Professional Documents
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The New Church Repository and Monthly Re Vol III 1850
The New Church Repository and Monthly Re Vol III 1850
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MONTHLY REVIEW.
OP TB.
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.
VOL m.
NEW·YOU:
1810.
f::>l
•
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INDEX.
ORIGINAL PAPERS, &c.
P.....
ATO_.'J'RK 12
Biblical &ience, • 600
Bo.real Worlhip In tile SpiritualllDd Natural Worlcl, . - 421
Charity, _ • • _ .'. - 113
Chriltian Effort, • ~
Clergy and Laity, Diltinctlon of, _ - 485, 653
I Conyention General, propoeed Constitution of, 23,128,232
.) Diyine ProYldence, the Ends of, Spiritual and Eternal, • 2eU
.~
Ecclesiastical Uniformity, • _ - - • 452
Equilibrinm between Good and EYil, • 466
~ Equilibrium, _. - 508
..... Forms, the, of the Animal Kingc!0JP' 38lI, 437
I"reqnent Communion, • • • 384
.... Homology, the Science of, • 426
-- \. lIomceopathy, • _ - • - - - • • • 645
.. have ita principles an AJIlDity with the Doctrines oC the New Church, 501
".. ..
luanitiea,
and ita N. C. A1IlDitiea,
I_ish Tabernacle, viewed in ita 8pirituaUmport,
Leuer, the, and the Spirit, • • -
- 540
169, 334
123, 276, 45~, 534
5,134,101,149
lIi_ionl, • 161,205, 2911,306
lIadame Guion, Letter from to Fenelon, - 484
New Cburch .. Book of Worship," - - • - 276
.. Conventions, what lire the true U_ of, 172, 4117
.. Duty, a particular a.peet oC, • nu
.. Ol'J"nizatlon and Government, with remarks, - . 254,306
New Ierusalem Mapzine and New Cburcb Ministry, • - 358,407
.. M.pzine on .. Pror. BUlh's View of the Sacramenta," - 397
ObleS.ion in modern times, remarkable cue of, • 115
PrivRte Judgment, the Rigbt oC, - 557
P.ychology,. - - • 111
Re-Baptism, • 175
8ennon on tbe Lord's Nativity, by Rev. D. K. Wbitaker, 62
.Socrates and Swedenborg,· - • • 18
Swadenborg'. Tbeological Writiugs, Plea for the publication of, • 454
.. SpirituIII Diary, milling Numbers o f , . 27, 70
.. Principia, 197,245,2112
•• Extract from, - • 268
.. W i1kin_'s BiocraPhy of, • 560
Unlty of RUDlan Races. - - • 34U
CORRESPONDENCE.
Letter hom a Pbl'ician in a Southern city, • 32
.. from our Englllb Corrt"lpOndent, .- 74,134, lRO, 235,370,423,560
.. froDl varioualDdlviduala, 30, 77.78, 137, 184,185,237,241, 283, 284, 372, 373,
424, 475, 5~1
.. from English Conference, 47
.. from Rev. G.Field, • 187
.. frolD Rev. Mr. PrelCOtton the MlniatIy with ReDlarka, - 21e1
~ from Rev. B. F. Barreu, - • • - • 280
.. . . from A. ~Uder, to General ConY81tion. • 382
iv Inda:.
MISCELLANY.
American Ne Cburcb Tract and Milllloaaty 9cfoitlty. - 378
.. S ed..nbol'l Printing and Publish htg '8oclieq. • 374
ColportaRe In Obio. • • 381
Eme..-on's .. Rer.l'lllIOntatlve Men ;" Swedenbors,· • • • 138
Epitapb in tbe sle of Jersey. - - • - • 1811
GeMral Conventibn. Proceedings of. at Its thirty iecond meedlll. - 3'lll
Lutber on Jusliflcation.. -
Klaionary Narrative. Re". J. P. Btuart',.
- - ~t
...... Churob UnlYenil)'. propoeed. 4U
.. Temple at St. Louis. - :Jlro
• 4~
01110 Convention. Proceedings of.
Otldlnacion. a Primitive, •
Uardet8tallll;ng. the. and the Heart,. • - 5211
Weat Indies. Provreu of the Ne.... CA1IftlIa . . 'aB
POETRY.
'nI. Oraveyard. •
What 1I0nslltotes a Cburch P
. . Slrong.
-
,JobnlOn's, Dr.• Religions Life and Dealh.
title's Journal of Sacred Lltl!tatute•• • 14~
Lambert's Popular Anatomy and Pby,lolerY. • 38'7
Loomis'Recent PropeR of Astronomy. • ll~
Marc,'s HomCllOpalbio Theory and Practic!e of IOdloine.
Murpb,'s Bible and Geology consistent.
Newman', History of Hebrew Moftatcby,
·- 48i
• 385
Payne's Discourse on Soul and Instfnctl. ~
feabody's ..£sthelio Papers.' - 114
~1I's Address on HomCllOpathy. • GlIB
1'",IIIlI1's Notes on the Mirael... • II1l1
Wbller's Marriagel on Earth. In Heaven. Mo.• ~
Wllklnson's Biography of Swedenbo'1l'. - 112
Worc"ester's Dlotionary. ~
Worcester's Senuoas. • ~74
MONTHL Y REVIEW.
ORIGINAL P~APERS.
,
ARTICI.E I.
ARTiCLE 11.
THE ATONEMENT.
(Concluded.)
BUT I shall still be reminded that I have not )'et distinctly pro-
pounded the precise grounds on which the incarnation of Jehovah
became necessary, or the exact mode in which it becomes available
to our salvation. The true response flows legitimately from what I
have hitherto advanced on the general subject. Man had broken the
bond of connection which allied him to the beatific source of his
being. He had done this in the perverted exercise of his freedom as
man, and in so doing had thrown himself within the disastrous
sphere of infernal influences from which, unless he were liberated,
he must inevitably perish. But in this liberating process, the free-
dom of man and the freedom of evil spirits must be sacredly preserv-
ed, for this is that peculium of the rational nature which Jehovah
guards as the apple of his eye. Neither in time nor in eternity-
neither in heaven nor in hell-does he ever suffer this gem of the
soul to be touched with the finger of violence or constraint, as such
a thing would be to extinguish the very principle of humanity in
man. The first step, then, in the recovering work of Heaven's mercy
was the breaking of the bondage of evil into which man had faUen-
the disanulling of that covenant with death and that agreement with
hell into which he had so rashly entered. ThiR could only be ef-
fected by subjugating the powers of hell, and the agency by which
this was to be brought about must necessarily be such as to be con-
sistent with the essential freedom of the enemies to be subdued, for
the All-Wise never deals with his creatures as a potter would with
vessels that so displeased him in the making as to prompt him to dash
them in pieces. He never treats men as machines. He pays respect
to the high moral nature he has given them, even when that nature
is gt:ievously abused. The end, therefore, at which his boundless
benevolence aimed could not be attained if the)' were to be dealt with
1850.] The .Atonement. 13
by the direct putting forth .of the Divine power towards them. Before
the naked arm of Omnipotence they could not stand for a moment.
It was not, therefore, in the way Qf Omnipotence that infinite Wisdom
deemed it meet to engage with the infernal hosts, since this could not
be done but in total disregard of their moral nature.. They were to
be met upon their own plane. Jehovah must in some way come down
to their level, and yet it would be impossible that he should do this
without instantaneously consuming them, unless he approached them
through a medium, and that medium, we learn, was the assumf'd Hu-
manity. Veiling the consuming ardors of his infinite love under
this investment, he could come in contact with man's spiritual foes.
Devoid of th~ Humanity thus put on, it would have been impossible
for him to have admitted into himself the temptations, the fierce and
direful assaults, of the infernal legions, as the pore Divine is infinitely
removed beyond the reach of their infestations, Yet, unless he had
been assailed in every possible way by the utmost malignity of the
hells.. he could not have subdued them, and thus could not have glori-
fied his Humanity, or have" atoned, or reconcilP-d the world to himself,"
that is, could not have accomplished the work of redemption. This,
however, he 1uu accomplished, and it is in virtue of his glorious vic-
tories in this behalf that he has removed the grand obstacles that
stood in the way of man's recovering hi11llJelj by repentance and a
new life of love and faith. There now perpetually flows forth from
the glorified and Divine Humanity of the Lord, a sphere of quicken-
ing spiritual life which is capahle of resuscitating those who were
previously dead in trespasses and sins. Operating through his Di-
vine Word, which is but another name for his Divine Truth, he draws
the souls of men to himself, as the central sun might be supposed to
draw back to itself, by an augmented power of attraction, a planet
that had wandered out of its orbit. This is atonement in its true interior
sense, which is that of recunciliation or renewed conjunction; in a
word, it is at-one-ment. And it is ever to be borne in mind that all
this is the work of the one, absolute Jehovah, existing, loving, and
acting in one person made Immanuel, God witl, us, by the wondrous
fact of incarnation. The whole theme is totally misconceived the
moment we fix our thoughts upon what is termed the second person of
the Trinity as going through this process in obedience to the will, in
vindication of the justice, and in the display of the glory, of the first.
Unquestionably to human view a great mystery must, on ~ny solu-
tion, hang round an event so stupendous as the 'incarnation of a God.
It is a mystery ineffably profound how the Divine could pass .. from
first principles to last," embodying his pure essence in the ultimates
of our gross and fallen humanity. But however mysterious, the fact
has to be admitted. No one can fairly reject it who believes, as yOIl
undoubtedly do, that .. the Word which was with God and was God,
became flesh and dwelt among us." This transcendant fact stands I
and in this fact, in its interior import, we read the genuine doctrine ~
both of Atonement and Redemption, the former the issue of the lat-
ter. tit is here that we find an adequate clew to that wonder of won.
14 The Atonement. [JaIL
•e Let every one therefore beware of this heresy, that man is justified by
faith without the works of the law, for he who is in it, and does not fully re-
cp.de from it before his life's end, after death associates with infernal genii;
for they are the goats, of whom the Lord says, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, iuto
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels' (Matt. xxv. 41) j for of
the goats the Lord does not say that they did evil, but that they did not do
good j the reason why they did not do good is, because they say to them-
selves, I I cannot do good from myself, the law does not condemn me, the
blood of Christ cleanses me and delivers mp., the passion of the cross has
taken away the sentence of sin, the merit of Christ is imputed to me through
faith, I am reconciled to the Father, am under grace, am regarded as a son,
aud our sins H~ reputes as infirmities, which He iustantly forgives for the
sake of His Son, thus does He justify by faith alone, al1d unless this was the
80le medium of salvatioll, no mortal could be saved j for what other end did
the SOli of God suffer on the cross, and fulfil the law, but to remove the sen-
tence of condemnation for our transgressiolls l' Thus do they reason with
themselves, and in cousequence thereof do not do any good which is good in
itself, for out of their faith alone, which is nothing but a faith of knowledges,
in itself historical faith, consequently nothing but science, no good works
proceed; for it is a dead faith, into which no life and soul enters, unless a
man immediately approaches the Lord, and shnns evils as sins as of himself,
in which case the good which he does as of himself, is from the Loru, and
consequently is good in itself; on which subject it is thus written, in Il.'aiah:
• Wo unto the sinful nation, laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children
that are corrupted j when ye spread forth yonr hands, I hide mine eyes from
you, even though ye multiply prayers I hear not: wash you, make you
clean, remove the evil of your works from before min.e eyes, cease to do evil,
learn to do good: then, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow; though they be red like purple, they shall be as wool' (i. 4, 15, 16,
17, 18)"-A. E. 1250.
merit on the part of the creature, and makes the most sincere and un-
reserved ascription of all power and ability for good to the Lord him-
self, and thus meets the demand of thc most self· renouncing and man-
abasing Calvinist. On the other hand, it insists, in the most strenuous
terms, upon the highest active agency in working out our salvation
and bringing forth the fruits of righteousness, and thus satisfies the
most rigid Arminian. Again, it holds for the Trinitarian a real and
threefold distinction in the Di vine nature, answering to Father, Son.
and Holy Ghost, and, at the same time, meets the Unitarian by deny-
ing that these three distinctions are three person8, and thus maintains
with him the most absolute unity of the Godhead. It does, indeed,
hold that this unity is concentrated in the Lord Jesus Christ, than
whom we know no other God in the universe, and this. the Unitarian
must receive if he can. But whether he does or not, it does not affect
the stability of our assurance, that if there is such a book as the Bible,
and it teaches a single truth to be believed by the human mind, it
teaches as plainly as ., words can wield the matter," the supreme,
sole, and exclusive Deity of Jesus Christ. For that Jesus is J ehovah is
taught in so many words, and no one can maintain that there are
two Jehovahs. .
We ask ourselves, then,-we ask our fellow.men-whether the view
now presented has not all the evidence that can be rationally desired
of being in very deed the truth of God. Can that be the true inter-
pretatioI\ of Christianity which exalts faith above charity and life, or
which indicates any other mode of salvation than keeping the Com-
mandments?
G. B.
ARTICLE Ill•
TO THE EDITOR,
SIB,-When, in n former number of your magazine, you instanced the
excellent Pastor Oberlin as having been a disciple of the New Je-
rusalem, you occasioned much surprise to those of bis admirers who
are not aware how broad a fi<Jld the New Doctrine offers to our con-
templation in the great truths of Christianity. According to Swe~
df'nborg, as you well know, all those are of the New Church who
worship in Jesus Christ the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and who
place all their hope of obtaining mercy in a life in accordance with
the Gospel. We need only add that, at the same time, the new dis-
ciples believe in a greater frequency, or, at least, in a renewal of the
direct relations with the world of spirits, which is the" nunc lieet" of
Swedenborg ; and this feature was also one of the characteristics of
Oberlin. Those whom your as!!ertion has astonished may be ig.
1850.] &crate. and Swedenborg. 19
Dorant that the pious pastor had read and approved several of the
'works of the modern Revelator with which a disciple from England
had furnished him; they may not be aware that he believed in the near
approach of the descent of the New Jerusalem upon the earth, though
he figured it to himl:lelf in rather a singular manner, doubtless from
a want of sufficient study of the subject; final!y, they may not know
that he often took pleasure in entertaining his parishioners with his
own dreams or visions. These various data are certainly sufficient
to authorize you in saying what you have said, although Oberlin may
not have been a disciple in the full force of the term.
But what now will these same susceptible persons say, if I proceed
to show that Socrates had ideas concerning the spiritual life, and the
language of correspondences, which were singularly in agreement
with the true doctrine; and that, consequently, a,t least in this res-
pect, you can claim him as having been one of your number by an-
ticipation? Those who are truly learned will not assuredly be as-
tonished at such an assertion. The ecstatic gifts of the ancients,
they will say, however blended with error thf'Y may have been, ne-
cessarily embraced some general truths, which are always the same
and of force in every age. But how would the unlearned, who have
never been tempted to snarch into antiquity, be amused 011 hearing
Socrates classed as a disciple of the New Jerusalem! The fact,
however, is not the lel:ls credible on that account. In the dialogues
of Plato there are numerous passages wlt'ich it is absolutely impossi-
ble to understand without the solutions which the New doctrines af-
ford. I will quote in this place only two of these passages which
have lately attracted my notice. In No. 61 of the Phredon, Socrates,
in explaining to his friends his opinions respecting the state of souls
after death, speaks, amongst other things, of fom' rivers upon which
are borne the spirits of the departed, according to their various quali-
ties. The first of these rivers, he says, is called Ochianos, which en-
compasses the earth; in an opposite direction flows the Acheron, des-
cending beneath the earth, and receiving an infinite number of souls.
to return them at a later period. The third, called PuriplIlegiton,
flows between the two first. and conducts to a region of fire and mud;
finally. the fourth follows a direction opposite to the third, and bears
the name of Cocytus, Doubtless no man of sense. after the least
serious reflection. will attribute to the son of Sophroniscus the ab-
surdity of speaking here of material rivers. How could these rivers
be material which bore onward souls conducted by demons or genii.
who had already accompanied them during their lives. precisely 88
our good angels do-rivers which bear a moral relation to those souls.
",nd which vary their qualities. according as the souls themselves are
more or less degraded? What then. in reality, are these mysterious
rivers? They cannot be other than the four analogous rivers men-
tioned in the sacred Scriptures, under other names: the Pison. bear-
ing gold in its current; the Gihon. encompassing the land of Ethiopia;
the Hiddekpl, directing its course toward Assyria, and the Phrath, of
which our translators have made the Euphrate,; for, unfortunately
we have ourselves sometimes sought for these rivers upon the ma-
20 &crate. and, Swedenborg. [Jan.
terial soil of Asia, where also we expected to find the terrestrial
paradise. The particular names given to these rivers by the sacred
writer, and by heathen priests, ought not to satisfy us: we should
seek for the primitive derivations of these names, in order to judge of
them. and the earlier origin of such of tht' terrestrial names as bear a
resemblance to them should be verified. But these rivers evidently
have in themselvf>-s only an emblematical signification wherever they
are mentioned. That Socrates should have had only vague ideas on
this subject, is not lmrprising; he derived his extraordinary informa-
tion from the priests and mystics of his time, who themselves, proba-
bly, retained no clear perceptions. But when Christian theology,
which o'ught to know something more of the spiritual sense of the
Word of God, which abides forever, has adopted the same fallacious
errors, and would make of the terrestrial paradise, of the tree of life,
of the tree Of the knowledge of good and evil, and of the four rivers
described, a simple question of I(eography, it becomes inexcusable.
The case is similar in respect to the four rivers of mythology, and
the four rivers of the Sacre~ Scripture, as it is with regard to the
four cardinal points, and the four winds which blow from the four
quarters of the earth, so often mentioned in the prophetical books.
In both instances they are only four principal shades of all moral per-
fection or degradation. The air or the wind always represents a
more elevated, and water a less elevated degree, for it is necessary
here to distinguish the various degrees known under the names of
natural, spiritual, and celestial. It is hardly necessary to recall the
signification of fire, mud, or turbid waters. We know that it was al-
ways in thR midst of his afflictions and tribulations that the prophet
king cried to God, .. All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
I sink in deep mire where there is no standing."-Ps. xlii. 7; lxix. 2.
If Socrates nowhere expressly says that he attaches a figurative sense
to all these images, we must infer that he judged it superfluous, and
knew that his disciples understood him. He even l;lays elsewhere, to
these same' disciples, that, urged by the oracle, and by monitions
which he had himself received, to study music, he applied himself to
philosophy; and he does not pause to explain to them how physical
harmony may represent the harmony of the soul; they were therefore
familiar with these species of relations.
Thus we have already a remarkable analogy between Socrates and
Swedenborg; but the passages which precede this one in the Phredon
(principally in Nos. 58, 59 and 60) are still more striking. A glance
at these passages is sufficient to convince us that in materialitling
them the result would be a tissue of absurdities which it is utterly
impossible to attribute to such a man as Socrates, whose chief cha-
racteristic was good sense; whilst in giving them a. spiritual import,
as a disciple of the New Church would do, we arrive immediately at
results which reason may admit. Let those then who, in their Rllmi-
ra.tion of the father of moral philosophy, and of his worthy interpre-
ter, have regretted sometimes to meet with similar incomprehensible
passages, whieh clasn with the general tenor of his teachings, let
them, I say, deiin to examine the analogous views which Swedenborg
1850.] 80cratell and Swedenborg. 21
presents concerning the spiritual world, and these same passages,
which appeared incomprehensible, will become clear and easy to be
understood.-
The earth which Socrates describes in these passages, and which
seems so extraordinary, when understood as a material earth, then
becomes spiritual, and all that was absurd disappears. We may ap-
ply the same reasoning to all the other objects included in the de-
scription. Forexample, as to the gold and lIill'er which are found in
particular places; we know what gold and silver signify in the Ra-
cred Scriptures; "They are in general," says Swedenborg, "the
spiritual riches of goodness and truth." The dullest of the theologians
have not always ventured to stop at the grossly material sense.
Even in the historical hooks of the Word, these things have always
a moral signification; it is sufficient to instance the twelve. precious
stones in the ~reast-plate of Aaran. And in the Apocalypse, are not
the walls of the New Jerusalem founded on twelve kinds of precious
stones 1 From a similar source, and from none other, are the precious
stones and the twelve colors of the earth in the Phredon derived.
Then follow those numerous cavities (,",ou.-i ZO'''II), spaces or recesses
with which the earth must be surrounded. Understand these to be
material excavations. and you have the most extravagant pretentions ;
make of them spiritual abodes or dwelling-places, and you have an
intelligible meaning which enlightened reason may in all ages admit.
At the period when Socrates lived, a clear explanation of the dif-
ference or the relation between the material and the spiritual worlds
had not been obtained; but that did not prevent a rational mind from
discour~ing with some clearness upon that future state which phil9-
sophy demanded. The proofs of immortality which Socrates gives
are indeed none of the best; life which is born of death, and death
which springs from life, are not very luminous ideas; but, neverthe-
less, the great philosopher goes to the very root of the matter; "With-
out immortality," he concludes by saying, "the fate of the just
would be the same as that of the wicked;" which evidently could not
be,-and thus immortality is not an illusion, although Socrates can-
not clearly explain to Crito what will happen to the immortal man
when divested of his material covering.
We thus find Socrates and Plato speaking in a manner worthy of
themselves when we rightly understand them; that is to say, speak-
ing of a future state which is not natural life, although the new life
is the same in appearance. We thus easily conceive how they could
both assert, that in these cavities, or" spaces, void of what is proper-
• Not tbat tbe Greeks obtained from tbe ~acred books of the Hebrews sucb oftbeir my-
thological ideas as bear £om" resemblance to the theology of the Israelites i they derived
them by tradition from a Word prior to the Mosaic Word. This ancient 'Vord, from
which the first chapters of Genesis were taken, was at first spread throughout the whole
of Asia, but during succeeding ages it was lost, and its religious truths, suffering llradual
perversion, gave rise to the various cosmogonies of the oriental nations. This fact ex-
plains sufficiently, why all these cosmogonies ab')'ee in so many points with that of M05CS.
But when our theologians haw wished to explain this fact, hy seeking to prove that the
Orientals and ancient Greeks derived tbcir dogmas from the books of Moses, they have
only excited the laughter of the learned, and consequently done more harm than good,
for ridicule is pernicious, especially in France.-Note of the Ed._
'JOL. Ill. 3
22 &crates mad Swedenborg. [Jan.
ARTICLE IV.
(10 be contimud.)
A.RTlCLE V.
(18.) That spirits speak freely with man, provided he does not re-
flect upon their nature. They are indignant if spirits coming from
elsewhere converse with man. That one [spirit] is not aware of the
presence of another. When they are not lopenlyl conversed with
lby lllen I they know no other than that they are men. .
(19.) That those things which are [deeply] hidden are expressed by
representations; and that the proximate spirits do not now, nor did
formerly, understand the interior sense of the Lord's 'Vord; conse-
quently neither did the prophets.
(20.) I could not think the least thing that did not flow in from
the Lord. That in praying the Lord's prayer a threefold sense was
perceived, as a threefold life.
(21.) Natural spirits [or those of the grosser class] suppose them-
selv('s to be men invested with a [material] body, thus they wish to
be understood to be men; whereas the body does not make the man,
but the mind, or the understanding and the will; wherefore good
spirits and angels are men. .
(2'a.) That there is [properly] no human mind at birth, but that it
is formed of worldly things, wherefore it is necessary that it should
be re-formed in order to its becoming spiritual.
('a3.) That spirits speak and act according to thp.ir nature. That
they are, with much variety, held in bonds, and when these are relax-
ed they think they act from their own power, nor do they know in
what manner they are hf'ld, or that they are held at all. That they
were led by me to speak, and yet knew no otherwise than that it
was from themselves.
(24.) That spirits rave while thf'y think, speak, and act from their
own phantasy, and that they place intelligence and wisdom in in-
sanity.
(25.) That it is of wisdom to regard and aim at ends which belong
to the Lord's kin~dom, thus the Lord alone is wisdom.
(26.) That the soul of a man is his end, which, if it looks into na-
ture, and inclines thither, is a natural soul.
(27.) That evil spirits are 80 much more insane than beasts, inas-
much as by means of their reason they act contrary to order.
(28.) Concerning interior spirits possessing only intellectual faith,
-that they do not suffer themselves to be called organs of life; un-
derstood by Gad.
(29.) That evil spirits, who do not livl! in order, may be tbe means
of producing delights, thus that theirs are the delights of the king, or
of Asher.
(30.) That varieties of speech [or of modes of uttetance] manifest
what kind of persons certain spirits have been, and what they now
are.
(31.) I conversed with the apostles, stating that by them, as by the
tribes, were signified the essential things of the faith, or of the Church,
and that they are not literally to sit upon thrones judging the universe.
That they form a synedrium.
(32, 33, 34, 35.) An effigy of the last judgment, according to what
is contained 10 the Apocalypse, that there was to be a casting down to ~
30 The MiBsing Number. of Swedenborg'. Spiritual Diary. [Jan.
the earth; how it was effected, and who were the subjects of it, to wit,
the deceitful.
(37, 38.) That the process of regeneration is essentially the same
in each particular case and in the general, namely in the Church, in
the world of spirits, in heaven; it is a continual warfare of internals
with externals, thus of angels with the spirits who govern externals;
and this, too, [a struggle carried on] with all variety according to the
nature of every man in his various states.
(39, 40.) That man [hy nature] is viler than a beast, since from
himself he does not know the laws of order and of society, but must
learn them from others; he also seizes upon falsities in the place of
truths, otherwise than beasts; wherefore he must be regenerated.
(42.) That knowledges from the Word prepare the way of faith ; -
what in other respects knowledges effect.
(44, 45, 46.) That the interiors of the Word are most beautiful, but
the exteriors in many instances deformed, which may be evinced,
comparatively, from the internal and external effigy, structure, and
form of man; it may be illustrated also' from optical projections.
(47, 48, 50.) That it is given to man to command evil spirits, and
not to be commanded by them. That spirits and genii govern the
reason of man by affections.
(51.) A conversation respecting the bodies of angels, of what form
they are.
(53.) What the kingdom of the devil is ;-that it is the determina-
tion of one's regard into oneself, and if out of oneself still it is reflect-
ed back to self;-hence is [spiritual] death.
(54.) A proposition was made to spirits, whether pure love can will
any thing else than the salvation of all; when it was stated in reply,
that it is pure love which willB and which is the salvation of all.
( " ) It was proposed to spirits whether the [evil] genii could effect
anything contrary to what they desire; for they say they will what
they desire; it was replied that they cannot.
(56.) That in two instances I walked in the high\vay, being in the
spirit, in the same manner as is related of Stephen.
(58.) Evil spirits do not wish that the good should be well spoken
of; neither do thf'Y desire the presence of the good; nor are they
aware of the presence of another spirit.
( " ) Spirits bear it indignantly that they should be governed by
men. .
( .. ) Evil spirits are unwilling that any thing should be divulged
respecting them.
( .. ) Spirits curiously desire to know all things, wherefore they al-
ways curiously excite all things, even to the minutest particular, which
are in man's memory, which excitation cannot be resisted.
(59.) Spirits freely call forth whatever is congruous to their
genius.
( " ) Spirits wi~h .to be separated whenever they are offended by
things contrary to their nature.
(60.) That truth is wh"tever regards and leads to the kingdom of
the Lord; thus all means which tend to that point. As to means or
media, circumstances vary [the character of] a thing.
1850.] The Missing Number. of Swedenborg's Spirirual Diary. 31
(61.) Ora certain spirit, who from [the force of] a remaining idea
suddenly denied the resurrection.
(62.) That all things and all beings in the world and in heaven are
instrumental causes, with indefinite variety, to the first and ultimate
end, that is to the Lord's kingdom, and, consequently, for the Lord's
sake.
(64.) How variously spirits How by affections and thoughts into
man,-from the affection into the thought and contrariwise.
(65.) It is otherwise in speech with men.
(66.) My lamentation concerning temptations.
(68.). The spirits who were with me, who knew not that I could
converse with spirits, were pleased at the idea of spirits governing
man, and that they were l virtually] the man; but they were dis-
pleased that man should respond, that he should explore their geniull,
and that he in his turn should govern them.
( •• ) It is pleasing- to spirits when they can govern man, and when
they are [as it were] man; but it displeases them when man replies
to them, and when he explores their naturf1 and governs them.
(69.) That in the least particulars of the love of self and of the world
there lies concealed the ambition of possessing the universe, and con-
sequently hatred against the Lord.
(71.) It was shown by living and repeated experience how the Lord
governs thoughts, and that a man cannot think otherwise, however he
may suppose he can.
(72.) When my t.houghts were determined into the world, they were
like weights, and my interior thoughts were, as it were, obliterated,
and I then seemed to govern myself: it was shown, however. that this
was not so. .
(73.) That thoughts How into the mind in an imperceptible man-
ner i-actions are directed by spirits i-spirits are affected when the
thought is directed to them.
( .. ) That spirits are mutually recognized by their speech.
(74.) That spirits were excited by me to speak by means of an in-
terior intuition.
(77.) That there are simple spirits who scarcely think and speak
any thIng from themselves, but from others, such being their nature.
( .. ) That the cunning and malice of certain spirits cannot be de-
scribed, when they are permitted to infuse their cupidities and persua-
sions: from the end only can it be known of what quality they are.
( .. ) That cunning and malignant spirits can more easily seduce the
learned, and the [so-called] acute philosophers than others, because
with them they meet with a greater complication of falses.
(78.) That spirits and angels have not a memory proximate to and
from the senses of the body, but one that is interior, which is rather a
nature or character; their sensual memory they have from the man
with whom they are.
(79.) The representations of evil spirits have relation to the king-
dom of the devil.
(80.) The spirits that were with me could know that they were
not men by a reciprocal speech, and a separation, of which I have
sometimes bad an exquisite perception.
82 Corre'pondence. [Jan.
(81.) That in praying the Lord's prayer, my hands were claspp.d and
loosened by a manifest power [not my own]; the words also were
raised to a higher meaning, and intuitions of the things involved
poured in.
(82.) That I was in the company [of spirits], not as a spirit, but as
amsn.
( " ) That man cannot live without the government of spirits;
wherefore the Lord, who governs spirits, governs also the entire
human race.
( ., ) If the Lord's government were remitted for a moment, men
would instantly be precipitated into insanities, and into a most
att:ocious death.
( " ) That man is a spirit clothed with a body.
(83.) That the affections both of the father and the mother are con-
nate, and also innate in the oBspring; but the affections of the father
are interior, wherefore they unfold or develope themsel ves later, where-
as the affections of the mother are more easily developed.
(84.) That light proceeds from concord, and shade from discord.
(85.) How spirits excite ideas from the memory of man which fall
into the utterances of speech.
( " ) That spirits suddenly seize upon, and hide the things to
which they have an aversion.
( " ) That they speak quickly, sometimes more rapidly than men,
and indeed in a measured cadence or rytbm to which they are accus-
tomed.
(To be concluded in OUT next.)
CORRESPONDENCE.
We insert the following, from a physician in one of tbe Southern cities, as containing
an interesting sketch ortbe strugglcs of an earnest mind in tbe pursuit of truth amidst tbe
adverse inflnt'nces of education, association, and lack of the requisite means of investiga-
tion. The It·tter discloses also some rather remarkable gleams of anticipation of some oC
the leading truths of the New Dispensation.
The following is from 11 gentleman, whose intelligence will be seen to need no voucher.
and who has bl'Cn rCl1ding the works of the New Church for one or two yean. Of the de-
gree of his reception we have no means of judging except from the present letter.
- - Jan. 8,1850.
DEAR SIR,
Enclosed you have payment in advance for the current year for the Reposi.
torvand Diary. Your Mcsmer and Swedenborg and Answer to Dr. Wood's
Lectures on Swedenborgianism were my first iutroduction, in 1847, to the wri·
tings of Swedellborg. "l\Icsmer and Swedenborg," I take to be a very fitting
illlroductioll to rhe Swedish Seer. I was, at the outset, very much interested
in the new views on matters of theology presented by Swedenborg, and have
since read all the pamphlets and sheets received through yon with uuabated
interest. The Scripture doctrines, as unfolded by Swedenborg, appear to me
to be more rational, to have les!! of mystery, aud more of comprehcn!'ibi-
lity in them, tban the dogmas of the so-called orthodox. They arc, some of
them at least, more in accordance with the antecedent feeble glimmeriugs of
1850.] Corre8pO'l1dence. 87
my own mind, as for instance, love and faith-the constituents of heaven and
hell, &c.
If his "Disclosures" are the dreams of a disordered intellect, [ should not
wonder if they are found to be very like the truth. [.am not prepared to reject
them as figments of a frenzied brain, there being so much in them which ap-
peals directly to the workings of our own minds, to our experience and ob-
servation, and to the very laws of our being-for.instance, the doctrine of socie-
ties. May not these be the" many mansioDs in my Father's house," recorded
in John ~-a counterpart of actual tendencies in thIS life.
Besides the above, I have read your" Anastasis," which, by the way, ap-
pears to have been written before you embraced the New Church views. I
am quite well satisfied that the generally received dogma on the resurrection
of the body is not well grounded. In addition to your argument from reason,
I will just throw out some loose thoughts which occurred to me on reading the
work. Frivolous they may be, and I will not say that they are not, bbt I wiu
put them down.
If the earth is [0 be destroyed (annihilated" and the material bodies of all who
have lived on the earth are to be re-united to their spirits, then this portion of
the materia}..substance of the earth will not be destroyed, but abide for ever.
If the earth is to be eternal and the seminary of Heaven, and the material body
of man is to be re.united to his soul, then it must happen, that the material
substance of the earth will be gradually abstracted to carry forward these re-
unions, until the whole earth is wastl;!d in the process. This of course would
be inconsistent with the hypothesis of the eternity of the earth, unless the
creation of new matter to supply the waste is assumed.
Again, unless the law of gravitation ceases to be a law of matter, it mnst be
inherent in the raised material bodies, and they must mutually attract each
other, whether inhabited by good or bad spirits.
If the material creation is to remain for ever, the great masses of matter will
attract to themselves the smaller (without a sufficient counteracting centrifu-
gal force or motion), that is, the raised bodies of departed spirits. If tile uni-
verse is to be destroyed, then the raised bodies will be the only matter remain-
ing j and these, witnout a common centre of gravity, and a rightly balanced
centripetal and centrifugal force, would be attracted into one cluster, like
swarming bees. !Such speculations as these may be ridiculous enough, but
they seem to be naturally suggested by the generally received dogma iD refer-
ence to the resurrection.body.
To suppose that the great" Arcbitect," will not find it necessary to annihi.
late any portion of his own work, whether material or spiritual, and that he
has provided laws for the perpetual government of matter and spirit without
the necessity of a continual or occasional interference, appear to be a higher
honoring of his power and wisdom, than the common view, which calls in the
aid of miracles to supply the defect of general laws. The theory of a spiritual
resurrection-body appears to be more in harmony with Scripture, with reason
and a sound philosophy, and clears away many difficulties, which miracles, on
the common theory, are invoked to remove.
I am, very truly,
Yonr most obedient servant.
The items oC information contained in the following letter go to show how desirable it
is that those who, like the writer, are willing to engage In their cirval.ation, should have
the facilities Cor procuring books for the purpose. Our friend has already accomplished
much in this line, and is 80 aircumstanced that he would willingly devote much time to
the good work, but fOf the difficulty and eJipen88 oC furnlshiDg himself with the requisite
IUpply of Looks and tracts.
VOL. 1II. 4
88 Correspondence. [Jan.
DEAR PROFESSOR,
By way of report of progress I would state that I have sold three copies of
Trne Christian Reli~ion; .two of Conjugial Love; two Noble's Lectures; one of
the Apocalypse Explained (bought of yourl'elf), one on the Earths in the
Universe, one Heaven and Hell, one DIvine Love and Wisdom, one Divine
Providence; besides some two or lhree broken sets of Leading Doctrines;
Hayden's tract and the regular set of New Church Tracts. As a great
majority of these works were to new readers and receivers, it is so much
clear gain. To the conrtesy of Mr. Clapp I am indebted for most of these
works, he consenting to supply me and waiting until they could be sold.
Your budget will not, therefore, come amiss, especially if certain .. statements"
are abundant.
We made a first effort at a social meeting last Sunday evening. For new be-
ginners it was not very bad; yet it was not quite the thing.
There are some five of us who are about willing to adopt a specific form as
a society, two males and three females. We are not zealous hierarchians,
but wish to perform uses as a little body of the New Church. We can read
the books and lectures without blame or molestation. But the ordinances of
Baptism and the Holy Supper c]lll a little attention. Now we cannot a~t, all
of us, as members of the Old Church as Mr. Barrett suggests, for they w111 not
walk with us except by our sacrifice of choice principles. Yet a time existed
when there were no New Church societies or clergy. Feeling a necessity the
receivers associated i and laymen chose thei(teachers. Hindmarsh of Eng-
land, Hargrove and Carll of America were so ordained. Now if we, relying
upon the Lord and acknowledging the three cardinal points, the Lord's Divini-
ty, the sanctity of the Word, aud the doctrine of Charity, select those among 11S
best gifted and ordain them to the ministerial office, is it not orderly, and can
we not reasonably ask our brethren elsewhere to encourage our movement l
Another subject is full of glorious hope. Pres. Beriah Green has published
a series of sermons on the principal doctrines of religion. An acquaintance
of mine connected with Hamilton College, at CHnton, tells me that several stu-
dents there are greatly interested. His theory of Atonement deserves more
special notice. Mr. Green teaches that Christ died not as a substitute for
mankind; but he set a perfect example for man, was del'pised, persecuted,
and murdered, and everyone who would participate in the blessings which he
diffuses must be ever reauyto follow thus in his steps. The President does not
argue the Trinity strongly, according to my informant.
One student, and several others favor the sentiments averred that spirits
hold frequent communication with men. A considerable curiosity was arous-
ed to read Swedenborg, to know his doctrine of Atonement.
May we not hope that more BushneIl's and Green's will arise to dispel the
dark views of current theology 1 I wish that Mr. Green (P. O. Whitesboro)
and the CHnton students could get hold of Mr. Hayden's pamphlet of which
1 have but two copies on hand. Mr. Ciapp, would furnish them, and if he has
Dot filled out his assortment [ wish he would put in a hundred or so.
Gerritt Smith has also made a new movement. He now keeps the seventh
day fos: Sabbath. At the same time, however, he atteuds church on Suuday,
thus keeping two days.
A letter from Miss S--, at Buffalo, informs us that she is in one or two
schools, not very lucrative, but busily employing her time. She writes :-" I
have read all the N. C. works that I have and more; and loaned them and
others have re·loaned them, so that I have only a few pamphlets in my pos-
session. However I have learned ofa few gentlemen who read Swedenborg's
works-oue ofwhom is our Unitarian clergyman-whose acquaintance I design
to make." I remain
Your friend and brother.
1850.] Mucellany.
MISCELLANY.
THE PROGRESS OF THE NEW CHURCH IN THE WEST INDIES.
In accordance with fhe ~equest of several of our friends I proceed to give a
brief statement of some incidents which have occurred during my late visit to
the Danish West India Islands, relative to the promnlgation of the Heavenly
Doctrines, chiefly by means of an extensive distribution of tracts.
Having become acquainted with Mr. J. J. C--, who is secretary and chief
manager ofthe St. Thomas Insurance Company, I was invited to visit his house,
where resided also his three sisters. I introduced the subject of the doctrines
of Swedenborg, which attracted considerable attention and discussion, and
even opposition, as all the family were warmly attached to the Chnrch of
England. They had also been all liberally educated in the-first schools in Eng-
land. After frequent visits to this family, and repeated discussions. of the
doctrines; their opposition gradually gave way. The Doctrine of Corres-
pondences, and of the Spiritual Sense of the Word, which form so prominent
a part in the New Theology, were the first, things admitted by my friend
C--, although his sisters were not, as yet, enabled clearly to perceive
them. •
Soon after this I left St. Thom1l.s for Martinique, and while there was much
pleased by the receipt of a letter from him, announcing, in terms of thank-
fulness to the Lord, the change which had taken place in his theological
views, and that he had reason to think that a similar change was progressing
in the minds of his sisters, whom he said he was glad to observe were read-
ing the writings of Rwedenborg with the greatest interest. On my return to
St. Thomas about four months afterwards, I was delighted' to fiud that all the
family, except one, had bec(JTTJe full receivers of the New Clwrch verities; they
would no longer tell me in the cold phraseology of those who have not yet
looked beyond the surface, that they liked some things in the writings very
well, but there were otluT th~gs they could not agree with. It plealled the
Lord so to open their understandings, that they were enabled to see, in
the light of truth, the beautiful order, harmony, and arrangement of the entire
system of E. S.'s Theology combined with his Philosophy.
As I had providentially been the instrument employed in calling their first
attention thereto, they received me with the most cordial marks of esteem,
and declared that the happiest event of their life was that which gave them'
the knowledge and perception of the great tmths of the New Dispensation. I
was overwhelmed with their expressjon~ of gt;atitude to me, while they ex-
pressed their thankfulness to the Lord for having bestowed upon them such
great heavenly riches, as far surpassed all worldly wealth and ~randeur. As
an instance of the warmth of Mr. C--'s gratitude, I may mention, that upon
my requesting of him to take charge of part of my baggage, until my return
to St. Thomas, he replied, "You can command us in everything j all is at
your disposal; we are all your children."
The father of this worthy family (who is a widower), was at first much
shocked at the change which had taken place in the religions views of bis
children. He rebuked them for leaving the religion of their forefathers (for
which they had been such strong advocates), aud told them they might BS
well turn Methodists, as to become Swedenborgians; but he was at length in-
duced to listen to their reading of the works, and by degrees was as com-
pletely changed as they had been, by the power of spiritual truth. Now he
spends much of his time in distributing New Church tracts. .
A change so great in the views of a whole family, .who had contributed
largely to the support of the Episcopal minister, did not long escape his no-
tice. Several enerl!'etic but unavailing discussions took lllace between him
and tbem, each w~th the bope of cbanging tbe opinions of tbe other, when the
minister, finding that others of his congregation were also somewhat affected i~
Miicellany. [Jan.
by what he was induced to consider 8S a hn'esy, made it a subject for his
pulpit, and delivered three consecutive discourses, warning his hearers against
all visionary doctrines, and particnlarly denying the spiritual sense of the
Word, and affirming that" the plain and obvious literal sense" was that alone
which could be admitred in the orthodox church.
It may not be amiss to mention, that on the day of my departure from St.
Thomas, Mr. C - strongly urged me to endeavor to persuade some New
Church Minister to pay him a visit; on my replying that no one would be
likely to come unless he were an invalid, he replied, that" Anyone who would
come, should be at no expense whatever, as his house should be his home."
In St. Thomas there are .15 or 20 persons who are more or less receivers of
~e Doctrines. About six months before I left St. Thomas, I gave to a young
man there (who was a compositor in the printing office) about a dozen tracts
for his own reading, as he said he had heard of the New Church, ~nd wished
to know what the doctrines were. On my return from Santa Cruz, three
months after, I was glad to learn that he had become a full and ardent re-
ceiver, and applied to me for more tracts, saying he had lent out the others,
with n prospect of good success. ] tlUpplied him liberally with such as he
had not yet received.
He begged me also to lend him some larger work on the Doctrines, and I
presented him with Barrett's' Lectures. Three months after, just before my
departure, he applied t~me for a further supply of tracts, stating that he had
lent them all out, and, said he, "I am am,SlITe I have made six converts for
you, and am pretty sure of two others." He further observed that the new
converts disliked any longer to attend the place of their former worship (Lu-
theran Church), and that they and some others, about a dozen r met toget1u~r
at a private house every Sunday, to talk over the doctrines, and to hear him
read one of Barrett's Lectures. You will probably be surprised when I tell you,
that this young man and his converts are all colored persOfls, who are many of
th,em well educated, and good moral people, and by no means so degraded
a race in the West Indies as they are in the United States. But the term
colored there does not include blacks, as it does h~re. Blada, or mgroes, are ge-
nerally uneducated, aUll I do not know of one that has any knowledge of the
New Church Doctrines, though I know of about thirty colored receivers in St.
Thomas and Santa Cruz, which includes the greater part of them, say about
thirty-five. In Santa Cruz the receivers Dumber about forty.five, of wbom
about one-half are colored, and they mostly reside in the town of Bassin or
~hristjan8tead, which is the capital of the Island. One of the white receivers
is a minister of the Established Church (Lutheran); another is the collector
of the custom-house, and two others are eminent physicians. Several are
employed in the government offices. One is the American Consul, Mr. D.
R--, formerly an extensive merchant of New York.
Among the most remarkable cases in Santa Cruz, was that of Miss J. B--, a
Tery exemplary, pious, and well informed person, to whom I gave a number
of the most important tracts, and afterwards presented to her the work on Hea-
ven and Hell, which she highly esteemed; declaring that she had had, several
years ago, some remarkable visions, during a tranoe of three days, while in a
bad state of health, upon which occasion she said she was permitted to visit
the U10Tld 01 spirits, and had a glimpse of theftTlt and second heavens, and that all
that she had seen and heard at that time was in exact conformity with Sweden-
borg's description, especially as to the form and color of the garments of those
Bhe had seen there; the eXllltence of cities, streets, and houses, the salvation
of all infants, and their growth from infancy to manhood. Having been per.
mitted to lIee and converse with her brother, who departed this life when an
infant, and who had then grown up to a state of manhood. She had been for-
merly prevented from reading E. S.'s works by some of her Episcopal friendll
(to which church she had belonged), and knew nothing of them, until I placed
some in her hands. Her statement of what she had seen in the spiritual
world was undoubtedly true, BS it was confirmed to me by the testimony of
l!eTeral otber pereons, who had heard her description at the time she came out
of the trance.
1850.] Progrell of the New ClaurcJa in the Wed Indie•• 41
In Santa Cruz I met with the Rev. J. M. Pease, employed as minister of the
Bethel Church, by the" American Seaman's Friend SocIety." I gave him a
number of tracts with which he appeared to be much pleased, and as he ex-
pressed a desire to read some of E. S.'s own writings, I gave him a copy of the
Apocal!Ipse Revealed, and one of the N. J. and H. D., also Goydtr's Key to Knowledge,
which he promised to read on the passage from St. Thomas to New-York, to
which place he was on the point of starting. To the Rev. Mr. Moore, of the
Episcopal Church at Santa Cruz, I also gave a number of tracts, and some ofE. S.'8
works, in which he appeared to take great iuterest. Mr. F. C. Beckett, of Santa
. Cruz, had loaned to him some tracts which I had given to another gentleman
for distribution, among them one on the Trinity, which he acknowledged en-
abled him to understand the trm doctrine of the uni:y of the Godhead. I had
a conversation with him on this doctrine-on the Atonement, Correspondences,
&c., which having excited in him a great desire to become more fully acquaint.-
ed with the doctrines, particularly correspondences, I presented him with No-
ble's Appeal, Dictiouary of Correspondence, and Godyer's Key to Knowledge,
and J never knew any person rend with more avidity, or more quickly appreciate
the lP'eat truths he had acquired; and no one could be more anxious to impart
to others the spiritual riches which had' fallen to his lot; he went among all
his friends and neighbors letting them know that he had{:l1Und tIle lost piece of silo
f1tr~howing it to tlltTll, and calling upon thern to rejoice wit him" that he had found
that whicli was lost."
I gave also some tracts to a Mrs. H--, of Santa CJruz, who appeared to be
in a very receptive state-one tract in particular (a London Tract), on "The
Life after Death," seemed to be greatly valued by her. In speaking to another
lady, on the subject, she said that I had given her some ~. C. Tracts, which ex·
plained the doctrines of Christianity in so clear and satisfactory a manner, that
she had never before seen anything like them-particularly one on the "Life
after Death," was most delightfnl, .. Oh !" she said, "if you were to read that,
you'd want to die !" .
Just before leaving St. Thomas, I met with agentlemanrecently from one ofthe
English W. I. Islands, to whom 1 gave some tracts andacopyof the Document&,
with which he was much delighted, saying that he had refused to attend any
of the places of worship of the different denominations of the Old Church, find.
ing nothing satisfactory in their doctrines or worship. Previously I met with
a portrait painter and his wife, who had been some time from Rnglaud, they
were nominally Episcopolians, but, not satisfied with such t:outradictory doc-
trines, received with the utmost delight the various tracts I gave them, which
they read with avidity, and as fast as they read, admitted the great truths iQ-o
culcated; the Trinity was the first, then the Atonement, the Life after Death,
The Second Coming, Tile Spiritual Sense of the Word, and the Doctrine of Cor.
respondences, all were fully admitted and esteemed as the essential truths of
the Lord's second coming.
My friend Mr. V. K--, and mys~lf, conjointly ordered from Mr. Clapp, of
Boston, 100 dozen of the London, Manchester, and Boston Tracts, together
with some smaller works of E. S., which were nearly all distributed iu little
better than a year in St. Thomas and Santa Cruz. Mr. K. and Mr. C. were
indefatigable in spreading a knowledge of the truth, and more particularly in
St. Thomas.
Two of the principal supporters of the New Church doctrines in Santa Cruz
have recently departed to the spiritnal world, viz., Mr. A. C. Birch and Judge
C. Kierultr, whose loss has been lIeverely felt by the receivers of the Heavenly
Doctriues there. The former of these brethren, five or six years ago, distribut-
ed gratuitously about 600 tracts, and kept the principal works for sale, which
may be considered as the commencement of the New Church in that island,
although Mr. K. was, I believe. the first to introduce the doctrines into either
of the islands above mentioned. His deceased brother, C. K., was also stren-
uous in his endeavors to disseminate the doctrines. At his house, on the - -
day of June, 1845; was held the first public meeting ever convened in Santa
Cruz for the worship of Jehovalt Jesus. The receivers amounted to eleven
persona, including myself, upon which occasion I was called upon to read a
42 Miscellany. [Jan.
sermon and conduct the service, which was in accordance with the New
Church Liturgy of the English Conference.
E. B.
Gmnal Plan.
1. There shall be established, at or near the town of Urpana, an Institution
for learning for the use of the New Cnurch, known as the New Jerusalem,-
for the dissemination of its principles, and for the propagation of its doctrines.
. 2. The Institution shall be called the New Church Univer,ity, and I'hall include
a Preparatory and Collegiate department; with provision, also, as demand
may arise, for a Theological, anti such other departments as the Board of
Trustees and the Executive Council may determine.
3. As far as possible every useful branch of a religious, literary, and scien-
tific education shall be taught in the University; and degret's shall Le confer-
red on the students in accordance with their attainments, and as is the custom
in other and similar institutions; but modifications, in this respect, may be
made, founded in the principles and doctrines of the New Church.
4. The property of the institution, anu also its general eOllduct and control,
shall be vested in a Board of Trustees.
(1.) This Board shall consist of twelve individuals, who shall be acknowl-
edged receivers of the Doctrines of the New Church; and two of whom, in
the order of their first enrolment, shall go out of office every year, and their
place be filled by the General Convention of the New Church in the United
States.
(2.) The Board of Trustees shall elect, annually, an Executive Council of five
individuals, to whom shall be committed the entire management and 90ntrol
of the Institution during the vacation of the sllssions of the Board, and whose
acts shaH be binding and valid in all respects, unless set aside by a vote of
the Trustees.
(3.) The Board of Tr\lstees shall report annually to the General Convention,
and the Executive Council shall repoTt to the Board of Trustees whenever
called upon. .
(4.) The Board of Trustees may at any time fill any vacancy occurring ill
their own number, and such appointments shall sland until the next meeting
of the General Convention. They may also at any time fill any vacancy oc-
cnrring ill the Executive CouncM, and such appointments' shaH stand until
their next annual election.
(5.) The Board of Trusttes shall meet annually at t'uch time and place as
they may determine; they may also at any tim'J be convened by call of the
Executive Council, or by call of the Presiden~ of the Board, who shall be au-
thorized to convene the Trustees whenever requested by any two members of
the Board.
(6.) Five shall constitute a quorum in the Board of Trustees i and three in
the Executive Council. .
5. This General Plan may be altered or amended by the Board of Trustees,
after one year's notice of: the proposed alteration has been given at any re-
gular meeting of the Board, and by a vote of two-thirds, provided always that
the grand obj~ct of the Institution shall never be altered. .
The meeting adjourned until this afternoon.
Friday, 2 o'clock, P. M., the meeting came to order. The fallowing individ·
uals were nominated as the Board of Trustees, and the nomination was con-
firmed :-
M. G. WilIiams, J. P. Stuart, Wm. E. White, R. S. Canby, A. D. Sproat,
B. F. Barrelt, E. Hinmau, Geo. Field, Sabin Hongh, J. H. Williams, John
Murdock.
The Committee on the Plan of Building made a partial and general report,
and asking further time, were continued and instructed to report to the Exe-
cutive Council. ..
The proceedings of this meeting were ordered to be sent, (or p~blication,
44 Miscellany. [Jan.
to the New Jerusalem Magazine, the New Church Repository, and the
Medium.
Adjourned, line die.
By order of the meeting,
JOHN MURDOCII:, Pruident.
J. P. STUART, Secretary.
ADDENDA.
A quorum of the Trustees-elect, being present, the Board met and organized
by appointing M. G. WiIliams Prtsident, and J. P. Stuart Secretary.
In accordance with the foregoing plan, the Board of Trustees elected the
following individuals as the Executive Council :-David Gwynne, Thos. M.
Gwynne, R. R. McNemar, R. S. Canby, and Wm. M. Murdock.
The Executive Conllcil were instructed to appoint a general agent for the
purpose of solicitin~ subscriptions and donations to the funds of the proposed
Inlltitution, and also such other agents as they may determine. .
The Trustees adjourned, silie die.
By order of the Board,
• M. G. WILLIAlIIS, Presidmt.
URBANA, Nov. 16th, 1849. J. P. STUART, Secretary.
We propose to insert the whole of the ProeeE'dings of the May meeting of the Ohio As-
lOCiation in this and our next No., of which the Narrative and Letter following may be
considered as our first instalment. The entire article would have appeared at an earlier
date, but for an unfortllnate detention on the way whioh ocourred to the package OOD-
taining it.
REV. J. P. STUAR1"S MISSIONARY NARRATIVE.
.A.ddrl!SSl!d to t/£e Acting Committee of tlu Ohio hsociation and othn'" Contributors to
the Cause.
DEAR BRETHREN,-My narrative read at Dayton in October last contained my
report up to that time. I need now only report in regard to the time since
elapsed, which is now about six months. In the general summary, however,
of fnndA received, and of tracts and books disposed of, I shall now include the
amount for the entire year now endin~.
Since my report ill Dayton I have continued preaching the New Doctrines,
and distribnting tracts and books. During the time I have visited about thirty
different places for the purpose of propagating the New Church Doctrines, in
twenty-five of which I have preached to audiences which have varied from
40 to 400 persons, the average being over 50. The number of discourses de-
livered in the time is 70, of which 25 were extemporaneous, and the remainder
from notes in acc.ordance with the usual custom. I have administered bap-
tism to 19 persons, of whom 9 were children, and 10 were adults. I have ad·
ministered the holy supper, and solemnized one marriage.
I have sold (during the year now ending) about 400 volumes of the New
Church writings, great and small, and have distributed about 2000 tracts.
Thus far, the work done was often arduous and deeply perplexing; but still
I cannot but regard these last six months 8S among the happiest ill my life,
and I doubt not but that good has been done to many. Some seed, I doubt
not, has, by this effort, been sown in good ground. Some one of the 400 vo-
lumes of Swedenborg has been carried by this mission to the right spot, and is
this day doing its silent work. Some tract of the 2000 distributed is this day,
lil,e the leaves of the tree of life, which are for tht! healing of the nations,
doing its healing work. Some soul has been arrested by the living voice, and
induced to abandon the evils and the falses of a dispensation which is now
passing away. •
I do not know that detail, will interest anyone; but I cannot forego the
pleasure which it will give me to state a few of the particulars that are in-
volved in the above brief sketch.
1850.] Rev. J. P. 8tuart', MiI,ionary Narrative. 45
At Dayton I have had several Pleasant visits. While there in Nov. last, I
preached twice, a.nd solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sylvester Pruden and
Miss Margaret A. Kitteridge.
From Dayton I went into the neighborhood of our Brother David Pruden,
where I preached once. In company with David Prnden and his worthy lady
I'visited a brother of his 40 miles north of DaytoD. Here I preached three
times, once at Peter Pruden's house, once at the Methodistcbapel near by, and
once at a school-house, in another part of the neighborhood. These meetings
were all well attended, and seemed productive of good. There seE'wed at
first in this wild and sequestered place a great curiosity to hear the New Doc-
trines. But when it was seen that there was nothing curious in. the doctrines
as presented, the in,terest changed its form, and became rational. Mr. Prnden
and his household in general, had embraced tbe Doctrines from reading and
conversation, having none of them heard the Doctrines of the New Church
preached till I came. Before we set out ou our return I administered the ordi-
nance of Baptislll to Mr. and Mrs. Pruden, and six of their children, aH adults
but the two youngest. This household seemed much refreshed by these priv-
ileges of the church in the wilderness.
At Lebanon and vicinity I have delivered twenty discourses during the last
six months. We have had here a regular meeting once a month. There are
many of the books and the tracts in circulation in this place; and, upon the
whole, I believe the popular feeling favors the New Church as much as it
does any denomination of the Old. At a recent meeting of the Society here
we had eight baptisms, four children and four adults; and three were added
to the Society.
I delivered here a series of Doctrinal discourses, which I understand were
reviewed either directly or indirectly in every pulpit in the place, aud in every
one for several miles round.
During these discussions I was invited to deliver a series of lectures on the
Mosaic account of creation, in connexion with geology, before the Mechanics'
Institnte of the place. These lectures I delivered, and they were afterwards
partially reviewed by one .of the members of the Institute-a man of some
science and learning. The positioIls of this gentleman J subsequently re-
viewed in a lecture delivered in the same place, which was numerously at-
tended, and since which the matter has remained in statu quo.
There is perhaps nothing more perplexing to a man of the Old Church than
the work of showing the reasonablenus of his dogmas to a Newchurchman.
Encountering the Atheist, the Deist, the Sceptic, the Arian, or the Universalist,
he is in his element. But encounlering the Newchurchman, he is out of his
element. For in doing the formir work hi is met with mere negations and
scepticisUlS, which he may rebuke and chastise; but in the latter he is met
with affirmative principles, and with profound and holy devotion to everything
that is really sacred. Moreover, forces assail his tottering fabric from a
thousand different and unexpected sources. He himself stands rebuked and
chastised for his ignorance of a true philosophy, and for his unbelief of the
most profound Doctrines of Heaven.
I have had several pleasant and interesting visits at Springfield, and have
preached there nine or ten times. Our friends there have fitted up a con·
venient room, which they use for their Sunday-school, and also for their
meetings.
I have visited Urbana twice, and have preached there eight times. The
meetings were gep.erally well attended, and especially so on the Sabbath.
There are severaluew readers here, and the doctrines are coming into more
favorable notice.
The clergy, however, of that place have in some cases since my visit there
made a demonstration there against the New Doctrines. One clergyman in
particular, as I learn, has made a vigorous attack on the New Church. His
zeal has, however, regularly abated as be has gone forward, and he has at
length ceased to combat, and has commenced reading our works. He is
spoken of as a man of a kind and amiable spirit, and a lover of truth. What
46 Mucellany. [Jan.
the extent and result of his reading may be we cannot know, nor need we be
anxious. Our friends in Urbana keep the works of the Church constantly ~e
fore the people. There are some excellent minds here who are becommg
more and more deeply imbued with the truths and the goods of the New Dis-
pensation; and I doubt Dot hnt their number will continue to increase.
The same general remarks apply to Bellefontaine, which place I visited
once, and lectured twice to very full and attentive houses. In the vicinity of
this place I found our good brother the Hon. R. S. Canby. He is a man of
great power, and seems deeply imbued with the love of use. His induence
counts well for the Church. I spent a day most pleasantly at his house, hlS
truly amiable and intelligent wife being deeply principled in the life of the
New Church.
I spent several days very pleasantly in the family of our good brother Sher-
man, in Woodburn, in the vicinity of which place I lectured several times to
full and atLentive houses.
At Yellow Springs also I have preached several times, and a most salutary
work is begun there; some of the leading citizens of the phice are beginning
to avow openly their belief of the New Doctrines, and to proclaim them to
others.
When I was last at Urba~a, Col. James of that place rresented me a propo-
sition to devote 10 acres of land, lying in the margin 0 that town, as the site
of a New Church Institution of Learning. This proposition is in the words
following, to wit:-
Urbana is a place in every way accessible to our whole country, being di-
rectly on the Sandusky and Miami Rail Road; it is also a place unsurpassed
by any village in the State in healthfulness and beauty. Onr other friends also
in that place have abilityar,d hearty good will to aid a movement of this kind;
wherefore may I not ask, have not the time and the occasion come for the
incipient steps to be taken for founding- a New Church University 1 It strikes
me that the proposition of Col. James is in the highest degree liberal, and that it
de5erves to be responded to witb equal spirit and liberality. Founding sucb an
Institution is a work for somebody to do, and when done will require some ef-
fort and sacrifice. Our old literary institutions are as defective as the Church
which gave them birth. They have outlived their day. Much that they do
is well dl;me, and would require to be repeated in a true system' but, taken as
a whole, are not their forms, their methods, their designs, ahd their results,
antiquatpd and outgrown in the living age 1 What man, principled in the life
and the Doctrines of the New Church, would commit in good faith and im-
plicitly the education of his sons and daughters to any of these institutions 'J
But I cannot extend these remarks, for I must close my narrative.
These details will show that our efforts have not been wholly in vain. The
numerous contributors to the mission may rest assured t)(at they are co-
operating in a most noble cause. They may see the proof in what IS already
done that the day has come to work; that there is in the public mind a degree
of receptivity of the Heavenly Doctrines, that is full of hope, and ~ithout ..
1850.] Letter from the English Conf6,·ence. 4"1
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
EDITORIAJO ITEMS.
The course oC Lectures in this city by Mr. Hayden, announced in our Nov. number,
was concluded on Sabbath evening, 6th inst., in the presence of a large and respectable
audience. The whole series of discourses has given the highest satisfaction to the friends
oCtbe New Church, who bave seldom been privileged with listening to a more lucid and
couvincing exhibition of the great doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation, Redemption,
the Atonement, Justification, and the leading cffects wrought in the political, scientific,
IInd religious world in consequence of the introduction of the New Dispensation. Thee
were the subjects and the order of the Lecture!!, and each was trealed with an ability
which would have been more naturally expected .fr~m one who had made theology the
study of a long life. In 11 comparatively young novitiate, it was peculiarly gratifying.
We trust facilities may be afforded to Mr. H. for the delivel}' of these and kindred Lectures
in different sections of the New Church in our country, as they cannot fail to awaken in-
terest in, and command respect for, that Divine system of Doctrines which have found
11 gifled expounder and defender in our young friend, whose pen has so often been recog-
nized in our pages.
o
THE
MONTHL Y REVIEW.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.
From this it appears that the Jews were not incapacitated by their
unspiritual and supremely worldly genius from having a certain
IlaDctity induced upon them arising solely from the representative
character which they were called to sustain. But this is not all. It
appears from the following paragraph that they were on this account
even better qualified to discharge this function than if they had been
internally better men. The ground of this is, that the danger of the
profanation of holy things is thereby lessened. But as the force of
this consideration cannot well be appreciated without a distinot view
of the fearful effects of profanation, we previously give place to an
extract on this subject.
"Few persons know what profanation me8.llll, and still fewer what is
its punishment in another life. Profanation is of various kinds. He who
denies the truths of faith, like the Gentiles who live out of the'church, without
the knowledge of them, does not profane them j but he profanes the truths of
faith who is acquainted with them, and still more so if he acknowledges, talks
of, preaches, and persuades others respecting them /;::: ret lives in hatred,
revenge, cruelty, rapine, and adultery, confirming b. el in these vices by
passages of the Word, which he perverts, and thereby immerses in his filthy
i1£ections. That it is to be guilty of profanation, and this is what especially
occasions man's spirimal death, as may appear from this consideration, t.h&t
in another life things profane and holy are altogether separate, what is pro-
fane being in hell, and what is sacred in heaven. When a profane person,
therefore, enters into the other world, holy andprofane things adhere together
in every idea of his thought as they did during the life of the body, so that he .
cannot produce a s~le holy idea but something profane is plainly seen ad-.
hering to it j such bemg the perception of ideas existing in another life. Thta.
there is profanation apparent in every particular of his thoughts i and as
heaven abhors profanation, he must of necessity be thrust down lOto hell.
Scarcely anyone is acquainted with the nature of ideas, they being re-
garded as distinct or uncompounded. There are, nevertheless, in every idea
of thought, innumerable [others] conjoined in different ways, 10 as to consti.
tute a certain form, and hence a representation [picta imago] of the man him-
self, which is fully perceived, yea, even visibly so, in another life. Thus, for
example, when the idea of an1' place occurs, whether it be a conntry, a city,
or a honse.. then the form and Image of all that he has ever done there is pro-
duced at me same time to the sight of spirits and angels. Or if the idea of a
person occurs against whom a man has entertained hatred, then whatever he
has thought, spoken, or done, against him, is presented at the same moment.
& it is also in reference to all other ideas; for as they come into existence,
all and everything which may have been conceived and iml?reued on the
mind in relation to them, is made manifest. Thus, when the Idea of a mar.
riage presents itself, then, if the man be an adulterer, all the filth and obscenity,
even to the very thought of adultery, t : : t themselves, and even the fme
notiona by which he has coDfirmed· If iD adulteries, whether dOlivecl
58 7'hs Letter and the Spirit.
from sensuality, or from reasonings, or from the Word, and the mode in which
he has adulterated and perverted its truth, recur. The idea of one thing.
moreover, flows into that of another, and infects it, as a drop of ink cast into
water obscures the whole body of that fluid; whence the spirit is known by
his ideas, and, wonderful to relate, there is in each of them his image, or
effigy, which, when rendered visible, is so deformed that it is horrible to be-
hold. Hence the state and image of those in the other world who have pro-
faned what is holy, may be seen. Such profanation is, however, by no means
chargeable on those who have believed in simplicity what is contained in the
Word, notwithstanding they have believed what is not true."_~. C. 1008.
The principle involved in the foregoing presentation is thus applied
in the relation we are considering.
" In regard to the profanation of truth, the case is this: divine truth can in
nowise be profaned, exceJ?t by those who have before acknowledged it · for
such, having first entered IUto truth by acknowledgment and belief, and hav-
iug thus been initiated into it, when they afterwards recede from it, there con-
tinually remains its trace or footstep inwardly impressed, which is recalled at
the same time with the false and evil, and hence the truth, because it adheres
to them, is profaned; those, therefore, with whom this is the case, have con-
tinually in themselves that which condemns, thus their own hell; foe the iu-
fernals, when they approach towards the sphere where good and truth is, are
instantly sensible of their own hell, for they come into that which they account
hateful, consequently into torment; they therefore who have profaned truth,
dwell continually With that which torments them, and this according to the
degree of profanation; because this is so, it is most especially provided by
the Lord, that divine good and truth may not be profaned; and it is provided
principally by th~, Ll18t man, who is such that he cannot otherwise than pro-
fane, is withheld as far as possible from the acknowledgment and belief of
truth and good, for, as was said, no one can profane, but he who has before
acknowledged and believed. This was the cause that internal truths were
no~ discovered to the posterity of Jacob, the Israelites and Jews, nor was it
,even openly declared, that there was any internal in man, thus that there was
any internal worship, and scarce any thing was said concerning a life after
death, and concerning the heavenly kingdom of the Lord, oe of the Mes-
siah whom they expected; the reason was because they were such
,that it was foreseen, that if such things had been discovered to them,
they could not have doue otherwise than profane them, inasmnch
.as they had no will for any thing but what was terrestrial; and because
that generation was such, and also is such at present, it is likewise still
,permitted that they should be altogether in a state of unbeliefj for if they had
,once acknowledged, and afterwards receded, they must needS have induced
,upon themselves the most grievous of all hells. This was also the reason
why the Lord did not come into the world and reveal the internals of the
'Word, until there was not any good at all remaining with them, not even na-
tural good, for then they could 110 longer receive any truth to a degree of in-
ternal acknowledgment, for it is good which receives, thus they could not
profane it; such was the state which is meant by the fulness of time, and by
'the consummation of the age, and also by the last day so much treated of by
the prophets: it is for this same reason, that the arcana of the internal sense
· of the Word are now revealed, because at this day there is scarce any faith,
,because not any charity, thus becanse it is the consummation of the age, and
-when this takes place, then they may be revealed without danger of profana-
luan, because they are not intenorly acknowledged.ll-~.C. 3398.
Such then we have ample reason to believe was and is the innate
•character and disposition of this people. From the earliest dawn of
their national existence they have proved themselves perverse, rebel-
· lious, prone to idolatry, and constantly offering provocation to the
IS5O.] The Letter and the Spirit. 57
Lord. The voices of the prophets every where confirm this testimony,
and it was the humiliating consciousness of the truth of the state-
ment pervading the speech of the martyr Stephen that made them
gnash their teeth with indignation, and goaded them on to imbrue
their hands in his blood. And yet, notwithstanding, this record is
read of them in hundreds of passages of the Old and New Testa-
ment, the impression of the Christian world seems to be, that the
inditing Spirit does not really mean it after all, but that it is rather
the language of a quasi displeasure, a vein of threatening similar to
that which a human parent will sometimes administer to a child that
he would restrain from mischief, while at the same time neither party
regards it as having much of serious meaning. This is no doubt
owing to the deep-seated belief which has long prevailed among
Christians, that the Jews as a people were really objects of the Divine
complacency in themselves considered: and that although they fre-
quently betrayed a wayward and refractory spirit, yet they were not
a very bad people at heart, and as the Lord is eminently compas-
sionate to the sins of his elect, 80 there was nothing very grave in the
real drift and purport of his threatenings towards them, although as
keeping up appearances they had, doubtless, had a good effect both
upon them and upon others. .We judge this to be the true posture of
the mind of Christendom in relation to the subject, inasmuch as we
find it difficult to believe that men who hold the theory of the final
restoration of the Jews, and of the splendid destiny that awaits them
in the latter day, can in their hearts concede that they were actually
80 vile and wicked a race as they are often represented in the Sacred
Writings." We are persuaded they must cherish the fancy of some
t1aving clause--of some mental reservation-on the part of the Most
High, by means of which He will wave towards them a treatment
in close accordance with the strictness of the letter. Their se-
cret sentiment would undoubtedly express itself in the language of
Balaam, "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen
perverseness in Israel."
Swedenborg, on the other hand, from a deeper illumination, as we
conceive it to be, puts a new face upon the whole order of the Divine
• .. The quality of their posterity, wpo were in Eupt, is manifest from the circumstan-
ces related of them when they were in the wilderness, where they were so often rebel-
lious, and afterwards in the land of Canaan, where they so often became idolatrou!.
What their quality is at this day, viz. in regard to their opposition to the Lord, to the
things of the Church, and to charity towards their neighbor, is well known. Hence it
may appear that such has pcrpetuaUy been the quality of that nation. Let not anyone
therefore henceforth suppose that there was any church among them, but only the repre-
sentative of a church, still less that they were chosen in preference to others."-A. C.
'316.
.. The Jewish and Israelitish nation, which is treated of in the internal historical sense,
except those who have died infants, are for the most of this description, for they are in
external things above all other nations, inasmuch as they are in avarice; they who 10Te
lucre and gain not for the sake of any other use but for the sake of gold and silver, and
place all the delight of their lives in the possession thereof, are in the outermost or lowest
things, for the things which they love are altogether earthy; but they who love gold and
silver for the sake of some use, elevate themselves, according to the use, out of earthy
things; the use itself, which man loves, determines his life, and distinguishes him from
others; an evil use makes him infernal, a good use makes him celestial; not indeed the
use of itself, but the love of the use, for the life of every one is in the 'love."-4. C.
4~:W.
ne Letter and Me Spirit. [Feb.
Dispensations in regard to the Jews. He portrays them in their true
colon. He takes the Word at its word, neither extenuating augh~
nor setting down aught in malice. He informs us that though in
one sense a peculiar people, yet they were never a church. but
merely the representative of a church. sustaining to the spiritual and
celestial things entrusted to them the relation of a casket to the
jewels it contains. As it was for a particular purpose that they were
set apart. in sacred isolation, from all other people,8O, as that purpose
has now heenfully answered. they must necessarily sink to the level of
other nations. and be eventually merged in the Gentile masses which
they so much despise in oomparison with themselves. The perpetui-
ty of privilege supposed to be prophetically secured to them is one of
the dreams of exegetio theologians as baseless and idle as the conceit
of the resurrection of the body, which was scarcely qoestioned fOl: t'
long lapse of ages. But as a stronger light has shone upon the phi-
losophy of another life, the evidence of any such resurrection has van-
ished into thin air, and the eulightened hope of future existence recog-
Dizes nothing as surviving the stroke of death but the interior spiritual
and immortal man. In like manner, although it has been long and is
still held by multitudes that the Jewish nation, as such. would be re-
stored and re-organized, yet to an instructed vision of the future they
appear just 88 far from such a destiny as does the perished fabric of
the body from re-construction at what is termed the last day. If we
could suppose the body to be capable of thinking, and reasoning, and
discoursing, apart froni the spirit, respecting its resurrection-destiny,
Buoh reveries would be a fair counterpart of those of the Jews them-
selves, and of those theoists, who, like Mr. L, keep them in counte-
Dance. respecting their prospective dignity and grandeur in the final
allotments of the Divine Providence. The one would be just as
groundless and absurd as the other. To the eye that is gifted with
true interior discernment, the Jewish nation is to the spiritual element
of the Church couched under it, precisely what the human body is to
the soul that is to be eliminated out of it. Both the one and the other
are merely external coverings-simple exuvial-to be shed upon the
emergence of the spiritual substance destined eventually to appear in
their place.
In the following passage we have a somewhat fuller development ,I
of their characteristic traits as a people, together with an intimation
of the reasons of their prolonged preservation as a distinct race•
.. The Jews who lived before the Lord'S coming, as also they who lived af-
terwards, had no other opinion concemingthe rituals of their church, than that
divine worship consisted 801ely in externals, being utterly regardless of what
they represented and signified i for they did not know, neither were they will-
iDg to know, that there existed any internal of worship and of the Word, thus
that there was any life after death, consequently that there was any heaven,
for they were altogether sensual and corporeal j and whereas they were in ex-
ternals separate from internals, worship with respect to them was merely
idolatrous, and therefore they were most prone to worship any gods whatsoever,
provided only that they were persuaded that such Gods could cause them to
prosper: but because that nation was such that they could be in an holy ex-
terna~ and thus could have holy rituals, whereby were represented the celes-
tial things of the Lord's kingdom, and could have a holy veneration for Abra-
1850·1 ne Lettef' and tAc Spirit.
ham, Isaae, and Jaeob, and also for Moses and Aaron, and afterwards for Da-
vid, by which persons the Lord was represented, and especially could have an
holy reverence for the Word, in which all and single things are rflpresentarive
and significative of things divine, therefore in that nation a representative
c!hureh was instituted; but if that nation had known internal things as far as to
acknowledgment, they would then have profaned them, and thus, when in an
holy external, they would have been at the same time in a profane internal, so
that there could have been no communication of representatives with heaven
by that narionj hence it is that interior things were not discovered to them,
Dot even that tne Lord was within, that he might save their souls. Inasmuch
as the tribe of Judah was of this character more than the other tribes, and at
this day, as formerly, account the rituals holy, which may be observed out of
Jerusalem, and also have an holy veneration for their fathers, and a particular
reverence for the Word of the Old Testament, and inasmuch as it was foreseen
that Christians would almost reject that Word, and would likewise defile its in-
ternal th~gs with things profane, therefore that nation has been hitherto pre-
served, according to the Lord's words in Matthew, chap. xxiv. ver.S4; it would
have been otherwise if Christians, as they were acquainted with things internal,
had also lived internal men j in this case that nation, like other nations, would
before many ages have been cnt off. But with that nation the case is this, that
their external holy or holy of worship, cannot in the least affect their internals,
these being unclean from the sordid love of self and from the sordid love of
the world, and also from the idolatrous principle. that they worship things ex-
ternal separate from internals; and thus because they have not any thing of
heaven in them, neither can they carry any thing of heaven with them into an-
other life, except a few who lIve in mutual love, and thns do not despise
others in comparison with themselves.
" Hence it was made manifest, how that people, interiorly idolatrons, conld
represent things holy. yea, the Lord himself, and thus how the Lord could
dwell in the midst of their uncleannesses, Levit. xvi. 16; consequently could
have something like a church there, for a church merely representative is a re-
semblance of a church, and not a real church. With Christians this cannot be
the case, becanse they are acquainted with the interior things of worship, but
do not believe them; thus they cannot be in an holy external separate from its
internal."-..d. C. 3479, 3480.
ARTICLE n.·
A SERMON,
Deliwrld on ChriltmtJI Day btfor, tlae NfttJ Jmuakm Socidy of C1&tJrlmcm, S. C.,
Br RET. DUXEL K. WHITuu.
•• For unto you is born this day in the city oC Davld a Saviour who la Chriat the Lord."-
Lvke ii. 11.
TillS annunciation, which was made 1850 years ago, may, with
equal propriety, be made anew to mankind at the present day-to all
J850.] The Lorif, Nativity. 88
at least to whom the Saviour is really this day born. There may be
many to whom the Lord is only now just born as a Saviour, and to
them the annunciation of his birth, which is made to their inner man,
is equally as much new tidings, and tidings of great joy, as the same
announcement was to the shepherds of Bethlehem. To such, as well
as to them of olden time, angels appear, and declare the startling and
joyful fact; for these unseen ministers of good, in every age, by ~he
immutable laws of Divine Providence, are employed to communicate
messages of love and truth from heaven to earth.
The Christian world has been long accustomed to regard the gos-
pel narrative as mere history-the history of events which have long
since transpired. Now it is a fact that the gospel narrative is history;
but it is also a fact that it is not mere history, unless it be a history of
what is passing in each man's mind, while it is undergoing the process
of Christian regeneration. To such the gospel narrative is present
history, if it be not a misnomer to call that history which records the
present operations of the mind, or records the present state of the
spiritual world in any part of God's dominions. To those to whom
the transactions of Christianity-the birth, growth, manhood, trials,
temptations, and sufferings of the Lord-are wholly past transactions,
having no present living efficacy and form. To such Christianity,
however applauded by them, is nothing more than a sealed book-a
dead letter; but to those who have brought these great facts home to
their own bosoms, and who have discovered the intimate Rnd indis-
pensable connection which exists between the various passages in our
Lord's history, and their own history as the children of God, Chris-
tianity is much, nay, it is every thing; and the Lord is a Saviour,
who is not only born to them in the city of David-the New Jeru-
salem-but he is also a Saviour who has grown up to maturity in
that city, and who, by his saving power, has made them living men-
men who shall live to all eternity.
Why should the birth of the Saviour, in the flesh, have been a
matter of joy to the shepherds, and to the men of that age 1 All pro-
phecy had announced his coming. It was certainly a great event,
because it was a coming in the very letter of the Word, in which di-
vine truth exists in its fulness and its power. Clouds and darkness
were round about him, but justice and judgment were still the habi-
tation of his throne. A veil was thrown over the Holy of Holies,
but the Holy of Holies was still there. The divinity assumed hu-
manity. It had always been humanity, but it assumed humanity
in its sensuous sphere, and men looked on this manifestation of
God with their natural eyes, and heard it with their natural ears.
That God should assume humanity-a body of flesh and blood-in
order, under an assumed veil, to shadow forth his own glory, and work
out a great problem, that of man's salvation, involves no inconsis-
tency. We are obliged to regard God, thus manifested, under a finite
(orm; but when we understand the constitution of the human mind,
and its limited capacities, we may rest satisfied, that in no stage of
our probation, and in no stage of our progress throughout eternity,
shall we ever be able to see God under any other than a finite form.
We believe that he is infinite, but we cannot comprehend his infinity.
64 Sermon on Luke ii. 11. [Feb.
There is no more difficulty, after we have acknowledged the existence
of a God, endowed with infinite perfections, to admit, that in the
manifestations of himself he should accommodate himself to the ap-
prehensions of those to whom he chose to manifest himself, than after
we have acknowledged the existence of the human mind, an imma-
terial substance, endowed with the powers of thinking, feeling, and
ac.ting, to admit, that a substance, so spiritual, living, and energetic,
may be connected, for a time, with a substance so inert and dead as
the human body, and may act through it as 0. medium. The whole
of God can never be revealed to us; but a part of him may be,
and with these finite manifestations, whether iu the form of a disem-
bodied man, or angel, as he appeared to the patriarchs of old, or
in the form of a man endowed with a body of flesh and blood,
as he appeared to the apostles and evangelists, we must be
content. Of one thing we may be sure, that we shall never be .
~
able to grasp the reality of the divine nature in its infinite greatness,
and that we must be satisfied with such appearances of it, as He
chooses to vouchsafe to us, and these appearances will always be as
our own states are. If we are elevated by the reception of the divine
life into our own souls,just in proportion to that reception will be the
elevation of the ideas we entertain of God, who will grow in stature,
and increase in wisdom to us, just in the measure and in the degree
that we grow in stature and increase in wisdom; i e. as we increase
in the knowledge of heavenly things. Thus God will be to every
mind such a being, and no other, than he seems to be to that mind;
for to suppose that that mind could entertain any other idea of God,
would be to suppose that it could go out of itself, and transcend
its own limits, which would be impossible..
It is a fact, that God appeared on earth as a man in the sensuous
sphere of nature. He appeared as Immanuel, God with us. It is a
portion of history and, wo to us! if it be not a portion of experience
too. We are all born natural-sensual men; our propensities are
earthward, and partake of the earth. Ourselves-the world-the
world's glory; our own passions; our own opinions-these constitute
our first life. The world, the flesh and the devil preside over the
whole of our history as external men, and as such all our ideas are
borrowed from time and space, and we grasp nothing real, nothing sub-
stantial, nothing spiritual. In this state we see God as a man, if we
see him at all; for we cannot elevate ourselves above ourselves to
see God as he really is; but we clothe him with a body of flesh
and blood, and endow him with human passions and human in-
firmities; and such as God in such a state appears to us, such, in his
mercy and condescension, he represents himself to be, in order that
he may save us, in order that he may purify and elevate humanity in
this its lowest state, and make of it something spiritual, noble, and
pure. He must descend, therefore, into this natural sensuous sphere-
He, the Infinite Man, in order that he may raise us finite men, whom
He has created for eternal happiness, above that sphere.
In order to understand more of this great mystery of God's assump-
tion of our humanity in its lowest stage, it is necessary to look back
upon our own history, and to consider, with some attention, the con-
1850.] The Lorlf, Nativity. . 66
. stitution of our own nature, its progress, state, wants and necessities.
God created man upright; but having constituted him free, because
in freedom alone he could serve him and obey his laws, he created
him su~ject to trials and temptations, to influences good and evil.
At the origin of our race, the good and the true, the evil and the false
existed. But these could not exist without subjects or recipients.
The only active living force in the universe is mind. Matter in itself
is dead; and if it moves, it moves only as it is acted on by mind. The
influences acting on the human mind at the beginning of the creation,
equally as well as at the present day, were rational moral agents, good
and evil-in other words, good and evil spirits. Now the human mind
never employs force to producc conviction, when it ~ishes to convince,
because the mind is free, and not subject to any kind of force. The
mode in which one mind approaches another, when it wishes to bring
it over to its side, is by means of arguments, reasons, persuasions, con-
siderations, adapted to man's rational nature, and calculated to move
it. Man, in all ages, and throughout the whole of his history on earth,
is placed in the midst between good and evil spirits, who approach
him in this way-good spirits with persuasions to good-evil spirits
with temptations to evil. They are each equally anxious, and each
equally able, with man's consent-the good spirits to conduct man
up to heaven-the bad spirits to conduct him down to hell. No force
being exerted, man is left at perfect liberty to select his own career.
These influences, on both sides, are always exerted, and equally ex-
erted, by good nnd evil spirits, till man passes completely beyond the
sphere of the influence of good spirits, and comes completely within
the sphere of the influence of evil spirits, or passes beyond the
sphere of the influence of evil spirits, and comes completely
within the sphere of the influence of good spirits. Man, under these
influences, is not a silent looker on, hut a perpetual actor, free in all
his movements, and so acting, as, in the end, either to save or de-
stroy his own soul. This power of' choosing between opposites, and
power of acting according to his choice, constitutes, as I conceive,
the liberty of man. He is said to be influenced by motives; but
there is no motive without a mover, and the good or evil beings act-
ing on the mind, and influencing, though not compelling, his choice
never proceed beyond the limits of rational persuasion.
Passing now to the history of the human race, it is easy to see how
beings so constituted, may, by the abuse of their liberty, which, pro-
perly employed, would lead them to heaven, so come under the in-
fluence of' evil spiritll, that the choice which they once had between
good and evil, truth and error, will become simply a choice of evil
and error, and that the liberty they exercise will be wholly infernal
liberty. We may suppose that all, or nearly all, mankind, what with
the hereditary evils and falses derived from their ancestors and their
voluntary adoption of those evils and falses, may have become so de-
generate and depraved, so wholly selfish, as to cease almost to possess
even the qualities of men, and to have acquired almost the qualities
of infernal spirits. If we suppose that mankind has reached this
melancholy point in its descending progress, we shall have before us
no imaginary passage in the past history of our race; but we shall
&rmorIon Lw ii. 11. [Fob.
have before us the very condition in which the human race was
when the Lord of glory came into the world, in order to redeem and
save it.
In this state of the world, liberty, though nominally preaerved, is
really 108~ or BO little of it remains, and that confined to a few indi-
viduals, that the equilibrium that results from the mutually counter-
acting influence of good and evil spirits, on the plane of humanity, is
disturbed, if not wholly destroyed. The ~e influences, on each
side, potentially exis~ bu~ in effec~ evil spirits have obtained the en-
tire ascendancy, and exert a controlling influeuce over the actioDS
and the fortunes of mankind; men having fallen, step by step, and
gradually, though voluntarily, having submitted to this control, liber-
ty is virtually los~ and no hope remains for man, BO long as he looks
to himself, of ever being able to retrace his steps. He canno~ even
if he would, extricate himself from the difficulties by which he is
surrounded. The misfortune is, that he generally has no disposition
to do BO; but he hugs his chains, and the evils that degrade him, with
an insane delight. Miserable, undone condition of our race I Now
the state of mankind, as I understand the matter, was precisely this
and no other, when the first advent of the Lord took place. When
there was no eye to pity, and no created arm that had power to save,
the Lord had an eye to pity, and the Lord had an arm that brought
salvation; and this arm was the humanity which he assumed in the
world, and this humanity was effigied by a body of flesh and blood,
possessed ofa tangible form and properties, and exhibiting in its birth,
growth, progress, to maturity and death, the various phenomen~ pro-
erties and accideuts that belong to the body of any other man. Now
f say and. maiutain, that this humanity was tuaumed; i. e. it was not
a humanity that belonged to God as God; for although God be an
infinite man, he canno~ by reason of his infinity possess the character
and properties of any of his creatures; for to suppose that he could
or can do BO, would be to limit his infinity, and, consequently, to de-
stroy it. But when it is said that he appeared on earth, in fashion
as a man, the sacred writer evidently implies, that God was not ac-
tually what he appeared to be, a mere man like one of us, possessed
of human passions and propensities, and liable to human infirmities
aud errors, but a being really and infinitely exalted far above any
creature; that his appearauce in this fashion was a mere appearance
-that this creaturely humanity was merely assumed, and asaumed
for a speoial purpose. What this p~se was you well understand,
as involving the very purpose for whiCh the Lord came in the flesh
at all, which was to redeem man from the PQwer of the devil. Evil
spirits cannot approach and tempt the Lord, but they can approach
and tempt man; and it was only by assuming humanity, in its lowest
form, that the Lord could meet and vanquish those infernal spirits,
who had obtained such an ascendancy, as to threaten, and nearly
achieve, the destruction of the whole human family. Mankind were
then wholly external men, in a wholly external state, and the Lord
accordingly tu8UlMd this state, or, what in fac~ I conceive, amounts
to the same thing, tDtU "en by lien m IhoJ. 6tate, beoaUle the Lord
18~.] ne Lord" NatitJitg.
always appears to men in the state in which they are, and accord-
ing to the conditions of that state, and not out of the state in which
they are. As natural-sensual men, they each, according to his cha-
.meter and state, regarded the Lord as a mere man, and even as a
traitor and a malefactor, and treated him as such, and such as they
regarded him, such he permitted them to regard him, in order that he
might accomplish the great objects of his coming.
These objects were threefold :-first, to represent in his own person
how men, when they have reached the lowest state of depravity of
which they are capable in this life, treat the Lord, i. e. Divine Truth,
viz., that they tempt, persecute, revile, and finally crucify it. In this
way, the Lord represented the state of the Church at the time of his
first advent. He was emphatically our representative. In this way,
and in this way only, he bore onr transgressions, and the chastisement
of our peace was upon him. But, secondly, the object of our Lord in
coming into the world, was not merely to represent the state in which
mankind then were; but to do something in, and for, the state which he
80 represented, which would change, reform, and elevate it from a natu-
ral to a spiritual state, and this was done by submitting his natural
and assumed humanity to the temptations of evil spirits of all sorts,
and by so conquering in those temptations, as to drive away the
tempters, who infested the sphere of universal humanity, and thus re-
store the heavens to order and man to his liberty, and so render his
salvation PD!8ible.
3. A third object of his coming was, in his own person, to do that
for his own glorification, which every man has to do for his own re-
generation and nltimate salvation, i. e. he came to set man an exam- •
pIe how, when he is tempted, he should, by divine aid, eooeavor to
conquer in the temptation, and to cast out from his soul and drive
away the evils that infest it. We are thus to follow him in the rege-
neration, and he is our great exemplar in this, above all other par-
ticulars. .
I have thus hastily glanced at the objects of our Lord's first advent,
which happened eighteen hundred and fifty years ago. But to every
man who is in an external state, the Lord must first come in that
state, or he cannot be saved ;-in other words, as every man, before
his regeneration, is in an external state, i. e. is a natural or external
~
man, there must be a first advent of the Lord to every such man in
such a state, before the second advent can possibly take place for
him. There is always a coming of the Lord to man, or an endeavor
to come to him, but the laws of divine order are observed, and ac-
I cording to these laws, the second and third degrees of the human
mind cannot be opened to the reception of the Lord, till the first de-
gree is opened. Hence when the Lord first appears to man in the
process of his regeneration, he comes to him in his external state, and
if the man conquers and casts out the evilH of that state, it is the Lord
who comes to him, and remains with him, and fights for him, who
conquers and casts them out, and thus prepares the way to raise him
from a natural to a spiritual state. Without this first advent of the
Lord, therefore, DO man conld be, or can be saved ; for, as I remark.
68 Sermon on LuAe il. 11. [Feb.
ed, there must be 8. first, before there is a second advent. In this
state men have no elevated conceptions of God. They surround him
with their own infirmities, and their own vices. To them, he is 8.D
unjust, partial, and cruel being, and his government partakes of the
character of such a being and is a t)'rannical and arbitrary govern-
ment. Such are the views which external men entertain of God, and
there are thousands, and tens of thousands of professing Christians
at the present day, who cherish no higher conceptions of him,-to
whom the Lord is of the earth, earthy, a mere man, or, if not a mere
man, a God who has the properties of a man, and of a bad man.
It is thus that the Lord, on his first advent, comes to us as a man,
and so he is represented to us in the literal sense of the Word, which
corresponds, in every respect to his first advent, and to the assumed
humanity of the Lord, for the humanity of the Lord is a mere veil
thrown over his divinity, in order to conceal it, and prevent men from
profaning it; as the letter of the Word is a veil or cloud, thrown over
the spirit or internal sense of the Word, in order to conceal it for a
, while, till men are prepared to comprehend it. Indeed the Lord and
the 'Yord of the Lord are identical. Now the veil which is thrown
over the Lord is not the Lord himself, any more than the letter, which
is the veil or cloud thrown over the spiritual sense of the Word, is
that spiritual sense. Indeed the veil in both instances, is something
assumed, for the express purpose that holy things may not be pro-
faned.
That the Lord was a mere man, because he appeared upon the
earth in fashion as a man, is a literal truth, i. e. an apparent truth;
put the spiritual, or real truth, which this literal truth conceals, is a
'truth far a1;love the literal truth, and the real or spiritual truth is this,
that although the Lord appeared in fashion as a man, yet that he
never was, and never could be a man, such as we are, but that he
always was, and always will be God, and always the same unchange-
able God. It is impossible that, he should ever be a niere man, be-
cause the infinite can never be converted into the finite, any more
than the finite can be converted into the infinite. We must, if we
would attain to any thing spiritual, disabuse ourselves wholly of the
idea, that because God, in order to save men, assumed the form of a
man, that he therefore ever really was a man, or that the two natures,
the divine and the human, were really, though m)'steriously merged
in each other. Such ideas are highly derogatory to the great Creator,
and although the literal sense of the Word may seem to give counte-
nance to them, yet it is only a seeming countenance, and is manifest-
ly such, as soon as the spiritual sense is disclosed to us.
The first advent of the Lord, then, is in the humanity, which was
a.,sumed for a special purpose, and which did not, and never could,
actually belong to him; and his second advent is in· his divinity,
which alone belongs to the KinK of kings and the Lord of lords. The
first man was of the earth, earthy. The second man is the Lord
from heaven. The first advent of the Lord is, in like manner, in the
natural sense of the 'Yord, the second advent is in the spiritual sense
of it. If we regard the Lord as a man, we treat him with contempt
1810.] ne Lorvl, Nativity.
DUd orucify him; but wheu we look upou him as rising from the
•
death of diis infirm humanity, it is then, and not till then, that the
Lord is bom to us really in the city of David, a Saviour. It is then
and not till then, that he ascends, as really and tmly God, without the
slightest shadow of this infirm humanity clinging to him, into the
heaven of our own souls, where he is no longer looked upon &11 a man,
but as our God, our Saviour, and our Redeemer. The human idea
which we once entertained of Christ, we leave behind us as a camal
idea, while the conception of him, as God, alone fllls our BOuls.
Let us rejoice, brethren, that we behold this day ;-a day of the se-
ClOud coming !-a day when the clouds that encompassed the Word ill
its literal sense, are being dissipated by the revelation of the higher
and the spiritual sense. Let us rejoice, that as this sense is morc and
more unfolded to us, according to our Irtates, the more we are dispos-
ed to love the Word as a hidden treasure now revealed. Let us re-
joice that the veil is rent, and that although the letter is in a .certain
lense dead, yet that the spirit still lives, and still gives life to the soul;
-that by the revelation of this internal sense oC the Word,-thi.
streaming down from heaven of a purer, holier, diviner light-those
who sit in the val1f!y of the shadow of death, have had their eyea
cheered and enlightened to behold those things that the prophets fore-
told should come in the latter days, while their hearts gather new
wanntb, and their cheeks glow as they gaze. Let us rflioice, on the
occasion of this second advent, that the Lord, who first cam6 nafurlll-
Iy in the flesh, as a man, now comes to us spiritually, in the spirit,".
a God; that we, who once pierced him, now see him 8S he is~ in
the glory of his union with the Father, and that all doubt and all dif-
ficulty in respect to his real nature and his true character; have J0D«
since vanished from our minds. Let us rejoice, that on this day of the
birth of our God-when the day-spring from on high hath visited us-
so many of our fellow-christians in Europe and in this country, and
throughout the earth, and throughout the heavens, are ready to re-
joice with us, because the Lord, the Saviour, is this day born for US
in the city of David. It is thus that our joy increases with the in-
crease of our numbers. Let us be glad that the beggarly elem6nts oC
a mere literal christianity are every where being supplanted, and re-
placed by the more substantial wm of a spiritual religion; and that
the signs of heavenly things, as we penetrate inward, are giving
place to the things signified by them. Let us rejoice, that on the
occasion of this second advent, we are taught how to interpret na-
ture, and to find in it every wh81'8 a spiritual sense; how God exista
in every thing, aDd how every thing represents God. affording us thu
means of studying his glorious perfeetioDS more advantageously than
ever before. Let us rejoice, that at this second coming, we now Jearn
that God, aDd God alone, is the author of all good and the fountain oC
all tmth, aocl· that man, who is created in his image and likeness, is so
constituted as to be a recipient of the Lord'lIliff'., i. eo of the divine
goodness aad the divine truth, and of receiving more and more of both
to all eternity. Let us ft'joice, that as at his fint coming, the Lord ~
atored our race to the enjoyment of their liberty, at his second comins.
YOI. Ill. 8
'70 7'M Milling Number, of Swedenborg'. Spiritual Diary. [Feb.
we have nothing to do but, in the exercise of this liberty, to choose
the good and refuse the evil, so long as we live on the earth. Let us
rejoice, that at this second coming, we no longer see the kingdom of
God afar off, but behold it within uS,-neither encumbered with time
nor space, but something wholly spiritual within us ;·-that we no
longpr look for heaven nor fear hell at a distance; but if they exist
any where to us, that we see the one and fear the other as existing in our
own breasts, and no where else; let us rejoice that angels are with us,
al ways endeavoring to inspire us with heavenly thoughts and purposes;
while, in the name of the Lord, we are enabled to drive away, at a
word, all the forces of hell combined to destroy us; let us rejoice, that
the substance of religion, at this second coming, is, that we are to
Bbun evils as sin!!, because they Rre of tbe Devil, and from the Devil;
and that we are to do good actions, hecause they are of God and from
God; that our future condition, in another world, will depend on the
ruling love or affection that has governed us in this life i-that if we
have loved the Lord and loved tht> neighbor above all things, we shall,
in that very love, have secured for ourselves a heaven that shall
never be taken away from us; on the contral1', if we have loved the
world and loved ourselves above RlI things, that we shl\1I, by that
very love, cast ourselves voluntarily into hell,-that hell which must
be our everlasting portion; finally, let us rpjoice, that when we ap-
proach the Lord, we do not appruach an unmanifested God, bat ap-
proach him in his divinest humanity; that he stands at the door and
'knocks, and if we open to him, that he will come in and sup with
us, and we with him.
It is on these accounts above all others, that the members of the
'New Jerusalem Church rejoice. They rpjoice more, if it be possible,
at the second advent of the Lord than at his first advent; and they
may evermore rejoice, that} on tbis day, is born to them, in the city of
David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord; and rejoicing so, they may
well join in the anthem of r.he shepherds, who praised God, saying:
.. Glory to God in the highest ;~n earth peace· and good will to-
wards men !"
.&.B.TICLE ID.
CORRESPONDENCE.
-
Froaa OIJr EJIIlIaIa Coneepoadento the former EdllOl' of the LondoD NeW' CbuIVh Quar-
...ism...
