correspondents complain. The slavery question
dot. ccnoern the North as well ftS the South, inasmuch as it is recognised in lhe Constitu-
tion ofour common country, and so far as the enacted Jaws oftbe land can avail to ttat;OfWIl-
ize the system, they do it, thus creating in some sen!e a general participation on the part of
every state and every citizen in the Union, in.whatever evil ulay adhere to it. May we Dot in
these circumstances dlscQSS the moral character of 8 tlystem, which in our eyes is fraught
 185'.] A New Church Tel~imony on Slave,·y. 283
with multitudinous evils, by which we deem our!elv6s oppressed, and wbioh we would in-
voke the co-operation of our Southern brethren to remove ifpossible from off the bo~om oC'
oar beloved country. But upon tbis bead we will not now enlarge, as it trenches upon tbe
political aspects of the question, which we design to avoid. Our brethreo, howev~rt can
perhaps conceive how exceeding strange must appear to us the virtual intimation that we
have no right to discuss or agitatt! the subject. We fear that Northern men generally will
be .er1 slow to learn the indicated lesson of submission on this score. C~rtainly a mind
thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the New Church will find in itself a signal incapacity
to bow in silence to such a behest.
But we have already said luore than we intended at the outset of our reply. What
Sbakspeare terms et the intellect of the letter" is doubtless too plain to be misunderstood.
We feel in our heart of hearts the piercing of the pang which attends the consciousnes8
of the alienated respect, esteem, and confidence of our Southern brethren. We do Dot
forego them becauee we think lightly of them. Nor in fact do we feel that in the sight
of Heaven 'Ye have riven or shall give any sufficient reason for the estrangement. We
have tbe inward assurance that we are at this mOlDent as genuinely worthy their kind
and affectionate sentiments as we ever were since a common faith brought us into frater-
nal relations. We have done them no wrong; we have done the truth no wrong; we
have done the spirit of charity 110 wrong. But we cannot be ignorant that the peculiar
.eositi"eness ot the Southern temperament cannot wen brook the inquest which we propose
to institute on the moral character of slavery. Even the begun process of regeneration does
Dot at once lift them so far above tbe flatural prejudices by which they are surrounded
that they can look with tolerance upon the free questioning of a system which is in-
wrought into the very frame-work of their society, and the toaching of which is touching
the apple of tbeir eye. For ourselves, under tbe consciousness of meaning no ill, and of
simply discharging a Christian duty. we should be most happy to remain in the possea-
lion of their good graces; but if fidelity to our sRcred convictions enforces tbe saoriftce, it
must be made. Between the claims of truth and the demands of friendship we cannot
waver. Though it be like cutting off a rigbt band, or plucking out a right eye, we mUlt
e'en submit to the sundering of 80ul which adberence to apprehended right draws after it.
We Ihalllook upon it as one of the severe but inevitable trials which our own regenera-
tiau involves-grieved indeed that the necessity of it should ex;!t, but happy in the re-
1Itction that no moral obliquity on our part, and no real ground of offence, bas been its
procuring cause. G. B.

Tbe reader who has perused the foregoing letters and reply, will doubtles9 admit that it
is a very natural feeling which prompta the insertion of the following hrief but emphatio
testimony from a Newchurchnlan. We do not proress to be insensible to the gratification
of finding that we do not sland alone in our sentiments on the general subject, though even
if that were the case, it would make no difference as to the course we shonld pursue.
Dear Sir,-Enclosed is one dollar, for which please send me the Repository for
six months, commencing with the No. for the {lresent month. I am induced to take
this step by reading in the April No. your arhcle on sla.very, with wbi.ch I am much
pleued.The almost or quite universal silenoe of N. C. periodioals on this important
subject has been matter of grief and astonishment to me, and for thi@ reason I have
hitherto De~lected to patronize any of them. The professed New Churchman who
can reconcile alaveholding or the giving of it any support, directly or indirectly, to
the teachings of the heavenly doctrines, must have found 8omethin~ ycry different
from, and in opposition to, mud" that I have read in the volunles of E. S. and in the
Divine \Vord. ~o me nothing is more palpable than that the ultimating of U neigh..
horly love" would at once wither and destroy, root and branch, tho institution in
question.
184 Milcellang. [June,
I havo long entertained painful fears that J should not live to see the N. C. wakiDg
up to this momentous subjeot (being already far advanced in life), b~ fears are
now being dissipated. I learn that l\1r. De Charms has already add the Gm-
til~s on this subJect, but I think you are doing far better in addressing the JtW. I
could 8ay much on this topic, but will not now further tresp&88 OD your time and
patience.
Yours, in the bonds of N. C. love,
c. C.

1\11 SCE LL ANY.

CASE OF REV. H. WELLER.

L - - . IND., May 13, 1852.
PROFESSOR BUSB,
DEAR SIR,-I have waited with a degree of painful anxiety for the explanation
which I felt the public bad a ri~ht to expect, of the action of the Afichlgan and
Northern Indiana. N. C. A88OCiatlon, in the case of the Rev. H. WeIler. And DOW,
that the explanation is given, I am compelled to confess myself wholly unsatisfied
with it. I am glad, however, of two things. First, that U the head and front" of
the oWending brother's fault is uncovered and made public; and, secondly, that no
oharge of immorality is brought against him. Although I have no personal acquaint-
ance with Bro. 'Veller-have never seen or had any intercourse with him-yet I
know somethin~ of his character, qualifications, and labors, through the medium of
others, and had formed a high opinion of him, both as a man and minister. I was
therefore no less aftlieted than astonished, when I read in your April No. that he
had been formally and authoritatively censured and disowned by his brethren of the
Convention. Nor were these emotions any the less deep, on account of the exceed-
ingly meagre {llesentation of the grounds upon which the seemingly harsh and un-
charitable actIon of that body was based. Every thing, in fact, was left to mere
inference and conjecture; and however plain and easily understood. the proceedings
themselves, &8 written out and published, may have appeared to those who were
present and participating in the deliberations of the Convention, and who were fa-
miliar with all the facts and circumstances of the case, to the uninitiated and the
stranger they were little better than Egyptian hieroglyphics.
And even now, my dear sir, a.fter Brother Murray, the introducer of the preamble
and resolution of censure and condemnation, has kindly come forward with his ex-
planation, what does it amount to 1 I beg his pardon, but really it does seem to me to
amount almost to just nothing at all; certainly it falls immeasurably short of what we
had a right to expect. What are the charges brought against the disowned brother,
and for which be is doomed to suffer so severe 8 penalty (~ Is he punished for claim-
ing that he is permitted, through the divine mercy of the Lord, to hold intercourse
and communion with the inhabitants of the Spiritual and Angelic Heavens 1
I have carefully read and re-read those portions of the prospectus of U 11te Crisis"
which are cited as affording evidence of a state of mind which totally disqualifies
and unfits Brother Weller (as is alleged) for the proper and useful discharge of his
ministerial functions. But do they really afford any such evidence ~ To my mind, I
frankly confess they do not. His remarks and views of U Order" as there exhibited,
appear to me to be rational and just-and, while I would by no means be under-
stood as placing implicit confidence in the alleged communications from the spiritual
world, through the numerous "mediums" of whom we have heard 80 much of late;
and while I am free to admit that there is unquestionably great danger, if we are
Dot careful, of our being led away nnd deceived, through the influence or agency or
evil and false spirits, still, I dare not doubt the p08Sibility of ma.n's obtaining truth-
ful communications from the Spiritual Sphere, whenever his life is in the Divine
Order, and it may please the Lord to voucheafe 80 great a favor. Indeed, to question
1852.] Case of Rev. H. Welle7-. 285

ibis is, it BeeD18 to me, to question the inspiration of the Scriptures, and to plaoe
I8&iah, Ezekiel, and the other Prophets in tIle same category, WIth the veriest enthu-
siasts and fanatics who have ever lived. Aye, the Divine J.\:laster Him.If would thus
become jU8tlyobnoxious to the charge brought against Him by His brethren and
kinsmen, when they sought to impoee on him the restraints due to a madman !
Let us be careful on both sides: neither too credulous, nor yet too unbelieving.
God dwelleth in the heavens-man upon earth. But is not earth itself to become
the dwelling-place of the Most High! Is not the Tabernacle of God to be set u~
among men 1 Is not the Holy City to descend from the Lord out of Heaven.
HoUJ i. tI"is to tak, plac, 1 Certainly, in strict accordanoe with the laws of the Di-
vine Order. Some of these we partially understand, but how circWIl8Cribed is our
vision-how limited our knowledge. Let U8 Dot be guilty of the presumption of
BUpposing that there is nothing above us-nothing beyond our comprehension.
God.is Infinite-l'lan is and ever must be Finite. As yet, Man is but a worm; but
h01088e8Se88. germ of spiritual life and immortality, whioh shall continue to unfold
an expand itself indefinitely. How little do we really know of the various modes
and processes of this development! Again, I say, let us be careful.
There were always pretenders, enthusiasts, and fanatics, more or less; but there
have always been, at the same time, some true prophets and seers. Though the four
hundred and fiftl Prophets of Baal wero either deceivt}d themselves, or hypocrites,
purposely deeeivlng others; and though their offering remained unconsumed de8pite
their cries and entreaties to their God, and their self..imposed afllictioDs; yet ELIJAH
was, nevertheless, a true Prophet of the loRD, and when I,,~ prayed, fir, came down
from h~ar:en and consumed th~ 'tlcriJice, even licking up the water which stood in the
ditches around the altar.
I know nothing whatever of the character of the claims set up by Brother Weller,
or of his enunciations, except so far 8.S I have been able to gather them from your
April and ~lo.y Nos. That he may have 8uffered himself to become the victim of
delusion is possible. That he may place by far too much reliance upon the com-
munications from the Spiritual World, of which he or others are the real or 8Up-
poeed "mediums," I will not undertake to controvert; for, as I have already inti-
mated, there is doubtless much danger in that direction. But tne strangeness of a
communication-the novelty of a truth-is of itself no proof against ita genuineness.
The developments of science are giving us new views of truth every day. \Ve must not
8uppose, that because we know some things-because the scales have partially fallen
from our eyes-tha.t our knowledge is therefore perfect; our vision nnclouded. How
little, how very little indeed, do we understand of the real teachings of the Holy
Word, even after all the light which it has pleased the Divine Providence to reflect
upon its sacred pages, throu~h the medium of the writings of Swedenborg.
The sentences and ex~reSS1on8 in Brother WeIler·s erospectus, which are itaUcistd
by Brother l\Iurray, strIke me as being perfectly philosophical-entirely consonant
with the teachings of the New Church, and consistent with the Scriptures them-
selves, 80 far as it has pleased the Lord to let me into a right understanding of
their true spiritual meaning. Tha.t U US~ must determine all things of Order," is an
axiom which I presume few New Churchmen will feel disposed to question. Bat
what u.~e? Why should we be alarmed if the brother takes it for granted that there
'0
are uses a.bove and beyond this life and world 1 Is it not 1 And can it be that
t.here is any thing wrong in supposing that the latter form a part, as really as the
former, of the criteria by which U all things of Order" are to be tested 1
A new era has dawned upon the world. The U New Heavens and the New Earth"
are in the process of formation. Old things are passing away. When the new cre..
ation shall reach a certain state of perfection, I can see nothing irrational in the
ennnciation of Brother WeIler, that u The Ord~r of things in Heaven tDi/l floUJ down,
and be ultimated on Earth, THROUGH PROPER MEDIUMS AI(D CHANNELS APPOINTED BY
THE LoRD." Why should we cavil or be offended at this' Is it not evident, to every
reflecting mind, that such mu.st b~ the ordinate method of the world's re~eneration,
if the Philosophy of the New Church be true 1 And if the time has really come, as
Brother Weller believes-and what New Churchman doubts it ~--1Dhen the stote of
true Order has been or is about to be commenced-why may it not be, that the
good brother is, through the Divine Mercy of the Lord, made one of those speoial
 286 Miscellany. [Jane,
mediums ~ 18 there any thing in his Lift, to forbid the idea' Before the Kingdom
of the LoaD call come gentraLly, it mut oome .'pecial/y or iwlividrUJlly. There must
be a nucleus before the mighty fpheroid is formed. Man is the medium and agent
(under God) of his fellow's illumination and re~eneration. \\That, at first, for spe-
cial or necessary reasoDs must be limited to a few, may a.fterwards be extended t.o
many, and ultima.tely to all. Then shall "the earth be full of the knowledge or the
Lord." Then sha.ll there be nothing found to hurt in all the Holy 1\lountain; but
the voices of men and angels shall join in the ecstatic anthem: 'l Alleluia ! The Lord
God Omnipotent reigneth !"
I hope you will pardon my long communication, 1\8 I do Dot trouble yoo oo-en.
We are greatly in the dark here. There are some honest inquirers, and a few read-
ers; but ,,·e have never been fll.vored with a visit from any of" our ministerial .breth-
ren.· I believe that a fair and faithful public presentation of the Heavenly Doctrines
in this community, would do good. The ground has been partially prepared to some
extent, for a reoeption of the good seed. But there are no sowers; or, at least, none
except such &8 sow in weakness, a.nd privately. I have, myself, had serious doubts
a8 to my duty. Brought up 0. l\lcthodlst, and still holding an official relation to "the
Church"-that of class·leader-from which my brethren seem unwilling to release
me--I frequently have great difficulty. I may not, dare not, smother the truth, as I
understand it; and yet, I would not shock the sensibilities or wound the feelings of
one of the humblest of my class-mates. I try to discharge my duty under the pecu-
liar circumsta.nces in which I am placed, as best I can. My brethren are aware ot
my peculiar views, whioh I am compelled occR.sionallv to enunciate; but they have
the charity to believe me honest, though perhaps deceh~ed.
s.

FORl\IATION OF A N. C. SOCIETY IN SAN FRANCISCO.

SAN FaANcIscO, March 30, 1852.
PaoFEssoR BUSH,
Dear Sir,--I have been directed by a resolution of the New Church Society of this
city to transmit to you for publica.tion in the Repository, if convenient, a copy of
the proceedings of the Receivers of the Hea.venly Doctrines in ita organization. They
are as follows :--
At the close of Religious Services held in the room of the Superior Court, on Sun-
day, February 8, 1852, by a few receivers and luembers of the New Church, l\lr.
, James Kellogg suggested the propriety of forming a Society of the New Chqrch in'
San Franci~co; whereupon a meeting was organized by calling l\-lr. Kellogg to the
chair, and requesting Mr. L. L. Blood to act as Secretary. After some desultory
converaation, a motion was offered by l\lr. l\1iller, Rnd carried, that the chairman
appoint 0. committee of three, himself actin~ with said committee, to report next
Sabbath a suitable form of organization. 1 he chair named Dr. Bush, T. S. l\:liller
and L. L. Blood. Accordingly on the next Sabbath, February 15th, said Committee
submitted the following preamble and resolution, which were unanimously adopt-
00:-
U Believing that the doctrines and principles of the true Church of the Lord Jesus

Christ should be more fully pra.ctised by us who receive them, and more widely dis-
seminated among those \vho kno,v thenl not, a.nd that these uses can be better per-
formed by concentrating our energies in the form of a Church Society, than when
acting in our individual capacity; and whereas our isolated condition places it out
of our power to comply, in the institution of a Society, with the prescribed forms or
approved precedents of the New Church in other part8 of the world, and beliering
that those forms and preoedents, though worthy of high respect, ought to be reck-
oned neither authoritative nor essential, but rather to be modified and adapted to the
ciroumsta.nces and exigencies of the case,
" 711,erefore, Resolved, That "·C, the undersigned receivers of the doctrines, and
members of various New Church Societies, now resident in the city of Sa.n .Franoisco
and State of Ca.lifornia, do hereby form and declare ourselves a Societ,y of the New
1852.J p,,.oceedillga of lite Michigan and Indiana A,sociation. 287

.Jerusalem Church, and agree to be govemed by the Doctrines or

Charity and Fai~h
&8 taught by the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg and found in the Book of \Vorshlp
of said Church, to which we have hereinafter affixed our names, 8ubject to such
rules and regulations for the government of the Society 88 may, from time to time,
be deemed necessary to promote its objects." .
Signed by
John McCraith, 151 N. C. Society of New York.
John L. ~1otfa.t, do. do.
Thos. S. Miller, .do. do.
Benj. Shellard, do. do.
L. L. Blood, do. do.
J. 'V. l\-tetcalt, do. Chicago, Ill.
Richard Duft; do. do.
John Ide, do. N. Bridgewater, l\Iass.
Dr. J. P. Bush, ~atchez, Miss.
E. W. F. Sloan, Jackson, do.
John W. Garretson, Ohio.
Mrs. S. B. Berry, New Orleans.
Amo.sa l\forgan, Ken08ha, Wi8.
Dr. Albert Kellogg, of Episcopal Church, Birmingham, Conn.
James Kellogg, of l\1ethodist Church, Columbu8, Geo.
It may be interesting to add, that besides these there are nearly as many more
receivers of the doctrines or serious readers of the writings of the New Church, who
assist at public worship on the Sa.bbath.
The Officers of the Society for the present yea.r consist of a Presiding Officer or
Leader, Secretary and Treasurer. l\lr. JBmes Kellogg was elected Presiding Officer,
L. L. Blood, Secretary, and Thos. S. ~1iller, Treasurer.
Respectfully yours,
L. L. BLOOD, Sec.

THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MICHIGAN AND INDIANA ASSOCIATION.

In giving insertion to the following, we simply comply with the request of a brother
'\vho has Cult himself aggrieved by being refused admission into the columns ot the Medi-
um, without making ourselves in the least a party to the matters in debate.

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, Apri122d., 1852.

7'0 the Editor of tlt, New Church Repo,itory_
Dear Sir,-On the 15th of last month Ilnailed the subjoined letter to the cc Medium,'·
and have this day recejved it back, with a Dote informing me that its insertion is declined,
lest it should give rise to controversy. I bad imogined it possible that its in!ertioll might
be refused frolll the exposition which its contents present of the act of the association re-
(eorred to; but it 'vas farthest from my thoughts that there was any thing in it which could
lead to discussion, and even now I am utterly at a loss to see the weight of the objection.
It appears, however. that the Michigan and Northern Indiana Association may do just as
they please, and their virtual organ may pnblitlh their proceedings, but no dissent eRn be
made, or objection presented to any act they luny think proper to perform. I remelnber
well, the last time 1 took part in the proceedings of that Association, the .extrclne Ull\vil.
lingoes! there was to publish my " In inority" report with that of the U majority," and ofter
it was done, several iufluential members of tho Association used the types that ";ere set
up at the expense ot the Assoeiation, to publish the majority report alOftI, Dnd distribute
it over the country. Such a mode of stopping controversy may be adapted to the genins
of the institutions of Au!tria and oC France, but I cannot think it compatible with the free-
dom which i. so loudly claimed a8 existing in the very" land of the free,'t much les, a8
288 MUcellany. [June.,
being in harmony with the New Church claims to liberty of speech, in advance or all the
,yorld.
As I desire my views and protest to go fortb for ,vhat they are worth, and to become
myself responsible for them, I have concluded to forward them to you for puLlicatioo.
feeling confident tbat ;ou will Dot decline the insertion, whicb, owing to the present delay.
I hope may appear in your next number.
Yours, very truly I
GEORGE FIELD.

ST. loUIS, Mo., March 15th, 1852.

Will you permit me through your columns, to express myself in reference to the
course pursued at the recent session of your Association (the proceedings of which
I have Just received) in relation to the Bet of investing with ordaining power, tho
Rev. A. Silver 1 It was with sorrow and deep regret that I read this part of the
proceedings,-uot because l\lr. S. had been clothed with such authority (if indeed.
8uch an act could do it), or because he is not prepared for the reception of such a
function ;-but because the Association had claImed to itself an authority and power
never contemplated by it before; making itself co-equal in authority wIth the Gen-
eral Convention of the Societies and Associations of the. United States, whilst at the
same time, its Constitution proclaims it a dependent constituent thereo~ to which it
is bound to report itself at each Annua.l Session. (Sce Art. vii.) And~ moreover,
that 80 important a change should have been made in the Constitution, without pre-
vious announcement and consultation with absent brethren, especia.lly aB the whole
number of members of the Association reported as present, scarcely exceeded twenty,
and only eleven out of Detroit. But thus hastily to proceed, and Immediately to act
upon it, I must think is extraordinary, if not unprecedented in deliberative bodies.
In times of war, or in the prospect of death, the usual. decorum otherwise observed,
may be dispensed with, but otherwise the usages of civil society do not warrant it.
But however objectionable I might ree;ard the mod~ of this proceeding, had this been
all I never should' have troubled you With any comments. This act of ina.uguration
into a higher grade of the ministerial function, granting powers Dot previously pO&-
sesscd, can, however, only be bestowed on another by one v:ho himstll posesses them.
Yet, in the case of the Rev. J. Fox, who assumed to bestow these powers, he did no'
himself possess them. ~Ir. Fox and ~lr. Silver were at the same time introduced
into the first grade of the ministry; and if there was any virtue in this act at all, it
gave them the right to preach, baptize, administer the Holy Supper, and officiate at
funerals and weddin~s, but no more. But U for introduction into the second grade
of tbe ministry, application shall be made to the Ordaining Ministers, and if granted,
their decision thercon shall be made known to the Convention, for its approbation,
previous to Ordination;" and then the act itself can only be performed by one who
18 himself an "Ordaining l\1inister."
But if the l\-lichigan Association really repudiates this, would it not be more can-
did and straightforward to openly avow It at once, and not profess to be a constituent
part of a collective body, whose Laws and" Rules of Order~' are thus openly viola.ted;
for as a nlcmber of the General Convention, I distinctly protest against such an act.
But what possible ,~irtue could there be in this ceremony of inauguration 1 Atessrs.
F. and S. possessed equal potcers, consequently, if Alr. Fox could inaugurate Mr. Sil-
ver or anyone else, so also could l\1r. Silver ha.ve done the same, just &8 much and
just as well before as after the ritual. 'rhus l\fr. S. can do no more now than l<1r.
F. it appears could, u·ithout any z'nauguration at all! Why, then, this ceremony in
Mr. S.'s case any more than in l\Ir. F.'s 1 It amounts to nothing really, because
Mr. Fox could not bestow on l\lr. Silver any prh-ileges he did not already possess:
nor could the lay members of the Association give !\tir. F. clerical po\vers, by a vot.e
or otherwis~,-or, if it is claimed they eou/cI, then they could have Dcstowed them on
Mr. S. in the same manner. Nor can I sce that there was the least occasion for
this setting aside of acknowledged rules, and thus hastily assuming such preroga-
tives, B8 it is not alleged there was anyone in the Association who were then de-
sirous of being ordained or of obtaining a license j-and if there had been, tho Rev.
1852.] Notice' of Boo,". 289
~. R. Hibbard was not very inacoessible; or even if he were too far distant, Mr.
Barrett would~8oon have passed the whole way through your state, either of whom
lwl authority to introduce into the first ~de of the ministry. And if the Associa-
tion had thought proper to have designated their President a "Presiding l\'finister,"
be could have granted licenses, and all in accordance with the Rules of Order of the
General C-oDvention, of which the Association professes to be a constituent part.
I will still hope that my very excellent and well beloved brother will yet well weigh
and consider th.ese things before he acts upon any such authority thus bestowed,
and that the Association may reconsider the courso they have pursued; and as 800n
as it shall be convenient for Mr. S. to again attend the General Convention, to make
the application for him in an orderly manner, that he mal. then be inaugurated into
an office, which I regard as more internal or celestial in Its functions, than the first
grade, and to which more interior province I regard Mr. S. as peculiarly belonging.
And in this earnest hope, I Bubscribe myself,
Very truly yours, in the Lord's New Church,
• GEOllGE FIELD.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

I.-RECOLLECTIONS OF A JOURNEY THROUGH TAllTARY, THIBET, AND CHINA, dur-

ing tlu years 1844, 5, and 6. By M. Huc, "Missionary Priest qf the Congregation
of St. Lazarus. 2 vols. 12mo. New-York: Appleton & Co. 1852.
These volumes constitute part of the excellent series of re-prints, forming what is
termed U Appleton's Popular Library." They take the traveller over a region hith-
erto very little known to Europe or America. The route conducted the travellers
&om the vicinity of the great wall on the North, over the circuit of Chinese Tartary
to the capital of Thibet, from which they were obliged to make a forced return baok
by the same route. The journey was, in fact, a Roman Catholic Missionary explora-
tion of what is rather pompously called the Apostolical Vicariat of Mongolia, whioh
the Pope had seen fit to annex to his spiritual dominions without previously mow-
ing anything about it. The tour was performed by M. Hue, accompanied by an
assistant, M. Gabet, both of them honest, simple minded men, who have given a most
graphic and interesting narrative of their labon, dangers, and sufFerings in passing
over this terra incognita, in the accomplishment of their mission. The scenes, the
people, the manners and customs, the religion, and the traditions are all new. An
air of freshness pervades every page, while an unconscious vein of amusement gives
seat to the interest that bears the reader along with unabated pleasure to the end.
We opened the work.with a faint hope that, as our travellers passed over the re-
gion of Tartary, in which Swedenborg says the ancient \\1ord is still preserved, some
clew might be given to the whertabofJ,t or the trhat of this venerable relic. But our
researches have been fruitless. The city of" Lha-Sa is the depository ofan immense
collection of sacred books, but they are guarded with BO much jealousy from inspec-
tion, except by the Lamas, that nothing satisfactory can be gained as to their con-
tents. Disappointment, however, on this head, is so amply compensated in others,
there is little danger the book, when once taken up, will be laid down till it is fin-
iahed.
2.-Tu ILIAD OF HOMER, accordillg to 'h, Te%t of Wolf, vith Nolu, fOT the w, of
School.and Colle~u. By JOHN J. OWEN, D. D., Profusor of Latin and Greek Lan-
guages and LiteJ"ature in the FTe, .A.cadtmy of th, City of Ne10- York. New-York:
Leavitt & Allen. 1851.
 290 Notice, of Book•. (Jone~

A GREEK READER, containing &1,ctiOfl' from tlariow .JI.uthor,; tulapttd to SopAotlt$-.

Dnd KuJtner'8 G,oammaTB, tDitJ~ Not,t, a.nd 4 Lexicon, for tM w,
of Sdtooh Gild
.Academies. By the ,ome. Leavitt & Allen. 1852.
THE ACTS OF THE ApOSTLES, according to the T,xt of Augustu, Bdn, Utit" Not••
and a. Lexicon; fOT tlte tUe of SeII.ooll, CO/l'gt., 4"d Th,oIogical S,mi,iantt. ..4,.
companitd by afinely engraved Map. By tl", ,am,. Leavitt & Alleno 1852.
These works form part of a now somewhat extended series of Greek classioe, pre-
pared by Prof. Owen, which have acquired a first rate reputation on the score of
accurate scholarship and adaptation to the wants of beginneftll. The Editor's experi-
ence a8 a teacher, a profession to which he is ardently devoted, has been his guide
in the getting up of these volumes, and the testimony of a host of PrOfe880rB and Pre-
ceptors in various institutions in our country, afford an ample guaranty that for cllL88-
books in Schools and Academies, they are ~ll that could be desired. One grand
feature of their excellence is that they afford help to the student just in the place,
and to the degree that it is needed, not 8uperseding the uee of his own powers by
affording superfluous aid, nor icaving him to grapple, without aid, with difficulties
too formidable for him.
The part of the publishers in getting up the series, which includes the Anabasis
and Cyropedia of Xenophon, Thncydides, and Homer's Odyssey, is too col)8pieuoU8 to
pass unnoticed. The whole style of the works is a charm nnd a luxury. The pa-
per, type, binding, every thing in the air and complexion of the volumes fills the eye
and leaves no desidcra.t\lm.
We have but a single criticism to offer, and that relates to a single letter.
In the title page of one of the works, it is said to be "adapted to Sophocles's G~m­
mar." In the days of yore, when Lindley l\tlurray W88 the great authority to the
urchins in all grammatical minutire, the final s, in a posseS8ive case ending in "
would have been deemed superfluous. As the post haste progress of the current age
leaves us in the rear in 80 many matters, we are not at all sure but that this rule
may bave become obsolete, and the present fonn of the word altogether correct. If
so, we shall endeavor heroo.fter to tutor our organs to speak with all due reverence
of Thucydides's history, Themistocles's eloquence, and Ariatides's jU8tice.

3.-l\E'V THEMES FOR TilE PROTESTANT CJ.. ERGY: Creeds tcitll.out Charity, Tlltolop;y
tl'itl,out llumafiity, and Protestanti.sm wit!tout Christianity. "'it/" Notes by tll..
Editor, on tlte Literature of Charit!/. Populatio7l, Pa1I,ptJ·;sm, Political Econamy,
and Profcstant;~m. }>hiladelpbia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co. 1851.
The curio.usinterestexcited in the mind ora Newchurchmnh by the title of this work
is not at all diminished ns he glances over the table of content,s, in which, among other
things, we nnd the following topics treated of: "\Vhy has Christianity made so lit-
tle Progressl Charity among the Primitive Christian!, and thence to the Reforma-
tion; Protestant Errors and Omissions; flow the great Law of Charity has been
carried out by Protestants; The Benefits of the Reformation no Reason for perpetu-
ating its Errors; Too Dluch reliance on Lea.rning-the Affections to be exercised
as well as the l\find ; No Light without Heat j Gradual Declension of Christianity,
till it loses the image of ita Origin; The Clergy of all Churches: their Mistakes,
Dit1iculties, and Duties, in referenoe to this 8ubject; Those only can comprehend
Christianity who practice it; Charity enlarges the Mind."· The slightest reference
1852.] Notices of Books. 291
to these pages will convince our readers that precisely those causes which rendered
the establishment of a New Church necessary have D.88erted themselves to the con-
llCiousness of the writer, and given birth to the present work. It may, in fact, be
denominated, from beginning to end, a powerful protest against the pre-eminence
a&Bigned by Christendom to Faith over Charity. He has evidently seen and felt in
'lhe range of his observation, the grand desideratum which everywhere exists on the
score or genaine Charity, and therefore aims to sound 8. trumpet-note of kindly
warning on this head to the churches. With what a vigorous tone he lifts up his
'Voice in this behalf the reader may judge from the following specimens:
" The reformers took the Bible in their hands, reared the 8tanda.rd of truth, swept
oft the rubbish of Romanism, and erected the fabric of Protestantism, but oyerlook-
eel, in their readings of the New Testament, its imperative injunctions of brotherly
kindness. Th(\ir building was massy, of noble and seVE're outline: its frame-work of
truth was of impregnable strength, yet it was cold, forbidding, and uncoDlfortable;
it was neither warmed nor lighted by charity. The men of the Reformation were
men of truth, not of charity. It was an ap;e which called into action all the Item
energies of the man, the warrior, and the defender of truth. 'Vhen every nerve of
mental and physical exertion was strung to its utmoet intensity, the milder graces
of charity were forgotten amid scenes in which there aPlleared 80 little occasion for
their exercise. Look into the theolo~y of the Reformation and see if it be not 8ub-
ject to this reproach. It is a form of Christianity with charity left out; and yet if
this form implied a strength of faith which & could remove mountainB.,' it would be
"nothing.' It is a monstrous technicalit.y; it is 8culptured marble, white and beau-
tiful, but rigid and unfeeling."
U The truth is, that theology has been exalted immeasurably above practical Chris-

tianity; although no theology can be wholly clear or convincing which is not ac-
companied by a practical illustration. Precept may go before example, but it must
~o unheeded unless the example qUlckly follows. 'rhe great work of Christianity be-
109 to love God and man, Christianity can only be successfully propagated by those
whose lives illustrate these duties. The dnly solvent for the prIde, asperity, hatred,
jealousy, envy, and other evil passions of men, is charity. The only medium in
which the truths of revelation can be clearly seen and appreciated in all their varied
ramifications, is charity; it is the true test of all theology. The only atmosphere'
in which the rays of truth can reach the hearts of all the dwellers on earth with
their full power, and in which the work of bringing the whole race of men under the
dominion of Christ shall be succes~ful, is charity. If this be 80, a greater reforma-
tion is yet to be accomplished than that of the sixteenth century."
\Vith equal explicitness and decision he goes on to show up the defects, mistakes,
and misdemcanors of the clergy as a class, and to develope the principles upon which
all reforms, 80cial and religious, should be conducted. Yet all this is done, not in a
. spirit of bitter denunciation, or sarcastio virulence, but under an evident promptiDg
orkindly and Christian 8uggestion. "Vho the author is of this pungent appeal, we
have no menns of knowing. \Ve understand it has been ascribed to 8. Presbyterian
elder in }>hi1n.delphia.; and if the paternity of the volume be rightly assigned, we
could hope that the author might in some way be inducted into a knowledge of the
fact, of which he seems to be profoundly ignorant, that there is a church on the
earth which is fully aware of all that is lacking in the prevailing sectarian systems,
and which abundantly supplies ~heir deficiencies-a church, the very geni11S or
which is Charity putting itself forth in the Life.
292 Edittwial Item•• [l une, 1852.

EDITORIAL IT11I8.
From an interesting letter published in the Medium ot Alay 1st, written by a member
of the N. C. Society in Paieley. Scotland, we learn that a ramor il preyailing in that
quarter that Pror. Gregory oC the University of Edinburgh. author of an exceedingl, able
work on Animal Magnetism, and translator of Baron Reichenbach'. celebrated treatise 011
Vital Dynamios. is u veering round rapidly to the New Church, and that he already accepts
the philosophy of Swedenborg." After long holding out agajDlt Mesmerism. the writer
informs us that cc he has yielded that point, and receives Swedenborg as the ooly ODe
worthy of notice as offering a 80lution "to the assertion. that human spheres i~ a law or
the Universe." From the same source we learn that Prof. Nicol. author of the U Archi·
tecture ot the Heavens," U has purchased and read largely of late oC the writings." The
letter, moreover. communicates the information that a Mr. Quintin. employed for many
years as an amanl1ensis to Prof. Simpson of Edinburgh, hu lately become known in that
city as a powerful and eloquent defender of the N. C. doctrinel. Since the remoyal of Mr.
Bruce to London he hal officiated 81 leader of the Edinburgh Society. Much is hoped for
from his.general ability and rare gift. ae a public speaker.

The letter. from which the following is an extract. was received after the making up oC
the body oC the present No. We do not disguise that we regard it as a gratifyiDlleati-
mony to tbe general spirit and scope of our dlscusslon of the aIavery question, coming as h
does trom one who has been long conversant with the SysteRl. and wbo might be pre-
sumed, a priori, to be prepos5e.!ed against such a canvassing oC the lubject as we have
entered upon: III Permit me to say that I have read your comlnentl on the N. C. apho-
risms respecting slavery and abolition, and that I regard the spirit thereof as entirely UD·
exceptionable. Though your remarks are of a searching character. yet DO writer could
approach the subject ill a more delicate and affectionate manne.-r. Nevertheless. I feel
lomewhat curious to know how they will be received by your lOuthern readers. If, as I
think they ought to be. they should be kindly considered, it will be a triumphant illustra-
lion of the virtue ot N. C. priociples; for I regard it as being quite certain that to no other
Ilave-holding christian denomination. could a man-a northern man especially-address
himself without giving general offence. even though he spoke with the tongue of aD
angel. Your remarks have induced a course of reflection in my own mind j and should
the occasion seem to require it (which I caD hardly anticipate). I may submit to you the
impressions of one who, though surrounded by slavery. and familiar with it in all its as-
pects from his earliest recolleclion, has never owned, nor felt the slightest desire to own,
a slave." .

The thirty-fourth General Convention will meet in Philadelphia on the second WedneS"-
day (the 9th day) of June, at 10 o'clock in the morning.
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHLY REVIEW.

,.1. ,. JIJLI, 1862. No. 7.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.

SElUfON,
BY THE LATE REV. SA.MUEL WORCESTEll.

U Behold a throne was let in heaven, and one sat on the throoe."-R&v. iv. 2.

THAT the Lord Jesus Christ is the only God of heaven and earth, is
sho\vn by every verse of the sacred Scripture when rightly under-
stood; for He is the Word, He is the Truth; and every truth is from
Him, and must relate to Him. But a great part of the Word says
nothing of Him in its literal sense; and the texts which do speak exter-
nally of Him are little understood at this day, because men do not love
to come to Him that they may have life. There are, however, many
passages of the Word which openly reveal the true rank and charac-
ter of the Lord; and it is sometimes useful to collect and arrange
classes of these passages, and to present their meaning in rational
light•. It is our present purpose to sho\v that the Word teaches that
the Lord Jesus Christ sits on the throne, or rules and judges all; and
that He who sits on the throne is the true and only God.
That He who sits on the throne rules over all, or that His domin-
ion over all is signified by His sitting on the throne, is manifest with-
?ut any proof. By sitting on the throne is also meant acting as the
Jadge of all.. This appears from the numerous passages in which the
~ord is spoken of as sitting on His throne and judging, as the follow-
Ing: "Thou sattest ill the throne judging right: there are set thrones
of jadgment: J ehovah hath prepared His throne for judgment."
_'fha.t it is the Lord Jesus Christ who sits on the throne, or rules
OVer all and judges all, appears plainly from what He sa~·s in tbe
VOL. v. L20
 294 Sernlon on Revelation iv. 2. [July,

gospel; "The Father judgeth no man, but bath committed all judg-
ment unto the Son; and hath Jtiven Him power to execute judgment,
because He is the Son of Man." 'l'he Son of Man means the Lord as
the Word; and to say that all judgment is committed to the Son of
Man, means the same as what the Lord says in another place,-that
the words which He has spoken will judge men at the last day.
That it is the Son of Man who sits on the throne and judges, is also
plainly declared in the twenty-fifth of Matthew, where the Lord de-
scribes the judgment. "When the Son of Man shall come in His
glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He shall sit on the
throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered a.ll the nations,
and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd sepa-
rateth the sheep from the goats. And the King shall say onto
thE-m," &c.
This shows that the Lord Jesus Christ is the king and judge who
sits on the throne.
We pass now to what is said in the Revelation concerning Him
who sits on the throne. III the fourth chapter '\ve read: "Behold, a
throne ,vas set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that
sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine-stone; and there ,,~as ·
a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like an emerald. And
in the midst of the throne and round about the throne were four ani-
mals; and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord
God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. And when
the animals gi,-e glory, and honor, and thanks to Him that sat on the
throne, who liveth for eVflr and ever, the four-aod-twenty elders fall
down before Him that sat on the throne, and \vorship Him that liveth
for ever and e\·er, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power, for
Thou hast created all things, and by Thy will they are, and were
created." ·
We h~re observe that the Son of Man, who sits on the thron~
is worshiped in heaven, and is called the Lord God Almighty, who
\\"as, and who is, and who is to come, and who has created all things.
The declaration that He created all things agrees with that in the
first chapter of John, "All things were made by Him, and without
Him was not any thing made that was made." That He alone is
worshiped in heaven, will appear more fully from texts hereafter to
he quoted. Other passages will also be given, in which He is called
God, and the Lord God Almighty.
The fifth chapter of the Revelation speaks of the Book, and of the
Lamb who oppned the Book, and then is given the worship of the
Lalnb by all in heaven. One of the expressions of this worship is
this: "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and po,ver be unto Him that
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." There
are similar ascriptions in other places.
It has been supposed by the old Church, that two persons are meant
by Him \vho sitteth upon the throne and the Lamb. But the pcssages
which we have quoted, prove conclusively that He who sits on the
throne is the Lord Jesu8 Christ, who has all power in heaven and
J8~.] Sermon on Revelation iv. 2. 295
earth; and DO one doubts that the Lamb is the same person. Besides
this, tbp same worship is ascribed to the Lamb as to God, the Lord
God Almighty, and Him that sitteth upon the throne. It is also said
that the Lamb is in the midst of the throne. .And in tbe seventeenth
chapter it is said: "These shall fight ,vith the Lamb, and the Lamb
shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King of kingf-:."
These things are sufficient to show that t\VO persons are not meant
by God and the Lamb, Lord God Almight.y' and the Lamb, and Him
,yho sitteth on the throne aDd the Lamb. It is common throughout
the 'Vord, to apply several names to the Supreme Being, and to use
those names in such a manner, that he who in his heart has respect
to many false gods, may infer that there are several true Gods. But
in interpreting all these passages, we are to be governed by the first
principle of all genuine religion, that there is One and only One God.
and that He is one both in essence and presence. If we abida by this
principle, we shall dis~over that the various names given to God, sig-
nify the several attributes and modes of manifestation and operation
of the Lord God the Saviour.
In the seventh chapter ,ve find another example of worship ad-
dressed to Him who sat on the throne. "And all the angels stood
round about the throne, and about the elders and the four animals,
and fell before the throne, on their faces, and worshiped God, say-
ing, Amen; blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and
hODor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever."
In this and otber verses of the same chapter, He who sat upon the
throne is called God, and it is shown that all the worship of heaven
is addressed to Him; and this same Divine I(ing and Judge, let it be
remembered, is Christ the King, the Son of Man sitting on the throne
of His glory.
In the eleventh chapter there is another example of this worship:
"The kingdoms of the world have bt'come the kingdoms of our Lord
and His Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four-
and.t\venty elders that sat before God on their thrones, fell upon their
faces and \vorshiped God, saying, We give thanks, 0 Lor.d God AI-
might,,·, who art, and who wast, and who art to come, because thou
hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast begun to reign."
He who sat on the throne is here called Lord, and Christ, and God,
and Lord God-Almighty. Each of the names has some peculiarity
of meaning, but all relate to the same Divine Person. That it is no
other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who reigns over all and for ever, is
evident from the prophecy of Daniel concerning Him; "His domi-
nion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass 8\V8)', and His
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
In respect to the expression ., \vho art, and wast, and art to come,"
which is here and in other places applied to the Lord God Almighty,
it first occurs in the firat chapter of this hook. In tbe eigbth ,·erse
we rcad: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the
end, s8ith the Lord, who was, and is, and is to com~, the Almigbt}-.n
In the ninth and tenth verses John says that he heard a voice, sa.ying~
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last." And he
 296 Sermon on Re"elation iv. 2. [Jaly,
immediately adds that he turned to see the voice, and that be saw in
the midst of seven golden candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man;
and this person said, I am He that Iiveth and was dead, and behold I
am alive forever and ever.
Everyone may see that He, of whom it is here said that He was,
and is, and is to come, and that He li\Teth and was dead, is no other
than the Lord the Saviour; and ho\v can we doubt that this is the
same being V\,ho is caned in the eleventh chapter, Lord, Christ, God,
and Lord God Almighty 1. In both cases He is caned the Almighty;
and in the first case He sa)·! that He was, and is, and is. to eome-
and in the second case the angels and elders say to Hiln, thou art
and ,vast. and art to come.
In the· third chapter we find the following: "To him that over-
cometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, e,·en as I also over-
came, and am sat down with my Father in His throne."
This passage literally implies that the Ff\ther has 1\ throne on
which He sits, and that the Son sits upon it with Him; and that the
Son also has a throne on \\"hich He sits, and that those who overcome
their sins, sit with Him on His throne. But in the spiritual sense it
is seen that by the throne of God is meant heaven; as it is written,
., Heaven is my throne." That the Son overcame, and sat down with
the Father on His throne, means that the Lord OVflrcame all the evils
by which He was tempted, and thus formed to Himself a Humanity
which is \vholly from the Father, and one with the Father, as sool
Rnd body are one; and that the Divine and Hllman are, and are
ftcknowledged to be, thus permanently united in the hea\·ens. By
man's overcoming is meant his conquering his evils in t~mptations;
and by his sitting with the l,ord on His thr.one, is meant that He is
so conjoined with the Lord, as to live in Him and from Him in
heaven. But this does by no means imply that there is the same
distinction Rnd the same connexion between the Father and Son as
between the Son and men in heaven. It implies .only that the pro-
cess by which the Humanity ,vas made divine and united to the
Divinity, is like that by ,vhich man must put away his evil life, and
come into conjunction with the Lord. The Lord overcame in all
temptations, and man also must o\·ercome in temptations; and this
is meant by follo\ving the Lord in the regeneration, or being regen-
erated after the same order by which the Lord ,,'as glorified.
In the nineteenth chapter there is the following glorification:
"Salvation, and glory, and honor, and po\\"'er, unto the Lord onr
God; for true and righteous are l-lis judgments." All judgment is
exercised by the Son of rtlan, who sits upon the throne: and He is
here called the Lord oar God. He is so named aga.in in the same
chapter, and twice He is called God. ,
Here also occurs the following: ,. I sa.\v heaven opened, and behold
a white horse; and He that sat on him is called Faithful and True;
and in righteousness He doth jadge and make war. And He was
clothed with a v~sture stained with blood; and His name is called
-the Word of God."
This is obviously the same divine person as He who sits on the
throne. And it is said of Him, "that He hath on His vesture, and OD
 1852.] Sermon OR Revelationeiv. 2. 297

His thigh 8 name is written, King of kingg and Lord of lords." In

a passage already quoted, this Dame is given to the Lamb.
In the twentieth chapter it is \vritten: "I saw a great white throne
and Him that sat upon it; and I saw the dead, small and great, stand
before God." He who sits on the throne, and is the Judge of the
li ving and the dead, is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is here called God.
In the twenty-first chapter, John says that he "saw the New Jeru-
salem coming down out of heaven from God; and that he heard a
,·oice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with
meD, and He will d\vell with them, and they shall be His people, and
God Himself shall be with them their God. And God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes. And He that Bat upon the throne
said, Behold I make all things ne\v. And He s"id unto me, It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He
that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be His God."
Comparing these with passages already quoted concerning Him
who sits on the throne, and the Alpha and the Omega, it is plain
beyond all question, that the person who is called God nine times in
this chapter, is no other than the Lord the Saviour.
In the last chapter, the throne is called the throne of God and the
Lamb; Qut the pronouns standing for God and the Lamb are in the
singular number, referring to them as not two, but one, thus: "The
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall
minister unto Him. And they shall see His face, and His name shall
be in their foreheads. In the fifth and sixth verses He is called the Lord
God; in the thirteenth, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and
the End, the First and the Last; in the eighteenth He is called God,
aDd so in the nineteenth; in the twentieth He is called the Lord
Jesus, and in the twenty-first, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the sixth verse it is said: "The Lord God of the holy prophets
hath sent His angel to show to His servants the thinKS \vhicb must
shortly come to pass." And in the sixteenth verse it is said, ,. I Jesus,
have sent my aD~1 to testify unto you these things in the churches."
Throughout the ""hole chapter it is perfectly evident that the Divine
names all have reference to but one Divine Person.
We have now completed what we proposed to say concerning the
texts in the Revelation, ,vhicb refer directly to Him who sits upon
the throne. To those who believe and never doubt that the Lord
Jesus Christ is the true and only God, it is painful to enter into or
hear any argument on the subject; but it is important that such
persons should have their minds well stored with the truths of this
doctrine, that they may be able to instruct others. And if any doubt
the truth of this first and most essential doctrine of the New Jerusa-
lem, and are yet willing to know who their Savioar is, they may be
assisted by such a course of inquiry as that which has been adopted
in this discourse.
The Book of the Revelation was written especially for this New
Church, the New Jerusalem. It remained sealed until its contents
were revealed to Swedenborg. And, until that time, the true doctrine·
concerning the Lord was but imperfectly known by any, and was
bidden from the church in general. But those who are willing to
298 Sermon on Revelation iv. 2. [July,
know and do the truth, may now see this doctrine clearly taught in
all the Scriptures. The greater part of men, however, have their
eyes still holden so that they cannot see the Lord. In all the pas-
sages quoted in this discourse, they cannot see that the Lord the Sa-
viour is once called God, nor that any other di\,jne name is applied to
Him, nor that any thing is said of Him which implies that He is the
God who is ,,·orshiped in heaven. Others can see Him only as one
person by the side of t\VO others, and thus they really imagine that
every part of the Word teaches that there are three Gods.
All in whose minds any doctrine concerning the Lord is established,
understand every part of the \Vard as teaching that doctrine; and
those who do not hold to any doctrine, understand the Word accord-
ing to their natural affections; they understand it 8S teaching \\,bat
is in conformity with their own lo\'es. And this shows ho\v import-
ant it is that true doctrines should be received and confirmed even in
children.
The things \\?hich ha,"e been stated in this discourse are by DO
means the most interior, nor the principal things which show to the
members of the New Church that God is one both in essence and in
person, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is that God. When they learn
the internal sense of the Word, all Rppearances of any other doctrine
vanish a,,"ay. 1'he doctrine of heaven, which is the same as the
internal sense of the Word, speaks of no God but the Lord Jesus
Christ; and so far 8S they see by the light of heaven they see no
other.
And they also learn practically that He is their life and their all.
All things good and true in their \vills and understandings they per-
ceive to be from Him. In every act of repentance they perceive that
He alone sa'ges them from sin. And they acquire both an internal
and externa] kno\vledgc that, in every good word and work, the
po\\rer and the win to do them are from Him alone. They first learn
who He is from the Heavenly Doctrine which is tevealed to them,
and ,,·hich they see to be agreeable to the Word ;~ut they acquire
genuine faith in Hirn only by doing His words with an acknowledg-
ment that they are His words. And \vh~n they have this lItenuine
faith in Him, His throne is established in the heavens of their minds,
and His kingdom ruleth over all.

EXTRACT.
c. 'l"'he reason why wBs1.inR and destruction signify evils and fallities, is, because e.ils
waste the natural man. and falsities destroy it. Inasmuch as peace is with tho~ who
are in the conjunction of good and truth from the Lord, and inasmuch as evil destroys
good, and rl\lsity truth, aDd cousequently also peace. hence it follows that there is no
peace with those who are in evils and falsities. It appears indeed as if peace were with
tbem, when they succeed in the world. and they also seem to thelnseJves at 8uch timet to
he of a cont~nted mind; but tbat peace is apparent only in their extreme priDcipJe!I,
which nevertheless inwardly is not peace, for they think of honor and gain without end,
and cherish in their minds cunning, deceit, enmities, hatr~ds, revenge, and many Ibings
of the like nature. which, whilst they are ignorant thereof, read and devour tbe interiors
of their m inds, and thence also the interiors of their bodies. That this is the case appears
evidently with them after death, when the interiors of such persons are opened; tbose de-
lights of tbeir minds are then turned into their contraries. accordiol to what i ••bawD iD
tile work cODcernml Heave" (I"a Bdl."-~. ~. 36~.
1852.] Aphori,m, on Slavery and Abolition.-No. IV. 299

ARTICLE 11.

APHORISMS ON SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.

No. IV.
v.
One law of Divine order is, that evils must not be removed suddenly,
and that if the attempt be made, worse evils arise. This Jaw applies
to public or national evils, as well as to those of the individual.
We question not that a very important truth is embodied in this paragraph, albeit we
should haye preferred. the phraseology which we see from the manuscript was originally
adopted-i' that evils caflfl.Ot be removed suddecly." Language implying proAibiliOA in
regard to the sudden removal of evil, is stronger than the nature of the ca~ admit!, and is
calculated to lead to wrong impressions. At aoy rate we do not find tbis language counte-
nanced by Swedenborg, as his phraseology is very uniformly CtltUlot instead afm..t flOt. Thil
will appear from a few paragraphs which we insert, and to which we give place the more
readily from the fact that they develope the philosophy of the principle in a very besutiful
and striking manner. Cl Man is not hastily but slowly regenerated; because all things
which he had thought, had intended, and done from infancy, have added themselves to his
liCe, and have made it, and allo have formed such a connexion amongst each other, that one
cannot be moved away unless all are moved away together with it. Hence, it is evident
that evils and falses with an evil man, CCI,,,,ot be removed suddenly, but, 10 far as goods and
truths are implanted in their order and interiorly, for heaven removes hell from man. It
this wu to be suddenly, the man would be defective, Cor all and singular thinKS which are
in connexion and form would be disturbed, and violence would be done to his life."
(...4. C. 9334.) III Goods and truths should remove evils and falses by suc~essiv~ implanta-
tions; for falses are not removable except by truths, nor evils except by goods; if this i!'
Dot dODe successively and according to order, the falses which favor those loves 1l0\V in, and
from the delight of those laws the man concludes nothing but f:ll~es, if the falses of ev.J
are suddenly removed." (~. C. 9335.) ca Man, when he is born, a! to hereditary evils if'
• bell in the least form; hence it is that the ord~r oC his life from nativity and from actnal
life is opposite to the order of beaven. The former life, therefore, wbich il ot bell, must be
altogether destroyed, that is, evils and falses must be remoyeci, to the intent that new life.
which is the life of heaven, may be implanted. This ca""ot in any,,·ise be done hastH)p ;
for every evil being inrooted with its falses, has connection with all evils and tbeir falses :
aDd luch evils and falses' are innumerable, and their connection is so manifold that it can-
not be comprehended, not even by the angels, but only by the Lord; hence it is evident
that the lite of hell with man eanAOt be destroyed suddenly, for if suddenly, he would alto·
gether expire: and that neither can the life of heaven be implanted suddenly, for if suddenly,
he would also expire." (~. C.9336.) This, then, developes the general law of proce-
dure in regard to the remoyal of evils; but it evidently requires great caution to guard
against the pervenioD of the principle. It is perverted it we make U!e of it as a plea to
coantenance the continuance of any po.iti", ad, or series of acts, of evil, when their true
ebarac:er is made known to us. Every such act is to be at once renounced, and we are
to enter upon a course of reformation a. if the final effect would immediately follow,
whereas we know it will not, for the evil love \vhich has originated the evil acts will be cer-
tain to survive for some time after the act3 have ceased. Nevertheless, it is our bounden
duty to commttIC. at once that COUlee of action which will result in the: jiflal abolitiOft of
300 .ApkorUII&8 011 Slavery and Abolition.-No. IY. [Inly,
every form of evil, leavinl it to the operation of the laws oCProvidence to extinguish in due
time the inward prompting to everything thing that is amill. The fact is, the languap of
Swedenborg OD this head is Dot 10 much to lunest a"," 0ld.t, for us as a lall1o( Proei-
den", founded upon the constitution of thinp. It il rather a declaration oC what the la..
of order imply, than oC a cour., of GctiOfl by whicb we are to be guided. The intemperate
man, for instance, who sees the evil of indulgence, is bound at once to abandon hil cops,
tbough he does it under a moral certainty that the appetite may remain to trouble him for.
long time to come. But on this head he is not required to be very solicitous. This part of
the consequences will take care of itself. Let the drinking ceaee, and the thirst will gradu-
ally die away. cc Where no wood iI, the fire goeth out." So in the case before us. There
i:s undoubtedly .omfthifl' which il immediately incumbent upon the conscientious slave-
holder, while at the lame time we are fuUy persuaded there are lome steps bearing OD the
final issue which are faOt at once to be taken, al it would be a ralb precipitating of
dangerous resulta, and contrary to the order of Providence. What is at once to be done,
and what to be temporarily forborne in the premlsel, will appear al we proceed. We do
not differ trom A. E. F. as to the fact of .the providential law to which he refers, Ra the
sequel will show, but we rear that the language of iflhibitiofl which he employs ma), lead
to wrong inference., and paralyse that measure and form oC effort which is caned for by
tbe principles oC charity without the least delay

VI.
;! This la,v i~ violated with less impunity, in proportion as the evil
to be removed is more interior. The sign that a public or national evil
is interior is, that it is recognized, sanctioned, and established 6'1 the
lau'.f. Thus, intemperance is a less interior evil than slavery, be-
cause though it prevails, it is not, or not to the same degree, sanc-
tioned by law.
The law" here Ipoken is that which forml the subject of the preceding aphorism, to
U

wit: that evil I mUlt not be removed suddenly." We haye endeavored to show that this
It

is not so much to be viewed al a prohibitory precept by which our duty il to be deler-

mined, al the statement oC a fact or a principle which obtains in the regenerating proceS!
as governed by the laws ot order, and il therefore not so much a la. liGbl, to b, triol4lld,
as a principle liable to be tlUrtgard,d, and thil it no doubt may be, much to the injury of
great moral intereltl. This injury, the writer thinks, will be apt to be gr9ter in propor-
tion as an evil il more interior, or, in other wOlds, more deeply and organically inwrought
in the ulages, Institutes, and legal enactment. ot any community. Consequently, be
would deprecate the ludden breaking up of the Iystem, al by law established, lelt still
more pernicious results might ensue, a general view of the subject which we deem eor-
rect. An abrupt and violent rending away, however, ot this feature of tbe ciyil code, i.
one thing, and a calm, d~liberate, but Itill immediate inchoation or measures that shall
eventually bring about that issue is another. We eee nothing tbat Itands in the way of
conlcience or wisdom in the resolve to enter atmle, upon the incipiency or an emancipat-
ing process, and when this is done in earnest, we have no fears that the right relult will
not follow. This we conceiye to be the legitimate course in all cases of acknowledged
evil. whether interior or exterior. Alsuredly, if men are inyolved in the support of such
an evil, and have their eyes opened to the fact, and are withal anxious to tree themselves
from it, there must be .omt way of extrication, (or it is inconceivable that any man, or
any clall or men, .hould be shut up by the insuperable bars of the Divine Providence to
the necellity of continuing in such a predicament. There must be lome ., oUllate" for
1852.] Apllori,m, on Slavery and Abolition.-No. IV. 301
him who would escape. An irrevocable necessity of wrong.doing can be imposed upon
DO mau in this world. It any law, usage, or institution be intrinsically wrong, it cannot
be right 10 continue it j consequently, with those who have been its abettors, there is of
neceasity .ome dllty of renunciation incUlnbent as soon as tbey are convinced of the evil
aDd of their agency, past or present, in 8ustaining it. Nor is any individual exemptetl
from this duty, because be Is associated hy civil or religious ties with other" who do no t
sympathize with him in his conviclions, aDd who tbere(oro withhold co-operation. He
has some sbare in the general action of the collective body in perpetuating the evil,:and
lhis share be is bound to renounce, and to labor by protest and moral suasion to bring his
associates to unite with him in sentiment and action, with a view to its final abroga-
tion. Upon this point it is hardly possible to in,ist too urgently. that the individual is
never at liberty so tar to merge himself in the state as to forbear acting in the redress of
eyib till the state itself takes the initiative. The delnands of an enlightened conscience
press themselves directly upon the man as respollsible first of all to the h higher Jaw" ot
his God, irrespective of his relations to the state, and caB upon hitn to renounce aDd ab-
jure that measure ot agency which may pertain to him as an originator or continuator of
the legalized system of wrong which 13 brollght into qllestion.
It is in our view all important that in urging the claims of abolitionism upon SOllthern
slaveholders we should plant ourselves distinctly upon this ground. Our appeal should
be made to the individual rather than to the community. The community cannot be ex-
pected to act as a community till tbe component members are individually convinced of
their duty in the premises. Tho units are prone to hide tbemselyes in tbe aggregate, al
did Saul among the Cl ItllfF," but when drawn out each one will scarcely fail to be con-
tlCiou! that on the score ot moral respcnsibility, he is cc from the ehoulders and upwards,"
at least as high as Cl Rny of the people." This responsibility he can by DO means evade;
but in what particular (orm it is to be exercised, and under what special qualifications
the slaveholder is to heed the lummons to emancipation, will be more fully considered in
what follows.

Vl!.
By the two preceding aphorisms an irnmediate emancipation of
slaves is so far from being the true remedy of the evil, and a duty im-
posed by the Christian religion, that it is a false remedy, forbidden
by Christianity.

This surely is very strong language, nor are we by any meRns prepared to assent to it
without a close inspection of its pnrport. Yet, as in nearly everyone of the aphorisms, 10
in this likewise, we recognize a substratum of truth which we are not at all di!posed to
question, but a truth that needs, in our view, to undergo somewhat ofa process of logical
eme!ting in order to bring out the pure metal freed from all vicious adherences. It will
not, we presume, be denied that in every ca!e of moral wrong there is an opposite and
corresponding right. If slavery. i. e., slayebolding. RS generaIly defined and practised, be
Jfl reality a wroDg done to the neighbor, then if we can as~ertain the act or conduct
which is precisely the reverse of this. we may doubdess take it for granted that we have
hit upon the requisite right which is the true remedy for the wrong in question. If a certain
disease is to be cured, and there is a particular medicine which is a genuine specitio for
that disease, tbat surely is the medicine which should be administered to the patient. Let
UI apply this principle in the present case. The two terme. matlcipatiOfl. (from"'4"", and
capio, taking tcith th, hGfld) and e-maftcipatiOft imply ideas directly the converse oC each
302 Aplloruma on SlaveJ·y and Abolilion.-No. IV.
other, the one denoting the 8ct of reducing to bondage. the other the act oC freeing (raiD
bondage. . Now. lurely. jf tbe former term denotes an act which is intrinsically wroDg.
and the latter aD act directly contrary to it, and therefore intrinsically right. there can be
no doubt tbat tmaflcipatiOft is the true remedy for its opposite evil, and consequently, that
this is precisely the remedy which Christianity enjoin!. Are not the two things jUlt 1\1
obversely opposite to each other as tAtft and reatitMtion. j and does Christianity prescribe
to the conscience any otber remedy for theft than restitution, accompanied. by repent-
ance 1
But the aphorisJn before us points its ceosu re. not at emancipation in the abstract, but
at immediate emancipation j and this it professes to regard a8 a false and forbidden rem-
edy for an incontestable evil. This then becomes the grand question in debate, and we
venture to say that this can never be satisfactorily settled, without first settling clearly and
distinctly the true idea of the essence of slavery, and of the essence of emancipation. To
this end we remark, thllt if slavery be admitted to be in itself an evil, then there must be
incumbent an immediate duty of SOlne kind in relation to it, for no evil is to be guittl, ac-
quiesced in for a moment. What is that duty? What can it be, but tbe sincere loental
renunciation of the principle which lies at the foundation of the systein of involuntary
slavery, to wit: tlu claim of a right of proptrt, in a humafl being, m' the right of ctmvtrtinl
4 man into a chattel. This is the radical vice-the fundamental falsity-the central
wrong of the whole system. Upon a strict analysis it is precisely here-in the mental as-
lertion of a falle and injurious principle-that the essential evil of servitude concentrates
itself. It is the laying claim to a right whicb is itself a nullity. No s\1ch rigbt ever did
or could exist. A human being can. by no rightful process. be 80 far deAumafliztd as to
sink him to an object of ownersb ip and an article of merchandise. The fact that loch
a right has been long asserted and exercised, impart8 to it no validity. It is simply by a
legal fiction that such possession is termed property. and under that denomination trans-
mitted from father to son. In the nature of the case the title of subsequent tenure can be
no other than that of original acquisition. The stream cannot rise higher than ·its foun-
tain. The slave captors in Africa could plead no title to tbeir prey other than that of law-
less violence. and a mastery too 8trong for itJ victims. Consequently, what tbey had not,
they could not conTey. We must be excused for speaking plainly on this subject, (or the
scope of our argllment requires it. We are ainling to ascertain the point of duty OD a
lubject which appeal. with pressing urgency to the moral instincts of the conscientious
man, and this point we can uever reach without penetrating the intrinsio merits or de-
merits oftbe theme. Let us. then, be allowed to lay. tbat we ore for ourselves forced 10
Iubscribe to the j nstice oC the aentiments propounded in the followiug extract froRl cc Dy-
mond's Essays on Morality."
Cl Tbe distinctions which are made between the original robbery in Africa, and the pur-

chase, the inheritance, and the' breeding' of slaves, do not at all respect tbe kind oC im-
morality that attacbes to the whole system. They respect nothinR but the d,grtt. The
man who wounds and robs another on the higbway, is a more atrocious offendt-r tban he
who plunders a hen-roost; but he is not more tnJy an offender, he is not morc ~trlaiAlJ
a violator of the law. And 80 with the slave t'ystem. He who drags a wretched man
(ram his family in Africa. is a more fiagitious transgres!or than he who merely compels the
African to labor for his own advantage; but the tran'gression, the immorality is as real and
certain in the one case as in the other. lIe "'ho had no right to steal the African, had Done
to sell him. From him who is known to have no right to sell. another caD have no right
to buy or to possess. Sale, or gift, or legacy, imparls no right to Ine, because the seller, or
giver, or bequeather, had none himself. The sufferer has just as valid a claim to liberty
at my bands as at the bands oC the ruffian who first dragged him from his home. Every
1812.] Apkori6m8 on Slav,ry and Abolilion.-No IV. 303

hoarofevery day, the present posseuor is guilty of injustioe.- Nor is the case altered with
J'e8pect to thOle who are born on a man's estate. The parents were never the landbolder's
property, and therefore the ohild is Dot. Nay, it the parents had been rightfully IlaveI,
it would not justify me in making slaves of their children No man bas a right to make
a child a slave buthimselt."
Can our position then be questioned. that al a title never possessed can never be tranl-
ferred, 80 the slaves of the South, held al such on no other tenure tban that by which they
were made such, cannot be regarded al the bona fide property of tbeir alleged owners.
To a just casuiltry it matters not tbrough how many hands an usurped possession may
bave passed, there is no genuine title created to h ifl. trafl.lit., not even if tbe original
owner sbould never appear to prefer his claim. The ethics ot Christianity know of no pro-
ce. of poIt·l~gitimGtioftwhich can apply to a case of this kind; and upon no otber bali.
do we IMlrceiye how any professed defence of slavery can rest. Such a process is all alon,
• •amed by the slaveholder j and here. it we rightly conceive, is the very heart and core
of the offending principle in I)avery, the sincere acknowledgment and renunciation oC
which i. the 8nt step in the retroceding course prescribed by an enlilb&ened conscience.
~jow muoh more than snch a mental acknowledgment and renunciation is involved in the
moral demands made on this head, we shall have occaaion to consider iD the sequel, but
.u~l, nothing Ita will suffioe in the outset.
We cannot but be aware that such an emphatic presentation of the case, in its funda.
DleDtal aspects, will scarcely ran to be the reverse of agreeable to our Southern brethren;
but we are at the same time confident that our position cannot fairly be controverted,
nor do we feel at liberty to plant ourselves on any lower gronnd. Ollr object is to point
the iapr, iD exact indication, to what we regard as the IpOt where the virulence of the
dileale is more etpecially concentrated. Oar motive is to contrib'Jte by friendly Bllggestion
10 an eifectual cure. We would be rar from actine the unfeeling part of .. surgeon who
should lance and probe an uloer for the sole purpose of in1licting anguish. or of cODvincinl
the patient that his body waA suffering UDder a dangerous disease. He were a monster
iDllead of a man if ultimate oure was not hi. aim.
We insist the more strenuously on the above position from the fact, tbat the conloiou.-
neu of i.tftUlitag no injury or wrong to the alaye, which we firmly believe holds good ot
thOle wholn tL", presume to address, and the patriarchal and parental relation which such
masters Itriye to sustain to their bondmen, together witb a certain contented and even
happy sphere which often prevails over a well-ordered plaotation, strongly tends 10 veil
from light the underlying principles of falsity and evil which still pertain to the system
under the fairest phases it may aSlume. Indeed, it requires with UI but a purely ideal
IOjoorn in the parlors, out-bouses, and field. of such of our brethren as will probably read
theM pages, where we witness the governing kindne., on the one hand, and the simple,
childlike, obedient affection on the other, to feel the force of an indefinable Ipell apon us,
disarming us of our prp.judiees, and alffto.t reconciling us to the Cl! peculiar institution,"
as seeuring. an things considered, the best condition for the benighted Ions of Africa. We
eau, at any rate, by a mental metelD psychosis, so far enter into the feelings ofthe better 80rt of
Southern slave-masten as to realize tbe strong sphere of repellency with which they throw
off the imputation of conscious wrong, injury, oppre8sion, and oroelty tbat are oflen in-

- We would here incerpot'e a qualifying clause. We can accept the proposition as above
etated only with the understand ing that the possession is held in the slime spirit with
which it was first acquired. We do not predicate a continued .. inju§tice.~' in the case
where the present pos!essor inwardly repudiates the original act in conseqnence o( which
a hUlnan being hu been C8st upon hi8 bunds, and wbere he is entirely con!'cioul of holdin,
him, not with a view to self-interest or from the lust of oppression, but solely with regard
10 the best good of the slave himself. It is the motif" which is the all-in-all in keeping up
the relation.
 304 .Aphori,m. on Slavery and Abolition.-No. IV. [July,
ditcriminately urged againlt them. For the time beiog our imotiOfll side with the men
who are 80 roughly arraigned, and . . are disposed also to say. c, You know Dothinl of
the actual stale of things among us. Come and live with us awhile, aDd you will stand
corrected in yoor verdict. You will then see how harshly you have judged as."
But Dot thus does our calm, deliberate, Christian reaaon decide. We perceive that we
are giving way to a subtle illusion when we would fain persuade ourselve8 ot the innocu-
ousness ot this relation as ordinarity held. We canDot hide from ounelvea the ract of
a stupendous rnoral wrong involved in the virtual a.ertions which buttress the system a.
a whole. And a. U there i. no sin without a sinner," aDd the essence of the evil of Ilaftry
lies in the (uti",•• with which the relation 11 maiDtained, we cannot but urge the layioc
aside of that aftimu, to wit: tbe mental affirmatioD of a right which God Deyer gaYe, and
man could not. This is the principal to which every thing else is acce880ry. There are a
. thousand adventitious evils and mischiefs which mayor may Dot cbaracterize the actual
working of the institution, !uch as the ignorance, the degradation, the depravity, the lieen-
tiousness, the orpression, the cruelty, and other abominations that are prone to cluster
around the parent stock of ser"itudt'. But these are accidental. The centrs! evil, the es-
sential enormity, which we recognize in slavery, is tbe claim of property in a human be-
ing; and this claim we challenge in the narne of Justice, Mercy, and Charity. The OD-
delayed renunciation ot thil false al8UmptioD we urge upon the man of the New Chuteb
who may be expected to heed the appeal of principle's 10 sacred in his eyes. For, if such
be the essence ot slavery, what inference more legitimate than that the essence of emanci-
pation i. directly the reverse, to wit: the mental renunciation of the claim in qUeBtiao.
Tbe one is the direct counterpart of the other. If the one is morally interdicted, tbeother
Is morally obligatory. In thus renouncing, abnegating, a~d disavo\ving the fundamental
slaye axium, he 1Jfrfor",. that which i, the t"tf&tial aemtflt of emaratipatitm. A mental acC
of this nature strikes at the very root of the evil, inalmuch as when sincere it pots an
end at once to the traffic in human beings. A man who honestly renounces the {alslt,
under consideration can neither buy Dor sell, ,ince this necessarily supposes the validity
of the clahn of property. This assumption we trust we have shown to be groundless, and
therefore no action caD properly be built upon it which would imply tbe contrary.
We have reached then, if we mistake not, by a fair process, the oonclusion tbat there i.
an immediate duty in tbe premises incumbent on the slaveholder; one too which involyes
the very essence oC emancipation, and that without violating any of tbe .tabUsbed laws.
of divine order, when those law. are rightly apprehended. It ia a duty directly impera-
tiye upon the individual irrespective of any human enactments legitimating the asserted
but unfounded claim of property, for no eartblYltatute is authorized to oontravene an eler-
Dal dictate of Heaven, nor may any legislature presume to invade tbe province of priyate
consoience, and interpose a veto to any decision of the soul wbioh is prompted by &sopreme
regard to the will of God. Allsucb enactment! are of course null and void it' faro eM-
.ntflti«, as in fact is every ordinance of man which conflicts with the higher law of the
divine order.
But while we hold malt strenuously to the imperative obligation ot this duty, as DOW
d~6ned, we reject the inference which might be drawn from it, that the immediate disrup-
tion of all the bonds e,-('Dnecting lnaster and slave must necessarily en!ue. This course,
we think, would be just1yliable to tbe exceptions ot Ollr correspondent. It would be just
such a precipitating of results as the principles of the New Church, based upon the laws
of true order, would forbid, and here it is that a new field of argument and action opens
upon us, where the dictates of human prudence, under the prompting or Christian charity,
are to be heeded. But upon this department of our subjeet we defer entering to our b6t.
G. B.
(70 b, continwd.)
186~.] The P,alm,. S05

ARTICLE Ill.

THE PSALMS.
THE unity and connection of the Divine Word is truly wonderful.
It is the body of God, and its harmony of parts and exquisite me-
chanism a.nd adp,ptation to. ends, calls from us, when our perceptions
are awakened, the same intense feeling of wonder and delight which
excites the mind when science fully reveals to us the organization of
our individual existences,-that" "Te are fearfully and wonderfully
made I" bows our hearts in adoration to our Maker. But this percep-
tion of ourselves is bat the basis of our perception of the Divine.
'\Ve are but images. He, as the infinite and un created type, must
ever be our chi~fest wonder.
The Divine Word, as a whole, is the revelation of the Divine maR·
Every fibre of His being is there traced, i8 embodied in a material
form, subject to the inspection of our senses. But if we anatomise
the Divine body, tear it into parts, regard it in its separate divisions,
and look upon its materiality alone, we utterly desecrate it, and come
to loathe it; because we look upon it as a body without 8, soul.
But if we reverently look upon each perfect material part as the
ph)9sical of the psychological; if the study of the body becomes to us
a study of the spirit acting through·the body as its organ, then does
material scie,ncA become the medium to us of the most holy and
Divine truths. The study of the body as a body is no longer pursued;
the connexion between the soul and body is a glimpse into the spirit-
ual that ele\'ates our minds into a new discrete degrE'e of perception.
The Psalms of David are the holy light of this new discrete degree
of perception. They correspond in the physical man to the heart,
the organ of the inmost life, and they are the prayers and commonings
of our Lord, from the inmost degree of that humanity which He
assumed, with the infinite Divine life that had its influx into Him
through this inmost.
Prayer is the opening of the soul to the Divine. In the finite mind
it is spiritual consciousness of the presence of the Infinite. In the'
Divine humanity it \vas the simple consciousness of an indwelling
life. But the prayers of the regenerating human that wa.s becoming
Di vine, are the experiences and hreathings of each finite, regenera.-
ting mind. For the Lord, \vhen He was in His infinite spiritual COll-
sciousnest.l, Raw in that holy light, the countless impurities of the
human understanding that He had assumed. Hence, all the wailing
confessions of sin, the invocations for help against the impurities
whicb assailed Him, and the joy and praise of the celestial purity that
,vas \vorking in IIim to purify these evils. Ho\v exactly thus is the
finite mind affected \vhen it looks at its buman depravity, its total
corruption, as it bows in the presence of the infinitely pure Divine!
How it lifts itself to Him for help; bow vile and ~geak it seems in
comparison; how it loathes and hates its falses and evils, and calls
 306 The P,alm,. [July,
down destruction upon them in sight of that pure goodness; how it
exalts itself in praise and glorification, when the glowing light of a
ne,,- perception revea.ls the perfections of the Divine form, "shining
out of Zion the perfection of beauty."
Such prayers are the symphonies of the angelic spirits associated
with man. They are heavenly rythms that flow in a. concert of mel-
ody ,vithin the spiritual gyres of the grand man. It is the mosic of
God's breath breathing into man the breath of life.
III the Divine humanity, prayer was a looking from the tom convul-
sions and disorders of His human natural into His spiritual universal·
ity of being; it was listening to the voices of angelic choirs, not to
the hum of an earthly existence.
That the Psalms are as the heart of the Divine Word, is shown in
their physical and historical connexion. They follow the second book
of Kings; and these books are the histories of direful falses Rnd evils
that reigned in the perverted will and understanding of the Lord's
assumed humanity. Th£' Divine Truth struggled painfully down from
the Israel of His spiritual consciousness, in which as a Solomon He
reigned, into the depths and abysses of that evil nature, which finally
He perceived in the light of His inner spiritual truth to be fettered
and led captive by an overwhelming principle of evil. All the kings
of Israel who reigned in Samaria (the spiritual understanding of
truth) bad sinned that fearful sin of Jeroboam, the son Nadab, who,
like profaning Uzziah, in a self-ability, from his own proprium, had
stretched forth his hand and touched the ark of the Lord; and this
self-ability had caused Nadab (the rational principle) to ally himself
to Jezebel (self-love), a.nd struggle against the Divine truth, which
was as Elijah, teaching of the wisdom of God; and in J udab, that
vile will-principle, governed kings that desecrated every vessel of
good and truth in the temple of God. Here and there was some
faint principle of natural good, like a Josiah, ruling in that corrupt
nature, but that is gathered to the inner Divine nature, like remains
in the heart of man, and the falses and evils are given over to destruc-
tion.
It is ill the light of all this that the wAary heart of the assumed
. humanity opens itself to its ind\velling Divine, that was about to
appear. Hence David, who represented the Divine Humanity about
to appear, wrote the Psalms; for all prayer flows from God into us.
Like rays of light that glance down from the sun upon earthly objects,
capable of reflecting them, are the true prayers of the human soul,
for the human in itself has not light, it is dead and densely opaque;
but a glory falls on it from above, and it scintillates in the brilliant
rays according to its state of reception.
It ,vas the Divine that spoke in the human, not the human apart
from the Divine. But it was this opening of the interiors of the Lord
that caused that purifying influx of the infinite life, that totally
expunged and put off the finite life, until the pure God alone existed,
and there was no longer a finite human will or understanding.
It is thus with us also. Only by the opening of our interiors to the
Lord, through the constant communings of prayer, can the Divine
'.mage grow in us, until there is no light in us but His wisdom, and
1852.] Conclu,ion of Reply to " Delta." 307

no will bat His love. The Divine 'breatpings of the holy Psalms will
1I0od us \vith the Li.ght and Warmth of the Divine Life, until, earth-
born as we are, we shine in a heavenly glory. _

ARTICLE It

CONCLUSION OF REPLY TO" DELTA."

'VB propose, in concluding our reply to your correspondent

" Delta,"-who argues that the "use of the lot" in originating a min-
istry for the Ne\v Church, was unlawful-especially to vindicate the
persons whom he assailed for their agency in that matter. But lest
we should lose the thread of our discourse, it may be as well to say
that in two former articles we have shown that he has wholly miscon-
eeived the instruction to be drawn from those passages of the Old
Testament, and the Acts of the Apostles, in which this custom is mE'n-
tioned. Before reaching, however, that which is our principle object,
\ve must advert to the part of his essay in which be insists, and on the
pretended authority of Swedenborg in his exposition of the Apoca-
lypse, that they were" but presumptuous and premature in their move-
ment.
And here we must say that" Delta" has excelled himself. For, of
many essays we have read, professedly based on the works of our
enlightened scribe, and from the pens of his disci pIes, we do not remem-
ber one \vbo has so entirely mistaken his meaning. The divergen-
cies are so numerous and remarkable, that we are at a loss to
account for them, except on a principle declared by our author him-
self. "Such is the nature of man's thought, that whilst he is atten-
tive to some one particular thing, he prefers it to another, e'pecially
when his imagination clai,ns it as a di,covery of hi, own. - • • In
this case everything tends to administer fre~h proof and confirmation
of his opinions, 80 that he is ready to attest their truth in the most
solemn manner, when nevertheless they may he utterly false."
(A. O. 862.) The" one particular thing" here appears to be a notion
that ., the sortilegists of 1788" fell into something more than so error
of judgment on that occasion; and hence that which, when rightly
viewed, should be their justification, is made tributary to their
reproach. l'ake the following:
"The last judgment was witnessed by Swedenborg, in the year 1757, BB it took
place in the spiritual world. It is described in the seventh, eighth, and ninth verses
of the twelfth chapter of the apocalypse. The descent of the Holy City is not
described, except in the ninth succeeding, or twenty-first chapter, aDd was not wit-
nessed by S",edenborg, even to the time of his departure from the natural world.
\Ve are prepared to show, from his latest recorded decIaratiOD8, that up to the time
of his natuial deceaee, this d88cent had Dot occurred. Anyone who will read the
chapters inte"ening between the tweltlh and twenty-first of the Apocalypee, will eee
308 Conclu,io" of Reply to " Delta." [July,
that a long succession of spiritual chanp or .tate, and, as we must suppoee, many
momentous corresponding consequences in the natural world. are set down aa hap-
pening between the twoevent8."-N. C. RtpOSitory, Yol. iv. pp. 544.

The very title of Swedenhorg's special tractate on that subject, is

as follo,vs : "The Last Judgment and the Babylon destroyed: sbow-
ing that nil the predi9tions contained in the Apocalypse are at tbis
day fulfilled." See also No. 44 of samf' work. And in A. R. 2, we
read: "The Apocalypse does not treat of tbe succe,aive atate. of 'he
church, much less of the successive states of kingdoms, as some have
hitherto believed, but from tbe b~ginning to the end it treats of tJae
la,t state of the church in hea\'en and earth; and then concerning
the Last Judgment; and after this the Ne\v Cburch, which is the New
Jerusalem." See also A. R. 227, 387, 483, 543. The Apocalypse,
then, is not chronological in depicting the progressive declension or
the church from the beginning, but merely in presenting the seve-
raj phases of its last state, as these were Ruccessively manifested.
Neitber is the Last Judgment alluded to in any part of the twelfth
chapter. In the interva.l between the judgment performed by our
Lord in person (John xii. 31) and the year 1757, the spirits symbol-
ised as 11 the dragon" had been permitted to form imaginary heavens
in the world of spirits, and in conjunction with the lowest heaven,
"because they externally resembled Christians." (A. R. 865, L. J.
66-71, Oon. L. J. 16-19.) When these had increased so as to inter-
cept the true light from the minds of m~n on this eartb, their disper-
sion became necessary. But before their final consignment to their
own place, "they were cast down to the ~R.rth" in that world. And
this event, preparatory to a greater, is what is described in Rev. xii.
7-9, and in A. R. 548-552, Con. L. J. 23. ., Destruction was effected
after visitation, for visitation al,,·ays precedes. The act of exploring
what the men are, and moreover, the separation of the good from the
evil is visitation; th~ good are then removed, and the evil left
behind" to be judged. (L. J. 61.) And several chapters of the Apoca-
lypse are taken up in describing symbolically the progress of this
exploration in the Reformed Church. Four chapters farther OD, we
read; 'a And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven
from tbe throne, saying, 'It is done;' in Apocalypse 16, 17, signifies
"that thus it \\"8S made manifest by the Lord, that all things of the
church are devastated, and that the Last Judgment is now at hand."
(A. R. 709.) But this general judgment proper is not described until
,,"e read the 20th chapter from I1-J5 verses. (A. R.865-874.) 1'he
idea, then, that any long interval was to elapse between tbe Last Judg-
ment and the descent of the New Church derives no support from this
part of the book. But the event predicted as immediately succeeding, is
the formation of a New Christian beaven (xxi. 1), and follOWing
thereafter, if not contemporaneous therewith, the descent of the Holy
City, and the consequent formation of a Ne\v Church on earth. (}T,.
2, 3.) Its full development (VI. 5, 10, 24, and Oh. 22) of course will
be a wOi-k of time. This simple statement, sustained by plain refer-
ences, is sufficient to take the wind out of "Delta's" sails. Bot we
J85t.] C07lclulioll of Reply to " Delta." 309
will enlarge· more on this head, when we have corrected other and
more glaring mistakes.
It is \vell known, tl,la.t the original doctrine of the. Reformed Church
was, that man is justified and saved by faith alone, without the works
of the Ja\v. And this is tbe faith of the dragon (Rev. xii. 3;
A. R. 537). But being opposed to the numerous plain precepts of the
Scriptore enjoining good works, it was in the nature of" a deadly
wound" (Rev. xiii. 3) which must be hea.led. This was dono by a
modification of the doctrine which asserts that" good works are the
neCes.ffary fruits of faith." In this form it was accepted by many of
the laity, who thereby gave their power and strength to the dragon,
who is the same with ., the beast which rose out of the earth" (Rev.
xiii. 1I). The real faith of th~ Dragon, howE-ver, remains the same.
There are then in the Reformed Church, two classes of believers ; -
"the learned rulers of the cburch," who adheore to the former tenet,
and" the people of the churcb," "to wbom these things are not knowD,
because not understood by them" (A. E. 765). Now, ",hen the
woman, spoken of in the 12th chapter, brought forth her man-child,
and the dragon stood ready to devour it, or when the New Church
declared its doctrine, which was received with difficulty, on account
of tbis sinister inftuence 011 the minds of men-i' the child was caught
up to God, and His throne, and the woman fled into the wilderne",
where sbe hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed ber
there" a certain time. lA We do not read," says ., Delta," "that her
child accompanied her, but the contrary is irnplied." We should
rather suppose the reverse; for says Swedenborg:
U When doctrine is not received, th, church U flot, for tll, church i, from doetrin,."

(.d. E. 7300) U Without doctrine, a church is no more a churoh than man is a man
without members, viscera, and organs; thus from the mere covering oC skin, which
onl,. figures his extemal shape or form; nor any more than a house is a house with.
oat bedchambers, parlora, and useful furniture within j thus from the bare walla and
arched roof." (COrM;', 18. See alBo H. D. 243, 254.)

And the child's being" caught up to God and His throne," does Dot
imply its withdrawal from men, which we know historically was not
done, but" the protection of the doctrine by the Lord from the dragon,
for the use of the New Church; and its being guarded by the angels
oC heaven" (A. R. 545); which we also know has been strikingly
verified. And the woman's flight into the \vilderness, does not signify
the retirement of the church to some special locality, as a means of
safety, but that "at first it was confined to a few, while provision is
making for its increase among many" (546, 547). After this is
related "the war in heaven," when the dragon and his angels were
cast out into the eartb, by \vhich is signified (not the Last J ndg-
ment, as " Delta" has it, but) "that he was cast down into tbe world
of spirits," which is intermediate bet\veen heaven and hell, e. from
whence there is immediate conjunction with men upon earth;" which
ocoasions "joy in hea.ven," but a warning to men to beware of his
machinations, which are DO\V more pressingly dangerous than before.
But duriug this interval, the" wings of an eagle" were given to the
Yo~ v. 21
 810 C07Icl.lion ef Repl, 10 • lklltl.· [July,
womltn; "iz: .. spiritual int~nigenee and circumspection were givea
by thA Lord to those ",ho \\·f!re oC that churcb, to preyent deeeptioD
by his wiles" (A. E. 756, '769).
And now com~8 the most singular error or all. We Teftd in A. B.
thus; "And the woman fled into the wilderness, D. 6, signifies the
eharch amongst 8 few, because with tbose who are not in goods,
th~nce n~ither in truths." "That she might fly into tbe wilderness,
to her plRce," v. 14, signifies "as yet amongst a few, bttcause amunK
those \\·ho are not in the life of chRrity; and thRt hy the passage
generftlly is to be understood," that the New Church is to tarry
amongst those who are in the doctrine of faith separate from charity,
whil~t it grows to the full, until provision is made for its increase
among grpster numbers." The two classes of the reform~d are then
distinguished 88 abov~, the drftgon proper, or thA" learned ruJen of
the church, \\,jth t.heir like among a peopl~t" and tbe well-disposed
laity, here symbolized RS "the eart.h which helped the woman."
Now ,,·ould not a. common. r~ader d~duce from this language, that
the ,,"oman, tbe wilderness, and the eArth were three several and dis-
tinct th'i ngs 1 In other words, that .' the few" who constitute the
church in its then state, are to be distinguished from the wildern~ss,
or the many among whom she tRrries, no less than from tbe earth, or
good "fJtural men, \\'bich helped ber in ber hour of need? And yet
"Delta" appears in a manner to have confounded them all, aDd to
ha\'e not exactly appreciated the chara.cter of the latter. By U Itlrry-
ing amongst those who ",re not in charit)'" he supposes that such is
either to be the qualify of the New Church henrelt: in the beginning,
or tbat she is to co"tinue blended with them, and for Ht-aven knows
how long. In point of fact she did so remain for thirty ~'ears or
more, from 1757 to 1788. But the separation then b~cftme pxpedient
and proper for several reasons, some of wbich shall be given.
At first we doubted whether we had apprehended him arigbt. Bol
looking farther on, we find tbat bf! SPflllkfl of Mr. H. and hi~ coftdjo-
tor~. on the alleged authorit.y of Swed~nhorg, as being " a parc~1 of
the few \vho are represpnt~d b}" tllt~ UJilderllesI I" and cons~qut-ntl}'
fI 8S not being in charity I" besides other hl\rd sayings, which sball

also be duly noticed. He furthpr says, that 'I under the new dispen-
sation it \\'as provided thHt there should be sirnple-minded, truth-
d~ing, terrestrial men, like the simple spirits, and supplying their phite
88 the ultimate habitations of the angels ;" and that" the New Church
was hidden in aod could only widen from the secret treaNury of
remai". in these simple-minded christians," who are meant by tbe
eart.h which helped tbe \vomao.
1~he error here is ea~i1y corrected, \vhere the mind is not clouded by
preposse~sion. The s}Ombols in the tE'xt are all distinct, 8tld Fbould
be kept so. B~fore tbe t'arth helped the woman, there u'as a woman
to be helped, "clothed \\·ith the sun, cro\,'npd with stare, and the
moon under her feet," Rnd therefore of a quality far different from the
eartb. As to the remaining point, the Jnnguftge of our Author is
equally explicit. "To ItS into the wildcrnt'ss, denotes to (Ibide UfltOllg
those who are Dot in truths, because not in good. .. • • 1·he
J86t.] Coracl.lio. of Reply to .. Delta." IIJ
New Church cannot as yet be institotpd, ezcept with a few, by reasoa
that the jor",er cAurcla is become a wildernp~s" (A. E . .,30). And
the eRrth which helped the woman, also signifies" those who are oC
thfl church which is Dot iD truths." but they received not the subtle
reasonl of tbose who are in fait.h sefarate from charity tf (764).
And ho\v was this assistance rendered" By op~nly enJisting under
her bBnners 1 This is true of some; for" the male son who was to
rule all nations w~l.h a rod of iron," Rignifies that the doctrine of the
New Cburch. by the power of Rilturfll truth from spiritual, ~hall argue
,,·ith and convince tb08A who are in f818e8 Rod evils, and yel in. tle
Church, where the word is" (A_ E. 723). But t.he New Church is
helped by such good natural men in othpr ways, even while they
remA.io in their forlner connexion. As by secular p"trooage and pro-
tectioo,-tbe 8&wrtion and maintenance of social and civil rights,
and religious liberty-by Recording a candid hearing to her cause,
and finally by repelling slander and sbielding her from persecution,
the which ),,~t would long since have extended unto blood, had tb.
power of the dragon been commensurate with his will. But after
all, they are the secret allies.. or at be~t but tbe followers, in this holy
warfare.
The pioneers and leaders in this noble enterprise, \\·ho brave the
perils of the wilderness, and st'ek to convert it into :l ha.bitation for
eivili~ed men, by expeJling the wild beasts, clearing the forests of
error, and prepa.ring the soil for cultivation, are of another qualit.y.
And we might bave anticjpatt'd aft much from the history of furmer
churches. As, when the man is pxpiring, the blood retires from the
extremities to the heart, which cOlu.inues to heat ",hile they are cold,
80 in the consuolmation of a church, the devastation has never bflPn
80 complete throughout all its braocbes, but that some love of good-
ness find truth \vas l~ft in indi\'iduals, wben it had well nigb perisbt-d
from the general body" (A. C. 468, 637). Tbese by a species of
transmigratiQD, would pass into a new organizat.ion, or serve as a
nucleug for its formation. To them, 8S being best prppared to r~cpi\-e
it, would hA committed tbe sAcred ftam~, frorD \\"hich thf! extinguished
lamps of others might be relumed. It was foretold by tht' prophet .
that the end of the Jewish church, ~canty B..4iJ ,,'as t.he harvest, "gleflnil8
grtlpe. sbould be left in it., as the shaking of the olive tr.ee, two (ir
tbr~e berries on the top of the uppermost bough, four or fiVA in the
OQtm~t fruitful branches thereof" (I,a. xvii. 6. See also xxiv. 13).
And this, \ve learn from our author, in the spiritual sense is also true
of the end of t.he first Christian church.
And such, our charity leads us to believA, was th~ character ft.nd
qURliry of that little band of brave spirits ",ho in 1788 rt"ared the
standard of Truth in tbe midst of it ,-et"olled world; determined tu do
their duty, and lea\-ing the consequences to that God, who, thpy
doubtpd not., would defend his own c8u~e.-that"good old cause" fur
which be had often and signRlly ma.nifested himself in it~ great.est
extremiries. Nobly did' they maintain the fight, though \\'irh slender
outward means-every maD of tbern, 80 far as we know, in his own
sphere, and to the last. They have all gone to their account, Jol·

I
 812 Conclrui01l of &ply to " Delta." [July,
Jowed by the r~spect and gratitude of the generation which witnessed
their disinterested zr"l; nor have succe~sors been wanting to enter
into their labors. Their disint~rested leader in particular. ",bo fell
with his armor on, has left an impress on the church, and the future
mind of Christendom, which is not like soon to be effaced. Posterity
at least, will not for~et him, who, under Providence, was the first to
gather in a visible form, that church ,,·hich we hope is destined to
Iprf»ad the true light throughout the benighted earth.
Such 81so, we b~ljevE-, has hitherto been the general, if not concur·
rent sentiment of those who claim to be partakers of the same pre-
'cious treasure-not excepting that class who, while professing allegi-
ance to the New Jerusalem, have chosen to tarry in the Old Jeru-
salem until she is ,. compassed with armi~s_" It \\-8S reservE'd, how-
ever, for "D~lta" to make "" discovery of his O\VD." Others had
thought in their simplicity, that they were to judge of men by tbe
tenor of their lives-as of the tree by its f.-uits. But be bas found out
that these" New-Swedenborgians" were ., not in cbarit}-;" that they
were in fact nothing but" a company of strangt»rs in 8 gentile state,'"
who had indeed "given a mental assent to tbe revelations of Swe-
denborg," but bE'ing c. out of the church," "wanted respectability,
eclat I and a priest.hood. ' That, he undertakes to say, was their tJole
.motive when "they took it upon themselves to terre.triulize and locate
the Heavenly Jerusalem, by resolving themselves into the first New
Church corporation, with power to establish branches all o\"~r the
world." And fartber, thft.t when" by sortilf!gious methods" or'~ Mor-
8,-io-methodistio devi~e8" t.h~y "foisted their new ministr)- and new
·b"ptism on the crowded platform of sectarian Christendom," tbey
"di.'per,~d the truths of the cburch," and were guilty of an "eceJesi-
llstical outrage." Something whispered him perhaps that tbis ,,'as
rather too strong an expectoration, and he kindly suggests it as some
palliation of the conduct of these" misguided" "hierarcbitects," that
they were ignorant of the writings which they bad been studying fur
'years, and which they offered as the warrant tor their proceeding. It
must have been so, he thinks; and why? Because forsooth, the
tbeological "'orks of Swedenborg, ,vhich are consistent with them-
.selves througbout, Rnd all of ,\'hich, 88 given to the ,,'orld by himself;
they both possessed, and had diligently searched, \vere originally in
LATIN !-some not yet translated, and others of less authority still iD
-manuscript. As if the leaders in this movement were less comp~tent
to read the plain Latin style of this author than their present judge!
And this unqua.lified condemnation of men who have earned such
titles to our veneration and rE-gard, procE-eds from ,,-hom 1 not some
BabJlonish spy, or emissary of the Dragon, but a professed friend of
the cause to \\'hich those adhered to t.he death. And all becausE', in
view of the most wide-spread and inveterate moral disease that bad
ever ravaged the world-when those who should have come to the
rescuet stood aloof or only aggravated the p~stilence \\phich their pre-
.decessors had occasioned-they sought by a lawful and 8eriptural
method (88 we have fully proved), to altai" the moat efficie"t mean. of
opplyi"K in it, purity, tAe one ,ole, con.prehensive '·'TI,edy, WJUclaMl/etJ,
 ConelUlion of R9Jly to " Delta.· 818

6g Pro"idcIICB for the healing of the notion,. The bare statf'ment is

enough for such as are fully possessed of the character and circolR:'
stances of that age, and of the rottenness which ha.d pervaded church
and state. But we prefer to recall some of these, and on authority
which" Delta" is bound to r~spect.
As that authority a.ssures us that" it is the conjunction of trutl. and
good '\vhich constitutes H. church (A. R. '79S), let us inquire his testi-
mony 8S to the state of the p.rof~ssing church of that day.
1. "The whole of religion i8 founded upon the idea oC God."-Cafton. 3 aft••
2. u U~n a just idea of God, the universal heaven, and the churoh universal oa
earth are founded, and in ~eneral th, IDitol, ofr,ligion j for by that idea there is COD-
JUDCtion, and by conju.nction light, wiadom, and etemal happine••"-Pr~. to Ji. R..
s. l'All church doctrine which doe8 not accord with the \Vord, i8 not 8ound, bal
lahors under a deadl!l di,etUe ; Cor from the Word, and from no other 8Ource, the doe-
bine of the church is to be derived."-~. R. 576.
4. For the time is at hand,' in Ap. i. 3, signifies, that the 8tate of the church ia
U l
8Uch ~hat
it can endure no longer, 80 all to be in cODjunction with the Lord."
-..4.. R. 9.
5. C&~/1 the truths of the Word have been destroyed by the Dragon, 80 that flOt.
nng/e doctrinal trutA rl11lains."-A. R. 541.
6. U The four e"ential, of the ehureh are, the knowledge of God,-of the good fJl
eharity,-of the truths of Caith, and a liCe according to them. As the church reced.
from charity, it recedes Crom them, and false ideas concerning themfto'UJ into Ihe dig-
raitane. of the chuTch, and from tl,em into the people, as from the head into the bod,.
From one false principle proceed oIlier, in continued ,er;l', until ftOthing of tTut'
,",mains. The Sacred Scripture, whilst it is uBed to confirm them, i8 completely Cal-
liied, aDd the church pel'iahea."-Cafloo, 3. 1.
7. lA The modwft church has erred conceming God, Faith, and Charity, and boWl
nothing of Eternal Life; thus it is in darknas."-ldid. Prole 2.
8. U In the end of the modem church, there is no oonjunction with God, becau.
ita faith is in three Gods, and no faith conjoins but a faith in one God."-CanotU
4.10.3.
9. 11 That thel&ssion or the cross was itselfredemption, is afundammltll ~Of' of
the church; aD this, together with the error concerning three Divine persons from
eternity, M' pert1",ted th, flJhole c'/urc"'~ 80 that nothing spiritual remains."-Ibid. a
IInD. See allo T. C. R. 4., Gen. Sum. Cor. 45-56.
10. et Unless a New Church eX;.d which shall abolish the faith in three Gods, ana
receive a faith in one God-the Lord Jesu8 Christ, and at the same time conjoiD.
~i8 Caith with charity in one form, no fle.~/t could b, ,aved."-Ibid. 4. 10. 6.

11. Cl A church is fir" established by the Lord in th. Aea""", and afterwarda
tlarougl the heavena on ,,,,, ,aTtk."-~. R. 816.
12. Cl The ohurch in the heafJen, cannot subsist except there be al,O Cl cAurcA Oil
which is in concordant lov, and tDi,dom. BeC8U8e heaven where angels are, and
ttJTfla
the church where men are. act as one, like the internal and extemal in man; aDd
the intmDat in man cannot subsist in its state unle. an external be conjoined with
it; for an internal without an extemal is like an house without a foundation, or lib
Med upon ground and not in it, thos like anything without a root; in a word, like a
caWJe without an el'ect in which it may exist. From what haa been laid, it ma, be
leeft how ablolut,lg nec"tto,!/ it is that there 8h~uld be a church IOme~here in the
world, where the Word is, and where the Lord 18 krunm t.hereby."-lb,d. 533. See
a1Io Curonu 19.
814 Conclulion of &plg to If IhI'tJ." [Jaly.
13. U The Church on earth il that to the angelio heaftD, th.' • fbaad.u- iI fA) •
i"
IIouIe which reete upon or &8 the feet upon which a man ltands, .nd by wbich b.
"alu; wherefore, when the church OD earth is destroyed, the angels lament, and
make lupplioation to the Lord, that He would maie Gft ,nd of 'Aat CAurcJa, and ,.•
• p a nlw onl."-.d. R. 645.
Did Mr. H. and his friends believe all this 1 and could they b8 other-
wise than restive under the f!xisting state of things 1 .. Was thrre not
a cause" for anxiety, and an urgent motive for action in some form t
But" Delta" will have it that their separation from the Old Church
was premature. We ha.ve just seen (ex. 11) tbat ft Nf!w Cburch
can only descend from a New Christift.n heaven. Let us inquire,
when was this formed t and how long after its formation before we
may look for the commencement of the New Church 1
1. u Not any New Church is begun to be eatabliahed t&ntil the former bath beea
-.tated."-.4. C. 4516.
2. "That this New Church i. the end and objeot of this work (the Apocalyp88) ia
.ry enden'; wherefore thOl8 thiDgB which are fir,t mentioned, refer to the Itlate of
the church, u to its quality immedaately antecedent to its appearance."-.A. R. 2.
3. U After the Last Judgment, • . . . d !ltfD A«tt:tn waa formed from alDODI
ChristiaDs; from those on1l' however, who admitted the Lord to be the GtJd of Hea·
'Yen and Earth, and likeW18e repented in the world of their evil works: from thiJ
hea~en, the New Church on earth, which is the New Jerusalem, descends, GIld tcill
crnuitl." to d"cmd."--A. R. Pr,'. See aleo 478, 626; T. C. R. 773.
4. U The internal hea.ven of christians W88 not julty formed by the Lord, tiD &
',ttl, bt/ar, the Last Judgment, and al.o after it."-A. R. 878.
5. llA Becau8e he (the dragon) knoweth that he hath but a Ihort time,' in A~
ly-pse xii. 12, signifies because he know8 that a new heaven i. formed, and that thu
tLere is about to b, a New Church upon earth, and that tMn hfl, with hie like, will be
cast into hell."-lb. 559. See also T. C. R. 95, 115, 116, 182, Gen. Sum. of Cewo-
rai,43.
6. U The last time of the Christian church, is the ver"! night in which former
churches have come to their end. . . . • Since all h~ht de~rta at midDight,
and the Lord is the true Light, therefore lIe said to His diSCIples, when He ascended
into heaven, I I am with you alwRys, even to the con8ummatlon of the age,' and
he departs from them to B new church."- T. C. R. 764.
th,.
7. u Beco.o8e the prescnt church in Christendom is the night. it follow8 that the
morning is at Itotld, that is, the ",.,~t of 0. new church."-lb. 764.
8. "I No falsity is ever abolished before it is detected' (..4. R. 483). 'And the
water of the river Euphrates was dried up, that the way of the kiD~ from the rising
of the sun might be prepared' in Apoc xvi. 12, signifies that the falses or tAt ;nll-
riOT 1"tason;I'/f.• of those in faith alone, were TemOI,~d with those who are in truths
derived from ~ood from the Lord, and are to be introduced into the New Church.
. . . . ThiS relates to the end of the J.>resent church, and to the establiabmea' or
6tginfl;ng of a New Church. And contentIons relative thereto."-lb. 700.
9. u, And after three days and a balf, the Spirit of life from God entered into tbem.
and they stood upon their feet,' in A poc. zi. 11., signifies, tbat the two e.entiaJa of
the New Church, at the end of tl.e form,r, and during the commenc,me"t and pro~
of 'he New Church, will. with those who receive them, be ..ivified by the Lora.'~-lb.
110. See alao 505.
to. &I & BecaulI8 thon hut taken to thee thy power, and hut begun to reign.' ia
Apoc. xi. 17, signifies the Dew heaven, ond the new church, where they acknowledge
bim to be the only God u he i. and 11'88. • • • • I ADd hast htgufl to ~igo,'
lignifies that heaven and the church are nOID his al before; by hiB kingdom. i.I""
meant the Dew heaven and the new church treated of in chapa. w.uii."-.d. R. 523~
18SS.] C(nIC11l6- of &pI, to " Delta." 816

11. '" Aad I • • uMber angel fly in the mid.t of heaven, having the everlastiq
COApel to preach uto them that dwell on the earth,' aignifies the annunciatioll or
&he Lord's advent, aad of the Dew church about to eOIM down Ollt of heaven froJa
him."-lb. 626.
12. U By & the great day oC God Almighty,' in Apoc. xvi. 14, is signified the comma
of the Lord, and upon that the establishment of the New Churoh."-Ib. 704.
13. uThe Lord Jehovah derives and produces a New Church on earth Crom a ne"
heaven. The New Christian Churcll which 11''' expected by the apoetlee, i, DOW at
/t.a."d. The Lord by hi. fira' advent. and by the redemption then etrec~, could not
form a new heaveD, and from that a New Church of Christian&, inasmuch 88 theN
wen as yet no ChriatiaD8, but they were made ChristiaD8 8ucceB8i ve1y by the preach-
ing and writiDgs of die apostles. Neither could it be efFected afterwarda, beoaue
frOm the beginning, 80 many heresies broke into the Church, that scaroe aft1 doe-
triDe of raith and charity appeared in ita own light. But a ,econd redemption 18DOW
"cted in the same manner as the first [a new heaven formed t and as a consequence
thereof' the New and True Christian Church is being at thi, day e,tablished by the
Lord, w~~ch will exist to all eter!1ity, and TO WHI~H THE WHOLE CHRISTIAN WORLD I'
DlVJTED. -GIn. 811,m. of COTon" 7, 12, 27, 36, 3., 43,57, 59, 62.

In view of these reiterated statements, it would ha.ve b~en strange

indeed, if those wbo had accepted th~ new faith in sincerity, hRd not
also looked for a Ne\v Church. But how, and where \\"as it to be 6X-
pected 1 \Vas it only to operate unseen, like an alterative, in refc)rm-
jog the existing churcbes in Christendom 1 or was it also to appear
in Ho separate form 1
But \\'e must not omit to notice, that the specific question ,,·as oCten
pr~.sf.'nted to S\vedenborg, and some of his recorded answers are as
1'o110\v8: 'fhe New Church had actually commenced in Central Africa
(L. J. 74, Con. L. J. 12, 76, S. D. 4770, 4780, 4183); but as no com-
munication had been opened between that region and European
Christians, or probably "'ould he for B long time, there was still a
necessity for its separate manifestation in that quarter of the earth
where his works bad been published, and for whose benefit they were
primarily written.
1. uI asked him, when he believed that the New Jerusalem or the New Church of
the Lord would be manifested, and iC this manifestation would take place in the four
quarters of the world 1 His answer was, that DO mortal could declare the time, nOt .
Dot even the celestial angels, and that it was ,oltly i"own to God. Read, .id he.
tile Revelationl, ch. xxi. 2, and Zeoh. xiv. 9, and lOU will find, that it il not to be
doubted. but that the New Jerusalem mentioned iD the Apocalypse, which denotes a
Dew and purer state of the Christian Church than has hitherto existed, wIll malli·
fut itself to all the earth."-Springer" Litter, 18. Doe. p. 63.
2. U I wish much ble.ing to the intended publication of the Library of Sermons,
and send you herewith my lubscription ror the same. I presume you will U88 all
necessary precaution in this work, because the time is not yet arrived, tbat tll' ,~n·
tiaJ, of th, Nt'&D Church can be received; the clergy, who haTe 10 much confirmed
themeelves in their tenets at the Universities, find it difficult to be convinced; for aD
oonfirmatioDs ill things pertaining to theology, are, &8 it were, gluetl {ad to lI,e bra;"••
and can with difficulty be removed; and, whilst they remain genuine troths. can
And DO place. Besides, tlu nltD heavtn 01 Chr;"iol1" 'rorn whlnee th, New JeTlUalmt
from IM Lord will d~,cmd, is not yet perfectly settled."-LeUn' to Be!Jt1"a Ill. i2-
Doe. p.l24.
8. "How lOon the New Church is to be expeoted 1 Answer. The Lord is prepariD,.
GI fAi, limt, a new heaven of 8uoh as believe in him, and acknowledge him to -be th8
818 Concl".ioll·of &Ply to ., 1klltI."
true God of heaven and earth, and alao look to him in their llyeI, which is to shun
evil and do good; because trom that heaven shall the New Jeru_lem meutloDed ill
Rev. xxi. 2, descend. I daily see spirita and angels, from ten to twenty thouand,
descending and asceDding~ who are set in order. By degree., as that heaven is fonn-
ed, the New Churoh likewise blginl and increases. The universities in Christendom
are now first iJl8tructed from whence will come ministers, MeaWl tlw nttD heaven ha
AO influenc, otter the old CI'TIlY, who conceive themselves to be too well instructed in
the doctrine oC juatification b, f&ith alone."-Lttter to Beger, IY. 2. Doe. p. 125.
4. U I &ID DOW muoh inquired of respecting the New Church, when it will take
place' to which I answer, by degrees, as the doctrine of justification and imputa-
tion is extirpated; which probably may be etrected by thit wort [the Brief ExpoBi-
fion]. It; is known that the Christian Church did Dot take place immediately after
the ucension of Christ, but inoreased 8ucce88ively, which it al80 to be unders~ ~
tb818 words in the Revelations: 'A.'ld th, woman jUw into lA, 1I1,ld,m'lI, Into It~r
plau, where she is nourished for a time, times. and half a time, from the race of
~e serpent' (xii. 14). The serpent or dragon, is that doctrine "-lb. Y.12. Doe.
,.127.
5. U Every person may see that by the New Jerusalem is meant a new church or
emagrtgation, the doctrines and articles oC whose faith cannot Rhine in their true
~lendor, and give light to others without the Divine aid, because they are figura-
tively described in the Revelations" viz: according to UJrre,pontlenu; and the tnu
doctrin, of it ClI,&not be published to the world, but by ,tUh a, to whom tlu needful rew-
lation t's made."-Letter to Oelinger, 1. i2, p. 152.
H~re we are clearly taught, that the New Church, although a new
and purer state of the Christian Church. is also to be a new and dis-
tinct .. congregation," with doctrines and articles of faith dHrer~nt from
locb as \\'ere then received, and that as such it was to be •• manifest-ed·'
to tbe world; and ho,lV could this be unless in a separate form 1 S\ve-
denhorg, who did not claim to be a prophet. acknowledged his ina-
bility to announce the precise time of its ft ppearance; but a prophet
whose ora.cles be was called to expound, had declared that it "-88 to
descend from the new Christian heaven, Rnd thftt heaven he kne\v
was then in process of formation. Nor do his words permit us to
Qostpone to any distant date the era of its COtnlne"Cetnp.lll, ho",·ever
slow might be its subsequent growt.h. The obstacles to its progress
be could divine from past history, as \\'ell as from his knn\vledge of
the then state of the Christian world. and the charact~r of men in gene-
ral, but he certainly did not regard thern as insuperable; or, if th~ pro-
fessing church should rpjcct the proffered booD, othprs would not be
wanting \\9ho in time would Rpp.·eciate it morA just1s. Our infer..
ences here will be strengthened by other passages no,,· to be cited:
1. U I have had various CODVel'88tion with the angels concernin~ the state of the
church hereafter. They said, that things to come they knew not, for that the know-
ledge of them belongs to the Lord alone. . '. . But that tlleg 1£4V' ,lender I,Ope
qfthemm of the Chri.tian ChuTcll."-L. J. 74.
2. "Every church, in proce88 of time, decreases, until it bath nothing left of faith
and cbarity, and then is destroyed. But when the church is consummated, and
perishes, then the Lord always raise8 up a new church elsewhere, yet seldom, if ever,
from the men of the former church: but from the GentileB, who were beCore in igno-
rance."-A. C. 2909, 2910. .
3. U When an., new church is established by the Lord, it i8 not e8tabli~bedamongst
those who are WIthin the church, but amongst those who are'withou~ that is, amongst
the GentUes."-lb. 4747.
1812.] 817

4. cc When any church becomes no ohurch, that is, when charity perishes, and a
new church is established by the Lohi, the establishment hath place seldom, if ever,
with thoee amongst whom the old church existed, but with those amongst whom
there was heretofore DO ohurch, that is, among the Gantiles." The ClUe tlJill be tJu
....ewitl& tAil ,,'r,u:rt:h tJJkich t', ca/led Chr;,tian."-lb. ~86.

5. U The reason why the interior oontents of the \Vord are now o~ned, is because
the church at this time is vastated to such a degree, that iI, is 80 void of faith and
love, that although men know and understand, still they do not acknowledge, and
lItillless believe, except the few who are in tlu l.ft of good, and ar, eall,d the ,lect, VJlao
may ROW be inslTucttd, and amongst whom a NeID Church is about to b, ,stabli,hed : but
.Jur, they are, the Lord alone knows; t.lure tDill be jflD tlJithin the ehurcl&. The new
churches established in former times haTe been established among the Gentilea."-
~. C.3898.

6. U By the New and Heavenly Jerusalem, in Apoc. ni. 17, is signified the New
Church of the Lord, which is about to ,ucce,d to the Christian Church existing at this
day..--A. C. 8988.
Again: U By the Holl Jerusalem ooming down out of heaven, is meant a new
church amongst the nations, a.fltr that the church at this day, which is in our Euro-
pean orb, is vastated."-lb. 9407.

7. "A new church is RI ways established among the nations which are out or
the
church. when the old church hath closed heaven to itself: hence it is, that the church
wae translated frcnn the Jewish people to the Gentiles, And. 01'0 that the church at tAi,
day u also notIJ transferring to tJie Genti/e,.n-lb. 9256.

8. U The destruction of the primitive Christian Church is foretold by the Lord in

the Evangelists, and by John in the Revelations, and is what is oalled the Last Judg-
ment; not that heaven and earth were then to perish, but that a new ch uTch. !Dill be
'railed up in some region of the earth, tlIOUgl& th, former ,till continue, in its external
tlJOTu,ip as th,e Jews do in tlttirs, in whOle worship it is well known there is nothing of
the church."-A" C.I850.
From hence \ve learn, that although therfl is a. slight hope of the
new doctrines being genera.lIy received by the men of the Christian
Church, which necessitates its transfer to thelGentiles, as in similar
cases of old, yet were there some \vithin the pale or Christendom \vha
might be instructed, and amongst whom a new church Will llbout to
be I!lIttlblishetl, "though tI,e fOTUter still continued in its external wor-
.,hip, as ti,e Jews did ill their,." And here \ve cannot but exp."ess our
concurrence with Mr. De Charms, who thinks this last passage should
be "conclusive against those \,·ho hold that the New Jerusalem is not
to be an external church, distinct from thA first Christian, hut is to
come for\vard as a new doctrine and life of charity amongst the
various denominations of that church." ..
N. F. C.

• Tbe re&!ons ror this judgnlent are embraced in a general argument on this branch oC
the 8uLj~f, that may be found in hit' Report, pp. 187-8, :>:>6-~61, and is orthlt clearness
and forec, which, 8S I think, ought to carry conviction to every miDd not already com-
mitkd to a different view.
•1. TAe Paru6la EqlaiaM.-Ne. YI. [July,

.AB.TICLE v.

THE PARABLES EXPLAINED.

No. VI.
KOT THAT WHICH COETB INTO THE MOU"rH DEFILETB.
c. And He catled the multitude, and laid unto them, Hear and understand z Not that
which goetb into the Inouth defileth a man j but that whioh eometh out oC the mouth. thit
delletb a maD.It-MArr. xv. 10, 11.

Q. WHAT do you understand by JESus cuZlillK the multitude, and

,aying unto tbem 1
A. Thfl expression calling hRs more relation to the divine IO\l'e, as
the expr~ssion ,uy;,al! has more relat.ion to the di\·ine wisdom. and,
therefore, both expres~ions are applied, in ordpr to mark the hea\-enly
marriage of 10\-e and wisdom, or of' goodness and truth, which per-
vades every part of tbe WORD OP GOD, and from, and according to,
which the BLESSED J £8U8 on all occasions spake.
Q. And what do yOll concei\"e to be thOe forc~ and import of the
two expressiol1s, hear and ullde,·stt.l'Rc!, with \\"hicb he begins his dis-
course 1
A. The term hear has more respect to the will. or love, of man, as
the term unde'-8Iand has more respect to the intellect.ual principle, or
tbe understanding, of man, and, therefore, the t\VO terms. like culling
and soyillg, are applied in reference to the heavenly marriage above
.poken ot~ and to point out the necessity, OD t.he part of man, or
receiving and cherishing the ETERNAL TauTH both in his will and
understanding, or with his nffection and thought, before he can fully
comprehend, and rightly profit by it.
Q. And what do you suppose to be the meaning of the BLESSED
J £sus when he sa.ys, Not tl"lt u:ll.ich goeth into tlte ,,,(Juth defi'fth a
maTt; bllt that u,ltich cometh out oj· the "louth, this defileth a ,nan 1
A. JESUS CHRIST here speaks according to the law, or rule, of cor-
respondence bet\veen thing:-l spirit.uBI and things natural, agrf»eably
to which Ja\v, or rult-, the Sacred Scripture~, tbroughout, are \VritteD,
because whensoever the ALMIGHTV speaks, lIe al\VRYs applies natural
things to express His 0\\'0 di\-ille ideas. For, by those tllillg! u·hich
enter into the mouth. in tbe sense of the letter, are meant foods of
every kind, \vhicb, after use in the hody, pass off through the stomach
into the draught; but in the spiritual sense, by those things which
enter i",o ti,e moull" are signified Rll things, which, from the memory,
and also r,·om the world, ~nter into the thought; tbese things also
correspond to food. and those \vhich enter into the thought, and not
at the sa.me time into the will, do not render man unclean, for the
melDory, and hence tbe thought, are to maD only as aD entrance to
him, inasmuch as the will is the mlln himself; those things which
only enter into the thought, a.nd no further, are rejected, as it were,
through the belly into the draught; from '\vhich considerations it
is evident, that by that which enter. into tluJ mouth, in the spiritum.
IS_] 81.

sense, i. si~ifted wbat enters into the thought from the memory and
from the world; but by that ./aicla goella forth out of the mouth, in the
spiritual sense, is signified thought (ferived from the will. or from the
love; for by tM /alart, from which it gou fm-lA from tAe mouth, aDd
out of the mouth. is signified the will and love of man; and inasmuch
as the lov"e, or will, constitute the whole mao, hence those things.
which go forth from the mouth, and out of the mouth render man
unclean.
Q. But it is added, in the Gospel acoording to St. Mark, where
this same parable is recorded, tbat what ell.teretJI. into the belly, and
j!oeth out i"lo the draught, purget" 011 mellu. (Mark vii. ]9.) How
do you understand this latter expression, purging all Meat. . ?
A. The reason ,vhy the bell)· is said to purge all mea" is, beeaDIe
by the belly is signified the thought of the understanding, 88 was said
above; a.nd by "Ieala are signified all spiritual nourishments, and the
thought of the understanding is what separates unclean things from
clean, Rnd thereby purges.
Q. But J aU8 Oil_1ST adds, For out of 'he heart proceed evil though'"
murder., adullerieM, fornication" theft., fal'(J witne", bltUphe7lIie,.
What do you understand by the several evils here enumerated 1
A. ] understand not only the natural evils here expressed, but the
spiritual evils which the)· signif)'; thus, by evil thought" or, as it
might be better expressed, evil rea,o"i"Ks, are to be understood all
oppositions in will and understanding to heavenly truth and good,
whence come, first, murderJl, or the different modes of destroying
cbarit)9; secondJ}·, (ldulteries, or the perversions of good; thirdlY,fore
nicatiou, or the perversions of truth; fourthly, theft" or the persua-
sions t.hat life is seJtderived; fifthIY,fa/,e wit/,e,s, or the confounding
of good with evil,8ud of wbat is true with \vhat is false; sixthly,
bla&phen"iea, or denials of the LoBD'S DlVIKITY, and thus of all DIVI••
INFLuBxcE.
Q. And what do you conceive to be the import of the words ,vhich
follow, and \vhich conclude, t.his parable, these are the things whicJa
d9ile the ,nan j but to eat with unwQ81"en htlnd, deftleth not the 111a 11 1
A. J aus CHRIST would teach by these ,,'ords, that man cannot
desist from thinking evil, but from doing it, and that as soon as he
receives evil from tbe thought into the will, in this case it doth not
go forth, but enters into him, and this is said to enter into the heart,
and the things which thence go forth render him unclean, because
what a man wills, this goes forth into speech and into act, so far aa
external restraints do not forbid; this, therefore, defiles, but: to eat
wilh unwashen hands doth not defile, because to eat with unwa8_
hallda, according to the spiritual idea, is to receive and cberhfh hea..
venly good, before purification hath been effected by means of hea.
venly truth.
Q. But in the relation of this parable, as it is given in the Gospel \
according to St. Mark, the evils enumerated, as proceeding from the
heart, are not only more numerous, but allo stand in a different order
from t.hose enumerated in the Gospel according to St. Matthew; for
thus it is written in the former Gospel, on the occasioD, for frOM
 .10 ns Pllrabk, EzplGined.-No. YI. [Jaly,
tDitAin, out of tile heart of ",en, proceed evil t~Au, tJd~erit!',funri.
cation." murder., theft" covetou8ne8S, wiclcednes8, ltuci"iorune'8, "71 evil
eye, blll8phel/'y, pride, fooluhnes.. Thus. in the Gospel according to
St. Mark, thirteen different classes of evils are enumerated, and the
evil of murder is reckoned after the evils of adultery and foraiCtl-
. tion j \vbereas, in the Gospel according to St. Mat.thew, only seven
classes of evils are enumerated, whilst the evil of murder precedes
the evils of adultery and fOl-nication. How do you account for this
diiference in the Dumber and the order of evils as related by the t,,-o
Evangelists 1
A. Perhaps it is impossible for any finite intelligence to discover.
and still more 80 to comprehend, all the depths of tbe divine wisdom
involved in thfl difference here alluded to. Yet, if we are not allowed
to se~ and apprehend the ,ohole, it may still be granted us to io,·esti·
gate a part of tbe hidden treasures, at least to form some conjecture
concf'rning their nature and their value. May \ve not, therefore,
without presumption, suggest the following query, viz.: Whether the
two distinct classes of evils, as above enumerat.ed by the two Evan-
gelists, may not be referred to the two grand, but distinct, fountain.
of all evi I, viz., self. love, and the love of t he world 1 Certain it is.
that all evils originate in those t\VO polluted fountains; and it is
equally certain that, according to their orifP;in, they take rank in a
different order, whicb may account for the difference in this r~.spect,
in the Evangelical history. It is remarkable, too, tbat in the relation
of the parable given by both Evangelists, euil tkoughta, or, more
properly, evil rea,oning8, are plftced at the head of the catalogue; by
which i~ plainly implied, that all evils have their birth from perverse
love in the will, confirmed by perverse thought in the understanding.
But the term evil, bere annexed to thought, is differently expressed in
the orig!Dnl Greek of the t\\PU EVBogelists; for, in St. Matthew, it is
expressed by the adjective poneroi, and, in St. Mark, by the adjecti\P8
kakoi, which is a further proof tha.t the perverse )o\"e in the will is QC
a different qua.lity, and from a different source, in the t\\·o cases. But,
whatever uncertninty there may be in the above conjecture, there
can be no doubt of this. that all the evils originate in perverse love,
confirmed by perverse tbought, Rnd that whether this perverse love
be the lo\·e of 8el~ or the 10\·e of the world, the progeny derived from
its conjunction with its fft.vorite false reasonin!ts and persuasions is
both numeruus and frightful, closing either in blfl6phelny or infooli,/a-
ne", t.hus, either in tha totH.I denial of' 811 divine inftuenc~, or in a
.total blindness, as to all the certainties and consolations of the divine
"9isdom.
Q. What, then, is the general instruction which you deri \·e from
this parable 7
A. I learn from this parable, tbat there is a correspondence, or
agreement, between the body and the spirit of man, and all the parts
and principles of eacb, for, in speuking of ~he thought and under-
Itanding of man, JESUS OIlRIST expresses it by the moulh j and, again,
in speaking or the will, or love, of ma.n, He pxpresses it by tbe he"rt.
whicb is a manifest proof that there is an agreement, or correspond-
1852.] - Not 'lIa' 1Dl"ich goetl, into tAe Mou'A Dejletla. 821

enee, betwe~n those bodily organs and those mental principles; 80

that what is troe of the former in regard to tbe bod)·, is true of tbe
Jatter, in regard to the spirit. I learn, further, that the evil \vhich
enters into man's thought, and is there fPjected, so as not to be
allowed admission into the "rilJ, or love, doth not defile him, Rnd that
it only acquires the faculty of defiling \vhen it is cherished in his.
will, or lo\·e, and is suffered to proc~ed thence into act or operation.
I learn, lastly, that there are several distinct genera, or species, of
spiritual evil, which have all of them their origin from a perverse
will and a perverse understanding, and which may be reduced to two
distinct classes, vi'&., those which are derived from the love of sell;
and those which are derived from the love of the world, when those
loves become predominant loves. I &111 resolved, therefore, to profit
by all this divine instruction, and, for this purpose, to beg of Jaus
CBRIST the illuminAtion of HIs HOLY SPIRIT. to enable me to discern,
not only that my body is in perpetual connexion with my spirit, and
deri ves from it all its life, but like\vise that all the parts of my body
are exact representative figures of the several principles in my spirit
from which they proceed, and which they are intended to express. I
am resolved, further, to supplicate His divine grace, to enable me to
discern the true and only source of all human defilement, until I dis-
cover clearly that this source is not in the thought or understanding,
but in the will, or love, and to ~nable me, farther, to take heed to
mysel~ Jest at any time I be found chel-ishing evil in this latter prin-
ciple of my mind and life, since in such case it must of necessity burst
forth into manifestation, and cause defilement. Lastly, I am resolved
to refer all e\·ils to their two grand fountains, self-love, and the love
of the \vorld, and especially, to be upon my guard against the
thoughts, or reaaoninga, derived from those two corrupt sources, when
they become predominant, since from such thoughts, or reasonings,
all evils are generated, which either defile or destroy mankind. Thus
JUay I humbly hope, that my mind or spirit, instead of becoming the
filthy den of the unclean affections of murder, of adultery, of fornica-
tion, of tlleft, of jalae-witl,eal, and of blasphemy, will becolne the clean
and consecrated abode of charity, of purity, both in will and thougl,t, of
jll.tic~, of truth, and of devout acknowledgment that JESUS CURIST, in
HIS DIV(~B HUMANITY, is the Father and Fountain of all Jife, love,
peace, and benediction. Amen.