KT DBAB"SIB,
Having just rung the 11 pll88ing bell" for the Revi,w. and duly shelved its la-
mented remainll, I basten to clear up my conntenance, and put myself in the
t.rain of its succeSBOr. Though I may regret that the career of the one is closed,
it would be truly mal-graeinlZ to expresa such regrets in the ear of the other.
Better to trust that every valnable quality possessed by the New Church
Quanerly Review (if it p0811essed any) will survive with additional grace in the
"Anglo-American New Church Repository."
I ~ad proposed to myself the pleasure of sending you a general review of
awlirioUl parties and their movements in Loodon, bllt ume will not allow. I
1800.] '11
lIlay remark, bowever, that the questions of greatetlt interest at the present mo-
ment are those of Baptismal Regeneration, and the great movement for refonn
in the Weeleyan body. As to the former, you are aware tbat it raises the
question whether baptismal regeneration is or is not a doctrine of the Anglican
church; and, consequently, whether unbaptiztld infants as well as adults are
under the condemnation of wrath, and their eternal welfare subjtlct to the very
doubtful continl{ency of the unC011tnanttd mercy of God! The argument ofsuch
a question as this by our lawyers before the conrt of privy Council is certain-
ly a curious spectacle, and affords a fine illustration of the evils attending a
Chllfch settled bf act of Parliament. Tbe decision is not yet given, aud such
is tbe mixture 0 mere worldliness witb a question of the utmost moment in
regard to our spiritual welfare, both individually and as a community, that I
have heard of bd.r being {reely offered on the issue. At the same time it baa
come to my knowledge that about seventy clergymen will secede from the
church i{ tbe bishop obtains a verdict-affording evidence that a deeper in-
terest is felt in the question than migbt be inferred from the previous fact.
It may appear strange to those who are not acquainted with the facts tbat
Inch a question should afford matter enough for a dispute at law, and espe-
cially for one so {lrotracted as the case of Mr. Gorbam. It arises, however,
from the manner III which the English reformation was effected. On the con-
tinent, I believe, new articles of faith were generally proposed at the outset, .
and definitely agreed upon by the champions of reform as their covenant and
bond of union. In England, on the contrary, wbere the personal ambition and
Just of tbe King gave the movement its impetus, no conlenlfU of this kind ap-
pears to have been adoj5ted. The earliestreligious injunctions were issued by
the king, in virtue of nis supremacy, without tw1l ccmndtiflg t/u rJ".gy, and
though they were soon followed by the articles of 1536, yet as thty were cor·
rected by the king's hand, it is not to be sUfPosed that they were such as the
clergy could heartily subscribe. In proof 0 this the bishops assembled in con-
vocation the followmg year, and agreed to a publication explanatory of the are
ticles in opposition to the pretensions of the king. This pnblication has been
called the Bi,1&op'I book. The controversy became so serious that the king did
Dot rest until he had plocured the consent of Parliament to the appointment of
a Committee intended to set it aside. The result of this was the publication of
the King'. book in 1540, though Cranmer was almost the only ecclesiastic who
adhered to Henry's policy. A new Liturgy, or rather an old oue, with altera-
tions made by royal autliOl'ity, was issued under very similar circumstances.
In the reign of Edward the VIth various homilies and devotional services con-
tinued to be put forward, and, finally, a complete book of common prayer,-
but very cautiously and with every desire to compromise the various oplllione
extant on the subjects involved in them.
Now, it was not until all this had been accomplished, and the reign of Mary
with its revival of Catholicism had intervened, tbat the 39 articles were final-
ly settled, in the reign of Elizabeth, A. D. 1562. It may easily be conceived,
then, what vital differences may exist betweeu the religious offices contained
in the book of common prayer, and the sentiments expressed by the anicles.
In the reign of Edward the VIth, the reformation cbiefly advanced under tbe
direction of Cranmer and Ridley, with nearly the whole body of the clergy and
laity opposed to its principles, and the two leaders themselves disagreed OD
lome important points. Hence the caution which continued to be necessary
and the reason of introducing new liturgical forms rather than enforcing a new
canon of faith. The Catholic party subseqnently acqniring a new impetus by
the accession of Mary were still more difficult to conciliate wben Elizabeth
came to the throne j and. the union of Erastian principles with Calvinism in
the person of Archbishop Parker, for instance (who had a chief hand in pre·
paring the 39 articles), and other leading men, must have thoroughly di8gust-
ed the real reformers. These influences had more effect 011 theaTtirJel tban the
ItTvicu. becaut'e the latter had heen sometime publi~hed, and the former bad
now to be promulgated for the first time. Unfortunately, there is DO alternative
in ollr day, but to interpret tbe one document by the other, and no authority so
~. I.]
r::retent to decide which is the orthodox and interpreting canon u the cid
The popular re-action against this system and the dellOlation I'8Ilnlting from
it gave rise to Methodism, about the 8lU1le time that Swedenborg announced •
future and eternal church. This great movement has been properly denomi-
Dated the .. Second Reformation jn it brought religion home to the heart, and
blade it the practical business of everyday life; but it did not, because it could
DOt, substitute a code of spiritual doctrines for tbe articles of the law church.
As a necellLlllry conseC,luence, the sacred fire lighted up by the Wesleys no
lOOner began to languISh than the want of Ilustaining principles began to be felt
1ft tAt IGH witJ& which their .!JIltm tJUOfIIOd4I«l ituV '0 tAt GtUIIicm 01 VorldIg-mml-
ftlmm, and the Rradual rise of a power as absolute as that of the Papacy. ...
Cbe chairman ofa great meeting recently held on the subject intelligently pointed
out, the Wesleyan body has been betrayed by a blind veneration and dan/feroua
confidence in their ministry. "Little by little," said he, in alJusion to the Catho-
lic church, .. they conceded to the clergy their rights and libertiell until tbey had
given up eve~ vestige of their j)ower and freedom, and step by step the clergy
became ambitiOUS and immoral. the discipline of the church was reloed, and
in a little while it became utterly prostrate and destroyed. Then began the
reign of one of the most terrible despotislDll that ever curseJ the world. The
clergy assumed the entire jurisdiction of the people, and opened and elOlled
&he church doors at their pleasure, and inflicted penance and abllOlution in ac-
cordanee with their own arbitrary laws, until at length the people were power-
188a-they were slaves. This state of thinga,n he continued, "was brought
about by a principle precisely similar to the one now urged upon ua-namely,
that the Methodist mmisters, as a body, art '00 loly tWf' to h t:OrTU-l/t. n The fact
being, however, as be justly complained, that the conference did everything
that was calculated to excite their dissatisfaction and disgust rather than their
veneration. "They sit with doors bolted and barred against the people. They
impose secrecy upon each other, and only permit such portions of their delib-
erations to be given to the public as maT meet their notions of expediency.
They command perfect obedience to their laws, and pronounee it treason to
question their authority or their wisdom." Well might be exclaim, in another
part of his speech, "lA a church ~ tAil point, tIaat to rnaU law aM to In-
fDf'U I1um iI ~ pm-oga'iw qf tItI mini"ry, aM u.. _niltry alcmt, MUl yoII lit OJICI
~ tAt door to tJpoIt4~ aM CotTtlptitm."
These two cases-the dilemma of the Church of England, and that of Me-
thodism-are only exunples in illustration of the /feneral state of religion
throughout the country-on the one hand a mere system or church poltcT held
together by external obligations, and on the other, the vital spirit of Christian-
ity sradually pervading the people, informinl and unsettlin'f tbeirmindl at the
aame time, and exposing the lources of all the vice and mtarule which diet
society. The case of the Wesleyans is peculiarly instructive to the New
Church. There is no denying much of what the former claim in regard to tbe
mission with which their church h.. been entrusted-that her messengem of
mercy have visited every clime, and wherever they have gone bave scattered
around them the blessinga of Civil relations and the GOlpel of peace. At the
same time, and it is a melancholy reflection, her own children at home have
been brougbt up in spiritnal darkness, have been the subjects of a IpiritUal
.lavery, and the victims of a petty ecclesiastical tyraunl, which their very zeal
has encouraged and built up. Rome itself does not doni a more striking in-
lItaDce of ecclesiastical pride and the love of dominion over the souls of men;
for while the temporal sovereignty bestowed upon tbe POJJes by Constantine,
and their connexion with the Emperors of the West, afforded scope for the am-
bition inherent in tbe human heart, and invited them to accept the duzling
Ilory within their reach, the little popell of the Tabernacle have crawled to
&heir throDeIl thro~b the mOllt tortuous paths and betrayed their flocks to the
ambitioD of pre8idml1 at a tea-party in IIOme oblcure Bethel, or making the
100lellt and the drearlellt prayer at a love feast. That from beginninga of this
humble nature a brother Smith, or a wily Theophilus, should proceed iD hia
18&0.]
oar"", uod1 he find8 himself within the wall8 of .. Conference" and is able to
1»Br the door against his 1888 81Icoeuful brethren, i8 by DO meaDB marvellous,
con8idering wbat we know of human nature j but that tbe pretended" Cburcll
01 Christ" sbould meekly submit to an authority 80 constituted, and submit sO
Joag that Cl "atitInal 4gittJtion is necessary to free them from the yoke, it! ilOMe--
Sbing wonderful, aDd would be wholly inexrlicable if we did not know that tb.
I8Yinl of religion brthe Wesleys, powerfu .. it was, and invaluable-nay, in-
calcutabJe-ad are Its fruits, conai8ted· in the awakening of tbe heart and con-
.eieoce, without tbe illumination of the understanding. Having "left their
first lo.e," and the hand and voice of their founder being no longer rai8ed for
Ibelr iD8Cl'Oetion tbey had no altematiTe for a sea80n but to submit. It is re-
markable that Mr. WeBley himself once observed .. that if ever Methodism be-
..me corm~ itl corruption tI10UId ~tnu ill fA. Ccmf~."
I mlpt relet CO otlaer events of the day in illustration of the fact that th.
leading cbaracteristic of the times is the conflict of internal and vital principlel
widl the forms of die put, and tbe sbackle8 imposed upon society by ignor-
aDce and ambition. The same influences are alike at iuue in religion and
polltica, for, u Swedenborg h.. SbOWD, a New Church i8 always coincident
With tbe development of a new polity in State8. The expen8ive and Ob8UU6-
awe ngitrw of aristocratical governments is objected to tbrouKbout Europe, not
becaule tbe people are opposed to order, but because they baTe a sense of a
more simple and practical order of government than their rnlfte j and the
membel'fl of Christian cburches are equally opposed to the whole system of
• mammon-made cbwch, because tbey are satisfied that vital ohristiaoity hal
always suffered in proportion u outward forme have abounded, and the arti-
fieial been confounded with the real. Let U8 rejoice that the members of th.
Ifew Chnroh are destined to lifNI in dnr J#fWlJ1m /U Cl citJ rather than a temple,
and that the tlee of life is to ,row in cA, miclIt of itlltfwU. It would be wen to
eontrul dUI prophecy with the existing 8tate of the Church, and consider
which of the two is most con8istent with the public conscience, and the sover-
eignty claimed by the people. If the" kingdom" for which we daiJypray is
properly represented in the hei,ht of its glory by a magnificent city, and by the
1IMl0na walking· io its light, it 18 in vain to set up B prieatbood and upbold a
ay_m which ia not the spontaneous emanation of that which it claima to re-
p""ot.
I bad intended to make some remarks OD the preeent state of Italy, but u
it is neal post dme am compelled 10 clo.. abruptly.
Remaining, my Dear Sir)
Yoara, faitbtnlly,
Eo lb••
_rd
Tbe follow/Ill i. from a .-Iou. propaplor of the N. C. doctrlAea in the interior
. . &ale. from whom OIU ........ have before:
at
The following I. trom a '_111 reoelft' ill Ibe Se-Ill ofMahae. from wbom we ha" DOS
pl'llTiOUBly heard.
- - F•. 5, 1850.
Pllorl:8soa BUIR.
DEAB SI&,-If I could expreu to yOl1, orally, tbe happineaa I have derived
in receiving the truths of the new dispensation, through yOll as the medium, I
should be pleaaed to do 80 ; but I will no' trespass upon yonr time more tbaa
to say, that one or two of the first Nos. of the Swed. Library J'rovidentially
fell into my hand8, anell bad the curiotlity to lee what could luduce you to
11aO.]
embrace such visionary and noneen8ical ideas aliI bad always thought Sw.
denborg's WOrkll to contain. I tbought your prefatory remark! were can-
did. and I was induced to read 80me eXl.ractll from S. The truth seemed to
flash upon my mind, and I was determined CO examine his works. Tbe
moment I received the idea that 1 was an inhabitant of tbe spiritnal world.
(as to my mind), and 1 began to draw the distinction between matter and
.pirit, the clouds began to break away. and I could understand. by degrees,
tbe rationality of S.'s writings. I had been looking too high and loofar for tbe
8piritual world. Suffice it to S8Y, that ( have been a constant reader of N. C.
'Work!! ever 8ince, and there is no part of 8.'8 writingll that I canoot fullyas-
'lent to, if not receive.
MIS CELLANY.
JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS
Of the Ohio A,.ociation of the NelD Church, held at Cinrinnati, froa
. Friday the 18th to Sunday the 20th of May, 1849.
NEW JEaVI.lLUI TJ:lfPLI:,CIJIICIJIJI'ATI,
May 181h, 1849, 8 o'dd, A.. M.
1. The Association met agreeable to lldjournment, and was opened bJ
• leading of the Word and prayer by Rev. B. F. Barrett.
2. John Murd ock, the presIdent of the Association, being a};»sent, Rev. B. F.
Barrett, the oldest minister present, took the chair.
3. The reports of the Standing Committees were called for, and were 8Ub-
mitted, as follows:
1. Report of the Aoting Committee. [Report No. 1].
2. 1'reasuret's Report. [ReJlorl No. lI].
3. Report of the New' Church Education Fund Trustees.
4. The election of officers, being next in order, was postponpd until to-mor-
rowmoming. .
6. Communications were called for and }Jresented, and referred to a selec&
committee, cousisting ofN. C. BurnhaDl and B. F. Barrett.
6. M. G. Williams presented a report iu regard to a dODation of land, pro-
posed by Mr. David Espy, for eduoational purposes, with a request that the
same be referred to a select committee. The report was accepted, and re.
ferred to a oommittee, con8isting of M. G. Williams, B. F. Barrett, and J.
Boot.
'7. The Report of the Special CommiUee on Education Fund was prelented,
read, and, WIth the resolution appended thereto, was adopted. Beanog on the
lame subject, M. G. WilIiams presented the following, which was adopted:
Tbe Education Fund be authorised to obtain legal advice, in rB,lJard to the
appropriation of the Fund noder their control to other purp08es than that in-
tended by the original donors; and that if the Committee are satisfied, that
neither themselves, as individuals, nor the .As8ociation collectively, will be
made responsible for the approl,lriation. they be authorized to forward the
amount now on hand as a douattoll to Dr. E. Tafel, to aid him in the publica-
liou of the Latin works of E. Swedeuborg, in agreement with the 8ugge8tiou
made by the Rev. R. De CharlD8 in his letter to the President of the Associa-
tion.
8. B. F. Barrett read a circular from Professor Geo. Bush, in regard to the
New CburCR Repository, and offered the following, which was adopted:
Buolwd, That a Committee be appointed to e.umiDe the numbers for the
cmmnt year of the New Churoh llepOllitory, edited by J'n)fe8Bor Oeo. B'DIIl;
and also the Medium, edited by aa Auociation of the New Chu",h bNthNll
In Michigan j and if they think. these periodicak worcby the patrollage of the
Chnrch, to suggelt IOme mode of extending dleir cireulatioa. .
B. F. Barren, Dr. JOI. Bowells, K. G. WilUama, aDd J. P. Stuuc. ..... ap-
pointed eaid committee.
9. The Auociation adjovnecl till 4 o'clock this afteraooL
J'ridq, " o'c:loI!, P. 11.
10. The A8IOciatioa met. Mr. Barrett read tbe mnodelled Coll81itatioa, _
amended Rulel of Order of the General Convention, 88 propOl8d to be p. .
eented to that body at its next meeting, and forwarded to thil body tbroup
Kr.Glueoe.
11. The following W1Ull1lbaaitced by J. P. Stuut, and adopted:
Ruolwd, That the communication of Mr. Glascoe, containing the modified
Constitution of the General Convention, be referred to a I8lect committ~, to
report to-morrow, and that the Inbject be made the order of the day for to-
morrow, at two o'clock, P. It..
M. G. WillialD8, B. F. Barrett, J. P. Stuart, and Dr. Jos. HoweUI were ap-
pointed said committee.
12. The Committee on Mr. Elpy'l donation presented their report, which
wu agreed to, and the Committee continued.
18. The question in regard to Mr. E. Yule~'1 ordination, laid over from the
lut meetinl{ of the Association, wae e&11ed up, and referred to the Ecc:1eeiu-
tical Couned.
14. The foUowing W1Ul Inbmitted by M. G. WiUiame, and greed to:
Raolwd, That. the 13th of the standing rule. be referred to the Eccleliaetical
Council, with instruction to prepare Inch an amendment u will leeure the
delivery of an annual addrell before the AIIociation, in addition to other re.
li&ion. eurciseI.
ltl. The Association adjoumed till to.morrow at 9 o'clock, A. M.
&fwrclaJ, May 19tA, 1849, 9 o'cloci, .d.II.
16. The AI8ociation met, and W1Ul opened with prayer by B. F. BarreU.
17. The election of officerI for the eosui.Dg year wu gone into. wherellpoa
the following were dw-y eleee.d :
B. F. BAU&T'I', PYwitlcnl.
J. P. STv.uT, R«Of'ding &errtlJry. .
Jou MVUClClK, C~ *"""?I.
S. HOLJIICI,
M. G. WILU.&IIIt
E. Hnllwr,
I. If. GLAIClOJ:.
l
Tr,..,..,..
..ftlditioMl Jfaa6m qf tU ~g 0 -• .
B.P.B...
8. HOUGB,
~. }
I. P. &rv.aT, E_ _ilGl Cotmcil.
M. G. WILLWIIt
O. Lonu.,
i. SIDTB.
18. The following Standing Committeee were appointed by the PreBicJeDt.
aBooi alld 7\-GCI c.......
O. Lonu., S. Rouu:1, J. MVJUlOCIt, J. H. WILLI•••, and D4VlD Gwnr...
CommitttM Oft JliIIioru.
J. P. &rU.uT, SAIII_ HOVGB, J.lIIU FvLTO_, JOlW'B JOlfU, and J. H. Mu.LICL
Co_m. OR JIwie.
. I.P.8w.... 8.B........ M.G.W~.
.... ]
1'. ft. "'i8Bttaal Caancil pnI8eDtecl abm report in regard to the .....
.t
aaaion of Mr. Y1I6ee, whicll NpOrt \VU adopted. [B8port No. -ll .
• . fie IIoBr lIrriving far divine WOI8hip, the eervioe wu OOIldllcted, ud •
d_oane delivered by J. P. SCuan, from Gen. xlix. 10.
11. After service tile fo1lctwing OODII8IIIlieatiOIUl were preeented and read,
Yis:
Leuers from John Mnrdock, S. Hough, J. H. Wil1iama. John TlICker. Jamea
J'nltoD, J. H. Hibbard, J. H. Miller, James Nicholson.
Repons were read fmm the Societies at Cincinnati, DaytoD, Lebanon, Chil·
Iieothe, Lollisville, Se. Clairaville, and' 8pringfield.
11. The A.uociauoIi adjoame. IiIllil .'aIock, P. K.
tJat.nlar, 2 veld, P. 11.
a. ne AIlsociation met. M. G. WiUiBDMIaubmilted the following, wJalch
wu ado{!ted :
JleoITJ«l, That the Aeting Committee be authorized to publish the proceed.
1,
iDgB of the present 8ell8ion of the All8ociation in a pamphlet form; aud tbat
they append thereto the minutes of tbe meeting held at Dayton in 0cL lue,
Iogether with snch pans of the reports as may be thought of Beueral iateree&
to the Church.
24. The Committee to whom was referred yesterday the subject of die
• New Church Rep08itory" and the" Mfldium," submiu8d their report, wllicla
was lUIopted. [R-eport No. 3].
15. R. Sweeney 8ubmitted the roI1owin8', whiob wu apeed 10:
RaolfMd, That the subject of holding a semi-annual meeting of the AIIIIOeiae
tion during the comiug fall, be referred to the Acting Committee, with 1nl-
Qlority to decide ou the time and place, if they may think 8uch a meetin,
would be of IIlle, and to give full notiee thereof at le88t ooe month before the
time of meeting.
26. The Report of the Eecleai88tical Committee in regard to the 13th Stud.
ing Rule reported, 88 a 8ubstitute, an amendment of the fint rule, wbicb \VU
8gfeed to in the form as printed in the rule•.
rT. The Report of the Committee appointed yesterday on the prop~
amended Constitution of the General ConventioD, was presented, and alk.
dne con8ideration adopted, and the re80lution thereto appended Toted 10 ~
Mnt to the General Convention.
ss. The sub~ect of Mill8ion8 W88 made the order of the day for to-morrow
evening; and It was ordered that the Mill8ionBry narrative of J. 1'. Stuart be
&ben read j and tbat after that meeting the A8IOCiation Btand adjourned.
2O. The Acting Committee were authorized· to payout of any fuode n.
hand, to J. P. Btu are. a 8um which may make his receipts for mi88ionary la-
bor equal MOO for tbe yearl or exceed that amount if there are fuade eail-
cient.
30. The Acting Committee were instructed to prepare aDd preeeDt 10 tile
.&uociation at its next meetiug a plan for rai8inIJ the fund8 necell88ry 10 mee&
the current and iucidental expense8 or the ASSOCiation.
31. The A880ciation reaolyed to hold its next annual meeting on the 3cI
Priday in May, 1H60, at 10 o'clock, A. M'I at this place.
12. Adjourned till to-morrow.
INfldtq, May 20, 11 o'cled;, A. J£
11. DiTine worship wae coDdaeted by B. F. Bamu, aod a di8course give.
from - , af&er which the Holf Supper WII8 admin~1Id to about. 100 0QIQ0
muDiCBDla.
Bundlty IVming, 8 veld.
M. The .Auociation met to take into consideration the pmJ;Jagation of tile
BeaTeDl,. Docninn of the New Jeruaalem, by means of 1r1luioDl and the
publication of Tracts &Dd Books. Tbe Narrative of J. P. Stuan W88 read, a114l
.. F. 8MNU made. ftlIIUII'b OD the DU" aad importaDce of the work to b.
81 Milcelltmg. [Feb.
done. A highly commendable spirit Wall manifdtlted in the meeting, and . .
vera I new lIames were added to the list of regular contributore to the canH.
35. The AssociatioD now .caods adjourned, to meet at this place Oft the 3d
friday in May, 1850.
By order of the Auociatioo,
B. F. B~, Praidmt.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.
No. 1.-&port oft"" .A.cting Committ".
Since the Hmi·annoal meeting of the Association held iD DaytoD, last Octo-
ber, there has Leen but little bnsiness for the Acting Committee to attelld to.
Tbey prepared and forwarded for publication in the New Cbnroh Repository,
Ihe proceedings of tbe Day ton meeting, accompanied with a request that 300
extra copies might be printed for the nBe of tbis A8BOciation. Unfortunately
IhiB requeet was not complied wirh. The Proceediugs, being fonnd too
lengthy for pnblication in one No. of the Repository, were printed in two num-
bers; and as the portion pablished iu the first number was not sufficient for
'What the printers 0811 afOf'Wl, it could uot be priuted by itself; and the difficul-
ty of keepiug the type waiting until the otber portion conld be 6et up, waa
said to be so great, that our reqnest could not be complied with, without snb-
jecting our A8BOciation to ~reater expen6e than the Editor of the Repository
dtlBmed advisable. This IS the reason assi~ned for not printing any Eztru
of our Proceedin!fS as requested; aud this will account to our brethren for the
fact of their not having received the Proceedings of our semi·annual meeting.
For the Acting Committee did not feel themselves authorized to iucur the ex-
peose of printing the Proceedings aKain-at leallt not before the aunnal meet-
Ing. But as it seems desirable for reasons which will readily occur to
every Olle, that all the proceedings of onr Association, both at its annual and
semi-anul1Ill meeting, be preserved iu a permanent form, ami not only so, bilt
Ibat all our members should, if they desire it, be provided with a copy. the
A.cting Committee would slllJgest for the consideration of the A8B0ciation, the
question of the expediency of priuting the proceedings of our last meetiug at
Daytou aloug with the proceedings uf the present meeting.
Our plan of missionary operations which was preseuted in the Acting Com-
mittee's report at the Hmi-annual meeting, has not, as far as we have been able
10 learn, been so generally adopted by the Societies and receivers in connection
with us as we hope it will be. Only a small amouut of fuuds, for missionary
purposes, has been forwarded to the Treasurer of the Association j and the
A.ctHlg Commitree, not I.nowing wllat Rmount they might safely calcnlate
apou, have not, therefore, been able to promise ol1r missioual')' (Mr. Stuart)
aoy stated salary. Mr. Stnan has, nevertheless, been constantly employed iD
preaching and lecturing at different places; and we have e\-ery reason to be-
lieve that his labors have beeu eminently useful. But his own report to the
AssociatioD will furnish the best evidence of the importance of the ulle in
which he is engaged, and will show us how desirable it is that he should re-
ceive, not only our good wishes, our sympathy, nnd our prayers, but an ade-
quate Rnd steady pecuuiary support. The field of labor in which he is engag-
ed is a highly important one i and in oroer that he may work with the greatest
efficiency aud success, his mind should be kept as free as possible from the
perplexity arising from pecuniary embarrassment-free from all aoxiety abone
the world I)' needs of himself and family. .
The Actlllg Committee .::an think of no better plan of missionary operations
than the one suggested in their semi-annual report i and they feel great confi-
dence in its entire success, as soon as it shall be generally adopted. It must
be obvious to every one that the work of furnishing the Heavenly Doctrine&-
Whether it lJe through the medium of books, tracts, or public leccuree. or all
1850.]
dieM combined-cannot be accomplisbed without the neeeuary means. And
&he Acting Committee know of uo more lystemRtic plan for raising the requia
llite amount of meanB, Dor one JOore likely to succeed in accomplishing tbe ob-
ject aimed at, than the one suggested in their lasl report, to which they beg
leave to refer all tbOfle interested in tbe subject.
All of which is respectfully 8ubmitted.
B. F. BOUITT,
E. HIJI••UI,
J FM th,
.4.ctin~ Com.
O. Louu., mdtt,.
8. Hololl",
$123 86
CoIITU, Ca.
1848.
Dec. By amoaot paid Rev. J. P. Stuart, 2600
1849.
lau. 11.
Us.
. .. J. L. Wayne, tl1lct,
.. Rev. J. P. Stuan,
1623
15 00
11
"
6723
Balance DU hand Hay 18, 1840, • 66 62
$123 86
Cinci"fUJti, May 18, 1849.
E. Hnrx"., TrlGlUrtT.
I cannot serve as Treasurer the ensuing year..
E. HIJllllU.
No. 3.-~ of tlu Committ" on tAe Nt'UJ Church Rtpolitory and tlu Mtdium.
The Commiuee who were charged with tbe duty of examining the numbers,
for the current year, or the .. New Cburch Repository," edited by Prof. Geo. Bush
of New York, and also the" Medium," edited by au association of the New
Church brethren iu Michigan, Rnd of snggestiug some mode of extending tbeir
oirculatioll, if they coneidered these works worthy the patronage of the Church,
have aueuded to that dut" and beg leave to report. •
. That haYiDg examined die nambens of the NeW' Charch 8epo.itor)' for 1_
[NI.
they are satisfied that the work ie calclllated to be eminently useful, and thaI
it ie every way worthy the cordial support of tbe friends of the New ChwdL.
Your Committee have al80 examined the "Medium," a New Church pa~,
published semi-mouthly at MlU'IIbaIJ, Miohi~ and tAe)' think well of the
numbers of that work which have appeared smce it puled inlo the hands of
"a Committee." It occupies quite a different plane from the Repository, and
is le88 expensive, heing ouly SI a year. We nave no doubt but It will, as at
present conducted, prove a ueef.1 " medium" in extending the knowledge and
mftuence of the Heavenly Doctrines thronghont the Western country. We
would, therefore, bespeak (or thie little paper the favor and supp_ort of all who
love and desire to extend tbe knowledge and influence of the Heavenly D0c-
trines.
The Commiuee have no reaolutioaa to 06er for the adoption of this body,
baYing some donbts about the expediency or propriety of the Auociatioll
oommitting itself to any periodical for the present by a formal act which might
be coD8trned into an endonement of the work. Bllt as a means of aiding the
periodicals iu q neetion Bud increasing their circulation, the Commiuee ask thac
dUe Report may be pablisbed with the Journal.
,
All of which ie respectfully 8ubmitted.
B. F. Bo...",.
J. P. STun.
J_8 HOWZLLa.
REPORTS OF SOCIETIES.
&port of tlu Cinciflflati Society.
The first N. J. Society reports to the Ohio Association,lhat during the lut
year its PUlor has administered the rile of Baptism to 27 personl!-S adults
aDd 19 children; he has oiicialed at 17 funerals, and solemnized S marriages.
Ten pArsons have been admitted 10 membership during tbe year.
During the psst winter our Pastor delivered a course of public lectures in
tbe New Chnrch Temple-IS in all-upon the spiritual world and its laws as
disclosed in the theological writings of E. Swedeuborg. These lectures were
well attended, and were n means of awakening considerable interellt in the
Heavenly Doctrines. Some were thereby led to a knowledge of these-doc-
trines who had known nothing of them before, and others, who had previously
had some acquaintance with theID, were strengthened and confirmed in theIr
belief. "
Sodal weekly meetings were held at the Library Rooms during the autumn
and winter months. At tbese meetingslecturee were eometimes delivered, and
at other times the evenings were spent in reading and conversing upon the
doctrines of the C h u r c h . "
The Sabbath School connected with our Society hu continued in operation
duriug tbe year. Au increuing interest in the school bas been manifest both
amon/( leachers aud pupils. A year ago tbe average attendance did not ex-
ceed 70; but witbin I.he last few months it has been 110. There are now 24
teachers connected with the school, 10 males and 14 females. During the year
a Library has been collected for the use of the school numbering already about
240 volumes. This, together with the introduction of singing under the direc-
tion of a music teacher, has contributed to awaken among the children a new
. ud livelier interest in the school•
C. S. CBD't'D, &cr"ary.
DBAR BRETUJlU,
As Mr. Beman, the Secretary of our little .ociety, is unwell and requests me to
communicate to you some information in reference to our operations here, [
will respectfully state, that in tbe past year seven persons have beeu baptized
into the New Church, four ofwhom are children. There has been one marrialfs.
And two members of our society, sister Corley and sister Louila AdeleaterrlD,
have departed to the spiritUal world.
We have had preachmgoccasionallyby Rev. Mr. Wilts, of Jeffersonville, la.;
and in April last Rev. B. F. Barrett. of Cincinnati, paid us a visit, and delivered.
Dine lectures here and one in Middletown, which we bave realon to believe
had the effect to awaken considerable inquiry with persons before unacquaint-
ed with the doctrines. and greatly to strengthen those who were already par·
tially imbued with them.
Our Society numbers only about a dozen members, but there are a good
many receivers who do not belong to it-some belonging to other Churchee
Reckoning from wbat I k.now personally and the best information I can pt.
Cram others, I think the following will be about a correct stalement.
Receivers in Louisvilte and vicinity, . . . . .. 45
Persons reading with interest but not yet profes.ing to be receivers, 30
Others to whom books have been lent, U.
Makin~ about one hundred and ten persons who are more or less under the
influence of the New Cburcb doctrines.
We have circulated by sale and gratuitous distribution about one hundred
., and twenty books and six hundred tracts worth at retail pricllll, about $87 j and
by loan, counting eacb time that each book has been lent, we have circulated
about two hUDdred volumes.
Respectfully,
venly truths in a benighted world. To this end I hope tha miuionary work.
so vigoronsly commenced at your last meeting, may not only be sl1stBined,
but that yOll may find it pmcticable to extend it. The plan is the only effi-
cient one. Where the works of the Church are not read, there can be no
abiding impre88ion made by her I, goods and trnths." Whoever, tberefore,
proclaims these, should be prepared to leave the books to complete the work.
Thill is the great cause of the Church! The strength of its claims upon every
receiver ill eqnalled only by the depth of his convictions of the importance
of her trutM. The rellponsll to the appeal you have made, in behalf of the
missionary cause, will indicate, if not measure, the power oC these convic-
tions. Shall the appeal be made in vain! .
There are many receivers oC the heavenly doctrines of the New Jemsalem
who seem to think that they eau clo nothing, or bnt little, toward spreading a
knowledge of her" holy truths." They apprehend great danger of their being
profaned, if opened too freely to an unbelieving world. .
Opinions arising from l!uch worthy motives, are entitled to resper-tfnlco••
sideration, though fonnded in misapprehension of the sl1hject. It is true that we
can of 011rselve8 do nothiug towards 8preading the light of these truths; but
it is equally trne that we may aH become medinms in the hand of the Lord in
communicating it to others if we desire it. If we are not in tbis desire, it is
vain to think of enjoying the light themselves. The amount we communicate
or desire, from the love of the ueighbor, to communicate to others, is tbe mea·
sure of our OWIl receptioll.
As to the appreheusion of profanation, there is indeed great danger, bnt it
lies principally at the door of receivers, who may selfishly atrempt to appro-
priate the goods and truths of the Church to their especial use, rather than at
the door of those who do not understand, much less receive rhem. Too much
prudence, however, cannot be ulIed in the dissemination of these heavenly
mysteries, provided we do not pJar-e our wisdom, instead of the divine. which
alone can provide, that those only shall interiorly receive who cau be benefit-
ted by them. Our prudence can go po farther than to desist from pressing
them on the attention of those who do not desire to examine them, or who
delight to turn them into ignorant or vulgar ridicule. Such may, and can be
benerirted by us, only by the reltularity of our lives. We mUlt not profane tl".
heavenly truth,. On thIS subject our author says, "They are capable of pro-
faning. who acknowledge, but not those wllo do not acknowledge, mur-h less
who do not know," what truth is. . . . . "It is impossible to profane what
is holy, without a previous persuasion and acknowledgment that it is so, and
its subsequent dellllll. Such as do not acknowledge, notwithstanding they
are aeqnaillted with these things, are as though they knew them IIOt, or like
,erllons acquainted with matters of no conseqnence. . . . . It does no
mjury to have the interiors of the Word unfolded to them, for they are as per-
sons fleeing and yet not seeing." ThIS shows wMre the great danger oC pro-
fanation is to be apprehended and guarded against.
Among the si~ns (which are now daily developing) that the time is at
hand, when the New Jerusalem may emerge Crom the" wildernesfl," may be
noticed a very appropriate biographical sketch oC the life, character, and
writings of Swedeuborg; which, accomrallied with a wood-cut lilleness, ap-
peared as the leading article in the Apri No. of the Americau Phrenological
Journal for '49.. The body oC the article is taken Crom the London Penny Cy-
clopmdia. published by the" Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge."
The writer is Dot only well acquainted with, but evidently deeply interested
in, his subject. It is im:rossible to estimate the effect of this article. The
Journal has an extende circulation amonlt' the reading and thinkinR portioQ
of the counrry-those who constitute the lneT which moves public opinion.
The article conllists of eleven octavo pages, and would make an excellent
tract. The Editors of the Journal have been written to, to know on what
terlJl8 they .will supply an edition of it, stitched in the cover of the Journal.
There is 110 doubt they will do it very low; if so, a small investment could
DOt be better made.
80 [Feb.
There i8 one incident it may be interellting to the AlIIIOCiation to know.
60me year since a Mr. Lewill Barn.. of Licking Co., on a visit here, Wall pre-
vailed on to take. a No. of Swedenborg'1I works and read them. He has be-
eome much interested in them. Mr. B. ill B very respectable lecturer on men-
tal philosophy, and lIome kiedred subjects. He hall become anxioulI to do
more good than he can effect by merely lectnring. He has been furnished
here with a horse and buggy, and an assortment of New Church and otber
books. He stBned out to-day on the experiment. While the out-fit was beiug
prepared for him, he went out a few daYII with a trunk of books, and though
'&he places villited knew nothing of the New Church, he says he sold more of
tile New Church books than of all others. All that can be said of the experi-
ment i8 to desire it lIuccen, and bespeak the kind sympathies of receivers
generally, in behalf of Mr. Barns, ill whom they will find a worthy man.
Rev. Mr. Barrett is authorized to pay ant of funds in his haudll 520 to the
missionary fund for the year ending Oct. 1849; also $2 for the use of tbe Aa-
lIOoiaUoD.
J. H. WILLlAIII.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
Thr Wor,4ip and Lovr of God is a centering of all that he had previously
elicited from his studies, and an attempt moreover to carry them into another
field. As the title prepares the reader to expect, it is an end in his scieutific
march. He began from God as the fountain of the sciences; the wisdom of
• creation was the desire alld wisdom of his labors; and here he ended with his
beginning, carrying God's harvel't to God. Apparently he did not know that
his literary life was closed, but stood amid the sheaves. contemplating the til·
lage of future years in the old domain; alLhough trembling nevertheless in the
/ presence of an undisclosed event. But we must not anticipate.
In Thr Wor,4i1! and Lovr of God, Swedellborg gives an omate scientific Darra·
tive of the creatIon of our I'olar system, dropping the mathematical form of
nu Princil'ia, and telling the story of the world in a physical and pictorial
strain. The method rUns from the general to the universal, making ulle of
nature as a vast tradition that speaks to those who understand her, of the
whole past by the present. Thus as the sun is the material sustainer of the
system, so thiS sustenance demonstrates a parental relation, and hence tbe sun
was originally its material parent. Fnrther as all growth and springing take
place in spring times, so the vernalseasonll of all things point backwards to a
primordial universal spring, the ~ean of every rill of geniality, the germinal
warmth of tllll world. This parentage with its conditions is unfolded; the
conception and birth of the planets near the bosom of the sun, from his own
body andsnbstance; their incnbation in the great egg of the universe; their ex-
clnsion therefrom, nud their elllry Into space for themselves. The.first King-
doms of nature are also described, aud their difference from all others, for
'bey were pregnant with all; moreover the general spring resnlting from the
neamess of the earth to the Slln, and from the rapidity of its revolutions,
whereby all the seasons were blended into one as their temperate Bnd delight-
ful mean, night also being melted into, and mingled through, day, as winter
throngb flummer. And as the mineral was partnrient with the vegetable, and
the vegetable with the animal, so the innermost of the vegetable. the tree of
life, bore the transcendent ovum oC our race, and there the infinite met the
finite. and the first Adam was born. This concludes one department of the
work. It will be seen tbat Swedenborg's is a theory of llpontaneolls genera.
tion, extending to universes with their contents, and 80 far, not dissimilar in
Borne respects to the theories founded upon recent geological Bnd astronomi.
cal views. There reigns throughout it, however, a constaut sense of the pra-
84 Noticu of Boob. [Feb.
aence of tlle Creator, who descends through all his work (spontaneous crea-
tion bping His way of causation then), and at last reappears beneath his work
as above it, and of himself attaches it to himself through hill final creatare,
min.
The remainder of the book is occupied with a description of the education
of the first mau, which took place by spiritual ministrations; and the eecond
part i. devoted to the creation of Eve, with her education, and marriage to
Adam; the whole being aa allegory of a six day's work. It is noticeable dlac
Adam, born an infant, is instructed in intellectual matters, and whatever coo-
duces to wisdom, but Eve, in scientific truthe, particnlarly those of the hnman
frame, the brain and the liviu~ fibres; somewhat in the reverse order of the
present culture of the sexes. In both sexes, however, the spirit.lessons are
taugbt by delightful representation aud scene·work bom of the plastic atmOl-
I'h~rell; and the novitiate mankind is raised to its feet, and eye after eye opeD-
ed to the heaven above them, by sportive similar children fluttering around,
and by attractive fruitage pendent over head from the motherly groves of
Paradise.
Nothing can be more venial than the earlier portion of the ,vork; the reader
is guided deeper and deeper into a delicious emlJowennellt, aud treads the car·
pelS of a golden age. Every clod and leaf, grove, stream, and a multitude of
rejoicing inhabitants, all the dews, atmospheres, and skyey influences, the very
8tars of the firmament. busily minister with a latent love, and each with a na-
tive tact and Ilnderstanding, to the coming heir of the world, the sou of earth,
the mind in a human form, who can look from the paradise of earth to tbe pa-
radise of heaven, and venerate and adore the Creator, returning to God immor-
tal thanks for himself and all things. At last in the central grove, in tbe most
temperate rellion of the earth, where the woven boscage broke the heat of day,
and so "induced a new spring under the general one ;" and where the gushing
strenmlets veined the area, and lifted br the sun in kindliest vapors,llUng upon
the leaves, and desceuded in continua dews,-in this illtimate temple of the
general garden, 10, the tree of life, and the arboreal womb of the naecent hu-
man race. Truly a bold Genellis j but the step that leads to it, though beauti-
ful 8S f1ylvan alley!!, are 81so of logical pavement, and the appreciating reader,
for the time at any rale, is carried well pleased along in the flow and series of
1he strong-linked narrative.-Pp. 62-64.
6. THE WHALE AND HIS CAPTORS; OT, tlu Whaleman'l/ AdWfltUTtI, and tlu WluJt'.
Biography, a. gath~r~d on lh~ ham~VJtlrd Crui" of tlu .. Commodore Pr~bl~." By
Rn. HF.NRY T. CHEEVEB. With Engraving.. New York: Harper and Bro-
tbers. 1850. 12mo. pp. 314.
III tbe prt'sent volnme the author, Rev. H. T. Cbeever, brother of the more
celebrared Geo. B. Cheever, narrates the exciting events ofa sea-voyage nnder-
taken for his health, and the .. fisher of men" is lost sight of in the description
of tbe life and manners of the fishers of fish. Strange to say, he has converted
what Homer so frequently calls the" untillable ocean" into a field prolific at
once of romantic adventure, rich information, moral iustruction, and most ab-
sorbing iuterest. The reader is borne away through bill pages with an attrac-
tion tbat reminds one of the boat drawn onward by the harpooned monster or
the deep in his abortive race to escape his pursners. We know of no reading
of the kind which will afford a richer treat than the beautiful little volume or
Mr. Cheever.
1850.] Editorial Item,. 97
BDITORU); ITBIIS.
We learn that the Rev. aea. Field, of Detroit, bas been invited to take the paltornl
cbarge of tbe N. C. Society at SL Louis, Mo. With tbeir invitation he blls not yet seen fit
to comply, but he bas conllen:ed. to spend a f"w months with the brethren. in tbat place.
during which time be will probably give tbem a final deci8ion. The Rev. Jabez Fox has
l'eCently entered Ilpon his duti".. in connexion with the Detroit Society.
The liule work of our Englisb brother. Mr. Haddock, entitled" Somnoli_m and P.y-
cbei.m," which was reviewed in a previoU8 No. of the Repository. has lately been re-
publi.b~ by Fowler & Well$ of this city, under tbe title of" P'ycholollY, or lhe Science
of th" Soul." This titl .., we believe, was adopted as being more intellillible to the mall
of readers. Price 25 cenlS.
The la8t No. of the If Pulpit Reporter" contain8 1\11 able di.conrse by Rev. Mr. Benad",
ofPhiladelphil\, entitled, .. The Progre8s of the New Cburch evidenced by the Signs of
the Times." In speaking of the American revolution, as one of the series of revolutions
that have occurred subsequent to the Last J udgmenl, we find in it mention of the following
fact which to U8 at least i8 new. .. When the Declaration was 8igned and adopted In the
American Congre88, the New Church was not witbout i18 audible voice. It spoke through
the lips of him who was called to addres8 tbe ftr8t prayer t"tbe Divine Throne,-the Rev.
Dr. Duch', at tbat time Re:lor of Cbrlst's Cburcb in Pbiladelphia, and a receiver of lhe
~eavenly doctrines of the New Jerosalem."
/
Speaking oflbe Pulpit Reporter, we are I't'minded of a curiosity in the shape ofa 8er-
mon by Rev Geo. B. Cbeever, in No. 6. from Col. ii. 8, " Beware le8t any man spoil you
tbrongb philo80phy and vain deceil," &c. He treats tbe text throughout as lhough the
word" 8poil" in tbis connexion signified to injurt, to mar, to corrupt, a8 the moon 1]IOu,
fre~h meat; whereas if Dr. Cheever will refer to tbe Greek Testament he will find that
the original term dcnotes that kind of qJOiling which i. otherwise expressed by rnaki", 11
prty of any thing. But tbis i8 a matter of quite minor moment. The interest of lbe lbing
lies in the unmerciful berating which pbilosopby receives at tbe hands of Dr. C., whenf!ver
it comes within hailing distance of Scripture ond faith. lIe gives it no quarter whatever.
bnt hi8 warning voice i8, .. Procnl, 0 prooul!" A.1IXl1l! a_,1! Hands oft" lhe holy,
thou profane thing! 10 ordinary eallls it might fairly have been expected that ,ome de-
IIree of discrimination sbould hove been evinced, and tbe line drawn belween trite and
false philosophy, as the apostle Paul virtually does in regard to science wl.en he speaks of
a If science falscly so called." It i8 ralher difficult to conceive what special mischief
is likely to be wrought 10 religion by any philosophy except that which is false. But our
88ge sermonizcr in the preseat instance condescends to treat us to no definition., but
launches out into the most vehement pbilippio against ilhilosophy in the gr08s, by which,
however, it i8 quite evident that he means rea.on, although he does not8ee fit to insult
the venerable malron under her own hood. .. Tbe moment a man, be he a minisler of
the Word or a private Christian, begins to mind tmdition and philosophy, instead oC
Cbrist, or mingle up tradition and pbilosophy as parts ofbis Christianity, thlltlDomeut he
begins to be spoiled." "Tbe great work of philosoplly in all ftges has been just to .poilthe
trutIJ." .. A vast proportion of what has been called tbeolo:;y in our world has been ~IUS
98 Editorial ItetlU. [Feb.
lpoiled." It might have been anticipated tbat all thil evil would be laid at the door oCa
faLle pbilolOpby only, but from the following I18nlencel it appears that the true and the falle
in philOlOphy COllie, in Dr. C'-I eltlma •• into the lame cateaory. .. A good philolOpby
as well as a bad one maylud the mind astray, may cause the lOul to Itumble, if it set up
to be the judge, either of the truthl of God'I Word, or theworkingl of God'I Spirit. Your
philolOphiel aud your Ipeculationl mnst be put by themselves, whaleYer qneltion you are
railing, when you come to alk, what doel God tell you in the Scripturell But lpecula-
tiYe men are unwilling thUI to put their own theories and philolOphleal lpeculationl aC.
the feet of Christ. Men often U!lCl their IYlteml of philosophy just &I we Ullll blinden 011
our horsel, 10 that they see only Itraight forward. They put on their philOlOphy, tighlell
the reins, crack tbe whip, and away; and no lide view or object II noticed, or permiued
to interfere. Their philolOphy, like a dark lantern, permits them to see only what il
Itraight before It, only what they please to have it Ihine upon." Thil il unhappily too
trUe, though we shou1ll not probably agree al to the parties most implicated in the pro-
ceeding. Wc are prepared to charge the delinquency upon precill81y that clall oC theolo-
gians, the high Calvinilts, which Dr. C. represents, and to lustain the charge with all
needed array of proof. lIut al the time has not yet come for any heed to be paid to our
averinenu on this 1C0re, we let it paIS, and turn again to the Dr.'1 objurgatory lltrainl.
The cream of the dilCoulIIe il perhapI to be skimmed oft' from the following paragraph•
.. Now all regard to philolOphy, in the application of God'l Word, is injurioul and
very likely to weaken the power of it. It ought to come, jUlt what it il, supreme
from God, Iharper than any two-edged Iword, Iweeping all bfoJore it. You have no qUIll-
tion to ask of philolophy, anti ifphilOlOpby puts quellliona to you, and you have a pas-
lIILge from God'l Word that anlwelll them, that decides the matter; if not, the dilBculti81
railed by philosophy have no more to do with your application of God'1 Word than the
question how the meat got into the walnut-sbell hall to do with your eating it. In the UI8
of the Scripturel, you are to han no philosophy but faith, and with that, you are to
al'ply God'l Word to the conscience, without any care for philollOphy, be it what it may•.
There is nothing farther to be said, when God has .poken. Ir you believe in the law of
God all his word, It Is to you lupreme, decisive, whoever or whatever may be brought
against it. If you do tIOI believe in God'l Word, it is to you RI worthlels al philosophy
itself; nay, it is to you the greatelt lie the univelll. ever beheld. But indeed, if you do fIIIt
believe in God'~ Word, you fling you rself the lie ill the face of your Maker; for he has de-
clared that wboever believeth not the record God hath given UI of hll Son, hath made
God a liar. So decisive and despotic Is the obligation of belief, when God has Ipoken;
and so independent and self-evidenced la God'l Word, like his own attribute of self-
existence."
The plain Englilh of all this is, that you are utterly to discard your realOn in dealing
with the Divine Word, and, in the authur'l phrase, to .. mingle up" genuine and apparent
trUth in one heterogeneouI jumble, deeming it tile height of presumption, if not of profan-
ily, to attempt to discriminate between the letter and the Iplrit, or to give tbe understand-
ing the least play when you have once entered into the domain of faith. 11 There is no-
thing farther to be said, when God hath spoken." But what shall be done when God
Ipeaks, according to the letter, one way in one passage, and another way In another, as
when, for instance, in one text he is said to repent, and in another to be incapable oC
repentance 1 If we understand the drift of Dr. C.'s anti-philosophical diatribe, he
makes no provision Cor an emergency of this kind but would prescribe a wholesale ingur-
gitation of whatever is found in the letter of Scripture, .. alking no questions for con-
science sake." What addl to the beauty and consistency of the counsel is, that Dr. C.
hulong stood forth RI a champion in the front ranks of the anti-papal declaimers, charg-
ing the Romanlsts with all marmer oC spiritual delpotism, and with requiring a blind de-
1850.] Editorialltem8. g9
ference to priestlylnterpretatlons abd ediCb, and yet here we find him advocating precisely
\boee principles of Implicit and Ilavlsh subjection to the strictoI''' of the letter which han
been the fountain-head of all the abominations of the Papacy. How could Dr. C. forone
moment call in question the soundness of the Romish doctrine of transubstantiation,
founded upon the Saviour's words, ,e TlJis is my body?" Here is a direct usertioo of the
Word of tl'uth, and when God unequivocally speaks In his lively oracles, what bas philo-
80phy or science to do to ask any questions on the subject 1 So also when tbe Lord 10'
apressly declares Peter to be the rock on which his church Is to be built, what right bas
Dr. C. to bring in his pbilosopby or reason to countervail the literal import of Scripture 1
e_
But we desist by constraint from the vein of comment to wbich this and similar tirades
.IDIt philoeophy, i. e. reason, In matters of religion, invites us. We allude to it, be-
it is matter of iDlel'll8t 10 the Newchurchman to turn aside now and theD and _
the queerphaaes which the theology of the age pUb on.
Our devoted friend and brother, Robert L. Smith, Esq., now in California, as will be
/
_n by the following extract of a letter dated Dec. 30, 1849, loses nothing, in a succesd\ll
eareer of business, of that enlightened zeal for the cause of tbe New Church for wbich he
bas long been distinguished. It is doubtless, at prel!ent, the day of"small tbings for tbe
New Jerusalem in tbat land of absorbing worldly adventure and prospect, but if it could
be bleued even with a little band of such spuits as our brother Smith, we sbould have
more abundant ground for saying that" the gold of tbat land is good (i. e. goodness)," of
which, on the principle of correspondence, there ought to be a large supply. .. We bold
our meetings at half-past three o'clock, P. M. at my office, our numbers not usually
more than 10 or 12 perlOos. There are here a few readers besides, and lome of the
works of Swedenborg are kept on sale at the only book store in th.. place; and it is
known thllt I have others to 10al1 to such al wish to read tlwm. I bave ju.t contracted
for the erection of a two and a-half story house upon a vacant lot I own, and hope to be
IIble to arrange a larger room in the upper part of 8Ilid building for the accommodation
of our Sabbath meetings, my present office being rather too small to accom modate more
than DOW attend. Mr. Goddard baa arrived, but Mr. Sturtevant is yCl behind. Thirty
....lIsels and a steamer Cllme yesterday, laden with pll88engers and freigbt. The city la
lrowing very rapidly, having quadrupled in si,~e since I arrived six month~ since."
The Pbiladelphia .. New Church Printing Fund" is, we believe, the title of an Auo-
eiation in that city, formed for the purpoae of publishing such N. C. works as may be
deemed likely to &ubserve the ends of truth. We have seen a very favorable specimen of
Ibe issues of the Society in Worcester's" Sermons on the Lord's Prayer," and Clawes'
.. Dialogues on the Nator..., Design, and Evidence of the Theological Writings of Emanuel
Swedenborg." As these are works wbose value hu been long weUknown to tbe Churcb,
it is less necessary to speak of tbem; but to the Ileat and even beautiful style of the getting
up of tbe volumes we llre happy to bear our testimony. We shall be ready to keep our
readers advised of any otber publications emanating from Ibis source, and ahould be glacI
alao to be more fully informed as to the plan of operations of which these reprints llre the
flm fruitH.
We cut the followiDI from tbe Portland .. Christian Mirror," from which it appeara
that the orthodox clergy are but jost opening their eyes upon tbe commencement of the
besinninR of the controversy which Dr. BuahneU has stirred up among them: .. Nor TilT
ADroauD.-We perceive that in three different papers of Illst week's issue, viz., the Po-
ritan Recorder, the Hartford Religious Herald, and the N w York Observer, there ap-
pw.red a remonstrance, somewbat lengtheDed and elaborately argued, by the North Hut-
ford Auociation. against the action of the Hartford CeDtlal ASlCK'iatlon in the ....
100 Editorial Itenu. [Feb. 1850.
of Dr. Bu.bnell'. book, entilled .. God in Cbrl.t." The remon.trantl, 1eVf'J11een In
number, c:omplain of Ibe won I of tborougb, faithful droling on Ibe part of Iheir brethren
of the Cenlral Alloeialion. Tbey regard Dr. B.o. book 11. auertinK ond defending error.
wbich IIrike at Ibe rool of Ihe Got&pel. Probobly other remon.lranll will oriae. even In
Conneclicut, and pre.enttheir objrclion. in a formal and official manner. We feor a
protracted agilalion, and hard conlroveny, are yet 10 ~ encouult'rrd in rt'gard 10 Ibis
maller. It is hoped tbot our good brelhren in Conneclicut wJII Dot forget John NeW\()D'S
remark, tbat Ibe best way 10 keep out cbotr is 10 6111he bushel wilh wheat; nnd to bllr
out error he would lilllhe mind wilh pure Go.pel trulh." But Ihe difficulry is 10 deler-
mine which i. good graio, and which Is cha!f.
The 12tb and clo.ing No. of lbe London N. C. Quarlerly devotell a large porIion of I.
lpace 10 a vrry lhorough-going review of Ihe po.i1ionsloken In regard 10 the N. C. Mi-
lIiotry in Ibe Report of lhe M:tjority of lhe Micb. and Norlh Ind. A••ocialion in Iheir met't-
ing, F~b. IS~9. The wriler finds fault with Ihe report a. iDeonsislenl wilh itself, ODd iD-
con.istent with Ihe leachings of SWt"denborg, while al the same time he i. !till fnrther
from agreeing with Ihe reporl oflhe Minority. We would nol, however, have Ihe review-
er misunderslood. He rt'gords tbe mnjority-report o' inlrinsically a very able argllDlrnl,
Rnd in IWO or three in.loncc. applies 10 illhe epilhet U admimble." But he slill .peak.
of it a' an allempl to .. reconcile lhe Iny und clerical elemenls, by giving the forDler as I ..
much liberty a. may eon.ist with the authority of tho ,--"." He grant. that the abo, (
IImcl righl of a layman 10 preaeh if he feel eapable, and be disposed to do '0, i. ubi)" COD-
tend~d for by Ihe majorily. But Ihi~ righl Iht"y have sbackled for Ibe sake of wbat Ihey
conceive 10 be Ihe Iruo .. order of the church, aDd ahbough Ihey have w~1l described Ihi.
orrler in the prescnl infnnlil<l .late of Ihe church, yel neilher Iheir premi..e. nor their con.
clu.ions are eon.islent wilh il." lIe concludt". by 'Bying :_U On Ihe whole it i. evident
that our American brelhren have eommenced a lobor which it is impo'lible Ihey ean
ever bring 10 a satisfactory termination wilhout thoroughly clIDVDSllng lhe nalure of our
dUlies one lownrd. another, and our relalion to sociely at largt",.u. Ihe avowed member.
of a .pirilual church. We rejoicc Ihal this question has been opened in Ihe JUopublic be-
fore its ngitalion in Ihi. counlry, feeling Ihol Ihe example of old inslitution. will have Ihe
les. influenee over it, aud Ihal ils ~olulion will comprehend a grrater number of pmetieal
I'oint. Ihon would be I'os.ible wilh ourselves, at lean at Ihe present moment."
The .. Letters to Trinitorlans," and" SlalemeDt of Reason.," are now publi.hed, and
order. mny be .ent eilher 10 Ihe Editor or 10 Mr. Clupp, of Boslon. For terms, see eover
aflast number. !'tIore Iban half of the firsl edilion of Ihe .. Lelters" i. already exhauslt'd,
Dnd Ihe demand is slill increasing. Individuals and sooielie. are invited 10 co-operate iD
the work of distribution. A. Ihe priee of Ihe work per copy is only 126 eeDII, or $8 per
bundred, Ibe ~aerince upon il I. enormou~, as It would ordiol\rily be IOld for 50 cenls per
copy. No olher liaanciering bllt Ibot of cbarity could justify illelf in such a publishlDI
poliey.
THE
MONTHL Y REVIEW.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICI.E I.
"From the indisputable facts of Israel'8 divine election as the people of Je-
hovah, their extraordinary preservation as such, and their undisturbed exclu-
sive possession of the written word and the accompanying rites, they had
drawn the natural but false conclusion, that this national pre-eminence was
founded on intrinsic causes, or at least on some original and perpetual distinc-
tion in their favor. This led them to repudiate or forget the fundamental truth
104 The Letter and tile Spirit. [March,
of their whole history, to wit, that they were set apart, and kept apart, not for
the ruin and disgrace, but for the ultimate benefit and honor of the whole
world, or rather of the whole church which was to be gathered from all na-
~n,~ andt tDhit!& lA. ancient I,.,.atllDal duigntd 10 be tM tymbol and repTuenla-
taw. -Pre . p. VI.
11 If the Jews could have been made to understand or to remember that their
national pre-eminence tDlU reprnmtatit:e, flat origifJlll; 8Y"Ibolico.l, not real; pro-
11i8ional, not perpetual; it could never have betrayed them into hatred or con-
tempt of other nations."-Prif p. vii.
for rejecting it may not, in all their extent, be known, yet there is ~
certain instinctive perception of fallacy which forbids its permanent
entertainment, except to a limited degree, by the intelligent mind of
any church. •
But to return to the thread of his argument. There is no
point which he labors more assiduously than to set forth the incon-
sistency of regarding the terms Israel and J udah as symbolical main-
ly of the Gentile Church, since on that view the restoration of the
Jews is in fact the restoration of the Gentiles, and what then can be
meant by the Lord's saying, .. I will take you from among the hea-
then (Gentiles), and gather you out of all countries, and will bring
you into your own land 1" On this point, as will be seen from the
following extract, our author presses down upon dissentients and
doubters with a gravamen that he evidently regards as not slightly
oppressive.
"The Israelites are expressly distinguished from the Gentiles, from among
whom ther are to be taken. As the Gentiles are by that separation exhibited
as remainmg where they are, the migration of the Israelites from among
them cannot symbolize their exerting an act, or being subjected to a change
analogous to that migration, as the suppositiou is a contradiction. If the Is-
raelites were symbols of the Gentiles, then their removal from the presence of
the Gentiles and migration to their own laud, would represent an analogous
separation and removal of the Gentiles from some other class of nations that
sustain a relation to them resembling that which they sustain to the exiled
Israelites. But where is there such a third species of nations 1 What Gen-
tiles sustain a relation to other nations that are not Gentiles, like that which
the Israelites sustain to them 1 The reason given for the restoration of the Is-
raelites is, that their banishment from their country and captivity among their
enemies, has given occasion to the Gentiles to reproach and defame God's
name, as though he were unable to defend his people from the worshipers
of other deities. If the Israelites, thell, are symbols of Gentiles, those Gen-
tiles must not only be in a condition analogous to that of the dispersed Israel-
ites, but their being in that condition must be the occasion of a resembling
reproach either of Jehovah, or else of their own deities. What Gentiles are
there whose being in sucb a condition has been the occasion of such a re-
proach of his or their name 1 Into what an abyss of contradictions and im-
possibilities they involve themselves who undertake tbus to wrest the pro-
phecy from its legitimate meaning, and convert it into a figurative or symbol-
Ical prediction of the conversion of Geutiles."-Theol. 4' Lit. Journal, No. YI.,
p.252.
"If the apostate and captive Israelites are symbols, they m~llt represent
persons of an analogous character and condition j and apostates, therefore, of
llome other order, and in some other species of captivity or dispersion. But
if they are symbols of a dUferent class of apostates, then their symbolic return
Call1lot, as some have assumed, denote their own conversion j if it symbol.
izes a conversiml at all, it must be a conve~ioll of Gentiles. Their return,
however, to their own land, is not adapted to symbolize a conversion. There
is no analo~ between a migration from one country to another, and a new
c.eatiou in -Christ. The one is a change of geographical Fosition, which
has no necessary or established connexion with a change 0 the heart j the
other is a change of the heart, which has no natural or established con-
nexiol1 with a geographical ,Position. It cannot denote the conversion of
Gelltiles, therefore; nor can It denote an analogous return of apostate Gen-
tiles from a resembling dispersion and captivity in foreign lands, inasmuch
Ba the Gentile apostates are uot ID such a state of dispersion and vassalage.
106 The Letter and the Spirit. [Marcb,
The supposition is inconsistent in every relation with the condition of the
idolatrous Gentile churches, and the representations of the Scriptures re-
specting the restoration of the Ismelites. It is from the dominion of apostate
Christian Gentiles in a large degree, that they represent that the Israelites are
to be delivered, not those apostate Geutiles from the dominion of some other
species of men, that have no existence in the world."-77uol. 4' Lit. Journal,
No. V., p. 48.
"If, as is assumed by those who attempt to give them a representative
meaning, the house of Israel and the house of Judab denote Gentiles, what
two classes of Gentiles are they, of whom they are the represeutatives1 The
ten tribes and the Jews were at the period of the prediction apostates, and
their descendants have been through a long tract of ages. What two bodies
of Gentile apostates are there that answer to them 1 Of what is the return
of the Ismelites and Jews from captivity the symbol1 Are two bodies of
Gentile apostates to migmte in a resembling manner from a state of exile and
dispersion to a land that was in a former age occupied by their ancestors!
Is there any country in Christendom that has been given to a Gentile nation
DOW apostate and in exile, by a covenant with their ancestors, in a manner
analogous to that by which Canaan was given to Abraham's posterity!
If it is not a migratIOn, what is the resembling act which the return de-
Dotes 1 What is it of which the conversion and forgiveness of the Israelites
are symbols 1 What are the changes of apostate Gentiles, that so resemble
the renovation and pardon of Jews, that the latter can serve as their appro-
priate representative 1 As, by the laws of Eymbolization, places always de-
note places, what are the places which the territories of Judah and Benjamin,
the monntains and vales, Jerusalem and the inferior cities, and the whole land
that was laid waste, denote 1 Are there any dilapidated cities and desolate
territories that sustain the same relation to apostate Gentiles that are in dis-
persion and exile, that the territories and cities of Palestine sustain to the Is-
raelites1"-7Yleol. 4' Lit. Journal, No. V., p. 55.
It cannot be denied, we think, that the questions here propounded
are legitimate and fair on the ground of the intt-rpretation which has
hitherto been current in the church. It is, at any rate, perfflctly easy
to see how they should be urged with vehemence by Mr. L. from the
stand-point which he occupies; nor, if we stood upon the ground of
most of his opponents, should we know precisely through what outlet
to extricate ourseh'es from the dilemma in which his subtle logic
had involved us. But with the clew afforded us in the New Church
hermeneutics, we have no difficulty in threading our way out of the
most intricate complexities of the scheme.
Bearing.t then in mind that by Israel, J udah, &c., is denoted, not
the literal people so denominated, but the true internal church, as
composed of those, whether Jews or Gentiles, who are in covenant
conjunction with heaven, and imbued more or less with the Divine
life, their deliverance, return, restoration, so frequently spoken of in
the prophets, implies not th'e least of an outward local removal, but
solely and exclusively an inward change of mind, by which they are
emancipated from the bondage of the evils and falsities, that had p~
viously held them captive, and restored to a state of spiritual free-
dom, intflgrity, and prosperity. The idea of persons is, indeed, held
f9rth in these annunciations; but in the New Church philosophy per-
sons naturally merge into principles, inasmuch as man, in his last
analysis, consists of the principles of will and understanding. These
1850.] The Letter and the Spirit. 107
These are doubtless fair queries as coming from him, and we con-
cede at once that he is entitled to demand some rational and con-
sistent interpretation of these collateral and related circumstances
and objects. Such an interpretation, it will have been seen, is af-
forded by the teachings of the New Church, according to which there
is no item of the Word, however minute, but has a distinct and de-
finite spiritual meaning. What this is he will learn from recourse to
the writings themselves, if he thinks it worth while to take the
trouble, which he probably will not. But this matters not, 8S our
object is to state affirmatively what we conceive to be the truth on
the general theme-truth that cannot be fairly gainsa)"ed-and then
to leave it to be accepted or rejected as the other party may deem
proper. We state our yiews with all pra.cticable distinctness, toge-
ther with the psychological grounds on which they rest, and then
dismiss all special solicitude as to the result, confident that their
soundness, though it may not be admitted, yet cannot be denied.
Before closing we cannot but devote a few moments to one parti-
cular feature of Mr. L.'s speculations, which we scruple not to corn·
mend to his Sflrious re-consideration, as a firm believer in the equal
inspiration of every portion of the established canon of Scripture. He
refers again and again to the prediction so often repeated in respect
to the raising up of an illustrious personage, who was to succeed to
the throne of David, and whom, whether consistently or not, he de-
nominates the Messiah, the Branch of righteousness. He eYen goes
1850.] The Letter and tluJ Spirit. IOU
so far as to say, that" that monarch is Christ, as is seen by the title
by which he is to be distinguished-JEHovAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
This royal offspring ofDavid is to rule to perpetuity ever the restored
and organized nation of Israel. But this restoration and organiza-
tion are yet future. •
" It was to take place after the Messiah was raised up as a Branch unto Da-
. yid, and therefore after his birth. But no such restoration has been accom-
plished since Christ's first advent. So far from it, the final dispersion of the
Jews did not take place till after his ascension, and they and the other tribes
still continue exiles from their ancient land. It is not only future, but it is 110t
to take place till after Christ's second advent, as his reign, under which it is to
be accomplished, is to be on the earth. It is on the earth' that he is to reign
and prosper, and execute judgment and justice, as the Branch unto David i' fOl
it is on the throne of David that he is to exercise his administration over Israel,
as is seen from the parallel passage, chap. xxxiii. 15-17, • In those days, and
at that time, will I callse the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David,
and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in tile land. In those days shall
Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; aud this is the name where-
with he shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness. For thus saith the Lord,
David I!IhaU never want a man to sit npon the throne of Israel.' It is in the
days of his reign on the throne of David, therefore, in Judea, that this ptophecy
is to receive its accomplishmen~ and thence after his second coming. It can-
not be said that Christ now sits on the throne of David. Instead, he sits with
the Father on his throne. David's throne was the throne of the Israelitish
nation in Palestine, not the throne of the universe. To ascribe to him that
throne, were to deify him, by ascribing to him the prerogatives and govern-
ment of the Almighty, and exhibiting him as the object of homage and obe-
dience, not only to man, but to all orders of intelligences."-Theot. t Lit. Jour-
nal, p. 47, 48.
EXTRACT•
.. By the faculty of growing wile is not meant the faculty of reallOning concerning truth,
and goods from sciences, but of discerning, and choosing what ia suitable, and applying
it to die uses ofllfe."-.d. C.I0,227.
1850.] III
ARTICLE 11.
PSYCHOLOGY.
of the New Church. They go to their own and there speak their per-
soasions. So far their agency is only evil. But as they indirectly yet
manifestly demonstrate important truths, other than their own deceit.
fullucubrations, we are allowed to rejoice that opportunities are
largely on the increase for honest souls to see their way out from the
toils of a sensual philosophy and a skeptical religion, into the holy
city.
Such has been the result in our experience. We have had re-
markable seasons of rapport with invisible ones. Sometimes deli-
cious ecstasies, sometimes sensible communications· and other pheno-
mena have attended the manifestations. But what we rejoice at, is
not the presence of such guests, or their messages, but that they were
a remarkable occasion of arousing us to the study of the memorable
relations written by the illuminated Swedenborg. Thus were we im-
pelled to a study of his Doctrine of Life by which we learn that not
in glorious revelations, which elate the soul and please the unregen·
erated man, but in a reformation of the love, the affections, and con-
duct, consists the grand secret of salvation.
In conclusion we beg leave to recommend those who are so fond of
curious speculations, to search a little deeper, and review the state of
their affections. We know no peace, no life, no happiness, no use, in
fine spun disquisitions upon spiritual subjects. But a full salvation is
given freely to all who seek eternal life by obedience to the com-
mandments of the Lord.
A. W.
AKTICLE ID.
CHARITY.
By the writings given for the use of the Lord's new and spiritual
Christian church we are taught that without charity neither faith
nor conscience exists in man. Through. charity the Lord implants
the truths of faith in man, which truths becoming united to the af-
fections of good in the mind from the Lord, who is ever present in its
inmost centre, faith is begotten in man. Thus the knowledges of
truth become the truths of faith-become living, and the man be-
comes a living soul. And" conscience," Swedenborg says, A. C.
1076, .. truly 80 called, never can exist hut from charity, it being
• In April, 1845, the writer, tben zellding at South Orange, Massachusetts, WBll in the
woodl, cuuing down a dead pine, tbe branches and small part of the top of wbich, had
decayed away. It had fallen once and leaned upon another tree, from which he was
trying to cut it away. All at once an imperative whisper _med to enter hil mind and
pUll from the brain to the seusorium-" Btllu back." Almost .. by inltiuct he obeyed,
not stopping his re&l8at till the command abated its force. The inllaDt be pauled, the
top of the tree, several feet in length, came falling with prodigious force, and buried itlelf
in the ground. If he had neglected to move from hil politlon, or had stopped one ltep
Don, tbe piece of wood would inevitably have crushed him to death, .. it fell down pre-
oisely along where he trod when he ltepped away. Though he would ever irBtefully ac-
knowledge this interposition of Providence, he feell no libe%ty to mention it with boas&-
iDf; but feels • 1IhrinJUn, &1aidi&f wh_ _&ioning the ocourreaoe.
114 Charity. [March,
charity which forms conscience, that is, the Lord by charity; for what
is conscience," he continues, .. but to do no evil in any manner to any
person, or to do well to everyone, in every possible way 1 thus con-
science ill grounded in charity, and by no means in faith separate
from charity."
But what is charity 1 Swedenborg both gives to it a primary
place in theory, and every where in his writings illustrates and ex-
plains its practical importance on the natural as well as spiritual
plane of life. In brief-from him we learn that "charity is the uni-
ting medium of the rational, natural, and sensual," A. C. 5J33, being
an affection of truth in obedience. .. The first part of charity consists
in putting away what is evil, and the second in doing what is good
and profitable to our neighbor. By charity there is conjunction of
the Lord with man, and by faith there is conjunction of man with
the Lord," A. R. 571. .. The life of charity consists in man's thinking
well of others, and desiring good to others, and perceiving joy in
himself at the salvation of others," A. C. 2284; and finally, .. Charity
consists in acting justly and faithfully in whatever office, business, or
employment a person is engaged, and with whomsoever he may have
business or connection," U. T. 420. In fine, to .. do justly, love
merc)', and walk humbly before God," or with an acknowledgment
\ of the Lord, and the authority of His Word, and good will to man,
'I faithfully to perform our peTllonal uses, is charity.
And let us observe what Swedenborg says of those who have not
and those who lUlve charity. Of the former we read, A. C. 1079 :
.. Where there is no charity there is 6elf-Iove, consequently hatred
towards all who do not fll.vor this evil principle, and hence it is that
such persons do not see in their neighbor anything but his evils; and
if they observe any thing good, thp,y either diminish it in their minds
until it be reduced to nothing, or interpret it as evil, especially when
they come into another life," where .. a temper of hatred appears
manifest in all they think or do; they wish to examine everyone,
yea, to judge everyone, and desire nothing more earnestly than to
ts
discover what evil, continually purposing in their minds to con-
demn, punish, and to torment ;" but, on the other hand, ., they who
) are principled in charity, scarce see another's evils, but observe all
I that is good and true in him, and what is evil and false they interpret
j as good; such are all the angels, and this principle they have from
the Lord, who turns all evil into good."
How greatly to be preferred, and earnestly to be sought, therefore,
is the state of those who are in the life of true heavenly charity, in
contradistinction from such as are represented in the Word by Ham,
of whom it is !laid, .. He saw the nakedness of his father, and dis-
covered it to his brethren;" and thus, according to Swedenborg, he
represents those who are" principled in faith separate from charity,"
while •• it is otherwise with those who are principled in faith grounded
in charity," for they observe what is good, and if the).. see any thing
that is evil and false, they excuse it, and as far as they are able en-
deavor to remove it," A. C. 1079.
Z. H.
• alla, 14a1D..
1850.] Remarkable Cale of Oblesnon in Modern Times. 115
ARTICLE IV.
In a volume labelled on the back CvriOtll Old Tract., recently picked up in Mr. Doyle's
multifarious collection, we encountered for the first time the following narrative, publish-
ed at Bristol, Eng., in 1788. It will be seen, f;om the statement itself, that it is well au-
thenticated, as far as the facts are concerned; and the Intrinsic character of these facts
entitles them to peculiar Interellt in connexion with the pneumatology of the New Church.
Swedenborg indeed informs us (H. & H. 2:>7) that such external or bodily obsessions as
formerly occurred are not at this time permitted, while internal obsessions, or those of
the mind in its affections and thoughts, are more frequent than of old. In this, however,
our author is doubtless to be understoOd as declaring the general law of the Divine Pro-
vidence, wbich we suppose la not to be 80 rigidly interpreted as to exclude single excep-
tional cases taking place under peculiar circumstances. We find, at any rate, in
the Spiritual Diary (n. 4198), in speaking of those worldly-minded and corporeal
spirits who are 80 strongly bent upon returning into the world by taking possession of the
organism of men in the flesh, that althougb for the most part they are consigned to and
confined in an appropriate hell, yet in a subsequent part of the same paragraph he says,
"These are they Who would fain return again into the world, and when the leave, such
as it is, is granted to this effect, they are prompted to obsess men, from which circum-.
stance arise direful phantasies, 80 that in 80me cases they are induced to lay violent hands
upon themselves." Instances like the following seem to come fairly under tbis head, and
though it is probably far from standing alone, yet we have cause for abundant gratitude
to the Lord's mercy that they are on the whole of such comparatively rare occurrence.
It is not perhaps improbable, that in proportion as the advancing light and power of the
New Dispensation exacerbates the evils and falsities of tbe opposiug kingdom of hell,
there may be, to a certain extent, a recurrence of the more visible and bodily mani-
festations of these infernal potencies, although such a fact, by calling for a providential
adjustment of the moral equilibrium, would be but a signal for their spet;dy overthrow.
The work in question is entitled,
The letter here alluded to we give below, together with the statement with which it Is
Introduced, to wit :-" The following letter was written by a Clergyman of undoubted
veracity, and copied from the Bath ChrOflicle into the Briltol Gazette."
A NARRATIVE, Bte.
A ,hort account of George Lukinl, afte,' hi, coming to BriJlrol, and
p7-ior to hi8 happy deliverYlflCe.
SeVBJlAL persons who had heen acquainted with G. L.'s unhappy
situation for many years, had heard him rf!peatedly say that he was
possessed with seven devils, and. if seven ministers could he got to
pray with bim, in faith, they would be cast onto But this declaration
being treated as a visionary matter, he remained in his former state
notwithstanding every medical means were made use of for his
cure. However, a person who felt much for his deplorable case had
him brought to Bristol on Saturday the 7th of June to see if any thing
could be flone for him.
Such an extraordinary case 900n became the topic of the day, and
many religious persons of different denominations, reading the ac-
count in the papers, were induced to visit him, for several days prior
to his deliverance; all of whom have agreed, that the account given
in the before-mentioned papers \Vas a relation offacts. His fits general-
ly came on about seven o'clock in the morning, at eleven o'clock in
the forenoon, and at seven in the evening; but frequently he had
seven fits of a day.
A person who went to see him writes as follows:
"Wednesday the 11th of June, about a quarter before seven in the
evenin~ I went to see G. L., of whom it was reported, upon respecta-
ble authority, that he was possessed by the devil. After I had been
with him about twenty minute!\, his fits commenced by a violent
convulsion of the nervous system, beginning with a powerful agitation
of the right hand, which soon extended over his whole body. The
agitation was attended with sucb shocking distortions of the counte-
nance that it is impossible for language to describe. After he had
been in this situation about a quarter of an hour, he made a deep
roar, in a voice that made the room shake. Immediately after the
roar, the demon (as if enraged) violently exclaimed, ' D - n thy soul
to hell.' After repeating this exeoration several times, the fiend add-
ed, • Thou fool, thou tboughtest by coming to Bristol to have avoided
my _power and authority. Ah 1 ah! ab I Thou fool 1 Dost thou not
know that 1 have the lupreme cumQUNld over .thee, &Dd that it is iD
VOLe DJ. 9
118 Remarkable Ca6e of ONUfton in Modern Timu. [March,
vain for thee to get out of my power 1 I tell thee, fool, 'tis all in vain,
for I say and swear by my infernal den of hell that I will torment thee
ten thousand times worse than ever.' A short pause now ensued,
'during which time the patient's face was again more violently distort-
ed. Soon after, several distinct voices, in a feminine tom', repeated
nearly the same as the demon had before said, but in a far more jeer-
ing and taunting manner, which they ended by asserting, with the
most shoeking execrations, that they· were determined, by the infernal
den of hell, to torment him ten thousand times worse than ever, even
to the end of his life. This was instantly succeeded by a kind of sing-
ing, as if they were triumphing in that they had power over the un-
happy object. This singing was without any particular words, and
in which the loud and fpminine voices alternately took part. A se-
cond pause now took place, which lasted about two or three minute!!,
when the demon, in a hoarse voice, cried out,' I command you, my
servants, to attend!' Immediately after (as if they were at hand) be
said,' Now you are here, we will have a dance and a song.' Accord-
ingly a soft female voice sung a hunting song, which was clcarly and
prettily expressed. When this was' finished another song was sung
in a kind of dialogue; the lond and soft voices sung their respective
parts, and the man's legs and arms were in motion all the time.
When the demon had expressed his satisfactiol1 at their singing, he
said, 'Now you have had your dance and song, I will sing a song
myself. You shall hear your master. You shall hear the devil sing
for once.' Upon which he sung a hunting song; at the conclusion
thc man was so violently agitated that it was with great difficulty two
strong men could hold him from injuring him!lelf. In this part of the
fit the demon began railing and blaspheming most hideously, crying
out, ' Ah! ah ! ah! man ;-we told thee 'twas all in vain for thee to
.trive against my power. What good did the two fellows thee hadst
with thee last night do; and the black-coated fellows thee badst with
thee this morning, and the fellow from Kingswood 1 Why did they
not come to-night, fool 1 No, no. They thought it their best way not
to come; for if they had I would have shown them a fine trick. I
would let them see that I was their master.' Here the demon began
singing, when at the same time a young clergyman came into the
'room. This singing lasted a few minutes, after which the fiend seem-
ed most violently enraged. The man's body being turned towards the
minister, the voice three times repeated, • D--n thy soul to hell;'
and then addressing itself to the demoniac, exclaimed, • Thou fool !
What dost think to bring an unbelieving black-coated fellow to with-
'stand my power and authority 1 I tell thee, fool, 'tis all in vain. It is
of no use for them to come here to prate. If they come to see me--I
am the devil. If that's all they come for, 'tis well.' The evil spirit
then began again to upbraid him for his folly, saying, • That all his
endeavors were in vain,' and added, • He was determined to exert his
supreme authority over him to the latest period of his life.' He then
reverted to what he had said before concerning the persons who were
• Here the word - . changed from the linplal to the plaral.
1850.] Remdrkab18 Case of Obsession in Modern Times. 119
with him the preceding night and morning, intimating that they were
afraid to come again; but added, in a jeering tone, ' Thou shalt have
8. fine parcel of the black-coated fellows with thee to-morrow; and I
will put thee on thy legs. and make thee look like something among
them.'- Another interval of his fit then took place for a few minutes,
at the end of which a female voice chanted out, ' We praise thee, we
magnify thee, and own thee to be our supreme head, and--t Governor,
o Devil! We acknowlede thy power, and may it be extended from
one end of the earth to the other, 0 devil! We give thanks unto thee,
in that thou hast given us power over this man to torment him, and
may that power be increased unto us, and extended to the end of his life,
o Devil!' This chanting was repeated distinctly by six different voices,
while the seventh, or hoarse voice (a circumstance which I particular-
lJl_ noticed) remained silent to receive (as it were) their praises.
When this chanting was over, the man was again violently tortured;
the devil still boasting of his power, and threatening that when he got
us into his infernal den of hell we should all bow down to him! and
acknowledge him to be our supreme governor. He then blasphemed
for some time, and departed for the present.
"The above is a true and faithful account of what I heard and saw,
and to which ,I am ready to give my most solemn affirmation."
J. 8.
Thursday the 12th, the day before his deliverance, his fits grew
more violent and longer. He was seized in the morning, about eleven
o'clock. His right hand first began to sbake,§ like a convulsive motion;
then the right leg was affected in the same manner; and in a fewmin-
utes his whole body was agitated and convulsed to an uncommon degree.
He then waved his hands one toward the other in a quick involuntary
motion, his mouth and eyes distorted in such a dreadful manner that
'twas impossible for anyone to do, unless aided by a supernatural
power. After a few minutes continuing in this state, he cried in a
horrible voice, "I am the devil; I have power over all men; 1 am the
8upreme-1I governor." He then called on his inferior devils to come
up, and do their office, and to sing the hunting song. Afterwards
he broke out with bitter oaths, curses, and imprecations, and exclaim-
ed, " I will torment this fellow to his life's end." Soon after, a small
female voice sung an inverted Te Deum, " We praise thee, 0 devil I
.We acknowledge thee to be the supreme-II governor I We thank
thee for giving us power to torment this fellow." Immediately, with
• It is worthy of notice, that the DllXl day five miDisters met, and while ODe of them
was giving out a hymn, the demoniac, who is but a small uun man, jumped up out of his
chair (though held by two Itrong men), and Ilttempted to snatch the hymn book out of the
minister'. hand. He stood on his legs for a cODsiderable time, and it was with great
difficulty they placed him iD his chair again. .
tHere wal a .hort pauIe. .
: Here the tormented man bowed his head between his legs almost to the ground.
~ It i. remarkable that at this time all pulll&tion ceased in that arm, while in the other
&he palM beat wi&h uncommon rapidity, till it was affected iD like 1D&DIUlr. and thllll the
. zight arm beat.
11 Here was a Ihort pause.
120 RemarTca1Jle Cue ~ Ofneuion. in Modem n.,6. [March,
After singing, while one of the ministers was p1"8ying, the man, or
rather the evil one in him, sang and roared all the time, and appear-
ed in such an. agony that scarcely two stout men could hold him in his
chair. He then cried out, in a loud voice, .. Thou fool! thou unbe-
liever! thou mayest pray to eternity-I will not be conquered-I am
ilie Devil-l am Supreme-Governor. Thou mayest pray for ever
-I will torment this fellow to his life's end." After this several others
prayed. The first minister then prayed again, and while he entreat-
ed God to deliver this poor mlln, who had been tormented with devils
for these eighteen years, he cried out," Thou fool, thou unbeliever,
thou mayest pray; thou mayest pray till midnight. I am the Devil,
I will not be conquered. The time u not yet come, but 'tis near at hand."
This gave great encouragement for continuing in prayer; they had
DOW confidence that God would soon answer their request in
behalf of this poor demoniac. Soon after he was quite out of the fit,
calm, and lIerene, as if nothing had happened, and talked very
rational.
For some time he was much prellSed by those present to say God,
Lord Jesus Christ, Lord have mercy upon me, deliver me from this
temptation; but he could not say it, nor any thing of a sacred nature,
but put his hands to his eRrs to prevent even hearing the sound.
Sometimes when he was importuned to cry unto God tor mercy, he
would immediately reply, .. Devil, Devil," and fall into strange agita-
tions. The preceding day as one of the ministers entered the room,
he broke out with a laughing sneer, as though he had an inYeteracy
against him, .. Ha! Ha I Ha! what, Me you come 1 Long looked for
QOme at last."
It is 'Worth observing that a person of some discernment visited him
with an intention to discover any thing that bore the aspect of an' im-
postor, bot Boon was convinced by the evidence he received, that the
man in all his paroxysms spoke and acted by necessity. The above
gentleman was particular in his inquiries, before aDd afier the fit,
whether he knew right from wrong, when he was so violently agita-
ted. He answered, J' Yes." He knew what was right and wrong,
likewise what he did and said; but was compelled by the demon,
who then acted upon him, in all that occurred during the fit, so that in
DO respect was he a free agent; even in the songs which he sang, if
any word bore the resemblance of goodness or modesty, he was im-
pelled to change the word for one more suitable to the genius of the
1850.] III
Devil. We miglat insert a few of those lines for examplE'., but we re-
frain, test we Ilhotl!d shock the delicacy of the reader.
The next day (being Friday the 13th) seven minihiers· assemhled
together, according to a former appointment, in the vestry-room of
Temple Church, with an intention to spend some hours in prayer for
the deliverance of this unhappy maD. They began about e!eve1l
o'clock with singing 8. hymn proper for the occasion. In a little
time the fit came all in the usual way, by his agitations, distortions.
&c., grew stronger and stron~er, till they became more dreadful than
ever they appeared before. He was demanded by one of the minis-
ters present, as the voice of them all, in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, .. Who he was 1" but no reply. He was ask~ a se-
cond time, but no answer. It was urged again; he then grinned, and
with a horrible voice exclaimed, "I am the Devil." He was then
asked, Why he tormented this man t He answered, .. To show my
power among men." Immediately on which he was strangely con-
vulsed, and endeavored to kick at a. person who was near him, bu'
was prevented by the exertions of two men, who were obliged to hold
him during the time; he foamed at the mouth, his face was distorted
to a degree beyond description, his body was thrown into difi'erent
forms, Rnd after some violent throws, he spake in a deep hoarse hol-
low voice, calling the man to an account and upbraiding him as a
fool for bringing that silly company together; said it was to no pur-
pose, and swore, .. By his infernal den," that he would never quit his
hold of him, but would torment him a thousand times worse for mak-
ing this vain attempt.
The voice of the demoniac was then compelled to sing in his usual
manner; afterwards he blasphemed, boasted of his power, and vow-
ed eternal vengeance OD the miserable object, and OD those present for
daring to oppose him; and commandf'.d his .. faithful and obedient
servants" to appear and take their stations.
He then spake in a female voice, very expressive of scorn and de-
rision, and demanded to know, "Why the fool had brought suob
a company there 1" and swore, .. By the Devil" that he would not quit
his hold of him, and bid defiance to, and cursed all who should at-
tempt to rescue the miserable object from them. He then sung, in the
same female voice, a kind of love-song, at the conclusion of which he
was violently tortured and repeated most horrid imprecations.
Another invisible agent came forth, assuming a different voice, but
his manner much the same 88 the precedinf! one. A kind of dialogue
was then sung in a hoarse and soft voice alternately; at the conclu-
sion of which, as before, the man WRS thrown into violent agonies, aDd
bla.~phemed in 0. manner too dreadful to be expressed.
He then personated, and said, .. I am the Devil;" and after much
boasting of his power, and bidding defiance to all his opposers, sung a
kind of hunting-song; at the conclusion of which he was most violent-
ly tortured, so that it was with difficulty that two strong men could
ARTICLE v.
.. AND thou shalt make B mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and It
half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit Bnd a half the breadth
thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work
shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy-seat. And make
one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end:
even of the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends
thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high,
covering the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces shall look
one to another; toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cheru-
bims be. And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark;
and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from
above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims which are
upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in
commandment unto the children of Israel."-Ex. xxv. 17-22-
The cherubim were among the most remarkable features of the
Jewish dispensation. That they involved a peculiar mystery of some
kind has ever been the conviction of commentators; but what was
its genuine symbolical import they have been uniformly at 1I. great
loss to determine. The elucidations of the New Church on this score
may not satisfy any others than those of the New Church, but our
object will be gained if we shall succeed in making somewhat clear
to them the spiritual significancy of an emblem which was undoubt-
ecHy derived into the Jewish from the Ancient Church, and which
was more pregnant with sacred meaning the higher upwards we
mount on the stream of ages.
Our English word cherubim is the plural untranslated of the ori-
ginal :I.'~, kerub, a term of which the etymology is very much of a
contested point with critics and lexicographers. Indeed, we are con-
strained to admit that philological research on this head affords U8
but very little aid. According to the regular analogy of the lan-
guage, it has the form of the past participle of the verb :1.'1::1, karab.
But no sucb verb exists among the living roots of the Hebrew. It
was therefore l'egarded by most of the ancient Christian fathers as a
compound word made up perhaps of ~~, nakar, to know, and :I.,." rub,
(roob) mullitudp., equivalent to multitudo Icientia or multitudo cogni-
twnis, abunda7lce cif knowledge; or of ::I, he, :I.,." rub, and m":I., binah
qua.i multitudo cognitionu, ot' equivalent import. But this mode of
derivation is so utterly at variance with the laws which regulate the
process of formation in Hebrew words, tbat it CRunot be sustained
for a moment when tried by the test of sound criticism. Yet it is re-
markable that in nea.rly all the ancient interpretations the idea of
124 The JewiiA Tabernacle viewed in ill 8piritaallmpore. [Marc~
In the above cut we may be thought to have but loosely followed the
example of Moses in "making every thin~ after the pattern shown
in the mount," ina!lmuch as Moses says nothing of the fourfold variety
of faces which we have here given to the Cherubic emblem. But our
design is taken from the Cherubim of Ezekiel, which are thus des-
cribed, ch. i.4-12. "And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out
of the north, a great cloud, and a fire unfolding itself, and a bright-
ness Wl\.'l about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber,
out of the midst of the fire. AIso out of the midst thereof came the
likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance;
they had the likeness of a man. And everyone had four faces, and
every onc had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and
the 80Ie of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot; and they
sparkled like the color of burnished bM\Ss. And they had the handlt
of l\ man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had
their faces and their wingp. Their wings were joined one to another;
they turned not when they went; they went everyone straight for-
ward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a
man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the
face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two
win~s of every one wp.re joined one to another, and two covert"d their
bodies." That these visionary beings, though here called" living crea-
tures," were in fact symbolically identical with t4,f;' i~ che (ubWl; [1'0-
126 The Jewi4h Tabernacle viewed ill iu Spiritual Import. lMarch~
ARTICLE VI.
No. JII.
We have seen then that the induction of the ministry into office is
not of necessity a use pertaining to a Com-ention. Consequently we
must look to some other important object to warrant the adoption of a
measure which is not only fraught with spiritual danger to the best
interests of the Church, but involving an outlay of means which
would perhaps tell with vastly more effect upon the welfare of our
Zion if employed in some other form.
In what then is such an object to be recognized 1 Is it in the ad-
vantages possessed by such a body for more completely organizing
and marllhaling the New Church and bringing it into the unity of
uniformity? But here assuredly is an overlooking of the peculiar
genius of the New Church in which unity of 6pirit, the true and gen-
uine unity, is perfectly consistent with variety and diversity of exter-
nal form or administration. "The church of the Lord in the earths
cannot be otherwise than various and diver~e," A. C. 3451. .. There
would be but one church if all were regarded from charity, although
they might differ as to opinions offaith and rituals of worship," A. C.
1286, 1316, 2385. .. When all snd singular things respect one end,
they are then kept in inseparable connection and make one," A. C.
9828. Hence 8. "society of dissimilar persons can exist, because al-
though dill8imilar, still they are made one when they are consociated
(U to end," A. C. 4051. From all that we can learn respecting the
Ancient Church, there was no such bond of union as a General Conven-
tion. They needed no other bond than that of the'charity which made
them one. ., Such was the Ancient Church, which was extended
over several kingdoms, viz., Assyria, Mesopotamia, Syria, Ethiopia,
Arabia, Lybia, Egypt, Philistia, even to Tyre and Sidon, through the
land of Canaan on each side of Jordan. Doctrinals and rituals differ-
ed with them, but still the church was one.. because charity was essen-
tial in all," A. C. 2385.
. . But it may be speciously contended that without aiming to estab-
1850.] Pr(JpOIed Corutitution of tk GeJUJral Convention. 131
lish an absolute uniformity either of doctrine or worship, and without
unduly infringing on individual liberty, a Convention formed by
general representation may perform a signal use by fixing upon cer-
tain orderly methods of procedure in conducting the business of the
church, in taking from time to time its census, and preparing its statis-
tics, and in arranging in general its external polity. This we say may be
speciously urged in favor of a Convention, because it would seem to
be a special province of human prudence to regulate and perfect the
mechanism of the Church, so that every component part should re-
vol ve, or beat, or strike in unison.
But it may be seriously questioned whether this is not one of those
subtle fallacies that are prone to impose themselves upon the mind
uuder the semblance of superior wisdom. It is in fact, when seen
through the right glass, nothing more nor less than a plea for num-
bering the people. How inveterate is this propensity in all religious .
bodies, everyone at all conversant with the state of Christendom
must be aware. So deeply seated in human nature is the tendency
to extend and multiply its proprium in associated numbers-so prone
are men to pride themselves upon a multitudinous fellowship, whether
in politics or religion-that it is scarcely possible, even for truly good
men, to resist the influence of this secret prompting. The proclivity
to yield to it is enhanced by the consideration, that it has so much dre
show of order; that it enables religious dp.nominations to present such
a symmetrical array of classified grades from the lowest to the high-
est, all duly numbered and trained for the function they are appointed
to discharge; and especially that in their printed reports from year to
year they can point the admiring gaze of the world to their steady ad-
vance in numerical strength,-the grand basis of their self-compla-
cency-in respectability, and in efficiency of organization. Not con-
tent that ou,' Zion should shine forth" clear as the sun and fair as the
moon," we would fain also have it" terrible as an army with banners,"
that is, as a host completely marshaled.
Now it is doubtless presuming too much upon the virtues and graces
of the New Church to suppose a great many of its members insensi-
ble to the force of appeals of this kind to their self-hood. It is hazard-
ous to say of any head, however ordinarily strong, that it will not tam
upon a dizzy height. So in regard to the man of the New Church, he
is in danger of being touched and wrought upon by such a colorable
plea in behalf of what assumes to be merely a convenient and whole-
some order in the administration of the Lord's Church.
But what is the quality of this seeming order when stripped of every
disguise 1 What is the numbering of the people as uniolded in its
spiritual purport to the intelligence of the Newchurchman 1 The
men of the Lord's church in the earths are essentially the truths and
goods embodied in them. To number, as we are instructed, has the
sense of ordination and arrangerllent, and when relating to the Church
denotes the ordering and arranging of its truths of faith and goods of
love; hence those that are IlUmbered denote the things which are or-
dain~ and arranged. Let us listen to a high authority on this head.
132 Propo.ed C01IItitutimt of the General Convention. [March,
"The reMon why numbering hM this signification is, that because number-
iDg involves a survey, and what is surveyed by the Lord, this also is ordained aud
arranged; the term also, by which numbering is here expressed iu the original
tongue, signifies to survey, to take an estimate of, to observe, and also to visit,
to command, to preside, thus to ordain and arranj{e; the reason why these
significJtions belong to that term is, because one tbing involves another in the
spiritual sense, and the spiritual sense is tbe interior sense of terms, which
Bense is for the most part in the terms of languages, especially of the oriental.
That to number in the spiritual sense, in which seuse the truths and goods of
faith and of love are treated of, denotes to ordain and to arrange, is manifest
also from the passages in the Word, where mention ismade of numbering, and
also of number, as in Isaiah, I The voice of a tumult of kingdoms of nations
gathered together, Jehovah Zebaoth numbwttla [ordaineth] the army of war,'
xiii. 4; Again, I Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created thelle,
eho hUlh brought forth into number their-army ; He calleth all by uame; of the
multitude of the powerful ami mighty in !!trength a man is not wauting,' xl.
26: and in Davi<.1, I Jehovah who flumbn'tlh the onny of the stars, He calleth
all by names,' Psalm cxlvii. 4; that by numbering in these passages is signi.
fied to ordain and to arrange, is evident, for the subject treated of is concerning
Jehovah, that is, the Lord, who doth not number any army, Doutars, but ordain-
eth and arrangeth those tl,ings which are signified by an army and by stars, which
are the truths and goods of faith and of love. When it is known what is signified'
by numbering, and what by the sons of Israel, it may be manifest why it was
not lawful for David to nnmber the people, and why after that he numbered
them, Gad the prophet being sent to him denounced punishment, 2 Sam. xxiv.
!'to 15; and why it is here said, that every one shonhl give an expiatiou of his
BOul, lut tJure btl in the", a plop in numbtlriflg them; for by the sons of Israel
are signified the truths and goods of the Church, and by numbering is signified
to ordain and to arrange; and since it is of the Lord alone to ordain and ar-
range the truths aud goods of faith and of love appertaining to every one iu the
Church and in heaven, therefore when this is done by man, as it was done of
David by Joab, it then signified the ordination and arrangement of such things
by man and I10t by the Lord, which is not to ordain aud arrauge, bllt to de-
IItroy; if the numbering of the sons of Israel had not involved such thingll,
there would not have been anything of sin or of guilt in numbering them."-
A. C. 10,217.
"It was prohibited to number tbe sons of Israel, inasmuch as by numbering
was signilitld to ordain aud to arrange, and by the sons of Israel, and by the
tribes into which they were distinguished, were 8i~nified all the truths and
goods of faith and love in the complex; and since the ordination and arrange-
ment of these WRS of the Lord alone, and not of man, therefore to number them
was prevarication, such as appertains to· those who claim to themselves the
truths which are of faith and tbe goods which are of love, together with their
ordination and arrangemenl."-A. C. 10,218.
It is easy to see that the simple taking a census of the people by
David could not have involved such a degree of criminality as is
here implied. The act is to be viewed in its interior character, be-
fore its extreme culpability can be seen. " By number is signified the
quality of a thing and of a state, and the quality is determined by
the number adjoined; hence to number denotes to qualify, and the
qnalification of a thing in spiritual·things is effected by ordinations
and arrangement from the Lord." It is accordingly mentioned ns a
part of the policy of tbe BMst to " cause all to receive a mark on the
right hand, or on their foreheads; and t_at no one might buy or sell
but he who had the mark or name of the beast, or tI,e number of hU
aa.c," by which is implied that the Beut profeaea to dewmioe tb.
1850.] Proposed Comtitution of the General Convention. 188
quality of his minions, and in correspondence with this they are all,
as it were, ranged in rank and file, 88 the Lord himself is said to
number or marshal the stars.
We do not perceive that we are making an un .. drranted use of
this allusion to the case of David by applying it to the matter before
us. The strong propensity inherent in Churchmen to organize, with
great system and exactitude, their several denominations, is virtually
a disposition to number the people in the sense of appropriating a Di-
vine prerogative, to wit, that of internally arranging truths and
goods. This, however, depends upon an influx, so hidden and so pe-
culiarly and pre-eminently under the auspices of the Lord, that no man,
and no body of men, is to presume for a moment to take the work
into their own hands•
.. For no man, or even angel, knows the quality of good and tmth with an-
apparent in the externals j and ,et
other, in all their series and connexion, but only somewhat thereof, which is
every quality is of infinite extension, for
it conjoins and consociates itsl'l with innumerable things which lie concealed
within, and which reside without, and are extended on all sides. These
things no one can see but the Lord alone; wherefore the Lord alone arranges
and disposes all according to their quality. for he sees the nature and quality
of everyone, and what will happen to him in eternity, inasmuch as the sight
of the Lord, which is called omniscience. foresiRht, and providence, is eternal;
hence it is that DO one knows the quality of good and truth with another. but
the Lord alone. That to know the quality of good and truth is signified by
numbering. may appear strange to some, for they who read these words,
abiding only in the sense of the letter, cannot see any other meaning in them
than that the multitude was so great that they could not be numbered j never-
theless number, in the spiritual sense, signifies quality, and hence to number
signifies to know the quality, and to arrange and dispose according to it."-
..4.. E. 463.
From a similar ground it undoubtedly was, that the Israelites were
forbidden to construct their altars of h~wn stone, as the process of
hewing or cutting and aptly fitting denotes the hatching or devising
things that have the semblance of truths from the proprium or self·
intelligence of man. Our first impression would undoubtedly be that
an altar would have a much more sightly and symmetrical appear·
anee if constructed of handsomely cut and fitted stones; and so we
are prone to think that the Church will be greatly beautified in its
external order by that becoming arrangement which our own proper
prudence will enable uiI to superinduce upon it. But we see from
these instances how the Lord regams such intermeddlings of our fool·
ish wisdom. We are to leave things of this nature to the effectual
working of that migbty powrr which is constantly active in arrang-
ing in the order of beaven every cong-eries of truths and goods which
have originated in heaven. It is that power alone, which, by its
plastic working, is to fashion these spiritual stones into the similitude
of a spiritual pRince, and we are not to be afraid to leave the Lom
to do himself the work which he has declared to be ext:lusively his
owo.
Here then we find another ground for the establishment of a Ge-
neral Convention swept away from under it. The plea of an orderly
uniformity in the extemal methods and processes of New Church
VOL. Ill. 10
184 CMTesponden~. [Marcb,
action is seen, if we mistake not, to be at variance with the operation
of New Church principle. We could greatly extend our remarks on
this head, but as our limits forbid we defer the remainder of the dis-
cQssion to other numbers of the Repository.
EUSE.JUI.
(To b' C01Itinwd.)
- - Feb. 10,1850.
DEAR PROPE8150R,
A full report from me will not be amiss. Since I wrote you last I have been
on an excursion into Madison and Chenango counties. I found a stronA' New
Church spirit in operation. At Canastotll; our brother Dr. M-- was zealous
and active. His exertions within the last two years have resulted in adding
four or five new receivers to the great body-a corresponding number of read-
ers--and one or two subscribers to the Repository. . Our eocial interviews at
his house-both when going and returning-were deeply interesting;
and the Dr. carrying out the idea, brought out the Book of Worship, and 80
converted them into genuine social meetings. As I reside but twelve miles
from Canastota, I feel much disposed to follow the matter up, and have more
such seasons beneath his roof.
At Ca~enovia, the interest in the New Church was as·deep as ever. Since you
lectured there in 1847, a Mrs. C - has professed herself a full receiver; her
son and his wife and several others had become readers, greatly interested in
"the heavenly truth. Miss - - , I regretted to learn, had decided to discon-
tinue the Repository for the New Jerusalem Magazine. But I fonnd our new
friends, who took that periodical, willing to take yours; so we made the mat-
ter even. You will, therefore, send the present volume of the N. C. Reposi-
tory to A. T. C--, Cazenovia.
Deruyter, however, was the point of attraction. A Baptist.clergyman, Rev.
T. F--, after being infested with the Second Advent doctrine and Perfectionism
till his spirit had been bruised and broken, was led by the death of a much loved
daugllter, t%nder npon our relations to the spirit-world. Visiting my bro-
ther he foun some numbers of the Swedenborg Library and some sheets con·
taining that portion of the ArcaDa ClElestia comprising the tirst three chapters
of Genesis. They had been presented me by yourself; and 1 passed tbem on.
They attracted the attention of Mr. F.; he took them home and read them over
repeatedly. Mr. G. W. K---, had been a Quaker and fallen iuto intidelity, or
rather skepticism, for he was honest. He had become intimate with Mr. F ..
and now became deeply impressed with the truths of the New Jerusalem.
they borrowed books from Cazenovia; and, learning of the movement, I had
sent on a little assortment of the minor works, together with Des Guays' Let·
ters. Several more had become interested; and the clergymen were aroused
to essay to check the spread of the Heavenly Doctrines. In this interesting
state I found them. They were evidently receivers in the alfections; they
lovel! the celestial truths; they loved those who received them; they loved all
who surroundel! them. In the science of correspondences they were consi-
derably proficient. Their spirits were softened and sweet j and a strong, pro-
found interest characterized their whole speech. I knew them before; they
are better men.
By the intrigues of the clergy and other untoward circumstances, J was pre-
cluded from lecturing as I had intended. But we occupied the time. We in-
stituted n regular social meeting, which our friends promised to continue.
The Lord has evidently good in store for Deruyter.
Mucellany. [March,
They were desirous to have all the ordinanceI!'. But as tbey were not bier-
arcbians, tbey resolved to accept such ministration as was provided by the
Lord, irrespec:ive of human ordination other than tbeir own acknowledgment;
and to receive baptism at lome convenient future occasion from the baudl of
one who bad been a medium for imparting to them that truth of which bap-
tism is a correspondent.
Most of our receivers-llere are favorable to such a movement. If taken in
the fear of the Lord, it ill orderly; and it is neither convt'nient nor very impor-
tant to conform to other regulations. The three e88entials are with us (D. P.
259); we have one or two who are accustomed to conduct religious exercises;
our counties are dotting over with groups ofreceivers. We nlled the labors of
every man in his appropriate sphere; and in our present poveny they must be
dispensed 'U1ithout price. As brethren we sympathize and desire to fraternize
witJ:i those who sustain the prevailing system; but as we must be led frolD
freedom according to reason, we ca.n delegate to a Geueral Convention no
powers to legislate for UI i 1I0r can we acknowledge any" alllthority committed,"
·e.J:cept such 88 Jehovah himself imparts to all humble receivers of his Divine
Truth. But I resume.
G. 8--, of Peterboro, is said to have become an interested reader of tbe
doctrine of the New Jerusalem. His wife, a most amiable woman, is said to
share his sentiments. Several witnesses agree in assurances of the earnest-
ne88 with which he expressell his convictions. Heaven grant tbat this be true.
I speak not for his wealth's sake; he is a deep.souled man, a noble spirit, and
would prove a very Ajax in the hosts of the New Jerusalem.
On my return to V - - , I find that I have sold two and probablv three co-
pies of the True Christian Religion i three of Divine Love and Wisdom i three
of Divine Providence i four Wilkinsou'!1 Life of Swedenborg i one Rich's do. ;
one Latin and two English copies of Conjngial Love; thrlle of Books of Wor-
ship i five of Des Guays' Letters j two of Summary Exposition i.!,ne of Clissold'I
Letters j oue of Parson's Essays j and one Divine Love and wisdom (small) i
one Ath. Creed; one eet Apoc. Explaiued; and tracts and pamphlets by SW8-
deoborg, Hayden, Clowes, and others, which I do oot enumerate.
For two weeks I have labored in earnest. I can now look complacently
over the field, and say, .. Behold tbe proof of my ministry." Yet let me rejoice
with humility; the Lord alone, who blessed me and brollghtlife to my wO\1nd-
ed, agonized spirit, He doeth the work.
Yours, &.c.
MISCELLANY.
lly way of m inlsterl Oil' to the reasonable curiOllity of many of our readen, who Illne
never chanced to meet with this pitby volume, recenlly published, we bave concluded to
insert a. considerable portion of the Lecture on .. Swedenborg the Mystic," to whom be
has assigned a niche in the same temple with" Plalo, Ihe Philosopher," .. Montaigne, the
Skeptio," .. Shakspeare, tbe Poet," .. Napoleon, the Man of the \Vorld," and" Goethe,
tbe Writer." Mr. Emenon holds a rank as a writer which no one now assumes to ques-
I tion, and it must be confened thatl!O f1allering a teslimony as he gives 10 the native eD-
dowments, tbe stupendous scientific labors, and the high moral qualities ofour iIlu"trious
author is calculated, notwithstanding every drl\wback that detracts from the force ofbis
eulogy, to produce a deep imprell8ian an the world of Mr. Emenon's admirers. For thia
1850.] E".".6oa'6 .. ReptWenlatiw Men."-SlCedenborg. 189
we wiu be IIlI grateral IIlI we Clan1Nl. .nti! we learn that he is IICknowledged In .. still
blgher character. On & rapid glaace at the Leoture. upoa lis first appearance, we p "
it oredlt IOr being somewhat more thoroughly c~t,rl of oertain pauages than we 1Ind
to he the calle upon a sllCond inspection.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
we are compelled to compress, within the brief space of some seven or eight
centuriell, materials so extraordinary, even in their ruins, as to indicate events
.-
I
The following Interesting question in topognaphy hlUl recendy been made a subject 01
discull8ion in the New York EvanRtlIl.t-to wit, .. How far it i. to Heaven f' As our
readerll may be somewbat curlou. as to the calculatiou which the writer has entered into
on the subject, we sball make a small draft on their gratitude by letting it before them.
We hope the celestial city Is not .0 remote but that he will be able to get there at last, but
we think we nJay venture to say that he will find the journey much expedited by disen-
cumbering himsslf of the ponderous load of error In relation to the nature of heaven
which is implied in the ensuing lucubratlon. •
I f How J'AIt III IT TO HZAVBll' 1-As we turn our eyes upward and try to catch a gllmps.
of the oelestial oity, we _ nothing but the blue sky, and lun and planetS'. If these ster-
ry gems are the paving ltonel of paradiae (Which we by no means believe), then that
happy world, where _Ints and Bllgell do always behold the face of the great Jehovah, liee
beyond the starll, and' the third heavens where God resides, tbat holy, happy place,' il at
an inconceivable distance from our earth. According to Dick'l Christian Philosopher,
lIIe nearest of these ltars is forty billions (40,000,000,000) of mUM from the earth.
Now, suppoee this to be the distance from earth to heaven, how rapidly must the spirit
fly to reach the abode of the blessed, in one day after leaving the body. Light goes
200,000 milel a llecond, and reqolres fiz !'raTS afld a tllird 10 come from the nearest fixed
ltar to UI. Railroad cars aeem almost to fly when they go only forty or ftft!, milt, aft
"mw. t_'''t
A cannon ball flies mila a ",in.'t. And the thooght, that we are borne
along by the earth in Its annoal oireolt, more than a thoulBlld miles a min"'" almolt
makes oor headl awlm. And yet It is a well known fact that a ray of light goes two hun-
dred thousand mill!ll a ucOfld•
.. Our blessed Saviour assured tbe penitent tbief thllt be Ibould be with him tbat day,
in paradise. Now, soppose paradise to be no farther off than 8irlu.,lhe dog-Itar, tbac
il, forty billions of milel (40,000,000,000), the IOUI of tbe thief, to reach paradJI6 in
twenty-foor boors, mUlt go at the rate of one bUlion, silt hondred and sixtY-lilt tbou-
sand millions (1,600,000,000,000) of milel In an hour; or twenty-.ix thoosand millionl
(26,000,000,000) of miles a minule; or four hundftld and thirty-five millionl (436,-
146 Editorial Item8. [March,
000.000) of miles a second. But it should be remembered that when our dying Saviour
said to the thief, • nu day shalt thou be with me in paradise,' it was about noon, and
tltat d4' cloatd IJl otm, 80 that this joumey must have been made in about tU
!wlurs•
.. We have one account of a special messenger traversing the whole distance, from
heaven to earth, during the progress of a single prayer. It is recorded in Daniel ix. 20-23.
Daniel says: •While I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, being caused to
fly swiftly, tollched me about the time of the evening oblation, and said: 0 Daniel, I am
DOW come forth to give thee skill and understanding: ~t the brgi.t1iflg of tJa, svpplicatiO'rtl,
the comm4Mme"t came furth, aM 1 alii come to sltOlll thee.' ..
He tells us, however, subsequently that angels understand the route perfectly well,
ad will conduct all the sainlS safely and speedily to the realms of glory. How this is to
eenlist widl. tbe admissioa afterwards made, that spirits move with the rapidity of
thought, and how any angelic convoy can be needed if, as soon as we are absent from the
body we are present with the Lord, are points on which the learned Metnltcm, or VlofIder.
(vllllecznnr, does not condescend to enl,ighten us.
The {allowing extract, from 8wedenborg, becomel still more Itriking when viewed In
connection with the subjoined artlole out out of a daily paper. The oandid reader can
easily judge whether the literal or the spiritual interpretation of Moses is best sustained
by th.., testimony of historical facti. .. Inasmuch &8 by the lIOns of Israel and by the
tribes such things are signified, and those things are innumerable, therefore in the Word
it issai4 ef them, • That cheir number was al che sand of the sea. whioh shall not be
lI1easnred neither shall be nu~bered,'.~osea ix. • Who s~all number the dust of Jacob
and the number of I!rael,' Numb. XXIII. 10. Jehovah said to Abraham, • I will set thy
seed as the ciust of the earth, and if ye can nu mber the dust of the earch Ic will also come
to pass chat thy seed may be numbered,' Gen. Jilll. 16; chap. xvi. 10; and in another
place, • Loolc up towards heaven, and number the stars, whether thou canlt number them.
80 shall thy seed be,' Gen. xv. ~; that by the sons of Israel and by the seed of Abraham
was not,neant his posterity, but spiritual truths and goods which are innumerable. and
also for tbe most part ineffable, may be manifest from this conSideration, that thero was
lIot a g eater multitude of them than of other nations, which allO Moses testifies, • Not be-
cause of your multitude above all people hath Jehovah desired you. that He might ohoolll
JOD, for ye were fewer than all people,' DeuL vii. 7. "-~. 0.10,217.
In connection with the above let the followinl be read. .. SUTISTICS OW TB. JXWlI.-
An official publication Informs liS that there are hardly more than from 4,000,000 to 6,000.-
000 Jows in the whole world; whereas Bnddism numbers 400,000,000 adepts; Brahmism.
200,000,000; Christianity,230,OOO,ooO to 260,000,000 ; Mahometanism, from 130,000,-
00010160,000,000; and Fetishism (or pore idolatry), from 80,000,000 to 100,000.000.
The 6,000,000 Jews are thus dislributed: There Bre IOlDe 600,000 in Syria and Asiatio
Tnrkey; 2~,OOO In European Turkey j 600,000 in Morocco and North Africa j 60,000 to
80,000 in Eastern Asia; 100,000 in America; and about 200,000 in Europe--viz, 13,000
in England; 1694 in Belgium j 860 in Sweden and Norway; 6,000 in Denmark; 70,000
in France; 52,000 in 1he Low Countries; 1,128,000 In Russia (more than one· fifth of
the en lire race); 631,000 in Austria and its dependencies; lI14,431 in Pru..ia; 176,000
In the German Stat~s; and 4,000 in Italy...
The February No. of the" New Euglander," published at New Haven, an able, but
very free-spoken, organ of orthodoxy, has an article on the Trinity by the Rev. JOIeph
Haven, of whom we have never heard before, that soundl a new note In tbe evangelioal
trumpec of tile brethren of the East. It briDp the old fuhioaed TrinitarilllllllD of Ed-
1850.] Editorial IterM. 147
warch, and Dwight, aDd EmmoDl to lb. ordeal of a malt _rohing logical interrogation, ..
may be _n from IOme of ils positionl. It does not hesitate to ..y that" the most diflerN
and cOJtllittifl' opinions are found to prevail • • • • among lbe eamest champions
of lbe trulb." He declares lbat" a patient and careful re-tZiJllli_tiofl of the whole sub-
ject _m» to be demanded." It will not be eaey to deny lbis if the charges which lbe
writer bringe against the prevailing Trinitarianism of the church be well founded. " The
moment we conceive of lbe Deity .. conaisting of three distinct individuals, each poueu-
Ing conlCiousneas, affections, will, of lIis own, we contradict and virtually abandon the
true scriptural, simple idea of one God." .. This is tritheism." Herein the author direct-
ly arraigns the orthodoxy of Rev. Dr. Woods, who says :-" The apostles represent the
Father and Son to be diltiftd perlOns, as reaU, distinct .. a", tIDO film are." .. If the
New Testament does not teach that the Son (of God is, properl, speaking, a per_, then It
does not teach the perlOnallty of Paul or Peter. and lbe history of our own country does
not teach that either Washington or Hamilton was a ptrlOfl / ' and, moreover, .. he [Christ)
is a perlOn diltiftd from the Fathw." Again," What.I maintain is, that the Scriptures
a,
represent the Father and the Son to be t/AlO diltiflCt per,MI as plainl, aflll a, {vii, the,
"prtuAt Jacob aflll Jouph to be t/AlO diltiftd perllJN." Each of them, Father and Son, .. Is
an Intelligent, moral, voluntary individual, pouellllld of everything whioh oan be consid-
ered as belonging to personality." A line specimen trnly of orthodox unanimity on the
I!raad fundamental trnths of revelation. Tbis will appear still more strikingly upon
referenoe to Mr. Haven's own lbeory on the subject whioh our readers will perceive ap-
proximates still more nearly to the truth. By perlOnality he understands" a distinction"
in the divine nature, .. which lays the foundation for development in the history of our
world of God as 'Father, as Son, and as Spirit j" the term" personality" is employed
" for the want of IOme better term." Tbis amounls to no more tban to IIIIY, lbat there
are tbree distinctions in the divine nature wbich enable him to manifest himself to men
under a three·fold aspect. He declares that the 11 Father, Son, and Spirit. are not three
perlOns in the lense in which Peter, James, and John are three." . • . • .. This
were to deny lbe proper unity of God, .. we admit." His theory therefore is, that God,
lbe OtIC God, is oapable of manifesting himself In different ways to men. When he ap-
pears In one way, he is named Father; when In another way. be is named Son j when
In another way, he Is named Holy SpiriL All thellll are manifestations of the same Indi-
vidual being, the OtIC God. Something more than this is of courl8 reqt.isite to bring the
writer's theory upon New Church ground, bnt the indications are strong of the breaklnl
up of the dogmatio foundations of the old system.
A recent letlAlr from a friend In GlallOW, Scotland, givllll us tIe following information•
•~ In connexion with the Repository and witb the increase of our Society, about which
you kindly inquire, I mUll mention an interesting circumstance.. A leading member of
the Uflitariafl church, In GlutIow, a man of high intelligence and most estimable charao-
ler, has, aner a year's intense reading IInd much anxious thought lInd inquiry, at length
come fully and boldly out, given up his oonnexion with the Unilarian Church, and taken
• seat in ou,., bringing his wife and family (four ohildren) witb him. His course has
produced considerable wonder and agitaJion In that church, and lame othen are likely to
follow him." • • . • .. Your Sermon on • Life,' besides ~ing re-printed by Mr
lloolOn. has been a1IO re-printed here at the expense of a member of the Glasgow Society,
and ciroulated as a tract. I lbink It calculated to be useful."
Mr. Clapp, of Boston, has issued proposals as agent for a work on" Tbe Human Body
and its Connection with the Soul, the Universe, and Society; lIIustrated by the principal
Physical Organs." By J. J. G. WILIUI'ISOl'f, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, of
We learn from the Jan. No. of the Intellectual Repository, that several famili"', the
members of which are devotedly attached to tbe doctrines of the New Church, are about
to emigrate to WilConsin. Their object Is to settle as nearly as possible together. and to
form the nucleus of a Society in thBt distant State. Ev~ry exertion will be made by lhi,
faithful band of missionaries to propagate the truths and doctrines of the New Jeru18lem
.;
In that rBpldly increasing commlmity. Connected with this notice is an appeal to their
brethren In England to aid them In procuring a supply of books; as one of their objects
will be to establish libraries and to aflOrd every possible facil~ty for reading. In the
name of the little handfuls of rect'ivers scattered bere and there tbrough the State of Will-
consin, we shall cordially bid our English friends welcome beforehand.
A certein Rev. Dr. Ca'ipbell, in a review of" Noble's Lectures" in the British Banner,
of Dec. 19,1849, thlls delivers himself upon .. SwedenborgiansJJ in general. We trust he
has felt himself greatly relieved from that day to this. We hope too that our friends In"
this country may look liS calmly upon the verdict as our English brethren seem to do.
judging from the tone of Mr. Smithson's remarks in the Intellectual Repository.
.. The system of Emanuel Swedenborg, 80 far as it Is Intelligible, is amiable; and all
Its followers of whom we have any knowledge, have boon the lame; but they have also,
to an a~toni.hing degree, been wanting In those qualities of intellect which are necessary
to any thing that is entitled to be designated a reasonable service. We never met one in
whom there was any tbing to act upon in the way of understanding. They could not
comprehend a statement; they could not weigh an argument j they could not distinguish
11 premise from a conclusion, a doctrine from on inference, a fact from an opinion, a
history from a prophecy, or a threat from a promise. This may seem extraordinary, but
it is a'8uredly, as far as ol1r experience has gone, perfectly true. Its disciples are a col-
lection of the most extmordinary people we have ever seen." So extraordinary, indeed,
tbat If all this is true, it Is high time their friends were taking cale of them.
THE
MONTHLY REVIEW.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
AB.TICLE I.
No. XI.
IN bringing to a close our somewhat prolonged series of strictures
on Mr. Lord's principles of Scriptural interpretation, we are drawn to
contemplate, in front aspect, some few features of his system which
we have hitherto been able to look at only obliquely. Among these is
the assumption so frequently and so confidently insisted upon, that the
Most High himself cannot be represented, inasmuch as his infinite
perfections and attributes lift him entirely out of the range of all pos-
sible analogies drawn from the created universe. Whatever be
the extent of symbolical illustration employed to shadow forth the
truths and transactions of the Lord's kingdom, yet it can never be
made so broad as to embrace the Lord himself. It is true, indeed,
that this position· is assumed mainly in reference 00 the visions and
the symbolical machinelJ' of the prophets; but the spirit of the assump-
tion applies to the whole field of revelation.
.. There is an obvious necessity that God should appear in the visions as the
Creator and Ruler of the universe; and the Redeemer also, both as the Lamb
slain for meO, and after his saorifice, as the Almighty King accomplishing the
great scheme of redemption. Yet it were incoDsistent with their <') nature to
represent them (1) by anything drawn from the created universe. There is no-
thmg among creatures presenting any analogy to the Self-Existent, the Eternal,
the Almighty. To attempt a representation through them were to degrade, not
to exalt, our conceptions of him. The law of symbolization accordingly for..
bids his introduction by representation.n-E:rpor. oJtM ~poc. p. 7.
VOL. III. 11
150 The Letter and the Spirit. [April,
.. The Son of God, in place of being represented in the visions by an agent
of a different order, appears in all instances 88 his own symbol; and the reason
is, that no created agent is adequate to represent him; to employ a creature
as his symbol would be to assume that that creature resembled him in attri-
butes, station, and office, which would be an infinite falsehood."-7leol. 4" Lit•
.1ouTfWl, No. n. p. 186.
So again elsewhtlre he says, .. a mere creatnre can only symbolize
a creftture; God alone can represent himself." Accordingly he sup-
poses the apostle, when favored with the visions of the Apocalypse,
to have repeatedly beheld the Lord in direct personal manifestation,
and that too, from all that appears, with his bodily eyes, just as He
evidently imagines He will be seen by the whole world when he
comes in the literal clouds of heaven. On the abstract and a priori
possibility of the vision of a spiritual being, whether God, angel, or
spirit, by a natural e)'e, Mr. L. seems never to have reflected, but with
the mass of the Christian world to have taken it for granted that there
was no difficulty whatever in the case-that the Lord could be seen
in I!lory by the same e)'e that beheld him in flesh. He has evident-
ly yet to learn that the great questions which he has discussed from a
rhetorical stand-point are yet to be decided upon the basis of psy-
chology.
But to the position itself. The Most High must be his own repre-
sentative ; no created being is competent to do it. Now it is not a
strange-sounding assertion to multitudes of' reflecting men who have
never given any special heed to the teachings of Swedenborg, that the
wholt> creation is, in one sense, repreRentative of its Maker, as truly
as any production of human art or handiwork is a mirror in which is
represented the peculiar forms of the intelligence of the artist. This
reflection, however, of the attributes of Jehovah, is more especially
conspicuous in that order of beings which is said to have been created
in his image. An image is certainly a repreRentative, and if man re-
presents the Lord in his physical creation, it is surely difficult to as-
sign a reason why he may not do it in economical function. Does not
the dominion with which man is invested as lord of this lower
world represent, in its degree, the universal sovereignty of Jeho-
vah himself over all the works of his hands 1 Do not all kings
represent the King of kings 1 Do not all priests represent the
Lord's priestly character 1 Did not Moses sustain a representative
relation to the Most High in his office of lawgiver to the Jewish peo-
ple 1 And so of Joshua., of SamsoD, of Samuel, of David, of Solomon,
and others, one representing one phase of the Divine attributes, and
another, another. As Mr. L., whether consistently or not, does con-
cede, in words at least, the essential divinity of our Lord and Saviour
Christ, or that he is the supreme and only Jehovah (as there is but
one), can he ·refuse to admit the truth of the Lord's own declaration,
that Moses in the Pentateuch testified of Him, and that all things writ·
ten in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms respecting Him were to be
fulfilled 1 If this be true, it ill palpable that these writings have in their
interior and ruling scope, a reference to the Lord, and a representa-
tive reference too, inasmuch as he is in some way shadowed forth
under names and titles applied to other subjeots. Can any ~hiag be
1850.] ne Leftet' and t1ae Spirit. 151
more indubitable, for instance, than that the Lord himself is frequently
to be recognized under the person of David in the Psalms 1 Did
he not expressly teach it when in confuting the Pharisee. he said to
them, "What think ye of Christ T whose son is he 1 They say unto
him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in
Ilpirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my lord, Sit thou on
my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. IfDavid then
call him Lord, how is he his son." This is unequivocal, and equally so
is the allusion to Jacob in the following passage, Ps. xxiv.6," This is
the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, 0 J acob."
Here the Lord himself is indicated by the appellation" Jacob," of
which our translators seem to have had an inkling from their insert-
ing in the margin, ., or, the God of Jacob." Is not the Lord then re-
presented by men 1 And is not Mr. L.'s position far more than quell-
tionable-" a mere creature can only symbolize a creature; God
alone can represent himself"? .
The importance of our strictures on this head arises from the bear-
ing of Mr. L.'. doctrine upon his view of the divine theophanies
wherever mention is made of them. There is a crndf'lness of concep-
tion in all that he propounds on this subject which is trnly astonish-
ing. Thus, for instance, in his exposition of that portion of the Apo-
calypse (ch. iv. 2,3) in which the prophet says of himself, .. And imme-
diately I was in the Spirit: and behold, a throne was 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 was a rainbow round about the
. throne in sight like unto an emerald." He speaks in one place of the
occupant of the throne as a 8vmbol of the Deity, and yet elsewhere in
terms that would indicate hisbeing the Deity himself. At any rate, he
leaves ns in the greatest imaginable difficulty to discriminate between
the representative and the Being represented, "The spectacle pr.
sented in the above vision," he says, .. was a disclosure to the prophet,
through the disparted heavens, of afarm of dazzling majesty, accom-
panied by the insignia of Deity, • . • . and the loftiest forms of
created intelligences and regal shapes, of the redeemed bending at his
feet, chanting him the Self-existent, the Eternal, the Omnipotent, the
Holy, the Creator of all, and acknowledging his right, because of
those attributes and relations, to dominion over his works." He then
aclds that, .. in such circumstances, our nature is so formed as to be
irresistibly borne to the conviction, that it i. t1ae Deity who reveah him-
-elf to v•." If then it was the Deit>: who was now revealed to
the prophet, was it the Deity in propnll fer6ORll, or as represented
by a symbol1 If he was manifested 10 a symbolic form, what
was that form, and by what kind of vision was it seen 1 On the
last point Mr. 1. seems to concede that it was by spiritual
vision. .. Being in the spirit was being in the prophetic ecstasy
in which visions were beheld and revelations received." It was
. then by this kind of sight that God the Son was seen in the pro-
phetical visions, and as he also, according to Mr. L., is always his
own symbol, we would fain be apprised of the difference here too be- ~
tweeD the symbol and the substance. In ODe passage we read that
"The Redeemer appears in his own person, in his human nature glori-
152 . The Letter and tM Spirit. [April,
fied, in all the visions in which he is seen." So also in the exposition
of the White Horse and his august Rider, he says, If he appears in his
own person; because no created agent has any adequacy to represent
him either in nature or office." Yet on the very next page we are in-
formed that "the agent here exhibited is indisputably symbolic
as well as the acts he exerts." Now our inquiry is, in what respects
is this advent symbolical, if it is at the same time personal? If some-
thing was presented to the ecstatic or spiritual eye of John other than
the veritable divine form itself, what was it? As he is here called the
" Word of God," would Mr. L. have us understand that he was symbol-
ically represented by a book, and that the book appeared mounted on
a horse 1 What, we ask again, was the symbol ? and what is meant
by saying that, in prophetic visions, the Lord is his own symbol? If
the Lord manifests himself, what need of any symbol at all? and so
in like manner of the attendant armies of heaven mounted on white
horses, we are left in the same groping perplexity to determine
whether the prophet saw symbolical or substantial bona fide saints.
It would seem to be the latter from the following paragraph; "The
armies in heaven that follow him, are of the same corporeal nature as
he, manifestly, from their being seated on horses, and are shown to be
the raised and glorified saints, also, by their robes of fine white linen,
in which the bride, by whom they were symbolized in a former vision,
'W88 given to be arrayed. They also appear in their own persons, be-
cause neither any other beings, nor any fiotitious symbols, are suited
to represent them; and their descent is likewise to be visible." Yet
we are elsewhere taught that" all the agents and phenomena exhibit-
ed in the visions of the Apocalypse are symbolic, except the interpre*-
...
ing angels and those bearing the trumpets and vials, whose office is
merely to assist the revelation;" and on the supposition that they
were the real saints, we have the incongruity of a symbolic Saviour
on a symbolic horse, followed by substantial saints mounted also
on horses, which for consistency's sake would require to be as actual
and bonajide as their riders; for the idea of living saints mounted on
ideal or symbolical horses is, to say the least, as strange 88 any thing
that Mr. L. finds in the vagaries of Faber or Elliott.
We are disposed to do the utmost justice to Mr. L.'s speculations
in this department of his theme, and therefore we cite the following
paragraphs in juxtaposition. He is insisting, in the first, that the vision
of the White Horsp, denotes or symbolizes a personal advent. "And
finally that it is to be a personal and visible advent, is shown by the
express representation in the introduction of the Apocalypse that he
is to come with the clouds and every eye shall see him, and all the
tribes of the earth shall wail because of him." On turning to his ex-
position of the passage referred to, we find it said that" his coming with
the clouds, is that doubtless which is symbolized by his descent on the
white horse, in the nineteenth chapter, and they who pierce him are
they who, like the Jews, are to reject him as MellSiah." Here then it
seems that the visionary descent from heaven in the nineteenth chap-
ter is symbolical of the real and vUible descent announced in the fint.
Yet as he has not told us how to discriminate between the symbol and
1850.] The LeUe,. and the Spirit. 163
the substance of the Lord himself in that vision, so neither do we feel
ourselves competent, from any data which he has afforded, to form a
distinct conception of what is to be actually seen by every eye at the
coming which is yet future. It is here that we bring the charge of
crudity, or at least of signal obscurity, againlft Mr. L.'s theory of the
divine theophanies. He does not enable us to form a definite idea in
relation to the precise visum presented to the prophet's mental eye, and
which he denominates a symbol of the Lord, nor does he instruct us in
the exact nature of the expectancy which we are to cherish relative
to what he terms the second perlSonal and visible advent of the Lord.
Onr presumption is that he has a vague conception ot' a glorious and
majestic human form, which performs the symbolic function, and
which is' hereafter to appear, but if so, we would gladly be informed
how this phantasmal fonn differs from the reality pointed at by our
author when he says, "The Redeemer appears in his own person, in
his human nature glorified, in all the visions in which he is seen." It
is abundantly evident, we think.1that the psychology of revelation is a
field of study with which his mind has not been at all familiar.
The speculations of Mr. L. throughout. remind us of the remark,
that anyone can prove his conclusions if you allow him to assume
his premises. It is on this assumption that he so frequently charges
upon expositors the error of interpreting language as figurative,
which involves no figure whatever. Laying down his own laws of
figurative language, and applying his own criteria, he excludes a
tropical import from a multitude of passages where others recognize
it. But after all it remains, and will remain, a moot question whether
the language, in these cases, is not figurative or representative, not-
withstanding. A conspicuous example in this department occurs
in the following critique upon Mr. Faber : -
" Mr. Faber has fallen into a similar error in treating the prediction of
Christ's coming, Luke xxi. 27, and other similar passages, as metaphorical .
.. Then shall they see the Son of man coming In a cloud. with power and great
glory."
.. For as the lightning cometh out of the east. and shineth even unto the west; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall the tribes of the earth mourn. and
lhey shall see tbe Son of man coming In the clouds of heaven. with power and great
glory."-Mlllthew n:lv. 27-30.
.. Behold he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him. and lhey which pierced
him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wall because ofhim."-Rev.l. 7.
"These passages he construes ;-11ot as teRching that Christ is to come in
person in the clouds, and visibly to all eyes, as they assert i-but instead, that
he is infJilibly to exert some other act of a wholly different nature; such as
the infliction of judgments on men by the second causes which he ordinarily
employs for that purpose. But the prediction is not metaphorical. There is
Dothing incompatible with Christ's nature in his coming in the clouds visibly
to all eyes, in power and great glory. Instead the apostles were, at his as-
cension into a cloud, expressly assured that he shall come again in the same
manner as they saw him go into heaven. There is no figure whatever in the
passage; and no law of language by which it can mean anything else than
that which it directly asserts. To treat that which is predicated of Christ, as
metaphorical, ill as totally uuauthorized as it were to interpret bis nom, as
used figuratively, to denote 80me other being i and as gr018 a violation of the
154 The Lettsr and tlls Spirit. [April;
fnndamentallaws oC speech. If the license he here assumes be legitimate,
there is not an affirmation in the Scriptures that has a certain and demonstrable.
meaning. The word metaphorical ceases to stand for that which involves a
metaphor, and is made to mean that the language to which it is applied, is
susceptible to any construction which the interpreter chooses to place
on it."-T/uol. 4" Lit. Journal, No. 111., p. 385.
Here it will be observed that every thing rests upon the assumed
position, that the subject to which the metaphor is applied, is always
expressly named, that that name is always its literal and proper
name, and that the predicates employed in the connection are always
such aB are suited to the imputed, and not to the intrimic nature of
the subject. We have already in a previous number cited several
instances directly subversive of this rule; but let us bring it again to
the test: .. Dan is a serpent in the way." Now, according to the
above canon, the agent or object (Dan) to which the figure or meta-
phor (serpent) is applied, is expressly and literally named. It is the
individual, Dan, the son of Jacob, and no one else. .. The subject of
the metaphor is always explicitly (and nterally) named." Is this
true T Have not the names of each of these twelve patriarchs or
phylarchs a collective import, embracing their respective posterities,
"nd are not thp. materials of a just interpretation to be sought for in
the subsequent history of these tribes, not in anyone event, or in any
single period of time, but in a continuous and progressive series of
accomrlishments reaching down to the latest era of the Jewish
polity This assuredly is the judgment of the great mass of com-
mentators, and we doubt if Mr. L. would deny it. But no sooner do
we admit thill, than we depart from the asserted rule. The literal
subject of the predication is not the true subject of the prediction.
The one is the individual person Dan, the other his collective pos·
terity in future ages. It will not do to say in reply to this, that it is
a common usage of speech to denominate a people or race by the
name of its founder. The fact of its being a common usage does not
do away its logical value in the argument. How came it to be a
common usage 1 This of itself requires explanation. So we say it
is a common usage to denote by the name Israel, not the patriarch
known by that appellation, not even the nation descended from him,
but the spiritual Israel, or the members of the Lord's church. At any
rate, if Mr. L. allows a collective import under the name of Dan, we
156 ne Letter and the Spirit. [April
should urge the inquiry, why something more than a literal sense is
not conveyed by the name Israel. But in any case it shows the un-
soundness of his tropological axiom, that the subject of a metaphor
is always expressly and literally named. The fallacy in the case,
however, is extremely subtle, from the ambiguity of the word "sub-
ject." What are we to understand by the subject of the metaphor in
the expression, .. the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vine-
yard 1" The term" daughter" is of course, in the first instance, to be
taken in its literal sense, and so far we admit the soundness of the
rule. But it is evident that that which is left as a cottage in a vine-
yard is something which the phrase "daughter of Zion" is intended
to represent. Now which iB the genuine Bubject of the metaphor-
daughter, or that for which daughter stands 1 So far as the simple
enunciation of the rule is concemed, we should say it was the former;
but the rule is of no account, except so far as it goes counter to the
proposition affirming the latter. What could be more nugatory than
to assert, in regard to the above, that .. daughter" meant dau~hter,
and that this was the primary subject of the predicate" is left," &c. 1
This is something that no one has ever called in question, and if this
is all the author's diatribes upon the metaphor amount to, the quan-
tum is mightily little indeed. If it is more than this, then it involves
a gratuitous assumption which he has no right to make. There is
'nothing in the nature of the metaphor, in itself considered, which ne-
cessitates the position that the subject shall never sustain a represen-
tative relation. The essential quality or principle of the metaphor
in the expression" Israel is an empty vine," is not in the least affected
by the ascription to ;' Israel" of an interior or spiritual sense, by
which it shall denote the church instead of the descendants of Jacob.
The laws of the metaphor have nothing to do in determining that
question. It rests upon wholly independent grounds. And so in re-
gard to other forms ofspeech. It will be found that in multitudes of
cases Mr. L. excludes, by a purely arbitrary sentence, a figurative
element where others have recognized it upon the authority of analo-
gous usage. Thus, for example, in Is. v. 17, .. Then shall the lambs
feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall
strangers eat." Here Vitringa and other commentators virtually
adopt the interpretation of the Chaldee, which understands by lambs
men, .. Then the just shall feed as it is said to them; and they shall
be multiplied, and possess the property of the impious." We do not
stand for this particular exposition, but we protest against the arbi-
trary exclusion by Mr. L. of any other than a literal sense. " It is a
literal and not a symbolical prediction, and has had its fulfilment in
the conversion of Palestine into vast wastes and pasture grounds,
and occupation for a long series of ages by foreigners who keep herds
and flocks." Incomparably more probable, in our view, is the spiritual
interpretation above suggested, as the employment of the terms
" lambs," "sheep," &c., to denote men of a certain character is of veri
frequent occurrence in the Scriptures. The sum of the matter then
is, that Mr. 1.-., in order to avoid the admission of a spiritual sense,
has aBBumed certain laws of figurative language, and on the basis of
1860.] Th8 Letteto and the Spirit. 15'7
Is. vi. 10, " , Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy,
and shut their eyes i lest they Bee with their eyes, anti hear with their ears,
and understand witn their heart, and convert, and be healed.' Making the
heart fat, and the ears dull, and closing the eyes, are put for analogous acts
on the mind j and turning and being healed for repenting and obtaining ex-
emption from punishment. They are not used metaphorically, as those ef-
fects and acts were possible to the Israelites."~-Id. p. 416.
• .. Every one may see that to buy wine and milk Is not to be understood literally j and
wherea. to buy .i~ifies to procnre themselves suoh things as oonduoe to spiritual life, it ie
evident that all things there mentioned are la be spiritually understood; thus, by waters, to
which everyone that thirsts might go, are signified truths to them that desire them, waten
denoting truth from the Word, and to thirst, denoting to desire them."-A. E. 640.
t .. That darkn_signifles falses, appear. from many pauages in theWord; Blln Is. v.
20,' Wo nnto them that put darknelll for light, and light for darknelllj' where darkn_
denotes fa1seB, and Iigbt truths."-A. C. 1839.
* "In the Word, blindnelll is predioated ofthollll who are in tbe false, alllO of those who
ani in ignorance of truth. Thus, Is. vi. 10, 'llbke the heart of thia people fat,' &0., de-
1850.] ne Letter and eM Spirit.
It is clear enough that he is not possessed of the key to unlock the
genuine sense of the Spirit in these passages, but it is also clear that
he is fully aware of the insufficiency of all ordinary appliances of rhe-
toric to help him oat of the difficulty. He has therefore had recourse
to a name, and fancied that the calling certain tropical forms of speech
by that name would be equivalent to unfolding the philosophy of the
usage; thus affording, at any rate, a specimen of logical hypocata6-
tam, or 6ub,titution of a shadow for a substance. Why caimot Mr.
L'lerceive that this very figure necessitates a spiritual interpretation,
an that what he calls a 6Ub6titution of one agent, object, act, or
attribute for another is a process strictly scientific, and depending upon
a principle that applies to the vyholeo structure of figurative language
throughout the Word 1 Why can he not see that he has himself vir-
tuall)' stated this principle when he says, that" the relation of the re-
presentative to that whic~ it represents is the relation of analogy. A
corre8]JORdence exists between the symbol and that which is symboliz-
ed, by which one is' fitted to be the representati ve of the other." So
again, "if we compare the symbol in these instances with the agent
which it is employed to represent, we see a corrupcnu1ence between
them that fits the one to be the representative of t~e other." Once
more, "this method of symbolization, by which agents stands for
agents, acts for acts, effects for effects, and the subjects of effects for
subjects of effects, is required by analogy. There is a corre8]JORdenc6
between agents and agents, and between acts and acts, and an adap-
tation of the one to represent the other." This is but little short of the
New Church language, and all that is farther requisite is to admit that
this COTruJlORdence rests upon the relation of cause and effect, and is
governed hy laws as fixed as any in the universe. Take, for instance,
.the following sample of this law of correspondence as unfolded in
Swedenborg's expositions, and what reasouable objection can be made
to it 1 Does it not, moreover, open a new and profound view of Scrip-
tural comment, such as the world has never witnessed at the iands
of any other writer 1 He is giving us the spiritual interpretatIon of
.. tail" as a symbol•
.. •And they had tails like unto scorpions'-That hereby are signified sensual
scientifics, which are of a peJ1luasive nature, appears from the signification of
tails, as denoting sensual scientifics (or, cognitiofll), concerning which we shall
speak presently j and from the signification of scorpions, as denoting things
persuasive, infatuating, and suffocating j hence tails like unto scorpions si~·
nify sensualscientifics, which are persuasive. The reason why tails signify
sensual scientifics, is, because the tails which are attached to the animals of
the earth, are continuations of the spine of the back, which is called the spinal
marrow, and this is the continuation of the brain, and by the brain is si~nified
intelligence and wisdom, in like manner as by the head, because intelhgence
Bnd wisdom reside there in their princip'les or beginnings j and inasmuch as
tails are the ultimates thereof, they sigmfy sensual scientifics, for these are the
ultimates of intelligence and wisdom. Sensual 8cientifics are those which
euter from the world through the five senses of the body, and hence, viewed
noting that it would be better they should be in falsities than in truths, becaulIll they
were in the life of evil, and if suoh should be instructed in lnJths, they would not only
(alsHf them, but would also de1lle them with evila."-.d. C. 2383.
160 TM LetttJr and the 8pirit. [April,
in themselvel, are more material, corporeal, and worldly, than thole which
are more interior. All who are in the love of self, and have confirmed them-
selves against divine and spiritual things, are sensual men, and when they
think in their spirit, IUI is tbe case when they are left to themselves, they think
concerning things divine and spiritual from sensual scientifics, whence they
reject things that are divine and spiritual as not to be believed, because
they do not see them with their eyes, or touch them with their hands, and ap-
ply tbeir own scientifics, which they have made sensual aud material, to de-
stroy them. Take, for example, the learned men of this kind who are skilled
in natural history, anatomy, botany, and the other branches of human emdi-
tion; when such persons see the wonderful things that exist in the animal and
Tegetable kingdoms, they say in their hearts that all these things are from na-
ture, and not from the divine being or principle, and for this reason, because
they believe in nothing but what they can see with their eyes and touch with
thell hands, for they cannot elevate their minds, and thereby see those things
from the light of heaven, for this light is mere darkness to them, but they de-
tain their minds in things terrestial, almost like the animals of the earth, with
which they also compare themselves; in a word: with luch persons, all the
8ciences become sensual: for according to the quality. of the man himself, such
are all things pertaining to his uuderstanding and wdl' if the man is spiritual,
all things become spiritual to him; if he is only natural all things become na-
tural and not spiritual; if he is sensual, all things become sensual, and this,
however emdite and learned he may appear before the world: but since all
men have the faculty of understanding truths and perceiving goods, they can
speak, by virtue of lhis faculty, as if they were spintual·rational, but still they
are sensual as to the spirit, for when such speak before the world, they do not
speak from the spirit, but from the memory pertaining to the body. These
C?bservations are adduced, in order that it may be known what sensual scien-
tmcs are."-A. E.559.
Here we have a specimen of genuine correspondence, and of the style
of Scriptural exposit.ion that arises from the recognition of that prin-
ciple as forming the distinguishing feature of revelation. It is a prin-
ciple which takes us into the very interior-the inmost penetralia-
of the inspired oracles, and gives us a community of understanding
with the angels of heaven. The truths of the Word address them-
selves to the spiritual and not to the natural mind, inasmuch as the
term' in which tlley are clothed interpret themselves in ~piritual in-
stead of natural ideas. In this way every portion of it becomes in the
highest degree practical and influential upon regeneration. Histori-
cal events, ritual ceremonies, and prophetical burdens divest them-
selves of their literal relation to time and space, and come home to the
soul in the form of heavenly precepts, or axioms of life. Every thing
is changed. The devout reader, being thus" in the spirit," as it were,
heaven is virtually opened to him, and he converses with the Lord in
the Holy of Holies. To one 80 deeply imbued with, and so closely
wedded to, the letter as Mr. L., we can easily see how difficult must
be the admission of such a principle of interpretation as we have all
along contended for, especially as he has so confirmed himself by an
elaborate process of argumentation and the responsibility of upliold-
ing a favorite theory. But we cast our bread upon the waters, glad
if any of it finds its way to his hands, but not at all surprised if it does
not. Our discussion will not have been in vain, though he should have
reaped no profitable fruits therefrom. It has enabled us to bring two
opposite and antipodal systems of interpretation into contrast and thus
to afford to the general reader an opportunity to judge of their res-
1860.] 161
peetive merits. Without presuming to look with any special compla-
cency upon our own part in the conduct of the debate, we are still
grateful to Mr. L for having given us the opportunity to make the is-
sue we have, and we close, as we began, by returning him our thanks
unfeigned on this score. The discussion has taken us over ground
which we always tread with pleasure, as it perpetually discloses new
treasures of truth and wisdom in the wonderful revelations vouchsafed
to the Lord's New Church. Whether others see them, is a matter of
more doubt and less consequence. We see them, and our assurance
and joy on this ground no man can take from us. The happiest era of
our life was when we were brought to this perception, and if we have
one conviction which we shall probably never surrender, it is that of
the truth, beauty, and glory of the internal or spiritual sense of the Di-
vine Word as made known to the Church by Swedenborg.
G. B.
ARTICLE 11.
MISSIONS.
INSANITIES.
A.KTICLE IV.
Let the subject therefore be fully discussed, and in the spirit of true
brotherhood. When this is done, we may arrive at clear ideas of
duty, and ways will thus open by which the rational mind can see
how every one, however humble, can aid in carrying out the command
of our Saviour to his disciples, .. to preach the gospel to every crea-
tUTe."
X. Y. Z.
AKTICLE v.
RE-BAPTISM.
THE re-baptism of proselytes who had received that ordinance be-
forehand from Old Church administrators has given rise to great dif-
ferences of opinion among our brethren. The ad"ocates of the prao-
tice allege that the former baptism was into the consummated church,
and it is therefore invalid. Their opponents insist that there is still a
great body of the New Church in those organizations, and that that
fact preserves the sacraments in their integrity. Mr. Barrett alludes to
the significant circumstance that Swedenborg who was baptized by a
Lutheran, received the Holy Supper at the hands of Mr. Ferelius, a
little before his decease.
The conclusion which Mr. B. adopts in the N. C. Visitor is one in
which we cordially reciprocate; "that each individual 8hould be ~
mitred to decide for him8elf, whether or not hi8 former baptinn be mfli-
cient, or whether he will be btrptiud into the New Church." Much iIe-
pends upon the state of mind in which the person or his representatives
were when the ordinance was administered; if it was a state of char-
ity, we find it as easy to aceept that ceremonial as readily as though it
. had been performed by a Newchurchman. We would trammel no
man's conscience. Besides we have no fellowship for that pruriency
for domination which would require an honest person, who possessed
the three essentials, to obey laws of men's own making, regardless of
the Lord.
Nevertheless, we advocate as a general rule the re-baptizins
of proselytes from the churches around us. We have too little faith in
the efficacy of any Old Church administrations, to adopt them as suf-
ficient for the reeeiver of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem. They
might answer in the early period of the New Church, while the tran-
sition was taking place, as did the institutions of Judaism in the in-
cipient stages of the first Christian Church. But as there is an ap-
proach toward vigorous youth, the Church should stretch forth her
hand and gird herself Cl with the requisite externals, and no longer
wear the garments of infancy put on by others, who desire to gird her
and lead her whither she chooseth not to go," John xxi. 18.
Why do we not seek the instruction of ministers from the consummat-
ed church 1 Plainly because they have no influx from the Lord, which
adapts them for our teachers. They live in the former dispensation;
[April,
whereas fo us .. all thinp are become new." To be sure, the fonnal or-
dination is of little consequence, but the fllct i~ all-important. A man
must have an influx of good and truth from the Lord to enable him to
impart instruction usefully; and the Bumming up of the matter
amounts to this: he mtut be right upon the e18etltiah of the churcA,
else he will not be a suitable teacher for New Jerusalem Christians.
Yet when the Old Church had not wound up its concerns, its ministers
were appropriate in that peculiar state of matters. But now we think
the case is different. If not, we see no order, nor appropriateness in
the general separation of Newchurchmen from the different organiza-
tions. Yet all acknowledge that there are good reasons for that di-
vision, because there is no hom~ no rest for the spirit, no place for
the man of the New Church in the sanctuaries of the Old Dispensa-
tion. Hence, wb differ from Mr. Barrett in his recommendation 10
isolated receivers to attend the "evangelical" ministry. We prefer
rather the advice which he once gave to a little company at Fall
River, to hold independent meetings. If we do not in heart affect the
Old Church, they do not want us, cxcept for our money and influence;
their spiritual food is poisonous to us; and it is utter vanity for US to
imagine that at the present time the Divine Providence seeks to keep
as there. Suppose but one or two receiv~rs are to be assembled,
Burely they are a church and priest by divine influx, and can perform
worship. Wp, have long been in this habit, and can testify frum
valuable experience. that each hour thus spent in the Lord's courts,
was more precious and soul-satisfying thlW the many da}'S which, be.
fore that, we spent in the meetings of the popular churches. We have
enjoyed one privilege, that of worshiping the Redeemer without in-
anlt, or a gag on our lips. Two cannot walk together except they are
egr.eed; and if the doctrine of faith alone is the dragon, its intlux must
be detrimental to piety.
Upon this fact we base much ot nur argument for re-baptizing.
We regard the ministrations of the Old Church as unadapted to our
wants and injurious to our life; yet our bapti."m under their regulation
is a solemn pledge to accept their doctrine, to abide by it, llnd 10 as-
80ciate ourselves with the spirits peculiar 10 that dispensation. AB
we cannot do it, as we regard that church as consummated and pass-
ed away; we see no more propriety in our continual acceptance of
its baptism, than in undergoing circumcision, which has the same cor-
respondence, and then refusing the initiatory rite of Christianity. Yet
Jewish proselytes to the apostolic church were baptized; and the
aame rule would require Newchurchmen as such to be baptized into
the name of the Lord, even though baptized beforehand by an Old
Churchman. If the pl1Ssing away of the heavens and earth of Juda-
am rendered it proper to baptize circumcised prost'lytes, why does
BOt the Sllme catastrophe in the Christian universe, authorize the re-
baptism of converts from the consummated church 1
We have already admitted that while the New Dispensation was
.in ita infancy, the sacrament might lawfully be received from Old
Chureh administrators. Under this head we consider the case of
SwedenbOrg to come. "In nothing is our divinely instructed author
mom guarded than in what he says rf'-specting violent changes or ab-
rupt transitions from one state to another. True order precipitates
nothing, but evermore tlictates gradual ~eveJopment." The Divine
Providence, however, has now brought it about that a distinct people
should arise to support the New Chorch stand8rd, and to that will he
commit the promises of the Word, if they prove faithful to the light.
Thither do we look for the prosecution of the work devolving apoat
the true Church. Nor is our confidenoe weakened, except where we
find institutions upreared which are mere imitations of the former.. and
leavened with that leaven; and where we find a mealy-mouthednesa
in bearing testimony against popular sins. Wherever we filld a
people who possess the true light and manifest the oorresponding
spirit, we look for the orderly performance of the ordinaDces which
are distinctive of the church. Thus are we oalled away from the old
order of things, and our attention is fixed on the New. There we
look for that ministry which will evangelize the world. There we ex-.
pect to find the preachers ordained of HeaveD who will go forth to
.. make disciples of all the nations," and who are commissioned to per-
form the analogous rite of" baptizing them in the name oithe Father
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
"We do Dot see, from anything which we Ilave learned from SW&!
denborg or the Word, that any harm can come from repeating the or-
dinance in the New Church. And as this may be considel"Pd a perfect-
ly .afe course, those who have any doubts about the Talidity of their
former baptism, will probably find this the easiest way of settling
them. Moreover, it is possible that by acknowledging in t.hi8
manner our faith in the Lord as He has revealed himself at His se.
cond advent, we shall withdraw ourselves farther from the society of
evil spirits, and receive added strength to live the doctrines of the
New Jerusalem, and to resist 8nd overcome, in our hearts, the princi-
ples which these doctrines oppoCj8. Baptism iDto the faith of the New
Church will Dot be likely to remove us farther from the angels of tu
New Heaven; it ma'l be a means of drawing us inw a closer commu.
nion with them."-N. O. Vililor, p.20.
We think that this 18st quoted paragraph fairly sets off the case in
point. While with the writer we zealously insist that each perIOD
should possess uninfringed liberty to decide tbe qaestion for hiIDlelf,
as he must also upon becoming a Newchurchman at all, we mnst also
exprt'ss our confidence, that such persons acting according to reasoza.
carefully avoiding to be led by the self-hood of others, will come to the
decision to receive baptism from an ooministrator in the New Cbureh.
At least we have observed such to be the case where we h&ye had
opportunity for personal observation. We fear not, however.. for the
result. Although we differ in opinion upon this subjoot with much es-
teemed brethren.. we find DO antagonistic unfriendly feeling toward
them. But as truth is developed by individual expression of ideas.
we place our essays on file with the rest, praying the great Head of
the Church to overrule all for the welfare Of JerYNJem whom he Mala
chosen.
.,. w.
1'78 .A Particular AqecI of Ne1IJ Church Duty. [April,
aRTICLE VI.
CORRESPONDENCE.
From our EDgli.sh Correspondent.
LoJfDOIl, Feb. 8, 1850.
My Du.. SIR,-YOU will not be surprised when I observe that the ullsettled
ltare of Europe affords matter for elldle8ll reflect.ion and speculation 011 the
probable issue of events. Nor, consideriug rhe rapidity with which 11 newI'"
travels in rhese wingtld times, will you need to be informed that the last and
mosr slarding word has beeu spoken by the celebraled Carlyle in his " Latter·
day Pamphlers."
Let me tell you, however, that the critics are all thunder.stricken, and much
in the same case as the magistrares of Jerusalem, when the son of Ananue
came to the feast Qf taberv.acles with his portentous cry, "A ooicejrom the EaIt;
G fJoioefrom. the Wt3t; a fJoice from the four wind.s; a wice agaifllt Jmualem cmd
the Temple; a voice agaimt mm and women newly married; a fJOice again" all thil
p.ople f'* It will be remembered that they beat the prophet" till his bones ap-
peared." "et he never ceased to cry, " WO, IDO, to JerlUalem." In like manner
tbe Je\\'s of the prels, and the pharisees of the church. The modern Ananu8
bears to be well belabored without regaining his wits, and they are fain to le&
him off with the sentence of harmless idiocy. Not that his 81alwart genius
and originality is underrated; rather, the country coufesses its pride in an au·
thor who lluites the maniere Ipirituelle of the·French with the solidity and vigor
of the good old English, but that his startling conclusions and unpleasant ex-
ordiums are placed to the accollnt of mere whim, or an overheated imagina-
tion. It is !l0 pleasant for the old ladies to persuade themselves, as soon u
their nerves have recovered the first shock 01 his avatarsbip, that after all, he i,
only olle of those 1.Ialloons alluded to in his first pamphlet, which do "and must
give up their gas in the pressure of things, and are collapsed in a sufficiently
wcetcbed manner before long."
The nry couclusions, however, wllich are terrifying to the majority of hia
readers, the convictions in fact which alarm his own mind, are pre.cisely tboee
upon which the Newchurchman would place his finger as evidence of the pro-
gress and rejllVeneecence of things. Let us take a single extract:-
"Universal Democrac!/," he says, "whatever we may think of it, has declared
itself as an inevitable iael of the days in which we live j and he who has any
chance to instruct, or lead, must begin by admitting that: new street barricadee,
and new anarchies, still more scandalous if still less sanguinary, must return,
and again return, till governing persons everywhere know and admit that. De·
mocracy, it may be said every where, is here: for sixly years 110W, ever
since the grand or first French revolution, that fact has besn terribly announc-
ed to all the world; in message after mestlage, some of them very terrible
indeed, and now at last all tbe world ought really to believe it. That the
world does believe it j tbat even kings now as good as believe it, and
know, or wilh just horror surmise, that they are uut temporary phantasm
playaetors, and that Democracy is the gmnd alarming, imminent, and in-
disputable reality. This, among the scandalous phases we witnessed in
the lut two years, is a phasis full of hope-a sIgn that we nre advan-
oing closer and closer to tbe very probleRl itself, which it will behove us to
eolve or die-that all fighting aud campaigning, and coalitioning in re-
prd to the existence of the problem, is hopeless and superfluous hence-
fortb. The gods have appoillled it 10; 110 Pitt, or body Qf Pitts, or mor-
tal creatures, can appoint It otherwise. Democmcy, sure enough, is here;
one knows not how long it will kee{J hidden under ground, even in Russia j
&Dd here in England, thotl&h we object to it resolutely in the fonn of street-
• Josepbua: War. of ~e Jew., vii. 12.
18GO.] CDITUpOIII1nu:e. 18'
barricades and insurrectionJP:IY pikes, and decidedly will not opeD doortl to it
CID those terms, the tramP. of Its million feet is on all streets and thoroughfares
-the sound of its bewl1dered thousand-fold voice is in all winkings and
Ipeakings, in all thinking8 and modes, and activities of men. The soul that
does not now, with hope or terror, discern it, is not the one we address on this
occasion. What is Democracy-this huge inevitable product of the detotiniear,
which is every where the portion of our Europe in these latter days ~ There
lies the question for us. Whence comes it, this univertlal big black. Dem~
cracy; whither tends it· what is the meaning of it ~ A meaning it must
have, or it wonld not be here. If we can find the right meaning of it, we
may, wisely submitting or wisely assisting and controlling, still hope to live
in the midst of it; if we cannot find the right meaning, if we find only the
wrong, or no meaning in it, to live will not be possible! The whole social
wisdom of the present time is summoned, in the name of the Giver of wisdom,
to make clear to itself, and lay deeply to heart with an eye to strenuous va·
liant practice and effort, what the meaning of this universal revolt of the Eu~
ropean populations, which calls itself Democracy, and decides to continue
permanent, may be."
It is remarkable that be himself traces this revolt to the reforming Pope wi~
the New Testament in his band as the rule of government. .. The European
po~ulations every where hailed the omen with shouting and rejoicing. . . '.
ThlDking people listened with astonishment-not with sorrow if they were
faithful or wise-with awe rather as at tbe heralding of death, and with la
joy as of victory beyond death! Something pious, grand, and as if awful
in that joy, revealin~ once more the presence of a Divine Justice in the world."
This is the point of lUterest in the whole book for the New Church, provide"
only we continue the thread where Carlyle has evidently let it go as his clu,
to the interior of the labyrinth. If we recognize, in fact, as he has failed to dO,
the revelation of this august presence in the instinctive consciousness of th.
revolted-tM Word in 'thcjluh-and the kingdoms of this world becoming the
kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ (Rev. xi. 15). The anger of the na.
tions, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged (Ibid. v. 17) has
been determined by prophecy as the forerunner of the new age. The Fatber,
however, judgeth no man, but has committed all judgment nnto the Son. FOI'
judgment, ,therefore, has He again come into the world, and for a judgment so
much the more terrible, as His spiritual coming must exceed both in power
and in the breadth of its influence the first advent. Were Mr. Carlyle ac-
quainted with the doctrines of the Divine Humanity, the springs of this .. uni-
versal revolt of the European populations" would be obvious to him.
The truth is, we are on the eve of the same order of events which took flace
when the ancient empires of the east, and finally the Roman power, fel into
ruins along with the ecclaite antiqu« so frequently described hy Swedenboq.
The sustaining power of the feudal system of Europe exists no longer; the
Ipiritual thrones by which its "galvanic life" was dispensed bave passel
away; with the Iirtlt heaven or" paradise of fools." The anarchy whIch ne-
cessarily results from such a revolution was for a long time more conspicuonl
in Spain than elsewhere, and Spain is more deteriorated than any of the other
old States. France, Italy, and Germany are following in her wake and entef·
ing the phases through which she is passed; and now it is no longer a mystery
how tbe arts and arms of Rome were unable to save the empire of the CII!8IU'11.
May it be long before England, the keystone of the arch as it yet stands, dortl
eC\ual evidence of the utter destruction which a falling church c8l1'ies a1oD,
WIth it! .
Mr. Carlyle's book stands out alone as a sign of the times. We have another
of quite a different complexion in the Arwnu de la fie Future ditJoili, of Mc. Ca.
baguet. This is the latest and most astonishing manual of Clairvoyance sub-
mitted to the public; and it demands a word or two a: wtJudra now: ,",eM, ia
consideration of the fact that Swedenborg himself is its hero. It contains all
account of disclosures made by upwards of eighty deceased persons through
the medium of various ecstatic somnambulists, and there is no reason to con-
vo.. w. 13
{April,
tlude either from the internal evideuce of the book, or the criticisms to which
it has been subject, that tbere is any attempt at deception in its pages-tathet
the reverse. At the same time many of iUl disclosures are so extraordinary,
that it would really seem too much to ask credence for them of any l!ensibht
person; while some of its statements are of l!uch a nature as to afford abun-
Hant evidence oC tbe presence of evil as well as good spirits iuteriorly, with
~very one. But the great object of the autbur is to demonstrate the existenee,
Che Corm, and the occupations of the soul after its separation from the body,
iand on all these points it is strictly coincident with the revelations of Sweden-
Ilorg, who was freq,llently confronted with Monsieur's lItJ17Inambulu-or at least
• resemblance of him. The numerous facts which are brought forward under
Jhis head are unanswerable. "All the JaV4r11 in the world," says one oC the
extatiques, 11 cannot deny what I have just cited, which is operated every day,
im~ at el-ery instant of the day j theu!M1l bt obligtd to tnmd tAt proptl1itl of tAs
~}I, if t!lty !M/l not a/lOVl it a ,ou/, ana thtu proptrtitl !M/l bt aI ob,curt in thtir _
lutzon aI t1lole of tht latttr; accepting the soul, they will be obliged to give it the
power of travelling out of the body, of reading thoughts, and of seeing both
,ast and future actions; and when they haTe acknowledged such a soul they
will not refuse its going in search of repose to a place of recompense for all
the sufferings which it has endured in this world of grief."
, One of the principle organs of Psychology in this country, however (the
Eoi,t, edited by Dr. Elliotsou), makes short work with all the facts collected by
tahaguet to prove that the phenomena of Clairvoyance cannot be accounted.
ror on the theory of reflection and imagination. This is not to be wondered at
~onsidering that the principal object of the writer was to throw contempt on
llwedenborg's experience aud his revelations; but yet it is most unfair even
looked at in a literary point oCview. Many of Cahagnet's experiments Wl're er-
~ressly addressed to the problem of communication by reflection of thought, but
lhese and the arguments founded on them are alike overlooked by the reviewer.
'Well may the author rally the learned on their impassibility, and bid them re-
auain in their doctorial ornaments and seigneurial robes-the emblems of the
"atu quo; well may he exclaim, "We will practice science without you, and
-,nore consoling science than yOUlS." One passage is well worth extracting,
though it should leave one no space to add anything on the other topics of
controversy in the work.
. "Some persons have objected that there could nDt be any usages in the
.world of spirits as on earth, still less objects adapted for such usages j one of
them thought it extraordinary that there should be houses, &c., and exclaimed
whilst ridiculing the assertion :-' Masons and tapestry-makers can't want for
.Fort there then!' I have but a few observations to make in this respect:-
What is understood by life 1 Is it not thinking 1 Thinking ofwhat 1 OCsome-
'thing. What is this something 1 All that can be perceived by the eye, heard
~y the ear, and that can fall under the other senses. 1st. Places, accidents of
places, ornaments of places. 2d. Living beings and of our own nature, with
.whom we shall be in communication. To be in communication it is necessary
,Co speak. Speak of what 1 Of things past, present, or futllre. These some-
&hings ought to represent images to our eyl'S as they do on earth. WithOUt this
I should 110t comprehend a life in which we should not thil1k. Thaught is th,
~ht of «nnething, speech is the n'ame of this thing, sensation is the touch of
Ifli!s thing. Take away these properties from spiritual life, what remains for
.,t' Nothingness! Give it these properties, they cannot exist without the
things thought. From the moment you admit thought, :you admit the view of
.it i thus the thought oC a place must represent a place In i18 entire fonn and
""lth its accidents; there a garden, with trees, fruits, and flowers; an atmos-
.JIhere, light of some kind; Carther on, beings of a nature similar to yours,
lIfouped, standing, seated or lying on whin beats them. These beings cannot
,temain standing or lying 011 eternity; they must admire those tmits, intoxiC'll.\'e
.&hemselves with the perfume of those floW'ers, breathe this sweet II.tmol!phe~,
contemplate the light by whieh they see these thin~ j but if a Whole etel:t1ity
were spent iJi seeing only ttees, thiit8, ftowttn, aDd ita.iI, we ehoU1d be ~ou
1800.) III
fited of t1tlM a t1tate; a succession in the thoqltts to feed the sensatioD8, lUllt
tltis 1l11Cceuion of thoughts gives rise to the supposition, all I have said, of
Chiuking, feeling, and Ileeing something else. It is the infinite of the creatioa
that is before us; palaces, hous88, furniture, usages, in Ilhort, must exist there.
If all this exists there, it is for the purpose of gratifying our sensations, our a&.
fections, and our infinite desire.. It may be objected that all these things ma,
exillt in heaven without our being bound to fabricate them as on earth. I an-
swer that that is true. Scarcely have you desired an object but it presents it-
self to ,our view, because it ie tM type of your thought, and bears the very
form 0 the object thought; but this does not do away with there being af.
'ion' tAat fDislt to fabricate, co-arrange, or embellish tAe object tllougltt, as they do 011
earth. If man progresses in each of his thoughts, and desires to take notes 011
what he observes, makes a book of them in order to communicate his observa-
tions to his fellow-beings, he must find pa~er and things necessary to form his
book, another will have the affection of prlOting it, a third of pubhl.'hing it, aud
so on. If r wish to play music, although it be po88ible for me to have or to
hear it at my pleasure, if I prefer playing myself, I must have insuumenu that
I ean make, or find ready made, without any other pains than merely desiriq
them; but he who has a taste for making such insuuments has a right ~
make them, since for him it is no longer a necessity ill order to live, but . .
affection that constitutes his whole happiness. A.n architect has tile same
right; it is his supreme felieity to produce a masterpiece; the mason's ~ shoW'
his superiority in the details of thiS palace, and so on. Take away one of th.
things I have jU!!t enumerated from the spiritual life, because this tbing coma
not within the range of your taatell; your neighbor will have the same rilth.,
I, too, and we shall end with annihilating all that constitutes the fllture life.
Heaven will no lon~r be even a place, a state, it will be nothingness. I d.
not think it neeessary to carry these eonclusions any farther in order to prove
• the absurdity of sueh an argument. Thoee who believe that singing the praise.
'Of God for a whole eternity is the sole ooeupatioD of spirits must neceasaril,
divest spirits of forms, because forms demand usages, walking, eeeing,hearing.
feeling, breathing, etc. . . . . But what sing! the marvels of creatiolL
And what marvels, siuee YOll refullfJ them admission into heaven! Can it be
those yOI1 have seen on earth where all is but wretohedness and grief! Ma,
God inspirelou, bigot s0l11s ! 1 remain mute, and cannot praise God for a cr~
tion which do not understand; if he give me the means of understanding it,
being stript of my material prment, it could only be from obllfJrvation. Obeet..
vatiou SUPPOSBtl two opposed things; if I annihilate these things and their
typical forms, how should I observe and judge' Come, then, you who wiJl
tiave neither objects nor usages in the spiritual world, you shall be plaoed like
Napoleon on the column Vendome,-when yon are fatigued with the posture
you will ask God to change it."
This is a suffieiently remarkable position to be taken up-not by a Sweden..
borgian, but by one who is on many points opposed to SwedeDborg-at tM
eommand of clllirvu}'1lnce, for he W1lll by no meauan easy oonquest. '~l w.-
hunted," he says, "harrassed, by my clairvoyants tet surrender to these truth-.
the genuineness of which I had combated from the very first; cCJDsequently. I
lent an ear. My hand on my heart, either I was a madman or what I heard
was possible; the unity that reigned in all that my somnambulists told me
made me no longer hesitate a moment, this kind of madness appearing to me
• as rational as our reason. . . . . Had I seen with my own eyes, and
touched with my own hands, an apparition, or a thousand other similar {acts,
[ should have thought it mere hallucination. and in a few days have said, •All
madmen see like things, I have been mad for a moment,' but it is otherwise
when reason is satisfied on all points. . . . . I now read Swerlenborg's
works with pleasure, because I have obtained similar secrets without be~
eequainted wtllh ms."
Having now only time to close I eaR bat adli that Cahagnet has misrepre.
eented SwedenboIK on tile mo. Yital of hi•••bjeets--aat of the DiviAity of
. . . . Qtitt. Au eqully..w. enor is his allgbt escimaciOll of tlul Bible,,_
184 [April,
his denial of the universal hnmanity of heaven. On the two former subjec~
his conclusions too nearly resemble those of Davis to leave a moment's doubt
88 to the source from whloh they were taken. On the subject of our Lord his
extatiques were not all agreed, and he unfortunately, h88 felt the false witneu
to be more weighty than the true.
Yours, faithfully,
E. RICB.
.,d, it does appear to me impo88ible that be should read these writings with i!1~
~itrerence; nay, without great profit. If he wilt only approach them in the
n8'bt spirit, he will discover treasures of thought and wi9dom which he had no~
conceived of before. He will feel himself thenceforth to be an object of God',
love in all the trials and tem{'tations which may beset him. He will regard
J!imselfas living continually 10 His presence. His heart will open and eXJ;1an4
,. towards all those who, like himself, are pursuing the oftimes wearisome JOUr-
n~y of life. He will regar~ them, equally w~lh him~elf, as. t~e ohjects .of Di·
VlUe Love, aud as dl'mandmg the active exercise of hIS chanties. He WIll fin"
his capacities to be enlarged-bis affections to be more elevated-his reason ~
be liberated from the thraldom under which it has groaned-his mental visioJl
to be indefinitely extended. But he will often be compelled to enjoy these de-
lights in secret. The guests whom he invites to participate with him in the
feast will not come. They are otherwise engaged. They look upon him, ~
fact, with pity if not with distrust.
In my own case, perhaps, there were not so many difficulties to overcom~
IUl in the case of some oiliers. I had never been able fully to subscribe to
commonly received doctrine of the Trinity, nor yet to regard the Saviour as
thi
mere man, however exalted above all other men. On the whole, however,
confess that the late Dr. Cbanning was my favorite author. Without adoptin,
his opinions, but yet inclining towards them, his morality was so pure-hi~
efforts to raise poor fallen man from his ignorance and degradation, and to iq•
•pire him with a just sense of his dignity and responsibility, were so persevef-
ing and unwearied, that I was fain to look up to him as a teacher, and ac·
knowledge him as a friend and benefactor to his species. He had a mind, aa
you remarked in the notice you took of his biography, eminently receptive QJ
the truth; and I sympathized with you when you regretted that such a mu
had not become acquainted with the doctrines of the New Church. There can
scarcely be a doubt that he would have received them with joy and gladness.
But I may not dwell on these interesting themes. With fervent wishes f~r
tbe continued successful exertion of your talents,
I am, with friendly regards,
Yours, &e.
MISCELJ~ANY.
On the 19th of Feb. 1848-92, and in the 25th year ofbi. age;
III the flail hope of reallzlag the Imperllhable JO,.I of tbe Redeem..... KlDcd_.
which be1Dg lw'IIIoDloaal,. Idlpled ~ DIll dJ«el'llDt q...uu...
are iDllDlteI,. Tlrled, COIItlDuaJ),. cbaaglDc.
enl rrelh, IDd alWI,.1 DlW !
The idea which this inscription snggests, is that of making the tomb-etones
and monuments of departed friends the silent but perpetual prlaw,., of the
New Church doctrine of tbe resurrection. Nothing is now more common than
to see frequent reference in the graveyard, to the return of the soul to its ma-
terial body; and surely few things can be more in 1'Iace than for a Newchurch-
man to inscribe on the monuments to departed fnends some truth in relation
to the spirit-world, and leave it there to meet the eye of the'stranger, and offer
its teaching of beauty and consolation to his heart.
W. B. H.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
I.-THE SECOKD ADVEKT: or, What do tJu &:riptUTtI tt!acA f't!8pt!ctiflg tJu &cofld
Comiflg of Chrin, tM End of tJu World, tM RtruTTt!ct1Of1 ot tJu Dtad, and tJu Gm-
#!Tal Judgmmt7 By APLHJ:VS CB08BY. Boston: Phillips, Sampson It Co.
1850. 12mo. pp. 173.
The object of this work is to establish a peculiar theory of eschatology, or,
if the term "theory" is not precisely palatable in the connection, to propound
and confirm a peculiar interpretation respecting the" four last things" indicat-
ed in the title. We wave the use of the word" theory" in reference to the an-
thor's views, because we think wrong is often done to a man by applying it to
100 [April,
what he proposes simply al a more legitimate interpretation of the true sense
of pJtrticular passages of Scripture than that which hae obtained currency in
the Church. This every man has a right to do, and hae a right also to demand
that his proposed exegesis shall be fairly and candidly weighed and confuted,
if confutable, by arraying agaiust it the appropriate arguments, instead of aim·
mg to affix upon it a Iti~ma by the use of an invidious term, when in fact his in-
terpretation is no more tluoretical than that which he would fllin set aeide. Haul.
i~Ulloquor. We are disposed, therefore, to speak of Mr. Crasby's views
011 the subjects above mentioned as we could have wished that cavilling ob-
jectors had in time past spoken of our own on these identical themes and
their correlates, as a serious and well meant solution of some very trying
problems in the prophetical portions of the Word.
Mr. Crosby's position is substantially this, that the Second Coming of Christ,
with all its aesociates, the end of the world, &c., must have already taken •
place; and all expectation of these events as still future is forbidden by the
Scriptures. The grounds upon which this conclusion is reached are mainly,
that our Saviour expressly declared and the apostle evidently expected that
the Second Advent, with its connected events, would take place before the
death of some who were tllen living. He accordingly, with the mass of Uni.
veraalist e~positors, refers the fulfilment of these predictions to tbe period of
the deltruction of Jerusalem. In making out the point the author evidently
relies more upon an appropriate selection and claesification of inspired texts,
than upon any process of hermenentieal reasoning. He takes it for granted, in
leaving those paesages to speak for themselves, that they will speak the same
language to every reader, and his confidence in regard to the effect of his
proofs lies in the presumed opellDess and candor of the reader's mind to receive
these texts in their most native and obvious sense. Having done his part in
clearly presenting them, he trusts to the force of the evidence which he honest-
ly supposes them to earry with them. The impression of aonsciol1s fairness
and simplicity of purpose, on the part of the writer, is very strong. The reader
feels that he has 110 design to entrap him into assent by the arts of special
pleading, and though he may not become a convert to the views set forth, he
yields a tribute of respect to the spirit 81 well 81 the ingenuity of the writer.
As Newchurchmen we, of course, are ready to admit that Mr. C. in com·
parison with tbose against whom he reasons, stands upon much the strongest
ground, 81 they profess to be govemed by the sense of the letter, Ilnd yet in
this department of revelation refuse to abide by it. But we cherish at the
same time an intelligent aesurance that Mr. C. himself, by not apprehend-
ing the spiritual genius of the Word, hae wholly erred in his construction of
the prophecies of which he treats and which relate to the Second Advent and
its cognate events. By the aid of the key of the internalllense, he would see
that the alcltl or agt or ID01'ld which he supposes to have terminated with the
close of the Jewish dispensation and the sack of the holy city, is really to be
JCliarded as having extended onwards at least seventeen centuries and a half
'0 the close (spiritually) of what hae all along been termed the Christian Dis-
pensation. The winding u.p of thill era in the middle of the eighteenth cen.·
1860.] Noticel ofBoob. 191
tury when the last judgment occurred in the spiritual world, opened the way
{or the Lord's Second Coming in connection with which, and lUI the grand end
of which, the New Jerusalem age was introduced and is now in the onward
course of i18 progreu to its sublime meridian from which it is destined, unlike
all preceding churches, never to decline.
We cannot at present expand the argument, but if Mr. Crosby will c0I18111t
Swedenborg's treatise on the "Last Judgment," and read in conjunction with it
the chapter of " Noble's Appeal" on the same subject, he will find a view of the
subject proposed which he may recognize as retaining all the truth of his sys-
tem and excluding all its errors.
iDITORI.U; ITiIlS.
We learn that MllI8rs. Rich and Larkln. of London, devoted fellow·laborera in the caulll
of the New Dispensation, are engapd In preparing a new edition of the Index to the Ar-
cana. We scarcely know of a more valuable service to be performed In behalf of the
Church of this and future ages. To say nothing of the immense amount oftypographi.
,
cal errora In the old edition_rrora copied, however, from the Letin original and there-
fore not chargable upon the English publishers-the entire work needs a thorough re.
modellng. The American edition, by means of the exemplary diligence of Miss Sear! in
revising and preparing the whole for the press, Is a very great Improvement upoults pre-
decessors, being expurgated of a multitude of errors of the type, and having the referen-
ces which could not be verified, indicated by an Interrogation point. The work, hOwever,
admits of still farther emendation, and from the ability of the gentlemen who have taken
It In hand we presnme it will receive It.
Mr. Lord, In tho Tbeological and Literary Journal for April, 1850, has entered upon a
reply to our series of articles on .. The Letter and the Spirit," wbich are brought to a ter-
mination lu our present number. He devotes thirty-six pages to the flrat two articles
alone, containing a review of his fundameDtallaws ofligurative language, and aDnOUDceI
1860.] Editoriallteml. 188
The demand for the new edition of the .. Statemeut of Reasons." and the" Letters to •
Trinitari&D." continues on the whole encouraging-more so. however. In regard to the
former than the latter. although the first edition of this work (500 copies) is nearly ell-
haneted. Of the" Statements" an edition of 'l000 was printed and of these we believe
but. few hnndred remain. We hear of ordenldso about to be sent by convenient private
opportuniLy, to a still larger amonnt. Yet after all we cannot doubt that muoh more
might be done if efforts were somewhat more combined among the friende of the caule.
Societies uf receivere. eoattered here and there over the oountry...pecially those which
are not called upon to contribute to the support of the minietry. might unite for this ob-
ject. and making up moh eums RI were within their power. order tbe works by quantities
lor distribution in their l8Veralspheres of acquaintance and influence. They would thus
be effectually preaching to othen. though destitute of preaching themselves. From our
relation to the worlu in question, we oan scarcely be expected to speak of them with the
.me freedom ae if they claimed a d'llferent authorship. But as an indication of the ap-
titude of the" Statement of Reasons" to produce an impression favorsble to the doctrines
of the New Church. we may venture to give the following extract of a letter from an in-
telligent lady previously and even to this day a stranger, personally to the author. .. I am
18joiced that you are Intending to reprint your' Statement of Reasons,' as it WBl that which
WBl the means oC leading me to the fountain of truth. I had been a member of the
church Cor leversl years, for I united with Mr. Hatfield's church in New-York when I wu
quite a child. BIId also hoped that 1 wu a Christian. as I endeavored to fear God and
keep his Commandmente. Still the doctrinee of the Old Church were a constant source
of wretchedness to me. I had been quite desirous to know what your reasons could be for
embracing the doctrinee of a deceived man. as I thought Swedenborg to be. when I acci-
dendy oame acrON them; indeed I did not know that you had given them to the public•
.. I need Dot tell you that I received. with tears of joy and gratitude, the doctrines which
yon exhibited RI thOle of the New Church, eepecially the doctrine that Christ is God, and
that that tenibly wrathful Being, the thought of whom always filled me with gloom and
dread has not so much as an wstenoe. I was also 1I11ed with Illadneu, to have some
JDeans of determining whether I was a Christian or not. I was taught In the Old Church
that good works were oC no acoount with God, and as I undentood linle about their faith"
I was sometimes driven almost to despair. But now I thank the Lord. that I know that
those who do his will he will acoept at last. I still remain in the Church here. the paster
and many of the people knOWing my views. I have, sir, written theee few lines thinking
it would be gratifying to you to know that one more soul, has been added to the list of the
many whom I presume you have been the means of benefiting, for which you will be re-
• warded at the resunection oC the just."
P. S. Since the above was written an order has been received Crom a Sooiety in Mlch-
Jpn for upwards of one thousand oopiee oC the .. Statement."
Prof. AgulIz, in his recent work on Lake Superior. has the following remarks: .. There
will be no 1Ciftlt~ evldenoe of God'aworking in nature until naturalists have shown
that the whole Creation is the upruaioR of /I ,bpt. and not the,,-od,," ofpA,nml
GgMt.... .. Let the naturalistll look at the world under mcb imprftllons, BDcl
eyldenoe will poIIr iD upon DB ~t all cnat_ arc ' ' ' ' - - of tAc tAotIPt. of Him
,I
Mr. Hayden hal been recently engaged in deliveriag a courae oC Lectures at ProYicleDce,
R. I. OCtheattendanceor results we have not beard. A writer in the" M~inm" Cor April!,
thuslpeIIlll of Mr. H.'s visit to Portland. .. Tbe Portland noceivers and the public haft
lately bad tbe benefit of listening to a course of Lectures from Mr. W. B. Hayden, whose
Reply to Dr. Pond, Review of Dr. Bushnell, and valuable contributions to tbe pagea oC
both our Magazine and Repository, have made him favorably known co many oful.
Th_ productions, as well as bis Lectunlll, are considered as bearing lllIltimony to bll UB-
common endowments as a writer, and his promise as a .aluable acceeaioD to thecaull8 of
spiritual tmtb. Mrs. Harden, a fit help-meet and devoted wife, Is allO deeply penetrated
with a lIense of the sacredness of the spiritual trutbs unColded to their mInds by the writ-
Ings oC Swedenborg, and both are devoting themselves with ardor to the work of promot-
ing good to their s}lecies. She Is a daughter oC the venerable Dr. Woods, of Andover, aDd
.il1er of the Rev. Dr. Woods, President of the Bo'IVdoln College in Maine j and they haft
many other connections in the highest ranltl oC the Old Church, whom they appear
}lrepared to meet In the spirit of meekne" and wildt?ID."
The Collowing inrormatlon respecting the recent labors of the Rev. Oeorge Field, at Bt.
LoUis, is from a letter not long since receiv.,.}. Crom that place. .. Rev. Mr. Field hal jllllt
cloeed his Lectures on the Creation, &c.; he bad about one hundred attentift listeners, and
I tbink tbat mucb good will come by bis lectures. I convel'lled with several who attended
tbe course, and they bave expressed themselV'es very Cavorably; Indeed one oC them told
me, tbat it seemed Impossible that the argumllntll of Mr. Field could be answered. He
Is going to deltver two more lectures ' On tbe Character and Million of Emanuel awe-
denborg.' There was a BaptllR preacber atlended Mr. Field's introductory lecture, and
this BaptilR (who Is the Editor oC' The Westeru Watchman,' a paper published for tbat de-
nomination) beaded bis editorial with a stricture on the lecture. The editorial was cba-
racteristic of everything that was low, and uncharitable. Ho informed his readerI, that
the lecturer was a man of very ordinary intellect, that his arguments were stale, &c" ana
ended this beautlCul editorial, by saying that Mr. Field' came here with the 11I:in oC the
lion thrown over his sboulders, and bebold tbe a--.' This was J. M. 1'-, a man that
has reputation for much learning In the Western country."
Mr. RuCuI Da_, we understand was recentl)' ordained, by Rev. Mr. De Charllll, to
tbe plIItoral cbaqe oC the New Cburch Society, in Wallbiugton, D. C.
The Collowing relOlutlon was adopted by the Maine AlIOCiation at iulast meeting:-
.. R,nolwd-That this AlIOCiatlon regard it as oC vital consequence to the Church, that In
the organization oC Conventions, AlllOCiations, or Societies, and in tbe adoption oC lawI
and rules of government Cor tbe same, such principles, and such powers and authorities
only sbould be recognized a. are clearly and plainly revealed in the Word of tbe Lord-
that every caution should be used to guard against the encouragement oC such principles
a' would in any degree tend to restrict the freedom or annul the individuality oC indivi-
llnllb. '_llldes, or otIaer bodies oC the Church."
We strongly incline to agree with Mr. Field, in a previous page, that the work of Mr.
De Charms, embracing a large dilCuIsion on the Trine In the Ministry, together with a
valuable history of the New Church in this country ab i~bvlo, or from its very cradle,
together with a varie!)' of rare documents which the author's indultry has lought out
and grouped together, is entitled to far more attention than it has received, at least from the •
periodicall of the Church. Though dilagreeing ourselvel from the main pOlitions which
are 10 elaborately argued in the volume, we Itill regard it as, on the whole, a highly im-
portant work, and ahould be happy to receive a fair notice or review for our pages from
80me competent pen. Our own time is 10 mortgaged to a thou.nd calli and claims,
that we have only been able to read it brokenly by Inatches, and not entire at that, but
we have read enough to latilfy us that, apart from all peculiar theories which it may
have aimed 100 estalllish, it is a production of marked ability and use; and that the time
will come when it will be lOught with avidity al containing information which can be
fouud embodied no where else.
A 8800nd •• Latter Day Pamphlet," by Carlyle, h88 appeared, In the seriel, to the flrltoC
which our Engliah correspondent hal alluded. It is entitled Cl Model PrillOns," and is de-
voted to a 1C0rching invective, wrought up In his peculiar Ityle, against what he deems
the sham benevolence, the mock philanthropy, of the present day, especially as expended
upon varions appliances l(1 make criminall comfortable, which i. In fact, as he holds, to
make crime attractive, or to set a premium upon it. All advocacy of such a policy be
characterizes aB the Cl moumfuUelt twaddle that human tongues could sbake from them,"
and the measurel themselves .. a direct flying in the face of the eternal laWI of the Di-
vine Providence.
The Gea.eraJ CeRftlltiClll of the New Ch1lftlh will tu_in till. olty on thelith of Jaae
_t.
THE
MONTHL Y REVIEW.
,.
Vol. Ill. MIY, I~. No. I.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICI.E I.
SWEDENBORG'S PRINCIPIA.
[The ensuing article, together with the sequel. to appear in our succeeding numbers.
we have concluded to transfer to our pages from the London InteUectual Repository of Jan.
-Mar. 1850. They will be read with interest as throwing a new light upon the astonish-
ing scientific prescience ofour author. We have other essays ofa similar stamp in reserve.]
HIll THEOKY 01' THE STAllKY H:u.VENS, BOTH VISIlILE AND IIiVISIBLJ:, WONDDI'UJ,o
LY CONFIRIlIED BY THE TWO HERSCHELS. RossE, MADLD, HUIlIBOLDT, LA-
GKANGE, BESSEL, MICHELL, AND OTHDS.
TO THE EDITOR,
SIB,-In your Perjodical for June of the past year, I had the plea-
sure of calling the attention of its readers to Swedenborg's theoretical
discovery of the law of magnetic intensity, and its confirmation by the
celebrated Hnmboldt. In continuing my report of the theoretical dis-
coveries contained in this wonderful work, I have to enumerate
others of a higher order, baving reference to the structure of the
whole visible heavens, and the cosmical distribntion and harmonious
arrangement of such starry mansions, volving and revolving in ~ount
less spheres, in the wide-spread infinitude of the natural universe. The
exposition of these discoveries I will arrange under three heads:-
1. The precise situation of our Sun with its Planetary system in the
starry universe to which it belongs.
2. The progressive advancement along the Milky Way from West
to East, of our Sun with its system, and all the starry host of the visi-
ble heavens.
8. The general character of the immensity of creation beyond or
J
outside the boundaries oC the visible firmament of the starry heavens.
vox.. Ill. 14
198 Swedenborg'8 Principia. [May,
CASE I.
The Sun'8 pontion among the ,taf'8.
Which method of obtaining the sun's place among the stars, is evi-
dently little removed in character from mere guessing. But, with
Swedenborg, this problem assumes a geometrical character, and re-
o ceives a corresponding solution. The following is his new and beau-
tiful formula :-
.. Ff'om a given number of planetary orbits, the eccentricity and mean distance
of each from their centre or sun, the skiUful geometrician may infer the relative
situation of neighboring star systems; also the inflections and divergencies of
solar systems from the milky way, according to their situation therein; and
from this again (as data), he may discover in the system of each star, what will
,be the circular or elliptical character of the planetary orbits around each star,
at different distances therefrom; with various other particulare."-See Principia,
Vol. 11. page 238 i also 237,234,235.
From this statement, what could be more ob-vious than the absence
of a1l conjecture 1 He informs us distinctly, that from certain given
data, which he expressly names as the given orbit. of the planets, the
inference is geometrically drawn as to the .ituation of our sy.tem, or
.an,y s!Jlltem, in relation to neighboring star-systems. In page 237 he
applies the formula, and assigns to our sun and its planetary system
the identical position among the stars of the milky way, which,
fifty years subsequently, the eye of Herschel sought out and found.
Is not this a great fact 1
That he has assigned the true and exact position of our solar sys-
tem amongst the stars, let the reader judge for himself. To present
the comparison, which constitutes the proof of our assertion, in the
most striking manner, we will select only the particular words in
which the fact is given. They are as follows:-
Swedenborg.-" Near the axu 10htre there is a considerable inflection."-Prin)
«pia, Vol. ll., page 237.
.
lSir J. Herschel.-" Near the point where it subdivides into two principal la-
minm."-.Aatroo. n. 586.
Sir W. Herechel.--" Not far from tU plau wAcre some smaller stratum branch-
418 out."-Phil. 17'am. vol. 75.
1850.] 8wedenborg', Principia. 201
amongst all the works of this period, is shown the now accepted doc-
trine of a cyclar return. At length, La Grange appears with a demon-
stration, grounded on thfl discovery of l\ certain relation which pre-
vails in the system, betwE".en the masses, orbital axes, and eccentrici-
ties; by which the doctrine is completely established, that though the
solar system is liable to certain mutations in the form and eccentricity
of its orbits, of very long periods, yet its orbits return again exactly to
what they originally were, oscillating between very narrow limits.
The same matter has been recently investigated by Leverrier with the
same successful results. t So that the doctrine of a cyclar return in
the form of the soll\r system, first propounded by Swedenborg, is now
received RS one of the most beautiful conceptions of man, under the
name of La Grange" Theory of the Stability of the &llar Sydem.!
. There is, however, this superiority in Swedenborg's theory, it not
only explains the doctrine of a cyclar return, but also most satisfac-
torily exhibits the reQlon why it is .'0, bringing the philosophy down to
the very senses, by telling you, Principia, vol. ii. page 230 : -
" In the magnet and its sphere there is a type of the heavens: a mUnda:l8
system in miniature presented to our ,enBe' j " _
• Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Berlin, 1777.
t Taylor's Scientific Mem., part 18.
*.. After Newton's discovery," says Professor Pl.yfair, .. of tbe elliptical orbits of the
planets, La Grangi. discovery oflbeirperiodical (or cyclar) inequalities is withouldoubt
tile taoblut tn&tl in pbysical .1U'onomy...
i04 [May,
ARTICLE lIe
MISSIONS.
(Continued from pag~ 167.)
THE gross superstitions and idolatry of Egypt and India evidently
emanated from hierarchical rule. Avarice and ambition prompted
the priests to deviate from the original plainness and simplicity of
religious institutions, and to introduce articles, rites, and usages which
might furnish them with opportunities of gratifying these unhallowed
and insatiable passions. It is possible indeed that the priests of pa-
ganism might imagine that some articles of their ritual were too pro-
found to be comprehended by the vulgar; others too sacred to be
communicated to a description of men whom the institutions of civil
society had placed in a situation not only subordinate but even con-
temptible. Jt was imagined that things sacred and venerable would
contract a taint and pollution by an intercourse with sordid and un-
tutored souls. How soon things improved in the case of the Bood-
hists when the priesthood was open to all I Their religion imme-
diately became practical and useful. And there is not on the face of
the earth a people so likely to embrace Christianity as these Bood-
hists; and especially New Church Christianity. The above remarks
apply also to Christian hierarchies, as all know. The litronger is
hierarchical rule in Christendom, the more of mystery and show is ob-
servable, until the people, instead of finding and cultivating religion
in their hearts, entertain the idea -that it can only be found at church
in the lips of the priest. Bishop Warburton, in his "Divine Lege.-
106 Munon.. [May,
tion," tries to shield his order from this imputation, which is so pa-
tently just from a review of history, by endeavoring to prove that
legislators were the inventors uf those articles, rites, and usages, con-
stituting what is callp.d mysteries, by which the truths of religion use-
ful to the people were shrouded, and in the course of time perfectly
lost and extinguished. This, however, carries its own refutation, for
legislators and governments, unless perhaps identified and identical
with the priesthood, are most interested that the truth in religion
should be known. The religion of the Bible was intended for the
people. .. What ye have heard in secret," says our Lord, "preach
openly, and what I have taught you in private teach ye publicly, and
proclaim it on the housetops." Our Lord, even in the character of a
human I~gislator, saw the propriety of this procedure. Nothing was
concealed in his institutions-nothing was veiled with mystery, or
buried in darkness. Such are the charms of truth, and such the char-
acter of that religion which came down from heaven, that they. as it
were, .. ddight to lift up their voice in the streets, and cry in the
chief places of concourse." The success was answerable to the wis-
dom of the pllln. The million flocked to the evangelical standard;
the gospel was preached to all, and the meanest of mankind eagerly
embraced its maxims. Wherever it prevailed and took root, it pro-
duced ch'i\ization, morality, sobriety, loyalty, and every other private
and social virtue. T~is fact is a refutation of Bishop W arburton's
supposition.
We see then that a religion from heaven may fail in reaching the
people if in the exclusive custody of priests. Kings have become
better in India under the Boodhists who have abandoned the sacer-
dotal caste, and thrown open knowledge to the people. We grate-
fully acknowledge the hand of God in the mission of Swedenborg to
bring out the spiritual meaning of the Word for the people, when
the priests and ministers of religion had lost it. And we see the
cause of their opposition and slow coming to acknowledge his claim
to be believed: they perceive that the diffusion of the clear tneologi-
cal knowledge of the New Church will raise the people to be priests
in information themselves, and will tend to the downfall of priestly
power, and of the flagrantly absurd notion that on priests should de-
volve a greater obligation to sanctity than other men. If anyone
lesson is transparently clear from the examination of the different
religions of the world, it is, .. Beware of hierarchies."
Next to the Egyptian and its cognate Brahminical mission, we
should notice the Jewish. Like the character of the Christian we
have just noticed, the Jewish dispensation was openly practised; no-
thing was performed in secret; every article was plain, open, and
acce~sible. The Septuagint version of the Old Testament we owe
to this fact. The Jews had the advantage in their occupation of
Judrea of a central position; but, nevertheless, through their moral
isolation, they could but very little for some centuries avail them-
selves of their proximity to Egypt and Phamicia to spread their reli-
gious faith. Independently. however, of the exertions of the Jews, a
knowledge of the divine unity was spread by·the other descendants
M"Urionl. 20'7
of Abraham, who retained the true religion, and obtained that lot
among the nations which placed them in the direct route by which
the early commerce of the world was carried on; and their favorable
position enabled them at once to promote knowledge and to diffuse
religion. The points to which their journies were especially directed
Were Sheba and Seba, Arabia Felix,and that part of Africa which
still retains in a portion of it the name of Azab. Extending along
this line of intercourse, a portion of the Ishmaelites occupied Mecca,
called the Great from the paucity of Arabian towns; this Mecca then
became in this way at once the mart of superstition and commerce;
and a mixture of their religious opinions united to the worship of
the black stone, is observable down to the time of Mohammed, who
em.leavored to separate the doctrine of the unity of the godhead from
idolatrous rites, but who, from the inveteracy of ancient habits, was
still forced to retain some of the Pagan customs. That this route
was kept open between Judrea and Arabia Felix, we have a proof in
the journey undertaken by the Queen of Sheba to Jerusalem in thq
time of Solomon. And the Jewish religion was still more extensively
introduced, whether by early colonists or proselytes, both into Meroe,
the dominions of Queen Candace, and also into the remoter moun-
tains of Abyssinia. The surrounding nations were so besotted by
idolatry at the very beginning of Jewish history, that their worship
ever appeared to them utterly vain and absurd. To their supersti-
tious minds it appeared a wonder and ll. shame that a nation should
exist without idols.