EXTRACT.
That summer and winter tJenote the etate at the regenerate tnan as to the renewed affec-
CiODS of his will, tb~ cbanges of which resemble those oC lummer and winter, is evident
"~om what has been said re.peering eold and beat. The ulutations of those about to be
~generated are likened to cold and heat, but the alterna.tion9 of such as Rre regenerate to
lummer and winter. The reason is, that the ruan who hi being regenerated commences
in a atate of colc..lnesfI, or of no faith and charily, but when he is regenerated tben he
begins from charity. Tbat the r~generate nlan undergoes cbanges from state' ot no
cb;\rity to thuse of some charity, may appear clearly train this, tbat everyone, even the
regenerftte, is nothing but evil, und that all good is of the Lord alone, consequently he
mUlt nece!lS8rily undergo changes, being at oue time as it were in summer, or 1n cbarit)"
and at another io winter, or in DO cbarit1.~'-~. c. 935.
III OrgaiztltiDa of • N.ID CA"reA ill Chrle.... 8. C. [Jaly.

ARTICLB VI.

ORGANIZATION OF THE NE\V CHURCH IN CHARLESTON, S. c.

The procedure detailed in the (ollowing account of the form.tion of a New Chllreh
Society in Charleston. together with the basis adopted, strikes u. al beiq 10 shnple aDd
rational, so accordant with the principletl of order •• developed iD our wrilings. that ••
have great plealure in ineerting It in dae pages oC cbe Repository. The .rmOD which
was delivered ou tbe occasion b, tbe p••tor elect has been 8180 put in our bands, and.
we exceedingly regret that our o9f'r-crowded limita conlpel us to defer ita iDlertion to oal
next. It wall abundantly rewarel perusal.
It is due to the parties cOD"erned to-'t tbat the publication was not solicited or pro-
posed by tbem, but by a friend or OUfl, upon whom it luade a deep impreslion on bear-
ing it read, Bnd who earneatly requesled a cop, to lubmit to oar perusal, with permiSlioG
trom lhem to publish it it we saw fit. Our decision il obviou.s•.

BULES OP THB NEW CIIURCD SOCIETY or CBART..ESTON.

Order is the first Jaw of heaven, and a society must be in orderly

arrangement to effect any use.
We, therefore, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do unite ill
the forrnation of a Society of the NAW Church, for the worship of the
Lord Jesus Chri,t, and for the performance of all those uses which
are based upon the great la\v of charity, or neighborly love. In this
Society we deem it dt'sirable, that as much as possible the freedom
of each individual member shall be preser\red, and further, \ve hold
that rules are altogether unnecessary, excppt as rempmbrancers to
enable the Society to Rct consistently at all times, nnd to provide a
defence aga.inst the ackno\vledged imperfection of our nature. When
the law of charity prevails, \\l'hich leads U8 at all times t.o promote
the good of others in preference to our own, it is manifest that ~o
other la\v is necessary. We conclude, therefore, that our rules shall
be few, and those only of a general nature.
BULB I.
The cognomen of thi~Society tihall he c' The New Church Society
of CbarJeston.
BULE 11.
All who acknowl~dgethe sole and supreme divinity of JesuI ChriJt;
who believe that a Ii tn of obedience to the commllndrnents, as tn-
juined in the Sacred ScriptureK or Word of the Lord, is necessar}' to
salvation; and \\pho recei\'e the truths deli\·ered to the world, in the
",·riLings for the Church by E",anuel Swedcllborg, as Divine re\'rlation,
shall be entitled to Inernoership, provided he be a resident worshiper
amongst us.
RULE IU.
There shall he elected a. President. to preside at the delihe~ations of
the ~oci~t)9, and to watch over its interests generally, 8.1~o a :Secre-
185t.] Organization of lA. N•• Clwrd i. Clea""'" B. C. _
tary, to keep a record or its tranlactions at eaoh and every meeting,
and also "Treasurer. to keep and disbl1r&e ita fUDdL The latter
officer shall also be the Librarian•
• ULB IV.
All peconiary matters shall be transacted by the Society, and all
contributions to meet expenses shall be voluntary.
BULB v.

Any member may withdraw from the Society whenever he signi-

fies his intention to do so, by letter directed to the President; but he
shall not be entitled to any portion of its property.
BULB VI.

All propositions sball be carried by a vote of 8e"en-eightlu of the

whole Society.
BULB vu.

There shall be elevated, b)' the Society, OUfl of its mAmbers L~ a

medium for instruction in spiritua.l thin~s from the Lord. He shall
be denominated the Preacller or TetlCher. The Soci~ty shftll em-
po\\per him, as their orgRn, to conduct th~ ,vorship of the Church, "od
also to Baptize, to adrninister t.he Holy Supper, to perform the Mftr-
riage Cer~lnony. and the ceremony of Burial of the Dead. It Ihall
be his duty to keep a regi~ter of births, marriages, and dea.ths.
BULB '·111.

The Holy Sapper shall be celebrated in the aft~rnoon of e'·Ary first

Sabbath in every three months, or at the pleasure of the Society.
BULE IX.

It shall he the duty of the Pr~sident of the Society to make an an-

nual R~purt of the state and progress of the Church, and to embody
such other information as may be interesting to the Society.
Rut"B x.
All the offices before mentioned shall be held during the pleasure
of the Society.

In accordance \vith the foregoing Itules, the following officers wer!'

elected -:
p,.eaident.-J AMES H. MAG\\·OOD.
Secretary, Trea.'Iure,·, and Libra,-ian.-JonN R. ROGERS.
Prellcner or Teacller.-WILLIAM HE~RY INGI.. ESBY.
And on the following Sabbath, the 4th day of April, ]852, the or-
ganization was consummated by the bapthtm of the Preacher or
 114 Organisatioa of" Ne. CA"rel ia Clulr/e.ton, 8. C. [Jaly,
Teacher elect, by the Society through their 8~f'nt lames H. Mag-
wood, President, who then inducted into office the Preacher or
Teacher elect, delivering to him the following charge:
DBA" BROTHea,

The Society have instructed and empowered mp. in thpir bebal( to

induct you into the office of Preacher, and to confer upon ~·ou, in their
name, all those powers which are necessary for the complete per-
formance of the duties \\'hich are involved in thllt sacred office. You
willle8d in worship, and f!xpound the sacred Scriptures by bringing
to view the internal sense contained in their bosom, in such manDer
and degree as it shall plea!e the Lord to make you the vehicle, for
the purpose of instructing the Society in aH matters relating to Faith
and Charity. We r~gard you as a medium, through whom the So-
ciety will receive all those instructions \vhen engaged iD the public
worship of the Lord, which will enable us to see clearly the path in
which we should walk, and which leads to Life Eternal.
You are also empo\\Fered to receive into the Church, by th~ Ordi-
nance of Baptism, all such, either infants or adults, who by their
parents or guardians, or by their o\\'n rt'quest, seek admission by that
Ordinance, provided their Ji\es be exemplary, and the candidate be
8uccessful in application to the Society for admission thereto.
You are also empowered to dispense the Holy Supper. aCter such
manner and form as shall be indicated by the Society. Likewise, all
the rites of the Church, such as certif)·ing and confirming the Mar-
riage Vo\V, and paying the tribute of respect to the dead.
By \'irtue of the authority vestell in me by the Society, I hereby
confer upon you the office of Preacher. • • • • And may the
Lord God, even Jesus Christ, receive you as such, and fill you wilh
the Spirit of Wisdom, that you may be qualified to discharge the
sacred trust committed to you. Amen.
The l\finister r~sponded as follows:
.... PRESIDENT AND BRETHREN,

I feel deeply impressed with the position in \vhich I find m)-self: A

position so novel for me, and so entirel}~ remo\"ed from any anticipa-
tion of mine, that if I was permitted to consult my own judgment, I
should deem myself so totally incompetent for, cannot but affect me
most seriou~ly. The question forces itself upon me, Ho\v has this
. come to pass 1 Knowing, as I do, and as you do, my brethren, that
80 far from 80y volition of my o,,·n placing me here, I would trem-
blingly shrink from it, and, knowing my motiv~s, and trusting in
yours, the answer comes to me, the Lord's Providence is over alI-
the Lord's Providence places me here.
Then I may not refuse to accept the appointment. Whether the
duties of the station are to be well fulfilled, is not ,,,ithin my prov-
ince to determine. My business is, to pray that I may faithfully per-
form it, to put self behind me, and to look to the Lord, and to Him
alone, for guidance and support. .
1".]
Tbi. I do know, " He deligbleth DOt: in the 8trength of the hone I
••
He taketh Dot pleasure in the l~g8 of a man. The Lord taketla
pleRKare in them that fear aim; in thOle tl1at hope iD his mercy.·
........Psalm cxlvii. 10, 11.
I accept the appointment, leaning upon that horn of salvatioa
which the Lord God of Israel hath lifted up, the Divine Haman, ia
Whose strength his servants are made strong.

ARTICLE VD.

EARLY HISTORY OF THE NEW CHURCH.

In compliance witb the request of our oorretpoodent, It N. F. C.," and in punaaDoe or
che promise in our last No., we iOl8rt the indicated documenta pertainiDI 10 tbe .arl,
hi.-ory of the New Church. Though now drawn forth by tbe proll'8ll of a pardcutar die-
eMs.ion, Jet they will be lure to possess an independent interest or their own, which will
doubtless make our readers grateful for the occasion that ha. reproduced them tor chew
iASlruction and pleasure.
The flnt and prinnipal or these documents is taken from the cc Newcbufcbman-Ez..
tra.'· Appendix, p. xsiii•• into which it is copied from the 11 New Church Adyocate,"
Vol. 11., p. 172.

ORIGIN OF THE KEW eHU.CB III.r8nT.

• It may be necessary to de~crihe the mode adopted by the New

Church to commence that institution, without deriving it from any
authority heretofore recognized in the Christian world. As the New
Jerusalem Church is altogeth~r ~ New Church, distinct from the Old.
of which it is written in the Revelation, chap. xx. 5, • Behold 1 mak, ·
all tAillg8 New;' it was conceived, that this declaration applies not
only to the doctrines of the Church, but also to its institutions and
ordinances of every kind, and among the rest to that of the Ordina-
tion of Ministers, whose authority to teach, and preach, and adminis-
ter the sacraments, must be derived from the Lord alone in hi, own
Church, and not from any Priesthood of a fallen, consumlnated, and
fiDhsh~d Church. This \va.s precisely the situation of the primitive
Chrit§tian Church, which derived no authority by succession from the
regular Prief4thood of the Jewish Church, b\lt commenced its ordina-
tion within it8elj, from the immediate presence Rnd Ruthority of the
Lord. Besides, how inconsistent would it have been, if not plA.inly
impossible, to deri\"e authority from the Old Church to oppo,e ill OlD,.
doctrinu, and thus to undermine and subvert it from the very founda-
tions! A kingdom, a city, a house, or a church, thus constituted, thus
divided against it8el~ could not possibly 8tftnd.-(Matt. xii. 25.)
" Among the male rnembers present at the first Ordination. sixteeD
in namber, besides the two \vho by experienoe had been iOllnd quali-
YO~ ~ 2~
 [JaIy.
tied to officiate a8 Priests and Ministers of the New Churcb, DO one
entertained the m08tdistant idea, that he bad, in his individulll eoptJ-
city, the smallest right or authority to send forth laborers into tbe
Lord's vineyard: that hence it waH plain to them, that the ordination
eould not commence in such a "'8Y, or by such individual authority.
It was therefore 8ugg~sted, that twelve persons should be selected
from all the male members present, to represent the whole body of
the Church; that those twelve should be chosen by lot; that ,,-hen
10 chosen, they should all/lace their right hands upon the head of
the person to be ordaine : and that one of these should be re-
quested by the rest to read and perform the "ceremony: this prorosa1
was acceded to, and adopted, for the following among other reasons:
.. Fir,t, BeCAuse no individual person, eithflr in the Old Church or in
the New, could be acknowledged by the Society as possessing in him-
llelf the smallest title to authority or pre-eminence over others, in a
case of such vital importance to the interests of the Church at large.
"" Secondly, Because the future prosperity and well-being of the
Church required, that no time should be lost in forming an Institu-
tion, which should hereafter become an orderly and ,,'ell-regulated
slLff'guard for the protection, due administration. and succession oC
the sanctities of the Ministerial function•
." Thirdly, BecauRe v.. hen the Apostles of the Lord found themselves
in a somewhat similar situation, in consequence of the defection of
one of their number, they, judging themselves incapable of determin-
ing who was most fit tor the vacant office, from which Judas by
transgression fell, had recourse to the drawing of lots, , That the Lord
who knoweth the hearts of all men, might show which of the two per-
IOns (J:Jarsabas or Matthias), proposed to fill up the place of Judas, be
had chosen.'-(Acts i. 2 I.)
., Fourthly, Because again on another occasion the drawing of lots
was 'adopted as a decision of the Divine Providence, ,,·hen there did
not appear to be sufficient ground for the determination of human
· judgulent. See the treatise on ITl:fluz, or on the Inlercmlrle between
the Soul and Body, n. 19, first edition, in quarto; from which the fol-
lowing extract is taken: • 1)0 not suppose, that this lot came to band
by mere chance; but l(no,v, that it is by Divine direction, that HO )·OU,
,,-ho could not discover the truth because of the confusion of )·our
minds, might have it thus presented to JOu in the way of your own
choosing.'
•• Such being the situation of the Church, and sucb the reasons for
proceeding in the way described, we shall here annex an extract from
tbe Minute book of the Society. in which the first ordination took
t

place. It is as follows:
" 'ORDINATION OP IJINISTEB8 IN TilE XEW CHURCH.

e.. Sunday, JURe J, 1788.

'" At a full meeting of the members of the New Church this day, in
Great East Cheap. after the morning service, it was unanimously
acreed to ordain JAMU HINDMAasB and SAMUBL SMITH, RI Minislerl
-1852·1 Barly Hutory of tlte Nsw CAurcA.
and Priests in the New Church, in the manner following, viz: T\v~lve
men to be chosen by lot out of the Society, as r~pre8eJ1tatives of the
New Church at large, 8rJd these to lay their right hands on the per-
lIOn ordained, agreeable to the form of Ordination.
M' Thfl following persons drew Jots for that purpose:

". I. Robert Hindmarsb, 9. Samuel BuckneIl,

2. Thomas Wrig'ht, 10. John Swaine,
3. Thomas Wildon, 11. Daniel Richardson,
4. John Wildon, J2. George Robinson,
5. Jobn .Rainsford Needham, 13. John Augustus Talk,
6. Manoah Sibly. 14. fsaac Brant,
7. Alexander Wilderspin, 15. IS8ac Hl\wkins,
8. Richard Thompson, 16. John Sudbury.
" • And the lots fell on the twelve first mentioned, who appointed
ROBUT HINDMAUII to read the service.'
" A remarkable circumstance occurred on the occasion, and at the
time of this ordination, which wc shH.1l relate in Mr. ROBBRT HIND-
MARSU'S own words. 'Being (says he) Secretary to the Society, when
it \\·88 determined that twelve men should be selected by lot from the
body of the Church, to IS)F their hands on the heads of the persons to
be ordained, it was my office to prepure the tickets. I accordingly
made sixteen tick~ts, answering to the number of male persons pre-
sent, members of the church, and marked t\velve of them with a cross.
Being desirous, for my own private satisfaction, to ascertain which of
the twelve to be selected by lot it might please the Lord to appoint
to read or perform the ceremonr, I wrote, unknown to the rest of the
Society, upon one of the twelve tickets~ thus marked with a cross, the
word ORDAIN; I then put the sixteen tickets into a receiver, when a
pra)·~r went up from my heart, that the Lord would sJ10w whom be
bad chosen for the office of Ordination. The members being properly
arranged, I went round to them all: and each one took a ticket out
of the receiver, leaving me the last ticket, on which was written, as
before stated, the word ORDAIN. Still the other members of the So-
ciety ,vere not aware of \vhat I had done; and \vhen the twelve
were separated from the rest, after consulting toltether a few mo-
ments, they unanimously requested that I would read and perform the
ceremony of Ordination. Whereupon JAMES HUfDMARSH ,vas first or-
dained, and immediately afterwards SAMUEL SMITH.' The reader,
keeping these observa.tions in view, will now see the reason why, in
the following list of Ordained l\'Iinisterst the name of ROBEIlT H 11fD-
IdARSII, stands at the head of them i and why it is stated, that he was
"If
himself Ordained by the Divine .Au8pices of I Lord. How could we
otherwise describe an appointment, which had the evident sanction
both of God and IDRn I"
 Early HimJry tif tA, N,w CbreA. [JaIy.

,•
,•
••
•
,!•
••

••
:•
i
!
i•
r
~
••l
r
In eonnentlon ... ltb the ftoove ..... Introduce Ibe followln, nl",cl' from the (une",' _
mOllI of M"...... Nollle, Slul".net M....eley. d.ellnred Oil tbe ace •• lun oflM d_lh 01 )lr.
Hlodma,.b. which wiU be (olod 10 Ihe "ln~lIeclu.1 Repolilory," Vol. XII., embr-.cl••
lhe yea ... 1S34-3:i.
Al\er .petlkinKO( Ihe mlnner In wbieh Mr. l!.'1 atlenlion WII tlrlt drawn 10 the ..·tlc.
lOll:' of Swedelluorr••n'" hil ready aeeertt.nee of their content•• Mr. SoLle proceeds,
.. But be hf'gan to wish. tbat wblll he found so delightful and Pdify-
ing to bimself sbould he participated in by otben; Rnd be ·often was
Jilt.) Barly BultJry of IM NellJ CAurcA.
filled with wonder on the ~eflection, that works of sach immense im-
..
portaace should exist in the world, and yet that scarce any seemed to
know, or care any thing aboot, the treasures which were so near them.
Efforts, he thought, should be made, to dispel this torpor; and as the
leMe of it 80 strongly pressed upon himself: he deemed it incumbent
on him to endeavor to break up the frozen ground. Accordingly, in
conjanction with three other gentlemen, with whom he had now bee
come acquainted, hp, in December, 1783, inserted an advertisement
in the newspapers, reqoe8tin~ that the read.,rs and admirers of the
theological writings of the Hon. Emanuel Swedenborg would met t
the advertisers, on the 5th of that month, at the London Coffee-houle,
in Ludgate Hill. Only five indi\·iduals assembled; yet these, it ia
supposed, were nearly the whole of the persons resident in LondoD,
who at that time, being now exactly fifty-one years a,;o, had any
knowledge ot: and attachment to, the truths of the New Cburch as
contained in tbose writings. Their Dames are well worthy of be'iD,
remembered: they werA, beside Mr. Hindma.rsh himself: Mr. John
Aogastus Tulk, a gelltleman of independent fortune, then residing at
Kensington; Mr. Peter Provo, of the Minories, Surgeon; Mr. William
8pence, of Great Marylebone-street, Surgeon: and Mr. William Bon-
nington, of Red Lion-street, Clerkenwell, Clock-ease-maker. Mr.
Henry Peckitt, Surgeon, of Old Crompton-street, Sobo, also came to
the London Coffee-house; but not till the other parties bad retired,
to seek less public accommodations, to the Queen's Head TaverDt
DO\V St. Paul's Hotel, in St. Paul's Church Yard. All these were
men of respectable character in the middle class of society; and, as
may be concluded f.-om so gr~at a proportion of them being gentle-
or
men the medical profesHion, they possessed among them a very res-
pectable share of attainment in science and literature. But as in the
first days of the primitive Christian Church, so in the first days of the
New Church, " not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
Dot many noble, are called." AmoDK the upper classes, although,
doubtless, very excellent characters exist, the bonds of prejudice aDd
fashion are so rigorous and exclusive, that few can have courage to
form, and fe\\'er to avow, an attschrnent to a despised religion. And
yet, as if no such bonds existed, how often do we hear anew the
question, censured by Divine Truth of old, "Have any of the rulera
or of the Pharisees believed on him 1"-as if Divine Truth itsel(
which" receiveth not testimony from man," could not be true, unlesa
corroborated by the testimony of the worldly grea.t; or 88 if superi-
ority of earthly station conferred superiority of mind and intellectual
discernment, and inferiority of such station implied incapacity; or 81
if the rich in this world's goods were alone the proper judges of the
genuineness of heavenly riches, and the poor could have neither in-
terest Dor discernment in such matters. However, it will be account-
ed no disgrace to the "New Church in future ages, that its firat active
promoter:! were men of such unquestionable power of mind, as well
88 integrity of parpose, as Mr. Hindmarsh and some of his early a.
lociates; tbough not more eminently or generally distinguished b,.
this world's wisdom, dignity, "nd wealth. But be their extern.
- Earl, Irutory of. NeUJ CA.reA.
qaalifications what they might, these few primitive New Church con-
[Jal)',

fessors agreed to hold meetings for reading and conversation at cham-

bers in the temple; wberpt in the coarse of a few years, they were
joined by others to the namber of about thirty. Great zeal was man-
ifested, and much good accomplished, by this little band. At tbe ex-
pense of a few of the number, some posthumous Latin ,vorks of Swe·
denborg were printed, including the great and invaluable production.
entitled Apocalyplis Ezplicata. Mr. Hindmarsh, also, translated and
printed several of the smaller works at his own cost. But a 8~iet1
llaving, about the same time, been formed at Manchester, under the
aospices of Mr. Clo\ves. for the publication of translations of tbe
works of Swedenborg, it became less necessary for tbe little Society
iOn London to devote their labors chiefly to this object. The sob-
ject, tberefore, of forming a Society for the worship of the Lord a,,·
cording to the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem, and thus for
commencing the New Church in a visible form, complett-Iy distinct
from the Old, ,vas brought under consideration, and gave occasion to
numerous discussions. But the majority of the Society that met in
the Temple thought the measure too hold to be ventured upon, ,,·hile
the receivers of the truths of the New Church were yet so inconsid-
erable BS to Dumbers and property. Mr. Hindmarsh, ho\\"ever, and
the minurity who agreed with him, considered the mea.~ore 8S the
most effectual way of removing both deficiencies; tbey thought it,
besides,80 indispensable to the very existence of the New Church,
and to the comfort and edification of its members, as to be necessary
to be undertak~n, e\·en though no direct increase of numbers should
follow; since a church which does oot possess within itself the ftS-
seotia.l ordinances of the church, can, in reality, be no church at all.
Accordingly. Mr. Hindmarsh and a few others engaged a chapel in
Great EastcheBp. which \vas opened in January, 1788: his fat.her,
the Rev. James Hindmarsb, who had received the doctrines throogh
the instrumentality of t.he SOD, officiating in thf\ pulpit, and t.he late
Mr. Isaac Hawkins, who also had been in Mr. Wesley's connexion as
a local preacber, in the desk.
AI Whetbflr it was immediately before the opening of the chapel in

East Cheap, or soon after, ( cannot at this moment say; but about
this time also took place the first ordinat.ion of Ministers in the NeW'
Church; of \\·hich measur~, likewise, Mr. Hindma.rsh was tbe chief
prompter. It \vas considered, most justl)p, that, this being an entirely
new church, no ordination conferred by the Old Church could be
valid for the appointment of its Ministers; but that, 88 the ordina-
tion of minister" in the first Christian Church commenced with the
twe),·e apostles, who were not taken from the priesthood of the Jew-
ish Church, so the ministry of the New Church mUKt commence from
a Jike independent origin. Accordingly, a form for the commence·
ment of a new ministry was proposed by l\{r. Hindmarsh. deduced
from the known laws of divine order ill regard to such a subject, as
brought to light in the doctrines of the New Church. In the admio-
istration of the ordinance, he was chosen by lot to perform the chief
part; and the ministers thus first ordained ,vere his father, the late
1862.] Earl, HiIlor, of'luJ N.ID CAurcA. all
Rev. Jas. HiDdmarsb, and the late Rev. Sam'l Smith; who, likewise-
had been a travelling preacher in Mr. Wesley's cODnexion. From
this commencement of a Ministry, all succeeding ordinations in the
New Church have proceeded; and this commencement of publio
preacbing, as an example, has been the origin of all congregations of
the New Church in this kiDgdom, no\v about fifty in number." ......
Boole, p. 402-404.
'·It was my intention, now, on this anniversary of the opening, 01'
re-opening of this place of worship, to have earnestly enforced the
principle of which Mr. Hindmarsh, while he lived, was ever the un-
compromising advocate,-that of The Necea,ity of ,u.pPD,·ting tAe
pure Wor.rhip of the Lord accordilJg to. the Heavenly DoclriM. of tlia
Nsw Jeru,alem. But the time which my previous statements res-
pecting Mr. H. himself have occupied obliges me to be here very
brie£ I think, indeed, we can need no other stimulus than the ex~
ample of his life, to induce us to perseverf' in the promotion of this
grand object. But who can believe the fundamental doctrine of the
New Church, that Gott is one in Person 8S well as in Essence, and
that the Lord and Sa.viour Jesus Christ is that God, "'ho, therefore, is
to be ilnmediately approached in worship ;-\vho, I say, CAn believe
this, and )·et derive any satisfaction (l might say-and not experi.
ence the most grating revulsion oC feeling) on attempting to join iD.
any prayers which are addressed to another Divine Person-in fact.
another Gud I-with a mere mention of Jesus Chri!tt and his merits.
88 of a totally different anti subordinate being, at the end T Who
can believe that other fundamental doctrine of the New Church, that
faith and charity, as living and operative principles in tha mind and
life-faith in the Lord as tbe Only God, and as an Almighty Saviour.
nnd charity as a principle of love flowing into good actions-are the
essentials of all religion ;-who, I say, can believe this, and yet listeQ
with edification to preaching, however eloquent and moving in ex-
pre:ision and manner, in which mere faith in what Christ (as they
commonly call the Lord) has done and suffered, on the one band,-or
the mere outward performance of nlora) duties, on the other,-is in-
8ist~~ on L'J all that is essential to sal vation 1 But to recite the pal"-
ticulars in which the faith of the Old Church and the faith of the
Ne\v disagree, either openly or inwardly, would be to enumerate
every article of religious belief: who then oan attend with profit iD
a place of worship where he is continually ma.de sensible of this gra-
ting colli~ion; and where, ifhe occasiona.lly hears sentiments in which his
lOul could rest, they are only like pleasant oases in an immense desert. #

and the satisfaction tbat be felt in ,vhich is sure to be destroyed, either

immediately or before the end of the sermon, by direful fal~ities.
through combination with \vhicb t even the occasional truths that ap.
pellr 88 genuine, are, iD reality, flt.lsi6etl and profaned 1 It is not in-
tended. by these rema.rks, to cast aoy censure on those who, from
whatever ground, think it their duty to act thus: for whoever acts,
wher.her mistakenly or not, from & SeD., of duty, is entitled to res-
pect: and, surely, nothing· but a very strong sense of duty can su~
tain tbe mind under such a course of self-punishment. To repeal
an [Jal1,
most striking remark, which I heard· many yean ago from the npl
er onr departed friend: "I love," said he, .. when I go to worship, to
80 in simplicity and confidence, prepIlred to concur in every senti-
ment which is presented. J do Dot like. when I would present myself
before the Lord, to he obliged to go with all my armor on, prepllred
to resist and repel every other word that is uttered, and standing all
the time on the watch, to sift Rnd examine every thing that I bfl.ar.
Jest J should unwarily give assent to a sentiment which is adverse to
troth." Now, re81l}F. this is the attitude in which the conscientious
Neweburchman mu,'
stand ,,,hen he goes to worship with any of the
aections of the Old Church: how ooght we then to value the efforts
10 8uceeafully made by Mr. Hindml\rsh to deliver us from this thral-
dom I How ought we to prize the privilege of having places to _or-
lIhip in, to which we may come in simplicity and security I"-Id. pp.
410, 411.
Bey. Mr. Sibl,. in rerereDoe to-the .me era oC Mr. H.-.Ufe, _peaks thus:

., In the )year 178"1. several of those who composed this social meet-
Ing [in the Temple] began to conceive, that to continue the Society
rn that private manner was almost burying the talent put into their
hands by the Lord. or like rutting theiJ· candle under a bushel; where-
upon it was proposed to endeavor to establish public worship, and
thereby to commence the New Church of the Lord, according to the
heavenly doctrines of tbe New Jerusalem, as dispensed by the Lord
In the writings of his servant Emanuel Swedenborg. Our deceased
friend ,,·a8 a strenuous supporter of this line of conduct, and used
many argumf'nts in its beh8.1~ tbe validity of which has been since
acknowledged by most of the succeeding recipients. One thing that
appeared to favor the endea.vor of instituting a new church, with a
lJew worship altogether distinct from the old, was, that our respected
friend's fRther, Mr. James Hindmarsb, Mr. Samuel Smith, and Mr.
Rohert Brant, all of whom had been preacbers in Mr. Wesley·s COD-
nexion. had Il~come receivers of the heavenly doctrines, and \vere con-
sidered as sufficiently qualified to disseminate them by preaching.
.. Upon the question of endeavoring to hav., a distinct form or
worship, and consequently commencing a new church entirely sepa-
rate and distinct from the old, tbe members divided; and those that
were favorable to t.he mteasure seceded from the Society then exist-
ing for disseminating the writings of E. S., in order to carry the de-
termination of their minds into effect, \vith our much respected friend
and brother. Mr. Robert Hindmarsh, as their chiet:"-Sibly, p. 414.
" The particulars of the first ordination of ministers were then re-
lated. On the proposal, RS Mr. SihJy apprehends, of Mr. Hindmarsb,
'8S, at that period, be might be said to be the lire and soul of the Soci·
ely,' twelve indi,-iduals were select~d by lot to represent Rll the truths
and goods of the church, and to perform the act of imposition oC
bands. • The ordination service was framed by himself: I have it by
mfl, in his own hand writing; and, with very little variatioD. it accords
with the one used at this day.' On one of the lot papers for deter·

n
1852.] Early Hiitory of the NeID (JAurcA. 833

mining who the twelve should be, Mr. H., Wl10 was reqoestp..d to pre-
pare tbem, wrot~, without communicating tbe circumstance to others,
the word, 'Ordain;' and I he meant to propose, and support the pro-
position, that the mRn who chose that marked paper should b~ the
reader on the occasion;' and had dptermined, that should it not be
himselt~ that he would not act in that capacity. He was the last that
drew; and, f'ingularly enough, the marked paper remained for him.
I Consequently, when chosen, and called upon, by the unanimol18
voice of tbe otht:r ele,Yen [of ,,·hom l\Jr. Sibly himself was on~l to
officiate in reftdin~ thA Ordination Service, he could make no opposi-
tion.' On this transaction l\fr. SibJy remarked thus:
"'It appt'srs that, from this circnmstance, our respected friend
considered bimself as superiorly ordained; Rnd therefore, when he
officiated 8S a minister at Salford, as also Mince, he made no scruple
of administering all the ordinances of the Church, without undergo-
ing that form of ordination which all other recognized mini&ters oC
the New Church have sobmittt'd to, 88 orderly and becoming.' It
may, however, be observed, that Mr. H. was recognizt-d as 1\ Minis-
ter. and an Ordaining l\linister,-by the General Conference of 1818.
"On the propriety of commencing a distinct ministry, Mr. Sibly
observes: 'Our resp~cted friend WftS a firm advocate for the New
Church being entirely separate and distinct from the Old; conse-
quently, that the ministry and priesthood of the Lord's New Cburch
ought not to bo a continuation of the ministry of the Old Cbri~tian
Church, any more than that of the first Christian Church was a eoo-
tinuation of the ministry of the Jewish.' .~nd Mr. S. concludes his ac-
count of the accomplishment of this object with these remarks of his
own: 'Hereby the Holy Jerusalem is not a derivati'''8 branch of the
first Christian Cburch, as was the cnse with the Protestant Jlftrt of it,
whose first ministers ,,"ere ordained b)" Catholics, or who had been
Catholics. But she is entirely a New Church i which could not hA.ve
been the CR8e, had her ministr)- bEten any way dependent on the Old,
or first Christian.' "-Id. pp. 415, 416.
The following paralrapb, beariDlupon the .ame lubjeot, is from the Sermon or the
Rey. Mr. Madeley:
"The Rev. Robert Hindmarsb was the most distinguished of the
ministers of the New Church. His courage and constancy; his eBrn·
est zeal for tile advancement of true religion; and his peaceful end,
were his striking characteristics, and bear a strong similitllde to those
of the prophet mentioned in the text. Though the Lord alone is the
essential defence and security of his church, stiJl he provides for its
prosperity, by raising up human instruments qualified to subserve its
interests,-men whose understandings are enlightened by genuine
trutb, whose doctrines and instructions repel the attacks of open or
insidious enemieR, and ,,·bo go forth in the Lord's confidence and
strength, conquering and to conquer. And when could WItS more
justly or more feelingly exclaim, ' The chariot of Israel and the hone-
men thereof,' than when the spirit of our belove.l and venerable bro-
ther entered the eteronl world? To whom is the church, under Di-
 aa4 Parulo-B,iritutllUa. [JaI)'_
. vine Providence, more highly indebted 1 He is identifiecl _itk t1ae pro-
gress and interests of oor -cause from its earliest period. To his judi-
cious advocacy we are mainly indebted for an order of worship dis-
tinct from formularies of faith opposed to reasoD, and revolting to
conscience. He was the first s"lected, by 'the Lord·s auspices,' to
fill the responsible and important office of ordaining others into the
ministry. His time, his learning, bis talents, his influence, and \vhat-
ever he could secure from bat scanty means of support, were all, ,for
the protracted period of upwards of half a century, cheerfully devot-
ed to the Lord's service. He maintained in all the' rela.tions of liCe,
as a. hUHband, a father, a minister, aad a friend, t.hat uncompromising
integrity, that devoted attent.ion to duty, that ardent attacbm~D~
whicb, combining with true Christian piety~ and even child-like hu-
mility. commanded the universal aWection and respect of all who had
the high privilege of his association."-Mtldeley, p. 418.

ARTIOLE 'Ill.

PSEUOO-SPIRITUALISM.
I.-The Pbilosophy of Spiritoal Intercourse; being an Explanation of modem ?tt,..
teriea. By Andrew Jackaon Davis. New-York: Fowlers It Wells. 1861.
2.-The Great Harmonia. VQl. Ill. The Seer. By Andrew Jackson D&viL B0l-
ton: MUlleY. 1852.
S.-History of the Itrange Sounds or RaP'pinp, heard in Rocbeeter aD. WeeterD
New-\"o1"k, and usuaU, called the MyatertoUl Noi8ea, whioh are supposed by 1II&D1
to be the CommunicatIons from the Spiritual \Vorld; together :with all the Exlla-
nation that can as yet be given of the Alatter. Rocheeter: D.1L Dewe,._ 1850.
4.-The Signs of the Times; comprising a History of the Spirit Rappingl, iD Cin-
cinnati and other plaoes; with Notes of Clairvoyant Revealmate. By Wm. T.
Coggshall. CiDoiDnati: Bagley It Freeman. 1851.
6.-Elementa of Spiritual Philosophy; being an Exposition of Interior PrinoiplM.
Written by Spirits of the Sixth Circle; R. P. Ambler, ~fedium. New-York:
R. P. Ambler. 1852.
G.-Familiar Spirits, and Spiritual Manifestations; being a series of Articles bl
E. P. Supposed Dr. Enoch Pond, Professor in the Bangor Theological ~minary.
Together with 0. Reply, by Veriphilos Credens. Boston: B~la Marsh. 1852.
7.-Voioes from the Spirit World; being Communications £rom man, Spirits, b1 the
hand of lsaao Poet, Medium. Rocheater: 1852.
8.-T.i,ht from the Spirit World; compriaiDg a leries of Articles OD the eondition or
SpirIt&, aDd Development of Mind in the rudimental And second Spheres. Beiol
written wholly by the cGntr<i of Spirita, without VolitiOD or Will by the MedilllDe
or any Thougbt or Care in regard to the Matter presented by his Hand. C. Ham-
mond, Medium. Rocheater: 1852.
9.-The Pilgrimage of Thomas Paine and others, te the Seventh Circle in the Spiri'
World. Rev. Charles Hammond, Medium. Bocheater: DeweJ'. 1852.
1851.] 885

10.-Lecmrea 08 SpiJitualilm; beiDg a series of' Lectures on the PheDomena and

Philosophy of Development,Individualiam, Spirit, Immortality, Me8merism, Clair-
Toyance, S~iritual ManiCestations, ChristianIty, and Progress. By J. Tiffany.
Cleveland, Ohio. 1852.
11.-PhilOlOphy of Modern l\firac1es, or the Relations of Spiritual Causes to PhJli-
cal Etrects; with especial reference to the Developments at Bridgeport, Coon.,
and eI.ewhere. By a U Dweller in the Temple." New-York. 1850.
12.- An Exposition and. Explanation of the Modern Manif~tations; comprising the
Rapping&, Movement&, W ritio,; Mediums, and various other Phenomena connect-
ed therewith; with extracts from different writers, of remo.rkable Instances of
Presentiment, Prophesying, VisioDs, Clairvoyance, &0. &c. By Benjamin Frank-
lin eoole!, the great Psychologist, and Independent Clairvoyant. Springfield,
~1&88. 1852.

13.-Spiritual Philosopher (8u~uently The Spirit World), devoted to the Expoei-

position of Nature, Physical, Spiritual, and Divine, and to communications from the
8pirit World. A weekly paper, edited by La Roy Sunderland. Boston. 1850-1.
( Discontinued. )
14.-The Shekinah; a Quarterly Review, devoted to the Emancipation oC ~lind;
the Elucidation of Vital, Mental, and Spiritual Phenomena, and the PrOpe88 of
Man. Conducted by S. B. Brittan. Nos. 1,2, 3. Bridgeport, Conn. 1852.
15.-The Spirit Messenger j a Semi-monthly M&gt\zine, devoted to Spiritual Sci·
ence, the Elucidation of Truth, and the Progress of Mind. Edited by the Spirits
oCtbe Sixth Circle; R. P. Ambler, Medium. Springfield, M&88., and New-York.
1851-2.
16.-Spiritual Telegraph; devoted to the Illustration of Spiritual Intercourse. Pub·
liahed weekly by ChirlN Partridge. New.. York. 1852.
li.-The Crisis; devoted to building up the Lord's Church in true Life, Doctrine,
and Order. A Semi-monthly paper, edited by Rev. Henry WeUer. Laporte, Ind.
1852.
18.-Disclosures from the Interior, and Superior Care Cor Mortala. A Semi-monthly
paper, dictated by Apostles, Prophets, and other Spirita. Auburn, N. Y. 1851.
19.-Spiritual and Moral Instructor. Semi-Monthly. Auburn, N. Y. 1851. (Dil-
contmued.)
2O.-History of the Origin of All Things; including the History of }fan, from hie
Creation to his Fina.lity, but not to his End. Written by God's holy Spirits,
through an earthly Medium, L. M. Arnold, of Pooghkeepsie, N. Y. Printed at
hi8 expense, published bl direction of the Spirits, and, in God's will, submitted to
a holy and sea.rching CrIticism from every earnest Seeker after Truth. For sale
by all Boouellers who desire to forwa.rd the \Vark oC God"1t Redemption of Man
from Ignorance, Fear, and torturing Doubt. Amen. In the year of God"s grace,
1852.
21.--{)bservatious on the Theological Myster,.; the Harmonia! Philosophy, and
Spirit Rappings; with an Appendix concernIng Freemasonry. By the Author of
" Millenmal Institutions and the Seventh Seal." Hartford, Coon. 1851.
22.-()pen Intercourse with the ~piritual World; its Dangen and the CautioDl
whiCh they naturaUY8uggest. By B. F. Barrett. Boston. 1845.

It will surprise us if a. large portion of our readers is not surprised

at the abo\·e array of works r~cently accumulated in the department
 888 P'6udo-Bpiritualinra. [J8Iy,
or Spiritualism 80-eaJled. They cannot wen but wonder that R new
literature, if not a. new science, has sprung into being with those
singular psychical dev~lopments that, within & few years, have so
startled the r~pose of a sensuous skepticism, hy bringing the world
of spirits into close proximity with the world of matter. It is mainly
with the view of makin~ our readers acquainted with the faet of
these numerous issoes of the press, hearing upon the so-termed spirit-
uRI manifestations, that we have cited the above long roll of titl~
We have no design of & formsl review, or" & spt'cific aecount of the
contents of any of them. They are of various va.lue. from zero op-
wards and downwards. Admitting the authenticity of tbe narra-
tives, it would be difficult to conceive any thing more intriDsically
trifling and insipid than the communications professedly derived from
many of these tenants of the higher spbere.. If such a thing &!
le spiritual twaddle" could be predicated or imagined of the spiritual

world, we should have no farther to seelt for the appropriate term by

which to characterize a large portion of th.,se ghostly utterances. or
others of them we should be bound in justice to give a somewhat
more favorable ·character. But of none of them can we say that they
are of any special importance to any, while to the man of the New
Chl1rch they are, the very best of them, mere lisping, babbling, and
badinage. That oracles of more moment "re sometimes uttered in
private circles we are inclined to believe, but taking the publisbed
documents as a specimen, we can say of them little else than that
" it needed no ghost to tell us that."
The subject, however, with all its abatements, is one of curious in-
terest, and worthy the reflections and remarks which we purpose to
bestow upon it. It is olle which is pressing itself upon the attention
of the public with great urgency at the present time, a.nd from its
. bordering so closely upon the domain of the New Church,comes ,·ef)9
legitimately within its survey. We are a\\·are that there is in many
quarters a strong impression that the ma.n of the New Church is to
keep himself entirely aloof from all contact with these phenomena;
that he cannot approach them even for the purpose of investigation
without contracting a soil upon the purity of his spirit, or giving
countenance to magical and diabolica.l proceedings. and t.hat, ther~
(orp, our true motto is, "1'ouch not, taste not, handle not." ., 0, my
soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine
honor, be not thou united." For ourselves, however, \ve are but lit-
tle troubled with scruples on this bead. We recognize an astound-
ing maryel in these spiritual manifestations, amply deserving the
study of every enlightened mind. Nor do we know any thing in tbe
drift of New Church teachings which would forbid the examination
of natural or supernatultal phenomena, because we might thereby
stumble a weak brother or sister. It is only by becoming thoroughly
acquainted with the manifestations in all their phases that \ve shall
be best enabled to detect and expose their falsities and evils. 1'0
ODe \vho has paid much attention to the subject, nothing is more ob-
vious than that Swedenborg figures largely in the alleged communi-
cations from the world of spirits. He is often referred to as a highly
1"']
advaneed spirit, sojoorning in some or the npernal spheres, and a
«reat mftStflr ia all the mysteries of spirit.lore, but still 80 present-
ed to view RS greatly to mislead those who have been hitberto
atrangers to his true character and bis real mission. The mirror by
which he is reflected in thE'se rAvelations is on., of 8uch a waving and
rugged .urrace~th"t the image is awfully distorted. So far theft as
it is proPflr tu correct erroneous impre.gions on this scorfl in behalf oC
the interests of the New Church, so far we think it incumbent OD
t.be advocate oC oar truths to acquaint himself with the phases of
this singular demunstratioo. In like manller, if any thing of a con-
firmatory nature is to be dra\\·o from this source, we know of no-
thing to prevent our dra.wing it. It is from motives of tbis natllre
that we have given considerable attention to the subject, not as a
popil sitting at th~ feet of rapping Gamaliel, but ftS a jlldge decide
ing upon the evidence and bearing of a peculiar order of psychical
facts. Oar present object is to state in brief some of the resulL~ oC
ODr inquisition; and,
1. We have become satisfied of the reality ef tbe phenomena, that
is to say, that they are not the product of fraud, collusion, legerde-
main, or human contrivance of any kind. We are convinced that
tbey are of a veritably preternatural origin. No theory of slight-of-
hand or slight-or-foot will account for all the facts which are daily
and hourly occurring iD nearly ev~ry part of the country. To say
Dothing of the rigid scrutiny to which the whole matter has been
Bnhjected in the presence or the most intelligent and competent com-
mittees; nothing of the vast multiplication of mediums over the land,
of many of whom the suspicion of trickery could not for a momeDt
be entertained; what more incredible than that little children, in
80me cases, of not more than two or three years of age, should be-
come parties to a stupendous Rcheme of deception, extended and·
ramified in a thousand directions from one end of the Union to the
other. What, again, shall be thought of the fact of which we are
p!!rsooally cognizA.ot, that communications have been made in the
Hebrew, Arabic, Sftnscrit, a.nd other Janguag~s, and tha.t too, under
circumstances which absolutely forbid the supposition of any other
tb"n sDpernatural agency 7 We regard it in fa.ct as ~ntirely impos-
.ible to evade the proof that there are certain organizations or tem-
peraments which euable those that posses.. them to become mediums
of intelligent intercourse bet\\reen the Datoral and spiritual planes of
exilJtence, and that such intercourse is daily being had in buo-
dreds of circles formed for the purpose among all classes of the com-
munity.
2. 'l'he factor these manifestations is in itself a very wonderflll
fact. We speak more especially of the table-knocking or table-
tipping phenomena. Those attending the \vriting mediums are less
impressive, as it iH easier to refer thelD, in part at least, to a merely
natural origin. One cannot be quite lure tha.t the mind of the medium
dO~8 not govern the responses. But to sit with" company around a
table, and to have an undoubting assurance thlt.t there is an invisible
po\\-er producing the mysterious sounds or motions, and to have the
-
clearest evidence also of intelligence as ""ell as power-to put interro-
gations, and have them distinctly Rnd pertinently an8w~red by &
·presence veiled from mortal view-to have the signal call for the
alphabet gi,-en, and sentence after s~ntence slowly spl'lt Gut, indicat-
[Jaly,

ing a perfect knowledge of the conversation going on in the circle,

and interpotlling pertinent remarks, counsels, caution!t,denials, qualifi-
cations, confirmations, informations, as the case may require, and yet
the senses taking no cognizance of any peF80ft8 speaking besidea those
who you are sure do Dot speak-all this, it must be confessed, is mar-
vellous exceedingly when comparNl with the hitherto established
course of human pxperience. We know, indeed, that this mode of
manifestation b}· the rapping, or rocking, or removal of tables, Dot
only stumbles faith, but provokes ridicule, with the mass of "'orldly
men, as something utterly beneath the dignity of the dwellers of the
spiritual spheres. Even those who ordinarily evince bot prflcioas
little solicitude as to the estimate ,,·hicb ma.y be formed of spirits, of
their occupa.tion, enjoyments, or ruling springs of action, become ex-
ceedingly jealous of their good repute and worthy proceedings \\?hen
such a mode of physical agency is attributed to them. They seem
to think it 8S much beneath their dignity to move tables, as it was
deemed unbecomitlg to the chosen twelve in the primitive Christian
Church to ",erve tables. tt But it is certainly a very appropriate in-
qairy whether, supposing that a physical demonstration of any kind
were to be made, what more con\genient or satisfactory method could
be adopted for the purpose. If such demonstrations be made in a
house, and not out of doors, it would seem that some articles of for-
niture w(luld be brought into requisition, and we think it would be
difficult to suggest any thing more suitable for tbe nonce than tables.
Th~ great fact to be established in the matter is the fact that spirits
do really communicate with men on earth. The intrinsic nature of
tbe oracles uttered is something of less moment. 'l'hey may be true
or false, but the great point is \,·hether th~y are at all. There is no
species of information to be derived from the supernal abodes of so
much importance to the world as the bare fact that spirit-Cl do and can
eommunicate; and this fact could not well be established by any
other than evidence addre&~ed to the outward senses, especially with
a world immersed in sensuous thought. The chosen mode, therefon',
is probably as appropriate as any that could be adopted, considering
the prevalent states of those for whom t8ey are providentially de-
signed.
G. B.
(To be continUtd.)

EXTRACT.
CC;Tbe wbo1e,rftce, where the sensories of tbe sight, the 'men, the hearing, and the taste 818
litvated. correlponds to the affections end thoughts tbencederived in gentral; tbe erel cor-
respond to th., undentanrllDg; the nostrils, to perception j the ears. to bf>ariDft., and tbedi-
ence; BDt! the taste, to the desire of knowing and becomiDg wiae:·-..4. E. 427.
 Etliteriallte... a80

BDITOlllAL ITEM ••
w. IDGdea brief ylait to Philadelphia dllrinl the recent lession oC the General COD",en-
tiOD. maiDI, tor tbe purpON of reportiDI foe our pales the principal proceedings. Tb.
preee of mataer tbi. month alloW's Ut, however. little more than barely tbe spRce to lay that
besides tbe ordiDartb..ine.a cl reeeiviDg Reports from Seoieties, Aaseciationl Rnd Com-
mittees., little of moment was tran!8cted. A good deal oC discussion arose upon the new
Book of Wonhip, a l'pecimen ofwbicb was lubmitted t.tbe consider.lion oftbe meetiDg.
11 waa fiDRlJy re-cemmitte4 will» i.struation., to the same committee eBlarged, to be repolWd
upon at the next convention, which it was yoted unanimously to hard at Chicago, IlIinoil.
ODe or two oftbe Western men seemed to thiak that there had been .ome delree of favori&-
I.m ~hown in the eelection of tJae original Committee, on· which the Dames of Rev. Messrs.
HiLbsrd and Field did not appear, tbougb they, particularly Mr. H .• had be~D long known
to evince a deep interest in thi. subject. The delegates from BOItOD. bowever, made it
manifest that there WB. no sillisler desilll in the eireURlstane" f)/ the omission, aDd the
Damee of tbose two gentlemen were added- by unanimous consent to the committee. .A.rlotber
topic of conlidemble interest was tbe adoption of a new basil of representation in forming
the body ot tbe General Convention. This has been bitherto f,om Societies; henceforth it
is to be from A88OCiations, making provision at the same time for isolated receiver.. This
measure, l'l'oposed by Mr. Seammolt ot Chicago, met with little opposition, and was aecor-
dingly adopted. The detail! will appear in. the Journal. The action of the MichipD
and NorthelD Indiana Association in appointing tbe Rev. A. Silver as ordaining minister,
came under the notice of the Convention, bot no material e%ceptions were taken to it. So
al'O oC the communication from the New- York Society announcing their withdrawal wilb the
general body. Our nex' No. will eentain copious extrActs tram the Journal, tQHether with
• eerie. of remarks OD the general subject ot a New Church Convention, wbieh ,ye bad
intended for the preseDt nUlnber. The attendance was respectably large, there beinl how-
enr DO delegation from any ot the 'Veltern States e%cept lUinoil.

AT a General }feeting or New Church receivMs called by the 1,e Society of Cincinnati,
Ohio, a l'\ody was formed called cc The Ohio Conference of tbe New Church." DIJring the
IeSsion. Messrs. John H. \Villiams of St. Clairsville, Cbauncey Giles of Pomeroy, and J. H.
Miller of Salina, were orJained into the ministry by Rev. David Powell. Many other partio-
ulars of the meeting will be given in the minDtes, which wiU soon be published.

AT a late m~ting of the Illinois Association, RflV. S. Storr,. was ordained Into the N.W'
Church ministry by Rev. J. H. Hibbard; aDfi at a limihu meeting of the Malsachusettl
Association, a request was preferred by the East Bridgewater Society tor the ordination ••
B missionary of1\fr. J. H. Perry, ,vho has been for some time employed as a preacher amon.

them. It was relolved that this ordination be authorized whenever it IhOllld be recom-
mended by lhe Committee OD Millsions. la bas sin~ taken pl~ce.

TBa zeal of our orthodox friends in several oC the churches in the West has recently beeD
ueerting itself rather vigorously in weeding out luch New Church exoties al have Inade
their appearance among the more appropriate plants of their garden,. Two members of
th~ Con~tion81 churcb Rt Olivet, Micb., two at Eckfurd,. a Methodist member at M.r-
Iball, and a Presbyterian member at Battle Creei, have been exeommunic8led withiD a inr
months, for tbe grave offence of adopting views oC truth and life which were forced upon
lhem by the clearest convictions or their reaSOD, illustrated. by the Iuperadded Iigbt of re ft-
840 Obiwtlry. [J uly. Itl52.
Jation. Qaelf :-How beinous a crime will thi. cO\1due& probably be .... rdecI by the
J odp of all the earth 1

O.ITUARY.
DR.aTlrO this life, at Syracllle, N. Y. June 2<1, Mrs. YAUA.a, wife of P,.,. Mont-
aomery, Esq. Tbe withdrawal from earthly lCeD88ofthi. estimable lady will lea Ye a YOld
In the circle of ber acquaintance that cftnnot ftRain be flll~d. Those ",·tao were hapPI'
enollgh to know ber are painfully cOII.cioU8 ot the calamit, whicb rails widl cru"bing
weilht upon her nttarest Irieond, Rnd rends ...uncler tbe ties of frleDdebi" and love tbat
bonnd 1'0 many hearts to her. Woman seldom receive. from nature sDob lifts or iblellacL
Cultivation is seldorn bellOwed on so rich a soil. But the treaSl1res of ber Inand were only
equRlled by the pure and lofty impnlsea of a heftrt ftlll-d with the nobl85t ar.d best of human
feelinKs. The very enthusiasm of ber nature was of that higb Bad pntle charactet wbich
teemed to clothe her witb a charm, while the ft.lsltes of a brilliant mind complaced the
enchantment which \\'on an heart~ to her. To those, however, wbo ma, read the p~'
Ilotiee of her removal to a higher epbere, it will be a eource of d~pent-d interest to know
Ibat as Ibe 181t few yearl of ber life were brightened by the cordial reception of the doc-
trines ot rhe New Cburel., 80 ber closiDl bO&lrs were cooaoliolly cheered by tbe 11Ippora
aiforded her by those precious trutbs.

In Almont, Lapeer Co., Mich., May id, Mr. WM. LAW&ra )fORTOllf, apd 56 years.
From a letter written on the occasion of his departure to a purer world by a melnlJer DC
-tbe Almont Society, and pnblithed in tbe Mediuln, we extract tbe follow-ing testimony to
Ilia worth:
AI His P1tflnsive knowledge of the doctrine! oC the New Chorcb, aDd their manit"statiol1

in his lif~, exhibited in the kindness and urbanity of bls intercourse witb RIl j bis clear
perception of the blessed trutbs of the new dispensation. and ot their application to the
.relatiolll of man to brother mao, were r8markable. His deep, logical, and acute rea~Q·
ing fllcultie.: his prudent zenl lor the prosperity of tbe New JeruRlem, and his willinc
diligence in cOlnmllnicathlK spirilnal instruction, made hi. temporRI career eminently in·
ICrulnentalof use. He had a happy ftlclllly of L'cuing forth the more obstruse points of
tbe new tbeology with a eimplicity and clearnes. wbicb wae very acceptabld aud convinc-
ing to novitiates. He was universally esteerrled and respt'Cted by all hi. acquaiDtance$t
oC wbatever religiou. faith.
IC His mind, which was far above tbe common order, was well .Iored. DOt with the

theology oC the new dispensation only, but with an aCC&lrate knowledp of an UL6Dsive
nOlJe o(ecientifto, Inoral. and philo80phicHllearning.
1& He Was the inthnate -friend of Rev. WilliRrn Bruce, now of London, England. and
personally acqnaillted with many ministers of tile NEtw Churcb tbrougbout Great BritaiD.
He was among the first memberetornllng the now flourisbing Society In Glasgow,-forlned
tbe Ptlisley Society. and was its respective leader till he canle t(\ thIS conntry j and. under
Divine Providence, was the meaDs whereby our present little &lcieryof Almont exists.
8eeinK then troln tbese things tbp sphere of usefuln~1.hllt bas accompanied bim, it would
be particulRrly agreeable to the ft'elings of tbe members ot tbe Almont Socl"ty (ilod I
hav~ no doubt to his nlany friends and IlcquRtntancl's the other side of the Atlantic), that
Inme notice \\pere taken of hi! very u$efullife, so that others may be enticed to go and do
likewi8e.tJ
To tbis testimony the Editor of the Medi IJm adds his own. 8a foUo",.: cc We could ao&
more worthily accomplish tbe de=sire of our brother, c J. M.,' than by making ~be abo.Ye
extract from hia very appropriate letter. Brother Morton was a abining light In tbe CllJ
of our God belo"·,-translerred to th~ Dew Jerusalem above, he is resplendent in Il wur-
tbier ephere. Our 8cqnainlftnCe never embraced one who seemed tu 118'-6 80 ~ft"ootl1aIl1
Iubdned the natural man, to the 811premacy 01 tbe Di"ine will. Firmly, but mildly, ft:r-
'Yendy, but quietly, actively, but unassumingly, be diligently wrougbt in bis Mu.tter'•
.,inttyard, and the Holy Spirit crowned his 10Dg and llDwearied min.straliona with uDulnal
eacoeae."

m
 'rHE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHLY REVIE\V.

Vel. V. !IJGIJST, 1802. No. 8.

.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.

S~R}ION,

BY WM. 11" INGLESBY, ow CHARLESTOX~ s. c.

Pursuant to tbe promise in our last. we give place in the present No. to so much or Mr.
Inglesby's excellent InauguI1l1 Discour!8 8S we can find roonl for in our pages. Its length
alone precludes the insertion of the whole. After a broad and comprebenstYe su"ey, in
the exordium, of tbe bearing or the text upon the Divine character, counsels, Rod work,
upon the primitive atate and subsequent lapse of the race ormaD~ upon the nature of the
revelation made, and the ieveral di.pen.ationa accorded to hi!11. he comel at length to
develope ",hat be regards as the true idea of the church and its ministry. With this por-
tion we commence our extract.
U Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them
out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cotneth out of it; he that giv-
eth breath unto the ~ople upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord
have called thee in nghteoU8Jle88, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and
give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentile8; to open the blind
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darknesa out of
the prison-house."-Is. xlii. 5-7.
If the Lord Jesus Christ is the Divine Truth, and it is the Divine
Truth that is to OpflD the blind eyes, to release the captives, and
bring them ont of darkness, then the Divine Truth, the Son, is the
Preacher and Teacher, and is the alone Preacher and Teacher, and
He it is who, in the words of our text, is called by the Divine good.
ness, the Father, in righteousness to the great work. To Him also ap-
plies the language of impersonation that follows: "And will hold
thine band and keep thee."
'!'he \Vord constantly refers to na.tural objects as correspondence.
of spiritual subjects, and thus to the parts and members of the human I

body. Even in common parlance, grounded in the same law, we

VOLe v. 28 I
 342 Sermon on l.aia1& xlii. 5-7. [Allg.

continuall)· speak of the head as denoting intelligence, and the heart

affection. So eaeh part has its peculiar signification, when reftrred
to in the Sacred Word. In the present instance, as the hand is the
member whereby maD performs his works, and is the means whereby
he manifests his physical powers, so here, hand, in reference to the
Divine Truth, is meant to si~ify tbe spiritual power ,vhich it, the
Divine Truth incarna.ted, shall accomplish. It is the right band of
the Divine goodness, and is so to be understood, \vhere it is said, "He
sitteth at the right hand of the Father," denoting the power which
the Divine goodness, the Father, would effect by the Divine Humao,
the Son.
Here we paose to reiterate the grea.t central truth, that the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Incarnated Divine Trutb, the Divine Human, is the
alone Preacher and Teacher.
Man in himself has no life, no light. He never, spiritually speak-
ing, is a Preacher or Teacher. He is but & receptacle, a medium,
and he is only so, a.-, he \villingly, lovingly, throws open. the Will to
the influx of the Divine Lov~, and the understanding for the recep.-
tion of the Divine Truth, and both for use, by rejecting evils. Man
is a social being. He is & dependent being, and dependent upon the
Lord for all things. But it is \vithio the laws of the Lord's order, that
men should be dependent upon each other. If we love Him, we
shall love each other, and impart to each other of the Good and Truth
vouchsafpd to us by the Infinite Giver; and accordingly, He has so
placed us in this world, and has done 80 in all time, that we might
mutually help each other. He has organized us, a8 individuals. as
families, as societies, as commoDities, and in each several spbere,
there are independent duties; yet all looking to one great elld. The
iadependent duties pertaining to the individual man, if performed
\VeIl, make him a better member of his household; and if of his house-
hold, then to his society; and if of his sooiety, then to 'the commu-
nity in which he dwells.
And so of that classification which we call & church. Each indi-
• vidual man is a church in the least particular; and the church as
built up in Him, is a church which must stand or fall by itself: The
perfection or imperfection of other churches in the least particular
cannot affect him, that is. the church in him. " To his own master he
Itandeth or falleth."
So a society, as a church, in a larger sense, is govemed by identi-
cally the same law. It must build up itself in itsel( looking to the
Lord, as we have said, for all things, but not looking to another s0-
ciety. Like the church in the least particular, it can alone know ita
own wants and Decessities, and thus what to ask for. Thus the
churches in the least particular, and the society as a church being
thus perfected, go to form the community, or in New Church lan-
guage, go to form the Grand Man.
We believe·we are right in these views; and that we beJieT8 them
80, is manifest from the course we have this day adopted, iD selecting
and inducting ODe of our own number as the organ or medium of our
Society; thus departing from existing modes in the Old aa well as
New Cburch, in the appointing of its minister.
~
1852. Bennon on llaiah ~lii. 6-7. 343
Our Society have for some time been deeply impressed with the
importance of a proper organization as & church. We have felt that
order is Heaven's first law, and have fully recognized the duty in-
cumbent upon us to adopt all proper means, whereby we might, in
an orderly manner, obey the Lord in administering and participating
in the sacred ordinances institut~d by Him-Baptism and the Holy
Supper. And this we apprehend cannot be done in a Society, in an
orderly manner, but through an orderly appointed minister; and the
question resulted, What was an orderly manner 1 Should we go to
the Lord, by a circuitous route, to ask his appointment, or should we
go directly to Him, and to Him alone 1
Owing, it may be, to impressions derived from the Old Church, in
which we were all brought up, and owing too to a like practice intro-
daced into, and now prevailing in the New Chu."ch, we supposed, in·
accordance with the practice referred to, that a minister, constituted
such by an ordination, instituted by clerical authority alone, Wft.S in-
dispensable. Our more mature reflection has brought us to a differ.-
ent conclusion.
We believe that the Old Heaven and the Old Earth are to pass
away. and that all thiogs are to be made new; that the internal or-
the church is totally changed, and that the external, RS its true cor-
respondent, must change accordingly; and we think we see as a very
prominent cause of the lapse of the Old Church, the establishment of"
a hierarchy; that it is the natural assuming the spiritual; that it is a
machinery \vhich transfers th~ sanctity of the function to the person
of tbe functionary; a syst~m, the tendency of which is to excite the lost
of dominion, and of acquiring an ascendency over the minds of men;
taking them out of their own hands, and making them, more or less,
the passive instruments of the Priesthood. A system, whereby in-
dividuality, and therefore individual freedom and efforts is taken
away.
We do not undervalue the function of the ministry, by which we .
mean the rendering service to our fellow-men; and in our present
connection, that service beyond all others, the imparting of that
goodness and truth, which may have inftowed ioto the mind from the
Lord, the Divine Human. He who, sensible of the source from
whence be obtains this influx, and thus of its value, and is not only
willing, but loves the use of imparting it, is a minister in the truest
sense oC the word; and all the Popes, Bishops, and Priests in Chris- "
tendom may not take away, as they cannot confer, this true charac-
teristic of a minister. Thus we think he should be judged and esti-
mated only by his internal qualification and life in accordance there-
to, and not by any external badge of office.
In a representative of a church, and in a representative church
(for they differ very materially, see .A. O. 4288) it may be needful,
Day, indispensable, to have this external, distinctive office, as we are
taught that in both the conjunction of Heaven with earth is main-
tained by means of externals. So it was in the Jewish economy,._
which was but the representative oC a church, and thus it was in the
ancient churches, which were representative churches. The firat

1
844 Sermon on I,a;ah xlii. 6-7. [Aug.
Christian Church, although in its inception an internal church, yet~
by reA.son of its abandonment of charity and consequent adultera-
tion of truth, it graduRJJy lost its cbaracter, and came to end. Still
8uch a church could be in natural uses, and in order to the fulfilment
of those uses it migbt be prop~r that it should have an external min-
istry. But not so with the Lord's New Church, the Holy City of 'he
Ne\v Jerusalem, now 66 coming down from God out of Heaven, pre-
pared as a bride adorned for her husband." In this" Holy City,"
"the 1'abernacle of God is \vith men, and lIe ,,'ill dwell with thel~
and they shall be His peopl~, and God himself shall be with them,
and be their God ;" announcing not an outward Tabernacle, built of
cedar wood, and lined of massive gold in ultimRtes, but of those spirit-
ual substances to "rhich cedar wood and gold correspond; that is 10
say, internal 6pi,,·itu(ll Truth and Good.
Nor would we presume to say that all those ,vho have been in-
ducted into the office of the Priest.hood, whether of the Old or the
New Church, in the mode to \vhich we object, are obnoxious to ou~
animadversiolls. Far from it.; \ve rejoice to belie\'e that t.bere have
been in all ages of the firHt Christian Church, as ,veil as of the New
Church, aod that there are now in both, those whose sole aim was
and is to point out to their fellow-men the true road to Heaven. We
are not warring with men. We are defending the position to which
our sincere convictions have brought us.
The question with us, sod necessarily, we think, with the New
Church, though we presume not to arrogate to ourselves the right of
thinking for others, is, How does the Divine Good and 'I'ruth infloW'
into the Lord's city of the New Jerusalem 1 And first, What is a
church 1 Our illuminated author informs us, that each individual
mlln is a church in the least particular, or in the least form. He
does not say, a component part of a church, bat a church; and the
Divine Good and Divine Truth inftowing into that maR it is that
makes him a church. A collection of these churches, in the least
form. makes a larger, or church in the complex; or, ill other words,
mal(es a larger continent or '''esse1 into which this Divine influx is
Jwecei,·ed. Thus the aggregBte church is formed from the particular
~hurches, and in no oth~r way.
S\vedenborg, in many parts of his voluminous ,,-ritings, adverts to
the Priesthood, and in his "Coronis to t he True Christian Religion,"
speaks of a Trine in the Ministr)·-a mitred Prelate, a Parish Priest,
and a Curate. .
'Ye apprehend few N ewcburchmen ,viJl contend that Swedenborg
here means to con,·ey the idea, that the New Church should haye
these dignitaries, and cODstituted as they al-6 in the vastated Chris-
tian Church; for that church has come to an end b)' the falsification
ef its internal truths. Not that the truths themselves have come to
an end, but those who constituted that church have falsified them.
As our Lord says in Luke xxi. 6, "As for these things which ye be-
~lold, the da~·8 will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone
upon another that shall not be thrown down."
'Ibe first Christian Church was an internal cburc~ and was the
first internal church that had existed on the earth since the Most
185~.] S&rmOIl on I,aial& xlii. 5-'1. 845
Aaeient Clturch. An previous cburches were only external churches.
In the" True Christi-I\n Religion," at 674, it is thus \vritten, "It is
kno\vn, in the Christian world, that there is aD internal and an ex-
ternal man, and tbat the external is the same with t.he natural man;
a.nd the internal the same ,vith the spiritual man, because his spirit
is in it; and beeause the church consists of men, that there is given
an internal church, and an external church; and if the succession of
churcbe.~ from ancient times to the present be traced, it \vill be seen
that the former churches were external churches, that is, that their
worship consisted in external things, \vhich represented the internal
things of the CAri,tian Church, which wos founded by the Lord when
He was ix th~ world, and no", ;8 jir.t being b'uilt up by Hi,n. Thus
the Christian Church, as founded by the Lord, \vhen in the world,
was aR internal chureh, which afterwards came to an end, by all the
intornal truths thereof becoming adulterated, thus' one stone not be-
ing left on another.'"
What was the true order of church government, and so forth, a.t
the inception of the Christian Church we shall show before we have
done. It was in reference to the exi~ting order of things in the
Christian Churcb, although perverted from the base to the summit,
that Swedenborg refers., not eonfirming, bat using them by \vay oC
illustrating the SpiritUll1 Trine in the ministry; for the soJe end Rnd
object, the very meaning of the church of th~ New Jerusaleln, is an
internal church, never to pass away by adulterations of its truths.
In a letter \vritten by Swedenborg to his friend, Dr. Bpyer, and
dated Stockholm, Feb., J767, he says, ,. The universities in Christen-
dom are now first instructed from whence will come ministers," in
timating, as we suppose, purely from a spiritual source, that is, fror 1
the Lord, by his intlowing into them \vith His love and \visdOIJJ.
Does the Divine Providence overrule all things 1 If it does, can ,,"e
be doing wrong when we apply sincerely, prayerfully, for guidance
and direction 1 We apprehend not. On the contrary, if \,·e walk
not in the path whieh He points out to us, or which we verily be-
lieve He points out to us, we act from our will, not from His. We
think that each Society, like each individual, must act for itself: ac-
cording to its own con\Tictions, not the convictions of others, unJ~ss
we see theirs to be right.
To sho,v the true order of th~ church, as set forth in the A. C. 9278,
we would quote the following. Its importance, as bearing upon the
true COD1Ctituents of a church, must be our apology, if an apology be
needed, for quoting so much at length.
I. These three kinds of men constitute the church. They who are
in the good of Charity, const.itute the internal of the church. Thpy
\vho are in few truths, and still desire to be instructed, thus '\vho are
in the affection of truth from good, constitute the external of the
chorch. But they who are in the delights of external truth, ft re the
extremes, and make, as it were, the circumference, and close the
church. The conjunction of Heaven with the human racE', tha.t is,
the conjunction of the Lord, through Heaven, ,,,"ith man, is effected
by those \vho are in the good of charity; thus by the good of charity,
 346 Sermon Oft 1,aiaA xlii. 5-7. [Aug.

for in that good the Lord is present, for the Lord is that good itself;
throu~h that good, the Lord conjoins Himself with those who are in
the affection of truth; for the affection of truth is from good, and
good. as said, is from the Lord; through these again, the Lord is
with those who are in the delights of external truth, for the delights
with them, are for the most part derived from the loves of self and
the world, and very little from spiritual good. Such is the commu-
nication of Heaven with man, that is, sueh the communication of
the Lord through Heaven with him t consequently such the conjanc-
tion.
"That the communication and conjunction of the Lord through
Heaven with the human race is such, may be manifest from this, that
such is the influx with every man of the church; by the man of the
church, is meant, one who is in the good of cba.rity, and hence who
is in the truths of faith from the Lord; for charity from which is faith
is the church itself with man, because these are from the Lord, for
the Lord flows in into that good which is its internal, and through
that affection into the delights of externa.l truth, which are in the
extremes. As the case is with the man of the church in particular,
so also it is with the church in general, that is, with all who consti-
tute the church of the Lord; the reason is, because the universal
church before the Lord, is as a man, for the hea.vens of the Lord,
with which the church acts in unity, is before Him as one man, as
may be manifest from what has been known concerning Heaven, as
the Grand Man, at the close of se,"eral chapters in Genesis. In con-
sequence of this, the case is similar with the man of the church in
particular; for the man of the church in particular is a heaven, a
church, and a kingdom of the Lord, in the least effigy. Moreover,
the case with the church is as with man himsel~ in that there are
t\VO fountains of life with birn, namely, the heart and lungs. It is
known that the first of his life is the heart; and the second of his
life is the lungs;' and from these two fountains, all and single
things which are in man live. The heart of the Grand Mao, that is.
Heflven and the church, is constituted of those who are in love to the
. Lord, and in love to the neighbor, thus, abstractedly from persons, is
constituted by the love of the Lord, and the love of the neighbor; but
the lungs in the Grand Man, or in Heaven and the church, are con-
stituted by those who from the Lord are in charity towards the
neigbbor, and thence in faith. thus, abstra.ctedly from persons, are
constituted by charity and faith from the Lord; but the rest of the
viscera and members in that Grand Man are constituted by those
who are in external goods and truths; thus, abstractedly from per-
sons, by external goods and truths, whereby internal goods and truths
may be introduced. As now the hea.rt first Bows in into the lungs,
and into the viscera and members of the hody, so likewise the Lord
through the good of love into internal truths, and through these, into
external truths and goods."
We have bere the true order of the New Church, and ,ye think it
obviously appears that the influx from the Lord is into the gene~l
church through the church6 in the least form, and each church 10
J852.] Sermon on l,aiah xlii. 5-7. 84;
the least form, according to its reception of the Lord, is a Heaven, a
ehurch, and a kingdom of the Lord, in the least effigy.
We think, with an article in the New Church Repository of No·
"ember, 1850, that" The institution of ecclesiastical governorship,-
in other words, the toleration of the clergy, as a distinet and self.
perpetua.ting order of men, transmitting to each other peculiar vir-
tD~St by the operation of a representative ceremony. is opposed to the
spirit of Heaven, and consequently to the genius of the New Church t"
and we think too tha.t the extract referred to in the same article,
A. C.3350, fully confirms our opinion, as it seemed to ha,'e done that
of tbe writer of the article. In the extract referred to, Swedenborg
says, speaking of a certain angelic choir, "Although they were
many, still th~y all thought and spake as one; thus they thought and
represented as one, and this because none was desirous to act at all
from himself; still less to preside over the rest, and lead the choir,
for whoever does this is of himself dissociated instantly, but they suf-
fered themselves to be led mutually by each other, thus all and sin-
golar by the Lord."
We know that this natural world being 8, mirror r~ftecting the
spiritual world, it is lawful, by way of confirmation, to illustrate the.
spiritual by the natural. We will attempt such an illustration.
As a church on earth may, with aptitude, be considered" spiritual
house, we will illustrate its organization and operation by a natural
hou~e. A hou,e consists of husband and wife, children and servants.
Each have their several duties to perform: and if it he an or-
derly hoose, they win love to perform their duties. The husband is
the head of the house; his wisdom, grounded in love, counsels and
directs; he provides the necessary supplies. All look to him, as the
provider of food and raiment, and all shelter themselves under his
protecting arm.
The mother's care is within the house; she looks after the chil-
dren, with a maternal solicitude: directs her attention to their well
being; looks after and distributes the food and raiment furnished by
her husband; watches over and nurtures them.
Tbe first duty of the children is to honor and obpy their parents.
M Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother, thRt thy days may be

long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." As the sole
aim of both father and mother is to advance their children in useful-
ness, and thus in the trnest happiness, so all their efforts are directed
to fitting Bnd preparing them for the largest amount of usefulness.
In this work, the children have much to do. 1'hey must bring to
their parents 8 hearty co-operation; and without such co-operation,
their affectionate parents will ha.ve labored in vain. And the flrst
lesson of usefulnetls under the direction of their parents is to help
~ach other according to their abilit~'. .
One of the sons, by reason of fitness and propriety ftppRrent to the
mother, \\,ill be Relected by her, and will be expected to do more than
the rest in thiA \vork, and the mother will especially caU on him to
aid her, and he will thus be placed in a more prominent position than
any of his brethren. .
348 Sermon on l,aiaA xlii. 5-7. [Aug.
We omit the duties of servants as irrelevant to the question under
discussion.
Now, the church is our mother, ,. the Lamb's wife." She must
look to tbe Lord, her-husband, for counsel and direction, in tbe man-
agement of the household; in the care of the children; in their ad-
vancement and education. She must look to him for all necessary
supplies.
If the mother is the "Lamb's wife," we may rest assured all the
necessary supplies will be furnished; the whole household will be
conducted with Divine order. She will always ask of Him counsel
and direction, and obtain it. She will get the necessary supplies of
spiritual nourishment (Good and Truth) from Him, with no reluc-
tant hand, and all will rest in perfect security under his protecting arm.
The children will honor their parents by obeying them in all
things. They will render a hearty co-operation in the fulfilment of
their parents' fondest wishe~, and that is, in receiving and imparting
to each other of their own goods and truths received from the Father.
He who may be selected by the mother for the largest sbar~ of work,
must cheerfully perform that work, according to bis best ability. 'Ye
must take the most prominent place, in doing what it will be the hap-
piness of all to participate in doing, that is, in ministering to each
other. Thus all the children become ministers, but more particu-
larly that one especially selected. He must be the mini'ler,-tbe ser-
vant.
We cheerfully admit that it may seem to be not so easy a task to
ma.ke the proper selection, and if we look to ourselves, to our o\vn
proprium, we certainly shall not be able; but i~ on the contrar)·, we
look to the Mother, as she looks to the Father, for all things, she
will put us right.
If this ill ustration serves the purpose "pe design, it will be perceived
that so far from being bound to apply to other spiritual houses or
families for a minister, oar duty is to confine ourselves to our own
household.
The Illuminated llerald of the New Church informs us that " in the
most ancient times, mankind were distinguished into houses, families,
and tribes; a house, consisting of the husband and wife, with their
children and domestic servants; a family, of a greater or lesser num-
ber of houses which were at no great distance, but were still 8eparate
from each other; and a tribe, of a larger or smaller number of fam-
ilies. The reason why they thus d welt, viz., apart, one among
another, divided only into houses, families, and tribes was, that by
this means the church might be preserved entire, and that all the
hOllses and families might be dependent on their parent, and thereby
remain in love and in true worship. It is to be remarked also, that
each house had a peculiar genius or temper distinct from every other,
f~r it is \vell kno\vn that children, and even remote descendants, de-
rive from their parents a particular disposition and such characterise
tic marks as cause a difference in their faces and other parts of their
persons; to prevent, therefore, a confusion of tempers and dispositionll,
and to preserve the distinction accurate, it pleased the Lo~d that they
1861.] Sermon 011 IlaiaA xlii. 5-1. 849

should dwell in this maDDer. Thus the church was a living repre-
sentative of the Kingdom of the Lord; for in the Lord's kingdom
there are innumerable societies, each distinguished from every other
aceording to the differences of love and faith."-A. C. 470, 471.
Again he says, "Every heaven, a8 well the first as the second and
the third, is divided into innumerllble societies, and each society con-
sists of many individuals, who by their harmony and unanimity con-
stitute it one person."-A. C. 6~4. At A. O. 1394 be says, "Because
perception is of such a nature, that one caD know in an instant the
quality of another in regard to love and faith, hence it is that spirits
are joined together in societies according to their consent or agree-
ment, and disjoined according to dissent; and this with such exquisite
nicety, that there is not the least of difference which does not disjoin
or conjoin. Hence the societies in the heavens are so distinctly ar-
ranged, that nothing can be conceived more distinct." And if the
preachers there are from an origin purely spiritual, should they Dot
be so in the Lord's New Church, which is purely a spiritual or inter-
nal church 1 In" Heaven and Hell" 393, we read. "In ecclesiastical
affairs are those in heaveD, who in the world loved the Word, and
from desire sought for the truths there, not for the sake of honor or
gain, but for the sake of use of life, both for themsel ves and others.
These, according to the love and desire of use, are there in illustration
and in the light of wisdom, into which also they come from the Word
in the heavens, which is not natural as in the world, but spiritual.
These perform the office of preachers, and there according to Di\·ine
Order," &c.
It is most worthy of remark, that the first Christian church in the
days of its primitive state, before heresies and usurpations broke in
upon it and defiled its purity and beautiful simplicity, maint~ined
tbe same system of government and organization we are now con·
tending for. l\losheim in his" Ecclesiastical History,~' in his intro-
duction states thus at page 4.
" l'he first thing therefore, that should be naturally treated in the in-
ternal history of the Church, is the history of its ministers, rulers, and
form of government. When we look ba.ck to the comOlencement of
the Christian church, we find its government administered jointly by
the pastors and the peopl~. But in process of time the scene changes,
and we see these pastors affecting an air of pre-eminence and supe-
riority, trampling upon the rights and privileges of the community,
and assuming to themselves a supreme authority both in civil and
religious matters." At page 99, first vol., he says: "It was therefore
the assembly of the people which chose their O\VO rulers and teach.
ers, or received them by a free and authoritative consent when re-
comrnended by others. The same people rejected or confirmed by
their suffrages the laws that were proposed by their rulers to the as-
sembly; excommunicated profligate and unworthy members of the
cburcb; restored the penitent to their forfeited privileges; pas~ed
judgment upon the different subjects of controversy and dissension
tha.t arose in their community; examined and decided the disputes
which happened between the elders and deacons; and in a word, ex-
 &r1l&01i onl.,illA xlii. 6-'7. [Aug.
ercised all that authority which belongs to such as are invested with
the &vereign Power."
Pardon me for one more extract. At page 107 of same volume,
speaking of the first century, he says, " The churches in those early
times were entirely independent; none of them subject to any foreign
jurisdiction, but each one governed by its own rulers and its own
laws."
Thus, my brethren, from a review taken of the Old Church in its in-
ception, when its garments were white a.nd unspotted, and from the
teachings as revealed for the Lord's New Church, we come to the
conclusion that we are an independent and distinct society, looking
to the Lord alone for all things, and not to human institutions, Sllch
as Conventions, Associations, Synods, Presbyteries, Benches of Bishops,
Popes, and 80 fortb, for the selection of a minister, or for determina-
tion of any question authoritatively for us. We owe them no alle-
giance-we can render them none.
But owing no allegiance, let us still never forget, that if we are an
orderly society, there are duties devolving upon us to other societies,
.which are fundamental in their character. As our bodies are made
up of members, organs, and viscera, each performing its part separate
and distinct from another, and all contributing their functions in the
huma.n economy, and all receiving their vitality from the same life
blood, gushing from the heart and purified by the lungs; and these
two, the hea.rt and lungs, being the fountains of life, the first of which
being in the heart, and the second of which being in the longs, thus
"the conjunction of the heart and lungs, and by the influx of blood
from the heart into the lungs, and the reciprocal influx from the IUDgs
into the heart, and thence through the arteries into all the members,
organs, and viscera of the body," so in the Grant} Man, that is Hea-
ven and the Church, there are separate members, organs, and viscera
-that is, separate soci~ties to which these members, organs, and vis-
cera correspond-and as they all derive their vitality from the same
80urce of life in the Grand l\{an, the heart and longs, that is the Di-
vine Love and Divine Wisdom proceeding from the Lord, so we all,
as societies, have otlr functions to perform in the heavenly economy.
Each society has its distinct function to perform independent of
another, yet all going to make up one grand whole. Thus the socie-
ties forming and constituting the Lord's New Church on the earth and
in the b~a.\'ens, stand in the same relation to each other as the mem-
bers, organs, and viscera oC our bodies stand in to each other; and if
the leg may despise the arm, or the hand the foot, then may one society
look down with contempt upon another; but i~ on the contrary, the
well-being of one is felt by the other, and contributes to its healthful
condition, such is precisely the case with all the societies in the Grand
Man. Thus while we owe no allegiance, we do owe love sod co-op-
eration in advancing the Lord's kingdom on the earth.
We are informed in A. O. 1834, " When a church is first raised up
by the Lord, it is ill the beginning pure, and the members then love
each other as brethren, 8S is known from the primitive Christian
church after the Lord's coming. All the sons of the church at that
I 852•.J T1uJ Para1Jk, Eqlaiaed.-No. YII. 861

time lived among themselves as brethren, and mutually loved each

other; but in process of time, charity diminished and vanished away;
and &s charity vanished, evils saeceeded, and with evils, falses also
insinnated themselves, whence arose schisms and heresies. These
W"onld never ha,·e existed if charity had continued to live and rule;
for then they would not have called schism schism, nor heresy heresy,
but they would have called them doctrinals according to one's opin-
ion which the)· would ha\'e left to every one's conscience, provided
they did not deny principles, that is, the Lord, Eternal Life, and the
Word, and maintained nothing contrary to Di,"ine Order, that is, con-
tra,·" to the camma"tlment of the decalogue."
May the Lord in his infinite mercy 80 infuse into 08 his Divine Love
and Divine Wisdom, that we shall be enabled to fulfil our obligations
as individuals to each other, and as a society to all other societies,
thus manifesting that we are made alive by Him and by Him alone.
And thus believing in Him, in His name ., we sha.ll cast out devils,
we shall speak with new tongues, \\'e shall take up serpents, a.nd if
we drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt us; we shall lay hands
OD the sick and they shall recov~r." Mark xvi. 17, 18.
Mo,.eover, this Divine Incarnated Truth, the right hand of God, the
Preacher, shall open our blind eyes; shall bring out the prisoners
from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, out of the prison-house.
The Lord grant it. Amen.

ARTICLE 11.

THE PARABLES EXPLAINED.

No. VII.
THE KING THAT WOULD TAKE ACCOUNT OP BIS SERVANTS.
fa Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened unto a certain Kin. which would take
account of his lervants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was hrought unto him
which owed him ten tbol1sand talent!. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord cOin-
tnandetJ him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that be had, and payment to
be made. The servant therefore Cell down and worshiped him. saying, Lord have patience
with me, and I w ill pay thee all. Then the Lord ot that eervant was rnoved with compas-
sion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same Iflrvant w~nt out, and found
one of his fellow-servants, which owed hinl an hundred penoe: and he laid bands 011 bim,
aDd took him by tb~ throat. saying. Pay me that thou oweet. And his fellow-servant fell
down at hi15 feet, Rud besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay tbee
all. And be would not; but went and cast him into prison, tin he should pay the debt.
So when his fellow-seJ:\fants law what wall done, they were yery sorry, and came and told
unto their Lord all that was done. Then hi' Lord, after that he had called him, _id UDIO
him. 0 thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
should!t not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on
tbee ? And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay
all that was due uoto hhn. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do al." unto you, if ye
from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses.ft-MATT. xviii. 23-35.

Q. You ha.ve before told me that bl the Kingdom of the Heavens

Y

is ,meant the govemment of the Divine Love and Wisdom. Why,

352 The Puable, Ezplain,d.-No. YII. [Aug.
then, is this kingdom likened unto a King who lIJOuld tau account of
Ai, ,erva"ts?
A. Because by the King is here meant JESUS CBRIST, as to His
Divine Wisdom, or Truth, and by taking account of his servants is to
be understood the exercise of Judgment from that Divine Wisdom, or
Truth. so as to discover toe qualities of each.
Q. But it is said that one was brougllt unto him which owed Aim ten
thousand talent,. What do you understand here by owing him ten
thousand talents 1
A. Ten thousand talents denote the immense debt which every
man owes to his Creator for all the mercies of creation, preservation,
redemption and r~geDeration, which he has received at his hands.
Q. But it is said that he had not to pay. What do you understand
by this expression.
A. That no one is able of himself to pay the above immense debt,
nor even to take account of it, because of its immensity.
Q. What, then, do you understand by hia Lord commanding him to
be sold, and hi, wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to
be made 1
A. By these expr~ssions is meant, that the man WI\8 brought into
trial and exercise in his own mind, from a consciousness that, unless
he paid the debt which was owing, he could not escape condemnation.
Q. And what was the effect of this trial and exercise OD the part
of the man 1
A. .The first effect it produced was humiliation, signified by tbe
man falling down: the second effect was acknowledgment of the
LORD, his Divine Love, Wisdom and Providence, signified by worship-
ing him: the third effect was intercession for such a measure of
patient endurance, as might enable him finally to di~charge the debt
by A. full acknowledgment of the mercies he had received.
Q. But is said that the Lord of that .ftervant, being moved wit/I com-
passion, loosed him, and forgave him tile debt. What do you under-
stand by the Lord being moved with compassion 1
A. I understand by this expression, the tenderness of the Divine
Love towards His penitent children, when brought into judgment con-
cerning trespasses, and especially concerning that immense debt
which they owe to the Divine Being.
Q. What do you understand by loolin a- hin1?
A. By loosing him I understand that gis affections were set at lib-
erty to pursue an eternal object, in consequence of the spiritual trial
and exercises through which he had passed. For such is the natore
and effect of spiritual trial, that by it the po\vers of evil, to which the
mind had been before subjected as a miserable sla.ve, are disturbed
and removed, in which case the soul regains its proper liberty, and
being loosed from the bands of worldly and selfish attachments,
regains its native freedonl to choose and pursue the eternal good for
which it was created in the kingdom and fa.var of its GREAT CREATOR.
Q. And what do you mean by his debt being forgiven Ilim 1
A. The debt \\,hich every man owes to GOD is forgiven or remitted.
whensoever man is brought into true humiliation of heart and life,
1852.] TIle King IAat would lake Act!ount of hu Set·vant.. 353
because, in snch case, be is disposed gratefnl1)· to acknowledge that
all his faculties, both of body and mind, are from GOD, and are Gon's;
con!equently, that all his happiness, and ev~n all his temporal prop-
ertv, are from the same Divine Source.
Q. But it is said of this servant, that lie went forth and found one of
1Ii8 fe11oUJ-sen'ants, who owed him an hundred pe"ce, and that he took
him by the throat, ,aying, Pay me that thou owe,t; and that hi, felloUJ-
.rervant fell down at hi, feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience
with me and I will pay thee all. And he would not; but went and cast
him into pri8on, until he ,hould pay the debt. What do you learn from
this Pl\ft of the parable 1
A. I learn that, notwithstanding the operation of the Divine Love
and Mercy in the inner ma.n, the out,,"ard man was not yet reduced
to obedi~nce, so as to comply with that operation by correspondent
acts of lcindness and charity; in other vlords, the external man was
not yet brought into entire submission to the Jaw of t.he Divine Life
and Spirit in the internal man, as it ought to have been.
Q. And \vhat do )70U understand, further, by the fellow-Bervanta see·
ing what was dnne, and being exceedingly sorry, and coming af,d tell-
ing tlRto their Lord the thing' that were done?
A. By the fello~servallta are here meant the dictates of heav-
enly truth, in the external man; and by their seeing what was done, is
to be understood, that all things in the external ma'n are under the
view, or instruction of the Divine Truth; a.nd by their being exceed-
ingly sorry is meant, the contrariety subsisting between the dictates
of heavenly truth, and the unpurified affections of the natural mind
before it is regenerated; and by tltei,- telling to their Lord the tIling'
· which were dO/le is meant, the influx and communication of the Divine
Truth itself with those dictates.
Q. And what do you understand, further, by hia Lord calling him,
and saying unto him, Thou wicked servant; IJorgave thee all that debt,
becau8tl thou de,iredst me: oughteat not thou alBo to have had compaa-
.ion on thy fellow-servant, even as 1 had compassion on thee 'I
A. By the Lord is here to be understood, the Divine Truth itself:
\vhich has its abode in the inmost principles of every human mind; and
by what the Lord says to the servant on this occasion, is to be under-
stood, the influx of that truth into lower principles, reproving them
for not attending to the operations of the Divine Mercy respecting
them, and teaching that it is the intention of this mercy to produce
its saving and blessed effects in the external or natural mao, as they
are manifested in the internal or spiritual man, that so the whole man
may become a living operative form of that mercy_
Q. And what do }·OU mean by the Lortfs beirtg wroth, and delivet--
ing him to the tormentors 1
A. By the Lord being wroth, is to be understood, the contrariety
subsisting between the Divine 1'ruth and the natural propensity of
the unregenerate man; and by delivering him to the tormentors is
meant, the pain experienced on the occasion in the consciences of
those who are about to be regenerated.
Q. But it is said, until /,e ,l,ould pay all that wa, due unto !tim.
Ho\v do you understand this?
 [Aug.
A. From these words we learn, that the pain of trial and tempta-
tion is continued until a total surrender is made of the human will to
the Divine, attended with the gra.teful acknowledgment, that all of
saving Mercy, Loye, Wisdom, Peace and Protection are from God,
and nothing at all from man's self; and further, that man ought to
extend in himself the operation of those Divine Virtues and Grac~.
by being kind, compassionate, and merciful to others, as God is to
him.
Q. What. then is the general instruction which you leam from this
parable?
A. That every man, from Creation, and also from Redemption.
owes an immense debt to his GREAT CRBATOR, and that the ani)"
method by which he can discharge this debt, is to forgive the debts
of his fellow-creatures; in other words, to cherish towards them the
spirit of heavenly Charity, by which he will be taught that, instead of
their being indebted to him, as he must of necessity suppose in his
natural and unconverted state, the truth is that he is indebted 10
them and that there is no human being to whom he does not owe
obligation, more or less. I learn farther, from this parable, that it is
the great intention of GOD to bring the internal and t'xternal man
into agreement and conjunction, that so the Divine Love and \Visdom
in the internal man, may operate freely, and produce their proper
fruits in the external man; but that this intention of the Di\Tine
Mercy cannot be accomplished without trials and temptations, by
which the natural opposition of the external man to the Divine Rule
may be overcome, and the whole man may finally be reduced to a
state of total submission.

ARTICLE 11)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JONATHAN CHAPMA.N, A PRIMITIVE NEW

CHURCHMAN.
2'0 flat Editor of the llIpo.itarr.
Du.. SI.J-The following paragraphl are taken from Mesao. Barber and Howe·•
.. Hiltorioal Collections of the State of OhioJ" aad al the1 relate to the earliest New-
churchman who made his appearance in that part oC the country J I ha•• thought that it
would be interesting to mOlt of your readers to have them prelerftd in the paKes of roar
lournal. They occur iD the account oC the toWD oC Manlfleld. RlohlaDd Co.
W.B.H.
"AT an early day, there was a very eccentric character who fre..
quently was in this region, well remembered by the early settlers.
His name was Jonathan Chapman, but he was usually known as
Johnny Appleaeed. He was originally, it is supposed, from New
England. He bad imbibed a remarkable passion for tbe rearing and
cultivation of apple-trees from the seed. He first made his appear-
ance in western Penosyl,-ania, and from thence made his way ioto
Ohio, keeping on the outskirts of the settlemeDts, and following his
1852.] ,A Primitive NetEc1wreluno1&.
favorite pursuit. He was accustomed to clear spots in the loamy
!aDds on the banks of tbe streams, plant his seeds, enclose the ground,
and then leave the place until the trees had in a measure grown.
When the settlers began to flock in and open their "clearings," Johnny
was ready for them with his young trees, which he either gave a\vay
or sold for some trifle, as an old coat, or any article of which he could
make use. Thus he proceeded for many years, until the whole coun-
try was in a measore settled, and supplied with apple-trees, deriving
self:.satisfactioD amounting to almost delight in t.he indulgence of his
engrossing passion. About tw~nty yean since he removed to the far
west, them to enact over again the same career of humble usefulness.
•• His personal appearance was as singalar as his character. He
was a 811nin, 'chunked' m"n, quick and restless in his motions and
conversation; bis beard and hair were long and dark, and his eye
black and sparkling. He lived the roughest life, and often slept in
the woods. HiB clothing was mostly old, being generally given to
him in exchange for apple-trees. He went barefooted, and often
travelled miles through the snow in that way. In doctrine he was a
follower of Swedenborg, leading a moral, blameless life, likening him-
self to the primitive Christians, literally taking no thought of the
morrow. Wherever he went he circulated Swedenborgian works,
and if short of them, would tear a book in two and give each part to
diffeTent persons. He was careful not to injure any animal, and
thought hunting morally wrong. He was welcome everywhere
among the settlers, and treated with great kindness even by the In-
dians. We give a few anecdotes. illustrative of his character and
eccentricities.
" On one cool autumnal night, while lying by bis camp fire in the
woods, he observed that the mosquitoes flew into the bla~e and were
burnt. Johnny, who wore on his head a tin utensil which answered
both as a cap and mush-pot, filled it with water and quenched the
fire, and afterwards reinarked,' God forbid that I should build a fire
for my comfort that should be the means of destroying any of his
creatures.'
"Another time bft made his camp fire at the end of a hollow log,
in which be intended to pass the night, but finding it occupied by a
bear and her cubs, he removed his fire to the other end, and slept on
the snow in tbe open air rather than to disturb the bear. He was ODO
morning in a prairie, and was bitten by a rattlesnake. Sometime
after a friend inquired of him about the matter. He drew a long
sigh, and replied,' Poor fellow I he only just touched me, when I in
an ungodly passion put the heel of my scythe upon him, and went
borne. Some time after I went there for my scythe, and there lay
the poor fellow dead.' He bought a coffee bag, made a hole in the
bottom, through which he thrust bis head, arId wore it as a cloak,
saying that it was as good as any thing. An itinerant preacher was
holding forth on the publio square in Mansfield, and exclaimed,
• Where is the bare-footed Christian travelling to heaven l' Johony,
who was lying on his back on some timber, taking the question in its
literal .en~, raised his bare feet iD the air, aDd vocifierated, ' Here Ae
iI I' "-Pp. 481, 482.
 358 Conclulion of Reply to ., D~lltJ." [Aug.

ARTICLE IV.

CONCLUSION OF REPLY TO uDELTA."

( Continued.)

THESE unvarnisbed declarations hold out but 8 gloomy prospect to

the timid and the time-serving; but with those of a different mould,
to look the situation in tbe facf!, is to nerve to greater and more 8US-
tained effort. With ea.ch, under God, is the last ho~ of the world.
Toil on-you are not forgotten. Nor will you be, 80 long as you re-
member who is at the helm; nor yet will your labor be in vain.
Thf' intimation that the Ne\v Church will be earlier est"blished, or
more fully manifestPd among the nations without, does not exclude
the hope that some will be found within the bounds of nominal Chris-
tendom, in a like state of preparation, as will further appear from the
following:
Cl Our churches at this day are almost all or this character [giving doctrine the
preference to life], except that which is in Christian GentiUm&, where it is permit-
ted to adore saints and their idols."-A. C.3447.
U The house or Jacob did Dot acknowledge Jehovah, but yet was willing to ae.
knowledge him in case he proved a benefactor j as is exactly the case at thiS day in
Gelltile Cltri,tm.dom."-A. C. 3667.

He here alludes to virtuous Catholics, some of ,vhom are more im-

pressible than the adherents of faith alone. But are there not now
in Protestant lands, and especially here where there is no established
religion-many who are attached to the ancestral faith by no such
strong cords as of yore, and by consequence in a Gentile condition of
mind, favorably disposed to the reception of truth when properly pre-
sented, and are there not tokens of the increase of such with the de-
cline and breaking up of the old s)'stems 1
Such is our belief: But w~re ,,·e certain that the true faith would,
in Christian lands, be accepted by a minority barely perceptible, )·et
should those favored few not bide their light under a bushel. nor
screen it \\ith a dark lantern, but place it on a cllndle,tick,· that it
may C8St its beams afar. Our duty to those from whom we expect
the largest increase of the future church requires no less.
U The Christian Churches oug/d to bt, and might be, a lumin~ to all the people
and nations in the four parte of the earth, concerning God and His unity. An who
live out of the Christian Church, as well Mahometan. 1,8 Jews, and, beeidea theee, tk
Gentiles of tvery wor,h.ip, are averse to Christianity, ,altlyon ",wunt of tJa. faitA of
tAr" GotU tlwr,."-T. C. It 183.
And ho\v are those Gentiles to be cured of their prejudice against
Christians, heretofore so well founded, until they are informed that
there is among the nations of the West a peculiar people, '\vho have
renounced the errors that produced this repulsi\~e sphere, and who
• Com. Matt. Y. J5, whh Rev. i.20.
188.] Conelufton of Reply to "Delta.- 351
elaim to be in 'possession or a body ~f truth~tbe Jast, best gift of
H~a\·en to maD-which reconcil~s all contradictions, and, by its po-
tent magnetism, unites congenial spirits, however s~parated in space
or by outward ditrerenc~ 1 Can the)· ,,·ho pine for sympathy RDd
help, know that they have brethren and allies among these dreaded,
Christians, unless those friends will unmaHk. stand forth, and show
themselves for what tbpy are 1 Do we verily believe that those in-
ftexible 8ssertors of Divine unity will one day call OD THB one God of
,,·bom they have never heard in His true character 1 How then
shall they hear without a prt'acber 1 or how shall one pr~ftch es-.
cep& be be sent t And \vbo will lend him if not they who, tbem-
llelves the subjects of the Divine bount.y, ought 8S freely to gi,-e 81
they-have received t In this way only have former Revelations been
propagated (& 8.117). ] see not then bow we can escape tbe con··
elusion that the N~w Cburch should appear in a separate orgsniza-.
lion, and husband her strength by all la\vful means, if for DO other
reason, that she may at length se.od the joyful HOund to the Gentiles..
who are waiting to h.,ar it, and ready to flock as doves to. the \ViD--
dowse But jf .. Delta," and those who agree witb him, beJie\ge tbat-
this duty \vill be faithfully performed by otbers in our stead-by the
missiooaries of the various sects who are gone to the heathen, we
have only to say, " Great is your faith." Of the spirit of Romsni81Dtt
we Deed 8ay nothing. Nor can a church \vhicb pretends to illfalli-..
bility modify its dogmas jf it \vould. But hearken to this:
ca I To receive a mark in their right hand. or in their forehead,,' in A~. die IS,'".
17, signiles, that no ne i, acnOtDledgtd to ", a 'r,formld CA,utiaJJ, unle. la. re- -
eei"ee tba& doctrine in faith and love. • . • . And' that DO maD mjg~' .11Y or .-
lell.ve he that bad the mark, or Dame of the beast, or the number of hia n&me,','
.pities, that i' ia not lawful for aDJ one to t,ach from lA. Word, nor, cODUfluent1y".
1o be m41'gu,·411d into tAt ".i",hood, te., unlm ", a~"oVJItclgn that doeh,,,,, aM·
'tftGT.'o tA, b,lit! and low, tklf"o{, or of ,Aat tl''''icA i' in a~r'tmn,', Of' 0/ Ma' trA...
t. "01 61 f:aria7lu wilA it. . • . . By the beut is signified the doctl.e reoei~ed ~
by the laity, conBequent1y by the communit1 at large."-..f. R. 605, 606..
And is not this the canon which at this hour rt'gulates admission ,
'both to tbe ministry and memberbhip of the self-st)·led Evangelicall
Churches in America 1 How often' have persons of either CIft88, on
th~ir adoption of the new fnith, been either formally t'xcluded, or...
politely bowed out from thflir former communion 1 So that tbey can···
not remain if they would. Our wonder is that they should desire a··
contilluance of the connexion 8ft~r 80 entire a change of senti·.
mpnt as must be implied, Jor \\'e hope to prove tbat tht'Y ought not··
jf they could. But the mot.ive which prompts the exclusive policy.
i. clearly let forth by our author. ·
1& Every ODe mal see that the idea of three Divino ~noDI from etemity, which ia •
the I&IDe with the idea of three God.. CaDDot be aboliamtd by the oral ociDfeuiOD ot·
ODe God, only from thia, that it /'0' not yd heeD aboliahed, aDd that there are UDODC·
'Iu ulc6ral,d tboee t&Ao ar, flol teillitlg that it lI.ould be ab~liwtl; for they iD" th. , •
tb,. three DiviDe Pel1lODl are one God, ba' obetiD&tely deny that God, becaue h. ill.
ODe, • aIeo one penon."-T. C. R. 173.
11 Co.rJB.us . . . • caDDot Ice at al1, whetb. truth be tnlth Cl' Dot. i &D4l ~
Jet. they Gall make whate~er the1 pie. . appear lik. nth. . . . N. iI M ~
~UA.. Y. 24
 [Aar.
part or a1l iDtAtDigeat IIIUl te be ..1. to eoalrlll whateftr he p-"; 1n& it • de
,.,., of tutA an on, 1o h Abl, 10 le. IAat tA, InN i. trw, and IIaG JU Jel. it I-la, u4
. . . . . . it-ft-lb. 814.
Cl The oonlrmation or the talle it the deDial of the trae. • . . • Th. DMvaI
ational can conJirm whatever it fl.aea, thu the fa1Ie as well .. the tn., aIMl bada,
when they are contrmed, appear m similar light.n-B. 768.
U It is from this that every ohurcb, built. up by thOle whe . . by cODlnDatiODl,

ap~ara &I it it alone were in the light, and that an the reK which di8eni an ia
darkne.. • . .0 • Does Dot t'lXry ehurc:1&, even to the meet heretical, when it
... once 'heeD received, fill.ll countries and cities with the c~, that it alOft' u or-
IAotlO% nil 'etmtrmieal, aDd that with it is tb, gospel, whioh tile u p lIyiug ill the
DWW of be.yea. annoUDCed 1 (Rev. Dy.6.) And who does Dot. Dear &he echo •
their voice from the common people that it is 10 1"-T. C. R.759.
1& & The NUOB wh1 the e1e~ at that time' were 10 uwilling to nceiV8 hill iD. .
pretatioDB of the 8cri~ laid SwedeDborl to Mr. Robeabm, 'is, beoaaee
Inn themeelvee iD the doctrine of faith alone, from the aeh. the ooUe~ ud tM
the,....
univt'raitiee; and having confirmed themselves in some evil, do Dot see em u etiJ,
but And e'fery day more pleasure in it, and vic, WTI4. Besides althoagh they . .
··uad Ind that I ~k the truth, their ambition to preserve tbeir reputation in the
world, will DO' nfFer them to plOf.. whal Ulel art ocaviaee4 to M irre.....
0

tru*ha."-Doc.p.67.
With the bonorabJe exception or the UnitftriaD denomination, and
· their liberality, the more to ba admired seeing that our respective
, ". views of the fandam'ental doctrine of Christianity are rather wider
· than the poles asunder, the other apparent deviations from the rigid
: rule both in this country and Europe, and they are but apparent, may
I be acoounted for on other arounde.
In tbe IaIt quarter of the eighteenth century the Inftaeoee or CIIris-
· tianity had greatly declined throughout Europe, while " closer seru-
· tiny into the condact and creeds' of the several churches and secL.,
: had oecasioned a diminished respect for the body of its professors in
the minds of tbe candid and considerate everywhere; a spirit of infi-
· delity, early provoked by the intolerance of tbe church, and long fos-
tered by a negative principle, had now invaded the influential classes
in several countries of the continent. and risen to a height which
· menaced the very existence of the established faith. In Italy &Dd
· Spain, the people, like Dies long enmeshed in the spider's wed. aod
; ~zed by his touch, knew nothing aright of tbat which they pro-
;~ • In Switzerland, there was a decided revulsion from the rigor
o aDd gloom of Calvinism, to the opposite opinions of Arias and Orj·
; geD.- As Nero fiddled while Rome was burning,lo in France the
· cry was, "Let as eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die.
· The tbiag will lut our time. And after us. the deluge." The Ger-
· man destruotives, as \vas the manner of their couotry.set aboot their
work in a more deliberate way. Jansenism in France, and Pieti~
·"1 behol4 hm my Window,· _fd Mepbfltopbt1e1 'Yoltafttt, wrilirrg from 'erne,.
etty.Dd dae plac. "here John e..... lft, alias Calvin, tbe Piaerel, hamt M;cbler
•
o

I
. . . . .

.s.wt.. tor tbe gOCMl or his 1OG1. .AlJlloet ollthl",;a,.

of Ilia C'eIMI'7t1OW . ...,It", Ifr·
wt.. The, eveo KO earther. They do tIOI believe that Jesus Cbri. was God. [Sec'"
"tal then did.] And these Messieurs who once ga" DO qaarw to plll'JC8.lOrJ, are .6w 10 ~.r

I'"
• ol.iUsed .. co find (svor for lOu1. In bell. Tbu. they h.n tamed '.ir hell, iD .biota
DO·IeMa. . beUeft, i.to Panptory. l. whlob.1Io they cl. DM belie••• Tb• • ...er •
.p.a., . . . .IOA iD hum. . eplDiee," ....
1811.]
In GennMIJ had do" eomethmg to Bt'aJ the pi_pe, bat eldlH had
~"ed bat a feeble barrier against ft. inroads.
•

In England, tbe o1ltward aspect or tbings was somewhat ditrereot.

Hf're too, inBdelity had deeply tainted the bigher raaks. and w••
-
betJianing to percolate to the lower Old.,.... although theM did DOa
abibit tbe same di8801lRioD er morals as did t.he eorrespontlinl
classes on the continent. WesJey and Whitflf!ld bad also striven, in
their way, to recall the people to a proper sense of their spiritual
eoacerns. Bat the far-seeing friends eC relirioQ eeu.ld a"'~Dr DothiDl
favorable to other high interests of lOOiety, trom the aaeendeney
pretended reform, conducted under such auspices, and by sach meaDlf.
0'
The established church there, both before and since the common-
wealth, bad tried the efficiency of persecution in inducing confonn-
Ity; bot the stern lessons imparted by two loch teachers 8S Cromwell
and William Ill. bad not heeD wholly ineffectual, aDd toleration of
diseent was now established by law. The authorities of the church
who from prudential motives had acqoiesced in the new arrangement,
came at length to regard it as the troer policy for them. Past expe-
rience, and a profound study of the genius or their countrymen, bad
taught them that IT 1VAB BArD TO CONcznE 'I'ms A.-oUNT or LIBERTY 'fG
Df881DBlftII WBILB TU. DZPOSITARJES 0'1' pow• ., Oil TBI IJlFLU£1fTIAL .AJO.-
ITY, CO.TINDED BTBADI'AI1' ur THEIB. OLD ALLCOIANCB. Willi,. th~ir 0101&
pale alBO, tke tltm08t Ifditude of
,~culali"e opinion UJOUld be allowed 80
of
long tU there UJQI "0 breach tn,ible unity. But 80 far as forms '\vere
eoncemed, th~mselves remaIned as bigoted and eonservative as eve~
And though Romanism was being undermined in some of itS' strong-
holds, yet was tbere DO organized eifort among the reformed to
restore such unity and rationalit)- to the faith, as would both concili-
ate the infidels, and enable them once more to resume to,,·ards th..
common enemy the aggressive attitude which had b"eD so long sus-
pended; bot the ancient divisions and animosities of Protestants were
almost the only matterw pertaining to religion wbieh, when stirred,
.howed signs of vigoro1lS Jife.
In this state of the church's decline, and when all things were rap-
idly approaching a consummation, the heaven-descending exposition
of the truth was gradually and quifrtly given to tbe wortd in thA writ-
inp of Emanuel S,,'edenborc, who laid tl!em especially before the
authorities of the various Protestant ChuTChes. This wal' entirel,.
proper, for .. the second eom:inr or the Lord was not deligned to
destroy (anytbing worth pr~servjng), but to build up· (~ C. R. 712),
aDd where reforms have- been indispensable to avoid convalsion,
every effort sbould be made to have tbem effected through the proper
organs.
or !be mAsters or reason to whom England has given birth, rew
have attained a higher repute, not in philosophy sloop, but for that
wisdom which should regulate the conduct of life and guide tbe policy
of nations, than the great Lord Bacon. And neVf!r did he more indu-
bitably utter the wordi of an oracle, than when speaking on this very
.object of change.
•
 •
leo [Aug.
ClSanl,."_,. he, &'8'ffIrJ medioiD. ita UlDmcm.ti-. aDd. he that Wll1.ot appll
Dew remedies must expeot new orila; I'OR TIME 18 TIl& oaUTDT IXlfOYAToa: aiifl"
tim, of cour. alter tlti,,/(. to tla, tn>r", and wi,dom and counul ,hall "ot o/t~r tluta t.
tit, bllttr, WHAT SHALL BE THE END! • • • • What is eettled by custom, tb01llh
DM good, iI fit, and might be retained, it time IItood Itill j whioh coatrariwile, mOf·
eID 80 ru1lDd, that G {rofMrd r,'mliOtJ of ' ....,om ;. a.t 'Kr6ulnd G tlUng 11. CIA . . . .-
.ion; and they that reverence &00 mach old DID. are bat a IOOrD to the new. I'
were ~ therefore, that men in their inDovatit'm1 would follow the esample of U1D8
ible)~ which innovateth greatl,., but quietl,.. and bl degreellCarce to be perceifed.
. . . . It is ~ alllO Dot to tr,. experiment. ID ttatea, except the DOCe.ity be
_gent, or the abibt1 eviden'; and well &0 beware that it be the reformation that
c1ranth 011 t.he ohange, and Dot the desire of change that preteDdeth the refanaa-
tioD."-E." Oft 1,."OtNJt;on,.

But the necessity WRS urgent, and the utility evident to others. if
not to herself: Tbe Church of Rngland, more than the others. pre-
tended ,. to stand on the ancient WI'l8," when she did not. or this
they \vere aJI distinctly warned, an a longer reprieve was granted,
that tbpy m.igbt be fully tried beforA they were removed as cumber-
erH of the ground. Had the Anglican church been l"ise then, and
t8k~D the initiative in this grl'R.t and therefore gradual work of
Reform, 'Such from her pONition, was her inOuence with Protestant
nations, thJit they might have followed her example, and thus. have
av~rted •. he dire calarnities which follo\\ged her refusal.
But how did they greet the messenger, RDd wbl\t was the welcome
accorded to his warnings Rnd instructions T The soldiers of an earthly
monarch know rilbt well that if they would save themselves and
defend. their country, they must keep pace with improvements in strat-
~tr)' a~ tactics, and avail themselves of morc efficient \\reRpODs wbea
~ff"red, Wh"n the soil is losing its fertilit)·, the harvest blighted aod
the villtage dwindling under the ravages of insects, it is the part of
a wise te1)8nt to adopt a better system of husbandry, if he ,,·ould
increase •.he fruits of the earth, and shield tbem from their enemies.
Ho\v \videly different WitS the conduct of these spiritual warrion and
hushandlnen I " What I" laid they, ., !thall a prophet arise in Galil.l
An4 Ih~1I our brethren on the hanks of tbe Rhine, or in the aDDny
South.--.above all, shall we ill tbis happy ilJle of the west, change oar
rule Qf faith and du!y at the bidding of a man from the dark "nd fro-
zen regions of the Nort/" RDd he not one of our aacred order. but •
layman '!. who moreover has bflen buried half his life in mines and
worksbops, and. now comf!8 to tell us that we are all in the WroD&
and th"r "'8 1IJ1I8t retrace our IItepa 1" He win have it that we have
lost the art of cultivating our field» aright, and that if we accept Dot
his new method which he pretends to brin, ti·om the Lord of the Soi~
it is because we care not tor the incren.se of the corn, "nd wiop, and
oil, 80 there be enough Jeft for us. It must be owned that tbe fruits
of thfl earth hll.\·e sadly dflclined' of late, bolh in quantit.y and quality,
and we cannot wboll)' stide or be deaf lo tbe cries of the 8ufferers
from famine. Our brethren over the water, moreover, testify to yet
greater dearth there, and louder complainw. It cannot be lbal Ihe
.oil is exhausted, or the seed dpgAner"t~d. This is the IRme \vbicb
our Jathers have lo\\red for gen..rations, aDd which therefore must be
•
18U.] Ire. DUellaioa-I, it to lM/rfRIJ,..d uptlfl'ia de N. C.1 8S1

the mmp in kind wit.h that which was rf'~eived in the beginning. J.
it not rather that their laborers are not properly 8Qbordinat~d, as with
us, Some of them we know have too much ftutbority, and others too
little, and hence are th~ir efforts relaxed or misdirected. Come wha.t
may, we must listen to no novelties, hat Jet each in bill several farm
observe the time-honored routine, io hope that this storm will blow
over, the destroying vermin pass away, tbe fields once more look
greeD, and the accustomed tribute be brought to our barns. Mean-
time'should any of the 8utr.erers turn their eyes to the quarter from
whence relief is promised, we must endeavor to a,-ert them by all the
means now left us, aDd especially by the cry wbich has 80 uftea
t-::ed
• •
successful, .. Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed OD
N. F. C.

AB.TICLB 'V.

FREE DISCUSSION-IS IT TO BE FROWNED UPON IN THE NEW CHURCH'

DKAa SIR :-The opening of the subject of Slavery for a eftndid anal
dispassionate consideration, in the pages of your periodical, WAS nnta.
to me, of great inttarest. Still. in common ,\'ith yourself and readere
generally. I-had much doubt as to the manner in wbich it would be
received by your friends in the South. But though I anticipated a
rather cold reception of the subject on the ground of exJ>fldi~ncy, I
was Dot prepared for 80 strong ftD espres6ion of almost unqualified
disapprobation, and so absolute a closing of the lips to all Aod any-
thing that may be advftDced upon the lubject, ftl appears to be aimed
at iD the communicatioDs published in your June No. Wb"t can be
calculated to fill the mind wit.h more concern than this 1 1'here is a
cor~ in our midst, which shall remain there; its odor is exceed-
iDglyoffensive to our Deighbors, yet it shall neither be removed CJr
iDvestigated, Dpr its character or uses dillCuued. 1'ruly this is a feu-
fill thing, and sad aDd sorrowful are the reflections which the
reading or the several letters, 10 antftgoaistic to " freedom of eve.
the mOflt christiao expression upon the subject. excitAf tbAt the COD-
~IU8ion comes irresistibly, that not only is there physical but 'Pi""""
Ilavery; a slavery of the 80ul 88 well a8 the body.
Are goodness and truth local 1 la there one doctrine of truth for
the free States, and another for the slave States 1 Or are goodne.
aDd truth ulliver8all If thay are, \vhat have habits, customs, or pre-
judices to do in the matter 1 Right and wrong in principle is every-
where the same, and every good maD will alike acknowledge their
preCftpts and influence, and,should desire to be guided by them.
Bot it i8 urged that this suhject is a very peculiar GDP, and may Dot
be classed with ordinary evils, but is an •• institution." a" domestic
Iystem" of oar own that no one else has any business witb\ and DO
181 -lree DUt:u"on-I, iI .lM!row:_ .,.. ia de Ne 0.1 [ADc-
Obe among U8 .1afJll say anything aboot, Dor anyone at 8 distaDC8, if
we can possibly help it I But this is DO more right than it would be
for a man to keep an alleged nuisance on his farm, affecting the
atmosphere around, and breeding animals ",·Jaich migrated into hi.
Dftigbbors' property, and swarmed the poblie thoroughrareR; a~
lay, "You have no business with it; if it u
a DoifJUlce it i. our
DWO, and we re~al'd all that YOD may _y upon the 8ubjeet as all
t_
impertioeat in.~erfereDce I" And even though ,he effects of this em
were actually conined to tbe owner's OVlD property, eveD theo the
pod of our aeigbbor requir. that if otbera(Bot within i1B in8.-ee)
. . its inja~iOQI a.d Ipiritaally deleterious e!rectl, they IIhodld, ..
brethren, iD the exercise of love to their aeighbor, kindl,. and truth-
fully 8ndeavor to open their eyes to its demoralizing ioOuences; _
the party addressed, instead of being restive, irritated, and excited
thereh)-, should be willing t~ listen in the 88.me spirit, and to be ame·
nablA to jost reason "Dd argument, however 86verely it may try his
local feelings, his acquired habits of thinking, or his penonal or self.
ish loves.
The very fact of feeling so uneasy whenever this subject is toacbed
upon, proves it to be a ,ore; a healthy social condition would not feel
80; and if a ROm, waat can be more ullrealOnable than that it sho1l1tl
be nourished as such, rather than made well I How few slaveholders
.em to be aware of thA effect which the habitual eommaftd or slaves
has upon tbeir own life. It induces a tone of autbority, of ab80l.
tism, which the freeman feels so intolerable, that he cannot RDeI wiR
"not submit to it; and amongst equals in station, how often does i&
tea.. to quarrels, alKl strife, and death I Bat again I would attk, are
the remarktJ made by yoa on this .ubjec~ true, or are tlley DOt t If
'bey are, cannot a NfJtDeA.reA.an bear to heatt them 1 If.., bow
_n be expect that tbe collective Christian world lhould Ilear him,
whe. bo opeDs and ftSposes itl evil. and falses 1
And yet Rre not th..ae timft-bonored usart-e and doctrines IUI dear tit
-the professing Ch..istian, AS R comparatively modf'm and domestic
tIIatitation can he to the Southemer , or was not IJuthM ob_i. .
... the .ante objectioA t when he laid bar. the evils of the Church et
-Kome f 01' what would oar Southern bretbreR 881, t( i. the vicilli-
tadel or life, a number of Newehurcbmeo Ihould be lCatteretl 0",
ee tet'rilory or Utah, anti the editor of tile Cl Repository" tJhft1llcl psb-
-HIla a seM of articles en the e"il, of polygamy and Goneubin. t
Would they l8y tbat the tongoe and the pen mUBt alike be le&w,
because this was tlwir "peculiar institution," or their idol t AtMl
would Ilot the same argument be equally true against idolahT. immo-
lations. infautticide. pa.·rricide, orao}' other general or national evils? la
it not 6eized U~D by the distiU~r, tbe drunkard.mak"r, ancl t~ drDRk-
ard, the lRen who go about with A smoking chimDt-y'. t.heir moud.,
'P0Uutiftg the common air which others are obIired to breatlHfT Y3I,
it is the same argument. or 6rather the same selfishness, which OV~
looks All otber ooosideratioDs than their owo. I. tbie New Cburch·
man·like 1 or are such the principles or prec,.pts of the N~w Jftro..•
"'flm T Alas, DO, and it ie IRGRt wODderful to wimea 1.he facilities fI!
&861.] 861

Mltdeception. MeIl of taleDt even of exalted talent, seeing all else

so plainly, yet living iD this atmosphere they cannot 868 this! Is
slavery &R evil t It i. affirmed that it is, it can be demonstrated that it
is, it is even admitted that it is,-and with the standing and promi-
nent doctrine oC the church before him, that all evil, .hould be dun-
aed a8 riR' agaiRlt God, this is claimed as an exception t Or it iI
utterl, vain aBd futile even to hope to gain a hearing on the subject t
Newchorehmen themselves will not hear I 0, how sad is luch a
thought, how humiliating loch a fact J Are there slaves in heaven'
if Dot, should t.heFe be OD earth t for if there should, how can eartJa
be like hea,·en, or how can the Lord's will be done Ob earth &8 it it
ID heayen f I have not essayed to in'gestigRte any of the positions or
assumptions of your correspondents, though to me they seemed feeble
indeed, N) feeble, that they clearly manifested they were rather strug-
gling to draw a veil over the subject, than to justify it, and l·our oWQ
review, though DOt touching all the points, clearly unfolds their char-
acter.
I may lay in conclusion, that whatever may be thOllgbt of these
remarks, they nevertheless come from 8 slaveholding State, and from
one whose whole life iD this world will ~robahly be continued in it :
but to me I confess it makes no difference ,,·here a man lives, or by
what influences surrounded; he has a standard and a measure for hil
actions far above al1 local interests, or domestic policy; and if there
is no slavery in the New Jerusalem now descending from God out of
heaven, there should be none in the New Jerusalem upon the earth. ·
And if oar Southern brethren should 88y to you, as I already foresee
they will, 14 Stop the Repository! for if I cannot prevent your writioc ·
in it on this IDrhidden topic, I can at least refuse to look at it :" should
they do so, I still hope )'OU may not be discouraged, but ever continae
.teadtast in your convictions of truth and justice, and your antago-
lIilts must at least admire at a distance, an integrity which as yet
they themselves are unable to appreciate.
Yours iD .. freedom according to reason," in the light or the New
Jerusalem, P. ,

ARTICLE VI.