.. Nil prreter nubeB et cmlos numen Bdorant."
Even in the time of Abraham, 2000 years before the Christian era,
the whole world was sU,nk in idolatry, and we see in the call of Abra-
ham a memorable instance of the Divine wisdom, that, through him
and his posterity, the knowledge of the essential principles of true re-
ligion might be preserved on the earth, and the way prepared for the
revelation of a more comprehensive system to mankind. It is awful
to think what would have been the state of the world if the Jews had
not existed. The pastoral life was followed by Abraham and his
descendants in Canaan for 215 years, until the departure of Jacob.
Before the Israelites left Egypt, however, they had begun to prac-
tise some of the arts of the Egyptians, and were gradually faIling
into their idolatry. The body of laws and institutions which Moses
delivered to them, gave not only an indelible stamp to the Jewish
character, but exerted an influence that continues to be experienced
throughout the Christian and Mohammedan world. Like other law.
givers, he appointed religious ceremonies to be mingled with political
institutions, but with this remarkable difference, that while under
other l'Iystems religion is used as a means for civil security, the insti.
tutions of political society were employed by Moses to give perma-
nency to the doctrines and practice of a pure theology. After the
death of Joshua, the common origin of the people, and the identity of
their religion, which were the chief bonds ot' their union, often proved
too feeble to withstand the influence of local jealousies and interests;
[May,
These stand so happily combined together, that even out of the most
diverse elements, the feeling of a whole still rises before us. They
are complete enough to satisfy; fragmentary enough to excite; bar-
barous enongh to rouse; tender enongh to appease; and for many
other contradicting merits, might not these books, might not this one
book be praised 1"
But we have incomparably better authority than Goethe as to the
true mission of the Jews. We know from the teachings of Sweden-
borg that the Jewish was only a representative church, significative of
one that should be established thereafter in tht! world. We know that
the Word in regard to the Jews is inexhaustible and impenetrable as
to its inmost sense, and that men as well as angels may extract from
it a happiness which will continually increase during all eternity.
We know that if the Word referring in innumerable places to J erusa-
lem, &c., &c., has not this spiritual meaning, that no meaning at all
can be made of it; and that if it be the Word of God devoid of this
spiritual sense it is useless to man because unintelligible.
The teachings of Swedenborg in regard to the Jewish nation may
be thus succinctly noted down.
1st. That to make a real church there must be the conjugial princi-
ple between truth and good, and also there must be an internal in the
external; that in respect to that nation there was not any thing ~
ternal in the external, but that respectively to the statutes and the
laws abstracted from the nation there was. That nation had nothing
of the church because it was not in any charity, being altogether
ignorant what genuine charity was; it was also void of faith in the
Lord; it knew that he was to come, but supposed that it was to raise
them above all in the universe, and because this was not done, it al-
together rejected him, being unwilling to know anything concerning
his heavenly kingdom. It is one thing for the church to be with a na.-
tion and another thing for a church to be in a nation; the Christian
church, for example, is with those who have the Word and who from
doctrine preach the Lord, but stiU there is nothing of the church in
them unless they are in the marriage oC good and truth, unless the in-
ternals of the church are in the externals; neither also is the church
in those who are in faith separate from charity; neither is the church
in those who acknowledge the Lord in doctrine and not in life. That
with the Jews nothing but a mere representative ofa church could be
instituted, and not anything of the church or kingdom of the Lord, for
they were not willing to see and acknowledge any thing in repre-
sentatives but what was external, but not anything internal. But yet
that a representative might exist, and by it some communication be
given with heaven, and by heaven with the Lord, they were kept in ex-
ternals; but still in the external representatives among them there lay
inwardly concealed divine things, in the supreme sense that which
had respect to the Lord's Divine Human, and in the respective sense
that which respected the Lord's kingdom in the heavens and the church.
The Jews knew not nor were willing to know what the internal or
spiritual man is, wherefore neither was it revealed to them; they re-
garded nothiDg in their worship but an external aDd natural, insoa
·1850·1 '318
much that divine worship with them was no otherwise than idolatrous;
for when external worship ill separated from internal it is no other
than idolatrous. That persons may represent divine, celestial,"and
epiritual things as well as inanimate matter, as, for example, Aal'on's
garments, the ark, the altar, the oxe» and sheep which were sacrificed,
the candlestick and lights, the bread of arrangement on the golden
table, the oil with which they were anointed, the frankincense and
other like things. Therefore their kings, both bad and good alike, re-
presented the regal of the Lord, and the high priests both bad and good
represented the things appertaining to the Lord's Divine Priesthood,
wn.tn they discharged their office in an external form according to the
statutes and commandments. Therefore in order that the representa.-
tive church might exist among them such statutes and such laws were
given them by manifest revelation as were altogether representative,
Wherefore so long as they were in them and observed them strictly,
so long they were capable of representing. But when they turned
aside from them, as to the statntes and laws of other nations, and es-
pecially as to the worship of another god, then they deprived them-
selves of the faculty of representing, wherefore they were then driven
by external means, which were captivities, overthrows, threats and
miracles, to laws and statutes truly representative; but not by inter-
nal means as those who have internal worship in external. That It
representative church is when internal worship is in external; put
the representative of a church is when there is no internal worship,
yet nevertheless extemal. That the ancient church which was after
the flood was a representative church, but t.hat which was established
among the posterity of Jacob was merely the representative of a
church. And this was better than no church for without the com-
munication of heavfln with man by somewhat of a church, mankind
would perish. That the Jewish nation was in corporeal and worldly
love and not in spiritual and celestial, anet with such the Lord could
never be present otherwise than representatively. And what it is to be
present representatively is this. A man who is in corporeal and
worldly love and not at the same time in spiritual or celestial love ho.s
:. DO other than evil spirits present with him, even when he is in a holy ex-
ternal; for good spirits cannot in anywise be present with such a per-
80n, inasmuch as they perceive immediately what is the quality of
man's love; it is the sphere which is exhaled from his interiors, which
spirits perceive so manifestly, as man perceives by smell the fetid and
filthy substances which float around him in the air. That the Jew-
ish nation was in such a state as to good and truth or as to love and
faith. Nevertheless that they might act the representation of a church,
it was miraculously provided of the Lord that when they were in a
holy external, and also then were encompassed about with evil spirits,
still the holy in which they were might be elevated into heaven; but
this by good spirits and angels not within them but without them, for
within them was nothing but emptiness and uncleanness. Wherefore
communication was not given with the man himself but with that
" holy, in which they were when they put into act the statutes and pre-
cepts which were all representative of the spiritual and celestial
VOL. JJI. 16
214 [May,
thing'l:l of the LOrd'H kingdom; this is the meaning of the Lord's being
representatively present with that nation. That the Lord is present
in a different manner with those within the church who are in spirit-
uallove and thence in faith. With these there are good spirits and an-
gels not only in external worship but at the same time also in internal;
wherefore with them is given communication of 'heaven with them-
selves, for the Lord flows in through heaven by their internals into
their externals. To these latter the holy of worship is profitable in
another life, but not to the former. The case is similar now with
priests and ministers who preach what is holy' and yet live wickedly
and believe wickedly. Tlrese persons have no communication with
heaven in themselves, but they who hear and apprehend too words
which they speak, if' they are in a pious and holy internal, have com-
munication. That the Jews were very far from \Torshiping Jehovah
in heart, inasmuch as they turntld themselves to other gods and became
idolatrous as soon as ever miracles ceased; which was a manifest
indication that in heart they worshiped other gods, and confessed Je-
hovah with the mouth alone, and indeed only with this view, tha~ they
might be the greatest, and have pre-eminence ovel' all the llations
round about. That they were prohibited from coming near to Mount
Sinai when the law was given because their internal was unclean.
That the Israelites and Jews destroyed the nations of the land of Ca-
oaan was, because the former represented spiritual and celestial
things, and the nations represented infernal and diabolical things,
which latter things can in no case be together with the former.. That
the reason why that people is called in the Word the people of Jehovah,
the chosen and beloved nation, is because by J udah is there meant the
celestial church, by Israel the spiritual church, and by all the Sons of
Jacob, something of the church; also by Abraham, Isaae, and Jacob,
the Lord himself, as likewise by Moses, Aaron and Da"id. That the
Divine was not with the Jewish nation is manifest from Exodus xxxi.
3 :-" I will not go up in the midst of thee, for thou art a stiff-necked
people," for with whomsoever the church is, there is the Divine.
2. That the worship of the Jews both before and after our Lord's
coming was merely external; they had external worship which they
also strictly observed, but still they were ignorant of every thing in-
terhal insomuch as to suppose there was no life but that of the body;
the nature of the soul, of faith, of the Lord, of spiritual and cel~stial
life, of the life after death, was utterly unknown to them; wherefore
also at the time of the Lord's appearance many of them denied a re-
surrection. When man is such that he does not believe in a life after
death, he also disbelie".es the existence of any spiritual and celestial
internal. Such also are they who live immersed in mere lusts, in con·
sequence of living merely to the world and the flesh, especially those
who are such in filthy avarice. Such persons nevertheless have a
worship, frequent synagogues or churches, and observe established •
forms, sometimes very strictly; but as they do not believe in a life
after death, their worship must needs be merely external, having in it
nothing internal, like a shell without a kernel, or a tree on which is no
fruit, not even leaves.
1850·1 215
3. That the Israelitish and Jewish nation was not elected, but re-
ceived, in order to represent a church by reason of the obstinacy with
which their fathers and Moses pflrsisted to desire it. The Jews could
better be held to a holy external than any other people from their in-
ordinate self-love and Jove of worldlywealtb, and from their ignorance
of a holy internal. This is evident from things ,related of them in the
historicals of the Word. Afte~ they were punished, they could be in
such external humiliation as no other nation could br. in, for they could
lie prostrate on the ground for whole days, and roll themselves in the
dust, not raising themselves up till the third day; they could also
mourn for several days, go in sackcloth, in tattered garments, with
ashes or dust sprinkled on their heads; they could fast without inter:
mission for several days. and meanwhile burst forth into bittE"r weep-
ing; but this was only from bodily and earthly love and from the fear
of losing pre-eminence and worldly wealth, for it was not any thing
internal which afrectr.d thl'm. It is wonderful that Christians should
believe the Jews were electr.d to hp, the people of God, seeing they
know that that nation is in filthy loves, in sordid avarice, in
hatred and in ~elf-collc('!it; and bf'sides that they make light of, and
even hold in IWl'rsion the internal things which are of charity and
faith and which are of the Lord. That the reason Christians do he-
lieve that that nation was elected ahoV'P. others is because they believe
that the election 'I\nd salvation of man is from mercy, without regard
to man's life; not considering that election is universal, namely of all
who livc in good, and that thc mp-rcy of the Lord is towards every
man who abstains from evil, and is willing to live in good, and thus
who suffers himself to be led of the Lord, and to be regenerated.
The sons ofIsrael are called thc people of J ehovah, not because they
were better than other nation!', but be~ause they repre§ented the peo-
ple of J ehovah, that is those who are of the Lord's spiritual kingdom:
that they were not better than other nations is evident from their life
in the wilderness, in that they did not at all believe in J ehovah, hut
in heart believed in the gods of the Egyptians; as is manifest from the
golden calf which they made to themselves, and which they called
their god who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt (Exodus
xxxii. 8): and evident also from their life afterwards in the land of
Canaan; also from what was said of them in the prophets; and lastly
by our Lord. That the Jews therefore far from being elected were
only accepted to represent those things 'which are of heaven; that
there was an expediency.that this should be done in the land of Ca-
naan, because the church of the Lord had been there from the most
ancient times, and hence all the places there were made representa-
tive of celestial and divine things: thus also the Word could be writ·
ten, wherein names might signify such things as are of the Lord and
of his kingdom.
T.W.
Marietta, Ga.
218 [May,
A.B.TICLE Ill.
THE MINISTRY.
For the N.... ChlU'Ch Repolllory.
11 Jl. EDITOR,
My attention has been attracted by the reports in your Magazine,
and also by the article in the last No. of the N. C. Quarterly on the
subject of the ministry, lay-preaching, ordination, &c. I was also
reading, a day or two since, your remarks on the subject of your own
ordination, in the July No. of the Repository. These things, my dear
sir, have brought my ideas in some degree to a. focus on the subject
of the ministry, Rnd I should like to have a little conversation with
you on this importliot topic. I am a lover of freedom, and at the same
time a lover of order. I am desirous to see maintainffi the greatest
degree of freedom consistent with Divine and H~a"enly order, and
the real good of the church and of individuals, and I feel anxious to
diacover what is the true medium. I believe your own mind to be in
a similar state, in this respect. Perhaps, then, a little comparison of
views on this subject would aid bot~of us.
The way I look at the institution of the ministry, is somewhat 8..'1
follows: First, I believe the ministry to be, both from the tenching'l of
the Word, and the writings of the Church, as also from all historical
evidence, from the conclusions of reflection and common !!ense, and
from a consideration of the wants of mankind, a. distinct office and use.
Setting aside other grounds for such B belief, I think the teachings of
the Church entirely explicit on this point. Priests and the priesthood
and the cler~lire spoken of everywhere in the writings, as a distinct
office, filled by a distinct class of individuals. This is so manifest that,
as it seems to me, no one can have a doubt of it, but one who has
made up his mind and persists in holding another view. Numberless
quotations might be made from the writings upon this point, but it is
needless, for it pervades their whole tenor. The view, therefore, con-
tained in one of the reports before referred to, that all internal men
who have learned interior doctrine and confirmed it by the Word, are
Dleant by the clergy, and that all who from love to the Lord and charity
to the neighbor are in truth, &c., are meant by " teaching ministers"-
surprised me exceedingly; the serious holding up of such a view
seemed to me to argue rather a spirit of ingenuity, and desire to sup-
port a preconceived opinion, than wisdom or truth. That it is quite
unsound may be seen by a single quotation from the writings. In
heaven all certainly are intt'rnal men (at least in the higher heavens),
and all there are in truths from love and charity; yet even there we
are taught that preachers nre a distinct class, and that" it is not al-
lowed any except them to teach in the temples," H. 4- R. 226; and in
T. C. R. 661, oneofthese, named as the" high priest," and calling himself
" minister of the church" in heaven, is described and presented to
view.
But, in the second place, if ministers or the clergy be a distinct body
1850.] TM MinUtrg. 217
REMARKS.
AI the above article or argument by oar lranIBtlaDtio brother p_1.I what may prob-
ably with jUltice be regarded al the prevalent view oC tbe MIDlstry obtaining iD the
New Church, and al it dUren very materially from onr own, we shall embrace the op-
portunity to enlarge a liltle apon the general lubject. The partlonlar repliel which, UD-
der other circumltaDces, we Ihould perhapI offer to the several poinll made In Mr. Prea-
colt'S communication, wo Ihallleave our readen to educe Cor themllelves from tbe scope of
our ~rk.. AI a whole, the theme II one oC vast extent and complex relatioDl, and it
will be almOlt inevitable that we fail, In IOme point or other, to do fnU justice to the Br-
gameaL We may leave our positionl open to an iDterrogation which, becanse nD-
anlwered, may appear on a cursory glance unanlwerable. But our fundamental grounds
will claim the ohleC attention; and iC these &nl lOund, the minor matters oC detail will
readily rigbt themllelftll In the reader'1 mind.
.A oorrect Idea of the ·Minlstry in the Lord'l New Churob cannot be Cormed apart from
• perception oC the true geniuI and ends oC that Church in contradistinction from those oC
the Old Chnrch, as practically conceived and acted on, againlt wbich It virtually a...
raYI itselC In nearly every particular. The individual man in the Old Chnrch il held in
abeyance; In the New he II broulht Corward and elevated. Every man of the Church la
• ohurch itself in the lout form. Froedom and ratioaality are his pnd characteril-
tlOI, and for any man to wave the exercise oC these i. to lurrender hil most dlltinctive
prerogatives. Each Individual mUlt _ truth for himself, and order hi. liCe according to
it, or he can have no olaim to discipleship In the New Jerusalem. Still, al there are
states of instruotion in the prog..- of regeneration, 10 there II a corresponding oftloe oC
teaching, and one whloh growl in an orderly way out oC the nature oC the cal8. It il the
Dormal produot oC the exipnoies of men'. atetes, and il primarily reCerable to. the law of
oharity, which dlotates that one wllo has more ot good and truth mould impart oC hil
abundance to him that hu 1_; and it II not to be questioued that Swedeuborg, Cor the
mOlt part, tre&1.I the lubject oCmiul.try,under the head oC cMrit" of which It il one pro-
minent department. Exciting good and Imparting truth il Ipiritually feeding the hun-
gry and clothing the naked, as every one knowl who h.. hlmselC ret".eived any adequate
measure oCthi. lpecles ofbeaefaction. Action of thil nature toWards ill appropriate ob-
jeoll Is the very law oC the repnerale life. It requires not that a mall lhould be called
by oftlcial designation to 8XBrcise the fuuctiODl oC nelghborly love. Such an unlvenal
duty cunOC be DolUlimy confined to any diltlnct cl.., or calte.
222 The Minutry; [May,
This will be more evident If we look at the primitive formation ofa IOClety of the NllW'
Church, or of any Church. A community of thll kind il one of an entirely voluntary
character, composed of individuall drawn together from interior aflinitiel and for a
oommon end. They prop<110 to tbeml8lv81 the inltituting of divine wonhip, and the
mutn~1 edification of each other. They agree to walk together in the ordinancel of the
Lord'l houe, and lomewbat of a mutual covenant 11 implied in the union. Their rela-
tion to each otbcr is more tban tbat of mere aggregation. It involVCI the idea of organiza-
tion. There il, in the first place, a commllDity of Ipirit, of interee!, of aiml, operating as.
an attractive force to draw them together, and then there i. a kind of Iplritual cryltali-
zation, which brlngl them into an organized form. It il wholly immaterial 'in what
manner tbe a!lSOCiative influence first begins to operate. It may be from preaching, or
it may be from reading. But th.. right of Chriltian believerl thus to come together, and
to organize them !&elves into a society, il a primary and indefeasible right, derived from
the Lord himself, and ratified in the explicit declaration, .. Where two or three are ga-
thered together in my namp, there am I in the midst of them," Thil is the charter of
heaven under ~hich any number of Chriltians il as fully authorized to form themelves
as a banking company among men in the busineu world il at liberty to avail itlelf of
the general law to that effect. For the exercise of this right they are not dependent upon
any otber lOCiety, or upon any olergyman. They are at full liberty to form themselftS
into luch a fratemity in obedience to the Lord'l will, and with a view to lecure ill ap-
propriate ends. At the same time we admit that if they can conveniently enjoy the
presence and concurrence of their brethren in the faith, or that of an acknowledged
clergyman on lIUch an occasion, it is well; only let it be understood that all snch pertlODS
are present al helpers and not as authorizers of their proceedings. To theee they
• are amply competent in themselves, being authorized from the high8lt polsible source;
aDd it may 8Ometim81 be important, for the sake of a more emphatio a886rtlon of Chri..
tian liberty, to decline any other co-operation on the part of laity or olergy from abroad,
than tbat of their brotherly sympathies and good wilhes.
Supposing, then, euch a society of the New Church to be duly formed, it is obvlone
that the performance of use, bearing upon the general Interests of the Lord'e kingdom, il
the great end which they are ever to have In view. But u nse is goyerned by qnality,
tbeir fiuI IiIId paramount aim I1 to be, to render themselvel, according to the lawl of di·
vine order, of.uch a quality aSlball enable tbem to acbleve the largest amount of good,
each to the otber, and all to each; beside what they are enabled to render to the world at
large. The action of euch a society is a kind of IeCretion of Ipiritual Ule, just as the
seoretion of an organ in the buman body tenus to the conl8rYlLtion and well being of the
whole. And al every particle of every orgon contributes ite share In the elaborating pra-
ooss, so is each inuivi.tual in such a lOCipty to furnish his respective quota of influence
to tbe perfection of tbe whole. In thil respect they all stand upon an equal footing. In
the common aim of the whole eyery member hu an equal interest. The humbl8lt dls-
oiple bas as much at stake as the highest and mostdistiuguished. His80UI is ofumuoh
importance, his comfort and prosperity in Ipiritual thing! as much an object of Divine
and angl'lic care, al that of his otherwise more favored brother, and he in like manner il
under equal obligation to Itudy in hil plnce and relations the best good of 'he entire body.
.All this, be it observed, lies upon the lOCie'y from ill very inception, and prior to the ap-
pointment of any olle or more individuale to wbat is termed the clerioal or ministerial
ofliee; for in the nature of the case, the particular church or society malt be prior to ill
ministers, just as any civil society or government jp prior to ill officers. In 'hil primi-
tive state of thing! everyone !s virtually and potentially a mini.ter, preacher, or priest,
beoaWMl every one is a church in the least form. Nor do we S86 lUIy adequate re&1OD
why thie prerogative should be conlidered al twr' alienable from its rightful nbjeotll.
1850.J The Milliltrg. 228
Tbe eserclle oC it may be waved to a greater or lll8ll degree under peculiar circuml&ances,
as when the luperlor gifts of one, In any particular department, may lupereede for a
time tboae of anotber j but 10 far as the principle is concerned, we hold it undeniable
that every man oC the church, from the neceasity of things, il potentially a minilter. And
in this matter it Is important to hold fait to firlt principlel, for it is here that ulurpalion
generally makM ita entrance, by fallifylng or sophisticating some fnndamental t~th; and
making it, thus transCormed, the basis oC • system of tyrannous domination and op-
pretlsion. .
But it will be asked, Is 'bere no lucb thing as a distinct function oC teaching or
preacbing in the New Church' Can any thing be more obvious than the recognition
of such a function, both in the Word and in the writings of the Church 1 And if there
is to be teaching, must there not be teachers' Does not a function imply functionaries,
or men di,chllrlling what Mr. Preseott tenus "a diltinct office and use 1" If all are
teache.., where are the taught 1 If all are leadere, where are the led' To this we re-
ply, that diversity oC Ulel In the Lord's spiritual body does not ncceuarily create di-
vanity oC KNldt, in thme who perCorm such usel. We acknowledge at once the neces-
sity of teaching and of teachers in the Church; but we deny tbat this Cact lays a foun-
dation for that radical distinction oC ckry and laity which has obtained currency
throughout Chriltendom, and which has opened a Pandora's box oC evil~ and mi~hieCI
'0 the church oC the past. The New Church of the prelent and the Cuture iI not a
church in reprelentatives, but in realities. The substantial things which the priesthood
repreeented are now enjoyed by the general body composing the New Jerusalem, and
being dill"uaed lhroughout the whole oC that body, they cannot be appropriated or mono-
polized by anyone cl..e. New Church lOCietie. on earth are now to form tbemaelveI
more and more on the model of the lOCietlel oC the New Church in the heavens, and
with tbeae there is no pr,achi", pri,"hood. There is indeed a priesthood, but it is com-
poeed of the whole celestial kingdom, and the men of that kingdom never preach. There
are also preachera in the heavens; but as they are not priesta, being of the spiritual
kingdom, so they are not constitnted preachers by a !!elf-perpetuating order, but receive
their appointment directly from the Lord, and tbat too, lU we may reasonably infer,
by the opemtion and influx of his Spirit flowing into their minds, and generating both
the love and the ahility for the uae which they are thence called to perform. Tbeir gifill
and endowments are perceiyed by the society to be adapted to their esigencie., aod they
receive and acknowledge them in this relation. They do not confer any power upon
them; they do not, Itrictly speaking, appoint them; they simply acknowledge them as
qualified, and thereby designated by the Lord himself to officiate in this capacity in the
performance of a uae which tbeir states render requisite. Such indiYiduals faU into tbe
centre, instead of the oircumference, as a matter of course, and in an orderly state of
things it is just as natural that their peculiar province should be recognized Dnd acknowl-
edged as tbat the corporeal system Dt large should acknowledge the all-pervadinK and
IUStaining action of the heart. But we _ nothing in all this that n_arily couati·
tales them a pennanently distinot class, invested with any kind of rule or authorily othCll'
than that which emanaleS Crom the trUthl they communicate. Tbey are to the whole
_iety what a partioalar organ is to the whole human body. To the eye, for iualance,
pertains the function of _ing, but it cannot _ apart from the body to which it belongl.
So with tile ear, the nOlle, the tonIUs. They all have their several Usetl in the bodily
economy, bllt they are not on this account in any manller diltiftCl Crom the body.' So in
like manner the use or funelloD of teaching or preaching in the lOCietiel oC the New
Church does Dot oonltitute a dilCiftCC grrul. or arda in such _isties, discriminated Crom
the ma•• as the ckrp are now supposed to be discriminated from the laitr-a distinotioB
equivalent to a dilOrelll devree.
[May,
We are well aware how dlflicult it will be for many of our readers to rest In our oeu-
elusion, that there may be a distinction in use which does not amount to a distinction hI.
office, or rather in official order or caste. Nor are we sure that we can make our idea any
more intelligible by expanlion or illustration. If it does not luike the mind with some-
wha~ of an Intuitive perception, it will not probably be apprehended aner pagel of e1abOl'-
ate expolition. We would say, however, that by the diltinct order or office of the clergy
in lhe cburch, wa mean an order which ~rpetV41t. itlllf by IKIme lpecial form of ordina-
tion or inauguration, wherein the body of the ohurch or the laity, as they are termed,
have no Ihare. That mcb an order of men, whether called prielts, clergymen, or miniI-
ters, was deligned to exist in the New Church Is what we venture to deny j while at the
eame time we freely admit and Itrenuoully maintain that there il a funcuon of teaching
which II to be diacharged by those who have the requillte quallllcatioul therefor. If
these two propoaitionl are deemed incoDBiltent with and destructive of each other, 10 it
muIt be. In our view they are not.
The funotion of teaching In a wider sense, or of preaching or proclaiming the gospelal
an evangelilt or millionary to the world at large, we would place on the broad ground
of a general right of all men to utter and enforea by argument luch sentiments as they
may entertain on any lubject whether lleCular or aacred. Elpecially, if no exceptionl
are taken to the sentiments themselvel, there can be no just exceptions taken to the moat
free and unreserved exprelsion of them by their holdera. Thil open and free declaration
of opinion il the more legitimate Import of the word pmrclt, wbicb il derived from a root
expreslive of the office of a public criif-, aproclaimtr, or Mrald of tidings whether good or
bad. When the tidings are good it i. gOlPtl, another name for the good newl, par tmi-
"""e" of the kingdom of heaven, and we wQuld ask how much ecclesiastical authority
one requires to empower him to declare the glad tidingl of the Lord's lICllond advent, 81-
peetally when we learn that pvery one to whom tbe meslBge comes II to be an echo to ill
gTlIcious burden; .. And the Spirit and Ihe BridllllaY, Come. ...ffltlltt him that Marlth ea,
CorM. And whoaoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." la not thil a
sufficient commlslion ?
The origin, then, we contend, of the mlniltry in the New Chnrch is In the exigencies of
tbe society. The office il necessarily created by the Ipirltnal demandl of the mpmbel'l.
Certain gin. arll In requilition and the pas_ion of the gin., together with the gennine
love of the use, II the warrant for their exercise. The divine Influx is into the use, and
the thing I1 orderly of courle. The true minilterlal function il therefore intrinlically prior
to all ordination administered by man, fOI we are now in quest of the manner in which
the very flllt minilter becomeslDch. We are endeavoring tore-mount to the primc-prlml-
tlve lOurce of a New Church miniltry. We have leen that it il merely OUII form of that
oomplex oful8I which pertain I toa society of New Cburch Chriltianl. It I1 a Die oflOrving
rather than of ruling. A miftister il a Itn/ant, and not a lord or master; th il il the VlIry
meaning of the term. But the IIl!rvice of the chureh is rnDltifonn, and 10 la the ministry.
AI every member has a service to perform, 10 be has a ministry to diacharge, and no-
thing would be more pernicious than to regard the employment of a teaching minister a.
carrying with it a 1U~Itfl,a, to all other forml of Ipiritualservlce.
But bere we can ealily foresee that the claiml of Mtr will be urged. la it nct opening
the door to confulion and every evil work to concede luch !iceDse on the score of preach·
ing or teaching 1 Will it not be B grlevoul infrection oC order and a IOrioul periling of the
beet Inrel'llstl of the Chu rch if the _I of 'anctity be taken oft' from the oicrical office, and
the ourrent diltinction between clergy and laity virtually done away 1 AI the office il •
public office and the good name and well-being of the church il at stake, Ihould there nOI
be an exprM8 authority oonferred before anyone a ..umel to ,himself the reaponsibl1lty of
the fDnction ? Does not the church need protection agalnlt the inroads of false teacher.
and unworthy reprellllltati..... 1 Our answer to thil will IUggest Uself from the tenor of
1860.] The Miftim'J.
Wha'g0e8 before. The C}llftlion fairly arl_, if our preml_ are lO11nd, wbere tbe au-
&horlty IOUlht reeides. As the otlioe of teaching llfOwS directly out of the wanll of a 10-
ciety, and Its authority lies in III Ule, the exislence of a ministry cannot depend upon an
anlecedent ordaining clergy any more than an effect can re-act and re-produce ill cause.
The ministry of a society ante·dales that of an order of clergy pertaining to the church
a'large, granting for the preeeqt that sDCh an order may ·exist.
If the view now prellllDted be still thought to be pregnant with evil results, It behoVlll
us to look well to the remedies proposed and ree whether they may not, In the long ruB,
involve grealer evils than those they are Intended to cure or prevenL This they wi1l sure.
11 do if they conflict with genuine order and virtwilly deny f1l1!t principles of truth or
1ieedom. It is not \lIlusual to hear it .aid tbat perlOns not duly inducted should not be
'""""" to officiate in the ministry. But who Is authorized to prevent them, and whence
oame the power I What are the credentials shown for it 1 Is not every man at liberty to
utter his sentimenll on any subject that he deems of moment to bis fellow-men, and even
iftholll IllntimllDla should be IlItrinsically erroDeoUS QC mieohievous, are Dot the evils inci-
dent to a restraining power greater than any that couHl flow from the most unlimited frer-
dom of speech I So we IOmetimes hear men talk about certain portions of the human
race not being lIt for civil fllledom. Bnt whence arose the right of one portion of mankind
to judge for another on thi. 1Ie0re 1 Does not God oreale all men free? How has it hap-
pened that one clae~ of men deems illelfentitled to sit In judgment on the capacity ofaa-
other to enjoy the birthright with which the Creator endowed them 1 And how can thllJ
restrict this right wllbout Inju.tice and oppression 1 We do not of conrse .aythat all
men IIrt equally prepared to use civil fJeedom without abusing it, but we do say that thi.
fact does not annul the original right, and that the evils of usurped ooercion are greater In
the final issue than thOllll of eelf-a_rted liberty.
So liI the matler before us. We know of no authority, no tribunal, which is empower-
ed to restrain the uercise of any man's freedom in the proclamation of what he regards ..
truths of the moll IOlemn import. If such a prompting proceed from the working of
geJ1uine neighborly love it will act in wisdom and will be acknowledged bylhoee endow-
ed with spiritual perception, for wisdom Is justified of her ohildren. If the voice of the
shepherd is heard in .uoh a mall, the sheep will turn toward. him, bnt not otherwise, for
they do not know the voice of a stranger. Bnt men are as free In the matler of bearing ..
or speaking. lio one can be compelled to hear what he does not wish to hear, or what,
upon hearing once, he does not wisb to hear again. If an individual assuming to be of
the New Church faith preaches a doctrine at variance with her truths, there 11 no remedy
but In the sounder views which It may encounter In the minds of the hearers, and in the rec-
tiflcatlons of time and Providence. In the end truth will eliminate and vindicale IlIelf Crom
the perversions oC error, and though the injury done in the mean time in the name of th.
New Church is to be regretted, yet the violent suppression of an inbom right would be
Itill more to be deplored. On the whole, therefore, the evils resulting by pouibility from
this lOurce do not Itrike us as being 10 formidable a. might appear to a slight reflection.
Human prudence is prone to multiply the fancied safeguards of truth, when in fact it is
mOllt effectually panoplied by III own Inherent mighL
The foregoing train of remark dOlll, if we mlltake not, developelOlDewhat of the nature
and design of the New Church ministry. It Is not an otlioe oC ruling, except 10 far ..
truth illelC is of a ruling natqre when presented to the mind. It Is limply one form of the
multifarioul uees which are requisite to the building up of the church in the goods and
truths of the Lord'. kingdom, and one too, 81 we conceive, which was neVllr intended to
be made 10 completely paramount to every other use as it bas come to be in the Christian
world at large. It was never designed to be erected Into an institution which Ihould
IItaDd com,lllete by illelf .. a virtual hierarcby. That .uoh h.. blltlll the case we attribute
226 The Mini&trg. [May,
,
to the subtle \vorklng, in Rll deeelvableness of unrighteoume., GC the love oCdomlnlOll
which has neVf'r fonnd a more congenial abode than In the bosom of the clergy. Tht.
spirit will never lack logic to jU!tify its usurpations, and its protOfl plftldllt, its fondamen-
tal falsity, will ever be found la lie in asserting a radical distinction between the clrrgy and
the laity, whereas iftbis soph iSDl is exposed tbe whole system receives a death-blow and tot-
ters to Its fall. We would not be understood by this as Involving the clergy of the present
day in tbe odium ai-devising and consciously upholding a system ofsacerootw dominion.
Far from it. We believe them to be conscientious and well-intentioned men, aiming to
do thewilI of God in sincerity, and we impute their error to too readily taking for granted the
lOundn!lss of opinions and usngcs which have come down to them by inberitance, and
which, from their being so seldom qnes:ioned, \bey have had but little reason to doubt.
We cannot for our..elve, but indulge the hope that the New Church will eventually de-
velope an entirely new order of things In this respect, and that while every lhing essential
to the mini!try will be retained, every thing factitious will be discaroed. How, otherwise,
can any sign of promise b" reud in the Church's future? As to an adequate supply of reg-
ularly and canonically ordained ministers for the TUrious societies of receivers spread
over the length and breadth of the land, who shall receive their support from such so-
cieties, It surely is now anll must be for a long time to come wholly ont of the question.
Indeed this is a fuet that holds good not of the New Church only, but of all churches.
There Is beginning to be an alarmingdefieit of clergymen-alarming, I mean, to all tbose
who look upon the clergy, 08 we do nOl, as the very bone and bulwark of the church. The
prevailing spirit of worldliness, or the higher prizes of other walks of life, is continnally
thinning the ranks of the candidates for the ministry-which, however, had probably
better be thin if such motives can make them so. Now for ourselves we do not l'Cj;ard
this as in itself a ci;'cumstance to be deeply dreaded by the New Church, however it may
be witb other~. It will throw her upon her own. resource,-upon her lay resources. She
wiII be forced to wean berself from that dependenc.-c upon the ministry which has been 10'
much the bane of Christemlam, ancI which is not without its ill effects in tbe New Dispen-
sation. Althongh it is unquestionable that the man of the Ncw Church is to be built up
morc by reading than the man of Rny other church, yet the inveterate pre-poSllCssions In
regard to the ItlUtd mini.try are continually tending to relax and paTalyze individual ac-
tion and to beget an unconscious reliance upon a substituted agency In matters of reli-
gion. The latent Impression is almost inevitable, that as the minister or pastor is paid
{or his services, the entire conduct of the religious affairs of the society is devolved upon
him, and that the duties of the rest are discharged by contributing their due proportion to
his support, and sitting with exemplaTy regularity under his preaching from Sabbath to
Sabbath. As a general fact men are about as Willing to pay to be excused, as they are to
pray to be excused, from the duties which make somewhat of a stringent demand upon
the inner man.
One effect of this state of things In the New Church Is very disastrous. Scattered over
the country in towns and villages are little bands of receivers who have become such by
reading. And as they are too weak to support a pastor, so they are prone to regnrd them-
selves as too weak to keep up worship or even to form themselves into societies. They
therefore remain In an Isolated state, making little or no united effort to promote tbeir
spiritual weal, but waiting for the Lord to increase their numbers and with their nnm-
bers their mean.. ConBe<!uently everythiag for the present languishes, though they may,
by private reading, keep up a faint life of goodness and truth in their own souls, and walk
unimpeachably In the outer man. But why should they not meet In little clubs for read-
ing and conference, and thus form the germs of future societles1 The writlnlls of the
Church are a never Cailing fund of edification, and there is usually IIOme one or more In ~
dividuals In thee circles, oC intelligence and ability, and well qualified to take the lead
18~.] The Minim-g. 227
•
and ID oommunicate iDIItruction. Why do not such receiVllnt avail
. themselvee of their
inalie~able privilege 1 Why do they not at least combine their rll!IOurces and fumiah
.
themselves with the writings of the New Church and with an abundance of collateral
"Works for general distribution 1 Alas, we fear that the grand let and hindrance on this
score is to be found in the exorbitant views entertained of t1.Ie ministry as a kind of 'i"e
fila IlOl& as much to the being as to the well-being of the Church. They have, from tra-
cliLional teaohing'll, taken up the idea that a settled and salaried preacher is an indispensa-
ble element in every such body, and that there can be no such thing 88 a lay circumfer-
ence without a clerical centre. Now we do not hesitate to say that the sooner this idea is
got rid of the'better. If every truly good man is a church in the least form, any number
of receivers associated according to the laws of ilie Lord's kingdom is no less a church in
a larger form, and competent to tbe performance of all ilie appropriate uses of such a body.
That it is possible in such circumstances for self-complacent and aspiring spirits, "loving
to have the pre-eminence," to thrust tPerusolves forward to the dispargement of worthier
men, must indeed be admitted. But the true remedy for this is the cnllivalion of th~ trne
.pirit of the Church, which is a spirit of mode&ty, of self-distrusl, of retiring humility,
while at the same time it is a spirit that shrink. not fiom any plainly enjoined duty or
lIOrvice of use. Contingent evils ought not to be allowed to bear down and frustrate divine-
ly instituted goods. " It is not always th08e," says Mr. Prescott, .. who think [them-
1IOIves qualified and who have a desire to preach, who are qUlllified. It is often not a
spiritual love of use thut prompts such desire, but sometimes a mere love of display, or
a high opinion of one's own intelligence, or the desire of distinction which is at the
bottom." Granted, but what thed? Are there not tholle who ha"e a true love of u.se,
and who are not prompted by the corrupt motives here recited; Dnd shall they lie preclud_
ed from a sphere of useful action in the Lord's church because olhers may prostitute that
service to the ends of vain glory? Is it, moreover, just to insinuate of such men who are
'drawn to ibis province of use by interior promptings of pure quality, that they are self-
appointed if they enter upon it with the full concurrence of their lIrethren without passing
through the prescribed church forms of clerical inauguration, which perhaps they could
not do without compromising some of the clearest and most sacred convictions of their
own minds?
We do not forget, in all this, tbat Mr. Preseott has cited chapter and verse, as it were.
from our great authority on this head to which he will challenge assent, unless we are
prepared to disregard it altogether. But we are at present prepared neitl,er fer the one
nor the other. We respect the authority of Swedenborg, but we know nothing of a blind
allegiance to the letter of particular paragraphs apart from the rUling scope and genius of
the system as a whole. In rl"ading the works of Swedenborg we recognize a certain
aA/lloffY 0ffaitla not unlike that which the theologians of the Old Church insist upon as a
necessary element in the interpretation of the inspired Word. He himself teaches the im-
portance of referring every thing to tintt principles, and we could not be faithful to his
lesIOns were we to shrink from applying the test of a rigid logic even to the relation be-
tween his own premises and conclnsions, and between ilie parts and the whole. In the
matter before uswe do not see that we can lie mistaken in regard to the leading scope and
spirit of the system in tbe aggregate, nor, assuming our view of this to be correct, do we
see why our inferences therefrom are not altogether legitimate and fair. Consequenl1y if
certain passages may be cited which seem, from the letter, to lead to different results, we
do not feel required at once to abandon our previous ground, but will rather hold our
judgment in abeyance and wait till farther light has shown how apparent discrepancies
may be reconciled. It is certain that compared with the prominence which the ministry
holds in the present economy of the New Church, very little is Aid about it by our author.
Ha h88 no chapter in the .. True Christian Religion" devoted to that subjeot, nor dOllll he
CluVtian Effort. [May,
any wh.re treat oC the chnrch .. tm orpulzed v1.lble polity. Why It thl. IC Indeed die.
are matters ofsuch vital 'V0meut to the welfare oC tbe Lord's kingdom 011 eanh U Is to
be inferred from the generalllltlmate in wbich they have been held 1 For aanelftll we do
not hlllitate to infer Crom It that the very genius of the New Church is anti-elcfrlcal, and tbat
it is destlued to \Tork a complete revoluticn In tbe minds of III members in this respect.
Wc cannot reei.t tbc conviction tbat the eJlistlng order of thinSs in tbe New D1tpen_tloa,
wbich h.. doubtlne derived iu origin from the Old, has tended greatly to impede indivi·
dual regeneration, by delegating the oversight of tbe intel'lllltB of the lOul to a C01IlIeCrated
order of men, instead of each one belug taught to consider them al CDtms1lllCl to his own
keeping. Tbe deat has been to segregate tbe CODcems of religion Crom the ordinary rcu
tine of liCe, and to give riee to a spurious pietism wbicb virtually ignores a life of chr ..
and Ullll. The church and the world have been distinctly marked 011' and arrayed aga1n1t
each other a. two antagonist kingdoms, instead of vigorous ell'ortt being made to break
down all artiflcial barrlen between the two, and to infullll the true and genuine life of the
church into the world,-the complexion to which thinllll mnlt come at laIt.
But we must, perforce, briug our remarb to a close at the point we have reached, al·
though conlClous of leaving a mnltitude oC closely related topics altortheruntoucbed.
Future ooc8llons may perbaps warrant more extended dieculllon. For the prellllnt we
would simply add, that we should deem it Injurious iC a revolutionary oharacter were
to be cbarged upon the vein oC ODr remarks. We do not propound our IIIlntimenll on the
subject before us with a view to nrp 80y sudden or violent cbanp In the exilting order
of things, but simply to elicit truth, whlcb will not faU to be adequately operative on
honest minds when once clearly established. The ennnciation of lOund principles is al-
ways lIealOnable, and it is not unfrequeutly the CalO "bat the lOundnCII cannot be tested
apan from the enunciatioD. Let this be our llpelogy or our explanation In the preeent iD·
stance. We have believed therefore have we speken.
ARTICLE IV.
CHRISTIAN EFFORT.
TUB New Jerusalem is a church of uses, not of forms, and is es-
sentially spiritual and internal. The externals of the old church re-
main long after its spirit f\nd life have passed away for ever. Even
88 the Hebrews continued ·their ceremonial worship after the She-
kinah of their covenant WlUl removed, and the Holy of Holies pro-
faned. The New Church, so spiritual in its nature, and expressly
instituted to replace the dead cold forms of the Old, migbt almost have
been expected to revert to the other extreme. But how far this has
been from being the case, the mOllt cursory glance at the all-absorb-
ing attention paid, even in our public convocations, to the externals,
tbe forms and very trivialities of the church, will suffice to discover.
Never, perhaps, was the New Church in real danger of becoming too
lIpiritual, however far it might wander from its appropriate uses.
Especially in the earlier history of the various societies were the
members not entirely free from the influence of externals; still less
could the whole church at once become purely l!IpirituaL And al-
1-550.] Chriditra Effort.
though the 6evotion of the time and attention of al!lSOCiations and con-
ventions to subjects of minor importance, or of no importance at all,
accompanied as it always has been, and necessarily must be, by a
melancholy wear and tear of kind feeling and Christian charity, and
involving the harmony of the church itsel~ is every where deeply re-
gretted by its friends, we will not presume to sit in judgment upon
the past. Charity itself could not justify an impeachment of the mo-
tives of those most deeply interested in these repeated and protracted
discussions of the order of the ~xternals of the church. For in their
minds such things become, perhap!!, by imputation or association, the
representatives of great truths, and the essential of order itself.
While yet it is evident that the New Church, too constantly a.nd ex-
clusive'y engaged in wrangling about its forms of order. is in danger
of beooming itself a form-a tlOX et pr(1!ierea niltil. But if a.ny are con-
scious of the existence of the evil to which we refer, and the prc-
valenoe of which has gone far to disturb the union of the church, and
to bring into discredit her annual festivals, it may not seem to them
improper to suggest some objects which from possessing a higber in-
trinsic importance, may awaken a deeper and more profitable inter-
est in the church, and thus serve to unite its members in feeling and
action.
Like a young child, the New Church is endowed with a principle of
energy, which is neither designed to be repressed, nor indeed can be ;
but rather to become the means of the greatest use both to itself and
others. And even as the child promotes the development of all his
faculties by his various and spontaneous exertions, so the New
Church, to attain the full measure of the statue of a perfect man, must
needs put forth her strength, and exercise her powers in a variety of
directions. But our analogy fails to illustrate the manner in which
this activity, directed in proper channels, is capable of promoting the
extension of the church in a ratio exactly correspondent to it~ inter-
nal growth. In the darker periods of the world's history, persecution
was found to be the seed of the church, and providentially, for no
other seed was Bown in equal profusion. But now the concentrating
influence of this external pressure is removed, and nothing short of
the practical cultivation of Christian charity can combine and sustain
the church, or regenerate the world. We have already alluded to
the evil consequences to be apprehended from an undue anxiety for
the externals of the church; still more disastrous would it prove to
sit down in idleness, however thankful, to selfishly enjoy all the bless-
ings, immunities and privileges of the New Jerusalem, if su~h a
oourse were possible. But it is not, however strong may be the
tendency toward it. For we have little evidence of being included
in this New Church, except so far as we seek to diffuse in all direc-
tions and by all means the knowledge and influence of its heavenly
doctl"ines.
In faith and worship the old church has long since paslled into the
valley of the shadow; yet we cannot but feel that there are still
some remaim, such as may be signified by John. And as in dogma
and doctrine she has gone far astray, we must look for them in her
VOL. UL 16
230 Chriltian Effort. [May,
works of charity. And in her habitual cultivation of active, system-
atic benevolence, she has done, and is still doing a. great work.·
The spirit is departed; the forms only are left. But in so far as these
are forms of use, or useful forms, why need we feel too proud to re-
cognize them as snch, and to inspire them with new life from the
New Church 1 And even if these forms are unsuited to the genius
of the New Jerusalem, we may still learn from their imperfections to
construct such as shall at once better accord with the spirit of the
New Church, and more accurately promote her uses. We lay no-
thing of the instrumentality by which the members of the old church
arfl induced to contribute annually to the support of what are termed
the great moral and benevolent enterprises of the day. lnteresting
ourselves only in results, it is not essential to our argument that all
the motives which animate them should be pure and good. We can
charitably hope they are. But it requires no very profound acquaint-
ance with the past history and present internal and external condi-
tion of the old church, to feel that nothing save these far-reaching
and important spheres of Christian effort could have enabled her to
stand in such unity as she still possesses, and so well maintain her
vantage-ground in the world. In a similar manner the New Church
needs that her own excess of energy should find suitable vent in use,
lest it turn and rend herself, as weH as to afford her members an op-
portunity for the cultivation of the various Christian graces so indis-
pensable to their spiritual progress; and finally to offer to the world
the Gospel of her heavenly doctrines. It is thought that compara-
tively few persons, at the present day, can internally receive the truths
of the New Jerusalem. How important, then, that all of the present
generation should have presented to them these truths, that no one
who might have received them be overlooked. And though it may
be said that all who are in a state to embrace the doctrines of the
New Church, will, in some way, in the course of Divine Providence,
have an opportunity of so doing,-this, so far from dissuading us
from doing whatever may be in our power to promote this end, should
remind us that the Lord, in the economy of the reg-eneration of man,
makes use of human instrumentality, both absolutely as a means,
and to promote the spiritual growth of his people.
With great deference to the judgment of those our elders, who may
differ from us, we humbly conceive that the great uses of the con-
ventions and associations of the New Church consist not in elaborate
legislation on points of order and rules for the government of the
church, nor even in such discussions of unessential subjects as serve
more to divide than to unite the church; but rather in arranging,
• Though thare is no reason to doubt that all the vitality and all the good which now
either lingers in the old church or resides there. is gathered from the heavenly influence
of the New Jerusalem; and that all its success in doing good is due to the same heavenly
influence in the world. Here too we find an additional realon for adopting from the
old church whatever model of action may appear uleful. For if thoae modes of action
prove useful under the reflected and distanllight of the New Church. may they not be
reasonably expected to become infinitely more useful when adapted to the spirit of the
New Jerusalem, and made the cWltinents and vehicles of ber more immediate in-
i11lC11lCe 1
1850.] Ohristian Effort. 231
ARTICLE v.
No. IV.
ganization formed for this purpose, is doubtless a matter for the most
serious consideration of the Church. The question is one which we
find it difficult to solve to our own satisfaction. At the same time
we have not a doubt of its being the most important use to which
the New Church, in all its branches, is called to direct its attention.
Another article will probably conclude what we have to offer on
the general subject.
Et:SJ:BIUS.
(To be continmd.)
CORRESPONDENCE.
We ventuteto presume upon the indulgence of the writer in giving the two following
letters to our readen, suppressing, as we do, the name and place. The spirit of the ccm-
munications is so candid, even in the objections offered, and the state of mind indicated
80 hopeful, that viewed simply as a model of the proper tone of letters of inquiry on the
great theme of the New Church, we feel that an important use will be accomplished by
their publication. The writer Is a gentleman who has stood high in the counsels of the
nation, and though now in retirement, we still cherish the hope that a new and con~nial
&phete of usefulneS8 may yet open before him in proportion as the truths of the New Di.-
pensation de7elope themselves with mote plenary evidence to his understanding, as we
can scarcely doubt from tbe tenor of his communications will be the case.
M - , Jan. 1~ 18.50.
MY DEAR BIR,
Having executed the special commission of Mrs. - - , in the premises, I
have a word or two to add in relation to the subject of Swedenborgianism.
Swedenborg claims to have been ~pecially commissioned by God to inrroduce
the Dispensation of the New Jerusalem-to have often seen the spiritual world
and conversed with its inhabitants, and to make disclosures in reference there-
to, which if true are of the profoundest importance to mankind. Now permit
me to ask you what and where is the evidence of the validity of his claims, and of
the truth of his so-called disclosures ~ Are we to receive all upon the ipse
dixit of the man himself-does all rest upon his mere veracity 1 Or is there
any evidence whatever that ~e may not have been deceived and his spiritual
disclosures the offspring of delusion' He was certainly a good and great man i
but can you show that he was not resting under some mental hallucination 1
Have you any such testimony in his favor as that which establishes the in-
spiration of the apostles 1 You will pardon me for the liberty I thus take. I do
it from no feeling of disrespect. The New Church system proposes to super-
sede the received opinions of the Christian world and the interpretation of the
wisest and best of men of every age since the crucifixion of Christ. This you
will admit places its followers in the attitude of holding the affirmative-the
anm rests upon them to prove the positions they take. Now if it can be
proved that Swedenborg was indeed specially commissioned, &c.-that he
was not deceived,. then the foundation is well laid for the superstructure.
Hence, I propound the questions above.
r am, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant.
P. S. You will of conrse understand me, I trnst, as not courting controversy,
but as seeking information. I am a private and very unworthy member of the
Presbyterian Church, and would feel mortified if any such construction should
be placed upon this letter. It would be a source of great pleasure, if I could
converse with you. I find it difficult to express just what I would say, in
writing. In one hour I presume I could have all my questions answered, if I
could enjoy the satisfaction of a personal interview. Should you ever visit
the State of - - , and this portioll of it, my poor hospitality is most cordially
238 Corre8ponde1f.Ce. [May,
!Lt your service and I should do all in my power to secure for you a fair hear
mg.
The above letter was answered at considerable length, and the position mainly insist-
ed upon that in view of the evidence exisling of Swedenborg's mission, the grand question
is not so much why we should believe in it, as wby we Ihould flat. Tbe on", of the argu-
ment devolves rather upon the rejecter than the receiver of bis claims. And as to the
question whether we have any such te!timony In Swedenborg's favor as that which es-
tablishes the inspiration of the Apostles, it was observed in reply that the same princi-
ples of belief which compel assent to the validity of Paul's commission will, if carried
out to their legitimate results, imperatively require the admission of the authority of that
of Swedenborg also. Several tracts and treatises on the N. C. doctrines were also sent.
The lapseofa few weeks brought forth the following additional letter.
n
1850.] Corre8p07ldence. 289
the trutb for a long time, but have not been able to rest satisfied in my im·
pressions, because they were not sufficiently distinct aud intelligent. With
the New Church view of tbe Trinity, as elucidated by yourself and Noble, r
am well pleased, as far as I comprehend it j and I think I understand it. Bllt
I will not rest here. I wiII read you both again, and compare you with the
Bible, holding my mind open to conviction of the truth.
If your view of the Trinity be correct, .then I think your exposition of the
Atonement and kindred doctrines must be admitted as undeniable. To my
mind they have the beauty, the harmony, the symmetry and consistency of
system. I think nothing can excel Noble, in the clearness and candor with
which he treats these lofty subjects; whilst the catholicity of temper pervad-
ing the whole must challenge the admiration of every charitable mmd. I
have investigated this subject with much anxiety, and I think, with perfect
honesty, and, I confess, 1 cannot see why any Christian may not cordially em·
brace the Trinity and its cognate doctrines as inculcated by the New Church.
It detracts nothing from the dignity of the mission of Christ, nothing from the
efficacy of his atonement, nor does it abate one tittle the obligations to exer-
cise faIth and lead a holy life. But whilst it does none of these, it maintains
the absolute Divinity of Christ on grounds which reason can sanction, and
which knock from under its feet the firmest prop on which infidelity rests.
Now, perhaps, you will say, that this exposition of these doctrines is derived
from Swedenborg, who professes to have discovered it, by virtue of his inter-
course with the spiritual world: and if 1 believe a portion, why do I not be-
lieve the whole of his wonderful disclosures ~ To this [ reply, that [ embrace
his views of these doctrines, not because he says so, nor yet because he avers
that he acquired it from the spiritual world, but because [ think that you and
Noble, and even the great Seer himself, have shown that it is entirely con·
sistent with a fair and unconstrained interpretation of the sacred Word. Bllt
perhaps you may reply that Swedenborg, by his own unassisted powers of
mind, never could have elaborated such an exposition of Scripture. III this I
must differ with you. In the interpretations of the Bible which elucidate
these doctrines, I do not feel that there is any thing above the capacity of a
great mind, attuned to heavenly contemplation and deeply learned in the ori-
ginal languages in which it was delivered to the world. Indeed, since this
exposition has been given, I am impressed with its great simplicity; and I
wonder that it had not long before been promulgated by good and wise men,
and universalll adopted by the Church. (b)
From what have said above, you will see how far 1 believe the disclosures
of Swedenborg-just so far as [am convinced that they are sustained by a
fair and undistorted interpretation of the sacred text. If [ do not misread you,
in your" Letters to a Trinitarian," you also say that you are governed by the
same rule, and thl\lYOU do not expect or desire the belief of any man upon
any other basis. It follows then, since you embrace Swedenborgianism in its
totality, that you think it throughout sustained by the Divine record fairly in-
terpreted. This brings me to the ~ropounding of a few inquiries upon points
concerning which I want informauon, without which I do not think I can be·
lieve. On page 132 of "Letters to Trinitarians" you give an extract from
SWPdenborg's T. C. R. 254, 255 (to which I beg you to refer as it is too long
for me to transcribe in this place), in which the idea is inculcated (and indeed
it may be found passim in his works) that after death every one enters first
into a place of instruction, intermediate, I surpose, between heaven and hell,
to speak according to the common notions 0 these two abodes; that those
who there receive the truth are taken into heaven or conjunction with the
Lord, and that those who do not, being' confirmed in falses, are ultimately
turned over to the woe of their estate. Now I beg you to tell me what part of
the Bible sustains this view ~ How does it differ from the Romish ~urgatory 1
Does not the whole tenor of Scripture teach, that death ushers ns mto an un·
changing state of happiness or misery ~ That onr doom is sealed when we
" shuffle off this mortal coil," and that as the tree falls, so it must lie ~ If I am
not greatly mistaken, this is a cardinal feature in his system of spiritual dia-
140 C01TelpOnde1tce. [May,
closures; and a full elucidation of it, on Scripture grounds, either by a llri.
vate letter, or in the Repository, will doubtless clear away the difficully which
besets other points of a kindred character. Should you adopt the latter me·
thod of communication, it may afford valuable informatioll to others similarly
situated. (c)
Again, vide A. E. 114, referred to in "Letters to Trinitarians," in which
Swedellborg uses the following language-" Wherefore, at this day He is re-
jected by those within the Church who do not approach and worship him,
but pray to the Father to have compassion ou them for the sake of the SOil,
when, notwithstanding, no man or angel can even approach the Father and
immediately worship him," &c. Now I am aware, from reading the whole
paragraph, that his leading idea is, that to pray to the Father for rhe sake of
the Sou implies duality, and in some sense the inferiority of the Son, and is
therefore a rejection of the Lord, because it is to approach him in a character
ill which he is inapproachable. But the points on which I am anxious to be
informed are these :-Is it not Scriptural to approach the Father ill the name
of the Son., and will we not be accepted if we do 50 in faith of his absolute
Divinity 1 "ilk John xiv. 13, 14 i ib. xvi. 23. How does the Newchurchman
approach God ill prayer 1 I would be glad if you would furnish me with
your common formllla. I have had cOllsiderable difficulty in my mind on this
point, even before I met with the above passage of Swedenborg. Indeed it
IS the greatest diiiculty which your view of the Trinity has suggested. I re-
gard it as of the highest importance. How shall we approach the Lord
aright is a question of eternal COllcernment. Here I ask you for that for which
Aju: prayed-light! light! Have you a form of liturgy in your Church wor-
ahip 1 If you have, this would be most acceptable. (d)
But, my dear sir, what right have I to annoy you with my crude notions,
and perhaps uureasonable requests 1 J will close this scrawl, if you will par-
don me for the ODe~ous tax I nave levied upon your patience.
I am, sir, most respectfully,
Yljur obliged and humble servant.
REMARKS.
(a) We are .liIl firm in the belief of the essential soundness of our position. We do
Dot say that the testimony of consciousness as~ures us directly of the "rsmls of all the
psychologicallawl of our being, but that we Rre conllCious of the laws themseh-es, es-
pecially when our attention is called to them. It doubtletlll requires, ia many Instance~,
profound study to dillCover the relation b~tween the prtbciples of which we Rre conllCiolls
ana tile BIInounced results of which we are not conscious; but close investigation will
eeldom fail. CO briDe U to light.
Cb) A deeper acquaintaooe with the 'yaem willl'rol>ably modify very materially the
views,of our correspondent on WS lasad. No degree of natural genius or acnmen-no
amlJ1lIJI( ofoolluired erudition in langv:qes.or pb.ilQlogy-would ever have brought aDy one
co the knowledgeoftbe !leleDce of.corresporWElIiCIl8.on whii:h the N. C. interpretation of Ibc
Word depends. And wkere has any theologil/J or philosopher ever approached to 1\ jnn
view oftbe essential distinP.ti.og between Goodness B,IiId Truth. whi.ch coDstitutes the very
&,round-element of the teachings of O1,lr illlUllinltoo. author 1
(I:) We have elllllsWered this objeetion at length in our reply to Dr. Wooch'p, 169-172),
to wlliela 0111 eorl'ellpoDlieD.t, aDd such of ,Qur readen IS sympathize with him OIl thil
point, are referred. Heantime we would pl'oJrer co all pgias the Jjght reI.lllllUld. OD chi
••~eet by the follo1ll"iJ:l4( extraet fro.. SVl'er.I~oril-
.. As fBl" as the trutbll, whiolo. are of the anderstanding. ~.eonJoin" ~ doe good.
which Ilre of the will. &hlls RI {ar .. a man wUIs truths and thence does them, !IQ fu
be has heaven in liimself. sioce the elJnjunction of good and truth is IIelven: but as fal
8S the falses whieh are of tile understanding are c,m~oined to the evils whicla are of the
will, 80 far man has hml in himself, .because the .conjunction of what is fa,1se and evil is
1ullI; bwas far RS s.1J.e tmShs ll"hic.b .Blll of the nndenra.ud..Wi .re not .conjoined 10 eh.
1800.] Corre8pondence. 241
goods which are of the will, so far man is in a middle slate. Almost every man at this
day is in such n stnte, that he knows truths. and from science and also from understand-
Ing thinks them, and either does much of them, or little of them, or nothing of them. or
contrary to them, from the love of evil and thence the faith of what is false; therefore.
1n order that be may have either heaven or hell, he is after death first brought into the
world of spirits, and there a conjunction of good and truth is made with tho!l8 who are
to be elevaLed into heaven, and a conjunction of evil and the false with those who are
to be cast into hell. For it is not permitted to allY one, in heaven nor in hell. to have a
divided mind, that is, to understand one thing and to will another j but what he wills, he.
must also understand, and what he understands, he must also will. Wherefore in heaven
hI! who wills good must understand truth. Bnd in hell he who wills evil must understand
what is false; therefore with the good folses are there removed, and truths are given
agreeable and conformable to their good, and with the evil truths are there removed.
and falses are given agreeable and conformable to their evil. From these thing. it is
evident what the world of spirits is."-H. 4" H. 425.
(d) We shall be greatly mistaken if our correspondent has not by this time become very
much relieved on the seore of the difficulty here alluded to. It can hardly be otherwise.
established as he seems to be in the true doctrine of the Lord, from which the teaching in
question HOWl by necessary sequence. .. Is it not scriptural to approach the Father
in tbe name of the Son, and will we not be accepted if we do so in faith of his absolute
Divinity 1" The" faith in the absolute Divinity" of the Son is the very thing that forbida
prayer to the Father in his name, and such prayer is of course unscriptural if it is found-
ed upon a view of the Divine nature which il DOt true. Why should we pray to the Fa-
ther in the name of the Son when we recognize the Father i" the Son and nowhere else.
just as we recognize the soul in the body, and when we are authorized to pray to him in
his own nBme? The difficulty sho:>"s that the traditionary idea of the tri-personal theory
was still lingering In the writer's mind, notwithstanding his being convinced of its falsity.
and that too, in a measure, even before be came into the sphere of the New Church truths.
The case affords another proof of the streme tenacity with which our educational tenets
cling to us and govern our forms of thought, albeit their fallacy has become apparent to
our deliberate judgment. The mind seems instinctively to revert to its I1ccustomed modes
of conception, whe'n it has renounced their ruling falsity, just as the wl1ves of the sea will·
continue to roll long alier the wind has abated. Let the truth of the genuine Divine
unity be firmly fixed in our inmost convictions, and the common apprehensions of the
Christian world in regard to the mediation and intercession of Christ will not be able per-
manently to retain their hold.
The following is an extract from a letter from our Western New York friend, A. W.
Before concluding I wish to present you an extract of a letter from Dr. Geo.
H. Lee, Barre, Mass. .
"I discovered a strange phenomena about the first of June, which I will de-
scribe. Myselfwith some others hear a peculiar low, rumbling sound. We can
hear it most of the time i but usually most distinctly at 10 or 11 o'clock at night.
It is an obscure sound hke the distant rumbling of a heavily laden wagon on
frozen ground. It sometimes continues unbroken for five minutes, then breaks
a little and begins again. It will also sound like the stones of a grist mill, that
do not run quite true, but make a grating noise every time they go round.
What is very singular is that there are many of us that distinctly hear it, and
others cannot. Myself and wife have both been able to hear it most distinctly
nearly all the time for the last three months. I hear it now while writi!1g.
My sister Catherine (Hancock] and her family do not hear even when I can
hear plainly and distinctly. Wm. B. Whimey, at Orange, hears it very distinet-
Iy, also some others there. In Preeeott we hear it, also sneral of Mr. Bibley"
2-&2 Editorial Jtema. [May,
family, Mr. Sear's, Mr. Freeman's, and also several other individuals. Mrs.
8ibley herself could discover it. It is heard by those having musical ears and
those who have not, by orthordox and heterodox.
" There is a young man in Prescott, Benjamin Cooley, who goes voluntarily
into a clairvoyant state. He then lectures and tells strange things. He says
that it is tbe music of the spheres (rather grating it seems to me) and is caused
by currents of electricity coming from the interior or central portion of the
.earth. There is now a discordant note that causes the grating or vibrating
sound heard sometimes by the human ear. He said that these currents had
eternally been in motion and were the means by which all things were formed
and sustained. They are different in the various kingdoms of nature. Some
do not hear as well as others because they have a less perfect organization of
the brain, consequently not a perfect sJluitual organization. These sounds
can be heard in a tight room, cellar, or In the open air. I think that they ex-
tend to your place.
"Cooley says that the Cholera is caused by the same causes that produce
the jarring sounds; and that t1.ley will cease when an equilibrium is restored."
But with this I must close.
Yours, ever and truly,
A.W.
EDITORUJ,; ITIIIS.
At the late Scientific Convention at Charleston. S. C., ProfeAor Agassiz de!Canted at
some length upon the thcory, which he did not scruple to adopt, that the human race is
not descended, as is generally suppollCd, from one parent stock, but has diffused itself
from several original centres of creation, the progenitors from each portion of the race
having been distinguished by such peculiarities e,s adapted them to their position as to
soil and climate, and to the part which they were destined to play in the economy oflife.
He expressed at the same time his faith in the revelation of the Bible, but supposed its
reference to be to a single race of the human family, that, to wit, from which the Jewish
nation was derived. As might easily have been anticipated, the suggestion was prompt-
ly denounced by the religious press on religious grounds. The absolute unity of the race
in all its branches is the corner-stone in their theory of redemption. That theory, at
least in its highest Calvinistio form, involves the supposition of a federal relation be-
tween the first created pair and their posterity. Any view, therefore, of the origin of
man which disturbs the symmetry of this orthodox system, disturbs also the equanimity
of its advocates, and little favor is shown to di8llcutients. As the teachings of the New
Chumh instruct us in the fact that Adam is a collective and not an iudividual appella-
tion; and as they know nothing of any such covenant transaction in Eden as that
which figures so largely in the established theology, they would perhaps come in for a
share of the odium which is made to redound to the alleged heresy in question. But the
receivers of these doctrines can in patience and in calmneA POSSC8ll their souls when
they _ the results of science continuany paving the way for the onward march of those
grand truths which were announced from revelation before learned research had arrived
within sight of them. It has been so in Geology .nd Astronomy, and it will unquestion-
ably be so in Anthropology.
We insert the following more particular account of Mr. Dawes' ordination, from the
cover of the Journal (No. XI.) of the proceedings of the Central Convention, recently pub-
lished. .. On Sunday, the 14th of February, 1850, the Rev. Rufus Dawcs was ordained
tnto the first degree of our ministry, in prellCnce ofthe Washington Society, of which he
b now the miDi.tel. Application for hi, immediate ordination had been made to the
1850.] Editorial Items. 243
Rev. Richard De Charms, an ordaining minister of the Central Convention, then resilling
in Baltimore: but it was expressly stipulated that Mr. Dawes' ordination by that minister
was not to commit eitber him or the society to that general body of the church. Mr. De
Charms submitted the application to the acting committee of the Central Convention.
Said Committee resolved, that authority for Mr. Dawes' immediate ordination should be
asked from the Convention itself, which is supposed to exist at all times, however separa·
ted its members may be in epace. One hundred and nine members of the Central Con:
vention voted, by their signs manual, to grant the authority of the general body to which
.they belong, unto tbe Rev. Mr. De Charms. to ordain Mr. Dawes according [0 the laws
and order of that body, and at sucb time and place as the ordaining minister and the
WlU'hington Society might determine upon and agree. The ordination took place, at the
time above ptated, in the society's present very commodious place of worship-a room of
the Temperance Hall of Washington City. The ceremony was performed, with a ser·
mon suited to the occasion, and a charge to the ordained minister, during the morning
service, before a numerous and highly intelligentaudltory."
A series of twenty·four smalltrBcts of four pages each, called THE NEW JEKUllALElIf,
has been published by New Church brethren in Ohio. The titles of these Tracts
are:-
1. The Doctrines of the New Churoh. 13. Doctrine of Regeneration.
2. The Divine Trinity. 14. What is True Charity 1
3. The Lord Jesus Christ. 15. What is True Faith 1
4. The Atonement. 16. Meaning and Use of Baptism.
5. The Sacred Scripture. 17. The Holy Supper.
6. Science of Correspondences. 18. 'Vhat is Life 1
7. Apparent Truths of the Won!. 19. Doctrine of the Resurrection.
8. Creation and Fall of Man. 20. The Last Judgment.
9. The General Deluge. 21. Origin of Angels.
10. End of the World. 22. Heaven.
11. Nature and Use of Prayer. 23. Hell and its Miseries.
12. Spiritual Temptations. 24. New Church Books.
From a cursory inspection of the series the tracts appear to be judiciously and pithily
written, giving in a very condensed but clear style the leading truths pertaining to each
topic treated. They are sold, we perceive, by S. S. CABPEIll'llJL, Cincinnati, at $2 per
thousand, of whom they may be obtained in any quantity. Every tract consists of pre-
cisely four pages, 12mo. •
Rev. R. De Charms has resigned his pastoral relation to the .First Society of the New
Jerusalem in the City of Baltimore. His letter signifying thie resignation bears date,
Feb. 3, 1850.
By information recently received we learn tJJ.at the Rev. Geo. Field, after preaching
several weeks at St. Louis has concluded to accept a call to the pastoral care of the New
Church society in tbat place.
The ReT. Wm. Mason, of the New Church in England, autbor of" Job Abbott," deliver·
ed recently an animated speech at a public meeting held at Derby, on the subject of
National Education, in the course of which be made tbe following shrewd distinction be-
tween two classes of men who are every where to be recognized in the Christian world.
.. And here he begged permission to present a verbal distinction which he considered
worthy of being kept in mind. The Latin word IJmo signifies • I love,' and the word
credo, • I believe.' Now he would divide all religious people all the world over into ~1II0'
and CredOl. The ~1II0' make religion to consist in goodnellS and love, and the CredOl, in
a certain sYlltem of doctrine. Every denomination, all the world over, is divided into its
Obituary• [May, 1850.
.dmOl and its CredOl. (Laughter, and • Hear, hear.') Each denomination containl ill
peculiar proportion. From the .dmOl originate chiefly all measures of social reform and
Improvement; and from the CredOl come all the ohstruetlon, for CrrdOl see nothing godly
III rodncss but only in their own creed. (Laughter.) But even this Is not without Its
use. The highly Impulsive movements of the .dmo. may somelimes require the drag
chain of Ihe Crtdo.. The Credo. are warm partizans, and the .dmo. are to some extent
hcld in thraldom by them; but he saw a great movement In a certain numerous denomi-
national body amongst tbe .<fmo. to break Ibe bond. in which they were held by the
C,.,dOl, and he wished them success, and he hoped a. like movement, to throw over thIS
Cra!OI wouid take placo all the world over."
As the June No. of the Repository may not appear prior to the Annual meeting of the
General Convention, we would qain renew the notice of that meeting, which is to take
place in this city, June 12, at 10 o'clock, A. M., at Ibe Society Library Building, corner of
Broadway and LeonaM-street. Provision is made by our friends here (or the accommo-
dation of the del~tes during the continuance of the Convention, and such of them as are
aGC ml'( at the lauding places, upon their arrival, by the Committee of Arrangements may
conveniently report themselves at the place of meeting, ur at Mr. Allen's Book-store, 139
Nallllau-slreel, when quarters will be dlJly allotted them.
OBITUARY'
Departed this life Dec. 2:lth, 1849, In the assured and happy hope of another and better,
Mrs. Ann F. Catlett, aged ~:; years, relict of tbe late Mr. C. J. Catlett, of Greenway, Lou-
don Co ,Va. Tbe val ied worth of this estimable lady demands a passing tribute from thoSll
who cherish her memory. The fact of ber being the daugbter of an English nobl"man,
Lord Fairfax, is of less ac,!ount for its own sake tban from its having been the means of in-
Cloducing her at an early age to the doctrines of the New Church, of which some of her
family were among the earliestreceivers in tbis country, as several ohheir descendants still
continlJe to be. Tbese doctrines, as she advanced in life, became increasinlllydear to her,
Ilnd tbeir practical operation was evinced iD the beautiful moulding of the Datural traits of
her character into forms of spiritlJal beauty and amiability. Among the more obvi01l1
fruits of tbis silent but efficacious influence was Il qUick and intuitive perception .f
whatever was right, and a totl1l disregard of any obstacles involving personal !lBcriflee
that might stalld in tbe way of her duty. Eminently social in her disposition, with
a heart overflowing with the kindness ofcbarity to her fellow-creatures, and a mind of
superior order, made doubly attractive by an unostentatious and winning deportment,
sbe was the deligbt of her friend., an object of gmtitude to the poor and the humble, and
the pride of the family circle. One who was fully competent to speak of her in tbis
respect remarks that" She was a true and beautiful illustration of the teachings of Chris-
tiauity" (to whicb lDe add, of New Cburah Cbristianily}-" ils precepts Ioer guide, its
practice her greatest happiness. From ber calli est infancy the object of the tenderest
parental solicitude, she was shielded from every pernicious inlllJence, while no meaD.
were omitted necessary to the development of her nnderstanding and tbe ClJlIUre of her
heart. And when in after years, there was nought left of Ioer childhood, bUI its im-
pressions, as ofa long, bright, bRppy droom, ber early lessons of virtue deeplyengraven
on her heart, she was well qualified for tbe di!ICharge of those delicate and often ardlJon.
duties, inseparable from tbe relations of wife and mother. As tbe former she was above
all praise; as tbe latter, tbe lacerated hearts of her children bear grateful testimony to
her devoted, self-sacrificing love." The writer of this, thongh privileged witb but a par-
tial acquaintance witb Mrs. C., was impresSed in her presence witb a sphere oftbe most
calm and UDruftled equanimity, and tbis he understand. from her intimate friends was
an habillJal trait univer!lBlIy acknowledged by all wbo knew her, and most fully by those
wbo knew her best. He can bear testimony also to the delight evinced by her air and
manner in the pnblic worship of the Church upon which she evidently attended as the
chosen resort of her spirit, anu where she breathed an atmosphere suited to tbe respira-
tion of her inmost life. As that life wal mainly love, so her end was peace.
THE
MONTHLY REVIEW.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICI.E I.
SWEDENBORG'S PRINCIPIA.
CASE n.
Trarulatory Motion of the Star. alO1lg the Milky Way.
OUB former article had a special reference to the structure of the
sidereal heavens, and the theoretical discovery of the situation therein
of our solar system. We also endeavored to explain, that, so far as
appearances go, this situation sod structure agree with geometrical
prineiples on the part of Swedenborg, and with perspective on the
part of Herschel. In this article we shall endeavor to show that both
geometry, dynamic., and perspective verify this structure, also the
position of our solar sy~em therein, and Swedenborg's theory of the
translation of all its stsrry constituents along the stream of the milky
way.
Two centuries ago, astronomers everywhere believed the stars
maintained the same invariable positions and relative distances from
each other, excepting five stars only; the former were therefore
termed fixed stars. and the latter planets or wanderers. They were 80
called, because they were seen invariably wandering and wending
their way amongst the stars of the zodiac; therefore, constantly shift-
i ng their position. The difference in their nature from the fixed stars
vo... m. 17
246 Swedenborg's Principia. [June,
was discovered from their orbital fluxion round the sun. After the
telescope was invented, and applied to astronomical purposes, observers
became suspicious, throwing out J1ints that even some of the fixed
stars had a proper motion of their own, though almost impe.rceptible.
They had observed their periodic variability-the regular recurrence
of the same phenomenon in the same times, and with the same star;
and this singular fact gradually but strongly impressed them with the
belief, that the mysterious cause lay deeply hid, either in the axillary
or else in the orbital motion of the star itself, or of sorne dark inter-
vening body. The phenomenon consisted in the regular periodical in-
crease and diminution of lustre. The resolute determination of as-
tronomers to test these conjectures, led to the actual observation of a
translatory or local motion of certain stars, and ultimately of the
whole starry heaven. Dr. Halley, Lemonnier, Cassini, Goodricke,
Mayer, La Lande, Argelander, Pond, Herschel, Bradley, Michell,
Lambert, and others, by their theoretical suggestions, computations,
and discoveries, gradually prepared the mind for those grander reve-
lations which, under the name of sidereal astronomy, are, without
doubt, the mightiest wonders ever beheld by the eye of man, and their
discovery the mightiest achievement of his genius. The particular
fact, leading to these splendid results, was the discovery of the sun's
translatory motion amongst the stars.
This striking fact, first distinctly observed by Sir 'V. Herschel, has
now received instrumental demonstration. The perfection of our as-
tronomical instruments of measurement, the admirable exactitude and
extreme nicety with which they can be used, on account of consider-
able improvements in the art of observing, have enabled us to reduce
our advance towards remote stars, in the opposite region of the hea-
vens, to visual perceptibility, like an approximation towards remote
objects in apparent motion on a distant shore.
As stated in our former article, Bessel, the Konigsberg astronomer,
has solved the grand problem of stellar remoteness. His investiga.
tions were made upon the star 01 Cygni in the wing of the Swan;
they commenced in the year 1834, and were completed in 1838; and,
during the whole of this period, he ordinarily took observations six.
*een times every night. At length the long sought-for desideratum-
the determination of the annular parallax of a star, was complete.
He gives it = 0".3136, or somewhat less than one-third of a second,·
which places this star at the astonishing distance from us of 657,700
~imes the radius of the eal'th's orbit, or nearly 621 billions of miles.
The. distance is obtained as follows:-When the angle or parallax is
secured, the distance of the star is then determined by an easy pro-
cess in trigonometry, thus :-
Radius; sine of the angle: : diameter ofthe earth's orbit: distance of the star.
• Besllel. Sebum. labrb. 1839,8. 47 ; and Sebum. Astron. Nacbr., bd. xviii., 8. 401,
402, where the probable mean error is given = 0".0141; also Dick's Sidereal HeaYllllI,
p. tlO.
1850·1 8wedenborg'. Principia. 247
r.
dellIou and Lieu\. Meadows J Monthly NoucllIIJ 184~J vol. V' J p. 223.
t Struve. Bulletin of Acad. of St. Pelenburgh. 184~J L X. No. 'J pp. 137-139.
* Argelander. Sebum. AsU'on. No. 363-4J 398; aIIo his Treat1le, 011 lAc PrrJPll' .110-
of lJu 80lGr Br""", 1837J .. 33.
248 Swedenborg's Principia. LJune,
the stars from one polar end of the milky stream tmoaru the other,
8&YS:-
"That the star systems inflect their course in every direction from one axis
or end of the milky etream, and curve it toward another."-Vol.ll. p. 233, n. 5.
The northern pole or axis is always the pole of emergence, and the
southern of influx; in other words, the magnetic element flows out of
the northern end, and in at the southern.- So also with the milky
stream. One end is in the northern hemisphere, in the region of Ce-
pheus and Cassiopea; this we must call the northern pole of the milky
way. The other end is in the southern hemisphere, in the vicinity of
Scorpio and Sagittarius; and this we must call the southern pole of
the milky way. Now let us compare the application of Swedenborg'8
theory with the theory of observation : -
"That the solar and stellar systems aftn1lXJrds proceed from the milky
stream, and inflect themselves in different directions."-P. 23T.
"That the star systems inflect their course in every directionfrom one axis,
and curve it tOtDard another."-P. 233. .
Cl The telescopic structme of the milky way is in the highest degree complex
and magnificent in the body and tail of Scorpio, the hand and bow of Sagittan"UI,
and the following leg of Ophiucus. •No region of the heavens is fuller of ob-
jects, beautiful and remarkable in themselves, and rendered still more so by
their mode of association, and by the peculiar features assumed by the milky way,
which are without a parallel in any other part of the heavens.' "*
.. Here lies the chain and magnetic course of the whole of our sidereal hea-
ven."-P. 237.
And these results flow as directly from his formula, as the revolution-
ary motions of the planetary system from Newton·s formula of gravi-
tation, or the situation and velocity of a new planet from the formula
of Leverrier 01' Adams. The confirmation of his formula on 80 exten-
sive a scale, and yet so complete, displays the profound correctness of
his conception, the gigantic character of his philosophic and mathe-
matical genius, the deeply penetrating sagacity which coaId anticipate
so many, and so varied, but wonderful phenomena, aided likewise by
an indefatigable power of analytic thought, which never ceased until
it had sounded and explored the universe on all sides, and in all its
depths.
The theoretical discovery claimed for SWPdenborg in this article,
comprises the following particulars :-1. There are no fixed stars,
but the whole of the starry heaven has a translatory or progressive
motion along the milky way. 2. The stars stream out at the northern
end Rnd in at the southern. 3. At the northern end of the milky way,
the)' dive,-ge in every direction; whilst at the southern end they con-
verge from every point.
S. BZIWICJt.
(To be connnUld.)
ARTICLE 11.
rejection, on the part of the church, of that very order, which is now
proposed as a better one. The New Church in tbis country consisted
at first of credendnal receivers; these receivers combined together
to form societies, and procured those who should act in the capacity
of religious teachers to them. These sooieties were then independen~,
as it is called, of one another. They had no body or hodil's'superior
to themselves to control their action, even by recommendatory mea-
sures. Why did they not continue in this order, if it was so desir-
able 1 Why did not Philadelphia and New York, and Frankford,
retain the advantages of this independence, hotJoring each other as
brethren, but seeking no closer union 1 The answer is, they per-
ceived that the advantages of this isolation ....ere only apparent, and
yearned for external as well as internal unity. They were convinced
that efficiency. harmony, and re~pectl\bitity, were to be ,gained by
drawing together, and they did not suffer this convict.ion to be over-
ruled by an excessive dread ofecclesiastical tyranny. (c) They.ol»eyed,
in other words, the common inRux, which has ever taught men, in
church as well as state, to establish gove771ment-the very instinct
which caused them, when individual receivers, to combine into so-
cieties, notwithstanding the certainty that each individual must ha\'e
felt that his wishfis, or as some would say, his liberty, must be con-
trolled in the administration of affairs. To break up this general
body, now, because its constitution embodies some errors, and be-
cause it hM, in some respects, operated harshly, would be to undo
the bonds by which charity herself ha.~ formed the isolated members
of the church into a one, because she did not weave them with a per,,:
feet knowledge and an unerring judgment.
It may be said that the Convention was formed because the church
acted upon the false and unexamined idea of previous times. But
this answer assumes that the very principle of organizing those who
think alike, is among the errors of the old church. (d) Some speak and
write as if Swedenborg had somewhere said, that all the external
6cience of the old church, as well as its charit), and taith, was con-
Bummated. Whereas the truth, to sober thought, is this, that by de-
generating into an external state, and turning their attention to out-
ward things chiefly, those of that church have accumulated a vast
hoard of scientific wealth, which the New Church is to enter upon,
and turn to valuable purposes. (e) It would be difficult to show that
this principle does not apply to the science of church government, as
well as to any other science. Let him who will believe that the im-
men.'le skill, in tbis department, embodied in the constitution of the
Romish Church, ill to be rejected in the New Church, and to lie as
the idle lumber of the past. Others will think that such an idea.
controverts the great Providential law, that there shall be no evil
out of which good may not be drawn; and that, just as we do not
reject printing, because it was the invention of an external church, or
because it has been made an engine of corruption, so it becomes us
to select among the ecclesiastical institutions of the past, to combine
them into new forms, to amplify, purify, and animate them with a
Dew spirit, but by DO meaDS to cast them away in the lump.
256 New Church OrganiUJtion and Government. [June,
The passage from Mosheim, which " Eusebius" uses in the Reposi-
tory for a different purpose, may be very happily converted to our
present argument. It shows clearly that the early Christians desired
an external unity, and this long prior to the council of Nice, conse-
quently long before the warmth oftheir first charity was abated.(n It
is presumable, therefore, that it was this very charity, uniting them
internally, which prompted them to an outward manifestation of it,
and that, in constituting synods and councils, they did not-eontravene
a law of the Divine Providence, but acted according to one, only err-
ing in its application. The evils of eeclesiastical tyranny, therefore,
which progressively marked their history, did not proceed from the
principle of combining into higher forms than parishes, but from that
principle erroneously applied (in particulars) first, and perverted
afterwards.
2. The uses of government will be best answered by retaining the
General Convention. It will be well, in enforcing this argument, to
analyze the idea of ecclesiastical government, and state separately
the components of which it consists. And first, organization.
If anyone can form an idea of government without organization,
be can do what, to most minds, would probably be an impossibility. (g)
Mere individuals unorganized do not admit of government. One of our
popular meetings is a collection of such when it first comes together.
If it should proceed to business in this state, it must necessarily
transact it-if it could accomplish any thing-without government;
anyone, e. g. might interrupt the speaker, speak aside from the ques-
tion, speak without a motion, &c. Its first step, therefore, is to or-
ganize itself; that is, constitute officers with allotted functions, and
then it comes under those rules which custom has prescribed for the
conduct of such meetings, otherwise such rules could not be observed.
Without organization it would be without government.
Organization lying in the very idea of government, we have an
answer, by the way, to the position taken by" Eust'.bius" in the Re-
pository for September, 1849-" We are persuaded it will be impos-
sible to find, either in the Word or in the writings of our illumined
author, any thing to favor the idea of the organization of an universal
visible church, whether considered as consisting of all the members
of each independent society, or as combining the different local so-
cieties into a federal body." This passage, doubtless, is designed to
deny any authority for such a body as a General Convention in the
se~lse here assigned to it, the project of organizing a universal visible
church not being on the carpet. Now it is thought we have sufficient
authority in Swedenborg for this proceeding. It is in that chapter of
the Arcana, vol. 12, which he devotes to no other subject than to
"government in ecclesiastical affairs," conjointly with government
in civil ones. If 11 Eusebius" allows of government, he must allow of
organization; otherwise it would be as if he should approve the
idea of an adqlinistration of justice in the country, but contend against
constitutions and courts of justice. If he does not allow of govern-
ment, however, he contradicts a whole chapter of ~wedenborg. (h)
That there is no explicit authority in the writings of Swedenborg
for organiza.tion is no good argument against it. A thing may be
1850.] New Church Organization and GoVernment. 257
implied, and yet be as plainly aut.horized 8S though stated in expresa
terms. Such implied authority is abundant in the pages of Sweden-
borg. The denial of organization is in the face, e. g. of all those pas-
sages in which the priesthood is spoken of-of those in which "the
clergy and the laity" are spoken of-of that in which priests are said
to be "the governors in ecclesiastical atfairs"-of the passage re-
lating to the trine in the ministry, and others. (I) The word church is
used in various senses, and one of them, as manifest as any other, is
that of a large body of believers, organized under the same (minor)
doctl'ines and the same rituals--as in L. J. 73, "To outward appear-
ance divided churches will exist as heretofore; their doctrines will
be taught as heretofore, and the same religions as now will exist
among the Gentiles." So in the numerous passages where" many
churches," various as to doctrine, are spoken of as being made one by
charity, the fair implication is as above. But if the mere silence of
Swedenborg is good against organizing a Convention, what authority
is there for organizing societies 1 Indeed, what authority is there for
receivers of the New Church to separate from the worship of the old
church 1 Why demand explicit authority in Swedenborg for mere
truisms 1
The existence of lau16, that is, of rules or regulations ascertained and
published beforehand, enters also into the idea of government. If
anyone denies this to be an element of government for men, one
might say to him-" Here is a society; show us how it is to have
government wit.hout some rules previously established and promul-
gated."(j) If he says" I would leave everyone to act according to his
own conscience and judgment, without laws or rules, and doubt not,
that, if charity prevails, there will be the most desirable harmon:)"
and order," the reply would be: "this ~s government for angels, but
not for men; with men it would be harmony and order in the absence
of government." If the experiment should succeed, every one who
heard of it would exclaim: Behold a Eociety which gets on admirably
without government I
A recognized body, by whom these late' or rule, may be established,
is another idea involved in government. The authority to make rules
is a high one, and cannot, of course, be exercised by any individual,
or by any combination of them, except by gift from those who are to
be affected by those rules. This is too plain to need comment. (h)
The administration of those laws is another element of government.
~o law on earth executes itself. (I) Ifit is a law that a heretical mi-
nister shall not officiate in the associated body, or that a person who
cannot read the New Testament, shall not be ordained to the charge
of any of its societies, these laws are nought, unless some be em-
powered to decide the question arising, whether the minister is here-
tical, or the candidate can read, and to separate the one, if pronounced
heretical, and to exclude the other if found incompetent.
Appertaining to administration of laws or rules is the idea of
,
.j
power, consequently this appertains to Kovernment also. Power is
, greatly dreaded among us just at present, and the very term creates
aversion with many. (m) But who will undertake to show that law can
258 New Chu.rch OrgaRization and Govtrnment. [June,
dispepse with power, or be without it 1 This would be a strange p0-
sition in New Church philosophy. A law which does not determine
to action-a law which exerts no controlling power-a law which
has no element to procure its own observance, would be a law that
produces no effect, and so a mere nothing. Law in ecclesiWltical
affairs does not differ from law in civil ones by being without
power; it differs only as to the kind of power which it exercises. It
does not operate upon the person, as by imprisonment, or upon the
property, as by fine. It operates by a moral force, derived from the
implied obligation, under which the me1Dher8 of the general body have
come, to adhere to its rules for the sake of order, until they can be
clwnged in an orderly manner. The operation of this force may be
particularized-
1st. As to the weIl-disposed. With these it is a force which they
obey willingly, if the law approves itself to their judgment; if not.
it is still a force which they obey willingly, until they can change it.
It is also a determining force, leading them to do external things in a
certain way, out of innumerable ways in which they might be done.
2d. On the evil. This force acts by compulsion. It is distinctly
maintained here that it ought so to act. The reason is obvious. The
laws aim at the general good; those who break those laws impair
that good, and if the laws had no power to enforce themseh"es against
such, their very end would perish. The evil minded and perverse, of
course, would not obey them willingly. To give examples: An im-
moral member of a society is, by the law of the society, to be se-
parated. Shall the society say to him-" We recommend you to leave
us; but do as you please about it 1" Or shall they say in effect:
" You must separate from us 1" (n) A vulgar and abusive man speaks,
in his proper vein, in a public.assembly of the church, disturbing its
deliberations-shaIl he be compelled, if he is pervicacious, to hold his
tongue 1 Or shall he be recommended to be silent, and if not inclined
to do 80, be suffered to proceed 1 The ground here taken is, that law
must have a compulsory effect upon the evil, the perverse, and the
obstinate, and not be merely recommendatory. If this is denied, it
is to be asked, whether every body which has vitality must not have
power of selfdefence, and where the self-defence of an ecclesiastical
body would be, if it could not separate unworthy members from so-
cieties, and unworthy ministers from the filling of pulpits. It might
be said, with truth, that all the rules of this General Convention are
. recommendatory; since everyone of its members and ministers is at
the most perfect liberty to disobey them by withdrp.wing from the
body-a liberty for ever to be vindicated and upheld. But the real
question is, shall the laws of the church cross anyone's particular
views and wishes, without being obliged to give way 1 Shall any
one stay within the common body, and refuse to be controlled by its
laws 1 To this question reason and right answer emphatically-No.
Organization, laws (or rules), a recognized body for adopting them,
and means for administering them, together with their compulsory
r operation on the evil disposed, entering into the very idea of govem-
ment, it shall now be shown, if possible, that laws aod their administra-
1850.] New Church Orlfannation and G-overnnuJnt.
tion are more safe from tyranny when the church is organized with a
General Convention, than when they were adopted and administcred
by separate societies.
J. Under such an organization things are determined by the col-
lective wisdom of the church, and are therefore more likely to be de-
termined on liberal and general principles. (0) To prove by example:
Questions of doctrine will arise in the New Church. Particular
churches, we are distinctly told in the writings of Swedenborg, are not
J/;oing to agree in all points ofdoctrine, though they will in fundamental.
Heresies will arise, or things which will be so considered, and those
New Church bodies whicD. do not wish to hear heresies, and to have
them taught their children, have, so far as can beseen, only one measure
of self-protection, which is to decide by a solemn sentence that the
doctrine in question is heretical, and to say thereupon to the ministers
who favor it, " You are at perfect liberty to preach th~se views to
all whom you can persuade to accept them, but not to us." So also
heterodox laymen-if they obtrude their sentiments, may, by Sweden-
borg's determination in the chapter on government (A. C. 10,1(8), be
separated. Questions of doctrine, then, mUllt be discussed and de-
termined. Now, will these matters be determined more or less liberal-
ly by a multitude ofsocieties than by a Convention 1 True liberality
goes with true wisdom and intelligence, and anyone can see that
doctrinal points will be s'ettled with very inadequate intelligence by
a single minister, with the members of a single society to help, than
by a body to which has been delegated by all the societies their best
iqformed and worthiest members, and in which all the clergy sit at
t6'e same time.
It is worthy 'of note that the project of deciding all things in
societies, persuades us to cast away the great principl~ of represen-
tation-one of the most precious results in government-which the
course of the world's affairs has wrought out under the guidance of the
Divine Provill~nce. Small as may be the intelligence and wisdom
of the Church, there can be little doubt, that they will operate better
when gathered together, than· when dispersed 'in small bodies-as
little doubt, as that heat and light are stronger in the focus of a burn-
ing-gll\SS than on its surface. (p) .
Again, in the isolated order, all matters are determined by societies
not only in the first place, but in tIle last reBort. Under these circum-
stances power, in the sense already given to the term, is very liable
to abuse-much more so, than when it is distributed through a body
organized in different degrees.(q) In the latter case, there is given the
opportunity of review. In the isolated order, questions are determined
finally by those in some measure parties to them, and very often will
be determined from animosities, trom undue friendship, jealousy of
influence in others, &c. In the combined order, such doings can be
revised, and things which have been determined in heat and narrow-
FP
1850.] New Ohurch Organization and Gcmernment. 281
where societies themselves have their origin, in the individual mem-
bers of societies. That societies precede ministers, and both societies
and ministers the Convention, is so plain that no one, I think, ever
denied it, or ever claimed that the Convention was the emanating
source of the priesthood and its functions. But a fact and ~e infer-
ence sought to be drawn from it, are sometimes very different things.
Societies and ministers existed before a Couvention, but is that a reason
why they could Bot confer on the Convention certain powers in rela-
tion to themselves 1(t) By this argument, the States ofour union could
not have created a general government. Yet we 1&av6 a government
and every one knows that, although it controls the States which con-
stituted it, the people are the emauating source of its power. The
indivjdqal members of the Church are the source of the priesthood,
and the source of the Convention-in a word, the souroe of power, as
plainly in our present ecclesiastical constitution as in our political
one. The assertion here made is supposed to be perfectly compatible.
with the assertion, that the Priesthood and government in some form,
have their origin in the eternal laws of order; but this is not the
place to show that it so.
The question whether the present Convention has actually shown
a spirit of domination, is different from the question whether this vice
belongs to it as a Convention. It is not meant to defend it from this
charge. If it is in fault here, however, it surely is not so to such a
degree as should lead to its dissolution.(u)
Neither is it intended to say, that societies, in all local matters,
should not be left to consult themselves only. It would be a very
unwise Constitution, and one of an oppressive nature, should any
general body be entrusted with power to prescribe to a society where
it should build a church, of what plan, with what degree of decoration
it should be, &c. So also there are many matters in which a society
should act for itself, without any intervention of the general body_
. such as the choice of its own minister. But these things societies
have in their own hands. The Convention is their creature, and they
keep every thing which they do not confer. .
An attempt has been made, on the present occasion, to show that
a Convention will best fulfil the uses of government. If this has-been
shown, we have an answer, though no further one could be given,
to the challenge to point out what uses a Convention can perform.
Government is a most important use, or rather a complex of innume-
rable uses. We have, at the same time, an answer to the objection,
that the Convention has spent its time in devising or altering rules.
r This is like saying that Congress does nothing else but make and
alter the laws; or like objecting to a carpenter's head, that it does
not tom an auger or drive a saw, like his hand.(v) Why look in first
principles for that which is to .be expected in ultimates 1 'fhe rules
of the Convention, by maintaining order, are instrumental at' the
good done in Societies. Government is not the only use of a Con-
eqoalty far from admitting that that kind of goveTnmeot which A. E. F. seems to advo-
cate has any phice 10 the New Cbllrch. So far at! he understands bim, he pleads for
that species of rule and authority which has hi1hc<rto obtained In councl1s, and been
embodied in judicial delerminatiom, decrees, und canons. The government or authority
for which we contend is spiritnl1t, llnd not secular, or, in other words, internal and not
~ternal. And so in re~ard to organization. We believe thR.t oocieties are to be organ-
iud, and liJelng organizetl ure to be governed by appropriate Inliax j but we do not feel
at liberty to inCe,r from this a similar extemal organlzlltion of a VBst ecclesiastical body
co-extensive with tbe bounds of the New Church in our country j nor do we see any
thing in the chayter referred to on .. government in ecclesiastiC'8.1 affairs" which warrants
such an inference," .At any rate, It is clelU to us tbat any apparent sanction of such po-
titles Is etfflCtuall,. counterbalance(\ by the tone of disparagement and deprecation iD.
which ha spe.:ks ef eceIeslastical counoils. See T. C. R. 136, J72, 174, 17'7, 206,489,
iN2, 636, 737.
(i) Upon most of these points we bave delivered ourselves with suftlclent clearness iD.
a previous number. The writer would evidendy make the matter of oflllnlzation de-
pend upon the action of the priesthood, as the prime agents III all affairs of the Church.
Against tbis we reclaim at the top of our voi<:e., fOr tbe reQCn that we deny the distino-
tion, as A. E. F. and others botd it, between the clergy and laity. As to tbe use of the
word" c'lurch" In a senllC virtually ooincident with that of such a Convention as our
friend contends for, and as existing under or within the New Dispensation, we know nOC
where he W'Outd look to dnli an example of it. If Swedenborg ever speaks of .. maDJ'
chnrcbee," various as to doctrine, but one by charity, the term is undoubtedly used SI
equivalent to .. societies." In other casei he lIpeaks of" many churches" in the sen.
of Inany 1I6Cts or denominations as they aClUally exist in the divided Christian world.
Blit then, says A. E. F., •• If the mere silence of Swedenborg is good .gainst organiziDc
a ConTention, what anthority is tlsere for oflllniziog societies f' To this our reply i.
ilrief and simple. We team that there are societies in the heavens, but we have DO In-
timation of there being sta:ted Conventions there. The Church is the Lord's heaven oa
the earths, and it Is more completely in order in itself, according as it approximatas to
cbe order of heaven. The Influx from the heaVetlt! continually carries with it a COftlltw
to conform the Churob to the mme model.
(J) We seem to ourselves tlJ recognize In this a wry low view of the grand prlncipIe.
by which New Ch.rch societies are fonned and gO'ftrned. It is like confounding a con-
stitution with a set of by-laws. The fila, properly ,peaking, wbich enter into our ideas
of the structure and government of mcb soeleties are the intemal p,inciptes of truth and
_ood operatia,; OIl the minds of men, and leading them to altain the emls of social COil-
jnnctfOft. These principles are heavenly and not earthly. aDd they are 80 infinitely re-
moved from those prudential rules and regulations, involved in the external organization
of such societies, that we woneler dlat anyone could even 'trm oot to discriminate be-
tween them.
(k) The fundalllental idea here Is that of lrgUlatiOfl in the Church. Tbe New Jeru-
nlem knows of rro ~cgislation «ber than that of the legitimate operation of the eternal
prinoiples of order. Her Isnguap;o Is, .. the Lent is my law-giver, tbe Lord is my king."
As we recognize ftG such laws or law-mllking in the Lord's Chnrch, as are In the mind
of A. E. F., 80 we know of no snch body as he here contends fOl.
(l) Butthrolaw. ofheaven do execute themselves, and these are the laws by which the New
Church is to be Ilovemed. As to heretical or Incompetent ministers and the proper mode
of dealing with them. this, In an orderty state ofthe Chul'Ch, will take care of itself; All
die societies are to citoose their own teacbers, they are to be presumed capable of judging
C)f their qualifications. They willllC!mowl"'" only suctl. .. are teachers t. (htm; and 11
266 New Church Organization and Govef'fUllal. [June.
they should swerve from the trutb J and begin to Inculcate falee doetrlnetl J the people will
(1ft) No wonder. The assumption ofpower in the Churcb has 1leen Its bane In an agesJ
IIDd our hope in the benign effects of the New Dilpensation it just In proportion to the
prospect of the laying of the foul spirit of domination In the deptbs cC tbe abra 10 which
it belongs. But upon this and tbe connected positions of A. E. F' J it would be ofUnIe '*'
here to dwell. He hlU all along an idea of another kind of law and govemment than that
which we aclmowledge as applicable to tbe man of the New C1nIrab. His theory would
eventually go to encumber the Church witb huge masses of CllUJOO law and decisions of
oouncil~ kind of lumber that we trost lDlIy Dever be alloweet to accumulate even iD
the outer courts J or upper chambers J or InMr .losets of tbe temple of the New Jerusalem.
(tI) We do not see but our corretlpondent shares in the commoo loose IdeeI of tbe trUIt
nature of diseipIine and excommunication In the LordJs Churcb. Aa we are taugbt to
recognize no higher body tban that of a single society of receivers J so the nature of tblt
IIlparatiou from that society mDll& depend upon the nature cC ..., union or fellowship
whicb constitutes its lOCial life. Tbil is of COIlJIe Iplritual. A mutual attraction J aD
elective affinityJ draws them klpther for certain.euds of use whieb their common in-
stinct prompts them to aim at. So long al a common love, a common sympathYJ a com-
mon aim reigns among them J so long tbeir vital union is perpetuated. If any member.
by bis deportment J does violence to tbe spirit of tbe societYJ connteracts Its euds J and
proves an element of disorder instead of onler. lhere is of neceuity a turning away 06
Ipheres. a withholding of a1I"ection, whicb J ill lbe nature of tbiugsJ amoonts to a separa-
tion. As the union was in the e;r;ercise of love J so the ~ratioD is the ceMution of thal
laTe. This it all the tofft1'I'l.i07l tbat is known 10 the FDius of tbe New Cburch. If a
man persist in contumacy-if he is obstreporous, and disturbs assemhliM J tbe memoer&
have a civil right to be protected from annoyanoe J even by hi. for.i.W6 espulsion J if ne-
oesaary; but tbeir rtli,wu, rig"ts in this respect are o;r;bausled in .kt entire witbdra",,-
ment ofconftdence and complacentalfectioo. whie" istbe _nee of escommunioation•
.. its presenoe WIU the essenoe of the fellowship.
(.) Even graDling, for the ra.e of tbe argume.... thnt some adnlltlages might accrue OD
lJlislllOJ'e J yet aslheee advantagel are the resullof an orgnnization wbillh is eqnally potlllll
for evil as for goOtt. and which J in the pastbi810ry of the Cbarch.h.ane-rer faUed toeviDQe
its potencies in the former direction. w. say at once tbllt the iDCiGeatalgood is pMrebase4
at too dear a rate J and that it is a fal less evil to dispense witll sUllh bodies tban to
retain tbem with all the contingeaeies J on tbe score of abuse. whioh mu,t ever belong to
tb.em. Esperience. moreoverJ IIas &llown lhatsueh bodies m a]!' err liS well as smaller ODes.
that they may be as illiberal J and quite as far frGm impartil.W!J' and equity; and as 10 pre-
TOnting beresieeJ it is probable tballlistory wOll!d show quite IU many heresies ea_do as
eured by the actiou of Church courts and coanoils.
(p) For OlIrselves we diUer toto c.o from our ewrespooden. in regard ID tbe vame er
zepretlentatluo in the Church. We look upon it as fraught with mischief i. ie. praeti...
_rings J aDd that the leIII we have of it the be.ter. :But we have not ti_ .. spa'" al
present to arlDe the paintJ nor to Illy what we are prompted 10 say in regard» Ibe alleged
Tinues.of the nntmItratcd intelligence and wisdom of the C11,arcb in ecll!elliasti.al bodies..
lC we could be sure of the concentration of these principle. oolYJ we should _ve 1e!l8 doulll
of their beneficial ei"ects. :But esperience and testi.ooy hue both t81llht us that the
tleal burning in tboae meetings is not atways that of the heat Bnd ligbt of heaven.
(g) Tbis J like many vtber suggestiona eccurring in tbe article before U J sbows to our
TiliOll aD -&11 face vi u.pedienc1 uQ klUDan lllUdclnee wlLich la a carical\Ull of the hee-
1860.] NetI1 CAurch Organization mul ,GmerMl6n1. !6'7
YllDlyllneameDtI of the New Church. In the flJ'It pIaoe, while foUy a_re of the fiailtlll8
and Imperfection. of oar poor Iepll."d nature even In Its best llIbIte in this world, yet we
dllllke uoeedlnglylo go upon the lUIumlltion that Inoh d1lOrderll mast neceuarily arl.
In the New Church as shall oall fur a system of ecole.lallloal regimeD like that here adw-
ealed. Providing for evill of thl. kind I. a ooane, In oar opinion, not a liU1e oalculated
CO bept them, just as a standing army la a time of peace Is a milbtr provocative to war.
Why .hould we be forblddea to anticipate that the memben of a Chureh whOle very Da-
'tlIrll Is charily and bromerly kindntlQ-wbOle motto I. order, harmony, and ~ a y
live togeCher la unlly and be govemed IIOlely by the lawI that operate apon the InDer man ,
Why brlag ia the polioy tbat obtain. In the world to replate the dilirll oC the Chureh ,
But If lI1Ioh 06'eDCel MU oome, if oontentlons amoag brethren must oooar, then we -t
let them be _tied as speedily .. potIlIlble without apreadiDg the -.uIal beyond ill original
llmitl. la the 10al1'Un we are POIlUaded tbere i.IIOthIDg pined by ap~iDg to a laJpr
body of the Church. To 18y nothing of the likelihood of the getting ap of party .pirit and
aarlghteoul prejudices 10 IUch a body a. well .. la a Imaller, the evil. an.lag from the
protraoled delay, 10 apt to characteri.llI p ~ of adjudioatlon, are qulle sufticilllR CO
more than oounterbalallOe all the promlaecl good. A lOOiety may be kept In turmoil and
, commotioa for month. or years, and the gtOMeltlnjustioe done to individuals, while a
partioular Cale i. under advlltlment. Thi. la a sad predicamtlDt for the mIlD of any
olallrcb-pre-emiaeatly 10 for the mIlD of the New Church. In paeral, dilpUttlI, divilion.,
aad hean-baminp among brethren are compoeed more expeditiously and _tiafilctorUJ
where they origiaale than any where elle. The 18me prerogatiVtll and powen, moreover,
which enable a CoIlventlon or couDOil to do fuller jastioe to the zqeritl of .. _ _It IlIOI&
be the fact-eaables them dlO to do injuatiOll In the _me proportion. Oar remarb, CIIIl
this head apply rather to fiM and Itat" tribunals ia the form of ohurch oourtl than CO
.uoh arrangementl for occlllliOfllll reference and arbitratIon aI may be here and there adopt-
ed. Even theee, however, lIlrike us aI append.ges rather of the Old Chureh than oftbe
New, in which oltatily Is the grand COII_dve and remedial principle.
(r) The troe laws by which the membert of a New Church lOOiety are BOftmed are
ace law. adopted by many or few, bnt the aaprerne and eternal laws of orcIer, ofl~
and troth, emanating from the Lord himael£ An Individual or a IOOtely 1.1nle and . . .
only aI far as these lawe are IICknowledged and lived up to. What othell are neededl
(.) Euaebius does not .y that the powers of the General Convention are wwpId. He
i. very well aware that they are _dal, and this i. precisely the point in the system ID
which he objects. He would have nosnoh powers conceded, becaullll he _ no suftloicmt
nee_ity to warrant It, and becaulIlI he iI for 0IItl eati.lIed that whatever hai been a lOaroe
of milOhief in the Old dispen_tion and Is not needed in the New, had beller be di.apeDllllcl
wieh a1topther. We do DOC eYeD .y, that the powerll oCthe Roman priesthood over the
Roman people aze ~, la the aeb. of being violently Wftlllted from them aplast theft
will. Their will hae been wrought upon by the fore'" of penuallon and brought to COli-
IllIIt to the esllllingltate of thin.... which Swedenborg 18" illn IOme IUange way mad8
palatable CD the mUltll, tbongh it illilre a tomado perfumed, whloh we know will be
.nded ap with a relish, tholllh It be In the mean time deeolating hoa_ aad f1e1d1.
(t) We are here obliged to dilleDt &om A.. E. F. although he _ to come upon oW
_n groancL We do not reprd the IndlYidaal members of IOOletiee II8i properly spellk-
lag, the emanatiag IODroe of mlni.tllrld oharacter and fUDotion. Socletie. arll the appro:
priale field of their llllll, the spiritual neellllsida of lOOieties give oooallon to their fUDo-
tioaI, bat the origin of the oftlce itltllf and all the pow8n belonging CO It, whloh are oDlt
thOle of gooda_ and trUdI, Ue referable to the Laid alODe aI the primal lOul1le ora~
order. Our friend admits that both lOOieti81 and mlnlsten are prior ~ Convention., bat
IIi11 inI&ICI daa& thiI iI DD reuaa why daer IIbou\d DOl oonfilr 011 Con_doni certaia
New Chflich Organiwtitm and GoIJern7lltJftl. [June,
POWllrll in relation co themlllllVllll, urging the parallel between tbb IUId the cue of the
pnlllal government created by the union of tbe Stalell. That the esilting General Con-
vention wal formed in the manner here deacribed we' do not denY', nor that the lOCieUea,
if oonsidered u civil communities, had a rigbt to do 10. But ~he gland position whiob
we &IIume on the .ubject is, that such an organization is on every account impolitic for
the New Church. Even conceding the abstract rigbt for the aake of the Ullnment, we
&re brought not a whit nearer to the admiulon of the expediency of the measure. It is
one which the l8IOurces of the Church at PnllllJ1t do not warlant, which would not
oounterbalance its disadVlUltatlel if they did, and which the wkoloe history of the Churcb
in all ages has Ihown CO be fraught with danger. In thellll ciroumltaDces it is perhap.
'Proper to say that the moral right to enter inCO such an arrangemeDt la vacated, as it mull
e~r be wrong CO put in peril the best inlllrlllts oC the Church.
(..) Our reasonings on the inespedieucy of a Generjll Convention proceed on gromula
entirely iDdependeut of any actual abuI8I that may have grown ant of it. We have no
oharges to bring OD the score of a .piril of domination. Wheth61 its proceedings han
emsr been f&illy open CO such charges we are incompetent judg.. Bllt we can easily _
what _ , b" however ignorant of what haa bem or what is. OIMtlJ prittcipii,--f"aisl tIY
Iffil OIl tlte thru1aold-is our motto. Shut the door against all pouible ingreu to the eviI.
of Church power and policy in every form and of every degree.
(tJ) Au unhappy comparillOn this hetwBen tbe province of a Conyention aDd of Coa-
gI'8II, as it tends to convey the idea that the busin... of government, of makiDg and alter-
ing laws, is to be as paramount in the one as the other. The main basl. on which rests the
preIIllDt plee in behalf of a Convention is that such a body" will best fuUll the u..s of
JrDVIllDmeDt," and "I;evernment is a mllllt important U!ltl, or rather a complex of innu-
merable UIIllS." It is to be hoped that If the subject is pursued the writer will not fail to
infbrm UI distinctly what idea he attachetl to government in the Lord's New Church, and
whether, any new laWI supplementary CO those of the Lord himself are ~ be enacted by
the men of that Church. If the oontlnuance of a General Convention Is to be sustained by
argumenbl claiming for it a legislative fl1nction, A. E. F. need not, we think, be much
surpriled to find it treated ere long like the Israelitish honse which was discovered to
have a rottinB plague ofleprosy in its wal1l and timbell.
EXTRACT.
. ,. FItO. what has been ..id concerning faith, and works, we may now make tlie follow.
iDgconclusiOD, viz-, that love, life, and works, with every man, mueoue, insomuclPtbat
whether we say love, or life, or workl, it amounts to the same : that love constitutes the
life of man, and that his life Is according to the quality of his love, not only thA life of the
mind, but also at the same time tbe life oftbe body, was Ihewn above; and inasml10h a.
what a man lovel, this be also wills with the mind and does with the body, it follows that
love and d~s, or worb, make one. That works proceed from man's life, as well inter-
nal as Asternal, and that they are acliyi ties of tbe sphere of affections and thoaghts thoQce
deriyed surrounding him, and that no communication of the life and 10Te of man il pos-
Bible, unl... the ambient sphere wbioh is of hll life beoometl active by doing. might be
evinced by many considerations, wherefore as is the life, or as Is the love, or as are tha
works, with man, so are all things of which that sphere is composed, consequently also
the faith; therefore If the works are evil, it fol1ows that there is no faith of trutb, bot of
the false, for evil and the false cohere, but no' 8TH and troth; bnt If tbe works are good.
It follows that there is a faith of trutb, for good and truth mutually love each other and
conjoin themselves: but if a man's works appear good in the external form, and yet be is
iDtllriorly 8TH, It follows that his faith is that of the false, howsoever with his lips he may
aporJr. truth, but the truth spoken il COIItamiDated. with evil ftom the interlor."-.d• .E. 84~
1860.] TAe Enth of Diwns Prooidence, Spiritual and Eternal. 269
ARTICLE IU.
ARTICLE IV.
liB. BDITO.,
As you have shown a willingness thnt readers and correspondflDts
of the Repository should think and speak their views freely, though·
they may differ somewhat with your own, J regard this a. noble
rait of the work; for how freely has our author givtln the expressions
of those opposed to everything of the church, as being necessary for
our instruction and growth. In our incipient state how freely do we
embrace certain views and feelings, that by investigation and diges-
tion we as freely give up and abandon, so that it would seem better
not to be too positive in confirming our present views and feelings as
being absolutely genuine; as a more advanced state may develope
their emptiness. The above remarks are made with the desire of say-
ing " few words upon what the General Convention have authorized
as the Book of Wor,hip. May there nbt be doubts whether there
should be any book denominated the Book of Worship but the Word
of the Lord 1 for we read in the writings of our author, .. that the all
of worship ill from the Lord alone." If 80, there are two objections
arising to the present Book of Wonhip prescribed by the General J'
address the" Father alone and thereby in thought, faith, and thence
in worship should separate the Father from the Lord, therefore after
teaching that the Father and He are one, that the Father is in Him
and He in the Father, and that all should abide in Him, and that no
one cometh to the Father ~ut by Him, also teaches that He is to be be-
lieved in and that man is saved by faith directed to Him." Thus it is
evident that the name Jehovah, is not the name of the dear Humanity
we are to app!osch as the Lord Emanuel, Jesus our Saviour. For it
was in the Humanity that the most direful temptation combatll were
endured, and by whic& Divine Truth;fought, conquered, and became
victorious. It was in the Humanity He made Himself our Saviour, and
it is there a~ne, even to eternity, that He will remain our Saviour.
Thus when we approach the humanity, the hour has come, as our
Lord told the woman of Samaria, when the true worshipers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such
to worship Him. In the Humanity dwells the fulness of the Godhead,
for therein Father, Soo, and Holy Ghost are one.
After the Lord's resurrection, He spake to His disciples saying, "'All
power is gb'en unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye, therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." What a fine lesson we leam from
the disciples in obeying this command, in that they baptized alone in
the name of the Lord Jesus, for in thus doing they strictly obey_ed
their Divine master. For" he that bath seen me hath seen the Fa-
ther." .. I and the Father are one."
To conclude, may it not be the reason of the coldnesJ that has been
complained of in the preaching and worship of the professors of the
New Church that they have failed to approach and worship the Di-
vine Humanity?
s. P.
ARTICLE V.
tion, still the human aspect predominated: "And this was their ap-
pearance; thE'Y had the likeness of a man." On this head we are in-
structed as follows :-" By man in the supreme sense is understood the
Lord himself, inasmuch as from him are heaven and the church, and
also the spiritUltl affection of troth and wisdom with every one of
those who constitute heaven and the church. Hence it is that, in the
supreme sense, the Lord alone is man, and that others are so far man in
both worlds, the natural and the spiritual, as they receive from him
truth and good, thus so far as they love the troth and live accordiug to
it. Hence also it is that the universalllngelic heaven appetlrs as one
man, and also each society therein; and hence also it is that the an-
gels appear in a perfect' human form. From this cause it is, that the
.four cherubim, by which are signified the guard and providence of the
Lord, lest the superior heavens should be approached unless by the
good of love, were seen as men, although they had each four faoes ;
and also that the Lord was seen above them as a man. That the four
cherubim were thus seen, appears in Ezekiel: • Also out of the midst
thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their
appearance ; tbey had tIle likeness of a man. And every one had
four faces, and everyone had four wings,' i. 5, 6. In lik~ man-
ner the two cherobim on the mercy seat were, as to their countenance,
like a man. Again, tbat the Lord was seen above the cherobim as a
man is expressly affirmed by the prophet Ezekiel: 'And above t4e
firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throhe, as
the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne
was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it,' i. 26."
-A. E. 280.
The only remaining item that requirelt explication is that of the
eyes with wbich they werejrofusely studded-" full of eyes before and
behind." Keeping in min the dominant scope of the symbol, viz., to
denote custody and tutelage as it respects the superior heavens, the
interpretation is in strict accordance with the language of correspon-
dence which gives to eyes in this connection the import of the Divine
providence of the Lord in its ever wakeful and broad circumspection.
Eyes wben predicated of man signify the understa.nding, which is his
internal sight; but when eyes are predicated of God, they signify the
Divine Providence. So jealous is the Lord over the purity and
sanctity of tbe inmost heaven, that the symbol which denotes it is 10
constructed as to indicate an unsleeping and omnipotent inspection ot
every thing that would fain approach its hallowed precincts. .. The
reason why there is no paSllage to the Lord but by the good of love is,
because love is spiritual conjunction, and all good is of love; they,
therefore, who are in the good of love to the Lord are introduced to
Him in heaven, beoause they are conjoined to him. It is believed that·
the Lord may be come at by the troths of faith, but he cannot be come"
at by those troths separate from the good of love, nor indeed can hea-
ven be come at, but as lOOn as truths separate are willing to enter,
heaven is shut up, thus the way to the Lord is closed. .And whereas
cruth cannot of itself enter, unless good be in it, and by good it be
made of good, so neither can the intellectual principle, and still less
[JUDet
scientiBcs, separate from the good of the will." W. can see, there-
fore, how this monitoriel ]es80n shonld have expressed itself in the
chernbic emblem wrought by needlework into the tex1lure of the vail
that hung between the Holy and Most Holy place of the Tabernacle.
By this was specifically denoted that the good even Gf the spiritual
heavfln should not be commixed with that Gf the celestial, inasmuch
as the good of each would thereby be hun and the heavens them-
selves ultimately perish.
We have thus endeavored to trace out and illustrate the origin and
significancy of this remarkable symbol. k will have been seen that
it is one which ramifies itself, under some variety of aspect, in nu.
merous directions through the Word, but that wherever met with, it
still conve)'s the same leading idea of tutelary guardiansltip in ref,...
ence to the purity of the inmost heavens.
G. B.
CORRESPONDENCE.
POETRY.
WHAT CONSTITUTES A CHURCH 1
lIT l118IAJI COlOlD.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
PJucno. OF MJ:DICINE. By E. E. M....cT.
i.-THE HOMCEOPATBIC THEORY .AJlD
M. D. New York: Wm. Radde, 1850, pp. 631.
All authors upon physiology aud medioine have written much about a
"vital prineip/t," a .. nertlOW fOTu," Ite. They speak of them as imma:erial and
mysterious agents, which perform all of the most wonderful offices in the hu.
man economy. They are supposed to be distinct from the intelligence. or soul.
and to pouess a kind of subtle and mysterious power, which accomplishes all
those dillicult operations, in the phenomeua of life. which physiologists are
unable to understand or explain.
But ,what Ji'roof have we that such a principle actuates the body" What
good reason IS there for assuming the existence of a peculiar, immaterial
power, independent of the soul' We know that every part of the organism
has its own special function, the physical operation of which we can fully
comprehend; but superadded to all of these parts, there is, undoubtedly. a
subtle and mysterious agency, the soul. Shall we now add to the system a
power which was never disclosed by the Creator-an assumed. vague, and in-
1810.] ~87
definite principle, concerning which we are entirely ignol1lnt, and which can
Berveno purpose but to cover up ignol1lnce, and securely conceal absurd hy-
potheses" Shall we pretend that when God created man from clay, and
.. breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living ,oul," he
also infused anotlur principle, similar to but distinct and independent of the soul '!
We are of opinion that much error has arisen from the general idea, that the
intelligence it! established exclU8iwly in tI,e brain, Bnd that it posaesses only cer-
tain limited powere. That its highest and most important manifestations pro-
ceed from this organ, there is no doubt, because tbe special senses are located
here. Sight, hearing, smell, &c., are all recognized and appreciated here, be.
cause the organs, through VJhich we are sensible of these phenomena, are in this
vicinity; but in other pBrts it exercises its influence directly and ofteu indepen-
dently of the brain and spinal cord.
In regard to the nature of the intelligence, or soul, and hoVJ it acts upon the
materialparta, to Bid in producing the phenomena of life, CBn never be known.
We are able to see its results and appreciate ita wonderful influences, but the
mode of its operation is absolutely inexplicable. It pervades every part of the
body, acting as a stimulus to each organ, giving rise to sensation in the organs
of senae, motion in the organs of motion, digestion, absorption, assimilation,
respiration, circlllation, &c., in the organs provided for these funotions.
We may differ from the author in regard tathe posaibility of men's knowing
more than hu ever yet been known of the rationale of vital functions, but we
are happy to recognize in his speoulations cheering presages of the approach.
in the profession at large, to a more correct view of the true structure aud laws
of the human economy.
, .
2.-MAARIAGE: 115 Origin, U,a, and Dutia. A DiscolJnt deliwred in the New
Jenualem CAurck, CrolJ 8trtet. Hatton Garden, London, Ma,'ch 3, 1850. By the
Rev, W. BaueJ:. London: 1850.
The faculty of &CfJ.uiring wisdom is that which distinguishes man from ani-
mals, and w18dolJl itself is that waich raises him above them. Aa however,
no intellectual acquirement can be made bat from the promptinga of some
love, man cannot acquire wisdom but from the .. LOVE 01' a&OWDfG WISE." This
is that primary loV'e which lies at the foundation of all human improvement,
and gives man the power of endle88 progre88ion. We 6ee it in ita earliest de-
velopment in the thirst for knowledge, so ardent even in childhood. And
that this love is a pure inspiration fl'om the Father of lights, for the 'purpose of
leading his children to hiDlllelf, is evident from the circumstance of Ita e.xiatiDl
in tile mind before there is aoyrational motive to give it birth. It is not, in-
deed, in ita earliest state the spitituallove of growing wise, but it is at once a
nldiment and a·beautiful type of that love j and man never comes into the gen-
uine love of which it is the germ, until he again becomes a little cllild, and is
willing to be instructed in tile wisdom that is from above by his Father who
is in heaven. But when, from the love of growing wise, man has acquired
wisdom, and loves that wisdom in himself, he forms to himself another love,
which, to distinguish it from the finlt, we call the TIll: LOVE 01' WISDOM. But
as this is the love which a man has for his own wisdom, it is the pride of in·
telligence, or self-conceit. If this love ~re to remain with the male human
being it would destroy him, by re-acting against the former, and turning his
wisdom iato folly. It was, therefore, 1,lrovided from creation that this latter
10Te shoald be taken out of the IRan and lDlplanted in the wome, for the plJ1"o
pose of effecting apiritual marriage, by which man is restored to a state of
Integrity. The love which man has for lIis own wisdom is the rib, the intel-
lectual proprium or self.hood, which is taken out of the man and made into a
woman, bY' wh.ich she becomes bone of hia bone and flesh of his flesh. By
mis beautiful act of creative wisdom, that which would have become in maa
the narrowest and most debasing self.love, has been transformed into an ob-
ject of the most disinterested and ennobling a1fectiou. At the same time it is
provided that the wisdom of the man shall still be loved, and he still loved for
Ilis wisdom j not by hiDl8elf, but by another dearer to him than aiRl&elf, whose
love shall bave a continual tendenc)" to improvement and happiness. By this
means it is also provided that the man shall be preserved in the single love,
the love of growinIJ wise, MM. the woman shall be kept ill the Bingle love, the
love of t~e man's Wl8~om i hom whic~ they derive their facul~y and inclination
to re·unlte,lo as agam to tJeCome 8S It were one man.
Uthis view of the sub~ect be admitted, it will be perceived that sex is ground.
ed in the very constitutIon 'of the human soul, and, therefore, that it 18 eBBen·
tially Ipiritual, and consequently etemal.-P. 12.
IDlTOBIU; ITI1I8,
-
'l'he BOItOl' 7'ravll!lr oC Monday, May ~, saYI, .. Dr. Kneeland. oC thil clCJ, delivered the
lIDDuallecture beCore the Harvard Natural Hiltory Society on Wedneala, evening. He
tQPk the broad ground that the received opinion that all human being, are dRcended Crom
one pair, Adam and Eve, il not IUpported by the Moqio record, and arguing Crom known
Cacts and Crom analogy cannot be true. Thi., it will be perceived, coincidel with the re-
ceutiy ell:pllllllled opinion of ProC• .Agalllz, who we learn wlll shortly give to the public hi'
vlewl on thll interelting queltion at IOme length. We Ihall look with much intel'llllt COt
a full lIXpoaition of r.be viewI of Prof. Agauiz." It would appear &hat thlllubject il like-
ly to be lubmltted to a very thorough and fundamental inveltigation. We have received
a copy oC a work juat pubilBhed by Pomam, Crom the pen oC Ibe Rev. Dr. Smylb. of
Ob.rle-ton, S. C., entitled Cl. The Unity oC the Human Raelll proved to he the Doctrine of
Scripture, Reuon, and Science; with a Review oC the preBllnt POIltion and Theory of
1'lQf, AgaMi~." We.-u hope iD IOme number 10 gin a JIl/)re u&eadlld .0t108 of thil
work.
The extent to which the lIaptllt denomination of oar oonntry hu been reoently agita..
tedon the Inbject ofa new version of the SorlptDrel wu made abundantly manifett at the
late annual meeting oC the .. Amerloan and Foreign Bible Society," an inltitution under
the apeoial aUlplcel of that body. The Pl'IlIident oC the Society, Rev. S. Cone, has been
bown for years u the DDJlinch.lng advocate oC thi' movement, whlob originated, we be-
lieve. In eome diai"eetlon with the previoully IlItablilhed" American Bible Soclery" on
acco.unt of tbeir reflUlng to ID.tain, by their fundi, tre~t1Qnl llIade by Baptlet Millioo..
ariellln which the original word Cor .. baptize" "BB ~lIderecl by .. Imm_," or IOme
tarm equivalent. I' wal owing to thll clrcum.tance that the Baptllt Bible Society wu
.1
ozillinally formed, anlfCor the mOlt part through the Dntiring agencyoCDr. Cone, and the
project ora new translation of the entire Word hu ~een ever Ilnoe entertained by himself
and a portion oCthe MOt. The matter, however, beeR brought to a crilil, at lealt 101'
the preBllDt, by the decision oC the late meeting, kJ wit. .. Tbat In the ill1llll IlIld olrcula-
tion of the English ScrlptDl'IlI the Society be I'IlIlIictell 10 the cOlDmOll'" received ver..
,ion, without nota or comment.· Tbe di8cullion displayed much taleDt, and elicited a
great deal of valuable loCormatlon and not a little oC important oritlcilm in repnI. to the
hiltory oC King Jamet' version now in Dill, and the errors and Imperfectlone by which i'
11 marked. ODe of the speakers remarked tbat It Many words have ohanged their mean-
Ing lince onr version was mnde. TbuI Christ II made to laY, • J Ihould have received
my own with _""",' where, Instead oCCu.ury' it should be 'Interelt.' David iI made to
uy, 'The wloked have drewn out the I..ord, and have beDt their bow, to CBlt down the.
poor and needy, and to Ilay luch., be of upright _ _nOlI,' where' condllct' ilmeant
in pla08 of' convenation.' Spealdq oC Peter, It II .IQ,· 'When. he WM come into the.
hoa., JeaRB prlftfllctl him, eaying,' &c. J have heard intelligent penonl ask what
this meant, what wu ' preveDted i' it oould not be that he ..u prevented from enleriq.
Ilnce he WBl already In the hou.; did it mean that he wu prevented Crom going out l
The Greek text saYI 'anticipated' in.tead oC' PreT8l1led.' Another place: CWe took Dp
our eurrit&gel and went up to Jerusalem.' What il understood by , carriagel" oan anJ
oae not knowing the original text anlwer' Sarely they did not carry the vehiclea of
travel. But the oriainal eaYI ' baggage' inltead oC' carriages.' In Corlnthianl, ' He that
eateth and drlnketh unworthily, eateth and drlnketh dcI"'tlGtioa unto hllJlBlllfi' Inltead oC
• damnation' read 'condellUlatlon,' Blin the Greek. Some words have BODe ont of DIll.
Editorial Itmu. [June,
Who will tell us the meaning of the word 'leasing,' In the phralle, 'Thou malt deltrOy
them that lpeak lea.iflg l' Speaking of blrdll, 'No man IhaIl {ra, them away;' what per-
lIOn U18I, or even undenlaDdl the word' fray' &I here ulllld 1 'I tIOW not,' , Will ye notl.,'
'Whatloever ye lutea," I do,ou to vril,' are phnuell not now in Ule, ILIId fling obecurity
oYer the plain weird of God. Why Ihould not the precioul Word, thus covered up, be
made Intelligible to the child, to all 1"
The Rev. W. R. Williams in a letter written with diltingullhed ability, but oppoeed 110
the new-versionistl, In advertinlr 110 varloUl attemptl heretofore made by dlfl"erent indl-
viduals to improve upon the eltablilhed tranllation,citel the followluglpecimenl by BeY.
R. DickinlOn, who_ volume W&I publilhed in BOlton iJl1833. We present them in par-
allel colul1lns.
Dicki_', Vtrriott.
Wherefure, if God 10 clothe the gran of Wherefore, if God IOdecorateltheherbage
the fleld, whioh to day 11, and to-morrow il of the ground which vegetates to-day, aDd
cast, &c.
Ble.sed are the poor, for theirl U the
kiugdom of heaven.
to-morrow is cast, &0.
Happy the poer who repine not, for the
dominion of heaven 11 thein.
.'
Verily, verily, I lay unto thee, Except a Indeed, I aMure you, that except a man
man be born again, he oannotllOe the king- be re-produced, he cannot realize the reign
dom of God. of God.
NicodemuI saith unto him, How~can a Nicodemul says to him, How oan a mall.
man b~ born when he il old 1 be re-produced when he il mature'-
Then Peter lOOk him, and began to re- And Peter, intarrupting him, began thlll
buke him. sllying, Be it rar from thee, Lord: to protest to him: Heaven be propitious co
th i. sh811 not be unto thee. thee, Lord! This shall not befal thee.
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get But he turning, said to Peter, Depart from
thee behind me, Satan: thou art an ofl"euce me, opposer! You are an obstacle in my
unto me: for thou savorest not the thiup way; for you do not discern the thinp ot:
that be of God, but those that be of meu. God, but those of men.
The above are, for oddity and uncouthneM, about upon a par with the following accUI'-
ing in the Iran.lationl, severally, of Geddes, Wakefleld, and Honley.
And they made ready the pre.eht against - for they heard that they trtre to tliM
JOl8ph came home at noon, lor th~y heard l/ler,.
that tIle) ahould tat bmul Illtrt.
And he washed his face and said,,,t And he washed his face and laid, &rv,
"'"d.
Oft
VI' "i_.
It is the Lord'l pallOWf'. It II the Lord's Ikip-at1tf'.
Therefore haft 1 1l'lIItd them by the pro- It II for this that I have btla60rra them.
phetl.
The Father of liRbtl with whom there is The Father of lill'htl with whom there il
no fIa,-iobltttt.. _ 11uld_ of t_iflg. ptJrGllaz _ tropical rMd_.
tIO
We are not, on the whole, surprised at the decision of the meeting. It WILl based main-
lyon the alleged injury to the denomination as such, and this il a cOllllderstlon which
wiIl usually prevail over the interestl of abstract and abllOlute truth •. That there is at
this day both room and requllition for a new velllon of the Holy Scriptures, and that on
groundl entirely distinct from the dogmatio exill8ncle. of any sect In Christendom, must
be evident, we mould think, to every ODe who is acquainted with the lllIultl of biblical
re_rcb in modern times; nor in intimating thil con'fictioD do we admit that it implle.
any under-estimate of the many and varied excellencies of the prel8nt translation. Con-
Ildering the age and the circumstance. in which it W&l made, it il a work of pro-eminent
1850.] Editorial lteru.
merit. But the lapse of more tban two centuries has W1lfted us to a polJ;lt where a new
rendering of innumerable pa~ is required. How sucb a relult shall be brought about·
is a problem of not very euy solution.. In the coune of the recent dllCualion the follow-
ing relOlution wu propolCd to the Society by the Rev. Mr. Armitage of this city, but,
Itrange to say, no ql1ll!!tion o. action seems to have heeD taken upon it:-" W1ael·ra., Nu-
merous criticisms of the learned of all denominations ofChristillns dernon.trate the sus-
ceptibility of many improvements in the oommonly received version of the English
Scriptures; aM~, it il deemed inexpedient for one denomination of Cliriltians alone
to attempt these improvemen'-provlded the oo-operaLion of others can be leCured : Ther~
fore Raolwd, That a Committee of-- pioas, faithful, and ,learned men iu the United
States of America or elsewhere, be appointed for the ~urpose of opening a corre!pondence
with the Christian and leamed world on all pointl necessarily involved in the question of
ReVising the Eogfish Scriptures: Th'at said Committee be requested to present to the So-
ciety at the next Annual Meeting a report of their investigations and correspondence, wllh
a slatement of their view I as to what revision of the English Scriptures it would be pro-
pel'lo make, ifany I That untihucll report and statement shall have been acted upon by
the Socicty, the Board of Managers shall be restricted in their English inuelto the com-
monly received version: and that all nec_ary expenses attendant upon Ihe above cor-
respondence and investigation he paid by the Society,"
This il certainly a prop08ition very well conceived, and probably failed of gaining the
..L_tion to which it wu euti,tled from being of too liberal a cast to be acceptable to the
Ipirit of sectarianilm. The New Church would no doubt be very ready to respond to
such an invitation SO far u Ihe luggesting of emendatiol1l il concerned, but as our prO.
posed renderings would rest upon what we regard al an absolute authority in the cale,
there iI, we presume, no probability that they would find favor with any portion of the
present Chriltian Church, and Iherefore it will be left to ourselves If we are ever to have
the benefit of a translation in accordance with our doctrinal views. That this will even-
tually be the case we see no room to question, but when or by whom it shall be accom-
plished lies yet hidden In the womb of the future.
The receipts, during the palt year, of the principal religious and benevolent institutioDl,
whose anniversaries have just been celebrated, show a large iDcr_ over previous years.
The aggregate Is larger than was ever before contributed to the same objects during
a similar period.
1848-'49. 1849-'50.
American Tract Society, $'258,300 '308,423
American Bible Society, 251,870 284,614
• B. C. Foreign Mission, 178,277 187,609
American Home Missionary, 145,925 ]1\'7,391
American and Foreign Christian Union, 28,'704 t45,OOO
American and Foreign Bible Society, 39,840 40,993
Amerioan Baptist Home Mission, 20,8'76 26,443
New York State Colonization Society, 12,358 18,340
Boo.. DD PA.PBL~ SOClJtT'r.-We are requested to live notice that It is the Intention
of a number of receivers of the New Chnrch Doctrinel, who have been oonsiderinl'the
lubject, to take measures to Corm a Society for the purpose of procuring means to distri-
• Receipts Cor the last nine months. t They somewhat uceed that sum.
[June, 1860~
bute boob. puaphJea, lIIId trao1lI; lIIId to eDOO1Irsp lectm'erl f.<) toler tile Ield whicb I•
.clCut ripening to harveK. It I. propo.aIODalI • meetilJl of alllnlUelltellln the .ubject,
.ametime.dwiDg the sitting of the nut Genenal COnl1lllluon In NW' York (of wbich dllO
l1otloe will be gi.n), for the PUrpolll of~dng ud eomparingYI-. apen the nec_
.ity of adoptillg a piu. of co-operation, by lII'hich this u_the spreadi"g of a knowledge
of tbe goad, Dd truth. of the Lord', Churcb-may become men general ud efficient.,
It le to be hoped that the brethreu will ClODIult tQlether uJlOD thi' eubject, and wiU
come prepared to co-operate in an eft"ort which may lead to good rawts" aIId. tall. reioieo
the hearte of all who look for th.l Second Coming of our Lord.
Rev. Solyman Brown. for many rears pulor of the N. C. Society at South Da"by, N. Y.,
la.. recencly felt constrained by the claim. of a growing family, though much to the J'l!Il1'et
of his people, to remove to this city, and establish bimself In a branch of tbe busln8U Q(
Dentistry. Hie place I. for the present supplied by Mr. Silu Jones hitherto a resident of
New York.
We won Id .galn renew the notice of the meeting of the General Convelltion to be held in
this city on Wednesday. June 12th, .t 10 o'clock, A. M., .t the Society Library Building,
QQmer of Broad_,. ancl LeonlU'd-lJtrellt, Provision is made by our frleod' here for the ac-
eommodation of~ during the littingofthe ConventiOCl.aDd such ofthem Ba are Dol
!Poet at the Iandlng p1aceol, on lbeir arrival, by the COIIImittee of Arranpments may eenve-
nlently report themllllfta at tbe place QfmeetiDl, or at Mr. Alien', Book-.tote, 139 Nu.u-
eueet, when quarters will be aullned to them. In coonexion with the above we would
aogeet to our friend. ud .ubllClribers from abroad wbo have not paid for the current
vol. of the Rep<»ilOry to embrace the present opportunity of remitting by the gentlemen
who may attend the Cou't8otlon. We could hope &110 that all OUl frleDds would Imitate
the eUlllple of 101111, &Dd u. their d"rta .. Inoreete our liet of ,nb..ribers, which has of
la.. UteDded Ittelfftry sIowl,.
THE
MONTHLY REVIEW.
. •
•
ORIGIN AL PAPERS •
ABTICloE I.
SWEDRNBORG'S PRINCIPIA.
HIS THmRY 01' THE STARRY HEAVENS, BOTH VISIBLE AND nrvISJlILJ:, WOXDDJ17LL1'
COJlJ'JIlMJ:D BY THE TWO HUICHICLI, Ros..:, MADLEIl, HVMBOLDT, LAQIU.JIQ"
HauL, MOBSOTTJ, LAM.UT, MICHJ:LL, A.IID OTBUI.
[Continued from. pagI 254.]
CASH JIJ.
ne gmff'Ul cAarcJdlr of tile immtmity of ertotion 6tyond or ouUiu tile ~ of
tJu vUiIJle jirmtJnunt of lJu '"'"V..... •
"The ingenious Mr. Michell, more than fifty years ago, .tarted th, iUG oC
the stars being Cormed into groups or systems, which are entirely detached
Crom one another, and have no immediate connexion."-Die.l'. Sidereal HIUWIII;
p.210.
.
" The next object alluded to was the systematic arrangement oC the stars.
It was an Englishman, named Michell who fir.t obI,rvN this systematic arrange.
ment."-Prof. Nichol'. Lectur, on m/ron., see MancilutlT GuardiG,., May 15th;
1847.
"Mr. Herschel improved on Miclaell', id,a oC the fixed stars being collected
into groups."-EncyclorxzdiG Britannica, vol. 2, part ii. p. 472, Astronomy.
" Another doctrine published at Venice in the year 1763, by M. H08covic~
said to have been first thought of by Mr. MichelJ," &c.-Young" E_yon •
Powr aM M,cAanima of Nat""" p. 64.
It would appear from the above quotations, that Miobell was the
first, in the history of hypothesis, to propose a true conception of the
. cosmical structure of the starry heavens. He suggested, that gravi.
_tion might cause the stars to cluster together into distinct systems:
that as planets are parts of solar systems, so are solar systems parta
vor. JU. 20
[July,
of what may be caned star systems. MicheU's proposition, given in
1767 (Phil. Trans. 1767 and 1783), contains, according to the unani-
mous opinion of the scientific world, as shown above, the first sugges-
tion on record of the grouping of stars into separate and distinct sys-
tems.
But the true history of the matter stands thus :-Kllnt, the cele-
brated German transcendentalist, was the first who published a true
conception of the distribution of matter in space. The work was
called, On the Theory and Structure of the Heavnu, and published at
Konigsberg in 1755. About this time Michell was revolving the
matter in his mind, but had not published anything thereon. Lam-
bert, in 1757, followed KRnt in his Letter. on Comaogony. Two
years subsequently (1759), Boscovich published hill celebrated theory
of the Con,titution of the UniVf!f",e. All advocating similar views of
the arrangement and distribution of matter in space. In 1767 Mich-
ell presented his :views, but, differently from all previous theorists,
gave cart,ain illustrations which brought the theory at once before
the attention of observers, so as to be capable of demonstration. On
this account, I suppose, he is regarded as being the first who present-
ed a true theory of the starry heavens, the former being entirely
overlooked or unknown. In 1780, Herschel guages the heavens, and
literally beholds what had hitherto been only theoretical, and to
BOrne absolutely impossible.
Yet preceding all these, and when Kant was only ten years of age, , l
Swedenborg had formally given the same ideas and views of crea-
tion,-expressly calling his Essay-" The Theory of the Sidereal
Heavens "-in his immortal Principia, published in 1733,-being
twenty-two yeal'8 before Kant, twenty-four years before Lambert,
twentY-flix years before Boscovich, thirty-four years b~fore Michell,
and fa~ty-seven years before Hel'8chel. This work, which preceded
all others in the suggestion of true views regarding the clustering of
8tal'8, and their arrangement and distribution in space, was published
under royal auspices, and at the expense of the then reigning Duke
of Brunswick. Considerable extracts, with brief notices" were in-
serted in the PhilolOphical T,"an,acti01l8 of Leipzic, and probably at
other places. It may be seen, therefore, that· Swedenborg preceded
all others in this most interesting d~pllrtment of astronomical dis-
covery and research. In the year 1734 he presented his views in a
finished and formal manner to the principal scientific institutions of
the age accompanied with a beautiful exposition of the cosmical
force~ by which star clust~1'8 are formed, and their physical relations
80 preserved as to maintain the great whole in one constant state of
harmony, equilibrium, and development. The extracts from this
work, in the Philo,ophical Tran,acti01l8 referred to above, could not
fail to strike the attention of the German astronomers, Rnd give rise
to certain general considerations; to plant the germs of more univer-
sal and enlarged views of creation, and to be suggestive of a most
rational and comprehensi ve theory of the sidereal heavens. These
wonld be its effects on the German astronomel'8 and philosopher&,
amongst whom the Principia made its firlt appearance, being pub-
1850.] Swedenborg'. Principia. 295
lished at Leipzic, and whilst Swedenborg was being entf'rtaine~ at
the Court of the House of Brunswick with special honors, and with
distinguished marks of royal favor. More than ordinary attention
would be excited by these facts being known, and that the work was
being publisht'd by the royal commands of the Duke of Brunswick.
Accordingly we find, that in this country sprang up the first sugges-
tions on record of the clustering of stars, and the arrangement and
general distribution of matter in space. Kant and Lambert were
the first to publish true cosmical views of this question; both were
Germans,· and therefore had in all probability seen the views or
Swedenborg in the Phil. Trans. of Leipzic. But be this as it may,
Kant and Lambert are affirmed in "the great work of the 8:ge"
(Humboldt'I Coamo1t)-the highest standard authority we can appeal
to--to be the first suggestors of a true theory of the starry heavens.
The following are the words in which this affirmation is given :-
.. The purely specnlative conclusions arrived at by Wright, Kant, and Lam-
bert, concelAjog the general structural arrangement of tbe universe, and of the
distribntion of matter in space, haw b«n COfIfirmed by Sir William Herscbel OD
the more certain path of observation and measurement."-COIl7IOI. vol. i., p. 71.
This is a valuable, though indirect testimony to Swedenborg's pri-
ority of claim; for Kant, who preceded his contemporaries, was only
ten yean of age when the Principia was published. When he, there-
fore, was a mere boy, the scientific world all over Europe had heard,
and the Philosophical Transactions of Leipzic had recorded, Sweden-
borg's theory of the starry universe, and the formative processes
manifested in the original and perhaps still progressive agglomera-
tions of matter, and their distribution into clusters or systems through-
out space. The priority of his claim is therefore clear and indis-
putable. The results of our researches into the history of this depart-
ment of science, may be stated in the following manner :-That this
theory (referred to by Humbo~dt in the above quotation, based, as it
is acknowledged to be by the scientific world, on obsprvation and
measurement), the most comprehensive, the most beaut.iful and exalt-
ing in relation to God's Goodness, Wisdom, and Power, that hitherto
had ever been conceived by the mind of man, fir.t p,·elented itlelj
to the mind of Emanuel Swedenborg, so far as we are able to judge,
and to confirm the fact, from [Jublilhed record. of human opinion.
Yet, even thill idea was as a drop is to the expansive ocean, com-
pared with the lofty grandeur and mighty ubiquity of the ideas and
conceptions which opened to his view, when the starry clusters of
the inner universe were subsequently discoverable to the inner vision
of his spirit. The following contains a brief summary of his state-
ment of the fact, that stars cluster or associate themselves into socie-
ties or systems. As to the formative process, our former article will
suggest an exposition:-
• It belonpto the hietory of the Priocipia to record Dr. Oetinger'e analyeie of the Nata-
ral Philoeophy of Swedenhofg compared with hie Heavenly PhilolOl'hy, in a work pub-
lished \ly him in 1765. He allO wasa German.
f Tbe expreesioa applied to the Coemoe, by the leamed Buneen in hil late Report _
Etboioaa, lA &he Report oC&he Bl'ililh A_iatioD, 1847, p. 285.
196 Swe4enborg', Principia. [July.
"That one vortex, with its active centre, constitutea one heaven of iaelf. or
oneornnndane system j that several vortices, with their centres, form together
a certain sphere j that a sphere, consisting of many vorticea of tlie same kind,
has its own proper figure."-Principia, vol. i., p. 233.
11 That the whole viaible sidereal heaven ia one large sphere, and that ita auns
or atare, together with their vorticea, are parte of a aphere conDected one witb
the other, in the manuer we have mentioned."-Page 234.
"' That there may be innumerable spheres or sidereal heavens in the finite
universe; that the whole visible sidereal heaven is perhaps but a point in re-
spect to the uuiverse. The sidereal heavenl stupendous as it ia, forms per-
haps but a single aphere, of which one solar vortex cOllstitutes only a pan.
Possibly there may be innumerable other spheres, and innumerable other
heavens similar to thoats we behold i 80 many indeed and 80 mighty, that our
own may be respectively only a point."-Page 238. .
By the joint labors of the two Herschels and the Earl of Rosse, the
beavens hav~ been guaged above, below, and on all sides, with their
gigantic telescopes: and the result has been, these theoretical sugges-
~ons, so lofty and sublimely elevating, have now to be regarded as
matter. of fact. This happy observation, by the elder HerscheJ, of
.. conception first published by Swedenborg about fitly years pre-
viously, enriched astronomy with a gem far exceeding in value any-
thing preceding it. Hitherto, creation was considered a globular
universe, bounded by the visible heavens. Beyond this there WIIS no , "'I
creation, but the spiritual heavens--the theological universe. With-
in this the materiJ11 universe was enclosed, in the centre of which our
IOlar system was placed; whilst its interior surface was our visible
heaven, o\"er whose ethereal vault were strewed, in unnumberf!d
myriads, the glimmering lights of other worlds.
Swedenborg was the first intellectually to break through this in.
closure of the heavens, and with powerful arm to burst asunder its
confines, to draw aside the dark curtain of ages, to overthrow the
barriers raised by ancient prejudices, and advance to some distance,
though with cautious steps, over the uncertain ground beyond. With
unwearied labor he ~ad essayed every probable path, and having
found the right one, proceeded along it to the very gate of truth.
Wonderful, indeed, were the results. At once, by a single effort of
his genius, worlds innumerable, in congregated spheretl, were beheld
in harmonious operation., without end or limit-the boundaries of the
universe, so tQ speak, became to man at once illimitable: and the
scattering goodness ofthe Divine Hand, strewing mercies Ilnd bless-
ings amongst unnumbered worlds, hitherto unseen, unknown, and un-
conjectured, was a scene worthy of the Almighty-a prospective into
a field 80 entirely new and unprecedented, that admiring millions are
struck with awe at the Mighty Power and Infinite Love and Wisdom
of that Being who moves, provides for, and supports the whole. It
was a Revelation of the attributes of his Being and the Resources of
his Power, infinitely beyond anything which t.he wildest imagination
of the Atheist could ever have conceived, in demand for evidence of
his wstenC8. Literally, the heavens were opened-that most gloriOUS
1850.] 8fDelhnborg'. Principiu. 29'7
and magnificent region in the material universe, the Heaven of
He'!vens, formed, as Swedenborg expresses it, of innumerable heavens,
in congregated spheres, beyond or outside our own-was displayed
first to the intellectual, and subsequently'to the ocular vision, when
one universal blaze of glory burst forth on an astonished world.
.. Behold! " says Swedenborg, on drawing aside the dark curtain of
ages, which had intercepted creation from the view of mortals," be·
hold these new walks of the Almighty! Lift np your heads on high,
~nd behold Him traversing the innumflrable spheres with the same
~owing .'richness, beauty, and care, as is so conspicuous on this atom
.of a world on which we dwell."
This humble and devout philosopher was the first happy mortal ,on
whom tire high duty dflvolved of developing these mighty truths for
'the benefit of mankind. He was It suitable instrument for so glori-
ous. l\ Revelation. When the immensity of God's work, beyond or
outside. the visible starry heavens, had thus been opened to him, and,
for the first time in human history, be had gazed mentally on tbe pe-
culiar mechanism of our own immediate universe; had watched and
measured the play of its mighty forces; had proclaimed, after geo-
metrical measurement, the precise system or cluster of stars to which
our sun's system belongs; yea, had placed his finger on the very spot
in that cluster five years before Herscbel was born; all of which we
have proved in our previons articles, in a manner not to be ques-
tioned ;-when these had been accomplished, nothing more, as to
universal principles and universal mechanism, could be revealed to
or made known by him, to be useful to mankind now. To progre.
further, the opening of the inner universe to mental vision must needs
follow. For, as to universal principle' and mechanism, he had seen
all that man could now Bee where man dOth dwell. He stood betwixt
the dark~ess of the past and the light of the present, a humble instru-
ment, holding in his hands the germs of those extraordinary dis-
ooveries and revelations which even now astonish the world. To
enumerate thefn here, or even to hint their nature, would be to lessen
the interest of the subsequent articles of this report.
One thing is clear to all who may have read attentively these pa-
pers, and carefully studied his voluminous writings,-as a child writ-
ing down his thoughts and experience, so has he been with regard to
his opinions, his discoveries, and his almost universal experience.
But it is equally clear" the world knows him not."
This paper will close our exposition of Swedeoborg's discoveries in.
the starry heavens. I cannot conclude, however, without placing on.
record the following result of my labors in the investigation of the
mechanism and phenomena of those amorphous bodies called nebulrs.
A paper on this subject would have been the most interesting, anti
the mOl:lt valuable, of any we could insert in our report; but the dia-
grams requisite for thC3 illustrations would be too expensive. How-
ever, we here record the fact, that we have tested the following
beautiful theory of Swedenborg's, which we give in our own words.
as the fundamental principle of that profound Essay 00 the Sidereal
Heavens inserted in the second volume of the Principia.
LJuly,
1. That every magnetic bar is sUlTQunded with a magnetic sphere,
whose axis runs along the length of the bar. Consequently, the form
of the axis will be of a like form with the bar: if the bar be straight,
the axis will be straight, but if ~nt, the axis will be bent.
2. The surrounding sphere is formed of a succession of overlapping
streams, like the succession of colored strata in a rainbow, which are
bent, more or less, according to the form of the axis. Hence Swe-
denborg affirms:-
" In the magnet and ita sphere there is, however, a type and effi8'T of the
beavene.
" In the spbere of the magnet are s,Piral gyrati ons or vorticles; in like manner
in the sidereal beaveDs there are spual gyrations aDd vortices.
" In every vorticle round the magnet there is an active centre j in every vor-
ticle in the heaven there is also an active centre.
" In every vorticle round the magnet the motion is quicker and of greater
curvature in proportIon to its neameu to the center: the same is the case with
every vortex in tbe heaven.
. " All things are similar one to the other ."-Page 231.
Thus it will be seen, each cluster constitutes a distinct firmamen'
of gorgeous suns, and each firmament is an independent and distinc'
.ystem or heaven, whose general form will depend on the form of its
axis, as in the case of the magnet. These independent star systems
we call nebulm, and answer to the sphere of the magnet, whose
general form depends on the main stream running through tht'ir in-
terior. Indeed, this is a universal truth. The human body is erec'
or bent in form according to the shape of its spinal column: the
massive foliage of a tree according to the flrecture of the trunk, a.nd
80 on through every department. Accordingly, I have diversified the
form of my magnetic bars, so as to imitate the form of the main
stream in different nebulm ~hich have been resolved. And, wonder-
ful to relate, the form of the whole mass of streams constituting each
sphere, indicated, by the ~rrangement of the filings, that the whole
sphere had taken the general form of the nebula it W8..'l inlended to
represent; thus exhibiting. to the senst>.s the peculiar mechanism of
each. This is an invaluable fact, for it is an actual demonstration
of the fundamental principle of that profound essay in the Principia
which has been the main subject of our expositions. Indeed,the fllct
is all-important, and we trost the Swedenborgian Association will
not lose sight of it.· The descriptions of the milky way, in my for-
mer article were written with a. magnetic bar, almost in the form of
the JDilky way, sunounded with streams like as in the heavens, lying
on the table before me.
The general mechanism of the different stany clusters, in different
stages of perfection, may now, we think, become subjects of familifU'
.1Iustration, not only in the lecture room, but also at home in the
family circle. S. BJ:SWICK.
P. S.-It may be aaked,-Did Swedenborg receive any assistance
from suggestions contained in the writings of his predecessors, or are
• See dui advioo ohhe Edicor oflhia Pedodical in vol. vi., No. '7~, P&le 468.
Miuiou.
we to regard the ..bole of the Prineipia IUl the result of his unassisted
labor'J 1 We reply-be was assisted by suggestion, but not in the
departments, to which we have alluded. The discoveries claimed for
bim stand clear of all suggestion. If the reader is desirous of know-
ing to whom he was mainly indebted, we would reply that he was
mainly indebted to Muschenbroek for experimental proof, and to
Christian Wolif for the improvement of his axioms and fundamental
prineiples. Indeed the reader can see his own admissioD8 in this re-
8peCt at page 366 of the second volume.
ARTICLE IL
MISSIONS.
I. (Concinucdfrom PGg,215.)
looking at the causes that have operated on the moral conaitioa
oftlae world, it would indeed be a siagular oversight to omit mentioR
of the name of Socrates; indeed h:s name forms a memorable epoch
in tile history of humanity. When one reflects for a moment on the
influence of those who derived their knowledge and habits of thinking
either immediately or remotely from him, IUl Plato, Xenopbon, Ari.
totle, and others, one cannot but regard the teachings of Socrates as
aft"p.cting the preseat age more than any ·other uninspired man who
ever lived. He consecrated bis life to the benefit of mankind, and
gave it up like a lamb in attestation of the truths which he taught.
He is one of the noble army of martyrs. These are the men to listen
to who count not their lives dear to them for the sake of truth. If
we do not listen to them, whom sha.1I we heed 1 They are the lights
of the world. Arrayed too with these are the men who though Dot
lOrced to drink poison or bum at the stake are willing to renounce
bonor and worldly gain, and have their names ClUlt out &8 evil, be
~tigmatized as enthusiasts, and passed by with neglect in order tbat
tbeir testimony may be against the fa.shion of tbe world which pass-
eth away. The moral truth which Socrates taught may inde" be
regarded Iul a proof that God has not left himself without witDe18
among nations where the light of revelation has Dot re.ached, or hy
dwindled and evanesced into twilight and darkness. SuppoHing even
that the great truths which he taught were the shattered planks
from the wreck of a Primitive Faith (Iul they no doubt were) floated
down in corrupted cosmogonies on the stream of ages, we may yet
trace the hand of Providence in his case Iul JDuch as in that of SW80
denborg, in the ready and devoted acceptance which those truths
could obtain from one like Socrates brought up amongst the gro8Ie8&
corruptions of heathenism. His was an instance how an Wl8Ophisti-
MWiofu. [Joly,
eated and moral nature may respond to the admonitions of Divine
Truth, and how clearly the moral eye may penetrat~ surrounding
gloom whf'n only the heart is right and the eye single. It is instrue·
tive too to reflect on the great coherence of moral teaching; how
agreed the great teachers of the world have been on this subject.
There is the same drift in the instructions of Socrates as in the doo-
mnes of our Lord, and the revelations of Swedenborg. Nor is this
to be wondered at by him who considers the spiritual nature of man .
and the ineffable love of our Lord without whose permission not a
sparrow falls to the ground. It is not to be imagined that through
all his wanderings and all his depravity, man would be left without
succor and without hope of recovery. Who cau now estimate the
preparation which the teachings of Socrates effected for the diffusion
of Christianity through the Roman Empire T
To learn what was the substanc&of thc positive teaching of Socra-
tes we must consider attentively what was his life; how he was oc-
cupied; and his resigned patient death. He evidently had no design
to indoctrinate men in scientifics and pbysics, or in literature; though
he probably foresaw that that taste for inquiry into truth which he
was ever awakening must soon lead to the formation of a philosophi-
calliterature at Athens. He already witnessed the commencement
of euch a literature, the result of this excitement, if it be true that he
Itad read the Lysis of Plato, and observed respecting it," How much
the young man makes me say that I never said." (Diog. Laert. in
ViL Plat. xxiv.) He wisht'ld, on the contrary, to divert men from the
, .
\'aDity {If setting themselves !JP for philosophers and make them em..
ploy their thoughts in learning and investigating, instead of preina-
tarely commencing at once as well informed persons and teachers of
others, with crude and superficial notions and principles. We find
indeed thl\t his life was directed to the establishment of true moral
and religious principles in opposition to the false and mischievous
principles wbich he observed were commonly acted on and avowed
III tae world. The supremacy of self·scrutiny was the burthen of all
lais teaching; not for its value as a science merely, or as a matter of
intellectual curiosity but in order to self-government and an improve-
ment in virtue and the sine qua non to human happiness. He found
in his day, as we unfortunately find in ours, that this was the laa
kind. of knowledge which men ever thought of seeking after; that
they "had in fact no conoern about it; or if reminded of its necessity.
the,.preHUmed they bad it already. His constant effort was then to
open the minds of men to a perception of the value of thill knowledge
and of their own need of it. To his conviction of the paramount
nature of this knowledge to every other may be ascribed his apparent
disparagement of physical Rcience, and of all merely speculative
knowledge in comparison with that which waa good for the inner
Jnan. He was aware ·too fl'8m bis own acquaintance with the exist-
ing physical philosophy, how imperfect that knowledge was, how en-
tirely hypothetical and inoapable of practical application. It is evi-
"ent that he regarded himself as holding tile special mission of direct-
iatJ men's minds to the cultivation of their own natQle. Socrates had to
·ISiO.] Miuiou. 801
enconnter the same kind of obstacles as our blessed Lord. The max-
ims of the A~beni.ns were all based on the absolute and engrossing
importance of ~he present life. The body anc;l its present appetites
and desires were regarded as the whole of man. They studied tu
improve their external circumstances but not themselves. Socrates
led them to surmise that tht're must be some end of human pursuit
be)'ond the gratification of the passions, and further, some ultimate
• end to the whole sum of the active energies of the soul beyond the
present life ·and distinct (rom all bodily assooiations. And what is
more he not only suggested such a thought by showing the reason-
ingson the opposite view of buman life to be inconsequential and
absurd, but he further refuted the prevailing fallacies on the subject
by his own example on .the other side. By divesting himself of all
the worldly accessaries of happiness, and depending exclusively on
the internal resources of his mind and character, and by his perpetu-
al cheerfulness under those privations., he prov~d to the world that
happiness did not result from externals, or from the body, but from
the internal nature of man, from its state of discipline and command
over the appetites of the body. Theories of morals were yet to btt
formed. It remained for Plato to erect the true and sublime standard
of human conduct in the perfections of the Divinity, and for Aristotle
afterwards to show the application of the law of habits to the sub--
ject. Then too in regard to religion he showed the absurdity of sup-
posing that mere external puuishment was the only suffering un-
dergone for offences committed. Secret faults, as he pointed out, did
not escape with impunity. He appealed to the remorses of conscience
to show how surely, however invisibly, wrong doing was visited with
its punishment, and he must have excited in the minds of his bearers
a strong though undefined apprehension of a period of general retri-
bution after..d eath in another world. Plato caught this idea, took up
the doctrine 8.'i.a formal truth and worked it up into a perfect theory,
with the formal array of argument and didactic exposition.
But in one vital particular was the teaching of Socrates deficient,
and so radical is the error that it is put into diametrical contrast with
the teaching of our Lord. The error however bas taken such deep
hold of the human mind, through false theological teaching, that even
up to the present time it is not extirpated but it underlies the whole
superstructure of the Old Oburch ; it shoots up strong in the doctrine
of justification by faith alone, and if for no other purpose a speciBl
communication from heaven was needed to bring us back to tbe ~rue
doctrine contained in that expostulation of our Lord, .. Ye will not
come unto me that ye might have life" (John v. 40).
In assailing, as Socrates did, the follies of bis ·countr)·men by the
dexterity of an acute reason, he was ever exposing their ignorance.
The impression on his own mind appears to ba,·e been, that men
erred rather from the want of due information respecting their moral
eondition, than from the perverseness of their will-from folly rather
than from vice. AD accurate observer of human life, and with a di.
position to follow the path of daty wherever it might lead him, he
bad in his own case felt the imporLance of intellectual cultivation in
Muftmu. [July,
larder to right conduot. From his own circumstances accordingly,
and from a pred,i1ection for those exercises of the mind which were
his habitual pursuit, he overrated this importance; and instead at
simply regarding the information of the mind as a necessary ingredi-
ent to moral improvement, he made it all in all. Thus, according
to him, wisdom or philosophy was virtue, and ignorance and folly
was vice. He carried this view of morals so far as to place the
knowledge of duty on a footing with thA knowledge of arts, AOlll;t 3i 11tH
I'G8'lC1'f .116 i""II'1''ll''l'"OII 3'lIIeMOII &'''Illt t3C1.... p '"_ 'Yf'GI''''''-, 1II. '".~. (Xenopb.
Mem. iv., 2, 20.) Nor was he hen startled with the paradox, that
if such were the case-if the knowledge of right were the whole of
morality-there would be less immorality in intentional wrong con-
duct, than in unintentional, done through ignorance. Thus vice was
in no case, in the view of Socrates, an act of the will, but of the mis-
taken judgment. He did not mean by this to assert that men did not
act wrong wilfully in the particular instances of misconduct, so as
not to deserve blame for their misconduct; but that the seat of vice
was in the perverse understanding-for that the will was invariably
towards good. If accordingly vice may be regarded as seated in the
understanding, and not in the heart, it would follow, that that man is
less vicious in principle who knows what is right and acts wrong than
one who acts wrong without knowing what id right. The former
alternative, however, was impossible according to his theory. For
knowledge, by its intrinsic excellence, must prevail over every prin-
ciple. So far was Socrates led by the working of his method, and
his observation of the ignorance and folly of men to overlook some
facts at IEmst as evident on the other side,-the plain instances of
men acting wrong in spite of tbeir better knowledge, and of greater
blame assigned to wrong fbus done in spite of knowledge. We know
however that men see the light but love darkness rather than light;
and the seat of vice is, accordingly, not in the understanding, but the
heart. This however may be said in justification of this language of
Socrates on moral subjects, that the ignorance which he attacked,
was in truth a vicious and blameable ignorance. 'Men did not take
the pains to inform the~selves on moral subjects. T.hey pursued and
professed every other klDd of knowledge but that whIch was most at
hand for their acquisition and most concerned them. Seeing then
the errors into which men ran from this neglect, Socrates, not un-
reasonably, reprobated ignorance as the source of immorality. Os-
tensibly he attacked the general ignorance of men, holding out phi-
losophy as the remedy of viee and unhappiness. But the ultimate
and real object of his attack all the while was the immoral dispo-
sition, the lIelf.neglect, and the irregular habits of life, from which
the incapacity and ignorance of men on moral subjects commonly
result. .
The greatness of Socrates is seen also in the effects prOduced by
his teaching. He made great men. He was the Lord Bacon of
those days in morals. He mapped out for his pupils the domains and
acquirements of human thought and urged them to new conquests.
Without absolutely discoUDtenanoing Physics he wished that depart-
1850.] 80a
ment of human investigation to be held subordinate to morals and
Uses. He trained men to think for themselves, to accept no opinion
which should be contradicted by the moral and intellectualjrinciples
of their own natme, and 110 rest in no opinion until they ha traced it .
up to those principles. Here was the great source of his greatness;
that he gave nerve and vigor and greatness to his disciples. Not
teaching synthflticaIly and dogmatizing into silence the timid who
came to him for instruction, he brought oot their natural powers by
an apparently careless conversation, and rested not till he had acted
the midwife to their thougbts and given them joy tbat men-cbil-
dren were born into the world. That various and discordant schools
of philosophy should have arisen out of the excitement produced by
the energet.ic call of Socrates to his countrymen was in the natural
course of things. Powerful minds shaking off the yoke of sloth and
indifference, and now at length roused to self-exertion would be
tempted to try their own powers and strike out a path for themselves.
We are not to wonder then that Aristi'pus tbe advocate ofplea.'4ure,
and Antistbenes the austere cynic, sbould have been among the hear-
ers of Socrates, or that Plato should. have formed a contemplative
mykticism on the isober, homely philosophy of his master. Socrates
never proposed any precise system of doctrine to his followers. His I
mission was accomplished in making them think and exert them-
selves. He did not desire that they should think alike, but they should
one and all think and judge for themselves. It is no wonder there-
fore that some should have gone into extravagancies, a.nd that while
general good resulted from the excitement, partial evil also should
have accompanied it. An Aristippus or an Antillthenell ~ould not
have issued from the school of Pyth~goras; and it is at the same
time certain that huge evil would result froD1 the abject submission to
the authoritative opinions of Pythagoras in the neglect of self.exami-
nation and self-knowledge, and disregard of personal responsibility
by those who implicitly received them.
In the time of Socrates men rested their belief of a Divine agency
in the world on tradition and authority, and omitted to explore much
as they do at the present day the witness of God in their· own nature,
and in the world around them. Consequently they Wf'!re exposed to
every objection wbich the ingenuity of theory, or the folly and wick-
edness of the world might suggest to their uninformed credulity
against the positive trutb of their .religious system. As infidelity in
these days finds its refuge in the belief of an infallible church, in the
form of the Popedom or some other hierarchical constitution, as Synod,
Assembly, Association, or Conference, and it is itself in turn the miser-
able refuge from the despotism of the very infallibility before which
it crouches in silf'nce; so among the votaries of heathen superstition,
doubts and misgivings of the thoughtful intellect and the troubled
heart were left to prey on themselves, shut op in abject submission
tO,an external authority, and unprepared for their own defence and
support. Socrates addressed a great portion of his practical infor-
mation, as Carlyle has done and i. doing at the present day (thanks,
ten thousand thanks the writer offers to him for his invaluable labors)
804 [July,
to the remedy of this distempflred state of the religious feelings. He
~w plainly that the vulgar and current theology could not be defended
on the ground of rational evidence; at the same timp. he knew that
there was Much a thing as religion; that it was no mere state affair
to prop human authority; and furthermore that presumptions of hu-
man vanity and corruption and depravity would be ever assailing
this citadel of heaven in the human soul; and he knew that such as-
saults could only be repelled by a well informed reason prepared for
the encount~r. He therefore provided his hearers with a solid and
impregnable argument in favor of the being, providence and moral
government of God. The argument was what is now familiarly
known as the argument from final causes, or the evidences of al-
mighty design and benevolence in the fabric and course of nature.
He called upon men with such evidences of the divine goodness not
to wait for any more palpable proof, but to believe in the existence
of invisible heings and thin~s from their effects, and from the good
received to reverence the Deity its author. The language attributed
to him by Xenophon is in remarkable correspondence with that of
St. Paul, declaring that" the invisible things of God are clearly seen,
being understood by the thing; that are made, even his eternal power
and Godhead;" and the tenor of his argument throuji1;hout illustrates
the observation of the Apostle. Then he refers to the sense of re-
sponsibility as in itself an evidence of the existence of a Divine Pow-
er to reward and punish; and he points to the pleasure and pain, ,.
advantage and disadvantage, respeetively consequent on virtuous
and vicious conduct, in the course of things, as instances of a per-
fection of government beyond the power of human laws. So Bishop
Butler observes in" his Analogy, part I. ch. 2, p. 51," For if civil
"magistrates could make the sanctions of their laws takp. place,
without interposing at all, after they had passed them, without a trial,
and the formalities of an execution; if tirey were able to make the
laws execute themsel ves, or every offender to execute them upon him-
self; we should be just in the same sense under their government
then as now; but in a much higher degree, and more perfect manner."
To expect from such sublime moral teaching any conspicuous and
permanent public improvement would be to overlook the extent and
the malignity of heathen corruption. The men of that day, as of the.
present, had the voice of God distinctly speaking within them," their
conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts accusing or excusing
them," according to that just description of them which Scripture
bl\S set before us. But if they shut their ears, and hardened their
hearts against our Lord'l'l divine instruction, how would they listen to
one who was ever upbraiding them with their dulness and inatten-
tion to his les.'Wns and admonitions. Socrates did not disguise that
his mis.'lion to them was one of reproof and expostulation-a mission
in fact from the Deity; and that his relll concern, accordingly, was
Dot for himself, but for the success of his mission lest they should in-
cur the guilt of rejecting a divine gift. (Vid. Plato, Apol. &c,". Opera,
Vol. I. p. 71.) "
We may regard that energettc call which he was ever sounding in
&he ean of his countrymen as a providential warninK to the heathen
1850.] New Church Organization and Government. . 805
w~rJd, of the sin and misery of the merely natural
•
man, trusting to
his own imaginations-how" changing the truth of God into a lie,"
he .. gives himself over u,nto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness
with greediness," As God sent his prophets to the Jews to tell them
of their transgressions and bid them" remembpr the law of Moses
his servant," so in his dealings with the nation~ of the wOl'ld he
appears to have raised up from time to time, individuals from among
themselvt's, heathens stilI, yet gifted with a purity of moral vision
bt>yond their contemporaries, to retrace the divine outline of their
fallen nature, amidst its ruins, and to declare almost authoritatively
the indelible but forgotten law of right. Israel rejected its prophets;
but through RlI the perverseness of the people, those prophets pre-
pared the way of the Lord. Thp. heathen world, in like manner, re-
fused to listen to its monitors, its legislators and philosophers, but, in
spite of their general obduracy and indifference; we cannot but be-
lieve that the call was not utterly fruitless. To the original influence
of Socrates, especially brought as this was to bear on the great centr8
of beathen civilization, it may have been in great measure owing, that
the light of moral and religious truth was kept alive, however faintly
burning, for successive generations, in many a dark abode of super-
stition; and that in a later day, the doctrine of grace and truth ap-
pealed not without effect to the Areopagite of Athens, the .jailor of
Philippi and the Roman proconsul at Paphos.-(Vid. Dr. Hampden'.
Di••ertation on the Life of &cratu.)
T.W.
Xarletta, Or
•
ABTlCLE Ill.
are formed, with man at their head, the influx into that kingdom is
thenceforth through them. So with the mind of man itflelf, the influx
of good is, at first, into the affection of sciences in the external,
whereby the rational is formed, but afterwards, 80 far as the rational
is formed, good flows into the affection of sciences through it. It is
matter of necessity, that the first ordination should be by the laity,
but it is vain to rely upon this as proof that it should be so alwa!p.
If our country had been settled and organized by counties, and coun-
ties had afterwards combined into states and states into the federal
union, would it be thought a valid argument for taking away from
the Prf'lsident and the Senate the appointment of certain officers, that
officers were at first appointed by counties 1 Y 011 cannot govern a
man by the laws of embryo life, and you should not make the Church,
full-grown, conform to the model of its Jorming stage. (or)
If, by what goes before, it has befln sufficiently shown that the
clerical functions are dictf\ted by use-that none should enter upon
them self-inducted-nor without ordination by those p6rsonally in-
augurated to the same, and that they should be appropriated to the
clergy for reasons of public order, it is plain that the clergy and the
laity ought to form distinct classes in the New Church.
A. E. F.
REMARKS.
·. It 11 with IOme reluctance that we extend the .pace devoted to the preceding article by
any .ubjoined remarltl oC our own. Bnt as we have some .tricture. to ol£er upon the
po.ition. oC A.. E. F., and a. they would lose much oCtheir el£oot by being pr_nted Rp-
arate Crom the matter which occasions them, we embrace the prellClnt opportunity to put iA
our rejoinder. We are conlCious oC doing this at great disadvantage Crom being obliged to
restrict ourselves on several points to a few sentences, when whole page. would soarcely
lulllce to do justioe to our view•.
(a) It is doubtless a wearisome task to be laying foundations over again which will not
. , 14id, and such will necossarily be the case witll eYtlry foundation laid by man and
aot by the Lord himllelC. It is easy to say that s.cb and such things have been" settled,"
and "lIet upon their own base," when a stricter inquisition may show that they have
been built upon the .hifting sandbanks oC Calsity in.tead of tile immoveable rock of truth.
The mere Caot that a particular institution of the chnrch Ilas long held its place unquel-
tioned is DO infallible sign that it reltI upon a solid basi.. It i. quite pOBlible that it may
be among the old things whioh are to be disallowed and pa.s a",ay beCore the genius of the
New Dispensation. In thi. case it will be in vain to say" The bricks are Callen down,
bu. we will build with hewn .tones; the sycamore trees are cut down, but we will
ebange them into cedars." Foundations of all sorts are the very things which New
ChulCh principlec most sternly interrogate.
(b) The evidence on this head drawn from the New Teltament and Crom the writing.
oC the Fathers. is, in our view, oCvery conflicting character and of very unequal authority.
In the mind of a Newchurchman it is of very little consequence to the argument that the
cliltinctioo between clllrgy and laity" exi.ted in the tiweI immediately .ucceeding the
apostolic age." The leaven oC A.ntichri.t began to work even in the !iCe-time of the apa..
des, and it is not at all wonderCul that the clergy, Collowing in the wake oC Diotrepbe.,
Bhould have begun to erect themselves into a lleparatll caste at the early period alluded to.
The love oC pre-eminence eaaill grafLI itllCllI upon the Cunotlon oC teaching, and the history
314 New Church OrganiUltion and Govenl1llellt. [Joly,
of the 1lnt Christian chnrch from the oaUlet is a running commentary npon the trnth of
the Inlimation. The advocates of chnrch power and clerical prerogative are very prone
ID NIt the argument rather on the patristic than the IOriptural buis, and the words of Ig-
.atine, Clemena, Tertn11iaD and the rest are, on the Episcopal theory, for inSlance, all
pld and preeloul atones, while on the New Church theory they are hay and .tabble, dirt
IIId tnuh. It Is the Word of the Lord only and its illumined uposition that determine
for us llYllry thing pertaining to the Churcb, and we have for ourselves 80ught unto these
onolea in vain to ind an adequale warrant for the past and present order of things ec:cle-
liutic which has preniled throllllhout the Christian world. But upon this head we can-
110& DOW enlarp. We are prepared, bowever, ID discu.. the Scriptural argument when·
nw It shall be fairly called for.
(c) We could bardl.f have anticipated that an argument, from a New Church pen, in
behalf of the distinotiOll between clergy and lait1, Ibould bave been 80 constructed as to re·
OOInize, as well fOunded, the trinal array of Bilbops, Prielb, and Deacon.. If such an are
lalllenl la valid apmac tae denial of the existence of the clergy as a diltinct cla88, 11' by i.
it DOl valid in support of luch a gradation as an actual featlUll of the New Cburch 1 We do
IlDI _ but Ibat according to A. E. F. thr lame Scriptural proof which eltablisbes the facl
or the distiuction Il8tablilbel allo the duty of its observance; or, in other word., that the
Church il recreanl to ib Lord if it do not arrange ib ministry according to the Epiacopal
model. In thil case we Ihall con lent ourselvee by turning over our correspondent to the
PrelbytariaJls and Independenb who have on this head 80 succeufully entered tbe lists
with tbe Papisb and Prelatista. It il a controversy rwith wbich the Newchurcbman has
IIOthing to do but to stand aloof from iL .. That there was a clergy distinct from the
laity, in three orders. called bishops, prielb, and deacons, il aB cenain in the year lOO.
as that there la a clerrr consisting of these grades, with the 11lperaddition of An:h-
bilhops, Cardinal., and a Pope, in the Roman Catholic Church of the preaentday." Doubt-
leu; and the authority for the one is jult as good as that for the oIhet'; which is laying as
little for either as can wen be laid.
(d) We have expreuly declared that we recognize a function of leaching in the New
Church. Thil function resta of course on a foundation of _. But what we maintain I.,.
Ibat the discharge of the function does not nccessitale the creation of a distinct order or
oaste in the Church, exclusi'l'ely and pre-eminently lOt apart to it, and forming, as it were,
a separate plane above that of the laity. The ability to teach In Ipiritual Ibings lie-
pendl upon Ibe degree of illumination In Ibe teacher, and thll apln,upon the degree 10
which he is in good and truth. But the being in good and truth is not the prerogative of any
CIIIe portion of the men of the cburch, but the duty of all. It i. what all are to aim lit, and
yet al there will always be a diversity of attainment in thi. respect, ID the function will
diltribute ltaelf accordingly. Tbe same member who is a teaoher to ochei'll wh~ Ipirlt·
ual ltate II below his, may be at the same time a pupil to others whollll spiritual state i.
above hil. The gifts of all, bowever, are In 80me way pUI in requisition. Every one I1
ID ediTy another as occasion may offer, yet not In a spirit of arrogance or dictation, but in
a spirit of bumility and self-subjection. The evil heretofore existing has arisen from erece-
ng an occasional function into a permanent office, and appropriating the performance of
III duties to an exclusive and privileged clan. Subtle al'Jumenll are never wanting for
IOcb a procesl, as one par1y does not object to being excused from onerous dutie., and the
other has an Inllate latent love of dominion to be gratified. Between both the preseJlt
order of things has been begotten and ob1ained establishment In tbe ohureh. It is doubt-
le. a perverted order, from which there will eventually be a recenion, but we do nOl ael·
Yocate ita instanl abandonmenL We are wl1ling to await the result ofa gradual chanp,
pl'OTided a chBJlle shall he actually i'Dtended, and it I1 no more Iban jn.tice to our send-
men1l dlat mey Ibnuld not be charged al 10 _ntiaHf radioal and revohstlonary in their
m
J860·1 New Cku"rc/a Organization and GoverntlUnl. 816
na,ure as to demlUld ludden and violent reforml. On thll head It il probable we llhall be
.reauy milapprehended and milreprellenled, but as we kIIow ounelvllII In the matter, we
llball abide the iUUlS wilh calmneSl. It is not fN,,_rr Ihat wron.lmprllSliol1llhould
be taken up in J1lIIUd 10 our true pOlition.
(c) A CBlMl is here suppoeed wbich amounll 10 well ni.b a complete oaricature of the
lltate of Ibiap for wbich we a~ contending. No belter evidence of a man'. uller \1n~
n_ for the function in qneslion could be attorded than Ihe spiril wbich exprtlll... illelf ill
tbe lancuage above pUI ilJlo tbe lips of a aelf·suftiolent aspirant to minilltry in the Cburch.
No rightly dillpolled lervant of the Lord can enter upon any Iphere of uae in a .pirit of.,.
rogant assumpUon or wltb a loI1e ofloCt1 defiance. The true minister, as Ihe name i_
porlst ill ODe who would fain be the aervant of all, and thil is a Ipiritofmodesty and.1f,.
di8lrust, prompting one to withbold rather than protrude bis claims to oonlideratlon an.
deference. AI 10 tbe danger that may hence accrue to the chnrcb, from a nou-aulhorise4
or aelf-authorised introduotion Into tbe miniltry, we have only 10 say that on the true
theory, as we apprehend it, of cburch order there will be little to be filared on tbis ICOI'8,
inasmucb as 8Ve1'J' lOCiel1 will IIelect ill own teacbe"" upon adequate probation, and as
the function is unfed, illlabor being purely a labor of love, small Indeed will be the ill·
duoement for anyone to rlIllOrl 10 it from any selfish or mercenary motive. On the sooltl
of detriment to the cburcb from the probable Intrulion of I6fIlcarfNd meR as teacbers, we
may admit the force of the objection provided the culture of Ibe iflt,U,d is to be regard_
RI the paramount object of the Christian ministry. But it would _ that a simple ft!'o
ference 10 the 8m principlee of the New Cburch would be sufficient to aorrect a fallaeJ
like Ibis. If all wisdom is the form of love, and all trutb the product of good, the graDli
desideratum is the purification of the will aDd ite afIilctionl. All delirable mental en.
lightenment will follow in the train of a regenerated love. Ubi chant-u, ibi cIarita. The
In8uence necessary to effect this Is not that of humaa learning. The revelations vouc"
lafed to the New Cburch teach new leuons respecting the comparative value of the at·
tainmenll of the bead and of the beart, aDd lea,", us In no doubt that the great work ol
the ministry is to lead to the good of life by a pathwa1 continually illuminated by the
ligbt of the genuine doctrinel of the Word. Human learning, as fUrnisbing ampler.,__
aell for the inflow of divine truth and good, is never to be dillparaged, but we would faill
fortify our own minds againlt the Idea that the true standard of minislerial qaalificatioa
is a knowledge oC the original langaages of Scriptare or rare acquisitloDll in scienve,
letters, or art. The kind of ahility to unfold the Ipirilual aenae of tbe Word, whioh . .
lulll from the illultration usually (ranted to a pure and exemplary life, is of inoomparabl,
more use in Ibe ministl1 than the most signal maslery oC learned tongue.. Muderate ca..
lents and allalnmenll, coupled with 1l00d aenll8 and an enligbtened zeal, are usaally the
beet guarantee for usefulneH in the aervlce of the Lord'l New Church.
(I) Tbe surest way for the New Church to attain the rllptnabilitg which O1Ir co~
pondent co,",1I for her, is to li,", up to and act fully oat ber distinguishing principle..
These are principles of life, and sucb as make their appeal to every individual of die
church; aDd If tbe mass of receiverl bonor the truths they PO_IS, the church wiD Inevi.
ably be relpectable and respeoted, aDd ber teachers, as a general fact, equally 10. .. Lib
people, like priest."
(&> Eftry Mep in a dllOUSIlioD like the preeent IbOW8 how difllcult it i8 to divest die
mind of III old conceptions. Tbe strlctureeoC A.E. F. recogniseallalenll jUlt suoh alta..
01 thiJlls eoolesiaelically .. now existe RI a field oC clerical action. Each lOCiety has one
minister or pastor, aDd as he Is Inducted into the sao~ otlice by the oonseoratllll act of
hi. clerical brethren, he thereby obtain. the IIea1 of their sanction and an mtr", in con. .
quenoe, inlD the various pulpitl In the counexion. In thil senae the oftice is held to be.
pIIilic one. which matiers the occupancy of It by fit moumben.. a matter of pat CODo
316 New Church Organnation and &overnmmt. [July,
aem to the geDeral body oC the Church. But how is It in the order for whlah we plead 1
There every IOciety has a plurality of teaahers aaaording to ita exigenaill!l, and accordinll'
to the diversity of gifts POue88ed by Its members. The lOCiety in Boston, Cor instance,
may serve as an example. We have there listened to lectures of eminent ability and UMl
delivered from time to time by highly intelligent laymen, who were every way qualified
for the work, and to whom the society evidently gave heed with great delighL We know
of Dothiug that should preveut a New Church Society from regarding a uumber of such
men as its true ministry, who need nothiug more than the acknowledgment of the mem-
bers to authorize tbem for the due discharge of all the functionl of spiritual teachers and
guides. And if acknowledged in this capacity by one society, why should. they Dot be by
another, should they perchanoe visit or sojourn for a time among tbem 1 They are men
in good repute, qualified to impart instruction or to kindle affection, and prompted by a
love of UMl. Is there any reason why they should not sustain abroad the same character
they do at home / Yet tbey would not covet or claim the tille of drIlY""" on tbis ac-
aount, for they do not, by exercisiDg this function, constitute a distinct order of Brabmini-
cal caste in the Church. They are plain citizens, gaining their livelibood bythe!r several
Meular vocations in life, and giving tbemselves, as occasion may Mlrve, to tbe spiritual
bendt oftheil brethren, because actuated by the love of the nelghbor in one of its purest
forms. On the whole we do not perceive that the above objection is a valid one; we do
Ilot acknowledge that the interests of the church 'at large are any more promoted or pro-
tected by the existing arrangements than by those proposed. Jndeed, the adYantage, if
anything, is on the side of the latter .s It is supposed that none will be called to the exer-
aiMl of the teaahing Cunction but those who have been tried and approved in that depart-
ment, whereas, in the preMlnt ordel, persons are introduced into the ministry without
any previous preparation, other than scholutic, and the various societilll are expected to
:recognize them 011 the ground oCthe approbation oCtheir ordainers.
(h) Denying, as we do, the legitimate existence in the New Church of the clergy as a
permanently distinct class of men, it were scarcely to be expected that we should have
much to say of the distingulshiug rite which has been regarded .. cOllstituting them such.
But we have no quarrel with ordination III ItIt'h; it is with ils a_rted instrumentality in
creating a superior order in the Church that we are at variance. Jt Is, therefore, by a
misapprehensiou of our meaning that we are charged with" plainly rejecting ordination
by the clerIlY." What we reject is the clergy ordai"lfl as a separate claas, and not tbe or-
c1itIGtiotl it"l!, except as the basis on which Ibe clerical character rests. We are obviously
.rgulng here against a '''f-pcrpctuatiflg order of men, distinct from the laity. Viewed in
this relation we of course deny to ordination the virtue usually ascribed to It as produo-
Ing such an effect, but we do not thereby nec_rily repudialll tbe rite altogetber. To
disallow It nnder one aspect is not inconsistent with allowing it under ano~her. Rigbtly
tlnderstood and rightly applied it may have a very Intelligible use in the New Dispensa-
Cion. Jfa lOCiety shall deem It proper to signify their acceptance of the labors of tbelr
teachers by such a ceremony, very well; we would not object to it, though we do not
perceive it to be Indispensible. But our objections lie mainly against the Interpretation.
put upon the rite in its relation to a permanent and distinot clalS. To charge, therefore,
that we reject ordination by tll. chrgy, Is very 1Inle to the point so long as tbe main quOl.
cion is In regard to the very existence of the order of the clergy a, A. E. F. -urltafldl it.
But upon this point we have little hope that our true position will be justly apprebended.
The proposition that there may be a distinct use of teaching and of spiritualleadersbip In
cbe church, without, at the same time, it. constituting a distinct and 'telf-perpetuating
order termed the clergy In contradistinction from the laity, is one so complex from its very
elmpllcity. that it will find an exceedinRly difficult admllSiou into minds pre-ocaupled
with a dill"erllllt Idea. Cozuequently we shall deem ourselves fortunate if we are not rep-
1850.] New Church Organization find Government. 31'7'
_ted a. denying tbe .., aI well a. tbe Rparate office of all mini.try in tbe Cburch. If
10, eo be it j we would define our poaition more clearly if we could. Our correspondent be-
gins by giving prominence to our alleged rejection of ordi_tiOft of tla, cl"p b, tla, cl"p,
which in our argumeot comes into queltion 101ely a. a rite by which a distinct order of
men ptrpftuatfl itltlf. It il In tbls relation, or a. having this bearing, that we reject it.
We do thil on the ground that the meanl cannot &Je legitimate to.n end which il i1Ieglti-
mate. Ordination, we hold, i. not legitimate a. a mm... of gil/i.g ptrpftvit, to tla, clerical
ardtr. In thl. relation .olely do we .peak of it in a tone of dilapproval. Bnt from tbi.
fact it cannot be fairly inferred tbat we reject it in all otber relations. That which is not
good for one thing may be good for another; and.o witb ordination. The .trictures of
A. E. F. on thil head, as they proceed, gradually Ihift the point and direct tbemselvel at
last against an Imaginary position, aI if we rejected ordination altogether beeauee we re-
jectlt under one particular aspect. Accordingly be "'bee), round upon us the beavy ordin-
ance of tbe elrtract given above, the dilCovery of wbicb In 1830 among the unpublished
paperll of Swedenborg cau-t 10 mucb exultation among the brethren of the Englilh Con-
ference who then had the .ubject oftbe trine in the mlniltry under review. And wbat
doe. it prove 1 Simply that our author, in hil day, recognized the existence of a church
and a clergy among whom the communication of the Holy Spirit wa. lignlfled by the im-
position of hands. From a IOmewhat clole and protracted examination in reference to
this point we are satilfied that numeronl passage. in the writings of Swedenborg, In
which mention is made of the clel'lY and the priesthood, refer In reality, not to the New
Church, but to the Old. Thus In H. D. of N. J., 316," With r8llpect to prltlltl, their duty
11 to leach mea the way to heaven, and likewi811 to lead them therein. They are to teach
them accordin« to the doctrine of tlarir c1aWt'la <IV« ,ecUM), which Is derived from the
Word of God." In the Engll.h edition of 1841 of the H. D. from which we quote, the
reading II .. according to the doctrine of tll. Church." Thi., we tm.t, iI a typographical
error as It i. plainly contrary to the original. Whetber tbe American edition contein. tbe
..me reading we cannot say, not having a copy at band. We can underlltand thilonly
a. interpreted in conformity with the view nO'l'/' expres.ed. The .pirltual teacherl wbom
he call. ".i"t., In tbe lIlIYlIral departmentl of the Cbri.tian Cburcb, .ucb aI the Lutheran,
Reformed, Anglican, &c., are to inculculate the doctrin81 of their relpectlve creedl,
wbicb tbey all of courle regard a. drawn from tbe in.pired Word and accordant witb it,
and to whloh they are fidthful1y to adbere In Imparting In.truction. In the Divine Pro-
vidence of the Lord, civil and eccl8lhutlcal government are botb made to act an impor-
tant part in that 'yltem of InftuenC81 and agencie. by whlcb the world i. kept In order.
The object of the cbapter i. not, we conceive, to lay down a formal rule of regimen for
the churoh, bvt to 111_ i. VIilGt lig1lt it. fIIIJIIben ar, to r,pnl till ezUti.g ordw of thi.,. itS
tM two gr,Gt departmftlt. of Clatwd& allCl Blat,. Thl. order. RI occnrring under the econD-.
my of Divine Providence, Swedenborg nowbere di.paraglll, a. our Lord did not that of
the Jewi.h dispensation in hi. day, tbougb it Wal deltined ere lonll' to pass away. Bnt
we do not learn that our autbor any where, on that account, adopt. or pr,lCrib" thil order
aI dllligned to be perpetuated in the New Jerunlem. We do not for ou1l81vll8 find that
be di.t1nctly recognize. an earthly prielthood aI an element in the New Eoonomy, or that
any inauguration. are referred to except .uch ... are .piritual. If there be any .uch p...
"gill we .hould be glad to baYe them pointed out.
(i) We do root peroeiYe in thl. a Yery .ati.factory reply to the objection. The filet that
the authority i. e-.!rrntl Inltead of belnll' _Id. d08l not militate with our po.ltion
that the clergy I. a .. Rlf-perpetuatlng order." They are certainly a con.tantly-.nblistiDl
body, they are dllllnct from tbe laity, and tbey are introduced Into the office by each
other. Why does not tbl. constitute a lelf-perpetuating order 1 What more would be re-
qui.lte to do It 1 ~ to ap]Hlitltfft",t, it avail. nothing towardl comelling clerical charac-
ter, on the preYalling theol1. apart from ordination.
818 New Church Organization and Gowmment.
(J) If we lee a bUlbear in thiB, It la beca1ll8 we _
[July,
with opcice badly traiDed. So
deeply for a lonl tract of agel, hal clerical prerocatiYe become entrencbed in Lhe prejudicCl
I
aAd aft"ectionl of Lhe Chriltian world, 80 complellely hal it moulded their forml ofthoUlht,
cbat it is an immeDH achievement to pt out of the mqio circle of ..sociations which it
conjures around us, and to look upon tbe lIubject in the \ilht of the Lord'lI Word and of
man'lI wisdom. Who thinks oC pttblil: itwtrtKtioft in a churca but in conneltion wilh a
consecrated edifice, a pulpit IBcled to an ordained occupant, and a p8llllively \i1teninc
audience? But th_ are mere adveutitiou. appendaae. whioh have crown by slow de-
Iree8 around the central inltilute oC worehip. In like mlU1ller with the lI8Craments,
which have been clothed with a pnHlminent decree oC IlIGClity in order to enhance the
oBlciallBuctity oC th_ who admlnillter them. We would not imply by thi. that they are
not to be revereo.dy fllIIIrded a. oC Divine appointment, but we are yet to learn the
iround. on which the adminilltratlon oC the IBcraments i. to be prohibited to any but
dlolIe who have pallled thro'lh the rerulaz eaoenlotal routine and received the due cre-
deatiala at the hancb of the dlle authoritiee.
(Ir) That ill, iC it be Iranted In the OUget that thera i. a dietinet ela.. oC men in the
church denominated tbe clel'lY, and that they are IOlemllly in&roduoed into that office by
the ceremony oC ordination, and can derive a title to cbe perlbrmanoe oC theIe function. in
ao ocIIlll' way, then it win ladeec1 Collow oC oonree that no one can innde the IBCled pre-
roptive without the , r - ' eacrilep. But it milht be al well 10 remember that we
deny thill auened el"ec:t of eMinalion, and eouequendy the results that CoHow in its train.
We adhere immoveably to our polltioa, that cbe qualifioation to teach in tbe church, the
love Cer it all a 1lIIe, and the IIClm0w\ediment oC boch 011 the part of a aociecy. authori&el
• man to oflioiace .. unlmpCIohed DC u.urpatioll" ill that oapaoity, l1li'"that no man or
body DC mea AU a rliht to preYent him. Moreover, all the functional uee in question it IUI. . ...
Important oae, If the eooiety are pleued. to eillUlCy their _DIe oC it by IIllecting IOme of
their number to upr..., by Impoeition oC hands, acoompaaied with prayer, their earael&
Invooatioll of bleuinl in tbe dlech&1'le oC it, we _ notlaiq in It that i. open to rea-.
ble objection. But iD admhtiq thlll we do Dol admit that .uo" • rite 10 cotUrCrac. the
recipieDt .. 1O e1en.te him to ano1ber plane ofdipity and _lity.
(I) We aak oureeIvee &pin and apin wbere i. the peculiar difficulty DC apprehendiq
the distinction to whioh we havo 10 ofien adverced, and which draw. the liDo between aa
oocuional or oveu a .tatecluee and a permaDont oIloe that oODltitlltee its fuaotlonarie. A
II,PlItlItt GfWI-.cretl urdw of-. Certain uipaoiCl on the ICON of in.II&ruction in a New
Chareh Society demand the exerei.. DC oertaln pfte or endowmeat. at certain timCl.
The eervice. requi.ite are render. aocordilll\'ly. ju.t .. cbe teaohel'l in a Sabbath-school
perform the datin whioh, becau.. they were needed, tber have coneented to "Iume.