THE EXTERNAL LAWS 0' ORDER.

TB. mf\terialllniverse is the ultimate of two distinct spiritual prin-
eiples; for all that -is in heaven and in hell hAS its continent or basil
iD the external universe. Heaven is the real man, and belt the
.hadow; bot the esistence of both the one and the other is dependent
upon the material body, and an absolute and perfect order is pre-
served in both. This is the order of the human form, and wbile the
order of bea..en il a living, breathing, beautiful, hUIDanity, that oC
hell is a dead, distorted reflex of the human form.
This shadow caD never be annibilated, and lacking as it doel an
indwelling principle of life, it is ruled lolely by the living man, aDd"
 TAe Ederraal Law of Ortl~. [Aag.
bolds its position in exact accordance with the pOlltions or states or
its living type. The church upon ea.rth, when it declines from its
erect, upright, heaven-aspiring state, and lies prone and incumbent
upon the ground, coheres to its own cold, dark shadow, hut as it ele-
vates itsel( and rises towards the Lord, the shadow recedes. and when
the Divine sun shall have attained the meridian altitude oran etemal
day, then the shadow \vill be projected directly beneath the feet
of the man of the church, and will no longer stretch its huge distor-
tions forever before him. \Vith his face to the Lord, man forgets tbe
shadow, but the least side-glance earthward, and the giant deformity
veses and annoys bim.
Thus it is ,,~ith the church at the present day. The glorious SUD oC
heaven has arisen upon the glad morning of her Dew birth, but tbe
morning shadows are cast long and dim, and will grow more distinot
and defined, more dark and disagreeable, until she treads them under
her feet. Until this time comes, we mast walk hopefully on, labor-
ing cheerfully to preserve the living humanity, although that too pre-
_rvetl the shadow.
Tbe moral shadows th·us linked to the glorious be8Qti.8S of tb.
J)burcb often strike painfully upon us, but we cannot mar even the
order of hell; wc must wait the ascension of the Divine SUR. Tbe
pro\9idence of God can alone overrule the shadow. We see the chit-
Clren of the church united in marria.ge with those who are out of the
cburch. We know that this is wrong, hut the laws of external order
are absolute, and must be fulfilled in every tittle, and the ext..rnal
marriage union must be preserved, as the t)'pe of that eternal union
of Divine good and Divine truth. If the external order is violated,
, the internal is hurt. Man must perform his whole duty in the mosl
perfect manDer of which he is capable, in whatever state the Divine
Pro\~idence commences the \vork of his regeneration, for this regene-
ration is of the internal man, and is often beguD in circumstances aod
situations calculated to develope all the evils oC man's will. But he
is to make his inclinations and desires bend to pure principle~ oC
charity, and justice Bowing from charity. The spiritual-minded bus-
band is not ~xonerated from duties to a worldly-minded wife. The
.justice that is dUA to her, should rule in him, and not his taste or
inclina.tion, which would le~d him to repudiate her, and cast the stain
of dishonor upon her. The New Church child is bound to respect and
honor the most worldly-minded parent. Perceptions of interior truth
cannot free him from any ~xternal law of order,Do more than can the
.1001, weary of an outside disordered body, cast it off at its own good
pleasure. No, it must undergo a painful regeneration in a disordered
tenement, and in adverse circumstances. It is thefl8 very tbinl!
'which overcome the intense self-will of man. The children of IlIrael
. were forever surrounded by the false and evil. that they might Dol
J (ollCet to war.
Freedom is heavenly order, slavery is the order of bell; but if a
. slave receives the doctrine of the New Church, he is still bound bl
; the r:£ternal order into which he has been born. that in it bis regene-
tration might commence. While his external remaiDS the same. hi.
1811.] ne Bdemal La," nf Order.
or
internal is changed. He i. to serve BOW from a principle chArity. -
(rom justice with judgment, and in a cheerful obedience to the Divinft '
Providence, which looks only to man's eternal happiness, not to his
temporary states. For the Lord as truly loves the tried and oppressed
slave as he does the angels of heaven; but a difference of state in the
aJave require!' a diff~rence of treatment.
The states of all determine their respective positions in the uni,·ersAl
human form, but the (Irop of blood that now circulRtes in the foot,
may finally, through processes of purification, be assimilated in the
brain or the inmost of the heart. and final states cannot ill the leait
be judged oC by temporary states. 1'he slave in the flsternal, is the
symbol or representative of th~t which is internal. If he serveS freely
and cheerfully, he represents truth which serves good; if it is a con-
strained and unwiJling servitude, he represents the bondage of all
evil, principally thllt uncontrolled by good in the human "mind; if be
is in a groveling, debased.. sensl1l\l indifference, satisfied in the indul.
genee. of mere animal delIghts, he represents the sensual bondage or
the meMly natural mind, that is, as an animal. Thus as a type 01'
representative, the slave serves great parposes in the economy of the
Divine Providence.
In the internal sense, Africa signi6es the East. No\v thft East has
respect to the highest state of love, and the angels in tbe East, mu.'
be resplendent in 'purity and beauty from their celestial nature; but
iD the churcb the celestial \vas wholly perverted; hence that which
is highest in heaven, becomes respectively the most 'vile upon
earth, and Africa in the external becomes the synonym of black.
ness and dflformity. Upon th" earth the celestial principle has b6en
trampled under foot, and love is scarce recognized as one of the goods of
life. Hence Africa is not numbered among the Ilations of the earth.
HerlOD is debased Rnd degraded as love is. Extf'rnally she represents
that blackened and s~nsual pRssion which has its outbirth from tb.
lowest hell, although love in itself is the essence of heavenly purity.
Bat be who sinks tbe lowest, is al~o capable of the highest. and it is
possible for the African upon earth to attain to the celestial purity
and ble.~dne8S of the higheAt heaven, if he" does just])~t loves mercy,
and ~81k8 humbly witb bis God."
But ira slave is born into an extf'rnal order exactly adapted to devel.
ope innate e'lils of his nature, to which he Inllst strictly conform lhllt
he may combat those evils, it is equally so with the 8Iavehol~ler. He
is born into a sphere of duties vastly difficult, but be must fulfil every
iota of them. The New Church slaveholder is in tbe conditioD oC tb.
New Church husband, ,,·ho finds himAelf bound by I.he external laws
of order to one whom he knows must be in the nature of things, the
wife of another internally. He sees and ffl~ls she was not created
for him, and the path of justice and mercy left for him to wRlk in is
v~ry DI\rrow. The ,,'oman is dependent upon him, througb his own
act and the providence of God, for support, kindnes.4I, counsel, and
affection. and these be must unceasioKly render to her, with" con-
stant reference to her highfl8t good, Rnd without any selfish ends for
himself: The New Church has found him in this external order. and
- [A_._

.be by no means breaks it, any mlJre thaa does the regenerating .pirit
tear the human body that encloses it. It gradaally bends it to ita Dew
form; and thus will the church, by a most Ilow and gradll&1 process,
I»ring its external into conformity with its internal.
But if the Newchurchman should, after receiving the doctrines of
the church, externally marry a woman from any sensual or worldly
end, or purohase slaves from loch aD end, he of his own will throws
himself oat of the sphere of heavenly bappiDftSL The Lord in hi.
ltate of exinanition sbowed the Datare of the regeneration or
man, and or the church. His human was born wilhtbe moet
depraved state of humaRity, but his outer nfe ",as Itrictly COOrOrrDM
to the legal enactmentl of the Jewish natien. That many of tllese
ma. 'hs,"e been euentiatly at variance with his perceptions of goocl
and t:ruth, there ean be no manner of doubt. But His work wu
within. A homaa.self-will was to be combated aDd overcome in tbe
elreamltances most fully calculated to develope it. He " rendered
aDto ClBsar the -thing.. which WE're due &0 OMsar,· aDd the charch.
••et the man Gf tile church of this present day, has tbi. same internal
work to perform. Acitizeu of a slave State is bound by the laws of
that State; and to be a good citizen he must conform to them, until
th.,y cease to be lawI. If he holds .111"88, he cannot by the law lib-
erate them and leave them in a slave State, Rod in very few iDstan- •
or
eel can he, his own win, expatriate them without doing violence to
all che natural ties that bind them 88 husbands and wives, fatbers and
mothers, brothers and sistttrs; and it certainly would not be & virtue
iD any man to work out his OWII salvation at the espense or the
IOcial and individual interests of others. That one who was born •
Blavi', and has not aD8tural-or acquired oapacity tor enjoying free-
dom, should be thrown upon his 0"·0 untried and unoultivated ~wel'l
of providing for himself; in some place, as in Liberia, or a free State,
where he is a total stranger, shnply bflCftOae the oooseience of his
master is to be gratified by throwing off tbe burden or responsibilitl
to a weak member of the human family, borders too olosely upon 881 •
Isbne8s to wear the grace and beaaty of a christian act.
AI the chorch progresses upon the earth t arM! an inftux ofbeeYe n1 r
order descends through hert there can be DO doubt that aH forms Of
slavery will oease to exist,or be flDtirely modifted. With other fals-
Ities and evils, it will M by Iitt.le and little" be remoYed from die Ipift&.
aallerael. But until this is accomplished bJ the Divine provtdenCf',
the New Chureh slaveholder must pm-fona hi. whole dot.y to his
oountry and his social relations. He must rule those "rho, in the p~
.idence of God t are committed to his cbargf!, net in the love of ruling
for INdJisb ends, bu t with a noble 8Bd pure reg·arcl to the best intf!rest.
of all. That his position is one of peculiar temptation and difficulty.
ean easily be seen; bot this also is t1Je case wIth every individual
mall of the church. Accordi·ng to Gur iOBAte evils and ra.lse8, ,,·e a~1
placed in preeite"ly t-ho.~e positions and conditions in life tbRt will
moat fully reveal to aI-our SiDS and errors. Olherwise we would go
into the spirit-\\'orld with innamerable concealed evils, of ,,·bich we
haul never dreamed ollrselv81 capable; and he who under the Itrong·
lau.]
est temptatiBtl. combats his love of ralinl for the sake or lel~ has
mad.. one great step in tbe progres!t or the nAxt generation, for theYt
receiY"ing an hereditary nRture somewhat fnaed frorn evil, will be in
a state to be placed in a position exempt from like trjal~, and thuI
grndoally will the dawn or a blessed existence brighten unto a per-
fect day upon the now lad and lin-ttDSlaved earth. _ .

.uaOlUDlS ON SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.

• o.~.

VUI.
Bnc. 0118 may be a slaYe1lo1.er, and yet be folly exculp"tf!d from
any share in the evil, viz: on the conditions specified in No. IV., of
acknow1edglnent Rod ac-tion panaant thereto. To deplore slavery,
and acquiesce in itt does not excuse.
"'owb~ nteftt, end wtth wtt..t limitatlenl, we .eeerd with the purport ortbil Aphor-
I.... will be _il, laferred from lbe . .or of oor preoecIin, remark.. When It II aftlrme4
iliac .. ODe ma, be ....ftlsolcl., .nd yel be fuRy eSOIIlpaled from .ny.bare in tb. eYII,·
the eonditfOllI under wbieb .Ione d". peMtlon ea" bold rood b.d need b. "rf esacU,
aDd patlGtltioullyllelnel. Beroad queeti.u, the moral clnamcter or tbe relation of m...
.., .1Ii eernnl depenM, .. we -haw al. .dylftore then 0'" obIerwd. upon the ••i • •
or........... ita _ _ iell. It. Our ftr. . .I"'. on lbe .ubjeet eoatahl. tbe ..m.rk. tb81
renoe 1ft the morat ob.raeler or the teletloa .. 8Qttalaed by .,.
...... fa .a _atild d
WIle bh
. . . , thfewa upon ha h••d.,
0.
",.,rtr•• one who Id. them ••• InNt, proy,an•
toward. nlob la. I. -oaU" to di"''1e • de-nil dot,
fa .... epi,1I of the FIc1- rate at et.ri'1.. doio, to hi........ la. would be done b, ia
....11ar .irotIIa........ Tt. dilltaetien of the two e._ ie .n iMpo.-ot In tbe preteQt

'.11, .....,.ted
. .IIIJC&IGIl. k t"e ODI, . . . '" whieh we OH deter.i. when It t. that .. OM
. . , he r, 'PI be from ..., lII.m in die ..n.- The . .
"'idoll, la oar ' . , OD wtUela .111. imMonlty from ..n nb be • •meet ie. dJat be
. . . . .y1'8"'• • the 1en4.mefttal prlnetple Oft whl. tile whole IJIIeftI .......nd la
.............ttal.,U il inYOlftd, .ocIllIen follow ap thl• .,.anolstion with the .ppro-
tw-" 00.,. ., .tion. If thie k what •• aatlMw lot.1IdI "y the •• aotlnowlNl'1'ent' a"
M _tiob ~ tla..-o." ..,eoiled in dI. A,,-'IM, we ha" DO . . .t di81cullf to ...
eediftJr to -il. .lIt W. _oold iMNt tbal it Mwer In Itnpo.1 tb. entire ,roaod or oar preri-
. . . ""llooIucl_pa.ioa'ioaa, ere we ,I.. it GM ooldial ...-.wt. r.r we 110& • •Ie _
. . . '01 ah. _ri.pu, or ODr cl....... OIl dI• ..., of die JWiwi'" ID be reno , .....
...... '-'On ~ thi. 18alHlOiatloD will, tit oar view, ablal.. the eo..,ie.oe fto. aU partiel-
...... lntlae . .n.
The I.n...... or the Aphortllll
ilDput811 to_.,who.. taowl
red to wt' willllere repeat: •• They baye ut • . . ,
It to be an.vil, alld aOl.r dae JlelnOY"l oti', ••dal"
.... petilioally t .eootdio. to the I••• et ord.... h• .., d, ~oeded ,be IDerit 01
. . . . 40etriDe to Ibl. ,a-ilioA.... it I1 It ...0 _ llIi. . . . .Dd-poia, Ira.
.88 [Aac·
which to a~e home the appeal to oOQlCieaoe. dale we .....ddaoe iL Taklq 11 for .....
eel dlat tb... ackDow1edlmeo'" iD que.tioD lavoly. DO Ieea tban . . meatal .baDdoa. .,
oC lbe propert,-olaim. ollr DUt coocera i. to ueer&ain wba' i. the .JI11"OIII"itI~.'*
"I
tbetaw. of cbarit, and order pretcribe in lbe premi_. Aacl here ill.. ill the a.wn to
&hil qQ"tion. that we .tand at Ibe diYidiolC point between. 'oaraelnl and lb. ma.of.Dd.
alave'1lftt'n, witla whoae ultimate objt'Cta we (ullll,mpacbi. . aDd wbC* locioa1 ....
ment In regard to tbe fllDdamental falsitr uoderl,inllb~ ',Item oC AmericaD elaftry. we
deem .beulutel, hnpfelnable. While we bold &0 tbe du" of i",tntditJI, ,...n~i....
• bove defined, we abould b.ye abundant qUlaU ftoattoDl to lpeelr, and (alilt upon before
admhcinl tbe duty or i...... 'tli." ..... "'i.no. to be equ.lI, imperatin. We h." DO
doubt tbat tbi. will be reprd«1 by man, . . . .Irtllal abaadoumeat or th. pound . .
have hitberto maintained; a. a praetilt81 Dulll~lnl o(al1 dIat we b••e thal rar establi.
eel, and the nllniatering or a comfortable quietuI to tbe cOQlCience wbich had perbapt"
run to be bOpetlllly dilturbed. Of thi. eYer, one muat (orm bit own OpiDioa_ Odr . . . . .
1I to follow ,,·ha" we conceiye to be the le.dluloC ,rulb••nd Ior ouniel. . we ha.. b.'
litde rear of lbe i.loe wilh thoee wbo are CuU, p8oetra1ed with Ih. OODYictiOll of . .
lOuDdue.. of our maiD positioa iD reprd to the eHeDLi.1 eyn oC Ilavery. and of Ibe . . . .
,ueDc dUll of the immediate reDuD~iation or tb.t "ne IDdeed, wo lee • •tKi
la the meatal .ct en;oiaed, tbat "'ben aiacerely pal forth we DO more be8itate 10_"
iD""
our.lveI of ab. risht reaul&l iD the end lhan •• do of lb. ripeniogaDcllC&cheriDI of &be
haryett when the.eecl t, IOWO. the IOU pod. aDd lb. U Illle, inaueDcN" oC aDD aad raiD
have been dui)' contributed. We are DO more certain that true J8peOtaDce will .ark
Irue reformation tba. we are thllt tbil meatal alalle will prompt ita appropriate ultima·
tiop. Tbe truth il. lbe Iraod point i. pined wbe. tbe aOOft mentioned ut tak '
lor Iuoh aD act il the n• •lion of the politlve wroDl inyolved iD the .yalem; aod t it
.1 l.aroiDl to do well,·' but" oeuiDI to do evil It. ° "It an, aour. of coDduct i. ju8ll, et.
hOm in. led e, ilt and.1 luch comel w i thib lb. IlkDle oC &he probibUory precep&a of Hea,.,
What more obvioul diaD that the ve" firlt dUll oC the daliDqueot il to ,.1HcT dN.dMl
~i"l of IAt II1I'MI, i. fW"W.. J0 the oue before DI, the e~noe o( the w 100.-40&DI it
Dot in Ibe oppre.ion or cruelt)' whioh mM' ch.Dce to be eDlCiled lOw.rda the ela... -
oppre.liou an~ cruelty .re exerci.d where a1averJ does DOt exilt, bill iD lb. . . .ruOQ of a
claim which livea ODe man the ablOlute and unlimited coatrol over lb. penoD, PO"'"
and poa. . .ioo. of anolher wiabout hia COOlellt. Thi. claim il recoeniucl by ~ Ia.a 01
&he .rave Slatea u a valid rilht. wbile in the rye of tbe DiviD. law il ia rep.rded a••
Dulli.,. What abeD i. tbe demand ot tbe Divine law, but tbe oordial aDd aarelelftlll
living up of tbe prinoiple whicb conltitutel lbe ,,........ o( the otreDoe .. Yiewed. iD Iba
liCbt of eternnl truth and ju.doe 1 In virtue or lhil fictitious claim and Caacied r.ht, . . .,
women, aDd cbildren are bouaht .nd IOId like .D)' otber m.rketable coounoditiel, .Dd nn-
OUI "'0011 inlticted wbich would DOl be but (or lbe ulerted but baeele.. ol.ilu of PlOperl1.
Now inumllch as &be lincere meDtal reounoiation of wil .Uepcl rilbt oC owoenbip la,.
the aae directl)' at the rOOl oC the evil. aDd forbidl aUlla8io iD tbeee human ob.at..... wbo
0U1 Cail to perceive tbat emaDcipatioD bal tairly won th. d.y wben thil poioc of OODOII-
aiOA blkl lIa ll reached 1
O
I. it pouible thac tbi, 0.11 be denied whbout cbe denial of ....
Lruch oC lbe wbole train of our C0lel0iog."ument I And to lb. moat eana. . abolidoa-
ilt we would put the quellioD, wbether bit demand tl not virtuall, oomplied wilb WMD
&he nalure of tbe relation i. eotirel, ohaDIN, .ud the .bhorred ttamO in hum.n Ileah .
eome to an end 1 For our.lItlv. Wts peroei ye, in tbe mental surrender f"r wbiob we , .
10 hnmt'nee an .dvaDoe upon any tbiD, hilberlO locorded to tbe I. pniu. or uni. . . .
emftDcipation it. we see in it.nch a .aorifloe made by self-interest to the forae oC moral
principle, tbat we oannot And it in oor beare. to obid., the delay whioh would take 01Dl
&0 bruche before proeeed1nl to &he laat actoe .traDebl_meat_ Tbat thil ac" bo.....
1851.] 881
wiD be performed, if IAe liddl, of ~ .."., it .. ~,.,., we Deed bave DO doubt
..... Ibe mental . .Dd abowe dMCrlbed bat beeD ODoe ..lien. Tbe one Itep i. a plNp

..lYe we .boald 08""." heat.. 'e OD tbe t.1ftboId or maDDmieaion, 10 we eaD ••

haa,iae Iba' oche,. .a,.abor ander the _lDe mi.iv'nr-
iI,
1.Ibe olber. But .. tlal. J. a poiat NqtIlriD, tbe .....teat deliberatioJl, and •• WI!' per-

I1 will no doubt be objected 10 oar oonoluaion that il Is I. lame and Impotent;" tbat it
. . . . thin.. at l00ee end. J tba' it Iuppliea .Il opiate to the oonlOience; that it para-
J,.. aCliou iD the premieea: 'bat il would (OIler that deJa, in tbe I' St. Chuestt oC tbe
Soulh wbiob would be Ibe m.DloChiDI multitudel of worthy ca Unole Tom's" in hope-
. . . bonda. uDder hard ma.ter.. CODsi.teno,. it will be urpd, reqoirea that. preoiee
aod d.,auite coune of procedure .hould be marked out for llaYeholder. to pUrlae wbe•
. . , .n 01108 oonyiooed of the par.mount dut, or emancipation. MaDumi.ion papell
ahoald at ouce be prepared, and lbe needed protection in tb.ia wa,lecured. FaUiDI thl..
wba' e.idenee oan .n, .. aD ha.. or tbe ainc.rlt, of bit own oonyiotlonl of dutr' To thi.
we repl, that UDdoublrdl, every one i. 101emD" bound to pUI into outward .ot hi. ID-
wud .DIe of duty. B.al eYer1 one must Itill be leA, wicb prayer for Divine laidance. to
1be dietatee of hi. owa miDd a. to tbe most fttting_od, of compa_in, tbe end to be at-
1ai..L Tbe deoialOD OD thi. head cannot be made iudepeadent of a tbousand circumltaA-
. . .pecaliar to the pIleral q.tem, and &0 tbe varlou. indiyidaal ca. . th.t ma, oecai
1Ulder it. or thete, reli.iOIlI "aveholden themeelves are tbe lDost compelOut jll• • •04
1& . 8 0 more than j ••t tbat we should repoee to mucb oonfldence iD them 11. to believe
&llat. wben coavioced of whet jUlti~e and riICbt demand, the, will .ot (or the b8t in. .
• •ner ia which &be, haye tbe deepest conceivable lntere.L It ta an .. apborl.m" a•
.,... .. aDr we are DOW .conaidering, that at where there i•• wiU there i. a WRr," and our
.......i... proceeda here upon tbe Iupposition tbat there i, a will. We ma, od'~r friendl,
_.-donl to our bretbren. but h mu.1 ever be with the cOntciollsneel or tbe inadeqltacy
or our oouDeal to meet all tbe uilencies of tbo ca.. Tbe Jaw., for instance, of most or
'die 8I&n Slates, impol8 .riol1' ob.taolel in tbe w., of manllminion. and though tbe.
Ia..s are _nriall, UDjUlt aDd ioiqaitoua, and tberefore are entilled to have DO moral
force OpOD &he cODlClence, yet the,ounltitute a fact whiob cannot be dlt'feII\rded; the,
operate 10 restrain the bestowment of freedom vert muoh .. a hilb wan aronn,,1 aD en-
~re doee 10 prevent lbe egress of prisonen conflned whbiD h. The, cannol be leR
oat oC YI•• without infticlinK renaltio. and injurie. both upon ma.ter aDd ,la,·.,. Tb.
ImpedimeDt here i. much the .ame a. tbat whi~h the slave himself would e. counler
were be to ipote. a. he 1. reall, at liberty to do, hi. master'. auerted right of owner,blp
iD bim. It .acb a cl.im be, .1 we baye endeavored to .how. an' intrinsio nullity .. it
ooooern. tll8 master, it il hl fact eqllallylO aa it CODcern. tbe .Iave. It tile ma.ter I.
boaDd to JeDOIlDCe tbi. alleged right, the 81ave, who miabt ban a .imUar peree,)tioD or
il8 moral invalidity. i. authorized 10 view it in cbe .arue light. But it. would be tbe
beilbt of lo1l11O act on that conviction. Ir .afficienll, enlightened, be would 18' witla
Paal." all d,iDI' are lawful unto me, bllt an tbill" are not ez~ient." As we .bould
pl'Olett ... iu.t cbe malaer'••uddenl, Iunderiol .Il tbe tiea })(ttween h imeelf anel bit elan_
beoaue be _w the nOD-entit, oC his title, 10 .hould we '.Ie the .ame langua,e to the alave.
The... i• • ",.i...,iGl relatioD 8$-tabUshed between them whloh the inlt:Jfttl of botb
pani. require mouid 00& be at oaoe broken up, aD1 mo:e lbu it Ibould be IOUlhc 10 be
••d. pe,pet.. al~
ADd bere our dilCU.ioD trenchee upon a department of the lubjeet whicb loom. up to

_ft" .'1
yie. more and mOle tallle1r tbe nearer we approxianatd it. The pro.id'fI'iallispectl oC

• •a,"
Drp them_ve. witb lreat force upon Ibe miDd of the N"wcburobmlln. .. Th•
Swedenbot¥ (D. P. 1(9), le wbo I. made Iplritual by the .oknowlec.lgmeDI of
I"
God, and wile bylbe r..j~ctioD ,,( bit prop,·i.... the Divine Providence In tb" univer-
. . .orIeI.... lA all _cl ~y." ,.rlicnal.r lbenor. le he look. al. •Iaral ,tbiDI' be ~ i'.i
 It .. 1. . . et olYII tld...... _ le; It beloob . . . . . . . . "'. . . . . _ . ; . . . . . . _
well In tlte Itmul.aeoua u In Ift oNer of tbl",-- la - - . la
el'ectl, ia u_, In "nalt la &bIa t - " ; ~ la I_d. . 01 . . . . .
To 1OID8 or theM atpeCt8 we IDU" ethNle, a" . . . die . . ,...._ ~
nail, tell. to a decree. OD tbe aide or tbe qll"lon wtll" we are la ..aiD op........ ..,
ge prof.,.. fealtr te truth, lead wheN it will. The d....l.e or PfOYicIeDee 0CJIDee . . . .
me man o( tbe New CbarolllD a IIrbt peeaHer to tllat .,..... ., relill088 wrld ..
• ., ha, ~mbraced. Viewlnl It a. he doea. he Ind,"I,1Iehl of .lelOD ....., ea""' ....
rile accamalation or Dew facts cratee a wid~r aIM 01 inductloD than fa oI'ered to ... ~
.'motlother Inquirers. To him, for tnlt8DUe, I, made known the filet that t1ae .111.. era.
Alrican nee i, more celeltid than that or .n, other people, .bd,ltt...., •• 1'1 me, a"...•
••• •iD'" JUt 'SIO hLm &he kfl1 by 1tblcb be eoIftI the enlpl. oItbefr pecallu
whether lId..,ne or autplciou.. B, mowtmeD the hard lotof'''.1 _We rue i
_de,. ..
•_,_dOG", IOWreip dl_pen_tiOlt of tJ.e dlyi_ .I.tom, encl wh.n tbe er1dlel
la appfied to il, h il.appotee! of COUI'I8 to 'he Inclepeaclent or the operetlea or moral _ _
..

ea Cbe part .rita ..abject to whlah It ealt jaad, be referred. AD eDd oIIMro, i. . . . . . .
IMae J, Indeed recOlnlRd. bot tbe iDlOr.table wiD or beewa ...Ildl fa Ilea. or all 01_
proeuria. c••_. Bal tile Newolnllebmaa i. iIlIlNC" b, the Ia.a at order, to 10011 . . .
&Iria ICeIft allotmenl, not •• arbltrar", or" I r8ta itoUl, IDlic~, bat a. tlle1dlitlm ....
M- ...-eq.at8 _11_ te be IOB.bt in theft OWIl mond -.clldOllt .act utiD
,ut or preeeat. Tbat oau. be I. taapt 10 Neopl_ III a hrC.t
...11 primitive hIP .tate. AI the eeleltial. the birk.' t,pe or ta
.,
It1. a
......
....
...
that pia. . would or COUlIe p,"lpltate ita labjeotl lato the 10,"" deptla, fA deba..-t
aDd wrercbedDell. In tbe proCuand
race, we read the evidenoe or a dlaltron
."""00
la,. and derraclatlon. therefore, or
ft'oa a proportionate elefttloo
.....
....
"'ti. . or wbleb Itill remain vielble to the enll,htenecl e,e, to _., Dothf.r f4 the . . .
aOllJ which we derive on tbtl bead from 8wedenbol'l" meladon. of the Atriean . - _
ha cbe other lire. In tbelr Datlonal low oCmusfcallOanclt we . . a elear indication ott'"
predOlnlnaoce or atrflCtion in their aatare, wblle In the characterllllo willl. . . . to .aw,
we pe1'ceive a dim reflex of tbat epirit.1O pre-emIDeDd, heaYea'" whlell prem)* ....,
ODe to be the least of all .od the Ie1'ftDt o( .n. Thll pfOCel. or decline aDd deterloral'.
ha. uDdoubtedl, been pier on fiom a period of tbe maR remote a1ltlqulty, a.lalD be
Inferred from Ita baying. ha .R probability,lradu.1J wrougbt amonl Its .equ .
ebaDle of color-an efFect to which apt would be requl,ite-tbourb the utter et
aB records renden it impo.ibte to alBx en, tbiDR like delnlee era. 10 thefr bi.torio ......
opmentl and transition.. But the IraDd ract or tbelr fall, throurb ,.ccelllve .......enttoM,
, from a primitive .tate ofcelea.iat innocenoe and parity. to oDe oIdesradatlOD aDd IDI.."
.a, be reeled In a••n Ot1qaeltlon.ble certaint)'.
Now it I. opoo Ihll racttbat the N~wcbDn:bmanPftCelftlthe ....Dd ...... or prcw. . .d..
clll[leDeadonl towarda the colored race to be founded. Be lee. that tbe, .re or••18IfMIJ1
rffrihtiw ch.racter. while at the.me time aD ulterior end of mere, pern" dtem,.,..
their commeDcrmenl to their cODlummauon. Den,in, to tbeee dllpenatlone an, tIti..
ora ylaclioti.. qualit" we are .till autborlsed • look opoo them •• aD ill tioa or ...
prfaclple .DouMed by loIomoft s •• Bebotd, dKt r',bl......... be la ....
eartb; much more the wicked and tbe .in.r.- With all our ylrftlotl. ""'pId'" ~
abe oppreaaed and down-trodden 1001 of Africa. It il proper eYer 10 remember dla' 1IDdIr
tile diViDe administration" tbe curee oatllelea dWI Dot come." and th.t thefr p.....c
!»iller lot cell, a lonr .tory or apoNI1. deterloratton, cntelty. crime, • • Ylee or ...,
form. Nothing i. pined to tb" caule or trath b, .ttemptlnr to Wlak uDWeIe. . &all
eat of .ilht. or Atrloa ., or Babylon It mdlt be _Id that lb. l_fatleD......
.nUke B.b,lon,lbe il Dot 'allen beyond the hope or NCOve". Afrloa, fteD In 1Iet' ....
!hit

llalaa, lDa, . J I "Par •• lDa,e DeeU die. aDd. ... u . . . . .,U, OD the ...
lU1.] 171
...nat be pt. . . . .p . .la; ,et cloth Gotl"vYe . . . . ",'-hia • •Iahed be BOt espet.
led .... bi••"
W. lIa.. aid lbat dae IIl6riDp.r . . bleak ..an, a. orlri_lID. iD ....,.",
. . ,..., ,.",..hli.. AM OD tltll ..... we Ibould ha.. a ItrODI UI1IraDee. eyen it I.i..
aN"'"
to" were silent, tbat tbe • . " form of their SID eonld be read iIllhelr punishment. Bat
hifto.., i. DOt IlIenc. The evicleue la ample ,h.t darh. the lal*' oC MIlhlri.., tile h_bk
et wal' and the praatloe 01 llaft" have beeD rife ame. . the . . . . . tribes oC the lud 01
Ham. War alone would 18em 10 ban been capable or 1ODI11ll abeir inbred el.i8bDeIf
to IIClioo; aDd wbeD e..... - la their perpe,aaU, reourrlDI feuds aDd fora,l, it il D....
rio_ .a& die moll lar.roal oraeldes, oroWDed bJ oaDolb.U.m.. h... enr dHti.........
tbelr ootId••c toward I tbelr oaptiftl. O.t of tile .ixty million. whlcb baYe at aDJ liveD
time peopled the contlDent of Africa it I, computed that rort, million. milbt ..rea, be . .
. . . . albe proportlOll redllCecllO a . ._ oC .laYer,- And &Ia.-.
be it be..., . . .
. . . ofthi. ._ wllich il of DO reoeRt orl,LD, bue b.s been Idb.i.,iI• •tnODIt fur m• ..,
.... It is a pe' 1nl_lte to im.,lne tbat It b.. .,ran, ap rlOlD the .Gllt.ct of Ea. .
peens aDd the acteuned OIIpiiiliea oC the alaYe trade. It ma, ba.. beeB stlmBIa" from ...
~ bac lonl belore a llan "al espor&e" rlOlll tile Aftl_a IbON dale, with i .
,.DimeDUt.... the orJiDI IIR of .........hed , aDel aH the IDO,. ...
from the ••, oC belnr I*'pe&ra&ed b, thOle wilD bacl OD a.ol8d .... brill...., . .
..... aad BJor- .r a celel&ial oute.

....,ed. pmid.aMI ,.alt" YiliteeltlpOD ha .ietimt- fa t_..,or 1fIb

We ..... no hesitation, &bereCore.la feI8.IDgAmerloa. 11_.." .. adiNOt

elDri.r oppreMioa otwbieh d1e1 dlemlelwealaaft heeD pHt,. Of tile principle wbWa"
oup ....
repri .

...ra,l". in lbl. allotment, 8wecleDbo....,., .. It derift. its o,i,11l from tbe DiYi.- Law 01
doit. unlO oah. . u we wool" Ihu th., eboaId do .btO". This law iD b• •e. i. "'elaw"
. . . .allo9. or ebaritr. wlaence ,hen .zIe.. _Mt i. oppe.ite ia bell, m.,
abat ..... an, 0.-
.... to aDother. tbe ....e il done to bilftlelf; Dot that tIle1 who.re In b_nft do lI. b.
-er who an in helt do ia. for the relrlbuuOll of retaliation es:i.ta from oppolitioa 10 tbat
.... or ure la h_ven." Aldaoqb it i. in belt that tb.alaw' ueertI iueJlIDOlt eooepi...
• 11y. ,.et It i. al... tllat olttal81 .110 in tbe prelft1t life.
I' wiD be or eoune che 11'0".' pervereioa to eolt8tr1l8 till' ttatdot .mark illto • j ......
• •tiOD of the apDc, b, whleh tbe nepo bu beeD ,educed 10 boadap, notwltbela.i.
le i. 'liDS tbat the end. of laeaYell a,re eft'eeted. The Lord" .h.... by.n hired ,afM,"
and neltber axe, laW, nor rod are to boast them. . . . . . . inaa Him that wieldetb thelD.
Arte, makiDK •• the A_yrleD tbe rod oC bls anger aDd tbe staft" of bi. indip.tiOft w" aDd
~IYinl hila a It oh"... 10 take the .poll, and take the prey, and to tread down like tile mile
or
er tbe etreeu,'" lie can stilI jaltl, •• ptlniela ,be fruit oC the .toat Man at the king A.,-
.i*, ••d tn 110'1 oC hi. hltb 100k.,lor iD hie bean be meeDeda Dot 10." And cbe .....-
I . or Inte.tloR i. wHt detelDllu. the cbarecter or.ell.
The _ope olwbat we ba" tha. rar addueed on tbi. h_d I••Impl, to .bow, tbat ....,
beyond,.Dd bene.th all ba..... COliD. . . aDd aim. iD tlri. matter, tbe Lord ba. hie OWII
penal.ad 18' • .,11..1 end. to uoomplllh, .nd tbat 10 tbeleendelt le Dot needful &Ita&
tbe man oldie New Carcb, whe", a lI.veholcler or DOt. shoald be bUild. Altboup, ..
a . . .ral principle, we _I'D tbat "D d... Det m.Difeld, peI'C8IftI .... r.l tt. operallOD
er die Diyine Pro.klenee, pt _bell one'. Interior aeate ie iD .ccord.n.. with tbe cH.l.
will, aacl he i' tbo. iD 'lmpatb, with ite.ltima. . .d., we _ not dlat be I. lorbidd_
to look 1010 thOle ~n", or incapaoitatetl from )'ieldibl them aD iatellipnt and oordial 00-
eperaIioII. The great qllellioD 18 .... for a well-priDcil.lecl ".veholcler. wbo Is laYO'.
wilh Ibe lI,bt oftbe New J...".Iena, i. to decennia. bow he shaH fall iD wilb the""_
or Pro~ldftlee," a. It rep.rd. Its benignftDt end. towards ,be .Iaft, .laUe at the .me . _
h.. I. 10 be ,.rrectl, raitbrul to lbe IhODilioftlor hi. own penoDal cODlCieDce, a&tedDI I"
••ta orablolu18 rllba onaDlwend bJ IeIS_ inter....
a,. ApAorinIa.OJI Slavtry mad .Abolititna.-No. Y:
, [Aag.
What ,han we "'1 then of the ulterior practical duty e.-t tbe "a. .malter OYer .Dd beyond
the mental dilownillg of the fUndamental prinoiple of the IYltem OD which we haw bith-
erto hUlilted I" For ouneJYM we eM not how the q ue.tion fs tI) Le aDlw"red, neept iD tuB
yle" oftbe consideration. fol1owlDI, some of wt.icb we bave already .dverted 10. PuttiDc
them into the form of propOlitionl the, ,land lubltantian, thus:
1. Tbe African race having suuk by gradual dec;line to tbe 10wett state or deJftdation,
ad_ry. and crime, the order of -the Divine Providence toward. them requires that a'tla.,
laaYe IOwn the wind, tbey Ihould reap the wbirlwiDd-t~at in order to their repaeratioa
aDd Iplritual elevation tbey .bollld undel'lJo "prev;ouI dilClpllDe of ftltatiOD whicb II
'S
beinr wieelyacoolnplisbed by their lot of bitter bond.p. Tbil fllct, however, to be b~1d
la perfect consiltency with the crimlDalitr of those who are the .c~y. alenta la! their
opprelafOll.
I. Tbe circumlt"ncelof the first origination and of tile lubeequent perpetuation of lla"""
la our couDlry are el8e'Dtiall1 different. Wb~n. aner tbe pal,inl awa, of the flnt . . . . .
don oC the enslaved. their desceDdantl are born Into the coftdition of IerYilude, and con. .
qaently have no OIJportunity to know any other, there can be DO doubt that th" IDteDait, of
tbe .uflerinl under which they groan is IODlewhal abated••1 the eggravation of contrul
.oeI aof, 0llPrate. So 011 the other band, the circulnltance or a people being born ioto tbe
eondition of muterl', as a bereditar, distinction. conetitntel a fair ground of cbari..bJe
allowaDce on the score ot wbatever moral wrong n1ay be Involved iD, or grow out 0(, the
Jelation. It were ,carcel)' to be espected tbat tbofe who were born to thil inheritanee,
when tb~y lee tbe relation exi.tlo, eveorywbere around them, and eeldom or DeYef q. .-
tlooed,llIould be led to q'JeltiOD it tbemseJveol apart ftOm foreign promptior. Bat wbftl
tbil ia done, and the light of trutb I. Itronlly cODcentrated upon cbe true cbaracter or cbe
.,ltem. the eztenuation ari.iol from tblllOnrce I. done away. WheD, on the other band.
the oonduct of the IOnl sbowI beyond dilput~ thae they approve and appropriate tbe deed.
of their fatbere, tb~y take ulJOD themselves whatever uf crimina' f'e4!poDlib,Uty attscbed to
the ani' aot of fraud. depredation. aDd oppressiotl, wbich thed tbe doom of boode. in a
forelp clime on the Datlv. of Negro land. BOl it is obyious tb't in Dl1merou8 ca. . ~
entail would not be cortlially acce.'Ied, wb~n ftl genuine ~haracter came to be undentood.
and in ~.cb calel the relation of maater and .Ia ve I1 as Involuntary on tbe part of the mu-
ter.1 ie ilOD that oClbe slave. 'fo both partifll it i. a compullOry relation. but.1 it bu
Dot beeD oC tbeir own teelUng, the bsnd oC tbe Divine ProYidenoe I. to be davoutly recur-
Dizecl in it, and ('o-operation with lite end of that Provide-nee to be dilipntly studied.
3. The abjeclDefI to which the Afrioan race ha. reduc~d iuelf il fucb a. to iDyol,.,.
d.ree oC imbeo.lit1 tbat makea it almost inevitable tha. tber Ihould fall under the controll·
1nl in1luenoe of 10mb luperior cl.... It I. not difBcul& to oonceive that tlail laneiU.nce
aad predominance migbt, under proper IImitatioQtl, be 01 ea.ntial eervice 10 them iD the
w3yor moral dilciplane. BUL tben thoM upon whom it devolve. ftre to bear in mind that
the Divine Provid~nc~doel not iotend tbat tbil pnpils. Ihoukl1Je perpetual, and &be.ro..
t~)' are ne,oer 10 10£le light oftbe elevation of tbe black man a. an end.
4. Tbere oan be notbiDI required in the duty of emancipAtion wbleb Ibld1 la~l"Ifde the
obliptiOll of that .*,ulia, guanliaD!!bip which dIe Incapaoily of tbe Negro d.mancll. III
tla.ir preeenlcircnmlllftoael it il to the influenoe of ,livery. In great measure. tlaattblal iDea-
paoit, is due, and Ilothing could be rrlore unjust thlln that tbot8 who ha•• been I.. authOl'l
Ibould take edVftl1l8p or their ewn wrong, and make conCcit'f.ce itretr a plea for tbe eraft
dereliction of tbeir b~1 pie.. lelf.. A d~bt of jlhtioe .nd lJf cbari'y tl due tbem. They clailn.
at tbe bMnd. of tbole wlJo have oppreHed Rnd impoyeri.bt"d tht-m, lucb indemDityu ch',
.!kg IePder-tlte ind~mnity oC tbat culture, mental aDd moral, wbioh abal.lt 'bem for Cree-
d..- beret aud for fullcitl he~aner. O. B.
(To 61 'orali....)
 lilt.]

ARTICLE VIII.

PS U E DO .. SP IRITU ALl SM.

(ContinwdjTDm p. 138.)
1.-A Hist0!1 of the recent Developments in Spiritual llanirestatioD8 in the city of
Philadelphia; by a Member or the first Circle, instituted in the month of O~
her, 1850. Philadelphia: G. S. Harria 1851.
2.--!i:piritual Instructions, received at one of the Circles formed in Philadelphia, far
the purpose of investigating the Philosophy of Spiritual Intercourse. Published
for the benefit of the Harmonia! Benevolent Associa.tion. Philadelphia: A. Com-
fort. 1852.
3.-Spiritual Experience of lIra. Lorin P. Platt, of NewtoWD, CODD., with Spirit_
Im'prel8ioDs annexed. \Vritten while subjected to tho influence of a Circle or
Spirits, with directions to publish to the World. New IIaven: H. B. Benhaa.
1852.
4.-Mental Alchemy: A Treatise on the l\lind, Nervous System, Pllchology, M.-
netiam, )lesmeri@m, and Diseases. In twelve chaptera. By D. Brown Wil-
J.iams, 11. D. New-York: Fowlers & \Vells. 1852.
S.-The Approaclting Crisis; being a Review of Dr. Boahnell'. receni UctQre8 •
=.rnatUraliam. BI Andrew Jacbon Davis. New-YOl'k.: Redield, and ou...

'V E have prefixed to our present article the above additional titles
of works on the general subject of which we \vcrp before ignorant,
or '\vhich had inadvertentll· escappd our notice. They will, at least,
serve as an index to the rnarvellous fertility of the field in which they
have sprung up, and \,'hich \~dll doubtlpss he prolific of quite as large
a crop, in an equal lengt h of time, '\vith that ,,'hich bas already nod-
ded to the revie\\·er's sickle.
In the admission, in our previous article on this suhject, or
the real-
ity of the phenomena embraced under the general head of" spirit-
manifrstations"-in conceding that thpy are not the product of fraud,
collusion, legerdemain, or human contrivance of any kind-that they
are of a veritably preternatural (\ve do not sa)' supernatural) origin;
we do not consider oursel,·es as precluded from admitting, at the
same time, that some of these phenomena are intrinsically suscepti-
ble of solution un Inerely natural principles. As the forms of these
manifestations exhibit a vast variety, it is certainly possible that some
of them mal' be due to causes short of spirituftl agency, or, in other
words, short of the agency of diselnbodis·d ~ph·its. 1'here may be
la \\98 of nlan's pb~'sical or ps)·chical econom)·, or of both combined, of
\vhicb \\'e have been hitherto ignorant, capable 0'£ producing some of
the effects that ar~ witnessed in these development~. There may be,
for ougbt we know, unconscious emnnations and operations of the
hiddell dynamics of our being that have all the se:ublance of effects
produced by the conscious volition of an inteJligeut spirit. This, we
say, _ay he the fact, although we are not a\vare that anyadflquafAI
proof has been adduced that it iI so, and we ha\·c ourselves witne. .
YO~ Y. . 26
 874 P,eudo-Spirituali.1II. [Ang.

ed numerous f'xperiment.s that could not, by any possibility, be ac-

counted for on this hypothesis. But even granting it to be true, it i.
a question \,"hether it do~s not involve principles and powers in solv-
ing the phenornena which tax credulity quite as much as their refer-
ence to purply spiritual agents. The unconscious projection of fl!lec-
trical currents from the brain of sufficient forcA to move h~avy tables,
and to move them too, in such a way, as to respond n~gatively or
ftffirmatively, to questions proposed, ma.ny of them mental questions,
is certainly a phenomenon that· stft,2"gers the conception about as
much &.'J IhA direct reference of the effects to the action of spirits thAt
ha\-e left the flesh. Yet, if I\oy one imagines that he saves the credit
of his philosophy by this mode of explanation, and finds the ground
of the facts suffici~ntly co,·ered by it, \ve at least shall Dot disturb
him in the ('asy-chair repose of his theory.
But it is not a solution that satisfies us. We are disposed, or rather
forced, to fall back on the theory of intelligent spirit.ua18gency exert-
~d by dw~lIers ,,·irbin the veil, through peculiar human organiza-
tions, upon material substances in the natural world. Still, no ODe
who receives the teachings of the New Church will believe that such
effects are produced by spirits without the intermediation of certain
latent powers by which the spiritual acts upon the natural world.
On this heRd the lang~ge of Swedenborg is very express:
le Man derives to himself, from tA, inmo,t principla of naturt, a mediom between

what is spiritual and what is natural. . . . . Hereby al80 spirits and angela
can be adjoined and conjoined to the human race; for there is con~l1notioD, and
where there is conjllDctioD, there must be also a medium; that there 18 luch a me-
dium the angels know, but whereas it. i, from tnt inmo.d principlt8 of "Blurt, aDd the
expreesioDs of all laDgua~ are from its ultimates, it can only be described by thiDp
abstract."-COllctl"n.1);v. Wi'l VIII.
These "inmost principles of nature" are undoubtedly such impon-
derable! as electricit)-, magnetism, the Odic force of ReichenbRcb, &c.,
without which we have no reason to SUPP08~ that spirits ever attempt
to operate upon matter. We have probably an allllsion to the same
lIubtle elements in the following paragraphs:
" Every man after death puts off the natural, which he had from the mother, and
retaiu the spiritual, which be had from the father, together with a kind of border
l (<If circumambient accretion) from ,It,
purt31 thi"g' of flufUrt, around it; but this
border, wit.h those who come into beaven, is below, and the spiritual above, but that
border with tbose who come into hell, is above, and the spiritual below. Thence U
is that a man-angel speab from beaven, thus what is good and true; but that a
man.devil8pea~ from hell, wbile from his beart, and, .. it were, from heaYell, while
from his mouth; he does this abroad, but that at home."-T. C. R. 103.

U The Datural mind of man conaiata both of spiritual and naturalaubatancel; Crom
ita epiritual substances, thought is produced, but not from its naturalsubetancea ; the
latter lub8tances recede, when a man dice, but Dot the spiritual 8ubstances j hence.
the same mind, after death, when a man becomea a spirit or angel, remaiDs ill a
form like what it had in the world. The natural aubetaDoea of that miD~ which, u
Jaae been laid, recede by death, constitute the cutaneous CO~eriDg of the 8piritaal
body of apirita aDd anpla: bl meane of thil oo~eriDg, whioh is taken from the Daio..
1'81 world, their Ipiritual bocbee aubeiat j for the natural is the ultimate oontiDeDt;
heDce, there ia DO spirit or angel, who wu Dot born a IDUl "-D. L. t W. 257.
 1852.] P.etuJo.Spiritualum. 876
From these extracts it appears that spirits in the other life are still
conn~cted by a subtle bond \\'ith the natural world, and it is a fair in-
ference that it is by m~ans of this connecting medium that the phy~i­
caI effects manifested in so many quarters at the present day are pro-
duced. As to the precise mode in \'1bich the effects take place, it may
not be possible for us at present to determine it, nor can we, perhaps,
fully assure ourselves that it is not a comparatively recent discovery
with ~pirits themselves.
It will be observed, bo\\eever, that in the passage from the T. C. Re
there is something peculia.rly significant in what is said of the
relative position or seat of these "natural sobstancestt in the good
and the evil. In the former th~y are helo\y, i. e., subjected and subor-
dinate to the spiritual, while in the latter the order is reversed, and
evil spirits in consequence have more facility in coming in contl\ct
,,·ith the nataral sphere than have the good. It seems also to ite im-
plied tbat on this account whatever communications are made by
spirits of this class have externally the guise of trutft, wbil", a.t the
f(sme time, the prompting source within is in association with bell.
We are hol entirely certa.in of &aving rightJ)" construed this passa.ge,
but our impression is st.rong that, duly apprehended, it discloses some
very important information bearing upon the subject before us.-On
this subject our object now is to !'tate, in continuance, the result oC
our investigations, and we Accordingly remark:
3. That these alleged spiritual communications not only do Dot
impart any important truth, bot they abound with the grossest falsi-
ties. We should perhaps do injustice to the "circles," and their in-
visible presidents, to say that the staple oC their communications was
made up of positive errors, for the ma.in material, as far as we have
observed, consists of little more than a vein of vapid truisms, or a
kind of sentimental moralizing, with a mA.rvelloQsly scanty infusion
of Dew ideas, and with next to no element at all of spiritual power or
even attraction. Bot, beside this, we do find e,·ery now and then the
peering forth of direct and palpable falsities, which, however, are not
80 easy of detection, except to one conversant with the revelatiol18
vouchsafed to the man of the New Church. Of this class are the
representations almost invariably made respecting Swedenborg and
his revelations. With scarcely an exception that ba..~ f'ver come to
our knowled~e, they speak substantially the. language of the follow-
iug extract, professing to be a communication from his spirit through
a medium in which" he recognizes a reflecting mirror of his inmost
thoughts."
U I wish to Bay to the world that the writiDgs whioh were published while I ....
'let an inhabitant of earth, contain many important errors, while they reveal much
llDJ>Ortant truth; that the beauties of the oelestial world were unknown to my im-
pnlODed spirit as they are now presented to my view; that the sweetne. and parRy
which pervade all the glorious mansioDs oC eternal life, were entirely unappreciatea
by the writer of many boob; that the grandeur and sublimity or the e:lpandiD~
hea'f8D&-the happineE and refinement \\'hich are breathed into the deepest hean of
the soul-the bnglttne88 and attraction whioh .oall the spirit eftr onward and ap-
ward, were whol1yloet to the darkened mind wbioh once groped amici the Bhaclow.
of theo1ogioal error. But in the transition whioh hu taken place in . , , .... r
 876 Pseudo- Spirituali.m.
an~ the tnll~8formo.tioD which bu J>aBBe~ over my e~!ire b!ing, are the iD8Den~e8
which" have lntroduced me to a loftier eminence of 8plntual hfe- a nobler expaD8IOD
of the interior vision t and & more truthful conception of celestial realities. Hence I
am now prepared to speak of those things at present, which I could not have com-
prehended while in the body; and hence I now disco,·er the use, the benefit, and the
ble86ing of spiritual manifestations as I could Dot have done in my connection with
tbe E'arthly form.
h'fhe spirit wishes to 88Y that he is pleased to unfold to the world the knowledge
which he has obtaincd, and tbat be can assure the individuals whc)m he may ad-
dre88, that the revealments which are now made by him are reliable in the most lit-
eral sense. He has secn that the world bas looked at the manifestations of spiritual
pre8ence with ('motions of blind and almost stupid wonderment: that it has regard-
ed every occurrence of this charo.cter as nccessnrily opposed to the estab6sbed laws
of Nature and utterly inconsistent with the re'"elatlone of former ages; that the
beautJ of spiritual truth has thus been overlooked and despisl'd in the uncontrolled
dcv,.tlon to human creeds, and that the blessings ,,·bieh such truth is .,daptcd to
})rin~ to the earth-bound 80ul haTc been disregarded and rejected. In this dark: and
repcJling atmospherc, where doubt, and fear. and ignorance are constantly making
their gloom felt by the 80ul, I would introduce Borne small portion of spiritual light
that the eyes ofthe spirit may not be entirely destitute of that soothing and invi~
rating clement which it 80 really needs."- Spirit ltft~&engtr, Feb., 1852.
" If thou art hp, alas, how fallen I" To say nothing of the absurd in-
timation that the bri~htne8s and attraction of hea'oen "·ere \\~holl>·
lost to his darkpned mind whjl~ "groping amid the slUtdows of theo-
Jogical error"-that is, during his abode on earth-bo\v ridiculous the
idea that the \'igorous and massive senf';e of the great hierophant
should e\"er lapse ~o\vn to such puling mawkishness as '\l'e rpad in
this paragraph. If' a counterlf»it presentment is to be recognizPd in
the case, the p~rsonation is R. miserahle failure, and the spirits abo'\"'e
mURt ha,oe a very poor opinion of thp discernnlent of the spirits on
the f'arth to suppose that they could be misled by such abortive
mirnicrv.
1'he ioJJo,,"in~ excf'rpt from the vision of Judge Edmond~, publish-
ed in the Shekinah (No. IJI.) comps into the same cntegor~·. Anpr
relating tbe appearance to him oC "'m. l)enn and Sir lsaac Newton,
he proceeds:
U Swedcnborg thcn appeared and E:aid to me that in his reTelations or what he
had seen, he WBS right and truthful. and to be relied upon, but not in the theory which
he bad built upon tlH'm; Rnd e8pecially he mentioned his doctrine of co~ponden­
.ccs, and bis attempt to reconcile his re,·clntions with the popular religion of his day.
And he said, as the BiLlc contained Dlany important and ,·aluaLle truths, yet being
written in and for an uDprogressed age, it cuntained errors and imperfections; 80
his theological writiD~8 contain~d nlany '''nlunblc truths, as well 88 some errors p~
duc('d by his desire tu reconcile the truths ,,·hich ,,"cre unfulded to him with the pre-
vailing theolo~y of his age. lIe hadc us beware of his errors, to receive as true hia
re"cllltions, but ditlcard his theorit'8, and instead of them to appeal to our own un-
derstandings for the inferences to be drawn from the truths be had developedo"
We should feel for ourselves great difficulty to condense into the
same cOlnpass the same alnount of false statement-du~ to the spirits
of c()ur~e, if they uttered it-"'hich \ve encounter in these fe\\? lin~s.
]n tbe first plac~,the distinct.ion here ad\Oertcd to bet\veen S\vedenborg's
_.. re\Oelations" and ~j8 U theorieloi" is totally gratuitous and grouuc.Jlt'ss•
. He bas built no theories upon his 8Hserled facts. lIe do~s not deal
in theories. 1'he mis~ion intrusted to hilll was of a nature to forbid
1852.] P,eudo-Spiriluali81/1. 371
the introduction of any speculations of his own. What Judge Ed-
lDonds \vould call " theories," are among the authoritative announce-
ments which be makes of the l~\v~ and principles that prevail in the
Lord's uni\"erse, and he states them as facts anti Dot as inference!!.
Again, it is impossihle that he should have said any thing that would
imply the unsoundness of his doctrine of correspondences in tlny
respect, for this is the grand theme of hi~ revelations, which the Judge
SR)I'S \\-A are to recei Ye. The doctrine of correspondences is the
disco\-ery to the \vorld of the relation subsist.ing between the na.tural
and the spiritual spheres, and without this discov~ry, Swedenborg's
revelations might as well not have heen. If Judge E. had been at
all adequately acquainted \vith Swedenborg's works, he would ha,Ye
bee" ablA at once to brand such an insinuation 81\ a.n outrngeous falsity.
Once more, it is a falsity equally gross that S\\·ecJeuborg sought to
reconcile his revelations with the popular th~())ogyor his age. No- .
thing could be fa.rther fl'om the truth. Never \va.s there a more rm-
phatic repudiation, a Inorp point-hlank disclaimer, of an erroneous
system of dogmas than he has proclaimed to all generations of men.
Let an)· intelligent man acqua.int hi.nself with what Swedenborg
has taught on the doctrines of the T.-init)·, the Incarnation, Redemp-
tion, Regene.-ation, the Word, Fait.h, Charity, Guod \Vork~, F'ree,,'ill,
Repentance, Heaven and Hell, Baptism, the Loa-d's Suppf'r, &c_, and
then pronounce whether he was a maD ,. to trim his WilY to s~ek
lov~·'-whetber he has any ",here sho,,·n a t~mp()rizing Rnd conciliat-
ing polic)", aM if desirous to keep in favof with the ruling theology,
'"hile, at the same time, he \\'8S consciously uttering truths which
\\'cnt directly to overthrow the entire s)'stem of the old schools. We
have high respect for Judge E. in his judicial capacity, and \,'C should
like to have his kCE'n po\ver of anlil~·sis brought to b~ar from the
bench upon such a tissue of fallacies a~ seems to ha\·e been imposed
upon him in this visionary fabrication.
\Ve have cited the above as specimens of their class. Ex ',oc discs
omnea, and their name is I~gion. These \\'onderful revelators from
the" sixth circle" down \vards, are perpetually prating of the errors
of S\vedenborg's writings, and yet they take good care never t.o spe-
cify or hint \vhat the)- are, so that the charge can be directly Rod
distinctly met. It would seem beyond question that these communi.
cating spit-its, as a ~pneral fact, hliV~ some special reasons for d~aJing
in disparaging insiuuations in regard to ~wedenborg, \\'hile at the
same tilDe, ftS if not to shock too severely the estimate in which they
kno\v he is held, they interlard their discourses with patronising com-
pliments which would create all ilnpression that he is still, with all
his faults, a 1lIugnu8 Apollu to them ahio t as he is to many that are,
as they say, " yet in the form." .
But it is not simply the person of Swedenborg which many of their
reports mi:srepresent; his doctri nes also are discredited, as far as can
be done by the inculcation of doctrines directly the rta\-erse of his. On
this ho\ve\,er. \\'e must reserve our remarks to another nUlnber.
G_ B..
(To b, continutd.)
878 Mi8trarulation ofa Pa"tJge ill 'he Apoealyp.e Ezplailled. [Aag.

ARTICLE IX.

M"ISTRANSLATION OF A PASSAGE IN THE "APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED."

To the Editor of the New Church Repolitory:
IN a rf!cent reading of the "Apocalypse Explained," I was, in popular
phrase, brought up by the following sentence in No. 357. 1"he author
is explaining the spiritual sense of" bow," \\'hicb signifies in gent-raJ,
doctrine combating. " So in David: 'He teacbeth my hands to war,
80 that a bow of brass is broken by mine arms.'-Ps. xviii. 34. By
war there mentioned is signified war in ft. spiritual sense, \vhich is
war against evils and falsities; this war God teaches; by the bow of
brass is signified the doctrine of charity, and by its being broken by
the arms is signified victory:' Here I am non-plussed. What vin-
tory is tbere in the doctrine of charity being broken, unless it be the
victor}1' of the evil and the false 1 And does God teach a warfare in
which these principles come off' triumphant over charity 1 If }90U can
80lve the apparent problem in\"o)ved in this passag~, you will confer
a favor upon one who has very seldom been troubled by inconsisten-
cies in the writings of our great scribe. H.
REMARKS.
Tbedifficulty proposed by our correspolJdent is a very obvious one, though it would seem
to have been hitherto overlooked. Recurrence to tbe original i' of couree the first Ilep
always in solving a difficulty in the translation. In the preeent case it i. all that is requi-
lite. We give the Lutin, whh • literal version.

,& Apud Davidem • Dlitt doC"d ma"." Inla. btll""., tt ponit arC'Um ~'" lwat'hii. ",ti.,' Ps_
xyiii.34. Per bellum iLJi significalur hellunl in spirituali sensu, quoJ est contra mala et f.lsa;
hoo bellunl docet Dens; et per arCUID ameuln signlficBlur doctrina charitatis; hanc Deus
ponit brachi is, boc est, dat ut valea t."

TRA.:fSLATIO••

cc (Thus) in David, • God teach,. my Mnd. INr, atttl put. 11 bOlD of lwaa (ill) My tzrfIt,J:
By Watr i~
there signified war in the spiritual ~nst' ; this war God teaches; Bnd by a bow
of brass is signifiN the doctrine of charity j this God putl (in) the arms. tbat is, gives 10
prevail.
This puts at once B new cl)mplexlon upon the pas~age, giving a clear and oonsisteot sense.
lI'be English translator of the ApocalYPS6 Explained here evidently followed his usual cus-
tom of '{Iving the quotatil)ns from the Word in the laugllage of the establi!hed version, in
which we think he acted discreetly, but he inadvertftntly failed 10 perceive that in tbis
instance adherence to hi. standard gave a lense inconsistent with that conveyed by the
wonJ. which Swederaborg has employed as tbe rendering of the original. The question theD
Daturally 0scurs, \vhlcb version most fclirly represent! tbe true IeDse of tbe original-that
or the English translation, or tbat of Swedenborg 1 The question is not easily determined
from tbe ambiguitT of 1be original term rendered Cl break" in the received translation, and
.. put It or cc placed" by our author. The pa'saXe is v~ry dlvereely rendered in the sncieat
Yenionl, but the weight of philological authority in moderD limes it in favor of the rende-r-
iDI of Sebastian Schmidt, whom Swedenborg almo~t Invariably tollows, although in tbi'
oue be departs from him verbally, while yet the sense is substantially the same. Schmidt
.ranslatee it ;_cc Qui docet manus meal b~num, ut demittat le arCU81lDDeUI (super) bracbia
J~.] 378
mea (Ill. descendens (actas est). It W1Io t,«lt. fII'
btt.d. . .r. 10 tut Cl lwClzt. 60. let. itlflf
. . . . (.poa)fII'tlnn. (al. u fMIl, 10 de'-). GeseOiUl, the most dietinguished Hebrew
lexicographer oC modern times, gives also this idea of ,It,ctfltling t&pma as the prominen&
idea oC tbe original, and thil Swedenborg ha. simplified. to pili or p14~,tl. et He pau, pia.
ces, or applies a bow oC bra.. to ml arm!l, by mealll of which I am enabled to achieve a ·
victory over my memiea. t ' The doubtfulnell of the ~rilinal arleet from the 'acL that the
word rendered le break" is capable of being formed from two distinct roote, IOme commeD-
lalOn cleriviDl i& froln the on., IOme trom the otber.

CORRESPONDENCE.

BALTIMORE, Ju1115~t 1852.

To tA, Editor of llu Rqontory :
Du. SOl :-~1i1l1oa be 10 kind as to favor me, and others who may be inter-
ested, throup;h your pages, with a translation oC Swedenborg'8 Adveraaria on Nam-
bers, D~ 7167 1 In theee days, in which we 80 often hear of " writing . mediums," it
is well for 08 to learn what is written. S. H. W OBCESTEJl.
REPLY.
Oar correepondent i. informed that the above-mentioned paralrarb from the er Adver-
.ria It has already been traDslated by us, and jn~erted 8S a note to ODe of the p8~es oC lb.
pampblet entitled" Davia' Revelations Revealed," publibhed a f~w years sinc". It mal'
be well. however, to re-insert it in connexion with the above request•

.. In Swedenborg's Adversarfa on Nnm. xi. 9, in speaking oC the falling or'the manna

with dew upon the camp, he says ;-' What is signified by tbis was rev~aled to me in •
wonderful manner; witbout revelation such things cannot be understood. It was WOD-
derfuUy dictated in the thought, Rnd the thought was led to t1le underst3nding of the.
word., and the idea. wal behl flxe-dly upon each single exprelleion, as if detained by a
beavenlt force; thus the revelation WIlS sensibly made. Conc('rning other specie. of rey-
elations, which are numerous, I ,hAil with the favor of God M~seillh .peak elsewhere.
They ftre otherwise effected when the tboUlbt is manifestly illustrated with a certain ligbt.
and. ,b., wriling is AO guided that not the least word can Le written olberwi~ than it is.
Sometimes, bo\vever, it is more insensible ; som~times again !O 8t"n~ible, tbattIJe finger
i. condncted in tbe writing by a bigher power in tlucb a way that if an attempt wele
made lO write Olberwiee it would be ilnpossllJle; and this not only with an adjoined per..
ception of the lubject, bnt even-what bas again Rnd again bappened to rne-withoQt
Ihis perception, HO that I WIll ignorant of the aeries of th ings till after they were written;
but this in very rare instances, and only for tbe sake of informing us thal revelations Bfe
m ..de in tbis manner. Those papers therefore, were destroyed, ltS God Messiah did DOl·
death"D that tht- revelation (through me) sbonld be thutJ made. Neither is it permitted to
dictate anything ftDrJ 'flOC" ahbouKb a .iN f10("' db-cou rse (with spirib) has bt-en enjoyed
by me almost continually for 10 lonl a titne; but wbenever I wrote tbey were Silent. Con-
cerning tbese things, God Mt!lsioh perm itting, I shall speak more fully in anotber pia..'
tbat men may know how the case was in regard to revehuion!!l in Ihe primilive cbu~ ...
afterwards in ther·representative, and finally in the symbolical churcb, that the, In&,
thence acknowledge that tbere is not even a jot in the book of Moses, of the prophets, and.
of Dllvid, which ilJ not inspired, and that the~ cele!'tial things are invariably contain~d
auder tbe forms 01 natural thingl, which are the letter. by which they are expressed.' "-...4t1-
"en. Vol. IlL 7167.
180 Noticel of BooJu. [Aug.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

I.-UNCLE TOM'S CABnl; or, Lif' among ,'" Lowly. By HarTi" B"cMr SloJDe.
Boston: J. P. Jewett. 2 vols. 1852.
Coleridge is said to have once picked up one or his publications in an obscure inn
in some by-place in England, and to have said with a burst or feeling to hi. travel-
ling companion ;_u This is true fame !" The author of a work of 'Which upwards of
80,000 copies have been printed and 80ld in six months, may doubtless take to her-
.It all tho satisfaction of such an assurance in her own case. U Uncle Tom" is rap-
idly being domcsticat-ed in kitchen and parlor in every quarter of our own oountry,
and reoent intelligence from England informs us that a cheap illustrated edition is
'being there issued, which bids fair for a nearly equ&l popularity among the reading
publio. A book that goes abroad at this rate will not only bring Came bat fortune
D its train, and already u report speaks goldml!l" of ita produots in this line. So
let it be; & ,manifold guerdon is due to & 'Work of such genuine merit, and may the
madow of ita renown never be le88.
Candor Corcel UI to confess that we opened the pages of V01. I. with no small mU-
giviDg as to the impression it would make upon us. We made inwardly a· pretty
large prospective abatement from the general tone of panegyric in which everybody
IIp&ke oC the work. The clap-trap style of announcement-" the greatest novel of
the age "_by which it was ushered to public notice, cast a damper on expecta-
tion, as hope in such cases is alWAyS in inverse ratio to promise; but for once we
ha~e found that popularity and pufFery may C...llshort of the intrinsic merits of the
.ubject. U Uncle Tom" is truly a masterpiece in ita wAy-Cresh, vigorous, .lieni.
graphic, rACy, breathing the breath of a healthy humanity, swaying emotion &8 the
moon does the tides or the winds the willows, and above all awakening those deep
undertones of sacred sentiment which attest the moral power of the fiction. We &re
constrained to regard it 88 on the whole a provid,ntial book, a book having a special
mission to accomplish in connexion with its theme. We &re not indeed sure tha& it
does not on the whole lay the colore unduly thick upon the canvass, and lead the
mass of readera to confound the tendency with the actuality oC the slave-institution,
bu\ it is doubtle88 not amiss to show up the evil capabilities of the system, and to
stimulate the moral sense oC a nation in the direotion of its extinguishment. It is a
work calculated to give a strong impetus to the anti-slavery sentiment of the coun-
ttry, and not only by its ~wn scope, but by its incidentally evoking an emulous train
of related worb on both sides the general subject, cannot fail to concentrate and fix
the public mind on the multiform evils oC slavery in a manner and to & degree tba'
could not probably be otherwise anticipated. The press is already giving signabJ or
• coming host of _ble U Uncles" and U Aunts" in their U Cabins" who will bear wit-;
ne88 pro and con to the character of the U peculiar institution" before that large and
.11 growing tribunal which is in reality sitting U to take away ita dominion to con-
I11me and to destroy it unto the end."
I.-NOTES, Explanatory and P"actical, on th, Book of Revelation. By ALBEIT
BARNa. New-York: Harper and Brothers. 1852.
To us the Preface to this voluDte is by Car the most interesting part oC it. From
'ormer habits of personal intimacy with the author, and from community of punaite
IS;'2.] Notice' of Boo"~. 381
e
(or &eTeral yean, till the reception of the New Church doctrine&, on our part, led UI
in ditrerent directions, we regard with special interest the following account of the
process by which such a Beries of commentaries on the Scriptures has been gradu-
ally accumulated.
lL Having, at the time wben these Notes were commenced, as I have ever bad since

the charge of a large oongregation, I had no leisure that I could properly devote to •
these stoilies, except the early hours oC the morning, and I adopted the rcsolotion-
a resolution which has since been invaria\bly adhered to-to cease writing precisely
at nine o·clock in the morning. The habit of writing in this manner, once formed,
was easily cootiaued, and having been thus continqed, I find myself at the end of the
New Testament. Perhaps thi~ personal allusion would not be proper, exoept to
shoW' that I have not intended, in these literary labors, to infringe on the proper
duties of the pastoral office. or to take time for these pursuits on which there WBS a
claim for other purposes. This allosion may perhaps also be of use to my younger
brethren in the ministry, by showing them that much may be accomplished by the
habit of ear1l rising, and by a diligent use of the ea.rly morning hours. In my own
case, these Notes on the New Testament, nnd also the Notes on the books of Isaiah,
Job, and Daniel, extending in all to sixteen volumes, have all been written before
nine o' clock in the morning, and are the fruit of the habit of rising between foor and
fire o·clock. I do not know that by this practice I have neglected any dut; whioh
I should otherwise ha.ve performed, and on the 8core of health, and, I ma.y a.dd, pro-
fit in the contemplation of a portion of divine truth at the beginning of each day, the
habit has been of inestimable adva.ntage to me."
This is doubtlesS a commendable example of industry, although it appears .that
this course of 8tudy haa at length so seriously aif'ected the vision of Mr. B. that he
has recently been obliged to take a voyage to Europe as a main hope of preserv-
ing it.
As to the work itsel~ the Newchurchman would of course be certain beforehand
that the author·s theological position would prevent him from discerning the genu-
ine scope of the Apocalypse, and consequently incapacitate him for unfolding its
mysteries. But knowing, a8 we hf\ve long done, the iron rigidity of Mr. Barnee'
principles of interpretation, we are gratified to learn that he admits any thing more
in the book than a mere aggregation of symbolic drapery which might mean some-
thing or nothing, just as the reader~s mood might incline him to take it. He does
concede that the book has a prophetic drift; that it is a shadowed or pictorial view
of the various featured of the Christian Church from its commencement down to
what is termed" the close of all things," although it is hardly possible to conceive a
confQsion worse cOJ!founded than that in which he and all other orthodox expound-
~rs involve the finale of human affairs. Any details of his exposition, however,
would afford so little profit to one who knows where to look for the U Apocalypse Ex-
plained"-and truly explained-that we deem it best to devote our space to other
object.a.
3.-TUE ApOCRYPHAL NEW T£sTAl\fENT; b,inK all tlte Gospels, Epistlts, tJnd other
Piece.t flOW eXlalll, attributed, in tlte first four cellltIT;es, to Jest" CI"ri.,t, Itis ApO.fltles,
and their companions; arid flot ;nclutled in the Ne,o 7'e."tament by its Compiler,.
Translated. anti now fir!t colleded t·nto one Volume, with Pre;{aces and Tablel, and
11arinUl Note. and Reference,. New Edi!ion. New-York: Dewitt & Davenport.
1852. Price 50 cents.
It is well known to the ecclesiastical antiqaary that a great number of so-cl;Llled
~ospcls and Epistles, professing to be genuine, existed. in the earl,. dals of Chris-
tianity, o.nd that out orthese the canonical books of the New Testament were select-

•
 889 Notice, of Book,. [~~ug.

•
eel. By whom this was done, and by what authority, is a problem whioh h... Deftr
yet been solved. Thoogh often attributed to the Council of Nice, A.. D. Sta, ~
Church Hi8tory atrord8 DO erideDce of the {aat. nor do we learn from the decrees of
any other Council that 8uch an authentication of the sacred books wu amoDg their
doings. The manner in which the present canon was formed is still a matter of
• conjecture, and we are obliged to rest in the conclusion that it was overruled. by &
IIecret ordering of the Divine Providence, by which the good men of ancient times
were enabled to make the proper discrimination, and separate the precious from the
vile. In some way this was done, and it would be a natural consequence that the
rejeoted portions would go into abeyanc~ and finally into oblivion, but Cor the tabors
otthe learned in hunting them up and bringing them to light for the gratification of
the general reader. Such a labor has been performed in the preparation of the pre-
lent volume. It is an authentic reproduotion of the aDcient documents constituting
the apocryphal writings known to the early ages of Christianity. We say authentic
-for we have the originals in our possession, and cau attest the fidelity of tbetrana-
lation. It is a curiou8 relic of the primitive days of Christianity, and well calcula-
ted 11.8 a toil to set 011" the superior excellence of the truly insp~ed booka.
4. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE, translated r"om the original Grtt'" and illrutrattd
~y Eztraets from the 7neological Writings of Emanuel SVJellt-nborg, to~et"tT ",itl&
Notes and Ob,ervations by tltt T,,.anslalor, annexed to eflch Cltapter. By 1/1.1 /all
Rxv. J. CLOWES, M. A. Second Edition, tl&oJ·ou~lJy revised, !Di,h additiontd
Extract.. London: J. S. HodsOD; Manchester: J. Kenworthy. 1852-
This is one of the wel1.~nown valuable publications of the Manchester Printing
Society, passed to a second edition, e88entially improved and enlarged. The pointa
in which its emendation consists may be learned from what the Editors say in their
advertisement :_U They have pruned the Exposition of variou8 repetition&, and by
a thorough research in the voluminous writings of Swedenborg, have been enabled
to enrich it with so many additional extracts and references, 88 to render the expo-
sition of the Spiritual Sense of the Divine Gospel far more complete than in the pre-
nons edition, and consequently more useful and acceptable to the devout reader who
desired to be edified by the & Spirit and life' of the HOLY WoaD. They have like-
wise prepared and added an Index of 'the various terms, subjects, and eOJTelJpond-
ences which are more or ]e88 explained in the Exposition; this, they trust., will prove
U8efnl as a ready meaDS of general as well &8 special reference." Wo have only to
.y in addition that the volume is got up in the beautiful style of paper and type tha~
renders the English New'Church works such a luxury to the eye. We pre8ume too.
that the volumes on the three other Evangelists will ere long be printed in uniform
style with the present. Whenever that is the ca~e, we would suggest that the addi-
tional extracts should be indicated by some kind of signature, so that the reader may
know, as he passes along, in wh~t the new edition surpasses the old.
5.-CURIST OUR EXAMPLE. By CAROLINE FRY, Author of " The Listener," U Christ
Our Law,'" etc. To fJJhich i, prtJixed an Autobiography. New York: Carter &
Brothers. 1852.
The entire series of works published by this. estimable lady, are among the very
beat of their class. They are marked by a felioity or style and unction or spirit alto-
gether peculiar, and such al indicate a profound religious experience. Absolute
truth of doctrino we do not of course expect in them, but 80 IPuch of the penading
 •
1851.] Editorial Ite1lU. 389
preeeace of good do we reoognise iD them, that we DeY8r open them, eyen Cor the
. penal or a few pagee, without a certain kindling of devout emotion which we
mould be eorry to be iD88nsible to. The prefixed autobiography discloses a lovely
spirit and a beautitullife, and is a most powerfUl bespeaking of interest in what
follows.
6. -A POPl1LA... ACCOUNT 0 .. THE DISCOVERIES AT NINEVEH. By AUSTIN HENRY
LATARD, Eaq. Abritlgtll by Aim/rom h" Idrg,r tDorl&. With numtroUllDood-,ut,.
New Yark: Harper & Brothers. 1852.
The success of Mr. Layard in exhuming the ancient eity of Nineveh, and remollng
a vu, quantity of its monumental remains to England. has beoome a matter of world-
wide notoriety. His larger work, in two vols. 8vo., published a few years since, was
read with great avidity. The present is a compend of all the most interesting mat-
ter contained in those volumes, and bringing down the te8ults of his discoveries to
the latest period. The researches have been discontinued. Mr. L. has retumed to
England, and probably as a reward in some measure for his eemces to the cause oC
science, has been reoently elected member of Parliament. The narrative given is
full of interest, and the .relics secured to the British Museum of one of the m08t an-
cient nations of the world are curious, and valuable from beinr; venerable. But we
cannot learn that they have as yet thrown much light upon history or revelation.
The inscriptions, engraved in a mystic character, have heen but imperfectly deci-
phered, thougb the presence of the veritable tablets among the scholars of England
and Europe will furnish perpetual material for leamed investigation. It is remark-
able that in all these explorations on the banJu of the Tip and the Euphrates, the
explorers have been able positively to identify scarce any of the sites. They find the
ruins of great oities, but which is the site of the real Nineveb, the real tower of Babe],
&to., they find it impoaible to determine. But this is no surpriee to the ~nlighteDed
New-churchman. He has no doubt that there were cities bearing the names of Nin-
eveh, B~bylon, &c., but that these were the very cities so no.me~ in the early chap-
ters of Genesis, he has no idea, for he leams'that that record is not historically true.
There were no such cities founded by such personages as Nimrod, Cush, and Mitl-
raim, for no such individuals ever existed, any more than did a man called Noah, or
h~ alleged sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Cities were subsequently built in that
region of Asia, and these scriptural names were given them, just as books were writ-
ten in comparatively later ages, and called the Book or Enoch, the Book of Jasher,
&c. But there is precious little reason to suppose that they are any thing but
spurious documents, though undoubtedly quite ancient, especially that of Enoch.
Still it is desirable to accumulate as many as posaible of these remains of antiquity,
as they reflect light in one direction if not another upon the history of the human
race.

BDITOBI!L ITEIIS.
As remarked in our last, we took accalion to spend a couple of dAyS in Philadelphia
daring the recent meeting or what is rather paradoxically termed the Gt,,,r4l eOR.,ftll.
of the New Church in this oountry. We have not, indeed, ror the mo~t part, as our read-
er. bave reason to know, any great .ympathy with this body in its ecclesiastical capa-
cit" though we have alw8yl valued the society and the converse of its individual mem-
bers. We have too, by means oC outdoor conferences, evening parties, &0., ulUall,
•
884 Editorial Ilem8. [Aug.
roond that Inch an ascendency could be given to the locial oyer tbe COllyeDtion:ll
sphere, that tbe rt:lIow:-hip of the brethren should prove pleasant and rerreshing. Tbe
quaint figure of good old John Newton, in which he compares the clergy at !lame 10 the
flowers grOWing verdant Rnd fragrant in the fields, while the same men convened in
synods and councils are resembled to flowers plucked and bound togellJ~r in a nOl~ga1,
always at the expense of tbeir fre8hnes8 and odor, bardly ever filils to OCCdr lo os on luch
occasions. By managing, however, to ,mell to them singly, we perceive more of the
blessing of Esau, et the !cent of a field which the Lord bath blessed!'
At tbis la~t Jlleeting, besidtt the prinoipal topi08 Inentioned In our last, to wit: tbe
new Book of Worship, and a new basis or representation, various minor items of bU:fi.
ness came up in tbeir turn. eliciting more or les8 of remark, an~ promising more or ItS!
of use. but on the whole v.e cOllld see liule in the proceedings tbat was c.dculated to do
away our anteoedent objeotions to the ilystem. and tnake us .all in love with its workings.
We were all along conscious of looking 'ut the system from a stand-point entirely ditferent
(ram that of our brethren. \Vith us tbe qUt:"stion continnally recurring was one that
toucbed the tundam~btal grounds of the existence of suoh a body- Is it necessary? h
it pxpedient 1 Are not.its benefits more than connterbalanced by its disadvantages aod
evils? If it \\'ere now proposed to institute such a body {or tue first thne, would there
Dot be abundant rensons for (ft~iding against it 1 But, with Il single exception, no !1ymp·
tom of any such querying did we discover among the members. Not tbe sliglJlcst indi-
cation betrl'yed itself at a doubt on thi~ score. Judging (ronl the obvious denlOn:iOtra-
tions. \ve should iut~r that the Convention was looked upon as identical with tbe Church,
and that the expedipncy of the one wa" no nlore to be questioned than tbat or the other.
Yet we oannot but cODfe!'! ourselves ft$tonisbed that th~s question of questions does not
force itselfuJlon Iniads of&O' mucb intelligence and integrity of purpose as we alwlly' en-
counter at these meetings. How is it that theRe re,pccted brethren do Dot ask them-
.elves whether the uses accomplished by such a body are at all adequate t6 abe time
aDd expense incurred in sustaining it? Uses! Can there be a greawr misnomer than
the application of this tenn to the nJajor porlion of lhe doings or the body whose annual
session has just dosed 1 At this meeting, with the excpption of what related to the pre-
paration of a Book of Worship, the utility at which we do not deny, nearly every suI-jeer
discussed bad direct reference to the organizatiOft and eCOJlomg of the ConvtfttiOfl il.tlf.
But so it alwnyl:f has been since our acquaintance \vith the bady, and so we are persuad-
ed it always will be, as long a8 it is constitnted upon its present bashl.
Take, for instance, the ~uhject ot representation, which figured ~o largely in the recp.nl
debates. Supp0ge the proposed change to Le fldoptcd, as in fact it was. What is tho
tfUl to be attained by the representation 1 What are the representatives to do when tbe,.
get together? Thfl1 are to form l\ body at delE'gflte~. to be sure. bnt what tU,. is this body
to accomplish when formed 1 Some few uses may indeed be cancel ved which m ilbt jus-
tify an ot"t'4.ional gathering together of as many of the Churoh os could conveniently be
a.sembled. The construction or a Liturgy for general adoption may be admitt~d to be
one of these. But as to an orgllniz~ti body, founded upon a Constitution, compacted by
the cement of multitudinous rules of order, looked up lo as virtually clothed with legisla-
tive authority, and meeting in conclave from year to year, we can conceive ot nothing
more pernicious to the interests of the Lord's New Church j nothing against which the
man of the Cburcb should set his face with more determined and inextinguishable bo~
tility. If the present Convention could be dissolved in perpetlfum to-morrow, we !tloulJ
feel that canse ot everlasting gratitude and rejoicing were afforded to ever, receiver of
the heaveuly doctrines. Nbr can we well conceive of any bigber service that we could.
render to the Church, even if we were to labor {or years in its behalf. than to be instru-
meatal. ip bringing abollt a consnmm,tioD. 50 devolltly to be wished.
 1852.] Editorial Item,. 885
We haft DO reserve In uttering onrseh'ee on tbis point, and • 10 leD! as the Divine clem-
ency sball enable us to wield a pen, Ibllll we feel COlI'trained to uear our te~timony against
this disastrous institution tbat in an evil day establi~1Jt'd itRlf in tbe bosom of the New
Church in our land. We 'peak advisedly in every word we utter. We Ire engaged
in nO blind cro!'ode against tbe ecclesiastical polilyadopted by the church, or a portion of
iL We know wbat we say, and whereof we affirm. We ate prepared to give the reason.
wLicb ju!tify to our own nlinds our position, and these reason! claim to be met aDd •
an,wered by tbose who would cen~ure that position. Meantime we are perfectly aware oC
the coml:~quence! to ourselves persoDftHy of such an undi~guised declaration of our senti-
ments i but tbese consequences we are prepared to encounter. We bave no deslre to parade
B vain show of hardihood, but we may flankly say that, by the bl~ssing or Heaven, we have
Buaillt"d to eomq. d~gree 01 tllat freedom which a lupffllIle fiddity to truth suppo~s and
demand~J and when we are polemnly persuaded thn t the int~re:'ts of that truth are at stake,
""e see no rea!On why we should know tbe fdce of 1118n in Jheir dcr~nce. In tbe prefeot
C3!e we see in this Conv~ntion the B"and incubus which oppre!~es tbe church, the bantful
cau!e of separation among brethren, tbe dLAad weight wbi('b hanSI upon the chariot wheels oC .
ils progre5l. What. it which has been the prolific source oC tbe discord~ and animoeities,
the beart-burnings and j~alousies and rivalries and f~uds, which have sundered brethren
and Iri~ved angels, in tbe past 11istory of the New Church in tl.e Unil~d States? What but
this larne calamitous Convention, who~e v~ry nature is to engender Ihe germs of Babylo-
nian dominion, and who~e e\·ery m~eting is the putting ofa glass case over them, to make
th~m grow the more vibtOrously and brit'kly;
Were tlJis body a mntter of Divine in~titution; were it identical with the church j were
it enjoined in the Word; the case would be entirely di~drent" We should thell ft.oel tbat
ahhough it might seenl to us to fllil in !lome re~pect:5 in its practical resnlt~, yet it had a Di..
vine basis to rest upon, it could ple3d (or itselfan anthodty which was not to be quclIuoned.
But lucb we deny to be the filCt. \Ve hold it to be t1 pnrely voluntary e:ita1Jlh·hrnenl, and
exercising all hs prero~rntives by the con~ent of its lnembers. But its voluntarines! does Dot
make it harmless. Nor do we at all admit the validity of the plea, tbat al no cne is
t'f'qnireu to attnch himself to it unless be pleasc5, so there is no burden imposed upon him
or which be has Rny reason to complain. This leaves the main ground of oujection
untouched. What n"ght has I1ny body of men to cOlnbine together, to con$truct an ecclesi-
astical platform. and then to reql1ire eveD a f10lufltarr a"tllt to a poHry, in the expediency
of wh.cb ull the lllen of the church C:lnnot agree? The very filet of tbi! non·~greeme1Jt is
a sufficieJlt reason lor abstaining from the ore;nnization. The advoeates of it can never feel
entirely in charity with the cJissid~nt8 rcoln it" The whole rang~ of Church History teems
with testirnony on th is head. Dissent fronl a prt:vniling !chem~ of CbUl'ch o,der i~ certnin
to gi ve rise la more embittered aud rancorous f~~lings, and to more downright pf:c!ecution,
thllO the gr09!lest forms of here~y. Let a Dlan be ever ~o lax and latitudinarian in his doc-
trinal creed, and he may still pass on with littl~ or no .1.stuluaDce from his cU-8eClaries, uut
let him que!otion, in tbe sli3ltrest degree, the snnctity of its external order. and he will' 800n
find him!~lf exclairning with the Pz;allnist, U my soul is among lions." The rea!on it-, that
the government of the church by convtntiotls aud councils is always a matter of humAn pro-
priurn, antllhis i! quick to perceive and resent any resistance to its decree!. True. it denoln-
inatee it:lelf zeal for the Lord'~ house, and in tllis gnise 1l1ges a relentless ,,-arflue against all
tbose who venture to atrftign its authority. U The sword ofGideoD" is of coursewitb them
.. tbc'sword of lla~ Lord," anJ with bearty good will will they be sure to wi~ld it.
Does _hi. 111ngu'lge !avor of undue severity? Does it strike onr readers as breathing a
tone of IInjuslond ur.brotberly reproncb) In reply Itot U!4 beg tht'tn to look at the practical bear-
ing of tbe 'yatelD. Why are we and otlJert thrown od" from the sympatby aDd affection of 10
maDJ of our br~threu I Wily are we precluded from lefving the church iD copjUDctiOD
IS6 Editorial Ite.,. [Aug.
with them' Wby Ire not .1 the preacben end laymen permitted to co-operate in promot
iog the grand uses 01 the church, in founding Heroinaries. and propagatiog its glorious doc-
trines 1 It Is the Convention alone which ill to be regarded as tbe procoring cause of this
eatmngemenl. At its door i. to be laid the guilt of this Bad alienation. It refules reill !iYm-
patby and co-operation with those who do not accede to its claims. We do not lJ.ean by
this that it does not proft'lIIs to fraternize, in a certain sense, with thOle who hold and leach
tbe fame doctrines, but wo do mean that it has no cordial, gPDial, genuine relJow~hip with
tbose wbo stand aloof from its platform. And yet what gain can its members promife
themselves that shall counterbalance a loss 10 serious altbat of the union oC kindred soul5
in the Lord's kingdon& 1 What are all the petty roles of order compared witb the objeeu
that might be obtained by a conjunctiun of the moral forces- Clf the whole New C:: Ltlrch
body? Yet wbere i. tbe place tor the introduction ot such objects 1 Wliere is there any
interest in them as tbis .o-called General CODYftltion is now eOn&truct~ and conducted !
How much of a barbariaD would one make bf birDlelf. who 8hould rise in one of its annual
mett.op, and propose some grand enterprise for extending the knowledge of the New
Church truths? If anyone entertains a doubt OD tbis ICOI'8. Jet hiln make th~ experiment,
and we will answer for the question's being speedily settled to his eatile satisfaction.
Altain, then, we dtnnand what right ha. this loi·dqattt General Convention to erect
it8elf into a barrier to the unity of brethren who could otherwise blend their 8pheree and
cordial1y join in Icbemea of co-operative uee iQ building lip the Lord's kingdom on eanb?
Tbil uniOD cI\nnot now take place, because that bodYI (rom the principles oC its orpn;za-
lioll, exacts assent to rules and laws for whicb it can plead no other warrant tban vohao-
taryaod arbitrary enactments, and which numbers oC good meD, clerical aDd laical, in
tbe cburch totally an~ conscientiously reject. And here is tbe aggravated wrong in tbe
caae. It is combinatioD making war agaiDst individual conscienc~acourse uttt'rly re-
pOloan' to the genius of the NeW' Church. If a Convention were a divine institl1te, the
case would be er.tirely different, (or then its upholders could plead conscience in behalf of
their proscription8. But as it is, tbey plant themselves upon another ground. Th~y adopt
their platrorm (rom expediency, and virtually clothe that expediency with the authority
of a divine decree, thus arraying one portion or the churcb apinst anotber, and stifting
the Iplrit of charity as tbe rel'ult. In tbe true order or tbe church nothing is more impos-
sible than a conflict or consciences. The thing is utterly un,upposable. If then tbere is
still an institution, polity, or plRtrorm in tbe church which directly tend. to dislever and
estrange those who olberwiPe .. like kindred drops would mingle into one," we bold it lO
be the bounden and indispensable duty of tbose who have eCElcted this tower of Babtl,
forthwith to let about taking it down. Tbis duty we hold to be imperadve if tL~re be bot
ODe single dissenter, and be tbe weakest and humblest of the Lord'sdisciplel; for notevea
one of the Lord's little ones is to be offended with impunity by exactions which tbe di·
yine bead of the church ha. not made or eanctionfld. How much more does this bold
when not one only, but numbers a.nong tbe worthiest of the church'. IODS eater their
lolemn protest against thp imposition.
The warning "oice of tbe Ilhiminated herald oC the church ha. been lifted up upon this
as well 88 upon other danBers to wbich our beloved Zion is exposed. Hear ita proteSting
tones. ., What confideuce is to be bad in councils whilst they (Le. the consulten) do DOe
10 immediatel1 to the God of the church? • • • • Tbeir deliberation is DOl unlike
the walking of a blind milD in tbe da" or o( a maD wbo'basgood er. in the ni,br, nei-
ther of whom sees the pit before he has (alien into it. • • • • But, my (riend, go to
the God of the Word. snd tbut to tbe Word, and 80 enter through the door iDto tbe sbeep·
fold, that j!, into the church, and you will be enlightened j and then you will lee a. from
• mountain, not only those of mallY othertl, but your own former steps and wloderial'
in the thick wood! UDder tbe mountain."-T. C. R. 1'76,1'77.
1852.] Editoriall~em•• 387

But are all general ga theriogs-all conventional auemblape-all meeti ngs for obtal n·lDg
and utterinl the collective voice of the chnrob, interditlced 1 Tbi. we do not 8ay, nor doe.
our language imply it. Wecan imagine emergencielthat mitcht warrant a U going ap of
the tribes·' to a common rendezvous. to conault and tak-: action upon the Ireat interests
oC the church-a gathering such 8S was at least shadowed forth at the convocation in
LondoD during tbe last year. But all sucb meetings, we contend, Ollght properly to be mall-
meP,lings, convened only for occasional not slated purposes, and excluding an delegations. •
Indeed, the principle of representation ,we bope m3Y be utterly and foreyer banished from
New Church bodies. It has nothing to do with them-it is abhorrent to their genius-it
is fraugbt with mischiers manifold. It is founded upon fRlse principles-it is a pernicious
symbolizing with the us~ges of the world, and is ODe of tbole evils which, as the wi8e
milD say!, should" be left olf before it is mp.ddled with." When traoed to its primitive .
SOl1rce, it will be found to build itself upon substitutionary raitb, or a faith iD tbe know-
ledge, wisdom, or prudence of anotber, and not in one'. own. The acting of one i .... 'he
name of another is utterly incOmpatible with tbe scope ot New Church prinCiples. It ls
almo!'t infallibly certain to lead to encroachmeDts upon that freedODl wbic"h every New-
churchman ~hould guard as the apple of his eye.
le will doubtless be understood that what we object to in tile economy of Conventionlt.
tkt orgaflizif&g of a p"'flllI"'''' ercle.ia.,ical bod" the tuloptiftl tJ COft.titW;OfI, aM 'he GCCU-
mulati., tJ mall of rvlt. of ordtr, which all experience shows tends direcrly to a hierarchy,
and even when this issue is not realized, still the whole action of tbe church beoome.
CODstrained and formal, and all generous spontaneity is effectually cru!hed. Tbt' debates
in the meetings become more and more narrowed down to f.oints of order; what are
termed parliamentary usage. are more and more insisted upon. and from a parliamentary
form to a parliamentary spirit the transition is easy, ti,1l a dominantly unspiritual and
eecular sphere lainl the asct:ndency. When tbis point Is reached, tbe character of •
church is lost. Party spirit is engendered, sectiol1al interests are urged, management.
manmuvring, intrigue are resorted to. offensive personalities occur, fc!elinga are wounded.
an,i charity, like a friJ(htened dove, takes its flight. Th~se are the fruits that will be ver,
certain to grow upon the tree of organized Conventions, and great indeed must be the ad-
yantages that are to be purchased at luch a price. Those advantages we bave never yet
seen. nor expect to ~ee. On tbe contrary. tbe longer this body is continued in existence,
the more intense ond aggravated do we expect it. evils will become, till tbe mass of the
church, pervaded by more of tbe genuine spirit of the church, shall, witb one accord, re-
101ve to sbake it off fro III its laboring Rnd panting bosom, when it may hOI)e to breathe
freely and It rejoice like a strong man to run a race." These RntimenlS are OQf own.
No one else is responsible for them, and probably DO one elpe would care to ebare in the
odium which they will be sure to draw afLer them. But we are prepared Cor it, and for
.11 other conS:quences that mar enSl1e.
Tbe work entitled U New Themes for tbe Proteltant C)flrgy," whl'ch we noticed a few
No•• back, bas reached. RCond edition, and it now comes ont with the author'. 'name.
StepbeD Colwell, which was .uppressed OD its first appearancfl. The body of the work
remains unaltered. but an arpendix otrers a premium of tSOO-which tlle publishers
recentl, iDformed us was inoreased to tlOOG-tor a treatise of real merit, to be furnish'"
witbin two years, which, when eempared with all produced. shall be adjudgedlhe best•
• poII lh, lG., ",. doc'"", of CAri.tiafl Charitr, a. taught ay Iztmplifletl b, Ch"" aflllAiI
di«ipl,.. Together witb thi. announcemeflt, the author has given a sketch of the ground
.
which be would propose tbat tbe ealay should cover•
We bo~ not to be made giddy by the vertiginous effect or the (ollowing complimentary
notice from the ltul,pmdtflt. a religious newspaper of high character, pUbli:4hed in tbis
eit" aDd devoted mainly to lhe interestl of CODlfAtptiooalilm. Cl Tbe .4..,Io·~flUrittJ.
 888 Editorial Iten'8. [Aug. 1852.
Nt", ClawcA Rtporito'1l, edited by the learned Professor Ba~ht seems intent at once Oft
making something real out oC the reveries of Swedenborg, aDd OD leading the followers of
tbe Swt:de to participate in the concerns of reallifa, as persons wbo are part aDd paucel
of the material.world. The dilCotJlions on Slavery and Abolition are candid Ilnd in~tnJcl·
ive!' If our gooo friend the E'di!or, whose band we recognize in this pnragrapb, were iRd,-
ptfldtftl enough ofpopular prt-judice and traditional misrepre.entation, to examine for lain)-
.U. he would see that it is no new phase oC our doctrines that is pre8E'Dted in the P8~
of the Repository j tbat one of tbe very first lessons whicb we are taugbt b, tbat we are
ab4So1lltely bound U to participate in the concerns of real lire as persons who are part and
parcel of the material world.·' It is in this way that we are called to elevate our l'itty into
charit,; and if the" reveries of Swetlenborg" can yield somet~inK so U rear' as thi~, may
It nol b~ pO~t'ible that these so-called U reveries" would be fuund upon investigHtioD to
poSleSS Inore of the cbaracter of " realitiea" than the sapience of the world, includiDg
many distinguished editor., has ever yet inlagined?

Since inserting the article on the .. Rarly History of the New Cburch," and in facl
while the present form is going to the pre!s, information has been rttceived (roln England
that the manuscript history oC the Church len among the papers of the Rev. R.. Hind·
marsh, and Ipo~en of in the note to that article, is ere long to be published. and tbas
made accesa.ible to all who may desire it.

It is probable that before this No. oftbe Repository reaches our sub~cribers, cbe fir~t No.
of a weekly newlpaper, under tbe editorial charge of the Rev. Mr. Wiggins, and devotrd
to the il1terests of the N~w Church, will have been issuttd. Thi~ No. we understand, i, fa
be regarded a8 a specimen of the ·paper, and will lIerve instead of a prospectus or any
other form of anllouncement. It is to be entitled" The Age."

Mr. Alien has published an edition of tbe valuable eermon of !tIro Hoyden. dt-lin~rtd
before toe General Convention at Philadelphia in June last. It is entitled, .. The New
Jerusalem the Cburch ot the Future," the de!'ign being to show tbat the felt desid~rntum
on tbe !core of a true church now pervading Christendom can only be supplied by a
church posse,sing tbe attrilJlltCS of the New Jerusalem. Price 6 ~-4 cents.

We are happy to learn that the Rev. Mr. Reondell of England, autLor of the I f AntedHa-
vian Hlstory,U has in press, ,oon to be issued, a volume OD the Cl Peculiarities of tbe Bible,
being an Exposition of the Principles involved in the Illost reJunrkuLle Facts and Phenom-
ena of Revelation." The spflcial 8ubjects treated will be. the Expectation of Progres, iD
tbe Cburcb j tbe Origin of th~ Idea of God in the World; the Soul or
,.fan; Revelation
and Inspiration j gp.nuine and apparent Truths in the Scriptures; God's MODife!18tions
to Men; Dreams and Visions j Miracles and Parables; Hi~tory and Prop'lecy; the llller·
mediate Spiritual 'Vorld; Heaven and Hell; witb many other kindred subjects.

The Roynl .~cadcmy of Science ot S\ycden has tbis year caused its annual medal to be
struck to the memo,·y of Swedcnborg, one of its first and most honored member.. It belU'j
a two· fold inscription-above, U In foO great an alumnus (the Academy) exult. "-belo,,·,
• I t To (Swedenborg) a former assocJate, and wonderful in,·estigator of nuture, ml)st highl)'

esteellled."
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHLY REVIEW.

'.1. ,. .SEPTEMBER, 1M2. No. 8.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.

APHORISMS ON SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.

No. VI.
( COftcludttl.)
TJIK wnor of the preceding discussion has, if we mistake not, pa'Yed the way for a more
definite enunciation of what we conceive to be the law of charity in the matter before us.
We have seen that tbere are certain general considerations sugge.ted by the prOt1id.tit.d
relations of slavery, which imperatively require to be taken into the aoconnt when the
cuuiltry of the subject comes in question. We have seen that wblJe there is an immediat,
dut7 of rmtJftCipatirm incumbent upon the holder of Ilaves. it is not at the same time tbe
dvt, of immediate rma-npatiOft, for there is doubtless an important though nice distinction
between the two, the nature of which will be sufficiently obvious trom what we have
already said. The duty of rntering at OflCe upon the incipilflc, of a" rmancipating procu.
we bave argued at length, and as this duty urges itself upon the individual in the first
instance, we are warranted in pressing home the appeal to every one who can feel the
torce of Christian obligation, to obey the dictates of con8ci~nce wholly irrespective of the
or
co-operation or kindred co~viction. others. He i. not in fact at liberty to merge himself
In the community, and await legislative action before he himself acts. Each one is to do
that which, if every other ODe did, the devoutly desired consummation would take place.
By mentally abnegating the central falsity and evil of the .ystem, without reference to any
other win than the will of Heaven, he does in effect Cl wash his hands in innocency," al
fa!' as .e the great transgression" of slavery is concerned. Other men have their duty to
perform, as he has his. and they are not to wait for each other.
But supposing this duty thus rar pertormed,-whtch we may call tbe duty oC repent.
aDce-then the' duty ot good works or of justice, mercy, and equity to the slave,
becomes imperative. And here we would endeavor to make tile slavehnlder's case our
• own. We would put out 80ul in his soul·8 stead, and whatever we clearly see would be
our duty in the supposed case. we are forced to consider as his duty in the actual case.
And having settled it as our Blit duty to make a mental renunciation of lh~ false principle
Jriag at the foundation of the system. it seems, in the next place, an .ine~!table inquiry
vo~ v. 26
 890 ApAorinM on Slave,·y and Abolition.-No. VI. [Sept.
whether duty would fairly require the making known to our 11aves the ohauge that had
caken place in our own minds, the proclaiming to them that we DO longer regarded them
u our property, and the asSUriDg them at the Illme time that we Ihowd take immediate
measorel for 8etting them legally free. This might seem, at first blulh. to be the on), couit-
tent course which a good man could punue in the premises, aDd ODe so obvious that tber&
oould be no foom for the least hesitation. But we lee clearly that we MotIld hesitate, and
that we Ihould have good reasant for hesitating, for we could not feel at liberty to ignore
the resulting consequences of tbe step. So flU as we are able to jodge, no end of true
benevolent UIe or neilbborly love would be subserved b, such an annouucemeoL Weeu-
not perceive that the master would thereby be enabled any better to comp... the good of
his slave than if he preserved tbe most rigid silence al to hi, interior viewI and purpotes.
Such an announcement might lead on the part oftbe slavea to restlessn8ll, and insubordi-
natioD. aDd other miachiefs. while it would do nothing to advance their real inlereats.
They would of course be informed on this head in due time, when better prepared for it
Meanwhile the interior conviction which we have supposed to have Iprang up iD th.
mind of tbe slaveholder is not to be without fruit. Fidelity to acknowledpd principia
will require that he should act as well al feel, and hi. actions should be in accordaDoI
with his feeliDgs. He is bound to carry out into ultimation those views of truth aDd dafT
which have become estabUshed in his mind, tending to elevate the slave and to fit him
for tbat form of freedom which infinite wisdom designs him to enjoy. He i. booDd iD a
firm, temperate, and dignified manner to exert hil induence to bring his feUow-eitisens
to think, and act with himself on the subject, and to agitate for the repeal of all thOlO
despotio laws which tend to frustrate the ends of tbe Divine Mere, in regard to the
enslaved. He is called upon to brave reproach. odium, ostracism. every consequence Ibal
~ay ensue upon the conscientious carrying out of hil principles. Doing this be in effecl
acquits himself of all evil participa'ioD. ill the .,stem. and in dle Divine estimate wiU
be considered a. haviDI " broken the Joke and let Ibe oppressed go free."
It is olear, however, that the course now indica~ is one that can never be followed
except by those witb whom profound religious prinoiple is paramount. It involves too·
much aelf..denial and eclf-sacritlce to be acted upon by any othen tban those who are wil·
linl to .. lose their lives that they may save them." We cannot but be sensible that .uch
a course requiles nothing short of a mart". 'Pi,;t in tbose who may be moYed to enter
upon it. And trom this fact it mUlt be evident to what a limited extent the views noW
advanced will be eDtertaiued. But we are not to" diminish aught" from the stern requi-
sitions oC the moral code to which tbis subject is amenable. And we are therefore bound
to ..y. that there is no pOllibility. under the Divine government, of escaping the penaJdel
ot wrong-doing, even though we may ourselves have bad no other than a hereditarJ rei.·
tion to the wrong in question. All evil, and especially that of l1aveholdiDg, is a quiek"
let bedle which one ean neitber get into nor out of without laceration. A mu must bo
willin, to part with hi. propert" and even to lay down hiIUle,' jfneedJ be, for conlCience
sake. Still it is a pleasant countervaiUng re8ection, that in point of facl this extremity of
sacrifioe il often precluded in the hidden workings of the Divine PrpvideDce. An
unfeigned willi.ngnesl meekly to resign everythiag from the force of moral prinCi'iple, is often
accepted by the Divine cJemency tor tbe fact, aDd the subject of it exempted trom the actual
privation which he was led to anticipate. )0 lome myeterious way compensa&iye di,·
pensation. occur, by whioh not only iloutward impoverishment repaid by inward ricbea.
but even temporal 10S88S are made up by tem.porel pinl. While therefore DO one can
• •Ule himself that be will not actually be caP,ed to II1~er the 1088 of all tblnp, and be
is not at 1iber~ to act on the presumption tbat he win be spared the iDflictloD which be
feare, Jet he ma, be Ipared. and the more profoHlud t, 114J tlumUlat10n before bea..eo. and
 185~.] ApAorimu on Slavery and Aboli'ion.-No. VI. 891
cbe more nbmlssively he kIsses the rod, the more reason is there Cor the hope of ex.mp-
liOb.
We have thus expounded our Idea or the true natllre oC emancipation as dictated by the
laws of oharity and of order. It is a process which BUppOleS the continuance, for the
present, of the external relation betw.,n master and slave, while in its internal es~noe
and spirit it has undergone an entire transformation, from the fact that the central princi-
ple on which the system rests i. sincerely renounced. That the conscientious master does
Dot 'et once go the full length oC maoumi••ion is because oC the condition of' mental inca-
pacity which slavery hu entailed apon its subjects. and of'the impediments thrown iD
his way by the existing laws oC the slave States, to disregard which would be to lubject his
bondmen to a worse lot than to retain them in his service while he was doing his. utmost
to effect the removal of these impediments. The slaveholdiog, if we 80 term it, which
continues during this interval, we cannot regard as a lin ptr ". It is a mere temporary
dute88 enforced by the stress of circumltances, and no more to be censured than would
be the masterts retention oC his virtually liberated slaves. when he sees that the sending
them forth would be uposing them unarmed. and helpless to prowling wild beasts, poi-
sonous I8rpents, or mercileu banditti. I t is a purely Providential barrier which inter-
poees itlelf b~tweeo the prompting. oC hi, own mind and the complete enfranchisement of
his bondmen. Ollr pOlition is. that the law oC charity is satisfied with the procedure which
we have indicated, provided there be no secret, subtle evasion of the demands of coo-
scienoe on the score of protest and agitation aiming at a radical cure of all the eyils of the
insti tution.
Nothing, however, il clearer to UI than that the course we have now suggested would
by no means _defy the ultra relormer. He will be content with nothing 8~ort of an
itllt.ftI rtlJ'twt of all the bonds that connect master and slave. leaving out of view tbe
• whole train of consequences that may ensue upon the step. With this theory of aboUtion
we do Dot sympathize, as it appears to us who~ly to overlook those principles of action
which are 10 emphaticaUy recognized by the flew.Church. Acting under the inlluence
of th088 principles, we feel assured that an eye is to be had to the contingencies oC our con-
duct. ~ The probable ea-eel of our decision upon the welfare of the colored man is an eta-
meDt wh~ch is to be taken into the account in determining the duty owed him. \Ve
are compelled. then, as far aa we lee, to forego the countenance and co-operation of thi,
olass oC men. Urged on by the controlling power of ODe grand idea-that of immcdiat.
~""'fltCipatiOf&. in every sense of tbe term-they have nQ sympathy to throwaway upon those
who are liolering far in the rear oC their onward rapid course.
So again ODr line of' argument will appear sadly defective to all those who would have
the great problem of slavery solved on grounds that apply to all that are in any way con-
cerned with it. But thie is not our drilt. We assume not to say what is the duty of those
who do Dot at present acknowledge the truths which are paramount in the estimation of
the man of the New Church. We are not writing {or the promiscuous many. but for the
select few. We have all along considered ourselves 8.1 addressing those who were acces-
sible to the appeal of Now Church principles, and who would therefore duly appreciate
any friendly suggestions that might aid them in their ulthnation. We have taken it for
granted that the truth. which they receive come to them demanding with an authoritative
voice to 6e ultimated. and that too without reference to the action of otbers. He that i.
wise is to be wise for himself, and popular precedeot will weigh with him but littlo. It
• with epirits ofsuob a mould that we consider ourselves as having to do. le What have
we to do to judge them that are without ,,, To their own master they atand or fall. We
should Dever YolUDteer to crapple with the su.ject of slavery on.. political grounds, and ...
defended by political men. Viewed on tltat side it involves probleme t.a valt and com-
plicated for our feeble power.. We withdraw from it al tram tbe vicinity of. volcanio
mountain which has begun to heave and nmble in token of speed, eruption. To mere
 392 .Aphorinn, on Slavery aad Abolition.-No. YL [Sepl
worldly and irreligious upholden oC the system, what could we lay 1 W. are almiDl co
point out tbe legitimate operation of certain principles in reference to those who ack....l·
edge the obligation of these pri~ciple.. In respect to others. our 8rst object would be of
course to bring tbem to the knowledge and acknowledgment of the principles in qUClliOD,
and when this wa. done they would come within the ranp of our remarks. But pteTi-
"US to this we have nothing to say oC the light in which they are to reaard their dotT,
though we bave DO hesitation to speak in strong terms of their liD.
It is, however, no difficult matter for us to peroeive that even in regard to thole whom
we have especially in view in this discussion. it may be and perhaps wiU be 81IgeU,
that the policy proposed would be merely a perpetuating of slavery under the plea ofdi!-
carding it. To this we CRn ·on]y say, that for ourselves we regard it a8 iD a majority of
cases the ()n)y practicable course to be pursued eonlistent with the claims of genuine jU·
dce. It strikes us as the only course which will satiety the demands of couacieDOe on the
one hand and oC charity on the other. Calel indeed there undoubtedly are where a man,
acting in view of all the enactments oC the civil code, can take hie bondmen to a free
State, or send them to Liberia or 10 CaDada. When this can be done, let it be done. It
win be a noble benefaction. But in thouaand. of instances this coune cannot be C01lDted
upon. The ability is wanting even wbere the disposition is present. A providential bin-
drance hedges up the way. What altemati~e then remain. but that the extemal relation
be continued for the present; while its internal oharacter is totally changed iD CODle-
quence of the mental change above deBCribed 1 To the NewchurchmaD the wholo subject
will come IIp in the light oC a providential ordainment bearing upon his regeneratiem. He
will safely draw the conclu8ion that, all things considered, his regeneration wiD be be!t
promoted in the circumstances in which he Is placed. and that for the ..me reuon that
of the black man also-which the Lord equally regard...-ie under the belt au.pic.. in the
heritage of .trVic~J not oCala..,"" where hialot bas fallen. On both 'ides the aim should
be the compusing of the ultimate ends of the divine benignity in reference to both. To a
right state of mind the relation of master to slave will be, as we have already intimated,
no more voluntary than that of slave to master. It will be a compelled relation to both
parties. and yet both recognizing a special providence in it, "it may be traDlformecl to.
blessing to both j but in order to this ita genius mUM be transformed. by the mental process
whicb we have all along made 80 prominent.-
No one can be more fully aware than ourselves oC the thousandfold advene io80erJces
that must in the slave States oppose-the realizing of the results which all good men would
fain have brought about in respect to this matter. The institution itae1f has generated a
world of corrupt sentiment and practice which prevents its true oharacter being c1ilCoveted
or the true remedy applied. II has for its supporters thou8&lIds of men who are totally
reckless of its moral bearings, and who ply it as a grand engine for working out their
worldly weal. with about the lame unconcem aa the Califomia miner does lit crushing
machine for extracting gold from quartz. Men ot thislfamp, 10 far as they feel the need
oC any justitlcation at all of tbe system which they uphold. and 4. they uphold It, are
prone to avail themselves of pleas drawn from fallacious sources, the speciousnelS of
Which not unrrequently avails to impose upon Newchurchmen themselves. One of these
is drawn from the alleged antagonilm between the genius of the black- and.white neef.
The argument embodies itself in the proposition, that tU10 dutiraet cllU", of fH~,.,.,l,
,qual in "umber.,au 1J~t "",..let i" color. mtJtMIW, 1uJ6il., (ttli"", 4M .tatt, of ciftlUtlliDfl,
to .wh a degree that arnalgaft.atiOfl (by i.'mnarriage) iI iml'OIri61e, CGtIftOt d",,1I togtf1an- i"
t1t~ lame commUftity, utah.i tlu Of&e bt i" It'bjrcticm to the otAw. The past history or the

• The hints of our esteemed correspondent on le The Extemal Laws ot Order,- in the
August No_. oC the Repository, "UI be found extremely pertinen' in thi. coDDeC1ioa.
 1852·1 AphorUlIU 01& Slavery and Abolition.-No. VI. aDa
world d08l undoubtedly afford IOme countenaDce to this idea,aDd if we allume that the
S8UlO prinoiplea oC l81fishDeaa and the same worldl, pas.ions am ever to bear rule among
IDeD. the position would continue to hold good. But the man of the New Church is
taught to recopize a tranaformine power in the truthl oC the dispen.tioD now being
ushered in, which will eventaaUy 10 change the internal statelof meD, a. to naUifJ the
f~ ofpreeedents and make the put no longer a model oCthe future. We do Dot indeed
anticipate an,luch millennium as shall obliterate national distinctiolll and fQee the pDiul
ofdift"erent races into one common type. but we look Cor such a mouldi DI in1luence from the
operauve 1aw8 of cbarity, such a harmonizing oC locial intereatl, that native repugnance.,
th01llh Dot extinguished. sball yet be 80 regulated and .ubordinated al to .condllC8 to the
peater perfection of the grand lOCial man. _very portion oC that extended spiritual cor-
poreit, win then perform its distinct function in perfect accordance with every other po,.
don, and as there will then be servile UI8I necessary, 80 there win be thOle who have a
native lav. of thOle Use8. and wiU perform them al cheerfully as the ocoupants oC a hiliher
plane perform theirs. If we rightly read the Mrican pniu. there ia in it. aervile ele-
'Dent, a something which prompts them 10 oecupya menial Iphere, and renders them
more happy and cententld in that sphere than iD any other. We io Dot oC coalle recog-
nise in this tact a warrant for their reduotion to a state oC alavery, but we do perceive in
it a ground for the .olvntar, adoption hereafter of "met as tfte permanent aphere of their
uee. All that is needed is for them to have an intelligent view oC the truth. oC heaveD
and oC the principles oC the Diyine Order, and to yield a hearty ooncurrence therewith;
tor the law of that order is that every ODe IhouldfoUow his promptings and adaptations in
the dilCharp of his peculiar {unctioDs. Every function that is demanded by the exiaen-
cies of the social body is in itself honorable, and the language of the apOItte is in lbia rela-
tion pre-eminently pertinent•
• 1 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one

body, beiDg many are one body; 10 also is Chrilt. For the body t. not one member but
many- Irthe foot ahallsay. Because I am Dot the hand, 1 am not of the body; is it there-
fore Dot oCtbe body? And it the ear ahall say, Because I am Dot the eye I am Dot of the
body; is it therefore Dot of the body 1 If the whole body were an eye, where were tbe
bearing? if the whole were hearing, where were the smelling 1 But now bath God eet the
member. everyone of them in the body, al it hath pleased him. And jf they were all
ODe member, where wereOthe bod,? But now are they many member•• yet but one body-
And the eye cannot .ay unto the hand. I have no need of thee j nor again, the head to
the feet, I have no need oC YODo Nay, much more. those members of the body, which
seem to be more feeble, are necessary. And those members oC the body which we think
to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor. and our uncomely parts
have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need; but God hath tem-
pered the body together, having giYen more abundant honor to that part which lackttd:
that there should be no IChism in lhe body; but that the member. ahould have the same
care one tor another. And whether ODe member su1f~r, all tbe members suffer with it j
or one member be hODOred, all 'the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body oC
Chri~t. and members in particular.

The perfection of society i. when all tbi. is understood and acted upon freely by all iu
memberl. When thus acted upon on a large ICale in our own country, we see not why
there is Dot scope for the colored race to bring into play their characteriltic proclivities.
terming all integral but relatiYely subordinate part of the social man, at once without
compulsion and without reproach. There is certainly truth in what is laid by ODe of the
l~terlocutor. in cc Uncle Tom," that Cl if there i. rough work to be done, there must be
rough hands to do h," and if there are luch hands, and they love to do such work. wh,
.hould they not do it ? Why .bould Dot thi. be the lelf-selected sphere of their operation.
in which all their innate tendencies shall be developed without conflict with an, other
member of the locial commune to wblch they beloDgl ADd may we not reasonably sup-
pose that in this way the moral affinity shall overpower the national antipathy of which
",e are treatiDg'

•
394 ApTurrilf7l' on Slavery and AOOlititm.-No. n [Sept.
Upon one other .pectous plea. originating from this lOurce. wiU we dweU for a momellL
It is Dot unfrequently maintained that the slavery obtaining in tbe American Union i.
countenanced by the ScriptureI. and precedents are sought with aYidity in the example of
Abraham and other patriarchs. To the argument, aa urged on this ground bY' the advo-
cates oC the aystem, we shall not attempt to reply. Mr. Barnes and others, by tbe mOlt
luminous expositions, have shown its fallacy, in our estimation, beyond all dispute. Bot
when a Newchurchman has recourse to Holy Writ for 1\ justification ol the system, we
are vastly puzzled to know how to take him. Admitting a8 he does, the spiritual lellle
of the Word, and consequently of these ancient histories, why does he here IE't aside that
sense, and build his authority upon that of the letter? Is there not lomething like double
dealing here 1 Is there not a voice like Jacob's while the hands have the feel of Eaau'a t
Can we consi.tently play back and forth between the sense or the letter and the sense of the
spirit,to serve a turn in this matter? If we can do it here, can we not by parity of reasoning
do it also in the case of polygamy and of the CaDaanitish wars? Are we prepared then to ap-
pear to be 10 recreant to our avowed prinoiples as to entrench ourselves behind the breast..
work of the letter, when on every other sabject we should plant ourselves upon the purport
of tbe spirit? We have nOl, it will be observed, appealed at all to the authority of the
Scriptures in the foregoing discussion; and the reason Why we have Dot done 10 is, that the
priracipl" on which the great' question is to be ieoided are principles inlaid in the CODSti·
totlon and the intuitions of the human mind. and may thus be termed a prior authority
to that ot the written Word, though still accordant with its true interior teachiDI. It
would have beealdle for tit to ha'Ye cited any thlnl but the moral and precepti\'8 pauages
whioh appJy to the case, and these are all summed up in the grand golden precept of doiog
to others as we would that they should do to us. 80 far &1 our suggestions have been in
accordance with this rule, we have in fact built our plea upon the authority ot the Word
all along t&roughout the whole couree of the discUISioD, and from this lOurce we deem
ourselves abundantly confirmed in our main p08ition as to the duty of the conscientious
slaveholder, to wit, that he should mentall, but sincerely renounce the evil and the
falaes of the institution, while at the ..me time he shall not consider himself exonerated
from the present charge of hi. freedmen, but shall perform towards them the duties in-
yolved in the outward relation.
If it be objected that the law knows no luch casuistical abstractions, but regards all al
Ilaves who are not formally Creed, and that consequently the death of lach an emancirator
would leave his .erYanls exposed to the terror. of the auction mart. we can only reply, that
If he sincerely does that which he thinks to be right and best under the circumstanoes. he
I1 not required to burden his mind With a dread of consequences. He has diecharged his
responsibility according to the fallest light he pOSlessed, and he may safely leave the is-
sues with Him who is oompetent to govern them. So also in view of the possibility that
his children or heirs may not share in hi. convictioDI or oarty out hi. ~ishe. after his
decease. He is bound daring his lifetime to do all in his power to impress upon them hi,
own M'D!e or the law of neishborl, love. aDd to acquaint them with his desires, and then
calmly leave ~e event to Providence.
Having now accomplished all that we aimed at, in the outset, in our own dilCussioD,
and waviDS any further comment, we resign our space to the remaIning Aphorisms of
ODr correspondent (A. E. F.)