Bat ha. chi. the elfect of makinl cbem a diBtiaot olue oC men in the community 1 Are
they DOe, dUrmg the week-clays, pur.uing their filled oooupation like otber cltizene and per-
fectly upon a par with them 1 Sapp_ their Sabbath-day employment to be called an
.. oftice," stiR they are properly" oflicer'" no Ioapr thaD while enppd in it, eveD tho. .h
elll\'ap! in it lltatedl, and for a term DC year.. No one ever dreamll that they become, ila
_eequeaee of thie function. a diltinct order plClCrlptivelr inveeted with the preroptiVll
IIOt only eC teaohilll" but of creatiDg by ordination other leacher.. A. E. F. would mue
the clerical and judicial functionll exactly parallel. Thl. would require that the limits DC
each eIIoldd be defined with th. utmOlt pceci.ion aDd that aD one IIhould prCIume aDY
. . . to iDvade tho plOYiace of tbe mini..... tbarI the lawrer or the commoD citillllD doee
dual of die jUtlp. But we allt if. this il pollsible 1 Would A.. E. F. uadertake to define
cbe precl.e line whioh lIIlpanc. "e dutie. of cbe laity fl'Olll the preroptive.of the clolJY 1
lIay not a layman te8Gh aay lIpidt. ., truth at all? Ifbe may teaoh _t, how much 1
Buppoee a warm-hearted NewclawobmMl in lIOIIIe remote .w.p in Maine or Miobipn
1850.] New Church Organization and Government. 319
.hould be impelled to open hi. door. on the Sabhath to suoh of hi. neighbon as !ll w fit to at-
tend and should read. pray, and sing with them. and under the promptings of a full heart
.hould venture to propound hi. own views of the grand and glorious truth. of the New
Jerusalem. and urge them upon hi. audience. by what scale of criminality should we
measure his offence? Should we tremble for rear that the doom of Korah and his com-
panions would come upon him 1 Should we not fear rather that hi. own 80ul would
.uffer leann.s were he to withhold that which would tend to remedy the leanneu of the
lOuls of othen? The fact is. the civil and ecclesiastical spheres are entirely different.
It is Impossible to bring the principles applicable to each inlo the same category.. Every
man of the church is potentially a minister or priest. and the development of the fitting
endownmenll together with the content and acknowledgment of his a.sociates is all that
i. needed to make him actually 10. Assume any more restricted ground and the church
ha. a hierarchy inevitably fixed upon it.
(m) All the prevention that may be attempted, short of actual force, amounts .imply to
non.acknowledgment. A society may refuse to acknowledge a. a teacher one who would
fain impose himself upon them in that character. but they cannot prevent him froin
preaching to another society who are willing to hear him. nor if ever 10 many New Church
societies combine and veto his preaching could they prevent hi. officiating beyond the
pale of their jurisdiotion. The mere fact of several societies combining confon no new
power of prohibition; it simply affords the means of a more united expression of opinion
on the subject. One who lI'as intent upon proclaiming What he deemed to be truth, and
whose life challenged investigation. would smile at all the edicts that could be launched
ftlBin81 him by Synods or Conventions.
(tI) There Isnolhing to hinder societies from oombining for purposes of use in advancing
the Lord'. kingdom. but if they suppose that their coming togethlPr and" combining into
• body" invests them with an authority of" prescribing" what they had not the power to
do before. they labor under as great a mistake. as would he who .hould hold that the
whole is more than an agregate of all the parts.
(0) Nothing is more certain than that these words of our author mu.treceive limitation
IOmewhere. With all his zeal for a sharply defined diltinction oC grades and functions In
the church. A. E. F. would not say that none but a clergyman wal ever to inlinuata
truth into the mind. of his fellow·men. He must concede the right in some degree-what
it it? In IOme caae~hat are they 1 We will abide by his determinl1tion. If he main-
tain. that while in the ordinary Intercourse of life every man is at liberty to Improve the
occasion. that may occur for correctiul falsity and imparting truth, but that in the matter
of Cormal in.truction in pllblio meetings, for instance, the duty of unfolding and applying
the truths of the church should devolve rather upon those who occupy the post of teach-
en, we have no ditlIoulty in agree1nl with him, for we regard luch ., teachfng ministers"
or spiritual .ervants, as a very important element in every society, bllt we are very fat
Crom looking upon them .. such a distinct order of men a. Is now understood by the
clergy.
(P) As we put this in the .ame category with the Cormer extract from the Canons. i\ will
be sllperlluous to dwell upon it here. We find no evidence that Swedenborg speaks either
here or elsewhere of any other clergy al such than that wbtoA he reoosnized in the u-
i.ting church of his day. '
(g) We have gllarded our statement sufficiently to rebut the CDlCe of this objection. aa
will appear by italicising another clause of the sentence j - " A. to heretical or incompe-
tent ministers and the proper mode of dealing wilh them. this... a _ll·ortl".ed Itate of tIN
CAveA. will take care of illl!1f." It is aeldom indeed thal any reform of moment iseffeot-
od by illl!lf apart from a reCorm in the system to which It belong.. We should auticipate
with A. E. F. that disorder. and Irreplarities in abundanoe would be the c0Dll!CluenC8 of
320 New Church Organization and Governmmt. [July,
such a change &I he deems the legitimate conlequence of our 1heory. It ilevideDt from hi.
coupling together" no human prillllthood" with" no human government" that he attri-
butes to our views a perfectly subwreive or de.tructive tendency without one redeeuling
element. It is, however, well to remind oureelves that the bad coneequences which might
in the first instance flow from the breaking up of a corrupt state of tbinge in church or
Btate are not of themselves a sufficient argument against the plea for reform. In the pre-
sent cue the question is as to the abstract truth of certain principles bearing upon the
econol1lY of the church. If tbe fundamental positions which we assume are intrinsically
sound the ltgitim4t, consequence. oan by no possibility be evil. Let that question then
be decided.
(r) We willingly let all this RO for what It is worth,leavluglt to our readers to judge
how far we dift'er or how far we agree with the teachinge of Bwedenborg rig1&tl, tHtde,...
.tood. That he has much to eay respecting priat., prielthood, Mgr, &c., I. readily ad-
mitted, but that be predicate. them of the New Church Is not admitted. Thus &I ro Im-
position of hands, he lIlyS, C. L. 3911, .. B~,.u"" the banda are the ultima_ of man, and
his flreta are simultaneously in ultimates, it is that inaugurations inro the prillllthood an
lit tllY do, performed by the laying on of handa." But upon thi. hllBd we oannot no'll"
dilate.
(.) There iI but litlleprospect ofbrlngiDg oontrowuie. to a close so long &I either of the
parties misconstrues the leading pOllition of the other, or puta it. 0llII& _ on an opponent'.
terms and then waxes valiant ill oontending-with it. We haw no where denied that the
function of teaching exilta and a1way. has existed In the Church, oonsequently that there
are to be teaohere. But'll"e deny that thelll teachers are Identical with the clergy of the pro-
Mot day, an order of men which, from the love of domInion, has grafted itae1f upon that
of the teachers aforesaid and in a thousand forms ofu'lIrpation "lorded it oYer God'. her-
it&le." To what does it amount then to ..y that the clergy. &I a distinot body, daleS it-
self far back of the rlee of the .pirit of domination ~ This i. a spirit whieh allows very
few things indeed to date back of it. The clergy, In the sense of tellC.'hel'l. or. if you pl_.
of teDching ministel'l, existed from the orill'in of Christian societies. but the clergy. in the
sense of the priesthood. is of far later growth, and is the undoubted oft'spring of the love of
dominion, as any candId man will see who reads father Sarpi's History of the COl1DcU of
Trent. or Campbell's Lectures on Ecclesiastical Hi.tory.
(t) The eft'ect i. here, If we mistake not, unwittingly put for the oause and the oause
for the eft'ect. The doctrine. of absolution, of the power of the key., and of apOBtOlia ,\lO-
o_ion, were not born till the love of domination begot them. nor will they die 10 long ..
their foster-parent the clergy survives to nourish them. The idea of a separate order of
clergy subsisting in total disjunction from the abuses which have ever accompanied it le.
in our view, chimerioal.
(v) The course of reasoning which our friend pUl'lues throughout his article leaD'
very urongly and naturally to a most lenient and tolerant view of the church of tbe Pa-
pacy, as the argumenta by which both eystems are sustained haw a marked affinity for
each other. ludeed. with the abatement or exception whioh he specifies, we canuot per-
ceive how, upon his ground, the constitution of the Roman Church oould have been
.. highly inexpedient." Highly ,zpediftt would sound in our ears at the more appro-
priate epithet. We are often amuNd at the eft'orts made to separate the drou and .till re-
tain the virgin gold of Rome. The grand fact, howllVllr, uill remain. ilH'xpugnable that
the IIlcerdotal here.,. is the mother and the munition of the papal apostacy.
(Il) We must put tbi. down a. a singular specimen of hyper-reflnement in the way of
oonfuting an axiomatic principle of the New Church, ro wit, that every good man is a
church in the least form; from whlcb, we maintain. It follows that If the priestly fuuction
it an _ntla1 element of the ahurch, that element uUta in every individual of the church.
1850.] New Church Organization and Government. 321
And how i. thi. replied to 1 .. The man i.composed of goods .nd truth., two perfectly dis-
tinct things j prie6ts correspond, in Ihe collective church, with good., .nd the I.ity, conllll-
quently with truth., and •• good••nd truthnredi.tincr, the clergy and I.itymn.tbe distinot
.110." But where doe. our re.pondent learn th.t the I.ity corre.pond. with truths' We by no
means.dmit hi." conllll<J.uently" on thi. head. The prie.t1y principle doe. Indeed both in the
Lord .nd in m.n corl'e8pond to good, but the proper counterp.rt to thl. isnot .ny I.y-princi.
pie corre.ponding to truth, but the rtgal principle of which truth Is the genuine ba.i.. There-
fore it is said th.t UDder the New m.penIBtion we .re made prit.t• • nd ki"gr, but not
priot• • nd la",.",. The prie.ts under the Old m.penIBtion were di.tinct from the laity
by the very n.ture of their offioe, .nd when it i. said th.t under the New all become
prie.ts, it follow. that the former distinction i. of course done .way j th.t they .re all
upon the same plane, though there m.y .till be divenity of function••nd use. j and th.t
the .piritual form. of goodne.. and truth in the collective m.n of the church are priest-
hood .nd king.hip, 10 th.t if tbere i. an exterual order of prie.ts on the one hand there
mu.t be .n extern.1 onler of kings on the other. Doe. our friend recognize his refutation
when it come. before him in thi. form, or doe. he enl.im, Cl Quaflttml mt6tatUll ab illo !"
(VI) If our corre.pondent h.d here quoced our remarks npon the p••••ge referred to it
would have been apparent, we think, that the force of the objection built upon it w ••
eJl'ectually done away. Aa it i., we mu.t rely upon the reader'. courte.y to refer to it (N.
C. Repoa. Dec.,18411).
l:r} We may oftentimes admit the .b.t9lct truth of a principle affirmed to bold in a
particular .nalogy, and yet refuse to admit that tbe principle c.n be fairly applied in the
cue which the analogy i. de.igned to iIlu.trate or confute. In the present in.tance we h.ve
no quarrel with what A. E. F. say. about the order ofio1l~x, &:c., but we do not concede
th.t it oyerthrow. the trulh of our po.ition. We do not grant that the origination of the
Irw mini.try from aocieties is .upel'lleded by .ny .ubsequentltate of thing. into which
the infancy of the church relOlve. it.lf. .. It i. a matler of necllll.ity that the ~rlt ordin-
ation should be by the laity; but it i. in vain to rely upon thl. as proof that It .hould be
10 alVIGrw." We_m to be .hut uptothe frequent re-.tatement of our main pOlition as the
true answer to Delarly every .rgument of our opponent. Wilh him the great point i. or-
dination as that in which the enenoe of the clerical office con.i.ts; with u. the main
queation i••• to the office itself, whicb we under.tand to be. function of use performed by
certain pellOn. duly qu.lified, but still.tanding upon the .ame plane with the ma•• of the
memberw of the aociety in whose behoof they offici.te. In tbe first selection or appoint-
Inent ofth_ indiyidual. we see no objection to the members expre.ing their concur-
rencein the choice by the rite of impo.ition of h.nd., either in their own person. or by proxy,
•• convenience m.y dictate, though we maintain th.t thl. act does nothing toward. In-
ve.ting them with .uthority, or elevating them Into a di.tinct .uperior order, but merely
Implie. a cordial a.sent to the appointment and an earnest Invocation of the divine
blelling upon the new relation which i. now to be e.tabli.hed between the parties. Tbe
ceremony m.y properly enough be performed, if the aociety see. fit, while at tbe same
time we _ no .ucb absolute neceuity for it as that the validity of the funotion .hall be
annulled by realOn of its absence. And 10 In regard to .ubsequent appointments to the
same oftice in the same aociety. The exi.ting function.rie. may ordain new one., as
circum.tances may require, with the same interpretation of the import of the rite a. in the
first In.taDoe. It i. a decent and becoming ceremony, tending no doubt to enhance the
impre••lven_ of the occasion, butdevoidof that pecoliar sanctity and indi.pensable necllll-
.lt1 which has been claimed for it. Oor readers will judge from these remarks how muoh
weight we a..ien to A. E. F.'. posilion th.t Cl yoo cannot govern a ",all by the law. of tfII.
br,o life, and you .hould not make the cburch, IvJJ-gr-, conform to the model of Its
1--, .Iap." We are onable to see why the .implest form of a New Chorch aociety
322 Miscellany. [July.
should not be permanent, just as we have reallOn to believe that the fOl"lns of the heavenly
llOCietie9 are permanent. IfllO, the process we have described above of fumishlngllOCie-
ties with teachers is all that i! requisite, and the reasoning of our correspondent on the
subject is answered.
En.
MISCELLANY.
any inclination of the Treasurer, who is free to say, that it would have been
more agreeable to him to have gone on to a legal decision. But, considering
that if the matter is to be compromised at all, the proposal of the guardian ill a
fair one; and considering the fact that the amount left to his daughter by Mr.
Tl1rnerdoes not seem to accord with what might have been expected of him;
and the strong feeling uniformly manifested in the Convention has been that the
interests of the heir should always be regarded, the Treasurer aClquiesces in the
opinions of others, and recommends that orders be passed to carry out the
compromise.
Upon the presentation of the above the following preamble and resolution
was adopted:
Whereas, Oliver P. Turner,lafe of New Haven, in the county of Addison, and
State of Vermont, deceased, by his last will and testament, made this Conven-
tion, under the Dame of "The General Convention of the New Jerusalem
Church in the United States," his residuary lertee; and,
Whereas, Valentine C. Clay, as guardian 0 Jane S. Turner, infant daughter
and sole heir of said Oliver P. Turner, has appealed from the decision of the
Probate Court for the District of New Haven, and State of Vermont, decreeing
the residuum of said Oliver P. Turner's eslate to this Convention, which appeal
is now pending in the County Court, within and for the county of Addison and
State of Vermont; and,
Whereas, propositions for a compromise and adjuslment of the said suit have
been made by and between the said quardian and the Treasurer of this Con-
vention, heretofore appointed to manage the ma~ter in its behalf; and it is de-
sirable 10 terminate said suit without further controversy and expense, UpOD.
equitable terms and considerations i Therefore,
RuolNd, That Hon. John H. Wilkins be a committee and agent of this Con-
vention, with power to compromise and settle said suit and the claims OD
which the same is founded, on the basis set fonh in the Treasurer's report, and
agreed upon (subject to the approval of this Convention) by said Guardian and
the said Treasurer of this Convention heretofore appointed, and to execute, in
the name and behalf of this Convention, all instruments of every nature what·
soever lhat may be required to carry into full effect such compromise and set-
tlement, and to make all such contracts, and receive all such conveyances, as
may be necessary in the adjustment of said compromise Slid settlement, for
the benefit of this Convention; and that the doings of said committee and agent
in the premises shall be binding on this Convention.
A.ddrtll to the Englilh GrMral Con/".mae.
Rev. Mc. Carll presented and read all Address to the English General Con
ference, which he had been appointed by the Prellident of the last Convention
to prepare. This Address was approved, and ordered to be forwarded to the
Conference•
.Acuptanu of Tractl fTOfA Mr. 8. 8. Carpmln' of Cincinooti.
A communication was read from Mr. S. S. Carpenter, of Cincinnati, on the
llubject of Tracts published at that place, with which were sent twenty-five
sets of said Tracts, to be distributed among the delegates to this Convention.
Ruolwd, That this Convention accepts with pleasure the donation of Tracts,
presented on thill occasion by Mr. Carpenter of Cincinnali; and that they be
distributed as he has requested, trusting that they will assist in enlarging the
borders of the New Jerusalem.
OrdifUltiOR of Rn. T. B. Hf11!JVGf'd.
Rev. Mr. Carll presented the request of Mr. T. B. Hayward for ordination as
a Missionary j and it was voted that said request be complied with, and tha&
324 Mi8cellany. [July,
the ordination be performed immediately after tbe public wOfl!hip to-morrow
(Friday) morning j which was accordingly done, the Rev. Mr. Carll officiating,
assisted by Rev. Mr. Dike and Rev. Mr. Seddon.
Colportage.
Rt,ol1JtJd, That this Convention believes the system of colportage to be use.
ful, and recommends its adoption to all the bodies of the Chwch which CBn
avail themselves of its advantages .
.Book of Wor,hip.
Rt,ol1JtJd, That a Committee of seven be appointed to consider the subject of
revising the Book of Worship, with instructions to correspoud with minillters,
societies, and receivers, of the New Church in the United States, and to report
to the next Convention such alterations as they may think the wants of the
Church require.
Rtport of Committee of Laymm.
The Committee of Laymen propoled to amend Art. H. Sect. 7 of the Rules of
Order, so as to read as follows:
The Prellidt"nt of the Convention shall be a Minister, and if at the time of his
election he be not an Ordainillg Minister, his election to the office of President
shall be considered as conf!!rring on him for the conventional year all the au.
thority of an Ordaining Minister; and his duty shall be to pre~ide at the meet.
ings of rhe Convention, and to perform such other duties as are implied by ilie
Dame of his office, together with any others specified in the Rules of Order.
1850.] Proceeding. of the General Convention. 325
.Additi01ll to the Rulu of Order.
The Committee of Laymen offered the following as additions to the Rules
of Order :
At every session of the Convention, the Ecclesiastical Committee may choose
such number of the oldest and most experienced ministers of their body as
they shall think proper, to be Ordaining Ministers for the ensuing year.
This Convention leaves the several Associations in connection with it in
perfect freedom as to the regulation of their own ministry; but no minister
hereafter ordained by an Association, shall be admitted as a minister and mem-
ber of this Convention without the approbation of the Convention itself.
These motions were laid on the table, and afterwards indefinitely postponed.
Pl4ce ofholding next Convention.
'The following was presented by Mr. Sampson Reed:
Ruolwd, That when this Convention adjourns, it adjourns to meet at the
New Jerusalem Church in Boston, at 10 o'clock, A. M., on the second Wednes-
day of June, 1851.
Rev. Mr. Hough also presented the following resolution passed by the Ohio
Association at its late meeting in May last:
Resolved, That the delegates of this Association to the General Convention
be authorized to invite that body to meet in Cincinnati in 1851.
These motions were laid on the table.
The following was offered by Mr. Caleb Reed, and adopted:
Ruolwd, That the Convention appreciates the kindness of their brethren in
I • Ohio, in extending an invitation that their next meeting be held in Ohio; but
that they feel obliged to decline the same on account of the inconvenience of
holding a session at a place so far removed from the residence of the great
body of the members.
The motion of Mr. C. Reed to adjourn to meet at Boston next¥earwas subse-
quently passed.
Recommendation of Tract Boord.
The Tract Board obtained leave to present its annual report, which was ac-
cepted, and the recommendations therein made were adopted, viz. :
(lilt.) That No. 16 ofthe Rules ofOrder be altered so as to read as follows, viz.:
The Tract Board shall consist of twelve members, viz. : three Ministers and
nine Laymen. The Ministry shall have charge of the prtparation of the Tracts,
and the Laymen of the publication of them, and of the financial affairs of the
Board. It is very desirable that every Minister of the Convention will write at
least one tract every year, for the use o~ the Tract Board, and present 'the same
at the annual meeting of the ConventIon. The Tract Board may cause to be
re-printed from time to time, in the series of Tracts authorized by this Conven-
tion, such of the Tracts of the London, Manchester, and Glasgow series as the
Board think useful. The Board shall organize itself, and may appoint agents
to aid in effecting its objects. It is expected to manage its concerns in such
manner as to meet its own expenses. And it is especially enjoined upon the
Board to use all care to publish nothing which is not of the doctrines of the
New Church.
(2nd.) That the following be a Standing &solution instructing the Tract
Board:
RelOlwd, That the Tract Board shall annually, at least three months before
the meeting of the Convention, send a circular to every Society and Association
in connection with this Convention, and to such other persons as may be
deemed proper, inquiring, Whether they have a Tract Board ~ What number
of Tracte they distnbute annually ~ Whether they have any intelligence to
VOL. JIJ. 22
326 Mucellanll_ [July,
communicate with regard to the spread of the doctrines of the New Church by
Tracts 1 Whether they have any suggestions to make to this Board 1 Whe-
ther they are willing to subscribe for and receive annually tracts to a certain
value; and if so, to what \'alue 1 and whetber they are willing to contribute
any thing to the gratuitous distribution of Tracts by this Board 1 And that the
Board be authorized to make such other inquiries in the circular, in the llame
of this Convention, as they think proper.
Leave was granted to Mr. Sampson Reed to offer the following, which was
adopted:
Resolved, That the Tract Board be requested to consider the expediency of
publishing or procuring a cheap edition of the work on Heaven and Hell for
llurposes of distribution.
Extract of private Lett"., from Mr. Robert L. Smith, San Francilco, California,
formlTly of Nftl1-Yorlc City.
Feb. 14, 1850. On the last Sabbath, our New Church friends and some
strangers met in a large, new room of a new house I have recently finished,
second door from my office on Pike street, near the Post Office. I read a ser-
mon from Revelations about the city New Jerusalem, which John saw des-
cending; and, after the services, made many explanations to in9uirers upon
the subject of our doctrines, and lent out a book to one who S81d he would
like to read, and had not known anything about the Church before.
On the Friday previous I read the funeral service again to a large audience,
on the occasion of the burial of a fine lad six years of age, killed by being
thrown from a horse, the son of a Mr. and Mrs. Lyderback of Philadelphia.
All their family were present at our meeting on the Sabbath for the first time,
five in number; on which occasion I referred to our views of the state of all
who die in childhood. My remarks caused them all to weep freely.
The Rev. Mr. Sturtevant has not yet arrived; he left the States more than
six months since.
Feb. 18. Yesterday, the Sabbath, had a delightful meeting in our new room;
had about twenty persons present; amongst them, three ladies. The sermon
I read wall upon the excellence of the spiritual state, by Mr. Prellcott; the au-
dience, as well as myself, much affected.
Sabbath, Feb. 24. Rev. Mr. Sturtevant has arrived; had a passage of two
hundred and fifty days; he is going to the mines with a company of twelve.
He preached for us to-day in the little chapel; about thirty attended, and we
had an interesting meeting. .
March 15. The Rev. Mr. Mclntire has just come in town from up the Sa-
cramento, and will preach for U8 one or two Sabbaths in our neat little chapel.
334 Editorial ltem8. [July,
I think I wrote you I had fitted up oue in a large new house I have recently
finished. Mr. Mclntire was formerly a Unitarian minister, but is now a full
Newchurchman. .
April 27. Yesterday, Senator Alien, of Pontiac, Michigan, arrived here in a
sail vessel from Panama. He is a Newchurchman, and has been in the prac-
tice of lecturing upon the doctrines of the New Church. He will, to·morrow,
Sabbath, perform public service for us in our little chapel.
April 29. Yesterday (Sabbath) Senator Alien preached for us one of t~e
best sermons, and best delivered, extemporaneously, I ever listened to. H~ IS
certainly a giant of the New Churc~j we were all greatly delighted,.and wl.sh
we could stop him here with us. He is bound for the Southern mmes, w~th
one other Newchurchman, Mr. Wells. ,This evening the Senator and I a~ in-
vited to tea at Mrs. Berry's, a very intelligent lady, who attends our meetlDgs.
EDITORIAL ITEMS.
TUII: GSl'O:lLU. CONVEIITION.-l'he great event of the ecole8ia8tical year of the New
Church in our country has al lengtll once more come and gone. The General Convention
h88 held its thirtY-811cond 8e8sioD. The greeting8 and gralulatioDs of brethren from re-
mole regions have been cordially exchanged-the hospitalities of our town-friends have
been tendered, rather according to the extent of their ability than of their wishes toward8
the friehds from abroad-Itraogers according to the lleah, but brethren and 8i8ter8 accord.
ing to the spirit. have mingled in the genial feativity of the mid-day meal-the moming
1850.] Editorial Items.
worship has united the hearts and voices of the devout assembly-tbe reports of societi6ll,
atrordingevidence of the progress of the good cause, have nnimateJ. hope and inspired con-
fidence afresh-and the varied interests of the church have engaged the deliberations and
debates of the delegates, while the invited members aud the alleudant auditors have lis-
tened with profound attention 10 the discussions that successively arose. A fresh impulse
has been given to the zeal of the disciples that will, no doubt, make itself felt in the
several circles in which they move, as every recurrence of this anniversary leaves its mark
more or less distinctly impressed upon the bosom of Ihe church.
The attendance on Ihis occasion was larger Ihan usual, nOlwilhstanding that some por-
tions of the church were not represented. The Eastern delegation was perhaps unusually
full, although the absence of Rev. Thomas Worcester was more sensibly felt from the
circumstance of his unfailing presence for a long course of years. The Rev. Mr. Carl1
was chosen President, and Mr. Hayward, as usual, Clerk, to whom in the course of the
session Mr. E. O. Hinckley ofBnltimore was adjoined as assistant. Having attended
with exemplary punctuality and palience throughout the whole course of the sillings of
the Convention, which were continued from Wednesday morning to Saturday evening,
wc arc prepared at least to give a faithful transcript of our Qwn impressions, as a candid
"looker-on in (the) Venice" of this large and higWy respectable meeting. As our object
was mainly to study the practical working of the system, and as we had little or no per-
sonal interest in the proceedings, we give a te.1timony free at leaat from any partiZB.Il biar,
though we by no means disclaim the influence uf a general prepossession adverse to Ihe
existing order of the church, so far as a General Convention, framed like the present, is
.. concerned. The doubts Rnd misgivings on thi, 1".'1ld, resulting from a survey of the polity
in the abstract, have heen strongly confirnwd hy the view of its actual operation in the
present instance. Not, however, tbat we witnessed any thing in the discussions unbe-
coming christian brethren-any thing to hc compared to the breaches of decorum and
the outrages upon brotherly love, which are nOl seldom seen in other ecclesiastical bodies.
Un the contrary, though we listenoo to occasional sharp encounters in debate, yet the tone
was in the main courteou. and kind, and in no instance do we recollect of hearing a call
to order from the cllair. And.o in regard to what may be termed the docket, or the regu-
lnr routine of business, we do not know that time W3S wasted upon any thin;; that was
strictly irrelevant to the objects of the Convention constitmed as it is, nor do we think
there wu Rny studied design, by party tactics, to exclude or give the go-by to any par-
ticular meaiures that otbers might have thought of propounding. !'Still we are constrained
to say that the general effect upon our mind was not pleasant. The sphere was not a
sphere of delight, because not a sphere of adequate uses. The whole genins of the insti·
tution. as developed in the proceedings, was not to'Us in accordance with that state of
mind which is the natural and legitimate proJuct of Ncw Church principles. We felt
a continual uneasiness on account of the strangers and novitiates who might chance to
be present with the expectation of witnessing a delightful exhibition of the harmony and
charity, the zeal and beneficence, of the New Dispensation, and from certain incidental
remarks that came to our ears on thill head we had unhappily too much reason to believe
that our fears were well founded. Bat in all this we woald bave it distinctly understood
that our objections lie against the very fundamental principles on which the Convention
was originally founded, and to which we are satisfied all the evils in its working are to
be referred. These evils are connate to the system and inseparable from it. It is not in
its constitution an organ of use, but an engine of government j its lrand end and aim is, by
means of rules of order, to alTllflge the truths and goods of the church-which Swedenbori
affirms (A, C. 10,218) to be a direct usurpation of the Divine prero~tive-andto keep the
body ecclesiastic of the New Church in 0. sound and healthy condition. In doing this it
virtually assiins to the cerebrum of the church, viewed as a Man, the functiona of the cerebel-
336 Editorial IteTlU. [July,
lum, making no allowance for that i"tlol_tar, arrangement and order which will invaria-
bly follow in the whole where all the parts are individually pervaded by the life of charity.
It is here that we recognize the grand and paramount vic.. of the General Convention. It
assumes to take under itll control what does not belong iL' The Convention claims
rJr itself the prerogative of arranging and organizing the Church into genuine order, when
order in Ihe whole is the normal aud spontaneous result of order in the separate individual
parts. Organization is the product of Infiux received into the duly conditioned recipient
vessels. Internal harmonious co-operlltion will always follow from the rightful reception
of infiux, just as in the human body nothing more is requisite to secure the perfect work-
ing of the whole economy than the taking the proper kind and quantity of food and exer-
cise and preserving tbe mind in equanimity and calmness. All the interior assimilations
and elaborations will go on without man's volitlons if he lives in obedience to the laws of
his animal nature. These processes are regulated by Ihe cerebellulU and not 1Iy the cere-
brum, that is, involuntarily and not voluntarily. So in the case before us. Let the
Church be In the principles of ItlI true life and it will be certain to organize itself without
the apparatus of Councils or Conventions. Though even in that case there may probably
be voluntary unions or associations for accomplishing specific umes of an externlll kind,
such as propagating the doctrines of the Church, which could not be effected by isolated
or individual action. But these are not the ruling ends of the esisting General Conven-
tion. 771,y have reference to Ihe internal structure, arrangement, and operation of the
Church.
In saying then that the Convention assumes to take under its conlrol what does not
properly belong to It, we do not mean to say that it has wrested or usurped powers not
conceded to it, or that it does not now exercise itll functions with the full consent of those . . 1
among whom it originated and upon whom it actll i for it is the very genius of the Con-
ventional spirit to work persuasively upon the simplicity of the Church, and under the
plea of expediency and order to win it aTer to concurrence in m,eaSl1res which conceal
deep in their bosoms the germs of hierarchy, and in them the seedB of ultimate corruption
and consummation. But what we would intimate is, that t!lc Convention has mistaken
the true ground of its formation and huilt upon a basis of government instead of
use, which will always lead to evil. or any positively conllCious prompting of this
nature we cheerfully acquit its founders and abetters; but such we nevertheless do not
hesitate to pronounce every Church Convention, Assembly, or Conference which forms
itself mainly for the purpose of organized regimen instead of organi,..ed u_me, we
mean, bearing upon the propagation of New Church truth Bnd life. This we are satisfied
is the only legitimate ground for the fixed or occasional association of societies, which are
the primary independent elements 'of the Church considered in itll externals. Whatsoever
is more than this cometh of evil, as all history confirmed by experience goes to show, and
U is easily gathered from the scope of Swedenborg's testimony on the subject.
From the course which things took on this occasion we are satisfied that the prospect
of any radical reform in the body is well nigh hopeless. This remllrk may appear incon-
sistent with the fact that several important changes were actually made in Ihe rules of
order, especially the virtual doing away or more than one ordination, and the profeaed
willingness to go forward, from year to year, in the work of piecemeal amendment until
the whole is modified and elaborated Into a very perfect system of ecclesiasticIII machin-
ery. We do not lose sight of this, nor of the fact that the Convention has now before it,
IlS it has had for several yeurs, the programme ofa new constitution, which if adopted
would essentially remould the body in many important re,pects. But neither can we
close our eyes to the fact, that whenever the time has come for definite action on Ihe sub-
ject it is invnriably staved offon some plea or other j and as it has been, 80, we are persua-
ded, it will continue to be. The Convention will never find Itself ready to adopt a basis
1850.] Editorial Items. 337
fundamentally different from the preeent. It will entertain new propositions; it will
make a show of concession to the demand for a more liberal platform; but the promise
made to the ear is Invariably broken to the heart, and in our opinion the friends of a
genuine reform may resign all hopes they may have cherished on this score. The Con-
vention as a Convention wl'lllive on {or years, as a voluntary demission of power is some-
thing l'ntirely abhonent to the genius of an ecclesiastical body. It wonld be a/ew de c,
which their instinct of self·preservation would scarce allow them to commit. Yet we
feel for our~lves that nothing short of a change amounting to dissolution will be of any es-
sential service In the way of reform. Could the General Convention paH ont of existence
and its place be supplied by a number of sectional associations lying within convenient
limits, and formed on the principle solely of co-operative use, and not of superintendency
or control, we should begin to be cheered with the hope of brighter days for the church.
This Is, in our view, the consummation devoutly to be wished. We desire it because we
are convinced that the fundamental principle, that such a Convention is the church in a
larger form, is 1\ falsity, and because such a body resting upon snch a basis wiJI infallibl,
be a nursery of clerical rule and oppression, no maller what safe-guards are adopted
against it. But even if there were no danger on this score, we see evils enough from other
sources complelely to outweigh all the advantages resulting from it. To say nothing of
the expense of time and money which will be inevitable in keeping up the system, the
pet'Y and trivial D1unre of a large pOltion of the topics which are introduced, and upon
which so many precious hours are consumed, is, of itself, we conceive, an insuperable ob-
j ection. Let any man rnn over the journal of proceedi nil's for a series of years and note
.
the resolutions from time to time adopted and from time to time rejected, al. i he can
hardly fail to see that a very large proportion of them are comparatively trifling. nd use-
,
less, so far as any great interest of the church is concerned. This is not as it should be
with a New Church Convention, yet such will inevitably be the case so long as that body
regards itself as charged with the regulation of the ministry and the oversight of the eccle-
siastical concerns of the church. The time of the body will be invariably occupied mainly
with matters growing out of its own organization. With the spread of the New Jeru-
salem in our country will be the accumnlation of business, the multiplication of rules of
order, the jarring oflocal interests, the din of debate, the enlisting of the passions of party,
occasional sad ontbursts of a partizan spirit, together with a general sphere which puts to
flight all the meek and gentle virtues of the man of charity and peace. Such ever has
been and we are persuaded ever will be the course of things with all permanent Church
Conventions. It is their very nature to degenerate till a kind of moral malaria is breathed
forth around them. If anyone wOllld form a judgment of them from a New Church
point of view let him read the "True Christian Religion," n. 136, 112, 114, 111, 206,
4~!l, 632,036,131.
What then is to be the probable issue of the present state of things In the New Church 1
We can give but our own Impreuions, and these are fonnded upon sentiments but little
calcnlated, we fear, to meet with any other than a very faint response, even from those
who are relllive under the existing order of church matters. But the fact of our standing
entirely alone in our l'iews on this head would not abate an Iota of the strength of our
convictions in regard to the main lubject. We have not a lingering doubt that a General
Convention, framed lite the preeent, is fraught with elements of evil to thA New Church,
and so believing we can but slleat and act accordingly. It needs, we are perluaded, but
a calm and close survey oC the working of the system to see that it is proliflc of bad effects,
and that just in proportion as the church is Inaugurated Into Its true light and life, it will
cast it off as something alien end hostile to its essential genius. The cODIClousne!1 of
this will doubtless be more fully awakened from year to year, and as the tenaci'Y with
which the conservative spirit hold. on to its fixtures will not re1u, the aspirants for !ree-
838 Editorial Itema. [July,
dom will gradually withdraw from their former cOllnexions and seek such 8S are more
eongenio.l with their promptings. They will pee that withdrawal is the only resource left
them. In taking this step they will not for themselves rupture the bonds of charity. ThOMl
who feeltho.t th...y cannot enjoy a fullneps of ppiriluallife aplut from a conventional organ-
ization will not l,e censured or disturbed in so doing. Fully ';-ware that no one's ruling
love or life cnn he suddenly wrested from him, no nttempt of the kind will be made. They
would live in bond. of amity ami brotherhood with tl10se who differ materially from them
in regard to thc external. of thc Church. The Conventioni.t8, on the other hand, are
equally bound to obey the dictates of cbarity toward. their dissentient b....thren who repu-
diMe their ecclesiasticlll plntform and feel that they would be suffocated where they respire
freely. This, we conceive, i. eventually to be a great practical question in the New
Church, how two parties shall mutually regard eacb other, one of which strenuously in-
sists upon having a General Convention, while the other utterly renounces nnd eschew. it
as the bane of the cburch and tbe .. wing of desolation" to all its fairest field. and fiowel'll.
In the above r..marks we have spoken freely because we feel strongly. That we shall
obtain credit for thc kindness which we really cherish towards our brethren from whom
we differ, we bave little hop... The construction put upon dissent in matters of cburch
gov..rnment is always har.h, inllPmuch as man's proprium jp so deeply involved in thf!D1.
Doctrines belong to thc Lord. nnd it is by the trutbs of its doctrines that the Divine Willdom
proposes to gO\'ern the Church. He has accordingly revealed no other system for that
end. The due power Rnd prevalence of the doctrines of life in the individual man of the
New Jerusalem will insure all needed government, for each man will be a law unto him-
self, nnd in heaven, we are informed by Swedenborg, no anRel acknowledges anyone
over him but the Lord. This, however, does' not suffice for !be wisdom of man. He
has devised various schemes of ecclesiastical order, the fruit of his, own intelligence, and
.,
to repudiate or resist them draws usually a heavier penalty upon the recusant than here-
tical falsificalions of doctrine; so much 1U0re tender are we of Our own things than of the
things of the Lord. As for ourselves, however, since our eonscience bears us witneo In
this matter that we arc aiming at the hest good of the Lord's Kingdom, we abide In peace
whatever is~ues may eome.
bAUOmu.TIOI'I II'ITO THE MlluSTIlY.-In our last number we notieed that Mr. Silas Jones,
of this city, bad been invited to preach to the Dauby and Ithaca New Jerusalem Society,
to supply the vacancy occasioned by the removal to thi, city of the Rev. &lymaD Brown,
since which, we are informed, he has received the unanimous invitation of that society to
continue to supply It, and in case of his acceptance of the invitation he was requested to
present himself for ordination to tbe General Convention then 50011 to convene at New-
York, or to some New Church minister properly qualified to administer the ordinance.
We understand that Mr. Jones applied to the three ordaining ministers present at the
Convl'ntion, aceordinc to the request of the society j and they twice urged him to accept
of a license, which he declined, as not being what would meet the request of the society,
and after retaining the sooiety's request during the sitting of the convention they returned
it to him without giving nny very satisfactory realOn for declining to act. Mr. Jooes
made no formal application for himself.
Mr. Jones then applied !O Rev. 80lyman Brown for inauguration, he being an ordain-
iog minister duly qualified; and he cheerfully consented. The ceremony was publicly
performed io a very imprellive manner on the eveniog of 23d instant, at 411 Broadway.
The form adopted 00 the occasion was lomewhllt di1ferent from that recommended by
the Convention lasL year, and 00 longer applicable on account of a change made in the
nles at the laB' meeting of the Convention, lubstituting one ordination for the two there
plWCI'ibed. We give it below.
1850.] Editorial Items. 339
After reading from the xii. chap. Matt., 38, 39, 40, and also from Ml1tt. xx. 26, 27,
28, and making some very appropriate introductory remarks explanatory oft1leir interior
meaning, he turned to the candidate and addre~sed him to the following effect:
U Clearly perceiving, as I do, that you, my beloved brother, have been called of theLord
to go forth and prepare for the office ofthfl ministry in the Lord's New Church, that with
an unselfish zeal for its uses, you have been in the studious endeavor to come more Bnd
more fully into them, as thl' Lord has operated with you his gifts of illustration and in-
struction, and being satisfied, from personal acquaintance, with your knowledge of true
doctrine, the writings of the church, and the Word, I, as a servant of the Lord and in the
office of the ministry, duly inaugurated according to the rules of the New Chnrch, do
hereby acknowledge before the8f\ brethren your call, your attainments, and gifts.
"And may the Lord so bestow upon you, at all times of need, the Holy of the Spirit, that
when you shall take the lead in prayer, in preaching, in the Sacraments of Baptlsrn and
the Holy Supper; when you shall be engaged in officiating at funerals and marriages;
and in all other pastoral acts, you may be accepted of the Lord and acceptable to his people.
"And may you in a special manner 10 discharge the above duties, as you exercise the
office of teacher and pastor to the people of theo Lord's New Church, in the society of
Danby and Ithaca, Tompkins County, which has requested and desired this acknowledge-
ment at my hands, that as you go in and out before the Lord, in the presence of that
beloved people, your m inistry may be abundantly productive of the fruits of righteousness."
Then taking the candidate by the right band, he continued ;_u And furthermore I
affectionately acknowledge you in the office of giving publicly a similar formal acknowl-
edgment and right hand of fellowship to such servants of the Lord as you may, when
looking to the Lord in spirit and in truth, perceive to have been calleod of Him, and who
have by suitable studiou, application beocome qualified for the office of the ministry of
the Lord's New Church."
Thm turning to the audience he added. UAnd let it be considered by all persons
present that in all this I attribute to myself neohher power nor ability to confer gifts, but
humbly acknowledge and solemnly aver, that these belong to the Lord alone; and that as
the Lord operates the divine virtues, which are meant by sending the Holy Spirit, uot
from man 10 mall but from thf' Lord by man; and not suddpnly or miraculously, for the
illustration and instruction of the ministry, but gradually and according to reception, we
should regard this inauguration as of co-operation, and as the answer of faith to the di-
viue operation; and for the sake, also, of mutual love and fellowship, and the more ex-
tended uses of our brother to the Lord's New Church."
TI,en the candidate kneeling and the hand of the minister being placed upon his head,
he continued. U The Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord ('aUllB his face to shine
upon thee and be gracious unto thee'; the Lord lift up his conntenance upon thee and
give the peace."
Then was repeated the Lord's Prayer and the audience dismissed with a benediction.
A recent letter from our friend R. L. Smith,datedJune I, contains the mournful inte!.-
ligeonce of the remo~1 into the spiritual world of Rev. T. D. Sturtevant, who arrived iD
California during the last winter. All the particulars we have of this unexpected event
are contained in the folIowing extract :_U Our mnch esteemed friend and brother, Rev. T.
D. Stnrtevant went to the mines with the company he came with from home and located
upon the American Fork. Here hi. exertions in hi. new occupation brought on typhus
fever when he was removed to Sacramento City, where he deoparted this life in a few
days and we hope has passed into a sphere of more extensive usefulness in the other
world. His amiable widow and infant child are now in our city, and will return to the
States by the next steamer if a ticket can be procured." We trust that some oae well aa-
340 Editorial Ite1lU. [July, 1850.
qaainted with our departed brother will furnish us with an extended obituary notice that
shall do justice to the excellent qualities of his head and his heart.
The May No. of the N. J. Magazine contains a very sharp critique upon our Remarkll
on the Rev. Mr. Prescott'sletter on the Ministry, published In the May No. of the Repos-
itory. Itevidently regards the Remarlu as fraught with mischiltvous and heretioal views,
against which it is proper that an earnest protest should be entered. "The general cha-
racter of the &markl is far more loose and radical on thia subject than the views of IIny
le8pectable writer, not to say minister, which we recollect to have met with in the New
Church." Still the writer feels no particular apprehension lest they should prevail exten-
sively, "Inasmuch as he believes that receivers generally have too much respect for the
authority of Swedenbollb as well as for the institntion of the Christian miuistry, to per-
mit such a result." This is acoording to the fuWon of IOme controvertists in the New
Church, who deem every variation from their own views as a virtual rejection of the" au-
thority of Swedenborg," whereas the true oonstruction of Swedenborg's meaning is the
very point in debate. On this head we claim the liberty of comparingandjudgingfor oar-
selves, nor do we admit the fairness of virtually foreclosing all discussion and reading an
opponent out of meeting becauee he may chance to dissent from the IO-called or llO-deem-
ed orthodox interpretation which has obtained currency in the Church. If we differ
from our brethren on this head we give our reDlOns, and to the candid canvassing of our
reaaona by those who dissent from them we shall ever be disposed to listen with becom-
ing aueution. As the article In question professes to deal somewhat in argument u well
u tz·catMdra decision, we shall pay onr respects to it in a future No. of the Repository.
Swedenborg's work on .. Generation," &0., u published In the original Latin by Dr.
Tafel we have just received. We advert to It here to say that from a letter from Mr. Wil- 0, 1
klnson to O. Clapp of Boston, we learn that he has undertaken the trauslatlon of the vol- I
ume Into English, which is to be published by the " SwedenOOrg Association." The
time ofpubliclltion, howover, he says, may be IlOmewhat determined by the amount of
copies taken in this country. It is desirable, therefore, that as many names as possible
should be forwarded to Mr. Clapp, of those who propose to take the work on Its appear-
ance from the press. The probable coat will be from
the handsomest style.
'2 '2
to 50, as it will be printed in
According to the announcement in our last, a meeting was called daring the week of
the Convention, for the purpose of forming a Society whose object should be the spread of
the doctrines of the New Diapegsation by means ofbooka, tracts, pamphlets, and mission-
ary laOOrs, to be, as far as pOllible, gratuitously dispensed. A goodly number of gentle-
men from different parta of the country responded to the call, and a society was organiz-
ed by the adoption of a Constitution and the ohoice of Officers. A Committee was also
appointed to prepare a circular which was designed to be widely circulated among re-
ceivers in every part of the country. We had hoped to be able to insert this circular in
the present No. of me Repolitory, but the press of Convention matter compell us to defer
ic to ollr nUL
A new edition of the" Letters to a Trinitarian," has just been issued by Mr. Clapp, of
whom, and also of J. Alien and the Editor it can now be ohtained at the following
prlcel, viz., 15 cents per copy, and '10 per hundred. The cost of the work com- .
pared with these prices is so great that the discount cannot be made on any number less
than a hundred. .
The second No. of Harper's New Monthly Magazine presents a mosc admirable selec-
tion of articles, and for that speci81 of readinll' we know of nothing luperior to it. The
work I, cheap a1Io to a marvel.
THE
MONTHL Y REVIEW.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
'. ARTICI.E I.
MISSIONS.
(Concludedfrom page 305.)
IN regard to the Mission of our blessed Lord, one is almost inclined
to pass it over (as Milton did an attempt to describe his Passion after
he had essayed to do so), from an apprehension of the vastness and
celestial glory of its nature, which makes one recoil from words to
express the intensity of one's wonder, love, and gratitude. Yet in its
object it is a thing not only to be felt but proclaimed. Such, however,
is the shocking familiarity in which the subject is ordinarily broached
to our ear, that the greatest theme of Heaven falls upon the auditory
nerve without emotion. The holiness of the theme is often lost in the
cant of language and the professional costume in which it is decked
out. One often hears the subject as one hears a doctor treat of ma-
ladies, or a. lawyer of cases, a thing of scientific arrangement and
systematized dogma.tism, without the heart being roused into any
fellowship with those sufferings and that death. When shall human
society, when shall the human heart understand this mystery
of the kingdom of heaven 1 What a. transforming effect it will have
on the world when men shall have right thoughts of the Mission of
God's son, of our Lord's Human Nature and his Divine soul! A short
time ago the writer heard a minister in an Episcopal Church insist
that the 80ul of Christ was human; now, such a doctrine would makf'
one truly initiated in the mystery of Christ's Mission shudder with in
dignation; yet such is the ignorance and apathy of the laity, that if a
sermon is only read with gravity, decorum and self-possession, the
greatest falsities will be all gulped down. Oh I how great is the truth,
VOLe Ill. 23
342 Missions. [Aug.
said to me, let us go up to the house (lf Jehovah," "J had rather be 8
door-keeper in the house of my God," &c. &c.
The multiplication of Bibles by the influence of Bible Societies is 8
good thing preparatory to the proper i~terpretation of it being made
known. Perhaps there never was iI. time, however, when it was less
read and less understood. Nor can the Bible be understood in its
every page, and every word, without the science of correspondences,
unfolded by the immortal herald of the New Church, which science
discloses vast hidden treasures within this precious volume of which
the holiest Christian without it has scarcely an idea. The Bible can
never be an interesting bool< to mankind until that lost science of
correspondences shall accompany the perusal. We talk of the Koran
being unintelligible: the Bible is perhaps quite fl,S much so to those
who look for no meanings beyond· the letter. The reason why the
science of correspondences, which is tQ.e key to the spiritual sense of
the Word, was not discovered in ancient times, and was left unlmow~
till the present blessed era, which m~ny prophet~ and righteous men
have desired to see, was, because the Christians of the primitive
Church were men of such great simplicity that it was impossible to
discover it to t\lem. Bibles too being so scarce )n those early ages it
might have led to great misconception of the Bible itself had it been
made known only in a partial and fragmentary manner. Those
early Christians could have found no use in it, for the Bible was not
in their hands to apply it. After t~ose first ages of Christianity, the
whole world was oppressed by the overwhelming shadow of the papal
domination; and those who are now subject thereto, and have con-
firmed themselves in its false doctrines, have neither capacity nor
inclination to al'prehend any thing of a spiritual nature ; nor of the
nature of the correspon,dence of things natural with things spiritual
in the Word: for this science wOl;lld show Roman Catholics that by
Peter is not melint Peter, but the Lord JPBUS Christ as a Rock, signi-
fied by Peter. After the Reformation, too, as men began to divide
faith from charity, and to worship God under three persons, conse-
quently, three gods, wbom they con(;eive to be one, is it to be won-
dered at that heavenly truths were concealed from ~hem 1 Indeed,
had they been revealed would they not have been falsified and
abused to the confirmation of faith alone without boing- applied to
eharity and love? The great mass of the Christian world at this day
are engaged in a dead worship, 1il\C the Jews. They ha'"c holy ordi-
~ances, but the holiness is all outside. There is the Lord\s presence,
as thore was with the Jews, but therc is no conjllnct-ion with him:
whereas external worship in which the interior spirit is alive causes
both presence and conjunction. The Chr~stian world is stnrved
through all its denominations for the want of genuine truths of doc-
trine by which saints may be built up on their most holy faith.
Goodness without truths from doctrine is like bread and meat with-
out wine and water which do not nourish; like fruit in which is no
juice; like a tree stril'ped of its leaves on which there hang a fe\'(
dry apples, left since autumn (A. R. 122).
The reason why the spiritual sense of the word is at tMs day made
known by the Lord is, because the doctrine of genuine truth is now
1850.] Munom. 347
revealed; and this doctrine and no other doctrine agrees with the
'piritual sense of the Word. From this let us take courage, for as
sure as the Lord reigns and is at the hel m of human affairs, this doc-
trine being from him cannot be overthrown. Our Chnrch is built on
the Lord Jesus Christ and it will fill the whole earth. The spiritual
sense of the Word we now see was promised to us in the Apoca:lypse,
and that sense is there meant by the white horse and by the great
supper to whieh all are invited (chap. xix. 11-18). We may not
expect, howe\'er, that this spiritual sense will be acknowledged im-
mediately, but on the contrary we may look for a war to be made by
the beast and by the kings of the earth against him that sat on the
white horse (chap. xix. 19); by the beast are meant the Roman
Catholics, and by the kings of the earth are meant the Reformed
Churches who are principled in falsities of doctrine. (Doct. N. J.
cOTtcerning the Sac. Scrip. 24,25.)
The preceding observations h~ve been designed to give a glimpse
of what the mission of our blessed LOl·d was designed to accomplish
(ambages longm verum). Like all the purposes of God tbis mission
had very remote ends in point of time, but it has always been near
and present to those who were principled in love to God: and the
state of the Christian world is now ripening those purposes and un~
folding them every hour. The second advent of our blessed Lord
which is to have such mighty effects on the soul of man is made
known to us in grande~r beyond words to describe in the Apocalypse
of St. John. The reality, too mighty for words to sustain, is veiled in
symbolical language of which we ha...e now the interpretation.
, 'fhe New Church which our blessed Lord is about to establish is
clearly foretold in the Apocalypse, clearly, now that Swedenborg has
explnined it. But who knew before how to explain it 1
Who is to be the head of the New Church 1 Let every saint in
Christ Jesus rejoicp. in this glorious Hend! He is thus described,.....,..
"He is the faithful witness; the first begotten of the dead; the
prince of the kings of the earth. He holds the ilwen stars in his
right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks,
He is the First and the Last. He bath a sharp sword with two edges.
He is the Son of God who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and
his f'eetHke fine brass. He hath the seven spirits of God and the seVeR
stars. He that is holy, he that ill true, he that hath the key of David.
He is the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the Beginning of the
creation God." This is the description of the Head of the New
Church, the New Jerusalem Chu.rch, in the 1st chapter of the Revela-
tion of St. John the Divine.~The second and third cbapters of this
same book describe all in the Christian Church who have any religion
at all, and out of whom tlj(~ New Church of the New Jerusalem u to be
formed. The seven Candlesticks signifies thp New Church descend-
ing from the Lord out of heaven. The seven Churches in Asia is the
whole Christian Church in the aggregate, comprehending all the dp,.
nominations of the Christian world out of which the New Church is
to emerge. The New Church will be formed of those who approach.
WIr Lord only as the God of hep.ven a,nd of earth, and at the same
348 Miuiou. [Aug.
time perform repentance from evil works. Others who do not ap-
proach the Lord alone may be in the church, but the church is not in
them. It is remarkable how perfectly the description of our Lord in
the 1st chapter corresponds to the description of him in the messages
which the angels are to deliver to the seven Churches. It is He alone
who speaks to the churches; and it is He alone who will give the
felicities of eternal life. That it is He alone who speaks to the
Churches is evident from these passages: "Unto the angel of the
church of Ephesus write, These things saith He that holdeth the
seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven
golden candlesticks" (ii. 1). "Unto the angel of the chnrch in Smyma
write, These things saith the First and the Last" (ii. 8). "To the
angel of the church in Pergamos write, These things saith He which
hath the sharp sword with two edges" (ii. 12). " Unto the angel of
the church in Thyatira write, These things llaith the Son of God who
hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine
brass" (ii. 18). "Unto the angel of the church in Sardis write, These
things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God and the seven stars"
(iii. 1). To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things
saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David
(iii. 7). "And unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write,
'l'hese things seith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the Be-
ginning of the creation of God" (iii. 14). Behold again, it is our Lord
himself thus manifoldly described who will give the felicities of eter-
nal life to those who are and will be of his church. The Lord said
to the church of Ephesus, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat
of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (ii. 7).
Unto the church in Smyrna, " 1 will give thee a crown of life, He that
overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death" (ii. IO j 11). Unto
the church in Pergl'1mos," To him that overcometh will I give to eat
of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the
stone a new name written which no man knoweth saTe he that re-
ceiveth it" (ii. 17). Unto the church in Thyatira, "To him will I
give power over the nations, and I will give him the morning star ,.,
(ii. 26, 28). Unto the Church in Philadt"lphia, "Him that over-
cometh will I make 8 pillar in the temple of my God, and I will write
upon him the name of my God, and the DamA of the city of my God;
which is New Jerusalem, and my new name" (iiL 12). Unto the
church in Laodicea, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with
me in my throne (iii. 21). It is very maniff1st from these passages
that our blessed Lord himself alone is to be acknowledged in the
New Church which he is about to establish in the world. Hence it
is that this Church is called The Lamb's Wife (Apac. xix. 7, 9;
xxi. 9, 10). Another thing is manifest that the me"mbers of this
New Church are to be those who do repentance from evil works.
Hear the Lord's words to the Churches: to tliat in Ephesus j "I
know thy works ;-nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, that
thou hast left thy first charity. Repent and do the first works; or
else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick
out of his place except tliou repent" (ii. ch. 2,4, 5). To the church in
1850.j The Unity of the Human Racel.
Perganios; "I know thy works;-repent" (it 13, ut}. To the
church in Thyatira: "I will deliver her into great tribulation, except
they repent of their deeds,-and I wip give unto everyone of you ac-
cording to his works" (ii. 19,22,23). To the church in Sardis," I
have not found thy works before God; repent" (Hi. 1, 2, 5). To the'
church jn Laodicea, " I know thy wdrks ;-be zealous, therefore, and
repent." . .
Here are the elements of the New Church. Here is the standard
which shall gather all mankind into one brotherhood. Here will be
nnion and unity both. Here are doctrines vthich will make every
recipient a missionary; a king and priest to God. Denominational
forms may remain to suit the various tastes of recipients, which va,.;
riety may add to the beauty of the whole as th~ various jewels in the
crown of a king, or the various colors in the rainbow, but there will
be the same doctrines of love and wisdom, goodness and truth~ just as
in every corner of die globe there is the same light and the same heat
from the one sun over our heads. With this united front, missionary
enterprise will not be the flat, formal, oftentimes irrational, lifeless,
deputised, substitution~like thing it now is. Every true effort will
touch the heart of every Christian through one missionary journal;
re!:lponsive sympathies from the whole Christian world will sustain
every brother in foreign lands among the heathen. As there is one
Lord; one Faith, one Baptism, there will be this authority every
where. Instead of appealing to distant Boards, there will be conjunc,;
tion with heaven's Lord and the fiat (if omnipoteni love to guide and
energize every proceeding;
T.W.
}Iarletta, 08;
ARTICLE 11.
that you would. never get black men from any intermarryirrgor trnns-
migration of white races, nor white men from the black races. Fur-
ther, it is alleged, that although diffeJ:ences of climate, food, and topo-
graphieallocatity ha"i'e very great i~flu~nce in modifying the develop-
ment of races, yet that no change of climate and other circumstances
through thousa.nds of years, or since the records of man commenced,
have ever sufficed to transform negroes in~o Caucasians, or vice versa,
or red men into Europeans or J<~uropeanS' into red men. Again, that
there is no tendency in the development of any race to produce tbose
varieties which we no\., find among mankind. That, on the other
hand f there is a constant tp.ndency to what is called persistency in
type, and that the tendencies in any race are to throw out, as it were,
and get rid of, any dishubing characteristic which has been introduc-
ed from without, and that if the foreign disturbing force is early with-
drawn the pec'uliarity is soon obliterated and the developmcnts return
to their original type. So it is argued in regard to the red race or
American Indian. This race occupied unmolested the entire range of
the American continent, from the ice-bound shores of the polar OCt~an
to the straits of Magellan; including every lJlodification of climate,
from frigid to torrid, as well the minor and specific differences be-
twern the northern and southern temperate zones, and the topogra-
phical influences of every degree of altitude, of broad prairie, of low
savannah, of the elevated table-lands, and of the mountainous tracts
of Mexico and Peru. Here a single race seems to have been s~hject
ed to all the variety of influences from physical causeS that could have
arisen if it had covered the globe. Enjoying too, for ages, in some of
its families, a very high degree of civilization and cultivation, and in
others being subjected to a very great degree of social and physical
degradation, and yet through all this, the race, though undergoing
great modifications in particular tribes, gave off no sub-variety, or
what might be called a new race; produced no Malays, no Negroes,
no Caucasians, no Mongolians. So,. too, in the other great families
or races, as the Negro and the Mongolian; it is maintained the inter-
gradations between them, and between each of them and the Cauca-
sian are not produced spontaneously as off-shoots of either race
separately, but that these varieties are the result of tribes or bodies of
these different races falling into proximity with one another and thus
producing a mixture of blood.
Thus, on the one hand it is maintained that known causes are in-
suftlcient to account for the present observed varieties of the human
race supposing them to have descended from a single stock, and there-
fore we are obliged to infer that they have descended from several
pairs, originally created with the peculiarities which now mark the
leading races. A variety of opinion prevails in regard to the proba-
ble number of such original pairs; some supposing two different
varieties, the white and the black, sufficient to account for all the
other shades; others again suppose three, the white, black and yel-
low, or Mongolian; counting the Malay or brown race, and the Ame-
rican or red race, as such varieties of the Mongolian, or the result of
mixture with the black. Others again are disposed to make out five
358 'rile Unity of the Human Races. {"-ag.
or six, and an indefinite number, perhaps twenty, different original
centres from which the whole ra.ce have proceeded.
Against all this it is alleged that the letter of the inspired oracles
states that the whole human race are descended from a single pair,
and that we are bound to accept this statement as it stands until it
shall be unmistakably shown to be incorrect; and that although on
this hypothesis the present state of mankind seems very difficult to
be accounted for, yet there is nothing at all impossible in it, and that
changes, which we know from obsenration to have been produced by
causes now operating upon individuals and nations, are often so
great as to lead to the supposition that thc entire human family may
have been derived from one stock.
Dr. Smyth, as we have said, lays his chief stress upon the wording
of Revelation; this he considers of itsdf conclusive; yet he does not
hesitate to go boldly forth into the field of science to substantiate his
view by an appeal to the facts. In doing this he follows the general
line pursued by Blumenbach, Lawrence, and Pritchard, and one which
we have long felt to be inadequate, and to involve more or lesR of
special pleading. It ransacks the archives of natural history for the
minute, detached, isolated facts, and thus builds its generalizations,
or rather its confirmations, upon the breaks and exceptions in the
great laws of development, rather than upon the broad flow and gen-
eral current of those laws. It fritters away its time and loses itself
in a multiplicity of ill-digested and often irrelevant details, and loses
sight of, or has no eye for, the order and arrangement of the mightier
masses in nature.
Seeing that with our views of interpretation, the argument from
the literal sense of the first eleven chapters of Genesis counts for
very little, it will be readily perceived that we do not require so strong
a series of proof to convince us of the diversity of origin as do those
who hold to the literal sense of those chapters. In fact, we have no
necessity for a prejudice towards either side of the question, and are
therefore, without any merit on our part, placed in a mental position
favorable to arriving at a just estimate of the evidence. Simply,
then, as a matter of opinion, it seems to us that so far as the eviden-
ces derived from the natural history of the race go, they preponderate
in favor of a Diversity of Origin. The arguments drawn from the
analogies of the animal kingdom look also in the same direction;
while the considerations furnished by a study of the languages.and
traditions of the races have a bearing towards the universal unity of
origin. Consequently, we conceive that the strongest point Dr.
Smyth has made is contained in his fifteenth and sixteenth chapters;-
on the nature and connection of languages, and on the testimony of
history and tradition. Though in saying this, we do not wish to sub-
scribe to the Doctor's theory of the origin of language, nor acquiesce
in his application of Dr. Young's calculus of probabilities to the pre-
sent problem. Dr. Young holds that should there appear to be three
toords identical in two distant languages the chances are ten to one
that the two languages are from a common origin. And six words are
supposed to give more than seventeen hundred to one that they are
1850.] Tile U7&ity of tAe HUT1IQn R~•. 36'7
TOL. m.
358 The N. J. Magazine and the New Church Miniltry. [Aug.
ARTICLE Ill.
strikes the reader is, their constantly disparaging tone in regard to the miuis-
try ;-oot the clen!y of the present day, whom he specially excepts, as 'con-
scientious and well-intelHioned men,' but the institntion itself. The distinc-
tion between the clergy and the lai:y, is spoken of as a falsity and a sophism,
and as having' opened a Pandora's box of evils and mischiefs to the Churcla
of the pas(.' We speak of this as one of the first thiugs to IItrike the the read-
er, because it is so entirely ditferem from anything to be found in the writinp
of Swedenborg. Indeed, oue can hardly avoid asking whether he is really
perusing the production of a professed receiver of the heavenly doctrines, or
that of some of tholle self-styled reformers of the day, who attribute all evil.
to the mere relations and circumstances of society, without tracing them, at
Swedenborg always does, to their true source, in the loves of self and of the
world."-P.169.
The writer here manages to work himself into a surprise which is
it.'1elf not a little surprising when the o~ject of our Remarks is taken
into view. What was that object 1 Not the disparagement of the
ministry in the abstract, but simply to show that certain views enter-
tained of the ministry-certain theories relative to the ministry as a
distinct and se1t:perpetuating order-were incorrect. In this light,
therefore, and in this alone do we speak dispa.ragingly of the minis-
try, i. e. as an institution which, in its present form, is a perversion
of true order--an opinion for which we give our reasons, such as they
are. Is there anything in this which should move the critic'll special
wonder 1 So far !i'om its being" one of the first things which strikes
the reader'" that we speak of the distinction between the clergy and
tbe laity as a falsity and a sophism, it is about the only thing that
will strike him at all, as this is the express and avowed drift of the
Remarks from beginning to end. This C. R. would have us believe
to be very surprising" because so entirely different from anything to
be found in the writings of Swedenborg." Our censor must haYe
read Swedenbol"g with very different eyes from ours, if he has not
found him speaking disparagingly of things which he regarded 88
false and as perversions of order, and this is the only point in which
there is any ground for the comparison. We are spellking of the
New Church, in which we deny that the peculiar distinction so long
maintained hitherto hetween clergy and laity is to be recognized.
We deny that this is fairly to be made out from Swedenborg himself,
or, in other words, that our position in this matter is not accordant
with his, inasmuch as wc contend that he does not assert such a dis-
tinction, and that the principle., of the New Church are inconsistent
with it. What then does the writer mean by saying that our train
of remark is " so entirely different from anything to be found in the
writings of Swedenborg 1" If he means that there is nothing in
Swedenborg to sustain our main position, he takes for granted the
860 The N. J. Magazine and the New Ohu.rch Mini8try. [Aug.
very point in debate, and arrays against us the example of our au-
thor for the purpose of creating odium. If he refers to the gene-
ral tone or style in which Swedenborg speaks of things that he con-
aiders false or fallacious, it has certainly very little to do with the ar-
gument, besides that we are not conscious of anything more than a
design to enunciate clearly and emphatically what we believe to be
true, and of this mode of discussion we have ourselves found a great
many specimens in Swedenborg. As to not tracing the evils in ques-
tion .. to their true source in the loves of self and the world," it is
precisely to this origin that we refer them. The besetting sin of the
olergy in all the ages of the past has been pre-eminently" the love of
ruling from the love of self."
.. But we almost hear our readers exclaim, what is the meaning of all this!
Is not Professor Bush aware that Swedenborg not only recognizes the dis-
~nction between clergy and laity, but always treats it with the most perfect
respect, and even declares the priesthood to be necessary to the presen'ation
of order in the world, without which [i. e. order, not the priesthood] the
buman race must perish 1 (H. D. 311, S14)."-P. 169.
We must of course be egregiously ignorant of the whole Rubject as
treated by Swedenborg not to be aware of what is said in the fa-
mous chapter of the Heavenly Doctrines on Ecclesiastical and Civil
Government. But we view the scope of this chapter in a very differ-
ent light from that in which C. R. looks upon it. We regard it as
simply a declaration of the great principles of order by which the Di-
vine Providence governs the affairs of the world in its two leading
departments, secular and sacred. We see in it no special allusion to
the New Church-no formula of civil or ecclesiastical regimen to be
adopted in that Church-but a comprehensive statement of the econ·
omy by which the Divine Wisdom has ever hitherto kept the world
in order, and still continues to do so. It is a summary of that grand
8)"stem of agencies by which the various evil promptings of our fall-
en nature are controlled, and an expose of the principles by which
those ought to be governed who Rre called to exercise the functions
of office in each of these important spheres of action. If a priesthood
is a necessary appendage to the New Church it is incredible that it
mould not have been explicitly stated in the True Christian Religion
or in some other parts of the writings. The spirit of the following
passage is at any rate decidedly against it. "All things that were
done in that Church (the Jewish) were turned in Heaven into corres-
ponding representatives. But after the coming of the Lord, when
uternal rites were abolished, and thus representatives ceased, then
l!luch things were no longer changed in Heayen into corresponding
representatives; for when man becomes internal, and is instructed
eoncerning things internal, then external things are as nothing to him,
for he then knows what is holy, viz. that charity is so, and faith
thence: from these his externals are then viewed, namely, as to how
much of charity and faith towards the Lord there is in the externals:
Wherefore, nnce the Lord's coming, man is aot connde"ed in heaven
with relpect to things external, but to things internal, if anyone
be coosidered in relpect to things external, it is hence that he hM
1850.] The N. J. Magazine and the New Church Mini8try. 881
Cl We hardly need remind our readers how different this teaching is from
the teaching of Swedenborg, who says that there are two things which ollght
to be in oruer amollg men,-the things of heaven and the things of the world,
or ecclesiastical thing!! and civil things. That this order cannot be maintained
without governors, and that governors over ecclesiastical things are called
priests, and their office, the priesthood. Also that dignity and bonor ought to
be paid to priests. on account of the .anc/ity of their o.(lice. (H. D. 311-318.'
But, accordlllg 10 Prof. Bush, the sooner the seal of thIS sanctity is removed
the belter."-P. 174.
-
seriously to task.
.. Now we know of no authority whatever for the distinction here stated, in
regard to the individual man being kept in abeyance in the Old Church, and
elevated in the New. Indeed, if there is any difference of the kind to be taken
account of, it seems to us clearly to be the opposite of what is here declared.
Forfreedom and rationality are the essential elements of man in all churches,
and it was equally necessary in the Old Church as in the New, that every one
should see truth for himself, and order his life according to it. There is given
to the New Chnrch a higher degree of freedom and rationality than was en·
joyed by the Old. But this has no tendency to bring forward and elevate the
mdivid ual, as compared with the social man. For the freedom and rationality
of the New Church is the freedom and rationality of heaven, as its doctrines
are the doctrines of heaven. And if we contemplate for a moment the state
of a heavenly society in this respect, we shall see that tbe perfection of the
individual does not consist in his being elevated as an individual, or apart
from the society of which he is a member, but in the closeness of his union
with the other members. As the society becomes more and more perfect,
which is effected by the addition of ne\\' members, who come into their re-
spective places, as it were in the interstices of the body not yet filled out,
there is no tendency to make ulflmselves or others more promment as indi.
viduals, but to cause all to be more united as one man."-P. 175:
368 The N. J. Magazine and the New Ohurch Minutry. [Aug.
Here the whole force of the reasoning rest., upon the assumptioD
that the more full and perfect development of the individual man is
inconsistent with his relation to the integrity of the social man as
formed after the model of the heavenly societies. In this respect he
has not the happiness to agree with Swedenborg, who, after saying
that" a one does not exist without a form, but that the form itself
makes a one," goes on to remark:-
.. 7lat tAt form makes a OM.O md tlu mor, pnftctly in proportion 41 tAt thi,,~
lIIh.irla ,nter into it ar, diltinct from ,arla other, and neverth,l", united. This IS
comprehended with difficulty unless the understanding be elevated, because
there is an appearance that form cannot make a line except when there is a
similarity in the things which constitute it. On this subject I have frequently
conversed with the angels; who said that this is an arcanum, which the wise
among them perceive clearly, but the less wise obscurely: that neverthelel!s
it is a truth, that a form is so much the more perfect in pro('ortion as the
things which constitute it are distinct from each other, but sull united in a
particular manner. They confirmed this by reference to the societies in the
heavens, which, taken together, constitute the form of heaven; and to the
angels of each society, of which it may be affirmed, that tlu mor, ,very indi-
vidual ha. a distinct identity of character, in lIIhich lu freely act., and thlU
loves his associates from himself or from his own affectioD, the more perfect
is the form of the society. They also illustrated it by the marriage of good-
ness and truth, which, the more distinctly they are two, can more perfectly
form a one i and, in like manner, by love and wisdom; showing that what
ilJ indistinct is confused, whence results all imperfection of form."-Divi'"
ProtJidtma, n. 4, 5.
Of course our reviewer will say that he does not question this in
the least i that it ill precisely his uwn view of the matter, and that he
objects to our view because it does not harmonize with this. But
wherein 1 Why are we represented as going counter to great
principles taught in the New Church, when the points of contrariety
are not distinctly shown 1 To this he h8JI nothing to reply, but that
"the perfection of the individual does not consist in his being eleva-
ted as an individual, or apart from the society in which he is a mem-
ber, but in the closeness of his union with the other members." So
also in the succeeding paragraph, after affirming that there is one
partiCUlar part in the societ)' which every member fills alone and
exclusively, he adds, .. this is far from making him prominent or
bringing him forward as an individual, or c(luaing him to be indepen-
dent of others." Here are conditions annexed which our positions
know nothing of, and for which, of course, they are not responsible.
We have advanced no theory of individualism which conflicts with
the closest relation to the collective man. On the principle above
quoted from Swedenborg, that the perfection of the whole depends
upon the degree of distinctness with which the parts pronounce them-
selves, the two things are perfectly consistent with each other. Our
friend has therefore launched out into a train of discourse very
80und and edifying in itself, but very far from having any special re-
lation to aught that we have affirmed in our remarks.
We reserve to another article our closing reply to C. R.'s animad-
versioDs.
G. B.
1850·1 Poetry. 368
POETRY.
For tho N.... Church Jlepoolto..,..
THE GRAVEYARD.
BY WK. H. BOLCOJlBE.
CORRESPONDENCE.
From our English Correspondent.
LONDON, 23d May, 1850.
MY DEAR SIR,
In these days the announcement of a new work is about the last thing
which any well.informed person would put forward as a novelty, and yet your
London Correspondent has nothing to communicate which could possess half
the interest oC such an announcement. The case, however, is exceptional,
and the book of such singular import that its appearance can hardly fail to
create" a stir."
I allude to the approaching publication of a general outline and compilation
oC materials towards a biography of WILLLU1 Lt.w, the admired exponent of
1850.] Correspondence. 371
The following letter was recently received from our brother, R. L. Smith, of San Fran-
California, where his sojourn hlls opened before him fields of use in behalf of &he
CillCO,
New Church into which he is prompt to enter.
MISCELLANY.
THE AMERICAN SWEDENBORG PRINTING AND PUBLISHING SOCIETY.
This Society held its first annual meeting at the Society Library, in this city,
on the evening of June 13, 1850. The meeting was opened by reading the
Word and prayer by Rev. T. B. Hayward, of Boston, after which the audience
united in singing a Selection from the Book of Worship.
The chair was then taken by the President of the Society, James Chesterman,
Esq., of New: York. So mUCh. of the minutes of preceding meetings as was
necessary to mtroduce the buswess of the evening, was read by the Reconl.
1850.] American Swedenborg Printing and Publuhing Society. 375
ing Secretary. The Treasurer's Report, which was then read, showed tbe
total receipts of the Society since its organization, in November last, to be $167.
Of this sum about $30 were subscribed and paid into a contingent fund, for
defraying incidental expenses, such as printing Circulars, postage, &c., nearly
the whole of which has been expended.
The Report of the Recording Secretary was then read, which is as follows;
Recording Secretary's First .Annual Report.
When important and dearly cherished objects have long been matured, and
in successful operation, it is always interesLing to look back upon their incip-
iency, and to trace the snccessive steps by which they have risen to their then
present prosperity. So, having put our hands to the evolvin~ of one of the
most important us~s that has yet eng:lged the attention of the collective
church-a use that has its analogue iu Christendom only in the Bible Societies
of England and America-and anticipating, as we mostjusUy may, its perfect
success, the Secretary begs leave to place upon record, as his first Report, a
concise history of the rise and infl\llcy of this dearly cherished venture, " 11at
.American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing Society."
It is, and ever will be, the peculiar feature of the New Dispensation, which
is now coming down from the Lord ont of heaven, that each receiver of its
truths must acquire for himself alone, a full and rational acknowledgment of
that to which he gives his assent. To facilitate this acquisition has ever been
a cherished object of the Church; and books to that end, introductory and
collateral, have been multiplied with a rapidity that is characteristic of the
age in which we live. Bnt all this introductory and collateral reading con-
verges to one end, the reading of Swedenborg himself, whose writings alone
can make a Newchurchman profoundly acquainted with the fulness of the
Worcl.
While then the issue of collateral works may anu does rightly fall within
the sphere of individual effort, as likely to meet the wants of individual tastes,
the printing of Swedenborg's works is an universal interest, and may rightful-
ly engage the interest and simultaneous action of all.
This has long been felt in the Church, and local efforts have been made to
satisfy the growing want of good and uuiform editions--hitherto in vain. It
is reserved to see, and time ouly can show what the present effort, purposely,
designedly based on the co-operation of the church throughout our whole land,
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, shall effect.
Last summer only was the subject first broached, and an attentive interest
was immediately excited by incidental conversations and speculations upon
its practicability. On the 6th of September, at the house of Mr. Waldo, in this
city, was held the flrst" meeting of persons interested in the propagation of
the doctrines of the New Jerusalem i" twenty were present. The meeting
was organized by appointing the usual officers, and the object of the meeting
announced by Mr. Burnham to be, "To take into consideration the expediency
and feasibility of issning editions of the Theological works of Emanuel Swe-
uenborg at rates as low as possible." Meetings were held successively, Sep-
tember 20th, October 4th and 25th, and November 8th, in which so many
and so diverse plans were presented, considered, aud modified, that it seemed
as if the object that all desired was unattainable because of the variety of
modes by which it might be done. Finally it was agreed to refer the subject
to a third committee, who, eschewing all forms of mere novelty, and keeping
all eye steadily fixed on one grand ohject, utility and efficiency, drew up a con~
stitution, moueJled after the form of the American Bible Society, which expe-
rience has proved so effectual in accomplishing its intended object. This in-
"trument, auopted with some modification, forms the present constitution,
upon which wa~ organized, November 15, 1849, this Society, destined as we
confidently hope, to be to the New Church in our land, what the Bible Society,
its prototype, has been to the Old.
The Society is now formed, organized-but not fully. It is not a laealsociety
-it is not a New-York Society for Printing and Publishing the writings of the
376 Miscellany. [Aug.
New Dispensation,-it is the American Society, and all America should have ita
voice in its definite, its particular form and order. To secure this we have or-
ganized just far enough to give ourselves" a local habitation and a name,"-
no farther. We have appoinred officers, but they are only provisionary.
Their terms expire at the first general assemblage of the brethren in our land;
and to our brethren now assembled, and to those yet resting in their distallt
homes, we appeal for the adoption or modification of that which we now
suggest.
A reference to the Constitution will show that the items of membership are
within the means of almost everyone; and accordingly the response from
abroad to our simple appeal has already been large beyond our most sangnine
expectations. This success, so gratifying, has led to another importantfeature,
that cannot but interest and please distant subscribers and friends.
It has been determined, by special resolution, to crease a contingent fund
from which all the incidental expenses of the Society shall be defrayed, to the
end that the moneys £lubscribed for the specific objects of tbe Society shall be
kept sacred to that purpose.
This contingent fund, raised by voluntary subscription among the members,
has accordingly defrayed the expenses of printing and distributing over three
thousalld copies of the Circular and Constitution, postage, &c., &c.
The &ciety has had eight meetillgs since its organization. and has received
the names of fifty-three members subscribed to its Constitution, besides which
are the names of about fifty more reported from the west of the Alleghany
Mountains, but not yetreceived. Respectfully submitted,
R. C. MOFFu,
Rec. Secretary.
The foregoing Report having been read and accepted, the Corresponding
Secretary, John L. Jewett, then delivered an able and impressive address,
which, but for our contracted limits, we should be happy to insert in our pages.
At the conclusion of Mr. Jewelt's Address, the first Vice President of the S0-
ciety, Samuel L. Waldo, Esq., of New York, arose and addressed the meeting
as follows:
At the close of which the election of officers for the ensuing year being the
next business in order, the followillg gentletnt~1l were unanimously chosen:-
President, James Che!'termun, E~CJ" of New-Yorl"
Viet Prfsit]cnls, Saml'sClII Reed, E-q" of Bostoll j Sllffil1el L. Waldo, Esq., oC
New-York j Profc!'sor Johll Frost, of 1'1Iiladelphia; J. F. Street, l'awtucket,
R. 1. j EuwarJ Magnire, l\'nshville, Tenll.; J. L. Waylle, Cincinnati, Ohio j J.
Y0l111g Scammoll, Chicngo, lIlillois: Lucius Lyon, Detroit, Michigan j Wm. B.
Hayuell, Schodack, N. Y.; Henry Higby, Pittsburgh, Pennsvlvania; Elisha Par-
sons, Savannah, Ga.; Heury B, Hosl,ius, Gardiner, Me, j Wm. D. Sewall, Bath,
Me.; OIiv~r Gerrish, Portland, Me. j Albert W. Pa.yne, Bangor, Me.
Treasurer, Charles Sullivau, of New-York.
Recording Secretary, Renbeu C. Motrat, M.D., of BrooklYD, L. I.
COTTesp01lding Secretary, John L. Jewett, of New-York.
3'78 Miscellany. [Aug.
Manager., Geo. Richmond, Wm. Jones, J. K. Hoyt, Thos. S. Dick, Jobn AlIen,
Samuel Hunt, W. W. Hudson, E. C. Riley, of New-York City j H. P. Journeay,
Brooklyn, L. I.; O. E. Lee, Staten Island.; T. H. Carter, Boston, Mass.; David
Pike, Warwick, R. I.; Edward Mather, Middletown, Conn.; Edward O. Hink-
Jey, Baltimore, Md. j T. S. Arthur, Philadelphia, Pa. j A. J. Cline, Holidaysburg,
Pa.
The andience manifested a lively interest in the exercises of the evening,
and seemed gratified at the prospects of the Society. The general impression
of members of the Convention, many of whom were present, seemed to be,
that such a Society ill needed at the present time, and that, if properly conduct-
ed, it may perform a most important 11se. We understand that quite an ell-
eouragiug accession to the membership and funds of the Society was made
dUl'ing the sitting of the Convention. Eleven Stales of the Union, besides Cal-
ifornia, are already represented in the Society by one or more members from
each. The meeting adjourned at ten O'clock, to hold the next annual meeting
of the Society at such place as the Board of Managers may appoillt.
stock, lease a lot, contract for builliing, collect dues, receive all contributions,
borrc:-w money, and do all other acts necessary to the completion of the work
herem contemplated. Any vacancies occurring in their body to be filled by
themselves. I
ART. H. That immediately after their appointment they proceed to create
sixty shares of stock at fifty dollars each, payable in four equal instalments,
and open books for the sale of same. That when forty shares of said stock
shall have been disposed of to responsible persons, they proceed to lease a lot,
and contract for the erection of a church building, which shall not be less than
thirty feet front, nor more than forty, with proportional depth, two stories high i
the first story devoted to store'5, and the cost of which building shall not ex-
ceed three thousanu dollars. Within these general limits the committee to
exercise full discretionary powers. '
ART. Ill. When such building be completed it be and remain the full property
of the Committee, until such liabilities are discharged as have been entered
into in the discharge of this duty, over and above the amount received from
the sale of stock, contributions, or any other resources of the society generally,
which may pass into their hands. Nor shall it be in the power of the society,
or stockholders, to vacate or change said committee, until all liabilities for
which they have becomeeithf'r personally or jointlr responsible are discharged.
ART. I V. Should the sooiety or stockholders, fai to provide for the discharge
of such liabilities as are mentioned in the third Article. for the full term
of three years, then and in such cases, the committee shall have full power to
proceed and sell such improvement, on sixty dars' notice, to the highest bidder
for cash, out of the proceeds of which sale, shal be discharged such liabilities
with interest and cost of sale, the balance, if any, to be divided between the
stockholders pro-rato.
ART. V. It shall be the duty of the committee to collect all rents, and pay
all interest, and take general charge of the busiuess and interests of the church
building, and all matters appertaining to it, so long as they are in office: and
until the liabilities are discharged, m£'ntioned in article Ill., the society shall pay
to the committee an annual rent of one hundreu and fifty dollars for the use oC
the place of worship to be appropriated towards the liquidation of the debt.
ART. VI. The stock shall bear an interest of six per cent. payable annually,
to commence on the calling in of the last instalment, and shall be available In
the purchase of pews, which shall be graduated in price varying from
eighty to fifty dollars each, subject to a pro-rato tax for the support of the
ministry; the first instalment shall be due and payable on the laying of the first
tier of the joice, the second on laying the second tier, the third 011 covering in,
the fourth on the completion of the building. All of which is respectfully sub-
mitted. (Signed,) C. W. SULDING, and OTHERS.
St. Louu, May, 18fi0.
COLPORTAGE IN OHIO.
Rtport to tht Commilttt on Colportagt of tht Ohio Auociatian of ant month'. labor,
tnding July 1, 1850, by H. M. Saxton, ColpOT/ror.
I have sold 160 books, for which I have t'eceived ,35,34, at an average of
23 cents each. The books sold were as follows: 10 Heaven and Hell, 23 Life
of Swedenborg, 22 Bush's Reasolls, 24 Clowes' Dialogues, 17 Ohio Tracts (the
bound series), 8 Heavenly Doctrines of the N. J., 7 Doctrine of Life, 3 Influx,
1 Alh. Creed, 2 Objections Refuted, 4 Worcester's Sermons on the Lord's Prayer,
4 Earths in the Universe, 4 Last Judgment, 5 WeIler's Discourses 011 Marriage,
&tc., 1 De Charmes on Freedom and Slavery, 1 Credibility of Swedenborg, 2
Hough's Judgment DaY'i3 Des Guays' Letters, 1 Dictionary of Correspondences,
4 Posthumous Tracts (E. S.), 4 Outlines on the Infinite, 5 Clowes' Wedding
Ring, 1 Arbouin's Regenerate Life, 1 Mason's Domestic Education, 1 Hayden's
Christ, 1 Juvenile Ballads, 1 Book of Worship.
382 Miscellany. (Aug.
I have made nearly 500 visits and distributed 1356 tracts gratuitously, I have
also made grants of other books and tracts to the value of $7,35, viz: 106
Clowes' Affectionate Address to the Clergy, 6 Davis' Revelations Revealed, 6
Doctrine of Life, 4 Brief Exposition, 4 Doctrine of Lord, 1 Last Judgment, 1
Clissold's Letter, 8 Hough's Philosophy of Man's Spiritual Nature.
I have visited chiefly on Main and Walnut streets, but have extended my
visits to other streets, and some of the hotels and steamboats. I have generally
been favorably received, as much so as I expected, and conversed with many
concerning the Heavenly Doctrines. Sometimes I have been invited to call
again, and occasionally have met with scoffers. I commenced operations by
distributing 104 copies of Clowes' Address to the Clergy among the ministers
of the llresbyterian General Assembly, nearly all received them politely.
* * * * * Mr. - - - , of the American Tract Society, saw me
enter the church, and came to me saying he wished an interview with me.
We went below and conversed concerning the course I was pursuing, he en-
treated me very earnestly not to distribute any of these books and tracts here
in the city,-saying it would do them more harm than any thing that had
taken place in a long time. As I had considered the subject well before, I
was not overcome by his persuasions, and went forward to do what I thought
to be my duty.*
As an instance of the usefulness of tracts, I will mention that a gentleman
who had never read any New Church books, accidemly met with a tract which
he read with interest, and when he saw me he bought three books.
Another gentleman whom I conversed with and gave tracts to came to the
Temple the next Sabbath, and is now reading books from the library of the
New Church Library Society; he had never seen any before.
A book which I sold on a steamboat passed into die hands of a third person,
a young methodist minister. He read it with interest, and inquired where he
~W~m~. .
The tracts are generally read with interest. I often leave people engaged In
reading them j I sometimes meet with travellers and people from the country,
who are willing to take a few tracts with them for distribution; I have in thIS
way sent tracts to several different States.
Nearly all the tracts and books have gone into the hands of those who were
ignorant of the Heavenly Doctrines, and if the history of each were known,
they would furnish some interesting facts; but this is not necessary, for, if we
sow the seed of truth, and commit it to the God of Truth, we may rest assured
that some of it will bring forth fruit to the glory of God.
Cincinnati, July I, 1850.
more" discussion of principles" in the present letter than in that of Mr. Hibbard ofChl·
cago, which is inserted at length in the Journal. How came the Committel' to .. take
the responsibility" ofinserting from that letter what was not f'xpressly authorized by the
Convention 1 We have a shrewd suspicion that the question of rupomibility pinches
mainly when the sentiments of the discussion are adverse to those of the Commillee.
However this may be, OlW readers have now the suggestions of the writer, which prob-
ably would have done no great amount of harm if they had appeared in connection with
the rest ot his letter.
,
action, will only result in a confusion of tongues, and the rending asunder of
the Church. Let the history of Cain and the tower of Babel be notes of em-
phatic caution to us, if we would exercise a truly divine wisdom.
The true unity of the New Jerusalem is from Its soul, rather than the proce-
dere of any ecclesiastical body. Hence we observe, that the Sacred Scripture,
and the writings of Swedenborg, are very diffuse upon all topics which re-
late to the life j but almost silent upon church order in its exteriors.
"There are three essentials of the Church," says our illuminated Scribe,
"the acknowledgment of the Divine of the Lord, the acknowledgment of
~he sanctity of the Word, and the life which is called charity j according to
the life, which is charity, every man has faith; from the Word is the know-
ledge of what the life must be i and from the Lord is reformation and salva-
tion. If these three had been as the essentials of the Church, intellectual dis-
sens:ons would not have divided, but only varied it, as the light varies the color in
beautiful objecu" and as various diadems make the beauty in a king's crown"
(Div. Prov. 259).
Is there no danger tbat what has torn the Old Chnrch into fragments, has
also appeared as a promoter of disturbance in our midst ~ Is tbere not tha~
too small regard for the essentials, which induced an esteemed brother to con·
fess tha: as far as was the ratio of their light, New Churchmen were not so
good as the men of the Old Church ~ Do we not exalt matters of the intellect,
and exercise love of rule, so that charity is repelled from us, and we, like those
who have fallen already, are become devotees of Faith alone ~ Is the fate of
the antediluvians, the Jews, and the sects of Chrilltendom to deuote the pre-
sages which inevitably forestall the day of doom ~ It will assuredly be our
case if we do evil to our brethren, and in arrogant self-derived intelligence are
despotic towards them.
But I trust that a purer spirit will pervade your counsels. The progress of
the age toward equality of conditiolls and republican institutions, I hope will
have its counterpart in the General Convention of the New Church. Thus
will it be, like the illustrious Swedenborg, the harbinger of good, and not a
bouy, submitting only to a compulsory obedience to the demand of the times.
Desiring not to be thought arrogant or intrusive, I IIOW beg leave to submit
several ideas upon the proposed constitution and action of the General Con-
vention. In conformity with the order of the Ancient Church (A. C. 1285) and
384 Miscellany. [Aug.
of the spiritual world (A. C. 690), it would appear to be well to leave the
eeremolllals of the different divisions and subdivisions of the Church, to the
persons composing them. The selection of Pastors, and their ordination, evi.
dently is the legitimate right of those bodies of receivers to whom their ser·
vice is to be rendered. This appears to be in conformity with the custom of
the New Church at the outset, as manifested in the ordination of James Hind-
marsh at London, John Hargrove at Baltimore, Charles J. Doughty at New·
York, and others. If this was a good and right way to begin the ministry, it
certainly is just as good to provide for its continuation. I can see no propriety
in substitutmg another conrse.
But the work of Missionaries evidently should come under the oversight of
the larger asllemblies, as their field (If labor must comprise a circuit, not com-
prehended in a local society. It will be worthr of your consideration as to
the propriety of the exclusive employment 0 missionaries by the General
Convention or conjointly with State and other Associations. My impres,sions
are for the latter course. There is no need of strife between the different labor-
ers.
The function of licentiates is worthy of some attention. In the first Chris-
tian Church, any who felt disposed preached Christ: some from good will,
and others from less correct motives, yet it was deemed a matter of rejoicing,
.ein/{ that Chri't UJa' preachtd. Why is it not wisdom for us to allow equal lib·
erty 1 Thus all cau labor in their respective capacities, to the furtherance of
the cause. The evident influx of goodness and truth is the proper proof of
their ministry.
Any body of receivers who acknowledge the three essentials of the Church,
who see fit to associate together for public worship and other \lses, are, to
apparent view, sufficiently consecrated as a Society without a ceremonial in-
dication of the circumstance. But the Central Convention evidently takes the
precedence of the General Convention, in the matter of being formed like local
Societies, from members at large and not from Societies who appear and vote
by delegates, while aH other receivers have no right except to speak upon
questions. The General Assembly of the first-born written in heaven, I sur-
mise, are composed of the 17UUIes of the Church, rather than the delegates of
Societies.
Another sentiment which I fear will not gain many sympatbizers, I feel con-
strained to express. Our institutions are fonhepeople. We must not seek to
mould people to institutions. It is not natural, nor consonant with tbe order
of the Divine. The ranks of the different laborers should be on the Divine
principle :_U He that would be' greatest, let him be as he that doth serve."
Let no authority of legislating' be g'iven to one man in preference to another,
because he is a minister. While I would give all due respect to the office, I
object to the domination of the man. Let us have a clergy amon8' Iht people,
and no more n human priesthood set above them. The Holy Spirit will never
endue us with power from on high, except we come togelher "Wilh one accord,
and in one place," and seek no exaltation one above another. The good
8ense of the people will not endorse our assumption of titles, and distinction
of ranks. Nor is there anything veryattraclive in this ministerial trine 011
which so many pens have labored. There may be a rrine of uses, but human
legislation cannot devise rules of order to define each function.
In submitting these opinions to your notice, I feel some embarrassment. I
am aware of the little favor which they may receive. It has been a growing
impression in many places, that the General Conventions are the most unfit
soils for the cultivation of frt!edom in spiritual things. May we have just rea-
son to hope that this impression will be speedily dispelled. Also, that instead
of rival Conventions, more or less discordant, we may have oue General Body,
U one fold" as well as "one Shepherd."
Your brother,
ALEXANDER WILDER.
Verona, N. Y., May 14, 1850.
1850.] Notice. of Boolu. 386
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
I.-A HISTORY OF THE HEBREW MONARCHY. By FRANCI. NEWIUN, D.D., Oxf.
London: 1849. Putnam, New-York, pp. 370.
This is a work written by a brother of the more celebrated Prof. Newman,
one of the leaders of the Puseyite movement in England, and who has since
declared himself a proselyte to Romanism. It is a singularly bold and inde-
pendent survey of the Hebrew Monarchy from the administration of Samuel to
the Babylonish captivity. The mere fact that this history is recorded in a book
bearing the insignia of inspiration and containing the doctrines of a divine re-
ligion, does not clothe it with such an unapproachable sanctity in Mr. N.'s
view, as to preclude him or any man from the most searching scrutiny into its
consistency with itself and with the laws of the human mind in its dealing
with truth. He accordingly probes with a fearless hand the various points of
chronology aud fact which come before us in the narrative, and goes also into
an impartial estimate of the measures and motives which distinguish the
several prominent characters that figure 011 the stage.
We do not propose to go into an extended notice of t.he work, but to set be
fore the reader, as a sample of the author's free aud inquisitorial spiri!, the par;
agraphs that follow, one being his estimate of David, the other of Solomon. 0
the former he says:
Soon after these events the strength of David sank rapidly. With his last
breath he charged Solomon to remember gratefully the services of old Barzillai
the Gileadite, and admit his sons to the royal table; but to find some pretext
for putting to death Joab, son ofZeruiah, and Shimei the Benjamite, whom, some
ten years before, he had ostentatiously pardoned for cursing him. So at least
our record states. Upou this, David the son of Jesse, after a reign of forty
years, closed his eyes to all mortal ambition, aud slept with his fathers. Of
him we may say, as of some other very eminent persons, it would have been
well had he died before absolute power had corrnpted him. The complicated
baseness involved in his murder of Uriah so casts his honor in the dust, that
thenceforth we rather pity and excuse than admire him. All the brilliancy,
alike of his chivalry and of his piely, is sullied, and cold minds 'Suspect his re-
ligious raptures of hypocrisy. If Nathan had been wise and bold enough to
slash open the monarch's conscience, before the wen of wickedness had swell-
ed iuto a carbuncle, most happy might he have been; but we cannot wonder
that it was so very hard to rebuke a despotic and victorious prince. David
was not indeed an Antoninus, an Alfred, or a Saint Louis: yet neither was he
oue of the vulgar herd. of kings. The polygamy in which he indulged so iu-
juriously must in part be laill to his personal weakness, when we observe
how restrained (in comparison) was his predecessor Saul. Nevertheless, as a
man, he was affectionate and generous, sympathetic and constitutionally
pious; as a king, his patronage of religious persons was highly judicious, and
his whole deVotional character of permanent importance to the best interests
of his people and of mankind ; as a warrior, he taught Israel a mutual confidence
and common pride in Jehovah their God; and tirst elevated his countrymen
into a ruling and leading race, whose high place it was to legislate for and teach
the heathen around. His career may serve to warn all who are wanting in
depth of passion or enlarged knowledge of human nature, that those on whose
conduct society has relaxed its wholesome grasp are not to be judged of by
their partial outbreaks of evil, but by the amount of positive good which they
386 Notice' of Boob. [Aug.
habitually exhibit. Compared with the great statesmen of the educated na-
tions of Europe, David's virtues and vices appear alike puerile; but among
Asiatics he was a truly great man; and of his own posterity, though several,
who were happily subjected to greater restraints, were far more consistent in
goodness, there is none who more attracts our interest and our love than the
heroic and royal Psalmist.-Pp. 112, 113.
It was well for Solomon that death overtook him before this calamity and
disgrace overwhelmed Jemsalem. His career had come to its natural termina-
tion, when the primitive impulse of prosperity had been spent. In spite of hi.
much-vaunted wisdom, there had been no vitality or reproductive power in-
fused into the national finances. All were sensible that the public weal was
decaying; and when he died very few regretted him.
The sagacity attributed to him seems to have been three-fold: wisdom in the
administration of justice,-which consisted chieBy in cleverness to discover
truth, when the evidence was insufficient, doubtful or contradictory: wisdom
in general government,-as to which the actual results prove him to have
been most lamentably deficient: and wisdom of a more scholastic kind, such
as was evidenced in the writing of proverbs and books of natural history. Of
his merit in the last, no means of judging exist; but those chapters of the Pro·
verbs, which are regarded as his genuine writiug, are the production of no corn·
man mind, and explain how, in that age, he was regarded as intellectually
towering above other kings.
There is a marked contrast between the tone of the authorities on which we
are dependent for the lives of David and Solomon. The books of Samuel and
Kings show a general impartiality in which the Chronicles are wholly wanting.
All the dark events which sully these two reigns are carefully hushed up by
the last work. In it we read nothing of David's civil war during his reign in
Hebron over JUdah; nothing of his cmelty towards Moab and Edom; nothing
of his deeds of adultery and murder j nothing of Amnon's brutality, of the
fierce revenge and wicked rebellion of Absalom; nothing of the immolation of
Saul's sons, or of the revolt of Adonijah and his slaughter by Solomon; nothing
of the crimes and the punishments either of Joab or of Shimei. On the other
hand, we have a great deal in the Chronicles calculated to magnify the religious
zeal, and especially the devotion to the Levitical system, displayed by David
of which the earlier history takes no notice. So too, the Chronicler suppresses
all mention of the disgust of Hiram, of the idolatries of Solomon, and the re-
verses of his later years' of the insurrectionary movement of the prophet
Abijah, and the cause of Jeroboam's flight iuto Egypt. In short, it will record
nothing but what tendll to glorify this prince, the great establisher of the
priestly diguity. Accordingly, it imputes his building of hi!! queen's palace to
a scruple of conscience as to this child of idolaters dwelling in the house of
the pious David: "because" (said he) "the places are holy, whereunto the ark
of Jehovah hath come." A few differences of this kind might be honorably
accounted for; but a general review puts it beyond reasonable doubt, that the
book of Chronicles is not an honest and trustworthy narrative, and must be
used with great caution as an authority, where anything is involved which
affects Levitical influence.-Pp.145, 146.
We presume there is very little probability of the reprint of the work in this
country, nor is there perhaps enough in the volume to warrant it, but it may
still be read with interest by those who can duly discriminate between tbe let-
ter and the spirit in treating of the O. T. records.
1850.] Editorial ltem8. 887
2.-POPtTLAll AJlATOIIIIY AND PHYSIOLOGY, adapted to the un of Students and General
Readers. With one hundred and fifty Wood-Cuts and beautiful Lithographic de-
scriptive illustrations. By S. S. LAMBERT, M.D. New-York: Leavitt & Co.
1850. 12mo. pp. 408.
We have in the present volume what has long been a desideratum, particu-
larly with the man of the New Church, who is continually referred by Swe-
denborg to the human body for illustration of spiritual truths. Dr. Lambert
has here furnished in moderate compass, a very large mass of valuable infor-
mation, divel!ted as far as possible of technical phraseology and beautifully
illustrated by a profusion of handsome wood engravings.
a.-DB. JOH"SON: his Religious Life and Death. New-York: Harpers, 1850.
12mo. pp. 405.
EDITORIAL; ITEMS.
We learn from the Intellectual Repository of July thatlL volume of sermons by the late
Rev. Thom!\s Goyder wae to be issued on the first of the present month. ILnd that a work
is in p'reparation for the press by the Rev. E. D. Rendell of Preston, entitled" The Ante-
diluvian History, and Narrative of the Flood as set forth in the early portions of the Book
of Genesis, critically examined and spiritually explained." The price of this latter work
will be, we presume, from $1,50 to $2,00; that of the sermons is not indicated in the
announcemcnt. We trust that they will both meet with the requisite encouragement,
and though we are aware that the demand with us for English N. C. works has not
hitherto been very active, yet we think a better day iH dawning, and that every new pnb-
lication of merit issued by our brethren across the water may ere long count upon a gen-
erOllS demand by N. C. readers on Ihis side.
From the source mentioned in the above paragraph, we arc informed of a munificent
donation by James Meredith, Jun., of Birmingham, of £100, which, together with £2:i
previously devised by his father, is to be disposed of IL8 follows: £50 to the London
388 Editorial Ite11U. [Aug. 1850.
Society for printing and publishing the wrllings of Swedenborg; £2:5 to tbe Swedenborg
ASllOCiation i £25 to Dr. E. Tafel, of Tlthingen, towards reprinting the Latin editions of
Swedenborg's theological works; and £2:5 to the Rev. E. Madeley to aid him in publishing
a second edition of the .. Science of Correspondences Elucido.ted." We are alwo.ys re-
joiced to hear of New Church charity running In this ohannel. The preM is the grand
inst.rumentality for propogating the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, and our hopes of
their wide extension will ever be proportioned to the evidence of such liberalrty as that
here recorded.
Mr. Clapp has just broughl a new and beautiful edition of the Leading Doclrines of
the New Jerusalem, Including seven instead of four of Swedenborg's minor t.reatises, to
wil, "Tbe Lord," .. The Sacred Scriptures," .. The White Horse," .. Faitb," .. Life,"
.. The Heavenly Doctrines," .. Charity." It makes a volume of about Ihe size of the
Boston edition of" Heaven and Hell," and sello, we presume, at about the same price.
He has also published, in tasty style, a fine little juvenile entitled "Jessie and olher Slories,
{or Young People," illuslrated wilh plates.
Since writing tbe above, we have received from Mr. Clapp a pamphlet just published
by bim, conll1ining a Biographico.l Memoir of the late C. A. TUlk, with a comprehensive
view of the peculiar features of tbat form of N. C. doctrine IIf which he was so zealous a
promulgator. The sketch is well calculated to satisfy curiosity on that bead.
Mr. Hodson, of London, proposes soon to publish an edition of" Heaven and Hell," as
translated by Rev. Mr. Noble. We are somewhat surprised to learn that tbis is not the
version in common use i but the history of Ihe various translations in vogue in the Church
Is a subject with which we hope some day to render ourselves beller acquainted. Having
had no opportunity to compare Mr. Noble's translation with any other, we cannot of
courll6 pronounce upon its merits, but from his general ability as a writer we should
augur decidedly in its favor.
Tbe Rev. B. F. Barret! has been compelled. by ill health, to relinquish for tbe present
his post as preacher to the New Church Society at Cincinnati. With a view to the re·
covery of the impaired vigor of his system he has been enpged {or some months in ac·
tive secular business at Chicago, Milwaukie, and Det.roit.
The annualml'eting of the New Church Association of Maine will be hp-Id ill Bangor,
commencing on Friday, the sixteenlh day of August, and continue In session three days.
Delegates from the several associations, and receivers of tbe doctrines generally are invited
to attend.
Mr. J. Alien has just brought out a new edition of Hobart's Life of Swedenborg with
additions, ofwblch we shall give a fuller notice in our ncxL
THE
MONTHLY REVIEW.
ORIGIN AL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.
I
the lowest and most imperfect, these forms descend; so that the high-
est looks to the lowest as the last of its posterity, and the lowest to
the highest as the first of an illustrious ancestry.
Since such is the gradation and mutual relations of these fol'lllSt
the same holds true of their substances, forces, modifioatiODl, quali.
VOL. ID. 26
390 The Form' of the Animal Kingdom. [Sept.
created thing has its own proper simple substance as the ground o{ ,
its being and the source of its essence; yet that substance is not abso-
lutely simple; but only relatively 80, being itself derived from an in-
terior origin and finally refers itself through successive degrees to the
Unereated First, or the Divine.
1850.] The Form' of the Animal Kingdom. a91
That the simple fibres thus consist of spiritual substances and thus
partake of life, is supported by the following considerations. As be-
fore intimated, there are, beside the purely natural forms, animated
forms, participating of life and ititelligence, duly subordinated one to
another, and all subject to the spiritual form itself; for they are cre-
ated and accommodated to the reception of its life and intelligence,
and therefore are likenesses and images of it, and are properly called
spiritual forms. Such are the first forms in the animal kingdom, the su-
perior and more perfect in man, the inferior 8/nd. imperfect in other ani.
mals, and the most imperfect in insects. These forms, like the natu-
ral forms, descend, by an order Of derivation and successive series,
even to the ultimate sPhere, and are wholly accommodated to the
world forms. They create and organize the microcosm, or the body;
for they are exemplars of their un;'erse, a,nd contain, as in a type,
whatever appears in the organized body. The fibres are their deter-
minations, and at the same time rays of intellectual light, which they
emit from the cerebrum as their heaven, and by which they feel and
act. Hence these forms as so many powers may be called living,
and the higher thereof intelligent.
The forms of the unities of the simple fibre, because they are enti.
ties of a primitive nature, and are the beginning of forces, endeavors,
and motions in the system, and as they flow immediately from the
spiritual form and depend upon it, cannot be other than these celes-
tial forms under consideration; which act upon and determine the
simple fibre,-for if they are superior to the celestial forms, they are
above nature, and in the same degree as the spiritual form. Hence
we conclude that they lLre celestial forms, wedded to and animated
by the spiritual,-in fine, are unities, externally, natural-celestial;
internally, spiritual and heavenly.
Now as the simple fibre is derived from, substances of a spiritual
nature and is hence a partaker of life or animated, and gives origin
to the medullary fibre, this also is living and animated in its own de-
gree; but its life is more common and obscure. Thu u the reason that,
as soon as the modificatio1l.8 of the ether or air touch the orga1l.8 of
'eTUe constnlcted of fibres, they begin to live and are called ,ensations.
The posterior and more imperfect animal forms, belonging to the
inferior animals, are also created and formed to the beginning of mo-
tion and the reception of life from the spiritual form; which flows
also immediately into them, although inferior in order and degree;
very much (if the comparison may be allowed) as the solar light and
heat into the simple and purer, as well as compound and grosser sub-
stances; yet the simpler and purer they are the more distinctly and
perfectly; and each one appropriates their virtue and good to itself.
Because these inferior forms are of the same degree and order as the
vortical, many of them may be called living magnetes, which, of
themselves and of their own nature, know the quarters of the world.
They are not capacitated to receive intelligence, for they differ from
man as the vortical from the celestial form.
W.H.B.
(To be continwd.)
394 Frequent Communion. [Sept.
ARTICLE 11.
FREQUENT COMMUNION.
.. The life of piety consists in thinking piously and speaking piously, in giving mUllh
time to prayer, in behaving thus with due humility, in frequenting temples and there de-
Youtly attending to the preachings. and frtfJ1W"tly every year receiving the Sacrament of
the supper, and in a right observance of other parts of worship according to the ordinan-
eel of the Chulch."-.A. C. 8253.
I-r needs no words to prove that the practice of communing four
times in the year does not come up, as regards the point of freqnency,
to what Swedenborg here mentions as one of the duties of piety.
I propose to offer a few considerations in favor of monthly com-
munions.
1. The practice of the first Christian Church before its decline. It
is generally admitted that the Lord's Supper was celebrated at least
every Lord's day by the christians in the time of the Apostles. This
fact seemIJ to be pretty clearly stated in the Acts of the Apostles. It
is there said of the three thousand converts of the day of Pentecost,
that" they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellow-
ship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers," Acts ii. 42. The
breaking of bread here, being classed with prayer and adherence to
the doctrine of the Apostles, imports, beyond any reasonable doubt,
a religious ordinance. A subsequent verse leads to the supposition
that this ordinance, which could have been nothing but the Lord's
Supper, was a constant, frequent, and perhaps daily observance at
that time. .. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the tem-
ple, and breaking bread, from hou.~e to house, did eat their meat with
gladness and singleness of heart." In Acts xx. 7., we find as follows:
" And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came to-
gether to break brea~, Paul preached unto them." The implication
here is, that the coming together of the disciples to break bread, was
a regular occurrence on the clay mentioned-that is, that it was
weekly. Neander thinks that the christians assembled daily, in the
Apostles' times, for public worship and the celebration of the Lord's
Supper. Church History, Sec. H. 4, c., also, Sec. Ill.
The well known letter of Pliny to Trojan contains very obvious al-
lusions to the weekly celebration of the Eucharist. They affirmed
the whole of their guilt, or their error, that" they met on a certain
,tated day, and addressed themselves in a form of" prayer to Christ
as to some God, binding themselves by a solemn oath (sacramenta),
not for the purpose of any wicked de8ign, but never to commit any
fraud, theft, or adultery; never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust
when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which
it was their custom to separate, and then re-assemble to eat in com-
mon a harmless meal."
There is abundant proof that there was, at least, a weekly celebra-
tion of the Eucharist in the various parts of the Church, in the age
immedia~ely succeeding that of the Apostles. I say, at least, because,
F
1850.] Frequent Communion. 395
ARTICLE Ill.
So deeply, far a long tract of ages, has clerical prerogative become entrl'nch~
ed in the prejudices and affections of the Christian world, so completely has it
moulded their forms of thought, that it is an immeuse achievement to get out
of the magic circle of associations which it conjures around us, and to look
upon the subject in the light of the Lord's Word aud of man's wisdom. Who
thinksof public instruction in a church but in connexion with a consecrated edifice,
a pulpit sacred to an ordained occupant, and a passively listening audience"
But these are mere adventitious appendages which have grown hy slow de-
grees around the central iustitute of worship. In like manner with the sacra-
ments, which have been clothed with a pre-eminent degree of sanctity in order
to enhance the official sanctity of those who administer them. We 'lDould not
imply by this that they are not to be reverently regarded as of Divine appointment, but
we are yet to learn the grounds on which tbe administration of the sacraments
is to be prohibited to any but those who have passed through the regular
sacerdotal routine and received the due credentials at the hands of the due
authorities.
Here it is obvious that the main theme of our remarks is the alleg-
ed ascendancy which has been gained in process of time by the clergy,
and which has wrought so powerfully on the minds of the people that
their every idea on the subject has been moulded into a rulingconformi-
ty with what we may term the clerical constitution of things. In this
connection we allude to the fixedness of popular prepossessions in re-
gard to church edifices and pulpits as a sine qua non to public religious
instruction, whereas we venture to speak of them as mere adventi-
tious appendages to divine worship, the essential .reality of which
might remain even in the absence of the usual accompaniments. Yet
even of these we say nothing disparaging as viewed in themselves. In
the same spirit and with the same design we advert to the Sacraments.
We speak of them specifically in the relation in which they have been
made to stand with the clerical function. We mean nothing disres-
pectful to them considered per se. In saying that they" have been
clothed with a pre-eminent degree of sanctity" in the estimation of
the church, we by no means qesign to imply that they are not in them-
selves entitled to be so regarded for what they are in their nature and
origin, but simply that the exceeding deference paid to the clergy has
tended to invest these rites with a character of such peculiar saored-
ness that the administration of them by any other class of men would
amount to little short of sacrilege and profanity. It is solely in this
particular relation, and not in themselves absolutely, that we are here
alluding to them, and nothing could be more unfair or ungenerous
than to torture our words into a constructive .. assault," upon the
sanctity of the Sacraments intrinsically considered.
This perversion ofour meaning is the more gross and unpardonable
from the fact that we have, in the very next sentence, guarded so
expressly against it, as the reader will perceive by referring to the
extract, which defines our scope with the utmost exactness. Had our
remarks closed with the words which our critic has quoted, they would
doubtless have been apt to leave the impression that the Sacraments
400 The New Jenualem Magazine vernu [Sept.
",:,ere placed by us upon a par with the church building and the pul-
pIt, as of no divine authority, but barely as the creatures of human
expediency. But this construction is obviously precluded in what
follows, which we have here inserted in italics. This sentence, our
candid censor has been very careful to omit, as its citation would
~vidently have deprived him of a peculiar advantage for giving an
mvidious and opprobrious tone to his criticism. Yet what shall be
thought of the coniIuct of a writer who could resort to a policy like
this 1 When we had expressly said and with a distinct view to cut
off the very inference that he has drawn from our language that " we
would not imply by this that they are not to be reverently regarded as
of Divine appointment," was it the part of Ohristian candor and equity
to suppress and conceal from his readers this qualifying claust', and
knowingly to subject us to the odium which such a garbled presen-
tation of our language would be sure to draw after it 1 Is this the
way in which controversy is to be carried on in the New Ohurch 1
Is this the mode in which the heavenly doctrines of charity and bro-
therly love are to be recommended to the world 1 It gives us un-
speakable pain to be compelled to appear in this attitude of anta~on
ism with a fellow-receiver of the sublime and holy truths of the New
Jerusalem. But what shall we do 1 Shall we sit down in silent sub-
mission under the most unjust reproach 1 Shall we patiently suffer
our good name to be cast out as evil among our brethren when con-
scious of not having deserved it 1 Shall we quietly permit such in-
justice to be done to our positions without lifting up a voice of protest
and rebuke 1 We are fully aware of the sadly unpropitious effect
upon the novitiate reader of even the vein of vindication which we thus
are constrained to adopt. But upon whom rests the responsibility of
the harm done to the cause from the refutation ofcalumnious charges 1
Is it upon the injured or upon the injuring party 1-upon him that
repels or upon him that assails 1 In the present case we have the
most positive consciousness of having been injured in the esteem of
those whose good opinion we would fain retain 80 long as we give
them no occasion to withhold it. But what are our prospects of re-
dress 1 The defence we have to offer can not be expected to reacb,
in our pages, one in a bundred of those who will read and be preju-
diced by the charge as conveyed in the pages of tbe Magazine; and
as to any intimation by tbe' editor to his readers of the drift of the
present reply, we can of course have no ground for expecting it.
The charge in question comes from a source to which apology or re-
cantation ill but little known; and the fact that anyone could frame
such an accusation from such materials is sufficient of itself to cut off
all hope on this score. We see no escape from the necessity of rest-
ing under an unrighteous verdict in tbe minds of multitudes of our
brethren in the faith, until the working of the Divine Providence bring
about the rectification of a wrong judgment. In the mean time we
b:ave some comfort in the thought, that if we are under a cloud, we
are not under the veil.
And let us here remark, ., more in sorrow tban in anger," tbat the
COUl'8e of the N. J. Magazine towards the Editor of the Repository
1850.] .. Prof. Bush', View of tM Sacrament,." 401
ARTICLE IV.
tile world is just now becoming rapidly more and more sensible,
had never entered the mind of the heathen poet-scarcely even ofthe
philosopher, elevated in his conceptions as he might have been above
the poets of his day. Humanity was then still on the dOWDward
road; and all t)J.at the keenest eyed wisdom could then do, was to
look forward through the dim telescope of prophecy to a future day
of promise.
Charity and tile troe knowledge of God are the essentially new and
distinctive elements of Cluistian poetry; the one, the heart of all its
gl'ace and tenderness. the other, irradiating it with living light from
the one great SlID of heaven, instead of the conflicting rays of a thou-
sand flickering taper-spazks of divinity, by whose light the ancient
VQtu painfully labored to spell out tile lessons of truth-a light which,
unable to turn to day that dread night of humanity~ only served to
add gloom to its darkness.
By Christian poetry, it is intended Ilh.all be understood, not simply
religious poetry, but all that which flows from the genial influences
ofChristiauity in every sphere. The strictly religious poetry ofChris-
tendom has been, strange perhaps to say, less truly Christian, in many
instances. tkan any. More intelligibly speaking, it has been more
8Wltere and Jewisb-Iess poetical, indeed. The Christian element in
poetry has hitherto been but obscurely manifested, aad imperfectly
brought forth, in like manner as the genuine Christian doctrine has
been only imperfectly apprehended. But where the poeticalllpirit
has felt itself free to flow, untrammelled by the fetters of harsh dog-
matism, yet under. the influence of Christian feeling, there has sprung
forth many a strain. breathing enough of the freshness and fragrance
of living charity, to be perceptible to all who are capable of apprecia-
ting it.
The poetry of every age and nation must embody the prevailing
affections of that age and nation. The bard, in this point of vlew, is
bot the organ through which these affections find utterance. When
warlike bravery was regarded as the noblest virtue, it also held the
sceptre in the realm of song, and an Iliad was the sublimest embodi-
ment of its glory. The war epic was a splendid triumph of genius ;
but it was a triumph of the genius of a barbarous age. We caD
hardly expect, we cannot desire, that it should ever be re-produced.
The muse of charity may perchance be led to sing of wars, but she
will view them from the side of mercy; and in her song, the plaudit.
of the victors will be drowned in lamentations for the fallen.
Some writer has remarked, that every one becomes eloquent, when
he is discoursing of God. But when the conception ofdivinity is nar-
rowed down to human limits, and the divine character blotted with
the frailties of humanity, then all the force of the eloquence which
the noblest of conception gives is gone. A dumb idol has no power
over the heart; not even a Jupiter has any hold upon the conscience.
Hence the surpassing power with which the Christian poet can teach
and enforce virtue, beyond all that lay within the heathen poet's scope.
I have avoided speaking distinctly of the Old and the New Christian
churches, because there was enough of tb"e Christian element in the
YG... 01. 2'
Heathen and OA,utian Poetry. [Sept.
poetry of the fonner to serve the purpOtle of comparison, while we
have hardly as yet begun to Ilee what the poetry of the latter will be.
But if truth, beauty, and charity combined, be the esst'ntial requisites
of true poetry, there certainly can be no better ground for its produc·
Don than a church such as the New Jerusalem is to be.
The warlike element is fast reoeding from the height of estimation
in which enn the first Chrilltian church was inclined to hold it, and
the spirit of peace, and the oultivation of the peaceful arts, are assum-
ing a place proportionally higher. Amidst a thousand confusing and
conflioting principles, apparently let loose for strife without guide or
ruler, we can discern everywhere aspirations and endeavors after
something higher and better. And though these endeavors seem often
strangely misdirected they serve to show that the new leaven is, aC
least in the hidden inmost of things, powerfully at work, preparatory
to the making all things new.
It hardly need be remarked, what an exhaustless source of religioll9
poetic feeling ill contained in the poetry of the inspired Word. It
would be impossible to measure the amount of direct influence which
it has actually had in the formation of the style of the religious poe-
try of Christendom, as well as upon the character of all classes of
poetry in general. Not a language even among the christianized na-
tions, but has firmly inwoven into the framework not only of its
poetic, but even its common style, more or less of the idioms and the
phraseology of the Hebrew Scriptures. All this, too, it may seem,
the New Church will be able to use with renewed adva.ntage; ap-
preciating the use of correspondences, and therefore being able to
apply them with propriety, discerning between what is real and what
is only apparently true, and thus able to avoid the sensuality and Ju-
daizing character which defaces much of the religious poetry of the
past-as for example, where the prevailing sensual ideas of the resur-
rection and last judgment are introduced, which only grow more hid-
eous pictures, if it may so be said, in the hands of the poet, who should
be able not only to adorn whatever he touches, but to elevate, and to
discern the truth of all, in some degree. And when the poet shall
arise, who has brought forth in his life the deeper truths now open to
the willing mind, will he not also be so much the more deeply inspir-
ed as a poet, and the more able to reach new heights of song, inac-
cessible and invisible from the old Parnassus '{
The question is sometimes asked, whether the classics will continue
to be, as they have been, the text book of learning in our Christian
seminaries? For there are those who have looked with confidence
and hope for their final rejection from the circle of studies, on account
of their immoral and anti-christian character. A few reasons will
here be given, why they should, notwithstanding, still continue in use.
1. Because the classic authors are the main sources, not only of all
our knowledge of the nations to which they belonged, but, excepting
the Bible, of all the other nations of antiquity.
2. Because the classic languages contain the foundations of the
modem languages ofChrist~ndom,to a greater or less extent.
1850.] The N. J. Magazine and the New Church Ministry. 40'
3. Because the exigencies of Sacred literature itself demand the
study of the classic languages, and a comparison of the styles of hea-
then with christian and inspired writers, for 0. full apprehension of the
literal text of the la.tter.
4. For, inasmuch as the classic writers are the pure standards·of
those langua~s, it is necessary tha.t they should be studied, in order
to the understanding of books written in not so pure an idiom.
5. Because they will always fumish a contrast striking and inter-
esting, between the state of the world before and after the Lord's ad-
vent ~ and by contrast with the opposite, good is seen to greater ad-
vantage.
6. Because the dan~r of the young mind being corrupted, by inti-
macy with heathen sentiments, as feared by some, will diminish, in
proportion as the mind is thoroughly imbued from infancy with good
and christian principles, and at the same time initiated into the prac-
tice of them. To such, a view of the degradation of the best heathen
minds, properly pret'lellted by a suitable master, will be rather an in-
structive and salntary lesson.
D. H. H.
ARTICLE v.
Our simplicity learns from this that the Lord makes no priests in
the New: Church, which is here treated ot; but spiritual priests, and
liIuch he makes all his people to be who are in the good oC love. It is
expressly said that the Lord does '1 not make men kings and priests,
but that he makes angels of those who are in truths of wisdom and
the good of love." Consequently if there are no priests recognized in
.the New Chureh there is no dignity or honor to be attributed to them
as such, but whatever of this nature is enjoined, it is to be rendered
to those who perform uses in the Lord's spiritual body more or less
analogous to thotle of the il&Cerdotal order in the true Church in an-
cient times and in other Churches at the present time. This makes
the spirit of the injunction pertinent to the ethical code of the New
Dispensation, in ,vhich everyone is to be honored according to his
functional use in the place whic~ he occupies. "But how tot asks
our critic, .. can we avoid &<ljoining the honor to the person, if we re-
fuse to recognize the office, and thus break down in our own minds
the distinction between the ofJ'cial and the man 1" This is an account
which the writer must settle with those against whom the charge
holds good. We have nothing to do with it. We do not refuse to
recognize a sacred office oC teaching which is upon a par with the
sacred office of learning. The one is jllSt as real as the other and
as truly entitled to dignity and respect. What we contend for is,
that order of things waieh we find so admirably detailed for us by
Swedenborg in his treatise on the Doctrine of Charity. He informs
us that" all offices and employments, in their regard to the good of tbe
community, constitute a form which corresponds to the heavenly
form. And such is the nature of the heavenly form, that every one
in heaven is in some miDistl)', office, employment. or work. • • Every
. one on entering a society, is initiated into his office, and has a house
allotted him correspondent to his work. Every one then feels delight
in his own pursuit; it is the source of his joy. They all shun idle-
ness as a man would shun a pestilence. The reason is, that every one
does his work from the love of use. • • • So, likewise, on earth, if
a general terrestrial society corresponds to a heavenly society, and
• . inhabits localities also which correspond. • . . They also consti-
tute a form which corresponds to the human form. The same thing
exists in the human body when all the parts are goods of use in the
novel perfect form, and being the most perfect form are perceived as
one; when yet they are all various, and all the things in each variety
are in their own series and order. . • . That the body contains
a form of heavenly use, is confirmed by the fact, that each heavenly
society is as a man, and, indeed, appears as a man. Its uses consti-
tute that man, because the form of a heavenly society corresponds to
the animal body in regard to uses. • • • Every one in this form
is a good of use, according to the extent of his office or employmetit.
Charity is nothing else than th~ aft"ootion. of truth from good, and
the aft"ection of truth from good is the affection of use; for, unless
the affection of truth from good be an Ht, it_ perishes. Now the act
derived from this affection is use. . • • When, therefore, a man
is a use or a good of use, he is also a charity, and he is then called a
charity in form, and is now an image of charity. All things in that
man are charity; for .hen the man himself breathes tJae in eommatJ,
he also breathes it in every particular. His life and soul become the
love, or the aft"eetion, of use; and then the man looks in....ards to the
Lord and outwards to his work."--D. C. 71-810
From all this it appears that el"ery member of a rightly constituted
societ}', whether civil or religious, is a form of use in that society,
and that the discharge of his function in that relation is in fact an
office of charity and makes the man himself an embodied and acting
charity, and thus an element fit for trlLD81ation into a heaTenly com-
a.ne.
From the tenor of the fo~oing we learn that the uses of enry
man's calling are works of charity when done from a supreme regan!
to the Lord himself, and a subordinate regard to the good of the neigh-
bore It is thus that secular functions are invested with a spiritual
. character, and for ourselves we find it no easy matter to indicate to
our own satisfaction the evidence that. any man whatever is to dis-
pense with such a calling, and devote himself wholly and exclusively'
to functions of a spiritual nature. ,In the ordinary routine of week-
day life each man of the Church is to 1>6 his own priest; to instruct
his own family, and conduct his own worship. But in the united
worship of the Sabbath there will be, of course, a pro re nata occa-
sion for a peculiar form of sacred use in the orderly and decorons
conduct of the lIen'ices of the Lord's honse, and this will call into e~
ercise the appropriate gifts and endowments of certain persons who
will be ackno"'ledged in that capacity so long as they acceptably
discharge its functions. This i. all the priesthood in ultimates that
we see to be recognized by the true and essential genius of the New
Dispensation, and if it be objected that it IUpposes a state of things ut-
terly unlike any thing that has hitherto existed in the Church, we
can only say in reply, that this is no more than is to be said of the
New Economy in several other respects. How could it be new if it
retained every thing of the old? Is not its very motto, "Old things
are passed. away and all thing. ha.ve become new?" We are un-
able to see but that the New Dispensation must eventually transform,
the whole fabric of society in every department, and, without actual-
ly abolishing the distinction between ch'il and sacred uses, reDder the
line of demarcation much less visible than it now is or has been for
a long lapse of ages.
But while we hold this with a very strong assurance, we do not
advocate a sudden or violent change in the eJlisting order of things.
We do Dot forget thelawB of wisdom and charity on this head. We
wollld not rudely assail the life's love of our brethren. We would
]8~.] ne /If. i. Magazine and tM NltD ChUrch MinUtry. 411
Dot urge a ruthless crusade against long established and deeply-root-
ed evils. We would have them rationally perceived and acknow-
ledged, and gradually put away, as the states of the men of the
Church may be such as shall prepare them to act upon the subject.
We confess to an earnest desire not to be misunderstood on this point.
We foresee that with every possible qualificatimt and reservation
with which we can surtound our position we Shdll still be liable to
be charged witli aims as destructive as our vi~ are radical, am
for this reason we would fain utter ouraeh'es with tl1e ntmost distinct-
ness. We are not the advocates of rash innovations upon the exist-
ing ordmo of things. We have Ito desire to see the above-mentioned
distinction 8t olfce done away. Such a revolution conld not be sud-
denly e1fected without ~at detriment to the btlst interests of the
Church. Our aim is not on~ 80 ttluch at variance with the principles
inculcated in the New Church. We propose simply to thro1f' ollt
matter for reflection. We invite to the investigation of certain grtfat
principles lying at the foundation of our Church polity, trusting bt the
ltlgitimate e1fects of truth to work out in wisdom and by due degrees
such chang~ in the system 88 may be seen to be expedient.
And ndw if in view of all that woe have written ourselves and of
all that we have quoted fl'Oltt SWedenborg, any point of discrepancy
ean be pointed out, we should not fail to be very grateful to him wbo
will indicate it. Certainly DO one is authorized to charge it upon Us
who does not sustain the charge by adequate proof. Nothing cdn be
·farther from a1fording this proof than such paragraphs as the follow-
ing:
"What sdrt of an organization does a st1eiety have whieh exists in the 1rtJ-
man form 'I and what are the relatioDs of the members 10 each other" III nbC
every distinct organ of the body fanned and adapted to a particnlar uae, and
does it not hold a relation to all the other parts corresponding with its function"
And is not this virtually an official relation 1 Indeed; is it not perfectly mani-
fest, that the moment we form a distinct conception of a Aociety arranged into
the hnman form, every one having eome into his final place, and occupying
his own peculiar pOSition, everyone is honored accordinS to the quality bf
the use he performs, and that this honor should be paid not to the man OD
his own account, but on acconnt of bis office. The wise who are in stations
of dignity and who are thus honored, as Swedenborg says, attribute the honar
to its rightful sonree. 'They thus avoid the evil of claiming what does not be-
long to them. And it is ob\"i0U8 that the same doctrine is eqnally important
in regard to those in inferior stations. Fat when the high exalt themselves
above others, as a matter of cout8e, tl1ey look down u.pon and despise the low.
When they claim to themselves the honor which they ought to attribute to
the Lord alone, ~ey virtually make themselves more than men; and in the
lIame pr0tJ0ition they degrade thQee in the humbler tanks l1elow the standard
of humanity. But the idea of official stations and relations restores the whore
lIystem to harmony; for it keeps every one within the bounds of the human
form. No one is I bronght forward and elevated' above it; no one is de-
graded below it. But instead of there being, as Ptofel8or Bush would have it,
ho diwTlitl/ of gratIa, there is nothing but diversity of grades throughout the
,vhole SOCial man. It is this diversity which renders it possible for a society
to be a man in a larger form. It is the acknowledgement of it, with a corres-
ponding willingness to be each in his own place, which actually produces
the e1fect in a heaveWy society, and constitUtes it One man."....P. 179.
.414 The No J. Magat.ine arad tk New Church Miniltry. [Sept.
Here, it is true, is an attempt made to represent us as at variance
with Swedenborg by an alleged denial, on our part, of a diversity of
grades in the social man. Happily the reader is enabled to judge
for himself on this score. From the data spread before him he can
estimate the fairness of the charge. We have indeed denied the di-
wrsity of grade between the clergy and laity, as the writer understands
it, but in the sense of diversit, of use. and of o~ial relation. we ad-
mit it to the full, nor can any thing we have said be construed, with-
out perversion, to any other purport. We could doubtless maintain
that, in strict propriety, there is no real diversity of grade in the men
of the Lord's Church, taking the term grade as denoting rank, and
· implying the superiority of one class to another. In the midst of all
the variety of gifts, uses, and functions in the body ecclesiastic, the
members are still properly upon a par with each other, and it would
be just as malapropos to talk of diverBity of gJ'ad8, i. e. of superiority
in dignity, among the members and organs of the human body as in
·the Lord's true Church.
As every part of tbo human economy is equally necessary to the
integrity of the whole, why should the eye, for instance, be accounted
intrinsically any more honorable or assigned a higher grade in the body,
than the heel of the foot f And so throughout. If the dignity and
· honor due to any part be in proportion to the use it subserves, and
the use of each part be eqJlally indispp.nsable in its place, what basis
eXUlts for a proper diversity of grades 1 ~
I
We have dwelt so much at length on this department ofthe subject
because C. R. has made it especially prominent in his striotures. We
should have said much more in reply to this portion of his diatribe if
· we could have perceived its pertinency to the main topic of debate.
But our time is too precious to be wasted on irrelavent discussion,
however it may be with our opponent, who would leem to be re-
.trained by no such scruples.
We are next called to encounter a piece of criticism in which the
reader may perhaps detect more of a purely Aristotelian element than
we have been 10 hll.ppy as to do ourselves. He first quotes our words.
.. It Is not to be qnll8tioned that Swedenborg, for the most part, treats the subject of
ministry under the liead of chorltr, of which it is one prominent department. Exciting
load and imparting truth is spiritually feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, u
every one knows who has himself leceived any adequate measnre of this species of bene-
faction. Action of this nature towards its appropriate objects is tbe very law of regene-
rate life. h req,uires not that a man should be called by official designalion to exercise
the functions ofneighborly love. Such an universal duty cannot he exclusively confined
to any distinct class or caste."
" Now, here the argument may be thus stated. The work of the ministry is
a work of charity or of neighborly love. But this is true of every other profes-
sion or employment. It is every man's duty to perform works of charity or
of neighborly love; and what is thus universal cannot be monopolized by any
distinct class, nor can any official designation be requisite that one may prop-
erly perform a dutl which is binding upon every human being. But what
sort of logic is this. Every man's duty, whatever his profession or office may
be, is a work of charity j therefore every man has the same duty with every
other man, and no one has occasion for any official de6i~nation. Here, indeed,
is a logic which Swedenborg never dreamed of."-P. 180.
J8~.] ne N • .1. Magazine aM de New Ohurch Miaillrg. 4J~
.. By uses are meant goods, and hence by doing uses is meant to do goods;
and by doing uses or goods is meant to serve others and to minister to them.
Persons of this character, although they are in dignity and in opulence, still
they do not regard dignity and opulence any otherwise than as mean!.' to do
uses, thus to serve and to minister. These are they who are meant by the
Lord's words, •Whosoever is willing to be great among you, let him be your
minister; and whosoever is willing to be first, let him be your servant.' These
also are they to whom government in heaven is intrusted by the Lord, for
government is to them a medium for doing uses or goods, thus of serving, and
when uses or goods are ends or loves, in this case they do not govern, but the
Lord, for al~ goods are from Him."-D. P.215.
1850.] T1Ie N. J. Magatlne and eAe New Church Minutry. 419
ARTICLE VI.
To objectors to the revelations of Swedcnborg, vouch8afed for the benefit of the Lord'8
New Cburch, are prone to insistllpon the incredibility and absurdity of the Memorable
Relation8. The folloWing among these has been made the butt of much contemptuou8
ridicule on the part of opponent8, such a. Dr. Pond and.othel'8, although tbe replyuniforml,
luged is that in all cases they are founded upon and to be interpreted by the principle of
Correspondence, which when strictly analysed will always be found to disclose some analogy
in the natural sphere affording an adequate basi8 for the representations in que8tion. In
the Relation before U8 the scope is evidently to set forth a species of worship aboundiuK
in the outWllro {orm, but lacking entirely in vital heat and life. In the appended letter,
taken from the foreign correspondence of a secular paper, Rnd giving an accounl of a
visit to a church in Berlin, wc have nearly a counterpart to the spiritual scenery protray-
eel in the vision. The one mRy at any rate be made an ilIustratlveoff8et to the other.
11 In the spiritual world, there are climates and zones, as well as in the natu-
ral world j there is not anything given in the latter which is not also in the
former; but they differ in origin. In the natural world, the varieties of cli-
mates are according to the distances of the sun from the equator j in the
spiritual world, they are according to the distances of the affections of the will,
and thence of the thoughts of the understanding, from true love and true faith i
all the things there are correspondences of these. In the frigid zones, in the
spiritual world, there appear similar things as in the frigid zones ill the natural
world j the lands there appear bound up hy ice, and likewise the waters, and
also "now upon them. Those come thither and dwell there, who, in the world,
lulled their understandings to sleep by indolence in thinking about spiritual
things, and who are thence, at the same time, indolent about doing any uses:
they nre called bortal spirit,. Once I was seized with a desire of seeing IIOme
country in the frigid zone where those boreal spirits were j and therefore I was
led in the spirit to the north, even to a region where all the land appeared
covered with snow, and all the water congealed with ice. It was the day of
the Sabbath; and I saw men, that is, spirits, of a similar stature with men
of the WOrld; but, on account of the cold, they were clad, as to the head, with
the skin of a lion, whose mouth had been applied to their mouth; but as to the
body, before and behind, as far as above the loins, ther were covered with the
skins of leopards; and as to the feet, with the skins 0 bears. And alllO I saw
VOL. Ill. 28
422 Bortal Wor,hip in the Spiritual and the Natural World. [Sept.
many riding in chariots, and some in chariotll carved in the shape a dragon,
whose horns were extended forwards. Those chariots were drawn by little
horses whose tails had been cut offi they were running like terrible wild
beasts, and the driver, holding the relDs in his hands, was continually impel-
ling and urging them on their course. I saw, at length, that the multitudes
were flocking to a temple, which, because it was covered with snow, had not
been seen. But the keepers of the temple were loosening 'the snow, and, by
digging, were preparing an entrance for the worshipers who had arrived; and
they descended, and entered. It was given me also to see the temple within.
It was illuminated with lamps alld candles in abundance; the altar there was
of hewll stone behind which there was hanging a tablet, on which it was
written, THE DIVINE TRINITY, FATHER, SON AlfD HOLY GHOST; WHO ESSENTIALLY
AlLE ONE GOD, BUT PERSONALLY THREE."-T. C. R. 185.
box, trimmed with gold Bnd purple, and made comfortable by every appliance
of modern skill. The opera house is said to be the finest in Europe. If there
~e any churches more cold or dismal in Europe than 8 large maJority in Ber-
hn, I should like to see them.-Query, which stands first in the a1lections of
the King and the people, the church or the theatre!
CORRESPONDENCE.
The following letter, from an English oorrespondent, we insert merely BS illustrative oC
the practioal inconveniences resulting from that peculiar view of the sanctity of the
ordinances in relation to the persons Bdministerinlh whioh is perhaps ganenally preva-
lent in the church, and not from the least design to make ourselves parties in Bny way to
the different views of church polity obtaining among our brethren of the English Cou-
ference. The letter will be found In its tone somewhat apropos to the scope of the arti-
cle on a previous page on the subject of the Sacraments. By suppressing the names of
persons and places we divest the communicatioll as far as possible of all local relatione
that might In any meaeure cumprom ise parties, or give unnecessary offence. If the letter
of our friend does indeed mllke known a real grievance, which Is fairly imputable to the
rules of order established by the Conference, we cannot doubt that that body upon due
consideratioll will study the appropriote remedy.
The followiDg Is from a professional gentleman of high repute in one of the Western
Stales.
8 - B - , Ind., July 27, 1850.
DEAR BIR,
I have not the bonor ofrour peraonal acquaintance, but having frequently
conversed with you in SpIrit through the medium of your publicar.ion8, BDcI
1850.] 4U
confiding in your caudor and love of woth, I have taken the liberty of addre.
ing you this communication.
If I know my own heart, my sole object is truth. My attention has been
directed, mainly through
writings of Swedenborg.
r0u, to the doctrines of the New Church and the
have read the writings of several of hisapologistl,
most of his own minor works, his True Christian Religion, lItc. I have been
a member of the O. S. Presbyterian Church about thirteen years, during most
of which time I have filled the office of elder. I have long been convinced of
the necessity of the introduction of some new element into the spirit of modem
religion to increase its power over the will. I have been convinced of the
poetical, if not theoretical, absence of charity from the faith of our age; that
the spirit of Christ manifested in works of beneToleuce is as commOR
among papists and heretics, so .called, as among the orthodox; that a mere
emotional religion, transitory or intermittent, and thus barren of great practi-
cal results, is too much the characteristic religion of the evangelical churches.
That this state of things, remaining unchanged, will result in the utter desol.
tion of the Christian Church, and tbat, therefore,. a Divine interposition is
probabla, I do not doubt. With these views, J was directed to the examina-
tion of tbe writings of Swedenborg. 1 approached them cautiously, 1 con-
fesll, but ,et with the hope that there I might find what would satisfy the de-
mands 0 my intellect and heart. I was surprised to find that his doctrines,
with the exception of those of the Trinity and Atonement, and especially his
'doctrines of Repentance, Justification, and Charity, were substantially the
same as those to which I had previously been conducted by my own investi-
gations. The truth of his doctrine of the Atonement, so far as it goes, I arA
not prepared to deny, though by no means satisfied that it contains the whole
truth. His Doctrine of the Trinity I had no difficulty in receivini, as I had
long since rejected the absurdity of a literally perIOfI4l distinction. His view.
oftlle Trinity, indeed, have mainly determined me {oread all his works. They
involve such grand conceptions, they so exalt the Divine majesty and ~lory
of the Saviour, they remove so triumphantly every philosophical objection to
the heartfelt reception of the great central truth of the Divinity of Jesus, that
the Christian world, 1 think, must one day see that, whatever may be thought
of other portions of the works of Swedenborg, they owe him, at least, one
debt of gratitude. How to reconcile the grandenr of such conceptions with
what appear to me to be the puerilities (pardon the tenn) scattered througJl
some of his works, for instance, n. 335 of his Heaven and Hell, I confess J do
not know. These contrasts are the strangest things about his works, and so
far as I know peculiar to them. This, however, though a great difficulty and
a very embarrasing one, is not tM great difficulty with me-the difficulty which
has led to this communication, and upon which I hope you may be able to
cast some light.
One of Swedenborg's fundamental and, indeed, self-evident positions is, thac
truth and good, or wisdom and love, form a one, or are inseparable. Conse-
quently, the purer any system of religious truth; the greater its sanctifying
power. If then the doctrines of the New Church are the pure truth and thoso
of the Old Churches are greatly polluted with error, the contrast between the
lives of the adherents of the former and of the latter should be as great as b&-
tween their doctrines. Of the facts on this subject, I confess my incompetence
to judge. The number of New Churchmen with whom I am acquainted, i.
small, and thou~h 1 must say, that, admitting their entire respectability and
good morals, I cannot discover any contrast in their favor between them and
members of the Old Churches. yet it would not, probably, be just \0 draw any
unfavorable iuference from such limited observation. This contrast, how-
ever, mwt exist somewhere, or SwedenborgianisfJl, as a whole, cannot be from
God. Again, have the doctrines of the New Church ever produced such emi-
nent examples of piety as are exhibited in the characters of Fenelon, Fran-
gois de Sales, Fletcher, Swartz, Martyn, and others !
And here allow me to say, that what has contributed to give this objection
great weight to my own mind, is the apparent effect of the perusal of the
426 Corre6pOfU1.ence. [Sept.
works of Swedenborg upon my own internal man. I commenced this inves-
tigation in a state of internal peace. As I have progressed, this peace has be-
come broken, communion with God less sweet, my desires for and delight in
works of active benevolence fainter, while dark shadows of indifference,
gloom, and doubt, often rest upon me. In the progress of lour own investi-
gations you may have passed through a similar state of min. If so, you may
be able to pilot me through these dark waters. Jf you can spare a few mo-
ments of your valuable time to answer this communication, I shall remember
your kindness.
To avoid the danger of leaving a false impression, I will add, tbat when I
atate, that there are certain doctrines of Swedenborg that I receive withont
difficulty, I except the psychological and ontological views associated with
those doctrines, many peculiarities of which, I confess, seem to me repulsive,
though it is possible that this may arise from misconception of their true
menning. I also wish to say that I do not receive his views of a spiritual and
oelestial sense in the Word, 1I0r the fact of his intromission into the spiritual
world, though I see no intrinsic improbability or difficulty ill eitber.
With great respect,
Yours, truly.
P. S. Swedenborg says, that no spirit remains in the .. world of spirits"
more than 30 years, .. Heaven and Hell," n. 426; and yet ill his" Christian Re-
ligion," n. 796, he finds Luther in tbe spiritual world and testifies to his con-
version tbere after 1757, 211 years after his death. Is this susceptible of ex-
planation!
REMARKS.
The vein of candor mnning through the above I. very pero~ptible and very gratifying.
The seed of the New Church appears to have fallen on a good soil, tbough pre-occupied
by a rank growth of Old Church pennaltons which will obstinBtely resist extermination.
though destined, we doubt not, 10 give way at last. The innate honesty of the writer's
mind had brought him, it seems, long prior to his acquaintance with Swedenborg. to the
consciousness of IOme grand defect in the system of faith and lif" which he h ad adopted.
and bad thus tended to prepare him for the admission of new light whenever it should
be offered. Here.acoordingly,asln multitudes of.other casllS where the affection of truth
exists, the desidt!ratom wBlsupplied; the longing for something higher and beller was re-
sponded to by the writings of Swedenborg which came in his way. The effect produc-
ed by them. as far as he bas read, is well set forth in tbe letter. It issuoh as to occasion
no surprise to one who hlLS passed through the various forms of the same lIChool, though it
manifestly bringstbe author himself to something of a nODplus. He Is at a Iou to con-
oeive how the same fountain con send fortb such sweet and bitter waten-how such grand
and convincing demonstrations of truth can consist with such puerilities of disclosure as
be finds. for Instance, in what Swedenborg 8ays of infants being taught tbe fact of the
Lord's death and resurrection by means of representative imagery (than which, by the
way, the NewchurchmaD can conceive nothing more rational or more beautiful). But
on this head we can only assure him that If he will continue to read his difficulties will
nnhh by degl't!es and he will see nothing but consistency pervading the whole.
It seems, however, that he hILS some trouble on another !Core. The lives of professed
receivers of the Heavenly Doctrines are not up to the measure of their truths. In view of
the superior character of their doctrincs he does not see coutrast enough practically be-
tween the Newoburchman and Old. We ar~ sorry to think there is probably too much
pound for this objection, while at the same time it is proper to remark that the New
Ch'Jrch standard on this score is not precisely the same with thal of the Old. The dis-
tinction between a life of piety and a life of cbarity. while it is unknown under the old
system,ls made promiuent under the new. Such men os Fenelon. DeSales. Fletcher, &c.•
1860.] Corrupondence. 427
were formed, IUI to their religious chataeter, under the operation of a pietism which we
cannot but respect, but which at the .ame time is not accordant with the geuius of the
New Economy, that dictates a life of active and cheerful use in close contact with the
world,:and teaches that a career of strict, uubending integrity is of more account in the
sight of Heaven than the most imposing round of devotion where practical morality i.
wanting; and wanting it Is very apt to be when the dogma offaith alone has full sway.
But our correspondent is confirmed in his objections from the fact that his former
peace of mind has been broken up, and a state of doubt, indifference, and spirituallan-
guor induced-a state of things altogether the revene of what he WIUI probably led to u-
pecL .. If it be so, why am I thus ," Have we any solution for the problem involved In
this result 1 Undoubtedly we have. It is easily explicable by the light of tbe New Church
teachings. The writer's mind has been undergoing a revolution of tbe eXtent of which
he is not yet fully aware. He is beginning to worship another God, \0. whom the mys-
terious trinity of persons is altogether wanting. The Son and the Father are merging, to
his apprebension, into one person, and consequently the dogma of vicarious atonement Je
tllCeding from the field of ...ision, together with the whole group of related tenets, forming
a pendant to the primary doctrine of the tri-personal Deity. There is here a disturbanoe
of the established forms of tbought which must inevitably be attended with marked effects
upon one's serenity of spirit. The fclrmcntation of tbe new wine in the old bottles can
hardly fail to be foJlowedby just such a rending as the writer describes. Add to thll
that the class of spirits with whom he was formerly aB8Olliated, and who were quiet IIf
long as he was quiet, will naturally be prompted to assail him with fierce infestations,
which he of course .cannot otherwise interpret than as a spiritual collapse producing pun-
gent distress. The state described is in fact a state of vastatlon in which tbere is a break-
ing up of false peace prior to the establishment of that which Is more genuine. When
he is farther advanced in his reading, and especially when be has become conversant with
the sublime developments of tbe Arcana, he will find tbe whole proceu of his sperience
depicted aud will 888 tbllt .. no strange tbing hatb happened unto him." It is but the
first stoge iu the taking down of the old edifice of his faith, built upon a foundation of
theological falsities, In order to the re-conslruction of the whole into a stable and beauti-
ful fabric which shall bid defiance to the fioods and winds. It Is the operation of a me-
dicine which appears at first to aggravate tbe disease, but which is subsequently followed
by the most geuial and renovating effects.
As to tbe query proposed in the postscript respecting Lutber, the true answer probably
is, that it is only since the transpiring of the LastJudgment, in 1757, that the term of about
thirty years is made the limit of the spirit's continuance in the world of spirits. Previous
to that period the departed abode for a long time, even for centuries, In the fictitious hea-
'Yens which were suffered to remain till that gmnd crisis, when they were dissipated. All
who had mflicient germs of good to save them at the time of the Judgment from instant
precipitation into hell were permitted to remain for farther probation in the world of
spirits, and it was there and thus tbat Luther was seen by Swedenbo~.
Extract ofI' letter from Dr. Tafel toa friend in Lancaster, Pa.
MISCELLANY.
The following paragraphs are from a Lecture delivered in Cillcinnati BOme few years
.ioce by the Rev. James H. Perkins, formerly pastor of the Unitarian Church in that
place, and whO!lll melancholy exit from life under an excited and morbid Slate of the
nervous system was BD widely chronicled in the papers of last summer. It was forward-
ed with a request for its publication by our brother Barretl, who was &D intimate frieod
of the writer. As our limits will not well admit of the insertion of the whole, we select
those portion. which best evince the geneml toDe of the Lecture. The parts omitted are
mainly those of a biogmphical stamp containing details of the life and works of Sweden-
borg with which our readen are mostly familiar. It seems to have been the last or..
series of Lectures on the different aspects of Christian doctrines as embodied in sects.
At the close of that outline of the various forms of Christian faith which I
have been presenting to yOll, it becomes my duty this evening to speak of the
New, or New Jerusalem Church, known very generally to those out of it as
the Swedenborgian Church. In speaking of this body of Christians I feel,
more deeply than usual, my liability to error; in attempting to present the
opinions of other churches, 1 may have been wrong in many paniculars be-
cause of my sympalhy with their opinions being very slight; we cannot fully
underSTand and teach what we do not believe and feel.
But the New Church, in addition to the peculiar views in which I have only
a partial faith at most, presents other difficulties in the extent and technicality
of its theological writings, and ill tbe spiri~ of certainty which marks its mem-
bers, who appear to me to regard their views, not as opinions but as know-
430 Mi8cellang. [SepL
r
ledge; a fact which must embarrass every one who undertakes to discuss
their views in the presence of any that hold them, and some such I presume
are here this evening. Let me confess at the outset then, the limited extent
of my reading in Swedenborg's works and my superficial comprehension of
the little I have read; and say that my purpose will be to show the spirit of
this church and its adaptation to the wants of the world, and not to criticise the
opinions held in it. In my attempt to do this .l would approach the subject BB
BD inquirer, neither believing nor disbelieving, and would strive to place before
you the origin, the leading points of faith, and the distinguishmg spiritual
character of the Church of the New Jerusalem as I see them.
The first great fact in this view is the life of Swedeuborg, from whom, almost
entirely, the characteristics of the body founded by him have been derived.
[The Leclurer bere enlers upon a sketch of Swedenborg's 1i re and scientiflo labors, with
an enumeration of his various works. He then proceeds to a summary estimate of their
vallle.]
But the character of these works was more remarkable than their volnme.
They propose to reconstruct all n8tural science by the discovery and applica-
tion of the grand central principles in accordance with which God has formed
all things. 8eginning with facts and resting upon facts, Swedenborg went
forward to the most comprehenllive principles that can be imagined, and show-
ed in a very remarkable degree the power of analysing and arranging facts,
the power of getting at the universal truths contained in them, and the dis-
position to explain every phenomenon, and comprehend all mysteries. His
results, which were truly grand theories of nature, are marked by great acute-
ness, accuracy and method, and, I should think, fancy. They were not merely
ingenioul' theories, but fanciful speculations; by this I mean, not that they
were absurd and irrational, but that they were reached, not through the under-
ltanding merely, but, in a A"reat measure, by the power of Faucy, outrunning
the mere logical faculty. Now results reached by this process are sometimes
right.. but almost always tinged with uncertainty and mysticism, and such was
the case with those taught by the Swedish Philosopher.
The same is true of his views in physiology, which, containing mnch un-
questionable truth, are marked, I think, most strongly, by a disposition to fan-
ciful and mystical views. .
To this mental feature of Swedenborg I ask your attention. It is often the
case that by such a mind general trnths are reached instantly; but it is no less
true that such a mind will tend constantly to vast, bllt baseles!! speculations
running into deeper and deeper mysticism. The pecl1liarity of Swedenborg's
mind was the union of this speculative character with profound knowledge,
great system and an intellect, clear, acnte, strong and practical. Perhaps no
philosophical writer has been at once so strong and so fanciful, so full of
practical sense and almost unintelligible transcendentalism; such at least is the
opinion 1 have formed from the brief notices .l have seen of his works on
Philosophy. • * * * * * *
And now at last the anxious inqnirer was answered; he that had reasonetl
• *
respecting the soul and God was now alJle to see by direct insight, by admit-
tance iuto the world of Spirits, tile truths or falsity of his own previous concep-
tions. It was not strange, that tbus raised above humanity, not in his nature
but in his knowledge, human knowledge ceased to interest him, and during
the remaining twenty-eight years of his life he devoted himself wholly to the
task of making the truths to which he WBS raised, known to his fellow-men;
it was not strange that he lived thus, neither was it strange that he died with
the assertion \lpOn his lips, that all he had taught was trne, for he was a man
of the nohlest character, true and pure, generous and tolerant, wholly incap-
able of deceit or conscious exaggeration.
In this manner the doctrines of the New Jen1!lalem weJ'8 made known to
men, by the admittance, real or imagined, of one of Europe's best scholars and
most original thinkers into direct communication with the world of spirits,
Rev. Mr. Pe,.kiTU' Lecture on Swedenborg. 431
into the converse of angels aud demons, the just made perfect, and the evil
condemned to woe.
And what are these doctriues 1 Their extent may be known from the fact
that the translations of a part of Swedenborg's theological works fill thirty vols.
Their complexity is known to all that have opened any of those thirty vols.
Their power is evidenced in the living churches which exist here and else-
where. I should say of them generally that ther are profoundly phiJoso~hi.
cal, the productions of a most disciplined and spiritual mind; they almost rival
the theology of the schooll.l for method, exactness, and completeness, while in
boldness, originality and true spiritual insight they far surpass the results of
any, save a few master minds of Greece and the middle ages. Nothing in
them strikes me more than their freedom and originality. They are hard to
read and hard to understand, because so original; resembling nothing unless
the philosophical productions of the same author. In using the terms· l origi-
nal" and r, free" I speak of them as human writings, their peculiar claims being
as yet undetermined.
Coming to the particular doctrines of the New Church we meet at the out-
set with one which, though by no meaus peculiar to this body, is far more
prominent iu its system thau in that of any other j it is the indepeudence, and,
at the same time, perfect and necessary uuion, of Truth and Goodne8l.', of Wis-
dom and Love. A great part of Swedenborg's moral views rests upon the fact
that wisdom cannot be complete without love, nor love perfect without wis-
dom: that falsehood cannot be joined with goodness, nor truth be associated
with moral evil. Those views of spiritual perfection which Carlyle has enfor·
ced so strongly, that doctrine of complete manhood taught by Channing, are
both, I believe, contained iu the system of Swedenborg. God, in his system,
is Love itself and Wisdom itself; by love, through wisdom, God made the
world; and from Him love and wisdom are in all created things. The two
powers of man, the will and the understanding, are, the first the habitatiou of
love and the other that of wisdom j and the end of mau's being here, is to re-
ceive from his Maker into his will Love, Charity, Goodness; into his under-
standing Wisdom, Faith, Truth, and thus to become nn inhabitant of Heaven
wherp. he shall grow forever toward the perrect stature of spiritual manhood.
God. I have said, is Gooduess and Truth,-He descended, as Truth, still con-
joined with goodness however, into the world in the person of Jesus Christ,
who was God himself. putting on, as Truth, the form of man to save mankind.
The Divine Good by itself did 110t save man, but acting through the Divine
Truth effected the great work.
As man canuot do anything by his will alone, but acts from his wi:1 through
~is understanding, so did the Divine love through the Divine wisdom, or God
througb Christ, act in the salvation of the world, and yet God and Christ are
one, as the will and understanding are one, or as heat and light are one, though
so different. And this same Divine Truth by means of which man is reformed,
regenerated, sanctified and justified, is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. one
with Christ and one with the Father, for Goodness itself and Truth itself are
one in God. This, as I am nble to understand it, is the Trinity of Swedenborg:
the .Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or Divine Goodness, Trnth, and Operation,
are one, as the Soul, Body and Operation of man are one. The old Trinity of
persons, with its Calvinistic cons~quences, is cast to the winds, 88 unchristian
and mischievous\' while from this new Trinity, as a corner stone, rises a new
structure of Theo ogy-into the details of this Theology I cannot enter. Re-
member that in the words of Swedenborg they fill thirty volumes. I must con·
tent myself with repeating that their purpose is to show that spiritual life is
from the uniou of love and wisdom, goodnes!l and truth, charity and faith in
the soul, and this union is brought about by the Holy Spirit received by man;
predestination and all its family are prollounced "detestable" and man's free
agency ever asserted. The New Church is not Arminian but it is still Anti-
Calvinistic, and with all its mysteries aud difficulties and seeming extravagan-
ces, contains nothing half so mfsterious, difficult and seemingly extravagant
as the simple proposition of Calvwism that man is bound to do that which he
cannot do.
432 Mucellany. [SepL
I have spoken of ODe great doctrine of Swedenborg, that which I should
think the foundation of bis system j a second and more pecnliar doctrine ia
that every man lives two lives, the one spiritual, the other natural, the olle in-
ternal, the other external. If his spiritual, internal life be the product of love
and wisdom, it is tben passed with the angel§ in Heaven, even while the man
is here bodily--for Heavell is not a far-off place, but a state lIear and within
us :-bnt if the interuallife be in falsitr and evil then it is passed 8S tbe exter-
nal, natural life is, in this our world-so that, truly, the evil lose tbeirspiritual
life--and as the good are with the angels now, so shall they continue to be
forever j but the wicked shall remain in that love of self and the world, which
is from Hell, and which is Hell.
The good are even now with the angels, as Swedenborg himself was, but to
him it was given to see the spiritual world in which he lived, and thus it was
that he became acquainted with the doctrines he sets forth.
The third doctrine of the New Church, to which I shall refer, is that the
Word of God has, besides its literal sense, a spiritual sense, a celestial sense.
To understand this, I may say that there are three Heavens j in the highest
dwell men and angels who are in the love of the Lord and this is the Celestial
Divine proceeding from His Divine Love j in the next dwell those who are in
the Truth of the Lord, and this is the Spiritual Kingdom, the Spiritual Divine
proceeding from the Divine Tmth--whife in the third dwell thOle that are in
the faith oC Charity and tbis is the Natural Kingdom, the Natural Divine pro-
ceeding both from the Divine love and the Divine wisdom-in accordance with
tllis division are the three seuses of the Word-from this arrangement also
springs the Doctrine of Correspondences, which teaches that all earthly things
correspond with heavenly things and natural with spiritual things.
These three doctrines, that of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, that of man'.
existence in the spiritual and natural world, and that of the triple meaning of
the Word, based upon the correspondences of Heaven and Earth-these three
with their consequences, appear to me to comprehend the chief doctrinal views
of the New Church. And from these doctrines and their origin we may gather
the Spirit of the Church and its adaptation to our times j and though here pe-
culiarly liable to error .lshallspeak strongly, that I may not be misunderstood.
The New Church is jn its spirit eminently rational, eminently scriptural,
eminently spiritl1al-it is a spirit of faith, love, tolerance and l·ustice. No ex-
position of Christianity that I know of meets my own intel ect and heart so
completely as that taught by Swedenborg, with the exception of that given by
Dr. WiIliam Channing. And that does meet my wants more perfectly because
it has not, what the New Church has, these characteristics-certainty as to
doctrine from the mode by which it was reached j certainty as to the com-
pleteness of its "doctrine, from the same cause j and the want of proATession,
because the doctrine is already complete. To other minds, perhaps to most,
this very certainty and completeness)s the great recommendation of the New
Church-they, more than auything, I suspect, have caused its growth: bot
100ner or la:er I think they must produce exclusiveness, spiritual pride, Intol-
erance, and at l..t a lifeless faith j thoogh now, if.l mistake uot, the faith of
this Church is more seen in the life of its members, than is the faith perhaps
of any other body of Christians. It holds, ill many respects, as I see it, the
place of the Old Roman Church j it has the same certainty, is filled with the
same true and deep fervor, and is threatened with the lame diseases.
Another point of resemblance to the Roman Church and another ground of
objection to it, is its complex theology, which must give to the ministry as the
Church grows, more and more of power, and thus breed ecclesiastical differen-
ces and disputes. But it may be said these objections vanish, if the doctrines
were indeed received as it is claimed they were. Of course they do, but I
speak as one out of the Church. Let me in closing then say why to my mind
the objections are valid; that is why' I cannot think the doctrines derived as
Swedenborg believed. The previous hfe of the Philosopher may be reasonably
explained on either of two theories: it may have been a life of preparation for
the visioD given him, or the natural progreas of an earneat and religiouEt man from
1860.] Progrellofthe New Church in Santa 'Cm: and St. Thoma,. 433
inquiry to iUCJuiry, from matter to mind and from mind to God, until the excited
intellect receIved its own reasoning and speculations all l,reterhumal1 visions.
Now surely, in common cases, we I!hould explain Swedenborg's history by the
latter theory. Why should his case be an exception 1 It must be from the char-
acter of his writings; but these very writings, to me, from my slight know-
ledge of them, prove that Swedenborg was not what he believed himself, they
appear to me to belong to the age and the man, and not to the universe and to
all spirits; they are technical to a proverb, and tbe noblest views-views,
simple as they are noble, are hidden by a needless phraseology belonging to
the time and to Swedenborg; moreover. in these writings I find nothing that
man might 110t discover and, I believe, has not discovered, except these pecu-
liarities, as for instance tbe triple heavens, and three-fold meaning of the Word,
which do not carry conviction with them to my mind. A deeper study of
Swedenborg's works mal alter my opinions, but however that may be, I surely
shall study them, for have never found any theological writings which
better repaid study. And to Swedenborg, now and always, I would bear my
testimony as a man of genius, purity, and the truest spiritual insight. The
Church he founded may not be The Church it claims to be, but surely, if it
does not become exclusive and narrow, it will be a trne Church of Christ, a
vast henefit to mankind. As heretics under the Old Church we owe it our
thanks-.it has dealt a blow to Calvinism, that Calvinism will never forget or
forgive, while it yet lingers in the retiring shadows of the night of the middle
ages.
REMARKS.
-,
We see in the aboTe a striking specimen of tbat peculiar union of christian candar
and 10ll'ic..llnconsequence wbich is IlO apt to distinguish Unitarian estimates of Sweden-
borg. With a sincere wish to do him ju!tice, with an unfeigned admiration in an re-
spects of the man, and in many respects of the system, there is at tbe IlBme time a con-
trast amounting to a conision between the laudations bestowed upon his doctrines, and
the qualifications and abatements whh which they are accompanied. We reoently listen-
ed to a IlOmewhatsimilar lecture from a Unitarian pulpit in this city, in which a tower-
ing pile of eulogy was raised 10 his memory by the right hand, and an but completely
overthrown before the Lecturer concluded by the left. So, in the present case, it is some-
what amusing to see Mr. Perkins ascribing to our author, as a philollOpher, an "intenect,
clear. acute, strong, and practical," conceding to him the merit of" beginning with facts,
and resting upon facts, going forward to tbe most oomprehenslve principles, showing in
a very remarkable degree the power of analysing and arranging facts, and giving forth
theories of nature marked by great acuteness, accuracy and method," and almost In tbe
next breath characterising his researcbes as .. not merely ingenious theories, but fanciful
speculations." The reader will see the !lame inconsistency in what is llBid of our author
as a spiritual teacher. The whole is a strange medley of troth and paradox.
P"OJ'lCllSOB BUIlH,
DUll SIB,-In my former communication relative to the progress of the New
Church in Santa Cruz and St. Thomas (inserted in your Repository for Jan.
last), I gave some account of the progre88 of New Church Doctrinell in these
!elands, and I doubt not it will interest yourself and four readers to learn that
in Santa Cmz the receivers of the New Church dogtnnes have recently formed
themselves into a regular society. They have been for 80me time very de-
sirous of having the services of a New Church millister, and I have suggeste~
Miscellany. [Sept.
to them, as a necessary preliminary step, the propriety of organizing a regular
society and that each m~mber should sign the articles of association. I hap-
pened to have by me a printed form, which was issued in N"ew-York, at the
time the secoud society was about to be organized there i' this, with a few al-
terations answered the purpose. Notice was given to aI the known receivers
in Bassin (or Christiansted), to attend a meeting for worship on Sunday, 21st
April last, when about forty persons assembled. By request, 1 conducted the
service from the English N. C; Liturgy, and read part of Mr. Barrett's sermon,
original1y delivered on the occasion of the opening of a New Church Temple
in Providence, Rhode Island. After the service it was proposed and agreed
to form a society j tbe articles of association were then read, and with some
few alterations also agreed to. [t was likewise voted that a fair copy of tbe
articles, as amended, should be produced at the next meeting for signature.
Accordingly on Sunday, 28th April. fifty or sixty persons being present, the
service was conducted as before, after which sixteen signatures were attached
to the articles, and in accordance therewith, a Treasurer. Secretary, and three
Readers were chosen. It is the office of the latter to take tnrns in reading the
service including a sermon j they are very respectable persons, and fully ade-
quate to the duties allotted them; their names, it may be well to mention,
are Dr. WILUAM H. RUAN, who is acknowledged to be the most talented Phy-
sician in Bassin, Mr. J. H. W. KIRWAN. one of the principal teachers in the
Public School, and Mr. JOHN M. JOHNSON, who was in early life designed for
the ministry ill the English Church, but who, owing to some reverses in his
father's affairs, was unable to finibh his studies. The latter is also Treasurer
and ~ecretary to the Society.
On 12th May four new members entered the Society, and I have been in-
formed that nmeteen additional applications have llince been made for mem-
bership, and I presume they have been admitted. The room occupied by the
society was capable of containing only about seventy persons and many have
been obliged to leave for want of room. This inconvenience if.l about to be
remedied, application having been made to the Governor and school author-
ities for the nse of the Pnblic School Room, which is a large commodious
apartment, capable of containing two or three hundred persons, and which
they have reason to believe will be granted t.hem.
Opposition to the religious meetings of the Society, was ex,tJected by many,
as the former Governor, several years ago, had refused permission to the de-
livery of lectures on the doctrines of Swedenborg; but the present Governor,
owing, no doubt, to the recent establishment of the very liberal constitution
of the Kingdom of Denmark, has not thought proper to throw any oblltacles
in the way, but on the contrary he appears to be somewhat interested and
has solicited Dr. Ruan to lend him some books explanatory of the doctrines.
The chief opposition to the society comes from the minister of the Episco-
pal Church, who is greatly annoyed at finding that many of his congregation
have come over to the New Church, and particularly so, at the secession of
Dr. Ruau, who was formerly one of the church wardens, and had been in the
habit of officiating in the pulpit, during the absence of the minister in Ameri-
ca. He intimated to one of his former members, that he ought 1I0t to have
read the Swedenborgiall tracts without first consnlting him, as he was his
Pastor, and could have told him all about the Swedelluorgian heresy, having
"im~lf read concerning the doctrines when he was only eighteen yeaTs of
age. .. Ah!" replied the seceder, "when you read them, you were probably
too ioung to understand them, bnt as I am considerably your elder, I think,
sir, am old enough to judge for myself, without asking your permission."
He invited others to visit him at his house in the evening, and then gave them
a regular lecture, in which he said all he could agaillst the New Church doc-
trines, but of course, to no effect, except to confirm them in the new doctrines
which they had adopted. On their departure, he desired them to say nothing
about his having called them together or relative to the subjects upon which
Ite had spoken to them! The ~eret, however, soon leaked out.
ISM.] Editorial Iteml.
This minister has, it appears, heard much said by the new converts to the
heavenly doctrines, concerning the letter of the Rev. AICred E. Ford (original-
ly addressed to yonrself) appellded to the Rev. Thomas Wilkes' 11 Reasons for
embracing the Doctrines of the New lerL1salem Church" (which with it has
been reprinted by the Manchester Tract Society, as Tract No. 60), and prob-
ably thinking it had influenced many, promul~ated a report tbat since Mr. F.
had joined the New Jerusalem Church, he had become crazy and was now
an Atheist! This piece of (to them) tlMful information has been bruited all
over the Island, and even in St. Thomas, as a warning to those who give up
the religion of their Fathers and run aCter visionary doctrines. It has been
traced to a young lady in the United States who commnnicated it in a letter
to her brother then in S1. Thomas j she, I suppose, taking it for granted, that
anyone who denied that there were three persons each in possesllion of all
the attributes of God, must be a denier of God, and thereCore an Athei,t! I
have been asked by several, iC it was really tme, that Mr. Ford had become an
atheist. I at once denied the pO&$ibility of such a thing, and stated that a trlUl
New Churchman bad never been known to leave the New Church for any otll,r,
much less to become an atheist! How, indeed, could he !
If For who Ihal has drunk of Ihe cryltaline Slream,
Would return to Ihe feculent flood I"
It is intended to make a sUbscri~tion here and at Santa Cmz for the purpose
of offering to some able N. C. miD1ster sufficient to remunerate him, at least so
far as paying his expenses go, should there be any such a one dispolled to
spend a few months among them. Santa Cruz is no donbt a good field for the
miasionary, well versed in the doctrines and able at reply. It is the opinion
of many that the other churches would be almost abandoned if there were a
New Church minister there, and although, from the fewness of their nllmbers,
they are not at pre,ent able to support a minister, yet I am inclined to think
that in a very short time they would be fully adequate to do so j a pretty cor-
rect judgment might, I think, be formed, after a trial of three or fonr months.
With respect to St. Thomas, I regret to say, there is no prospect, at present,
of forming an association oC the New Church. There were but two persons'
of the New Church residing here, of influence or energy of character, and one
of them, Mr. K4erultf, has just left for New-York. It will, 1 fear, be long be-
lore the Receivers of the N. C. Doctrines here, will be sufficiently numerous
or energetic to organize a society. In St. Thomas they are quite a different
people from those of Sanla Crnz-their whole soul is in merchandizing for the
sake of making money, and with most of them, I believe, religion is a thing but
seldom thought of, and especially a religion so elevating, so soul·inspiring, aud
so spiritual as that oftbe New Church.
I expect to be in New-York in about a month from this time, when I shall
be able to give more certain information as to the probable amount oC sub-
scription money that can be raised towards deCraying the" expenses of a New
Church minister, aud will communicate it to you.
F.. B.
St. Thomas, July 16, 1850.
BDITORIAI,; ITEIlIS.
We understand that Mr. Wm. B. Hayden took license at the late meeting of the Maine
A.uociation at Bangor, where he proposes to remain preaching and lecturing a few
week», when he will enter upon a similar engagement at Portlaud for several months.
A correspondent in a letter recently received remarks.-If I am reading Davis' • Great
Harmonia,' with much interest and some profit. I Ihink there is itlttf'flal ftlidtfll:t in the
llook that the author has made himself acquainted with all the bolder speculations of the
Editorial Itet1l8. [Sept. 1850.
day Dnd theo outlines at lealt of New Church philosophy in the ordinary method ofleas
favored momls. I have heard nothing of your opinion of tbe man for a long time. If It
would not be too mucb of an Intrusion on your kindness and politeness, I would like to
have your prt-' "w. of his case." Our present views of this remarkable case are sub-
stantially tbe same witb thO!l8 which we espreHed some years since throngh different
mediums of communication with tbe public. We are persuaded now, all then, tbat his
condition, psychologically viewed, il one of the most astounding that bas ever occurred
to puzzle the phllosopby of a sensual age Dnd a secnlarized cburcb. We tbink his" Re-
velations of Nature," has never had full justice done to it, considering the circumstances
under which it was written, for we are perfectly satisfied that it had precisely the origin
that is claimed for It. There is equal internal evidence in regard to that work as to the
Cl Harmonia" that the author had then acquBinted himself wllb .. the bolder speculations of
the day" by the usual metbod of reading, whereas in both cales we have not for ourselves a
sbadow of doubt tbat tbe loformation comes to him tbrougb a preternatural way. When
the" Revelations" was published we were authorized to offer, through the public papers,
a reward of 8500 (wbicb we did) for any evidence that Davis or his allllOCiates bad had
Dccess to a work of Swedenborg's of which be gave a somewbat detailed account. Tbis
amount we were subsequently authorized to increase to $1000, but as no claimant came
forward to demand the former, we did not tbink it wortb while to give ourselves the pub-
licity of offering the latter. So in regard to his recent volume oC wbicb our correspondent
lpeaks, we have no besitation to assure him that his doublll on tbe lIClore of the medium
by which be comes at his information are groundless. We are acquainted with tbe in-
dividuals who have given their vouchers to tbe work on this leore, and know them to be
truthful men. We are moreover peraonaily acquainted with Davis' manner of liCe and
habits of study, and have had knowledge of the inception and progICS! of the work in
question, and we are tborougbly persuaded that the statements on this bead are true, as
also that tbere is much more true of the same kind tbat is not yet given to tbe public.
But while we affirm tbis as our unwavering conviction, we are on the other band jUlt al
finaly auured that in regard to the blgher order of spiritual and divine truth he is tbe
anbject or the malt false and pernicious inftu:u-s;and tbat bis utterances, from a certain
chamcter ofspecious subtlety, are calculated to unsettle many of the great primary truths
of the univerlltl and work a world of mischief in simple and bonest minds, that are die-
..tis/hod with pre~alent dogmas, without knowiog precisely what to substitute in tbeir
ltead. That there are deep problems connected witb tbe case wbicb it is difficult to solve
we do not deny. But tbis is not our concern. We simply testify to facts and impressions.
A weekly paper oftbe Univercc:elum class, entitled the" Spirit Messenger," has just been
started at Springfield, Ma6s., to whicb Davis is a regular contributor, and bis first quota
la a series of articles on the question whether man is a free agent, whicb 10 abound in
the grossest falsities as to be redolent of the source from whicb all falsities spring. Yet in
the midat of all he has the calm assurance of an oracle wbollO dicta are not once to be
questioned. Yet after all tbe case is not less valuble on this account IllI confirmation of the
leaching. of the New Church.
The response to tbe appeal in bebalf of tbe American New Church Tract and Mi..ion- -
ary Society is thus far encouraging. The receipts, tbough not large from anyone quar-
ter, are somewhat numerous in small sums from many quarters, and give token that the
object is widely appreciated througbout the Church. But tbe amollnt already contributed
la the merest trifle compared with what Is required and with wbat we hope eventually to
realize. We shall make Infonnal reports of our progre. from time to time. It il one
advantage of our IIllheme that we can go to work at once OD the smallest amount of
oapital.
THE
MONTHLY REVIEW.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.
Is the heart, taken in its widest sense, or the arteries and veins
taken together, which is determined from the third form or cere-
brum by the blood vessels,-hence this form is the circular. The
blood vessels cannot be properly said to arise from the heart, but after
having originated they fiow together and form the heart. They arise
from the nervous fibres, for, according 10 the observations of Mal-
phigi upon the incubation of a chicken, the little capillary blood ves-
sels did not at first reach the little heart, but lay around, at a little
distance from it, and successively approached it. It also appears
from this, that the little heart exists after the cerebrum. The cere-
brum therefore acts upon the blood vessels derived therefrom, excites
the heart to action, and altogether determines them in the muscles.
Because the blood vessels live, though obscurely, this is properly call-
ed the animal form, for inherent in the heart and its arteries is the
faculty of acting and obscurely feeling, derived from the cerebrum:
for wbatever is animated lives; hence the blood vessels live, but in
their own degree. The reason of their obscure life is, that they are
derived from and consist mediately of simple fibres. On account of
this obscure life the scholastic philosophers placed the seat of the
soul iD the heart and believed the sensorial fibres were derived from it.
440 The Fomu of the Animal Kingdom. [Oct.
THB FIns FOIUI
Is the whole body, determined and formed from the fourth or the
heart, with its arteries and veins, by the motive or muscular fibres,
formed conjointly of the blood vessels and nerves. Hence it follows
that this form is rectilinear and angular, as the muscles, tendons,
cartileges, and bones, which are more or less angular, although their
external figure is in man)· instances circular. Because the motive
fibres live in acting and act in living, this form iSlroperly called
corporeal, for inherent in the body, its membranes an viscera, is the
activity of tht' motive organs derived from the heart. This is the
last, or the complement of forms, which correspond to the first in the
8Oul.
Thus there are in the animal kingdom prior and posterior forms,
one succeeding and being derived from another, that is, the intellectual
from the spiritual and celestial, the sensitive from the intellectual, the
animal from the sensitive and the corporeal from the animal. Each
prior form holds potentially in itself and embraces all posterior forms,
and each posterior form holds all the prior forms actually. Such is
the succession of forms in the animal kingdom, such their derivation,
possessing above the purely natural forms the gift of living spiritual-
ly while at the same time they act naturally; hence they are well call-
ed spiritual forms.
The simple fibres are the essential determinations of the 8Oul; the
medulJary fibre, of the cortical substances; the nervous fascicles and
nerves, of the cerebrum; the blood vessels, of the heart, and the mo-
tive fibres, of the body, for from these the members and viscera are
principally formed. By the simple fibres the soul modifies herself 80
as to form her organic machine; by the second or medullary fibres,
the rational or intellectual mind modifies itself so as to be able to
effect what it judges, concludes, and wills; by the nerves and their
fascicles the cerebrum modifies itself 80 as to determine what its mind
(animus) desires; by the blood vessels the heart modifies and deter-
mines itself so as to carry forward and effect whatever the superior
forms perceive, will, and desire; and by the motive fibres, all the
members and viscera are m<;»ved, and hence the ultimate effects which
are actions.
The simple fibres are determined and modified by the vortical form
of tluxion; the nervous fibres by the spiral; the blood vessels by the
circular; and the motive fibres by the rectilinear. The nerves and
fascicles are aggregates ofdeterminations. These fibres in the animal
kingdom, like the atmospheres in the natural kingdom between which
there is a perfectly similar action, modification, and function, are the
means by which one form, sphere, and degree descends to and into
another, to actuate, modify, determine, and govern it; and form it to
receive a suitable and reciprocal re-action.
Since all the organic forms successively descend from the simple
fibre, being formed and determined from and by it, and since also the
simple fibre itself consists of the substance of the soul, it follows that
there is nothing truly substantial in the whole body except the soul
';self. And since the simple fibre is of a celestial and spiritual DR-
1850.] TI,e FOf"71U of the Animal Kingdom. 441
ture, determined from the soul, it follows that the forms of the body,
internal and external are of a celestial and spiritual origin a~d are
indeed the soul in ultimates.
We may now determine what is the soul, and what the body.
The soul is thnt purest animal essence, celestial and spiritual, which
constructs, incites, and modifies the simple fibres, and is at the same
time the sole essential ingredient in the animal spirits and red blood.
Everyone of its individual forms are most perfect, primitive, supreme,
and simple; immediately subject to the influx trom the Divine;
created to the reception of its influxes and operation. These forms,
which are living and intelligent, are therefore the soul. It constructs
this whole animal form, which appears before our eyes, being the
whole in every part, the sole substance that lives and reigns in the
whole system.
The body consists of those parts properly earthly, being those saline,
sulphureous, oily, aqueous and other substances taken from the mineral
and vegetable kingdoms, and from the bosom of the atmospheres,
which enter into the composition of the animal spirits and the red
blood, and other humors arising therefrom. These forms are angular,
inert, cold, dead, and material, and of themselves constitute what we
call the body, contributing nothing to the form itself, except enabling
it to descend from its own heaven and inhabit the earth.
In order to form some conception of the intercourse and conjunction
between the soul and the body, we must understand something of the
circulations pervading the animal system. There are three circula-
tions, the circulation of the red blood, of thc animal spirits, and the
purest animal essence, constituting the circle of life.
The red blood or each of its globules is resolved into purer blood,
during each circulation; so likewise is the purer blood or animal
spirit into the purest, and in passing through the fibres is again re-
composed; thus decomposition and t:ecomposition alternately taking \
place. Each of these circulations ~ distinct, as the fibres them-
selves are distinct, in which they are performed. Hence there arc
three circulations, three fluids, and three fibres and vessels.
The first circulation, being that of the purest blood, is like the sim-
ple fibre in which it takes place, the most simple, supreme, interior,
remote, and perfect, solely reigning in and over the others, concerning
which anything may be predicated which is suitable to the simple
fibre, its substances and forms.
The second circulation being that of the animal spirit like the me-
dullary fibre, proximately succeeds the first and precedes the third,
and is the mediate circulation, simpler, superior, interior, and more
remote and perfect than the following; but less so than the preceding,
concerning which anything may be predicated which is proper to the
medullary fibre, or the animal spirit which performs this circulation.
The third circulation, being that of the red blood, like the ultimate
fibre or blood vessel, proximately succeeds the second, and is the last
of the three, most exterior, composite, and more imperfect than the
two prior, being itself corporeal, in and above which the former rule;
and whatever may be predicated of the arteries and red blood may
142 ne Forms of the Animal KiR!Jdom. [Oct.
be predicated of it; for by and in the former the circulation is per-
formed.
All other humors and fluids, arising from those above named, per-
form their circulations; for there is no animal humor which does not
circulate, in its own manner. But these circulations are special and
particular, depending upon the former, which are universal.
The three circulations determine and rule all others; each in its
own province; wherefore the first is the supreme universal; the se-
cond the inferior universal; and the third, that of the red blood, is the
common.
Since the simple fibre is the ingredient of, and forms and determines,
the medullary fibre, so in like manner does the first circulation the
second; or as the first animal essence, or the soul, forms, deter.
mines, and excites the second or the animal spirit; so does the first
circulation the second.
Since the medullary fibre forms and composes the blood vessel, so
does the second circulation the third-or as the animal spirit enters
into, forms, and detennines the red blood, so does the second circula-
tion the third. Whatever may be properly predicated of the fibres,
vtssels, and fluids, may be predicated of the circulation, for the circu-
lations indicate the quality and the form of the fluxion of the fluids
and their fibres, and vice ver8Q.
Each circulation is carried on separately and also all conjointly;
that is the first in the second, and the first and second in the third at
the same time, that is in the blood vessels and red blood.
\ This influx of one into another is what we call the CIRCLE or LIrE;
which if properly explained and comprehended will enable us to un-
derstand the nature of the mutual and reciprocal intercour8e between
the 80ul and the body. For the first circulation is of the soul; the
third of the red blood, or the corporeal circulation; and the mediate
is that of the animal spirit, by which the soul flows into the body and
effects a CO-ESTABLISHED HARMONY.
The word circulation involving local motion, is applied to the soul,
which determint".8 the simple fibre; and since determination cannot
be conceived by the natural mind without the idea of fluxion or local
motion, the term is so applied, yet inadequately except on the ground
of correspondence and analogy. ,
Such is a very general view of the forms of the animal kingdom. The
mind surveying this system as a whole, perceiving the mutual connec-
tion, the reciprocal action and perfect harmony reigning in the whole,
every part and organ, can hardly fail to teel an intuition of its truth
vividly impressed upon it. and yield to a conviction quite as strong,
as if grounded in mathematical demonstration. The immense store
of experimental facts upon which the inductions supporting it are
founded-the confirmations brought to its support from philosophers
of every school, from Plato to Bacon-the lights that blaze forth from
every avenue of nature illuminating every point of the system, ren-
dering it transparent as crystal, would surprise those philosophers of
'1e present day, who ascribe all the animal forces to chemical and
1850.] T1ul FurTIU of tle Animal Kingdom. 443
galvanic agencies, and deny the existence of any living fluids or cir-
culations other than that of the red blood and its immediate depen-
dents, could they the" eye unscale" and see the truth in its own ful-
oess.
It seems to us that the theory lately brought forth in this country
by Prof. Agassiz, but sometime since broached in Germany, by Oken,
that man, from the incflption of Jife to perfect manhood, passes through
and more or Jess distinctly represents every form of animal existence,
and thereby affording the best possible ground for arranging and
elRSsifying, according thereto, all the subjects of natural history, fol-
Jows very naturally as a coroJlary from the theory of the animal
kingdom as propounded by Swedenborg. Did he not have this clear-
ly in view when he calledlnan the animal kingdom 1 for by it he means
man. And further, is there not a broader and more comprehensive
theory still, indicated by the fact, that man is not only an animal
kingdom, but a microcosm; as he is every where called by our au-
thor 1 If man be a microcosm he must represent the whole created
universe; which is indeed one of the grand doctrines underlying the
foundation of the New Philosophy.
This doctrine of forms also casts important light upon the modes of
sensation and the power of the mind to become conscious of objec-
tive existence. How the mind, the subjective, becomes conscious of
the without, the objective, has been the great problem of modern me-
taphysics. From the time that Kant declared the passage from the sub-
jective to the objective impassable, thus laying the ground work of a
most subtle and mischievous skepticism, one school of philosophers has
been carrying out the Kantian theory to its legitimate consequences.
While another school, having more faith in the unity of things, seeing
the consequences to which that theory was leading and denying its
truth, determined to force a passage across this metaphysical Lodi
notwithstanding the severe discharges of the enemy's artillery. But
these grenadiers, instead of grasping the proper standards, and march-
ing forward with eyes intently surveying the fields, ready to espy and
seize the key to the adversary's position, lowered their heads, fixed
their eyes upon their own bosoms and thus, bJind to everything but
the emotions and tossings of their own internals, try the passage.
But who. of all the host has safely reached the other shore 1
Now, according to the doctrine of forms, the animal or subjective
forms are exactly like the world-forms or the objective forms in their
determinations, modifications, forces and accidents, with the addition
of life to the former, or the power of perceiving their own states and
modifications tU of themselves. So aptly do they correspond that an-
gular forms most cOllveniently flow into and effect the senses of taste
and smell, the circular forms of the modulations of air into the sense
of hearing, the spiral form, or the modifications of ether, into the
sense of sight. So likewise do the higher and interior forms flow
into and affect with their own qualities, states, and modifications the
higher, interior and spiritual forms of the animal kingdom.
Thus all the subjective forms are perfectly accommodated and
created to the reception of the .influx, that is the powers, forces,
444 The FONIU of tile Aaimal Kingdom. [Oct.
changes of state. and variations of the objective fonns. Now it is
perfectly obvious that whenever the objective and subjective forms
are conjoined, adjoined, or in contact, they must mutually affect
each other; there must be a mutual impartation of modifications or
changes of state and variations of form; and these, the subjective
forms, by reason of their life, perceive in themsel ves, as of themselves.
All this must hold true not only of the lower and exterior forms of
sens~, but of the higher and interior forms of imagination, intelligence,
and wisdom. Whatever then affects the objective forms conjoined
to the subjective, affects likewise the latter, and through their life all
the phenomena produced come to their perception. The subjective
perceive the changes of state and variations of form which are in
themselves-they can perceive nothing more; for that nothing can
go out of itself is self-evident. We know that the appearance is
otherwise; yet reason in correcting the fallacies of sense affirms the
truth of the axiom.
Since the natural atmospheres are the mediums by which the sub-
1 jective forms of the natural man attain the knowledge of natural
things; in like manner, by spiritual mediums or atmospheres the sub-
jective forms of the spiritual and inner man attains the knowledge of
spiritual thin~s. The objective, by changes of state and variations of
form, enters the subjective, and there and there alone, comes to the
affection and comes to the thought.
Now we may understand how the soul, created in the image and
likeness of the Divine, formed to the reception of His love and wisdom,
which impart to her, as their own essential gift and essence, the faculty
of feeling and perceiving themselves in herself as wholly her own,
descends by suitable and provided means from degree to degree, from
sphere to sphere, clothing herself in each, in forms such as are there,
and wholly suited to receive and appropriate their entire nature; feel-
ing and perceiving all their changes and variations; instructing her-
self in a.1l their uses and qualities, and delighting herself with all their
harmonies, until finally, in her perfection and in her beauty, she stands
forth before our admiring gaze, in the Human Form. There she
stands, the perfect representation of the higher and lower worlds, be-
ing in her Human Form, herself, a little world, corresponding to the
universe--hence she is a microcosm representing the macrocosm.
W. H. B.
MarqlJelte, WII.
EXTRACT.
.. The reuon wby evil is imputed to man, is, because it has been given to him, and is
continually given, to feel and to peroeive as if life was in him, !lnd inasmuch as he is in
that state, be Is, also, in the freedom and faoulty of actinl as from himself, whioh faculty,
viewed in itself, and whioh freedom, viewed in itself, is never taken away from him, be-
cause he is born a man, wbo is to live for ever, it is from that faoulty and that freedom,
that he oan receive both good and evil as of himself. Anc! whereas man is kl!!pt in the
midst between heaven and hell, the Lord, also, gives blm to know that good Is from Him,
and that evil is from the devil; also, by truths in the ohuroh, to know what is good and
what is evil i sinoe man knows those truths, and it is given to him from the Lord to think
them, to will them, to speak and to do them, as from himself, and this cODtinually by in-
Ilu:l:, henoe, if he does Dot receive, he beoomes guUt1."-~. E. 1148.
]800.] The Science of Homology. 445
ARTICLE 11.
vegetable or animal, into organs and viscera, will give him an idea
of the principle by which angels are consociated into societies and
societies into heavens. He possesses thus a species of knowledge
whereb)' he can illustrate many curious or difficult points in Sweden-
borg's philosophy of the universe. What does he still lack 1 Initiate
him into the doctrine of degJ·ees, and he will find himself on a still
more wonderful path of homological discovery. He has hitherto
confined his attention to phenomena in the same plane and over-
looked the wonderful and truly homological connection of the higher
with the lower spheres. He has compared mineral with mineral,
vegetable with vegetable, animal with animal. Let him compare
mineral, plant, and animal together. He will find 110t only that the
same forms are repeated in different planes of being, but that the
same things are done in the different planes through the agency of
one influent force. The needle will point to the North, the flower
will turn spirally to the sun, the animal will go unguided over wastes
and forests to its home, and the man consciously or unconsciously
will turn himself to his ruling love. The poisonous mineral, the
deleterious plant, the savage animal, the depraved man, will present
him with new and instructive homologies. Teach him the relation
of primary, mediate and ultimate-of End, Cause, and Effect. The
sun is thfl primary substance of the solar system. Hence it is prior,
superior, and interior to all of the planets. The atmospperes are
the media to connect him with the earths or ultimates. The heat,
light, and other phenomena in the atmospheres are homologues, im-
ages, or representations of the sun in the middle sphere, the earth
with its infinite productions represents him in the lower sphere.
The nervous system is the primary of the human body-and con-
sequently prior in development, superior and interior in position, and
constantly pouring its vital fluid outwards and downwards, upon and
into, the subjacent and subservient structures. The heart and lungs
are the mediatory organs, which connect the brain with all the other
tissues of the body-the ultimates in which the results of the mighty
mechanism are realized. Now instruct our pupil to look for homo-
logies not only between bone and bone, but between bone and muscle,
muscle and nerve; not only between hand and foot, but between
hand and brain, between brain and heart, and between heart and
lungs. He will find that every point of the brain corresponds to a
point of the body into which it flows, by and through which it acts.
He will thus get an insight into the true relation of external, internal,
and inmost. He will understand why the skull and face represent
the cerebral structure, and therefore why Phrenology and Physiog-
nomy are reliable indices of mental character. He will see the re-
lation of external symptoms of disease to internal derangements.
When he knows that every organ of the body, down to the skin and
nails, is a brain in another form or mode of manifestation, he will
perceive the reason why a tree is known by its fruits and a man by
his actions. Homologies existing on different planes or degrees of
being are correapondence8, and he will be thus led by his own science
into the central avenue of spiritual knowledge. He will soon under-
1850.] The Science of Homology. 449
stand that the celestial, spiritual, and natural sensf'!S of the Holy
Scriptures are based upon the same principles, and that it is in the
ultimate or let.ter of the Word according to both theory and fact, the
utmost potency of Divine Truth is embodied and manifested. He
will then cSlrry his principle of interpretation into the three heavens
and hells and perceive how they are necessarily and representatively
consociated with each other. Nor will he hesitate to urge it into a
still higher and holier sphere, and behold how the Lord, the primary
Being, through the intermediate heavens, creates and sustains his
boundless visible creation. Thus will he have advanced by gradual
and legitimate steps from the study of a leaf to the comprehension of
God.
But this promise of reciprocal confirmation of Homology and of
New Church truth, calls for a special demonstration. And it shall
be taken from the human body-the true material temple of the
Lord, and the frequent source of Swedellborg's illustration. I have
already alluded to the three planes of animal life, primary, mediate,
and ultimate-the central organs of which are respectively contained
in the three cavities, called the cranium, the thorax, and the abdomen.
The spinal cord, the trachea, and the resophagus, may be called the
three axes of these conjoined circles of life. The Homologist has al-
ready detected for himself the essential identity of the parts of each
circle, but although he knows that there is a general influx from the
higher into the lower circles, he has not yet discovered that such a
correspondence exists between the circles, that the parts of the high-
er are repeated in the parts of the lower; so that the same function
is discharged by three organs (for instance the cerebrum, the lungs,
and the liver) which differ in structure and action only according to
the degrees of life of which they are recipient. The central organs
of the nervous system are the cerebrum and cerebellum. Physiolo-
gists have unanimously accorded the intellectual operations to the
former, and it is accordingly the seat of the understanding. Diversi-
ty of opinion has existed as to the precise function of thc cerebellum,
but as no one has attributed thought or sensation to it, and as all
have given it instinctive, volitional, and excito-motory powers, we
may safely regard it as the seat of the will. Now the liberty and
rationality which distinguish man from the brutes reside in the will
and understanding. The unition of Will and Understanding for the
production of actions is all that is necessary for the spiritual concep-
tion of the human form. To ultimate this united will and under-
standing', organs must be prepared in the three planes of life for their
influx and reception. Physiology says that the cerebrum and cere-
bellum are such organs in the highest sphere. Swedenborg says that
the lungs and heart are such organs in the middle sphere. Let the
spiritual sun and its emanations represent the nervous system, the
natural sun and its emanations will correspond to the middle or cir-
culo-respiratory system, and their continued action produces the ulti-
mates of the body analogous to all material substances.
This correspondence of the heart and lungs with the Will and Un-
derstanding is the anatomical basis of Swedenborg's Psychology. If
450 The Science of Homology. [Oct.
it be true, we may anticipate beautiful homological relations of fune-
tion and structur~ between the heart and the cerebellum, and between
the lungs and the cerebrum. If such homologies be found to exist,
they will confirm the truth of the doctrines of Degrees and Corres-
pondence. Naturalists have dissipated the mist of appearances and
recognized the real identity of the bony structures which constitute
the thorax and cranium. When we look into the cavities formed by
these homologous bones, we find in each, two organs connected with
each other by nerves, blood-vessels and intermediate membranes.
Like the root, stem, leaf, and flower of the tree, they all began their
development in the same manner. They were simple and delicate
cells increasing by repeated self-division (the simplest and earliest
form of animal reproduction), and perft'ctly symmetrical in their
arrangement. And although for physiological uses they diverged
from their common type like the different races of men from their
parent stock, many clear traces of their original unity are still to be
detected. The cerebrum is much larger than the cerebellum, almost
entirely hiding it from view; the lungs are much larger than the heart
and partially surround and conceal it. The cerebrum is developed
after the cerebellum, indeed the lowest animals have none at all, and
it successively increases in proportion as we ascend the scale until it
attains its maximum in man. The lungs are developed after the
heart, and present steps of advance in the lower tribes analogous to
those of the cerebrum. The cerebellum begins the highest life, the
heart begins the middle life, and they act together from the first even
during the fretal condition. In the embryo, the cerebrum, and its
homologue, the lungs are dormant, Rnd they both come into synchro-
nous action at the moment of birth. When the cerebrum is collapsed
or congested in sleep or in disease, the respirations of the lungs are
correspondingly slower and deeper. The fibrous prolongations of
the heart into arteries and veins penetrate the interiors of every
tissut', but return in a circle to their fountain without having effected
anv communication with the external world.
The nervous prolongations of the cerebellum in the same way are
distributed to the interior fibres of the body, but return in loops or
circles without any external communication. The fibrous or tubular
prolongation of the lungs terminates in the nose and mouth upon the
surface of the body. The nervous prolongations of the cerebrum ter-
minate in the skin and organs of the external senses, in such expan-
sions as that of the optic nerve in the e~'e. The cerebrum connects
man with the spiritual atmospheres. 'fhe lungs connect him with
the natural atmospheres. The cerebellum is the source of mo-
tion-the heart distributes the blood which excites and main-
tains that motion. The cerebrum is the source of thought, the lungs
produce the sound which expresses that thought. The understanding
receives from the will a flood of affections and desires which it is to
discriminate, consider, conclude upon, Rnd reject or bring into action.
The lungs receive from the heart a mass ofheterogeneous blood, which
is to separate into capillary or infinitesimal quantities, act npon, and
rejecting a position unfit for use, purify the rest forthe wants of ani-
mal life. The homological relation of the liver in the lowest plane to
1850.] The Science of Homology. 451
ARTICLE Ill.
ECCLESIASTICAL UNIFORMITY.
11 The:whole earth was of Doe lip j and their words were one."-Gen. xi. 1.
THE internal meaning of the preceding passage, Swedenborg tells
us, is that in the Ancient Church there prevailed uniform doctrine,
both in general and in particular. This is true of every genuine
church of the Lord. If there were not such oneness, there could be
nothing but jarring discordanceR in the whole body, and sects and
schisms without number: for "how can two walk together except
they are agreed 1" This is the case in the Old Church at the present
time. Upon the mode of administering the Holy Supper, together
with the peculiar theories as to the real presence, transubstanti-
ation, consubstantiation, or representation, the difference of Luther-
ans and Calvinists with themselves, and with the Papacy, took their
rise. Other doctrinals ensued, to be sure, but these, we believe, pre-
ceded. And upon the modes of baptism, the subjects of that ordi-
nance, &c., a second series of divisions ensued in the Protestant
world. Church government also has since become a bone of con-
tention.
But in the New Church there exists no propriety for such dissen-
sions. The illuminated Swedenborg has given a plain and satisfactory
elucidation of the true import of Baptism and the Holy Supper. So
has he also explained other doctrinals, so that even the foolish way-
farer has no need to err. The acknowledgment of the Lord, faith
in all the truths of the Word, and a life of charity are the essentials
of the New Jerusalem. Whoever abounds in them is a true member
of the Church, and none other. Thus" the whole world is of one lip;
and their words are one."
But in the ceremonials of th(" church. and the ministers of its ex-
ternal organization, no such uniformity is required, or even expected.
The whole body is as one man. It is not for any member or conven-
tion of members to legislate who are in the hand, who in the head,
or who are in the foot of this grand man. Each member must by a
fixed law of the Divine Providence gravitate to his own place. Once
fairly settled there, any removal or attempt at removal is disorderly.