IX.
It results that the thing properly imputable to the South in regard
to slavery is, that it has not yet originated any associated and politi-
cal action aiming at the speedy re}Jloval of its more cryiDg abuses,
and the ultimate abolition of all o~ership of man by man•

•
1852.] Apluwi'11&I'on Slavery and .Abolition.-No. VI. aD&
x.
The movement called abolition has a good and holy element in it ;
it being presumably a result, together with many other efforts
towards reform, of the last judgment. Slavery like every other evil
has a principle of aggression with it, whereby it tends, of its own
nature, to extend itself territorially, and to be aggravated within its
old bounds; the providential end of abolition is to hold this tendency
in check, and to remove slavery itself eventually.
XI.
This good element, which may be named "humanity," is alloyed
by an evil ODe which may be caIJed "impatience," which produces
various falses, but principally the dogma that the immediate emanci-
pation of all slaves is required by the precepts of the Christian reli-
gion.
XII.
That the dogma is false, may appear by the following considerations.
(n.) Society in any State where slavery exists is in a certain order.
(b.) This order is induced upon it by the action of the Divine Prov-
idence itsel.f~ according to the moral elements which are found in it,
or, in other words, according to the character of its various classes.
(c.) This order, though not good in itself if the elements are evil in
'vhole or in part, is the best possible, the subject considered. 1'hus
the order which obtains in any of the hells, though the opposite of
heavenly order, yet is induced by the Lord, and is the result of his
presenc~.
(d.) Where one class, therefore, is ignorant, vicious, improvident,
and submissive, and another is intelligent, proud, imperious, and fond
of wealth, the relations of master and slave are permitted by the Di-
vine Providence to exist for the welfare of both.
(e.) To change this order for one in itself bitter (i. e. to abolish the
relation of master and slave), without a change in the moral elements
from which it results (i. e. without producing ill the 'ruling class a
sense of justice, equity, and fraternity, and in the subject class, intel-
ligence, providence, and probity), is to destroy Divine Order. To
advocate the change any farther or faster than as this preparation i,
made beforehand is, in that degree, to maintain falses which molest
Divine Order.
(f.) The preparation must ne'cessaril~' be slow and gradual. This
is plain, whether we regard the internal change of sentiment which
is to be brought about, or the means, such as the truer preaching of
the Gospel, the wider diffusion of knowledge, provision of the means
of education, &c., by which it is to be effected. These six considera-
tions show, it is hoped, that the dogma of immedi~te abolition is false.
XIII.
If it is false that immediate abolition is the duty of the South, then
the South is justified, to the extent in which this false reigns in the
898 Conclu,ion of Reply to " Delta." [Sept.

abolition movement, in 0pPolling it with zeal, because, to that extent,

it acts in unison with Divine Order, and for self-preservation.
XIV.
The abolition movement ,veakens itself by taking ground which
has right and reason in some degree against it, and \vould strengthen
itself by tempering its impatience, and giving up its demand of imme-
diate abolition 8S a duty required by the preceptrJ of religion.
XV.
This it ""ill gradually be brought to do, because all public move-
ments, goou in their principle, advance by certain stages, becoming
less crude and more rational by time and experience. It will hereby
pervade the community more generally, and though less violent, have
more real power against the evil it opposes.
XVI.
It may be apparent, if the above principles are true, what is every
man's duty towards abolition. It may be sta.ted under the following
heads:
(1.) Never to deny the divine element in it under pretence of the
falses connected with the movement; on the contrary, to acknowl-
edge what is good and true in it, and to favor and act \\l'ith it to that
extent.
(2.) To bring it, as far as possible, more in accordance with the
laws of Divine Order by opposing what is violent about it, and remon-
strating with what is false.
G. B.•

ARTICLE 11.

CONCLUSION OF REPLY TO "DELTA."

( Continued.)
BUT We drop the parable to speak more plainly•. The Anglican
Church, Calvinistic '\vhen first reformed, had long favored the miJder
interpretations of Arminius. Presbytery and Independency, each
with the Genevese dogmas in hand, had once united in assailing her
ramparts, and each had enjoyed a brief hour of triumph. But
she had risen from her defeat, had been blessed with a long career of
worldly prosperit)-, and was now more strongly entrenched than eftr
in the favor of the state. She had, therefore, little to fear from any
part)- which would revive that doctrine in all its grossness. In the
ancient field of polemics, the weapons employed by her had likewise
proved sufficient to repress all other opponents, as they had s~verally
arisen. Public opinion h~d tbeJ'f3fore settled down in the beli~ that
J851.] COfIcltuion of Reply to " Delta."
the established faith and order were really superior to any as yet
offered by Dissent, and that, whatever its errors or defects, it was
better to bear the ills they had than retarn to systems which had
been tried and found wanting, or fly to others yet which might induce
Dew and unknown evils in place of those they had professed to cure.
In no part of the civilized world, moreover, is the spirit of caste more
operative than in England; in no country was religion itlel~ as then
professed, more dependent for its respectability on the sanction of the
state; and no where are opinions, customs, and habits long inwoven
in the very texture of the national mind, more difficult to be eradi-
cated. As, in all former contests, the state-religion had skilfully
availed herself of these considerations for the maintenance of her
position, so in any future collision mi~ht thel- be used for a like pur-
pose, and they would give her a temporary advantage over any new
opponent, whatever the intrinsic strength of the latter.
Arianism, Sociniaoism, Infidelity, open or secret, had at this epoch,
greatly corrupted the atmosphere around. A Pseudo-Evangelical
party arising in her own bosom, with its diluted Calvinism, might be
thought to indicate a re.actionary tendency. A fervid Methodism
for A time might startle her from her usual cold propriety. Bot like
as her guides were fully persuaded that the body of the English na-
tion had outgrown the theories of Calvin, so to them did it also
appear as reasonable to expect a flash of powder to burn all day as
that the enthusiasm ofWesley should become the normal condition
of the English mind. 'l'he establishment then, on a survey of the
religious horizon, seeing enemies, numerous indeed, but divided, and
no one therefore, singly formidable, could afford to be tolerant, to the
extent indicated, and the rat~er that open persecution might unite
her enemies, or confer on .some one of them a factitious importance.
This, we tak~ it, is the true key to the seeming liberality of the Angli-
can Church, so long as her relation to the state was Dot seriously
threatened.
Should she, however, be confronted with 8 faith at once Scriptural,
rational, authoritative, and uncompromising, and against which all
the antiquated weapons of her spiritual warfare would prove impo-
tent, her real disposition, which was Babylonish, as well as Draconi- .
cal, would immediately be manifested. Thus the Letter on the
Trine had stated, on evidence supposed to be quite notorious, that
Swedenborg had sent his works-which showed the universal defec-
tion from the primitive Christian doctrine-to the church authorities
throughout Protestant Europe, thus inviting them to learn and re·
port their message anew; but that "his remonstrance was treated
with neglect or contempt," and hence, the necelSity for a neW order
of messengers. This," Delta" thinks, should be received with some
qualifieation, and in sapport of such abatement he refers to the sup-
posed favor extended to individuals in the Swedish and English
churches as indicative of their general temper towards the new doc-
trine.
If all. his scanty {-acts were true as pretended, and to the extent
snppoled, here would be the elevation of the exception into the rule
 388 ConcltUitm of Rlplg to ell Delta,." [Sept.

with a witness; ~ut on re-examination, they dwindle into insignifi-

cance, or lead to far other conclusion, than those of "Delta." The
respect accorded to Swedenborg himself by the dignitaries of the
Swedish Church was paid to his honorable character, to his social
position and family connexioD, to his learning and science, and Dot
to his novel views in Theology, which, says Dr. Coliin,· they regard-
ed as imbecilities, but Dot then dangerous to the common people, as
being composed in Latin. No sooner, however, had they begun to
attract attention, and to gain converts, than the bearing of the clergy
towards the author was changed. If their procedure against him
for heresy, and their conspiracy to have him imprisoned as a maniac,
both miscarried, no thanks were due to them. Their" wholesome
persecution" of Dr. Beyer, if suc~e8sfult would have resulted in depo-
sition from the ministry, and banishment, but their maligna.nt pur-
poses, in both cases, ,vere thwarted by the friendly interposition of
the civil authorities; and thus did the laity give the first example of
, the earth's helping the woman. But the hatred of the clerical order
.having been once excited, has never been permitted to lubside, and has
80 far prevailed as that to this day there is little more religious liberty
in Sweden than in Italy or Spain. The New Church still maintains
her foothold there, bu' may not be openly professed except by special
favor, or propagated unless in secret, and with the most vigilant cir-
cumspection.
Should the reader desire to know the spirit by which the English
bishops of that day were actuated in respect of the new doctrine, let
him read the memorable relations contained in A. R. 341, 675. Or
should he inquire the manner ill which they recei ved the writings
which contained it, he will find the answer in another Relation,
recorded in the same work:
U Several tracts had been presented to all the Bishops, and to many of the nobles
or lords; they said they had both received and seen them, but that they did not think
them of any Value, although they were ekilfally written; and further, that tkey Aad
di"utJd,d every one, Q8 far aI pOlnble, from reading them. I asked the reason, when
yet they contained arcana relating to heaven and hell, and to the life after death,
and other important Bubjects, which were revealed by the Lord for the use of those
who will be of His New Church, which is the New Jerusalem. But they replied,
, What is that to us l' and began to abuse them, as they had done before in the world;
I heard them. . . . . It was bJ meaDJ of that hierarch1 (their &88Umption
of unlawful and abue of lawful powers), that the above-mentioned works for the
1Ue of the New Jerusalem, although publiBhed in London, and presented to them,
were 80 shamefull:r rejected, 88 not even to be thought worthy of a place in their
cataloguea."-.A. R. 716.
2. In the first letter to Dr. Beyer, he ay&, U At the conolusion of every chapter of
this work there are memorable relatimu separated from the text by asterisks, ",hiell
.you will J>lease to read over first, whereby a fundamentallmowledge will be a~uired
of the DUBerable ltate to which the reformed churches are reduced by the doctrine of
faith alOft,. I am BOW going from Amsterdam to England, where some disturbence
ha. most likely arisen, as tile bishops of England are Itrongly pointed out in the
memorable reIatioDl, but ",ecmity required it."-Doc. p. 123.
3. cc He informed me," .~ Mr. Springer, Cl that he had sent his worb to the Swe-
Wah biabopa, but; without; fruit, &Dd that they were received by them with the ~e
• See Doe. p. 41.
186S.] ConelUlioR cif Reply to " DelttJ." 899
indiSlnDoe .. he had aperienced on the JMLrj of the ED~h biahope. I obsened a
remarkable change amangat the biahopl m London; for before biB voyage to Swe-
den, thel received his works with indifFerenoe, but after it, with great respect. I
asked him. whence this change hap~ned. He replied, 'God knows the time when
His church ought to commence.' "-Doe. p. 64.
Bot this appearance of relenting most have been transitory. For
if we ask how many of the English bishops or nobles in the subse-
quent interval have openly espoused or secretly e'ntertained this new
and pure faith\? the answer is, NOT ORB that we know of: It has been
\vhispered indeed that one or more members of ·the Royal family
there-as formerly in Sweden-had regarded it with a degree of
favor. Bat in either country" the king reigns but does not govern,"
and in neither has he power to bring about an or~anic change in
church or state. Dr. Porteus, a particularly mild, amiable, and libe-
ral prelate, permitted Mr. Clowes (who, by the way, was . n ever rector
of l\ladely) to hold and preach the new doctrines; but the bishop
,vas an author himsel~ and his works give us no token of a similar
radical change in his own opinions. The former made no secret oC .
his altered views, nor did he continue to read their Tritheistic Lit-
urgy, and ever held himself in readiness, at the command of his dio-
cese, to resign his commission as a priest of the establishment, and to
cast in his lot with his despised brethren of the New Church professed.
Can we say as much of "the fifty other ministers" of the Establish-
ment, his contemporar~s, who with him accepted this as the genuine
Gospel? Some of them, we know, like Dr. Coulthorst,· were too
timid or too prudent to avow in public the truth they acknowledged
and enjoyed in private. Many of their brethren among the laity
have pursoed the same policy, but that the latter were introduced to
the doctrine wholly or principally by means of the former, is more
than we know. or believe. God forbid that we should judge the
motives of these ministers. To their' own master they have loog
since stood or fallen. Without doubt they did something for the good
cause, for which let us be duly grateful. But at this distance we
must needs think, 'Yhile contemplating the results, that had they come
out boldly and placed themselves at the head of the new movement,
the present aspect of that cause in England would have been more
encoaragi~g. We do Dot learn that they have had many successors to
their fai'th among those of their own order. But of these is our
friend, Mr. Clissold, and far different has been his course. Though
an open and powerful defender of the truth, he still retains his orders
as a priest of the English church; but holding at present, we believe,
no care of souls, he may have been tolerated as comparatively harm-
less by Bishop Bloomfield, who perhaps contents himself with an
occasional exhortation to prudence in the avowal of the dangerous
novelties. This worthy and conciliatory prelate has also trouble
enough already with his ultra-evangelical ministers on the one hand,
and his refractory Puseyite clergy on the other, without adding to the
• 80nae reference to the opinioDs and coorle or tliis gentleman may be found in an obit-
uary notice which appeared in 1nL Rep. iv. 12g, as a1Io in Mr. Noble'. addre. before the
London meeWag in hODOI oC Mr. Clowes.-L l~. 3d, Vol. 1. 475.
400 CmacltUiOll of Reply to " Delta."· [Sept.
Dumber of exciting controversies. The doctrine of baptismal regen-
eration has been discarded by. others than Newehurchmen. and Mr.
Gorham, who contended successfully with the Bishop of Exeter on
that head, judging from his sympathisers both there and here, may
have been nothing more than" an Evangelical." But to retum to
matters .more relevant, all English prelates have not been like
Drs. Porteus and Bloomfield. By some of them, as we learn, a
feeling not merely indifferent, but positively unfriendly to the New
Church, has been manifested in various ways; and we know of at
least one instance in which that feeling has proceeded to the length
of deposing a minister for preaching the fundamental doctrine of the
true Christian Religion.·
Seeing, then, that the Erastian Church of England repelled the new
Christian doctrine on its first approach, and has continued to do so
until now, we may regard her as having taken her position definitel)·.
She like others, has mistaken a blind obstinacy for rational firmness.
We have no hope that she will pnrge off her errors until she is com-
pelled by the force of public opinion, nor do we doubt that she will
use all the appliances and influences conferred by her present posi-
tioD, to prevent the growth of a sentiment unfavorable to the continu-
ance of things as they are. In the eye of heaven her degeneracy may
be less than that of other churches, and therefore may the mercy of
that heaven have been continued to her for a season, or until she shall
havfl aided in accomplishing other end'J of Providence. However
that may be, no other alternative was left to those in the British Isles
who believed that the Lord had again visited His people, but to come
.out from her as well as from the minor cities of the Dragon-for they
all breathed the same spirit-and erect a new temple ,\\pherein they
might worship the Divine lIamanity in simplicity and in truth.
For the rest, we ask you not to go to France, or Germa.ny, or Rus-
sia, and see how entirely the profession of our faith and the search
after truth itself depends ·upon the caprice of rulers. Look over this
broad land, with its multiplied sects, each and all claiming the right
of private judgment and glorying in its religious freedom. Which of
these has shown a disposition to welcome the new doctrine when
.offered, to substitute it for its own, and to propagate it by all the
means at its disposal? for nothing else would a.nswer the ends of its
revelation. Is there one competent to judge, who, on a. calm revie\v
of the past, believes that such an event was ever probable 7 or who
is now so sanguine as to indulge a similar hope for the future T The
history of the world records no snch instance of voluntary and gene-
ral homage to the truth.
Our doctrine, indeed, while floating about as a speculation, found a
temporary refuge within the pale of more than one of them; and per-
haps its natnral enemies would as willingly see it buried in this way
as in any other. But in the bosom of those who have embraced it in
earnest it burns like fire and such cannot but speak out. No sooner
then was it decisively adopted by-,some as a rule of faith and duty, and

• See the oue of le The Curate of Swaleclitre."-l. R. 3. B. Y. 203.

1852.] The Parable, Eqlaiaed.-No. YIII. 401

uttered with emphasis from the pulpit and the press, than the self:.
conatituted guardians of orthodoxy took the alarm. Episcopalians,
Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists fr:reeS8-
ively assumed a hostile attitude towards the new opinions. aiJu each
proceeded to cast forth from its communion individuals who had been
innoculated therewith; thereby warning others what ihey might expect
should they presume to countenance " the Dew and damnable heresy
and superstition." The followers of Calvin in particular, wherever·
found, have set themselves up as the champions of the old system;
and, to do them justice, we mutt say that so sharp are their olfacto-
ries, and so stringent their rigor, whatever menaces the faith of the
dragon is scented by them from hence to Tartary, and finds no mercy
at their hands. Nor are we aware that-with the exception I'lready
Doted-a more friendly feeling is manifested by the numerous minor
sects of our country. • Embroiled, too, as these several parties may
have been, among themselves in time past, and hostile as are the
present feelings of each to all the others, like Herod and Pilate of old
they can suppress their feuds for the occasion and unite against the
New Church-affecting to regard her as the common enemy, rather
than to accept her in her true cha.racter as the common umpire of the
divided professors of the Christian faith.
Here then, we are warranted in saying, do also flourish tbe U blind
leaders of the blind." Here likewise are "lawyers who have take,.
away the key of knowledge; enter~ng not in themselves, and hindering
those who would enter" (Malt. xv. 14, Luke xi. 52). It is as true
now as of old that" a prophet cannot perish out of Jerusalem," and
our Christian Jews have" stoned him that was sent unto them." The
deluge of error and intolerance has also reached these shores and
overspread the land, and ~he worshipers of Jehovah-Jesu9 would
have found no rest for the sole of their feet, had He not provided a
8eparate ark. which serves at once to buoy them up and over the wide
waste of waters, and to shelter them from the tempest's wrath.
N. F. C.

AJl,TICLB ID.

THE PARABLES EXPLAINED.

No.VID.
THE HOUSEHOLDER WHO HIRED LABOBEIlS INTO BIS VJlfBYABD.
U For the Kingdom oC Heaven is like unto a man that is an Householder. which went out
early in tbe morning to hire lahorers into bi, vineyatCl. And when he had agreed with
the laboreTS for a penny a day he sent VJem into bis vineyard. And he went out about
the third hour, and law others standing idle in the market plaoe, and said unto tbem. Go
ye allO into the Yineyard j aDd whatsoeyer is right I will give you. And they weDt their
way. Again be went out about the sixth and ninth hour and did likewise. And about
the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why
stand ye here all the day Idle 1 They lay unto him, Because DO man bath hired UI. He
_jtb unto them, Go )'e allo into the ?ineyard; and whatloner i, rirht, that 'hall Y8
receive. So when even Wal com•• the Lord oC the Tineyard saith UDto hla steward, caU
 402 The Parable, Ezplained.-No. YIII. (Sept.
the laborert, and rlve them thelr hire, be,iDniag {!Om \he tut UDto the Irst. And when
they came that were hired about the eleventh. hour, they received eftry maD a pe1I.DT.
But when the first came. the,suPposed that they should have received more,; and they like-
wise received every man a peDny. And when they had received it. they murmured against
the good man of the hOUI8, saymr. Thesela.t have wrought but ODe bour, and thou hast
made them equal unto us, whioh haYe bome the burden and heat of the day. Bot he
answered ODe oC them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: did!t than not agree with
me for a penny 1 Take that thine I" and go th:; way: I will giye unto thillast even as
unto thee. Is it Dot lawful for me to do what I will with mine own 1 Is thiue eye evil,
because I am good 1 So the la!t shall be first. and the first last: for maDy be called, but
few chosen."-MATT. xx. 1-13.

Q. WHAT do you understand here by the Man, a Hou,e1wlder t

A. JESUS CBRIST, as to his human and divine nature, who is calJed
a Houaeholder, as being the Source and Preserver of all Goods and
Truths, which make Heaven and the Church.
Q. And what do you understand by his going out early in the morn-
ing?
A. Early in the morning denotes the first state of the Church, when
the light of the Divine Truth, which makes the Church, first begins to
be manifested; and by going out early in ths morning is signified the
first dawn of the.influx of the Divine Good and Truth into the men
of the Church.
. Q. And what is here meant by the Householder hiring laborer8
into hit vineyard 1
A. The vineyard denotes the Church, which is called a vineyard
from its being plaqted with. vines, or heavenly truths, derived from
JESUS CHRIST, who is the True Vine; and by the labo1'er8 in tAis vine-
yard are to be understood all those who cherish in heart and life the
above Goods and Truths of the WORD OF GOD, preserving them from
all those Datural evils and false persuasions which have a tendenc)·
to destroy them; and by hiring these laborers is to be understood the
blessed recompense of heavenly and eternal life, proposed to all such
faithful laborers. ,
Q. But it is said that when th6 Houleholder had agreed with the
laborers for a penny a day, he ,ent tltem into hi. vineyard. What do
you hE're mean by hi, agreeing loilh the laborera fur a penny a day 1
A. By a penny a day is to be understood the recompense given and
procured under every particular state of the reception and growth of
heavenly truth; and by agreeing with the laborers for this penny is
to be further understood, conjunction of life with JESUS CHRIST, which
is the result of that reception and growth.
Q. And what do you understand by the Householder ,ending the
. laborers into his vineyard 1
A. By ,ending, when applied to the Divine Being, is to be under-
stood the putting forth or ~manation of His own Divine Power; and
therefore, by sending the laborers into his 'vineyard is to be under.
stood, the communicating to them Divine Power from Himself; by
which they might be enabled to cherish, in their own hearts and lives,
the heavenly Goods and Truths of His Most Holy Word.
Q. Bllt it is said, that goi,'g out about the third hour, he saID OtAer6
'tf,Q,nding idle in the market.place. What do you here understand by
, Householder going out about the third hour?
1852.] TAe Hou.e1aolder IDho Aired Labor,r. into Ai. Vineyard. 408

A. By the Householder going out is to be understood, the Divine

Influx into the men of the Church; and by his going ont about ,1&e
third hour is to be understood, a successive state of natural life with
the men of the Church.
Q. And what do you understand by his seeing otller, standing idle
in the market-place ?
A. By the market-place is here to be nnderstood, a state of the natu·
rallife, in which man is capable of procuring to himself the Goods and
Truths of Heaven and the Church; and by the Householder ,eeing
others ,tanding idle in it is to be understood, the Divine inspection
exercised on those who are Dot yet converted from a natural state of
life to a. spiritual state, having never done the work of repentance'
to
from a sincere desire attain regeneration through conjunction with
the Divine Love and Wisdom. All such are said to be idle, because
they have never applied themselves to that one thing needful, which
is the great work for which they were Rent into the world.
Q. But the Householder said to them, Go ye also into the tJineyard
and whatsoever is just, 1 will give you. What do you here understand
by the HODseholder laying to them, Go ye allO into the tJineyard 1
A. By saying to them is meant a Divine dictate in their hearts and·
consciences; and by go ye alIa into the vineyard is meant the object
of that dictate, in instructing them that it is the Divine Will, ground-
ed in the Divine Love and Mercy, that no human being should stand
idle, but that everyone should endeavor to cultivate, in his own
heart and life, those heavenly graces and virtues which the Father of
MerciE~.tI is desirous to implant in the minds of all His children, for
their eternal happiness and salvation.
Q. But the Householder says, further, WAatloever u just I will give
you. How do you understand this 1
A. By these words the Householder would instrnct the idle, that
they have a just God to deal with, who rewards everyone according
to ',is ivorks; in other words, who imparts the grace of His own Love
and Wisdom to every onet in proportion to his desire of it.
Q. But it is said again of the Householder, that he went furtA about
the sUth and ninth hou'", and did likewise. What do you understand
here by the lixth and ninth hour 'I
A. Successive states of the natpral life before man becomes spir-
itoal.
Q. And what do you mean by his doing likewise 1
A. By doing likewise is meant the same thing as hiring laborers
into hia vineyard; that is to say, the recompense of eternal life, pro-
posed to all those of the Church, who are faithful and diligent in cuI·
tivating the graces of the Divine Love and Wisdom.
Q. And what do yoo understand by the eleventh hour, which is
mentioned in the succeeQing verse?
A. J £8US CHRIST distingnishes the period of human life into twelve
hoors, when he says, .Are there mt twelve hours in the day? By the
ele"67,th hour, therefore, is to be understood, the last period of natural
life preceding its completion; in other words, preceding the period or
final decision, either for eternal happiness, or misery.
 The Parable, EqJlawd.-No. YIII. [Sept.
Q. But on tbiR occasion, the Householder puts this question to those
who were standing idle, Why ,tand ye here all the day idle 1 What
do ~rou there understand by this question 1
A. The Householder now first proposes this question, to the ilJtent
that he might lead those to whom it is addressed, to make the profita-
ble inquiry in themselves concerning the causes which withhold them
from cultivating the graces, and bringing forth the fruits of the Divine
Love and Wisdom in their own minds and lives. For such is the
design of all inquiry proceeding from the Most High. It is not made
for his own sake, or for his own information, but for the sake &Dd for
the information of others. by suggesting to them the spirit of inquisi-
tion which may conduct them to a right knowledge of God and of
themselves, by leading them to explore their own secret intentions
and purposes, and thus to discover the interior operations of their o\\~
minds.
Q. And what instruction do you learn from the answer given to
this inquiry, when it is said, BecalUe no man hatll. hired U8 'l
A. I learn from this answer, that the true reason why mankind in
general live carelessly. and with indifference to their eternal con·
I cerns, is, because they have ne~er been brought to reflect, in their
own minds, on the inconceivable happiness reserved in heaven for all
those who have cherished in their hearts and lives the graces of hea-
ven; that is to say the graces and virtues resulting from a right
reception of the Divine Love and Wisdom.
Q. But it is Raid, that when even was come, the Lord of the vineyard
.aid to his ,teward, Call the laburer. and give them their hire, begin-
ning from the la,t unto ti,e first. What do you mean in this passage
by the even coming?
A. By the even is meant the terminatioD. or final period of man's
natural life, when he enters upon the great realities of another world,
and beoomes associated with spiritual beings in that world, agreeing
with the interior state of his own mind, whether it be good, or evil.
Q. And what do you understand by the steward, whom the Lord of
the vineyard commissions to call tlUJ la borers, and give them their
hire?
A. The Lord of the vineyard properly denotes the Divine Good of
the Divine Love: and His steward, therefore, denotes the Divine
Truth of His Wisdom ; hence, as a steward administers to his Lord,
80 the Divine Truth administers to the Divine Good. Moreover, all
ma~'s spiritual recompense is dispensed from the Divine Good by, or
through the Divine Truth; and therefore, the Lord of the vineyard
here saith to his steward, Call the laborer& and give them tlwir hire i
because the hire of the laborers denotes their spiritual recompense,
and all spiritual recompense is from the Divine Good, in conjunction
with the Divine Truth.
Q. But why is it said, beginning from ti,e last unto the .first 1
A. Because the subject relates to recompense, and all recompense
has reference to joy, delight, and happiness; and this recompense
commences, first in the natural principle, which is the last, or lowes~
and then advances to the higher, or first principles of the human
1852.] TAe Householder who hired Laborera into hi. Vineyard. 405

mind, called spiritual and celestial; nor is it full till it is communica-

ted conjointly to all the principles.
Q. And what do you understand by those receiving each a penny
woo were hired about the eleventh hour?
A. By a penny, it has been already shown, is meant the recompense ·
given and procured under every particular state of the reception and
~rowth of heavenly truth; and therefore, by receiving each a penny,
is to be understood, that each recei,-ed a recompense of heavenly joy
and delight, proportioned to the reception and growth of heavenly
truth in his own mind and life.
Q. But it is said, that when the first came they 8uppoled that they
8hould receive more, and they likewise received each a penny. What
do you conceive to be meant by the first supposing that they should
receive more 1
A. It was intended to point ont, by this circumstance, what is the
general mistake and misapprehension of mankind in regard to future
recompense. For it is commonly supposed, that what is called the
recompense of the righteous will be dealt out hereafter, either accor-
ding to the arbitrary mercy of the Almighty, or in the way of pay-
ment for particular acts of service done by his creatures, just as a
master here on earth pays his servant wages for the work which he ·
has performed. Whereas, the real truth is, that everyone is rewarded
hereafter according to his reception of httavenly life; and since all
heavenly life is of love and charity, therefore, everyone is rewarded
hereafter accordiilg to the 8t8,te of his mind, in regard to those two
heavenly principles, viz., Love to the LORD, and Charity towards his
neighbor. It is moreover to be observed, that all heavenly joy and
delight spring from, and are connected with, those two heavenly
loves, and therefore it is impossible for anyone to attain heavenly joy
and delight, \\7hich is the pure recompense of the righteous, only so
far ar-i, by the cultivation of heavenly truth in his mind, and its frue-
tification in his life, he is rendered receptive of the full influel1ce and
operation of the above two heavenly loves. These first, therefore,
likewise receivpd everyone a penny; in other words, the)" received
happiness according to the state of their love a.nd affection.
Q. But it is said, that when they had received it, they murmured
against the Householder, saying, These last have wrought one hour,
and thou hast 'nade them equal UT.tO U.', who have borne the burtf.en and
heat of the day. What do you understand here by their murmuring .
against the Householder 1
A. Their murmuring denotes that they had not wrought in the
vine)ysrd from a right principle, but rather to establish their own
meritJ; in other words, they had done good '\\7ith a view to recom-
pense, and' not from the love and affection of doing good; and they
had imbibed truth for selfish or worldly ends, and not from the genu-
ine affection of truth for its own sake. And where this is the case, it
is always attend~d with a desire of pre-eminence and distinction, even
in spiritual things; whereas, the Jove of goodness for the sake of
goodness, and of truth for the sake of truth, is always accompanied
with that spirit of self-humiliation and charity towards others, which
vo~ v. ~7
 The Parablu Explained.-No. VIII. (Sept.

takes delight in seeing others exalted, even to the highest state of

happiness, whilst it is content itself to take the lowest place. And
the reason is, because true love and charity find all their happiness
in seeing others happy, and in serving tht:m to promote their happi-
ness.
Q. What do you uDdersta~d by bearing the burden and heat of the
day 1
A. The burden and heat of the day are expressions to denote spirit-
ual Jabor, or the difficulties which man has to surmount in the \vork
of regeneration. Two distinct expressions, therefore, are made use of
to denote the two distinct sources of such difficulty, viz., error in the
human understanding, and evil in the \vill, the f9rmer being called 8
burden, and the latter heat. 1'0 bear the burden and heat of the day,
then, is to endure patiently the opposition arising from the Datural
false persuttSions in the understanding, and the natural concupiscencps
or perverse desires in the will. The day, according to its spiritual
mealling, denotes every successive state in the regenerate life.
Q. But ti,e houleholder alt8wering, said to one of them, Friend, I do
thee no wrong: didst thou nut agree with me for a pen,,,y 1 Ho\Y' is it
that the Householder here calls one of the laborers a FRIB~D, \vhen
yet be murmured against the Householder, and, therefore, could Dot
be supposed to he in agreement with him 1
A. In the original language of the New Testament, the Jaborer is
not here called friend, but companion; and this latter terln is very
well ada·pted to express the relationship subsisting between him and
the Householder, whioh the term friend does not express. For a eom-
panion is one with whom we have acquaintance indeed, but this not
of any very intimate sort, such as marks the connexion of friendship.
In the language of GOD, therefore, every man is called H~s companion
who has gained aoy acquainta.nce with Him, through the knowled~e
of His Word· and Kingdom; but he is never called a friend, until he
obeys that knowledge, so as to find a delight in obedience, and in the
. applica.tion of what he knows to the purification and reformation of
his life.
Q. And what do you suppose the Householder to meaD, when he
aays to the laborer, I do thee no wrong?
A. He meant to instruot the laborer, and through him all the gene-
rations of men, that His ways, as being the GOD of the universe, are
ways of justice and of judgment, and that He deals with all His chil-
dren, and cannot but deal \vith them according to the most exact
measure of what is right and equitable, resulting from those Divine
principles. He meant, therefore, to teach further, that none of his
children have any reason to complain of the dispensations of the Divine
Providence towards them, because the wrong, or injultic6, is always
on their part, and not on GOD'S, from whom nothing can proceed but
what is grounded in the purest love and meroy, directed by an infi-
nite and unerring wisdom. .
Q. And what do you conceive the Householder to mean, when be
says to the labor.er, Did" thou not agree with me for a penny 1
A. He meant to instruot the laborer that he had no reason to com-
plain of iqiustice. when he had received the recompense which bad
1852.J The Hou~1wlder ID/IO Aired Laborer. iRto 1&i~ ~ineyard. 40'7
beeu previously agreed opon: and, through him. fIe meant to instract
all lahorers in the spiritual vineyard, that they always receive reward
in proportion to their labor; in other words, that the good of heav-
enly Jove is al\vays communicated to them in proportion to the ear-
nest desire with which they seek it, and the sacrifices which they
make of thflir self-love in order to attain it.
Q. But the Householder saY8 furthe·r to the laborer, Take that thine
u, and go thy way: I will Jrive to thi, lcut even as UT"to thee. What
do you conceive to be the Householder's meaning, when he says, Take
that thine u, llnd go thy 'Way?
A. It is expressed in the original. Take thine own, and go, and by
a man's taling his own, and going, is meant, that he ought to be con-
tent with that measure of the divine grace and mercy which is
imparted to him by his Hea.venly Father, because in all such grace
and mercy, to whomsoever it is given, there is contained IUl infinity
of blessing, and therefore, he has no occasion either to repine at his
o\vn lot, or to envy another's, because it is impossible that he himself
should receive more than an infinite good, and it is alike impossible
that anyone else should receive more, consequently, every receiver
has reason to be fully contented with the promised recompense.
Q. And what do yOD conceive to be the Heusebolder's further
meaning, when he says, I will give to thi, IQ8t, even as unto thee.
A. It is expressed in the original, I am willing to give to this last,
even as unto thee; and therefore, the Householder meant to instruct
the laborer, and through him all other spirituallaborers, that GOD is
ever \villing, out of His adorable and inexhaustible mercy, to com-
municate Himself: and all that He has, to the least and lowest of his
creatures, and that the only limit set to such communication, is the
capacity of his creatures to recei~e. He meant, therefore, to improve
that capacity, b}· exciting in his creatures such a devout sense of his
father·ly tenderness and loving-kindness, as may dispoSe them to exert
all possible earnflstness in rendering theJl1selves meet to receive and
to co-operate with His Divine Love and Wisdom.
Q. But the Householder proposes these two significant questions to
this murmuring laborer. 18 it not lawful for me to do what I will with
mine own 1 Is thine eye evil becau'6 I a1ll good 1 What would you
say is the purport of the first of these questions?
A. The purport of the first question cannot be understood, until a
correction be made in its expression; for in tbe original tongue it is
not said with mioe OWD, but in mine own, and aocording to this mode
.of expression the sense is plain and obvious, teaohing that the Al-
mighty has all power i" His own kingdom, and iR His own people, to
mould and form .them after His own image and likeness, but with an
endless variety, according to the several capacities and degrees of. .
reception in each. It was intended, therefore, to teach further. that
man's highest duty consists in preparing himself to be a humble and
thankful receiver of the Divine Meny and Truth, because. in such
case, he admits into his mind a measure of the Divine Omnipotence,
to which he attaches- himsel~ and in connexion with which he finds
the Scripture fulfilled, which 8ai~ .All thing. are 'PO',ible to hi"" that
beliewtA.
408 The Parabls, Ezplained.-No. YIIL [Se pt.
Q. And what would you say is the purport of the second question,
1. thine eye evil, because I am good 1
A. This question involves in it two points of the greatest moment,
to be well considered in every intelligent mind. The first point is,
that GOD is the purest goodness, and consequently, that from Him no
evil can come of any sort or degree. The second point is, an inquiry
concerning the origin of evil, and particularly concerning the origin
of a perverse understanding, or judgment, signified here by an evil
eye. The Almighty, therefore, by this significant question, intended
to lead all His children to explore in themselves, so as clearly to dis-
cover the origin of all that corruption of the \\pill, or heart, and that
perverseness of the understanding and thoughts, \\'hich a~ so ma.ni-
festlyat variance with his Divine Lo,·e and Wisdom. He meant
thus to lead them to see that all evil originates in 8 perversion of
good, and, therefore, is nothing else but a good separated from jts Di-
vine source, by being supposed to belong to man as his own, and not
to be derived continually from God.
Q. "'And how do you conceive that the concluding words of this par-
able are to b~ understood, where it is said, So the fir." shall lH! lall,
and the last first. For many are called, but few cho,en 1
A. By the last becoming first is meant, that they who have cher-
ished humbly and lowly sentiments of themAelves, shall be exalted in
the divine favor and mercy i in other \vords, they shall become recep-
tive of that favor and mercy in a degree proportioned to their humili-
ation. And by the first becoming last is to be understood, that the)"
who have cherished high ideas of their own merits, and have thought to
gain the highest place in Heaven, in the way of recompense for their
good works, will be last and lowest in the di\"ine estimation, and
that because by their high opinion of their own merits they have sep-
arated themselves from the right reception and acknowledgment of
the divine mercy and favor, and have thus been led to impute saJ,ys-
tion to themselves, more that to GOD.
Q. And ,,·hat do you understand by many being called, but few
chosen 1
A. The called, are they who receive the knowledge of GOD in their
understandings; and since this is the case with the generality oC those
who possess the Sacred Scriptures,'or WORD OF GOD, therefore they
are said to be many: but the chosen are they who receive the love of
GOD in their wills, together with the truth of GOD in their understand-
ings, for these are they whom GOD always clwo8e., as being in most
agreement with the purities of His own love and mercy: and since
this love of GOD is a plant of rarer growth than the knowledge of
Gon, therefore these are said to be comparatively few.
Q. What, then, is the general instruction which you learn from
this parable 1
A. I learn that the AunQRTY, in His infinite mercy, is at all times
desirous ~o communicate to man His own eternal troth, for the pur-
pos~ of reformation and regen~ration, and that with this view He
InvItes man to co-operate both with his will. his understanding,
and his works, that so all those principles oC his life may be formed
1852.J MilCellany. 409

according to the truth, and rendered productive of its heavenly fruits

of love and charity. I am instructed, further, that different persoDs
are called, at different periods of life, to this great" work, aod that
some, therefore, enter upon it at an earlier period, and some at a
la.ter, but that the recompense promised to all is the same, viz. that
everyone shall be gifted with heavenly love and wisdom in propor-
tion to his desire of those heavenly gr8ces, and in proportion also to
the sincerity with which he labors to remove all opposite principles
from his beart and life, and to bring all his natural affections,
thoughts, and delights, into subjection to the spiritual ones in which
they originate. I am further instructed, to guard against all that sel-
fishness of my own spirit, which would incline me eith~r to seek to
establish Iny own merits, and thus to be greater in the Kingdom of
Heaven than others, or to seek to depreciate the merits of others, and
thus t6) love to see them below myself: And lastly, I learn that I
ought thus to abase mysel~ and to exalt others, from a feeling sense
and apprehension of that divine inexhaustible mercy, which is always
willing to make others happy out of itself, and which thus finds its
own greatest bliss in imparting bliss to others. Thus may I humbly
hope to become the greatest in the Kingdom of Hea.ven, whilst] am
seeking to be the least, and not to be found amongst the called only,
but amongst the chosen also, whilst I labor to bring my whole will,
understanding, and operation. into an entire conformity and submis-
sion to the Divine Will, Wisdom, and Operation of JESUS CHRIST•
•

MISCELLANY.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION.

The extreme delay in the appearance ot the Journal for tho present year, has compelled
UJ to postpone till September the publication of what ought properly to have been in-
serted in the No. for JUly. The appointment of a new secretary, not perhapI perfectly
av fait in the details of the office, may account in part for this delay, while the relt il no
doubt due to the causes, whatever they may be, which usually render the Magazine tardy
in its issue from month to mODth. For the sake of a considerable portion of our readers,
who feel a deep interest in the doings of the Conventioa, we give copious extracts Crom
the Journal. ·
ORGANIZATION.

The Convention met at the N. J. Church,4th St., Philadelphia, Wednesday, June

9th, at 10 o'clock. Rev. James SeddoD, the Senior Ordaining Minister then present,
took the Chair, and Thomas P. Rodman was appointed Clerk, the President and
Secretary of Convention being both absent. On calling the roll moat of the following
names were responded to. (Several members, not preBel1t at the opening, came in
from day to day afterwards.) Rev. Messrs. Dike, Hayden, Rodman, Pettee, Seddon,
S. H. \Vorcester, Hibbard, Worrell, Perry, Ford, CarlI, Colburn, clergymen; Messrs.
Sewall, Swanton, Gerrish, Lowell, Sayward, Wilkina, S. Reed, Clapp, Andrews,
410 ~Ii8cellany. [SepL
Bryant, Curtis, Fellowee, Stoddard, Hobart, Loud, \Visdom, Warren, Cloee, Gleou,
Swope, Keft'er, Snyder, Kent, Soammon, Officer, Forreat, laymen. On balloting for &
President, Rev. Thomas W orceeter was chosen, but 88 he was absent, a President;
,,-0 'ma. wu to be CbOleD, and the Rev. Mr. Pettee received a majority of votes.
Doubts, however, having been expressed by himself and others, whe~er his e1ectiOD
'Wall not oontrary to the Rules, he begged leaTe to resign the place, which being
oomplied with, the Rev. Mr. Seddon waa chosen, and presided during the sitting of
the Convention.
Among the principal Resolutions adopted were the Collowing :
1. In1Jitaticm. to att,nding Cl"'gymm and Licnatiata.
That Rev. \Vm. H. Benade, Rev. N. C. Bumham, Rev. Geo. Bush, and any other
N. C. Ministers or Licentiates ~re8ent, be invited to take seats with the Convention.
and partioipate in its deliberations. On motion of lrfr. Clapp, it was also resolved
that John 18&80 Hawkins, Esq., formerly an active and efficient member of the New
Church in England, who was present, be invited to share in the same privilege.
2. Ordination into tJu Second Grails of tM Mini,try.
}fr. Sampson Reed ofFered the following Resolution, which was adopted:
Whereas, The number of Receivers and of Societies of Receivers of the Doctrines
of the New Churoh) in the State of Musaohusetts, haa much increased and is likely
to continue to increase, and there is, consequently, an increasing call for the ser-
vices of a minister p088cssing all the powers which belong to the Second Grade or
the l\linistry; and
WheretU, The health oC the Rev. Thomas'Vorcester has been such for a long time
as to iDea pacitate him in a measure for the diacharl6 of the duties of his office, and
his restoration to health is still uncertain;
Thertfore, RClolved, That Rev. Thomas Worcestcr,.or in case of his absence or
inability, any other Ordainin~ Minister be authorized to introduce 8 candidate into
the Second Grade of the MiIUStry, in case application should be ma.de by the ~Iassa·
chusetta Association.
3. .Alt,ration of Rule, of Order.
On motion or Rev. Mr. Hibbard,
Rtlolved, That Rule No. 7 be amended as follows :
The President of the Convention shall preside at the meetings of Convention, and
perform such other duties BB are implied by the name of his office, together with BDy
others specified in the Rules of Order.
Re.flolverl, That all other rules requiring the President of the Convenf.ion to ~rrorm
duties properly appertaining to the office of Ordaining Minister, bo 80 altered 81 to
fe9uire those duties ~ be performed by the Chairman of the Ecclesiastical Coal-
nuttee.
ResolfJed, That Rule 13 be amended by striking out the words, U and the Presi-
dent of the Convention shall be its Chairma.n."
Voted, on motion, That the subject of the above-recorded Resolutions be referred
to a Committee to· report at the meeting of Convention next year; and that the Res-
olutions be laid upon the table. ,
J'oied, on motion, That the proposed Committee consist of seven penoll8, to be
nominated by the President, before the final adjournment of the Convention.

4. .An .Annual Circular to b, Imf by t}" Secretary to Societies and Assoeiatiofll.

Voted, on motion, That the Secretary of Convention be directed to tI8Ild a mroalar
with .uitable blanks to every Society and Association in connection with this C-on-
vention, and to other Societies at least one monthprevioUB to the meetin~ of Con-
venti,on every year, asking for such statistical information as 8~ch SocIeties and
AsaociatioDB are willing to communicate. '
 ]852.] Proceeding. of the General Convention. 411
It T,.,GlUrer authorized to fHJY UT/aift BiD,.
Voted, That the Treasurer be authorized to pay the bills for stereotyping and
printing the Report on the Book of Worship; ana also the travelling expenses and
lllcidcntal expenses which have been incurred by the members of the Committee for
the preparation of that book, when such bills shall have been approved by the Com-
mittee on Finance. .
6. Giving a hearing to John Isaac Haw"in" Esq., r"p,cting 4 yropoltd Pt'Tiodical.
Yot~d, That the Convention noW' listen to a oommunication from John lsaao
Hawkins, Esq., and that when he has finished hie remarks, the Convention stand
adjoumed until ten o'clock, A. !vI. ~morrow.
t~fr. Hawkins then addressed the Convention on the subject or a prop08ed Period-
ica1, materials for which have been for many years accumulating on his hands, and
which will contain many things of great interest concerning the history of the New
Church both in this country and in England.]
7. Rtspecting the .Addres., of tht English Conftrenu.
Re,olvm, That the Address of the General Conference of the MiDi.ten and other
members of the New Church in England, bearing date October 1(( 1851, to the
General Convention, is received with grateful acknowledgmen.; and that this Con-
vention commend! the instruction and affectionate mggeatiOD8 of that Addreas to
the cOll.8iderate attention. of tho Receivers of the Heavenly Doctrines in the United
States.
Rev. Samuel F. Dike then read the address, which he had been appointed by the
President of this Convention to prepare, to be sent to the English Conference of the
l\ew Church at its next annual meeting.
I Resolvtd, That this Convention approve and adopt the Addrelll to the Englilh
Conference 88 prepared and reported by the Rev. Samuel F. Dike. .
8. Amending certain Sections of the Rula of Order.
Voted, That the Committee to whom has been referred the mbjee' of amendin«
certain sections of the Rules of Order, be instructed to consider and report if any,
and if any, what other amendments to the Rules of Order, General Recommenda-
tions, and Standing Resolutions, they would recommend to the Convention.
\Vhile the subject of the above-recorded vote was UDder consideration, the Con-
vention was addressed by Rev. Georgc Bush and N. C. Burnham, and by Mr. <>tie
ClaI)p., a delegate from the Boston Society, on the general subject of the Rules of
Order, and the objects legitimately to be kept in view by Convention&, Conferenc8l,
Associations, and other large bodies of Receivers of the Doctrines of the New Church.
9. Resptcling tht N. C. Society in California.
Resoltted, That this Convention has leamed with great satisfaction, that a Society
of the New Church has been formed in California, bd is dispoeed to extend to that
Society its cordial sympathy and support.
10. 71P.e n,xt place of meeting.
}Ir. Sewo.ll otrered the following Resolution, which was adopted:
II t,ol red, That when this Convention adjourns, that it adjourn to meet at Chicago,
Illinois, on the second 'Vednesday of June, 1853, at 10 o'clock, A. M.
Voted, That the Secretary of this Convention be, and is hereby directed to i.ue,
through the New Church Periodicals, before the next annual meetinr;, a general in-
vitation to all the Receivers of the New Church Doctrines, and Societies of Receivers
of the eame, in this country, to meet with this Convention at Chicago, on the second
\Vednesday in June, 1853.
11. .Resignation of RtfJ. T. B. Haywtn'd, tI8 &cretary.
Re.olfJ8d, That it is with regret tbat we receive the resignation of our IODg-tried
and faitbtu1 Secretary, the Rev. T. B. Hayward, who has .tiafactorilyand pUllC-
tually performed the duties incumbent upon him. .
412 Miscellany. [Sept.
•
Resolvtd, That the thanks of this Convention be presented to him, bop~ that
the sunnier skies and the milder climate which he has sought, may be conducIve, in
the order of Divine Providence, to restore him to health and usefulness.
12. Order in rega1'd to copies of the Journal.
Voted, That the Secretary of this Convention cause eighty copies of the lonrnal
or this Convention to be sent to the Secretary of the English Conferenoe of the New
Church.
13. Communication/rom Neu York.
On motion of Mr. Scammon, Voted, that the Resolutions on the subject or the
Communication from New York, be taken from the table.
The Resolutions were accordingly taken up, and ha.nng be.en amended, were
passed as follows:
Whereas, this Convention has reoeived a oommunication from the First Sooiety of
the New Jerusalem in the City of New York, to the effeot that in the opinion of th&ti
Society it is better for it to withdraw from the General Convention. Therefore, ~
Resolved, That this Convention has received that communication with regret;
and while it wishes to leave every society in entire freedom to continue or discon-
tinue its connection with this Convention, as its views of order and use may dictate,
and while it assents to such action in the premises as is agreeable to the New York
Society, it expre88e8 its earnest desire that there should be a friendly co-operation or
the Society and itself in the uses of the New Churoh.
Resolved, That while thu8 accepting the withdrawal of the New York Societ,y,
this Convention tenders to it its sincere and earnest wishes for its future prosperity
and welfare. '
Resolved, That the Secretary of this Convention be requested. to send a copy of
the above Resolutions to the New York Society.
14. Name of Rev. Mr. Weller.
Voted, That the name of Henry Weller be omitted from the list of Ministers until
otherwise ordered by the Convention. I'

15. Closing Religious SeTfJiu,.

Voted, That this Convention now join in religious services, and that after the cele-
bration oC the Holy SUPFer to-morrow, the Convention stand adjoumed until the
time 888igned in a foregomg Resolution for its next meeting at Chicago, Jllinois. .
The Pre8ident pro tem. then invited the Rev. Isaao A. Worrell to oonduct religious
eervices. Rev. ~Ir. Worrell accordingly rea.d a Selection from the Book of Worship,
which was sung by the members of Convention and the other persons then pre8eot.
After the singing, l\fr. 'Vorrell pronounced a Benediction, and the Convention retired
until the appointed meeting on Sunday aftemoon.
At 4 o'olock, P. M. the meeting for the Celebration of the Holy Sup~r was held
according to appointment. The Rev. JaDle8 Seddon, as had bee~~:oUBlyarranged
by the committee on Ecclesiastical A1fairs, officiated in the O' ce of Baptism,
and three infants were baptized.
The Rev. M. M. Cull: Senior Minister of the New Church in the United States,
then conducted the Communion Service, closing tlle exercises with a brief but inter-
esting Address on Matthew xviii. 1-6, the passage of the Sacred SeriptUl'e8 which
he ha.d read at the beginning of the servioe.
The assembly was then diamiased with the Benediction, by the Senior Minister.

REPORTS.
Tr,asurer's Report.
From this document it appears that the General Convention has 7 shares Bank of
Commerce, and 23 shares Exchange Bank, which stand on the Treasurer's books at
their par, $3000, but which are worth more; and that there is in the hands of 'he
Treasurer the sum of $76 appropriated to the Education of Ministers,' and $13 51
balance of Book Fund.
1852.] P"oceedings of the General Convention• 413
•
Report of thl Boo" Committel.
The Book Committee respectfully report, that since the meeting of the last Con-
vent.ion fifteen sets of the Arcana Cmlestia have been made complete in libraries
tbo."t had been partially supplied.
One entire set of the Theological \Vritings of Swedenborg, together with a set of
-the Latin Aroana published by Dr. Tarel, have been sent to the Urbana University,
Ohio, agreea.bly to the order of the Convention. Eleven sets of the Apocalypse Ex-
plained have ooen supplied to l\Iinisters and those preparing for the ministry, (except
one set to the Urbana University,) leaving twelve sets on hand. Fourteen volumes
of the \Vritings have been sent to Groton Academy, 1\10.88., at the request of those
interested in the institution. Ten dollars' worth of books were given to a library in
~·Iiddleborough, Mass., to assist in making up a set of the writings; and several vol-
UDle8 were sent to Galesbury College, Ill. The French books purchased by order of
Convention, with two exceptions, are on hand.
An order has been sent to Rev. A. Silver, to ta.ke the books from the Institution
:Cor Education in the town of Olivet, ~fioh., that were sent there by Convention, and
'We learn from his report to Convention that he has taken the books and placed
~hem in the hands of AIr. A. C. Frost, of Olivet, and that they are being usefully
employed. .
Twenty-four libra.ries have been supplied with complete sets of the Arcana Creles-
tia. Four, with four volumes; thirty four, with three volumes; two, with two vol-
umes; and six, with one volume each. Thirty-two libraries have been fumished
with a general assortment of books without the Arcana. Those libraries that have
the Arcana, have also a general assortment of the \Vorks, making in all 102 libra-
ries, besides twenty-eight steamboats and packet ships that were supplied previous
to the year 1835. OLIVER GERRIsJI,jor tlte Coounittee.

Report of the Tract Committee.

The Tract BOILrd respectfully re~rt, that during the past year no new Tract has
been published, and the Board has done nothing.
In Rule 16 of this Convention it is said, that" It is very desirable that every Min-
ister of the Convention will write at least one tract every ,ear, for the use of the
Tract Board, and present the same at the annual meeting 0 the Convention." This
rule has been complied with by the l\1inister of the Baltimore Sooiety, but by no
other J\linister of the Convention.
The Standing Resolution instructing the Tract Board requires them to send a cir-
cular annually to every Society and Association in connection with this Convention,
for the purpose of making certain inquiries, so &8 to facilitate the operations of this
Board, and to enable them to report to the Convention every year, useful and inter-
esting information concerning the spread of the Doctrines by means of Tracts. This
Standing Resolution has not been complied with, either by the Chairman of this
Board or by any other member of it, authorized to fulfil this branch of its duties.
In the Report of the Tract Board for last year. 1851, it is said, "it is of more im-
portance for the Church to expend the most of its energies in circulating the works
of Swedenborg, rather than in prepa.ring and circulating collateral works, such 88
tracts," &c. Aocordingly, this Board designed to have I?ublisbed several of the
smaller works of Swedenborg or parts of the larger ones In tract form. And this
Board now reiterates what was said in their report in 1848, viz: U It would be a
good plan to make a systematic division of the True Christian Religion into small
parts, 8uitable for Tracts."
It is not to be understood, however, that, while this Board asserts the importanoe
of expending the most of the ener~ies of the Church in circulating the works of
SWedenborg, that it means to discourage or entirely to neglect the collateral works,
for it will be observed that this Board say at the same time in their Report of last
year, 1851, that" no doubt many of the collateral works have been and will continue
to be useful."
'fhis Board regrets that the manner of their organization seems to be Buch as to
want vitality, at the same time they cannot but feel that a vote to abolish the Tract
Board would be the application of a remedy worse than the disease.
414 Mi,cellany.
. [Sept.
The principal difliculty seems to be that the cost or printing and pnblication is
now borne by a single individnal, who, though a member of the Tract Board, con-
duets the busines8 solely on his own individual responsibility, Rod both the risk of
1088 and the hope of gain are his alone. If this plaD continues, it would be &8 well
to have it distinctly understood to be 80; but this Boanl cannot refrain from e-x-
pnwnng & hope that 80me plan may be devised, by appropriating some funds to tbe
Traot Board from the General Fund, 80 as to establish it on
a more permanent buia.
For the Committee, S. F. DmE.
Report of the Committee on Foreign CO'rT"pondene,.
The Committee on Fore~ Correspondence, respectfully report : We have 1eaJn'
DO particulars of the condition or progress of the Church abroad, which would bave
any peculiar interest. Its steady growth is evidenced by the increase in the Dum-
bers of known receivers of the doctrines, and quite 88 much, perhaps, by the mani-
festation of its influence in the literature, the philosophy, and even the acience or
the day. But of these topics you would not wish us to speak in detail
We have done what we could in seconding the endeavors of the Convention to aid
our brethren in :France, in the publication of the theological Writin~ of the Ch urch.
The fifty dollars appropriated to that object by the vote of the last General Conven-
tion, was duly transmitted to 1\1. Boye dn Guays, and the books were forwarded by
him according to the direction, a.nd have since then been received by l\:lr. 008 Clapp.
Since the a.djournment of the Convention, we have applied personally and by letter
to various members of the Church, and have received from some of them additional
assistance.
l\'Ir. Chauvenct, of this Committee, also addressed 0. communication to the l\fichigan
and N orthem Indiana Associa.tion on the same subject, a.nd that body had the kind-
ness to vote twenty-five dollars for thislurpose, at its meeting in February last.
This amount has not yet been tra.nsmittc , but, as we learn, will soon be sent. The
flrst Society of llhiladelphia subscribed for fifteen dolla.rs' worth of booka, which
have been receiyed. And a lady in Philadelphia gAve fifteen more. The whole
amount of money sent to M. Boys du Guays during the year is ninety-seven dullal"St
ninety cents.
~I. Boys du Guaya, in hislettcr to Mr. Chauvenet, requests us to express to the
Convention his thanks for its liberal assistanoe. He takes occasion to state, thati
while in London at the last general meeting of the Church, it was Mid to him. that
the reason why they ha.d subscribed in England for DO more of the French works,
was, that the freight and duties on the books absorbed 80 la.rge a portion of the
money subscribed. And it was suggested that the object of aiding the Frencb pub-
lications would be &s fully attained by authorizing If. Le Boys du Guays to d~posit
the books for the amount 8ubscribed in some of the public librarie-s, which are to
be found in all the prinoipal cities of France, and which arc frequented DOt only by
literary men, but also by many studiou8 Bnd intelligent mechanics and others, to
whom, it may well be hoped, that the books will be useful.
We have already communicated this 8uggest,ion to others. The ~Iichigan and
Northem Indiana Association will, as we understand, order their books to be dis-
posed of in this way. The lady of Philadelphia, of whom we have spoken, has
ordered her boob to be deposited in the library of the City of Lyons.
We take leave to recommend to the Convention, if it finds it!elf able and di8poeed
to contribute further towards thi8 important use, to consider the expediencv of leav-
Ing the 'Worb for which it pays in France, to be distributed there at ,the (llscretion
of M. Le Boys du Guays.
:All whioh is rcRpectfulllsubmitted, by
rl HEOPHILU8 PARSONS, ChairmQ~
J"or tJ.. Ccmtm ittH.
Rtport on faetD Ba$is of Rtpruentatiws.
The Committee to whom was referred the Report of the Committee or Lapnen
upon the 8ubjeot of amendments t.() the Rules of Order, &'0., and in relation to repre-
IIeIltation in the Convention, beg leave to report, that they reoommend the adoption
of the following in lieu of Seo. 1, Chap. I, Art. It of the Rules of Order, to wit :
1852.] Proceeding, of 'he General Oonvention. 415

SEC. 1. A General Convention of the :New Churoh iD the Uni~d States shan take
place &Ilnaally, which ehall be composed of miwsterSt deleptes, and isolated re-
ceivers, upon the following baai8 :
Every A8800iation or Society shall be reprMen~d by iM ministers and delegates,
and every IJQch A880ciation or Society shall be entitled to two delertle8, its minis-
ters; and every such body numbering fifty members shall be entitle to three dole..
gatee and one additional delegate for every additional fifty members; but where a
Society is ~reeented. in an As8ociation, and such, Auoeiatioa sends delegates to
this Con1'8DtioD,lUch Society shall not be entitled to any other representatives in
the Convention. But every A88OCiation shall be entitled to as many delegates as the
Societies oompoeing-it are entitled to. 1\tlinisters and is<ilated receiYers, who are 80
aitua&ed that ihey cannot be m~mbers of a Society or an A8800iation, are invited to
attend the Congention and participate in its deliberabons, and may be admitted
m.embers thereof by vote of .be Convention; but no such minister or ieolated re-
ceiver shall be a member of the Convention unless they acknowledge the three essen..
tials of the ChlU'ch ulaid down in No. 259 of Emanuel Swedenborg'8 Treatise OD
the Divine Providence, and aesent to the Rules of Order of tlie General Convention.
At all meetings of the Convention, the representative or repreaentatives of any A&-
sociation or Society shall be entitled to cast the whole vote to which the ministers
and delegates of such Association or Society might be entitled if fully represented in
the Convention.
All which is respectfully submitted,
For the Committee, J. YOUNG SCA~lMON.
Report on the Administratio·n of Baptism by Licentiates.
The Committee of l\1inist.ers, to whom at the meeting of the Convention last year
was referred the rcsolution of the Portland Society in fa vor of granting to licentiates
the liberty to baptize, respectfully submit the following report.
Upon eonsultation on the subject, & difference of opinion appeared among the
members of the Committee in regard to the propriety of making 8uoh a provision.
The committee, however, do not feel called u:pon, nor arc they ready, to go into a
complete discussion of the question on its merits at the present moment; and have
agreed, that on the whole it is inexpedient for them to rccommend any change in
this respeot in our present rules, under existing circumst&nges. .
Report on tht Case of Rev. Abiel Silver.
The Ecclesiastica.l Committee, to whom was referred so much of the communica-
tions from Rev. Abiel Silver, the l\Iichigan and Northern Indiana Association, and
Rev. George Field, 8S relates to the introduction of the Rev. Abiel Silver into the'
office of Ordaining l\1inister, beg leave to report., that they recommend for the adop-
tion of the Convention the followin~ resolutIon:
Resolved, That we sympathize with the .l\1ichigan Bnd ~orthem Indiana A8Bocia-
tion in its desire for, and need o~ a.n Ordaining Minister; that we regard Mr. Silver
88 well qualified for the office; but that in our opinion it would better serve the true
interests of the Church were he introduced int.o that office in the manner provided
for in the Rules of Order of the General Convention of which tbe Aesociation is a
member, and we would, in a spirit of brotherly kindness, recommend to the Associa-
tion and to ~1r. Silver, that, if it be their desire tha.t he continue permanently in the
office of Ordaining 1\tlinister, he be inducted thereinto at the earliest convenlcnt op-
portunity according to the rules recommended by the General Convention.
In behalf of the Ecclesiastical Committee,
J. R. HIBBARD.
Report on Communication from California.
On the communication from California, the Ecolesiastical Committee ofFer the fol..
lowing report.
It appears to us, that it would be well, as the Society recentl~ formed at San
FranCISCo desire it, tha.t they should ava.il themselves of the admmistration of the
ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper in the best manner practicable under
the circumstances.
416 Miscellany. [Se pt.
If it is the case that the Society cannot have a minister, who is the authorized
oflicer to administer the ordinances, it is oar opinion, thafif there is anyone in the
Society whom the members regard as qualified to administer. from whom they are
desirous of receiving, and who is willing to officiate in the administration orthe or-
dinances, it would be proper for him to be selected for that purpose and to act in
that capacity, being fii-st authorized by the Convention thus to act. But we would
wish it especially to be understood. by the Society and by the person administering
the ordinances to them, that this proceeding does not give a ~l1I1&8ent and full
introduction into the ministry, and that. at the earliest opportunity the Society
should avail itself of the forms of true order in regard to the ministry, 80 far as they
have been ascertained; beoaU88 only in this way can they avail themselves fully of
the uses of the ministry. This course Beems to us altogether preferable to that of
receiving the ordinances through any minister of the First Christian Church.
We therefore recommend that the Society in San Francisco be advised, as the
IeD8e of this Convention, that if they have among them Br man whom they desire,
and who is willing to become a minister, they request him to make, and that he
make application to the President of the Convention, or some one of the Ordaining
Ministers, for authority to perform such duties of the ministry as the1 may desire
him to perform, until such time as he can obtain ordination ID the New Church;
and that if the,. have no such man among them, they invite some one whom they
desire and who is willing to perform ministerial services, to make application to the
President or an Ordaining Minister &8 above, for authority to perform the sernees
D~ed until luch time as they can obtain the services of a clergyman or ordained
Dl1D18ter.

Ruolw of the NllD York Society communicated to the Convlntion.

Wlureu, It is known that this, The First Society of the New Jerusa.lem Church
in the City of New York, has for some years past entertained views in man, respects
di1Ferent from those which prevail in the U General Convention of the New Church
in the United St&te8," in relation to the uses to be performed by a Convention or
Confereqce, and that the practice of the Society in reference to Public \V onhip, a8
well as in respect to its OtOn Society regulations, in several particulars, is not in ac-
cordance with the U Rules or Order" and "Standing Recommendations" of that Con-
vention, and • ·
Wh,ertas, This Society has sol1ght, though ineffectually, through various means,
for some years past, to bring about a change in the Constitution and Objects of the
laid Convention: therefore
Ruolvtd, l,t. That this Society is.of the opinion that a merely nominal· connec-
tion with said Convention, without a hearty sympathy and co-operation in its Order
and Object!, is productive of no good results to ourselves or the Church at large,
and, therefore, that it is better for the Society to withdraW' from that Body.
Rtsolved,2d. That in taking this step, the Society would desire it to ba distinctly
understood, that they are promrted by no unkind or uncharitable feelings towards
their brethren of the U Genera Convention~" with whom they have been so long
&8IJOCiated, but that their action is based 801ely upon what they regard 88 motives or
ends of use, in oeasin~ to oontribute to the support and perpetuity of an Institution,
the Objects and Praotice of which (in the mam) do not longer commend themselves
to the Society.
Report on tlu Communication/rom the New York Society.
In regard. to the oommunication from the New York Socity, the Committee oier
the following preamble and vote: •
Inasmuoh as the New.York Society do not aotually withdraw from the Conven-
tion, but only expre88 an opinion that it is better for them to do 80: and inasmuch
&I there does not appear in their prea.mble and resolutions, to be any sufficient ~a­
BOns for 8uch withdrawal: Therefore, voted, that it is inexpedient to take any action
upon the 8ubject that shall recognize or facilitate a scparation; but that ita commu-
mcation be published in the Journal.
1852.] Proceedings of the General Convention. 41'7

MINISTERS AND LICENTIATES.

oJ tle QlfNf'ol COft"Ntiotl, or ordtJiMd i. cORfarmity tDit1& it.
...tf.~tiflg.*'tr tlu aw1&arity
Rill". .
SECOND GaADK: ORDAINING MnuI!ITBJlS. t
I\fa~kell M. Carll, Rivtr-Htad, N. Y. ordained Dec. 31, 1816.
·Salnuel H. Wilts, NeUJ ~lbaflY, Ind. Cl Aug. 29, ] 824.
-Thomas Worcester. BoatOfl, Ma... cc Aug. 17, 1828.
-Richard de Charms, Philadtlp1&ia, PG. cc May 18, 1838.
J aII1€"g Seddon, Frankford, Pa. cc June 17. 1838.
·Benjamin F. Barren, Chicago, m. u Nov. 14, 1841.
D!lvid Powell, TeDmty Milt Stand, o. cc May 29, 1842.
Satnuel F. Dike, Bat., Mt. cc Oct. 10, 1841.
J. R. Hibbard, Ch.icago, IU. May 29, 1842.
FIRST GRADE: PASTOU AIm MI8810KA1UES.
I ~aac C. Worren, Frankford, Pa. ordained Dec. 1823.
El~azer Smith, North Swaf&Zty, Ma... cc June 4, 1826.
Joseph Pettee, ~bingtOR, Ma... cc July 25, 1838.
\Varren Goddard, North Brid.~etI1attr, Mao. Sept. 19, 1839.
• Adonis Howard, Mtdford, Ma••• Cl Oct. J 7, 1841.
N. C. Bornham, Philadelphia, Pa. c. May 29, 1842.
Horatio N. Strong, EdlDard.burgh, Mit"h. cc Aug. 25, 1842.
Richard Booper, Cuyahoga Co., o. Aug. 28, 184~.
George Field, SI. Loui., Mo. May 29, 1842.
Thomas P. Rodman, Bridgt1D4ttr, Ma••• May 6,1847.
Sabin Hough, ColumbuI, o. IC
May 26, 1847.
J. P. Staart, Cincinnati, o. cc July 14. 1847.
\V ill iam H. Benade, Philadelphia, Pa. If June, 1847.
-Tbomas Wilk9, New York. Oct. 24, 1847.
Abiel Silver, EdU1ardaburgh, Mit"h. cc June 17, 1849.
J ~bez Fox~ Detroit, Mich. June 17, 18.9.
T. B. Hayward, Bo.fM, Ma... June 14, 1850.
William B. Harden, Portland. Me. June 13, 1851.
s. H. Worcester, Baltimort. A ug. 29, 1851.
J. P. Perry, Ea.t BridgtlDattr, Ma••• If
May 9,1852.
Tbolnas Starry. Peoria, nl. May 30, 1852.
LICENTIA.TES AKD MINISTKRS.
eJ...uther Bishop, ~laytOf&, N. Y. licensed Dec. 30, 1832.
-James Scou, Portland, Mt·t ordained June 10, 1'342.
-John H. Hibbard, ~thtfl8, o. licensed May 28 t 1843.
-Alfred E: Ford, MO"utoIDft, N. J.t ordained June 27 t 1847.
James Melrose, CaRton,lll.t Oct. 3, 1847.
-Joshua O. Colburn, LaflCa.ttr, Pa. licensed Oct. 30, 1848.
-Rufu! Dawes, Wa,hiflgton~ D. C.§ ordained 1849•.
T. ~I. Elmer, Jtjftr.on, o. licensed 1849.
Wright Lewis, CoJ/iftbtrr'!f, Grafld Rapid., Mic"'. Dec. 2·1, 1850.
John H. Williams, St. Clair.vi/le, O. ordained Mny,IS52.
John H. liiller, Ohio. Mt'ly,1852.
Chancey GUes, Ohio. " M a y , 1850.
E. W. Barber, Dttroit, Mid,. licensed 1S52.
Mi"iattr' iA the Unittd Sttlte. flot Orda.itaed in COftformity with thl Rule. of tht Gtt&tral
C OftvmciOft.
Solyman Brown, Nfw York. ordained July 12. 1846.
George Bush, New York. Aug. 20, 1849.
u
SUM J ones, Dawby, N. Y.
Alexander Wilder, YerOfttJ, N. Y.

• Not constantly and regularly officiating.

t The dates of ordinations in this grade designate the time when they were ordained as
Pastors, as most of them were introduced into the two grades at the same time.
t These three are ~alled Ministers. because t~ey have b~en ordained, and in UdflL:ion to
the powers of Licentlates have receIved authorIty to baptize and to marry.
§ This geDtleman is ordained with power tp baptize.
418 Correspondence. [SepL

COR RES.P 0 NDEN CE •

}JaviDir now completed, on our part, the discussion growing out or the 11 Ap'orism!,'"
it may be a matter of some interest to our readers to 900 how variously our coa.ne OD thi5
subject has been regarded by different parties. WE! insert, accordingl,. a goodJy Dum-
ber of extracts ftom letters received, which will show very clearly that if there be Dot two
aides to the abtloll1te truth of the principles involved, there are at least two sides to the
view to be taken of the general !ubject, and that each party ia very coa&deot that its
own view is the right one. We are happy to say that some of tb.8 strongest testi-
monies in approbation of our course are from the sla.ve States, while some of the bittere5't
emanate from the same source. In view of the latter we caDnot but 8Uggest to our South·
ern friends, that the fact that the sphere of slavery generates sach a spirit of intolerance,
betrays beyond question the intrinsic evil that inheres in it. Cau any further evidence be
needed that there must be a baleful element in the institution, when the very mild and
moderate tOlle of our articles has not failed to Rive so much offence and provoke so moctl
censure among those from who:n a gentle response were reasonably to be expected"1 Di-
vesting ourselves to the utmost of all undue selfish regards, and sitting calmly in judgment QC
our own essays on the subject, we are utterly unable to see that we have advanced aDythiog
to which a candid mind can take exceptions. In the exercise o'fa cool and dispassionate
spirit, without vituperation or ill blood, we have endeavored to pronounce an honest and
impartial judgment on the moral aspects of slavery. \Vhat i& there in thil that can jostly
subject the writer to a sinister construction 1 If he is cc thrice strongly armed who bath
bis quarrel jU!t," sur~ly his panoply must be weak indeed who quarrels only with t~e
arguments urged agttinst slavery. And in the present case this intolerance is stUt more
inexcusable from the fact, that the teachings of the Ne\v Church· do tend in a mo~
remarkable manner to correct the extravagances of the reform spirit and to bring out to
view those aspects of the subject which tell most powerfully on the side of the sla\'"eholder_
Confident at least we are tbat but for the light thrown on the subject by the revelalions of
the Ne\v Church, we should Dever have felt the force, or even, as we may say, have got
upon the track, of those extenuating pleas which we have freely cited in bebajf of th~
who find thenlselves compelled by the circunlstances of their lot to participate in the
responsibilities of a relation from which they would gladly recede if they knew bow con-
sistently to do it.
It is sincerely to be hoped that due weight may be given to these con!'ideratioDs, and
that no restraint be imposed upon the freest discussion of the subject within the church. Cor
we can assure our Southern friends t~at nothing will tend 10 effectuaUy to oODven North-
ern abolitionists to whatever is true aftCl tenable in their positions as the study and the agi.
tation of the subject on genuine New Church grounds.
In presenting the ensuing extracts we have follo,,,ed no partlcnlar order, but gift the
pro. and Cotll promiscuously.

U DEAR SIR : -The last numbers of the New Church Repository contain articlea
on the subject of slavery, which, to say the least, I consider ill judged and oni of'
place in a work devoted to other than I?olitical subjects. Whatever 'lour opiniOO!
may be, I controvert your right to interfere in any shape or manner WIth our politi-
eat irutitutions. S1ave~y as a moral question we consider ourselves fullI BB compe-
tent to diSOU88 &lld deoide as the people of the North, and if our verdict Should hap-
pen to diaagree with youre, we cannot feel much complimented with the iDferenoes
you would preS8 upon U8. If our views w~re the .me as thOle of the Norlhem pe0-
ple on this subjeot, we have still to objeo\ to foreign interfenaoe in aD. iDRimtMx1
1852.] Discussion of the 8lauery Question. 419

peculiar to the South, the meddling with whioh has already done great mischief to
both master and slave. The form of disoU88ion which you have adopted, though
mildness and forbearance compared with some abolition propagandists, oontain8
essentially all the elements of what our laws designate as incendia.ry writings, and
as such are not proper to be introduced amongst us. I therefore begJeave to decline
&ny farther subscription to the New Church Repository."

&& SIB. : -The

.
Presbyterians entered into discossion on a1&very-strue and confu-
sion were the oonsequence. The peace of the church was compromised. The
~Iethodiat Society, for similar cause, were subject to similar oonsequences, and so of
others.
"They fell from their proper sphere into the regions of politi08-into a mundane
HeD, 11Dder Satan's influence.
" J aim Doe was a brave and worthy private soldier; hie merits promoted him to
the command of a regiment. In a battle which ensued soon after niB promotion, he
was seen to strip off his epaulette, throwaway his sword, and resume the musket he
W88 formerly used ,to. By this breach of order his re~ment were cut to pieces
by the enemy. lJohn Doe is, we 8Uppose, by interpretatIon, G. B.J
" If a negro is Ignorant of his duty to God and man, a wise provlaence places him
under Br proper duress, thereby averting the evil consequences resulting from liberty
abused. Nor is the negro exclusively subject to this Divine law; white men over
all the world are under the 8&lDe rule."

U You write very sweetly to your Southern friends, who I hope will ~ still your
friends. I am sorry myself the 8ubject of slavery was introduced b:r you. I have
my own slavee in every Sunday, and read to and pray with them. We live in affec-
tion together. And I confess I do Dot want an.., external ohurch besides my own
family circle. If the ohuroh is anywhere it is ID its purest form in the sanotified
married state of regenerate man and wife, ohildren and servants. Here there can
be Baptism a.nd the Lord's Supper. At least I have no scruple about administering
either. I don't admit slavery even to be aD evil, but on the contrary oonsistent with
perfect order. There is an orderly and happy and may be a heavenly trine in
p&rents, ohildren, and servants. Ever.y human being is bom for the accomplishment
of a never-ending series of repTt,entative as well as spiritual uses, in preference to any
other. Into the fulfilment of this ori~in&l tendency he is bronghtbl the regenera- .
tion of hi8 mind. This interior individualitlof being is imaged In the peculiar
human countenanoe and human figure which dIstinguish each. It is in consequenoe
of this w.riety that each one, whether angel or maD, reoeives the Lord after 0, differ-
ent manner from every other. And this accounts to me for the negro race who ilIu8-
tz'ate the representation and spiritual we of se1·v;ce. Nor do I find that Swedenborg
anywhere predicts any essential ohange in the elements and oonstitution of society.
I look upon the pseudo imperialism of Louis N Bpoleon &s a merciful permiuion of the
Lord to preserve civilization itstiffrom the awful dogmas and machinations of eooial-
ism. And abolitionism is only the same thing under a new name, in this country.
And aphorisms on either would be equally distasteful to the Sou'them Newchuroh-
man."

u I should like to make a few observations in regard to the great question of slavery ;
but must content myself with the simple statement, that I am highly gratified at,
ILnd altogether approve o~ ,our determination to moot the subject through the me-
dium of the Repository. am inclined to the 0rinion, however, that if you were
better acquainted with the intellectual and mora state of the 8ubjects of Southern
alavery, your view8 would be smartly modified 80 far as the evil atreota them as a
people-"

ca DUB SIR :-}fr. Alien will pay yOll for the subscription for Mr. K.'s Magazine,
and as you still continue the U aoolition " pieces (after the many letters from Cralle
aDd others), I shall wish to discontinue my subscription. You have completely cut
420 Correspondence. [Sept.
o~ thelittle good I was enabled to do by publishing them. I am truly lorry to give
up the Magazine otherwise."

U DEAR SIR : -When I wrote you a few days ago, I had not then read your com-
ments in the July No. of the Repository on Slavery, &0. Your previou8 eommente I
had pa88ed over with but slight notice, thinking to read them carefully, when the
I8ries should be completed, if continued at all. Your June No. did not reach me
until yesterday, by which I perceive you have had urgent appeals, addreMed in
highly respectful language, and in the kindest spirit, t{) desist from your undertak-
ing, but disregarding their advice, you seem bent on pursuing your premeditated
course. As your conscience will not be disturbed in its teue, nor the necessity induced
for a pillow to be borrowed in order to your accustomed rest, I hope you will allow
me to say that I do not desire your publIcation any longer. In thus parting you will
please aocept my best wishes."

U DEAR SIB :-1 occasionally Bee C The Anglo-.Amtrican NetD 'ChuTch Repcnitory,
and Monthly Review,' published by you, and have been agreeably edified by the
perusal of its contents. It appea.rs to be a work of USt and progress. It is not so
eoftservative as the' New Jerusalem Magazine.' Although I am not a member of
the New Church, or of any church, I am not an ina.ttentive observer of religious mat-
tel'8, or of the existence and operations of the various religious sects which exist in
our world. The Bible has taught me to believe that' God has made of one blood
all Dations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth;' and that there is no
command or leave given that one cla88 should enslave another class. The occasion
of my writing this letter and making these remarks is, because I now have before
me, and have read with intense interest and delight, the June No. of the Repository
for the present year, upon the stand you take in regard to slavery.
U I am 62 years of age, a.nd have a wife, two sons and two daughters, who belong t.o
the New Church. As I have been an abolitionist for many years, or ever since the
anti"8lavery controversy came up, or WBrS always opposed to that' peculiar institu-
tion,' whenever my reasoning powers were exercised upon the 8ubject, I have asked
my wife and children why the New Church in their writings did not support the
anti-slavery cause, but stood aloof from taking the llart of the poor slave, and were
like the Priest and Levite passing by on the other 8lde 1 I asked why they did Dot
Bet the part of the good Samaritan 1 They would make some Brpology, but Dot a&
all satisfactory to me. They would say that the abolitionists were denuDciatory-
did no\ manage it right, were fanatical, making anti-slavery the only idea, leaving
out the great work which the New Church were engaged in, &c.; that God would
work out the ealvation of the slave from bondage when it was the most proper time
to have it done, &c., &c. They deprecated the denunciatory spirit of the abolition-
ists, and condemned it, yet at the same time manifested the same denunciatory spirit
towards the active opposers of slavel7' saying they did more hurt than good, yet
acknowledging the hand of the Lord m paving the way for the emancipation of the
slave. I could not see exactly the force of that reasoning, for if the Lord is paving
the way for emanoipation, are not the very abolitionist measures which they con-
demn ODe of the instruments to do it with 1
"I never have taken any New Church periodicals., considering their keeping aloof
from the Slavery que8tion was doing what I never can approve of. I could not see
why they could not speak out &~ainst the evil of 81aver~ a8 well 8S of intemperance,
and other evils. But I am BnXlOUS to read the' RepOSItory,' for its present position
on the slavery question, and therefore hereby send you $1 for six m~nth~ beginning
at the July number.
U I perceive that one of your oorre~ndenta,who signs himself H. V. J., deprecates

the introduotion of the B1&very question in the' RcpOBitory,' thinking that' South-
em alavery is destined to run a long career yet. It is a means to a great end-the
ultimaoo elevation of the African race.' Man cannot, if he would, abolish it lud-
denly. It is upon us; it is 01l1"8 to do our duty to the 81ave; care for his wants; pro-
vide for his comforts; eecure him the benefits of religion; open to his mind the lofty
1852.] Discu,sion of ".e Slavery Que.tion. 421
themes of immortaHty. This the New Church inculcates by her spirit and doctrines.
in my judgment, more forcibly than the Old. At present our negroes cannot be edu-
cated. Our aafety forbids it,' &0.
U How the alave! can be ,ducated, when they are forbidden to be educat,d, is beyond
my comprehen~ion! But at the close he appears to think they will be ,oloniztd
somewhere in South America. I 8UP~ he would not allow them a foothold in
North America. When the black man is Bent off who will till the ground for the
South' It ha. been said the climate is unfavorable for the white man to Jabor
there, which was one argument used for employing slaves. If so, would it not be
better for the whites to move o~ and give it all up to the oontrol of the nc~ for
whom ~he cS1ima.te is congenial' It would bot coat 80 much for the whites of South
Carolina and Georgia to move from thOle States, as it would to Bend the whole Depo
race to Africa. W oald it!" ,

C& It is not strange that the introduotion and discasslonor

the subject of slavtry iD
the pages of the l Repository' should create a great deal of uneaainea and dissatis-
faction. No doubt your course is to you very clearly indicated, and your duty made
wry plain, or you would not 80 willingly enter upon a theme 80 distasteful to almoet
every receiver of the Heavenly doctrines. But I must confeBS, to me there is no good
reason for this immolation upon the 'accursed·altar' of slavery. Especially after
your admission that the universal sense of the New Church is 'that we should 8ub-
mit to it as a mysterious, bnt wise and beneficent dispensation of the Divine Provi-
dence, designed for the ultimate good of all parties concemed, but more e8~cia111
of the African race.' Bu~ my unbounded regard for your superior judgment forbida
that I should express an opinion counter t~ your own. I will believe there is a Pro-
-ridence in your course, as well &8 in the existence of slavery, and abide the i88ue.
But conld my judgment have had weight, or in the least degree been heeded, I
should have said most emphatically, leave the 'myeterious tning t alone. I &ID
sorry you 80 confidently preaict the discontinuance of the' Repository.' I am sure
it could be made the moat valuable periodical in the New Chuoh. But the Lord.
works in mysterious ways."

" One of your subscribers here threatens to discontinue the' Rep(18itory t if the
discussion of the slavery question is continued. I have heard of DO ODe else in this
vicinity who has expressed any dissatisfaction on that score, but rather a feeling of
approbation that a subject of so much interest to the church and the world -has at
length fallen into the hands of one who is caF&ble of viewing the syetem through tho
medium of New Church light, and treating It according to the New Church spirit:-

1& DEAll FRIEND :-1 have not, just now, time to write you 88 lengthy as I would
like t-o do, still you must have a word to apprise you how I am gratified, together
with other friends hereabouts, with the clear, independent, yet kind, tolerant man-
ner in which you speak of that Bin-evil which distraots our country. and certainly
retards, in some measure, the rayidity and pleasore with which our nation might rise
to its highest political and spIritual excellence and influence, while it &s surel,.
detracts to some extent from the still more illustriotd admiration which we migh'
command from tho Old World, in our normal attitude, as the highest ensample.
U But still more deeply is the existence and continuance of that institution amOD~

DB to be regretted for the violence it does to the charitable and philanthropio princI-
ples of our holy religion and its repugnance to the liberal and homane spirit of our
DiviDe Lord, who 80 feelingly always urged that every bond should be broken, and
the oppre88ed let to go free. I see not how Bny honest or magnanimou8 mind, or
truth-roving person, can be offended or object to the discussion of the subject, or to
examining and reflecting u~n it, in the kind and indulgent manner which you
exhibit, and sure I feel, upon further deliberation, no real Cliristian brother will take
umbrage, or discontinue toe' Rtpolitory' on account of that examination, while the'
whole subject is fully open for free caUTa88 on both Bides in it. pages. For my OWD.
~OL. v. 28
 Corrupondence. [Sept.
part I am rejoiced to see the .object dilcuued in Christian epirit and prayerfulDea
that we ma,. diacover where culpable evil (if anl) really la. Let us Undle and.
increase the light; and 80 much more gratifying If thereby we find no Iin. I dicl
.ot sit down to offer a lingle argument, and it were not nece88&rJ from m~ but OBIT
to extend my humble approbation to rational di8cUlBion. n

"My BROTHER :-1 am overmuch rejoiced to know tbat there is one New ChUNk
minister that feels it his duty to God and his down-trodden childreD, the elaYe, as to
raise hi. voice in their behalf, and show the 81aveholders their mns. I have almost
deepaired of ever living to see any of the NeW' Church ministen taking a NDd ill
behalf of the Lord'8 oppressed children. 0 my brother, hoW' at variance is the spin'
of the Heavenly Doctnnes with the practice of many or those who profe88 them. I
feel grieved at heart to thiDk that this is the cue. I am happy to know there are
IOme grand exceptions in this section of the country, who are not afraid to speak
out on the heaven-daring BiD. How &Dy Newchorchm.n can reconcile the holding
of his fellow-man 88 property, is a mptery to me. I have long BiDoe come to the
eonclUlion that it is not m1 duty to give any support to any man, directly or indi-
rectly, that tells me that it is a New Church duty to obey the Fugitive Slave Law.
I wish you to understand me that these exceptions are not New Church ministers, for
I do not know of one except yourself that has opened his mouth for the poor bond-
man. You will not call me ultra when I say that I am ao abolitionist, and for speedy
abolition. I care Dot what cute, creed, or color alavery may 8.88ume; I am tor ita
total abolition. Whether it is personal or political, mental or intellectual, or spirit~
1 am for its immediate abolition. I enter into no compromise with slavery. I am
for justice in the name of humanity, and according to the law of the living God. la
not this according to the golden rule, to do unto others u we would have them do
unto us. if we were in like oircQlD8tancel 1"

" I presume you would be glad to know boW' the article on & Slavery' was received
here. The moment I.saw it I apprehended that the result would be to deprive New-
churchmen in tbe South generally, of the pleasure and instruction heretofore derived
from reading the' Repository.' Such, in this section, at least, will be the conee-
quenoe of penisting in the discu.ion. In view of the extreme uncharitableoe8S, and
in some cases it would almost seem malignancy, displayed in the war against this

tending to "tt,
ll)'ltem, it would be 8tran~ indeed if Southerners mould tolerate anything directly
'Up tJu ,xc,tnnmt and' furnish aid and comfort' to those wliom they
regard &8 their deadly enemies. What matters it to them whether a man aclmowl-
ed~ or dieclaims any outward connection with organized bodies, whOle ayowed
obJect is, unscrupulous of means and reckless of consequences, to bring about imme-
diate abolition 1-what matters it 80 long as he enoourages mch, and supplies them
with guns and ammunition by publicly advOUIting the yery principles from which
they all &et out, and upon which they rely to juatify their resort to the measure8
they so madly punue to effect their object!
h 'But wliat "arm,' it is often a8ked, 'oan there be in dilcU88inc this 8Qbj~

calmly.nd kindly" To la'" nothing or the propritty, the r;llht, and the eAor;IJ or
a man', peniating to forc#! hlS obnoxious 8entunents upon his unwilling neighbors.
there iI great 'harm,' in the present ca88. All this agitation cannot go on without
materially atrectiDg the minds of both masters and slaves. Whether it affects the
latter bmtfitial/y, experience has already abundantly shown. \\'ith re~ to the
latter-for it; is Impo.ible to keep the knowledge of these things from them-many of
them can and do read, and will the inCe88&Dt attacks upon their muten, or, if 10d
please, u'poD the institution of alaver1, tend to make them honest, and obedien" and
faithful In the dillCharge of their dutIes, to make them h~ppy and content with their
lot 1 While our Southem brethren are ready and willing to tOftwr" upon the lOb-
ject; in a spirit of brotherly love, they will not and they ought not to submit to a
public arraigflment, and that too, at the eall of thOle who have DO personal bowl-
edge, and IOmetimee even desire to haye none, of the practical workings of the By&-
Mm. It is mOlt utoniabiDg that Northem ment 10 maDy of them, • cannot lee &Dy
1852.] Di,cu,nOfl of the Slavery Queltima.
harm in discusion.' Wh1' suppose yOl1 were in IOme labyrinthine powder m .
aine, and eome kind, COI181derate neighbor, .ending hiwwlf at 11 p,rfer,tly .af, il~
ta1lec, should hold up a bluing firebrand, while the wind is blo:wing klward8 you.a
8bower of eparb, anyone of which may cause a fearful explosIon. He waves his
torch iaceuantly, urging you to come out. You beseecb him inetantly to put out
Jais .firt, lest you be blown to atoms. But he approaches Dearer aDd nearer,
&8811riDg 10U that you will never be able to find your way out without b~
light. ln vain you entreat, you demand that be shall instantly stop and put out Au
torch. You tell him the place is full of powder, he only smiles at the agony of your
Cean, be does not believe there is much powder there, or if there is, he thinks it is
v:~t, and will not burn; besides, he has come to the conclusion that you are in a very
bad place, and that it is his duty to sbow you the way out of it, and he is therefore
determined to wave his firebrand for your guidance at all huarda, until you do come
out. Thua, instead of inftueDcin~ the minds of our Southern brethren upon the
subject of ' Slavery,' you will be likely to cut younelf off altogether from communi..
cation with them, If you should continue to di8cu. the aubject. They would regret
this Jlerhaps more than you would do; but they will Dot counu,nance an open dil-
CUl.uon of this subject in the pages of the' Repository.' I bave thus, in a basty
maDner, shown you wbat feelings exist among our Charleaton brethren, and what-
ever COUI'I8 JOIl may adopt, I shall hope for the beat."

&~ I am happy to team you have raised your voice'agninst American slavery. 1
cannot see why it is not the voice of every Newchurchman that has read the writ-
ings with any degree of attention."

U The thought of the discontinuance of your valuable periodical, is, to me, v~

painful, and the anticipated cause of such an event is far nlore painful still, it 18
even distressing. Any church, new or old, that cannot bear the most Christian dis-
CQssion of any moral subject, is greo.tly to be pitied; ita indicated state looks dark,
t-o me at least. If Newchurcbism does indeed require tbe abandonment of hnm~.
ity, and the advocacy of all tho God-given rights of man, then [ must repudiate
Newchorchism 88 costing more than it can be worth. But I very well know that it
makes no such demand. On the contrary it abundantlyenjoin8 it upon us to Il)v8
our neighbors &8 ourselves, and to ultimate such love in all the transactions of life.
I cannot Bce, for the life of me, wherein a New Jerusalem is better than an Old' Jeru-
salem, if it be equally destitute of 'inhabitants,' if neither man nor beast dwell
therein. Men with whom we have intercourt;e must be loved, practically loved,
or our profe88ion8 of love to the invisible God will appear to an observing world
very much like sheer hypocrisy. I have long thought that our ministers were defi-
cient as to illustrating and enforcing thp; duties we owe our fellow man. They seem
to have forgotten that' God's strength is in the clouds.'
" I am sorry that your opponents can't do better than attempt to frighten you. from
your ~ition by .the c~ of 'disunion.' As 80~D ~I I caD learn that the-' Reposi-
tory' 18 to be contInued, I shall renew my 8ubscnption.
u Youn for truth and humanit,."

". • Du.. SIR :-Enclosed is one dollar, for the I Repository' for m months. P~.
to commence with the number for April. Direct, Mr. John Farrow, Cleveland Poet
Oftice, Ohio. I wish I conld send you one hundred 8ubscribers instead of one. If the
'Ropoeitdry' contained nothing more than your Judioious and pre·emineDtly Chria-
tian remarks on the 1Jtxed qu.ulion, it is desernng the most extended circuatioD.
It was Dot until I.saw the number for the present month, that I was flllly aware of. .
the fact of the e~usteDce of a New Church slaveholder. I knew that there were -. ·
intelligent reoeivers in the Sonthem States, but concluded they were chiefly in the
cities, and of the non.&1aveboldin~population. That appears to have been the opin-
ion of Neweburchmen in, this regIon, as far &8 I have become acquainted with them.
Doubtleaa the wish in this cue, Ra in. thousand others, has been father to the
 Oorrt'fJOnde nee. [Sept.
thought. And now that the anomaly is brougbt to Ught, what .aD we do' ehal1
we unite with thoee in the Nor~ in uncharitable denBDciation, and anohriatiuU&e
every brother who sustains this unhappy relation, or .hall we unite with the
Ilaver,y ~rty, and tolerate, extenuate, or jU8tify the institution, om, d.i88D&ding
l:
ibl abuae 1 It would eeem im~ble for a Newoharchman to do either ODe or the
otber. For the teaohings of the church both in its spirit and let~ are, if ~
equally, certainly 88 directly against one as the other. There ap~ bat one alter-
native for the church, or rather ita recipients, either to continue ODr death-like alQDl-
ben upon the brink of the volcano, omlDouely threateDiDg to o'f8rwhelm us with ita
burning lava in ODe universal ruin, or to buckle on the armor oftruthe and £C)Oda, 80
riohl! supplied in the Holy \Vord, as opened and unfolded by the desoent of the Holy
City from God out of Heaven, .. you pro~ and have bappil,Y begnn. I canoo'
bring myself to believe that the brethren in the South will peraiat in the indulgeuce
of that extreme &ensitivene88 and alarm at the proposed investigation. \\1hy c0m-
pare the Ne" Churoh with the scattered remnants of the Old 1 Their DUlDerou
aiYiliOIl8 are the nece8l8ry result of their discarding eharitg, which an apostle teaehe.
iI the bond of perfectness. The glory of the Dew dispensation is the restoration of
t!li. hUU.\'t'U.pl·~paredgirdle, which ia su8iciently elastic to embrace every n.riety or
~inion where there exists an honest purpose and etrort at obedienoe, however defec-
aye, or even appaTtJlt/y tli/atorg. CI,ari/y "et'er (ai/etli. It is Divine. ~ is
Love. He that loveth is born of God. He that loveth not is not of God, howe.er
correct his faith. Go on, my dear air, in the spirit you have begun, and the chain
of the 1aat slave shall melt and be dissolved 10 the heaven-deecending oracible of
charity. Ncwchurchmen can afford to leave all tbe gall for the uee of th098 who
l8par&te faith from charity, truth Crom good, falsifying the one and perverting tho
other, oonsequently scattering abroad ji rebJ"and." arrov" and death.
"Our Southem brethren, upon reflection, will not antici~te from Profeseor B~
or any other oorrespondent, in any work over which he presides, &Dysuch intl&lDlD&-
toryl oombustible matter as has unhappily proceeded froDt other quarters.
" Wishing you, my dear air, all the 8ucooea in your work or faith and labor lore or
that the moat-abounding charity can desire, Yours, truly,
, A NOllTH.EBN NZ\\"CHVBCHJlAN."

IIDzAB SIB :-1 enclO8O two dollars to pay Mr. S. C. S.'s subscription for the' Re-
~tory' for 1852. Mr. S. wishes you to dilcontinue sendin$ the' Repository' to
him, aDd gives as a reason your discussion in favor of the abolition oC slavery. Your
apparent attempt to connect the ~ew Church doctrines with a duty to abolish ala-
'Very ie doing an injury to the friends of the church, and the cause of truth iD. the
Southern States.
&C If I can find leisure soon, I will write to you more fully on this IUbject."

"DLUl SIR :-1 am very muoh grieved at the course pursued by some of your
Sou.thern subscribers in relation to the' Repository,' on account oC the slavery dis-
oUllion. I sce nothing to justify it. The tone is mild, temperate, affectionate, and
brotherly, and though I at first thought it impolitio to intrOduce the subject at all,
the Southern mind not being prepared for it, yet I am willing and desirous to bear
and to read all that can be said or written in·relation to the Institution, under which
W'''
I born and educated, and of the right and justice of which I have oftcntimee bad
ItIron~ misgiving, I am a member of 8 New Church Society, and think my Soutb..
ern friends have acted hastily in declining to receive the ' He~itory.' J mow in
regard. to many of them, that they have always highly valued the work, and it.
monthl, arrival amoDwst U8 wu always hailed with joy and welcome, furnishing, as
• i'did, food Cor meditatIon and conversation. I write this letter for the gratification
- of my own feelings, and to let you know that I at least do not find faUlt with the
, Bepoeitory' for the dilCu.ion of the slavery question. I value too highly freedom
of cIiaoualion to be offended, however adverse aDd op~ite the views expr8ased ma1
1Je to my own. But when the writer proCesses to do what he cJOC8 from 10"., and a
185t.] 41&
4~ regard tor the spiritual wellare of those connected with him in the same faith,
I 'eel bound to respect his motives, and to be thankful ror his kind intentioDI..
&£ I hope it may be in ~ur power, under the Divine Providence, to continue tbe

• Repoeitor,Y.' The fault which you allege many aubeoribere find with it <viz.), ita
controverBl&l character, is to me in some measure, iw recommendation. It 18 impoe-
able to overthrow falsity &Ild establish Dew truths without brandishing the spiritual
sword. Old heresies cannot be beaten down by other meaDs, and to my mmd the
6 Repository' has accomplished much good in this way. With the &88urance of my
Bineen regard, I am, very reapeetfully &Dd fraternally, Yours, &0."

U DEA.R Sla :-In my first note on the subjector slavory, I intimated to you that a
'View of that whole question had occurred to me in the oourse of my anxious medita-
tion~ which threw the first steady ray or light on it that had ever gladdened my
mental vision; and that I had mentioned it to many gentlemen-public charaoten,
and others-ilome of whom thought it worthy of mature consideration. I believe I
was the first to set thiB ball in motion, though in this quiet way, as islmown to many
,e
of my friends, and that more than fi years ago. But as it IS now being taken up
by ~ublic writers and bodies, I may jU8t hint to you what it is.
"' I am a friend to the Liberian Colony, and think there is where the free blacb
or
the United States ought to go. Bot any sudden or com~ulsorybreaking up of the
institution of slavery in the Southern States is neither p0881ble nor desirable. Any in-
telligent man, who lias beeD reared at the South, aDd knows the negro character, will
tell you 80. The moral checks to population which opera~ on the white race, have
no influence OD them. What, then, 18 to beoome of the lurplus when they inOleue
up to the meaDS of subsistence, and beyond the rate oC profitable employment, and
have cut down and occupied all the lands best suited to that species of labor'
Many think that the white man cannot labor in the rice, and cotton, and sugar planta-
ItiODS of oar Southern tier of States. Whether that is 80 or not, it will certainly take
generations for them to become inured to it. But I do not consider that slavery is
nece88&ry to Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, or Missouri. Perhaps North Carolina
and TenneMee may be included in the proposition. Suppose now that these States
or ao'Y of them should at a future d~y, voluntarily, determine on some plan of grad-
ual emanoipation, and deportation, and that the States BOuth of U8 should, 88 is
probable, forbid their entrance within their borders, whither are they to be carried ,
That Rome plan of the sort would have been adopted in Virginia many years agel but
or
fOl' the intermeddling the Northern abolition party, I have not &. doubt. That,
however, by the way. \Vbat is to become of these people in the case 8U~posed'
Tbo answer may be divined from the following brieF statement. The Tropicol
regions of the earth are best suited for the habitation of the tlari races of meD. In
such climates, they only can persist in bodily labor, though they need the directiug
head. This is true Dot only of those positioD8 of Asia and Atrica, but of America
alao. The black man had his mission to accomplish in North America. And what
was it '-for we are all born for use. That mission t«lI to I'nabl, a Protestant nation
to enter atld PO,stSS the land, and prevent itl monopoly by Franet and Spain. Cath-
olic powers, as the former, together with Portugal, had monopolized Soutbem and Cen-
tral America, and the West India isles, and tiy means of tile wealth thence derived,
bad renewed the expiring lease of Popery for centuries more. The negro, by clear-
ing the forest, tlra-ining marshes, and cultivating tobacco, cotton, rice, indigo, and
sugar, all under the ~uidance of the white man, and to his own infinite ameliora-
tion-for the former neither oould nor would h&.ve done it ofhimsel~-hasestablished
the pl-1,.eiple of Prote,tantinn (not the church of the dragon) not only here but in
the nortf" uf Europe, and given it a perma.nent ascendancy. (A fool or a bigot would
Dot understand this, but I ho~ a hlot is enon~h for you or any man who has atudied
the ~hil08opby of history). We~ then, haVIng nearly accomplished this mission,
it w1l1 shortly be time for him to get ready to go home. And where is that 1 In Af-
rica ~ No, no, no, no. If crowds of slaves were suddenly freed, and, without prep:
&ration, set down in Liberia, they would 800n, by their ignorance, indolence, and
other vices, destroy the colony and return to barbarism, and perhaps be reduced to
unmitigated slavery and oppression by those of their own color. Who.t then 1
418 Corre8pOndenct. [Sept.
Tru~oal A.mtrim is as much thein as is tropical Africa. They have earned it, and
are fairly entitled to it. THE VALLEY 01' THE AMAZON WILL HOLD THEM ALL; and
that is to be the termmu of their wBnderinp. For thil eODnmmation, as it aWN-m
to me, Providence has been making preparation during the whole or the preaeDi cen-
tury, and he who will observe the SignS of the times, and reflect on the stato of tho
world, may see things steadily drifting in that direction. Slavery baa been traDala-
too from New En~land and the Middle States to the South. The improYemeDta in
agriculture, especIally in the method of bringing new lands into caltivatioD, the
facilities of in tercommunication, railroads, canals, steam-boats, ocean steamers, all
concur in mo.king their assemblage on the coast, and transfer to a new coontry-
.ompamtively a light matter when the proper time shall have arrived. The
mmenee immigration to this country from Europe, espeoially from Ireland, and the
emigration from the old States to California, all within a few years, tJtld at flu ellaT~'
of •ndividuals, without a draft on the publio l?urse, go to show the poeaibiUty of
removing large masses of population to a cOD81derable distaDoe, withou' ruinoua
expense, even if the removal ofalavee from the older tD the new ~tates had no~ dem-
onstrated the same thing. The East India trade has enriched every nation that
ever got pONIession oC it. We have an India on our own continent and near oar own
doora. Nought but capital, skill, and labor are wanting to develop ita immeD88t ita
iruzhnwtibll resources. The Spanish and Portuguese races seem to be wearing out
on this oontinent. If 80, the Angl~Saxon mUlt first re-inCorce them and then take
their place. The black raue from North America oan supply the labor reqQ~
and tllU8 put a stop to the African slave trade. The climate suits them, they could
110. ve all the Deceaaaries and many of the comCorts of life, and be made uaerul to aU
the rest of the world; and when the country is fully occupied by them, and the sys-
tems oC production well established, it would be resigned to them by the Cauensians,
who woUld betake themselves to Buenos Ayre&, Paraguay, &0. Thus would slavery
meet its eutl..anasia, and in no other wal that I can see.
U I could expectorate a volume OD th18 theme, but you must acoept these hints as
my quota for the present, and think out the rest for younelf.
U Lieut. Maury, head of the Observatory Department at WaahiDpn, has lately
written a paper for the Southern Lite!V1 llessenger (re-published in pamphlet.
fOnD, and In De Bow's Review, New Orleans), in which he has presented the lead-
ing idea in great variety of aspects. The Colonization Society or Virginia have also
spoken of it in a late report. l\lanyeditors in the South have noticed the 8uggestion
favorably. I know not whether the idea was original with him or them. But cer-
tain it is, that I have been preaohing it far and wide for the last five years, and I
know that many intelligent men, Newchurchmen among them, have been se' to
tihinking about it. YOUl'l truly."

U DEAR BROTHU :-1 cannot longer withhold aD expression oC approval or the stand
you have taken on the question of slavery. No apology is needed for ita introduc-
tion into an inde~ndent organ of the New Church. We all rather need an a~ogy
for our almost unlve11l&1 silence upon a question of such vital importance. \Ve have
been, and perhaps too justly, regarded as among the priests and Levites who &l pus
by on the other side.'lI The New Church (that is the external visible organisation
10 called> has never grappled with any of the great evils oC the age. She ha! never
opened her mouth for tile poor slave, who is deprived of all his rlp;htl; nor ha she
raised her voice, or etruck a blow, agaiDBt intemperance. a mi~hty evil which.
yearly rendering thousands of women and children worse than Widows and orphana.
She has been dumb for the poor outca8t8 of our cities, and Cor the millioDs who are
disinherited of their God-giyen right! to the BOil and to the means of subsistence.
She has t~lked about giving spiritual aid, and apparently forgotten that that u is /ir$t
which is natura), and afttT1IJO.Tds that which is spiritual." There il DO gt"ound for
the reoeption of spiritual truth in the slave, or the drunkanl, or in thOle who are
Buffering from want of the comforts oC physical life. With all her boasted light, the
church has never lent a helping hand in &Dy of the great efforts to elevate humanity.
She may havo said that the methods were wrong, but if BO, duty would eeem to
requiro that shc should point out the error, show the right method, and beain to do
the work in the right way. We have been gazing at and admiring SWeQuborg,
1~2·1 Noticu of BoOlt6. 427
until, llke an idle boy gazing at the sun, we have beeD dazzled by his glory, wben
we ebould have been at work bl his light. The New Church is to be pre-eminently
diatinguished by ita works, or m doing Wts to the neigbbor, but we would seem to
be a& .ret in Caith alone. Light Crom the spiritual world is ilhlminating the whole
Christian HeaveDs, revealing the mysteries or nature, and enabling science to trans-
form the physical world. It is also revealing the deep degradation oC the moral
'World, and warming the hearts of the Christian and philanthropist to do somtt4ing
:Cor ihe elevation of suffering humanity. The New Church claims to be in the very
'focus of t.his apirituallight; if so, her responsibilities are proportionately increased.
I rejoice, then, that you have taken up one of the most important questions of the
age. But it is indeed I humiliating to set about the proof that the slave 81stem is
incompatible with Christianity; because no one questions its incom~atibihtI who
know8 what Chriatianitl is, ana what it requires.' More especially is It humiliating
'that this proof is requIred a·", th, }lew ChU1'c/", but it would seem that i~ is 80, and I
bid you Goo-speed in the work. M. S.
"CINCINN.lTI, July 25, 1852."

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

l.-A VINDICATION OF THE DOCTRINES AND STATEltJENTS 01' S\VEDENBORG against ,.,
Perversion, and .Attack, of Dr. Madder and Professor Perrone; (Being, at the lame
time, a Contribution to the History of Doctrinal TI£tolog!J.) By Dr. J. F. I. TAFEL.
Translated from tlu German by tht Rev. J. H. 8MITHSON. London: Hodson &
Newbery. Manchester: Kenworthy. 1852. pp. 174.
A highly valuable service has been performed by the autbor and the tJ'anslator of
this volume. Moohler's work on " Symbolism" is a standard defence of the Roman-
et dogmas in opposition to Protestantism, and from ita signal ability, as well &8 A
certain air of candor pervading it, has probably been more read by Protestants of
late years, than any other worl from a Catholic pen published within the last two
centuries. On this aocount it was evidently desirable that its caviis should be
replied to, and it is well for the New Church that the task has been 88811lDed by ODe
80 competent to it as Dr. Tafel. The execution shows that whether in the field of
churoh history, of doctrinal theology, of logic or hermeneutica, Mmbler never takes
a rash position or makes an unguarded statement that the Tubingen Professor is
not doutn upon him at once with a ready refutation Dot unfrequently baoked with a
moral rebuke that "l'¥y be of senice to others, though coming too late for the author
himself. The work, as a confutation of the grossest erron of reuoniBg and state-
ment, is triumphant, and we are pleased to see that the conduct of the argument is
10 managed as to present an admirable apology for the leading doctrines of the New
Church for the benefit of others who may perchance have their attention turned to
the subject. ..

2.-THJ: MEN OF THE TIME; OT, Slet,"'" of Living Notablts,-Authors, A:rC/tiled" A.r-
t;81" CompO'er" Demago1f'UI, Divines, Dramatists, Engineer" Journalist., Mini,ttrs,
MonarcJu, Novelists, P/&ilanthropist" Po,ta, Politician" Preacher., Savans, Statu-
.m, TTGtJtll"." YoyaKe,." Warrior,. Redfield: New York. 1852. pp. 564.
No reader of history, science, literature, theology, poetry, or fiction, can well di&-
peDle with a work of this kind, and 1'8 the present ia the only work of the kind, he
418 Notices of Boolu. [Sept.
cannot well do without this. It is an invall1able directory to an acqU&jntance with
all the living celebrities of the age; or the dead the silence of the grave is preeened.
Aa the biographical gallery to which we are introduced is extensive, and the penoa-
ages extant upon the walls numerous., we find the notioes generally brie~ containing
little more than the barest outlines of their personal history, without criticism upon
their works or achievements. The New Church is honored with a brief sketch of
Rev. Mr. De Charms and ourselC; tho former or which we insert aB having to our
readers an intrinsic interest of its OWD, and u a specimen oC the general style of the
book.
DE CHARMS, RICHARD, Swedenborgian divine, born, or English ~nta, at
Philadelphia, on the 17th October, 1796. His ~rogeniton by the ~e line were
Huguenot!, who fled from France on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, in 1685.
They went from Caen, in Normandy, to London. His mother, whOle maiden name
was l\1eade, was of an English family, sprung Crom a cross of the Irish and the
Welsh. His father graduated at St. Thomas and Guy's hospital, London, as a sur-
~n and apothecary; but, on coming to this country, and settling in Philadelphia,
m 1793 -where the distinotion between surgeon and physician did Dot then en. in
10 p-eat a degree 88 in England-he became an accoucheur of some note, and prac-
tised as a general physician. He was one of the very few phpicians who remained
in Philadelphia during the prevalence of the yellow fever in 1793, and was skilful in
the treatment of that then terrible disease; but fell a victim to it himself in 1796. He
died leaving his wife pregnant with the subject of this notice, who was born aboRt.
eix weeks after his father's death. His mother, stru$gling with poverty and adver-
lit,., was not able to give him a thorough education In his childhood, and put him,
wlien fourteen ye~rs old, into a printing office, wbere he acquired the ability to sup-
port both himself and her, until disease, engendered by his clOl8 application for that
purpose, compelled him to seek some other pursuit. Impelled by an uncontrollable
passion for knowledge, he commenced the stud! of the classics in 1822, and gradu-
ated at Yale college, New Haven, in 1826. On leaving college he purpOled studying
medioine, and actually entered his name as a student with one of the proCeasorl in
the medical school of the Pennsylvania university. But a female friend, who had
advanced the money for his collegiate eduoation, now remitted to him his debt to
her on that account, on condition that ha would stq.dy for the ministry or the new
Christian church, called the New Jerusalem, of whicli church they were both nom-
inal members. He studied theolop- two years in London, under the direction of ~e
Rev. Samuel Noble, supporting hunself during that time by his labor as a joorney-
man printer. On returning to his native country, he was a minister of his church
in Cincinnati, Ohio, for six years; then a minister in. Philadel~hia for five Jean j
and lastly a minister in BaltImore for five years. Besides some fugitive publications
not worth mentioning, he is the author of a volume of U Sermons on the Doctrine of
the Lord and other Fundamental Doctrines oCthe Now Jerusalem," U Five Lectures,"
&c., delivered at Charleston, S. C., on tho occasion of instituting a society of his
church there; and more recently, U Some Views of Freedom and Slavery in the Ligh'
of the New Jerusalem." But his liter&17 labors were devoted mostly to periodical lit-
efature. He set on foot, and printed with his own hands, the first three numbers or
U The New Jerusalem }fagazine" in Boston. He was the editor of" The Precursor"
in Cincinnati, and of U The New Churchman" in Philadelphia, a large portion of all
the original matter, of both which periodicals, was written bl himself. But his
chief work was U The New Churchman Extra," which contains more than eight
hundred octavo pages of polemics, with a tolerably extended documentary hiator.,. of
the New Churcli in England and America.

It 'Would doubtless be a matter of curious intereat, to leap over the space of one or
two centuries, and see how many of these Dames would find a place in a Biograph-
ical Repository of that age, and of how many oC them the poet'. lugubrious lines
would hold true : -
1852.] Notice, of Book8. 429

&c In "in reoorded in historio pap,

They pourt the notic.e of a future age;
Those twinklingt tiny lu~tres or the land,
Drop one by one fro.n Flllne'@o neglecting band."

But, after all, of bow little consequence is posthumous renown! The trilobites
might smile at the immortality which man so eagerly covets.

3.-TRE REVELATION o:r ST. JOHN, expounded/or those v/tO uareA tll, Scripture,. By
E. W. HZNGSTJ:NBEJlG, Doctor a"d Profeaor of Tlteology in Btrlin. 7'ranslattil
from th, orilfinal by flu R,v. PATRICS: FAIRBAIRN, Auth.or of U Typolo~y of Scrip.
'ure," ,tc. Volume First. New York: Robart Carter & Brothers. 1852. pp. 581.
. Of the books which we are called to notice, there are many that we feel bound to
read beforehand, in order to do full justice to their contents. Others again we content
ourselves with dipping into for the purpose of giving our readers a general idea of their
aim and execution. Twice or thrice the value of the book would be DO inducement
to us to travene the arid desert over which many of them conduct us. And if we
_y that this remark more frequently applies to commentaries on the inspired books ,
than to any others, the man of the New Church will not find it very difficult to con··
ooive the fact. It would be wrong, however, to. infer from this, that we had always
of course, a poor opinion of the intrinsio merits of these works. On the contra-
ry, 'When judged with reference to the object for which they are written and the
class of readers to whom they aTe addressed, they are often entitled to the credit of
auperior exoellence. Thus in respect to the volume named at the head of t.his notice;
it has many valuable points. It is from the pen of one of the most distinguished exe-
getes of modern Germany-a man who has firmly withstood the rationalizing ten·
dencies of his country and his age, and who has given to modem biblical critioism,
one of ita most valuable contributions in the "Chriatology, or the Propheoies
relating to the Messiah." But his weakness is betrayed when he attempts to bend
~e bow of the Apocalypse. We may accord to him the credit of diligent researoh
in every thing that relates to the literature of the book, the time when it was written,
the peculiarities of its style, its genuine author, &0., and glean many items of an
extemalldnd that may be of service to the spiritual man, but 0,8 to finding it dis-
closing the key to the true inte!'Dal scope of the Revelation, flon inventus ut mU8t
inevitably be written on the returned report.

4.-771, Childrm's Home Book.--Jes.,i, and other Stories for YounJr Plople.-Stari.
(Jnd VIf"U for Cll.ildrtn.- The Light Hou.,t and other Storit. for Children.- TIat
Obedi,nt Boys- The Danger of Disobedienu.
In the above we have the titles of 0, choice series of Juvenile works published, at •
'Very reasonable prices, by Mr. Clapp, oC Boston. We may add to the list Th, Whit'
Dow, bearing the unmistakable traces of the pen of our correspondent (*)..
5.-STRAY LEAVES FROM AN ARCTIC JOURNAL; or, Eighteen Month, in tlu Polar RI-
g;om. By Lieut. S. OSBORN. New York: Putnam. 1852. (Semi-Monthly
Library.) ~

This forms one of the last and most interesting in the series or
Putnam'8 U Semi-
Monthly Library," intended for travellers and the home circle, and to which wo had
designed to call attention before. The distinctive charaot~ri8tic8 of this series are :
1. A regular periodical issue like the Magazines. 2. Good paper, good print. and
 430 Notice6 of Bool". [Se pt.

portable form, both for the traveller". pockot, and to bind for the library. 3. Books
that are worth reading and worth preserving. 4. A large amount or
reading for a
small price. This price is 25 cte. per vol., and for an unoccupied hour by the way
or in tho parlor, we could not easily point to & more unexoeptionable ma.ofmiscel-
laneoUl reading than we find in these beautiful volumes. Fif\een have already
appeared, and others are still being ,announced.

6.-THE STUDY 01' WORDS. By RICHARD CUENEVIX TREKCH, B. D. Redfield: C!in-

ton Hall, N. Y. 1852.
A lubject or great interest has here fallen into most competent hands. The
author of tho admirable discourses on the U Parables" and tho U 1tliracles" h~
Ihown by his exquisite discrimination in the use of words, that there is DO scholar
of the present day more adequate to treat of their powers, and pedigree. This
he has done in the present volume in a most satisfactory manner. Near upon 50u
diatinot terms are introduced and their etymology given, together with such histor-
• ical illustrationa as tend to give completeness to the explanations. In many Casei a
mOlt unexpected and striking light is cast upon the origin of familiar words, which
clothes them with a new significancy at oncs. Tho following specitnen under till.
·head will give the ren,der an idea. of the plan and execution of the work.
Cl Let me illustrate what I mean by two or thre~ familiar examples. Here is the
word 'poet;' how various are tho senses in which it is employed; 'post '-oflice;
, post '-liaste j a' post' standing in the ground; a military l post;' an offioial 'p06t;'
'to post' a leger. Might not one at first presume it impossible to bring 0.11 these
uses of' poet' to a common centre' Yet indeed when once on the right track, noth-
ing is easier; 'poet' is the Latin &positus,' that which is plaull; the piece of timber
is 'plaoed' in the ground, and 80 a & post;' a military station is a 'post,' for a man
Ut ' placed' in it, and must not quit it without orders: to travel' post' is to bSl"e
certain relays of horses' placed' at intervals, that so no delay on the road may occur;
the 'poet '-office is that which avails itself of this mode of oommunication; to 'P08t I
a leger is, to 'place' or register its several items.
U Or take the word' st.ock;' in what an almo~t infinite number oC aenses it is em;
ployed; we Ilave live' stock,' 'stock' in trade, the village' stocks,' the' stock' of I
gUD, the' stock' dove, the' stocks' OD which ships are built, the' stock' which goed
round the neck, the family' stock,' the' stocks,' or publio funds, in which money is
invested, and other' stocks' very likely besides these. What point in common can
'Wo And between them 1\111 This, tbat they are all derived from, and were oritTi-
Dally the past participle o~ & to stick,' which 0.8 it now makes' stuck,' made formerly
·stock i' and t&ey cohere in the idea of fixedness, which is common to everyone.
Thus, the 'stock' of a gun is that in which the barrel is fixed; the village •stocks'
are those in which the feet are fastened; the' stock' in trade is the fixed capital;
and so, too, the & stock' on a farm, although the fixed capito.l has there taken the
• shape of horses and cattle; in tbe & stocks,' or public funds, money sticks fast, inas-
much as those who place it there cannot withdraw or demand the en.pital, but
receive only the interest; the' stock' of a tree is fast set in the ground; and from
this use of the word it is transferred to a family; the & stock' or 'strip8 is that from
which it grows, and out of which it unfolds it8elf. And here we may bring in the
&stook '.dove, as being the 'stock' or ' strips 1 of the domestio kinds. I migl1t group
with these ' stake' in both its spellings; a 'stake' in the hedge is'stuck and filed
there; the' stakes' which men wager against t.he isf'UC of a race are paid down, and
thus fixed and deposited to answer the event; a beef-' steak' is a piece of meat so
8Dlall that it can be stuck on the point of a fork; with much more or the same
kind."
Mr. Trench is decided in the opinion that phonography has no compensation for
the loBS that would be incurred by effacing the derivation of
the words of our Jan..
luaget
 1852.] Notice. of Boole,. 431
11 And having these convictioDs in regard of the advantage of following up words
to their sources of 'deriving' them, that is, tracing each little rill to the river from
which it first 'vo.s drawn, let me here observe, as something not remote from our
subject, but, on t ho contrary. directl, bearing upon it, that I can see no method oC
80 effeotually dcfacin~ and bn.~·harizlng our English toD~e, DO scheme that would
go 80 far to empty it, prncticall~· at least, and for us, of all the hoarded wit, wisdom,
imagination, and history, which it contains, to cut the vital Dene which connects ita
present with the past, as the introduction of the scheme of 'phonetic spelling,' which
some have lately been zealously advocating among us; the principle of which is
that all words could be spelt as thel are sounded, that the writing should be, in
every case, subordinated to the speaking.
U The tacit assumption that it ought 80 to be is t.he pervading error runniog through
the whole system. But there is no ncce88ity that it should; every word on the con-
. trary has tu-o existences, as a spoken word and a written; and you have no right to
aacrifiee one of these, or even to subordinate it wholly, to the other. A word exists
aB truly Cor the eye as for the ear, and in a highly advanced state of society, where
reading is almost os universal &8 speaking, 8.8 much perhaps Cor the first as for the
last. That in thewritlttn word moreover is the permanence and continuity of lan-
guage Ilnd oC learning, and that the connection is most intimate of a true authority
with all this, is affirmed in our words 'lette~' 'literature,' C unlettered,' even as in
other languagea, by words entirely eorresponding to these.
U Tho gains consequent on the introduction of such 8 change as is pro~

would be insignificantll small, while the losses would be enormously great. The
gains would be the saVIng of a certain amount of labor in the learning to spell; an
amount of labor, however, absurdly exaggerated by the promoters of the scheme.
This labor. whateverJt is, would be in great,ari Baved, a8 the pronunciation would
at once put in possession of the 8'pelling; i , indeed, spelling or orthography could
then be said to exist. But even th18 insignificant gain would not long remain, seeing
that pronunciation is itselF continually altering; custom is lord here tor better or for
worse; and a multitude of words are now pronounced in a different manner from
that oC a hundred years ago, so that, ere very long, there would again be a chasm
between the spelling and pronunciation of words j~unless, indeed, the former were
to vary, as I do not see well how it could consistently refuse to do with each varia-
tion of the latter, re-producing eaoh one of its barbarous or capricious alteratioDs j
which thus it must be remembered, would be changes not in the pronunciation onl,.
but in the word it-8el~ for the word would only exist &s a pronounced word, the wrIt-
ten being a mere shadow of this. When theae had multiplied a little, and they
would indeed multiply exceedingly, 80 soon &s the barrier against them which now
exists, was removed, what the langua.ge would ere long become, it is not easy to
guess.
U This fact, however, though alone sufficient to show bow little the scheme of pho-

netic spelling would remove even those inconveniences which it proposes to remedlJ
is only the smallest objection to it. The far deeper and more serious one is, that ID
innumerable instances, it would obliterate altogether those clear marks of birth and
parentage, which, if not all, yet 80 many ofour words bear now upon their very fronts,
or are ready, upon a very slight interrogation, to declare to us. 'Yards have now
aD ancestry; and the ancestry of words, as of men is often a very noble part of them,
making them capable of great things, because those Crom whom they are descended
have done great things before them; but this would deface their 8cutcheon and
bring them all to the samo i~noble level. W orda are now a nation, grouped into
tribes and familie&, 80me smaller, some larger; this change would go far to reduce
them to a promiscuous and barbarous horde. Now they are often translocent with
up
their idea, as an alo.bo.ster vase is lighted. by a lamp plaoed within it; in how
many cases would this inner light be then quenched. They have now a body and
a BOU\. and the soul looking through the body, oftentimes then nothing but the bod1J
not seldom not.hing but the carcase, of the word would remain. But these objections
were urged long ago by Bacon, who oharacterizes thi8 so-called reformation, C that
writing should be consonant to speaking,' as 'a branch of unprofitable 8ubtlety;' and
especially urges that thereby I tlie derivations of words, espeoially
guages, are utterly defaoed and extinguished..' n
from fOTign·
 Editoridl Ite"I.'. [Sept.
7.-A CoHMENTABY on Sf. Paul', E,iltl, to tA, Galatiau. By MA_Tt. LUTBII:IL.
New-York: Robert Carter & Brothers.
A very elegant edition of a famous work of the great Reformer, in which he !lets
forth, under an infinite variety of shades, his ruling dogma of justification by fa1th
alone. This work is in fact the grand storehouse of arguments on that theme, and
as such may properly find a place in a Newchurchman'slibrary.

8.-A STEP FROM THE NEW WORLD TO THE OLD; tDil'" TA.oug"'.' Oft the Good and
Evil in both. By ~ENRY P. TAPPAN. 2 Vbla. New-York: Appleton & Co.
Long years of intimate acquaintance and personal friendship with the author or
this work would naturally tend to purchase without price a good opinion of ita mer-
its; and yet we are conscious of being capable of 80 far sinking the crony in the
critic as to pronounce very impartially upon it. And right cheerfully do we say
that we find the work what we could wish, for the author-s sake, it were. We know
not when we have been more delightfully whirled through 0. multitude of the looal
notabilities of the Old World than in company with our open-eyed, enthusiastic, and
ever thoughtful companion. His intelligent ouriosity is continually minhitering, ill
the right direction, to our information, and the rich veinlJ of reflection, bursting forth
with naturalness and grace from the graphio narrative, operate like 80 many addi-
tional charms to the scenery, objects, and manners described. His own enjoymenl
oC the tour is 80 vivid and genial that the reader is ~oDtinually touched with the con-
tagion of delight, and can scarce divest himself of the belief that he is one of the
group that has taken ."the 8tep and back again."

EDITORIA.L ITEMS.
The following extract of a letter, dated Upsa18, Sweden, will be fElad with interesL
This interest will be enhanced when we state that the writer is a young gentleman of
great promise, whose parents now reside at Syracuse, N. Y., and who st8lted upon a
pedestrian tour in 1850, over the north ot Europe, being then ju!'t risen of eighteen, and
relying upon his own exertiorll as he went along, to furnish biroBelC with tbe means of
acoomplishing tba toar, and oC remaining a few years in Sweden and Iceland. .His object
in 80 doing was to make himself ma8ter of the history, literature, lauguages, mythology,
manner" customs, &c., oC this comparath-ely unexplored region. As a cordial and
devoted receiver of the doctrines ot the New Cburch, be could Dot engage in this enter-
prIse withoot a view to ultimate use to the Church, and accordingly we are happy 10
learn that be has a prospect ofa situation on his return, In a Seminary oClearniol_ wbere
his rich and extraordinary endowments may find ample scope•
.. The 3d oC October saw me in Upsala. A few days after found me an entered member
oC t11e University, and joined to the' nation' ot Daleoarlia, for the Itudents Rre divided
into' nations' according to the Swedish province (rom which they come, and foreign stu-
dents COD unite tbElRlselvea to which they please. I was met in Upsala byeveryoQewitb
lhe greatest kindness, aDd warmest hospitality, and my residence there win always remain
In my memory as ODe ot tbe brighte.t8pots in the whole space ormy visit to this Old World.
The winter holidays (Iix weeks) were .pent in the llouse ot Dr. Suedbom, at Stockhohn.
Thil is the gentleman to whom Mt. J. 1. G. W.UdU80b dedicates hislile oC SwcdeDborg.
1852.] Edilorialllem,. 481
aDd ODe or &hose kind and warm-hearted men or whom I have found so many in Nortbern.
Europe. Scandinavia is really one.of the most bO!lphable parb of the world, and as aa.
AmericaD, I have often roood a reception wbich would Dot be accorded to me elsewhere.
Tbe libraries, the boa. . of the learned, and the homes of private families baye never
been closed against me.
•• To a persoD residing in Europe, opportunities of studying and precUting the modern
]aDg uale5, are of coorse muoh more frequent thaD in America. He meets natives oC
foreiRIl coontries. and at all times encounters foreign newspapers. My ten days' joume,
in German, gave me a short opportunity of practising German; and after my arrival at
Copenhagen J was often oompelled to speak that tongue, as two or three months elapsed
before my Danish tongue was forrped. In Denmark I or course learned Danieb, and I
learned 10 much Icelandic, that a month on the island will make me half an Icelander.
Swedish I understand next to Engli!lb the best of any lan8uage. I listen to an address,
play, or conversation, with tbe same interest. and the same degree of comprehension, as I
would In America. I spt:ak itas willingly. and with as much pleasure as I would my own
tongue. and perhaps have read its literature as closely, or more 80, than I have the Engli~b.
Lately I met with a student who wished to learn Italian. We have reacl it together and
speak it C:OoltantJy. Where I dine there is an intelligent Italian waiter; we converse
every da, lIuentl, with him, 10 that were I to stand unknown and alone in Florence to-
morrow, I should by no means be troobled to express my wants and feelings. All thil
(except Icelandic) I have done without taking a single lesson, beyond that continual lesson
whicb constant practice and close study Corms. I have read .and wrote considerable
French. Paris and Belgium newspapers are now almost my only ,ouree for learning
what is doing in America, unless I content myself with the short items in the Swedish
gazettes. Four months in Paris would make m'e well acquainted with the pronunciation
of that (to an anglo-Saxon) most difficult of modern tongues. And last and least I have
learned the Russian, a language which has a remarkable difficult alphabet, but is other-
erwistt a toague which presenu no great obstacle to its acqnisition.
U There are two Universities in Sweden, Uplala and Laod. The former Is much the
larger and more important, h~ving long lince acquired a world's reputation from the die-
coveries of Linneus. There are about one thoulaod students in attendance, and mao,
more Ob the books. The professors arid teachers number about seventy..ftve.
6C The town of Upsala Is one ot tbe most ancient in Sweden. its origin being darkened

by the impenetrable mists of fabulous hi~tory. It was formerly tho capital of Sweden,
that is to 10Y, before th~ boilding ot Stockholm. It has an old castle partly in ruins,
ltanding on a hill at the west of the town. built by Gastavus VasR. Its magnifir.ent cathe-
dral, modeled after Noire Dame, in Pari~, raises its two towers above the town, and contains
tbe tomb, of many kings, and of some who were greater than kings. I love to Want through
its majestically arched aisles, razing upon its tombs of marble, and breatbing in tbe
atmosphere perfamed with the memories of ages, and thanking the silent d~ad for the
good which many of them have done for the sake of mankind. As I look upon t1le beau-
tiful proportions of the building, its lofty arches, malsy columns, spJendid decorations,
I think with Schiller, that the Catholic religion is the religion of Art.
Cl At a sapper given some weeks since by the' nation' to which I belong. I met Prinee

AUp.tuI, the youngest IOn of the King, and in whose bonor the feast had been arranged.
I wu presented 10 him, and spoke witb birn some time. He has by no means 80y great
taleDt, but .be is a good-natared Cellow. A half dozen evenings since I was invited to yislt
him iD company with a 10018 oC others, 'where I convened macb more with him. The
Iupper wal fine, and the evening' palsed very plea_Dd,. One of his brothers, PrinGe
GUlay..., is a fine mUIlcian, and has composed lame beautiful air., to wbich in IOIDe
Ut:"'taDeee be bal!ot wordL He ia the most learned. and,as I think, the mOlt retlpectmlle of
484 Editorial Item'. [Sept.
the Royal Family, although tbe general feeling oftbe country i, favorab1e to Prince OICU
and the Prince Royal. on account of theIr military dispositions.
Cl JUNE I1th.-A week later. AnotLer seven days and this letter-which I know you a.re
10 warmly expecting-is Dot dispalcbed. In the Inean time I have been thinking what I
.hould say in reference to my future, Ilnd I am Itill in doubt.
c. There has been a time when in the Coolish fancies of boyisb thought I have dreamed
that my life miBht ftn-J ils way along a path less (requeotlytrodden-oDe where I should.
meet with some degree of bODor and renown. But such visions have passed away with
the childbood that prodl1ced them, and I see my future tOOlsteps mingHnR with the tracks
of multitl1des before me, and being erased by the tread of thousands who succeed me.
But my ambition etill remains j yet I bave learned to measure my faculties by a truer
standard. I meet every day with persons whose intellect and mental thculties are far more
powerful than mine, and my fond opinion oC myself and my career, have rallen to their
proper level-I must be content to Ilursue any way with the maSI, taking care to jostle my
neigbbor as little as pos!IIible, and to Illsilt my companionl witb the little strength I pos-
. .s. To avoid metaphors, I will seek to do all tbe good loan, despairiog of renOWD, and
hoping for a quiet (not inactive) life.
U More definitely I can sa't that I have hopes of obtaining active employme~t upon my

ret,orn home_ I caD say DO more now thaD that it ia a situation which will suit my taste.
nnd where I shall have an opponunity of developing the few acquirements which my long
joumey and my studies ma, have gh-en me. Should my hopes be realized I shall be COD-
teuted, and sufficientl, repaid for my exertions In coming here, and. then, too, 1 sball lfeek
to repay YO\1, my dear parents, Cor all the trouble and anxiety 1 have given, and to exbibit
my gratitude tor all the kindness you have shown me.
ce I have had presentrd me during my atay in Denmark and Sweden many books. aDd
as lOon as 1 arrive in Copenhagen (previous to going to Iceland) I willlelld hom~ a case
of all J have, except suoh as I may need in Iceland or Germany.
I t Ever and trulY10ar affectionate SOD."

u Science an(1 Revelation j Of, the bearings oC Modern Scientific Developments apoa
the first eleven cbapters of Genesi~,·' is the title oC a work soon to be published by Mr.
Clapp. from the pen of the Rev. W. B. Hayden. of Portland, Me.

Lippincotl, Grambo, & Co., of Philadelphia, have in press" The Autobiography or a

Newchnrchman." We have no clew whatever to the authorship. It will be a work,
we judge, of some one or two hundred pages.
Mr. Hadson, of London, has published recently a fine little essay by M. Le Boys De
Gllays, entitle.I, Cl Religion: ils influence on the State ot Society!' Ita object is to show
tbat a t..tlse Chri!ltinnhy has been mainly the procuring cause of the prevalent evils of S0-
ciety, and that a true Christiaoity, or the Cbrhtianity of the New Church, afford. the on17
remedy tor those evils.
uTheTe!timony of Ancient Chriltianityto the Splritoal Sense of God's Word." Under
this title, Rev. Mr. Smithson, ot Manchester. Eng., has given to the public in pamphlet
form. a series of papers originally published in the Cl Intellectual Repository,'" of which
be is editor. Tbe object is to bring forward from Origen 8t1d other ancient Christian au_
thor., a condensed ,tatement of tbe araument cbiefly as it presented by the lesrnE'd and
Impartial authority ot Mosbelm, in his work on the le History of Christianity prior to the
AKfj of Constantlne." It contains abandant proof tbat Ibe primitive fathers held to a
spiritual or esoteric sense of lhe Scriptures, while at the lame time the true ICience oC
correspondence was wholly unknown to them.
 1852.J Editorialllem•• 436
Bayard Taylor, In one ot his letters, addressed to the N. Y. Tribune. from the Ealt,
gives tbe following interesting acoountof the olde!t Hebrew manuscript in the world:
cc NabloQs is noted for the existence of a flman remnant of the ancient Samaritans.
The 8tock has graduany dwindled away, and amounts to only 40 families, containin.
little more than 150 individ~all. They live in a particular quarter of the city, and are
easily distingllisbed from the other inhabitants, in the cast of their features. After ODf
guide, a native of Nahlous, had poiuted out three or Cour, I bad no difficulty in recognizing
all tbe others we met. They have long, but not prominent noses, like the 1ews; amall,
obloog eye" narrow lips, and fair complexions, most of them having brown bair. Theoy
appear to be held in considerable obloquy by tbe Moslems. Our attendant, who was oC
the low cla!8 of Arabs, look the boys we met very unceremoniously by the head, calling
out: Cl Here is another Samaritan!" He then conducted us to ~heir synagogue, to see tbe
celebrated Pentateuch. which is there preserved. We were taken to a small open court,
shaded by an apricot tree, where the priest, an old man in a green robe and white turban.
,"vas seated in meditation. He had a long gray beard and black eyes, that lighted up with
a Budden expression of eager greed when we promised him baokahish tor a sight of the
sacred book. He rO!e and took us into a sort of chapel, followed by a number of Samar-
, itan boys. • Kneeling down at a niche in the wall, he produced from behind a wooden
ease a piece of ragged parchment. written with Hebrew characters. But the Ituide w••
tdmiliar \vith this deception, and rated hi~ so soundly that after a little hesitation be
laid the fragment away, and produced a large tin cylinder, covered with a pieoe of green
satin embroidered in gold. The boys stooped down and reverently kissecl tlle blazoned
cover, before it was removed. The cylinder, eliding open by two rows of hinges, opened
at the same time the parchment scroll, which was rolled at both ends. It was indeed a
very ancient manuscript, and in remarkable preservation. The rents have been carefully
repaired and the sctoll neatly attached to another piece or parchment, covered on the out-
side with ...iolet satin. The priest inforrned me that it was written by the 80n of Aaron,
but tbis does not coincide \\'ith the fuct that the Samaritan Pentateuch is different from
that of the Jews. It is. however, no doubt one of the oldest parchment records in the
world, and the Samaritans look upon it with unbounded fa.ith and reverence. The Pen-
tateuch. according to their version, contains their only form of religion. They reject
every thing else which the old Testament contains. Tbree or four days ago was their
grand feast of sacrifice, when tbey made a burnt offering oC .. lamb, on the top of Mount
Gerizim. Within a sbort time it is saiel they have shown some curiolJity to become aeo-
quainted with the New Testament, and the High' Priest sent to Jerusalem to procure
Arabic copies.J.
Tu. TNTKJUOR. 01' APIUCA.-A writer In the Wflstminster Review, who Jived for se,·~ral
years on the western coast, gives 8.n interesting description of tile interior of that country.
He sayti, 11 5t·\te of civilization existB among some of the tribes, lach as has not been IU8
peeted hitherto by those who have judged only (rom such accounts as have been given of
the tribes with which travellers have come in contact. They cannot be regarded .s sav-
agel. having organized townships, fixed habitations, with regular defences abC?ut their
cities, engaging in agricultl1re. and the manufacture of cotton cloth, for clothing, which
they ornament with handsome dyes oC native production, and exhibit handicraft in their
conversion of iron and precio~s metals into atticles of use and ornament. The merchant.
entrust their goods to the care of native trade!s, in various parts of the country, ttored iD
hots, without protection, yet preserved in entire safely, acts of robbery being v"'Y rare.
Native traders are held in high respect, especially if wealthy, and in some C8!e,. whole
tribes engage in the business of itinerant traders. no impediment being offered to tbem
even among nations where a state of war existL
436 Editorial Itenl6. [Sept. 1852.
A REIfAJU[ABLE MAGNETIC DISCOVERY has just bet'f made public in England, by Mr. Rat-
ler, a scientific gentleman of BrightoD. A medical gentlelnaD of this city has famished
the eubjolned interMting account:
.. By means of an electrical machine of great delicacy, which is styled the Malfld'*"",
Mr. Rutler is not only able to dernonstrate in the most satisfactory manner the polariza-
tion of our bodies, and those parts where the North and South poles are situated, but lik~·
wise the alterations whioh take place from chaDge ot poaition from the vertical .Dd litting
positions to the recumbent, as also tbose which take place from other circumstances. He
is ~180 able to demonstrate most clearly the difference between tbe male aDd female eur-
rents, and that the latter are generally in an inverse or antagonistic atate to those of man;
al.o, that certain positions of the arms and hands arrest the effects of these currents opon
the instrument. Dead aDimal matter, brought into contact with tbe band of the operator,
or with any person, or any number of persons forming a chain by holding one another by
the hand, the one nearest the operator holding bis hand, and the dead matter being pat
into the hand of the person lnost remote from him, almost immediately stops lhe mo,,~
ments produced on the instrument by the electric current~
Mr. Rutler has, it seems, carried his dis~overie8 still further; for he has ascertained, and
i. able to prove most unerringly, that mucous matter, whether animal or vegetable effiu-
via. or miasms, or mineral or vegetable poisons, in fact, aU ••b.,af&Ct. CGpGble of prodwillg
thGth have the lame power of stopping the action of the instrument. Numerous experi-
ments have been performed in the presence of some aundreds of lay and professional gen-
tlemen with the most convincing results. Drs. Quia and Madden, Hommopathic practi-
tioners of London, were present at most oC the experiments, and were permitted by Mt.
Rutler to test the effect of the Hahnemannian attenuated drugs, both mineral and yegeta-
ble, upon the instrument, with a result tbat astonished all present. The experiments
were made upon lome filty drugs iD their crude forms, as well as in tbe various a~Dua·
tions from the third up to the eighth hundredth. All the kDown deadly poisons, luch as
arlt.ie, h,drotrawic acid, opittm, ftv,z 17omica, .tramOfti__, tligitalu, invariably ItOPped
the motion of the pendulum.

We learn tbat there is every probability that the weekly paper entitled .. The Age." of
W'hi~h the tint No. bas been published and widely circulated, will find sufBoieDt encour-
agelnent to warrant the enterprise oC publication. A second No. we believe. is to be
issued in a few days.

We have received the report, in the cc Bolton Chronicle." Eng., of one of three Lectures
recently delivered in that place, by Dr. J. W. Haddock, on the. I I J.. ife aDd Scientific
Writings of Swedenborg." The aim of the Lecture was to give a popular view of Swe-
denborg'. principles of Magnetism, Eleetricity, Anatomy, Physiology, and Psychology.
From the specimen alluded to, the explanation tbrougbou\ m Olt have been admirable.
and we regret that our .pace does not allow us te transCer it to OUt pages.
Strangers who are Newchurcbmen, visiting the city aDd desirous or attending New
Church worship on the Sabbath, will generaJly find a notice in the N. Y. Tribune of
Saturday morning, indicating where divine service 18 held, and by whom condllcr.ed.
The First Society continues its meetings at present at Stuyvesant Institute, Broadway. a
little above Bleecker-Itreet. The editor of the Repository will probably occupy. pulpit ill
some part 0.1 the city during tbe coming seaSOD.

\,
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHLY REVIEW.

'.1. V. O£TOBER, 1852. No. 10.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.

CHURCH ORGANIZATION.
A D I A LOG U E .-E D I T 0 a A!f D CBI TIC.
CB. As a quiet opportunity seems now to be afforded U8, I trust
you will not object to devoting it to a little free conversation on the
subject of yoor leading item in the August No. of the Repository. I
confess to having read that article with deep sensations of pain.
ED. Frankness is the charm of friendship. Having hinted at the
fact of your dissati~faction, you will not refuse to state definitely the
grounds of it.
CIl. I have several objections to the tODe of your remarks. They
appear to me to be founded upon an over estimate of the importance
of the external order of the Church-to be lacking in charity-and to
be false in their assumptions. On the first head, the suggestion is
obvious that the order and government of the Church is external;
and it were unreasonable to suppose that the evils originating upon
a comparatively low external plane, should flow down with the same
disastrous influence 8S those emanating from an internal source.
Why, then, make so much of them 1
En. It may not perhaps be very easily conceivable to you that the
.course pursued in this matter has been prompted by a view of things
directly the reverse of what you suppose: nevertheless such is the
fact. It is not because I overrate the intrinsic importance of the BUb-
ject, but because others do, that I have been induced to give it so
prominent a place, and to speak of it in terms so emphatic. It is my
firm conviction that from the outset of the Church·s establishment in
this country, an undue estimate has been entertained of the import-
ance of giving it a suitable external form, and it is mainly with a
view to go against the overweening anxiety on this head, that I
VOL. v. 20
438 Cl"urcl, Organizatioll. [Oct.

have ventured to array myself so strongly in the opposition. And it

may not be amiss to observe that in all matters of reform where
great interests are conceived to be at stake, nothing is more common
than to endeavor to put a quietus upon discussion, by representing the
assailant as magnifying trifles-as laying undue stress npon non-essen-
tials-when in fact it is precisely this spirit in their opponents with which
they are all the while contending-. The controversy between the Non-
Conformists in England and the Established Church, is a case strikingly
in point. The protesters against Episcopal impositions were contin-
ually charged ,vith making mountains of mole-hills, while at the
same time their whole drift was to sqow that this was precisely what
the other party ,vere all the while doing.
CR. Were I to concE'de a colorable show of reason to )·our vindica-
tion on this head, still allow me to ask whether in thus sternly allack.
in:- a church order from which you dissent, you are not guilty of 8
breach of charity, inasmuch as charity would dictate that )"OU should
allow others to enjoy their own opinions in peace, and to ultimate
their views of Divine Order in such manner 8S seemed to them good.
You may object to an organized General Convention, invested h}" the
consent of societies \vith a general superintendence over the affairs
of the Church at large, but as there are those who do feel a prefer-
ence for this order, and as they do not ask of you or anyone to come
into it, why should you not leave them undisturbed in the enjoyment
of their views as they do you 1 Is not this the mutual toleration pre-
scribed by the law of love among brethren 1
ED. Your reasoning is specious, but still, in my view, fa1Jaciou~
I should be profoundly grieved to think there \vere any thing in my
course on this subject ,vhich could be jllstly construed into a brpach
of the laws of genuine charity. No one has a higher sense of the
obligation of those laws than myself: But let me attempt to defioe
my position in relation to the matter vie,ved under this aspect. I
start with the principle, which probably will not be disputed, that the
Lord's New Church is essentially one, being united and compacted
by a prevailing spirit of love together with a substantial communit)~
of faith. It is intrinsically one from the constituent principles of ifS
own nature, and prior to any measures of an external kind designed
to give it a visible unity. This unity of the church, which is internal,
is in the Lord's eyes, and in the eyes of all those who see by his light,
a matter of so much sanctity that every member is to guard against
its infraction with the utmost vigilance, and is by no means to stand
aloof' from any thing that has the air of encroachment upon it. Dis-
tance of space, local 01- territorial disjunct-ions, are of no account in
connection \vith a system \,-hich tcacllf~s that space is a mere appear-
ance corresponding with state, anu cOllsequ~ntly that geographical
degrees of la.titude or longitude have nothing to do \-vith the dictates
of duty to\vards those \vith whom \Vc sta.nd in such close and en-
dea.red rela.tion. Everyone is bound to regard himself as in his
meaSUI·e, the conservator of the charity of the Church, 110t ouly b)-
cult.iva.ting it.s influences in his o\vn person, but also by earnestl)"'
protesting against any invasion of it on the part of others, as far at
1852.] .A Dialogue.-Editor and Oritic. 439
least as his own sphere of remonstrance may extend. The interests
of the Church do not belong to this man or this class of men, but to the
whole collective body, one as much as another. Everyone is there-
fore alike called upon to resist aggressions made upon the unity of
the Church. The resistance which any devoted son of the Church
may offer to such encroachlnents, is not to be set down to the account
of officious intermeddling, or malignant or uncharitable assault upon
the innocent ecclesiasticisms of his brethren. He does not attack so
much the persons, motives, and measures of the party in question, as
the evil \vhich he recognizes in its inventions, while he gives the
innovators full credit for uprightness and purity of purpose. It is a
wrong and unfair use of language to term such a protest an attack
upon those who have originated and who sustain tlie polity objected
to. When one has no selfish ends to answer b)· his opposition-
when he is conscious of no animosity-when he is acting not so much
in his own name as in that of the sacred cause which he has es-
poused-and when he does this at the hazard of odium, reproach, and
virtual excommunicatioD, we are bound. to be very chary in the appli.
cation of opprobriol1s epithets to such a course of conduct. We must
be careful that the principles of imputation on which we act are those
OD which the Lord himself acts, and these have always respect to the
most interior motives of the man.
Ca. All this may not be amiss as a general expose of N. C. ethics
in this department, but you were proposing to define your own posi-
tion in the premises.
ED. I do not forget it. I enter at once upon it, and in the outset I
make free to declare that I deem the erection of such an institute in
the New Church as the existing General Convention a breach of the
unity of the Church, inasmuch as it can plead no sufficient warrant for
its formation, and therefore must in the nature of the case lead to con-
tention ancl tend to generate permanent divisions, and estrangements
among brethren. The reason \vhy it is certain to produce this effect
is that as such a polity finds no clear warrant in the Word or writings,
those who are jealous of human additions to divine platforms, will
inevitably be offended. and such an offence is but another name for a
breach of charity. A spirit penetrated by deep reverence for divine
appointments, and sensitive to an)· thing that looks like an arraign-
ment of their all-sufficiency, cannot but be wounded in its instincts of
spiritual harmony when any innovation upon the divine order is at·
tempted. As the trembling of the filaments of the spider's web an-
nounces the contact of some foreign substance, and instantaneously
summons the sentinel from his retreat, so the proposal of any thing
which shall mar the barmon)' of the church gives quick alarm to the
intuition of the Lord's disciples, and prompts them to run to the res-
cue. Here then is the secret of my own solicitude in this matter, and
you can judge how heavily presses upon me the charge of a violation
of charity, wben the whole aim of my essays on this subject is to
withstand the subtle inroads of innovatioDs which will inevitably go
to break up the unity of the Church as standing in a strict co~pli­
ance with the laws of order emanating from the Lord himself: Why
J
 440 CAurc1& Organization. [0cL

should an earnest resistance to a breach of charity-be branded 88 it-

seJf a sin of that stamp 1
Ca. But on this point you are aware that there is 8. diversity of
opinion. Many sincere NewchurchmeD, who do not perhaps fall be-
hind yourself in reverence for divine institutions, entertain the honest
conviction that such an organization as the General Convention is so
far from being contrary to the Divine Order, that it is iil fact but a
legitimate carrying it out into its proper ultimates. ·
ED. If this be so, such advocates of conventions are solemnly bound
to produce their strong reasons, and show to their brethren the
authority which they find for the peculiar polity they would fain es-
tablish. They are morally bound to sho,," for what portion of this
system they claim 8 divine sanction, and for what not; in other
words, when it sits majestic in the throne of the ju, divinUfll, and
when it Jeans meekly on the arm of human expediency. Why do
they not plainJy and unequivocally come out and define their position
on this subject 1 It is an easy matter to sit still and ascribe to others
a want of charity in argning against alleged evils, instead of attempt-
ing to show. as they ought, that they are flot evils. Should they see
fit to do this, we will aid them to a very exact apprehension of the
counter-positions and arguments which they will be required to set
aside in making good their own ground. If we have any correct
view of the teachings of our great expounder on this subject it is,
that the Church is not only one from the necessities of its nature, bot
that in being one it is adequately organized, and being organized it
~s of course in order; consequently that the whole theory of a general t·iJ-
able order of the New Church is a mere delusive phantQsy, u,J,ich ought at
once to be put away. On this head the testimonies may be multiplied
from Swedenborg's writings ad libitum, and you will see that the}· are
such as cannot be winked out of sight. They must be distinctly met
and explained away before the first stoDe can properl)- be laid in the
conventional structure. Nothing is assumed in the extracts I proceed
to give, but the simple fact that the grand laws pertaining to the
Church in heaven and the Church on the earth, are substantially the
same. This pOHtulate no NewchurchmaD will question. My object,
recollect, is to prove, from competent authority, that the Church ~s
already organized from its being a Church. The inference from thIS
is very easily drawn. that no additional organization is necessary, and
if not necessary, then not expedient.
U In heaven there are innumerable 8ocietie!, and 0.11 various, but still they form a
one, for they are allIed by tho Lord a8 ono. In this respect heaven is like man, in
whom, althouf5h there are 80 many viscera, 80 many organs snd members, each of
which has a different operation from the rcet, yet they are all and each governed a.s
one by one 80ul. That all these parts cnn thu8 act ss one, is because in beaTen
there is one 8in~le influx, which is received by every one according to his gcniu~
whieh is an influx of affections from the Lord, or from his mercy and life; and
although the influx is one and single, yet all things obey and follow ns if they were
one; and this by that mutual love, in which they are who are in heaven. . . .
l\tlutuallovc and charity effects that they 8hould be one, although various, for from
things various it DIUCtJ 0. onc; all, however many they are, even though myriads of
myriads, if they are in charity or mutual love, they have one end, viz., the eomm<ll
1852.] A Dialogue.-Editor and Oritic. 44:1

good, the kingdom of the Lord, and the Lord himself; and tho varieties in matters
or doctrine and worship are BB the varieties or the senses and viscera in man, as wal
said, which contribute to the perfection of the wholo. For then the Lord, by meana
of oharity, flows in and operates differently according to the genius of each one, and
thus arranges all and ,very on, into order, as in heaven, 80 on earth.n-A. C. 1285.
" Every ONE(or the oneness of everything) is formed by the harmonious union of
many, and it is a OSE in proportion to the harmony of ita parts. . . . . Thus
every 80cietr in heaven, as well as all the societies taken collectively, or the univer-
sal heaven, forms a ONE, this being effected by the Lord alonc by means of love."-
A. C.457.
U A one does not exift without a form. Every one who thinks intently OD the sub-
ject, may Bee clearly, that a one without B form does not exist, and if it does exist
that it is a form. . . . . Such n. one is everything which is an object of sight
in the world, and such a one also is everything which is not an object of sight,
whether it be in interior nature or in the spiritual world; luch a one is man, and
such a one is a human society; luch a OJU is the church, also the universal angelio
heaven beforo the Lord."-lJ. P. 4. (Is not that organized which has a form~)
U So far as man is in spiritual heat, and at the 8t\mc time in spiritual light, so far
h. u in orller.-T. C. R. 70."
A wider range would bring forth a still ampler array of equivalent
passages, all going to show that just so far as the constituents of the
church prevail in the church, just so far it is in order, i. e. organized,
and consequently that no other system of external order is at all ne-
cessary, and if not necessary, then the attempt to superinduce it upon
the church by our own supplementary wisdom, is at once a reflection
upon the Divine wisdom, and a. bold invasion of the Divine ~reroga­
tive.
CB. But does not this view imply a very narrow and one-sided doc-
trine of conscience? May not a man be conscientiously convinced
that several single societies of the New Church may associate together
for worthy purposes, and thus form a larger maD without trenching
at all upon the fundamental principles you have now laid down?
ED. Conscience has no scope where the Divine will hems it in.
Conscience duly enlightened can never demand any system of e~ter·
nal order, any visible organization of the church as a whole, because.
in the nature of the case, it is adequately organized already. But 8,
properly conditioned conscience may be well employed in protesting
against and resisting the establishment of unauthorized polities. And
this course of conduct, which is that so censoriously attributed to me,
cannot, with any consistency, be termed a breach of charity, as it is
the legitimate result or appropriate ultimation of certain principles
assumed as premises. The only true method of arraigning the course
is to show the falsity of the underlying principl~s. For an attempt
at this I have long \vaited and still wait with exemplary patience.
Mestl\vhile allow me to cite another passage of our illuDlinated wri-
tings, bearing upon the" communication bet\veen the heavenly socie-
ties.
"All the societies of heaven communicate with each other; not by o~n inter-
ooune, for few go out of their own society into another, since to ~o oat of their soci.
ety is like going out from themselves, or from their life, and palling mto another which
442 Church Organiwtioll. [Oct.
is Dot 10 agreeable. But they all communicate by an ex~nsion of the sphere which
proceeds from the life of every one: the sphere or life is the sphere of al'ecuODll
which are of love and faith. This extends itaelfinto the aocieties round about, far
and wide."-H. -t H. 49.
This sets before us the true nature of that intercourse and commu-
nion which subsists between the different societies of the church.
From the nature of the principlcs which reign among them they are
el"er in sympathy, in fcllowship, in co-operation. Space does not
separate them, and therefore stated local assemblages, compacted
into Conventions, generating infinite rules of order, are wholly
superfluous. 'rhe members of the church are sufficiently united by
being engaged in the appropriate uses of their own place. The
extension of sphere. the constant outgoing of brotherly love, secures
to them all the advantages of loca.l rendezvous and re-union. We
are certainly warranted to regard the societies in heaven as the
model to which the societies on earth are to be conformed, and tbe
fuller the conformity the more perfect the state of the church on
earth. Now for myself I have searched in vain for evidence that the
heavenly societies are united by any other bonds-that they are
formed into any other organization-than what consists in the har-
mony of a common love and faith, and one which is perpetually sub-
sisting. Their union, therefore, is purely spiritual, and anything like
a higher union formed by delegation or representation from single
societies, and prompting to local assemblage is wholly unkno\vn
among them. Community of affection, end, aim, and use stands
instead of every other species of union. By the laws of spiritual
being it is impossible that those who are thus united should be truly
separated from each other. What can be more explicit on this head
than the following testimony from the Spiritusl Diary 1
U I was instructed that the angels are not, &8 'Would appear, con80ciated in their
places, but that vast multitudes of them are engaged in particular functioDs and
U8eI, and that wherever they are they yet appear thus oon8ociated. So long as they
are in U8eI, they are likewise in BOCiety.
uWherevertheymaybewhen thusemplo;red it is all the same ; yet when their pow-
era are determined to co-operation with their fellows, no such idea is to be formed 88
that of800ietiee aoting looal1yto~ther,and thence governing inferior spirits and men;
but wherever they are, wlille they are in uses they are (virtually) in societies,
aJtbouah they can, as to uses, even then be associated also with still other societies."
-8. JJ. 4061, 4062.
What can be more obvious than the general Jaw bere developed 1
How slight the degree of spiritual discernment required to perceive
that DO snch organized association as that involved in the present
General Convention is "according to the pattern shown in the
mount 1" If societies see fit, for purposes of social converse, united
worship, co-operative use, or mutual improvement, to congregate
together from time to time, whether in larger or smaUer bodies,
I know nothing that forbids it. But let such meetings die as soon
as dissolved. Give them DO permanency, no fixedness; adopt no con-
atitutioD, and no rules of order; have DO officers standing over from
one meeting to another, for all these are germs of Babylon-the eggs
 1852.] A Dialogue.-Editor and Critic. 443

f)f the cockatrice-to \vhich place should not be given for an instant,
as they will be sure to '. increasA to more ungodliness." Suppose (01-
ft moment that a number of the particles of the human body, think.
ing themselves not quite closely enough united where they are, 8hould
be prompted to Inount on the blood-currents in the veins, and c()ngr~­
gate together in th~ head, or sorne oth~r r~gion of the hody, and t.ht're
hold a sol~mn ~oncla\re in \vhich it should be declared expedient for
the \veltitre of the body t.hat 1hey should form a fix~d organization,
over and above that of the general physical ecollorny, ,vhich it ,,-as
too plain \vas not competent to produce all t.he good results of which
such a structuree was capable. This would be. in my view, incoll-
gruaus fLS it is, altogether parallel to the proceedings of the Inembers
of the Nc\v Church in ()r~anizing' n General Convp,ntion to Rupply the
defects of the divinely const.itut.ed order irnpresscd hy the Lord upon
IIi~ own spiritual body.
Ca. It seems then that you fetd called upon to oppose the existing
order of things in the N C\V Church from th~ pure promptings of a prin-
ciple of charity. 'fhe p.'inciplc \vith you uecomes belligerent.
En. You can cha.racterize the course pursued by such terms as you
prefer, provided I do not leave you under a mistake as to its true
nature and source. This I think] can hardly have done.
Ca. You \vill then, I presume, concede the same liberty to others
\vhich you take yourself; and if you are constrained in conscience
to assail the position of others, you ,vill not object to their satisfying
their consciences by assailing yours.
ED. Not in the least. I would only have them sure that they can
find anything to assail. What that may be I am a.t 8. loss to conjec-
ture. I present IIO point at which aim can be taken. I have 110
rival scheme of order to defend. I hold simply to the existence of sin-
gle societies in the church. And in this my censurers believe as well
as myself: They indeed go farther than this; they hold to a Conven-
tion of Societies; but we go together and are agreed up to a certain
point, and so far as we are agreed they cannot attack my position
\vithout at the same time attacking their O\VD. Again then, I may
ask, what have they in me to attack 1-\vhat but the fact of my dis-
sent from their platform 1 This they may do, and probably will do,
and yet in doing it they are guilty of a downright breach of charity;
for what have I done but to oppose the fa.stening upon the church of
a mere human polity to the extinction of the spirit of love and unity
\vithin its bounds 1 I say it is a human polity, because the Divine au-
thorit)- on which it rests is not produced. Our enlightened author has
written voluminously on the true internal character and constituents of
the church, but where has he developed anything like aD external order
which it was appointed to assume 1 You will not find it; and yet how
easy and how natural to have drawn out the p.rogramme in some part
of the" True Christian Religion" ifsuch a thing came \vithin the com-
pa8s of the Divine counsels 1 The fact that no 8uch system of order
is laid down is proof: not that human sagacity is here r~quircd to eke
out what is deficient in a Divine scheme, but that the tl,il'g itself wa3
never intended to exist. From a clear foresight that such an order
444 Ohurc1& OrgaRizatiora.-.A Dialogue.-Editor and Critic. [Oct.
could not be established in the fallen state of human nature, nothing
of the ltind entered into the plans of the Infinite Wisdom. Every
attempt therefore to found such an order as the product of our own
intelligence is upon a par with the infatuation of spirits in forming
their fantastic heavens which were doomed to such a signal dissipa-
tion before the overwhelming" east wind" of the Last Judgment.
Ca. I confess it is not very obviol1s to me at what point your posi.
tion is to be assailed, but I presume that other friends of the Conven-
tion will have no difficulty in detecting fallacies in your reasoning.
which I also shall easily recognize when they are pointed out. I
shall not myself attempt to controvert your arguments, as in matters
of this kind we do not deem it wise to act on our individual respon-
sibility in advance of those who usually take the lead.
ED. Your tactics on this head I leave to your own discretion. It is
of little consequen'ce to me with whose eyes people may choose to
see, whUe they distrust their own. But one thing is certain; the ad-
vocates of Conventions are morally bound to show the grounds of the
system they have adopted•. They owe it to their brethren-they o\ve
it to a distracted church-they owe it to truth-to discard all airs of
dignity, all supercilious silence, and clearly lay open to the receivers
of the New Jerusalem the funda.mental reasons on which they rely
to justify the keeping up an order that entails so much disuuity and
estrangement in the Lord's household. As I have before remarked,
they have no right to persist in thus maintaining a so-called order
which is B stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to many upright
souls. It is a perpetual and cruel outrage done to the spirit of love
and concord among the subjects of the Lord's kingdom. to make 8
portion of them feel that they are virtually outlawed by another por-
tion from the pale of a common charity. The grievance is the more
severe as they are not conscious of any moral or doctrinal obliquity.
which should justly make them obnoxious to an ecclesiastical ostra-
cism of this nature. In my own case. for instance, I am inwardly
oppressed by a sense of alienation on the part of clerical brethren for
the sole reason that I am known to be theoretically opposed to the
church order which they have seen fit to establish. This I am
assured is intrinsically \vrong. and those who are responsible for the
wrong are morally bound to explain their conduct in the premi-
ses. My own. however, is but one case out of scores of others,
equally demanding an exposition of principles which has been hith-
erto haughtily withheld. Let it not be said that such an expose
would be out of season-that the order has been long establisbed-
and those who sustain it may be presumed to have become long since
satisfied on this score-and that it would be a weak condescension
to think of noticing the splenetic censures or cavils of individual dis-
sentients scattered over the church. This is the tone, of lordly priest-
ism which may suit the Vatican of Rome, but is sadly out oC place
in the precincts of the New Jerusalem. We are well aware ho\v
hard must be the lesso n of fair and candid and open dealiDg to
those who have long acted on the principle of a lofty reserve, broken
only by certain oracular and 6Z cathedra utterances of too sacred a
1852.] . Conftr1fUJtion8. 445

character to be subject to .the profane interrogations of refractory

dissenters. But the dB}·s of this dignified taciturnity we believe are
numbered, and the period near at hand \\Then Conventions, like every-
thing else, must show their reasons or re,ign tlleir 8ceptre, and we
shre,vdly suspect that the reJignation will be an inevitable con-
sequence of the ,howing. Let time determine. G. B.

ARTICLE 11.

CONFIRMATIONS.

MR. EDITOR :-In the" Repository" for February last, p. 60, in some
remarks by yourself prefatory to an extract from Mr. Noble on the
death penalty, occurs the following: "In the exercise of this liberty
(the liberty of judging, each one for himself: as to ,vhat is most in
accordance with the letter and spirit of the heavenly doctrines), we
have, for ourselves, long since settled down in the belief of the intrin-
sic right and justice of capital punishment for the crime of murder,
and, consequently, as we can only conceive of the New Church
doctrines as harmonizing with the eternal principles of order and
equity, we cannot but regard those doctrines as sanctioning this fea-
ture of the criminal code of most Christian countries."
So far as I am prepared to judge, I am inclined to agree with )10U
in the opinion that the doctrines of the New Church do sanction the
death penalty, for the crime at least of murder; but the mental pro-
cess by which you arrive at this conclusion seems to offer a fit occa-
sion for the presentation of some thoughts \vhich I have a long time
had in mind. ., We have long since settled down ~fi'fmly ill the beliet:"
&c., U and consequently ,ve can only conceive of the Ne\v Church doc-
trines as harmonizing," &0. We all a~e prone more or Jess to be
governed in our search after truth by opinions pre-conceived in our
minds, through which, as through a medium, whatever truth ,ye see
is viewed. The effect of \vhich is, though perhaps unobserved by
ourselves, that in so far as \ve are thus governed, ,ve find only confir-
mations of that \vhich was assumed in the mind as true, which may
nevertheless be the very antipodes of the real truth. Such pre-estab.
Iished opinions are to the understanding, what colored glasses are to
the eye. If the glass be green, ,vhatever is seen through it is green
also; if it be red, the object also is red; if blue, the object is blue,
&0. And did we by any means fail to realize the existence of the
perverting medium, we should feel absolutely certain that we saw
the object in its own native huc. Whereas, it is only the clear trans-
parent crystal which reveals the object in its true color. All the
rest were false. So the mind ;-in so far as we are enabled to
keep it unbiassed by pre-established opinions from our self-intelli-
 Oonfirmation,. [Oct.
gence, and are humbly led by the truths of revelation, having, so far
as possible, no opinions which are not formed from, and hence est8b.
lished upon the truths of revelation,-tbese truths will be in it trans·
parent crystals, through which ,ve shall be enabled to vie\v all things
which come before the understanding in the clear light.
To assume that a pre.established opinion is the truth, and from
that to argue that" consequently" the authoritative '\vritings of the
New Church mu,t harmonize therewitll, is a method of reasoning that
seems the exact reverse of the true nlethod \vhich Ne\vchurcbmen
ought to pursue. The writings of the New Church are divinely
authoritative, or they 8 re not. If the)" are not, then is the Lord's sec-
ond ad vent yet to come. If they are, What do they teach 1 should
be the first inquiry on any question of religion or ethics, with the
mind as unbiassed and free from the opinions of self-derived intelli-
gencfl. as our state of regeneration renders possible. And if there is
DO direct and positive teaching, from the same unbiassed state of
mind the inquiry should be for the general bearing of the doctrines
upon the subject.
With due deference and respect, permit me somewhat plainly and
frankly to say, that throughout the whole course of the controversy in
the pages of the" Repository" on the subject of clergy and laity, and
minor topics which it involves, it has seemed to me, \vho have been
only a "]ool(er-on in V enice," that l·ourself and those ,vho \\yith
undoubted sincerity haye advocated the same side in this controversy,
have been continually, and I hope without proposing so to do, rea·
loning after the same method which is portrayed in the extract aboye.
That )10U had "settled down firmly," in the belief that there should
be in the New Church no order of clergy distinct from the laity, &c.,
" and consequently" you could only conceive of the Ne\v Church doe·
trine 88 "harmonizing" \vith this firmly settled conviction. In say-
ing this I mean no wa.nt of charity. I say no more than that to
which we aH are prone, and against which \ve need most sedulousl)-,
and with unceasing prayer, to guard. I was led to this opinion at an
early stage in this controversy, and the opinion has been confirmed in
its subsequent progress, paOrticularly by this significant circumstance,
that although there are passages in the \vritings of E. S. distinctly
and positively recognizing the distinction bet\\'een the clergy find
laity, and none where he with equal distinctness, no,· indeed at all,
asserts that there is to be no such distinction in the New Church~ }Oet,
from assumed general principles, it is illferred to be contrary to the
genius of the New Church. And since the doctrines must" harmoll·
ize" with this idea, it is argued, "consequently," that wherever S"oe-
denborg recognizes the distinction bet\\reen the clergy and laity,
he does not mean the clergy of the New Church. For instance, in
the chapter on "Ecclesiastical government," in the work which he
himself entitles" THE NEW JERUSALEM AND ITS HEAVENLY DOCTJlINE,"
and in which, b~fore he proceeds to the exposition of the doctrine
itself, occurs the following memorable passage, "As to what concerns
the following doctrine, lAu doctrine also i, from heaven, inasmuch as
it is from the spiritual sense of the Word; and the spiritual seDse of
1852.] Confirmations. 44'7

the Word is the same with the doctrine which is in heaven. . . .

But I proceed to the doctrine itself: which IS for the New Church, and
,vhich is called Heavenly Doctrine, because it was revealed to me
out of heaven; for to deliver tAu doctrine is the design of this work."
-H. D.7.
The passages in question relating to the clergy are as follow:
U With respect to the priests, they ought to teach men the war to heaven, and also
to lead them; they ought to teach them according to the doctrines of their church
derived from the 'Vord, and they ought to lead them to live according to it."-
lI. D. 315.
Cl Dignity and honor ou~ht to be paid to priests on account of the sanctit·y of their
office; but they who &re WIse give the honor to the Lord, from whom all sanctity is
derived, and not to themselves," &c.-Idem. 317.
From the opinion assumed, by infe1·ence, from the writings of the
church in a general way as to what is the genius of the New Church,
or \vhat that genius requires, the necessity devolves of making this
positive teaching of doctrine by Swedenborg, under the most solemn
asseveration, mean something else. It is declared that he is here pre-
scribing the duties of the clergy of the old church. This mUlt be so,
because \vhat he says is contrary to what is assumed, inferentially, to
be required by the genius of the New Church. This is the reason!
although this stands opposite to Swedenborg's repeated asseverations
that it is "TilE HEAVENLY DOCTRINE 0.· THE NEW JERuSALEM," that it is
" for the New Chure!"," that it was" revealed out of heaven," and that
" to deliver this doctrilte is the design of this work." And this rea-
soning it is endeavored to establish by the following confirmations:
That when S\vedenborg says the priests" ought to teach men the way
to heaven according to the doctrines of their cllurch (ecclesim sure)
deri ved from t he Word," the pronoun ,e their" implies plurality, he
hence means se'IJe1·al churche8, whereas the New Church is one. But
does not S\vedenborg eyerywhere teach that the doctrines of the old
church are totally false, and lead to hell, \vithout making an excep-
tion in ravor of any sect or denomination 1 And would it not be the
extreme of inconsistency, that he should be found prescribing to the
ministers of those cllurches that they" ought to teach men the way to
heavefl, and to lead them thither according to tI,e doctrine' of their
church," which ho says are falses from hell, and lead to hell 1 He
says in an appendix to the Coronis (Eng. Rd.) that "There is in
the old church no kno\vledge of God, but what is erroneous; no
knowledge of the Lord; no knowledge of the Holy Spirit; hence DO
knowledge of the Divine Trinity; no knowledge of the sanctity of
the Word; no knowledge of Redemption; no knowledge of Faith;
no knowledge of Charity; no knowledge of Free Win; no knowledge
of Repentance; no kno\vledge of the Remission of Sins, and hence no
knowledge of Conversion; no knowledge of RegeneJ·ation; no
knowledge of Imputation; no knowledge of Heaven and Hell; no
knowledge of the state or man after death, and hence no knowledge
of Salvation and Eternal Life; no knowledge of Baptism; no knowl·
edge .of the Holy Supper; no knowledge of the Law, but what
448 Conftrmatiom. [Oct.

is erroneous; no knowledge of the Gospal but what is erroneous."

And according to such doctrines Swedenborg instructs the clergy of
the old church. wilD would never read his book, that they" ought to teach
men the way to heaven 1" and according to such doctrines they ought
to lead them to live!
Another confirmation is found in the following quotation which is
the first section in the chapter on Ecclesiastical and Civil Govern-
ment. (H. D). See Repos. April, p. 187.
U There are two classes or affairs among men which ought to be conducted accord..
ing to the laWB of order; namely, that which relates to things of heaven, and that
wliioh relates to the things of the world. The former are called ecclesiastical, and
the latter civil affairs." .
From this it is alleged that" there is here no specific mention
made of the New Church, but the affairs spoken of are 'affairs
among men.'" But as the confimation derived from this passage is
merely subservient to the grand one abo\·e noticed, and simply" jus-
tifying" the construction already put upon the chapter, it seems to
require but a brief notice.
Is it necessary, or calle(l for, tha.t the author, after such repeated
and most solemn deelaration~, not concerning a.ny part or portions of
the work, but of the whole work, that this doctrine is "for the NetlJ
Ohurch," and that" to del i ver thi., doctrine is the design of this \vork,"
&0., is it necessary, or would there be any propriety in his specifi-
cally reiterating this declaration at the beginniqg of every new chap-
ter, or on the introduction of any new subject, or distinct branch of
the doctrine which as a whole he calls the "doctrine of the Nc\v
Jerusalem't" It is alleged that" the affairs spoken of are' affairs
among men' widely and genera.lly taken," and hence cannot apply
to the New Church. But Swedenborg \vas not \vriting merely tor
the New Church, while it should embrace but an handful of the men
of the earth. The New Church, the doctrine of \vhich \va.~ here ,. re-
vealed from heaven," was to endure " forever and ever," \\?hen "all
nations shaH be gathered unto Jerusalem." Might he noL well, tben,
in reference to the ecclesiastical and civil governments of this church,
call them "affairs among men 1" S\vedenborg moreover says tha.t
these two classes of "affairs among men" ought to be conducted
"according to tile laws of order." If he is in this chapter prescribing
rules for the government of the ecclesiastical affairs of the old cAul·ch,
and if the official distinction of the cler~y from the laity is an appur-
tenance of that cllurch, in itself disorderly, and not at all harmonious
\vith the genius of the new dispensation, he is here involved in
another gross inconsistency. For \vith what propriet.y can he declare
that that which is in itself disorderly, "ought to be conducted accord-
ing to the laU~8 of order." Swedenborg says that the bells are
restrained within certain limits, by means of external pnnishments,
that they are kept in subjection, &c., but I do not think he anywhere
says that the hells, or anything pertaining to hell-and whatever is
disorderly does so,-are, or "ought to be," governed "according to
the Itlw8 of order."
1852.] Conjrmatian,.-Re",arlu.
In the" Repository tt for March, p. 145, occurs the following edito-
rial remark: "We urge upon the authority of our great teacher, one
grand fundamental principle, to wit, that every man of the church is
a church in the least form. This principle involves in effect the
whole of our positions on church order. It is clear, deliberate, dis-
tinct, indubitable. Against it a man may hea.p up detached quota-
tions till doomsda.y, and what does it avail? Here stands the inex-
pungable principle, and by this principle stand we. We have noth.
ing to do with quotations till the truth of this principle is denied and ·
its falJacy shown. So long as the principle remains unshaken, we
ltnow that no quotation, rightly construAd can countervail it." The
principle, so often declared 'by SwedAnborg, that" every man of the
church is a church in the least form," no Newcburchman denies.
[t is not, then, this" clear, deliberate, distinct, and indubitable" de-
claration of Swedenborg on which the ground of the difference lies.
It is in the inference which you draw from this declaration. And
there are probably few in the Ne\v Church who are so pure and free .
from self-derived intelligence as to render it entirely safe for them to
rely with such absolute certainty upon their inferences from the doc-
trines, as to stand upon them as upon a. rocK, and from them, and
according to them, to construe away, or battle down the positive de-
clarations of reveal~d truth. The writings of Emanuel Swedenborg
have no internal sense, and consequently all their truth must be in
the letter. If then they are of Divine authority, their positive decla-
rations are autlloritative teacl1.ings of Divine truth, and our inferences
ought to be from them, and according to them, instead of interpreting
them from and according to our inferences. There are others, com-
prehending probably very much the larger portion of the church,
among whom are many learned, able, sincere, and excellent men,
who draw an inference from the very declaration in question, which
is quite the antipodes of yours, and if inferences are to govern where
inferences are so exceedingly at variance, instead of the positive
teachings of revealed truth, then are we still without a standard,
every man being a law unto himself: S. M. W.
Phlladelphla.

REMARKS.
Our correspondent, it appears, is inclined to coincide with our conclusion in regard to
the death penalty, but finds fault with the mental process by which it is arrived at. He
lees in it merely pre-established opinion ripened into confirmation, and thinka this ia the
reverse of the true process prescribed by the principles of the New Church, according to
which we are to be Cl hum hly led by the truths of revelation, having, 10 tar aa possible, DO
opinions which are not formed from and founded upon those truths." Very well; what
then? How does this apply to the case in hand 1 What ground has the writer for inti·
mating that we were not led to our conclusion in precisely this way? What autboritT
has he for stretching the import of the phmse cc 10Dg since," 80 BS to make it imply a
period long prior 10 our espousal of N. C. doctrines? How does he know but our conclu.
sion was most legitimately reached according to the very process that be has described 1
He himself, it seems, favors the same conclusion. IIow did he come by it 1 I. he eel
tain it is any thing more than a mere pre-established belief 1
 450 ConjirmatioM.-Remarka. [Oct.
It ia DO doubt a very possible thiDg for a man to be confirmed in a fOl'eloo8 conclll1ioD,
which is still a fallacy, and to believe all the while that he is restiDg in a genuine truth,
seen in its own appropriate light. It is equally possible. OD the other hand, that such a
conclusion may be a genuine troth. which the holder of it may have DO hesitation in
affirming with the utmost confidence. A thing cOAjirmul is not necessarily false, nor is
it the effect ot N. C. principles to weaken a rational assurance of the soundness of aDy
deduction in science, IDora)s, or religion. We ale not able to see, therefore, that OUI' cor-
respondent's strictures. on this head amount to much. 11 is no doubt well to be cautious
. and deliberate in comiog to our conclusions; but when one is fully satisfied, on valid
grounds, of the truth of certain convictions, he is unquestionably at liberty to say that
they must cc harmoni?e with the autboritative teachings of the New Church." It When

the understanding," says Swedenborg, "is enlightened by Divino Light, it then per-
ceives what is true to be true, it inwardly acknowledges it, and, as it were, sees it, such
is the revelation of those who are in the affection of truth from good" (..4. C. 8780).
One, however, who is usually timid, vacillating, and feeble in his grasp oC truth will be
apt to be very back\\"ard in taking positive ground on any subject, and prone to read pre-
sumption and precipitance in the conduct of tbose who do.
So much for the first head. The same remarks apply in substance to the second.
S. M. W. assumes that our views, as propounded in the pages of the Repository on the
subject of Clergy and Laity arc, of course, pre-conceptions, the fruits oC our own self-intel-
ligent reasonings, and not the result of an unbiassed study and fair interpretation of Swe-
denborg's teachings. His own construction is infallibly the right one, while ours is a
mere inference resting on pre-establisbed opinion. He then proceeds to argue the matter,
and to show how grossly the views hitherto advanced by us distort and falsify our great
teacher's real meaning. So perfectly palpable to him i~ the drift oC our author's instruc-
tion on this theme that it is astonishing bow anyone can possibly see the matter in any
other light, and the fnct that he does is proof positive that he sees through colored glasses,
instead of the transparent crystal which has aided the vision of our friend, the fIOf'-con-
ftrmator.
We have frequently gone over this ground beforo, but as rich gleanings always remain
in tbe field of truth, we shall not refuse to accompany S. M. W. in his appeal to the oft-
cited chapter on cc Ecclesiastical and Civil Government." And first, it is evident that oor
correspondent regards this chapter 8S a. divinely appointed platform for the government,
civil and e!:clesiastlcal, oC the New Jerusalem. This ]1e endeavors to show by quoting
certain pas!sges in which it is said that the doctrine contained in the book cc is for the
New Church," and that it is heavenly doctrine as being revealed from heaven, and from
its being in strict accordance with tbe spiritual sense of the Word. Now tbat the work
in question is, in its general scope, designed Cor the New Church, we are ready to grant
Ilt once. But that the chapter in question was specifically intended for a directory lO
the New Church in the matter of it!' civil or ecclesiastical polity, we are constrained to
deny. (1.) Our correspondent's quotation above given is sufficient to di"prove it. cc As
to what concerns tbe following doctrine, this also is from heaven, ina.much a. it i. from
lilt .piritual.enae of the Word; Bnd the spiritual sense of the Word is the same with lhe
doctrine which is in heaven." If this be so, the chapter under consideration accords, like
the rest, with the internal sense of the 'Vord, and is built upon it. Bot the internal sen!C
of Priest and King is goodtU•• al1d trvtll, and consequently, S. M. W. is not at liberty to
take them literally. The New Church, so far as it is truly n spiritual church, founded
upon the spiritual sense of the Word, knows no other than n spiritual priesthood and a
epiritnal kingship. (2.) The state oC things which is described as making governors neces·
eary is one toto calo different from what we are taught to regard as predicable of the Ne,"
Jerusalem. cc It is impossible that order can be maintained in the world Without (over-
1852.] Conftrmatiom.-Remarkl. 451
no~, whose duty should be vigilantly to observe the proceedings oC tbose who act accord-
ing to order, and of those who aot contrary to order, that they may reward the former,
and punish the latter. Unless this were done, the human raoe would inevitably perish.
The desire of ruling others, and of possessing their property. being hereditary in every in-
dividual, and being the source whence all enmity, envying, hatred.. revenge, deceit, cruelty,
and numerous other evils proceed; unless men, in the exercise oC their prevailing incli-
nations, were, OD the one hand, restrained by the fear of the laws, and the dread of pun-
ishment involving the loss of honor, of property, and of life, as a necessary consequence
of a course er evil; and, C?n the other hand, encouraged by the hope of honor and of gain,
as the reward of well doing, the:e \vould speedily be an end of the human race." Now,
we would ask if any candid and intelligent man, with Swedenborg's explication of the
last two chapters of the Apocalypse in his hand, can possibly suppose this descrip-
tion to be applicable to the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is a Dew church, in
closest conjunction with heaven, and the men of that church are heavenly men, who are
governed by other motives than the" fear oftbe laws,and the dread of punishment." Let
the closiDg chapters of Isaiah be consulted, in which it is said of the New 1erusalem, that
le henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean ;" Cl thy

people shall be all righteous;" and the declaration of J obn in the Apocalypse, that Cl there
shall not enter into the city any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketb abomina-
tion, or maketh a lie," and then let any qne pronounce whether such necessities for re- \
straining laws and rulers can exist in that celestial econolDY. The fact is, the author in
this part of his work is treating of the institutions which in the Divine Providence prevail
" in the world," "in the various societies of mankind," and hi. object is to declare that
such and such principles, \vhich are really N. C. princ.ipl~s, ought to pervade and ani-
mate them. This brings the subject within the general scope of the work, and this is its
trne relation to the whole. Nothing is more idle than to think of finding a formula of
government, either for church or state t which the New Dispensation is to adopt, in the
paragraphs referred to. Priests are entirely an exotic in the New Church, although there
is a function of teaching t and, as Swedenborg says, dignity and bonor are due to those
who discharge tbis function, tbough it is rather to the employment, than to the person that
this respect is to be rendered t it bei·ng .eparated from the per,Oft WM. the ptr.OfI U .tparat-
ed from tlu employment (H. D. 317). From this it would seem manifest that the func-
tion may be discharged by one who has ordinarily some other calling, and therefore is not
raised by the office into a ne\v and distinct rank or caste. Our correspondent seems to
labor under the usual difficulty of conceiving that there can be a ministry of teaching
\vitbout the creation, at the same time, of a perfectly distinct priestly order. But on thit
point \ve doubt if we can help his vision by any collyrium which we could adminis·
ter 10 the optical organ.
Our correspondent is strong in the assurance that Swedenborg no where teaches that
the hells, or any thing pertaining to the hells, are or ought to be governed according to
the laws of order. This, however, we set down to the account of inadvertence. S. M. W.
will not deny that the following passage discloses very unequivocally that the hells art
governed, in some sense, according to order, or the Jaws of order. cc It is to be no~d
that there are innumerable hells, distinct according to the genera of all eTils and raises
thence derived, and according to their species, and the particulars of the species; and
that j" tach hell thwe i, an order which i. pr""",d by tht Lord, both immediately and me-
diately by the celestial angels; occasionally also angel! are sent thither to r,dutt into or-
der what j, di,orderly thereitKt (A. C. 6370). or course it is not implied that the order of
hell is precisely the same with that ofheaven, but still there must be at necessity the prev-
alence of some kind of order in every part of the Lord's empire. Cl The power of the
Lord is not only over heaven, but a]lo over hell, for hell i, ktpt in ordrr Clftcl eOftMziOll by
 452 Oonjirmation8.-Remarlu. [Oct.
oppositions against heaven; for which realJODs he who governs the ODe malt Dece. .rily
govern the other" (~. R. 62). Such, then, is the matter oC fact. The hens are go\'emed
by, or rather {roID, the laws of order which are adapted to the intemalltates of their iD-
mates, albeit it is the order rather of p"",iaiM than oC prOfliCffICC. StiD it is proper to
lay that the hells ovglat to be in the order of the heavenl, {or it ie owing to aD abue of
their freedom that they are not; and .0 likewise it is proper for Swedenborg to declare
that both tho church and the world ovght to be ruled by the intemal principles of tbe
Lord's kingdom. which are the principles ot the New Church; and this we sUppole him
to have dono in the work in question.
We llad 'remarked upon the peculiar phraseology of Swedenborg in speakiDI or the
duties of priests, to wit: that they are to teach the people "according to the doctrines of
their church (ecclesim sute) derived from the Word," and observed that there was in it an
intimation ot a diversity of churches incompatible with what we are taught respecting the
structure of the New Church. The import we suppose to be that ae a matter of Chri..
tian honesty and integrity every so-called priest was morally bound to be faithful to his
convictions, and teach what he and the church to whic}:l he adbered sincerely believed to
be tbe genuine doctrines oC truth derived from the WQrd. And is not this .. prmeiple of
the New Church, that every man is to be faithful to the light he has, even though that
light may not be the light of genuine truth 1 Is it wrong to give counsel to men adapted
to their present states, even though those statel be very defective in many respect8 1 It
so, what shall be said oC Swedenborg's Scortatory doctrine, in which he undeniably adapts
hi. suggestions to the slates of natural men who are not yet prepared to act from higher
promptings? Now, the reader will notice that S. M. W.01l'ers no solution whatever oC
the problem involved in the peculiar phraseology adverted to. He declares, with a boly
Ihudder, that it cannot possibly imply that Swedenborg would prescribe the teaching of
doctrines that are totally false and lead to hell, and yet he does bot condescend to inform
UI what it dOl. mean, or how it is to be construed so as to be consistent with his view of
what our illuminated author intended to teach. Here the ezpression stands as a fact that
Is in some way to be disposed ot, and yet it is a burden resting upon his argument which
our critic does not deign to lift with one oC his fingers. The phraeeololY is Dot uncom-
mon in our author's writings, and we may safely appeal to general usage as a key to IiliI
meaning in the passage before us. Thus, cc those who are ot the external church, are
clearly in its externa18, but obscurely in its internals, whereas those who are ot the inter-
nal church are clearly in internals, and obscurely in externals; but those who are in exter-
nals, and not at tbe same time in internals, are not of the church; all those are in both
who are in the good of life, according to the doetri",. of their church (eeclt.u. ne);
but those are in externals without internals, who are in worship, and.flot at the same time
in the good oC life according to the doctrines of tbe church" (.A. C. 8762). cc Those who are
In the affection of truth from evil, that i!, who desire to know trllth merely for the sake of
honor, gain, reputation, and the like, do not see truths, but only sllch things as confirm the
doctrines of their church (tcC'lttit! 11k!), whether they be true or false U (..d. C. 8780).
A similar vein of remark is applicable to what S. M. W. says also in the last ot the
above paragraphs. He admits the truth ot the position which, upon the authority of Swe-
denborg, we have assumed relative tOofevery man oC the church being a church in the leasl
Corm. This, he says, no Newcburchman denies. What then is it that he deniel, or what
fault has he to find with 111 le It is the in!trttl,ce you draw from this declaration." And
what is the inference objected to 'I Why, that if every man ot the church is a church iD
the least form, all the constituents of a church are epitomized in him. Is not this a fair
inference? Does it not in fact ineYitably {ollow from the premises 1 It not, why does not
our correspondent attem pt to expose its fallacy? Why does be assume magisterial ain,
and read a homily on human imperfection in general, when his business Is to detect aDd
.how up the partiCUlar imperfection of our realoning?
1852.J ne Parablea Ezplained.-No. IX. 4S8
•
But we leave the matter to the good Bense oCODr readers. The, win, with UI, give our
critic credit for aiming to perform a kind office in the capacity he has auumed of
correcting the logical or ethical errata which he fancies himself to have detected in the
~-arious impressioDs that we have given oC our views on several dift'erent topics. At the
Etsme time, it will be no difB.cult task, we opine, to perceive that he ha. Dot, in the Rbove
article, given tokon oC po.sessiog all the requisite. In himself nece.i8ry to render him a
,,·e~ efticient rebuker of other men'. iDlrmities.

A.RTICLE Ill.

THE PARABLES EXPLAINED.

No. IX.
THE PARABLE OF A CERTAIN MAN WHO HAD TWO SONS.
cc A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first and said, Son, go work to-day
in myvineyard. He answered and said, I will Dot; but afterwards he repented and went.
And he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go. sir; aDd
went Dot. Whether of them twain did the will of his lather," &:c., &c.-MATr. DJ.
28-33.

Q. WHAT do you here understand by a eel-tain man, and kg lIDO

Mms1
A. The term certain is not in the original, but is added by the trans-
lators. In the origina.l, thereCore, it is said, a 'lIan had two sons, and
by the term maa is here meant, the Lord in His DIVINE HUMANITY,
who is, properly, the OIfl.Y MAN, whilst all other men are men by deri-
vation from Him, or in consequence of the life which He continually
imparts. By the two Ions, therefore, of this mao, are figured aDd rep-
resented two distinct classes of people, comprehending the whole hu-
man race; one of which classes, as it afterwards appears, is prinoi-
pled in an obedient will, but not so much in an enlightened ·under-
standing, whilst the other is in posse&~ion of an enlightened under-
standing, but is deficient in the point of obedience, or of a submissive
will.
Q. But it is written of the above man and his two SO"8, that He
came and said unto the first, &n, go 'WOrk to-day in my vineyard.
What do you conceive to be the force and import of the two expres-
sions here used, He came and Baid 'I
A. 1'wo distinct expressions are here employed to denote the
two distinct principles of the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom;
the former of which is involved in the term came, whilst the latter is
involved in the term laid. Thus the two terms combined denote the
marriage-union of those two divine principles, and inculcate, further,
the edifying lesson, that before the ALMIGHTY can address man to
advantage with His divine wisdom, He must first come, and move
man's affections by the presence of His divine love; in other wo~
man must.begin to regard an eternal end before he can be qualified
to understand the eternal truth.
VOL. v. 30
454 Tile Parable6 Ezplained.-No. IX. [Ocl
•
Q. And what do you undprstand by the command here giveD, Son,
go work to-day in my vineyard 1
A. By the vineyard, here spoken o~ is spiritually understood the
Lord's Church here on earth, agreeably to what is written in the Pro.
phet, The vineyard of the Lord of H08t6 18 the HotUe of Israel (Isaiah
v. 7). And the church is a vineyard in consequence of cherishing the
principles of heavenly truth from JESUS CHRIST, who, as being the
divine fountain of truth, calls Himself the true vine (John xv.) To
go, t/len, and work in this vineyard, is the important duty binding on
all the children of men, as implying a life in conformity to the truth,
signified by the term go, and also co-operation ,vith JESUS CHRIST in
opposing those affections, appetites, and passions, which are contrary
to the truth, signified by the term work. It is said to-day, because by
to-day, according to the spiritual idea, is meant, to ete,·nity, and there-
fore, the expression is used in order to instruct mankind that they
oughtforever to cherish in their minds the principles of heavenly life,
by combating all contrary principles, and thus rendering them&elves
receptive, to all eternity, of the divine love and the divine wisdom.
Q. But it is written of this fir,t 60n that he Qmwtred and Mid, I
will not; but (Jjterwarda he repented and went. What do yon con-
ceive to be involved in this reply, and in the sou's consequent con·
duct?
A. The reply and consequent conduct of this son in,·olve in tbem
two distinct considerations; first, that the under3tanding of this son
was not in agreement \,'ith his th.ther's rpquirement, which disa-
greement is marked by his Baying, I u'·ill not; for laying has refer-
ence to the thought or understand-jng; and secondly, that the lDiU of
this son was not opposed to the father's command, on which account
it is said that ~fte7·wal·ds ',e f-epented, and went. By this son, there-
fore, as was above hinted, are represented and described all those of
the human race who externally, or in thought, oppose divine counsel~
but who yet inwardly, or in afiection, do not oppose; thus by this SOD
are represented and described specifically the Gentiles, who are not
in possession of the Word of revelation, aud who, consequently, cher-
ish thoughts, ideas, and persuasions, which a.re not in agreement with
tha.t Word, but who, yet, notwithsta.nding this disagreement in their
intellect,.are still, by rea!1on of their simplicity and sincerity, dispos~
to admit the E1'BRNAl, TRUTH for the rule and government of their
lives.
Q. And what do you conceive to be the import of the reply and
consequent conduct of the second son, as expressed in these words. I
go, sir, and went not?
A. The reply and consequent conduct of this second son invol\ye in
them the true state of his mind, which ,vas such as to enable him to
discern elearly what his duty was, and how he ought to comply with
his father's will, whilst, Rt ihe same time, his own will ,vas inclined
to act contrary to his rather's, and also to oppose his own sense of
duty and obligation. Thus, this second son is a representative
figure of all those of the human race whose understandings are
flDlightened to see what line of conduct is good and right for them &0
1852.] A certain Man who had two Sons. 455

pursue, but \vhose inclinations lead them in a contrary direction, in

consequence of being opposed to all the dictates of truth and equity.
He is more specifically a representative figure of the Jewish nation,
\vho, being in possession of the eternal truth as mad~ known in the
'Vord of revelation, and having their understandings thus enlightened
by the kno\vledge of GOD, and of His HOLY LAWS, \\·ere yet disin-
clined, in ,viII, to conform to that knowledge, and to obey thOSA laV\'s.
As, therefore, the first son specifically represented the Gentiles, so the
second son specifically represented the J ~'\'S.
Q. But on this occasion the BLessED JESUS imm~diately proposes
the significant and interesting question, Whethet· of them twain did
the will of his father? What do you suppose to be the drift and
design of tbi~ question 1
A. In this question the BLESSED JEAUS makes nn Rppeal to the com-
mon sense and reason of mankind, under the full assurance that the
ans,Yer \vould be such as is here recorded, ,vhere it is written, TI,ey
say unto hi,n, The first. Thus the BLESS.~D JESUS \vould instruct us
that the common sense and reason of mankind, if they were fairly
consulted, ,vould favor the great design of religion, which means
nothing else but to call man to the discharge of the important duties
,vhich he o\ves to his HEAVENLY FATHER t because common sense and
reason must see the miserable infatuation of all those who pro-
fess one thing \vith their lipa, \vhiJst in their heoJ·ts they pursue
another, or, \vhat amounts to the salne, who have their understand-
iogs enlightened with the l{nowledge of truth, ~vhilst their wHIR are
defiled and misled by the love of evil.
Q. And how do you understand the concluding application of this
parable, as it is expressed in the following· \vords: JESUS saith U71to
tljem, Vel·ily 1 say unto you, That tlte publicans lJnd the ha7·lots go into
the 'cingdo,,,, of God before you. For Jo/ul came unto you in the way
of righteou.,nes8, and ye beliel'ed hi,n not; but the publican, and harlots.
believed him; and ye, when ye had seen [it], repented not afterward•.
that ye ,night belie1}e him'
A. In these words the BLESSED J BSUS confirms the observation
above made, that hy the first Ion, mentioned in the parable, are to be
understood the GeTjtiles, or those who have not formed their under-
standings in agreement with the ETERNAL TRUTH; and that by the
8eCOlta SOil are to be understood the Jews, or those who were in posses-
sion of the HOLY WORD, and were thus acqua.inted with the }8ws,·and
prec~pts of the divine wisdom. For by the publicans Rnd ha,·lot."
here spoken o~ are manifestly meant the Gentile" and in the term
you, are, ,vith equa.l clearness, invo),"ed the JeuJI.. In the above
\vords, therefore, the BLESSED Jesus evidently teaches the· important
lesson, that they who are principled in simplicity and sineerity of
will; in other words, \vho are disposed to do the whole .of their duty
uprightly, and in the fear of GOD, although the knowledge of that
duty is very incorrect, are better qualified to admit the ETBIlHAL
TaUTH, than those who are acquainted, intellectuaUYt with the meas-
ures of tbeir duty, and yet, in heart and affeetioD•.are Dot inclined to
perform it. Accordingly, he declares that ,be /.'.e, gOrintothe /ring,-

J
 466 TAe Parables Ez:plained.-No. IX. [Oct.

dom of GOD befol-e the latter; because, by goillg i,1W the kingdom of
GOD, the same thing is meant as receiving the ETERNAL TauTIf, inas-
much 8S the reception of the ETERNAL TRUTH opens and farins in man
the kingdom of GOD, and consequently man goes into the kingdom of
GOD so far as he admits the ETERNAL TRUTH to enlighten his under-
standing, and regulate his Jove and life. J ESlJS CIIRIST, thflr~forp, adds,
Jol,n came unto yuu in thl? way l!.f r;ghteou,ne88, because, by JOllR is
represented the HOLY WORD, or the ETERNAl. TRUTH; and by his COIII·
ing in the way of righteouslle", is described the presence and inftu-
ence of that WORD in the human mind, and also the principles ,\"hich
constitute it, viz., the principles of \visdom and of love; for, by tile tt-ay
of righteou.tlleas, or, as it might be more properly expressed, the ,cay
of justice, both those principles are intended to be expressed, inas-
much as the term wag, when applied in the Sacred Scrjpture~, has
perpetunl reference to truth, Qr doctrine, 8S rigltteousness, or jU8tice
has reference equRJly constant to tbe principl~s of love and charity.
\Vhcn, therefore, JESUS CHRIST tells the Jews that thO)T bplieved 'tim
not, thlLt is to say, believed not John, it is t.he same thing as if he had
said, that they received not the ETEBNAL TRUTII; and \vben he adds,
that the publicans and harlota believed him, it is again the sam~ thing
AS if he had said, that they who are signified by publicans and har-
lots, received th~ ETERNAL TauTH. Lastly, when he conclude~ in
these \vords, .And Ne when ye lllld seen [it], repented not ajterwlller/s tllOt
ye migllt beliet'e, he teaches the additional important lesson, that they
who are principled in the kno\vledge of the truth, but &.·e not obedi-
ent to its dictates, finally reject the truth, because they are un,villin~
to renounce those evils \vhich the trut.h makes manifest, or as it IS I

here expressed, Tl,ey r~pent not that they might believe. It is said,
wllen ye had leen [it], and it is next said, Ye repented not lIjlfJTU-aras
that ye ",ight believe, plainly teaching that there is an essential differ-
ence between seeing the truth and believing it, and that there can be
DO proper belief, only so far as there is a desire to forsake sin, or to
,·epent. For it is possible that truth may be seen by the underltan~•
.ing to be truth, when yet the will or love is not affected by it. but It
,eannot be believed in, until the will, or love becomes so affected as
to be led to reject all evil as sin against GOIl, thus to repe71t.
Q. What, then, is the general instruction \vhich )"OU deri,·e from
thiR parable 1
A. I learn from tbis parable that all the families of mankind ma}: be
referred to two classes; one consisting of those who, in understanding,
are acquainted with their dut.y, but \vho in their wills are not so ,,"ell
instructed in the particulars which that duty requires. I learn, fur-
ther, that each of these classes of mankind are called, by t.heir HEAV·
DLY FATHER, to work to-day in Ilia vineyartl; in other words, to cher-
ish eternally, in their minds and lives, all the p.·illciples of brayen-
born truth, that 80 they may bring fort.h to all eternity the blessed
fruits of heaven-born love and charity. Lastly, I learn that they
who ha.ve the light of knowledge in their understandings, but not the
love of that light in their wills. make fair professions of obedience to
the above call, whilst in reality they are disobediellt, because thry
1852.] ThougAt. on the Cause of Gravitation. 457

do not allo\v the light to remove their natural evils, and conduct them
thus, in the \vay of repentance, to a state of purifica.tion and regene-
ration; and that, on the other hand, they who are well disposed in
,viII, but not so much enlightened in understanding, although they
make no professions of obedience, are still obedient, because they suf-
fer the little truth with which they are acquainted to control their
natural e\'ils, and bring their 1ive~ under thA regulations of hea.'9'enly
order. I am resolved, therefore, to profit by the above instruction,
and for this purpose to ponder well on the distinct characters of these
two classes of people, until I see clearly in my own mind, that sincere
obedience to the divine law, though attended with little kno\vledge of
its particular requirements, is infinitely preferable to much knowl.
edge if unattended with love and practice. I am further resolved to
9

consider seriously \vith m)Pself: that my HEAVENLY FATHER is contin-

oally saying to me, as he say~ to his t\VO Aons in the parable, Son, go
wo,,,k to-day in tny vineyo,"d, and that my eternal happiness will
depend on my obedience to this call, because my eternal happiness
must of necessity depend on the measure and degree in which I have
admitted and cherished in my mind and life, the bless~d principles of
heaven-born love and wisdom. Lastly, I am resolved, through the
grace and mercy of my HEAVENLY FATHER to repent sincerely of all
Iny sins, that so I may no longer be like the proud Pharisees of old,
who \vere acquainted with the law of salvation, and yet were disobe-
dient to that Jaw; but may rather be of the blessed character of
those of \vhom it is written, The)p enter into the kingdom of Gud before
go 11. AMEN.

-
ARTICLE IV.

THOUGHTS ON THE CAUSE OF GRAVITATION.

THE cause of the force of gravitation bas been a subject of much
inquiry among the learned ever since Newton published to the world
his celebrated doctrines relating thereto. Various causes have been
surmised, and various hypotheses put forth, yet none has given sat-
isfaction. The prevailing opinion is, that all matter is endowed
with gravity, as an essential principle; and that all matter sends
forth from itself a power which draws all other matter to itself; and
that a vacuum is the bearer of this po,ver, or rather that such po,\~er'
acts through 8. vacuum. This latter hypothesis is one of the impos.-
sibilities of an irrational science. It is self-evident to reason, that:
power or force cannot, in any manner, be actually separated from.
substance or mat.ter-cannot exist as an abstraction. It ~is also.
plainly inconsonant with reason that mattel- possesses po\Ver or-
force per se, unless it be admitted that matter is ullcreated and eter"
oal. A Christian philosophy can never admit inherent and self-ex··
istent po\ver anywhere but in the Deity.
458 TllOUghts 011 tl,e Cau,e of Gravitation. [Oct.
All po,ver is deriv~d either mediately or immediately from the
Deity-proceeds from Him, and every stream is unceasingly supplied
from the same source. Hence it must be concluded that the force of
gravity is perpetually derived into matter mediately from the Deit)·.
Primordial matter had, then, no inherent tendency or pO\\l'er to move
in one direction rather than another, being in itself a perfect pas-
sivity. It must be admitted that the natural suns throughout the
universe, consisting of primordial matter, are the perpetual avenues
through \vhich natl1ral forces come into the \vorld.
So far as the question under consideration is concerned, it ma.tters
not whether the suns were anterior to and the fountain ,,,,hence
flo\yed an all pervading material medium; or whether such 8. me-
dium was anterior to the suns, giving origin to thf'm. 'Ye believe
that all analogy and reason must decide, that so far as such a Dle-
diem is material, it must have originated from the suns. The Dle-
dium is less acti\"e than the solar centres, and \ve cannot conceive
that the more inert should have produced the more Rctive matter.
1'he instrumental proceeds from the efficient. That there is such a
medium is no longer hypothetical. It is the bellrt>r of all the ener-
gies, powers, and activities of the suns. We say bearer, because all
created matters are but the vehicles of po\\'ers not their own. The
suns are but the central conduits of energies descending from the
Deit}p. The universal medium, which we will call the Aura, is the
most active, elastic medium, or bearer of forces in the natural \vorld.
communicating almost timelessly and totally the for(~es it receives.
It is the most perfect bearer of beat and light, the first and bighest
forces in nature, the t\VO from which Rll other Datural forces are
derived.
Let us trace the evolution of matters and forces from the suns,
supposing that the aura arises, or is evolved from them.
As the aura. arises from each sun, it will proceed ont\vardly until
it meets the aural IlIpheres of other suns, which \vill immediately
react upon it, a.nd through it upon its solar centre. This mutual
reaction among the aural spheres will tend to compress them, and
,,,ill create a pressure throughout all their volumes. This pressure,
in its general tendency, \vill be IowaI'd tke centres, and \vill increase
until it equilibrates the force of the suo, acting from the centre to-
ward the circumference. These two forces are inseparably connect-
ed. The reacti\~e and pressing force is produced by the direct action
of the sun upon the aural sphere, giving it an outward motion, or
tendency thereto. From these two forces there will arise a tendency
to an axillary or rotary motion of the aural sphere around the SUD,
and unless all the forces are f!xaotly balanced, this motion will actually
commence; and if once commenced, the active forces of the suns will
continue it. This motion will vary in the ratio of the pressore among
the particles and ,"olumes of the aura. This pressure is the greates1;
at the centres, because there is the greatest action producing it.
A rotary motion may arise from another cause. It is bighly
.probable that each atom or particle of the solar aura rotates
upon its axis; and if 80J there arises from the several forces of all
1852.] TAougl". on tAe CaUle of Gravitation. 459

the particles a general tendency of the sphere to rotate about a

centre.
From the rotary or carvilinear motion there will arise a centrifu-
gal force.
The solar spheres will also have a motion among themselves, de-
pending upon their active forces, densities, the relative distances of
their centres, and their position in relation to each other. The same
conse-quences will follow, it: instead of supposing that the a.ura
arises from the suns, we suppose that it was anterior to the sun~, and that
these, ft.! active centres, were interposed at various distances througb-
out its whole extent. This aura, before the interposition of the suns,
must have been homogeneous, and equally tense throughout its whole
volume; because a perfectly elastic and subtle medium, of its nature,
every where tends to equilibrium, and will attain it, in the absence
of disturbing causes. The interposed suns \vill immediately act upon
the surrounding aura, expanding. or increasing the tension of the
approximate volumes, which will move from the centres, or assume
a tendency thereto. There will also arise a reactive tendency or
pressure. and indeed, all the consequences above stated as resulting
when the aura arose from the suns.
When an aural sphere has been so far perfected that all its forces
sDstain to each other a permanent relation, we shall find:
1st. An active force, directed from the centre towards the circum-
ference.
2nd. A reactive force from the circumference to the centre.
3rd. A motion of the aural sphere about the sun, from which
arises B centrifugal force.
4th. These forces are .greatest at the centrt'S, varying inversely
as tbe square of the distance from the centre, according to the
welt knO\VD law of forces radiating from centres, or tending
ther6to. ·
5th. All these forces result from the action of the solar centre
upon the aural sphere, and are mutually related to each other.
6th. In an aura of this kind there is a pressure in all directions.
If we suppose a volume or mass of matter placed any where in
the aural sphere, which is totally inert, or has no tendency to move
in one direction rather than another; or if 8. small volume of the
aura, for any cause, become less active than the general sphere
around it, in wAat direction will it move ?
We answer, it will mOl'e to the centre, because the column of aura
embracing the inert mass has a less active force urging it towards
the circumference than the surrounding volumes: and hence these
latter will drive the former in a contrary directio-", or towards the
centre. The first active and efficient force in the aural sphere is
towards the circumference; its equilibrating force must be in an
opposite direction. and indeed, without two ,u,ch forces, the sphere
could not exist. The efficient and active tendency of the air is to-
wards the earth, and this tendency or force produces in any mass or
volume of matter having a less tendency in that direction, a motion
or tendency therein upwards, or in a contrary direction. I~ in a fluid
 TlwugAt, 011 t1&e Ca",,, of GTtJvitatiOfl. [0cL
homogeneous medium, pressing in all directions, a body be placed,
having no tendency to move in one direction rather than anotbt'r, or
having a less tendency to move in the direotion of the prevailing
tendency of the medium, than the medium itself, then it ,,'ill move in
a contrary direction, or have a force tending thereto. This latter
force is properly the "force of gravity" of that medium. This la\v
is universal.
The sun produces upon its aural sphere a motion or tendency
thereto from the centre to,vards the oircumference; this produces a
reacting force in the sphere, which impels inert bodies to the SUD, or
towards the source of the efficient cause. This efficient cause is the
heat of the sun; hence the heat or caloric of the sun is the cause of
gravitation thereto.
Eve,'y mate,'ial body llas a capacity for heat in proportion to its
quantity of matter, and every such body radiating heat as a centre
into the surrounding aura, will form about it a sphere from the aura,
in which will exist forces similar to those in the sun's aural sphere;
hence such bodies will by virtue of that sphere have a force tending
to them.
The planets surrounded and involved in the solar aura are the
great radiating centres of the sun's heRt; hence they have about
them spheres formed flearn the solar aura with similar forces and ten.
dencies; hence the forces gravitating to the centres of the planets.
It also follows that these forces are in tbe ratio of tbe quantity of
matter, for in that ratio is the capacity of any body of matter for
heat ; Rod tlJ8t they vary inversely as the squares of the distance
from the centre, for the first and efficient force of the centres, radia-
ting therefrom in all directions varies thus, according to an universal
and necessary law. Upon this first force the cBntral or gravitating
force depends, and arises immediately from it, and hence it ,viII vary
according to the same Ia.w. ·
The law of gravitation is as universal as the solar auras, which
are first and universal, and from which all other material and grosser
substances are derived. There is in the solar aura an adequate
cause for the force of cohesion. It most prflsses upon all the parts of
any atoms, particles, or bodit'8 it does not penetrate, ,,'ith a force
equal to its elastic tension, or to the force of pressure between its
particles. Tbis force in such a medium as the aura acted upon by
such a pow~r as the sun, must be very great indeed. How much
greater must it not be than the pressure of 6tea"" under the action
of ordinary fire 1 We are insensible of the pressure of the solar
aura for the same reason that ,ye are insensible of atmospheric
pressure.
1'hl1S we think ,ve have shown that the cause of the force of
gravitation is in the action of heat, derived immediately and medi-
atel)· from the sun, upon and \vithin the soJar aura. The existence
of a solar aura ,vith the properties ,ve have assumed as belonging
to it, is now admitted b)' the best authorities, and the effects of the
action of heat upon such a medium are well known.
In the action of the solar centres, and of the planetary centres de-
riving their forces from them, upon the solar aura, we believe all as-
 1852.] Jehovah-God-Lord. 461

tronomical and meteorological phenomena will find their proximate

and remote causes.
The cause of the solar activity must he found in a source higher
than naturf!, if the mft.tt(~r and forces of the suns be the first and high-
p..st in nature. If there be anterior and higher forces, they remain to
be disco\"ered.
\\T. H. B.
Marquette, Wia.

ARTICLE v.

JEBOVAH-GOD-LORD.
JsnOVAH is the substance of the Divine; God is tile Forln. of the
Divine. But the qualit)" of this Divine Substance, and the nature of
its form, were totally unknown to the perverted and sensual humRn
mind, until the substance and form \vere manifested in the LORD.
The Dame Lord is significative of the Divine marriage union of'Love
and Truth; hence it is the fulness of the perfect Being or
the Divine.
To the Jews how vague and indefinite \vere the ideas conveyed by
the ,\'ords Jehovah, God I Ho\v perverted was their thought, in that
they attributed to the mighty Jehovah wrath and anger, and all the
qualit.ies of their o\"n fallen natures; and God was to them an un-
kno\vnform of being. If they had such per\·erted ideas of' (lis qual..
ity, equally distorted mU!:It have been their idea of the nature of His
form, or t.he manifestation of His life. Whether He were a man, or
80me vast, shadowy, giant image, their self-intelligence could not de-
fine; hence fear and terror must have been the sensations excited in
them by the thought of their object of \vorship. He \vas to them a
"devouring fil-e-a consuming smoke," and the earth of their .church
quaked und trembled before Him. In contrast to this deformed and
distorted image of the Divine, how beautifully rises upon us the
Divin6 Image, as manifested in the Lord. His touching lov~, His
pitying forgi veness, His infinite self-sacrifice, reveal the quaJit).. of
that Jehovah, whom· men had worshiped fronl a false idea, \vith fear
and trembling, while the gentle and serene majesty of IIis form re-
oveals the nature of God. The unkno,vn, vague, sbado\v)9 image
was seen to be a man; not: a violent, selfish, power-loving nlan, full
of a \rindictive rage aga.inst a \vicked nation, but a mall full of a
Divine Love and l'ity-of a purity of life, oran innocency/of being,
· that no 8.eff-love could contaminate; of 8 ma.n, whose whole thought
and feeling expanded over the universe of creation, and could not be
bound by His outer senses! What 8, vast and beautiful ne\v type of
being was presented in Him to the perceptions of the human In.ind I
How \\'onderful was this new manifestation of what man might be !
Had JehovahGod manifested Hims~lfin any visible outer glor)", how
confirmed in evil the sensual lnind \vouJd have become- This would
have appealed only to their love of eal·thly pomp and grandeur. Had
462 Jehovah-God-Lord. [Oct-
He shonA upon them as the Divino Sun in its glory, it ,,·otlld havp
been a revelation to their senses. IJut I-le came to reveal to them
the grace and beauty of n. self-abnegation, to 8\vaken their thoughts
to an innflrr, eternal life. Their sensual man was in darkness before
Him. For the Di vine rnan \vas veiled in clay that He might d~sc~nd to
thpir· lo\v stat~ of life, and teach thern spiritual purity. Only to their
spirit-eyes could lIe gro\v radiant, and shine as the sun in its bright-
ness. Had He come in the coercive pomp and power of an outer
glory, corresponding to His innert c\·ery knee must ha,Ye bo\vrd be-
fore Him; the free-\vill of man t his most precious birth- .. i~ht. \vould
h8.v~ been destro}"ed, and a compelled and constraineJ homage
would have riveted the chains of hell upon an enslaved \vorld.
But the meek and Divine beauty of the Lord touches the lo\ying
heart with n thrilling affection, that makes a. perception of Hi~ hra-
venly character blessednpss to the soul. l'he loving heart c1ing~ to
HinI, not for what He has, or may give, hut for what He is. l.ike
the \voman who followed Him, and ministered to His \Vnnf8 t the re-
generr.ted heart delights to follo\v Him, find sacrifice all things that
it ma.y enj~y the blessedness of His Divine presence.
As the image of His Divine man gro\vs upon our perc~pt.ions, how
His narte becomes replete with a heavenly glory! The \vnru •• LORD"
seems to unlock the depths of the Infinite. Jehovah God starads be-
fore our mind's e)"P. Substance anu Form are forever married in
this Divine. Holy Word, and the radiations of a boundless lo\"'e and
a never-cnding \visdom adorn the God-man. 1'he Infinite l~ord of
the universe, \vho descended in an out\vard, ,'isible form to our exttr-
D81 perceptions, that He might reveal to our inner perceptions the
true nature of the Divine, shines upon us in the glory of His righteous-
ness.
Thu!lI the name of the LoaD becomes to us as 8. Divine Sun-it is
to us the way, the truth, and the life. As the Infinite soul of the uni-
"""erse, He manifested Himself in an ultimate atom, in pain and suffer-
ing. J l1st as the finite soul rnay manifest itself in an infinitesmal
atom of its external body, through the prick of a pin. But \vould it
be wise, when the soul is thus perceived in an atom, to den)? its uni-
versal existence in the hody t to say that it is not in t.he brajn~ or in
the heart, because we have perceived it in the finger 1 ..~nd can 'vc
imagine that the Divine soul, ,vho manifested Him~~lf to our most
external perceptions, ever ceased to pervade the infinite hody of crea-
tion 1 He rev~aled Hirnself as the Life, and it is for the life, that \ve
are to live, and not for the perishing body. 'rhus the LORD h~comes
to us t.he end of our existence. He is Jehovah God, the re\-pu.Jed form
of the Infinite unknown, \vhom we are to delight to serve, eyen as the
body servrs the soul. •
1852.J Poetry. 461

POETRY.
For the N. C. Repository.
THE PURE IN HEART SEE GOD.
BY T. 11. CHIVERS, M. D.

Sing to the Lord, Oh! weary soul of sorrow!

Sing to the Lord, though chastened by his rod !
Sing to the Lord that others hope may borrow-
U The pure in heart see God."

Sink not beneath the yoke of tribulatioD,

Poor weary mortal on life's thorny road!
But bear up stately with this consolo.tion-
U The pure in heart see God."

Take up thy Cross-when thou art weary laden,

Think how Christ sank beneath the heavy load!
11igh over Calvary shines the heavenly Aiden-
"The pure in heart see God."

Cherish the GOLDEN WORDS that he has spoken,

Then march up Calvary with thy weary load,
Where his pure body on the Cross was broken-
&& The pure in heart see God."

His yoke is cuy, light) too, is his burden-

Death is the gate to his divine abode-
The LAND OF PROMISE lies beyond the Jordan-
U The pure in heart see God."

ADgels of Light their vigils now are keeping,

Crowding the ladder clear to Heaven's abode-
'Vhile Jacob soft on Bethel-plain lies sleeping-
" The pure in heart see God."

A 1Iood of glory down from Heaven comes streaming,

\Vashing the Angels white along the road-
While weary with hiB wrestling he lies dreaming-
U The pure in heart see God."

God's golden glory up the East is springing,

Flooding with splendor all that BLEST ABODE-
While Angels cluster at the high gate! singing-
U The pure in heart see God&"

Rising, re-strengthened, like the BLEST IMMORTALS

Climbing the ladder, from the dewy 800-
We bear again at Heaven'8 crystalline Portals-
" The pure in hean see God."
 Correspondence. tuct.
Thus while the good are on the dark earth sleeping,
Weary with travelling on life's thomy road-
Angels around their heads strict watch are keeping-
U The pure in heart see God."

So while the thorns around the good maD springing,

Bleeding his feet till they baptize the sod-
Angels of Light are to his high soul 8inging-
U The pure in heart see God."

So do the good behold the FIELDS EL YSIAN

Bursting around them on life's thomy road ;
For with their Christ-couched eyes-clear inner visioD-
The pure in heart fee God.'·
&(

Wide as Ezekiel's ever-flowing river-

No eye could see across it was 80 broad-
Shall this sweet song flow down the world forever-
U THE PURE IN HEART SEE GOD."
SANDY CROSS, GA.

CORRESPONDENCE.

loNDON, August 3d, 1852.

To tht Editor of the ..4flglo-..4mtrica" Rtpo.itroy,
DEAR SIIl,-In your April number you inserted an article in the shape of a 10JlR
postscript, from the pen of the Rev. W. Mason, on the comparative merits of the two
latest translations oithe Heaven and Hell. Not being, for the present year, a "sub-
scriber and constant reader," although I was formerly, when your magazine con-
tained, and shall be happy to be again, when it contains a reasonable amount of
matter on subjects of ~neral, or, to me, of special interest, it was not till recently
that 1 was led to examme this appendage t.o Mr. I\<1.'s epistle. Had it been publishea-
in this country, where the persons and circumstances arc well known, it would have
exoited but little interest, and made but a slight impression. But appearing in your
. country, 80 distant from the scene of the transactions, the result, particu1arI~ on
80me points, may be considerably different. I crave your leave, therefore to oler a
few comments and explanations.
It once was the fashion for authors (and perhaps also for translators) and their
friends, to write down criticism, when they did not choose to ~ut it down by a more
summary proce88. Happily that fashion Jias p8SSed away. 1he rights of editorship
are now established, and editors may freely express their critical opinions without
the rear of being dra~ged into a paper war, or something WOI'8O. But this hapP:f
condition of things eXIsts as yet only in the great republic of letten. In young and
amallliterary communities, which act on the jU8t maxim that it is proper to '&egin
at the beginning, the early fashion of the commonwealth will be found to prevail, or
rather to reign on a diminished scale. Unfortunately, this is, to some extent, the
eue in our own little association. Editorial authority has not yet, amongst 118, come
to be recognized and respected. Authors, and even readers, are not satisfied to hear
the editAlr's opinion, but think they have a right to demand that the editor, in his
turn, shallliaten to theirs, and publish them in his own pages, to convince the 'Worlel
that their views are righ' and that his are wrong. Our friend Mr. MasoD affords an
1852.] Letter /,·0111 Mr. Wm. Bruce. 465
m:ample oC this. On the 8ubject of the Cl comparative merits," he has attempted to
compel or induoe two diiferent editol"8 to allow him to refute their expressed opin-
ions in the pages of their own reviews, in one instance with partia~ in the other with
eomplete 8UCCCSS. \Vhen Mr. Noble's translation of the Heaven and Hell had been
favorably reviewed in the English Repository, Mr. M., acoording to his own state-
ment, addrc88ed a letter to the editor, in which he suggested that the church should
"decide bet,vcen the two translations by reading them in oompany." And he DO
doubt expressed himself confident BS to the result-that his opinion would be ap-
proved, aDd the editor's condemned. The editor had sulioient courage to refuse that
letter insertion, on which another was prepared, taking exceptions to the translation
on one particular point. This communication was admitted, although it is due to
the editor to say, not without being passed under a review, a review which neither
.tisled nor silenced Mr. Mason. Some time 8ubseq.uent to this an approving notioe
oC the same work &'ppeared in the American Roposltory. Upon thi8, Mr. M., as if
resolved that no edItor on either side of the Atlantic should be allowed to expreBB,
unchallenged, an opinion of this production diiFerent from his own, resumed his pen,
and, by your courtesy, was allowed to show cause whI your opinion should be set
aside by the American church, and his adopted insteaQ. Still, your readers may
suppose that l\lr. 1\1. comes forward ns a. disinterested witness, or an impartial coun-
sel. to ~iyc hi~ cviupnce or hig opinion of the two different, nnd, as some think, rival
translations, for the bcne&t of the ~ew Church. I have no doubt that ~]r. }I. is
perfectly sincere, but I cannot suppose that he is purely disinterested. He is in faot
a party to the question he proposes to decide. He not only advised the rejection b7
the Printing Society of l\1r. Noblc·s translation, and the ado:ption of a revised edi-
tion of l\1r. Clowes' translation in its place, but he was appoInted! in conjunction
with l"Ir. Hancock, to ef'ect the rcviaion. It is true that ~lr. )-1. had little share in
the execution of the work. A morc sweeping modification than was at first contem-
plated having been deemed necessary, the duty almost necessarily devolved on Mr.
Hancoek himself. Still, the share which !VIr. IVl. had in the matter must be consid-
ered sufficient to give him an interest in the reputation and success of the work,
which disqualifies him fronl pronouncing an impBrtial opinion on its merits, either
singly or comparatively. l\Ir. M. in his letters on this subjeot must therefore be con·
.dered a~, to 0, certain extent, pleading his own cause. And it may be interesting
to see how he succeeds.
Mr. M. Bets out by claiming for the translatioDs of the Printing Society, what I
am sure the Society has DO wish to olaim for them: exemption from criticism. U It
has not been the custom of this country hitherto to question the translations put forth
by this trustworthy society, except in the case of obvious and accidental mistakes."
Editors may correct slips of the pen or errors of the press, but here their vocation ends.
This good custom of respectful silence was first broken through, it seems, "by Mr.
Noble's partizans, who first had recourse to general imputations, as well as minute
criticisms.:' If I am not mistaken, the first brench ,vas made by the other side. Mr.
N.'s translation, when it was put forth by the Printing Society, was questioned
rather 8harply by those criticisms which struck you, l\Ir. Editor, as U singularl, UD-
candid and illibera.l." But Mr. M., though inaccur&te BB to his facta, is consIstent
with his principles. So long as Mr. N.'s translation was in the senice of the Print-
ing Society, l\lr. ?tl. sorupulously observed the Cwttom he commends, by giving it
the benefit of their good name. Now that it is discharged, he is of course o.t liberty to
treat it according to its own dClerts, and we shall see presently what its dcserts &rCl,
-in his estimation. Booka, it appears, arc like men. In office they are treated with
ofIicial respect, out of offioe they must stand upon their own merits.
Were I disposed to take advantage of ltlr. ?vl:s postEOri~t, I might enter on the
whole subject of the comparative merits of the two translations. Thi8, however, is
not my intention. It is not 80 much with the matter, 88 with the principle and ani-
mus of this communication that I feel disposed to concern myself. There is, how-
ever~ ODe general remar~, and one particular instance of minute criticism \vhich I
shall take occasion to notice. Mr. M. observes, "I need not tell you that he is the
best translator of a good author of whose translation it can be truly said, 'I have DO
doubt the author, if he had been an EDglishman, would have expressed himself in
nearly the same language 18 that given to him by his translator.' On this it may
466 Correspondence. [Oct.
be observed that hOod SWedenborg written his theological works in English, his own
example and his recorded views upon style justify the opinion, that exactness and
Dot compactness, perspicuity and not ele~ance, would have been his chief; his ~t;
aim. In the particular instance in whlch Mr. M. has condescended to enter into
minute criticism, there is still more reason to be displeased with his la.nguage than
dissatisfied. with his judgment. In a passage in which Swedenborg speaks of COD-
versing with angels and of being in a. state like their own, Mr. N. makes him. say,
U I could not tell but that I was conversing with men on earth." This l\Ir. M_ calls
a " lumbering piece of nonsense." How would this gem of an expression look set in
the gold of oue of those beautiful sentiments with which the author enriches the
SOBS and daughters of the church in his " l\fo.terioJs for ~roral Culture ;" and how
would it remind them of the respect due to age, talent, and \vorth ~ Ilow easy it is
to discourse of meekness and charity; how difficult to speak in 0.11 circumstances
meekly and charita.bly. As to the criticism itself, our friend has, I think, greatly
overshot his mark. In aiming his shaft at the translator, he has in reality hit the
author. l·'or I suppose it will be admitted that Mr. N.'s is at least a fair renderiD~
of the L1.tin; so that, if the transla.tion is nonsense, tho original cannot be very good
sense. Clowes, who translates literally, renders the clause, " I kne,v no otherwise than
tbat I was conversing with men on earth." If it is sense to so.y, " I did not know!-'
Us it nonsense to say, "I could not te111"
Nothing is easier than this 80rt of criticism; and it could en.sily be turned against
Mr. l\Ja.son himself. Wc have no occasion to go farther in search of 0. subject fol'
it than to this same postscript. ~Ir. 1\1. states that" It has not been the custom t.o
quostion the 8ociety·s translo,tions, except in the case of obvious and accidental mis-
takes." \Ve might 8uppose a critic to question this sentence in something like the
following tnaJlOer. " hat does the writer here mean by obvious and accidental mis-
takos 1 Doed he mea.n to say that those mistakes which are obvious are Dot ncciden-
'1'1; and that those which are accidental are not obvious ~ or does he speak of mis-
takes which arc both obrlou8 and accidental1 But what are obvious and acciden-
tal mistakes ~ \Ve speak of 0, thing as being obviously a mistake when \ve mean to
eay that it is not something els6 which is not a mistake; but we do not call Q, thing
an obvious Inistake to distinguish it froln other kinds of mistakes which are not ob-
vious. ~rhere are no· doubt many mistakes which are not obvious to UIl, but to us
there arc no nlistakcs ,,,,hich are not obvious. \Vhat ngain nre accidental mistakes'
J\re there any mistakes which arc not accidental, or, as wc suppose the writer meo.n&
unintentional 1 An accidental mistake is ",ery much the same as an accidental acci-
dent. ''fhe fact is, the words obvious and accidental, as here used, are themselves
mistakes. l'bey add nothing either to tbe meaning or force of the sentence., which
would express quite BS much without them. They are therefore mere lUlnbcr, and
as in their present situation they have no sense, the whole sentence may not impro-
perly be called, in the clego.nt l&n~ua~e of the writer himsel~ a H lunlbering piece of
nODsense." Sach a specimen of English composition does not argue much in fo.yor
of Mr. l\IB.8on as a revisor and critic of new tranalatioD8, in which perspicuity, ex-
actness and compactness is an essential requisite.
But a much graver chargo than that of incapacity is made a~inst Air. N.,-a
charge, by insinuation, of dishonorable if not dishonest conduct, In publishing the
present edition of the Heaven and Hell. Mr. M. takes some pains to instruct lOur
readers that Mr. N., after having sold his translation to the Printing SocIety,
resumed to himsel~ when the Society had abandoned it, and published it on his OWD
foundation. This mode of putting the case is calculated, if not intended, to give it
all the appearanoe of a mere business transaction. And Mr. Noble-s money-making.
if not money-seeking, share in this transaction is placed in a still stronger light, by
being contmBted with the disinterested conduct of Mr. Bancock, who served the S0-
ciety graluilouJ! y. What this has to do with the comparative merits of the transla-
tiODs it is difticult to conceive. It is, however, calculated, if not intended, to exert a
moral influence over the mind of the reader, and incline him, when weighing the
trauslations in the balance of his best judgment, to give a preponderance to that
which was undertaken from disinterested motives, over that which originated, as
the reader may suppose, in mercenary views. To this I shall only oppose a atate.
ment offa~te, and leave the reader ~ draw the oODoluioD. Mr. Notile wall ODe«
1852.] Letter from, Rev. SamulI H. Worcester. 467
the Counden oC the Printing Society, and for a long period one of its most active mem·
bers. For many years he filled the office of secretary, and during his connection
with the Society he performed for it a ~reater amount of literary labor than an'1
other man in the church. And all thul, with a solitary exception, he did graftu-
'ou,.,lg. So avcrse was ho to the idea of reaping any pecuniary advantage from his
tabors, that when, on one occasion, t,he oommittee resolved to allow him a certain
sum for a work on which he was at the tiine en~ged, he not onll declined to accept
~e offered recompense, but refused to proceed wIth the work untl1 the resolution was
re8cinded. I mention this 0.8 a fact; but have no wish to 88Y anything in f&,·or of
the principle of gra.tuitous labor. We have the highcst authority for believing that
the I8.borer is worthy of his hire. It is no dishonor for a man to take what is his due.
In certain circumstances the practice of gratuitous labor is no doubt necessary,
and therefore laudable; otherwise it is not. However, the fact is, that the ol~1y
lDork for which 1\lr. N. ever reoeived any remuneration from the Printing Sooiety,
was the last which he performed for it, that which has enabled lrlr. 1\1. to say that
it was sold and purchased. The sum received for this work was only half the amount
of tha.t which had been otrered and refused on the former occasion: it was one gui-
nea or five dollars a sheet. And this acknowled~ent for his service-for it cannot
be cODsidered 0.8 the price of his labor, in prodUCing, not a revision, but a new traDS-
lat,ion-cannot be justly judged of without a knowledge oC circumstn.nccs which
existed at the time, but which it would be imprudent at this da.te even to mention.
After his translation had been several years out of print, and numerOU8 inquiries had
been made for it, 1\'lr. N., in compliance with the wishes of his friends, consented to
its rc-publication,: preparatory to which he thoroughlyre\"ised it. But the work was
not published, until, In its improved state, it had been offered gratuitously to the
Printing Society, and the offer bad been declined. It is almost needless to add that
the translator derived no profit from its publication in its present form. The rea-
der may now judge for himself what ground there is Cor l\lr. 1\1.'8 repeated and ital-
icised assertion, that 1\lr. Noble sold his translation to the Printing Society.
Although l\Ir. 1\lason has assumed the championsbip of Mr. Hancock's translation,
I mako no pretension to the same character in relation to l\'lr. Noble·s. I have no
hesitation indeed to avow, what must already have been inferred, that I give n deci-
ded preference to l\Ir. Noble's translation. Notwithstanding this, had the editors of
two Repositories given their opinions ngainst this translation, instead oC in its Cavor,
I am quite certain that not one word ofremoDst1'anco would have been addressed to
them by me upon the subject. My present communica.tion is not, therefore, intended
to be a vindication of l\lr. Noble's work, but & protest against l\Ir. M88on~8 proceedin~.
I havo no wish, and have aaid nothing to depreciate 1\lr. Hancock's translation. Nei-
ther would I ,villingly excite hostilo feelings between those who respectively favor
the two different translations. What I have written has been with the view of
bringing this question back to that state in which Mr. Mason found it, and ought to
have left it. I am, doar sir, yours truly,
\V. BRUCE.

BALTIMORE, Sept. 10th, 1852.

To the Editor of the Repository :
DEAR SIR :-Tn the August number of the Repository, in compliance with my
request, I find that you have inserted a translation of Swedenborg's Adversaria on
Numbers, No. 7167.
Now that you have been 80 kind as to oblige me by translating this passage, i'
may seem. ~carc~ly my place to criticise the translation; particula~ly I\~ you are far
more fo.mlbar wlfb t~e leamed lan~gee than I am.; but my ?bJect ID re9ucstlng
a translation was entllcly frustrated by the want oC literalness In your versIon.
You will remember that in the original number these words occur: U S,d ttZ char-
t. d,letlB ,unt, qui!1 ita jieri D,w MessifU noluit." An e~aot traD8lati!l~ would ~,
"But thOl, writing. tDU, d,'troy'd, b,",,," God M,",ah tDdI uRtD,ll,ng t!&at It
,hould b, '0 done." Your traDaJation is nearly equally literal, with the exception
488 CorrupondeRce. [Oct
that you have inaerted in parenthesis the 'Words le through me," making it read
thus: "Those ~pers, therefore, were destroyed, 88 God Me8Iiah did not deaign thai
the revelation tthrough me) .hould be thus lnade."
You w ill remember that the paper. alluded to were certain writin~ in the prep-
aration of which the hand 0 f Swed.enbcrg was guided, 80 that he was Ignorant of the
eeries of things until they were written; and this was done that he might learn
U"tat rtt"elations HAVE BEEN '0 made l' JOur own translation is " for the .ke ofinCorm-
ing U8 that J·evelation, are made in tAiJ manner;,' the italioising in this clause i8 my
own.
I understand that Swedenborg was/or a 'p~cial purpote permitted to have hi! hand
guided in this manner; but that he intended to inform U8 that it is not of tlu Lord',
tDill tha.t spiritual agencies should at the preaent day have such control over the
bodies of men; and [ regard. his words 88 a suitable warning to those ~ho are m.
posed at this day to become LL writing medimns," A.ND FOB THIS REASON THE TIU.XIU-
TJON WAS REQUESTED.
Perhaps I drew wrong conclusions from the pUlage we are oonaidering: if eo, I
shall be ready to be corrected. I might not now feel called upon to trouble you
with this communication, if I had not observed that our brother, Henry Weller, iD
the H Crisis" of July 15th, has drawn what Beems to me a false conclusion from this
number or the Adversaria, as translated; as I have reason to know, he has never
8een the original Latin oC the passage, which seems to me le88 liable than the trans-
lation to misinterpretation; in saying this, however, I do not mean to be understood
as supposing that a wrong view of the p&88&ge existed in your own mind. ?tIr. 'Vel-
ler, in speaking of Swedenborg, says: "He was first a writin~ medium-writin~ as
he inforlns U8, by having his hand controlled, but that all thmgs thus writt·en were
destroyed, 'as God ltfeesiah (he says in the Adversarial, did not design that the
revelation (through me) should be thus made.' n A wrong inference, it seems to
me. is here made. I do not understand this assertion that Swedenborg was first "a
writing medium," to be consistent with the facts that have come to us in re1atiOll
to the opening of his spiritual senses, nor in accordance with the testimony of his
writings. Very respectfully yours,
SAMUEL H. W OlttESTER.
REMARKS.
w~ insert tbe for~going with pleasure, although, upon a careful revision of our tr81l~la·
tion, \ve nre unllble to ~ee that it fail:s of conveying the true scope ot llu~ original, or that
the idell presented by it to the English reader is materially different fromrbnt which 1\Ir.
\V. 11 iUI~elf conceives to be meant. That our rendering, as a whole, i5 almost servilt-ly
literal will be evident to nny one who is competent to compare it with the original, which
wo give uc10w with the \'.uion itself 8ubjoined.
Quod haec talia. 8ignificcllt, mihi revelatuan et't lnirabiliter; absque reveJatione talia
nequnqullll1 pos~mnt intelligi : dictabatur 8ed mirabiliter in COKitatione, et ad intelleclum
horulll verborum cugitatio duceuatur. BC tenebatl1r in singulis vocibus idea fue, qmt!l
det~nta vi crele:Jti; ha haec revelatio sensibillter fiebat: de caeteris revelationum specieuns,
qure plure~, tlignant~ D~o Mcssia. aJiLJi dicetur. Aliter etianl peragitur. dUln cogilatio
illusuoatur nlan ifeste qnadam luce, et scriptura ducitl1r. ut ne verblllum ql1~at aliter
flcriIJi. ~wd qnandoque jn~n8ibiliu~, quandoque sensibiliter adeo, ut feratur djKitu~ lin
!criptnnul1 III sup~rlore, ut si ullud vein scribere, nequaquam possit j ea. hoc non &Glum
cUlIa jUllcta r~rccptionc r~i, iU10 etialn, quod sernel uerumque cum varietllte c\"eoiebat
nusfl"e ptArccptionc. ut serimn rerum ne:Jcirem antc.'a, quam postquam scriptum e51, sf'd
hoc rari~~i1ne Inodo id informlltionis causa, quod ita revelationes quoque faclre !int: sed
em cllltrUE d~l~tre sunt, (luia ita fieri Deus Me.sias noluit; nee permlslunl est viva y~
dictan~ uliqnid; tamet:si viva voce mecum per tnntum tempus Cere continue loquutllm e~l,
sed UUIJl ~cril.JeretLJr conticebant: de his, dignante Deo Mes8ia, plenius alibi drcetllc. ut
!l("iat homo, quonlodo revelRtion~s se hobueruntolim. in primiliva Ecclesia, deln in repr~·
sCfltativR, delnum in symbolica, ut inde agno!cere queant. quod ne jota quideol Sil, quod
lion LILJris lvlosis, propbetaruln et Davidis inspiratuln (uerit, et sic quod cmle8tia sub for-
nlis r~rum uaturalium, qum suut literm, quibus e~primuntur, penilus contineantur."
TRA.NSLATION.
ca\Vhat is signified by this was revealed to me in a ,,"ondedul manner; witbout rema-
don luch things cannot be underltood. It was wonderfully dictated iD the thouCbl, aDd
1859.] Swedenborg on Slavery. 469
the thought wal led to the understand ing of these words, and the idea was beld Ixedty
upon each SiDlle expre.ion, a8 if detained by a heavenly force; lI1US the revelation " ...
sensibly fJ1Bde. Concerning other species of reYelatioD8, which are numerous, I shstl
wjlb the 1&vor or God Ko..iab speak elsewhere. They are otl1erwi., afFected when lh.
thought is maDifeatly illustrated with B certain light. and the writing ia 10 guided that not
the least word can be written otherwise than it is. Sometimes, however, it i, more Insen.
siblo; IIOmetimes again 10 sensible that the finger Is conducted in the writing by a bigher
pO\lf'er in such a way that if an attempt were made to write otherwise it would be impoe-
Bible; and this not only with an adjoined perception of the sobject, but eTen-what hu
~oain and again happened to me-without tbis perception, 10 that J wa. igDorant oC the
series or things until after they were written; but this in very rare inataneel, and ani, (01
tbe sake of informing us that revelations are made in th~ manner. Those papera,·
tberefore, were destroyed, a. God Messiah did not design that tbe revelation (through me)
should be tout made. Neither is it permitted to dictate anything nOG tlMt, ahhoDBh a
flwI ".ee di8cotlF58 (with spiritl) has been enjoyed by mOe almost continually for 80 lonl a
time; but whenever I "'lote they \\'ere silent. Concerning those thiDgs, God Met.fah PEW-
miulnr. I shall.peak more fully in another place, that men may know bow the case was
in regard to revelations in the primitive church, afterwards in the representative, and
finally in the symbolical church, that they~ay thence acknowledge that there ia DO& eYeD
a jot in the book of Moses, of the prophets, and of David, which i. not inspired, ud that
these celestial things are invariably contained under the forms of natural thiDgfI. which
nre tbe letters by ,,·hich they are expressed."
The difference appears to be ill the construction of the phrase" facUt sunt," which we
have rendered le tire mad,," and which our correspondent would render" have been
madeJ " implying that they are 80 made DO longer-Cl 7YOf. fuimu." In renderlnl Cl ita
revelatione8 quoque factm sunt" by rft1tlatiOfU are made if' tlu MG• .."., we intended
merely to cODve1 the idea that revtlatiOfllfIItI'6e .0 mw, whlch.we suppose to be the true
.nse oC the original phrase, and which doel not, that we can see, vary 8188Dtialty from
the sense he would aflix to the words. The drift oC Swedenborg, as we understand it, la to
describe two distinct modes of revelation, ODe inteUigentJ the other mechanical, and to la,
that the latter of these modes is so tar abnormal that the Divine Wiedom did not lee fit to
employ it in giving to the world the great tnlths oC the New Church. which ~qDired •
cODecious and rational perception of the sabject-matter communicated. For thIs re&lOU.
although it wal important that he should be aware of the fact oC the possibility of loch a
mode of revelation, yet the writings which we:e thus produced were deatroyed, inumuoh
as it was not the purpo!e oC the Divine Providence that his servant. in laying open the doc-
trines of the New Dispensation. should act as a mere automaton. but sbould be Cavored
with an internal .illumination more compatible with the sublime ends of hi. miuion.
Does Mr. W. draw from the whole paragraph any other purport? Why then is Dot our
parenthetical clauso (11 through me") perfectly correct? Wbat would Mr. W. haw the
author to mean by the sentenco as he has translated it_U But those writings were destroy-
ed, beeaule God Messiah was unwilling that it should 10 be done i tJ Was llDwilllDI tbat
.Mat should be done 1 The writing itself or the destruction of the writings 1 Tbe former.
undoubtedly; and if so, what other meaning can be intended tba,n precisely that whicb
we have givenJ to witJ that the revelation through Swedenborg should Dot be made in the
above mentioned manner 1 The important and reasonable inference which Mr. W. would
dra\V' from the paragraph is sUIgested al naturally. we think, by our rendering as by hil,
and to the utility oC 8VfSly such warning we add our helrty ameD.

SWEDENBORG ON SLAVERY.
DEAK SIR:
As the public attention is becoming more and more directed to the writia. of
SwedsnOOrg, and his claims as a philosopher and theol9an are being more aten-
Himy admitted, in spite of the attempt OD the part of a few eeetarians to monopolise
VOL. v. 31
 4'70 Oorruponde"ce. [Oct.
him, it may intereR JOur leaden to be made acquain~ with his vieWl OD Ule ..b-
ject of domestic slavery. He no where canV88188 the subject under a diatinct head,
but I find in his writings 8un~ P&ssa~8 which clearly indicate that his I8Iltimeata
are quite op~te to those of the abolitionists. . In his great work, the A.roana Cml. .
tia, D. 9349, in treating of the statutes in the law of M0888, while he speaks of all u
being holy and divine, he mentions some as abrogated in respect to use at his
day, &nd others that ought still to be observed and done. Under the latter clua he
mentiODl particularly, Exod11B m. 20, which in the common version reads thu:
"And if a man mlite his I18rvant or hi. maid with & rod, and he die under his hand,
he shall be surely punished." Under the former clau, &8 abrogated, he mentiODS the
lucoeeding verse: Cl Notwithstanding, if he continue a da! or two, he aha1l not be
puniehed; for he is his money." In accordance with the abroptioD of thia statute,
'We Ind that by the uniform legislation of the Southem States. the Idlling of & alave
is severely pwliahed; in most of them with like severity as in cue of tlie homicide
oP a freeman. Swedenborg further mentions as abrogated, in respect of uee, venee
26 and 27 of the same chapter, which read substantially as fonows: U And if a man
amite the eye of hia servant, or the eye of his maid, or strike out the tooth oC either,
he shall let him ~o free for his eye's or his tooth's Bake.n Here it evidently appears
that he was treatin"g of bondsmen, and rejecting manumiesion &s a conBequence or
particular injuries" Consequently, by implication he warrants the inatitutiOD of Bla-
very as he clliectly does in the retention of the statute first cited. If it should be .id
that he was speaking of Hebrew servitude, where emancipation took place at the end
or the sixth :rear, it 18 sufficient to reply, that in the same paragraph he menti0D8 as
abrogated all those passages in chap. xxi. v. 2-6, which provide for this .bbatical
manumission.
In his Apocalypse Explained, n. 1226, after speaking of the universal heaven 81 a
kingdom of uses, ne says; U On the other hand, those who do not perform nses, &le
sent into the hells, where they are compelled by a Judge to labor, and if they refuee,
no food is ~ven them, nor clothing, nor a bed to lie on, and they are laughed at by
their a880Cl&tes as servant! by their mastem; it is also permitted them by the judge
to use them &8 their alave&, and if they withdraw others from their labon they are
severely punished, until they are compelled to exertion." The last clause may be
taken as 0. hint by the cn~inee18 of under-ground railroads.
The same writer in hIS work on Heaven and Hell, in the chapter coneem.ing
Govemments in Heaven, n. 219, sa18 that in every house there, "tliere is a master
and there are servants; the master loves the servants and the servants love the mu-
ter; whence from love they serve each other; the master teaohes how they ought to
live, and tells what is to be done; the servants obel and ~erfonn their dufiiee. To
perform use is the delight of the life of all; henco It is eVIdent that the kingdom or
the Lord is a kingdom of uses."
Swedenbor~ everywhere teaches that what occurs or exists on the terrestrial earih,
corresponds With something in the 8J>iritual world; and the actions of men on the for-
mer rel?resent the action of spirits m the latter. Thus we ma~ arrive at the terres-
trial orlgin of African slavery. The Africans, 80 far as visited In their own country,
are the moat useless tenants of the most fertile tract of the universe. They haYe
pcrmitted a continent to go to waste on their hands, by setting at naught the daty
of performing uses, &s e88ential to their physical comfort and spiritUal culture.
Thus they long ago wrought out slavery for themselves. For a long time they made
war upon each other to gratify the helliah propcnsitI of feuting on the flesh of
those lnado captive. Some captives were retained ana made to work according to
the above description of what occurs in the hell.!. Thcse were eaten by their et.p-
tors as soon as the chances or war furnished a new 8uppl,.. The only way of miti-
gating the doom which they thu8 brought upon themselves, was by opening new
countriea and creating such a demand for their physicallo.bor as would oall Cor their
-Shipment to regions foreign from their own. Under the auspices of the Divine ProT-
idenoe,luch an outlet was provided. The slave captain was a fierce and cruel
instrument, but none other oould have met the exigency. Admit the neoessity of
deportation, and the more christianized the country to wl1ich they were carried, the
greater the bleSBing to them. That country 'W&I the American Colonies. Here .y
fta'fe increa,ed and multiplied. They have become elevated in the IO&le of h1llD&ll-
IV, under the benelcial operation of labor and Christian in8truotion.. In the ~­
nmg of their eerritllde, tliey repreeented slaTel in the hella-oompe11ed to Jabor OIl
 • I

1852.] Swedenborg on Slavery. 411 I

accoOllt of an unwillingness and neglect to perform U888. Th9 are paa1l! ap-
proximating to a correspondence with the heavenly condition of serving from IMe.
It is a great comfort, meanwhile, that God ~verns the universe, in despite of thOle
modem Phmtons, who aspire to seize the reln8 and guide the chariot or the Sun or
RigJ!teousneSB.
\Vhen will their presumption leam,
., That in the unreasoning progress oC the world,
A wiser spirit Ja at work tor UI;
A better eye than dlelra j roost prodilal
Of blessing, and most studious of our good,
Even in what seem our most unfruitful hours '"
I haTe been a close observer of the institution of slavery for years, and an
equally 01018 one of the peculiarities of African character. AB the result oC tUJ
oblervation my own mind fully vindicates the wisdom of the obviou8 Providences in
connection with the condition of the African race in the Southern States, and I can
only regret that the N orthem mind seems 80 generally foreolosed against a reasona-
ble view of the question. You say slavery is an evil; I say it is a medicine; there
is the clliferenoe between us-in a Dut-shell. Whether or not slaveholders d.o their
duty, is one q,uestion; whether or not they can do their duty and continue to be
slaveholders, 18 quite another. This latter is provably susceptible of an affirmative
anawer, as I think; and give me a man who reil1y does his duty in this relation, and
I will shoW' you in him a model Christian. Slavery is but a mere name, at any rate,
and one who by foroe of municipal regulations renden labor and service to another,
who by reciprocity of le~ obli~ation is bound to protect, 8Upport and clothe him,
in siclmeu and in health, from Infancy to dotage, and through dota~ to the grave,
may be as spiritually free, and as practically 1JOluntary in the renditIon of that ser-
vice, 88 I am in the discharge of my daily duties, aye, and more so, unless our states
of charity are equal. Men are not bom free; neither are they born m,n. So they
- are not bom equal; either physically, or mentally, or spiritually. The child of a con-
firmed murderer, adulterer, or drunkard, comes into the world with heredi~ ten-
dencies which plake him, mentally and spiritually, more feeble than a ohild of op~
si~ parentage j while the child of a consum{ltive is bom with a hereditary phJ'aical
inequality. Neither is liberty abstractll an malienable right, or there oould J:)e DO
conventional, personal restraints, established by civil compact. Liberty, in a seou-
an
Iar &eJUJe, is the enjoyment of civil equality by who are parties to the social com-
pact. The social compact is itself an abridgement of abstract liberty. These are
mere alphabetical truths, but greatly lost si~ht of by the anti·slavery philosophers.
The slave, 88 to the state, has logically no nghts, because he is not a party to the
civil compact. Yet practically he has right&, because the State compels the master
to the ~rformance of proper and necessary duties, and protects the alave from arbi-
trary VIolence, and cruel or inhuman treatment. Beyond this the alave must protect
himself by good conduct and subordination. This very good conduot and 8ubordi.
nation is what Christianity requires of him as a probationary discipline. It requires
the aame of all. Hence, in the last analY8is, the slave and the master are upon the
same spiritual footing.. But you 8&1 you quarrel with the system as a direct and
downright infraction of the great pnnciple of oharity. Now charity, in respect or
the neighbor, is the being useful to him from love to the Lord, who 18 the lu~reme
neighbOr. But, begging your'l!ardoD, _you would seem to degrade it into the Inter-
obaDe;e oC aervices u~n the b&S18 of civil contract. I cannot, however, do justice to
my neW8 in the brief compass of a friendly letter, and in conclusion can only mar-
'Vel that 80 comprehensive a thcolo~an as yourself should insist on discussing this
q~tion upon such an anomalous platform as abstract morality or abstract reli.
gious duty. The loves of the Lord, of the neighbor and of self, interlace each other
10 intimately, that the harmony of all can alone make the perfect character. In the
love of the neighbor is involved the love of coantry, and tbe relations of individual
to IOcial problems, connected with the love of the Lord and the love of self. Thua
morality and duty can never be abstractly considered, and have no abstract emtence.
I hOj)8 it will turn out 10 that you may continue the U Re~tory." The cessa-
tion 0(- our relatioD8 towards each other as editor and contributor "duld greatly
 472 Correlpondence. [DeL
grieve me, ~rtioularly when there is a prospect of my being able to devote my pen
more reau1&rly to the ~ work. The U Repository t1 has mults. The chief one is
that ita Lhera do Dot with sufficient frequenoy cast their neta on the right Bide of the
ship and inculoate the good of life &8 the oonditioD of spiritual knowled~. But
Rome was Dot built in a day; and we poor waiti, who have drifted on the .hores of
the New Jerusalem, muat learn intellectually before we can acquire the will to do
practically. I hope, whatever path of usefulness you may follow, that blesainp may
be showered upon your head, and that you may realize in their abunda:».t iulnesg,
those ullBpe&kable joys which the Lord has in store for those who love Him.
I remain with much affection and respect, yours, &e.,
B. W.IL
REMARKS.
Our correspondent in the above communication proposes to make oar readen acquaint-
~d with Swedenborglls viewl le on the subject of domestio slavery,u but it is clear ftODl
the tenor of the article that the fullness of the announcement is greatly out oC proportion
with the meqrenell oftbe material. SWEDKNBOB,G OK DoxuTIC SLAVEAY, especiall,u it
existl iD the United States, is like a splendid gilt-lettered sign board over the door oC. mis-
erable hovel, where the interior has nothing to correspond with the dashing insignia o.f the
outside. References are indeed made to several passagel of his writing•• which recopize
the exsitence of a servile relation, and suggest the duties growing out oC it, but we see no
evidenoe that anylucb institution al we have recently discussed is contemplated in the
Word, or was present to the mind of Swedenborg when he wrote. Reference to u1 oC
his works treating of the laws and workings oC neighborly love would be aboat eqaallr
apropos to tbe point in hand. The portion of tbe Arcana to whieh our correapoadeDt
refellis one of extreme obscurity, as far as the principles which go'Vem the classification
are concerned, and at best contains nothing bearing OD the moral, of the question or
American slavery, for tbat of Hebrew slavery i. not DoW'in debate. That the Sacred
writings recognize the relation of ffta.ttr aM "",atll is beyond debace, aod that such a
relation exists in the otber liCe in the (orm under which it il exhibited. in the extract from
le Hea.ven and Hell," we are perfectly ready to graot; but an this bas but the slightelt

coDDection with our subject so loog as the evidence is lackiDI that the ."..icc spoken of
iD the ODe ca.. i. Identical with the altJvtrY sublilting in tbe other.
As to the correspondentlal relatioDI of elavery Indicated by B. W. H., WA may admit &heir
existence witbout flnding anything in them to justify the pracesa by which the African race
orilinal1y became lubject to the European, and it Is precisely here that the tIOtl.. occurs
that requirea solution. Djvine purposes do not justify human misdeeds.
It You .y alavery is aD evil-I say it is a medicine j there is the difference between ua

hI a hut-lbeD." We see nothing in the fact of its being an evil to prev8Dt its beia. al the
same time a medicine; that is to say, that the Divine Providenee 10 onnates the eriI •• to
render its effects medicinal or salutary. This fact, however, does not nuUiry the eYll 80
rar .. the apota are ooncerned, nor change th(IJ moral character oC tbelr motives in relatioD
to it.
We could sa, much In reply to the remaining poaltions oC the letter. from .ftral of
wbich we entirely diuent, but as It wu written some time before oar o"a e-,.
subject were closed, with which we presume our corresp'ondent would Dot euentiallr dit-
OD the

8p'88, we prefer to leave the theme to be judged OD its iotrlnsic merits by him and bY'the
reet of oar readerl.

PROSPECTUS OF A NEW PUBLICATION.

We publish the followinr al an interesting case oC at least Inoipient receptIon New or
Church tnlthl. though probably somewhat mingled with a certain neopbpt CJode-
18A.] PrtJlpeclUl of tJ NSIIJ Publication. 473
..., which time ad PropelS wW gradaally dlarel. The cue or IIr. Slmms ex-
hibits another tatance in which the phenom@oa of Mesmerism haft proftd a gate or
enhaDce into the precinots of the Holy City. and though be may pause Cor a while iD the
vicinity oCthia pte, aDd have but a dim view oCthe light which it enjoy. CrolD ill Divine
Sua. 18& as be advanees onward. be will be gifted with a clearer yi.ioo, aDd th.& .. hiela
. . . before Ilorioas ~ teeD to have no 110ry, by reUOD oC the .. glory wbioh exoeUetb.~·
When this degree oC attainment is reached. the author oC the PrOlpecttls will see that Jt fl
really linkiog the character oC our illustrious seer even to denominate him tbe very apostle
and prince of olairv01anta, for the psychologioal facti of clairyoyance do not carr1 ua
beyond the province of the Datural mind, whereas Swedenborg'. sublime· discl08ares
required the opeaiog oCthe spiritual mind. With an abatement OD tbillCore, the pneral
IOOp8 of the PlOl~tDtI pleasel as well, and it will be read with interest. The choice ot
Hioher's Cl Relilion ot Good Sense JI to head the proposed se.ries, we think judicious, and
siDCelely hope that our New Church publishers will make arrangements to lupply tbe
demaDd which will no doubt exiat in this country, tOB greater or leas degree, tor a succes-
sion oC works brought out under Inch peculiar circumstances and aUlpices.

GLASGO"", Aug., 1852.

PaOFJ:8S0R. BUSH-DEA.R SIR :-1 send herewith the prospectus oC a series of works,
about to be issued from the press of Mr. John Simms, late of Simms and Macintyre,
printers and ~ublishers, BelFast, Ireland; in the ho~ that you will gift it all tho
publicity possIble through the pages oC your Rep08ltory. You at,e probably aware
that the mm juM Damed is one of the few who have taken the lead in this oountry
to bring out the best authors, at prices Buitable to the great mass oC the oommunity.
In this they have been eminently successful; although, as a consequence of tile
arduous duties attendant upon the business, Mr. Simms' health became 80 much im-
paired 88 to render him unfit to continue applioation. And this, undcr Divine Pro-
vidence, W&s made the means oC bringing Mr. S. into a new sphere of usefulness, for
whioh his previous position as a ~ublisher and his occupation as translator for his
p~ wereDut necessary steps. His physician having advised a oomplete cessation
from business, Mr. S. went to the continent of Europe under an impression that
change of climate and scene would eft"ect what everything else had failed to do. ,It
was during this visit that on arriving at Paris he was induced to try the eft'ect ot
electricity upon his Crame; and found at the house of the practitioner he consulted
the work of Mons. Cahagnet, U The Celestial Telegraph," in which the name of Swe-
deDborg frequently occurs, to which, however, he gave little attention, his whole
mind being engrossed with the wonderful nature of the disclosures therein made by
means of mesmerism. Getting no relief from electricitJ' he was advised to try gal-
nmism; and it was here that in expressing his D.8tonlShment at the nature of tho
work alluded to, the name of Swedenborg was introduced by the tenlvanist; and a
CODYelMtion followed on the New Doctrines revealed. The loan oflticher's of Nantl
work explanatory of Swedenborg, was offered and accepted, cc which," says ?tir.
Simma, u &8 I read, I believed." It is this work whicll is to -bear the title in the Spir-
itual Library of "The Religion oC Good Sense." Not more than three months hB\"C
elapsed since the occurrences noticed took place. l\fr. Simms returned with 88 great
a revolutioR effected in his mind 8.S in the health of his body, wondering above all
things at his utter ignorance of Swedenborg, the New Church, and everything con-
Dected with them. Up to this date he has never seen any New Church work except
Richer's, and the works of Swedenborg. But from these he has gathered a rich har-
veJt, conlidering the short time he has been in the field. They only who have met
with Mr. Simme since his reception of the doctrines can form an estimate of the
pro~ he has made. Of course he does not yet enter into minutim or doctrines •
Dut he ~ general principles that to the eye of the 8traD~er seem abort and
unconnected, and blenda them together into the harmony that is Intrinsio to all ~at
principles, and with a facility and power beloDging to a well balanced mind only.
Apart from his learning and intellectual endowments, his worth as a private mem-
 [CM.
her m lOCiety la aobowlecl~ by every one who kDDwa IBm, to be JUP. He tabs
a 1eIIding pari in eVfIr! queetion and projeot calculated to improve the OODdHic. of
hiI towDamen. He still adheres to the body of Christians he former), believed with.
but he hu not round satisfaction from the U formula of tnnitarianlBlll" far lleveral
yean. If I did not mimndentaDd him he aid that unitarianism did not mee& the
wantl of humanity-wu too natural, and he could not conceal fram hilJlle1f the fact
that it wu lamng hold of the mind8 of men and falIiDg away a8 to D1IIDbeI8. Thia
. . remark led me to .y that in Scotland jost in proportion to the utemIion r£ the
New Church, the ranks of Unitarians got thinner. This state or things does ~
ariae from any transfer from the one to the other, but is a result, 1 belieft, or the
Last Jodgment. It will be seen that Mesmerism is to occupy a l..r~ spaoe in &he
8~tual Library ~ this is to be looked for when it ia shown that Mr. S. has en~
aDd but lately, the New Church through that gate. 8yand by be will diBooyer that
it is only ODe of the gates to the New Jerusalem, a~d that what now ap~ to him
.. the tem~le is but an outer court. When he resolved to throw hiJDaelf int.o the
new field of usefulne88, he was single handed, risking willingly his reputation aDd
meana in the cauae of truth. Already he has g<>t encouragement from many New
Church friends in this country, and I for one, look with confidence to the Chui-cJl in
the ~ew World for a hearty reeponse to his laudable undertaking.
I am, dear sir, truly yoan,
DAVID GIL)(OC'JL

PROSPECTUS OF THE SPIBITti.1L LlBRARY•.

It iI proposed to publish a series of volumes bearing the above title, and haviDg
for their ol)ject an endeavor to re-unite man more c108ely to the spiritual world, and
to God, from whom he has se~ted himself. ·
God is a spirit; and, &s man is made in God's image, he too is a spirit. It is true,
that in his cue the ~irit is enveloped in flesh; but this fleshly covering is no more
man or man's body tlian the coat which covers the covering. This shell or coyering
does not really see, or hear, or taste, or touch, or smell; it is the spirit, or spiritual
body which does all this. When entirely in this world, certainly, the spiritual body
ia obliged to make use of the organs of its shell or envelope before it can become con-
ecioUl of what is passing around it; and when these organs decay, or become im-
paired in any way, the spiritual bOO~ in 80 far cannot act. But this conneDOD be-
tween the earthly body and the spintual, or real body, does not always exist; it is
lOOl8ned in sleep i it is still further weakened in the mesmeric 8leep, or tranae; it is
In&1ly dissolved m death. Con8e(juently, in sleep, in trance, in Borne forms or dis-
ease, and in death, we find the spIritual body acting independently of the anter or
material bOO" and acting in an incalculably more perfect and powerful lDaDlu~r.
In that ~artlcular species of sleep called in Scripture DEl:P SLEEP, or trance, the
~iritual body can traverse immense distances instantaneously; can see into Ule
numan frame, and point out any disease whioh may be lurking there; can read the
thoaghts j can in some cases foretell events which tp us are still future; and can hold
communication with spiritual bodies (called, in common phraseology, gb.oats or
an~ls. &0.) like it8elf. This state of temporary or partial separation-between the
~iritual and earthly, or, as Saint Paul calls them, the celestial and the terrestrial
DOlly-in &bort, between the real body and its covering-is called in the present clay
CLAIIlVOYANCE, or CLEAR-SEEING: a name which serves to~contrast it with our usual or
normal 8tate, in which we are said TO SEE AS THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY. This fac..
ulty of clairvoyance, or clear-seeing, being an inalienable pro?erty, of manl hUt of
oourae, been manifested in all ages-more perfectly at firBt, masmuch as man was
then purer and less earthly; but ~dually dying away, like any other power, by
being allowed to grow into disuae, m proportion a8 men's thoughts and aqirations
becaiDe more closely centered in this world; until, at last, in tlie present day, there
is scarcely to be found one who believes even in the ~088ibility of communication
with the 8~iritual world, or of the aotion of the spiritu&l body independently of the
earthly booy, although we are told in the Scripture that Abrahaui oonvened with
aD~ before his ten'; that a.n«els appeared to our Lord and his dieeiplesj that aD
anje11ed Peter and John out of~rison; that Peter held communication WIth spiJjts
wlien in a traDce: although, in Short; all through the Bible, from Genesis to Reftla-

..
 1812.] Prorpectu. of tJ New P.blication. ~

gems, we are . .ared that angels can and do hold oonvene wiUl men. Nay, it ia
eYeD UI8Ited by l1OID8 that it is impiot18 to hold such a doctrine. But wherefore
impioaa1 it is re&8ODable to Blk. Does Dot God love UI &8 muoh &8 he loved those
who lived in the days of our Saviour 1 Most a8811redly be does. It is we who love
Him Ieee; it is we who are 80 much engroued by earthly things that we have inca-
pacitated ounelv. from holding thia celestial interooune, whioh, if we were purer,
18 . . poIIible and 88 practioable now as it ever was.
But a new and brighter day is dawning on the world. Clalrvoyance is emerging
from the oblCUritr in which it so long slumbered; and although derided, denicd~
and misrepresented, it is steadily making ita way, and will ultimately lead man back
to a knowledge of the spiritual or real nature; to a clear perceptioD of the futuro
ute, and in what conaiata ita so-called rewards and puDislmiente; to an insight into
the dark places of Scripture-its hidden or symbolical meaning and those things
whioh the apostle speaks of as HAtRD TO DE UNDERSTOOD. U Eye hath not seen, ear
bath Dot heard, neither hath it entered into ~he heart of man, the things which God
bath prepared for .those who love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by HIS
SPIRIT."
Far in the foreground of modem clairvoyants-indeed the very Apostle of ela.ir-.
voyanta-atanda EMANUEL SWEDE~BOBG. This extraordinal1 and highly gifted man-
at ODce a profound schola.r, a great ata tesman, a sincere Chnstian, and cODBe<Juently a
most piOUB and benevolent man--enjoyed, by the g~n888 of God, the rare pnvilege of
holdiD~ communication with the spiritual world while still remaining present and con-
scious m this world. He was thus enabled to transmit to 118, without the interpoei-
tion of any ODe acting on him as a mesmeriser, those things which he law and heard.
Theae revelations, it need scarcely be said, appear to those who have never given the
subject their attention, most extraordinary and probable; but only let them be fairly
and ~onately studied, and they are most certain to recommend themselves to
the belief of the reader by their intrinsic evidence. They not only harmonize with
Scri~ture, but they furnish a key to explain its diffioulties, to render the doctrine it
seta forth as 8U8ceptible of truth as the propositions of Euclid, and thW\ to reconcile
all existing Becta and denominations of Christians, when these are simply actuated
by a love of the truth. And not only so, but they are caloulated to bring back to
the pale of the Christian Church those innumerable bodies of men who have no guide
or eliepherd, and who constitute the Heathen W orId-a body not limited to distant
lands, or speaking strange tongues, but to be found in every countr~ in Christen-
dom-men who either boldly deny the truths of the Scripture, or, while they assent
to them with their lips, conceal denial in their hearts.
The writings of Swedenborg, therefore--or rather, in th~ first place, a series or
works explanatory of the truths which he received from above, and gave to tho
world-works written in a plain and agreeable style, -.IcuIated to interest the gen-
eral'reader-will f~ the principal feature of the SPIRITUAL LIBRARY. But it Will
contain, besides, the revelations of other clairvoyants: not that the8e are to be put
on a par with those of the gifted Swedenborg; but it is thought that they will be
useful as furnishing that U CLOUD OF 'VITNESSES~' 80 nece88ary to a large induction,
and to eatabliahing on a firm basis the main facts revealed to him. It is also
intended to include in the SPIRITUAL LIBRARY biographies of those good men of nIl
ages who lived for the Spirit, and not for the Flesh, and whose rule of conduct was
not that which would conduce to their earthly advantage, but that which would fit
them for the state of purity and blessedness promised to those who take op their
cross, and follow in the 8te~8 of the Saviour, in this scene of trial and probatIon.
The first work of the eerles, which will be similar in 8ise to the P AllLOR. LIBRARY,
and bound in enameled boards, will be called U THE RELIGION OF GOOD SENSE," and it
is expected will appear in September. Any coDllDUllications on this subject may be
Addressed to the Publisher, JOHN SIMMS,
26 Donegall-St., Belfast.
TEJUrhl.
A SINGLE COPY, 1,. 6d. (37 1-2 cts.) CA copy will be transmitted free by post for
the same sum, on receipt of poetage stamps for the amount.)
A DOZEN COPIa, 13,. Od. tS3,2D.) (If the order be addressed to the Publisher
direct, &Dd aocom~ied bI a P08t-of1ice order to the amount.)
, It is in contemplation to isIu. at times a double volume at a proportioDal price.
 [Oct.

EPISTOLARY TESTIMONIES.
We live iD oontinuatioD a few more utraota from letteR called forth by our recent di.-
OUIIion aDd the latimation oC the probable discontinuance oC the llepaeitory after the c10le
oCthe pJMeDt year. The '_pon. which hu been elicited from various quarter. ia COD-
seqaenoe of this announcement} has been exceedingly gratifying. and the more 80 from
, havin, been for the most part unexpected. If we do not reply to them all In particular,
we beg the writer. to recei ve the aSlurance in leDersl that we most highly appreciate
their kindly sympathy ad their generou8 proffers, and that every letter of thll deacripuon
makes it more and more d ifticult to adhere to our first reluctantly.lormed parpoee of briDg-
ing onr work to a cloee. Another month will enable us to announce a deflnitedetermina-
tion on this head. The two following communications are both from tbe Sooth, and we
recain them both in their original form, without the omi.ion of any oC the epithets, for the
re.1OIl that tbey are from tItat quarter.· Had they been Crom the opposite point of the
compue. we should have been more 8trongly tempted to abate the ardor of IOme of the ex-
pl'ell1oas occurring In the last. But the tenor of lome of the Southern epistles would per-
baps fairly require to be otF.et by sometbing of the style of the present.

1& DDJl Sm :-1 am reminded by a perusal of the letten on the oover of the last
Dumber of the Repository ~fwhat I intended to do a month ago; but my attention
has been 10 much absorbed by one subject, tbat the opportunity was permitted to
pus- I am rejoiced to perceive that an eiFort will be mide, and I trust with SUaoes&,
to ~vent the discontinuanoe of your Joumal. I cannot imagine how any enligbt-
en8d Newchurchman, or indeed any perlOn imbued with New Churc~ principles,
who has been a reader of ita pages, can silently stand by and see such a work. per-
iah for the want of 8Upport. There are other New Church yeriodioals, and valoable
onea too. but none that can Bupply the place oC the Repomtory. I t belongs to an
order~of merit which very few persons are competent to confer on 8 publication or
the kind. AB ODe of its readers, a mere dweller in the vestibule of the temple, the
enlargement which my mental vision has experienced from its perusal cannot be
estimated by any peouniary equivalent. That every article, however, of its diver-
IiIed contents should Dot please all tastes, is not a matter for wonder; but it appetu"B
~ Btran~ that any man should withdraw hi8 sobscriptioD merely because the w(ll'k
is not in all respect. precisely what he would like. Some, for instance, have com-
plained that it was too controversial in ita character, while latterly great oifenee
BeeIDI ~ have been given to a tortioD of your readers by your remarkS on the insQtu-
tion ofalavel1. Now, I am 8, "Southem man, born and-bred in the midst of a dense
alave populatiOD, and I for one am not afraid or alarmed at the maD1ler in which IOU
treat the lubject. On the con~, I regard it 88 a privilege of inestimable Talue
that I have been permitted to become acquainted with the view8 of one occapyin&,
the position of a New Churchman; for I had no previous conce{»tion that 80 IODin-
OWl an e~tion oould be given of the evils of the system, and m a spirit 80 ful of
al'action and charity. I do not Bee how it could have been clearer, if it had been
written with a pencil of light. But even with this' qualitYt I am ready to cmaless
that if your remarks had lieen addressed to 81aveholderl at larfOt they might haTe
been prOduotive of mischief; and before Buch an auditory, had been or ~ eoon·
eel, I Should have adviled you to be silent. But that they should excite the ill-will
and teBelltment of those who are receivers of the doctrines of the HeaveuJ:r JEIU8I-
lem, for whOle welf'are they were speoially written; OD the other hand, that they
should Dot be received witli delight and admiration, appears to me to furnish an en-
deDce of the intlrmity of human nature, over which we mar well mourn.
U But my object in taking up my F wu chiefly to sar that, as one of your 6U!>-
scribe!'!, I will pay double l!Iutiacription trice next year for the Repository, or even
$10 ifne~, as my mite in its behal. It is indeed ODly a mite, but mihappily it
ia all I can aWord. Very respectfully and truly yours:'
1812.]
u 8DDIDD 10th, 1861.
"VUT MUCH DTEDlED SIll :-1 ahaU be truly gratified t41eam ihat the ~
is growing brighter for the cODtinuanoe of the Reposi~, and with a view to ita
encouragement, I now signify to you my design of aoubling m1l11beori~tion for the
eD8lling year, in the event you conolude to penevere with ita publication. UDder
any cirOUDUItanoes it is to be deeply re~tted tha' the work mould go dowD, . . .
especially 80 under such as now threaten its continued emtenoo. Tiuly it is a -.cl
reB.ection that there are those who call themselves Newchurohmen, and can yet 80 far
forget that fealty to truth, which I had supposed characterized all who acmowledge
thellllelVllll of that fold, all to evince suoh a spirit of intolerance towardI ~lf ..
that indicated in some of the published letters of the lut ilaue of the .~.
Pray, how do suoh demonstrations consist with such a olaim, or with the great fun·
damental principles of their faith, whioh eDjoins it upon us to C act in freedom accord-
ing to reason l' I ask if the spirit of this precept is recognUsed, or indeed uJtimated,
in the endeavor on their part to olose the mouth of one who propoees to pTe e~reesion
to the unadulterated tmths of the New Di~ensation sucli as you have 80 faIthfully
and happily done in the excellent essays on sIavery aDd abolition. The Christian intel-
ligence discovered by 10unelf in the canV888 of this mpet intricate mbjeot, rar e~oeeda
my most generous anticipatioDSt formed in the outset of this your Doble and triamph.
ant effort. It forms, I am hapP1 to confess, a new link, that bind. me more iDBe~
bly than ever to you as a faithful Christian brother, and I would fain have my JOY to
make you rejoioe that there is a 80uIltJmllt and lingll-miftd«l enough to be entirely
COD8Cious oC the truth, that the I811timenta and principles advanoed bear oon.meing
testimODy of the glorious fact that the indi&g mind wu indeed quickened by the
inftux from high heaven. And permit me further to add, that the lI8CIuel or theee
contraband communications has 80 transformed my preconceived views and misgiv-
ings induced by the opening articles on this topio as to your position as an ~ponent
of Southem slavery, that I am free to declare there is &, perfeot at-one-meBt in regald
to our respective sentiments and conolusion8 upon this momentous question. ADd I
om entirely cODfident they altogether oomport with the 8temelt and most rigid
demands of truth, justice, and benevolence. I do not recollect when feelin~ ofrey·
erenoe aDd gratitude to our loving Father have been more deeply awakenecf than by
the perusal of the closing eaeays on this topio; ~roeiving, as I did in thiB cue, the
loveIinesa of the Divine ~lercy as shown forth through the instrumentality of the
faithful and the true of His clilldren. I indeed rejoice over the discovery olauch of
hia kingdom as do fullf come up to that standard of Christian peroeptiOll which
secures to them ~oee vIews of the subject of Blavery, l1&Dctioned olily bf the laws of
charity aDd of order.. How many, how very many, fan short of this. Believing,
therefore, that you have performed an eminent U89 to the caue of truth, and that
the Northem abolitionist as well as the 81aveholder oC the South h.. abuDdant rea·
son to rejoice that the truth hu been 80 faithfully spoken unto them, I beg leaTe to
salute you with B88urances of my warm paternal regard and gratitude."
,

NOTICES OF BOOKS.
I.-SCIENCE AND REVELATION: or tlu BttJ1'ing of Mod~n~ Sei~ntifie D,v,loptMnt,
"pon lM first Eleven Chapte,'s of Gen,sis. By WILLIAM B. HA.TDEN. Boston:
(Jtis CIapp. 1852.
In the plan and execution of the present work we have, we think, ODe of the hap-
piest e1forts of Mr. Hayden's pen. Although it might have appeared tJ priori aome-
what of 8, presumption or a 8upererogation to enter the field 80 effectually gleaned
by Mr. Rendell in his U Antediluvian -History," yet no one can read this little vol-
ume without feeling that he has been oonducted over ground entirely Dew, and that
he is laid' under deep obligations to his guide. If it is the property of strongly
 Notice' of &oi,. [Oct.
marked iRtielIeotl to ia'98It old them. with new intenst, to present genuine truths
in a fOCtU of elearer light, it will be hard to deny Mr. H. large credit on this score.
He has set his subject in very strong reJiefbeCorethe mind's eye of the reader.. Be-
giDDing with a preliminary ezlUbitioD of the nature of the Divine W Old, uad the
true prinoiples 01 its interpretation, with especial referenoe to the early cbaptmw or
Genesis, be proceeds to the consideration of the bearing of scientifio facta upon the
inapired aocount of the creatioD. Under this head he F&Pples manfully wiUt the
three preft.iling theories on this subjeot, and shoWl, beyond all re&8OIl&ble question,
their total inadequacy to lolve all the problems involved in the narrative. The
unavoidable inference is, that the N. C. explanation stands impregnably confirmed,
and that all lOience must eventually pay homage to it.
The following paragraphs will afford the reader a specimen of the luminous expo-
or
sition the Word. which marb the work throughout wherever the theme demands
it. The ~thor is treating of the Deluge, and showing that it is Dot to be under-
stood sa 8 lood of literal waten.
" Daniel ix. 26: 'And after threescore and two weeks shall Meaiah be cut of,
but Dot for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come shall d~ the
oity and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with G flood. and unto the end
of the war desolation8 are determined.' This is 8~ken speoifioally oC the end of
the Jewish church, and it ill declared that it should be with ajlood. as it is reoord-
ed, in the part of GeDesis we are cODsidering, that the antediluvian church was de-
stroyed by a flood. And the 1100d is in both instances of a similar kind. The eom-
maDder of the Roman army and his troops, who were to destroy the literal city of
Jenualem and tread down the extemalsymbols of the Jewish wonhi'p, are here FO-
phetically taken BS representatives of the prince of evil, who, with h18 B8B0Ciateepir-
Ita. had poured into the mind. of the wickea. and rebellious Jews evils and fabdti. in
a flood, and had defiled the inner s8.DCtuary of.their hearts,-the real and the ODly
place where God is truly worahiped,-overthrowing and oarrying away every Tea-
tige of a true church from within them.
"It may be said that this prophecy received a literal fulfilment in the destruction
of Jerusalem by tho Roman&, and that their army is here figuratively spokeD of as
ovemmning it like a flood. To this we reply, that it did receive a literal fulftlmeD'
in regard to the literal city j but the city of Jerusalem, merely as a city, was
of DO more importance in a spll'itual point of view than the city of Cartbage, and it
was onl! that it stood as a representative of a church that it ever became a subject
of 88crea history. The Jewish ",urch is here the main subject of the pr~hecYt and
it is to her destruction a, a ,llurch that it mainly refers; and DO army of liter8l 801-
diers, however large, can ever destroy a genuine church. If they could, then would
the early Christian churoh have perished several times under the persecutiOD8 ij
encoantered. Merely external aS8aults ~nnot overthrow, but only serve in reality
to 8trengthen and consolidate it, if animated by a true spirit. The only army which
can destroy a church with & 11000. is an army of wicked spirits, with their evil lusts
and false ~rsuaaions. And this was in reality the flood which destroyed the Jewish
churoh, otherwise it never would have come to an end. Tbe destruction which bap":
pened to their material city and temple was only a correspondence and outbirth of
that spiritual wasting and destruction which had previously been wrought in their
inner nature, and affords another instance of the liistorical development of the law
of ~ODdences.
U MaDy, resting in the merely ~olitioal fulfilment of j)rophecy, may think that it
,",quire, no other explanation. Those who can see onfy eXtmDa1, natural, and . .-
IUOns things in the Scriptures may, of course, if they choose, continue to do 80; but
we must say to them, tlley need not expect that they thereb~ come at the Wold or
God, for they do no" but oDly at the representative symbols m which the Word of
God is clothed."
Cl In Am08 viii. 8: C Shall not the 1&nd tremble for this, and eVf!r1 one moam thAt
dwelleth therein' And it shall rile up wholly as G .flood; and it shall be cut out
1812.] 479
aDd drotnled, u by the lood of ~.1 ThiI ~~, .. IDaJ be . . frca the
context, relates to the end of the Jewiah churoh aDd aiIp8D_tioD, ir.ad i' __y aJIo be
said to apply to the final & end' foretold in the Scriptures, which is the end of 'he
first Christian church, or apostolical dispensation; the prophecies relating to which
are commonly lap~ to prediot the 'end' or destruOtlOD of the preeen' geologioal
economy of the physioal world. Flood is again U88d .. a Iimilar npneellfaaYe in
Amoe ix. 5.
U Nahum i. 7, 8 : & The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day or trouble, and he
moweth them that trust in him; but with an overnumin~ .flOod he will make an
utter eDd oC the place thereof, and darbeIB shall puna hiS enemiee! The truth.
is, that not onlI did the antediluvian, patriarchal church. come to an 'eocl' by a
flood, but all others which fall awaI into depravit)' and heresy come to their end
also by a 1100d, and of the same quality-namely, of evilt of nfe and falsities of doc-
trine.
" That it is the devil and his angels who produce a flood, and the charoh which is
the object threatened by it, may be seen from the account of the dragon and the wo-
man, pven in the book of Revelation : & And the serpent cast out 01 his mouth tlKJter
tU lJ flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried GtlJtJy of tA, jIood."
That the ae~nt or dragon here represents the devil, or Satan, and tJie woman the
church of the Lord, we presume will be generally admitted. .
U As the flood described in Genesis swept away every thing that was ~ood or true
in the church of that age, save the small remnant that was preserved WIth Noah, 80
it ultimated in the final destruction and aotual disappearance of the reet of the hu-
man raoe from the earth. This was the natural resUlt of the laws which goyern the
human constitution; one which illustrates the eminently normal character of the
methods of the Divine Providence, and the intimate conneotion that exiltl between
the moral and physicallawa, and the equally organio nature of both.
"The antediluvians immersed thelD8elves 80 deeply in lustB, and gtt.ve themJe1ft1
up so fully to sensual pasaions and gratifications, that their ph~cal constitutions
became d18eued and corru~ted, until at length the original enerpes of the race were
emausted, and their p08tenty finally died out. A process 80mewhat similar to this,
though on a much smaller scale, is now going on among several varietiee of the pre-
sent human race, who, having been recently brooght into contact with the more ex··
citing temptations of a superior oivilization, without p088e88ing the moral stamina t-o
withatand them, their whole nature being ~tly corrupted, are now rapidll melt-
inK away, and must sooner or later entirely disappear. Such is the C888 WIth our
American Indians and the inhabitanta of the Sanawioh Islands; and a large portion
of the Bengaleae, with ·many other Asiatio and Polynesian tribes, must in time un-
doubtedly follow."
Our space does not allow us to go into particulars, but this is the lesa nece. .ry,
as the book itself will no doubt very Boon ftnd its way into the hands oC a large por-
tion of our readers.
I

2.-Krrro's DAILY BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS. Evening &rie,. YolI. 1. and 11. Job
and Isaiah. New-York: Robert Carter & Brothers. 1852.
These volumes are a continuation of the valuable series of Biblioal Illaatrationa to
which we ea1led attention IOme months since. They deal, for the most part, with
the simple letter, though aiming at a practical purpose, but in accompliahing this
cnd the author has brought to bear, in a very happy manner, an immeD18 amount
oC illustrativo learning, which is rendered ltill more eft'eotive to his end by means of
piotorial designs. As we are taught that the letter is the basis of the spirit, evers
thing that tends clearly to develope its purport, divest it or obscurity, and set it be-
fore us in ita fulneea, has a positive value to the Newchurchman, and one who ia
seeking luoh subsidiaries cannot well a~ord to overlook the present excellent series
of Mr. Kitto.
480 Not,ice, of Book,. [Oct.
3.-TaE LosT SENaD, DIII/"", atad Blind"",. By JOHN KnTo, D. D., F. 8. A.
New-Yark : Roben Carter It Brothers. 1852.
This work is by the author of the Beries of Bible illustrations noticed above, who
had the misfortune to 1088 his hearing entirely at the age of twelve 1~. The o~
ject of the present ;"ork is thus stated by the author himself. Cl My caae is this.
It has pleased Providence that three-fourths of a life, now at ita meridian, ahould be
passed in the most inteD88 DEUNESS to which any living creature can be subjected;
and which could not be more entire had the organs condooiDg to the senee of hear-
ing been altogether wanting. It is the consequenoes resulting from this position,
that form the theme which].. have now placed before me. For one who ia d~ my
life has been studious; and for one who has been both deaf and stodioua-or in-
deed, for anyone-my life has not been uneventful. I know DOt, however, that 1
have any right to obtrude the events or studios of my nfe apon the public notice;
and it is not my intention to refer to them further than may be neceuary to briDg
out the pointa and peculiarities of the deaf condition. From the multif'arioua mat-
ten arising from the activities or a life which once seemed doomed to inertiOD, I
shall select those only which arise from, which illustrate, or which are in any re-
markable way connected with, my deafness." With this object in new, accord-
ingly, he proceeds to unfold, in a vastly interesting manner, the circumatances to
which his deaineas was owing, and the thousand-fold phases of his subeequent ex-
perience. Under the various heads of Speech, PercuBBions, Sight, Di8qualilcatiODB,
COIDIDUDicatiOll8, Society, ete., he descanta at leDgth upon the various infelicities or
luch a cODdition, while at the .me time, in the spirit oC a resigned and pious man,
he gratefully reoounts the 8everal compensatioDs which, in the ordering of a kind
Providence, go to IOften and alleviate the ills of luch a lot. The work atroagly 8D-
chains attention, and though the author speab modestly of the attainment. made
under all the disadvantages to which he was subjected, yet to the literary Uld the
Christian world it is well known that they are astonishingly great aDd varioaa.
There is at this day no name which stands deservt'dly higher in biblieallore tbaD
that of Kitto.

4.-THJ: MORMONS, OR LATTEa-DAY SAI~TS, in th, Valley oJ till Great Salt la.;
History of their Rise, P'·O/CTes&, Peculiar Doctrinu, Preunt Condition, and PrO$-
peel', derifJtd (rOl1& personal observation during a f'tsidmu amotlg thtm. By Jieut.
J. W. GUNNISON, of th, Topographical Engineers. Philadelphia: Lippincott~
Grambo & Co. 1852.
We have long been of the opinion that the phenomenon or
ltformonism was pecu-
liarly worthy the oonsideration of Newchurchmen as a kind oC antithesis to that 818
tem of doctrine and life which they have embraced. If that which is true, pure,
and heavenly ia prone to call into being that which is false, impure, Bud infernal,
then it may reasonably be expected that 'such a complete antagonism to the New
Church .. that which the Mormonite institute aft'ords would be developed. This
" oounterfeit presentment" of a religion from Heaven, stands, in a multitude of par-
ticalars, in the directest Contralt with the New Chureh~ bllt in none more than its
vile doctrine of marriage. The CODjUgial element of the New Jerusalem, holy and
immaculatB as its Divine Author, forma on8 of the mOlt characteristio featune of
that dispeDaation. Right over aDd againlt tbia in Mormonism is the ·polygamicalt or
"spiritual wife" tenet, &8 direct &n emeati011 from heD as is its New Churoh oppo-
 1852.] Notice, of Book,. 481
site from Heaven. The antithetio contrut between the two systems might be drawn
oat at mneh greater length, and in this relation the present volume by Lieut. Gun-
Di80D ie peculiarly valuable. It is the fullest acoount of Mormonism as a pseudo.
religious creed which we have anywhere met with. Indeed, we know of DO work
or equal compasa which gives in every respect a more satisfactory view oC a very un-
satisfactory and repulsive 811bject.

5.-THE LIJ'E AND LETTJ:llS of BortAold Georg, Niebuhr. Witl& Euoyt on Ai,
C1uI.rader tlnd InflumCl. By tAe CHEVALIER. BUNSEN and PrO/eliOT' BRANDIS and
LoXBELL. New-York: Harper & Brothera. 1852.
The literary interest of_this book is very great. Recording as it does the develop-
men' of ODe of the most splendid intellects of the age which it adorned, it is finely
adapted to kindle that scholarly enthDBiasm which is the best pledge of success and
eminence in the waIb of 8cience, literature, or art. The subject of the volume was
a IOn of the distinguished oriental traveller, Carsten Niebuhr, &, native of Denmark,
and himselfbom at Copenhagen, in 1776. His fame resta mainly on his work on
Roman History, which is universally conceded to be scarcely without a parallel in
the reeearch evinced, and the masterly power of analysis by which he separates the
fabulous from the veracious in the works of Livy, and the other chroniclers of the
early periods oC the Roman story. He stands unrivalled for the power of penetrat-
. ing ~e mists, that is to say, the myths, of antiquity, and pouring the focal light of
truth upon the obscurities of remote eras. His historical writings form an era of
their own in this respect. In the volume before us, which is made up mainly ofhia
letters, we contemplate the proceM by which he became what he WOB. The child
wae, in this case, pre-eminently the father to the man. Of a wonderfully precocious
genius, we here learn the variou8 disciplines by which that genius was perfected,
and cannot but admire the stem good sense of parents and teachers in 80 restrain-
ing, tempering, and guiding his youthful ardor as to maintain a proper equilibrium
in the development of his powers, and prevent the outgrowth of vanity and BcioIism.
That which he 80 much deprecated in his own infant son was happily never realized
in himself. U I could Dever be consoled if I were ODe day to 8ee him go out into the
world as aD arrogant young collegian, or an empty block-head and shallow prater,
or 8.8 a vain fool seeking to make himself of importance, not by real ability, but by
meaDS of unwarranted pretenaiODs or dectation, which is the cue of 80 many
of our young 'people now-a-days." The letters embraced in this volume, though
many of them might have been omitted without detriment to the interest of the
American reader, contain Nie'6uhr'8 opinions on a vast variety of subjecta of inte- ,
rest to every cultivated mind, and nearly all the distinguilbed penonages of his
or
time come under review in 80me part of his correspondence. The pleaeure read-
ing is next to that of being present at a JJOiree in his parlon where one is favored
,nth the freest intercoune with the diatingaiahed entertainer.
It has probably eaoaped the publiaher8' DO~oe that the name of one of the three
authon mentioned in the title-page is erroneously printed-LoTblll iDltead of Loe6ell.

G.-TIm ARCTIC SEARCHING EXPEDITION: t.I !Ofl,rnal of 4 Boat-voyag, through Ru-

p'nf', Land and tAl .Arctic Sea, in "arch of th, Discovwy-lhip, under command of
Sir 1.04" Frtl~lin. With GR .A,~di% OR tlu PApicol Geography of Nort/"
Amt'rua. By Sir JOBJllUcILUlDION1 C. B., F. R. S. New-Vork: Harper && Bro-
thers. 1852.
481 No,ice, of Books. [Oct.
The 1_ of Sir John FruakJin and his party, it they.re loet, is likely to be in
IOID8 pod meuare OODlp8Dl&ted by the large acC8lliODl made to our previous stock
of knowledge of the geography, geology, inhabitanm, &0., of the extensive boreal re-
pona which haTe been explored in learch of them. If the report of the U rapping-
'Pirita" in a circle at which we chanced, by invitation, to be present some months
since, be reliable, this is about all the propitious result that bida fair to follow from
the benevolent efForts of governments and individuals to obtain a clew to the fate of
the noble adventuren.' To the question whether any information on this subject
would be communicated by the spirits, the reply was spelt out: "Search is uaeless,
unl881 you pus the bounda of earth." Whether this relpOD8e itself came from U be-
yond the bounda of earth" or DOt, it seems on the whole a very probable statement
of the fact. If so, it may perhaps be presumed that the Divine Providence will 80
order it that a greater amount of UBeful information will be the result, in the end,
of the attempt to discover the lost discoverer than if he had been spared to accom-
pliah his object, and return in Bafety. In that case, we might have had the details
of a bleak and fearful voyage over the U untillable deep," with com~rativeI,. little
touohing tlN"tJ jirma. and ita tenants, which to the great interests of science and
humanity is of vastly more moment than the log-book records of the tempests and
tOlBings in the Arctio Ocean, even though the much desired passage should be actually
dilcovered. Such a communication between the Atlantio and Pacific Oceans could
never be of an1special practical adVantage to commerce, while the exploration or
the immeD88 territorie8 of the Esquimaux may be the first step to the bringing them
within the pale of civilization and the blesainga of Christianity. ThiI may be the
ultimate issue of those successive searching expeditions which have been lent OQ~
from England and this country, one or which forms the subjeot of the present
volume. This work the author has made the repository of a rich fund of informa-
tion respeoting the region over which he travelled, and no one who is ourious in that
department of knowledge can fail to rise from the perusal conscious of a valuable
incre8le to:his former store8.
7.-Jovax.u. 01" A VOYA.GE from Bo,ton to tJu West Coast of Africa: tDith a full
Dacription of tlu ManMr of Tradift! fIJi'' ' the Natives on tl&l CoaIt. By J. A.
CA-aND. Boston: J. P. Jewett. 185....

We hope Mr. Cames has made a fortune by his traffio on the African Coast, lM)
that he can &frord to bac1c his publisher in bringiDg out a work which dpee Dot prom-
ise to haTe a very brilliant run. Mr. Jewett, however, has cultivated the African
lOil to 10 good purpoee in " Unclo Tom's Cabin," that he little needs to consult BUre..
ties, &8 a mil, in this instanoe will be easily and a hundred fold compensated by the
Ait made in the other. The great fault of the book is in Mr. Carnes' evident inex-
perience in the art and mystery of literary composition. The book-making tact is a
marked deaideratwn throughout. The cerebral organ, if there be any such, which
ahoDld preside over lUoh a fUDotion, has never been properly developed. The couse-
quenGe is, we have a volume whioh might be 8&fely reduced to one half ita dimeu-
siODl, without the leaat detriment to the merit of the remainder. In the portion
omitted should be contained many pages of florid description, together with not a {elf
or a BeDtimental vein, which are the reverse of edifying. With these abatemente the
work would be round ot very ooDliderable interest in reference to that portion of
Africa which he vilited. Indeed, a work relative to these limple, arUe~ iD£antile
1859.] EtlitorialltelU.
people mat be uoeedingly de£eoQve Dot to be in a pea_ ...... redeeaed by the
intriDsio attraoRQIl of the mbject. eIp8Oially.. i. appeaJa to ~e miBd .nd }lean .-
.. NewchurohmuJ, who I8ellIO much more in the African genius ad dlltiay ~ iI
open to the perception of othen. Suoh, notwithstanding all our uoepaOlUl, it ~e
cue with tho volume before us. It is evidently a Btraightfonrard, truthful relation of
the inciden. of the voyage made by tile author, and we are happy to And that he
or.
has a juat indignation in view the horrid abomination8 of the IIlave trade, .. per-
petrated from port to port, throughout that lODg extent of cout. Viewed in this
light, the tendency of the book is good, and for ounel,. we are glad. of ite publi-
cation.

BDITORIAL ITBJlS.
The second and third~Nos. oC the new weekly paper, Cl The Age," edited by Rev,llr. Wig-
gins, haa just been issued, and the prospect oC .. competent support, we learn, is becom-
iDK more and more encouraling.

FrolU a letter recently received from. LondoD, ,ye extract, with pleuun!, the following:
.. Oar friond Mr. Noble has 10 far reco'Vered bis health 81 to be able to attend, as a hear-
er, the service of the church, and hil sight is so much improved as to enable him to dis-
cern the features of the face, and thus recognize" indi viduals." This, we believe, is the
successful result oC some late 8ul'lical o~rations on the eye.

The Spiritual Telegraph for Sept. 23d, announces a Discussion on the reality and ultra-
mundane origin of the eo-called 11 Spiritual Manifestations" at our day, wherein Dr. B.
W. RICHMOND. of Ohio, will a&8sil. and Editor S. B. BaJTTAN,OC the Telegraph, will de-
fend, the Spiritual theory.! They are both able and caustic disputontl, and will vigorously
maiDtain their respective positioDs. The discussion commeDces next week (30th), and
will be read by many with vivfd interest.
We hail with unfeigned pleasure the new postage law. the operation of which com-
mences with the present month. We shall anow ourselvel to look upon it 88 one link in
the chain of pledges going to assure us oC the ultimate breaking down of that odious
impost by which the intercourse oC individuals and nations has beelllO long hampered.
To an enlightened retrospect at some tutare day it win doubtless be a matter oC profound
astonishment that such oppressive statutes were so long 8ubmitted to, especially as the
result will have proved, \vhat might easily have been foreseen, that the liberal policy was
at tlle same time the most productive. \Vho can question for a moment that iC ocean post-
age, for instance, were reduced to a penny an ounce it would produce a far greater rev-
enue, if not at once, yet in a Ihort time, than is derived from tho present exorbitant
rates' To tbis complexion it will DO doubt come at last, and in the mean time we rejoice
at every approximation towards a juster standard, oC which the present Jaw is undoubt-
edlyone. It estabU.hes a reduced rate of pOSlale on all printed matter, which bearl1'8ry
propitously upon the New Church Repository. As the weight of eaob No. is between two
and three ounces, the postage to any part of the United States will be but otU c,,,,
per No.•
and if prepaid quarterly at the office Crom which they are taken, but half Cl (,Mt MeA, or
.iz t:fftt. per annum. Nothing could be desired more reasonable than this, and if we
!Ihould continue the work another year, we trust it may remove objections to ·subscription
which we are aware have been widely operative under the former absurd, complicated,
and oppressive Iystem.

•
 484 Editoriallle".,. [Oct. 1852.
Rev. H. WaIler, of GraDd Rapids, Mich., continues hie paper, the et Critil," which
.1. .,- ha. alticJ. oC mtereal, partioularly the _mons. though we ooc••ionalJyligbt UpoD
panagnpha ~ which our preeent degree of illamiM.tioa does Dot eaable liS 10 respond.
Thu.. for instance, the followiDI paaap ha. a sound about h that grates aolDewhal
harshly upon oDr _re. cc A. a relio oC anti-Christ we regard the iDdilCrlminatiq feeliug
of authority whioh oar New Church friends attaeh to the name aDd writiDss or E. 8., and
we know it is a Ireat stumbling-block in the way of the descent oC the New Jerusalem into
tbe livOl oC those whose eyes are scientifically opened to the light streaming from the Holy
City." Now is it necess81'J that this should be enounced in luch emphatic phrase, that it
should be made to stand out in luch conspicuous relief? Is there any special danger within
the New Church olan over-eetimateof Swedenborg's authority? Is it to the authority of the
mall that the New Church defers, or is it to the Divine Truth m the man 1 If the latter.
11 there a likelihood of men'. loing to an extreme in this direction 1 So far as our obser-
ftlion and experience go, we have not observed any special tendency to an idolatrous or
anti-ehriltlan Yiew ot the illuminated herald of the Neaw Church, nor do we see any thing
in tho profoundesl respect for his autbority, properly appreciated, which interferes in any
'~ay with that supreme study of pracUcallifo that forms 10 much of the theme oC Mr. W.'s
writin, and preaching. On the coqtrary, we are persuaded that the most marked indUrer-
eoce to the living, r.eneratillg power of the doctrines will be witne.sed amoDI those who
cherilh a lisbt esteem of Swedenborl's authority, from an overweening conceit of the all-
lu8ioieQC1 oC their own reason, intuition, or illumination.

ML C.o••'. INsKCT8.-A great deal of discussion has lately taken place in the scien-
tific world in reference to certain experiments of Mr. Crosse, an amateur philosopher of
Somersetabire, England, who was said to have created insects called the ..dcanu CrOllti.
It was a mistake, however, to !uppoae that Mr. Cross8 claimed the creation of the insects,
for he only alleges that he has been enabled to deveJ"p insects under the most singular cir-
cumstances. Our Consul at Liverpool, Mr. s. F. Ogden, has recently visited the house of
the phllosollher, and in a letter to ne NationallfltcUigtflctr, gives this account of \vhat he
saw:
le I own to utter incredulity until I bad the opportunity of a thorough examination of

the process, and 0. lnU explanation of t.he means. No room. wasleR for doubt. No delu-
sion, no self· deception, no favorite hypothesis to be carried out, had any influence in the
result. On first witnessing tbe result, Mr. Crosse would not believe his own senses. He
locked up his laboratory, and took a long walk in the open air to assure himself tbat he
was Dot laborinl under some illusion. On his ret.urn be beheld the aCtual living insect in
various stages of its formation. The apparatus WIlS prepared for the purpose of producing
crystals from the silicate of potalh.
I f A lubulated retort, with ita long end plunged in a ghus dish of Dlcrcury, hlls a platina
wire pa_ing through it. connected with a negative pole of a weak galvanic battery.
Through a neck in the retolt. hermetically sealed, another platinR wire, immersed in tbe
caustic solation, communicates with the positive pole. The bnlb of the retort is two-
third. filled with a most carefully prepared caustic solution of Silex ond potash. PQ.le
black llintl and caustic soda, after "being subjected to l\ \vhite heat, arc pulverized and
melted into a glass, which is soluble in distilled wat~r. In this solution ll0 animal HCl~
can poulbl, exist, nor can there in the mercary. The whole was then placed l1pon :t
shelf for oonstant iD.pection. A gelatinoullubstance WaS lint observed to have roml~
around the bottom of the positive wire. 'fhen No. 1 made its appearance, gmdoaUy
expandiDI into Nos. 2 and 3, when fiexible filaments were observed. No. 4 began to
Ibow animal Hre, and, Idler one hundred and forty days' watching through all it!
chups, the perfect liviDg ineect crawled up the wire !-not lingly, but in sufficient num-
ben &0 dispel all doubt. if an,. could have existed, and prepare<l for another stage of life.
Like our DlOlquitoes, that emerge from the element in which they are prodaeed. and are
drowned in it if they retum; any unfortunate stragRler that missed his hold immediately
perished. The Acams Croasei is now known 8S a distinct species."

•
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHLY REVIEW.

'-============_=:_-_._--
.1. V. -_. - ~=-=-=======:::::::::::-::=========;::;;;::

1~'ElUBEB, 1812. le. 11.

w.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
AllTlCLB I.

BOOKS.
SOMB one has said that we are born with three worlds about us-
a world of nature, a world of meD, and a world .of books; hut in this
trinity there is a unity, and they are all governed by the same funda-
mental law. The objects ,vhich impress our senses are fixations of
matter, more or less temporary, and perpetually changing, whioh
represent or dramatize to the natural man the spiritual mutations by
which they are caused. This is the book of nature which, wheD _
rightly interpreted, is the exact portrait of the Book of Revelation.
This is the book which contains what Goethe by l\ bold paradox has
called " the open secret." The key to this secret is found in the ICi. ·
ence of correspondences, as revealed by S\vedenborg. As the natu-
ral world is the outbirth of the spiritual, and as the body is an in-
carnation of the soul, so a book is a projection and fixation of an
author's mind-a crystal condensed by the subtile chemistry of the
spirit, from the great human auras of a1fection and thought. A book
is the material medium by which the man is perpetuated for the good
or injury of his fellows, long aner his body has perished. The words of
the sage, and the songs of the poet would be lost forever, after a brief
vibration in the air of Dsture, and in the memory of their bearers ;
but embodied in the few but flexible characters of printing, tbey be-
come like the enchanted statues in the Moorish cavern, apparent))'
dead and powerless, but instinct '\vith the spirit of immortality.
It would be interesting to know the origin and rationale or this
process--the mechanical part of which is so well unde.rstood, but"
which is so potent in its effects, and 80 mysterious in itself: History
gives us authentic information about the various materials-stone,
VOL. v. 32
 Boab. [No".
wood, 1~ave8, wax, oIoth, parchmeDt, or paper, 1II8d by cWrereat DB-
tiolUl for writing UpoD, and details allO the saoceaive improvements
iD these. It traces the changes in the dUfereDt alphabets of the
world, and some of the relatioDship. which exist amoDg them. aDd
reoords many of the mutatioDI iD form and meaning of the words
themaelves. But upon the fundamental question it pallellea neither
names or dates. The origin of the art of writiag-of the art by
which the thought of one man is projected in definite symbols OD a
plain surface, so as to be reftectecl to the ey~ of another, is entirely
unknown. Some attribute the invention to Moses, some to Abrabam,
and some very gratuitously to Adam himself: All concede that it
came from the East-that starting-point of all mysteries. This sim-
ple fact alone will suggest to the Newchurchman the i~e, that the
whole series of phenomena con"nected with books and book-making,
are Bpontaneities of the spiritual state by the laws of correspondence,
natural divine gifts to the first men of our earth, which were lost or
rendered obsolete by spiritual debasemeDt, and are gradaally recov-
ered or restored (apparently to the man himself in"en~ed) during the
progreB8 of human elevation.
Trench, in his admirable little book on the "Study of Words,"
BCOUt8 the idea that the savage is the primitive man, and contends
that tho poverty of his language is the proof and fruit of his degrada-
tion. He is not merely a grown child, making his words as he needs
them, and developing, under natural laws, to a state of mental cul-
ture. He has lost words by losiDIt ideas, just because the body per-
ishes after the spirit has fled. Not a century ago a certain Caflir
tribe had 8 familiar word-MaMmo-him that is highest, meaniag
God. Travellers now tell us that during the striking degeneration of
this tribe, the word has been almost totaJ]y lost. The language of
savages is rich enough in words which correspond to their predomi-
nant affections. A people of New Holland, which have no name for
their Creator, have got a term to designate a complicated process by
which "n unborn -child is destroyed in the bosom of its mother. .A..
tribe on Van Dieman's Island has 'four words to express the taking of
human life, Done of them makiDg any distinction between to kill aDd
to murder, and yet they have DO articulate sound to exprelS the pare
feeling of love. Words, however, are but the units of which
books are the aggregates. If spiritual wisdom had ever a place
with men, then found it a sure outbirth in the making of books.
The first eleven chapters of Genesis constitute an august frag-
ment of the early book-making of the human race, of which the
chronology and the criticism alike are beyond all natural re-
search. Only by 8SSwning or getting into the spiritual states of its
people can we recall the arts and philosophy of that golden age. We
are sure that it existed, and that it passed away, leaving on the cloud
palaces of Oriental history and literature a few bright mementoes of
the sun which had departed. Each one of our historic nations may
have had its Cadmus, but be was no more than a kiDd1y pioneer
planting in new soil the seed which his ancestry had brought from
the miraculous garden.
I ut.] 48'1

Upon thia I1lbject, to thole who are 10 fortunate as to appreciate

hi. alaiml, the evidellee of Swedenborg is invaluable. He tells us
that there are books and writings in the spiritual world of the
most complicated and wonderful character. He says the angels are
Dot obliged to learn to make letters and words, but that the whole
facnl&y and material of oomposition is as natural and spontaneous to
them as their speech. Letters and words, therefore, exist for use.,
and are created by correspondence, just as minerals, birds, flow-
en, &e., are created, representiDg component parts and phases of
our .piritual life. The history and progress of human invention
viewed spiritually, is the descent or ultimation of the art! and IOl-
ences of heaven into oor natural sphere. To this of coarse there is
no conceivable limit. Swedenborg says positively that the angelic
style of writing belonged to the most ancient inhabitants of this
earth; ·and that some of it was not lost, but transferred to the letters
of the Hebrew language, making the very iotu, dots, and tlttlea oC
the Holy Bible full of divine sigDificance.
The method of communicating ideas by books is then eDgrafted
on our mental constitution, and therefore common to our prelent and
our fature states of existence. God himself is the first Great Author,
and if we look below the phenomenal lurface, the only Author, (or
the love and the wisdom of His Infinite Book includes the minor
sparkles of love and wisdom, human or angelio, jDst as the ocean iD-
eludes its waves. This Book, we are told, is preserved in Heaven
with the greatest ceremony, and studied with the greate8t care; and
Providence has wonderfully guarded from corruption its literal form,
which has been entrusted to man. As His Book is the picture of
His infinite attributeSt 80 the books of men. created by the same prin-
ciples of correspondence. are transcripts of themselves, alway. of
their imperfections, and too often of their sios. To the making of
books there is no end, and it is because there is no terminul to the
mental activities of man. The world is still peopled by the spirits
which start up from between the covers ot' books. They are great
levers by which nations are moved, dynasties overthrown, systems
erushed, and humanity elevated. The good and great never die, lave
in the narrow natural sense, but like the air and the water. perpetual
gifts of Heaven, they become the common property of all countri_,
and all conditions. We might complain of death, indeed, if tbe words
of Cicero has perished in the echoes of the Roman Forum, or tbe
genius of Shakspeare been dissipated without a record among his boon
companions. And in what a state of o~utterable darkness would we
now be, if the ~ricelelS thoughts of prophet aDd evangelist had been
committed to the frail memories, and the more treacherous heans oC
men I
Books are the staple or chief food of the mind oC the eivilized man
Conyersation may lie valuable, public speaking and hearing may be
sometimes profitable, but books are the permanent storehouse of
mental nutriment. Full of the facts of nature, aDd oC the creations
o( mind, a library is the festive table of the spirit. There is milk for
the babe, and meat for the strong man, water for the thirsty, and
- lIt»i6. [Nov.
wiDe for the weary, IUbltaatiala for e.e~ Ibade oC taIte, ud .lies-
ciea in great variety, to oroWD the board. There ill medicine for the
sick, aDd, alas! there is poilOD for the DDW&rJ. SubtiJe virus has
been distilled from many a pen, and in this department there is as
yet little prohibition to the sale of tainted SOl&: The spirit pows
jUlt ea the body does by the appropriation of proper material iDlO its
oWD texture, and it is provided with OrgaDI ~f preheasioD, IlUUltica-
tiou, absorptio~ aDd assimilation, just &8 the body iL It has appe-
tites which are StroDg or weak, subordinate or uncoDtrollable, glot-
tonously gross or daintily epicurean. Itl tastes may be depraved or
rational, coarse or cultivated, grovelliDg to the dirt Of evil and error,
or lifted to the subtlest nectars of spiritual truth. Its fUDctions.
liDg)y or collectively, one or all, may be healthy or diseued. The
.pirit, like the body, may be subject to atrophy, and they who reject
tbe "bread of life" may wither down to the borden of annihilation.
These and many other analogoUl or correspoDdential points of physi-
ology and psychology are fall of beauty aDd truth, and worthy of
the most minute cODsideration.
Many books are parely scientific, more or le11 accurate daguerreo-
types of nature, bringing her great featares into a 1111&11 compass, for
our private, ready, and leisurely study. But in the ID8jori~ of the
book, we like belt and read most there is a Iphere of eelf-Iiood, aD
emanation of the author, which ~ffects us in a veritably humaD man-
ner. Against this we must be ever on our discriminating guard; ,ye
mus~ choose from such books as we choose our friends. The man
who makes a bosom friend of V oltaire, Fielding, or Eagene Sue, we
may safely judge to be loose in his principles and habits. The con-
tagion of mental states is as palpable as that of disease, and we may
contract the misanthropy of Byron, and the frivolity of Moore. On
the other hand, we may imbibe from Milton a portion of his dignity
and strength; and from Wordsworth a draught oC his lofty benevo-
lenoe. " The man ofone book" was once considered formidable from
the supposition that by IODg intercourse he had identified himself
with his model. But it cannot be praiseworthy for a human spirit,
innately noble and capacious, to become the mere parasite of any
tree of mortal growth. The cultivated mind should give a liberal
consideration to many books, thorough acquiescence to fe\v, supreme
&u'hority to Done of human fabrication, and every doubtful opinion
should be brought to the infallible test of the standard of all truth.
When the uses to be accomplished &re great, the pleasares which
accompany their discharge are always proportionabJy vivid. A. the
mental faculties are higher and nobler than the bodily lenses, so the
pleasures of study are more delightful than the gratificatioDS of ap-
petite. But every means of happiness which Providence has given
to man, has been perverted by misapplication, or abu.eel by excess.
And reading, like every other act of life, should be regulated by the
~pirit of order, and impelled by an unfailiol spriDg of proper motive.
Our OWD &eD8e of pleasure in readiDI is the last point to be OCHIIDlt·
eel. The common novel-reader ia a literary drunkard or opiQm eater,
always an object of pity, and lOIDetimes of contempt. Some meD
1861.] ~ Partible. EqlGiMtl.......No. X.
I

read too little, and othen too much, when all the circumstances and
obligations of life are considered. I know an intensely indaatrioWl
and deeply pious reoeiver of the New Church doctrines, who has Cor-
borne reading the Heavenly Arcana for years, from a deep sense of
pressing private and p1'Ofesaional duties. No fruit can be espected
of a seed which i. Dot planted at the right time and in the right
place. The eDd in view desecrates or sanctifies oar mentallabors
and pleasures. The deficiencies of the mind are to be supplied, and
its natural capacities enlarged. To read for ostentation or fashion ill
silly; to read to kill time is 80 irrational that we may call it wicked.
That reading is the most profitable to ourse)yest which enables us, by
the knowledge acqaired, to say or do something which will benefit
our neigbbor, in the single or collective sense of that word. The
genuine truth-seeker is the model reader, but his pure, liberal, and
sublime charaeter cannot be depicted in this place.
In oar reading, we mUlt ever recollect ODe thing; that all oor
astronomies, philosophies, IiD&tomies, histories, and ethics, are pano-
ramas oC only partial and apparent truths. In this life, we have DO-
thing but the approximations, and sometimes the shadows of the
reality. Swedenborg wu not permitted to read the writings of the
angels, or be instructed therefrom, so dark were they in comparison
with the Scripture which unite heaven aDd earth. We are on a per-
petual spiral staircase of progress, and the past is not a terminas, but
a stepping-stone for the present. But our last apPf,llal for the solution
of all difficulties, for the enlightenment of the understanding as well
as the consolation of the heart, is to the" Word which was with God,
and which was GoeLIt
W.B. R.

ARTICLE 11. \

THE PABABLES EXPLAINED.

No. x.
THB HOUSEHOLDEB WHO PLANTED A VINBYAJlD.
6C Then wu • certain Householder which planted & vineyard. and hedged f& rouad
about, aDd digged a wine-pr8ls in it, aDd built a tower, and let it oat to husbandmen, and
went Into a far coontry: and when the time oCthe fruit drew Dear, he sent his IervaDla to
the b••baDdmeD mat mey mllht receive the {rults oC h. ADd the halbancJmen took hil
selY&ntl. and beat ODe, and kUled another, and ltoned anomer. Again, he lent olber __
vanU more than the fint j and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he 88Dt UDto
them bit IOn, .ying, They will revereDce my IOn. But when the hasbandmen • • the
SOD, they ..Id amoDI them_I... Tbls is the heir; come, let us kin bim, and let u•
OD hla inheritance. ADd they caDlbt him, and cut him. oat of the ViD.,ud, aDd lleW
.,i.
him. When tbe lord, therefore, of the vibeyard cometh, what will he do unto theee bUI-
bandm8l1 I They ..y UDIO him, Ho wiD mi.rabl, d~troy thOle wicked men. aDd win
let oat Ilil YlDeJIU'd ufo other halbaadment which Ihall reDder him the (mill in dleir
"1OO••It-MAn. aXl. 33-41.
Q. Who i. to be undentooel here by the Boue1IDl4,r ,
A. The Hoaleholil.r il tbe bOAUAT. GOD, wlao.e Da•• iw JIItr.
CSBIIT.
Q. ADd why is JBI1JI ODIIT called & Householder 1
 [Nov.
A. Because' He is All in All in His hoose, which is Heaven and
the Church.
Q. What do you mean by J_UI CRUST being All in All in Heaven
and tbe Church 1
.A.. By JBSt18 Ca.lsT being All in All in Heaven and the Chllrch,
is meant, that Heaven and the Church, Of, what is the same thiDg,
the angels of Heaven and men of the Church, are formed from, and
sastained by, His divine love and wisdom, so that there is nothiDg in
. Heaven and the Church but what is under the guidance and govern-
ment of those divine principles, consequently, under the guidance and
govemment of J BBU8 CRllIST Himself:
Q. But how doeR it appear that Heaven and the Church can, with
any propriety, be called the MUle of JESUS COBIST 1
.A.. It appears from this consideration because they are so called in
the Sacred Scriptures. For the temple built by Solomon is sometimes
called a temple, aDd sometimes a house; and this is the ease, too,
with the temple laeen in vision by EzekieJ. And since there is e~ery
reason to believe that both these temples, or houses, were types or
figores of Heaven and the Church, therefore there can be DO impro-
priety in calling Heaven and the Church the Lord's house. More-
over, a house means a place to dwell in ; and, according to this mean-
ing, Heaven and the Church may fitly be called the house or habita-
tion of Jaus CRRIST, inasmuch as He dwells in angels and men.
agreeably to His own words, when He Sa)'9, If a man IOWJ me, As unU
1reep m, 1DOrd" and my Father will love him, and we will come 111ItO
him, aM make our abode tDith Aim (John xiv. 28).
Q. And what do you' understand by this Householder planting a
v~~~, .
.A.. A vineyard is a place where vines grow; and by 1\ vine is sig-
nified spiritual truth, which is the truth of GOD'S MoST HOLY WOJlD,
spiritually understood, according to which sense JESUS CSBIST calls
Himself the True Vine. The vineyard, therefore, herA spoken of,
denotes the reception of such truth by the men of the church; and
therefore the men of the church, or the receivers of such truth, are
called by the Prophet, the vineyard of the LORD OF HOSTS, where it is
written, The vineyard of the LOB» OF HOSTS U the Iwuse of lwael, and
,he fIIen of Judah Hu plea,ant plant (Is. v. 7); for by the hou8e of
l,,-ael and tAe men of Judah are meant the men of the church.
Q. And what do you understand by hedging thi, vineyard about 1
.A.. As the vineyard here spoken of manifestly denotes a 8(JirilutJl
vine,ard, 80 the hedge by which it is encompassed must denote B
Ipirltulllhedge.
Q. And wnat do you mean by a 8piritual "'edge 1
.A.. The meaning of a Ipiritual hedge may be discovered from the
or
use a natural hedge; which latter, every one knows, is for defence
aDd also to distinguish a garden, a field, and vineyard, from that
which is Dot a garden, a field, and a vineyard. In like manner, 8
spiritual hedge is for the defence of a Ipiritual garden, field, or viDe-
iard, and also to distinguish it from that which is not a spiritual gar-
deD, 8~ld, or vineyard.
. t
1862.] TAe lloueAoldw _0 plaNd. V"lJrd. _1
Q. And what would yOl1l&y are chOle priDoiplea of'wDd aDd Jife
which constitute this lpiritual hedge 1
.A. They are all those priaoiples of heavenly love and wisdom
which leads man to distinguish clearly in his own mind between good
aDd evil, between tnUh and error, between what is of GOD aDd. what
is Dot of GOD; thus, between heaven and hell, between licht and
darkness, between what makes an angel and what makes aD i~fer­
nal. For, in proportion to the clearness with which such distinction,
are seen, will be the defence and security of the Ipirit.ual vineyard.
Q. Do you conoeive, then, that defence and security arise from di.-
tinctions 1 '
.L No, not from distinctions alone, but from the arrangement and
order to which distinctioDslead. For it is an eternal law that there
can be no spiritual defence and security without arrangement and
order; and there can be no arrangement and order without distinc-
tion of the principles which are to be arranged and brought wo
order.
Q. Do you recollect any other distinctions which are necessary to
cODstitute the spiritual hedge 1
.L Yea; it~ is necessary for every individual member of the chutth,
who wishes to secure his spiritual vineyard by its proper hedge, to
distiDguish well, in himse~ between his internal and external man,
also between his will, his understanding, and his operation; thus, be..
tween good and truth, between charity, {ai"tb, and good works, becaDR8
his salvation depends, in a great measure, on the conjunction of the..
things in himself; and they can never be conjoined until they be
tint clearly seen and distingoished. .
Q. And what do you understand by the winepre,s which the House-
holder is said to dig in his vineyard 1
A. The meaning of the winepress here spoken ot; can only be dis-
covered from the use of a natural winepress, which, every one knows.
is to separate the juice of the grape from the husk, and thus to dia-
cover and make manifest the quality of the grapes which are pressed
iD it. For. before the grapes are put into the winepress, it is impos-
sible to know whether they be good or bad grapes, sweet or sour,
wholesome or unwholesome. In like manner, without exploration &Qd
examination of man's works, ,vhich are the fruits of his vineyard, i~
is impossible for him to kno\v what is their proper quality, whether
they be good works or evil works-works which will save, or works
which will condemn him; and hence it is to be concluded, that ex-
ploration and examination form the true spiritual winepress which
every wise householder diggeth in his vineyard. '
Q. And what do you further understand by the tower which the
Householder buill in his vineyard 1,
A. The spiritual meaning of the tower, like th~t of the winepress,
can only be learnt from the use of a natural tower; which use, as
every ODe knows, is two-juld, viz., for ob,ervation and W~ j for
observation, in discovering the approach of an enemy, and for defence
against an enemy when bis, approach is discovered. A DaturaJ
tower, therefore, is an elevtUed building. to iDCreue its power of oll-
- Noy.
IervatioD; aad it is also a "rong bl1i1ding, to inorease its power of
defence. Exactly similar is the oase of the spiritual tower, with this
only difference, that the epiritaal tow~r is designed for the observa-
tiOD of spiritual eneMies, and for defence against them. The spirit-
ual tower, therefore, consists of elevated thooght, which is capable of
discovering the approaoh of spiritual enemies, and, at the same time,
ofdefending itself against their assaults.
Q. What do you mean by elevated thought '!
A. I mean thought derived from the truths of GOD'S MOST HOLY
Woo, and exalted to conjunction with JBSUH CauST and His king-
dom, throagh the elevating power of heavenly love and charity.
Q. You have spoken of the spiritual tower in respect to its power
of observation. How do you conceive of it in regard to its polDer of
defence ?
A. The power of observation, arising from a state of elevated
thought, and the power of defence in the spiritoal idea, are ODe and
the same thing; because spiritual defence, in all c~es, is the result
of elevated thought, as spiritual insecurity is at all times the effect
of . Don-elevated thought. ADd the reason is, because elevated
thought, as was observed, is thought exalted to conjunction with
Jaus CUBIST, cODsequently, to conjuDction with his omnipotence;
whereas, nOD-elevated thought, not being connected with the Divine
OmDi~te8ce. has no power at all against spiritual adversaries.
...,.,
Q. What do you understand by letting out tAe vineyard to Iw.ba"d-
.
A. By AuMandmen are here to be understood Ipiritllal Ausband..era ;
and by letting out the vineyard to such husbandmen is meant, the
communioating to them the knowledge of the Eternal Truth. to the
intent that they may cherish it in their hearts and lives, until it brings
forth its heavenly fruitl of love and charity. In the Hame sense, the
LoaD is said to have placed the first man in lite GardeJl of Eden, to
tlreu it, and to keep it, because the garden of Eden. like the vineyard
bere BJ)Oken of, was a figure of man's intellectual mind, stored with
the rioh and holy troths of GOD'a MOST HOLY Won; and to dre•• flrul
::r
uep this garden, is to preserve those holy truths from decay, that 80
may brinr forth their proper fruits of heavenly love, and life,
peaoe.
Q. And what do you understand by tA. Aou,eAolder pftK illlD a
far COUR'", ,
A. By the Houleholder, it &&8 been already seen. is meant tbe
LoD A1ID 8A.vloua J.SUII CBRIIT; and by hi. ~i"g into a far CD1IfItry,
is to be uDdentood his DpptJrent ab,encet whilst man is under the first
iDleminatioD of troth; for, daring such insemination, he is necessarily
led to conceive that GOD is afar 0.1, nor caD he F088ibly get quit of
this IeDtiment, until the truth produces its fruit 0 love and charity;
for it is the .pirit of love and charity which aloDe briDglI GOD" Dear to
ID&D, aDd l8moyes all idea of distance aDd separation.
Q. But it is laid that ID_ lAe 'Uae Dj frait drew lNa,', ,he Houe-
loWer,., Au.tervtnIU to 'Ae "",6mltUaett, ,A", tA,!! _gAl recri". de
(twill 't ",. ~ ,
l\e 'ruit flrtJlDin.r near ,
Wllat do you here odentuad by de . . . "
1851.]

A. By the hIM of de f,..it tlrtlVJing RBlJr is to be understood the

period when tmtht received in the understanding, begins to affect the
will and its love; for the fruit here spoken of i8 the hit of the spir-
i tnal vineyard, and the fmit of the spiritual vinerard is nothing else
bot love and charity, and the good works to which they give birth.
For in the kingdom of grace, as in that of nature, there is a variety
of seasons, answering to the. foul' seasODS of the year, Spring, Sum-
mer, Autumn and Winter. SprinJt is a season distinguished by tbe
first insemination and reception of the Eternal Troth in the human
under.tanding. Summer is the season when loch troth enters and
operates on the ""ill or lotJe, and produces in it Its own heavenly
fruits of righteoosnes.41, joy, and peace. Autumn is the season when
the above fruit is brought to its maturity. And Winter is the season
of spiritual trial and temptation, in which the plants of heavenly
truth take deeper root in the faithfal and patient mind, and are thus
prepared for future seasons of increased fruitfalness and use.
Q. And what do you understand by the Hou,eAolder 'ending Ai'
leMJ(Jnl. to tle Ausband",e71 to receive t1ae fruit' of the vineyard'
A. By the servants here spoken o~ are to be understood the t~ach.
ers of Holy Truth, and thus the troths which they teach, especially
respecting GoD, RS the 801e Author of all that is good in man, conse-
quently, R.S the sole Proprietor of all the fruits of man's spiritual vine-
yard. Not that GOD, for his own sake, wishes to he regarded as such
a Proprietor, bot for the sake of maD, because it is for the happiness
of man that he should acknowledge...;..and acknowledge gratefulJy-
that all the fruits of his vineyard, tha.t is to say, all his love and ebar-
ity, all his @'ood words and work", all his joys and delights, are from
GoD, and therefore properly belong unto God.
Q. But it is said that the lltubandmen. took Ai8 ,ervanu, and b6at one,
and killed tnlother, and .toned another. What do you understand
here by the husbandmen laking hi. 8erva1l16 1
A. By taking the servants, is to be understood, that they appre-
hended th"e truths of GOD'S HOLY WOJlD in their understanding!; bat
that this apprebension was confined to the understanding, and did
not extend its inftuenoe to the will, is plain from its being said after-
\vards that they beat one, killed anotAer, and 'toned tJftotAer.
Q. And what do you understand by these expressions: beating one,
killing anDtAer, and 6toning another 1
A. These expressions denote the different methods of treatment of
the Eternal Truth by those who are Dot willing to submit to its guide
ance and government. For, to beat the servants denotes the peryer.
sion of truth by evils of life; to Itill the servants denotes to depri,·e

t.
truth of its life, by separating it from the spirit of love and charity;
and to nOM the ,erVtl7lu, denotes to fallify truth by applying it to the
confirmation of what is evil and false.
Q. But it is said that ,he Hou.hold,,. again 18,., .,."tmt.
DtA.r mMe
than ,A" fir.', and lAey did U1IIo lihBtDile. What do you here
uDderst~nd by oIIwr ,ervaRU more tAlla tk Jrlt 'I
A. I learn from thele word. tha& the ALllMII'l'Y is Dot a&tishd "itb
praentiilg oDly ORe mMeale- t6 hili ehild"" to ~alre thel' lov~ "hd
 [Nov.
obedience; but if His first me8l&le fails he multiplies His invita-
uas, being desirous, out of His teader love, to try every poeaible
method of oODvertiDg them to Himael~ that 80 He may bleaa them
with all the bl8l8ing& of His DiviDe Love and Wisdom from Him-
self:
Q. Bat it is said that lat of till He .nt to them Hu Boa, 8agiag,
TAey will reverence III,!_SON. What do you understand here, by the
Householder 8ending Bia Son ,
..4. By the Householder lending His Son, is meant, GOD 1/Ulnife" in
tluJ jlaA; for whether we speak of GOD sending His Son i~to the
world, or of GOD manifesting Himself in the flesh, it is the same thiag,
denoting that in the fulnAIS of time the ETBaNAL JBBOVAB, the CaBA-
TO. of all things, descended here on earth, and assumed the BUllA••
ITT, which He afterwards glorified, or made ODe with Himselt; and
.11 this for the purpose of effecting the salvation of man, by subduing
His spiritual enemies, and by giving him continual access to Himself,
in HIS GLOIlIPlBD or DIYIXB HUIIA.ITY.
Q. And what do you under.land by the Householder saying, T1uJy
will reverence my 8on1 .
A. These words were intended to teach, that no expectation could
be more reasonable, than that the IWCAlllfATE GOD, when he appeared
upon earth to instruct, to bless and to save His otherwise lost crea-
tores, would have been kindly and aifectionately reeeived by them; u,
OD the other hand, DO espectatioD could be more unreasonable, than
that the MAKBR of the world, coming down to restore it to His peace
aad love, should be treated with indignity, and finally be rejected,
orucified, slain, and th08 cast out of His own vineyard, which Him-
self had planted, and the fruitfulnes8 of which he was desiroQS of pro-
moting.
Q. But it is said, that when t1&e h",bandmen _aID thB 8011, tAey Mid
atllO"I theruelve8, This is the heir; come, 1st tu kill A_, aad let IU
asUe on hU in1uJrittlnce. What do you here understand by the hUB-
bandmen seeing the Son 1
A. By the Son is meant, God manifestef:! in the human nature;
and by . .ing Him is to be understood, an apprehension of this truth
in the understandiug, for every one may be said to see the SOli OP
GOD who receives, in his intellectual mind, any knowledge concerning
His manfestation in the flesh.
Q. And what do ~ou understand further by the hUlbandlllBll ,agiwg
lIIfIOJIg I/Mruel",_, TAu u the 1&eir: come, let u, kill Aim, and Id tu
_ . 011 Ai. inheritance 1
A. In the origiDal it is expressed, they laid i. themselves, to denote
that this was the interior thought and porpose of their hearts, to
destroy in themselves the revealed truth concerning the manifestation
of GOD in the flesh, because they disceraed clearly that if they admit-
ted this truth to rule in their minds, they could no longer live to them-
selves aDd the world, as they delighted 'to do. With the destruction
of tbi. truth, respecting the IlfOAUATB GOD, was connected the addi.
tional thoulbt and purpose of .izing 011 Ail inherita.ce, because the
,iDheritanoe of God i. the heart of man; and to seize OD tbii inheri·
186t.]
taDce, is to remove the heart from GoD, that it may live uuto itl8l~
without GOD, as every wicked and unbelieving man lives, by peraaa-
-
ding himself that his liCe is Ail OIDII. aDd not GOD'S, aDd thas that he is
hi. own lord and master, independent of GoD,. and of His righteous .
laws.. .
Q. And what do you understand by tAeir tailing Ai.., and CtUting
hi. out of tAe vineyard, aRd killing Aim 1
..4.. By taking In". and ca,tinK Aim out of tAe vineyard is to be un-
derstood, the closing of their understandings against the bright light
of the Eternal Troth announcing the INoAuATB GOD; and by killing
l,im is to be understood, that they yoluntarily destroyed in themselves
the life of heavenly love and charity, which is the essential life of the
IRCAIlNATB GOD.
Q. JBBUS CHJLIST here proposes a question in the following words:
When, there/Me, tAB Lord of Me vineyard cornelA, wAat ",ill AB do to
t./wBe hu,bandmenl Can you assign any reason why J.us Ca.1ST
does Dot himself proDouDce sentence upon the wicked haabandmen,
bot pots his hearers OD the inqoiry concemiDK it 1
A. The reason appears to be this, that the punishment of the
wicked doth Dot come from JUUI CaRIIT, but from themselves,
althoogh the appearance is as if it came from Jaus OSRIIT alone, and
Dot at all from themselves. To lead men, therefore, to correct this
appearance, that 80 tbey may discover what is the true souree and
origin of all punishment, J_UB CBIUST proposes the above significant
question. .
Q. And what do you learn from the sentence itself; He ",ill.uera-
blg de.troy t1UJ8e wicked IJIBR, aRd ~ill let out the vineyard to otAer h ..
bandme7l, 101&0 will reruUr him the fruit. in tMir 8etU011?
A. I learn from these words, that all evil brings upon itself i~ own
destruction; in other words, that wicked men destroy themselves,
although to appearance they are destroyed by GoD. I learn also, the
mClnner of their destruction, th~t it is by separating themselves from
all communication with the Etemal Truth, and thus with Heaven,
where the Eternal Troth is All in All. This separation is signified
by 'he vineyard being let out to otMr h1Ubaradlllan, for the vineyard is
the knowledge of the Eternal Truth; and to be let out to o'her 11.,.
btmd-ma denotes, therefore, that this knowledge was taken away from
those who abused it, to be given to those who would profit by it. I
learn, therefore, further, from the above words, a signal proof of the
Divine Mercy of the MoST HIGB, which leads Him ever to oommuni-
cate to mankind the saving knowledge of Himself; that 10 he may
rwe in their hearts and bless them; and when this saving knowledge
is rejected by one people, it never fails to be immediately imparted
to another. Thus the Divine Providence is continually operative to
establish a church of pure wonhiperl here OD earth, with a view,
at once to extend its blessings, to find forlitself an habitation, and to
provide tor the inorease and sapport of the angelic kingdom.
 [NOVe

AllTICLB Ill•

ON OPPOSING THE
.
FREE CHOICE OF OTHERS. EVEN WHEN THEY
CHOOSE EVIL.
MIt. EDITOll :-Having but just taken up the June number of the
Repository, and read your correspondence and reply in the discussion
of the slavery question, I must confess that I feel somewhat like one
of Job's comforters, the wrath of Elihu urging me to say, " Hearken
unto me, for I too would show mine opinion." ~Qt in doing this I
would first introduce as a cud for the ruminating stomach, a senti-
IDent forcibly expressed in a couplet by a popular Poet,
u 0, wad 1OID9 power the giNe lie UI,
To see ourselves &8 others see us. t1
This sentiment may be as useful in application for me 8S for you,
for us at the North, as for our Southern brethren. Now it is a
truth clearly set forth in the veritiel of the New Dispensation, and
daily experience confirms tbA same, that each individual of us, being
influeDc~d by o~r own peculiar evils, cannot see into ourselves so
olearly 88 we can see out of ourselves, and we canDot lee ou~ of our-
selves any more than what appears on the surfaoe-" By their fraits
ye shall know them." CODsequently we can form but a very imper-
fect judgment of others. A hypocrite may pot on a very fair exte-
rior, and we can judge of it only from the outside-by its consist-
ency. But you may say, what has this to do with the question in
debate 1 The question is slavery: is it an evil, or is it Dot' Welit
OD tbat point I am obliged to grant in the outset that it u an evil,
aDd I grant this OD the principle that I am obliged to ackDowJedge
that our own propriety is nothing but evil. Bot to illustrate this it
may be well to iDquire what constitutes goodness, and what oonsti-
tutes evil. From evil we can never know what goodness is, but from
goodness we rJUJy know what evil is; therefore we will drst inqaire
what 1000nesl is. Goodness, in the abstraot, is the reciprocal and
perfect union of love and wisdom. but this reciprocal and perfect
uDion exists nowhere but in first principles, consequently in tile Infi-
nite. Bat there is no relation between the Infinite and the finite,
therefore all finite existences are imperfect, and all imperfectioll has
ftvil for its proprium ; it may, however, be made to have the sem-
blance of good, bat only by and from the presence of the Infinite Good.
But this presence, however, can have place only by and throogh Buch
an orderly arrangement as is admissive of its inffux. What consti·
tutes this arrangement is summarily taught in the Decalogoe, aband-
&Duy in the Word, and expounded therefrom in the ..ritinga of
Emanuel Swedenborg. -
E. S. teach. in his writinp that the origin of all heresy is by
exalting a subordinate truth to a leading position, makiDK higher
things bend to it, thus perverting the laws of order, and CODleqU8Dtly
in8u &110. All ultrailml are of the lalDe Dature as he~. Our
Lord teaohea as to "seek fir8t the kiagdom of heaven aDd Ita right.
1sa]
eoD8DeI8," and then "all tbiop will ~ added." We oall seek the
kiDgdom of heaven for ounelves, but not for another any further than
our spher& and example may inftuence him. ThuI when" each one
mends one, all will b8 mended," but if each ODe neglects himself in
the etrort to reform another, Done will be reformed.
We have defined goodness, in the finite scale, to consist iD such con-
formity to the laws of order, 8S to admit the Divine infiux. Evil,
therefore, must be luch a perversion of the laws of Divine order, 88
to exclude the Divine influx. Emanuel Swedenborg teaches that the
integrity of the celestial angels consists in the clearest perception and
acknowledgment that themselves-their own proprium-is nothing
but evils. This profound humiliation with them admita the Divine
presence, which continually subdues and qualifies their propriwn.
Let us DOW consider whether slavery, as it exists in the South, is
such an evil as to require an effort on the part of those not engaged
in it, and who are remote from its influence, to suppress it. I should
think not, because slaveholders may, and judging. tree by itl fruit,
many do, seek and obtain the kingdom of heaven with its righteous-
nel8, as our Lord has taught them. It is written ill the Word of
those who trust in the Lord, that "He will lead t~em ill the way
they shall choose." Have we then any right to oppose the free ehoice
of another, and a brother, too, worshiping the same Lord, when we
ourselves are not trespassed on or injared by it 1 For one, I should
not dare to do it, I would rather encoorage a brother to look to the
Lord, ODr glorious Redeemer, for light and strength -to discharge his
daily duties. in that state of life, and in those circumstances, where it
has pleased the Divine Providenee to place him.
If I were called OOt in my judgment, to classify African slavery
among the many evils which exist in society, I should consider the
institution about on a level with many others which obtain, and
which no effort is made to 8uppress, because esperience has taught
that they are necessary tQ our fallen condition. Though of 8. higher
order, our civil and even ecclesiastical institutions are evils, because
if the race were in a state of perfect integrity, we should not need or
have them, for in such case the Lord would be all ill all. His law
being written on the hea.rt, each one then would know and love to
fill his proper place. But in the present condition of the race these
institutions are indispensable; man could not regenerate without them.
If man did ~10t commence his regeneration from selfish and \vorldly
loves, he would not commence at all, for he has nothing else to begin
with. Bat as h~ learns truths from the Word, and forces himself to
obey it, then a new will commences, the first fruits of 8 new birth.
These institutions are nevertheless still serviceable, owing to the cir-
cumstances by which he is surrounded, just like the first blades of the
young wheat, which serves to protect the fruit which is germinating
within, but when the full corn has ripened these blades fall off of
themlelvu, or wither. Let 118 take heed, then, how we pluck off these
young and tender blades, lest we destroy the fruit also. Heresy and
ultraisms are a great pest to the upright, they ~e like Pharaoh's lean
kine, which .devour everything good and wax no tatter by the opera-
tion. It is vain in the New Jerusalem to speak of motives as if they
 488 (Nov.
could justify ft departure from the trutb, or a wrong actioD, for in that
Holy City DO gooil motive can justify either. It is said that 11 all bell
is paved with good intentions." The verities of the New ~eru8alem
appear to harmonize with this, for Emanoel Swedenborg informs os
that the veriest devils in hell believe themselves to be right, and that
the angels are wrong. And the infinite mercy oC our Lord permit.'I
them to indulge their conceits.
Perhaps, Mr. Editor, I have already said enougb, if not to elaei-
date the subject, at least to clear my skirts, even if I were & " watch·
man," in what is directed Ezekiel iii.. Bat, to be candid with you, I
r~all1 thiDk you had fair warning of the consequences before yoo
commenced this crusade on slavery, which, politically estimated,
amount! almost, if not quite, to treason to the highe~t Jaw o( the land.
Sach an impropriety a citizen of tbf\ New Jerusalem should never be
chargeable with. For fear of injury, I have not expressed one-half
the indignation felt, and thoughts suggested, since perusiog what the
June number of the Repository contains. Let this however appear
that others may judge of it in impartial light, and whatever can be
laid in reply I shall be most happy to consider of:
EXOTERIC.

REMARKS.
We rift place to tbe above. as we know the goodnesl aCme motive by which the writer
is prompted, and beeaule we do not like to live occalion to any liniater iDlinuadoD as
though. falr hearing were reruled. to those who might be dilpoeed to caJl iD q aeation our
polltloaa on the lubject to which" Exotedo It retel'l. The piece il somewhat lacking iD
continuity and cohereDcy oC argument, &I we have been obliged to bestow upoo it a verT
clOle ICrutmYJ in order to settle to our own .tisfaction the precise local point in which the
writer would concentrate the drift oC his criticism. nor are we even now quite ••re that we
have mutered iL Tbe liDkl that oonnect his propositionl into one chain of~iDI are
10 lubde as to elOape, iD lreat meuur8, our detection. We gather, however, that be is
·williDI to YOte Ilavery an evil jalt u auythlDI el. il an evil which involves man's pro-
prium iD It, aDd coueqaeDtJ, that the reduciDl oCour fellow-men to boDdage and the lib-
eradDI tbem from It, ltaud in thil re.poet verr much upon a par. Cor the proprium b no
doubt prel8nt more or le.. in the ODe ca. al well al in the other. le he recognize. aay
'W1'" desree ofevU In the I,stem oC lovoluntary Ie"itude than this, he has tailed, we
think. to live UI any clew to it. We need Ilot .y thil comes entirely short of oar views
on that lubject.
In what foDows, his aim teem, to be to oonvict our sentiments on this head of being
open to the charge ofIur",. inasmuch as the, are the virtual cc exalting of a subordiDatt
truth to a leadlnl portion, makiDI higher things bend to it, and thus perverting the laws
oCorder." And being a heresy they must oC courl8 be ultra"m., Cor le all ultraism. are of
the lame namre as heresy." The native operatioDs of heresl and ultraism. will be to
lead a man to n~lect seekiDl the kingdom of heayen first Cor himfelf, but rather to go out
oC himself and seek it. for hil neisbbor. Thil be thinks to be a great miltake. to say tbe
leut, for he caDDot Cl seek the kingdom oC heaven for another any further than our Iphere
and example may inlluence him." Upon this priDciple rests the impeachment oronr count"
Inreprd to the late discussion. But·wemulc relard it as a veryCallaciousprinciple.lnRs.
mach .s it leaves wholl, oat orvlew the in1laence exerted by the communication of truth.
Sphere and example have DO doubt a powerful in1luence In winning men to the kinscJom.
but we maJ" wellll" up the pulpit and the ple., if nothing else Is to be • oC an, aTaIn·ID
1811.] 489
efteodDI the end. Our ld.d cc Emterio" 11 smel, Dot 10 maoh a ftl'lripw to 1be purport
of Swedenboll'l wrftiDp U DOt to be aware of his plOCound explication of the Lord's words
to Peter-CC Gn thi. rock I will build my chUlCh"-in which he thows that ,,.,Ia
it tla,jir.t
priflripk of tle dawda; and if this is the fODction oC trUth, it mUI' nece_ruy haye an oat-
ward declaration on the. part of ita propagators. It I would lead my fellow-meD to BOod
I mUlt make known to them. as Car as practicable. the truth. al well allet before them a
good example, and dift"al8 around me a salutar, sphere. This the anlcle before UI. if we
llDdentand it, Dot only adviJedly Beta aside, bat unequivocally dleapproves. It goes an
along on .the assumption, that we have DO right by remonltrance or the exhibition of truth
to·' oppose the free choice of another, and a brother, wonhipin, the ame Goel. wllen
we ourtelvel are Dot trespalsed on or mjnred by it."
Now of this pOlition we must in caodor .y that in our view it is simply mODltroal j
and if a man were intent upon inlliotinl the moo deadly harm upon the NeW' Church, we
do not see how he could do it more effectually than by preaehinl such doctrines in her name.
'Where do we learn from the Word or the writings of the church that men's evils are to be
nursed with such tender care as 11 here enjoined, lest the good which the, defend Ihould
be injured with it? We are well .\vare that a wise consideration of ltatel and cUeam-
starlces is ever requilite In dealiol with men to their regeneration, but we have yet to
leam that such an entire standing aloof from the evils of our fellow-meD, IDch a complete
and paative acquiescence in them as is inculcated by the tone oC the preMnt anicle is con-
sistent with the Irlt principles ofcommoD charity-we had almost .id oommon 1eD1e.
We have in our remarks OD another article in the prelent No., the communication oC
.. W.'" in tbe conelpondeDce, encouDtered a somewhat limilar, though by no meanl 10
bald an enunciation oC the .me doctrine. What we could 18y iD reply to the ODe is. tor
the most part. applicable to the other also. If we are required to make applicatiOllI
oC Divine truths to ourselveslfor the putting away our own eviI.. we are equally
bound. from the unity that subsists among the Lord's followers, to perform the
same office for others. We are, indeed, 10 8ee to it that our own motive u pare-that we
do Dot attempt to cast out the mote oat of our brother'. eye, while the beam il iD our own
eye; but 'With this condition we maintain that any man il recreant to the dicta1es of true
charity who knowingly et suil"en sin UpOD his neiKhbor." Whether we are perlOnaU, in-
jured or affected by it is a matter oC DO conlequence. The reply made by the uDmoved
listener to a most eloquent sermou, that be was Dot at all wrought upon by it beeaule " he
belonged to another parish." was not more mal-apropos to the demand made upon hil
eenlibilitiel than is the plea of local or personal separation trom the: moral obliquitiel
which come under our notice.
Bat to come to the more immediate subject of the present strictures. The writer puw
the institution of slavery upon a par with the various other civil and eccleliastical institu-
tiODS called into being by the natural exigencies of society, aDd Dot only made Deceua.,.
by its corruptions, but indispenaable to its regeneration, and he hints at some difficulty in
suppressiog his Cl indigoationu at our having .. commenced this crusade on slavery"-a
course which le politically estimated amounts almost, if Dot quite, to treason (!) to the
hiShest law of the land." We had fair warning, it seems, of the consequences, but we
have stUl been Builty of cc such an impropriety as a citizen of the New Jerusalem should
never be chargeable with." Sincerel1 do we hope thatnothinl may ever lay heavier upon
our conlcience than th. course we haye taken in this diacuDion. Such a palpable toler-
ance of eyils as breathel througpout the above article, would occuion as ft.tly more
trouble In a death·bed retrospect. What have we to reflect upon that should live UI
pain in this matter 1 We have endeavored, in th~ spirit of brotherly love, to Ihow that
there was an evil in Ilavery when the relation was matajped i. Cl cmtJi. It." of ",iu-
th"t thil mental state was the essence of the evil-that our ell\veboldinr brethren at the
'. {Nov.
South miah' perupa be ntai.D.iDI thu ••11 to their ,pirltaal iDjal1. We 4icl tIal-. ••.,...
iDg that il it oould be kindly. pt taltbCaJI'Jlhown to &hem. die, miaht be iDdaoecl to pat il
awa, b, an U _.0 reD1IDCiaUOD, ud ever, NewohUlObmua il ta\1lht that .ureyu. maat
be teell it ther are to be repudiated. III accomplllhiD. our object we ha" dealt la DO
aDlI'1 deDuDciatioas. nor haft we urpd . ., thin. like a sadden and yioleDt ditraptioD
oCboDdllike those which connect the tares and. the wheat lOIether. We have eyinaed all
aloDg an appreciative sen. of the di1Bcwti.J political and caau1stio. rrowiq o~t oC the
IDUJ,.
beredlta'1, and, therefore. mvolulllal'J'l relation ill which well-elllpaled slave-muted
find them.lves provideatiaU, placed. Fully aware of thou 8mbarruamenta, we ha" sim-
pI, lOught of them that they will not ~t. the evil and WI'OIl' whioh uaaredly
marked the firlt imposition oC the yoke oC bonds. UpOD the neck of the African. Wllile
we have freely acknowledpd ~. hidden work!. ., oC an all-\yieo aDd merciful Providence
la. the ha", lot oCtlae oolored race in our country."e have. at the .me tilDe. eudeayored
10 pard thil lreat truth apmat abuse by making it iD any depee a plea for oppJetSioa or
a qaletus to cODlCience when its voice was beiDl beard ill the depthl of the 10111.
This then is &be heacl aDd Ironc oC our oiendiDI, and we would eerioQsJy propoee the
qaeltiOllIo our correspondent it &here is a linlle one of t.heIe pOIitloDJI which he il pie-
pared to un,. 1 Is there ODe oC them at yariaDCe with what he aees to be the .-aiDe
principles 01 the New Church, oC whose good name be i. e"identl11O jealous, while at the
..me time he taku, ill our view, a yery straDge method to consult it. 1 Will he DOt tbeu.
qnul he can show their wlIOnance with truth, do well Dot on11 to suppress, but to diacud,
all that et iDdipatiOD." however hol, it may be. which has atined him up to make such a
leverfl protest agamat our mode oC treatiDg a delicate lubject. If he caD point out a fabe
or milchievouI Ceatwe iD that diecu.ioD, we can allure him be IhaUl.ck DO eyideace oC
OUf repeutance aad reformatioD, and he may husband his Cl indignation" till some mol'f'
tlning OCCUiOD shall call it forth.

ARTICLE IV.

INVESTIGATION OF THE U USUS LOQUENDI" OF SCRIPTURE RELATIVE

TO SPIRITUAL CREATION. '
In a recent overlooking oC old paperl, the following article turned up. written twenty-
tour years ago. Being somewhat struck,on perusal, with the approximation ot some of the
leading ideas to the teachioss of th. New Church, notwithstanding that those teaching!
were then a terra iflCOpittJ to UI. we have thought the indertion of it in our pages migbt
Dot be uninteresting, 8S giving evidence oC a certain previous but unconscious prepara.-
t.ion to receive the clearer light of the New Jerusalem. The existence of such a prepara-
tiOD is probably for the moat part a very sure pledge tbat the Divine Providence will in
some way bring &he subject oC it in contact with the truth. The reader will pardon the
use of the Greek .nel Hebrew terms, al the object ot the article could not be well accom-
plished without them.-ED.
THAT some of the modern principles of intE'rpreta.tion are decidedl}-
hostile to the recognition of ,econdary or lIfJirilual senses in the in-
spired Volume, is equally plain to be perceived, and deeply to be re-
gretted. We readily admit that fanciful expositors ha.ve often set the
example of visionary interpretation, from the dAyS of Origen down-
wan!; and that men of weak minds and meagre attainments in
Biblical science, frequently disfigure their public teachings with sach
unnatural, childisb, and whimsical oomments, as to disgust the so·
 ,
1852.] .- Usus Loquendz'" of 8criptul-e. 501

ber hfJ!arer, ,,-hile thpy afford matter of profane jPst to the light mind.
ed. For this licentious interpr~tati()n \\'e are no advocates; nnd \ve
hpsitate hot to consider the habit of forcing ~trang'e Hod ()ut·ot~the·
way constructions upon the ohvious letter of thp Scriptur~ am()n~ the
most pernicious uses ever made of the \Vord of God, and indicating a.
\vant of rfispect vet-y nearly allied to 8. tot.al rejection of the \vhole
messa~e. l"his, ho\\'ever, is the evil of onp, ext.-crne-unbappily it
has dri \"en many to the oth~r; especially \vhen aided by an ulldue
farniliarity \vith a class of COffilnentaturs depply tjnctur~d \\'ith a.
spi.·it of infidelity. 'l"hese rationa.l scholia:sts, in spite of all the
guards which the student of the Bible can put upon hinlselt: \vill
~carcply fail to impart a sect"et dislike to any othfll' than EL nlerflly literal
and fr"igid mode of interpretat.ion of the :Sa{~I°f-'d O.oacles. Indeed, it
may he questioned \\,hethp.r the canons of Bihlical criticisrn \yhich
ha\·e he~n ad\·ocated in SOfTIe of the Gcrrnall schools, \\"hpll applied
to thf! study of the prophets, \vould not ha.\"c led as directly to the
rpj~ct.ion ot' the Saviour's claims to he the true Messiah, as did the
pr~judic~s of the J e\vs at the tilne of II is a.dvent.
JJut our design is not to dw~1l upon this topic. "re mprply ~lanc8
at it in entering upon n. brief in'''estigation, \\"hich taliPs for granted,
froro b~ginning to end, the fact of a .~pi,.ilufllll1efllli"g throughopt a
great portion of the \\'ord of God. 'Ve sha.ll a.S~Utl)e pa.rticularly the
jollo\\ping points as the ha~is of [he pnsuing ~xpo"irion.
I. l'hat the books of l\Iosps, the !).·ophets, arid the I):-5nlm~, contain
nUlllhpl-less direct and unequivocal allu~ions to the J.'erson, Charac-
tel·, \V'orks, I\.ingdom, and People of Jesus Ch ..ist as the promised
~fp~~iah.
2. '{'hat the ancient nation of Isra~l, frpquently ~polien to or ~roken
of collectively, as a single pt)rsol1, undpr lbe title of (sniP), JHcoh, &c.,
\V~S designed to he a type of God's t,·ue people. lJncJ~r the l;o~pcl, or
of the" Israel after t he ~pirit." a. body made up of J C\VS and Gentiles,
even as many a~ the Lord our ljod should call.
3. 'fhat in many jns1anc~s the language \\·lJich is npplied prinlarily
to ., Israel after the flpsh," recei,·es a conlplete fultilnlt\nt only as
applied to the ~piritual Is.-ael, or that th~ thin~s pr·cdicatrd of the for-
m(~ .. a.re often to be understood in a more fulJ and elllphatic sense of
the lattpr.
In attf'mpting to elicit a correct vie\v vf the sp'-,·itual Cl"('otiofl so
often alluded to in the Sacred 'Vriting~, and to apply it to the solu-
tion of ~onle difficult pa!'sagps, \\Oe shall have considt~rable rt)cour~e to
the original terlns. \Vithout entering into a. cl"itical n.naly~is of
the different lIeb..e\v teroms \\Ohich are renc1(~rt~d create, mal:e, furm,
\ve sinlply observe that the \vords tt.,:n, bara, ~::., yulzll1·, and lilt",
asal/', are used interchangeably to exp;;ss these ideas, although th:y
cannot be cOllsiclerf.. d as strictl)O synonyrnou:-:. So in t1l0 Gr(~ek \ve
ha.ve x~c.'CtJ, J(OUW, and 4Jl"),a.'CtJ, by \"hich 'he aho\·e I·Iebrt'\v tf.'rnlS are
u~ually, though 110t unifonnly, translated, anti h~t\vppn "ohich proba-
bly thf~ ~amc, or nearly the same, rnut ual di \Oer~ity of inlport oLtnins.
1'hat. the predominant use of the terrns is t.o express '/laic, U:[ clocation
or jorTnatwn, is unquestionabla~; but it is tqually clear that the
VOL. v. 33
502 Spiritual Creation. [NOYe

work of moral renovation, or new creation, is intimated by the same

\vords, and we shall present to tbe reader a concatenated view of
several passages, forming a chain of elucidation on this point which
we trust will not be without its interest, though it subject us to the
imputation of savoring of mysticism, or of leaning (ar more to the
school ,of Cocceius than to that of Grotius-an obliquity to wbichwe
readily plead guilt~'.
The purpose of the Most High relative to the work of a. nelD 8pir-
itual creation, to be accomplished under the Gospel Age, is clearly
announced in the foJlowing words, Is. lxv. 17, 18, "For behold I cre-
ate (Iltj;:n, bora) new heavens and a new earth-be ye glad and r~joice
forever in that which I create ( a':ji:n, lJora)." That this glorious crea-
tion is accomplished in the bringing into spiritual being through the
agency of the Spirit of Life, 8 peculiar people, made ne\v creatures
in Christ Jesus, ,viII not be questioned, especially as we find this term
in other places expressly ftpplied to the renewing influences of the
Holy Ghost. Says David, Ps. li., " CREATE (-'11, beTa, Gr. s"'CJo.) with-
in me a clean heart," &0. Again, the following language of the
Psalmist is entirely explicit. Ps. cH. 18, "This shall be written for
the generation to .come, and the people WIlieR SHALL BE OREATED (.~,
nib,·o, Gr.•1'~OP.'tlos) shall praise thee.,t This is paraJleled, Ps. xxii.
31, "They shall declare His righteousness to a Dation that SHALL BB
BOllN (,~i~, nolotl)." To the same import, Is. xliii. 7, " I will say to the
North, give up, and to the South, keep not back: bring my 80ns from
far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; e,"en everyone
that is called by my name, for I have OREATED Him (~"~.11, berathiv) for
my glory; I HAVE FORMED HIM ('''~,;~, yetzartiv), yea I HAVE MADE Him
,(,,,~,,~~, llsithiv)." These passages receive an ample explication by a
recurrence to the New Testament, the peculiar phraseology of which
is modified more or less in every page by the prevailing diction of
the Old.
2 Cor. v. 17, " Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a NEW CREA-
TURE or NE\V CREATION (_1',cr£s xcw"/) ; old things have passed a\v&)·, and
all things become NE\V."
Eph. H. 10, "For we are His WORKMANSRIP (J(O~'l,&"I.), CREATED
·(~1'''SOE''1'a.S) in Christ Jesus unto good works." Also, ch. iv. 24, " And
that ye put on the NEW MAN (~C"tlOtl a,.,Opl.)"fW), which after God is CREAT-
.ED (~1',a9E"1'a,) in righteousness and true holiness."
Gal. vi. 15, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails any
thing, nor uncircumcision, but a NEW CREATION (-(1,'1''1 ~..,(us)."
These citations evidently bring to vie\v a people of divine extrac-
tion, upon ,vhom a supernatural renovation has passed, and to\vards
whom the Most High sustains the relation of CREATOR in a diiferenl
sense from that in which he bears this character to\vards the rest of
human kind. This we think is clearly recognized in the following
passages.· Is. xliii. 1, " Thus saith the Lord that FORl\IED THEE (i~~l,
boraalca), 0 Jacob, that CREATED thee, 0 Israel (i1~"J yotz.erka), v. 15.
I am the" Lord, your Holy· One, the OREATOR 01' ISRAEL (~~1p~ 1&';:1,
1852.] cc U6fU Loquendz'" of Scripture. 508

lJora yi.,rael)," i. e., of the spi ritual Israel. Parallel to this we find the
Apostle Peter exhorting his brethren to commit the l{eepin~ of their
souls unto God "as unto a FAITHFUL CREATOR" ('f'fj» f("cs~tp .1'"cr~'1), i. e.,
to that Creator who, baving formed them ane\v, would be faithful to
His promises made to His new creatures.
But our views of this subject are wholly inadequate until we learn •
the prominent station which Christ Jesus is to occupy in this new
creation, and the relation \vhich the whole economy bears to Him.
Some of the most august titles by which He is known in His media-
torial character are intimately connected \vith the part which He
bears in the spiritual Genesis of the Gospel Age. The following version
given by the LXX. of the striking passage in Prove viii. 22, we should
hesitate to adduce with this bearing, did it not seem to be sanctioned
by the evident allusion to it, if not adoption of it, by the inspired
,vriter in Rev. Hi. 14. Our English translation renders it, " The Lord
possessed me in the beginning of His ways," where the preposition
in, which is wanting in the Hebrew, is supplied by the translators.
The Greek rendering is, np'os EX1"CSI p.e G.p%'1. aa'-W cw4J'ou. The supposed
allusion to this in the Apocalypse is as follows: "These things saith
the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, THE BEGINNING OF THE CB.E~
ATIOX OF GOD ('1 GP%'l1'1S "1,crl~S 1" 8&O'V)." If this, however, should ap~
pear too far-fetched and doubtful, we are furnished in Col. i. 16,
17, with language which admits of no dispute; "Who is the image
of the invisible God, theftr8t bOl·n (~p0101'O"~) of the whole creation (ftGcrflS
.S'UII~S): for by Him were all things CREATED ('I' "'U~9 E"1',~9'l t'o, 1ra,V'f'a,)
that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers;
all things were CREJ\TED (1"'&"Cfq",,~) by Him and for Him. And he is be-
fore all things, and by Him all things consist; and He is the head of the
body, the church,. who is the BEGINNING (Of%'1), the first born of the dead
(ftpO'l'01'OXOS ~~" "'''p'W); that in all things He might have the pre.emi-
nence," i. e., that in all things pertaining to this new spiritual crea-
tion, which is but another name for that economy, dispensation, or
kingdom over which He presides, He might have an undisputed Head-
ship. We are a\vare that this is relied on as a proof-text in support
of the proper divinit)" of our Lord, and of His efficient agency in the
creation of the 7/&aterial universe. The writer yields his unqualified as-
sent to the doctrine of the Saviour's co-equal power and Godhead ,vith
that of the Father, but is constrained to regard this passage as hav-
ing a primary reference, not to the creation of the visible heavens and
earth, and the various orders of inteJligences, but to the spiritual
~contJmy, or the P.!UO'ucra.t1 or, X0"/0' 1",/1', the world to come, Heb. H. 5, which
'\vas put in subjection, in all its departments, to the mediatorial su-
premacy of Jesus. And the Apostle's express mention of "the
Church" in v. 18, seems sufficiently to mark his scope.
In Heb. i. 8, it is said, " When He bringeth again ti,e first-begotten
(np010'l'OXOs) into the world (0'''011/0'''''1'')' He saith, Let all the angels of God
'\vorship Him." By O,,,otIp.'·."l here we understand not the terraqueous
globe which ,ve inhabit, but the dispensation upon which the Messiah
entered at His resurrection, when He was by the right hand of God
 504 New CI,u7·cl" Mission tu China. [Nov.
exalted, nnd o\"pr \vhich lI.:) continues to preside as Lord and lIead,
advanced t.o the hj~h('st glory of Hi~ Snnship, and a(i(ninist~ring-a
8});,.,II/,(/l dOlninion c)\-pr his qllickf'ned and "eln created pp.nple. In
tlJis light. t.lle ~()n of God is ~xhihitPd to us thlooughout t.he \vhole efli~..
t]p to the II(~hr.~\\·l". and in fact, a proJlp.r concpption of Ilis post-r~.sur-
.rection dignit\" and rllle fo)-ms t.he clup. to the book. And this vie\v
of I-I is g'lori(}tJ~ st a tp \vi I1 gi \·e u~. \ve i ma~i I1tl. a Inure correet. \·ie\\- of
t]u a rlause, ch. ix. 12. tran~latPcl, not of this huil(Hng" (ttu 1'G"'t'1{ X'f't~Uw~,
h

oftlli_, cl·catioll). \Ve ha\·e only rn cOl1cei\-e of that GloW" 01· dlspP'l)~a .•
tion, hf'ing u~lH\red in ill \,"hi(~h the \vhole ancient systern of \·i~ihle
t)·pes is done i\\vay, and our F()r~rl1nnpr a~ ha\"ing entPI·pd the taher-
nacle not Inad(~ \vit h ha.nds, and \Vc sne not \vh)" the phra.s~ should
not he rendpn·d. ,. not of this CRE:\TII."" (X'tICJfWS), i. eo, a. tab~rnacle. not
of hu)nau, parlhly, or Inaterial constructioll, hut. one pert.aining to thn
spiritual creatiun, and of a na.ture suited to such an cconolny.

ARTICLE v.

IMPORTANCE OF A. NE\V CHURCfl M[SSrO~ TO CHrSA. WITH THE I~-I­

l)~).~TA~CE 01~' E~1[CIH~~-j AS[ATIC LITERATURE \VITd THE THE-
OLOGY OF TH~: ~EW CHURCHo
TIIERE al'f~ lllCllly con~iderations hy \vhi('h cOlnpliancA wit h this
mj~si()n pre~p.nts ~tloo'lg clairlls upon ~vf·r·)· nlPll1hpr of th~ ~~\V
Chul'eh, as ,v('11 as its friends gp))t.arally in J~llr()pp ltlnJ AlllPloir-a.
')" IJ e ge n illS .. (' : he PPO pIp, t I H~ l" ha,· act p ,. of the c i \. i I i Z it t. i 011, t lH~ P X t ..- n t
of ,lie populati()n, :il)(llltf~iI- paeific habit~:,o point out this Elllpirt~ ".r
DI i:-;sionn ry ('"Ill ('rpri~~ that. 110 rH i:,:o;ion-liflld has for a 1l101nenf. ;-t ny
clairns in jllxtnpo~iri()n \vith China. 'rh(~ geog.·aphic'al position of
Chi n a co ns t i : ut e s ;11 ~o a Jl() \\" (.a ,. I"ul a,' g U 01 en tin In aI, i 11 g I hp ti \. f' Br- i ri . . h
COllsular ports .:\t"\V CIJlll'eh nlis~ipf) ~httiollS for ~chool~, and flf'vpr
"ocas thpl·~ an (~p{ eh nJ()l'n ra\'())'Hbl~ fot" thf' pl'luting or tht' ~()"'ppl
than the prC':--ent, fOI· tL.~ gaff's 01" this mighty J~fllpi .. p npppar to he
OPPtl on f'\'()ry ~idp fo)· this irnportant nlb:sion. ~o rnuch do rnauy uf'
the tenets (Jf th(~ (:hiJlf'~~ pbil()~ophl 19p~(.)n1hlp tlu-- divir)f~ tlouth~ of
CllI'i~tiftlli~y, tbat \\'ilh hut all Ptt.H°t. by us th ..)- could be \\l'elJ incur-po-
ral(·d in CbltltA~e li!(A)·aIUt'f-.
A fc\v \\·o .. d~ Oil t hp ptI()rts or tllp. Old Chu'-eh in bphalf of l~hitta.
,,"ill l)(~ douhtl('~s read \\·ith illfen.)st, the lop-cords al~() of tite 1~IJ)pl ..e
ltfl(»'din~ abundatlt f~\"jJf'ncc t hat th~ g()~pel ~\·as .hel'e pl'cacllt~d in
thp early ng('~.
St. 1'i)(Hlla~, "'h(}~(l lal)(.rs \'"t~J'P connnpd to the I~ast, \-isitf'd, it is
Sl1pP()~(~cI, tbis ill1f'rf'~ling eClllnfr.\ ; and ,v~ ha\·e also sati~titctury
~vJ(lence that it "-as publi~h~d t h.,.,.. in fhe !-,p.'·enth cf-IJltur")'. 'rhis
irnpot tant (~\"('nt is Jitithi'ully I'p("ol"d.·d ill the UUllalM of IIaP Ern-
9

pirfl, nnd ~f'~nlS to eaU from us ill this ~f'I\\' Cburch rnissioll the tno~t
serious cOIl~ideration. '1'11e Latin and Nestoriau Chrisliall~ had aD
185~.] New Cl,urcl, Mission to China. 505
•
~xcell~nt opportunity for propag':\tin~ Christianity in B'\st~I'n Asia.
The MahomHtans, bo\vever, gaining the ascpndancy. drove the Christ-
ians from those reg-ions. A second emhassy to China. A. D. I 55·l,
\va.s accomplished by FI·ancis Xa\"ier, \vho ard(.. ntly t()!1~pcl f()r the
con\"ersion of this Elnpire, and who recl<oned t.hat h~ had done com-
parat i\"~ly nothing in converting the nat.ions of India, \vhil(~ China
,va~ still unattempted. The noble enterpri~p. of St. X lvier nnirnaf~d
a '/;p.alous band \vith the benign prpcppts of th~ gospel. ,,"ho, dead to
th~rn~el\·es, and hreathin~ nothin~ hut rp~ignation and nlar't.yrdorn to
the Lord, nobly ''lent for\varcl, and in 1759 1\1. H.ongier and Ma.1th~w
Ricci arri\"ed in China.. l"he !\{a.nJerins anel o~hers admir'ed their
sublime doctrinp.s and worshipecl the Lord of Hp.l\ven ; con\-f'rts in
tens of t.housands \\·ere rnade in all dil"f~ct.ions. ancl church~s built.,
many of \vhich have since hep,n restor'eo hy the comma.nd of' the pre-
sent Emperor or China in hi~ recpnt ~dict tolpl'ating Christianity.
(See the edict in the China l\fail and Friend of China Joul·nats fc)r
1846,) At court Ricci and others \ver"e highly honor~d, Rnd no
sooner had these noble missionaries set.tled than thpy bp-gan to dilfuse
the doctrines of Christianity. In a fe\v year's ~ff~cts the most signal
and stupendous \vere Sf!~n, and such a hold had the doctrines taken
on all ranks t.hat it sprpad f.. om t.he capital to t.he Inost distant prov-
inc~s. Many or the converts took the narne~ of th~ Ap()st.IAs, and one
who took the name of' Panl is entit.led to nl()r~ than a passing notice.
He in a. mo~t dist.inguished ma.nner, in several va.luable \\~orks pub-
lished by hirn, nohly vindi~at~d the Christian faifh; his po~terity, too,
trod in his footstells. Candida, onp. or his clau~hter·s, \vas ve.·y rich,
and nohly consp.crated her furtutlP, £ I o~OOO, to the bni Idi ng of Chi-
nese Christian colleges, and schools, Rncl chur'ch~s, and the printing of
Christian books f()r the instruction of the population. (See the Chi-
11~se Olio, an Eng:lish Journal, rf.. cent.ly pub1i~~lt. d hy (japtain l)id-
dingo, of China.) Herbert, a ROlnan Catholic 1\1 i:-\:-;ionary, rose to high
favor \\'ith the Emperor, and in onp year !)(),OOO Chinesp, tog-et her
'\vith the Empero."s maternal uncle, ,vere rf'e~i \"ell into the Roman
Cat.holic Church; nothing, in fact, no\v seprupd \\"antin~ but n con-
tinual accessiun of lahorers, to bring all China, (Jo,oea, and Tartary
to the profession of Christianity. \Vith these brilliant. cxamplps in
the consecration or themsel \res to th~ Lord. ha\"~ \ve not som~ encour·
agp.rnent to a united and \V~ll clil'pctptl effort. for a China mis~ion. From
the ~igns of the tirne~, coupled \vith passp,d a.nd passing pvents, there
appea."s an e\-ident call from the l.Jord to ~end the gO:-5pel to China;
and are we not, too, from our unfold resou."e~s \\'hich \\~~ can bl"ing
to bear upon this rnission in many more \\Oays than Jnpr~ly pecuni.
ary, in Ho position to sho\v the \vondedng Chine~e instpud of thr-o\v-
ing contempt upon his faith, ho\\" it. ha"rllonizes \vith the Christiall
'''el'it.ies, and how \yisely it \vas dp.~igned to he the gl"and nleans of
leading him to the fold of the good shepherd in the last days 1
\Vith the ~xc~lIent moral maxim~, therefo,·e., of Conrucius, to be
found among a people \\"ho~e sentirTlents, la\\~s, find national lH~ages
bear such evident traces of high antiquity, no room is left to doubt of
the brilliant achievements to be made in eve.'y part of this interesting
506 New Ohurch Million to CAi,.a. [Noy.
•
Empire. We have only to enrich Chinese literature with the the-
ologyof the New Church, as developed in the writings of Sweden-
borg, to be attended with the happiest, the most beneficent, and the most
permanent results; and let us only for a moment think of this vast
Empire under New Church theology. Its eighteen provinces will
form a glorious area for the New Church, the extreme length of wbich
from north to south is 1200 geographical miles, its average breadtiJ.
from east to west is Lut little less, and its population amounts to
nearly 400,000,000. No country of equal magnitude has a finer cli·
mate, fairer scenes, or richer resources as a mission-field: for us it
cannot be surpassed. It is for us, t.herefore, in both hemispheres, to
guide their wandering feet, and enrich them at this epoch with the
Lord's choicest blessing.
The great importance of 8 mission to such a people is, that they
are in an educated state, ready to receive the doctrines of the New
Church, and that the Chinese are a great reading people is too well
known here to enter upon. Books of all kinds in literature pOUf in tor-
rents from the printing presses of Pekin and the provinces, and 8S all
the Chinese can rend tbe same book, we have gJ·ound-workfor munoa-
ary and translation plans upon any scule l!.f magnitude. A fe,.
month" and a few Englisll. friends at Hong-Kong.. OT any of the other
Briti6h ports, wl,o are well acquainted, too, witl" the ClUne,e la1lguage,
could be engaged, even in tI,e absence of ",;"ionarie8, to clothe the
hymn books, liturgy, 4-c., with many of the ,maller works of Sweden-
borg, in the Chillese language, a desideratum, too, upon this misnon to
wlJich too much importa,.ce caflnot be attached j thi, but done, and tAe
well known genius of the CI,inese mind WfJuld, under the blel&ing of tI,.
Lord, be attended with the best ,-e.,ults.
The customs and peculiarities of the Chinese seem exceedingly
favorable to the propagation of the gospel, for family love is the very
basis and bond of Chinese society. Thus blessed by the Lord, it opens
to the parental, filial, and social principles of Christianity a ",ider
and warmer channel to flow in than J udea itself, where the popu-
lar and exclusive maxim of the Jew was, "We are Abraham's chil-
dren."
It would not be very easy to find, in our best family books, apart
froll! the Bible, clearer or more cordial vie\vs of filial piety than those
contained in the sacred edicts of the emperor Ksng-He. The first
maxim is, pal' just regard to filial and paternal duties, in order to give
due importance to all the relations of life. Well, then, what is filial
piety there 1 It is great indeed in hea.ven above, and in earth be-
low; and among men placed between them, there is not one that ex-
cludes this doctrine, because filial piety is the breath of harmony.
Who can read such excellent traits as these of a people, and not re-
gard them in a pleasing and attractive light 1 Why, it appears to be
the very field where we can display in that splcndor the riches and
beauty of our theological views, as will at once, under the blessing of
our heavenly Father, bring about a new era in New Church history.
The language of these facts \ve cannot mistake in now originating
and setting in motion a China mission on a scale of magnitude
)852.] NeVJ C/"Jrc1& Mi8,ion to Ohina. 507

,vorthy the claims of China. The energy and enterprize of the untold
numbers in the military, medical, and other professions, who nobly
embark for Oriental Empires, under, too, every privation, speak with
an intimation which shall be doubtless nobly responded to in a better
cause from many of our members in Europe, as well as in America,
in going forth with the banner of the cross, depending on the Lord, as
well 88 achieving the introduction of Swedenborg's writings into
Chinese literature, \vhich \\·ill he found a new element to the mate-
rials already prepared by the Lord for China's subjugation to the
glorious and benign precepts of Christianity in the doctrines of the
New Church.
The subject of a New Church Mission College and Schools (which
I would highly recommend a special fund for, to be called the New
Church Mission College and School Fund, with a direct appeal bear-
ing on the same for the members and friends of the Church in Europe
and America), is one fraught with untold blessings for the intere~ts oC
the New Church in our China l\lission. The Mission College and
Schools, cannot fail, under the blessing of the Lord, of speedily in-
structing the Chinese native mind in New Church doctrines. It
is also of importance that while the minds of the students are
thoroughly imbued with New Church theology, European science
and information also be added, besides select a.nd accurate views
of general history: these migbt be followed by views of the solar
system.
With the instruction which the New Church College ,vould give
in the nature and organization of our own plans for New Church
schools, the native and European youth, many of which are at Cao-
ton, the few I would recommend for the College, ~ducated therflin.
\vould soon be able to establish and superintend Ne\v Church Schools,
where they might go and diffuse light in all directions.
One object of the Mission College should be to secure instruc-
tion in the Chinese and English languages. The college should
moreover secure instruction in the sacred Scriptures and New Church
theology, which all should regularly study, and in elucidation of
which leetures should be constantly delivered. It is important also they
be further instructed in general history, geography, astronomy, and all
the branches of natural science, with specially practical instruction on
the nature and managment of New Church Schools. One of the chief
objects of the College would be to make the students thoroughly ac-
quainted with the sacred Scriptures, \vith the entire of Swedenborg's
works; and if, from this Mission College, which might be superin-
tended by two New Church Missionaries, only two hundred be
selected annually from our sehools, this number \\'ill in due time fur-
nish such a body of New Church teachers as will, under the blessing
of the Lord, carry New Church doctrines to the very capital and seat
of government•.
The reproach of the past in our foreign missions must be wiped
away, for it has been too much with us, that we seek our own instead
of the things which are the Lord's. Let the zeal of the infatuated
Jesuits impel us to action, that the hundreds of millions of the Chinese
may have forthwith an earnest New Church Chinese ministry.
608 New Churc'A Mi,,;on eo China. [Nov.
I fpel assured therf' are many members of the New Church, both
in Europe and America, "'hose hearts will glow \vith love aod de\yo-
lion to the Lord for this important mis~ion, in ft. ,,·ell directed effort
for the introduction of Christitlnit)· and Ne\\' Church theolog)9, the
question being, in all its details, 8S it rpgards this mission, nut r-;o
much a question of po""er as of application at this eventful epoch;
and as in the Chinese supe1 stition th(llre is no bloody rite, no slt.\·Jt~e
9

custonl to conrl~ont, hut on t.he contrary 8. cn-operati\'e inftuencp, let

us in deep humilit)·, depending on the Lord, devise plans upon this
mission to a depply and tiflle-honorfld inter~sting people. And O~
may \ve run this heavenly race in giving an iInpetus to this mission~
From Thee deriving might.
And as burning IUDlinaries "hase
'fhe gloom of nlcntal night!
And when our work of love is done,
}:njoy the kin~do1D gi \'en :
Chcer"d by the life-di~penaiDgBUD
ID thiDe eternal Heaven!
RE~fARKS.

The brood and eatholio spirit which prompts the above article we so highl1 ftppreeis-
ted that wc have resolv~d to give it insertion. nltiaongh we are eompcUed to look upon lbe
sche-me liS rather a splendid nnticipation thaD a present practic~ullity. ''"but the New
Church philo~ophy and tbeology are well adapted to the genius of Orientalh·m •. we baye
DO tJouut, and thlll our doctrines wouhl even now slalld a better ch.tnee of reception with
the Asintic nlind tban Rny other, wc are lli~o rnny per~uaucd. But this does not inft»r tbe
present feasiuility of tbe enterprise. Neitber the men nDr the mC'ans CRIl now he found,
and nothing can be gainetl uy giving way to a zeallhal oulrull8 provitleutiftl iooications.
Still, it nUIY sometilllCS 00 well for lhe mun of tbe Ne\v Church to Clllllb tbe Pi~gnb of
prolnise, and to "seize the conqUt~st with his eye," whi(:h is dc~linl'd ~ventnally to be
achieved.· If the relllizing of the Church's hopes in this resp~ct should be ~omewhat de-
layed, sailllhe infornlation accorded to it respecting tbe stule and pr()-o\pe~ts of lhe hea,bell
nation~, operates as a sedative to nU undue nnpatien('e in regard to the eyp.llt itself. The
Lord uoill " hasten it in it•• tQ~O'u"" bleantirne ,ve insert in this conuection n par8~rR(lh
from the" Ne\v Church Quarterly," pnhlished a few years sinco relati'le to just ~ucb a
JlTojrl as that set forth Ly our correspondent, who is personlllly entirely unknown to llS.
"The introduction of Swet.tcnbor~fs writings into Asiatic literalur~, could it be achieve.l,
would add a new element to the nHHeriftl~ aJre;uly prepared for the progre$~ of tho~e an-
cient races in civilization-pelhaps lIlt t:t1"lItltmt»l which is WllUh"cJ to prcduce the tU"C-t!!-
lary ft"rllH:ant in tht>ir miud:i and Sl~t theul working.. • Pro\·idt..~nce wouhl ~l·~m
to han~ wil1~d that they !.'ohould not ht" convt.>rll'd to the do~rna~ of a corrupt Chri~tiallity.
but . . honltl await the advent of the r~~ll~ciH\ted church; nod nC\O~r has a people \vtlltt'd
whh nlore eXt>lnllary patiellee; for when Home Wa~ in itio\ infilncy, ftnd the Grecian phi-
losophy hardly onl of its :o-iu.'ll, rltis veritable Chiua had prollnct'u f1 sage, second only in
tbe long catalogue of heathen philosopbefs to tht' illustrious nnll pnre-rnindt'd Socrat~s_
Yet Ronle with its line of senntors nnd heroes has Arisen from the dtapths of tinl~, and
passed OVer humanity like a ('on~tdlntion; Greece. too, hfts spread its light over the world
Jik~ tlH~ morning sun; nnd, while both have passed away C as a talc that i~ told,' Chin"
lurvives in all its antique n18je~ty nnd Hill li re. We cannot think that a lHUion Las
dream('d away !o nUlny agf:l~, to wake up Rnd ped:,h, at last, berore our 'Ve~tern civiliza-
tion. Surely a rtading population which numLers J literally, its lens of lnillioll~, must be
1852.] Pseudo-Spir;tufllis"•• 509

ca pftble of sotnething elS(ll beside~ the cuhivalion of the tPa-plant and the consum ption of
rice. or even the qniet enjoyment of it' gret'1l old age.
•• Solnething is now being done by the' Medical l\'li~~ions' townn)s the introduction of
Ch ristianity into China; and the real interest of the people in the ~1t"venll brllnche~ of sci-
ence ~onnected with the hetlling ort RtTord~ the h~st horna! of ~uccess. III no country is
ed ucation 1nore vRlned, learniug nlore e~teemt-d, anti InorallaXCt'lI~nce Inore ndnlired than
there. In the virtues ot industry and econolny. tht"Y are not ~urp~\.;~~d by the hesL of U9.
In tbeir superstitions there is no bloody rite, no saVR;.ce cu... tnln to confront; bnt on the
contri\ry, they would atrord a co.. o~rative iu8uence wert~ Christianity only introdl1ced,
w iSE'ly, and above all, in the spi rit oi charity-of ncti ve n~rul ness. The great dra wback
-as it seems to us-lO the efforts of the Old Church is in the fact tbat the Chine~e already
pO$sess a metaphysical creed, strengthcnt'd by the olde~n tnulltions on the fHee of the globe; .
and that there is a vuality in that cr~ed-be its logical fOrln what it JURy-which will not
be put down, but roost be ab.orbtd by the Christian Y'~ritios. If the t'lith which the mis-
sionary carries with him has no capacity to cOlnpreheod a ,-e...ml of the old Ea~tern phi-
)o~orhy within its canOD~, and to avail itself of this vitality itl II con~enil\l spirit, we can-
not belp thinking tbat tbe poor Inis!ionary may a3 well sit down in d~spair. '1

ARTICLE VI.

P SUE DO- S P I R I TU A LIS ~I .

(Continued. )
1. An Exposition of the Views rc~pecting the principal Fnc~q, Causes, and Peculiari-
tics involved in Spirit l\Iu.nifestations: together \vith int(llrosting Phenomena,
Statements, and Communications. By Adin Bnllou. Boston: B. ~larsh. 1852.
2. -Philosophy of ~rysterious A~ents, JIuman and :\tundane: or the Dynamic Laws
and Relations of 1\1an; eOlbracing the Natnral Philosophy of Phenonlcna, styled
,; Spiritual ~Janifestations." By E. C. Uogera. In Five X ulnbcrs. No. I. Bos-
ton: Redding & Co. 1852.
'VE have giv~n above th~ fitle~ or the t\\"o mo~t. important ,vorks
tllat ha.ve appeared upon this prolific suhj~ct since the date of our
la!it article. The press is tJtill teeming with issu~s in the sniDe
department, and if we were to continue our articles for a t\vAI\'e-
month to come, we should douhtJ~ss have n~\v titlp.8 every month to
form a caption to them. In fact, the multiplication is so rapid that ,Ye
relinquish in despair the idea of keppin~ up \vith it so a~ to be able to
act the part of faithful ch."oniclers of what is so ~ignificantJy termed
the pro~ress of spiritualisrn. Indeed, \vhnt cnn be done \vnen these
plethoric revelators announce through one of their rnediurns that
th~y are about to disclose the heavenly \,"orld "fI·OID thA top of the
second sphere to the top of the seventh sphere 1" \,re shall leave them
to accomplish this work jf t.hey s~e fit, but \\'e must be excused from
volunteering our servicfls to officiate as scrib(ls or reporteJ"s. We doubt,
in fact, \vhether \\'e should b~ the rnan of th~ir choice for that func-
tion, for our notes, \\l'e fear, would not be at a.ll fa \·o."a.ble to their
cla.ims on the SCOl"e of truth or "'isdom. This ,ve say, \vhile we
repeat what we have remarked before, that we are not disposed to
510 P.eudo- 8piritualilfll. [Nov.
deny the reality of the phenomena, of which evidence has accumula-
ted in overwhelming measure. In saying we admit the reality of the
phenomena, we meaD, that we admit their spiritual origin or causa-
tion, for in view of the facts we are sfttisf1ed that every oth~r solution
is utterly inadequate. But this admission does not necessarily draw
aftf!r it the acknowledgement of the intrinsic verity or worth of the
communications, and here, accordingly, we entirely demur. From
some little experience in the matter, we are constrained to bring in
a verdict altogether adverse to the high ground assumed for them by
the large and growing class of so-called Spiritualists. Still we deem
the filcts, many of them, extremely remarkable, and none more so
than the Jinguistic writing of which we are enabled, through the
kindness of the Editor of the "Shekinah," to exhibit a specimen.
The histor,r of this curious affair \viU be more interesting from the
annexed correspondence respecting it, consisting of a letter from E.
P. Fowler, the Medium, and of one from oursel~ written in compli-
ance with a request from Mr. BrittaD the Editor of the Shekinah.
As the mRnuscript \\1'as submitted to our inspection, we had no objec-
tion to state the matters of fact V\,hich had come to our knowledge.
We assumed thereby no patronage of the marvel, which \ve choose to
let stand or fall by its own merits.
Editor of t"~ Shekinah:
DEAR SIR :-In pursuance of your request to communicate the facts of my expe-
rience, which relate to the origin of the writings, I submit the following brief state-
ment: On the night of the 21st of November, 1851, while sleeping alone in the third
Btory of the house, I W88 awakened about one o'clock, by sounds of footsteps in my
room. Looking up, I saw five men, some of them dressed in ancient costume, walk-
inS about and conversing together. Some of them spoke with me, and among other
things told me not to be frightened, that they would not harm me, &c. I attempted
to ri8e, however, to go down stairs, but found that my limbs were paralyzcd. These
strange visitants remained with me about three hours, and finally disappeared while
going toward a window, and when within about two feet of it. They did not open the
window. During the succeeding night, and at about the same hour, I was again
awakened in a similar manner, and saw several persons in my room. Some of those
who were there on the previous night were present with others whom I had never
Been before. One of them had what appeared to be a box about eighteen inches
!quare, and some nine inches high; it seemed to contain electrical apparatus. They
placed the box on the table, and then electrical emanations, like currents of light of
dil'erent colon, were seen issuing from the box. One of the company placed a piece
of paper, pen and ink on the lid of this box. The luminous currents now centered
arouna the pen, which was immediately taken up and dipped in the ink, and with-
out the application of any other force or instrument, so far as I could perceive, the
pen was made to move across the paper, and a communication was made which I
have Bince learned was in the Hebrew language. This information I received from
Prof. Bush, to whom the writings were submitted for translation, and whose letter
addressed to you will accompany this statement. Soon after three o'clock, my com-
panions left me as they had done the previous night, taking the box with them.
During the time they were in my apartment, I was in possession of my natural
senses, and not only saw them, but the furniture in the room, by means of the illu-
mination which their presence caused; and I also heard the clock strike, and car-
riages p8.88ing in the street.
I have since witnessed many similar occurrences in which writing, said to be in
the Hebrew, Arabic, Bengalee, and other languages, have, in like manner, been exe-
outed in my room. I only speak of the facts as disclosed to my senses: of the aeve-
rallanguages referred to I know nothing. Yours truly, E. P. F.
NEW-YORK, March 26th, 1852.
1862.] Paeudo-Spiritualima. 511

'~~fl, C'01vm « ~ ~1AB'. ltl"il' (ij ~'t,

~'6 1Jl~, G\~1l ~~~ ~f:C illl.

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U-l..t:i..x 6.>1 c:J-!"':» 6.M YoYJ-i ~,*-Jbal

iJJ' c.H) 0-'- t~ .~yV'f

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'
Q~ ~ 1J~l ~~(ftN ~~ 1Jrffr ~ ~,a,,=t
:a-tl\
: r:a'l'P \~" t\~'~T)i ~""l1] n'J:I""~"iI
" It_ ... • ..,:w '/~

"" ... t\1'i' t:'~ Jl\!1 ~1J '"\1l{ ov:l;1) "'"' :1

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t ntlt~ D't't'l t\,~>? Jl~i2~ g,:u!t.Y-'~

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I; , , .
\~\.p~I
~1' J
~t>t\ b"UI'$ t)")~~
,., , . . . , fill tI, ..:
512 Pseudo-Spiritualism. [Nov.
1\IR. BRITTAN-DEAR SIR :-In compliance with your r('quest, I willingly make a
statcnlent re8pectin~ the several cOlnmunications in Hcbre,,', Arabic, Bengalee, &c...
which have been submitted to my inspection. In doing so you of course understand
that I spea.k Dlerely as the witness of certain facts. and not as the partisan ad,-ocate
of any theory by \vhich these and similar facts DUlY be attempted to be accounted
for.
The first of these manuscripts was in Hebrew, cont.aining a few verses rrom the
last chapter of the Prophet Daniel. This WI\8 correctly written, with the exception
of severnl apparently arbitrnry omi8Sion~ and one rather violent transposition of a
word frum a.n upper to a lower line. l'he next was from tile book of Joel t Ch. ii.
23-27>, and was &lso correctly written. ",-ith one or two trifling errors, of t'uch a
nature, however, 8.8 would be very unlikely to be made either by one who under-
stood the language, or by one who should undertake to transcrihe the passage me-
chanieaIly from Hebrew.
The other specilnens wcre in the Hebrew, Arnbic, and Bengnlee 18ngua~ to
whioh [ nlayadd a parn.graph in French, written underneath the Bcngnlec, and ap-
~arently a translation ()f it. As thi~ was from Joel it 28, 2g, it oould ea.sily be ver-
died by recurrence to a Ben~n.lee ver~ion of the Scriptures in the Library of the
American Bible Society. 1 he sentences in the Arabic character were also ascer-
tained to be mostly translations of a few verses from the Arabic portion of the Scrip-
tures. One of them~ however, I am· informed, was alleged by the spirits to be a
quotation or translation of some lines from Pope. But how this is to be understood
I know not.
'rhe style of the manuscript is very peculiar. \Vhoever were the penmen, the act
of writing seems to have been preceded by some preliminary flourishes of a very sin-
gular und zigzag appearance, commencing at or near the top of the pa~e, and con-
necting with the first word of the script. In the case of one of the Arabic extr-lcts,
there were traces over the paper, which indicated that the pen for some reason was
not raised durin~ the wribng; besides which the lint's run diagonally across the
sheet, a.nd were followed by an imperfect sentence in .English, terminating in the
Arabic- word signifying end. Altogether the specinlCns are of an ext.raordina.ry char-
acter, such as 1 cannot ,veIl convey by a.ny verbal description.
As to the origin of the doclInlents. I am not yet prepared to express an opinion.
They come proximately frOll1 the hands of ~fr. E. P. Fowler, a young ~entlema.n
with wholn I had pre\"iously no acquaintance,but wIlo, since I have become acquaint-
ed with hint, docs not at all impress me 8.8 one who would knowingly practice decep-
tion on other~, however he Inight, by possil)ility, be imposed upon himself. He cer-
tainly has no knowled~e of the above languages, nor do I think it likely that be is
leagued in collusion with anyone who has. A man who is versed in these ancient
and oriental tongurs would be, I think, but little prone to lend himself 8.8 a party to
a pitiful 2)ChenlC of imposture. It must. indeed, be aUlllitted to l)e possible that .l\Ir.
Fowler may himself hnve copied the extracts from printed books, but I can only say
for myself thllt. front the internal evidence, nnd from n nl\1ltitude of collateral cir-
CUID8to.nces, I am perfectly 8a.th;fied that he never did it. But'nlY conviction on this
scor~ will, of oourse, have very little \vcight \vith others, which, however, is 0. point
of 8ulall consequence with me. In like Dlanner, I am equally confident that he,
though the mediunl on the occasion, had, consciously, nothing to do w"ith 8 lIe brew
communication \vhich was spelled out to Ine in the !)resence of a. circle of very re-
spectable gentlemen, not onc of Wh001, heside lllyself. had any knowledge of that lan-
~uage. In the present case the only n,lternnth"c solution that occurs to nle is, that
It was either an unconscious feat of 80111na.tl1],ulisl11. or that it was the veritable ,,·ork
of 8})irits, effected by SOIDe spiritual-natural dynanlic~ in the manner he de~cribes.
\VhlCh is 1l10st probable, or what is Iuore I)rounulo than either, your l"enders must
decide for themsch·es. Very respectfully yours, &0.,
N'E\V- YORE, l\lnrch 27, 1852. G. Bl."SB.
No\v it must be admitted that this is a most extraordinary occur-
rellCf4 view it ho\v \ve ma.y_
t 1t is Ina.I"\7ellous if the \vritirig \vas
eft'Pcted by spirits-marvellous if by young Fo\vler \\'hile ill n som·
nambulic state-and marvellous not a little if executed by him in a
1852.] Pseudo-Spiritualism. 513

waking and COllsci(iUS state, inasmuch liS. his tast~St habits, pursuits,
are nil entirply fiJreig-n tu orj~ntal studies, and the f()lIo\\'ing letter
rec~ntly published in the "Spiritual 1'e!pgraph" contains state(uents
,yhich go to render that supposition extrPlne)y increuible.
s. B. BRITTAN-DEAR SIR :-1 have been solicited by a mutual friend to send you
0. concise statement of my experience, as connected with some Dly~teriou8 "'ritings
,,-hich have occurred in my room, a.lae sl1nde of one of which nppl'ared in l'\o. U of
the ~piritual 'J'(llcgraph. I comply \vith the request., thou~h in contraricty to my
inclinations, which would prolnpt me to shrink from any publicity.
'rite original paper containing the autographs I found upon my table, about three
()clock one afternoon on my return from business; the paper used being 0. ~heet of
drawing-paper, ,,·hich was incidentally left on my table. and which [ aln sure 'VIlS
ltlank when I left 1nl room in the forenoon. The succceding Qutographiclll 1l1o,DU-
~cript, a rcprcS('ntt\tlon of which was publi~hed, was executeu in my room on a piece
of parchment. left on my tahle, by dIrection of the spirits, for that purpose. Thi8
'\"a~ writt~n on during the ni~ht, whilo I was in my room asleep_ I would add that
mlLny of the signatures on the parchment \vere entirely strange to me, having never
seen them before.
I have also had several 8pecimens of various oriental lan~uagc8, written in my
room, on paper, which 1 could identify as my own, though the 13n~uagc8 "'ere un-
knO\Vll to me. These have been ,vritten on, both when I have heen in my rOOln, and
when r have bcen absl'nt. Several of the 11\n~uage8 referrcd to I had never seen
prior to my acqun.intanco with them through these Dlystico.l Inanuscripts, and of
course did not know what they were, until 1 had 8ubmitted them to a linguist, who
read them ,,-ith t'\ciliry.
l'hc first one which I received was, as I am informed through the kindness of Pro-
fe~SI)r Bush~ a quotntion from the Old 1"'cstaolcnt, \vritten in Hebre\v. 'rhe Cxt'cution
of this occurred about three (iclock in the afternoon, soon after I had returned from
my husiness. J ,vas alone in my room, when~ through the sounds which th('n occur-
red in my presence, I was requested to leave the room fur the l"paco of five minutes,
during which interval they-~· the ~pirit8 "-promised an attcolpt to \vrite_ Ioheyed
their request, and went into (\ rOOlll below, ,,,,here aut IDJ si:-stcr. I told her what had
trnn~pired. and at the (lxpirntion of five luinutetJ "'''0 both Bscl'nded to l11y room.
In~teu.d of finding, n~ we hnd conjectured we should. BOlne directions \vritten in Eng-
li~h, we disoovered this He brew quotntion, the ink on the p8.p(lr being still unab-
8orhed, althou~h after experimcntd pro\'('d that the ink of a h,\nd hen,-ier than tha'
in \vhich the Hebrew was writt~n. would, on the samc kind of paper, invariably dry
in froln t\VO to three nlinutetJ' time.
rrtULt these \vritings have not hoen impoged upon me, I know, becnl1~c r ha,'e Sfcn
some of '''em wntf"Il. [ht\ye seen thpln written in the day tinlc as well aH in the
nj~ht; and that I was in no H abnornla.l Dla.,:;netic stl\te,'~ I inf~r froln tllo rn.et that
lily oons(~iOUSneKS of thc circulllstances of outward life rCllll\ineJ uninlpllirl'u. The
ringing of firc-bell~. moving of engines, the t()llin~ of the bel1~ ut the ferry, the pad-
dlin~ of the hon.fs wheels, nnd various other noi~c~ COInUlon to the city, were no leg
di:'ttinctly h(lllrU than at other times.
That these writings were nut perpctrBtrr} hy my~elf I have Inn.ny F;tron~ proofs.
Fir8t: I had npv~r seen n.ny 8p('cilnens of the lan~uj},~t"'R in which must ut'th .. J)JUnll-
l'cripts were written an,l evcn to the prtlsent dntt~, 1 ha.ve SCl'll no other t4peCiluL'US of
one or two of the langun~e~ I1~C<1. ~ccond.: That power \vhich has cUlllluunicatltJ to
us in ()ur circle. through the rappings nnd liftin~ of tablc~, prufc~..;c~ tu have per-
forlnetl this ,vritin~ t\l~o.
That these rllppin~s and liftin~ are not the re-sults of ft.n U ahnormnl mf\~netic
8tate~" I have rea",,)n to t3uppose frunt the fi\.et th:\t nH\nif\tsta.tions ha,\·c belln luaue in
our circle in th(~ light, palpahle tn the va.rio.H SI'n8!~~ of 011 pr~'St~nt. which by fn,r
8urpas.'. icu in point of power the cl\p~\hilit.y of l\~IY onn in thr~ eirl·ha • But if thi~. too,
with all the rC8t. i~ hut no fa,nry, a drcanl. t h;~n iH rny whole life but a. tlrearll - a very
re"t dreanl-and not a.ltf)~f'ther po·,tical in its c()ur~e.
Hl\d I time and. di~pu~iti()n. I nli ~ht reh\t4~ fi\ct~ sufficient to fill n. volum(l in reln.-
tiOD to this matter, the Dla.jority of whioh would fayor none o~her than the ~ph·itual
114 P,eudo-Spiritualil1ll. [Nov.
theory; but as I am no literary character, I will here leave the matter to the numer-
ous others who are, and whose facta are doubtless as much to the ~int BB my OWD.
NEW-YoRK, Aug., 1852. Yours truly, E. P. FOWLEJl.

In this connection \ve ma.y introduce from the same paper the fol-
lo\ving extract from an extended statement of facts relative to thfl.se
occurrences, bearing the signatures of the respected gentlemen com-
posing the circle, to the truth of \vhich, as far as we are concerned, ,ve
can bear decided testimony. We were not a member of the circle,
but attended simply on invitation to that effect purporting to come
from the spirits themselves.
Cl During the session on the 19th of January, 1852, the spirits signiled their desire
to make a oommunication in Hebrew. Mr. Partridge asked who should call
the alphabet, and received the answer, 'the only on, prellnt tlJho understand. it-
GEORGE BUSH.' ProfeB8or Bush thereupon proceeded to repeat the Hebrewalpha-
bet, and a communication in that language was received."
In addition to the above we may rema.rk that we have in our pos-
session an octagon-shaped pitcher, of Liverpool ware, the outside of
which is covered with Arabic and Hebre\v words, written according
to }\tlr. Fowler's statement while he was asleep at night. It was fiIJerl
with water, a bouquet of fto,,·ers put into it, and in the evening placed
upon the table of his apartment by his sister, and that with DO other
design than marks s thousand little acts of female taste and courte~".
In the morning the flat compartments of the pitcher \vere written
over crosswise ill the charact~rs above mentioned. The legend, how-
ever, is not composed of sentences making a coherent sense, but appa-
rently of detached words. or combinations of letters, some of them
more than once repeated. The Hebrew for God occurs, as also the
phrase in the second Psalm, translated-They have taken counsel
together. There is also our O\VD name-lbsh, lehush, for Bush, in the
Hebrew character.
Our object in adverting to these facts is, to state some of the grounds
OD which we are constrained to yield aD undoubting credence to the
reality and preternatural origin of these singular manifestations. To
multitudes of our readers we have no doubt this \vill be the last solu-
tion they would ever think of giving to the facts in question, and their
incredulity on this head we have no disposition to disturb. It cannot
be expected that they should feel the force of the evidence that \veighs
with us, neither can they say that they should not have felt it, as we
have, under the same circumstances; that is to say, they are not pre·
pared, on good grounds, to declare our conclusions on the subject
un\varranted or unsound. They cannot say but that they would ha\re
adopted the same conclusion from the same premises.
But \\'e go the extent of our concessions when we admit the reality
of the phenomena in the sense above defined. In an estimate of the
intrinsic character of the communications made, and of the practical
bearing of the whole affair, we differ in toto from most of those who
have devoted themselves to the culture of this form of spiritualism so
called. Our reasons for this we propose to give in B concluding arti-
cle on the subject. G. B.
1852.] The True Structure of Man's Nature. 515

ARTICLE VII.

THE TRUE STRUCTURE OF MAN'S NATURE.

EXTRACT FROM SWEDENBORG'., "ADVERSARlA"-NOW FIRS1' TRANSLATED.

THAT the Soul (Anima) properly so called, tbe Intellectual Milld, the
NaluTal1J'lind, or the Animus, and the Nature of t.he Body, are dis·
tinct faculties of humR.o life, and therefore, though co-acting together,
to be distinctly conceived o~ is capable of proof from many consider-
ations.
I. That the SOUL (anima) is not the same with the Intellectual
l\'Iind, appears manifestly from embryos and new-born infants, to
whom there is not as yet an Intellectual Mind, \vbile at the same time
they have a soul (afl,ima) which, as an instinct, duly performs and ac-
complishes all the functions of nature. The case is the same in re-
gard even to adults, whose rational or intellectual mind sometimes
actually becomes insane, and raves, ,vhereas, if this should occur at
the same time to the soul (anima), it would be all over with the man,
for no function could then be rightly discharged. Besides, u,dess the
Supreme Life flowed in through the soul (anima) the intellectual
mind \vould never be born, or be wonderfully illuminated with spirit-
uallight, or see analytically its ideas, much less be restored to a celes-
tial state; for \vhich reason the soul (aninla) is not onJy the soul of
the body but the soul of this very mind also.
If. That the INTELLECTUAL MIND is not the same with t.he NATURAL
l\IIND, called also the ANIMUS, appears from the fact that the natural mind,
to \vhich pertains imagination, i~ first t'xcited in infants and children,
and afterward the intellectual mind, to which belong thought and
judgment, faculties that gro\\", and become perfected by time and age.
This order of development occurs like\vise in adults, of whom tbere
are some who are clistinguished greatly by imagination, and but lit-
tle by the ability to reflect and judge. Inasmuch then as these facul-
ties are distinct, the ideas of the one mind (the intellectual) are call-
ed immaterial, but those of the other (the natural) material. The
truth of the distinction appears, moreover, frorn the cupidities, appe-
tit.es, and the delights of life arising from love, which are of the natu-
ral mind, and are called affections, passions, emotions of the animus,
and also of the body, because partaking of its nature, and properly
have respect to the loves of self flowing in through the senses, and
to the loves of self which arise from the depraved nature of the body.
The affections, however, of the intellectual mind insinuate themselves
into its will, and tbence disperse themselves into the understanding,
and become, when the man is governed by the Divine Spirit, peace
or tranquillity, clemency, mercy, charity, etc., \,"hich fio\v ill abun-
dance from celestial love. From tbis distinction then, arises that of
the spiritual and the natural man, or the internal or external; nay,
those minds clearly distinguish themselves in somnambulists, in whom
the inferior ,,"akes while the superior sleeps. This inferior mind
516 Correspondence. [Nov.
manifpsfs its... lf also in hrutes" hut not the superior or rational, for im-
agina.fion i~ th~ :-;i~ht of tht~ fonner', res~mblin~ tha.t of the eJe, onJ)~
n)cH'p f'xfpll~i,·e; \\ IH~rea!-=, t bought. is the n)(H'~ sublime vision the or
la:ter', \\'hich~ha.s an intuitiun of the inter'ior and superior things of tl.le
fornu"r'.
l If. 'fo thf's~ sllccppds the ~ ATURE of the Body, and this is ruled by
the supPI'ior' f'lculti(.ls of lifp, fr- m \\'hellOf' an~ its Sf!tlSRfions Rnd ac-
tions, tbe f~frl"cts uf t."e~(~ li\"t.lS or" f'flicient f(),'ces. Now lifp, and the
state of lilt.;t, vic~\\·c·d in I"f'gard to its (tuality. is kno\\'1l and judged of
f.'om the order' in \\'hich thesf~ several dpg .. ees rnutually succeed each
otJH~r, and a I~o co-('xist.; and inaslnt"ch as t h~ kno\"ledge of spiritual
and ornaluraJ life in nlau df}}>f"nds uron a just "ie\v of the above IIl~n­
tionpd distillCliVIl, I havn pl'()ltAs~('dly I.."('alpd uf the suhject in the
tl'~ali~e cUllet'ruing the \Vol"ship and Lo\'c of (;od, l)art lJ,t and occa-
sionall)' here auu tbeJoc in t hf~ tir~t pal"t.-Ad,:ersaria in Gt:n. lVo. ] 31.
G. B.

VORI{ESPONDENCE.

From our Ellgli~h Ccrre:'(Jondl~nto

LOKDON, 24th Sept" 1852.

1\11 DEAR SIR :--Oh8ervin~ some notice of the early l1istory of the "N~w Church'"
in your numlwr for July, which will Le ~'en.d('rcd Inure cOIuplete by t.he iC)lluwjn~,
I send it fur the ~nke of corr('ct nf'~8. \, 1111(' It letn'('8 the gell{'rnl tenor nf the norrath-e
8uhstantia.lly the snnle, it may l"er\'e to iIJus,trntc Dlorc "i\'idly the feelings by whieh
thp p('r~()ns concerned w'('r~ {\.l~tuated, nnd wIll n~8uredly help your renders to a more
just jud~luent of 0.11 the ClrCUlu:o\tan(;e~ than could hu furnlcd from the dOCUDJents
yuu have rcpul)li~h(\tl, taken alonr, 'rhi~ little addition mny also possess Borne in-
tert\st in ("onnrction with the" 1Ii: tnry of the r\ew Church,~' which you announce
68 forthcomjn~ frolu the pen of the late :\lr. Hint.hnnr~h,
In t.he y{~nr IHa~) 'L An Addr('s."\·~ ""&lS puhli8hed 1,y the late l\:lr. 8ibJy, with the
view of ('stuhli~lling the dairns uf the Frinr-~tr('ct ~oci()ty" of \vhich he W.l.S mini2iiter,
to what he enllpd the "lJirthrighf~ of the New Churc..·h, which it appears bad be(:n
called into qu('~tion hy l\lr. l':olJle, In this AdJrt'8S l\lr. 8iLly stat.e8:
U The Society now tl1(\eting in Frinr-~trcet, i~ in the fifty-s('cond year of her exist-

pnre, re(~kollin~ fronl the tilHe of her first \l1"omul g nting the heavenly doctrines of the
New J('rl1st\h~tu. hy the ceh·l;rntiun of l'u1, ic ""(Jr~hip to the Lord Jesus Christ, as the
one nnel only God of hea\'l!n and ..on1'tl1, in his Di\,ine HunUlnity; and hyendt1 8\'or-
iog to int;t.'uct othcr~ into the hl'll \'t'nl)' uoctrines, l,y prl'nchingN according to th~m.
But it luny l,c con~iJ(~r('d that the birth of the Lur(l"s .4~t'\V Church took place a few
m()nlh~ pre\'i()u~ly to this public prollllllgation, fur on the 31"t of July, 1;~;, the bap-
ti~lnl\l rite \\91\8 perforlned. nnd the holJ supper c('lebrlt.ted, at the house of oncuf h~r
mClnhcrs, l\1r. Tho!ut\s \\"ri~ht, ~n the Poultry; the record ofwhioh is en graven on
tile ~ih'cr cup uf,etl Oil the OCCn8JOD.
'~'l he firlit forllHd pulJlic DHlnifesta.tinn of the New Jcrusa}flm, in this kingdom,
and, for "yhnt i8 )·('t known, thr()u~hout the w()l'ld, t()(lk plnce in Gl-eat Eastcheap,
l.o.. .,{~on. on the 27t 11 elf .Jnnuar.r~ 17~H; .:\-Ir. HoLprt I1inUIUQT8h, with l\lessrs. John
and '1 hUllll\S \Villdon. hu.\"ing the joint tcnnnc:y of the l)lnce.
hI anl here untl('l" the nt'cf'~~1ty of ~tnting" (~uys l\lr, SibIy), U howe,-er n»Jue-
tnnt1y~ that in the n(lxt yl'ar, 17~n, a very 8()rJ o,,·ful occurrence berel the infant New
Church, u·/tereb!J thejlood-gutcs of immorulilY were 111 aauge,. 0)" being tJ",-own oJH'ft to
1852.] Letter from our Engli.h Correlpolldent. 51?
1&". inevitabl, d"tnu;tion. . The Church held many solemn meeting! on the 0c-
casion, which ended in her withdrawing herself from six of her members, viz:
ROBERT HINDMARSH, Henry Servante, Charles Bems Wadstrom, Augustus Nor-
denskjold, George Robin80n, and Ale:mnder Wilderspin. On the Church coming
to this conolusion, Mr. Robert Hindmarsh remarked~ That he tcould nev,,· put it itlto
the power of an ¥ Society agai11 to ClJ,t him off, tU he nevtrmore tDould be a member of
one. And I beheve, notwithstanding his eminent services in the cause of the New
Churoh, that, to his dying day, he kept his word. * * * There
was no breach, however, of personal friendship between him and the members of'
the Society; he still held the joint tenancy of the place, and attended, as usual, the
meetings of the Church for publio worship, as well as for business; and did all in
his power to promote the establishment of the New Church distinot from the Old,
and the Society were muoh grat.ified therewith, conceiving him to be a very valua-
ble man, possessing a bright understanding, and a devout well-wisher to her pros-
p~~ .
U The Church, therefore, went on pretty comfortably, with Mr. Robert Hindmarah·
generally present among them, untif the holding of the fourth General Conference,.
at Great Kastcheap, in the year 1792; wherein a lengthened and serious disoussion
arose, on the minute of the preceding Conference, in the r.ear 1791, concerning the-
appointment of Ministers in the New Church, being read for confirmation.
U In this infant state of the Church, the General Conference was not constituted of

ministers and delegates, as at present; every professing recipient of the heavenly

doctrines, who attended, had an equal voice, on every subject that was brought be-
f"re it. After muoh discU88ion, the Conference at length thought fit to confirm thei~
former minute; wherein the appointment of future ministers was vested in the min-·
istera already ordained, and in the people conjointly. To this there were seven dis-
sentients, all of them of London, and members of tile New Church at Eastchea~, ex-
cept Mr. Robert Hindmarsh; the other six were Me881'8. James Hindmarsh, Richarci'
Thompson, Francis Leicester, William Hollingworth, Robert JacDon, and Thomas.
Parker. Tht!e contended that the appointment to th4 ministrv, and indted the admin-
i!tration of all things ptrtaining to the Church, should be tlnth the minister, only, a~
teas the case 'UJith Mr. Wesley's connexion; to whioh three or more of them had pr&--
viously belonged. * * * * The Society at Eaatohea~, according te.
the l\'linute book, numbered, at that time, more than a hundred members, exclusive-
of the six persons before mentioned.
" Immediately after the Conference, I went to officiate," (Mr. S. continues), "iD
the New JerusBlem Temple, which had been erected by Mr. Hands, at Birmingham,.
during a visit of Mr. Proud to Bristol, to open a place of worship in that oity. I
was absent from London about three weeks. On returning, I expeoted, as a matter
of course, to officiate in the pulpit at Great Eastcheap! as I ban done before, alter
nately with Mr. James Huuhnarsh; but I was surprised with the information, and
for which, at the time, I was 8Orry, that the whole of the Society, with the exception
of the six members before mentioned, had left Great Eastcheap, during my absence
from London, and, depending on my acoompanying them, had taken a place in
Store-street, Tottenham Court Road, for me to officiate in. This was opened for the
performance of divine worship, according to the faith and life of the New Jerusa-
lem Church, on the next Sabliath day.
u rfhe immediate cause of the Society's leaving Great Eastcheap was, in consequence·
of Mr. Robert Hindmanh, who hitherto held the joint tenancy of the place, having
gone to the landlord, without the privit,. of Me.n. John and Thomas Willdon,
and induced the landlord to take him 88 the only tenant. Having 80 done, at the·
next monthly meeting for business, he came into the vestry, and informed the meet-
ing that he was now the alone holder of the plaoe; and asked them, tc/tat tJfey could
ftOW do to prtvent him from having t.;e government of the Church carn'ed on accOTd-
it.g to hil OtDn view; at the same time declaring himself not to be a member of the
Society. The Society hereupon took umbrage, and left the place.
U The place of worship in Great Eastcheap was kept open by Mr. R. Hindmanh,
for a little more than twelve months after the removal of the SoCiety therefrom. And,
at the Easter following, in the ~ear 1793, while the General Conferenoe of the Ne.
Churoh was being held in Birmmgham, a Conference was held at London, comp~
~OL. v. 34
 518 Corre'pondeRce. [Nov.
of the Rev. James Hindmarsh, Rev. Francis Leioeeter, Messrs. Robert Hindmanh,
Richard Thompeon, and George NicholBon, all of LondoD. At this Conference, Mr.
R. Hindmarsh produced his new plan of Churoh government; being entirely accord-
ing to the hierarchical form and in a great measure favoring Episcopacy; wmch wu
afterwards printed. n
This is importa.nt testimony to the general propriety of the remarks made by your
correspondent, who subscribes himself U Delt&," in December last, and being from
the pen of Mr. Sibly, ita oorrectne88 in point of fact will not be doubted. Your
reaaers will probably compare it with the remarks cited from ~Ir. Noble, in your
number for July (page 300, line 14, to the conclusion of the paragraph), and with
the paragraph (near the bottom of page 332) from Mr. Sibly, more cautiously word-
-ed, and more briefly given than the account by the same gentleman, which I have
oited. The reason of these oircumstances being 8uppressed, is evident enoogh from
the Dature of them. Mr. Sibly, in fact, states in another part of the" Address," that
he kept the matter cc locked up in his own bosom for yearB, and would Dot have
mentioned it, had not Mr. Noble's statements called it forth. n
It is Dot my wish to make any comment upon all this to the ~gement or the
pcnons concerned, who are 80 much and 80 worthily respected. The question that
:arises out of it has another bearing aloogether, and that is the degree oC ~t to
"hieh the institution of the ministry is entitled, setting aside :present considerations
and personal character, in virtue oJ- it, origin. Surely, there 18 evidence here of as
mu.oo self-will and self-prudence as there is of the divine sanction 80 often and 80
pertinaciously claimed for these proceedings. Then again, it reflects back upon the
LOT, to judge of which, as a providential agency, we ought certainly to judge~ first,
~f the de~ of moral and intellectual freedom enjoyed 1)y those who maae use of it.
In all probability you do not wish this question to ~ renewed. I will only re-
mark, therefore, in conclusion, that they who &rgl!e in favor of the Lot as aJFol'din2
a olearer 8ta~O than any other method for the action of Providence, utterly overlooi
the fact that It limits the choice, 80 to speak, of the divine mind, and allO predeter-
mines the main \l0int at issue. Who can say, it an additional slip of pa~ had been
put in the hat WIth the words, "Ordain, no OM," written upon it, that It would not
have been drawn in ~reference to the name of an ordaining minister 1 Suoh a ~­
per not being there, Providence could not express its will by the Lot. Granting Cor
a moment that it had such a will-as an extreme illustration, suppose a blind man to
()hooee the oolor of hiJJ. coat by lot from three pieces of paper. on whioh red, blue, and
green are written. Clearly, he cannot have a blcuk coat, and 80 his hand may be
guided to draw blue as the best result possible in Buch a case ! But how much bet-
ter to use hia under,tafJding which admits of a perfect: freedom of choioe, and is at
the same time quite BB likely to be the lubject of providontial in1luence as & pack of
cards.
Believe me, yours truly,
E. R.

THE TRUE MODE OF DEALING WITH SOCIAL EVILS.

·From an esteemed Western Correspondent.
REV. AND DEAll Bm :-It has given me pain to Bee signals of distress displayed at
the mut-bead of the Repository, and I hasten to pledge my mite of aid towa.rd8 keep-
ing it from sinking. I Will remit four dollars for next year·s volume, and thenceCor-
ward till better da~ come: or, I will take two copie8 at five dol1an per year. Of
~ourse I would prefer the latter, but for the faot that one copy ia quite as many as
will be flJell read here. ..
In re~ to the 0&WJ88 of the diminution of your subscription ll8t, my aympat.biee
are decldedly_ with you, 10 far as conoems your oppoeition to the little liorn wlUoo is
euJtiDg itself in, or rather over, the New Church in the UDi~ States. It ~
z.
modestry but, unle. I am under a mie-apprehension, it is intended. to fasten aDd
itil a~Iio locoeeaora (!) upon UI in pe~tuity. I am not blind to the fact that the
l'
.coDveDtiOD may, for a eeaaoD, be uefUl in preventing or supprelliDg cerWu. .temal
1852.] 7rue mode of dealing with Social Evil•• 519

disorders, which, but for the rule of Bome central power, probably would tempora-
rily annoy the New Church; and if it were distinctly avowed that the convention is
a thing of necessity, to be winked at in these days of ignoranoe, but to be self-dis-
~rsed at no distant. date, I might be content. But I aee. or think I Bee, tha.t it i.
mtended to perpetuate clerical influenoe, and to make it B canon of doctrine thai
societies may not license teachers, and ordain ministers Cor theJD8elves, but must
select from a list of such as have received a clerical imprimatur. I feel hands at my
throat in the effort to enlarge my 8wanowin~ capacity 80 that I may gulp down,
practically. the ancient Ba.bylonish dogma, Cl Blne episcopo, non ecclesia;" u 110 bishop,
no church;n and I see "mitred prelates" ready to blaclc-ball or ex-communicate all
who deny that most sensual idea, "the apostolic succession;" and, as 8 consequence,
I want some watchman upon the walls to U cry aloud, and spare not," and without
ceasing to "speak evil of dignities" of all sorts merely extemal; to hold up as
worldly nurses of sel1ish proprium, all priestly nomenolature, badgeR, and indicia;
to assert for each society and man (hOnlo) the right to take knowledge of (cognoe-
cere) their and his own proper teacher and priest; to demonstrate that teachers and
priests selected by the spontaneous, internal perception, taste, and choioe of societies
and individuals can be vastly more useful than can any others; that this spontane-
ous selection o~ht to be totally untrammelled as to its exercise; to declare that any
external restriCtion of the power of seleoting teaohers, and priests after the most pop-
ular fashion, is a libel upon New Church Philosophy, and that the character or tlie
relation between pastor and flock, and of the felt, but scarcely ~ken, affections
and confidences incident thereto, as the BaDle ultimately1Dill be, 18 flOlO almost or
quite ineffable, and that though hereafter it may become familiar, yet it must &lway.
be sacred.
As for the loss of your Southern, or slaveholding Eubscribers, I foresaw it on read-
ing the number of the Repository containing the first" Aphorism on Slavery and
Abolition," with the editorIal comments. (a) I was 8O~,-very, very sorry. I
thought with myself that if it should turn out that you sliould 80 treat the subject,
as to do more gOod than harm, I would be prepared to write down your success as a
miracle. Had I been in your sanctum, and admitted to your confidence, when the
first artiole on the subject was being prepared for the press, I have no doubt I should
have volunteered Or speech to you about as follows: u A1y dear friend, I pray you
reflect before 1'ou act in this matter. I have never yet mown a man born, eduoa-
ted, and residing as far North as you were and do, who could touch this subject
without doin~ harm. He invariablv either wounds his slaveholding friends, or by
some blundenng weak bluster, on tli'eir side of the subject, ocoasions his Northern
friends to blush for him, and quite frequently does both. We Newchurchmen of the
North must remember that our slaveholding brethren havo shared in the indignation
and apprehensions, excited in the universal Southem mind by harsh political denun-
ciations and action, the agitation of political and legislative questions and prop08i-
tions, and the" bald, disjointed chat" and scribble of moral, and political fanat-
ics, and that as a consequence, le they be ohased in their minds, as B Dear robbed of
her whelps," and that bence "010 is a most unpropitious time to address them in the
language of reproo~ or qucstion, or to bring to their notice our ideas concerning
their duties as slaveholders, or the sin which we may assume liee at their doors. (b)
The advantages which the evils of an evil era, and most villainous legislation
give the strong over the weak, are not peculiar to the South. In the Eastem cities,
the wealthy 80 avail themselves of circumstances as to obtain the labor of the poor
and helpless for far less wages than the negro slave generally receives for hie service.
The operatives in the factories at the North do not participate equitably with their
employers in the profits made by the joint stock composed of his capital, and of their
skill and labor. There is a great abstract evil here, and it looks as if there must be
also great wrong and ain. In the West, where I belong, we make fortunes-i. e., we
who have money-by forestalling the land market, monopolizing the acres of the
common inheritance, and holding them till the poor man has eamed his money, or
converted his means into money, and then, when he anives with hie family to take
posse&8ion of his share of the family lands, we touch his pocket to an extortionate
extent, which no abstract principle can tolerate. Now, it must be admitted that. in
the abstract, no Newchurchman ought to 'pile up a fortune by either of theee
 520 Oorrespondence. [Nov.
means, jU8tified as they are by Northem and Western fashion and law, under any
state of things, constituting the world such as it ou~ht to be. Ct:) But I opine that
they are not generally prepared to receive such an Idea practically and in extenso.
On the contrary, each communes with himself after this fashion: U I am an artisan,
and nothing else; I have capital; I must either follow my trade at such wages as
are usual and starve, or waste my capital in the expen£1cs of common living; or I
must vest my capital and become an employer; the latter is the better way, I will
do better by my emplolees than is common; I will endeavor to be just to them: but
it will be proper that, In settling the extent of my justioe to them, I should remem-
ber that my capital is at risk, that I ought to be paid for that risk, as an insurance
against reverses, and that my family is to be brought up, educated, and set out. in
life, in a style befitting my condition, and their prospects." Thus Cl in freedom and
according to reason" he settles the matter with his conscience, establishes biB fac-
tory, or shop, or vests his capital therein, and is al just and benevolent to his em-
ployees, whose skill, sinews, 8weat and toil build up his CortuDe8 as in his opinion
circumstances will admit. (d)
The Western Newchurchman who is making, or has made, his pile in the land and
lot business, passes through about the same mental process, arrives at Or similar con-
clusion, and thinks he has been just and kind, beoause he has not al1DaY' extorted
the last p088ible dime, AS the price of his tracts or lots, but, on the contrary, has
much faYored many t\ deserving purchaser, either by a reduction of price, or an
extension of credit.
The employer and the speculator may casually meet at the Astor, become ac-
quainted, aine together, and after exchanging experiences, each may U wipe his
mouth and say, I have done no harm." Nor, if they profess to have the life of con-
Bcience, is anyone at liberty to U judge" them. For tliey, and they only, understand
the peculiar circumstances which have dictated to their consciences certain modifi-
oations of that abstract right which cannot exist practically in the world till the
evils of the era shall have passed away, in some measure, and men and things ap-
proximate the state which ought to be.
But while this plea is admitted on behalf of the capitalist and speculator, it will
be groBS partiality to deny the slaveholder the benefit of it. He too is affected, and
even re!trained by the Qvils of the era, and by unjust laws; he alone knows the vast
complicat.ion of peculiar circumstances which keeps his conscience olear; he alone
knows his own works of love and mercy done and contemplated. \\110 shall cate-
chise him' Who shall arraign and condemn him' Ce)
I am induoed to write you this letter by reading the various communications on
the same 8ubject, in the September No. of the Repository, that 80, if it pleue you.
the published correspondence, a8 a whole, may present a triangular form. All and
eaoh of the letters gave me pain; but while reaaing-some of them, I felt as if I were
chewing rushes covered with sand. There seems to be a revel of delight in the minds
of some of the writers, excited by the triumphant fact that the Editor of the Repository
has at last declared himself of their party, and given aid and comfort to a miserable
proclivity to repent of other people's sins-a proclivity which, though in the abstract
Individual, seems in reference to the matter of slaveholding, to have assumed, in cer-
tain portions of the Northern States, It character decidedly social and BCctional. (f )
And to such an extent has this proclivity gained strength, that speakers and writers
888ume, with perfect noncho.lance, that slaveholders are, de facto, sinners above all
others, upon whom, but for the special (not general) mercy of God, the tower of Si..
loam, or some other tower, would have fallen long ago. To this proposition I enter
my humble, and, I trust, impartial protest. The time is not yet for tile discussion of
these matters. (g) The Southern mind is offended, annoyed, and sensitive, o.nd the
Northern mind is aggressive, ceosorious, indelicate, and discourteous. To take up, as
a theme, the subject of slavery alone, 8ee1D8 to be, and in fact is, a premeditated
attack, not impartial in ita character. The day will come when all the abu8Cs which
an evil era and partial laws have fastened upon us may be taken up together t and
brought to tho t88t of truth, strictly angular. This will not be tin the Southern
mind shall have recovered from its sense of wrong from unjust judgments aDd asper-
sions, and act on the'subject free from the prejudioes exoitedll)y outward presaare·
nor till the N orthe~ mind shall be le88 infested than at pre8ent by eelf-com '
1852.J T,·ue ""ode of dealing with Social Evil,. 521
spirits, sending it abroad in search of foreign evils to condemn. Released from this
infestation, the Northern mind will find more employment for the U internal bond" at
home, and consequently be more inclined to hQ~e the best things o~ and attribute
the best motives to, others. The New Church mind, North and South, mtan$ right,
and consequently will continue to approximate a. right way of thinking, and some
day will arrive at it. But that day is far more distant than our Northern moral and
political Hotspurs imagine. They assume that slavery is an evil, and expect those
eoncened to see with them at once. In this they are simply silly. \Vhen the!
affect to wonder that this abstract evil is not abandoned at once, and in disregara
of circumstances, they make an exception of it. The world or society repents of
and abandons evil systems by succe88ive ohanges of state, exactly as a man pro-
gresses in his regeneration, only vastly more ~radual1y, on the prinoiple that "J.ar~e
bodies move slowly." He who expects more IS a fool, and be who demands more 18
unreasonable. The influx of oharity will in time knock off the acute angles from
the truth, 88 it is in the Northem mind, which will then meet the truth as it is in the
8c?othem mind, half-way (or, as it seems.to me, something more than halt-way) and
will declare as an aphorism :
That slaveholding, as practised in the United States, is not, in itself; of necessity,
sin.
About the same time the Southem mind will declare o.s an aphorism:
"That he who lmoweth to do good"-i. e., by manumission- u and doeth it not;
to him it is sin."
And the Northern mind will admit the converse of this last proposition, viz:
That he who doth not see that more good than evil will result to all concerned,
Crom manumission, to him slaveholding is -not sin.
Similar aphorisms will be universally or genera.lly received, concerning other so-
cial evils, growing out o~ or inherent in, the U peculiar institutions" oC the Northem
States. No one Will assume to be better than others, or to j ud~ of the motivas of
others, but eaoh will be vigilant in judging himself. That will be a blessed era;
will it not 1 (1)
In conclusion, I would say, that the subject of every abstract social evil cannot re-
ceive a proper moral consideration without bringing also into view the fa.ct that the
alleged ern is of Providential permission. Thus, the slaveholder finds himself locat-
ed providentially in a slave State, where manumission is prohibited. His providen-
tial circumstances are such that,80 far as he can see, manumission must beggar
him and his familYl and make the condition of his slaves no better, but rather
worse. Accustomed to consider all circumstances together (whioh a.nother would
8carcely do) he does not manumit, and his conscience snstains him. Again: He
finds a slave who has a hard ma.ster, is unable to purchase and manumit him, but
able to purchase him and profit by his services. He buys him and uses him well.
Or he buys slaves to bring families together. \Vho will reprove him 1
So the oapitalist invests money in an operation, intendIng to profit himself, but
also intending to pay his operatives better wages tha.n are common, though not the
greatest amount he can possibly afford to. Who will reprove him ~
Or one sees land in market at low prices. He does not need it for his own use.
The doctrines of the Come-outers would prohibit him from purchasing. According
to their dogmas, he must Dot touch or handle; but leave the land for some landless
brother to occupy. But he thinks otherwise. He knows some speculator will buy it
unless he does. He makes it his own, and after 0. year or -t,vo, sells it to a landless
man for one hundred per cent. profit, instead ot extorting one hundred and fifty pro-
fit, as he might do. Who will reprove him 1
These cases stated illustrate the 'practioal truism, that in an evil era, and under
unjust laws, and selfish U peculiar Institutions," few can practise the right abstract-
edly considered, but are forced to mould their moral ethics to the shape oC "times"
that U are out of joint." Henoe nearly or quite every one living in a glass house,
a.ssailable from the stony mountain of "abstract right," each will do well to avoid
throwing stones, and to keep in mind the Apostolic inj unction, U Look well to thy-
self." \V.
NOTE.-I need not to tell you, but wish to say to the reader of the Repository, that I
am a tull blooded Yankee, born in North Western Pennsylvania, raised in Ohio; froln my
6~2 Oorrerpondence. [Nov.
youth to this hour have lived in Indiana, and that when, by the accident 01 marital right.
I acquired a small 8lave property, h was promptly mannmitted-tbe more cheerfuUy and
happily, because the slave was a firtt rate stone ma.~on, and well educated, and able to
take care oC himself. He is rioh no\v, while I remain poor.
REMARKS.
(s) So did we; but we did not deem that a lufBcient reason for forbearing to discl1!S
a subject of practical bearing on the be!t interests or the New Church. The result has
.hown that onr cour!e was not ill-advised, as the erasures in our subscription list are far
fewer than we had antioipated. and evidence Is daily accumulating that our end has heeD
answered, by exciting eerious inquiry into the true moral character ot the institution, aDd
the dictates oC charity in relation to it.
(6) We are by no means unaware of the excited state 01 the popular mind at the South,
Dor do we doubt that our New Church brethren sbare more or less in that excitement.
But our appeal has been exclusively to thma, and we have felt at liberty to believe that DO
political influences or con!'iderations would be permitted to overbear or set aside in their
minds the claims of those principles or righteousness and truth to which, as Newchurch-
men, they are sacredly pINged. A general and Indiscriminate appeal to Southern men
of all ranks, parties, and characters, we should deem quite as inexpedient as ODr corres-
pondent.
(c) The policy of bringing forward one form oC evil \0 ofFset, excuse, or extenuate an-
other, has never struck us lavorably, nor do we conceive tbat the rebuke of one implies by
necessity It. sanction or the other. If tbere are modes and usages ot busine!1 prevalent in
the commercial world, and amonl Newchurchmen, which any ODe ~s to be wrong ..
clearly 8S we lee slavery, in some of its aspects, to be wrong, be Is morally bound, so tal'
as we can perceive, to lift up a voice of remonstrance against it. The same principles of
duty which prompt us in the one case, ooght to prompt him in the other, (or it ts diffi-
cult to cite any consideration from le evil laws," or U villainouslegislatioD," that shall jus-
tifyany man In tolerating, In hhnself or others, principles or practices which are really at
nriance with tbe laws of eternal rectitude. There are, no doubt, questions growing out
of the social economies of the world which involve a casuistry not alwft)·. easy to be settled.
and in regard to which the language ot censore or denunciation should be very slowly
adopted. But the evils and wrongs of slavery, ill the points in which we have condemned
it, are too palpable to be pnt upon a par with the dubieties now alluded to, nor are we re-
quired to postpone the jUlt reprehension of one elass of wrongs till the real enormity of
another is distinctly determined: It is quite possible, Indeed, that there are questions COD-
nected with the subject of COlt and profit in the transactions of civil life which require to
be tried by a higher standard of morality than has yet been applied to them, but at pre-
sent they do not press upon the general CODscience oC Christians with the urgency that
forces slavery upon public consideration. As In the case of the individual man, fO in
that of the social nlan, all evils are not equn1ly seen at once, but first one and then an-
other. One mind becomes awake to one form of evil, and another to another. Each as-
cordingly devotes its energit's to the doing away oC that particular (orm of evil which cir-
cumstances may have rendered more prominent, or represented more baneful in hil eyes
than any other. One 8ccordiDIly enters the field of the temperance reform, and wages an
active war arninst tbe abominations of strong drink; a second enters into a holy crusade
agaiost licentiousness; a third against the borrors of war; and a fourth againsl tbe eyil
things of slavery. Now, It ,,·ould be evidently unfair to attempt to weaken the force of
the appeal made by any of these earnest pleaders because be did not assume the proyiace
of his brother pleader, and that too, before his mind was entirely clear 8S to the lilbt in
which the alleged evils were to be viewed. The reader will, therefore, justly infer Iba'
1852.] True mode of dealing witl. &cial Evil,.-Remarlu. 628
we admit but little force In the objection drawn tram thlslOQloe to our engaglag In the
discussion or the slavery question.
(d) We may be 80Iuewhat obtuse, but we frankly confe. we lee nothing In the pur-
port of thi9 loliloquy that goes counter to any plain principle of justice or good morals ;
aad therefore, we are at a loss to perceive its pertinence iD a train of arg11ment desiped
to show that analogous evils justly require analogous treatment. In the present we see no
analogy in the two cases.
(t) No man is expected to condemn bimself, or feel the torce ot the condemnation of
",il..
others, for evils uAich he doe, fIOf SI' to be But we mayendeavor to convince him
that such and luch things (Jr, evils, and then leave it to him to act on that conviction. So in
the case of the slaveholderj 80 in the case of the employer and speculator. I, 815 a Cbris-
tian brother, am boond to reprove whatever evils I perceive in the conduct of either party.
Cl Sbow my people their tran8lreasions." But it does not follow that I am in a condition
to see all the dUf818nt phases of evil with the same olearneu, or to reprove them with the
lame el"eet. What, however, I do not see, another may, and then it becomes his duty to
endeavor to open the eyes of hil erriDI Deigbbor iD regard to his eTi1s,88 it is mine to
labor to the same end in reference to a different class. It is only on this principle that
ODr duty to others can be safely governed. What men may think about the moral cbar-
acter of their own doings is Dot 80 much the question here, a8 in what light we are to view
ODr duty towards them. They may very possibly acquit thelnselvea of all wroDI on the
score of an Cl evil era," or oC IOmething else, when, att he same time, the truth does not
acquit them.
(f) The cc proclivity to repent oC other people's sins," may indeed be a very mis-
chievous promptillK when it leaves our own ains unrepented oC. At the same time, it
cannot be denied that there i. some harm liable to be done by toltratiflg other people's
alns. The true principles ot the New Church do undoubtedly teach that our first concern
11 with ourselves personally-tbe putting away of our OWD eTHs; but they teach no less
distinctly that 8uch is the relation of unity and community among the members of the
Lord's church, that there is no breacb of charity-no overstepping the limits of persona]
duty-in admonishing our fellow-members, in the spirit of kindness, of whatever detects,
obtiquities, or evils may be apparent to our perceptions. What is one's is another's in that
close and endeared connection, and it is quite contrary to the !pirit of the true church to
dissuade tlom the exhortation ot others on the ground that our duties are confined to the
discardinlof our own personal evils, and td operating upon oar fellow-men solely by the
force of our example.
(g) The time for the dilCtlai_ of abstract and absolute truth is always come. It is
wholly indeperadent oC tilne and circumstance. The ultimatiQf& of trutb, however, in posi-
tive act is necessarily more or leas governed by eircumstances-circamstance8 ot time,
place, aDd mode. In the case before us, it is not to be forgotten that our plea is address-
ed to those who may properly be supposed to be above the influence oC mere sectional
prejodice and party annoyances, such as are here hinted at, and to be able to give heed to
tbe dictates of wildom and truth. If they do not, it is their fault, and not ours. For our-
selves, we are not conscious of treating the subject of slavery In disregard of the peculiar
circumstances by which it is environed, and therefore, we do not feel the force ot much
that our eorrespond~nt!aJ80n this head. It may apply to an indiscriminate or ultra abo-
litionism, but not to ours. With tbh remark \ve leavo the remainder of the article to
make its own im pression.
(h) As we recognize a Callacy in the rerllarks on this head !imitar to that whinh we have
endE'avored to expo!8 in a former article in the present No. (Art. Ill.), we beg leave to re- ,
fer the readel to what we have there !aid.
524 Mi,cellany.

MISCELLANY.

Having been (a~ored with a portion or the Cl Bolton Chronicle" (Eng.), containing a
repor1. of Dr. Haddock's concluding lecture on the 6cience and philosophy at Swedenborg.
alluded to in our last No., we are happy to give it insertion In our pages. Dr. Haddock
is the author of an interesting little 'Yolume entitled cc Somnolism and Psycheism.-
reviewed in our work a year or two since, and from which we extracted some remarkable
specimens of the clairvoyant powers of a young woman, a domestic in his faanily, Damed
"Emma."
THE SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY OF SWEDENBORG.
The lecturer be~n by referring to the experiments of the former lecture, which, he
said, ",·ere chiefly Intended to illustrate the principles of caemical combination, and
to show how gasses with gasses,-gasses with liquids, and gasses with solids, could be
united, so &8 to produoe entirely new bodies, having none of the sensible qualities Qf
the substances which enter into their composition. His object in this was to explain
and illustrate the theory enunciated in Swedenborg's Principia, in which a eenes of
~radul\lly compounded elementary and imponderable substances are described end-
Ing at last in pure water, whioh is the lowest 8ubstance mentioned in that work, and
thence called by its author the First Afaterial Finite; using tho word Material
here in the sense of l\ 8olid, inelastic substance; and hence he says that in every
single drop of water, is latent, or lies ooncealed and folded up, the whole elementary
wond.
The chemical properties of water had been &1ready described, and its pll.y,ical pr0-
perties also pointed out; and it was shown that Swedenborg first, and then Dalton,
after B lapse of 87 years, had maintained water to consist physically ofminate solid
spherules, which the lecturer compared to bird-shots; and that its fluidity depended
on the free motion of these little spherules over and among each other; and that by
the withdrawal of the necessary amount of heat, to keep these particles in the ftuid
position, they assumed a triangular position, adhered together, and presented the
appearance of solid water, or ice. And it Was shown that both Swedenborg and
Dalton used the same diagrams to explain these phenomena. .
Now water, notwithstanding its apparent instability, was one of the best types of
solidity. For it had been found that although like other bodies, it e~anded or oon-
tracted with the change of temperature, yet that it was really more Incompressible
than gold. A pound of water at a given temperature, would always fill a measure
of that capacity, and never more or less. This might be oalled the law of liquid and
solid bodies. But he now wished to impre88 on his auditory that the rerial fluids,
8uoh aa oommon air, and the various gasses were under the operation of quite
another law. Ifa qua.rt bottle filled with air was connected by a pipe and tap with
another bottle of the same or larger size, which had been emptIed of ds air by means
of an air-pump, the air would PS88 through the tap when opened, and fill both bot-
tles. This was because the particles of air or gas, were not solid or inelutic, like
water, but hollow, and highly elastic. As bird-shots had been referred to as a rep-
resentation of the solid particles of water, 80 very Dlinute bladders, or soap-bubbles,
might be considered &s representing the ·particles of air and gasses. These would
expand or contract accordiD~ to the remo,·al or incrense of the pressure upon them.
But this WB8 not the only pOInt in which rer£'ol till bstances diJrered from liquids or
solids. If two liquids of different specific weights or gravity, &8 it is scientifically
termed, were carefully poured into a vessel, the lighter liquid would float on the
heavier. Thus, oil or spirit would float on water, and water would float on any hea-
vier fluid, suob as quicksilver. But gasses of different weights would commingle in
every position. Dalton filled bottles with ditferent gasses, and connected them two
.and two, by a pipe entering the neck of each. He found that it made no essential
diJrerence how tliese bottles were placed; for after a time each bottle contained an
'qual mixture of both gaeses. Thus, if hydrogen, the lightest substance known in
1852.] The Science and Philo8ophy of SteedeTlborg. 526

nature, was "ontained in the upper bottle, and carbonio acid, oxygen, or some other
hea~ ~ in the lower bottle, the heary' gas ascended from the lower into the upper
bottle, m opposition to the law of ~vity, and the lighter ~ descended and p&s8ed
through the lower, con~ to the law both of liquids and solids. Beside. the par-
ticles of gas were considered as mutua1l1 repulsive of each other, and not mutually
attractive, or adhesive, as were the particles of liquids and solids. Thus, in propor-
tion as we rose Crom the inert substances of nature, we transcended the laws of gross
material bodies.
In the g&1vanio a~paratU8 then before the audience, he would exhibit a further
unfolding of the hidden principles of nature. The lecturer bad before shown
them the action of diluted sulphuric acid on zinc, and explained the chemical laws
and results of that action. He would now show them that chemical action evolved
a more refined foroe of influence. The apparatus having been set in action, tho
nature and laW8 of galvanic electricity were explained, as also the nature and
mode of exhibiting common, or atmospheric electricity. Some of the laws or prin-
ciplee oCmagnetism were illustrated br experiments, such &8 ita directive force; the
law of magnetic curves; the declination of the magnetio needle, or, a8 it is moe'
commonly called, the variation of the compass; and the law of magnetic inteDsity ;
or, as popularly called, the dip of the needfe. As a further instance of the infoldings
and unfoldings of tho elementary substances, electricity was shown to produce mag-
netism, and magnetism would evolve and produce electricity. Thus, we had now
both electric and magnetic telegraphs. But we had now entered the region where
even natural substances were no longer of the" earth, earthy." None of the common
properties of matter belonged to the magnetic a.nd electric forces, or fluids. They
could not be bottled up, as a gas could, nor weighed, nor measured, nor seen, nor
tasted, nor even in their ordinary operation8 felt. Yet we had daily instances of
their reality, and transcendant force and velocity; and the human nervous system
was powerfully impressible by these forces, under certain conditions.
Now, according to Swedenborg, magnetism and electeicit, were but the manifest-
s tions of the activity of two compound, imponderable, hIghly elastio fluids, com-
pounded on a principle, if not identical, yet analogous to the common chemica.l com-
pounds of ~asses, or of water. And like these lower compounds, he showed even
their supenor forces or substances, to be governed by the laws of geometry. This
has but recently been demonstrated. In a late number of the PI"ilosophical Maga-
zint, it was shown that magnetic Corce increased or decreased according to the
square of the distance, just as W88 the case with ~vitation. But this was a neces-
sary result from the whole of Swedenborg's geometrical principles. The knowledge
of the variation of the compass was of the highest importance in navigation. At
present it,was believed that this knowledge could only be obtained by actual obser-
vation; that no general law or theory could account for it. But Swedenborg, in his
Principia, published in 1734, mentions all the great facts connected with the varia...
tion of the compass; described the revolution of the northern magnetic pole round
the pole of the earth, as being shorter in duration than that of the Southern mapetic
pole round the Southern pole of the earth and that the 80uthem magnetio BDS was
Ion~er than the northern. This was not surmised by anyone else, as far as it is known,
untIl about ninety years after the publication of Swedenborg's Principia, and had only
reoently been experimentally confirmed by Sir J. C. ROBS-S antarctIC voyage of di.
covcry. Tho data on which Swedenborg grounded his observations were 80 imperfect,
that he was wrong as to the exact time occupied in these revolutions; yet such was his
wonderful power of applying even imperfect facts, that he wo.s correct in the propor-
tional diDermce he 888lgned to each pole. ~Ir. Beswick, of }Ianchester, brother of
the Wesleyan minister oC that name in Bolton, had very closely investigated these
lawI of Swedenborg, and found that with the more correot data. of the present day,
and a necessary correction, the theory would enable a mathematician to compute the
magnetic variation with the same certainty as o.n astronomical problem.
But Swedenborg carried magnetism to a yet unsuspected result. He referred the
whole phenomena of sidereal astronomy, the revolution of suns, as well as planets,
to magnetio laws. The elder Herschel taught that our solar system had a regular
motion in space, and B88igned the locality of our sun among the stany orbs. Swe-
denborg, from his magnetic and geometrio principles, had assigned the same place
to the SUD, before Herschel was born. He was also the real Buthpr of the Nebular
 628 Mi,cellany.
Hypoth. generally assigned to the Frenoh astronomer La Place. La Place".
theory had been, it was considered, disproved by the discoveries of Lord Rosse; but
Swedenborg's theory had yet to be te8~ in all its bearings. La Place be~ from
the circumference; Swedenborg from the centre; as might be seen from the dia-
pma contained in his Principia. The magnetio theory of the universe, 80 to call
It, inolude@ the laws of gravitation, and thus shoWl why the imponderable elements
should exhibit its law of force.
In taking a rapid glance at Swedenborg's theory of the elements, the lecturer said,
he taught that the primal, or first and simple substance, which was the first natural
emanation from the Deity, had the very elements of activity or force within it.
Here we get at the primal 80urce of motion. By the mutual aotion of these parti-
cles on each other according_ to a deftnite law, a new substanoe was called into ex-
istence, forming what he called a New Finite, or limit. Thia again, by another in-
folding or condensation, being modified into another substance. That in each of
th_ modifications there was a decrease of acti",;t y and tzpan,ion, &nd consequen t1y
a oontinual tendency to inertia, or fixed matter at rest. Any given element contain-
ed all the prior elements within it; hence the decomposition of the particle of the
element set all the prior elements free, or rendered them sensibly active. Aqueos
Vapor was his lowest element; next above it, the aerial or gaseous; then the ethe-
real or electrio; still hi~her, the magnetio element,-in which he observes, nature
begins to make hel'8elf vIsible; and finally what he calls the fi.rat element, or primal
compound. Swedenborg's theory, therefore, seemed to point to the solution of that
~leDng unity, and yet diversity, which philO8Ophers observed in the imponderable
elements-light, heat, magnetism, and electricity. While the researcbes of Baron
Reichenhach, and that of mesmeric physiologists, lead. to the belief, that there is an-
other, hil5her, and more universal element, than either magnetism, or electricity.
These pomta are illustrated by reference to Swedenborg'8 dia~ams.
The lecturer regretted the vastness of the subjeot, and the time oconpied, prevent-
ed him going into the anatomical and physiological portions of Swedenoorgs works,
in the manner he originally intended. He alluded to the extreme minuteness or
Swedenborg'8 anatomioal knowledge-the laws of order, which he showed to be
dominant in the animal kingdom, as he calls the human body. He taught that the
brain had an independent motion, keeping time with the motion of the lQD~; that
it was the internal cause of respiration; the admission of the atmosphere being only
the external cause. Also that the blood Ve88els were 80 contrived, or rather ordered,
that the brain, in health, should exercise a control over its own suppl,. The motion
of the brain was now beginning to be admitted; it was admitted 10 Dr. \Vataon"s
Principles of ?tledicine: the present text book of the Medical schools. The lecturer
explained and illustrated these and other particulars by referenoe to casta and dia-
grams, and pointed out the important bearing of this knowledge in oertain states of
disease. By a chemical experunent, one great use of respiration was shown; that or
furnishing oxygen to the system, which is again given oir in the form of carbonic
acid ; at the same time explaining Swedenborg'8 peculiar dootrine of respiration, as
giving motion to, and harmonizing the diversified activities of all the internal organs
. of the body.
The lecturer briefly referred to Swedenborg's psycholo~. The lOul was a created
substance; it animated the Srst lerm of bodily organization, and moulded aDd direct-
ed every Bubsequent addition. In his earlier works he sought it in the animal spirits,
or nervous fluids of the body. In hia later writings, when from his abnormal state,
he had more interior perceptioDs, and was removed 80 far from the trammels of time
and space, he considered tliat tho 80ul was of spiritual subst&nce,-re&1-orp-nised
Ni gena", and connected with the developed natural body, not by continwty, but
by a law of distinct adaptation, which the lecturer illu8trated by the electric fluid
passiD~ along the telegraphio wire, without forming any part of the wire. Tb., the
conneXlOD between sow and body was effected by the first or m08t uDiverml elements,
and that we had in this theo~, the key, probably, to some of the higher manifesta-
tiOD8 of Mesmeri8ID. That Swedenborg taught a nccc88ity arising from a divine law,
Cor man being bom into the world of nature, as by that means he booame fixed and
his identity for ever preserved; and that the immortal man derived his ultimate ba-
ail from the purest principles of nature, which formed, as it were, the cutaneous
1852.] Notice8 of &oi,. 627
cOTering or lowest principals or hie immortal body. The leotarer oonclu.ded by re-
(erring to S"edenborg's magnificent idea of the Deity, as existing in all time, without
time, and in all space, without space; the radiant glory of His Divine Power,-the
u unapproachable li~ht" of the ap08tle,-forming, as it were, the CENTRAL SUN,
round which the entIre universe revolved: the source and 8Uppor~r of all being, in
Himself unlmowable and unfathomable; but in His Divine Humanity, &8 before <lb-
.rved by St. AUg11stin, accommodated to human perception, and tJius forming the
central doctrine of Christian Theism.
The lecture lasted about two hours, and at its conclusion a vote or thanks to the
lecturer was proposed and carried unanimously.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

I.-THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY o~ A NEWCHtTllCHMAH: or, Intidmts and Observations ton·

ratded with th, Lift of John A.. Liftl,. Philadelphia: Lippinoott, Grambo It Co.
1852.
The title of tbia work is a letter of reoommendation to those who U have obtained
like precious faith" with the author. The autobiography of a Newchurchman nat-
urally suggests the idea of a memoir in which the expeTience of the writer as a re
ceil'er of the Heavenly Doctrinel holds a prominent place. We anticipate in the
main a detail of the trials and struggles encountered in the breaking up of the old
fixtures of faith, and the reception of entirely new forms of truth. On any other
ground the personal biography of any individual would seem to have comparatively
little claim to attention, unless there were in it something of a oharacter peculiarly
marked, eventful, and spirit-stirring. Measured by this sta.ndard, we are not quite
sure that the expectation raised by the title of the present work is altogether real-
ised in the sequel. The religioU8 experience of the author is indeed rela~ and in a
manner to secure a lively interest in the perusal, but it still forms but one department
of the narrative, and that not perhaps the largest. The design of the book is to give
a consecutive record of the course oC life from infancy to middle age of one who, iD
his mental progress, renounced the dogmas of the Old School, and embraced the doc-
trines of the New. This is treated 8S one event among others in the life of the
author, but does not constitute the main burden of the book. Still we do not say
this to disparage the publication. Our object is simply to make known ita character
to the reader. We have looked over the volume with much interest, and can testify
that what is said by the U Newchurchman" as a Newchurchman, is well and weight-
ily.id. As for the reet, the memoir has all the interest which could well pertain
to the quiet career of a man of sound sense and upright principle, making his way
by dint of industry and perseverance from a humble origin to l\ position of worldly
eompetence, of professional repute, of high personal respectability, and of happy
80cial and domcstio relations. There is probably no private life, however noieeless
and peaceable its tenor, the history of which would not be listened to or perused
with pleasure, provided it were related in an easy, natural, and flowing vein, which
is eminently charaoteristio of the volume before us. Advisedly discarding every ambi-
tious quality of style, and intent upon rearing & humble monument to the praise of
the Divine Goodness and Truth, as evinced in a series of kindly providential dispen-
528 Notice8 of Bookl. [NOVe
sations, he accompliehe8 his purpose with decided felicity. lIe tclla hie story with
simplicity and sincerity, and we feel attracted by the gentleness, genialne8B, and
amiability of spirit, which breathes through its page.s. It is on the whole a work
upon which our New Church literature has no reason to look aabnce.
The following paragraph will aJford a fair specimen of the manner in which tDpica
especially interesting to the Newchurchman are treated. He is speaking of biB
mode of life for a year or two after biB marriage.
U One good effect of our exclusive and retired mode of living, was the necessity
that it created of our seeking more continually and more closely each other'!s Bociety.
The consequence was that few hours that were not devoted to busine88 were occupied
by us in any other way than by trying to entertain and improve eaoh other. \Ve
walked together, we sat together, and we read together. And as I felt an increasing
interest in the doctrines of-the New Church in proportion a8 I continued to study and
investigate them, I became more and more anxious that Ann&, too, should have an
opportunity of examining them with me. It was our usual praotice, therefore., on the
Sabbath day, after having gone through t10me other exercises which were appropri-
ate to the occasion, to take up one of the works of the lS'ew Church, and study it in
each other's company. [woUld read while she would listen, and the reading would
be followed by such comments &8 occurred to me at the time. It seldom happened,
at this stage of our studies, that she herself attempted to advance any opinion of her
own on the doctrines she was learning in the manner I have stated. 1 soon discov-
ered, however, that 80 far as she was able to see the distinguishing difference between
the old and new theology she seemed to give the latter tile preference, and that she
had the less difficulty on this subject in consequence of never having been taught to
regard anI mere summary of religion as the undoubted truth of the divine \Vord.
My own views of the New Church theology were growing brighter and brighter
every day. It is true, I did not yet experienoe the full assurance of its heav-
enly origin and sanctity. 1\1y eles were not yet sufficiently opened to witness
the descent of the New Jerusalem m the glory and majesty of her spiritual manifes-
tations-I had but a confused &.Dd indistinct view of the virgin Bride, prepared and
adomed for her husband. . But the more I gazed the more the desoending glory be-
came apparent,-the more I wondered, the more the approaching advent seemed to
fill my feeble e~e8isht. The heavenly vision was opening from a distance, and WBS
beginning to shwe m a light and glory that were too resplendent to be overloooked
or mistaken.
For three or four years after the period of our marriage 1 continued to read the
writings of the New Church with increasing joy and aatisfaction. One of the strong-
est a.rgumenta in favor of their truth arose from the remarka.ble harmony and agree-
ment which I found often existed between statements made by Swedenborg OD .. van..
etl of topios, and the like views which, more or less distinctly, I had been led to enter-
tain sometimes on the same or similar subjects. As an illustration of my meaning
I will only advert to that heavenly and sublime deolaration 80 often repeated by him,
that the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of US88. The -idea contained in this decla-
ration is calculatod to fill the mind with conceptions of vast and inoalculable impor-
tance, and, when properly considered, is the only one which would aeem to be worthl
of an infinitely wise nnd beneficent Creator. That by a law of the Divine Pron-
dance everything in the universe of God should tend to some practical uso-that the
operation of use should be constant, active and increo.sing-tbat this influent princi-
ple should pervade and animate the spirit world as well 8.8 the dim earth on which
we live-that it should be the leading purpose, the essential life, of all spiritual intel-
ligences-that it should reach from men to angels and from angels to the very throno
of God-that it should encompass heaven and earth, and even hell itself-all this is
attended with a sense of feeling so vast and overwhelming, but at the same time so
instructive and pleasing, that tlie mind can think of none other to be compared with
it. There is no other idea of tbe govemment and works of God which conveys so
distinct, 80 simp!e, and at the same time 80 sublime a view of His divine love and
wiadODl. It hallows all things, it exalts all things, it explains all things. It is a cen-
1852.] AutobiogrfJp"y of a Newchurchman. 629
tra1 truth of the New Church, and round it must cluster the hopes and happin81J8 of
men, the bleesinga and delights of an~ls, throughout eternity.
Cl This truth, like many others., struok me with great force, on first peru8in~ the

writings of Swedenborg. I thought I had seen and felt it befor~. I had some Indis-
tinct notion of its singular glory and reality. It had flitted before my eyes in open vis-
ion, bot not in outlines lutliciently clear and vivid to enable me to grasp ita V&stne88
and ita power. But now, there it was, inscribed by Swedenborg on the outer walls of
the New Jernsalf'm in letters and words that could not be mistaken.
U Another reason for my awarding to Swedenborg an authority and a power which
1 believed did not originate with himael~ was the sensible a88urance I received from
his writings, that they infinitely exalted the Christian life and character above the
cold, formal, and unmeaning standard I had 80 often heard described in the pulpit,
and which I had sometimes turned away from on acoount of not UDderstaDding~ and
at other times on account of its repngnaDce to everything that appeared to be juS
and true. In the writings of the New Church I found no mode of escape from sin
and iniquity except by sincere repent..nce and a new life. And the reason8 for such
a COUJ'8e were based on considerationS that were at once plain and obvious, as well
88 Icriptural and philosophical. I was not there told of the application of two for-
ces 88 the means of salvation, in a manner 80 ambiguous and unintelligible as to
leave it entirely uncertain whether one or the other was to be preferred, or whether
both were or were not necessary to accomplish the end proposed. It was plainly
revealed to me that it was nece88ary to exercise not only faith but charity as the
means of salvation, but that the former was of but little efficacy except so far &I it
originated in snd bad its life and existeDce in charity. The cardinal pnnciple, there-
fore, is placed at the foundation of all true religion-at the centre of all good
thou~hte and good afFections-a\ the root of all reasonable expectation of heavenlI
happiness. An individual who is sincerely bent on making himself happy, must leaa
a gOod life in order to become a good ma.n, and must become a good man before he
can expect to realize the beatitudes of the etema.l world. This harmonizes with the
common sense and common perceptions of men-it is the eternal truth of God's
divine Word-the plain preacning of our blessed Saviour. The duties eDjoined by
him are to be faithfully attended to-his precepts are to be considered abOve money
and above price, and his commandments are to be the rule and measure of our con-
duct. But we must not rely on our own strength or our own intelligence as suffi-
cient in themselves to fit us for obeying his holy commandments. We must remem-
ber that of ourselves we are nothing but evil, and we must look to him alone to pu-
rify our heart8 and aifections. In this way we may become regenerate persons. As
our lives will be here, 80 may we expect our happiness to be hereafter. As every
man has the ~wer in this life of chooain~ either gOod or evil, he will in the Dext lire
be precisell what he has made himsel~ eIther an an~l of light or an sngel of dark-
ne88. ThIS is an imperfect glimpse of what the New Church requires of man, in
order that he may be Baved. I was pleased with these views, as I have stated above,
because they seemed to me greatly to exalt the Christian character, making man's
salvation in another world depend on the holiness of his life in this. But although
my faith in the writings of tne church was becoming stronger every day, the secret
was known to few except Anna and myself."
In the following we have bis estimate of the U True Christian Religion:'
UI opened the book he had recommended for my perusal, and commenced a seri-
OU8 and systematic study of its contents. Its first two or three cha~ters did not very
forcibly arrest my attention, since I thought Swedenborg's speculations on the unity,
the existence, and the immensity of Jehovah, were little more than a repetition oC the
lame remarks that mi~ht be found in the works of many philosophical aut-hors who
had undertaken to wrIte on the same subjects. But as I proceeded I found my mind
to become more deeply interested. I soon discovered that his 81stem of theology
was an orderly arran~ement of propositions and sequences, whIch followed each
other in the most lOgIcal series-that it contained many views that were not less
remarkable on account of their novelty than they were distinguished for their truth-
fulne. and simplicity-that while it unfolded some of the most momentous ideu
conoerning God, his attributes, and govemment of the world, it at the BalDe time
 S80 Edilorialltem8. [Nov.
gave a new and more wonderful d8lJOri~OD of man's mental organisation admi-
rably adapted to the ends and objects of his creation-and that thi8 syatem iD itiBeIf
contained a union of parts, 80 fitting and harmoniOQ8 to each other, as to Corm a
complete and perfeot whole. I was astonished at the regular agreement of one thin«
witli another in the economy of the Lord'. ~vidence-at the vieWB which were
opened to me of the divine o~tion on the Dllnds of meD---&t tho kind and beuefi-
cent e1Feots which were conBtantIy flowing from the divine love and wisdom in all
parts of the universe. Theee were feelings and impre88ioDB that were as gratifying
to my intellect as they were grateful and consoling to my heart. But I W&II atill
more aifected as I continued to read, by the statement whioh Swedenborg give. of
the plan of redemption, and ~ially tiy his d8IJCri~on of what conatitQtee a life of
obari~. In every part of th18 delOription I eeemed to disoover a ree~ to m1
own feelings on that important 8ubject. I W&8 rejoioed to find that he regarded this
as the vivifyinS power of the church-as the universal principle oC all true religion
--a8 the celestial ground from which alone seed could spring forth and bear. I
rejoiced in this, because it seemed to restore again to mI a.woQ8 viaion the lost
image of God. I felt as if it would be no longer n~ for me to be wandering
in the shadowy coartB of a bewildered church, eagerly and solemnly iDqui~ the
road ro heaven, with a thousand of6.ciOUB guides ieady to oJrer their aerneee,
but lCaroely one who could furnish me with an intelligible deecril'tion of the
way. I had lon~ desired to free myself from the annoyance of t»I'e8U~tUOU8 and
oontradictory adVIsers, manl of whom could not agree on the subJect of the funda-
mental conditions of salvation, and all of whom involved these conditioDl in terms
that were painful and repugnant to my intellect and al"ections. I had endeavored
indeed to quiet my mind on theee pe~exiDg subjects of doubt and iDquiry, and
thought I had succoeded in doing 10, but I now ~ ~ peroeive that my doubtl
had been lulled, hilt not .tided. I was truly g1ad when I thought I laW & plainer
and a better way.n
The work is 880ribed by the tenor of the title-page to Joh", ..4. Little, but thia is
doubtlell a nom de plume, and tho book may be said to be virtually anonym0U8. We
have, at any rate, never been informed of the authorship, and therefore should Yio-
late no secret, even should we cha.nce to hit upon it by a happy guess. \Ve do
Dot know that we should succeed in this, but still we have been tempted to try oar
ingenuity upon the name as an anagram, and we find that by a alight version of the
English Little into the German Klein, and an equally slight inversion of John .ifn-
drt1l1 into -Andrew John, we bring out & name WJ"g near to that which we strongly
inclin, to believe the genuine one in the premiaes. But whether this be 80 or Dot is
of comparatively llttle consequence to the work itBeIt; which is one that will be read
with lively interest,. as it hu the faculty of beguiling attention very much like the OOD-
venation of an extremely agreeable, though Do"highly gifted or brilliant oompuUOD.

IDITORIAL ITiIlS.

It is no doubt becoming more and more common to meet with conmmations. drawn
from a tbollsand lOurces, oC the troth of the great theoloaical and moral maxims of Sw.
denborg. The experience of the world is gradually working itself up to the Dleasure of
hi. trUth., even when thoee UQlha have been in the Irst instance questioned or denied.
Thus, tor Instance, his doctrine oC Charity has IOmetimes been accounted aarrow aDd
ilUberal, because in lome respects re.trictive and discriminative. His significant aphor-
ism, cc That doiog good to the evil is doing evil to the good." has been charged with
breathinr an uncatholic spirit, and caloulated to ahut up the bowela of COlD passion 10-
ward. the unfortunate and dl8treSMd. Bat the allowing remark. from a late number of
the LoDdoll Esaminer. iD Ip8&kiDg at the evill or madicancy, come nry clectdedlr...
1852.] Editorialltem8. 681
win be seen, upon New Church groond. 11 A person who gives alms at random may be
compared to ODe who fires a shot at random among a crowd. There is a seed of aoeial
mischief in every ill-bestowed bounty, though the eye does not see wbat the beart rues.
How many a criminal has to ourle the careless hand that first encouraged. him iD a life of
idleneu, impostore. and ngraney." Upon this remark the Editor of the If. Y. Daily
Times comlnents as follows, after speaking of the extent to which begging prevails in this
city: lilt may seem hard and heartless to refuse, even to such persons, the poor boon oC
cold victuals. But a little re:fiection will show that it is a wrong and an evil practice to do
olberwise. A very little inquiry will bring to the knowledge of every housekettper some
persons who, from illness, poverty, or other caUI8S, are in positive want of the neces.rie8
of Hfe. to whom such donations would be ot decided eervice. They ought, therefore, to be
reserved for them; and no benevolent person should begrudge the slight trouble it might
require to find them ont and afford them aid. Giving to the strolling beggars wbo call at
yoar door, even the refule fragments of your table, is robbing thote who have fair claiml
upon yOUl charity and care, besides encouraging a horde or lazy, shiftlee., worthlel8 crea-
tures, in their effort to obtain a liVing without work."
Compare this now with the tenor of what our enlightened author says OD the lubject
in the follOWing paragraphs:
"It is believed in the world tbat charity towards the neighbor con!ists in giving to
thelpoor, in relieving the indigent, and in doing good to everyone; nevertheless, gello-
ine charity consists in acting prudently, and for the sake of aD end to promote good.
He who relievea a poor or indigent villain does evil to his neighbor througb him, for by
Ibe relief which he affords, he confirms him in evil, and sUPll!ies aim with the opportunity
of doing evil to others; it is otherwise with him who gives support to the good."-A. C.
8120.
cc The kind of neighbor is according to the kind of good in the man; or, that the neigh-
bor is such as the man is. That all men are not alike the neighbor, is taught in the Lord's
parable of the man that Was wounded by robbers, \vhere, it is said, that be was the neigh-
bor ' who showed merey on him.' Whoever does not distingaish the neigbbor according
to the kind of good and truth in the maD. may be deceived in a thousand. instances. and
his charity become confounded. and at length annulled. A man-devil may exclaim, I I
am the neiahbor 1 do good to me;' and if you do good to him, he may kin you or some
other person j for you are placing a knife or sword into his band. Simpletons act thuI.
They say that every man is equally the neighbor, and that, therefore. it is of no great im-
portance to examine into the qualities of men. But God regards this as bestOWing aid
upon evil as a neigbbor; and there is no love of the neighbor in acting thus. He who
loves the neighbor from genuine charity, inquires wbat tbo man is, and Ilt the lame time,
with the more discreetness, what kiod of good will be beneficial to him. Charity, really
genuine, is prudent and wise. Other charity is spurious, because it is merely voluntary,
or of good, and not, at the same time. intellectual, or of trutb."-Dott. of Charity, 21.
Who can fail to perceive the superlative wisdom of these remarks, and who should nol
draw from them the practical inference that the exercise of true charity to the neighbor is
not the easy, off-hand. perfunctory duty that we are often disposed to regard it 1 It 18
IOmething more than the mere casual tossing of a sixpence, aD old hat. or a loaf of bread
to the chance applicant; it is a work that involveI self-denial; it is a " labor of love ;n It
is something that requires a eearching out of the true character of the claims presented.
By giving indiscriminately to the objects of apparent or even real distress, we may some·
times be in danger of going counter to the purposee ot the Divine Providence. and nullify-
ing that stern discipline which the vicious, reckless, and improvident career of many men
may have rendered necellary to their reformation. Those who have sown the wind must
often be left to reap the whirlwind. al a prelude to the gathering in of an after harvest of
peace, joy, and happiness. The spirit of thi8 teachiDg is not bardness of heart towards
our suirering fellow-creatures, but the necessity oC ICruuDy into causes, and the proYidiDI
oC appropriate relDedlea.
532 Editorial Item,. [Nov. 18&2.
Although the N. C. Tract and Missionary Society ha. made no report for the prHeDt
year, yet its Board of Managt'rs has been hy no mean. idle. A large amouot of tracts and
pamphlets has been put in circulation during the year past, and BCaroe a day puaes but
the mail is freighted more or less with the missiYes sent abroad by its instrumentality.
Its treasury is not yet empty, but still needs replenishing, and as 81 per annum is
due from members, we would respectfully suggest to luch as are in arrears, that they
make their remittances either to the Treasurer, Lyman S. Bumbam, Esq., Brooldyn. or
to the Editor or the Repository, by whom it will be paid over to ~r. B. The oew post-
age law will be of great advaotage to the operations of the Society. a. the reduction of
rate. win have the effect to make the amount contributed go much farther than it would
other\viee in accomplishing tho ends and uses of tbe Society.

r::
We are happy to announce that the much-desired and long-expected translation of Swe-
denborg's Treatise, U De GtfUraliotlt," has been published and receiyed in this country.
The translation bas been executed by Mr. Wilkinson. whose name alone is a guarantee {or
the most masterly performance of the task. It is an octavo of 326 pages, and comes at
about 82,00. Orders may be addressed to Mr. Clapp or Mr. Allen.

A new and elegant edition of the" Apocalypse Revealed" has recently been issued by
the London Printing Society, in two vols., 8vo. No copies have as yet, we belieye. been
received in tbi, country. The same Society ha. begun, we believe, the printing of the
Index to the Arcaoa as enlarged aDd improved by Mr. Rich's elaborate revision. We
tntst the time may come when all the rest of Swedenborg's works .hall be furnished with
an index on a similar plan • No greater service cou Id be performed for the church.

We leam that M. Le Boys del GttRyS bas been applied to by the American Bible Union
to co-operate with them in the preparation oC a new English version of the New Teata-.
ment. towhich, we understand, he has consented. The avail» of this undertaking he propolel
to devote to the publication of his French translation of the Arcana. From his ripe schol-
arship and his prior labon in collecting improved readings and renderings of the Sacred
Scripture, ,,·e may presume upon a very valuable accession from his pen to the materia
for a new Version .

.. The National Magazine, devoted to Literature, Art, Religion," i. the title of a new
monthly, under the editorial charge of Rev. Abel Stevens, of the Methodist ConnexioD, or
the plan and execution of whioh we think so highly, that we have been prompted to vol·
unteer a laudatory notice without the least communication with editor or publisher. The
selections thus far have been truly admirable, the artloles being of moderate length. ftri-
OU8, and pithy. The disproportionate .space given up in Harper to profhless flctlon find.
no countenance from the example of the National, which manages with .ingolar tact to
occupy its pages with matter of equal interest but of more value. And then the iln",,·
tions, executed in beautiful style, and copioully inter!persed though every No. ,!coDtribute
to give the world assurance of a Magazine. Price 82,00 per annnm, or 183-4 eta. per
No. Carlton & Phillips, Publishers, N. Y.

The first No. of the cc Journal ot HUlnan Nature." edited by the venerable lohD Inac
Hawkin., has just made its appearance. To be had of New Church book8eller. in BO!-
ton, New-York, Philadelphia, and Cjncinnati, aDd allO of the Editor at Rahway, N. J.
 THE

NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY

AND

MONTHL Y REVIEW.

Vel. Y. DE~BltIBER, 1852. lVo. I!.

ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.

PSEUDO·SPIRITU ALl SM.

(Condud«L)

IT may not be at once obvious with what propriety our present

, heading is retained after the concessions we have already made as to
the reality and the spiritual origin of the phenomena in question.
PS6udc)-Spiritualirm denotes a spiritualism that is false, and it may
be asked how this epithet can apply to an order of occurrences
admitted to be from 8 veritable spiritual source. It would doubtless
be lesl easy to Ihow the congruity of the appellation with the facts
on any other ground than on that of the New Church. Guided by
the light of that church, we learn that true spiritualism does Dot COD-
sist in dealing with spiritual things as contradistinguished from nat-
ural or phrsical, but in the opening of the spiritual degree of the
mind, and In a course of life, thought, and affection accordant with its
principles and dictates It is indeed to be admitted that the term
spiritual not unfrequently occurs in the former sense, especially when
used interchangeably with substantial as distinguished from material.
In th~ sellle a man after death is not a natural, but a spiritual maD,
though still perfectJy organized, and having a marked resemblance
to the natural man of the flesh. But with men in the natural world
translated spirits have DO open or sensible communication. They
see DO lODger those of the natural, but those of the spiritual world;
and" the reason," says our illumined author, " why they now see the
latter, and not the former, is, because they are no longer natural meD,
but apiritual or 8ub,tanlial; and a spiritual or sub,tantial man sees a
spiritual or substantial maD, as a natural or material man sees a nat-
ural or material man, but Dot vice versa, on account of tbe diifereDce
VOL. v. 35
 P,eJUlo-8piritualinn. [Dee.
between what is substantial and what is material."-C. L. 31. In
another connexion he makes the follo\ving distinction: "The reason
wh)" such representatives exist in the spiritual world, is because in
that \vorld there are spiritual things interior and exte,;or; interior
fJPiritual things are those tlJat relate to affection, and to thought
thence derived, or to the intelligence of truth and the wisdom of good;
and exterior spiritual things are so created by the Lord, that they
may clothe or invest interior spiritual things, and when these a.r~
clothed or invested, then there exists such forms as are in the natu-
ral ,vorld, in which, therefore, interio,· spiritual things ultimately ter-
minate, and in which they ultimately exist."-A. E. 582. Here it is
clear that the term spiritual is applied to denote the substances ex-
isting in the spiritual world, in and through which, as representatives
and correspondences, interior spiritual principles of thought and
affection manifest themselves. This exterior spirituality is of course
of lit much lower grade than the interior with ,vhich it is contrasted.
Now it is in the latter sense-the sense of interior-that the tenn
is dominantly used in the writings of our author; and as our aim is
to present a New Church estimate of the general subject, \\"e shall
not scruple to quote freely whatever may subserve that end. Noth-
ing is more obvious ihan that the devotees of these manifestations
claim to"be spiritualists par excellence, and our purpose is to submit
these claims to the test. We shall perhaps find reason in the end to
doubt whether those prete1lsions have any adequate groQnd to rest
upon; which is but saying, in other words~ that the application of the
term pseudo, false, in this connection, will fully justify itself in tIle
result. The following paragraphs will be seen to be to the point.
U What the spiritual is in respect to the natural, is further to be told in a few
words, because the moat of those who are in the Christian world, are ipor&nt what
the spiritual is, in80much that when they hear the expression, they heSItate, and say
with themselves that DO one lmOWB what spiritual means. The spiritual with man
is, in its essence, the very affection of g<x>d and truth for the sake of good aDd truth,
and not for Ule sake of selC; also the 81rection of what is just and equitable Cor the
sake of what iJ just and equitable, and not for the sake of self; when man from these
feels in himself delight and pleasantne88, and still more if he feels satisfaction and
bleuedne88, this with him is spiritual, which does not come from the natural world,
but from the sj)iritual, or from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord. This
then, is the Iptritual which, when it reigns with man, atreots, and, as it were, tinges
eve~ which ho thinks, which he wills and which he &otB, and causes that the
things thought, and from the will acted, partake of the spiritual, until they also at
leD~ become spiritual with him, when lie passes out of tne natural world into the
spiritual. In a word, the atrection of charity and faith, that is, of good and truth,
with the deHght and ~leasantn088, and still more the satisfaction and blMBedn. .
thence, which are felt mteriorly with man, and make him a truly Christian man, is
the Ipiritual. That moat people in the Christian world are ignorant what is meant
by toe spiritual, ill because they make faith the essential of the church, and not char-
ity: hence, inasmuch 88 those few, who are solicitous &bout faith, think little, if
anything, concerning charity, and know little, if anything, what charity is, there is
no knowledge, neither i. there percel!tion or the affection which is of oharity, and he
he who is not; in the alection of chanty, cannot in any wise know what is spiritual ;

r
10 it is especially &t this day, when scarcely any one has charit" because it is the last
time of tlie ohurch. But it is to be knOWD, that the spiritual In the oommon or gen-
eral] IeDle, signifies the afFection both of good and of truth whence heaven 18 called
the spiritual world, and the internal sense of the W OM tho spiritnal 88nae; but ape-
1852.] Paeudo-Spiritual'!sm. 185
oitleally what iI of the .WeotiOll of good is oalled celestial; and what is of the aWe.
lion oftnlth is caJled apiritaal."-if. C.5639.
U It may be expedient briefly to explain how the case is with good in which are
truths; he who knows the formation of good from truths, knows the veriest arcanA
of heaven, for he knows the arcana of the formation of man anew, that is, of the form-
ation of heaven or the Lord's kingdom with him: all christian ~ or spirimal good
hatih in it the truths offaith, for the quality of that good is from the tlllth8 which are of
faith; the good which hath not its quality from the truthaofraith, is not christian good.
but is natural good, which doth not ~ve etemallife; the reason is, becauso natum1
good bath in it only natural life, which life is not unlike the life of beasts, for they
also are in good when theI are tame; but beasts cannot receive syiritual nre; hence
it is evident that spiritu&! life is only acquired by the truths of futh. Thillife, vis.,
spiritual liCe, is first acquired by knowing the truths which are of faith, afterwards
by acknowledging them, and at length by believing them; when they are only
DOwn, they are then 88 it were in the door, when they are acknowledged they are
then in the outer court, but when they are believed they are then in the bed-cham-
ber, ~us they go from the exterion towards the interiors successively; in the inte-
rior man is the good. which continually flows in from the Lord, and there coDjoiDs
it8elf with truths, and m~kes them to be faith, and next to be charity; this good
attracts truths to itself; for it is a desire to them, that by them it may procure to
itself a quality, and thereby exist."-A. C. 8772.
Cl The man who is principled in spiritual good, is It moral man, and a oivil m8ll ;
and the man who is not principled in spiritual good is neither a moral nor a ci\il
man, but only appears to be 10; though he appears to be so both to himself and also
to others. The reason why a man WDO is not spiritual, can still think, and thence
discourse rationally, like a spiritual man, is, becfluse the understanding of man is
capable or being elevated into the light of heaven, which is truth, and of &eeing by
that light; but it is posaible for the will of man not to be elevated in lite maDDer
into the heat of heaven, which is love, and act under its influence. Hence it is that
truth and love do not make a one with man, unless it be spiritual: hence al80 it is
that man can exercise his faculty of speech; this likewise forms a ~ound of distinc-
tion between man and beast. It is owing to the understanding's being capable or
elevation to heaven without an elevation of the will at the BalDe time tliat IDBD has
the o&~city of being reformed, and of becoming spiritual: but he never is reformed
and rendered spirito&1 until the will is elevated also. By virtue of this faculty, en-
joyed by the understanding above that of the will, man is capable of thinking ration-
ally, and thenoe of discoursing rationally, like one that is spiritual, whatsoever be
biB Dature and quality, even though he be principled in evil: nevertheless, it does
Dot henoe follow that he is rational; and the reason is, because the undent&nding
does no' lead the will, but tho will the understanding, the latter only teaching and
pointing out the way: and 80 long as the will is not» with the understanding, in hea-
VOD, the man is no~ spiritual, and consequently not rational: for when he is left to
his own will, or to his own love, then he rejects the rational conclusions of his under-
standing concerning God, conceming heaven, and concerning eternal life; and
BIIUDles in their place such conclusions as are in agreement with the love of his will,
and calls them rational."-Doc. of Life, 14, 15.
U From these considerations it results, that there does not appertain to man the

smallest portion of truth, only so far a8 he is :Princillled in gOod; consequently,

not ihe sUaalleet portion of faith, only 80 rar aB it 18 cOllJoined with life. There may
be 81ICh a thinH as thought, respecting the truth of lome particular proposition, in
the underatandinr»; but there cannot be aoknowledgment amounting to faith, unlel8
there be consent m the will. Thus do faith and life ~o hand in ho.na. Hence, then,
it is evident, that 10 far as anyone shuns evils as sms, 80 far he has Caith, and is
spiritual."-lb. 52.
From all this we can hardly fail to perceive \vhat is implied by
one's being a truly spiritual man. lIe is one who is imbued with
688 [Dec.
.enuiae truths, aDd those truth. he is coDtinualy intent upon redllciDg
to life, which is in effect converting them into good. The simple
belief that there is a spiritual world, the abode of spirits disembodied
of clay, and that they are enabled, through physical agencies, to com-
municate with the inhabitants of earth, does hy no means necessarily
constitute a genuine spirituality in anyone. So far from this, it is
rather a peculiar phasis of naturalism, for the mere knowledge of
spiritual existence, however profound its arcana, does not of itself
ascend higher than the natural degree. Nor do we feel disposed to
qualify this language in view of the fact that many of this school
take a decided stand against the materialism and sensDalism of the
ftge, contrasting it ,vith the more ele'''ated and sublimated tone of
their own sentiments. For in all this there may still be no more
than the workings of the natural man.
Undoubtedly 8 charge of some seriousness is involved in this posi-
tion, and it is incumbent upon us to make it good by a direct appeal
to the uttered oracles which pass current in the school of the soi di8-
Q1tt spiritualists of the present day. From a tolerably familiar a.c-
quaintance with the issues of the press referring themselves to this
origin, we are satisfied that, as a general fact, they are utterly wide
of the truth on a variety of points which the Ne\vchurchman is
taught to regard as all important among the elements which go to
eonstitute a genuine spirituality. It will, we trust, be distinctly un-
derstood that in uttering ourselves on the subject uDder consideration,
our stand-point is that of the Church of the New Jerusalem. We
take for granted the entire truth of its revelations, and cherish not
the least scruple in making them the standard by which everything
of a professedly spiritual nature is to 'be tried. We foresee oC course,
that this will be charged as a gratuitous assumption-that the demand
will be superciliously made, what grounds we have for yielding Buch
implicit deference to the authority of S\vedenborg-that palpable io-
sinuations of bigotry and sectarianism will be thrown out-but RII this ,
moves us not. We are not penning a controversial article. 'Ye are
not urging the claims of a rival revelation. We are not seeking to
make converts of those whose delusions ,ye are aiming to expose.
We know too well the strength of that self·derived intelligence which
fortifies them against doubt, to suppose that our positions '\vill gain
the slightest respect in their minds. In fact we do not write for them.
We do not expect them to read our strictures, and therefore pay DO
attention to their foreseen objections. We write for those who sym-
pathise with us in 8 perfect a.~surance of the solidity of the ground on
which we stand-who know, OD this head, what no others can know
who have not shared their investigations. Wc would fain present to
them, if possible, the data on which an adequa.te judgment is to be
formed of a remarkable class of facts and a deplorable train of COD-
sequences which are widely passing under their eyes. Our researches
may have put documents and deductions in our way which have never
occurred to them, and which they would still value. It is their
behoof that we consult in the discussion. We would furnish them
with materials for forming an enlightened judgment themselves, ami
1852.] P8efJtlo-Spiritualum. 537

at the same time enable them to withstand the tendency of the times
to mix up these strange phenomena \vith the teachings and tidings of
the New Dispensation, as if every species of spiritual or psychical·
aboormalism were to find ft, home in its bosom. Let this. then, be our
apology, or rather our reason, for the positive tone \vhich speaks out
in the ,vhole drift of our remarks. We are addressing those who do
not requh·e that we should be perpetually laying down or laying
open the foundations of our faith.
1. At the bead of all the falsities \vhich emanate from this source,
is the denial of our Lord's true and essential di'9init}". With scarcely
an exception that has come to our knowledge, the genuine doctrine
of the incarnation is denied or ignored, and Christ is represflnted 811
merely a. noble specimen of humanity, the deliciCB gene,.i. Aumani, the
appointed medium through whom some impressi,'e ideas of the divine
perfections might be most effectually conveyed. The view, at the high-
est, is simply humanitarian. An exalted and model manhood is the ne
piu, ult,·a of its ascription to Him whom the Christian is taught to
recognize as the veritable Jehovah tabernaclin~ for a season in
hnnJ8D flesh, and then dissolving again, so to speak, into the essentia.l
Godhead, so that he no\v exists solely in his Divine Human nature,
no longer separated from the Father. How vast the contrast between
this and the Christology of the so-styled spiritualists will be evident
from the follo\ving extracts from their publications. It "ill be borne
in mindt \ve trust, that we are giving the ipsissima ve,·ha of the spirits
through their chosen medium~.
U It was this profound interest and intense excitement among the people which
gaTe birth to tne idea that Christ was a super-human and divine peraonage, and
which originally produced the preeeDt prevailing opinion that he was, in a strict and
literaleeDse, the Son of God. Spirits peroeive the true relation whioh this remarka-
ble individual 8U8tained to the human race, and they see that he was in every leD.
&. MAN-a man more J?erfeot, more harmoniously constituted, and more richly endow-
ed than others, but still a human being. They perceive the mission whioh thia per-
son was selected to perform on earth, and they Bee that he was chosen and employed
. . & great medium. for the illustration ofspiritual power and the traDBlDillion of eph-
i tual truth. They perceive, also, tho true agency by which the miraculoaa worD,
which astonished the peoplo were performed, and they see that in every instance of
superhuman power-in every work which the people could not reconoile with estab-
lished laws, tliere <:,welt the sUJM:rintending ana ever active enerQ' of the angel-world.
Thus were all the miracles whIch Christ performed during hill reeldence in tile body to
be attributed to the direct and special influence, not ofGod, but of 8~iritual beings who
lingered ever near to minister throu~h him to the spiritual wants of man; and in the
whole life and ministry of this indiVldual, may the ohildren of men read the evidences
of heavenly fower and the interposition of angelic spirits, which have been already,
and will be ID a still higher degree, manifested to the present age."-Spirit Aiel-
"ng", p. 94.
" JeI1l8 Christ came into the world to be a saviour of sinners. He was Dot God
maniteated in the flesh, neither was he the SOD of God in a literal sense, but by adoption
and grace; and in that sense he was indeed the beloved SoD of God. But the ques-
tion mal arise in JOur mind, how can be be a saviour of sinners if you look on him
in that light 1 We will try to explain in a few words to you what the meaning
of saviour is. Saint James in his epistle IByB, that he that converted a sinner from
the error or his ways shall save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of liDs.
And can you call that maD any thing else but a saviour, who is willing to give
588 [Dee.
ap every oomCort; and become a gazing stock, and meet the·1COlIl and re~ht
and the contempt and Deers of a gainsaying world, and who is wi1lin~ even to be
peneonted to deaUt if he can only persaiuie sinners to fOlate theu evH ways
and turn to God. We would refer you to the history oC by-gone agee. Do you Dot
read in the Billle that God raised up .vio1ll'8 and II8Ilt them among the J8... " ADd
in ev~ ap of the world has not God raiaed up men whOle onll_ objec* was to _ft
IOU ~ And is not he who devotes his time, his talents, and hie all to ihe salvatiOll of
his fellow-man, 0, saviour ~ Was not Noah, the preacher of righteousneM, a .vioar !
Did he not try, [ear after year, with tears and entreaties, to ~rBUade hie fellow-men
to turn to God. And many arc now high in glory whom he W'U matrumental in
.'riDg. And did not Jonah prove himself to be a saviour to Nineveh, when the city
oC Nineveh wu devoted to destruction, unleas they linened to the warning voioe or
tho prophet 1"-Creationoj the World and Lif, of Chrilt, dictatld by'h, Spirit of Wil-
braJIam, p. 40.
U At the appointed time Christ was born; bbt he was not begotten by tho Holy

Ghost, neither aid the JK»wer oC the ~est overshadow her, only. it overshadow.
all who walk beforo hIm with a perfect heart. He was the Datmal IOn of J~ph
and Mary. The account that is given oC the conception or Christ in the New Testa-
ment is bluphemous; and then to teach men that it is the word of God is a Bin of
DO small magnitude. Is it a small matter to throw mch insults OD the God of ~
1_ purity' la it DOthin~ to throw such insults on the glorious character of the be-
neficent Creator of mankind 1 As spirits who 8eek your good, we beeeech yOll to
grope in darlmeE no lon~r, but open your eyes to the truth. It would be no inte-
relt to glorified spirits to deceive you. If you could lee with what wi1lingnea they
leave tlieir bright abodes of unutterable glory, and deecend to earth amidet its filth
and corruption, in order that ita inhabitants may be delivered from the cruel boDd-
~ of error and mperstition, and in order that the glorioas character of God may
be rightly understoOd, you would at once banish all your fears."-Id. p. 45.
" You need not persuad~yourselves that Christ ~ IJOmething that it is impossi-
ble for yOI1 to p088el8, Cor if you do you are mistaken; for Christ W88 nothiDg more than
a man. If your life was in accordanoe with the doctrines he taught, IOU might eajoy
the -.me bI8llin~. If you denied [ourselves in the laDle m&Dller that he did, aDd
~=~ea,and moumed, an wept, and uerted yOUl'll81ves .. he did. Inshort,
if10U the heartfelt piety and disinterested benevolence that he ~ you
~ht work miracles the same as he did, for God is the BUDe in all ape of the world.
Chnat was enabled to work his miracles throuldl the power of the ~irit of his hea-
ftD11 Father. I t was not beca1l8e he was GOO. manifest in the f1ea1i, or beca1ll8 ho
w. begotten by the Holy Ghost. No, it W88 becauee he led • life of spo&lell parity
from ihe cradle to the grave. He was spot1888, innocent, and pure, and free from
e...,stain."-Itl. p. 57.

These extracts are mostly from a work "\\Fhich bears on its title that
it is " to be read as for eternity," but what special claim it has to
this solemn style of reading may be inferred from the fact, that it is
said to be composed by the spirits of " Swedenborg, Wilbraham, Stu-
art, and Lovell." We are well aware that multitudes of those who
think highly of the" manifestations" would by no means subscribe to
the bald blasphemies which stand forth on nearly every page of this
work, nor do we intend to impute them to all the school, but "re arc
confident we do them no wrong in the assertion that, as a general
fact, the tenet of the Lord's essential divinity is decidedly repudiated
in their ranks. Now that the prevalent denial on this head is incon-
sistent with a genuine spiritualism is cv~dent from what follows:
It The re88011 why by tho na.me of the Lord in the Word is primarily understood
the acknowledgment of tho Divine in his Human Principle, is, bccaWJe an
things of
18e.]
101'8 andfaiUl are thenoe derived; for the divine ~ which are of 10", and the
divine truths which are of faith, proceed from no other source than from the Lord
alone; and those things cannot flow into man, unless he thinks of the Divine Princi-
pl~ of the Lord at the same time that he thinb of his Human; Dor is hie Divine
Principle .parate from the Human, but is in the Human. I can uaen from
uperience conoerning the spiritual world, that DO ODe i. principled in the £OOd. of
an m,
love, and the truths of faith, but he who thinks of the Divine Principle of tlie Lord
in union with his Human, tU also that no one 'is spiritual, or an angel, but he who had
been grounded in that thought and acknowledgment while in the world. Man
ought to be conjoined to the Divine PriDoi~le in his faith and love, in order that he
may be .ved, and all conjunction is with the Lord; and to be oonjoiDed 0D11 to his
Human Principle, and not at the same time to his Divine, is Dot conjunction, Cor the
Divine Principle saves, but not the Humnn without the Divine."-A. E.135.

Abundant intimations to the same effect might be cited from the

same source, which, although they will be of Jittle weight with those
whom they mostly concern, will not fail to be decisive with the
man of the church. He cannot begin to conceive of a truly spiritual
man who stumbles at this stumbling-stone of the absolute and essen-
tial Deityship of the Lord the Saviour.
2. An utterly disparaging estimate, if not a contemptuous rejection,
of the Divine Word, as communicated in the Sacred Scriptures, is an-
other distinctive mark of the school in question. Taking, for the
most part, their cue from Davis, the grand Coryphmus and mysta-
gogue in the lengthening line of Seers and Mediums, they look upon
nature as the only authoritative revelation. to Upon this string the
• We give in this connexion an extract from Mr. Arnold, of Poughkeepsie. purporting
to come from U God'. high and holy spirit, J~IU8 Christ, fonnerly of Nazart'th," and
whom a recent writer in the U Sbekinab" dignifies with tbe denomination or I t Joshua
the Seer, commonly known as Jesus of Nazareth ;" for as much as U JOIhua't in He-
brew is rendered cc JesuI" in Greek, while the aim of 1I1e writer. In takiag awaytbe
peculiarity oC the title, is to degrade him to tbe level of mere ordinary humanity. It will
be seen from the extract that a very grave rebuke is read out to poor Davis, and that he is
decidedly put upon his peniteotial.. As the spirit that rules in Daviaism la directly at
variance with the spirit that rules in Arnoldism. we will not hazard our neutrality by un-
denaking to aot tbe umpire between them. We may, howe\"er. hine a tear tbae mere is
tOO much ground for the spirits' intimation oC a bacbliding in Davis.

11 I called myself Jobn, in the beginning of this chapter, not because that was my name

in the body, but because my servant John, acted for me in writing the Book of Revela-
tion, and united with me in explaining nOWt what then he did not fuUy uDderstand. Be-
sides, he is R. high son of God, being in the Sixth circle. ot the Sixth sphere. He is a no-
ble spirit, who delights to serve God, and who did reveal himself to my clairvoyant spirit,
Davis, when he was submilsive to the directions he received as a clairvoyant, and wal
content to follow them, without ambition or sordid desires. But his unity with him
ceased, when Davis left the control of himself to men of otber motives, and it can never
be renewed whilst he oontinues in hil preeent state or rebellion. It is true, that I permic
bim to write many troths, Rnd that I allow Iplrits in the ftnt, IeCOnd, and third .pherea
to in8uence, or direct him, but they are not allowed to declare, even all they know oCme,
to him; because he rebel. against my authority, and seeks to elevate wisdom above love,
and will above action. The only way for him to become a truthful medium, 11 to re-
turn to the subjeotion be was first in to the Divine John; and he oan oo!Y do that by
retumiog to the atate from which he departed when he left m1 servant'•• Levinptofl'"
management. Becaule, in that maD_gement, be was kept tn lubjection to the Interior,
and holy directions he received in his olairvoyaDt and uncoDlCiOUI atate. Whereas,
since, he has been used in the will of thOle around him, until he was permitted to use
himeelf iD his own will. Hi. inlpressions bave been overruled to be a benefit, and a
lound.tioD for belief to many. They have been 10 guided as to be the meana of releasiDg
lDany from boodap to traditioD. aDd from wonbip of idols of Sash; which men haYe de-
Ughted to worship, ever since the foundation of the error, or heresy, \VU laid In the .poa-
 PRudo-Spirituali.m. [Dec.
faithful are perpetually harping. The all-sufficiency of the light or
nature to meet the religiouR }·earnings and aspirations of the soul is
a point of most confident assertion, and \vhatever is deficient here is
made up in the direct communications from the 8upemal spheres,
which, 8S emanating from the fountain-head of troth, are of course
entitled to serve a 'tlperledea, upon the old worn-out and by-gone
teachings of Moses and the Prophets, of Christ and the Apostles. The
ordinary style of descanting upon this subject may be seen from the
following specimen:
U For long ages in tho past, mankind have received the Bible with the m08~ pro-
found and solemn reverence. They have looked upon it as a book which is intrinsi-
caJly h~11_. every word and llentence of which are tlie result of a direct influ from the
Divine Mind, and therefore authoritative in the most liteml and unlimited sense. So
far hu ibis reverence for the Bible extended, that individuals whose reason and
jud~eDt were not BUfticiently blinded to receive all its teachings, have been denomi-
nated inDdels and heretics, and have been treated as the vilest sinners, by thOle Wh088
faith in the writings of this book has rendered them professedly holy. The Bible
hu thus been made the standard, immovable and fixed, for all thought and actio~
with reference to subjects of morals or religion. This bu been regarded as tA~ book
which God has ~ven to the world as an expression of his will, and as 0, revelation of
~e destiny whioh he has designed for his creatures. In this, it has been 8ap~
is contained the records of truth which are unmarred and unsullied by any Bamix-
ture of earthlf error, and have their original 88urce in the great vortex of life and
love, which enata in the inconceivable depths of space. According to the profound,
but bigoted emotions of the religionist in reference to this book, the minister of the
temple hu made this a basis for the delivery of leD~hy sermons and tedious pral-
era; and in correspondence with the commands which are here eujoiDed, the people
at~nd to the external forms of worship, communion, and bapti8lD, 88 the meana of
saving their BOnle from hell. The SUperstitiODS which belong to the ~ have thua
been brought into Ule 8~here of Ule preeent age, and the IDU8 are willing to be
bound &Dd craabed hI thOle burdening ohains whioh have been placed upon the
miDdland hearts of aJl past generatioDl."-A.mbln'J Spiritual TtlUw, p. ag.
Cl AB & oODlequence of this view of the'subjeot which has been gradually fastened
u~ the human mind, the Bible has been set up as an authority; it has been ap-
pialod to 88 a true and reliable standard of thought OD all subjects which ~ain to
ihe interests of man-and has been leaned upon a8 an infallible statement of truth
which requires the most implicit and unreuoning oonfidenoe, in view of the mOBt ter-
rible penalty which is attached to a want of faith in its divine origin."-ld. p. 41.
Cl The reverence for the Bible which bu been the ruUng sentiment of human
hea~which has cramped and restricted all the free aDd nobre faoulties of the eoul,

toUe tilDel, referred to in my revelation through John the Divine. Thi. win surprise
many who have almost begun 10 worship Davis. and otherl, who have hooored him
u a guide. Many Ipiritllal believers, too, willaay. how oan it be tbat he ia wroDg. wbea
10 maDylpiritl have by outward declarations, through rappings, aDd writiags. a. .rted
that his worD were iD tbe main, true; and. that believer. or inqairen sbould lead mem.
This was becaWle the works oC Davillead tbe mind to repose OD iteelf, aDd disenoumber
It of prejodice, and leave it in a fit .&ate to receive further revelation. It i • • great .tep
gained, when mind, iD the body, i, prepared to receive with lavor, hilher and further
revelation. This is tbe proper eJfect of Davis' book; and I GaD aasure all that no be-
liever in the Bible, as founded on revelation, has ever been led out oC that belief. byaa,
thing that Davis ba. written; no believer in the efficacy of prayer hal ever ceased 10 believe
in it, or n(rained from it, beeaule he has declared it cannot move, or a1Ieot the Doity."-
Biatorw of'lac Origift of All Thit&g., p. 63.

We IUpect tbe spirit bu rather too charitable an opiuion of the work in qoeetiOD on
hi. latter 8OOIe. At. any rate. if it has Dot produced the effect auened, it is owing to DO
1.~1r nf &eadeM, in his volllmee to do it.
1852.] Pa~udo-Spirittlali,m. 541

haa had its sway upon the earth for ages past, and it is now time that this should be
removed for the introduction of a principle wmoh is more worthy or the di~ity of
maD! and more CODSOD8Jlt with the desi~n of God. It has been seen by the Inhabit-
ants of the Spirit-world, that the authorIty of the Bible has been the ciiief and prom-
inent source of all bigotry and snpel'ltition; it.has been seen that tllis has been the
prolitc fountain of all the sects and oreeda which have cast their darkening shadow
upon the face of humanity; it has been seen that this is the prin1ary cause of all
tile narrow-mindedness, all the contraction of thought, and all the blind devotion to
human systems of faith, which have been, and are still, conspicuous features of the
world's history."-ld. p. 42.

IC What has been the real eiFeot of the authority with which this fN>ok has been
endowed ~ The spirits have seen this influence and this eifect, and they will answer
the inquiry which they have made. The! have BeeD that, throogh the devotion
whicb has been paid to the supposed word of God, the reason of man has been left
unexercised and unexPStnded: they have seen that, from this c&ua8, all the most ex-
alted fowers of the soul have remained weak and unimproved; and they have IeeD.
that, In consequence of a rigid adherence to the standard presented in the popular
oracles of faith, the soul has been restricted to the narrow limits of creed8 which
bear no assimilation with the aU-expanding truths of the Universe, and no relation to
the bright realities of Heaven. ~hu8 the influence and effect which have flowed
from the autbority of the Bible have been of the most deleterious character, tending
to degrade rather than to elevate, to confine rather than to expand, and to cnuh and
destroy rather than to ennoble o.nd saTe."-Id. p. 43-44.

Having by this summary process put an extinguisher on the Bible

as a veritable and authoritative revelation from God, the" spirits"
proceed, in the plenitude of their condescension, to point, as with in-
dex-finger, to that truer, purer, more reliable revelation \vhich forms
the theme of so much eulogy and glorification on the part of their
earthly disciples.
U But there is a revelation of the Divine l\tind-therc is a word of God, which is
superior to all that finite minds can impart or conceive; and this is a revelation
which must be regarded with the reverence which is true and just; it is a revelation
whioh will call forth the inherent energies of the soul in the direction of its Divino
Author. The revelation to which the spirits here refer, is the Creation which bns
been introduced into being through the action of the Supreme Intelligence ;-it is
the Universe which is the natural and untranslated ex~re88ion of tho Infinite l\1ind.
No rational individual can doubt that this is the real and infallible production of
the Deity; and no mind which will exercise the powers of whieh it is possessed, can
be dis'posed to deny that the soriptures of earth and heaven are toe only true
and dIrect revelation which has ever been givon to his intelligentl childien."-
Icl p. 51.
The apotheosis of nature is here complete. The Universe and
its Author are made to change places, and the Bible goes into abey-
ance forever. Its pages may answer for lining trunks and band.
boxes, but as a vehicle of heavenly troth they are of no further ac-
connt.
How remote is this from the estimate which the man of the New
Church is taught to form of the \vritten Word ,viII be apparent from
the following paragraphs:
U The Lord is present and in conj unction with man through tho 'Vord, aeeing that

tho Lord is the Word, and, &8 it were, CODverses in it with man, beoauae the LOrd is
Divine Truth itseIt; and the Word is Divine TrdUl alIo. ~"rom hence it plainly ap-
pean that the Lord is preseDt with man, and in conjunotaon with him, aOoordiDg to
542 [llee.
his andentanding of the Word: for ~ to it, JD&1l hu tru~, and £rem thence
faith, and also love, and then08 life."-D. C. B. S. 78.

U All soienoe and doctrine of good and truUl iI derived from the W oni. The
natural man may indeed know, and allO ~ve, what is ~ and true, but only
natural and civil JEood and truth; he 08IlD~ boW' what epuitoal good and trath
is, for the knowleage of this can onl,. oome ftom revelation, or from the \Vord."-
A. C.3768.
U Without the Word, no one weuld have any knowledge ofGod, or of Heaven, or Hell,

or of a liCe after death, and much 1888 of the Lord. But there are penons who in.si8t.
and ooDlrm ~emaelv. in the ~iniOD that man, without the Wora. qht know the
exiat.ence of a God, and likewise of heaven and hell, with other points which the
Word teaohes, and who b,. that meau, derosatAt from the &uUlority&nd holiness of
the Word, if not with th8lr mouth, ~Jet in their heart; and it would not be proper to
re&IIOn with noh ~ from the Word, but from the natural light of reason, for
t.be,. do no' believe the Word, but tbeID881ves."

He then institutes a course of powerful argument founded upon

the dictates of natural reason. going to show the absolute necessity
of a written revelation to impart any just knowledge of spiritual and
divine things. See the Treatise entitled "The Doctrine of the N. J.
concerning the Sacred Scripture.," 116. In the same vein are the fol-
lowing passages from other portions of the writings.
U By Dot ooning God is signified Dot to blaspheme Truth Divine, and by not exe-
crating the prinoe is signified not to bl.eme the doctrine of truth. TrUth Divine
is the Word; and the doctrine of the ChUrch is troth thence derived. . It il allowed
brieftl to .y how the case is with the b~hemation of Truth Divine. 'Iiuth Di-
vine 18 the Word and is doctrine derived frOm the Word; they who deny these things
in heart, bl~heme, although with the mouth the,. praise the Word and preaoh it.
In the denial lies concealed the bl~hemy,whioh alsO bursts forth when thel are left
to themselves and think, especially In tlie other life, for there hearts ~I things
oxoomal being removed. They who blas~heme or deny the Word, are mcapable of
receiving any thing of the truth and goOO. of faith, for the Word teaches tnat the
Lord is, that heaven and hell are, tliat there is a life after death, that faith and
charity are, and several other things, whioh without the Word or revelation would
not be at alllmown; wherefore they who deny the Word, are incapable of receiving
any thing whioh the Word teaches, for when they react it or hear it, a negati!,~.prin·
ciple occurs, whioh either extinpshes truth, or turns it into what is false. Where-
fore with the man of the Church the first of all principles is to believe the 'Vord, and
this is the primary prinoiple with him who is in the truth of faith and the good of
charity; but with those who are in the evils of self-love and the love of the world,
tho pnmary prinoiple is not to believe ihe Word, for they rejeot it instantly when
they think about it, and they also blaspheme it. If a man saw how great lilaaphe-
mies against the 'Vord appertain to those who are in the evils of the aliove love!, and
what i. the quality of th088 blasphemies, he would be struck with horror: the man
himself, dOriDg his abode in the world, d08l not know it, beca1l88 they lie concealed
behind the ideas of the active thought. which puse8 01' into speech with men ; De~
thole. they are revealed in the other life, and appear dreadful."-A. C. 9222.

So in the exposition of the Apocalypse where it is said of the New

Jerusalem that it had no need of the light of the sun or the mOOD,
but that the glory of God doth lighten it, it is said that,
" This si~81 that the men of that ohurch will not be ~ciJ»led in acltlove and
8Olf-derived intelligence, and thenotf in natunJ light alone, but m spiritual light, by
-1rtue of the Dinne Truth of the Word deftftd frOm the Lord alone."-.A. R. 919.
1852-] P,eudo-Bpiritualinn. 543

Cl By the g!or~ or God is Bipified the Word in itl divine Ught. By its -light is
8i~ified tho DiVIDe Truth therein, for this is meant by light in the Word."-~. R.
897.
'fhis then is the light by which the men of the New Church are to
walk, and they at least may be expected to rate at its true value
that deceitful and sophistical lumen,
le Which leads to bewilder and dazzles to blind."

Assuredly no one can adopt those specious rationalistic fallacies

of \vhich we have given snch strilting specimens above, ,vithout turn-
ing his back upon the splendor of the Celestial City, and plunging
himself into the darkness, mists, and mazes of a philosophy as remote
from truth as is bell from heaven. Indeed, the tendenc)- of this self-
vaunting naturalism, in its contemptuous estima.te of revelation, is
clearly depicted in what is said of the lot of its votaries in the other
life.
H There are some who, in the life of the body, had despised the \Vord, and some
who by a ludicrous application of Scripture phrases in common discourse, had abused
it ~ some, too, who had imagined tho Word to be of no consequence but to keep tho
vulgar in a,ve; 80me who had blasphemed the Word, and some who had profaned
it. The lot of these in the other life is miserable; of eve~ one according to the
quality and degree of bis contempt, derision, blasphemy and profanation. For tho
\Vord is esteemed so holy in the heavens. that it 18, 88 it were, heaven to thoee that
d well there; wherefore, 88 in the other life, there is a communion of the thoaghts
of all, it is not possible for such spirits to be in company with the angels, but they arc
acparated."-.A-. C.1878.
This of course will be scouted as idle babbling by all those \\-ha
pay homage to the more reliable rapping, tipping and writing
communications vouchsafed in modern times to mortals; but those
for whom we are inditing these suggestions will read it with other
eyes. " He that bath a dream let him tell a dream; but he that bath
my word, let him declare my word." "What is the chaff to the wheat 1"
We had proposed, at the outset, to prosecute the subject before us
under a variety of other beads, sho"7ing up the falsities of the Spirit-
ual School-the New Philosophy-the Harmonial Brotherhood-or
whatever else it may be called-as it respects the Etemity of the
Hells, the Doctrine of Progression, and several other items which fig-
ure largely in the general system. But we find to our regret that
such inroads on our available space have been already made that we
must of necessity forego our original plan, as we are unwilling to
carry over any series of articles to the next volume, which we would
commence with "clean papers." Some few remarks on the general
theme will conclude the whole.
Our admission of the truth of the phenomenon, i. e., the truth of its
spiritual origin, has been very explicit. We know not how to ques-
tion the evidence that spirits do in fact communicate sensibly
with meD, nor would we detract aught from the magnitude of the
marvel. Indeed, we esteem it as par eminence the most astounding
event of the present era. We regard it as altogether worthy the
attention and investigation of every intelligent mind, provided such

J
644 [Dec.
minds shall not prefer, 8S no doubt many in the New Church will,
to take the main facts upon testimon}", and not trouble themselves
with a scrutiny which can add little or nothing to their present con-
victions. While the laws of psychology prepare them to admit sub-
stantially the great averments OD this head, the Jaws of order, as they
apprehend them, pot a veto upon their being enrolled even into a com-
mittee of inquiry relative to the fact, or the mode of the maniffl~ta­
tions. With this estimate of the matter we are strongly inclined to
side, notwithstanding we have embraced ever}' convenient oppor-
tunity to investigate thoroughly the phenomena for oarselves. We
have, through the courtesy of friends, witnessed it under the most aus-
picious circumstances, and in its most favorabJe phases. Many of
the communications to which we have listened have been of a very
interesting character, and nOlle have given token of being prompted
by a decidedly evil or malign class of spirits. On the contrary, their
enunciations have for the most part savored of kindness, benevolence,
bienfecuance, and, as far as we could judge, truth. But, then, we
have never allowed ourselves to interrogate them relative to religions
doctrines. W., could not bring' ourselves to do in act what \vonld
imply that we admitted for a moment the existence of· any higher
standard of truth than we had alwa}·s recourse to in the revelations
of the Word and of the New Church. Whatever their response on
this bead, it would have no appreciable effect upon our prior convic-
tions. If it agreed with them, it would Dot strengthen oar assurance;
if it con8icted with them, it would Dot weaken it. What motive,
then, could we have for consulting such an oracle on such a subject 1
"To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to
this word, there is no light in them."
And here it is that we put our finger upon the peccant point of the
whole system of pseudo-spiritualism. The devotees of the Rappings,
as & general fact, have no experience of such scruples as we have
now alluded to. When these ultra-mundane responses rush in like a
80od, there seems to be no Spirit of the Lord to lift up a standard
against them. They are r6ceived, for the most part, as valid oracles
-as the voice of truth from its inner sanctuary-and the result is
that they are suffered to supersede every other form of revelatioD,
aDd carry away the faith captive to their most anti-christian dicta.
It is this effect that we are more especially prompted to deplore in
connection with the 'I manifestations." It is not that the M spirits "
discourse nothing but falsities, for they do doubtless say many isolated
good and trae things; but it is the fearful ascendency which they are
allowed to gain over the minds of their votaries, and which goes so far
to neutralize all the better results that might otherwise follow from a
marvel 10 astounding to the natural and the worldly mind as the fact
of intercourse being actually opened between the visible and the
invisible spheres. it is moarnful to think oC simple and well-disposed
1001s being so grievously deluded by the claim to a pure and eleva-
ted spiritualism, when in fact the very first rudiments of such a spirit-
ualism are wanting. Loolt over the multitudinous array of "peeping"
and "muttering tI pamphlets professing to be laden with the bardeos of
-. - supernal spheres, and where do you find, amidst all their cantiDg
1852.] 646
exhortatioDs to "harmony," aDd a oertain apecies of gooduARIJ••, thft
utterance of ODe single remark that g081 to lay open the intrinsic
nature of good, to show its distinction from, and yet its relation to,
truth, or one gleam of light thrown upon the process of regeneration?
For ourselves we have sought it in vain, as also in vain a circle
,vhere this was felt to be any particular desideratum. Instead of the
vigorous and life-stirring dogmas of the New Dispensation which
in~truct men precisely in what they Deed and how and where to
obtain it, we are treated from this source with page after page ad
nawcam of the most puling and maudlin sentimentalism, of which
the following are fair specimens.
U From the Spirit 0/ a Mot/t,r to her Son.-My DEAR SoN,-If you want to pro-

gre88 you must let your mind dwell upon the beauties of nature, and of the spirit
home. The contemplation oC the workS of the Almighty fills the mind with high and
lofty thoughts, well suited to an immol'tal being of his oreation. The spirit home is
full of happiness ; all are hap}>y. None of God's creatures are doomed to be miser-
able, but to enjoy all the hal!plness they are capable of doing. This is especially the
case with man. While he 18 on the earth, he has to endure some trouble and ~in,
bat this is only for 8 short season-and, during that time it is intermingled WIth a
much greater proportion of happiness. After the mortal body is cast off; all mieeJy
nnd pain are cast off too. After this transition takes :place the spirit is introduced
into a delightful home, surrounded by sweet and soothing influences-and is drawn
up into communion with those that are more developed, and consequently higher in
the spirit home than they. It is thus taught and developed by the most pleasant
means--and progresses from cirole to circle. All progress-none remain where they ,
enter-all have the same chanoe there. There are no drawbacks, no temptations to
lure them from the right path-progression is sure and easy. Now let your mind
dwell on these truths and expand our influence, and you will enjoy much more pure
happiness than you have ever yet cnjoyed."-Hist. of Ree. Develop. in Philadelphia,
p.64.
U To a Gentleman/rom ',is Brother.-My DEAR BltOTHER,-Your mind was 80 fa-
Tombly inclined when you came in that you had not muoh difficulty in believing
that you were surrounded by dear and beloved frienda who were anxioll8 to com-
municate with you, and unfold to you new truth8. Did mankind only know the
beauty and harmony of the spirit home, they would not allow their minds to dwell
80 much on the things of the earth-but lift; them up in holy contemplation
of that lovely place. Y 011 cannot conceive of itIJ beauties, much less of the
infinite and lovely charaoter of its Divine Creator. Man has debased him
and brought him lower than himself by giving attributes to an infinite degree
that ehould not be p088essed in a finite degree. Let not your mind look upon
him in this light but in a far higher and more glorious one. You can form DO
idea of our happineM, words cannot exprel8 it. This glorious destiny is prepared for
nU men without exception, none are to be excluded, all shall be happy. Those who
do not develop themselves while on earth must see that they have not treasured their
time al the~ should have done before. They must enter a lower circle than they
need otherWIse have done, and be pro~rly taught and developed, by those more ad-
vanced. Now will you not pay attention to th~ words, and prepare yourself for an
abode in tbe higher circle immediately upon leaving the eartIi. -Uone."-Id. p. 65.
u From tl&e Spirit of a Sister in BnBWT to tile que,tion, & 1, ~ Dead 7'-N0, I am not
dead, but live in a more glorious life. O! we are all happy in the s~irit home.
My dear sister, I am happy to have an opportunity to communicate WIth you. [
have long wished to mariifest myself to you -tiut YOUf cODdiuOD has not been suoh &8
to permit 8uoh sweet commUDion with you. Your idea of the spirit after it leavea its
tenement of olay is wroDli 8uoh is the faot with most people. Mortals with their
or
una88isted mental perceptIons oannot understand about tlie existence the spirit
after it b\trste its prison aoor, and soars away in immort&llife. Did you understand
546 Pseudo-Spiritualil".. [Dec.
the IaWl or P~OD that govern the development or the immortal apirit, you
would live wlUle on earih 80 as to develope all the higher and holier attributee or the
mind. Oar mission is to teach mankirid this, among other important leslOD8, con-
cerning their life in a physical and spiritual existence. ~fan lives for a high and
noble purpose. He was created in the image of God-his spirit is an emanation
from God. God is with man, thou~h he tramples all that is goOd beneath him for a
time, yet the good within him. at times will triumph over his carnal nature. None
are 80 far lost in wrong d~ bat they will be aeveloped in a slow degree, if but
little in liCe, the more to be developed in the 8~irit home. Your cold selfish !OnDSt
your cold sectarianism hinders your progre!8 In spiritual development, and is the
cause of much wrong doing among men. God is rove-love one another, cultivate
h&rmoniou8 relations among you, and you will reap a rich reward in the peace and
happine88 that will increase among you. Dear sister, think of what I oommunieate
to you, and do Dot reject it because it is Dew to you. It is in accordanoe with the
laws which God in his wisdom has established for the more rapid progress oC the
human fomily, towardAn higher I'1piritnal condition. Done."-Id. p. 66.

Whole volumes of such sickly stuff as this have doubtless been

indited within the last three years, and the same staple bids fair, from
present omens, to be stretched out to " the crack of doom." If anyone
would see it in its perfection, let him consult the" Spiritual Messen-
ger" of R. P. Ambler, \vhose pages are a model on the score of dilu-
ted inanity_ Ecce signum.
U Love is the chosen and effectual purifier of man ;-it is that which reachesdo,m
to the deep source oC action, and cle&r8 the fountain from which the streams ~ forth.
In vain 1uis the Church hurled its anathemas upon the sinner-in vain bu It robed
the destiny of man in a veil of blaokness, and made wild terror the instrument of re-
pentance i for with all the thunders of almighty ire-with all the piot~ of dark
despair, the saint and sinner sleep alike and smile. in mockery at the tragic scene.
The world now needs a moro gentle ministry. It needs to be warmed a.nd subdued
by that attractive in1luenco which shines in the 8un and lights the stars. It needs
to feel in its heart the power of that celestial love, which is the an~el of the Supreme
DivinitI. Think not that such a principle &8 tbis is weak-that It cannot reach to
the sinful, the degraded, and the lost. I t is in this world of sin that Love has its
work. to do. Far away over the wastes of human life-down amoug the hiding-
plaoea of the ItUilty-far down where tho tear of human sympathy is seldom ahed,
ibaJl itB bleueCl power extend; and wherever the fallen victims of crime JD&L::ell
-wherever the struggling sow may strive with the tem{>ter-wherevor the c · of
habit have bound and burdened tho heart-wherever 81D, and guilt, and wretched-
ness exist-where tears have flowed and sighs aro breathed, there shall it ~rform
its misaion. Yes; it shall go forth where no other power can reach, gaining Ita silent
victories in a l&Dotuary where sword and flame may never enter. Lo! tJle accents
of love are breathed, and the poor wanderer whose heart has been long chilled with
indifference, turns and smiles; those accents come a~ain to the tempted. and even
while raising the eu'p of death to his lips, the trembling hand is stayed and 6J noble
purpose is bom \\ithin his heart; and then, once more, that voice of love falls upon the
ear of the criminal-it speaks to him who hOB heard before but the sound of tJOOm-
to him who has been deserted, d88Piaed, and hardened in his sin, and behold! there
in those clanking chains and amid the dungeon's gloom, that 8trons heart is melted,
and he weeJl8. Oh! @weet angel of Love! thou art the chosen min18ter of Heaven-
thy breathing tones find their echo in the inmost heart, whore the image of God can
never be eWaced."-Spirit Me"",gtr, p. 155.
If it were not profane to suppose that among the numerous upper
and nether "spheres" of which these rapping " revealments " (0 '''0-
cable most uncouth!) speak, there were a Boarding School Miss8.Ii)'
sphere, we should have no farther to seek for the source of the inspira-
, of scores of paragraphs like the above.
 186~.] 54'7

On the whole, it can hardly fail, we think, to be apparent to a N~w­

churchman that we have in tlieseunique and marvellous manifestatiuns
an order of phenomena with which he can cherish but precious little
sympathy, except by proving recreant to principles which. as a New-
churchman, he cannot but regard as immovable as the pillars of the
universe. He may, if he pleases, investigate the facts as he would
any other class of scientific!, in order to pronounce a more intelligent
judgment upon the subject, should his opinion be demanded. To this
he will often find himself exhorted. "Investigate-open the mind to
evidence-be loyal to truth." Well, and suppose he hu investigated,
and that his mind is fully IDade up-suppose that he admits freely the
supernatural character of the marvel. What then 1 What more has
he to do with it 1 What uses can it subserve to him 1 He may
never himself have received or witnessed a false communication;
but jadging the tree by its fruits, what conclusion can he reach but
that, be the spirits good or bad, the emanations which come forth from
them are not, as a general fact, entitled to credit. In the department
of natural things he cannot repose confidence in their statements any
farther than as they are confirmed by other evidence drawn from
other sources. In the region of spiritual matters, what light can
they afford him of any value which he has not already 1 Would he
set their credibility above that of the illuminated seer of the New
Church 1 When he finds, for instance, these ghostly revelators saying
from the other world, as they usually do, that they saw their lifeless
bodies reposing on their beds, surrounded by weeping friends, and that
too in a few moments after their dissolution, how much will this weigh
against the positive declaration of Swedenborg, that the spiritual can
take no direct and immediate cognizance of the material, any more
than the material does of the spiritual-that there must be some in-
tervening medium, psychologically adapted, through whose eyes the
objects of earth can be seen 1 What, moreover, can he think of the
reliability of communicatioDs which 80 generally-we do not say uni-
versally-lead the "circles" to deny the supreme divinity of Jesus,
to reject the Bible-Word as the grand authoritative embodiment of
Divine Truth, to scout the eternity, not to say, in many cases, the
existence of the hells, to ignore the necessity of regeneration, and to
inculcate a system of ethics which makes little or no account of the
relations of genuine charity to genuine truth 1 That these are actu-
ally the characteristics of the spiritualism-if we may use the misno-
mer-which we are now subjecting to review-that its whole litera-
ture is leavened \vith them-it is impossible to deny. That excep-
tional cases occur we are free to admit, but tha.t we have not libelled
the system and the" oircles," we have the strongest assurance. And
now what were whole ship-loads of such trash compared with the one
single paragraph from the luminous pen of Swedenborg which \ve
here insert 1
" In tDluU tUgt'" a fMdiat, rewlatioa, ulitA u '8,eted by m'GRI of thl WanI, is Fe
/erable to aB irM1a«li4t, r""ltUion, wAid& u ",elM I!!I flllGftI of lpirill.-It il generaUy
believed that man might be more enlightened and 'tieoom8 more wise, if an immediate
I revelation WaB grantea him by meau of con'Y8ll8 with spirits and ugels; but tho
 [Dec.
revene is the 0&88. illustration by me&D8 of the WoM is eWected by an interior way,
whereas illustration by means of an immediate revelation is el"ected by an exterior
way. The interior way is by the will into the understanding, the exterior way is
by the hearing into the understanding. ?tfan by means of the 'Vord is illtll-
trated by the Lord, in proportion as his will is in good; but man b1 hear-
ing may be iutructed, and, a8 it were, illustrated, althou~h his will is m enl,
and what enters into the underatanding in a man, whose will 18 in evil, is not within
the man but without him, and is only in his memory and not in his life, and \vhat is
without man and not in his life, is gradually separated, if not bcfore, nevertheless
after death; for the will which is in ovil, either casts it out or su1Focates it, or falsi-
tea and prot8.nes it; for the will constitutes the life of man, and continually acta
upon the understanding and regarda as extraneous what is derived into t.he under-
standing from the memory. On the contrary., the understanding does not act on the
will, but it only teaches in what manner the will should act: wherefore if a man
knew from heaven whatever is known to the angels, or if he knew whatever is con-
tained in the Word, and moreover all that is contained in the doctrioes ofthe churoh,
which the fathers have written and counoils declared, and his will remains in evil,
neverthelet18 after death., luch a man would bo regarded aa one who knows nothing,
beC&1188 he does not will what he knows; and whereos evil hates truth in this easc,
the man himself casts out truths, and in the room thereof adopts such raises as are
in agreement with the evil of his will. 1\loreover permission 18 not ~nted to any
spirit nor to 8ny angel to teach any man 00 this earth in divine truthS, but the Lol\i
himself teaches every one by means of the Word, aDd man is taught in proportion ns
he reoeivel good from tho Lord in his will, and he receives good in the same 'pro~r­
tion &8 he flecs evils as sins; every man also is in 0, society of spirits as to hiS atfec-
tions and as to his thoughts thence derived, in which society hIS mind is as it were
present with them: wherefore spirits speaking with man, speak from his aftCctions
and according to them.
"A man cannot converse with other spirits unle88 the societies in which he isbe
flnt removed, which cannot be done except by a reformation of his will; becauee
every man- is in society with spirits who are in the same religion with himse~ when."-
fore when the ~irits converse with him, thc1 confirm whatever a man boa made :L
part of his religion, consequently enthusiastIc spirits confirm ,vhatever is of enthu·
ai&IID with man; Quaker spirits confirm whatever is of Quakerism.; l\-Ior&vian spirits
whatever is of Moravianism, and 80 forth. Hence proceed confirmations of the false
which can never bo extirpated. :From this it appears, that mediate revelation.
which is eft'ected by meana of the \Vord, is prefemlile to immediate re,·elation, which
is effected by means oC spirits. As to what regards mysel~ it was not allowed to
take anything from the diotato of any spirit, or from the dictate of any angel, but
from the dictate of the Lord alooe."-Con. Sac. Serip. from E:tptritnu, p. 11.
We have now completed our task, and kno\v not that \ve shall
ever have occasion to revert to it. 'Ye are \\"ell aware that our vie\vs
on the subject will impinge some\vhat gratingJy upon the theories and
the feelings of several personal friends whom \ve are truly sorry to
offend, if offence does indeed come of it. Our remarks \,'ill undoubt-
edly savor to them of a narro\vness of spirit. of a "sectarian bigotry:'
from which they had hoped us fairly quit. From such we must be-
speak all the charity they may have it in their power to b~sto\v. \,re
trust they will perceive that our object is simply to expose \vhat \ve
oonscientiously regard as a pernicious system of pseudo-spi,"itualism.
We have endeavored to strip it of its specious disguises. and by pre-
senting it in contrast with a spiritualism which is pure and truc-
which is from the Lord, and leads to the Lord-to persuade the maD
of the New Church to abjure all fellowship \vith it, and to fall bacJ\
upon those surer oracles which werA graciously designed as ,. u lamp
to our feet and a guide to our path." G. B.
 •
1811.) ne Parable, EqltJiMd.-No. Xl. '.0
ARTICLE IL

THE PARABLES EXPLAINED.

No. XI.
THB MARRIAGE or THE KING'S SON.
It ADd Jeaus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The KinPom
of the Heavens is like unto a certain King who made a marriage for his Son, and 88I1t
forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Again, he sent forth other servants, laying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have
prepared my dioDer: my oxen and my fatlings are kiUed. and all things are ready: oome
unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and weut their ways, one to his farm, an-
other to bis merchandize: and the remnant took hi" servants, and entreated them spite-
fullr, and slew them. Bot when the King heard thereof, he wu wrath: and he sent fonh
his armies. and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up cheir city. Then ..ith he to hi.
eervants, 'l'he wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye
therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So thOle
.erYants went ont into the highways, and gathered together all as many 88 the, fODDd,
both bad and good: and tue wedding was fnrnisbed with gueatl. And when the Kiq
came in to see the Ruests. he saw thl're a man which bad not on a wedding-garment: and
he6aith unto him, Friend, howcamest thou in hither. not having on a wedding-garment?
And he was speeehlell. Then aaid the King to the lervants, Bind him hand and toot. aDd
lake him away, and cut him into outer darkness j tbere shall be weeping aDd snaahiDl
of teeth. For mao, are called, but few are cbol8Q:'-MAn. xii. 1-16.

Q. WHAT do you understand here by the Kingdom crfthe Heaven."

A.. By the Kingdom of the Heavens is to be understood, the govern-
ment and guidance of the Divine Love and Wisdom of JESUS CUBIST;
for Heaven is Heaven, by virtue of the reception of Divine Love and
Wisdom, and it is called a kingdom from the government and guid.
ance of that Love and Wisdom.
Q. And why is this Kingdom of the Heavens likened unto a certain
King who made a marriage for "is Son 7
A. Because, by the King, who here made a marriage for his Son,
is to be understood, the SUPREME DIVINITY, called JEHOVAB, in the Old
Testament, and FATHBR, in the New, uniting Himself with the Hu-
manity which He assumed here on earth in the womb of the Virgin
Mary. This union is called a marriage, and, therefore, the Kingdom
of the Heavens is likened unto this marriage, because the Kingdom of
the Heavens is formed from an union of similar principles, viz., from
heavenly Love and heavenly Wisdom, or, whl\t is the same thing,
from heavenly Good and heavenly Truth.
Q. But it is said of this King, that he sent forth his servants to call
tAem that were bidden to the mflr,iage, and they would not come. What
do you understand by the 8ervant8 who are here said to be sent forth
by the King 1
A. By the servants are 'here to be understood, the ministers of GoD,
or the teachers of His MOST HOLY WORD; and since the things which
the.,e ministers teach are the truths of that WORD, therefore, by the
,ervanta here spoken of; are to be understood those truths themselves,.
which may be consider~d as ministering or subservient to the hea-
venly good of Love and Charity, to which they point.
YO~ ~ 36
 •
TAe Par~blel Ezplained.-No. Xl. [Dee.
Q. And what do l~OU understand by these servants calling tAefll
that were bidden to the marriage 1 ,
.A. It is the intent of the revelation of GOD, which He has been
pleased to make to mankind in His HOLY WORD, to invite them to an
eternal conjunction \vith Himsel~ by the reception of His own Love
and Wisdom. There is not, therefore, a single truth contained in that
revelation but \vhat points to such conjunction, and ,,"as intended to
conduct man to a participation of its eternal blessedness. This,
therefore, is what is signified by the servants calliflg them that were
bidden to the marriage 1
Q. But a distinction is here made betwixt calling and being bidden.
What do you understand by this distinction 1
A. In the original tongue, both expressions are the same, and,
therefore, it ought to have been rendered, to call them that were called
to the marriage. .
Q. And what do yOll understand by calling them that were called
to the marriage 1
A. The call to the heavenly marriage is twofold; because, it is,
first, a call of the understanding, and, secondly, a call of the will.
Q. And how do you distinguish between a call of the understand.
ing, and a call of the will!
A. Man is called to the heavenly marriage in his understanding,
when he first receives the knowledge of the Eternal Truth, and is
thus made acquainted with GOD and His kingdom, and, at the same
time, with that rule of life which conducts to GOD and His kingdom.
This eaU, however, is not of itself sufficient to introduce him into
Heaven and conjunction with GOD, because no knowledge is of itself
competent to that purpose. It is nectssary, therefore, when a suffi·
cient store of knowledge has been implanted, that he be called a
,econd time to bring such knowl~dge into practice, by forming his life
accordingly; and when this is e1f~cted, then his will, or love, is united
with his understanding, and, by this double call, be is introduced to
the marriage, because the heavenly marriage is, and means, nothing
else but such conjunction.
Q. But it is added, that they who were called would not come.
What do you learn from these words!
.A. In the original it is expressed, they teere not willing to Ctm,e, to
instruct us that it was the abuse of their free-will which prevented
their coming, and that, consequently, they \vanted the inclination, but
.Dot the power, to come.
Q. And what do you mean by the abule of their free. will?
A. Everyone is gifted, by his ALMIGHTY CREATOR, with the faculty
.of choosing for himself either good or evil, which was signified by the
two trees planted in the garden of Eden. But all good is of GOD and
-of His kingdom, and all evil is of the Devil and his kingdom. Every
,man, therefore, is gifted with the faculty of choosing GOD and the
things of His kingdom, or the Devil and the things of his kingdom i
and he chooses either the ODe or the other, according to the determi-
nation of his love, or, what is the same thing, of his supreme joy or
delight. For, if he loves himself only, and the things of this world,
1852.] TAe Marriage OJ"'6 King" 8on~ 551

in preferenee to GOD and the things of His kingdom, he then chooses-

evil in preference to good, and thus abuses his free-will. But if he
loves GOD and the things of His kingdom, in preference to himself and
the things of this world, be tben chooses good instead of evil, and, in
so doing, he applies his free-will according to the happy purposes for
which it was given him by his merciful CaEATolc. .
Q. But it is written, Again he BentJorth other ,ervant" .aying, Tell
them that were bidden, Behold, I ',ave prepared my dinner-: my oxen
and fatlingl are killed, and all things are ready: come to tll.~ marriage.
What do you understand here, by the other .ervant, whom the King
sent forth 1
..4. By the other servants are here to be understood, other n.pplica-
tioos of the Divine Truth, or the Divine Truth expressed in snother
form. Thus, for instance, it is the same Divine Truth wbich is ex:
pressed in the writings of Moses and in the writings of the Prophets;
but the form of expression is varied in eacb, and it is this variety of
~xpression, and Dot of the truth itself, which is alluded to in this ac-
count of the other lervallU bere said to be sent forth by the heavenly
King.
Q. And what do you understand by that pa.rt of their message
where it is said, Behold, I have prepared my dinner 1
A. The term behold, is a terrn applied to excite attention to th~
subject which follows, in the present case, therefore, to the dinner
which was prepared, to instruct us that this dinner is a subject worthy
of all attention, and better deserving it than any other, because it is
a 8ubject to which the attention is called by GOD Himself; and GOD
never calls man to attend to any thing but what is most worthy of
his attention.
Q. And what do yOI1 conceive to be meant by the dinner which is
here said to be prepared.
A. The term dinner is used to express all consociation of Love aDd
Charity, because all feasts, whether they were dinner, or mpp,r" were
originally ordained for the purpose of cherishing such consociation.
By the dinner, therefore, being prepared, is to be understood, that the
ALMIGHTY had provided every thing necessary for the establishment
of such consociation of Love and Charity between angels in heaven-
and men npon earth. Thus, by this part of the invitation, all man-·
Itind are called to enter into consociation of Love and Charity with
the angelic kingdom, and in so doing, to eat of their bread, and drink
of their cup, according as it is written, Man did eat anger. Jood, and·
he gave them bread to the full. Ps. Ixxviii. ~5.)
Q. And what do you understand by the oxen and Jatling, which·
are said to be killed?
A. The ozen and Jatling., here spoken of; denote different kinds
and degrees of heavenly good, which constitute the King's dinner, .
and in this view, the various animals appointed for sacrifice, under
the old law, are to be considered as representative of some heavenly'
principles of life which \vere required to be acknowledged as coming
from GOD, and to be offered up to GOD. In the present case, there-
fore, 0ft1I and Jading. are applied to denote all those heavenly affec-
 [Dec.
lioDl, both natural and spiritual, which are implanted in man by his
HUVULY FAT• .., and which alone conjoin God with man aad man
with GOD.
Q. And what do )'ou uDderstand by all IJanga being read, t
A. By all 'Ai"tf' are meaDt, all things on the part of GOD necessary
(or man's regeneration, whether they be intemal or extemal; aDd by
'heir being ,·,ady is to be understood, that they are always at Mild
with man, and waitiDg to be formed into his life, whenSGever he is
diseosed, in his free-will, to admit them.
Q. And \vhat do you conceive to be implied in the words of the iD-
vitation, com~ to tie marriage 1
A. These words imply a most gracious call of the divine mercy and
)oving-kindneu of the MOIT HIGH to every individual or the human
race, pressing and inviting him to an eternal conjunction of life, of
blessing, and of protection, with Himself and His kingdom. It im-
plies, further, a call unto every man to conjoin in his own heart and
life the eternal principles of heavenly Love and Wisdom, or. what is
the lame thing, of Charity and Faith, because the former oonjunction
of man with his GOD depends entirely upon the accomplishment of
thil latter conjunction of the above heavenly principles in his own
mind and life.
Q. But it is laid of the persons to whom this invitation was ad-
dressed, that tiey made light of it, and VJeRt tkir tDtly, one to his fa,.,
and anot/ler to hi. merchandi6e. What do you here understand by
their FlUJiing lig'" of the invitation 7
..at. To make light of a thing, is to account it of little value, and to
be but little affected by it; and, therefore, to make light of the invi-
tation to oome to the marriage, implies, that they thought the heavenly
marriage a thing of littlo vaJue, and were but little ajfpcted by it.
For luch is the case with the impenitent, the thooghtless, and UDCOD-
verted. Even Heaven itself appears in their eyes 8S a trifling and
iDlignificant p08lession, whillt the things of this world seem to be the
oDly grand objects which deserve their attention. Thus, they mis-
take entirely the nature of true greatness; calling that great which
in itself is little, and that little which in itself is great; and, by a ter-
rible perversion of their faculties, they invert all order, settiDg them-
selves above GOD, earth above heaven, temporal things above eternal,
and death above life.
Q. And what do you conceive to be meant by what is further said,
that tABy IHftt QUHlY 1
A. By going QUXJ!I is here to be understood, a separation of them-
selves from that eternal conjunction with GOD and Heaven which WDS
proffered to their acceptance. And this was a natoral aDd necessary
consequeoce of their making light of it, since no man was ever known
to draw Dear with his aifections to any object of which he thinks
vilely and contemptibly. Man will, of course, separate himself from
Heaven in the degree that his affectioDs are Dot interested in its im-
portant realities; Dor will he ever draw near. as he ought, to the
blessed kingdom, only in proportion as his understaDding ia en-
lilhtent'Cl, aad hi. will purified, to see aad to feel that 'he things of
 1811.] 158
that kingdom merit his regard aDd esteem inftnitely above all etber
things whatlOever.
Q. And wl1at do you understand by one going to Au field, and all-
oIMr to 1&i. rnercAmulue 1 .
.A. In the sense of the letter is expressed, by these words, the pre-
ference which men usually give to worldly concerns and occupations
above the concerns and occupations of eternal life: but, in the spirit-
ual sense is to be understood; that they prefer natural good to spirit.
11a1 good, and natural truth to spiritual truth: for, in a spiritoal
sense, & man's _field (or, as it is expressed in the original, 1&i, otDn Pld,)
denotes his will, or love; and mercAandue denotes his own uDder-
8tanding, or truth.
Q. But it is said, that t1&e remfttJRt took hill 6ert1t1nt., and entreated
. . •piteful'y, tmd ,leID them. How do you understand this 1
.A. These words describe the methods by wbioh wicked and un·
believing men destroy, in themselves, the heavenly truths of GoD's
most HOLY WOIlD; for, by the servants here spoken o~ as wasshowa
above, are meant those truths which are destroyed in men's minth
principally by two methods; first, by vilifying them, or making them
appear contemptible in their understanding!; and, secondly, by de-
priving them of the life of love snd charity in their wills. The flnt
method is expressed by entreating ,1unIa spitefully, and the seoond, by
.yi~1hmI.
Q. It is said, that tDAm the King Aeard thereof IN tD&t tDrOf1a: mal
A8 .ent for-lA Ai. armie_, mad de8troyed thole murderer., antl burned up
dteir city. What do you here understand by the King being wrotA t
A. ADgt'r and wrath are frequeDtly attributed to GoD, in the Sacred
Scriptures, not that it is to be supposed that RDy luch qualities, or
properties exist in the Divine Being, who, in Himself, il, and ever
malt be, the purest and most essential mercy, love, goodnell, and
compassion. But the contrary qualities of wrath, anger, and ven-
geance, are attributed to Him in the same way that repentance is at).
cributed to Him, though it is plain that GOD never repents, as He Him-
self also declares. The reason, then, why GOD is said to be angry and
... wrathful, as well as to repent, is, because the Sacred Scriptures are
written accm·ding to appeara,zcel, and, if they were not 80 written,
they could not have been adApted to the apprehension of the Datoral
men. The appearance, therefore, is, that GoP is angry and wrathful
with the wicked, and that He also repents of His purposes, but the
real truth is, that He never repents, neither is He ever angry or wrath.
ful, and that if He appears so, it is owing to the wickedness of man,
which always supposes that GOD is angry with him, and ready to
punish his wicked deeds. Every man, therefore, in this respect,
makes his own GOD, according to the idea which he forms of GOD;
and, consequently, a wicked man sees nothing, and can see nothing,
bat a GOD of anger and wratb, whilst a good man sees nothing, and
can see nothing, but a GOD of mercy and love. It is accordingly writ-
teD, with the pure thou wilt ,!,OW thyself pUt-et and with tAe froward
thou wilt ahow thyselffroward.
Q. And what do you understand by the King 8ending fortA 1&;'
tlrmN,l
 A. The armies of the LoaD, or, 88 they are sometimes called, His
hOlt, denote the angelic host, ,when applied in a good sense, IUI exe-
cuting the purposes of salvation; but when applied in a contrary
sense, as in the present case, for the pnrpose of destruction, they de-
Dote the powen of darkness; in which sense it is written, in another
place, concerning the rebellious Israelites, that the LoaD .ent evil all·
gell among tAem. Not that it is to be supposed that the merciful LoD
lends evil, or evil a1lKeI8, among any people, but that the wickrd and
impenitent, by their wickedness aDd impenitence, pluDge themselves
into 8 wretched association with those spirits of darkness.
Q. And what is to be understood by de,troying those fIIurdn-er.l
A. All wicked people are called murderer., because they kill aDd
murder in themselves the life of heavenly Love and Charity, which is
I
the life of GOD and of His kingdom i and GOD is said to destroy Buch
I · murderers, when, in reality, they destroy themselves, by separating
.themselves from the mercy, the blessing, and protection of Heaven,
for whatsoever is so separated must of necessity be destroyed, since
.piritDal destruction is but another term to express alienation from
GOD, 88 spiritual lalvation is bat another term to express coDjuDctioD
with GOD in His own life of heavenly love and wisdom.
Q. And what do you mean by burning up their city 1
A. Oity is here used in a spiritual sense, like all other e:lpressiODS
in the parable, and, according to that sense, denotes the interior priD-
ciples aDd persuasions which oocupy the minds of meD, and in which
tbey dweIJ. In this passage it is, therefore, used to denote the prin-
ciples and persuasions of the wicked, which are said to be burned up,
when they are consumed and perish by the concnpiscences which live
tbem birth. Mention is accordingly made, in the Sacred Scriptures,
of the city of destruction, and also of the city of the LoaD OP H08TI;
the former, denoting the principles and persuasions in which the UD-
godly dwell, as to their spirits; and the latter, denoting the principles
and persuasions in which the righteous dwell, 88 to their spirits.
Q. But it is said, the wedding i, ready, but they whicA were biddea
toere not worthy. ·What do yOIl understand here by being worthy 1
A. Man is said to be worthy when he complies freely and volunta-
rily with the counsels of the Eternal Truth; in which case he exalts
the Eternal Truth above everything belonging to himsel~ and thus
ascribes to the GOD of Truth all merit, and consequently, all worth.
Man, therefore, is called uVJrthy in proportion as he takes no worth to
himsel~ but humbly and gratefully acknowledges that no one is wor-
thy but Him of whom it is written, Worthy u the Lamb tltalwcu .lain
to receive power, and ric1wa, and wi,dom, and strength, ar.d honor, and
glory, a,uJ, ble,sing (Rev. v. 12). On the other hand, man is said to
be not worthy, when he is unwilling to admit into his mind that hea-
venly wisdom which ,,·ould teach him that all WA thine", properly so
called, belongs unto GOD, and that man is only ~o far worthy as he
willingly makes this acknowledgment.
(To b, concluded in OUT flat.)
1862.] 666

AllTlCLB Ill.

"or the N. C. Bepae1torr.

RABBINICAL PROVERBS.
TaANSLATBD FaOM THB BEDBBW ~BY TBB BDITOR.

1. RODor the doctor before you have Deed of him.

2. Eat the bone which falls to your lot.
3. As gold needs beating, 80 does a boy whipping.
4. Wo to the wicked and to their adherents.
5. An old man in a house is a good sign in a house.
8. Keep your aifairs to yourself &8 10Dg as you live, and divulge
them not to hei n.
'7. No matter how good a soul your wife, tell her not how much
you are worth.
8. No matter how many friends you have, divulge your secret to
but one of a thousand.
9. Lay no cause of sorrow deeply to heart; sorrow is a slayer of
thousands.
10. A wise man is to be corrected with a rod; a fool with a stake.
11. He that sows brambles must not go barefoot.
• 12. A fire kindled oonsumes many heaps of corD.
13. Contention ceases over a well-spread table.
14. Though you have sixty counsellers, do Dot give up your own
opinion.
15. A man's business, if near at hand, feeds him; if far oft; it de-
vours him.
16. Do good to your neighbor, though he may Dot be good; for it
may happen that in your day of trial, he may bear witness in your
favor.
17. SimoD, the Jnst, said that the world rested opon three things-
Law, Religion, and Beneficence.
18. Let your house be a conventicle oC wise men. Sit in the dust
of their feet., and drink in their words with delight.
19. Let the door of your house be open toward the street. (That
is, be hospitable.)
20. Let the poor be the domestics of thy house.
21. Be not over communicative with a woman.
22. Weigh every thing in the balance of equity.
23. Fly a neighboring evil.
24. In adversity do not despair.
25. Hate a doctorate.
26. He that accumulates not, loses.
27. Quit not the church.
28. He that neglects to learn, is unworthy to live.
29. Who is for me, unless I am for m)·self 1 And even when I do
for myseI~ who am I 1 And if I act not now, when 1
30. Glory follows the flying, and flies the following.
 Poetry_ [Dee.
31. Say not what cannot be understood, when you wish to be in-
telligible.
32. A foolish desperado dreads not the penalty of sin.
33. He that is immersed in business is not the man to become
wise.
84. Show yourself" man where men are not.
85. He that multiplies flesh-meats, multiplies worms.
38. He tha.t has many ser\"ants, has ma.ny thieves.
37. As many maids, so many mischiefs.
38. He that multiplies justice, multiplies peace.
39. He that multiplies law, multiplies life.
40. He that multiplies schools, multiplies wisdom.
~1. He that consults much, is wise much.
42. He that lays up for himself the words of the law, Jays up the life
of the world to come.
48. He tha.t gets a good name for himsel( gets it also for his
family.
44. Speak little and do much.
45. Receive every man with a pleasant countenance.
48. Be eqaally exact in observing a light precept as a weighty
one, for you know not what the reward will be.
47. A wise man without the fear of God is like an artist without
implements.

POBTRY.
THE ORIGIN OF THE EARTH.
BY TB. LATJ: IAMUJ:L WOODWOBTB.
Reprinted &om" The Ladles' CompanioD," of 18-.
CANTO I.
Ta. AaGt7J1ENT.-The proposition; popular errors exploded j the world not made of no-
thing; Atheists. the fabled Titans and modem Infidels; the invocation; the great ea
or the wliverae; its parturition; birth of the seven planete; the orrery. a lyre of ,"ea
.&rings; deecription of me 101&1 1Y8tem.
I siDg earth's orip-a veata1 theme,
Of which few anoient" bards presumed to dream i
And the first step we take in search of truth,
Should crush the errors :planted in our youth j .
And this i8 one-that tbw terraqueou8 ball
Was made of ftotAing-so our teachen all
In terms maintained; and 80 we all believed ;
And acted OD the falsehood thus received.
He who created all things, had no need
To form a world of nothing-'tis a creed
Unanthorized by Scripture-etr&nger far
Than the wild dreams of EpicUlns are. *
• The wild dreams of Epicarus.
This philol§opher taoght that the universe consisted of atoms, or puscles, of Y.rlou,
forma, magnitudes and weights. which having been disper8ed at random through the iDl-
meDIe apace, Cortuitoualy cODcurred into innumerable system••
J8&2.] TAe Origin of tAB Earlh.
God works by mtGlII whioh he himself creates,
U He spake and it was done t" the Scripture states.

And reason and philosophy, indeed,

Both say-from nothing, nothing ca.n ~eed.
By His creative Word were all things inadel
And all subsist dependent on His aid.
But this is innocent, comp8l'ed with those
Pernicious UpaB brambles, which oppoee
The sovereignty of Heaven, those germs of hell,
Whioh human nature knew not till it fell.
For there 'tie thus recorded in the Word,
The earth became corrupt before the Lord,
And ftlled with violenoe and wicked ways;
And ~here were ~antB, also, in those days,
For impious atheists ftnt existed then,
Those direful demons in the shape of meB,
Who dared usault Jehovah on His throne,
As ancient poets have, in legends, shown j
It is DO fabfe what these legends ten,
Of Jove asaailed by giants-fiends of hell,
Bu t a Ftdittion of Ulat holy war
Whioh wrought redempiion-when the Saviou " . "
Satan, as lightning, fall from heaveD," for then
The powen of darme88 lost t.heir hold on men,
And human freedom was at last restored ;
For man could be converted to the Lord.

But & new race of Ti'-ms, iD our day, *

A88ail high Heaven in a more covert waI,
And, by oondemniDg marriage, clearly Show
That tliey, at virine, aim the deadliest blow,
And, in the 8~ciOO8 name of SCNftCl, are
Recruiting levies for the unholy war :
Those prieonen of Satan's reatlesa host,
Self-rendered ine~tima.., who bout
TheJ have no Father, yet, with craven dread
Shrink from His justice on a d~g bed ;
Trembling in heart, at what tlieu lips deny,
The Being whom they flout at and defy.
Moral abortioDs fl'01D the womb of ohanoe,
Lioked into shape by hoodwink'd ,ircum,tafle. j
Whose toad-like lips dispense oorroding bane,
With no redeeming jewel in the brain.t
Cnrsed with a doubt no reasoning can control,
The ague, plague, and palsy of the soul ;
Heirs to the plagues Pandora'8 Box contains, t
Without the balm of Hope to ease their pains.
• But a new race of Titans in our day,
Assail high Heaven in a more covert way.
The war. of the Titan. against lhe gods. are very celebrated in mythology. Tbey were
all of a gigantio stature, and endowed with proportionate strenglh.
t With DO rE'deem ing jewel in Ihe brain.
Sweet are tb' uses of adversity;
6C
Which, like the toad, ugly and venOm0t18,
Wears yet, a preoiou8 jewel in bis head."-Bhtlk",tJrt.
: Heirs to tbe plagues Pandora's box contains.
According la tbe opinIon of the ancient poet Hesiod, Pandora was the first mortal
female that ever lived. Sbe was made of clay, by VuleaD, at tho request of Jupiter, who
 Poetry. [Dee.
Oar Father in the heaTeDSt now to thee,
In humble reverenoe, I bend the knee,
To &lk for light-for I the word believe
Whioh thou but uttered_ u .Aa 1e, and receive."
nlume my darkened mind with wiadom's ray&,
Thou First and Last, and thine shall be the pmile.
Teach me to venerate thy holy name,
In faith and love, in wOM and deed, the same j
ThI kingdom come within my heart and soul,
Ana reign thou there, supreme in thy oontrol;
Thy will be done in action as in thought,
As in thy Word thou hut divinely taught.
Oh, free my IOW from every self"'" aim,
The love of mammon, and the love offame,
From mch temptation, lave me.. Lord, I pray,
And every evil that besets my way;
Inspire my heart with love of thee alone,
And a desire to make thy ~lory known.
So shall thy heavenly bl888U1g crown my ~
With UBefulneas to Dl&n-'tia an
I aak.

In the beginning, when the Eternal One

Had spoken into life the glorious SUD,
An image oC Himael~ whOle heat and light,
Like Love and Wisdom, banished anoient Nigh'
From this high-a.rch'd, illimitable space,
And in ita centre, still retains HiB plaoe;
Bright exhalations, from His orb dmpensed;
Shot into s~ce, and 10 became condenaed;
When, hurried back by His attractive power,
They thick enshrine Him in a vapory liower,
Thus constituting, 88 old legenda tell,
u The 8001 o£nature" in ita secret ceU·
\Vhoee opaque walla no solar ra1 could pierce;
The teeming egg of this vast UDI vene j
Which latent heat OCCasiODed soon to swell,
Until the egg, exploding, burst its shell,
And thus at onoe, exoluded into birth
The planetary system, with the earth,
A ~ly otrspring, who the 8un revere
As their grea~ oommon parent, ever dear;
For all, alike, His fostermg bounty share,
And each confesses His paternal care.
He cheers them with His liCe-imJlarting heat,
And yearly gives them, too, a blrth-d~~ treat
or such attire-and nourishment supplles,
To feed their tenants DB each planet flies.
Their great progenitor the wliole surveys,
As his own children fostered by his ways ;
wished to punish the impiety and an artifice of Prometheus, by giving him a wife. She
derived ber name Pandora, trom the charms with which the gods endowed her. Jupi·
cer, after this, gave her a beautiflll box, which she was ordered to present to tbe mall
who married her; and by the commission of the god, Mercury conducted her to prome-
&heus. The artful mortal was sensible of the deceit, and as he had always distrusted· Jopi.
ter, as well 8S the rest of the gods, !ince he had stolen fire away from the Slln to animate
his man of clay, be lent away Pandora \vithout suffering himself to be captivated with ber
charms. 'Hi. brother Epinetheus was not p08sessed of the same prudence and aapc it1'
He married Pandora, and when he opened the box which she presented him, there issued
(rom it a multitude of evils and distempers, which dispersed themselves all over the \Yorid.
and which, trom that fatal moment, have never ceued to 8ftlict the human race. Hope
was &he oral, ODe whioh remained at &he bottom of tho bo~.
1_.] TAe Origira of tAe EarlA.
AB every beiDg ita mblliat.eDee Owel
To the aame lOuroe whence its uistence flowa. *
Huge, shapele88 IDU88S, in their first eaoape, t
Each without; form, till nourished in~ shape ;
Devoid of motion, on So1"8 verge they pre.ed,
All fondly clinging round the ~nt'8 breut;
Who, presently expanding allltis ~reet
Opened, for egress into apace, the doors,
Through which, swift, fiery emanations found
A t»8l18&ge out, and wheeled the planets round;
Thia first; impetus to his o1Fspring given,
Attends them still through all the vault of heaven
Hence ether rose-widely di1£used around
About the 8un, throughout the arch profound;
A subtle flllid, clear, transparent sea,
In which tho planets floated, light and free;
Each molten yet, by solar heat dissolved,
Now on its centre equipoised, revolved;
And swift projected, in a spiral ColU'Be,~
Around its parent, with reIent1eu force,
Enlarging, stUI, its narrow orbit's size,
As oirclirig now, it wheel'd along the akie8;
Assuming, &8 through apace the)' rolled afar,
More peifect forms, oompact and globular.
Our earth was, for a while, con~nt to run,
In 8 small orbit, close around the sun-
Perhaps the same where Mercury now appears,
And hence the shortness of its early years;1
For Noah's ~ndsire, says the boo\: divine,
Lived till he told nine hundred sixty-nine.
Terra, within her own small orbit, 800n
Received her fond attendant, called the moon,
Who serves her still with the soft, mellow light
She borrows from bright Phmbus in her flight.
'T18 thus the solar BY:8tem sprang to life,
With gravitation and attraction rife;
'Twas thus the heavenly Ipa, by Phoobus strung
With seven sonorous cliords, as bards have sung,
• For every being its Rubsistence owes
To the same source wbenee its existence flows.
In the Swedish philosopher's tr~atise on the Wonhip and LOfJe of God, he says•• e Ever,
~fflc' is a continuity of cau". from the first caule; and the cause by which anytblDI ""'-
.Ut. is continued to the cause by which it l%i,t" since .ubri.ttncl is a kind of perpetual
,zi,fCflCe."-L. and w. of God, No. 7.
t Huge, shapeless maBleS, in their first escape,
Each without form, till nourished into shape.
See Genesis 1. 2.
:t And swift projected in a spiral course.
When these masses were now oarried round Ibe sun into their first periods, and by huty
and ahort circuits accomplished their annual spaces, according to the perpetual gyrations
of the heavenly bodies, in the manner of a lunnillg ,piral or winding line. they also cut
themselves ovtlDtJrd. into new circumferences; Rnd thus, by excursions resembling a "i-
ral, removed themselves from the centre, and at the same time, from the very heated bosom
of their parent, but slowly. and by d~ree.; thus being, as it were. weaned, they began to
move in another direction.-L. GAd W. of God, No,. 11 attd 12.
§ And bence the shortness of hs early years. •
Ita years, at ftr"t, if measured by the periods of our time, wguld leareely equal a8 many
mODtbl.-L. au w: of God, No. 11.
 [Dee.
or
In oluBio strains, the bout other Jean,
And hence the far-famed masia of the .ph. . .
For seven bright ~here8 the 8QD. thus caued to roll
Around himself; tlien sire, their life and soul;
Eaoh, in his movement, like an anrl, fJinga.
His grateful homage to the King 0 ltings.

But think not vainly that the human race

Is limited to such contracted s~ace;
Dream Dot that those bright oTbB were set on high
To run their various oourses through the sky .
F or ornaments alone· ip.oble thought!
To reason, listen, and be botter taught;
Know that Eternal Love conceived the pIan,
And love eternal rests, at last, on man ;
For each effect its energies ~roduce,
Is wrought bI wisdom and Its end is use ;
Hence learn that every moving, twinkling light,
That decks the azure vault of heaven at night.
Is round a central sun resiatless hurled,
Itself a ponderous globe, a peopled world;
A world; p'rhape, unstained by crime or blood,
Where 8OOiallove prefers its neighbor'ls good ;
Where eve~ joy derives its 8weetest leSt
From the fond wish of making otben blest ;
Where heaven-bom Charity exerts her powere-

.y;
A world of bn.--- man might render OUl'8.
Such peopled orb.. in' oouotleae numbers flYI
In never-varying order throogh the
And all, with one accordant voice, proolaim
The power whioh made, and ltillmpports t1:leh frame.

Presumptuous athe.! if moh wretch exia,

Can thy vain reasoning proof like this resist'
Say, can these planets in harmonious danoe,
Perform thoir revolutions thus by chance 1
Perish the thought! rouse from thy native sod,
Renounce thy error, and confess a God !
For though with every mortal honor clad,
le An undevout astronomer is mad."

Conviction seals tby lip8-~resumeDO more !

But in mute wonder, tremble and adore!

EXTRACT.
. cc Unto the church of Epheslu write." What is understood by tbe angel of each church,
cannot be know'n from anyother BOluce than trom the internal sense of the subsequeot things
which are written: it is laid from the internal sense, beoause all things which are iD the
Apocalypse are prophetic, and things prophetic are not explicable, but by the ioternal
sense. Who that reads the prophets does not lee that there are arcana therein, which are
more deeply hid than in the plain sense or th" letter; and ina~mucb a9 lho~ o.rcana can-
not be seen by the natural man alone. therefore they who account the Word holy, pass by
those things whioh they do not understand, acknowledging that there is an arc.num
therein which they do not understand, and which Borne call mystical. That this is
the spiritual principle of the WonJ, is known to some, inasmuob as they think tbat the
Word in its bo,om is spiritual, beoause it is divine; still, however. It has been hitherto
unknown that this h~ its apiritualsense. and tbat the Word in this lense is l1nderltooel b,
the angels, and that by this sense there is oonjunction of heaven with the maQ of Ibe
chorcb.-A. E. 65.
 1868.] 111

CORRESPONDEN CE.

LETl'ER FROM A NEW ENGLAND SUBSCRIBER.

DIu 8D: I perceive by the 1. . No. of ihe Repository, that all who do DoipV8
timely notice to the COD~, will be ex~cted to 8ubscribe the coming year. Hav-
ing for some time past resolved to subscribe for no publication that agitates slavery
or &he Maine Law, I must decline the Repository at present.
Your friend, &0.
REMARKS.
ICwe yield to a promptiD& to say a few words in reply to the above. we tru6t tl1at none
or our readers will tor a moment suppose that personal pique has aught to do with our re-
.ponse. If one hundred. or live hundred. or our subscribers had each written us a letter
couched in the same terms. just at the time we were commencing the discussion of the
"Aphorlsms," it would have had no imaginable effect upon our purpose. We had count-
ed the COlt, and were prepared to meet it. Tbe word was to be spoken. and it has been.
The wbole matter is before our readers, and tor eeveral months has invited their verdict..
The mere tact or anyone's taking exceptions to our course, either in the outset or in tho
IeqQel. leaves us in imperturbable rood nature. as rar as oDr own feelings are concerned.
As we feel no regrets, 80 we cherish no resentlnents. Whatever comments may be made
OD our course-whate\·er names may be withdrawn from our Hst-it has no effect to dilturb
our equanimity. as long 8S we are conscious ot having aimed at a good. end. But there is
IOmellmes a debt of charillf due to those to whom we owe notbin& else, and in the present
instance we feel that we shall be doing a kindness to a brother, whom we have alwaye
been disposed to respect, by turning his attention to the real spirit of the above letter, as
it will appear on a somewhat closer Inspection than he has probably given it.
For the offence of discussing the moral character of slavery. as it exists in our country.
rhe writer of the letter feels bound. in conscience, to infiict upon us a certain degree of
punishment. This punishment, indeed, Is slight in itself, extending only to tbe amOllnl
of the writer's subscription, which is hereby withdrawn. But the thing to be considered
is the principle-the a.imv.-which dictates the step. If it could be supposed, for a mo-
ment, tbat this one subscription were OQr only !ource of dependence for a living, it is ob-
.i01l1 that tor the same reason for which he withdraws bis name now, be would withdraw
it then. and it is vain to deny that this would be on the part ot the withdrawer a real
""",iM".,,,, tor an apprehended offence. So far al he aCled consisten tly he would say to
himself, .. The continuance or my support to the editor goes so tar to (tnahle him to bring
forth matter In his pages which is offensive to me because I sincerely think it to be inju-
rious to the best interests ot troth and righteousness; and as I am not permitted to be an
aider and abetter in any thing evil. therefore, it behoves me to witbhold that share which
I haYe heretofore contributed to tbe editor's means of doing harm to the Lord's church and
kingdom. So rar as in me lies! am bound to endeavor to render him powerless in the
cmecatlon ofbis evil designs. however strongly he may be persuaded in his own mind thal
be i. doiDI rigbt." This I1 evidently the rea), though, perhaps, unuttered logic, by which
an intellilent and conscientious Newchurcbman is to be supposed to jastify to blmaelC
.1lch a decision as that embodied in the above brief epistle.
Now we trull that we shall ever be disposed to accord all due respect to the actlngs of
aD tn&elUpn& oODlOience, and more elpeoiaUy when itl dictates have respect to the IreR t
 Letter from tJ S"lMcriber-lDitA Remaru. [Dec.
principle. ortl1lth and life inculcated by tbe New Churoh. Bat ID the preeent in8taDC8
we cannot avoid the impression that a very one-sided view has been takeD of the qa__
don of duty-that some Important considerations, entitled to weigh in this CODDecUOO.
have been left out of sight. It does not appear that any other fault is foond with the Re-
pository than that it bas agitated the subject ofelavery-{or tbat oftbe Maine Law h. . BeYel'
beeD broached in our pages, nor had we 'bought or doing it. It i. perbaps rea80D.ble ID
Iuppose that the letter-writer is willing to give the editor credit for meaning well 10 the
cause of the New Churcb, and possibly for performing towards it BOme valuable I8mee.
Now, supposing that on this particular topic he is altogether in the wrong-that be h ••
utterly mistaken the spirit and drift of the Divine precepts 8S they bear upon thi. apeciaJ
form oC evil,-yet 'when he has exhibited evidence of upright intentione-when he baa gi~
vent to no violent tiradel against slaveholdera, but, on the contrary, has made charhable
allowance for the circamstanoes under whiob they are placed-when he hu obvio....'
aimed to make the nlceat distinctions, and to fix the evil of the institution precieely whed
it belongs, not upon the involuntary relation which a man may chance to sUltain to it
from the fortuities of his birth and his subsequent lot, but upon the voluntary aDd deter-
mined perpetuation oC a system of wrong doing, against which every principle or homaa-
ill and justice reclalms,-is he not entitled to the faireat construction of charity OD tbe
part oC a brother 1 This is what we have done, and the spirit in which we ha..
done it. And now we ask whether a mind leaYeDM with the charity for which it pro--
f..see luch a tender concem can see nothing redeeming in all this 1 Is the offence oom-
mitted 80 very heinoas that nothing willsatilfy the offended brother or the injured ChQlCb,
but the absolute discontinuance and extinction of the work which has been the ofB&n
of the unintentional mischief. and that, too. notwithstanding the various good UIM It
may have otherwise performed 1 Does the law of charity 8C tually demand the in8iction
oflO severe a sentence '!-for, on the part oCthe censor. it amounts to nothing short or this,
as such would inevitably be the effect ifhe were the lole subscriber, or iCeveryotber sab-
.crlber should do what his example would clearll inculcate. Have we 10 grow, mil-
oODstrued the apirit and genius of the New Church as to suppose that some tender .,mpa-
tbY-80me Renerous encouragement-would be prompted towards one who wu, OD lbe
wbole, palpably aiming to do right. and to do good, notwithstanding an occasionallapte
oC judgment? Has the spirit ot charitl no instincts that shall plead a kindly tolerance oC
involuntary error, wben it recognizes a ruling impulse in the right direction' Granting,
then, all that ia virtually assumed in the above communication, to wit, that we have la-
bored under a radical mistake as to the true light in which American Ilayerr il to be
viewed, we still put the question borne to the autbor, whether the punishment he would
Inflict is not altogether disproportioned to the offence, and con!lcquentlYt whether there is
not in the spirit which would exact that punishment, as mucb that Coos counter to the
law 01 love as in the conduct which draws Corth his displeasure ?
But we have been all along speaking hypothetically. We do Dot admit in troth, thougb
we have done so for the sake of the argument, that our views on the subject are errone-
008; and Crom the stand-point whlch we occupy we feel at liberty to hold up our friend'.
letter in lome new lights. U Havint: for lome timo past resolved. to lubscribe for no pubU-
eation that agitates slavery," &c. 00 this ground, accordingly, he refuse. to subscribe for
the Repository, which he does, oC course, with our full conS8nL But it is welleaougb fot
all parties to understand tbat we have U agitated" the subject oC slavery no otherwise than
by tlilCUlring It In its moral aspects, consequently, the objection ts evidently pointed .
agaiDst the discuSlion of the t~eme in any form whatever. This objection can justify it-
..lr, only on one or the other oC two grounds; e1th. that Ihe nstitutioD Is intrinllcally and
anqaalifledly lOod, and therefore to be exempt from an crltioism or couture; Of,lraDtiD,
1852.J Letter from Rev. Henry Weller. 568
it to Involve 90me evil element!!, that still it is 10 governed under the aupplce! of the DI-
vine Providence that it is at once indecorous aDd useless to say anything in derogation of
h. That either of these positions should be astomed by a Newchorchman is to 01 Baton-
iabinl. Aa to the first, ODe would think it had bot to be named to be reprobated at onoe ;
and yet we should equally repudiate the position that slavery contained within Itlelf n0-
thing but evil. As to the second, it is evident that the priociple would warrant the most
unlimited tolerance of evils without the least breath of remonstrance, and how this ditrers
trom a downright Mahometan fatalism we are un~ble to discover. To this principle we
shall accede when we make the Koran instead of the Bible the man oC our counsel, and
not before.
Our remarks have extended fnr beyond the limit originally intended; but we would fain
show to our brother the import of his objection to tbe Repository. To lay nothiol of his
pruy.iag upon the continoance of the diecussion in our future iuues, whereas we have
DO intention of broaching it again ourselves, it is clear that his sentiments are calculated
to give a death-blow to all free dhJcussion in the New Church, and to all wbolelOme repre-
hension of what is wrong in spirit and practice. For ourselves, while the )051 of a sab-
scriber is intrinsically of very little account, it grieves us to think of its being done on luch
insufficient grounds. It be has read what we have written on the subject he hOlD. that
we have condemned nothing but tJu tlcttMJl ,,,il 'i",,,ol,,,d ita th, .,.tem of .la.".,; and
would he make this a criminal offence for which we are to be mulcted to the atmost
amount which he has it in his power to InBict? We would commend this view of the
matter to his special consideration. If he would not have what is realty and intrinsically
evil, rebuk~d, repented of, and forsaken, he of course would have it upheld and pelletaa-
ted; and how far this is removed from actnally a.'tlmirag the rt.omibilit, of t1l.e Iflil, we
would gladl, be informed.
Bat we leave our friend to the sober reBectioD! of his own mind, and Cl in the multitude
of bil thoughts within him," we would hope that the question might find place whether it
were not a more genuine work of charity to endeavor to convince an erring brother of his
miltake by rational arguments than to come upon him in the Brst instance by all nnre-
)endug punisbment, as if the cale were too aggravated to adm it of any 9&enuation.

LETTER FROM REV. H. WELtER.

To the Editor of thB RtpOBitory,
DEAR BaOTHEll,-I ~roeive in your No. for Ootober, a communication from oar
brother Worcester in relation to a passa~e in the Adversaria, to which I had made
some alluaion in an article in "The Crists." I should not have troubled you with a
word on the 8ubject had it not ap~ared to me likely that Mr. W.'slettermi~htlead
some to suppose that I was a U wrIting medium," and BOught to affix somethmg of a
similar charaoter to Swedenborg. I do not mean that any suoh impression was
intended to be conveIed, for 88 a reader of U The Crisis," our brother must know that
it is very diiFerent-that all extemal manifestations from the spirit world are OOD-
stantly treated 88 disorderly, althou~h they may be the beginning which may lead
ultimatel, to orderly internal consCIous intercourse between the two worlds. And
the allu810n to the passage in the Adversaria W8.8 simply to show that similar imper-
fect diso_rly processes must have been experienced by E. S. in the gradual pro-
~88 of hi8 spiritual development.
- For myself; it is well known that I never wrote by wntrol oft/", hand (except in
two or three instances, or when I willed that a signature should be written), but that
I did write while in a state of vision and occasionally at other times, by dietatioo.
But after the extraordinary states intended to instruct me in various things relaling
to present spiritual phenomena had rassed ~ I utterly repudiated and do now re-
pudiate all flir," interference of spints of whatever charaoter they may be. The·
 [Dec.
peat leading law of spiritual intluenoea is that enunciated by Sweden~t "thM
man is governed by tile Lord through ~irita." Therefore the Lord alone is to be
lO~ht unto, for He alone orders and adJusts all the thousands of agencies that eon-
tribute to keep the world in order.
In your own editorial you have quoted a pusage from cc The Crisis," whioh IItand-
jog a~rt from the 8CO~ of the whole artiole may ap~ar start1iDg and repal8ift to
IOme of your readers. Yet I am persuaded that taken in connection with the whole 1
U ~nts nothing that need to shock an untrammelled mind. However I am COIl-
tent to let U The Crisis" speak for itself-not from the affectation of & dignified aiIence,
but because I verily believe that questions of life are ultimately decided D1 peruptioJU
dowing from good-and not by any external reasonings. Your experience undoubt-
edly is true u that the most marked indifference to the living, regenerating ~ of
the doctrines will be witnessed among those who cherish a lii5ht esteem of SwedeD-
bOrg'8 authority, from an overweening conceit of the all-sufficIency of their own rea-
Ion, intuition, or illumination." For the sake of the very existence of the Lord'.
ohurch, let us hope that there are those who neither look to themselves nor to Swe-
denborg pre-eminently, but who regard the Lord and HiB Word above all things.
And now that I am writing, permit me to express my earnest hope and tra8t
~ ~riodical will be amply sustained. Without blinking the question of ita im-
th.,
perfeotions (for what of human is perfect~) I must Pa1 that I should regar'!i its dis-
oontinuanoe as the falling of a great light from our spJ.ritua.l heaven. And I know
of nothing in the present state of New Church literature that ca.n begin to supply ita
place. ..~d this feeling I find very general among our friends at La~om, trooi which
plaoe I have just returned. You may reckon upon all your subscribers there, and 1
ihoald hope here also, although I have not had, nor shall have time to canvaas this
district for you. But I will endeavor to etir up some one to do the work, as my OW1l
time is fully occupied with new arrangements of a business character, by which the
publication of U The Crisis" will be established perma.nently at Laporte, whither a
part of my family will be settled, and where, for awhile, I shall be com~ned to
~nd a great part of my time. Therefore, for the present, all communicatiODB will
De addrel8ed to Laporte.
Yours, very truly,
GUND RAPIDS, Oot. 23, 1852.

MISCELLANY.
DISSOLUTION OF THE CENTRAL CONVENTION.
To the Editor of the N,w Churelt Repository,
I thank you for inserting, at my r~uest, on the cover of your Ootober :lumber.
tho Circular calling an extra general meeting of the Central Convention in thia city.
OD Thursday last.
The meeting was held at the time and place apllointed. There were in attend-
anoe, at first, only soven members-another from New York oame in just before the
close of the ThurSday se88ion. The President took the chair, and a Secretary w..
ap~inted. The meeting was then opened by Br cler~n in attendance reI.din~
tile first Psalm, and repeating the Lord's prayer. Tho Cha.irman of the Ecclesiasti-
oal Counoil now read an extended Report accounting for tho death of that Council
by marasmus, detailing its proceedirigs since the last annual meeting, which 1fU
held in Philadelphia in June, 1849, and stating the objects for which thiS extra mee~
ing was now called.
The principal objeot for calling this extra meeting was to get authority for the in·
au~ation of the Rev. Rufus Dawes into the second grade, or the Pastoral oflioe, of .
the New Church ministry. The collateral object was to determine whether ih.
Central Convention was alive or dead.
The Report was accepted for consideration. A motion was made to authorise the
wdiDation of Mr. Dawes; but &8 it was questionable whether a body could giTe
1852.] 1)Uft'lution of tAe Central Convention. 565
or
p'ower to any its members to perrorm 80 vital an aot of a Hving one as the ordina-
Don or a minister, this matter was made the order of the day for Saturday morning,
after the sermon which Mr. Dawes W88 then to preach; ana the meeting proceeded
to consider the question of the Convention's life or death.
To try ·that question it was moved and seconded that, when this first or.Thursday
eesaion of this extra meeting rises, the CentTal Convention be formally dissolved &8 a
general body of the Church in the United States. The 9uestion was put, when three
voted Aye, three No, and the President gave the casting vote in the affirmative.
ThiB question being 80 eettled, the ordaining minister could not ask, and did not want,
the authority of a defunct body for doing the act or a living one. Still, the mem-
bers of the New Churoh in Philadelphia and e1Bewhere were invited by him to at-
tend the religious services of Saturday morning, with the intimation that Mr. Dawes
would be ordained, notwithstanding. on the Sunday morning following, by the im-
~ition of the bands of two ordaining ministers.
The Report of the Chairman of the Eoclesiastical Council, in the oontingency of
the Convention's being deemed defunct, or in a dying state, had suggested that it
should discharge that last duty of a dying man, make and declare its last will and
testament, and dispose of its property. The meeting proceeded to act on this 8Ug-
gestion.
Two things were to be done. The portrait of Swedenborg, owned by the Conven-
tion, was to be dispoeed of; and a suitable disposition was to be made of whatever
stock ofboob remained in the hands of the Book Depository, as well as a settlemen'
of one or two of its outstandlng accounts.
It was resolved that the portrait of Swedenborg should be held in trust by a Com-
mittee, consisting of the President, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, and Secre-
tary of the late Central Convention, to be handed over to a bona fide General Con-
vention of the New Jerusalem in the United States, whenever luch a body should be
hereafter constituted, to be held by that body, in trast, for a general institution of
N ..ew Church learning in theae Middle States; Providing, that in cue suoh an in
st1tution of leaming should be instituted before such a General Convention was oon-
8ti~Uted, the Committee might feel authorized to hand over the portrait to the inatio-
tution of leaming, directly. .
In the outstanding accounts of the Depos!tory it was found that a balance on ac-
count of about $153 was due from the Rev_ David Powell. On motion, this balanoe
was remitted to him, in consideration or his many and unrequited. services as a faith-
ful &Dd laboriou8 minister of the Churoh in the West; and all the remaining booka
and accounts of the De~tory and Printing Fund were consigned to the late Chair-
man of the EoclesiastiCal Council, who had also been Superintendent of the Depoei-
toIy' and of the Printing Operations, he assuming the payment of all the Depository'.
debts, and receiving also tne proceeds of sales or the remaining stook, in considera-
tion of his ver'f heavy expenditures in printing and publishing his voluminous Re-
~ on the Tnue in tne Newchurchman-Extra.
A question now arose about the propriety ot 'printin~ the Report of the Chairman
of the Ecclesiastical Council. The Cliairman, In making the Report, had designed
ehiefly to place its oonU!nte on record for future histo17J but exceptions were taken
to what were deemed, by some, oiFensive personal al11181on8 in it. The Chairman
promising to omit these, it was moved, seconded, and carried, that his Report be
printed and published with the Joumal of this extra meeting, with suoh modificationa
u he might think proper to make; and he was directed to print only a limited num-
ber of the Journal, 80 as to supply merely the members of tile late Convention. And
he here avails hilD8elf of the opportunit, to say, that he intends to accompanI the
Journal with a detail of all the matters, m series, pertaining to the ordination of the
Re". Mr. Dawes, giving the sermon and charge delivered at his first ordination; Mr.
Dawes' sermon preached on Saturda! moming last; and, ptrhaps, a final addreu or
his own to the late members of the Central Convention, definiD~ his past and ~re­
eent position in the church. And as the beet wSJ of determming how limiteCi a
numlier of copies of the Journal, thus accompanied, IS to be printed, as well &s of re-
eeiving the pecuniary contributions requisite to defray the expense of its publica-
tion, he hereby gives notioe, that h, tJJiU print and deliver only,o many wpiu tU IAGll
be IUbatribed for at tvmty1iw cm" (I ,ieel_ All perIOD&, therefore, who JDA1 delire
YOJ. Y. 37
666 M ;"cella"y. [Dec.
to have, and to reoeive by mail, copies of the Journal of the last meeting or the late
Central Convention, will please to send their names, places of residence, and 81lb..
IOriptionB, to the late Corresponding Secretary of that Dody, No. 80 South SehuylkilI
8ixtb-street, Philadelphia. And copies oCthe Joumal, when printed, will be Bent t-O
DO others than those who shall thus 8end in their names, except to those who attend-
ed the late meeting, and there contributed to the publication of the Journal. These
last persons may also order, for their own uses, or the use of others whom they mAy
designate, as many copies of the J oumal as their contributions will pay for at the
rate of 25 cents per copy.
On Saturday morning, the Rev. RuCus Dawes preached a truly excellent aermOD
from--.
A~r the religious exercises by him were concluded, the ordaining minister stated,
at some length, to a considerable audience, containing four or five clergytnen of the
ohuroh at large, and several highly respectable lay members of the church from the
West, and the Middle States, the circumstances relating to rtlr. Dawes't first ordina-
tion, and requested all who, ha.ving heard him just now preach, were of the OpiniOD
that he ought to be ordained pastor of the \Vashington Society, and that the ordain-
ing ministel'8 prceent were duly authorized so to ordain him, to signif! the same by
ltanding up. Whereupon, a unanimous vote of the male members of the gener8l
ohurch presentw and of several of the female members, B88ured the ordaining mini&-
ten that they had the Lord's authority in his church for the Rev. Rufus Dawee' or-
dination into the second grade of the New Church ministry, with power, in additioD
to the powers formerly granted him, to administer the most Holy Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, consecrate marriages, and perform all the other functioDs of our min-
iatry, except ordaining other ministers; and accordingly )1r. Dawes was BO ordain-
ed by the imposition of the bands of the Rev. Messrs. De Charms and Seddon,
about 1 o'clook, P. M., of Saturda.y, Oct. 23, 1852, in the Temple of the Second, or
Southwark Society. of Philadelphia.
R. DE CHARMS,
Lat, Chairman of th, Ecclesiastit:o.l Council, Corrarxmdiag
, Secr,tary, te., of th, lat, Central Conwntion.
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 25, 1852.

DISTRIBUTION OF NEW CHURCH BOOKS.

IlEP08T OF H. M. SAXTON.

Swedenborg's own method of disseminating the Heavenly Doctrines. was to PJ::io&

and circulate, both gratuitously and at very low prices; or, 88 his publiaheJ'
remarks, U unaccountably cheap." Thus Lewis, Swedenborg'8 publisher, m adver-
aamg the second volume of the Arcana, remarks as follows: U What I have been aD
eye-witne. to, I can declare with certain truth; and therefore I do aver tba' this
gentlema.n, with indefatigable pains and labor, Bpent one whole year in atudyiDg and
writing the fim 'Volume of ,.d'rcana CtElestia, was at the expense of two hundred
~ound8 tolrint it, and also advanced two hundred pounds more for the printiDg of
this secon volume; and when he had done this, he gave express orders tnat all the
money that should arise in the sale of this la.rse work shoula be given toward the
charge of the propagation of the ~el. He 18 so far from desiring to make a gain
ne
of his labors, tliat will not receive one farthing back of the four hundred pounda he
bath expended, and for that reason his works will oome exceedingly cheap to the
publio. Anyone of small jud~ent may guess at the cheapness of the work, wben
he lode that six hUDdred and forty quarto pages in Latin, of the mat volume, are
BOld for DO more than six shillings, UD bouDd. But this seoond volume, which is now
publi8hing in Latin and EDglish, will be unacoountably cheap, as anyone may con-
clude, even from the postage of the Latin oopy from abroad; for the bare posta«e of
this first number cost no leB8 than twelve shillings, and now it is ~rinted, doth make
flfty-two quarto pa~es in the English tongue; and all to be 80fd for no more than
eight ~ncet which 18 not half the prioe that luoh a quantity of p'~r and ~, ia
pneril1180ld for. The postage of the second Dumber came to eighteen ahilliDp;
1852.] Di,tribution of New Church Boob. 561
and that or the third amounted to one pound, two shillings; and yet thcse two
numbers are to be sold for no more than nine pence each; 80 that from hence it i8
easy to imagine how cheap the whole will be, especially when printed in such a grand
and pompous manner at so Iowa price. But it is the generous author's absolute
command that it should be 80, who, it is pla.in, wants neither purse nor spirit to can!
on his laudable undertaking." It i8 well known, also, that Swedenborg distributed
hundreds oCvolumes without receiving any com~ensation whatever. And may we
not ask if these facts do not argue in favor of Publishing Societies, and the employ-
ment of persons to distribute the HeavenlI Writings! Who will say that it is a mis-
take, a profanation, or an evil, to print and circulate the Wor<! for twenty-five cents a
copy, and to give away thousands of copies ~ Is not this the work of the LoRD'S own
DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1
Since l\larch 1, 1851, I have distributed by sale 3254 boob, including about 90
varieties, which are &I follow8: 359 Heaven and Hell j 120 Book of Doctrines, inclu-
ding 7 small 'Works; 149 Divine Providenca; 104 Divine Love and Wisdom; 32
Universal Theology, or True Christian Religion; 13 Four Leading Doctrines; 2 seta
or the Arcana Crelcstia, equal to 26 volumes; 3 scts of the Apocallp88 Explained,
equal to 15 volumes; 5 Apocalypse Revealed; 62 Earths in tile Universe; 28 Last
Judgment; 20 CODjUgial Love; 3 volumes of the Spiritual Diary; 15 Doctrine of the
Sacred Scripture; 30 Sacred Scripture, White Horse, and summary of the Prophets
and Psalms, bound together; 4: summary of the Prophets and Psalms; 2 White
Horse; 12 Charity; 18 Doctrine of the Lord; 23 Brief Exposition; 53 Heavenly
Doctrines; 100 Heavenly Doctrines and Brief Exposition, bound together; 33 Heav-
enly Doctrine&, and Doctrine of the Lord, bound together; 44 Doctrine of Life; 25
Heavenly Doctrines and Doctrine of Life, bound together; 15 Doctrine of Faith; 12
Canons; 7 COroni8; 3 Index to True Christian Religion ; 1 Index to Arcana Cool. .
tia j 51 Influx; 1 Worehip and Love oC God; 3 Animal Kingdom - 1 Economy of the
AnImal Kingdom, in 2 volumes; 1 Principia, in 2 volumes; 30 VIay to a Knowledge
of the Soul, Posthumous Tracts; 96 Life of Swedenborg bI Hobart; 6 Copies of the
Documents; 4: Life of Swedenborg by 'Vilkinson; 144 do. by Rich, Detroit Edition i
101 Bio~phical Sketch by Barrett; 56 True Religious Philosophy, by DeB Guays ;
22 ReligiOUS Philosophy, Parsons' Essays, and Influx, bound together; 11 Parsons'
EssaY8; 8 Copies or WorceBter-s Sermons on the Lord's Prayer; 4: copies of S. Wor-
ceater's Sermons; 35 Antediluvian History; 35 Barrett's Lectures; 23 Nineteenth
Century or New Dispensation; 2 Noble's Lectures; 10 Noble's Appeal; 1 Noble'8
Plenary Inspiration; 1 Clissold's Letter; 1 Divine Humanity, including Mason's 2
worb on the Body of the Lord; 21 Regenerate Life; 17 Growth of the Mind; 16
Judgment Day; 31 Ohio Tract Book; 193 Bush's Reasons; 31 Letters to a Trinila-
rian; 5 Copies of Bush's Sermon on Heaven; 29 Dictionary of Correspondences,i 9
Book or Worship; 2 Hymn Book; 5 Character and Work of Christ ; 2 Nature, lJe-
sign,. and Evidence of the Doctrines, by Clowes; 97 Pamphlets, parts of the U Swe-
denborg Library;" 1 vol. of Swedenborg Library; 4: Domestic. Education, by Ma-
Bon; -gS Golden \Vedding Rin~; III 'Veller on Marriage; 37 Bruce on ?tfarriage;
7 ()pen Intercourse with the SpIritual World. by Barrett; 2 Worcester OD the Sab-
bat1i; 2 Goyder's Spiritual Reflections; 20 Illustrations of Physiology, by Dr. Rice;
11 Freedom and Slavery, by De Charms' 82 Heat and Light; 168 Cosmogenia - 73
Boob for Children, 6 or 8 varieti~s; 67 P;ogress since the Last Judgment; 74 Visi-
ble and Invisible ,\\7 0rld; 43 Immortal Fountain; 150 ~1iniaturo of the New Jeru-
-salem; 10 names for the N. C. Messenger; 1 name for the N. C. Repository; 5
names for the Medium_ For these 3254 booka I have received about $1,100; which
is only $36 more than the actual cost, including transportation.
The following have becD distributed gra.tuitou~dy: 3,000 Tracts, Ohio series, equal
to 12,000 pages; 300 U Address to the People of Michigan and Northem Indiana j"
l1Q Pampl1let8, parts of the" 8wedenborg Library ;~' 5 Bush's Reasons; 10 Heavenly
Doctrines; 4: Heavenly Doctrines and Doctrines of the Lord, bound together; 5 Doc-
trine of Life; 4: Doctrine of the Lord; 2 Divine Love and Wisdom, from A. E.; 3
A6ectionate Address to the Clergy; 20 Corner Stone Tract; 3 Heat and Light; 1
Barrett's Lectures; 1 Book of Doctrines; 1 Divine Providence; 1 Religious Philoso-
pby, by Des Guays; 4: Life of Swedenborg by Rich; 15 Report of the New Church
Meeting in London during the World's Fair; 19 Freedom and Slavery, by De
568 Mucella"y. [Ilee.
Charms. We would here aaknowledp the receipt, from WIlL H. Chau1'ene\, E&q.
or Anoapolis, :r.laryland, of 30 copies of the pamphlet on Freedom and Slavery, fOk
gratuitous distribution. Some persons wanted this pamphlet, and preferred to IW-Y
for it; we therefore 80ld a few copies, and distributed others of equal or ~
value. We also sold a few of the eamphletB received from the American N. C. Trac~
and Missionary Society, and distnbuted gratuitously others in the place of them.
The books have been distributed in upwards of 70 oities, villa~ &0., which are
as follows, in the order in which they were visited. Cincinnati, Xenia, Cedanille,
Selma, South Charleston, London, West JefFersoD, Columbus, Newark, Granville,
Mount VemoD, GRmbier, Mansfield, Shelby, Wellington, Oberlin, Cleveland, Ohio
City, Rockport, Newberg, Bedford, Hudson, Ravenna, New London, Plymooth, New
Haven, Monroeville, Norwalk, Sandusky, Ypsilanti, Detroit, SaJina, ADD. M-
oor, Marshall, Cere8OO, Battle Creek, Kalamuoo, Paw Paw, Dowagiac, Nile&, Ed-
wardsburg, New Buffalo, Michigan City, Laporte, Chicago, Albion, JacluoD, BofFal~
Attica, Batavia, Rooheeter, Geneva, Auburn. SyraC118e, Canastota, .Peterborough,
Utie&, Rome, Watertown, Sackett'8 Harbor, Scheneotady, Albanl' EUingtoo, Ran-
ford, Euclid, Strongsville, Columbia, Seville, Wooeter. Plaoel m which DO books
were di8tributed are not montioned. Some were distributOO in the country away
from villages &Dd cities, and some on oars and steamboat8.
The following SWD8 have 'been received for the Publishing Society, and forwarded
to the Treasurer: In Cleveland, M. Carson, $3, J. L. Warren, $1. Roekport, Israel
D. Wagar, $3, Jamee Colahan, $3, James Nicholsont $3, Charles Calkins, 50 cent&
Mrs. K. Wagar, $1, Mrs. Annie Mitchell, $1, Mrs. Mary Hooper, $1, making ill all
'16,50.
Not having reported particulars linee leaving_Roehe&ter, I will mention a few
items from that place onward. In Rochester I BOld upwards of $100 worth of boob.
BI the etrorta and liberality of A. Reynolds, Esq., and James S. Bush, Eaq., fol'tJ
volumes were ,t1rohaeed fOr the Atheumum Library. Esquire Reynolds paid the
~ter part 0 the expeD88 from his own pocket. He is one of the oldest oitizeoa
of Roohester, and manifests increasing interest in the Heavenly Doctrines. His
mother was an ardent lover of the New Church Truths for manl years.
A bookseller in RoohOlter bought nearly $20 worth, and in a book which he pu~
lished soon after, he m&de use of some of the blank pages in the back ~ or the
book for advertising the N. C. books. He gave the title and price ofeacli book. and
also the oost of sending them by mall. His store is in the Arca.de, the same building
of the Post Office. Me88l"8. Rcynolds and Bush have each an office in the BalDe build~
mr;, and the Athenmum Library is only a few Iteps ~ 80 that it forma a sort of radi-
ating centre.
In visiting some of the Public Schools, two or three opportunities were given to
address the children, a hundred or more a time. I endeavorod to impre88 OD their
minds the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only God, and that they should
think of Him and worship Him as the infinite man; and that to know and obey Him t
is to enjoy Him and be happy. Also that the spirit oC man is in the human form, and
that at death man does not really die, but goes into another life, having the 8&lDe
form, and the same afFectioDB, thoughts, &0. Some of the teachers booght books.
In a store I met with a louug man who had recently come from Canada. He had
there seen some books which a man purohased of me about six months previous in
Cleveland. He said he W&8 80 much Interested with the work on Heaven and Hell,
that he has sent and bought ODe for his own use. He expressed his assent to tlte-
Doctrines 80 far as he understands them.
In pa88in~ from place to place my attention has been freQuently called to the aub-
ject of Spintaal Manifestations, and I have endeavored 01 the light of the Holy
Word and the Heavenly Writings to get a right understanding of them. We have
Dot time at present to enter upon this 8ubject, and will tberefor~ ~ over it.
In Syracuse about $125 worth of books were sold, including $40 worth for aNew
Church library, whioh were obtained by the liberality and efForte of J\!lessn. Ste-
"ens, Montgomery, Masters, Cone, and others. These four brothers are warmly
attached to each other, and meet often for conversation, reading, &0. There is quit.e
a number in SyracuBe who favor the Heavenly Doctrines, and they hold weekly
meetings on the Sabbath for worship and reading. Profeesor Bush has lectured lUG-
oeeafully there several times.
1852.] Di,tribution ef New Church Book,.
ID Canuteta there are & few receivert. We had a pleuant visit in the family or
Dr. V. W. Mason. I was not subjected to any expense while there, and on leav-
iRg, Dr. Mason gave me a ~old dollar to help Ob the 'Work.
In Watertown I was kindly received by Dr. W. V. V. Rosa. We eold some boo~
aDd Dr. Rosa contributed $3 88 an evidel\ce of his int«est iD the use.
Thence I pMSed on to Sackett'8 Harbor, a.nd speB.t the Sabbath pleasantly in the
family or D. N. Burnham, Esq. He als<t manifested 61l interest m the 'Work, and
g6ve as $3.
In Peterboro I sold a few books aad epeDt the night at the &0118e of Gem'
Smith, Esq., where r was kindly treated.. Mrs. S. is oonsiderably interested in the
N. C. DoctriaeB, and Mr. Smith has tM candor to examine them. They purchased
hooks, and Mr. Jas. G. Birney, who WM there at the time, also bought two or three
books. The Editor of the Repository hu leotured. iD Peterboro. ,
In Rome I sold abGllt $10 worth of books. In Utioa we met with Dr. E. Leach
who has been a receiver of the Heavenly Dootri.c8 for many years. A few other8
are partially interested.
In Albany there are a few pel'8ODS iatere8ted. Among others, Dr. Salisbury,
chemist iD. the State laboratory, bought $4 or $5 worth of books. In the State Library
there is nearly a &et of Swede.borg's Thoological Works, in a good state of preser-
vation, which were giv-en to the Library by the General Coaveation. They appear
to have been rebo.nd.
In Hal'tford I sold a Cew books, and hAd & shert interview with A. J. Davis, the
writer of Nature's Divine Revelations, the Great Harmonia, &0.
Thence I came \Vest, where I find I can breathe somewhat more freely thaB ai
the East. In Cleveland there are a few 'receiven of the Heavenly Doctrine&, and the
number is g~adll&l\y increasing. The books are baving 8, steady and permaneni
influence here. Soon aft&!- I came bere last spring, there were two young men whG
bought each about S4 worth of books, and they now acknowledge them to be goocl
and trae. One or them has gone to \Visconsin, but he left two or three of the booD
in the family where he had lived, and they ·are flOW considembll interested. Th.
other young man's name is mentiOlled in the preoediog &8 & contnbutor of $1 for the
Publishing Society. Another man, a member of the Pre8byterian denomination, had
become v&stated Of the old doctrines, ad was drinking in the teaohings of U tAe 'pi,..
its." He now sees their fallacy, and is becoming deeply interested in the N. C. Doe·
trines, having purCRaeed four or Ive books.
There is another generous-hearted y011llg man here, & mediaal student, who is very
earnest in di88eminating the Heavenly Doctrines. He is of German descent, and un·
derstands both German and Engliab. He often bays books to lend and give away,
and also f9r biB own use. He came to my room a few weeks ago and bought n smaH
package of books to send to Germany; an acquaintance of his being about to leave.
He a.nd his brother-in-law, who is also a receiver of the Doctrine&, occasionally lend
and receive books Gon. letters, to and from Germany.
One of the most active and useful persons in this vieinitf is our friend T. Bedford.
There are from ten to tweaty persons in Cleveland and VICinity, who have become
receivers of the Heavenly Doctrines through his iniluence, and many more who have
become ~t.iBt11y intereatecl. His ~ome is twentl miles from here, near Strongsville.
nut 88 he is a painter, he ~Ilda much of his time in Cleveland. He is an ardent
lover of the Doctrines, and his example has an inluence 8S well 88 his word.. I
;regard him &8 a co-worker' for he incites people to read, and informs me (lC those
wlio he thinks will buy boob. As an enoouragemeat to mi88ionaries and lecture~
it may be lIlentioaed that he became aoquainted wita the Doctrines by hearing the
lectures of Mr. Field in Cleveland, six or eight yeare ago. He is perhaps almost the
only one who became a reoeiver of the Doctrines by hearing those lecturea.
Cleveland. is an important plaee for New Churah labors, and there is a wide and
fruitfuliield in the vicinitYl eMy ~C aooe88 by railroads. I reeen,l,. made a pleasant
t01lr about 60 mile. south of Cleveland, thro~gh Columbia, Strongsville, Seville,
WOO8ter, and vicinities, and distributed about $60 worth of books. Mr. HoW'eyof
Columbia, Mr. C. R. Strong, and Mr.,T. Bedford, of Strongsville, Mr. J. Hay of Sf
villa, and Mr. J. H. Piles, of WOO8ter, were 80 kind as to auiat me in going fro-
place to place tree of expeue. Dr. C. J. Keawor'hy, or WOGIu,r, a recent receivl
510 Mi8cellang. [Dec.
of the Doctrines, treated me very kindly, and furni8hed aooommodatioDS at a hotel
free of charge.
In Euclid, a small place on the Erie railroad, ten miles east of here, there is quite
an iuteresting ate of thing8. I visited Euclid for the first time, three or foar
months since, and gave a lecture in a school hOU88. During the day before the lec-
ture, I had a conversation with A. McReynolds, Esq., a lawyer, who lives in Euclid.
and does busine88 in Cleveland. He was at the railroad station waiting for the can.
The cars were providentially detained, and we convened from one to two hours. In
the evening he retumed from the city and attended our meeting, and after the l~
turo he bought a copy of Barrett'la Lectures and one or two pamphlet!. lie became
deeply intere8ted in the Heavenly Writings, and ma~ now be regarded 88 a receiver
of the New Church Doctrines. He is 80 delie;hted With the Doctrines, that he eeema
like one who has found the pearl of great pnce. HiB wife is equally interested, and
also another lady in the same family. The}' have bought about twenty books, and
are quite earnest in diseeminatin q the Doctnnea. Mr. -1t'lcReynolds was formerly a
Presbyterian minister, but had given up the ministry, and entered the profeenon of
law. He seemed quite vut&ted of the old errors. and being accustomed to study and
close thought, he has Ieee difficulty than many in understanding &Dd receiving the
Heavenly Doctrines. Soon after they began to read the Writings, a dear little BOD of
thein,just coming into boyhood, was removed to the spiritJsl world. The eonsola-
tion afforded them by the Heavenl! Doctrines, theyexpreea as being of prieele.
value. They now h&ve New Church meetings every Sabbath, in the school houae
De&r the station, and Mr. McReynolds takes great pleasure in communicating New
Church truths. 'The house is often crowded. full with attentive hearer8. lIe is quite
successful in his proCeeeion, and will probably be a liberal contributor ro the uses of
the New Church. A few days since he gave me $1,50 to help me OD, and $1 to
obtain tracts, which he intends to distribute. He also obtains a free passa~ for me
on the railroad to and from Euclid, and makes me welcome at his house whIle there.
Although a perfect stranger in Euclid when 1 first went there, J soon had the pIeu-
ore to meet with Mr. E. M. Jonee, whow8s parti8.11~ acquainted with the Doctrines,
and he has been of UBe to me, and manifesta a deep Interest in everything pertaining
to the New Churoh.
The following is a list of moneys received from friend8 of the OBe, to assist in pay-
in~ expenses: John T. Martin, of Cincionati, $275; Friends in New-"York, $100;
MIohigan and Northem Indiana AB80ciation, by Dr. J. Ellis, Treasurer, $30, being
$6 in casb, and 125 'Worth of Barrett's Lectures, which, when Bold, will be worth
8Omethi~g more' R. D. Brower, $15,20, part cuh and part books j in Detroit, Ralph
Phelpe, $6, M. W. Field, $2, Dr. J. Ellis, $2, A. T. Hall, $2, E. Chope, ~2, A. Chopt', $1,
M. W. Burpee, $1, Josiah Shaw, $1, Dr. G. Bigelow, ~3 in books, H. Weller, of Grand
Rapids, '6 in booka; J. R. Hibbard of Chicago, $6,88' John P. Mason oC Lowe-
ians, 15; Wm. Siebert oC Columbu& Ohio, $3 in books · lli. w. V. V. Roea of \Vater--
town, N. Y., $3; D. N. Burnham, Esq., of Sackett'8 Harbor, N. Y., S3; Dr. V. W.
M880n, of Can8ltota, N. Y., '1; A. McReynolds, Esq., of Cleveland BDd Euclid,
Ohio, '1,54; profit OD books sold, about $36 ; making the whole amount received mnee
March 1st, 1851, equal to 1504,12.
While in Detroit last fall, I ~nt 88veral days at the house of Mr. Ralph Phelps,
Few persoDS have manifested a deerer interest in tbe work than he. While there,
be voluntarily drew IIp a lllbecription paper, and headed it with $6 from. his own
pocket, and obtained from others enougn to make the whole amount 116. Dr. Elu
and Mr. John Tumer have 0.180 a88ieted in sustaining the work.
In Cle.eland I have received sundry favon from Mr. M. CareoD, and Mr. R. Bai·
ley. Mr. Canon vert kindly gives me the use ofa room, which .,e8 meeonsidera-
bIe espeDI8, and is quite a couvenience.
I highly appreciate the co-operati.e sympathy and UliataDee of Mr. John T. Mar-
tin, Mr. R. D. Brower, and numerous friends in New-York and elsewhere, who have
contributed so liberally to carry OD this use. It ie my earnest wish to continlle in
tide work, bot shall not be able to do 80 except 80 far as meaD8 are famished b1
othen. I am now in debt, and have Dot mean8 to wort with. If prompt usia-
'Ul08 can be JPven, I may be able to wort with 80me degree of dimeney. And if
'11 peIIOD8 'W'Wa to I8Ild mODey, 01' to write me 011 the subject, the1 m.al direo'to
18&2.] Notices of Book,. &'1
the care o( Mr. Canon, Cleveland, Ohio. If any ~rsOD8 who read this report have
not read the former reports, and should "ish to do so. they may refer to the Nay
Church Repository for September and November, 1851, and January, February, and
May, 1852.
To all who love the cause of goodness and truth, and desire to 'promote the pres·
ent and eternal welfare of our fellow~en by communicating the nobee of the Hol)'
Citl of our Lord and Redeemer, this imperfeot sketch is respeotfully 8ubmitted by
theIr co-operator, H. :It'1. S.UTON.
Clevelafld, Ohio, Oct. 15, 1852.
P. S.-Ne1lJ-York, Nov. 5, 1852.-Last Sabbath, on my way to worship in Brook·
lyn, in company with Professor Bush. 8 young man came &long and inquired the way
to Clinton-st. Academy, the place of N. C. worship in Brooklyn. We told him we
were going there, and he walked along with us. After worship, I invited hiin to
call at 5 o'clock at the Union House, 279 Hudson-st. t New-York, that we mi~bt have
• oODversation. He readily assented, and called at the time mentioned. We had a
pleasant conversation of about two hours. He is a stranger in New-York, and resides
m l\fass&.chusetts. He had never before attended New Church worship, and is
inquiring for the truth. In conversing with him I found him in a very receptive 8tate~
10 much 80 that he 888ented to all the fundamental doctrines of the New Church.
He i8 a school teaoher and is connected with the A:lethodiat denomination; but OD
examining the l\Ietbodist doctrines he has beoome dissatisfied with them. A8 an
evidence of the usefulness of books, and the importance of circulating them, I will
mention that he last winter met with a part of an old copy of Heaven and Hell, the
cover8 of which were gone, and part of tbe book. It had been thrown in lrith other
old books, and sold at auction, ilia purchaser not knowing anything of it or the value
of it. He read this old fragment with inoorest and profit, and it nu made an indel..
ible impression on his mind. After our conversation he bought a copy of Hobart-s
Life of Swedenborg, and I gave him a copy of Barrett's Lectures. Tn the evening
he attended New Church worship with me in Broadway, and expreseed hilD881l
pleased with the preaching by Professor Bush.
On Wednesday, November 3, I went out a fow miles into New Jersey. Stepping
into the cars in Jersey City, I selected a man who I thought would buy a book, and
took a seat by his side. I handed him a copy of Heaven and Hell, which he looked
over with interest, and after & very pleasaDt conversation he bought the book, and
laid he would read it. He is connected with the Presblterian denomination, and.
like many others, has lost his confidence in the old doctrines.
Passing along the street in BellevilIe, I met a Methodist maD, whom I formerl,.
bew, and he Dought a copy of Barrett's Lectures. I also viaited a very intelli~ellt
family, formerly connected with the Pre8byterian or Congre8&tional denomination.
They are reading Davis's writings, but are not confirmed In the belief of them.
They bought a copy of Barrett's Lectures. Mr. Brower has given me money to buy
B coPy of the first number of Heat and Light, whioh contains aD excellent review Of
DavUJ, and I intend to send it to them by mail. H. M. SAXTON.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

1.-ANCI.ENT EGYPT VNbEIl TH. PHARAOHS. By JOHN KENRteE, M ....~. 1" hco Yol,.
New-York: Redfteld. 1852_
This is a work of decided ability, and, bating that portion of it which treats of the
Egyptian Dynasties, the dryeet, dullest, horlinK"t of all reading in all books which
contain it-not at all lacking in interest. A thorough-going history of Egypt can"
Dot well be devoid of speoial interest with a Newoharchman. The fullneas, distino,",
ness, and prominonce with which the spiritual import of Egypt is treated by Sw.~
deDborg prompt. the assenting reader to trace outf to the utmon poeeible limit, tit.
 &1' Notite, of Book!. [Dee.
.. ~rre8pOBdODce8 which go to authenticate hie interpretation of it as .. IIJ'Ilbol of the
smentiftc principle or province of our nature. The researches of modern times into
the archmology and history of this land of mysteries--especially since the di8COV~1'J
of the hieroglyphical character-bids fair to open up)lew 8Onroee ot,confirmatioD ot
the truth of New Church teachings on this head. The more fully the interior of
ahcient Egyptian life is developed, the more ample is th-e evidence that e'fcry thiDg
in their religion, learning, laws, manners, and monument!, lays &. buis for precieel1 l
that symbolical function which we leam they aotually sustained. From the prel!8n'
work we could easily glean abundant materials to verify this remark, and this fao'
or
aloof! will clothe it with special value in the eyes moat of our readers.
2.-COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY; OT, Re,emblance, bttteeen Mm and Animals. By
JAMES W. &EDFIELD. Illustrated by 330 Engravings. New-York: Redfie1d.
1852.
The leading idea of this work is not new, but it has no where been carried out
,nth 80 much felioity. The author's grand position is, that the m08t marked anal~
giee subsist between the faces of mea and of beasts and birds. That his rcadiDgt
&8 a Newchurchman should have elucidated, if not sug~e8ted, the principles which
lie at the basis of this theory, a Newchurchman can very well conceive. That
man contain8 within himself all the various a'-eotioDs which go to eODstitate the in·
terior of the animal tribes, is one of the unequivocal teachings of the great Illumi·
nee of the Ne'" Dispensation. Consequently, if we could suppose an individual man
to be taken to pitel', and the separate elements of his .being to embody themselves
fdlew in appropriate fOl'Dl8, we should have all the varieties of the animal kingdom~
On this principle we can see a philosophical basis for such a work &s the present, in
which these multiform aftinitiea are traced with great minuteness, and illustrated
pictorially with fine effeot. We cannot say but that some of the resemblances will
le apt to strike the reader as borderiBg upon the imaginary, but these instances are
lArgely counterbalanced by those in which the relationship is unquestionable. 'Ve
may mention, without assuming any responsibility for the theory, that in treating ot
national resemblances, Dr. Redfield recogni&es the Germans as having a physiogn~
my strongly allied to that of the lion; of the PrttssianSy to cats; of Negroes, to ele-
phants; of Laplallders, to reindeers; of Arabs, to camels; of Englishmen, to bulls;
GC Frenchmen, to frogs; of Persian&, to peacocks; orIrishmen, to dogs; of Jews, to
goats, &0. In the accumulation of proofs deeigoed to establish. these analogies, t.he
&uthor discovers genial ingenuity, and arrays very happy inductions before the read..
er; while the genial vein of wit and humor pervading the whole fasoinates attention,
e.nd makes the perusal an tlnfailing pleasure.
a.-THE MACROCOSM AND MICROCOSM; or, t1u Univer" without and fM Univer.
tDithin: being an Un]olding of t~ Plan of Creation, and thl Corrtsp<!Jldmu of
Truths, both in the World of Seme, and tit, Wo-rid of Soul. In two Part,.
WILLIAM ~"ISHBOUGU. Part I. The Macrocosm; or 7'he Unive"se withvut. New
.8,
York: Fowlers & Wells. 1852.
A long title, but to a large object. Mr. Fishbough-known lormerlJ- to the publio
ea the amanuensis of' A. J. Davis, in the publioation of his ., Revelations of Nature,"
but now an avowed diaBident from most of his teaohings-has grappled, in this ~ol­
\lme, with the grandest themes of the physical univene. It is DO amall praise te
~ that they do DO~ .uI'er ia his hand& On the oontrary, whatever aoquaiDtaaoe
1852.] 678
'DY one may have formed ot the valt fabric of the oreation from the resul's of MRo-
omioal and geognostic 8Oience-from the splendid inductions of La place, Henohell,
Humboldt, Nicol, Mitchell, and others-he will ftnd his views at once enlarged and
defined by the admirably luoid statements and developments of Mr. F. iD-the present;
work, particularly in the first half of it, to which we are induced to give the pYefer-
8noo. In the seqoel of the volume the author unfolds at some length a dilooYery
or
which he regards great importance, and which he calls U tho law of the .1'en-
lold oorrespondentialseries," or, U theharmonialscale of oreation." The main ide&
embraced in this discovery is thu expounded by the writer himself:
u Each complet4 eyatem, or 8ub-system of creation, how8'f8f ~t or small, is re-
solvable into seven serial parte or elemental deree~, oorresponding to the seven DO_
of the diatonic scale; that, as composed of suo part&, the s~ms are arranged 8ide
by aide, or one above another, as 80 many octaves, corresponding to the octaves in
m_o; and that, like them, each one serves as a ~neral exponent of all the others,
whether on a higher or lower scale. This idea, WIth its natural adjunots, of whioh
I O&D Dot here speak particularly, bl harmonizing and unitizing all natural 881'i.
aDd degrees of creation, also clearly Illustrates the fact that all truths are involved
in, and evolved from, one' grand ctntral Truth; that they &re, indeed, but parts and
degrees of that one fandamental truth, whioh are oltimated in the various forms or
embodiment which comt»oee the mm total of created existence. By pursuing the
method ofreasoniDg whioh this idea unfolds, I have endeavored to make one portion
of the system of nature expose the secrets of another, and caused visible faots and
invisible principles to mutually cast their light upon each other."
The principle which underlies this theory is not one that is intuitively or demon-
stratively certain to us, and therefore we fear that our estimate of its importance and
Tame as an instrument of truth does not at all correspond to that of its author. It-
strikes us as something which may be well founded, or may not, and whether the
one or the other, the author will readily perceive that one who receives with implioil
confidence the revelations of Swedenborg on this head has little heart for wadiD~
into the deep waters of mere theoretic speculation. As Mr. F. informs us that his at-
tention was more especially called to Swedenborg's writings as biB own work was
going to press, and 88 we learn privately that his reading hae since been proeeou-
ted with much interest, he will Dot attribute it to an undervaluation of his profound
researches, if we still content ourselves with the more simple COlDDOgODy of the New
Church. We find here all we can desire to satisfy at onoe our rational and moral na-
ture. for in Swedenborg'ls exposition the natural is never separated from the spiritual
sphere. Although, then, the man of the New Church is not the man best calculated to
do justice to the present work, simply beoause he is oonversant with 0. better on the
8ame 8ubject, yet, for ounelves, we should by no means deal fairly with our own im-
pressions did we not 88Y that it is a work of signal ability in ita line t and far tran-
scending what we had been led, from the writer'. previous veins of inquiry and
8tudy, to anticipate.
4.-EsSAYS, and tJ Drama in Fivt Act,. By E. G. HOLLAND, .dut1ulr of U R,vittDI
and Essays." Boston: Phillips, Samp80D & Co. 1852.
U Nature;" &. American Scenery;" Cl The Central Nation (China) ;" Cl Mystery;"

U Language j" Cl Symbolism. j" "Inspiration," are the themes of the several Essays

composing rather more than half the present volume, while the treaohery of Bene-
diet Amold affords the 8ubject of the Drama that occupies the remainder of the
volume. With the Essays we are, on the whole, much pleased. The vein of
574 Notices of Book,. [Dee.
thought is manlyud elevated, and the style wrought into a certain elegant pliancy
and ease which is of rare attainment. The mind of the writer is evidently open to
a generous inftux, and perhaps, with us, one of the recommendations of the work ..
its perpetually approaching to, and hovering about, the confines of the realm of New
Church truth, though, at the same time, we are continually disappointed that; it neter
actually alights upon it. An invisible spell, the resisting potency of eome un-
known sphere, seems to preclude the writer's aocess within the precincts of the
genuine truth. The oause, at first, ia not obvious, but upon a oloeer inspection of the
geniU8 of the book, we perceive the working of 80 strong a spirit of Belf-intelligence
and self-illwnination, that we cease to wonder at the secret powe1 whioh keep. the
writer's thonght performing most graceful 8weeps and gyratiODB about; the en'ri-
rons of the temple without settling in its court or perching on its dome. Suoh ea&e8
are by no means uncommon, and we fear that we should gain little credit for leni-
ency of construction were we to attempt to rend away the veil that hides the oauee
of this estrangement from the sight of its subject, and show how much the state of
the affections had to do with this determined ignoring of the central truths of our be-
ing. We.y d,termined, and in ibis epithet we strike at the root or the evil-a aatia-
led self-complacent resting in our present measure of light, and a fixed reeolve Dot
to admit the posaibility that any ont has ever penetrated deeper into the arcana of
existence than ourselves. We find, for instance, in the E88&yon cc Symboliam" in the
preeent work, the following paragraph:

cc The leamed Seer of Stockholm undoubtedly has given this subject a prommeDCI
in .ored literature, which in Europe it never before poeae.ed. But nu he an-
nounced the highest generalization in which the subject of correspondences re8ttJ ,
Of this we doubt. H18 best statement is, that every fact in the natural world an-
Infers to some truth, to some kindred fact, in the spiritual world; that the visible
world iB the type and 8hadow of what the I])iritual world contaiDB. But this new
merely states· the fact of suoh connection; It announces nothing of the law which
standS behind it." •

From this we may easily take the guage of Mr. Holland's knowledge of the mb-
jeot on which he pronounces 80 sapiently. It is not possible for any thing in science
to be more clearly and distinctly ennunciated than is the grand underlying law or
oorrespondences by Swedenborg, and that, too, in hundreds of passages in his writ-
ings. The law of corre'pondence i, the laID of creation. . But will Mr. H. have re-
course to these writings and acquaint hiDl8elf thoroughly with wh&t Swedenborg has
said on the subject ~ :Not he. This would imply that there was something to be
learned ab extra from Q, source to which he had not himself bad acoess, and his phi-
losophy repudiates the possibility of any such peculiar and paramount illumin&tion.
\Vith thousands at the present day he will not allow his cozy feelings orself-reli·
ance to be disturbed by Q, momentary suspicion that the universal light ever has
been or ever can be concentrated into such a focus of superhuman wisdom as we
find in the case of Swedenborg. 'Ve hear the key-note or "fr. H.'s whole symbolic
lOng in the following sentence: uNo man can strike out a 'y,tem of oorrespondenceB
in the symbols of Nature or Scripture for others-no more than ODe person may gift
a creed which sh&l1 deserve always to stand 88 the permanen~ statement or faith."
Suppose we grant this in regard to any individual man as viewed in himself-what
ihen! Mal not the GOD of Nature and of Soripture U strike out," or declare the
 1812.] Not,ice, of Boolu. 575
fact of such a system, and empower some one of the raee to make it known to the
world 1 Here, again, it is evident that Mr. H. would demur. His essay on U Inspi..
ration" goes to !Weep away all that is distinctively divine in the idea of revelation;
he eees in the Bible only the literature of Palestine, 88 he does in Jesus only a Jew
whOle soul outgrew its nationality. To his eye how h weak and beggarly" must
seem the U elements" of a charaoter formed under the stem and immovable convic-
tion that in Jesus of Nazareth is to be recognized the one only Jehovah of the Uni-
vene, and in the written Word the embodiment of the Divine Truth as immeasura-
bly distanced from all other booka 88 was Jesus from all other men. This is our
faith, which if true turns a great part of Mr. H.'s volume into a rhapsody of senti-
mentalism, which tickles the fancy without enriching the reason or the heart.
Yet, let us not do injustice to the book, as has been done in some of the critiques or
it which have come under our eye. Nothing can be more grossly unfair than to charge
apon it "inanity." It is beyond question the work ofa thoughtful and richly endow-
ed mind, and viewed from the stand-point which it oocupies, a work far in advance or
or
thousands of the issues the press which may perhaps have a wider sale, and gain
more vigorous eulogies. The seIC-complacency of the volume is indeed rather mark-
ed, but it is 80 good-natured, 80 genial, 80 far from the captious or cynioal, that we
know not well how to find offence in it. In the points in which the writer trenches
upon New Church ground, especially in the essay on U Symbolism," we have been
strongly tempted to pass his positioDs in review, and show what a perfect nose of
wax his principles would make of the Scriptures, but our straitened space forbida,
and we can only commend to his attention a philosophy which would confirm an hill
truths and confute all his erron.

5. -SALANDER. AND DRAGON: ~ Romancs of llu Hartz PrisDn. By FREDERIC WIL-

I.I.I.M SAELTON, M. A. New-York: John S. Taylor. 1852.
A new edition of a beautiful work-beautiful in conception from the author's
mind, and beautiful in execution from the printer's and the binder's hand, which de-
88n_ to be typographically repeated a hundred times in one-fourth &s many gone-
rations, for the admirable lesson it conveys, under an allegorical garb, of the eft'ecte
of envy and evil speaking. The work is singularly unique in device, and its illulI-
irationl are equally appropriate in character.

6.-BISHOP BUTLER'S ANALOGY 01' RELIGION, Natural and Rt1Jtaled. to tlu COll,titu-
tiOft and Cour" of Nature. New-York: Harper & Brothers. 1852.
The U Analogy" has long since been shelved among the indestructible achieve..
menta of the human mind. Having passed its probation, its lot henceforth is only
laudation, and as this is now a work of 8upererogation, it only remains to say of thia
edition, that its croW'lling escellence is a most elaborate analysis, commenced by the
late Rev. Robert Emory, D. D., President of Dickin80n College; and oompleted with
• LiCe of Bishop Butler, Note& and Index, by G. R. Croob. The present edition,
therefore, is furnished with an apparatus which is to be eqoalled in no other, whether
English or American. The Analysis alone occupies Dear 50 pages of the 'Yolume,
and is exeouted throughout in the most scholarlike manner.
&78 Editoriallt,etM. [Dec. 1862.

BDITORIAL ITBIf8.
We have received a programme of Rev. Mr. Stuaft'. ooarae oC Sunday evening lectura.
tor the ensuing winter. His geaeralsubject is'c The Philosophy of History, Eccleaiaeti-
eal and Civil. in the Light ot True Religion." and tbe following are the principal topics
announced :-The Origin and Progress of the Human Ra~e.-TheApostles and their Sue-
ceasors.-Nero and Pagan Rome.-Constantine and Christian Rome.-Heresies in the
Church during the first three hundred years.-General COtlncil, oC the Church.-Athana-
aius and the Trioitarians.-Arius and the Unitariaos.-The Celibacy of the Clergy.-The
Monks and Monasleries.-The Crusades.-The Greek Church.-Ilildebrand BDd Cbarle-
magne.-Pope Alexander VI.-Ignatius Loyola and the Jesllits.-Luther and his Associ-
ates.-Gustavus Adolphul and the thirty years' \Var.-Catholics and Protestant8-Amer-
lea and the Americans.-End of the Old Dispensation, and dawn of the New. Theae
points will undoubtedly be treated with greet ability and interest by oar brother, and a
ItroDI New Church light thrown upon them, and yet we must oonfess to a eemi-sentimeat
at regret that so much labor and research should be beltowed upon a series of mainl, eee-
ular or at least external discussion", when such a plenitude ot spiritual and interior topic•
• walt and invite elucidation. While there is not one of the lectures above announced th'!t
we should not liateD to with delight ourselves, still a vague impression steals over us, tba&
che true vital interests of the New Church would be more promoted by an equal Dumbe~
of discourses that should take up the practical aspects of New Church truth, and shoW'
bow far that system wal from merely pandering to the intellect, or gratifying a morbid
curiosity relative to the inviaibilitiea and {uturide! of our being. But we say this with DO
little self-distrust, for we are far from undervahling that kind of Instruction which is pro-
posed to be given in the above Lectures. We have not a disparaging word to utter
....iDSt. the course in itself considered, but it is perhaps from the peculiarity of our own state
and perceptions that we suggest a query al to its eotnparatiw importance. Our experl-
enoe OD thia head does not report very {avorably of the effect of collateral disquisitions,
however elaborate and convincing, in conciliating acceptance of our great and laving doc-
trine.. But we are by DO means disposed to make our experience a standard to others.

There are now, we believe, six pape1'8 published in oar country devoted exc1usiYely to
leSpiritoal Manifestationl:" the" Shekinah;" t.he 'c Spiritual Telegraph;" the U Spirit-
ual Messenger," in New York j tho U Star oC Tr_th.1I aad lbe U New Era," in Boston ;
and et Light from the Spirh World," in St. Louis.

The cC Friends of Free DiacuuioD," it seem,., were invited to attend a Convention to be

held at Salem, Ohio, on the 21th, 28th, and 29th of November, for the purpo~ of Creel,
aDd fully discussing the Origifl, .A.uthority, aM IftjlWflft of tll, Jtwial _fill Chri"iII"
Script",.,.. We have as yet had no report of resultI, bue we bave seen for 801ne time tha'
Ihe felt contlict between the literal sense of the Bible, in many portionl of its contents. aDd
the principles held al fundamental and infallible by many .tirring reformers of the present
day, was fut. driving multitudes into a downright rejectioD ot the Sacred Volume. We
le.. wonder at this result than regret it. It is beyond question that. a vast deal oC special
pleading and finesse is requisite to make straight the many crooked thingl occurring ill
tbe eenee of the letter in the Divine Oracles. Open infidelity or the opeD asylum of the
New Church, where allauch conflict is unknown, must inevitably be SOODer or later tbe
only alternative for tholllaDd. of bonest, but doubting spirits.

Tbe HOD. Waiter Forward,lalel, deceued, wa. a oordial ttoeiver of me doctriDeI of

cbe Ne. Church.
AUG 1 U 1930