This would be only a copy of the fall of the Ancient Church which
receded from charity and essayed to frame a doctrine and standard
for itself, the result of which was the dispersion of the church, be-
cause of the love of ruling which is now predominant. For the man
who desires to rule the conduct and thought of another, is himself
the insane subject of evil spirits. Love of dominion is the complete
opposite to the love of God.
In this case charity is divorced from faith; and this faith easily
becomes the perverted engine to overthrow the goods of the Church
and the Word. Thus Cain-those who held to uniform worship from
faith alone-seeks to destroy the brother who emblematizes the life
of charity.
1850.] EccleJliartical Uniformity. 453
EXTRACT.
.. To become spiritual, is to be elevated from the natural, that is, from the light and
heat of the world, inlo the light and heat of heaven. Of this elevation no one knows but
he who is elevated; nevertheless the natural man, not yet elevated, perceives no otherwiae
than that he is elevated: the reason is, because his inlellecl, equally with the spiritual
man, can be elevated into the light of heaven, and he can think and speak spirilually 88
well 88 naturally. But if his will be not elevated .at the same time wilh his intellect, he
Is not elevated; for he does pot stay in that elevation, but shortly lapses to his will, and
there confirms his slation. The willis mentioned, but the love is at the same time un-
derstoodj for that which a man loves he wills."-CI/tti_gi4l ~t. 347.
VOL. W. 30
454 Plea for the Publication of the [Oct.
ARTICLE IV.
and not for ours. We wish it because we think it the orderly means
of opening- their minds to the recept.ion of the truths we have to offer
them. We wish them to credit the messenger for the sake of his
message. We wish them to know and respect EMANuEL SWEDENBORG,
in order that they may learn to know and love his and their Divine
Lord and Master.
We wish also, to do good to our country, collectively, because her
uses are great and honorable. She occupies a prominent position
among the nations of the earth. She is the refuge for the oppressed
of every land. She spreads around us the protecting arms of a
mother. She is worthy of our love, of our utmost efforts that her in-
fluence upon the world shall be good and not evil.
"Good is to be done to our country," says Swedenborg," from a
principle of love, according to its necessities, which principally regard
its sustenance, and the civil and spiritual life of those therein." To
these principal necessities-the good of the civil and spiritual life of
the American people-to these New Churchmen are llpecially called
to minister, because they possess the truths which alone can lead to
this good.
A great people is springing into life upon this continent, multiply-
ing with unexampled rapidity, extending in every direction its laws,
its institutions, its civilization; and yet, in the midst of all, the means
of sustaining the true life of these institutions and laws-the funda-
mental truth which it is the province of the Church to furnish for the
support of a nation's civil and spiritual life, and without which no
nation can long be truly prosperous-is no longer to be found in the
nominal Church. On every hand we see evidences of inward death
and decay. This state of things cannot long continue. Natural good
may sustain a show of life for a season; the equilibrium of selfish
passions may counterfeit virtue for a time; but the storms of tempta-
tion and trial, which must come upon nations as upon individuals,
will infallibly beat down and destroy every house that is not built on
a firmer foundation than this. There is no hope for our Clountry, for
her liberal and free institutions, if they are not speedily sustained by
genuine truth and good.
If it is our duty to remember that the Church exists for the sake of
the world. much more should Americal:s consider that it exists for
the sake ~f their country. A mission to the world is wrapped up in
the truths of the New Dispensation; a mission to his country-a
national mission-exists in potency in the heart of every faithful son
of this Dispensation.
In every work it is the part of wisdom that the means shall be
commensurate with the end. We wish to perform a national good,
and to this end we are aiming to lay the foundation of a national so-
ciety. We wish to creat.e a receptacle for the influx of good from
the East and from the West-from the North and from the South.
We aim to concentrate all the streams and rills of beneficent effort
upon one central heart, which, nourished and strengthened by· the
contribution, shall throb with an energy tha.t will send a current of
the purest life ba.ck again to all its sources. We wish, in short, that
458 The Jewi,h Tabernacle viewed in it, Spiritl101 Import. [Oct.
the grand National Man, existing potentially in the collective minds
of the children of the New Dispensation scattered throughout our
land, should exist in ultimates in one organized institution, and com-
mence the performance of his appropriate functions. This is our
ultimate aim. That but little, comparatively, can now be done to-
wards its realization, we are well aware. Great immediate success
is not expected. Perhaps it is not desirable. We desire no external
activity that is not the outbirth of a principle of true inward life.
This life is still feeble; but it exists,-it is genuine life. Let us
nourish and cherish it. Let us not forget that the puny and puling infant
is born that it may become a man. Let us not deny any use or fune-
tion because it cannot now he entered upon or performed with an
energy proportionate to our desires.
ARTICLE V.
smallest thing there, which was not representative, even to the hooks and
rings; to instance only the bread which was on the table, in this as in a re-
presentative and flymbol, they perceived that food by which angels live, thus
celestial and spiritual love WIth their joys and felicities, and in that love and
these felicities they perceived the Lord himself, as the bread or manna from
heaven, besides other particulars from the form, position and number of the
loaves, and from the gold encompassing the table, and from the candlestick
whence those things bein~ illuminated exhibited still further representations
of things ineffable; and so with the rest; from which it might appear also,
that the rituals or representatives of the Jewish church contained III them aH
the arcana of the Christian church, and likewise that they, to whom the re-
presentatives and significatives of the Word of the Old Testament are opened,
may know and perceive the arcana of the Lord's church in the earths, whilst
they live in the world, and the arcana of arcana which are in the Lord's king-
dom in the heavens, when they come into another life."-A. C. 3478.
It now remains to tracA some analogies suggested by the general
subject, for which we have not hitherto found precisely the right
place. These have relation especially to the inner room, or the sanc-
tum sanctorum, in which stood the Ark and the Cherubim already de-
scribed. Respecting this apartment we have previously had occasion
to remark that in general it· denoted heaven, while the Ark represent-
ed a heaven still more interior, and the Tables of the Testimony sig-
nified the Lord himself, the Divine Truth, whose presence makes hea-
ven. In the present article we propose to advert to the evidence of a
recognized relation, in the letter of Holy Writ, between the inner
sanctuary, the holy of holies, both in the Tabernacle and Temple, and
heaven considered as the locale of the Divine habitation-an idea
which of course fails to reach the absolute verity on that head as held
by the New Church. We have already remarked that Gussetius, an
eminent Hebrew Lexicographer, contends that all the "pattern"
shown to Moses in the Mount, when he received the charge to con-
struct the Tabernacle, was tile Ileavens themselves. This is perhaps
too vague an explanation to meet the demands of n New Church ex-
egesis, but that there is a remarkable symbolical affinity, running
occasionally into absolute identity, between the ideas of heaven and
the holy of holie.'1, is capable we think of very clear proof. Such a fact,
if it can be made to appear, will be of great importance in giving dis-
tinctness to our conceptions of the mystic scenery of the Apocalypse,
which may be said to be almost entirely made up of elements fur-
nished by the Tabernacle and Temple ritual. It will also go far to
account for the allegorizing l'xpositions of Josephus and Philo, who
evidently confounded the symbolical with the philosophical import of
these sacred ordinances. Of these writers, the latter says expressly
when speaking of the Tabernacle, that" as for the inside, Moses part-
ed its length into three partitions. At the distance of ten cubits from
the most secret end he placed four pillars, each a small matter dis-
tant from his fellow. Now the room within these pillars was The
Most Holy Place; but the rest of the room was the Tabernacle, which
was open for the priests. However this proportion of the measures,
of the Tabernacle proved to he an imitation of the system of the world;
for that third part thereof which was within the four pillars, to which
the (common) priests were not admitted, is, as it were, a heaven pe-
460 The Jewilh Tabernacle viewed in its Spiritual Import. [Oct.
culiar to God; but the space of the twenty cubits, is, as it were, sea
and land, on which men live, and so this part is peculiar to the priests
only." Again, in accordance with this idea, he says of the Candle-
stick, that" it terminated in seven heads, in one row, all standing
parallel to one another; and these branches carried seven lamps,
one by one, in imitation of the number of the planets." In another
passage, where he feels himself called upon to vindicate the wisdom
of the Mosaic institutions, he remarks, .. Now here one may wonder at
the ill-will which men bear to us, and which they profess to be on ac-
count of our despising that deity which they pretend to honor; for if
anyone do but consider the fabric of the Tabernacle, and take a view
of the garments of the high priest, and of those vessels which we make
use of in our sacred ministration, he will find that our legislator was
a divine man, and that we are unjustly reproached by others; for if
anyone do without prejudice, and with judgmpnt look upon thpse
things, he will find they were everyone made in way of imitation alld
representation of the universe. When Moses distinguished the Tab-
ernacle into three parts, and allowed two of them to the priests, as a
place accessible and common, he denoted the land and the sea, they
being of general access to all; but he set apart the t/,ird division for
God, b~cause heaven is inaccessible to men."
In what manner these cosmical ideas became grafted upon the
peculiar fabric we are now considering, would no doubt be a difficult
problem to solve, were it not for the clue afforded us in the scriptural
diction which we are now about to lay before the reader. From this
it will appear that it originated in a perversion or distortion of the
dim intimations which were then enjoyed of the true symbolical im-
port of these sacred institutions. And no doubt a large portion of the
ancient mythological fictions could be traced by a rigid inquisition to
the same source. They are the distorted relics of an early revelation
abounding in types and symbols.
We have said that our present inquiry derives importance from its
furnishing a key to the mystic scenery of the Apocalypse. Let us
then take our starting point from this wonderful bool(, and if we should
be led into somewhat of an extended array of the prophetic usus 10-
quendi, we may still hope to find the result richly rewarding the time
and toil of the investigation.
Probably few readers of Revelation have failed to be struck with
the fact, that while the scene of the vision is apparently laid in heaven
(rather" the heaven"-," "Irp ""ptbrp) , yet the presence of many of the
appurtenances of the Tabernacle or Temple is constantly recognized.
Thus in ch. iv. 1,2, John says, ., After this I looked, and behold a door
was opened in heaven-and immediately I was in the Spirit; and
behold a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne." Now,
as he goes on to describe a "sea of glass" answerable to the" brazen
sea" which stood before the sanctuary; the .. four living creatures"
identical with the" cherubim" that spread their wings over the mercy-
seat; and" seven lamps of fire burning before the throne," corres-
ponding with the seven lamps of the candlestick placed before the
vail in the holy place; how can we resist the conclusion that the
1850.] The Holy of Holies• 461
Solomon calls the house which he had built the 'I'Cl::l mekon, or prepared
place, putting these terms in apposition; and consequently leaving us
to infer that whatever other terms may in the context be found put in
apposition with either of these, they are to have a similar application.
With this remark premised let the phraseology in the sequel of the
chapter be observed. In v. 30, it is said, "Hearken thou to the sup-
plication of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when they shall
pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling.place
(tl"l::lmn ;1' 1t1::!m tl'l:'l::l ~ el mekom shibteka el hash-shamayim, ill thy
sitting-place, or dwelling-place, even in the heaven): and when thou
hearest forgive." With this compare ..... 39, " Then hear thou in hea-
ven thy dwelling-place (1t'i::!m 'I,::ll::l mekon shibteka, the prepared place of
thy sitting, or dwelling), and forgive," &c. Here there is a change of
terms in the original which is lost sight of in our version, but which
is quite important in making out the point before us. In the one
case we have 1t1::!m tl'l:'l::l mekom shibteka, the place of thy dwelling: in
the other 1t'1::lm 'I,::ll::l mekon shibteka, the prepared place of thy dwelling.
But it is clear from the comparison thus made in the Hebrew text,
that the terms" heaven," " house," and" prepared place" are used as
equivalents. But Solomon says, v. 13, that he had built the 'I,::ll::l mekon
or prepm'ed place; consequently he had built the heaven in which
God is here said to dwell. It is indeed true that in other texts in this
chapter" heaven" is clearly employed in the sense of the upper regions
of ether, or the celestial firmament, as itis ordinarily understood. Thus,
..j
v. 23, .. And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in
heaven above, or on earth beneath." So also, v. 27, " But will God in-
deed dwell on the earth 1 behold the heaven and heaven of heavens
cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded 1"
But while this is admitted, it is impossible to resist the evidence that
prepared place and heaven are synonymous terms in this connexion,
and consequently that the heaven was a place which Solomon had
built for the residence of the Most High by his appropriatfl symbol.
In thinking of" the heaven" of which Solomon here speaks we are to
bring before our minds the imagery connected with the holy of holies,
viz., the ark of the covenant, the mercy-seat or throne, the oversha-
dowing cherubims, and the luminous cloud of the Shekinah.
This view will be confirmed by the parallel recital in 2 Chron. chps.
vi. and vii., particularly vii. 1, 2, where a circumstance of great im-
portance is noticed, which is not stated in the book of Kings; "Now
when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from
heaven (tl"l::lmnl::l mehas't-shamayim,from the heaven), and consumed the
burnt-offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the
house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord,
because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house." The an-
swer thus given to the prayer of Solomon in the presence of all the
worshipers, gave evidence that God had accepted the house, the
sanctuary, the 'teaven, the place prepared for his sitting; for the fire
here spoken of descended undoubtedly not from heaven above, but from
the cloud which covered the mercy-seat in the holy of holies. It is to
be observed that the cloud had filled not only the inner apartment in
1850.] The Holy of Holies. 463
which the priests had placed the mercy-seat, but the holy place or
outer apartment, in which the priests usually officiated, so that the
priests could no longer continue there (1 Kings viii. 10). All were
in the court without, in that part where the altar stood, before the
sanctuary; and when Solomon had ended his prayer, fire came forth
from the sanctuary, from which the priests had been expelled by the
luminous cloud, the prepared place of God's sitting, the heaven, and fell
upon and consumed the sacrifice. This is to be presumed from the
analogous circumstance mentioned Lev. ix. 23, 24, " And Moses and
Aaron went into the Tabernacle of the congregation, and came out
and blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all
the people. And there came a fire outfrom before tlte Lord, and con-
sumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat: which when all
the people saw, they shouted and fell on their faces." By this is
doubtless meant that the fire came out from the presence of the She-
kinah, which had now taken its station in the holy of holies, though
the glorious effulgence had spread itself on this occasion over all the
Tabernacle and appeared in the view of the whole congregation.
Consider moreover the coincidence of the circumstances stated res-
pecting this heaven, the place prepared by Solomon for the God of
Israel to dwell in, and those stated by John respecting the heaven he
describes. In Solomon's heaven there was a seat or throne (the mercy-
seat); so there is in John's. Solomon's heaven was a speaking-place
or oracle, and from Solomon's heaven came fire to consume the sacri-
fice; 80 also from the throne described by John proceeded voices and
lightnings (Rev. iv. 5); and the seat in each is occupied by One to
whom divine honors are paid.
The foregoing are not the only passages which serve to prove that
"the heaven" in which John saw the opened entrance and the
throne, was the earthly sanctuary. In proportion as the relation
which subsists between the different things mentioned in the Apoca-
lypse is discovered, our knowledge of the particulars will be extended.
At present we will simply advert to a single passage which will re-
ceive a striking light from the exposition given above. In Rev. xiii.
1-10, we have the description of a symbolical beast identical with
the fourth beast of Daniel, which is all but universally admitted to
shadow forth the persecuting power of the Roman empire. Among
the other disastrous doings of this baneful monster, it is said, v. 6,
that" he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme
his name, and his Tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven." That
is, to blaspheme, reproach, vilify, lord it over, and persecute the true
worshipers of God, represented by the Cherubims that were placed
over the Ark of the Covenant, in the holy of holies. So that in blas-
pheming the tabernacle, he blasphemed those that dwelt in it, or, in
other word!', those that dwelt in' heaven.
On the whole, we cannot question but that this idea of the import
of the term" heaven" is important to a right view of that blessed
expectancy which, under the same name, sustains and fires the hope
of the Christian in his toilsome pilgrimage through this vale of tears.
If we conceive the subject aright, the heavenly state is the sub6tance of
464 The Jewish Tabernacle viewed in its Spiritual Import. [Oct.
the mystery nf the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle and Temple.
This mystery is explained in the closing chapters of the Apocalypse,
which affords us the only adequate clue to the prophetic purport of
the Tabernacle-structure. There indeed the inner oracle is expanded
into a glorious city, but it is enriched with the possession of the same
celestial sanctities, unfolded into their full dimensions, and shining
forth in a splendor suited to their divine nature. The link of con-
nexion between the type and the antitype, the shadow and the sub-
stance, we doubt not, ill clearly disclosed in the following passages;
" And he carried me aWRy in the spirit to a great and high mountain,
and showed me that great city the holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like
unto a stone most prE'cious, even like a jasper-stone, clear as crystal;
and the city lietl& four-square, and the length is as large as the
breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand
furlongs. The length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal."
Here we recognise in the" Glory of God" the Shekinah of the ancient
economy, and in the four-square form of the city the substantiated
verity of the holy of holie., of the Tabernacle and the Temple, in each
of which this apartment was a perfect ctlbe. Again it is said, " And
I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it." By the .. temple" here is to be understood
the pronaos, or anterior structure, which contained the outer room, as
contradistinguished from the sonctflm sanctorum, which in this ulterior
economy of glory has absorbed within itself the distinguishing fea-
tures of every previous, imperfect and shadowy dispensation, and be-
come the all in all. .. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of
the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and
the Lamb is the light thereof: And there shall be no night there;
and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God
giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." This is
language evidently borrowed from Isaiah in speaking, chap. xix. 20,
of the same halcyon period; "The sun shall be no more thy light by
day: neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thf'e: but
the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy
glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon
withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and
the days of thy mourning shall be ended." It contains another, and
still more emphatic, re~ognitiol1 of that Resplendent Presence which,
under the title of Jehovah, Angel of Jehovah, Shekinah, Glory of the
Lord, &c., pointed forward to the Saviour in his risen and glorified
theanthropy, when he should be revealed, as he is here, as the Lumi-
nary of the New Jerusalem, superseding the sun, and throwing all
created glory into eclipse.
The elucidations thus far given rest rather upon the basis of the
letter than of the spirit. They evidently leave the mind craving for
something of a more definite import, both as to the intrinsic nature
and the true scene of this sublime manifestation. On these points
the New Church revelations afford us the requisite light. The glory
here predicted is that of the essential Divine Truth as embodied in
1850.] The Holy of Holies. 465
the Divine Word, and the scene of it is indeed the earth, inasmuch
as men will be residing on the earth as to their bodies, thoug-h the
good will be, as to their spirits, at the same time in heaven, the two
conditions being not at all incompatible with each other.
The designation of this part of the Tabernacle by the term Holy of
Holies rests upon grounds which are developed with striking effect
by our author, in his comment on Ex. xxix. 37, where the same term
in the original is applied to Altar. "That hereby is signified the ce-
lestial kingdom, where the Lord is present in the good of love, appears
from the signification of the altar, as being representati ve of the Lord
as to Divine Good; in this case as to Divine Good in heaven and in
the Church; and from the signification of the holy of holies, as denot-
ing celestial good, or the good of love from the Lord. The reason
why it is the celestial kingdom, which is here signified by the altar,
and the good in that kingdom which is signified by the holy of holies,
is, because in that kingdom is received the good of love from the Lord
to the Lord, which is celestial good; for there are two kingdoms into
which the heavens are distinguished, the celestial kingdom and the
spiritual kingdom; in the celestial kingdom is received the good of
love from the Lord to the Lord; and in the spiritual kingdom is re-
ceived the good of charity towards their neighbor from the Lord.
By the altar is represented the celestial kingdom, or, what is the same
thing, is represented the Lord where He is present in the good of love:
and by the tent of assembly out of the vail is represented the spiritual
kingdom, or, what is the same thing, is represented the Lord where he
is present in the good of charity towards the neighbor i the good of
the spiritual kingdom or spiritual good is called holy, but the good of
the celestial kingdom or celestial good is called the holy of holies : the
reason why celestial good, which is the good of love from the Lord to
the Lord, is called the holy of holies is, because the Lord by [or
through] that good immediately flows-in into the heavens, but by [or
throughj spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the
neighbor, mediately. It is said flows-in, because the Lord is above
the heavens, and thence flows-in; nevertheless, He is as present in
the heavens. That celestial good, which is the good of love from the
Lord to the Lord, is meant by the holy of holies, is manifest from the
passages in the Word where mention is made of the holy of holies, as
in Moses, 'The vail shall distinguish for you between tlte holy and the
holy of holies; anu thou shalt give the propitiatory upon the ark of
the testimony in the holy of holies' (Exod. xxvi. 33, 34) ; hence it is
evident that that [part] of the tent is called holy, which was ont of
the vail, and holy of holies which was within the vail; that the tent
or habitation out of the vail represented the Lord's spiritual kingdom
or the middle heaven, and that the tent or habitation within the vail
represented the Lord's celestial kingdom; that [part] of the tent
which was within the vail, is called the sanctuary of holiness, Levit.
xvi. 33. Inasmuch as by the ark, in which was the testimony, and upon
which was the propitiatory, was represented the inmost heaven,
where celestial good reigns, therefore the secret place of the temple,
where the ark of the covenant was, is also called the holy of holies,
466 The Equilibrium betW{!en Good and Evil. [Oct.
1 Kings vi. 16,chap. viii. 6. The reason why celestial good is the holy
of holies, but spiritual good, holy, is, because celestial good is inmost
good, therefore also that good is the good of the inmost heaven;
whereas spiritual good is the good thence proceeding, and on that ac-
count is the good of the middle heaven, and this good is so far good,
and h~nce is so far holy, as it hath in it celestial good, for this latter
flows-in into the former, and conceives it, and begets it, as a father a.
son; by celestial good is meant the good of love from the Lord to the
Lord, and by spiritual good is meant the good of charity towards the
neighbor from the Lord: the good itself of love to the Lord from the
Lord is the holy of holies, because the Lord by it conjoins Himself
immediately, but the good oC charity towards the neighbor is holy,
because the Lord by it conjoins Himself mediately, and so far con-
joins Himself, as it hath in it the good of love from the Lord. The
good of love to the Lord from the Lord is in all the good of charity
which is genuine, and likewise in all the good of faith which is gp-nu-
ine, for it flows-in from the Lord; for no one can love the neighbor,
and from love do good to him from himself, but from the Lord, and no
one can believe in God from himself, but from the Lord; therefore
when the Lord is acknowledged, and the neighbor is loved, then the
Lord is in the love towards the neighbor whether man knows it or
not."-(A. C. 10,129.)
G.B.
(To be continued.)
ARTICI.E VI.
We insert tbe following queries from one wbom we know to be II sincere seeker of the
truth, llnd whose spirit is very remote from that of the captious caviller, in the hope tbat
some of our readers will feel prompted to reply to them, and thus improve the opportu-
nity to throw some valuable light upon one of the most difficult points of the New Church
theology.
ARTICLE VII.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The following letter is from a venerable clergyman of the Old Church, who has been
more or less a reader of Swedenborg for the last year or two, and who evidently evinces
a good degree of candor in the midst of a homely and frank up and down mode of stating
his difficulties. How far he has advanced, to the present time, towards a solution of the
problems here propounded, we know not, as we have lIot had the pleasure of any recent
communication from his pen. We have appended a few remarks CO the letter now in-
aerted.
FRIEND BUSH,
Swedellborg says that" beasts and wild beasts, whose sou)s are similar evil .
affections, as mice, venomous serpents, crocodiles, basilisks, or cocatrices, ~
vipers. &c./ with the varions kinds of noxious insects, were not created from
the beginnmg, but have originated with hell, in stagnant lakes, marshes, pu-
Corre.~pqrulence. [Oct.
trid and fetid waters, &c., with which the malignant loves" of the infernal so-
cieties communicate,-but from the beginning only usefnl and clean beasts
were created, whose souls are good affecti~ns."-A. E. 1201. I fear this
cannot be reconciled with geological facts, or with the science of phrenology.
Phrenology indicates that the beast ill in the man by nature, and that man
combines in himself the whole animal killgd'om, and the evil (so·called) and
good mingling in one, and t.hus indicating original design in the whole animal
creation. And what is the testimony of geology 1 Is it not that the vellom-
ous serpents, crocodiles, noxious insects, and wild beasts were, at least, as
early in the creation as were tbe useful and clean beasts 1 If so, have we not
here one instance of imaginative reasoniug wilhout sufficient data, laborillg in
the darkness of ignorance, but with the best of intentions, to reconcile tbe ex-
istence of natural evils with the divine purity 1 If so, are we not required to
bring the professed revealments of Swedenborg, especially in the regious oC
mere doctrine and past historical facts, to the tests of reason. science, and our
common sense.(a) Swedeoborg cannot be an infallible gnide.(b) And may
not also his vi!<ions and intercourse with the spirit-world have been modified and
even limited by the state of his sOlll alld peculiar inclinations aud previous
notions and habits of thought 1(c) Did he not see throngh a glass more or less
thus obscnred 1 He wrought no mira('les, and conhequemly there are no su-
pernatural vouchmellts for Ihe correctness of his views.(d) He may have been
l]ighly illuminated and yet liable to err. It is indeed very difficult to determille
how far we should have confidence in his teachings.(e) In one place, if I re-
member, Swedeuborg relates that he was informeii by an angel that though
there is a difference now between earthly and henveuly scenery, including
landscape, animals and birds; in that earthly things are formed gradually, aud
remaiu a long time permanent, irrespective of who may be present; but hea-
fJml'y scenery is the result of the affections ond thoughts of those present, and
varies rapidly as these do; yet ill the begi7Jning all earthly things were created
instantaneously. I have, if I remember, given the substance. Now does this
relation and instruction harmonize with the teachings of geology 1 Is it not
the natural, and almost ineVItable inference from its facts, that creation was
very gradual, slow, and progressive 1 Which shall we beli~ve 1(f) [f Swe-
denborg is himself an inspired writer, and all his communications have a di-
vine style, embracing literal, spiritual, and celestial, then, perhaps, the celes-
tial or spiritual meaning may harmonize with geology. IIl1t I believe he does
Dot himself write by correspondence and representation. If Moses thus wrote,
saying one thing and meaning another, he, perhaps, may be reconciled wi~h
geology and astronomy; but alas for the litnal and rational Swedenborg!
Perhars, however, there is some way of reconciliation. I hope there is, or
mther, i there ia, I earnestly desire to see it. I wait and search for light.
Who will give it me 1 [f you know of any persons who are regenerated, and
are conjoined to the Lord, request their sympathy for me that posllibly through
them I may be aided in my faith, that I may experience the same blessing.
At present (though I much admire and love Swedeuborg, and take much de-
light in perusing him) 1 stand in d01.lbI. I get light, and feel a celestial and
spiritual life in his writings. but can receive only alt I understand and perr-eive
the truth without daring to take him for a master or infallible guide. So far
as Swedenborg utters the voice of pure reason and common sense his voice
should certainly be beeded. His viSions are of great value as an approxima-
tion. But can they be received without any abatement 1 So far as he provea
hi. views by Scripture, rationally explained, he deserves the same consideration
as other Christian writers.
Accept my renewed thanlts for your past favors. I hope after a few mOnlha
to feel Justified in taking some of your publications. Till then I read what I
borrow oC friend R--.
Is there in the New Church a uniformity of opinion and practice among its
teachers in respect to preparation for the pulpit 1 Do they expect immediat.
aid from tbe Lord in i1luslmtioD 1 aDd pO"l'er and demonstration of the
Spirit lIHhe time of preaching 1 or do tbey invariably premeditate what and
!low they ehallspeak !(g) And do rhey generally write their dieeolll'lles1(A) Do
1850.] COf"ruptmdence. 473
they believe in special ontporings of the Spirit in answer to prayer or other
manifestations of desire 1 Do they have any revivals and quicltening and
saving times among 1 (il What do they think of the religion of the Quakers,
Methodists and the like 1 I presume had I read all Swedenborg ha!! written
I should have known his views on most of these points--but 1 have not 8S
yet come across them. Do you have 8ny prayer-meetings among you 1
Havtl you any social religious meetings of any kind except public worship 1
Is the present Christian church as far from God and good 85 W85 the Church
in Swedellborll's time 1(j) Do professors gellerally in the Old Church go ro
bell1(kl Were such meu as John and Charles Westey, John Fletcher, and
Whitefield all damned 1(/) Isthere more love, humility, and devotiou to the good
'of mankind among the disciples of the New Church than among other Chris-
tians 1(m) Are they more mild, meek and affectionate in their intercourse with
each other tban other Christians ?(nl Is there in general more quietness, love,
and good order in their families than among others 1 Are they better people
in every respect than others 1lo) Oues their religion make them better, or is the
chief t1ifferellce ill opinion only ?(p) Dare any of you think differently from
SWf!denborg 1 Is tbere snch a thing as free thought among you 1 Would not
a departure from Swedenborg be a sin worthy of expulsion 1(ql Are second
marriages as common among the members of the New Church 85 among other
Christians 1
If you have not time to answer my questions, you may at least learn from
them somewhat the state of my mind and of my progress.' I fear, upon reflec-
tion, I may have asked a felv unnecessary questions, or that it may so seem
to you; for 1 perceive from the writings 0 Swedenborg that it is possible for
other Christians to be ultimately saved, provided they are conscientious and
morally good, and live in love and good works; but my design in those ques-
tions was to ascertain what are the prevailing feelings of the New Church to-
wards the present Old Church. I cannot think it was ever the error of the
Methodists to hold to final salvation to faith alone. They do indeed hold that
the immediate condition of receiving pardon and holiness is fait-hbut this
faith must be preceded by repentance including a forsaking of sin as against
God; and they hold that without inward and outward holiness, inclUding re-
generation, love and good works, no one can be saved, and it seems to me
that most Christians so believe. Did YOI1 not so believe yourself, and under-
stand your fellow-Christians to hold when YOI1 belonged to the Old Church 1
Were you not then a saint 1 holy 1 Surely the Church in the days of Sweden_org,
(the Old Church) was a very different thing from the present Old Church, or
the descriptions of 8wedenborg are but a caricature. I fear he saw Ihe spiritual
world through his OWI1 living prejudices, and that the conversatiol1s of angels
were-what 1 dictated by his own intelligence, elevated to a more than com-
mon spiritual atmosphere, or some way not to be depended upon as absolute
truth and reality. But I am npt fully decided; I wait for light.
Yours, &c.,
C. P.
·P. S. I write 85 much for the purpose of finding an expression of my own
views and feelings as with a desire to tax yonr time for an auswer. Still, if
you can afford an answer, I shall be glad to receive one. It seems to me that
there is some weight in my objections, Dnd if they were properly expresl!ed and
illustrated they would have some influence in deciding the question, What is
the real value of Swedeuborg's writings 1 The time is coming, I think, when
this question must be candidly Dnd thoroughly investigated. I am candid
if not enlightened.
REMARKS.
(a) The same objection is urged by Dr. Pond in his" Swedenborgianism Reviewed,"
.. Waiving all otber objections," says be," to these statements, it follows conclusively from
them, or rather is involved in them, that no odious, noxious creatures existed o~ this
earth previous to the creation and the fall of man. But how does Ihis agree with the
474 Correspondence. [Oct.
Scripture representation tbat it was a .erpmt which tetnpted our first mother? And bow
ahall it be made to harmonize with the recent discoveries of geologists? They tell us of
frightful, horrible creatures-monsters both of the land and of the deep, armed with terri-
ble weapons of destruction, and diaclosing the remains of .Iaughtered myriads under their
capacious ribs, which mnst have lived and died, and become embedded in the solid rocks,
at a period long anterior to the existence of man, or the fitting of the world for his crea-
tion." To this it will be sufficient to present Mr. Hayden's reply in his review of Dr.
Pond (8wrd. Lib. No. SO). .. We reply, first, that we are not so clear in relation to the
teachings of geology on this point. It muat be remembered, that it is a doctrine of Swe-
den borg that man has existed on this globe for many thousand years longer than is usually
.upposed, and this doctrine is receiving constant corroboration by a variety of dilCoveries.
Secondly, it is certain that none of the animals mentioned by Swedenborg have ever been
found in a position which would necessarily refer the period of their animated existence
to a state geologically anterior to the present order of things. Still, however, this is not
the true answer which the system gives to such a charge, as might be readily inferred
from a moment's reflection on some of its features. Swedenborg teaches that other and
innumerable worlds were created and inhabited myriads of ages before the crust of our
planet became fitted to receive itspopnlation, and therefore that heaven and hell had existed
before; neither of them depending for their earlier inhabitants upon emigrations from our
earth." As to Phrenology, we will accept its testimony so far as it teaches that as man
now is he embodies witbin himself the principles of the good and evil beasts that now
are. But Pbrenology transcends its limits if it assumes that man on the earth combined
in himeelf the evil affections represented by noxious bea~ts before those beasts existed.
(b) ~hy not 1 He can be infallible if the Lord is plea~ed to make him so, and the
claim actually mnde for him on this score by multitudes who have received hi. doctrines
cannot be set aside except by showing that hE' hns taught something false. Hns he done
thia? He has inculcated a great many thinga contrary to the acience, philosophy, and
faith in vogue in the world, and which have been boldly branded.aa false. Yet in all
theBe departments farther investigation has afforded decided confirmations of his truth.
We should be glad, indeed, to be informed in what respect he can be positivel}' proved to
have given forth error in his teachings. While then wc do not feel it imperative upon us
to affirm that he lea. infallible, we deny at the same time, that there is any sufficient evi-
dence that he wa. f1ot.
(c) The true queation is, not what ma, have bem, but what i.. Are not his diEclosures
of the·olher life absolutely reliable I If not, why not?
(d) It is aurely a narrow view of the grounds on which sucha claim as that of Sweden-
borg is to be substnntiated to make every thing depend upon the testimony of miracles.
The internal evidence of the truth of his doctrines and discloaurea when carefully and can-
didly weighed is as powerful as that of any so-called" supernatnral vouchments."
(e) The difficulty on this head is just in proportion 10 the difficulty of men'agetting into
the proper state thoroughly to investigate the subject. The intrinsic difficulty on the score
of determination we do not think to be grel\t.
(t> We cannot perhaps do better than to extract In this connexion the words of our au-
thor himself in the Memorable Relation referred to (T. C. R. 78). Our friend will per-
haps see, on a second perusal, that the passage affords no real ground for the objection
that he is disposed to urge.
... We have heard that, in consequence of meditating on the creation of the universe,you
were invited into a society near ours, and that there you aaidsuch things about the crea-
tion as they favored tben, and have since recollected with pleasure. I will now show you
how animals and vegetables of every kind were produced by God.' And he led me along
into a large green field, and said, ' look around.' And I looked around, aud saw birds of
the most beautiful colors, some flying, soma perching upon the trees, and some upon the
IS50.] Corrwponde1tce. 4'15
1T0und, plucking little leaves from tbe roses; amongst the lIirds were also doves and
"wans. After these things vanished from my sight, I saw. not far from me. f1ooksofslJeep
with lambs, and of goats and kids; and round about those flocks I saw herds of cows and
tla]vps, and also of camels and mules; and in a certain grove. stags with bigh horns; anel
'8180 uRicorns. AJiec these things were seen, be said, 'Tum your face towards the east.'
And I saw a garden. in which were frUit-trees, as orange-trees. citrons. olives. vines, fig-
trees, pompgranates, and also shrubs, wbich bore berries. Afterwards be said•• Look
110W towards the south.' And I saw fie1l1s of grain of variOI1S kiods-wheat, oats, barley
and beans; and round nbout them, beds of roses, exhibiting colors beautifully variegated;
but. -towards ~he nortb, craves full of euestnut-treer., palm-trees. linden-tree.., plane·trees.
and other trees. all in tllo richest foliage. When I had seen these, he said. ' All those
things which you have seen are correspondences of the affections of the love of the ang"ls.
who Ilre in the viciuity.· And they told me to what affectioRs everything oorresponded;
and, moreovel'. that not oaly all-those things. but also all tbe other things which are pre-
sented to our eyes as objects of sight. are correspondences; sucb as bouses and the furni-
ture in them, tables and meats. and cloths. and also coins of gold and silver, as also dia-
monds and other precious stones, with which wivos and virgins ill heaven are adomed.
, From nil these thm"s. we perceive what each one is as to love and wisdom. ThOle
thin!!s which are in our houses., and serve for uses. constantly remain tbere; but to tbe
eyes of those who wander from onc society to another, such things are changed according
10 consociation. These things have been shown to you. in order tbat you might see the
whole creation in a partil'ular type; for God iH Love itself and Wisdom itself; and tbe af-
fections of his love arc infinite, alld the perceptions of hiS wisdom are infinite; nnd of
_these, all and everything that appears upon the earth are correspondences; theuce are birds
and benslS, thellce trees and shrubs, thence corn and other grain. tbence herbs and gl'lU!s
of every kinli; for God is I\ot extended, but stfll He is in the extenso everywbere; thus in
the unIverse from its firsls to ils lasts; and because He is omnipresent, such cone.pon-
dences of the affections of his love and wisdom are in the whole natural world; but in
our world, wbich is called the spiritual world, there are similar correspondences with
those who receive atfections and perceptions from God; the ditference is, that such things,
in our world. are created by God inslantaneously. according to the affections oC the an-
gels; but in your world, they were created in like manner at the beginning; hut it was
provided. that, by generations of one from another. they sbould be perpetually renewed.
and thus that creatioll should be continued. The reasOIl wby creation, in our .....orld. is
ins!:llltaneous, and in youn continued by generations. is because the atmospberes and
earthsof ou r world arc spiritual, and the atmospheres and eartbs of your world are natural;
and natural things were created tbat they migbt clothe spiritual things. astbe skin clothee
the bodies of men and animals, and the rind and bark clothe tbe trunks and branches of
trees, tile mattt'S and mtninges the brain. the coats tBenerves. and the delicate membranes.
the nervous fibres, &:c. Tbence it is, tbat all those things wbich are in your world are
constant, and constantly relurn every year.' To this the angel added, • Relate these
things, which you have seen and heard, to the inbabitants of your world, because bither-
to they bave been in entire ignorance concerlling the spiritual world; and without some
knowled"e of it no one can know, nor even guess, that creation isconrinual in our world.
and lhat it was similar la this in yours, tDhilt tilt _il1tTU tDaS (luing) crtattd by God.'"
•
From this we learn only that while tbe universe was in process of creation the spiritual
types of all natural forms and organisms were instantaneously produced from tbe Divine
affections and thoughts. while the nalural or material investments were gradually assum-
ed. In this sell!lO creation may bave occupied as long a time as geology may be pleased
10 as.ign to it. in perfect consistency with New Church teachings. The objects of the phy-
sical universe. in its several kingdoms, are merely the fixation of spiritual ideas.
(g) There is probably less of a spirit of dependence on the Divine aid in tbis respect
than they are authorized to cberish.
(h) As a general fact we believe they do.
(i) For the most part they tbink comparatively little of extraordinary movements and
excitements in religion. The New Churcb teaches that tbe Divine Spirit is always being
.. outpoured." and tbat our great business is by a good life to prepare ourselves- for its re-
ception.
(j) This is a query whicb we refer back to tbe propounder bimselt He buthe same
dala on wbich to form a judgment that we have.
(k) Not unless they prefer going there to going elsewbere.
476 [Oct.
(I) We should sineerely hope not; bUI if they were it will DOe ha", Melt lleeaOBe &11.".
were reprobated by an eternal d~ree, \Jut because Iheir inmost life and love were rue"
Ibat no ehurch whalever could save 1b"1D in their raling atale of ati"eclioD. BUI we are
taogbt 10 Iaope Ihe bul of alJCh Blen, Ihoug~ we caDDOl be blind le lbe falshies of tbeiJr
faith.
(m) If there is Dol il is not the f. .1I of their doetriaes.
(.) They oughl 10 be.
(0) It wo.1d be more beeolllia, for some Utire parly 10 .ndenate le answer the I...
two qnestiOlls. We do not like to be summoned as wilnesses in our own behalf, ~pl'CiaI
Iy wben we caRnO! reply wilhout being forced 10 draw compllri80R8 uelweeo ourselves
and our neighbors. We are al any rale DOl so far ahead of OIhers in these reltpeets but
that tbere is room for still farlher improvement.
(,) If weir rtligioa does Dot make Ihem better. tae bct,WflIU arisiDg simply from
opifliotl "'ill avaHtbem bUllillle.
(9) It is lICldom indeed tbat our courage is put 10 any test on this lK.'Ore. Tbe question
has la us very mush the air Ibat tbe queslion would huve to OIU friend the wriler-" Do
you dare to think differenlly from Paul?" He would douulless say Ihat whal Pllul may
have tlt01Jght ae a man on eacred subjects WIlS of very little consequence. The grand
queslion is 11810 what he was made a medium ofeornmunicllling from Ihe Lord in hea-
Yen. From the genlline scope and inlenl of Ihis he would nOl of COIUlIC dare to dilfer, if
be regarded il as Ihe essenlial Divine trulh ullering itself Ihrough Ihe lips of lhe aposlle.
So in the presellt case. The man Swedenborg, whh all his own priVlAllllhinkings on re-
ligiollS subjects, is lost in the messenger from heaven raised up and commissioned tu de-
clare lhe IInadnlterated Irlllhs of lhe Word 10 a world lying in darkJless. Why MOwUI we
dUfer from him, unless we see reason to believe thal be dilfers from Ihe infinite lrulh it-
self? Tbis reply may serTe for tbe IWO succeeding quesliOO8 also. ThaI freedom of
thought which would lead us 10 go counter 10 our elearesl and most rational perception of
trulh is a freedom which we do nol especially covet j and as to expulsion as a peaahy for
deparling from Swedenborg, we artl fully of opinioll tbat uo other el<pulsion "'ould be
necessary Ihan thal which i. involved in Ihe very fact of the deparlure. 11 will of course
be understood Ibal when we speak of departing from Swedeflborg, we mean from the
doctrine which Swedeuborg taught. As the receivers of that doctrine lire held socially
togelher by the belief of it, 80 tbe renuuciatiOll of Ihe doctrine is the ruplure ollhe bond of
union hetween them.
•
The followiqg letter from a stranger in a distant SllIte shows, in an alfeeling manner.
the severe mental trials to which lhe recepliOll of tbe Irulhs of the New Dispensalion
aometimes subjeeta Ihe conscientiOlls and lender in spiril.
MISCELLANY •
. --
A PRIMITIVE ORDINATION.
We ha.ve given the following from the BOlton Chri.tian Rtgilter as an ecclesiastical
curiosity. The parties concerned seem to have thrown .themselves upon their reserved
rights as Christian men, and to have assumed all the attendant responsibilities in a very
bold and Luther-like style. Though the case i. doubtless to be regarded as an extreme
one, and the lDeasure one to which they deemed themselves forced by stress of cir-
478 Milcellany. [Oct.
cumstances, yet it may be well occll5ionally to contemplate such cases, and see the work-
ings of independent church action. We shall not of course be supposed to endor.e all or
any of the ilems of the proceedings, our object being simply to ezhibit them. At the same
time we could not point to any special law of Ihe Lord's Kingdom which we think to
have been violated by Ihe transaction as here sel forlh.-The following history oflhe
meeling, wilh resolntions previously adopted, was read by Mr. Samuel T. HeDl.
It is well known, brethren, that in the fall of 1847 Mr. Lesley was invited
by ,he First Evangelical Church in Milton to preach before it; that he con·
tinued to preach before it through the winter; that in the spring of 1848 he
was invited to preach for a year, after the presbytery in PhiladelplJia, and the
Association in Suffolk Co., Mass., had disowned him as a minister of the
gospel.
It is well known that this church not only supported him with much unani-
mity that year, but upon the same grounds, renewed their engagement, in the
spring of 1849, for another year, ending with last April.
The grounds of this support were these: that this church had chosen volun-
tarily a minister, as was their Christian right-one who, in thp-ir opinion,
preached the truth, and lived a blameless life; that they felt themselves able,
and were qualified, to decide upon these two facts, and that no other persons
or churches were so well qnalified to do so as this church and these persons,
among whom he lived aud preached; that it was contrary to Christian right
and to the best and oldest Christian usage for any foreign Presbytery, Asso-
ciation, Church, or Minister, to impose its authority upon this church, in mat-
ters of its own worship, in the selection of its own officers, or in the decision
of its own orthodoxy; that, according to the Apostolic and best puritan church
order, every church or fellowship of constant christian worshipers have en-
tire jurisdiction over the supply of their own wants, according to the law of
the gospel; to select whom they will to serve them in the worship of the Lord j
to select, appoint and ordain every necessary officer, for every necessary minis-
tration; whether pastors, teachers, envangelists, messengers or deacoll8, male
and female j only and always choosing the most pions, judiciolls, stable and
enlightened; especially from among the elders j finally, that to yield up this
power or to conform to the habit of the times by wh ich this church.right has
come to be generally vested in the clergy of the denomination, or the clergy
of an association, supposed to represent a number of distant or neighooring
churches,-is conniving at the continuance of that spiritual or ecclesiastical
tyranny, from which, in its thousand forms, the Church of Christ has been
through all ages and in all lands, with more or lells need and with worse or
better success, wrestling to set itself free.
With these principles distinctly announced and professed, however, some
members of the church felt that it would CO&t too much to carry them out, and
make a bold exhibition of them in the face of the world. Threatened by the
ministers of some of the neighboring churches, and by the so-called religious
newspaper press, with a practical snspension of fellowship and a virtual ex-
communication from the Congregational denomination, they hesitated to do
what they believed to be right. Some were also afraid that the fuuds of the
church might be endangered oy returning to the form of church order which
our fathlO!rs, in their love for liberty, both civil and religious, maintained and
defended at every expense. Those who thus stood in awe of the associated
clergy of other churches, or dreaded even a necessary return from newer to
older ways, because it involved a change, or who cared more for the worldly
prosperity than for the spiritual liberties of the church, withheld it from the
exercise of its rights and its duty for these two years, at the same time they
did its minister the injustice of obliging him, every two months, to hullt up and
hire some licensed and ordained stranger to lead them in the forms of the
communion service. A man the mode of whose license and ordination were
the very things objected to by the church. And all this in the face of the ex-
pressed feelings of the church, and the whole tepor of the preaching which
from sabbath to sabbath it endorsed.
1850.] A Primitive Ordi7lation. 479
Thus the matter stood when the second year was about coming to a close.
But it could thus stand no longer. Mr. Lesley, in view of a rE:newal of the en-
gagement between him and the church, called upon the church either to give
up the expectation of its renewal, or to do their duty and ordain in proper
form their own minister.
This Church, as represented not by a meeting of all who attend and support
the Gospel, everyone of whom has an eqnal interest in the decision of every
such question,-not represented as in most oth~r churches by a meeting of its
communicant members, both male aud female,-but represented only by six-
teen of its mate members, one of whom did not belong to the parish, and
another lived in a distant place, and had attended on its worship but once or
twice in the year,-the Chnrch thns represented chose the former alternative,
and voted not to ordain its minister. His connection with the Church therefore,
as a whole, ceased.
We, brethren, a part of the Church, desiring atall hazards. and even at a
sacrifice of comfort and feeling, to do what we believe to be right aud good;
for ourselves and not for others; on our OWll respousibility and not on oth~rs';
in the light of onr own consciences alone; neither in ill feeling nor in ill will
to any j neither reproaching nor upbraiding any; but in ail true and loving
fellOWShip with our fellow Christians and dear friends aronnd; but under the
eye of God, and in the faith of Jesus Christ, and for a great principle of his
Church, we, a part of the Church, will do this day what should have been done
by the whole Church two years ago.
And in doing this, we desire to break fellowship with no Church, neither do
we fear the displeasure of any. We honor and love all good and wise aud
faithflll ministers; but will not be brought l\llder the power of any. We res-
pect the forms of all Churches so far as the conscience of those who use them
stands surety for their object, but we choose a form of our own in which to
clothe our own Church Hfe,-by which to express our own conRcience. We
have selected a minister, and shall ordain and empower him to serve us in
the Lord. Vie would gladly have the universal Church present with us to-day,
to see and record our doings and bear witness to our order. We greet the
universal Church and its eternal lights and duties, by what we do this day.
And we call upon our Master, who has promised to be present with his
people always, to guide our minds and hearts, and to ratify and bless our acts.
From the minutes and resolutions.
After the conclusion of Mr. Lesley's engagement with the church, at a meet-
ing of certain Church members, held April 20, 1850, at which Mr. Aaron D.
Vose presided, the following resolutions were adopted and recorded.
Rt.ol"td-That we adjourn to meet to-morrow morning, Sunday, April 21, 1850, in the
Hall of this Town, for social public worship; with any other christian bre.thren who
please to meet there with us: and after thet, on as many Lord's days, in the same place,
as we find it convenien t.
Ruol"td-That we request our brother J. P. Lesley, to meet with us, and lead our de-
votions, upon each successive Lord's day, so long as we find it convenient; as well at
such times whcn we celebrate the Lord's Supper, as on other, and common occasions.
Attest. SAMUEL T. BENT, Secretary.
These resolutions being read aloud at the commencement of divine worship
on the day follOWing, Sunday, April 21, in the place of meeting appointed,
were accepted by the part of the Church then and there present, as a real and
virtual ordination of Mr. Lesley to all the duties of a minister, and as such ac-
cepted by him. It was thought proper, however, afterwards both to publish
and to solemnize it, by a separate and appropriate service, such as we hold
to-day.
And now, Brethren,-
All who acknowledge this to be a true statement of facts j
All who heartily sympathise in these principles of Church fellowship;
All who are willing to sustain these resolutions, 60 far as future events and
a good conscience shall dictate ; -
480 Miscellany. LOct.
Let them, now and here, signify the same by rising aud standing upon their
feet.
[Addressing the assembly.] Do you, a part of the male and female mem-
bers and supporters of the First Evangelical Church in Milton. and any others
present, acknowledge the general truth of these facts, llympathise ill good de-
gree with these principles, and join in these resolutioDs1-[We do]
Then, in your name. I proclaim Peter Lesley, Junior, your minister. ordained
by you to lead in all public services whatlloever, of religious worship, in
which you may see fit in common to engage; to continue such so long as
these resolutions remain unchanged; and to receive from your common
Church treasury, a compettlnt support.
Let us pray.--
An Address by Mr. AARoN D. Von, another member of the Society:
Brethren :-We know that all who attend the public won,hip of the sanc-
tuary ought to be worshil'ers of God the Father in the spirit and truth of his
Son Jesus Christ; ought to be christians, Christ's followers aud servants, obe-
dient to all his commands, professors of all his words, and cOllsisteut in walk
and conversation.
We hold, therefore, that the idle, the quarrelsome, the profane, the indecent,
the intemperate, liars, slanderers ami uujust persons, although they may come
regnlarly to church, call neither be trut! and acceptable worshipers of God,
nor members of Christ's Church. If they come to church, they are to be re·
garded as persou" who desire to appear respectable, or to find amusement.
On the other hand, nil who, being dead iu trespasses and sins, are moved to
desire life i-feel ullwilling to remain any longer lost in their wicked ways;
look to Christianity as a school of salvation, to Christians as the best examples
and companions in salvation j to the Church of Christ as a fellowship of good
aud hafJpy persons; and to Jesns Christ as the appointed redeemer and sa-
viour of lost men ;-all such, not ouly ought to be, but are: lambs of his flock
and members of his Church on earth; wherein if they continue faithful to this
faith, they will be prepared for his Church above.
This is the distinction between the Chnrch and the world, and neither votes,
nor covenants, nor church privileges can make any other and different one.
All those who come to church with a sincere desire both to be and to show
themselves forth to be true Christians, nre, by virtue of this sincere desire,
members of Christ's Universal Church, and ought not to be excluded from its
rites, Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
But those who have not this sincere desire to learn of Jesus and be gradual-
ly sanctified by his Diviue Trnth, are 110t and cannot be made by any human
law or covenant whatsoever, members of his church, and have no reason to
participate in its symbolical rites, Baptism and the Lord's Snpper.
If any man or woman has this desire to follow the Lord begotten in their
heart, they are bonnd to show their faith in his atoning death by celebrating
it according to his commandment.
But if auy man or woman have no sucb fixed desire to love and serve Christ
and be saved by him, then they have no right to come to the communioni.
and if they do come, God will jndge them, 1I0t man, and they will eat and
drink their own condemnation; as the apostle says.
The Communion which we celebrate is an open Communion. Before every
one who seeks salvation by Jesus Christ, our Lord has" set an open door
which no man can shut." We welcome to our Commnnion 11 all who in every
place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ourll'."
We asl{ bllt this great qnestion, Is our Saviour yours 1 Is our Lord yours 1 Do
you believe in God's dear Son as the Saviour and Redeemer of the world; in
his Gospel as your charter of life and rule of duty; in his Spirit as your guide
and guard; and do you desire heartily to live as he directs, to die with him
to sin, and to live with him to holiness, that you may be glorified with him
in heaven 1 We do not ask you to promise anything, but to pray without ceas-
ing. We require no future pledge, but a present determination. We present
you no creed, but a desire to see" your faith working by love and puriiywg
1850.] Notice, of Boolu. 481
your heart" from day to day. We make no written covenant with you,-
trusting that we are bound up togethf!r in the sure bnndle of life, and believing
that the first Christian duty is to watch over one another and bear one another's
bnrdens.
There are some here \la doubt who would gladly eat and drink at the Lord'S
table in remembrance of his atoning death. but have never felt themselves
permilled; restrained by conscientious scruples or otherwise. We hope that
such will see their way clear to unite with us in exhibiting the greatest of all
events in God's good providence for our unhappy race,--l1ot wirh a super-
stitious notion of receiving sanctifying grace from the act, but in token of their
sincere desire to be, through the grace of Jesus Christ, what they know that
they onght to be,-his true and living disciples.
It remains now for us, who have been, 80 called. church members-that is,
who have actnally been acclIsromed to relebrate regularly the commuuion
of Christ's death,-to affirm, on our own part, so far as we are at present un-
happily Ileparated from our non-communicant friends in the duty and pleasl1re
and celebration, that we will therein be orderly led by the minister ordained
for or her pnblic services.
All those male and female communicauts therefore who wish to join in or-
daining their public teaching minister, to preside also at their. fnture com-
munion seaSOIlS, alld at the rites of public baptism whenever that shall be,-
will signify the same by rising and standing on their feet.--[Communicants
rise.]
[To the' Minister.] Do yOll. Christian brother, accept thi~ duty. and promise to
fulfil it according to the ability and grace bestowed upon you 1--[1 do.]
[To the Communicanrs.] Do you, Christian brethren, promise to subject
YOl1rllelves to the properly and orderly gnidance of this your minister, in the
celebration of the Communion and ill the rite of Baptism 1--[We do.]
I proclaim, then, in your uame, that the teachilll5 minister of this portion of
the first Evangelical Church in Milton is regularly ordained, 3IJpointed and
empowered, by you, to preside for yOIl, at the public rites of the Lord's Sup-
per aud of Baptism, wherever you may worship together; and for all others
al"'o who may join themselves unto you ill the same holy Communion; but
for no otlur Church or people whatsoever.
Let us pray.
HYMN.
BENEDICTION.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
1.- LIrE OJ' EMAJI'UEL SWJl:DEJI'BORO; VJith ~ome IUcount of hi~ tDriting~. By N..-
THANtEL HOBART. Third F.dirion, prepared by BENJAMIJI' WORCEllTEIl. New-
York: John AlIeu. 1850. 12mo. 280 pp.
A more minute examination has satisfied U8 that this work has undergone
far more numerous and important improvements upon the original edition
than would appear from the modest advertisemeut of the Editor. The ar-
rangement is better, aud the additions, derived from materials inacce88ible to
Mr. Hobart but open to Mr. Worcester, are made with good judgment.
The AppendiX is eula;ged by several new and valuable articles, and the
work constitutes on the whole, for popular use, about the best biography we
have of our illustrious author, unless the prefereDce I!hould be given, 88 we
believe it is by many, to the" Documents." From what we can learn there i8
482 Notices of Books. [Oct.
among Newchurchmen a growing dissatisfaction with Wilkinson's work, as
written in a style blemillhed by mannerisms alien to the simplicity which dis-
tinguishes the genius of the New Church system, and marred in several in-
stances by a rashness of statement which is calculated to do serious injury to
the cause which it professes Dud no doubt designs to promote. A work.
which, though written by a friend, avows it as oue prominent object, to "say
the worst" of its hero, because the acknowledged excellence of his character
will bear the worst being said, will be very apt to do injustice to that character
in some respect or other. As Cowper says, in his poem on Friendship:-
.. He that hails you Tom or Jack,
.A.nd prOf1tl, by thump. UpOfl your back,
How he esteems your merit,
b such a friend as one had need
Be very much his friend indeed,
To pardon or to bear it."
We would award as we have already done, great credit to Mr. Wilkinson for
his industrious collection of facts ond dates in making out the memoir of Swe-
denborg', and for his very effective presentation of many points pertaining to
his life and writings, but we are still forced to the belief that the general good
effect aimed at is almost neutralized by the introduction of alledged facts and
disclosures which were uncalled for if true, and which are of still more evil
omen from their autheuticity being equivocal. But on this head we shall
publish in our next a part of a letter from a friend in England bearing on this
head which will be found well worthy of ottention.
2.-CREATJON j or tlle Bible and Geology consistent; together with the Moral Design
of the Mosaic llistory. By Rev. JAMES MUBPHY, D.D. New-York: Carter &
Brothers. 1850. 12mo. pp. 254.
As an epitome of many of the more important results of geological science,
as a popular and intelligible exhibition of its most striking phenomena, this
book is not without its use. But when we light, at the twenty-first page, on such
a sentence as the following, we give up all hopes of being essentially bene-
fitled by the anthor's elucidations of the harmony between the Bible and Geo-
logy. "The word barn, creavit, is employed in this place to express the act of
creating. This word, in its original primary signification, appears to mean the
creation of something out of nothing. Truly a most astonishing act!" So as-
tonishing, indeed, as to be utterly unreal-a very delusion-a philosophical
phantasy. Starting with this fundamental falsity a man moy, perhaps, recon-
cile to himself the idea of a vastly long interval between the first creative act
and the commencement of the historical periods of our globe, but it is evident
he can never give the tme rationale of the divine cosmogony. These attempts
to make out the consistency of the letter of Scripture with the deductions of
geology, even if successful, amount to very little, for the reason that geology
itself professes to throw no light on the actual origin of our planet. It mere-
ly deals with the phenomena before it, and claims to infer, on legitimate
grounds, an immense and almost measureless antiquity for the earth we in-
1850.] Editorial Items. 483
habit; and there it leaves us. With creation it professes to have nothing to do.
Suppose now that by some feat or force of exegesis the Word might be so in~
terpreted as to offer no resistance to these scientific results, how much wiser
are we for the issue 1 .How much more are we elevated towards a concep-
tion of the spiritual origin of the universe-the only view which brings a real
accession to our wisdom '1 We have taken the first step to this when we dis-
card the first chapters of Genesis as having any relation whatever to a physi-
cal cosmogony, and take them as the simple record of the divine work of
regeneration in churches and)n single souls.
EDITORIAL; ITEMS,
But for the pre~sure of matler upon our pages, for several months past, we should have
noticed before this the various specimens of Phonography and Phonotopy generously for-
warded us. by our indefatigable brother Piunan, of Bath, England; who has originated
an invention by which he hopes (perhaps not without reason) to effect a use of immense
importRDce to the hest interests of his fellow-men. Chief among these is the Phonetic
Bible, or our authorized version arrayed in the new type witb the text arranged in para-
gr3phs, tbe poetical bool<s in parallelisms, tbough still preserving the ordinary division
into chapters and verses, thus making it peculiarly easy of reference, while a beller view
thaa usual is given of the contextual series of narrative, prophecy, or precept. It is
printed in minion-sized type, and the quality of the paper and the general execution ren-
ders it a real luxury to the eye to pass to and fro through its pages. He has also printed
in the same beautiful style, though in pocket size, the books of Job, the Psalms, and the
New Testament, which strike the eye as perfect gems of typography, The system of Mr.
Pitman is founded on the original idea of alphabetic writing, namely, that of giving to
each vocRl and consonantal sound a representative sign, which sign shall never be allow-
ed to represent any other sound. The advantages afforded by this principle for forming
a system of short hand are evidently very great, and in comparison with other systems of
steDogmphy are thus stated by the author:
1. The Phonographic Alphabet is composed entirely of simple aud distinct characters
-right lines and curves-and all the relations of sound are marked by corresponding re-
lations of form.
2. The simple forms employed in the alphabet are varied by the addition of hooks
and small circles, 50 as to express two, three, or even five letlers in one stroke. Groups
of consonants such as pr, pi, spr, .'rd., in praise, plead, spring, cu.'ard., are written with
a single motion oftbe hand. Thus a .ystem of abbrt'DialiOfl' is furnished, which at once
lessens the labor of writing, and increases the legibility of what is wriuen.
3. As a result of tbe employment of simple geometrical forms for tte simple alphabet,
and appended hooks and circles for double and treble letters, words that contain the same
consonants are capable of being written hy differently shaped outlines, so that they may
be read and distinguished 'from each other urith/I'Ut the iMtrliOfl of 1I/IIDels. This is an ad-
vantage which every reporter knows well how to appreciate.
4. Thus, though Phonography is, to some extent, with regard to legibility, indepen-
dent ofa system of vowel notation, yet it can mark every distinct shade of sound with
unrivalled simplicity and accuracy. III the common sborthands, no diltinction can pos-
484 Editorial Iteru. [Oct. 1800.
sibly be made between a dud and a Dwkt, between ~oiflr to Bath and goifl' to bath£, and
in a hundr..d similar cases.
5, TIle Phonographic system is admirably adapted to PhraHograph" or the joiniDf(
togelher of such liltle words as are of very common oocurtence; and the oudines tbus
produced are 110t liable to he confounded with those of separale words. The phrases I
"ott
hallt, [thall br, [ahaU bt able to, 1 (rar IDill fIOt, thrre covld ftOt laall£ bem, it if quu£
urtain thut y_are, &c" are wriuen with as many easy motions of the hand as there are
words. and Jrequently with les.; and the IDholt phraae i. fDTitten IDith01lt li(tiflg the pr..
It may 01,0 be observed that the composition of these sijtl1s is so simple that any phono-
grapher who has Dot seen them before, can immediatel; decipher them.
From the .success which has thus far attended the introduction of this system of writ-
jng and printing to the notice of the British public, indicated by the fact that not less than
120,000 books per annum find their way (0 the market, we should not be surprised to
learn IhMt il eventually wrought a great revolution in the ordinary modes ofcommunicat-
ing human thought. )n reply to the question, .. How long will it take to learn and use
the system I" the author replies, that its principles may be mastered in three or four hours.
and that an bour's daily practice for a month will enable any person to write the system
with greater facility than he can already write longhand. By further pmctice this degree
of speed may be increasoo six-fold. To give some idea of the rapidity of phonographic
writing, Mr. Pltman remarks that 120 words per minute is the average rate of public
speaking, and that there are in the circle of his acquaintance upwards of one bundred
and twenry penona, and not chiefly professional reporters, who are able to report at the
rate of from 100 to 120 words'pcr minute. In this age ofuniverllally aceelerated velocity
of thougbt aud action the uchievement of sucb results rnuet be worth an efforL
From the materials put ioto our hands we cun fumish gratis to those wbo wish it spe-
cimen sheets giving a very good idea of the new system.
The [ntwnatiooal Magazifle is tbe title of a monthly peri",lical issued by Stringer &;
Tuwnsend of this city somewh"t on the plan of Harper'll MlIgazlne, thougb embracing
certain features which to many readers would give it a pref!!rence. It has a good pro-
portion of original notices of books and a somewhat extensive obituary department, con-
taining sketches of the illustrious departed of RII countries. )n other respects, especially
in the rich variety of its selection•• we see Iitde difference between the two. The pric. i.
the .ame, tbough the typography of Harpera' III finer.
THE
MONTHL Y REVIEW.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
ARTICLE I.
ty, pas~eB through the angelic heaven, and by this into the world, thus
by angels into men. That hence from men to men, and in the Church,
chiefly from the clergy to the laity that which is holy is continually
given, but it recedes if the Lord is not addressed." Again, p. 32,
.. That the idea of the clergy in respect to the Trinity is, that there
are three persons, each of which is God and Lord, and that to the
three there is one and the same essence. That the idea of the wiser
Ilmong the clergy is, that there are three communicable properties or
qualities, but, by three persons are understood such as are incommu-
nicable."
Every one will admit that the last citation has reference to the
clergy of the Old Church. We might reason by analogy, therefore,
that in the others he had reference to the Old Church also-or to the
Christian Church as then constituted. But lest this species of argu-
ment should be avoided on the ground of inconclusiveness, we shall
shortly, as we think, demonstrate that in the two p-xtracts from the
Canons where the Holy Spirit is spoken of as proceeding from the
Lord (in the Church) chiefly through the clergy to the laity in one
case, and from the clergy to the laity ill the other, a perverted order
is described and consequently the reference must have been to the state
of things when Swedenborg wrote. We should not venture to use
the word demonstrate unless our reasonings were based upon the
direct authority of Swedenborg himself. We presume it wiII be con-
ceded, that if in describing elsewhere the influx of the Lord through
heaven into His church, defined, H. cJ- H. n. 57, to be his heaven upon
earth, the idea of the Holy Spirit's being communicated from or
through the clergy to the laity, be found to be utterly excluded by the
very terms of the description as well as by the nature and constitution
of the church described; then Swedenborg, in the canons quoted,
cannot be understood as having had reference to the Lord's New
Church: but if not to the Lord's New Church, then he must be con-
sidered as having had reference to the Christian Church and its or-
ganization as they existed in his day. This conclusion wiIl be
.clinched, if we show in addition that under the state of things which
then and previously existed in the Old Church, a communication of
the Holy Spirit to the laity through the clergy, was the" chief" way
ill which the Spirit's operations could be communicated to the" laity"
at all ;-a lamentable condition of the church, it is most true! yet
traceable, as we shall try to show, directly aud principally to that very
distinction between the clergy and the laity which we are now oppos-
ing. With these remarks we give our intended extract from Swc-
denborg: "These three kinds of men constitute the church; they
who are in the good of' charity constitute the internal of the
church; they who are in few truths and etiIl desire to be instruct-
ed, thus who are in the affection of truth from good, constitute the
external of the church; but they who are in the delights of external
truth are the extremes, and make, as it were, the circumference, and
dose the church. The conjunction of heaven with the human race,
that is, the conjunction of the Lord through heaven with men, is
effec~ed by those who are in the good of charity, thus by the good of
.chanty, for in that good the Lord is present, for the Lord is that good
1850.] The Distinction of Clergy and Laity. 487
itself; through 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 was said, is from the Lord; through these again the
Lord ill with those who are in the delights of external truth, for the
delights with those art> for the most part derived from the loves of
self and the world, and very little from spiritual good. Such is the
communication of heaven with man, that is, such is the communica-
tion of the Lord through heaven with man. That the communication
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 charity and hence 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 into the affection of truth which is its ex-
ternal, and through that affection into the delights of external truths,
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 constitute the church of the Lord; the reason is, because the
universal church before the Lord is as a man, for the heaven of the
Lord with which the church acts in unity, is before Him as one man,
• .. .. .. in consequence of this, the Cl\!le is similar with the man
of the church in particular, for the man of the church in particular is
a heaven, a church, and kingdom of the Lord in the least effigy.
Moreover the case of the church is as with man himself, in that there
are two fountains of life with him, namely, the HEART and the LUNGs;
it is known that the first principle of his life is the heart and the
second principle 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
Man, that is, of heaven and the church, is constituted of those who are
in IO',-e to the Lord, and in love towards the neighbor, thus, abstract-
edly 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 constituted by those who from the Lord are in charity
towards the neighbor and thence in faith, thus, abstractedly 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 persons, by external goods and truths, whereby internal goods
and truths, may be introduced. As now the heart first flows into the
lungs and into the viscera and members of the body, so likewise the
Lord, through the good of love into internal truths, and through these
into external truths and goods."-A. C.9276.
This extract is somewhat lengthy, but it is so plain and simple to
one familiar with the style of Swedenborg, that any attempted ex-
planation would only obscure its meaning. Fortunately, therefore,
we have no reason to add to its length by any comments of our own.
There it stands and it speaks for itself. Now Swedenborg, in the
Canons under consideration, upon the hypothesis tha.t he had reference
to the New Church, implicitly divides it into two classes; the clergy
488 The Distinction of Olergy Gnd Laity. [Nov.
and the laity. Yet in the above extract he expressly divides it into
three classes--" There are three classes of men that constitute the
church," &c. It may be answered that in the Canons he is speaking
only of its external organization, while in the extract he describes its
internal constitution. Very good; but how then doe.s it happen that
in the Canons, the Divine Proceeding is communicated to the laity
from or through the clergy, while, in the extract, the influx is through
those who are in the good of charity with such as are in the affection
of truth, and through these with those who compose the extremes?
Do the clergy constitute the heart of the Grand Man 1 Then the laity
constitute the lungs; but what portion composes the viscera, members,
and organs of the body? To meet this difficulty shall the laity be
subdivided or subclassified into externals and extremes 1 Then do the
extremes receive influx from the Lord through the heart or through
the lungs 1 through the clergy or through the externals 1 Perhaps
through both. Then why did not Swedenborg in the Canons join the
superior portion of the laity with the clergy as conduits of the Holy
Spirit to their inferiors? And if the rite of ordination locates the
clergy in the heart, how do the superior laity become the lungs without
some similar ceremony to give them a patent to be distinguished from
the extremes? Once more: if the church can thus locate its parts
what is left for the Lord to do in the way of disposing and arranging?
But, above all, how would it be possible to have a New Church General
Convention 1 The extremes in the region of the head could not sit in
this capacity, and the only expedient would be for' the heart and the
lungs to act as the head pro tempore.
That Swedenborg by the word "clergy" in the Canons meant the
clergy of the Church in his day, and them only, is confirmed by the
fact that in sundry other places he uses the word as if in a general
sense, yet in the same connection, by collateral indications, clearly
shows that he attached to it the particular meaning contended for.
A remarkable instance of this occurs in T. C. R. n. 146, " The reasons
why illustration and instruction are for the clergy, in particular, are,
because those belong to the office, and inauguration into the ministry
brings them along with it; and also they believe that, while they are
preaching from zeal, they are inspired, like the disciples of the Lord
into whom the Lord bl'eathed, saying, Receive ye the Holy Spirit.
Some also affirm that they have felt the influx. But they Ibould be
very cautious how they persuade themselves that the zeal, by which
many are actuated while they are preaching, is the divine operation
in their hearts;" &c., &c. He then proceeds to speak of the fact that
a still higher zeal is excited in the breasts of enthusiWlts, even in such
as despise the Word and cast faith and charity, as it were, into a bag
behind their back; that he is, throughout, referring to the clergy of
his day, is clearly manifest as well by the portion above quoted
as by the fact that without such reference there would be no point to
) the following apostrophe with which the paragraph is concluded:
.. You who deny the sanctity of the Word and the divinity of the
Lord, take off, 1 beseech you, your bag from your back, and open it,
which you do freely at home, and you will see. I know that those
1850.] The DUtinction of Clergy and Laity. 489
who are meant by Lucifer in Isaiah, and who are of Babe], when they
enter the temple, and especialIy when they ascend the pulpit, partic.
ularly those who call themselves of the society of Jesus, are hurried
away by a zeal which is of infernal love; and thence they scream
more vehemently, and fetch deeper sighs from their breasts, than t~o~
who are in zeal from heavenly love. That there are two other spIrIt-
ual operations with the clergy may be seen below, n. 155."· T~e
very expression which we have last italicized has a definite place lD
the Old Church vocabulary, and the definitions of these operations in
the Dote referred to exhibit, as the partial result of old church in-
auguration, a much lower plane of lipiritual elevation than that which
invites even the "laity" of the Heavenly Jerusalem. So also the com-
munication of the Holy Spirit by the Sacrament, mentioned in one of
the canons quoted, is a correct outline of old church experience; yet
it affords hut a faint conception of the fulness of the Lord's presence
in .the sallle ordinance under the New Dispensation and that conjunc-
tion with Him which makes the Holy Supper to "the man of the New
Church" an introduction into heaven. In the old church, the influen-
ces of the Spirit are indeed given to the repentant communicant; but
in the New, the whole of the Lord, both as to the Divine and as to the
glorified Human, and also the whole of his redemption, are" omni-
present in the Holy Supper," and instead of merely" communicating
the influences of the Spirit," absolutely open heaven to those who
nightly partake (T. C. R. 716, 717, 719). Can it bethatSwedenborg
meant to describe this glorious appearing of our Lord, when he used
the language of the Canon 1 If not, then he must have had reference
to the Christian church as constituted in his day.
That church was the church of the New Covenant; it had the pro-
mise of the Holy Spirit and was the depository of the Word. In its
primitive state, the Holy Spirit was communicated as well directly as
by the laying on of the apostles' hands. All that believed were toge-
ther: "and they, continuing daily, with one accord in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat" (appropriat-
ed the good of the Word and of doctrine) "with gladness and single-
ness of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people."
The apostles knew no higher name than witnesses and servants of
Jesus Christ, and all Christians were little children. A glance at the
Acts will show the shocking contrast between what was then the re-
lations between the teachers and the taught and the subsequent rela-
tions as defined by the canons of the church in tbe latter part of the
third century: then the laity were enjoined to esteem the clergy (styled
mediators of the Word) to be prophets and to revere them as Gods.
" If therefore Moses was called a god by the Lord, let the Bishop be
honored among you as a god and the Deacon as his prophet. For as
Christ doeth nothing without his Father, so neither doeth the Deacon
anything without his Bishop. And as the Son without his Fa tber is no-
thing, so is the Deacon nothing without his Bishop." The laity are thus
addressed in (JOe of the canons: "How much more should the Word
exhort you to honor your spiritual parents (i. e. the priesthood) and to
love them as your benefactors and ambassadors with God, who have
regenerated you by water, and endowed you with the fulness of the
Holy Spirit, .. ,., .. • who have imparted to you the saving
body and precious blood of Christ, who have loosed you from your
sins, ,., ... • .. who have admitted you to be partakers and fel-
low-heirs of the promise of God! Reverence these and honor them
with all kinds of honor; for they have received from God the power
of life and death, in judging sinnel's and condemning them to the death
of eternal fire, as also in lOOMing the penitent from their sins, and re-
storing them to a new life"-(Consts. and Can. Ho. Apostles, pp. 44,
48). To these usurpations the laity passively yielded. Perhaps they
were prepared for nothing better. They did not have the Word as a
medium of conjunction with heaven. That was with their priests
who were styled the mediators of it. Consequently the people know-
ing nothing else of the Word could only receive the influences of the
Spirit through the Bole medium which they recognized; and therefore
it was, that in the church in Swedenborg's day the Spirit was com-
municated to the laity chiefly through the clergy-" chiefly," because
since the Reformation the Word had become distributed among a por-
tion of the people and therefore somewhat of conjunction was effect-
ed by means of it. So it is in all religions. " That which is Holy is
continually given; but it recedes unless the Lord is addressed."
Therefore the Hindoo, the Mahometan, the Pagan, and the Babylon.
ian respectively and alike receive certain operations of the Divine
proceeding through whatever they set up as the meuium between
themselves and the unknown God. With the Newchurchman, the
sole medium is the Divine Human.
~. The Distinction of Clergy and Laity. 491
How then did the clergy of the Old Church receive the operations
of the Spirit 1 Through the Word and such truths of doctrine from it
as they happened to believe. Some embraced these truths in their
li ves and thus their reception was more complete. But the clergy of
the Old Church, as a distinct class, did have certain gifts for the sake
of the laity of whom they were the mediators; also because unless
conjunction had been with the clergy it could not have taken place;
also by virtue of" the covenant (or promise, sponsionem) of the Holy
Spirit" guaranteed by our Lord to His Church until its consummation.
This covenant had to be fulfilled (if at all) as we have shown through
the clergy as recognized mediators, therefore as a distinct class; but
because, as a class, they could not, each for himself, receive the Holy
Spirit, by reason of falses of doctrine and depravities of life, therefore
they were properly to be inaugurated by the representation of its
translation.
The laity of the Old Church having been such as all history shows
them to have been, the order of the church, or of the things of heaven,
among them, could not have been maintained without ecclesiastical
governors. These governors were called priests and their office the
priesthood. Being recognized as mediators between the laity and the
Word, and having peculiar gifts for the sake of the laity and the
church, they were, lor the sake of order, to be the objects of dignity
and honor on account of the sanctity of their oifice. It is according to
order that they should still receive such hOllor from their subjects;
and, by virtue of their official sanctity, they still often render import-
ant services in suppressing riots and restraining crime. In their of.
ficial character and ministrations, according to the Providence of God,
they do good in various ways not necessary to be enumerated-so
much good, that we should be the last to raise against them the re-
volutionary cry of .. No human priesthood I" The receivers of the
writings of Swedenborg are cautioned against such extravagance by
the passage relied on from the Heavenly Doctrines. To extend the
remark of Swedenborg beyond this meaning, would be to give it a
universal application and consequently to enjoin it upon Newchurch-
men to accord to priests of the Old Church a dignity and honor on ac-
count of the sanctity of their office, similar to that which these priests
receive from their own laity.
But our business is with the question whether or not the clergy is
to form or continue to form a distinct class in the New Church-dis-
tinct in reference to a certain superior dignity and honor held to be-
long to them as the" governors" of the church; to use the expression
of Swedenborg in the passage relied on from the Heavenly Doctrines.
A. E. F. says, Rep. p. 312: "The man is composed of goods and
truths, two perfectly distinct things; priests correspond, in the collec-
tive church, with goods and the laity consequently with truths, and
as goods and truths are distinct, the clergy and laity must be distinct
also." This syllogism, mutatis mutandis, would serve equally to de-
monstrate the duality of the Godhead: thus, God is infinite good and
infinite truth, two perfectly distinct things. The Father is infinite
good and the Word is infinite truth. But infinite good and infinite
492 The Distinctwn of Clergy and Laity. [Nov.
truth are distinct, therefore the Fath~r and the Word must be distinct
also. The vice is in the statement, as of a universal proposition, that
goods and truths are perfectly distinct. That two and two make
four, is a truth. Punctuality in business is a good. The two in this
case are perfectly 8istinct because predicated of different subjects.
But good and truth, or love and wisdom, in God make one. So they do
in the man of the church.
The argument on this point will be greatly simplified by a moment's
attention to the ambiguity of the word priest. It is an English word.
derived from the Greek rtpuj3vdpof, and is used as the equivalent of
rtp,,,j3v'l'lpos when applied to the clergy. [t is also the English
word. by which :,p,vs is translated. The plural of this latter word. is
used by John in the Apocalypse, ch. i. 6, 11 And hath made u, king' and
prie,ts." The force of the term priest as here used may be seen in
1 Peter, ii. 5: 11 Ye also, as 1i vely stones, are built up a spiritual house,
an holy priesthood (:.paf"'v,-) to o.ffer up spiritual sacrifices, accep-
t~ble to God by Jesus Christ." That is, in the Jewish church the
:,p,vs offered up sacrifices for the atonement of the sins of the people;
but you, through the Divine Humanity, are yourselves to offer up
I!lpiritual sacrifices for your reconciliation with God.· Now, it
happens that priest (:,p,vs) and priest (<<'p,tfl3vTlpos) have two very
different internal significations; and, unfortunately for his argument,
A. E. F. while using the word in the latter sense, gives to it the spirit-
ual signification belonging to it in the former. Priests do correspond
with goods; but rtp."j3vf"lpOI (always translated elders in our ver-
sion) signifies the intelligent; those who are ill truths derived from
good. Now let us attempt to re-construct A. E. F.'s syllogism: The
man is composed of goods and truths; presbyters (priests) correspond
in the collective church with truths derived from good; therefore in
presbyters goods and truths are conjoined; but every man in the
spiritual church is in truth derived from good; therefore every man in
the spiritual church is a presbyter.
How strange it is that throughout. this animated coutroversy, the
word. PROPHET should have been so signally overlooked. Priest or
prophet sometimes occur in the Scriptures together; in such cases,
the former signifies one who leads a life according to divine truth;
the latter, he who teaches it (A. E. 624). Paul told the Corinthians to
desire spiritual gifts, but rather that they might prophesy. Early
mention is made of certain prophets and teachers who w~re at Antioch.
No account is given of their ordination; but we are told that as they
ministered to the Lord and fasted they were instructed by the Holy
Ghost to separate two of their number, by name, for a special mis-
sion whereunto the Lord had caned them (Acts xiii. 1-3). One of these,
it may be remarked, had been" purged out of the lpgal profession" and
straightway, without the formal ceremonyofanordination,t "preached
Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God" (Acts ix. 20).
• As to the ambiguity of the word priest and its derivation, see further, Whately's Logic,
Appendix, Tit. PalEST.
t If St. Paul was ordained by the imposition of the hands of Ammias, then he was or·
dained by .... disciple" merely; and if the laying 011 of hands be ordination, then he was
1850.] The DUtinction of Olergy and Laity. 493
ARTICLE 11.
The following is 1\ leller written by the celebrated Madame Guion. This remarknble
woman belonged to the class of those who, in religion, are commonly known under the
name of My.tic,. This class of religionists, though generally condemned by the Old
Church ns dreamers, enthusiasts of n bad though quiet kind, and quite unintelligible,
are destined 10 be esteemed, by tbe New Church, as the best and worthiest fruit of the
past dispensation. Tbeir enthusiasm, ('xamined from its point of view, is seen to have
been inspired by the Holy Spirit, and their obscurity clears up into luminous propositions
r('lating to the highest grade of the interior life of the BOUI. SO far as the New Church
will refer, except for merely historicnl purposes, to the r('ligious writings of the past, it
will, without doubt, give a decided preference to those of the Mystics.
The leller was addressed to Fenelon, who was the disciple of Madame Guion, and
whom sh.. was the chiefinstrumenl of forming to that pure anJ elevated piety which has
attrncted such universal admiration to his character. She was qualilled for the office
which she performed towards him under the Divine Providenc(', by that peculiar gin of
perceiVing the states of persuns with whom she wall spiritually r('lated, of which she bas
given such wonderful details in hcr nutobiography. There are some allusions to this gin
in the letter itself.
Madame Guion was cbarged by tbe controversialists of her day, of whom La Bruyerll,
the author of the" Characters," was one, with denying the co-operation of man witb the
divine grace. Her views were hence stigmatized as Quidi.m. But when examined.
with even ordinary care, as she hns given them herself, they stand completely clear of
any well-founded imputation of this kind. She meets the objection, explicitly, in various
pnrts of her worka, and sets it aside to the perfect satisfaction of the candid inquirer.
Tbnt she should have been misapprehended, on Ihis and many other points, is not strange,
if we consider two things. The first is, that genuine rntionnl truths are sure to be de-
spised nnd rejected by the Imperfect rational, and that these yet wcre the very truths
which she delivered to those who were entirely ignorant of th('m, either from experience
1850.] Letterfrom Madame Guion to Fenelon. 495
or by theory. The second is, that she needed, for a lucid exposition of her views, a just
science of the human mind, and a proper vocabulary. This want is supplied by the
writings of Swedenborg. and to those who are acquainted with them, nothing is easier
than to see, that such phrases of Madame Guion's as seem to deny all a.ction 10 man, and
to require of him that he should wait, like something inanimate, to be moved by the
divine impulse, are really designed to teach, that he must desist from all actions from his
own proprium. A celestial proprium she fully acknowledges. In condemning rea.on, in
like manner, she means ratiocination, and so of the rest.
It is not designed to affirm that all the statements, either of the letter here Riven, or of
her writings in general, can be accepted implicitly. In matters of doctrine-though
these appear to a very limited extent-she is an adherent to the faith of the Romish
Church; and some of the ascetic maxims and devotional usages of that Church are occa-
sionally mentioned hy her with approbation. It could not be otherwise, since doctrine is
never taught by the internal way; the wonder is, that such errors in her knowledge
should have been compatible with the lofty stRte, exceeded, it may safely be said, by no
other of which there is a record left us in the archives of Christianity, which she finally
attained. But such things as these in her writings are passed over almost without notice,
by those who read with spiritual discernment, being completely eclipsed by the profound
knowledge of the interior lite, and the rich collection of precepts for advancing in it,
which they every where contain.
A.E.F.
I HAVE had an earnest desire to write to you, and one which impels
me strongly. I would say, in the first place, that when you read the
writings of M. N., you should nourish yourself simply with what
relates to pure faith. All that concerns active death, or the practice
of the virtues, although written, apparently, for persons more ad-
advanced than yourself: is not at all adapted to you; for you must
not regard your soul, either as respects the time during which it ha.~
been devoted to God, or the labor and practice of the virtues, in
certain degrees not adapted to your case, but only as respects the
deadening of your will. I say deadeni1lg, because there is not yet
with you that state of entire death which you will experience at
some future day. God is leading you himself, and He requires, on
your part, no other effort than that of leaving Him to do all, and of
dying simply, from moment to moment, by all the events of life, and
to all your repugnances, suffering yourself to be devoured by them,
whatever they may be. God will find in you the wherewith to bring
about this death; He is even now preparing your soul for this result
by repose, by the process of mortification and by cessation from all pro-
per activity. He is laboring with )'OU, as the sun does in the earth,
which causes all plants to germinate without the possibility of dis-
covering his labors before they manifest themselves externally. It is
the same with you, But be assured that you will never have the
possession of any thing. You will not have the virtues, except by
losing them; and what I say of the virtues, I say of every thing else.
As long as the journey of faith lasts, the soul sees nothing, distin-
guishes nothing, holds, apparently, to nothing. It is as when a person
is walking in a level country, who walks insensibly, without fear and
without support; but as soon as he comes, unexpectedly, to the
496 Letter from Madame Guion to Fenelon. [Nov.
declivity of a precipice, and finds himself falling, he is naturally
seized with fear, and grasps every thing he comes across which is
capable of holding him up; he would actually support himself by
t~em, if the very things which he grasps were not snatched from
~lm, or did not give way in his hands. He then, generally, holds by
httle thorn-bushes, which, not having strength to hold him up, serve
only to tear his flesh and make him feel their points, to persuade him
that he falls only because he has not been strong enough to endure
their rending, and to cling to them in spite of the extreme pain they
inflict.
It is on such occasions that this deadened will revives, not by any
choice proper to it, either of fearing or desiring, but from its natural
propensity which is lost only by death. This death excludes alike all
repugnances and all desires, not only in the pure, simple and naked
state of faith, but in states apparently of the greatest danger. For
there is a great difference between losing all desires and repugnances
in the simple and general state you now are in, and not retaining
them in the most frightful and desperate loss. And yet it is this state
of non-willing, this exclusion of all repugnances, which must be the
inmost thing with you. For your appeal is not to any gift, practice,
or particular species of sanctity,-it is not even to follow Provi-
dence step by step: this is a result of your state, and not the essen-
tial of it. The essential of your state is the entire loss of all will,
[of your own]. not only as to the feeling of it, but really. The effect
of this will be that God will exercise over you a wonderful leading,
having reference to yourself alone, and adapted to what He has
Himself gifted you with.
For, besides that general leading which He exercises with souls
that are led in faith, He has a peculiar leading of death, and one
which is appropriate to the state, quality, and constitution of each
one. That which would cause others to die to themselves would but
graze your skin, by reason of the firm· and solid character which God
has given you. You are not a man to be holy or virtuous, but to be
after God's own heart; you are to be made, properly speaking, the will
ofGod. Yes, this is the single thing which God requires of you. His
will is to be your life, your rule, your law. This is an essential will,
which is particular for each one of us, and which has no relation to
that general will which is declared and known of all. Thus it is
only for those souls to whom it is revealed a little through the great-
est obscurity.
This essential will, so long as it leads the soul into a state of being
lost to itself, and before it has as yet introduced it into its first prin-
ciple and into perfect unity, admits of a thousand uncertainties to the
soul which possesses it, although it is very certain and infallible in
itself. Certainty would be a stay to it, and would hinder its total
destruction; it finds its assurance only in absolute despair. It is
easy to hope for nothing when there is nothing to be feared and to
endure; but it is not so---save where there is a courage and fidelity
beyond imagination-where all self-reflexion is to be laid aside, and
all [interestPd] views of eternity are to be dropped in what would
appear the assured loss of eternity itself.
1850.] Letter from Madame Guion to Fenelon. 497
You beJieve that you experience repugnances, but that which you
feel is not to be so considered. We must not look upon any thing as
repugnances, save those feelings which have reference to the leading
of God with us, which cause us to desire one state rather than
another, and which, in a word, are marks of [natural] life in us.
These repugnances cannot as yet exist in you, because they are
incompatible with the deadening which chRracterizes your present
state, and because God as yet requires of you nothing which can give·
you fear. If this should come to pass, you would see start to life
again, the fears, alarms, and secret desires which are the appanage of
the will while it is still living ; for your will will never die except by
the experience of these awakenings, and of its remaining life. Death
suffers itself to be cast into the mud, or to be placed on the throne,
with the same facility, because, not living any longer, it feels no
longer. The case is not the same with him who lives and sees what
is done to him. Though pliable to let that be done to him which is
done, he is yet invaded by natural fear. That which you experience
cannot properly be called repugnances of the will, because they are
exterior things and things without you. They are mere natural
repugnances at things which do not suit you, by means of which we
die to these very things.
Although what I am writing to you may appear, perhaps, not to
suit you altogether at pl'esent, when your will, having the nourish-
ment necessary for it, has become as if without appetite (in conse-
quence of which there is nothing with you which embraces or desires
a perfection superior to that which you now enjoy,-a very good
state of mind), )'et it will be very useful to you; you will know one
day that I have told you the truth, when all which you read and
which now pleases you will appear in a very different light. You
will relish these things and understand them according to your then
state; you see them at present in one way, - you will then see them
in another, so that they will be adapted to all your life. My little
work, " The Torrents," will show you your state in all the periods of
your life. I tell you this with certainty, and beg you not to destroy
your health; it will be useful, one day, both to yourself and others.
Besides the general and continual perception which I have of the
state of your soul, in which I experience no obstacle, nor medium,
and ha"e a certain penetration by which it seems to me that I reach
from one end to the other of it, God gives to me a knowledge of the
particulars of your state, and disposition, and of what makes its inti-
mate and essential [element]. It appears to me a proceeding of God.
of an abasing and humbling character towards you, that He should
be pleased thus to suggest to me what is useful for you; nevertheless,
it is the case, and will continue to be so, because such is His good
pleasure, without reference either to what you are or to what I am.
This will be the case yet more when your interior uncertainties shall
commence. Besides the general perception which God gives me of
souls, which admits or rejects them according as God Himself does,
He gives me a certain knowledge and facility in reference to souls in
particular, so that although there is a general way in which the)' are
49B Letter from Madame Gtlion to Fenelon. [Noy.
all to be led, J have mwer found two which resembl~d one another
and to whom I could give the same counsels. These diversities,
which make but one indivisible whole, are worthy of the majesty of
God.
I b<,g you to drop all the histories of the Pentateuch, and to read
merely what relates to the passage of the cbildren of Israel from the
Red Sea to the possession of the promised land. This will not be so
. strange. I say this, presuming that you feel no repugnance to it. It
seems to me necessary that you should discover in yourself (and you
will do so at once) the difference between repugnances merely ex-
terior and natural, and those which are of the inmost. For as your
principal state is, and always will be, to yield to God, and to be under
His hand as it were a feather without resistance (since for this you
feel a particular attraction), it is very important that you should be
able to perceive, that all which is repugnant merely to your exterior
and to nature, which admits what agrees with it, and rejects what
does not (though by this I do not mean what has relation to the body,
but the impOl·tunity of the creatures and of the events of life),-I
say, that all these things repugnant to you exteriorly ought to be
borne in a state of death, so that you shall give yourself up to them
li1(e a little bark exposed without a pilot to the mercy of the winds,
which yields, without choice, to all which sweeps it along. But as
regards the repugnances of the inmost, far from combating them,
they must be followed, because it is God in you who will admit or
reject. To this point you must suffer yourself to be led by Him.
To this you will reply: "How can I direct attention to myself for
the purpose of following or rejecting things 1 This would be con-
trary to naked faith which admits not [of any self-reflexion]." This
would be true if the thing were to be done by this kind of attention.
But just as every existing state continues, and we pursue our way
without thinking of it when we encounter no obstacle, in like manner
we walk on by aid of the shadowy light of faith so long as nothing
resists and gives repugnance. Now this resistance and repugnance
makes itself known the moment it is encountered, while yet the soul,
notwithstanding, does not rest in a state of self-attention; just as a
blind man keeps on, until, coming to a wall which checks him, he
understands that he must go another way, without, however, engag-
ing in any reasoning about it. Yield always to God in whatever
state you may be, and whatever He may require of you, and you will
always be in peace. Resist Him in the least, wishing ever to please
Him, and you immediately lose the centre, and furrows appear upon
what was before a beautiful and tranquil sea; this sea even falls into
storm and tempest when simple repugnancp. to the will of God be-
comes resistance. "\Vho hath resisted Him and prospered 1 " I
cannot repeat this to you too often, for on this principle God will lead
you all your life.
What causes the inquietudes of souls not enlightened is a resistance,
which they are often not aware of. As the delicacy of God is infi-
nite, and He often only presents to. the soul what He requires of it,
the soul not accustomed to the delicacy of the spirit makes use of its
1850.] Letter from Madame Guion to Fenelon. 499
reason to escape from what is proposed to it, Hnd this from its very
apprehension of being deceived; it then falls into obscurity and
trouble, and gradually wanders away, and becomes perplexed, be-
cause it loses the very idea of what God has required of it. It is
gradually invaded by distress, though it makes use thereof in a
virtuous manner, bearing it like any other trouble, or, at least,
endeavoring to do so. But all this does not restore it to its ordinary
state till God, by a superior light, or by some rerson highly iIlumi·
nated, gives it to understand this resistance, and to entE'r into acqui-
escence not of act but of effect.
• You perceive then, M., that what I have said is most true, that
one must have arrived at perfect indifference in order to receive the
pure light and to follow God; for the Ii~ht often conceals itself so
deeply, that it is misapprehended, and disguises itself with so much
address that it seems to be not itself, but something quite opposite.
What is to be done in that case? It must still be followed blindly.
He who is in perfect indifference, which is like a perfect equilibrium,
is rocked by the slightest movement, and a grain of sand is a suffi-
cient weight for the purpose. But without this indifference, the soul
cannot acquire that pliancy which it should have for all the require-
ments of God.
The communication which God makes to the soul by Himself and
by his creatures is always mutually adapted among the creature~
themselves, and suited to the state of the soul. If it is a person who
has need of the sensible, the communication is made with relish and
sensibility. If it needs only pliability in the hand of God, his soul is
rendered thereby more pliable. If it is in a state of death, it causes
death. If it has need of courage, it communicates an impf'Tceptible
courage. Thus, we must not judge of the benefit which we receive
from communications by what we feel or relish sensibly, but by the
event, and by the fact that there is given to us always what is fitted
for us in thc will of God, and what is accordant with His eternal
designs towards us.
The person of whom you spoke to me yesterday carries within him
the source of his exercise and the cause of his death. Do not fear
for him; he is attached to you by a bond. If he leaves you, he will
return again. Cultivate, above all, the germ of the interior which
there is, in him, I entreat you, and do not fear to help him according
to your light. He needs, especially, that the germ of the interior
should be cultivated and nourished by reading and silence. He re-
quires books which have the germ of spiritual life in them. But do
not spare him; if you should restrain yourself in the least towards
him, it would create an obstacle and a barrier between you, which,
in spite of natural friendship, would hinder the correspondence of the
heart. And as God will make use of you to help him, He will mal\f~
use of you also to exercise him. He also will serve to exercise you;
but his fidelity towards you ought to be perfect. I could not help
writing you this, notwithstanding my fever. I am debtor to God
and to you; if I annoy you, forbid me to write, and I hope I shall
obey you.
500 Biblical Science. [Nov.
A.RTICLE Ill.
BIBLICAL SCIENCE.
GOD, in His Divine love and wisdom, " speaks as never man spake,"
in the utterance of a language containing a sense within a sense, or
rather in the ennunciation, at one and the same time, of divine, an-
gelic, and human intelligence; so that, in its ample, or adequate sig-
nification, a plurality of senses are unitedly made to appear.
This language is designated by that of correspondences; and in its
full and utmost meaning, there exist higher and lower degrees of wis-
dom; so that by one idiom or tongue, natural, spiritual, and celestial
information is imparted by the one reading, and the ready comprehen-
sion of this notable and exact science.
To the apprehension of man, God is a Being of love, wisdom, and
infinite use; his nature, laws, ordinances, and attributes, therefore, in
the order of things, must be threefold also; as like, in its fertile re-
sources and productive nature, is ever in the endeavor to re-produce
its like.
The schools, both literary and theological, are silent, if not unad·
vised, regarding the nature and existence of this truthful and exact
language; and hence the inexactness with regard to religious, moral,
and scientific subjects; most, or all, being theoretical, and founded
upon imaginary data, and one therefore conjectural altogether.
Two distinct and inseparable order of degrees exist; both of which,
are employed in the promulgation ofthis divine language: one is ofa
discrete, and the other is of a continuous character; and by their use
and uniform employment, "the ways of God to man" are made clear,
distinct, and in all respects perceptible. Thus with precision and un-
mistakable exactness, the arcana of God·s Word and works, in all
their excellence and sublimity, are opened up to the finite vision; so
that God is ever saying, " Let there be light, and there was light."
The subject of degrees, in all their amplitude and importance, is
one not readily made familiar; because it is neither known or treated
of in a manner that is exact or accurate. When properly known and
familiarly apprehended, the distinction between God's Word and that
of secular or profane writings will be made apparent, as tl"uths have
a safe and inviolate guard and protection by this exterior and interior
covering-this sacred envelope and outward letter of the Scriptures.
In all human composition, no pretension is had to any other than
the obvious or literal sense, and what appears upon the surface of the
letter; but the 'Vord and its meaning, so far transcends this as the
infinite is above and over the finite; so that, once for all, it may be
discovered in good earnest, that the" Lord truly speaks as never man
spake ;" and by a knowledge and the observance of this mode of com-
munication, the contrast or disparity may be readily seen and detected.
By the intimations given above, it may be clearly demonstrated,
that man himself is of a trinal nature; and that, in the elements of
his composition, degrees exist; for instance, the soul, body, and the
1850.] Have Homaopathy and the New Church an Affinity,! 501
ARTICI.E IV.
Shortly uner the appearance of this article we received from an eminent Hommopa-
thist in Philadelpbia a communication from whiA we give the following extract, explain-
ing the circumstances of the origination of Mr. De Charms' article.
.. DEAR SIR,-The Tribune, of Sept. 14, contained as an advertileml.'nt, • An Inquiry
In Physiology,' and five quotation", signed, • Investigator,' intended to make tbe impres-
sion on shallow-minded men tbst Hommoplltby is at variance with Galen, tbe Pharisees,
Jesus Christ, and Swedenborg. The four authorities quoted aremade to .ay what tll,y tIttltr
did, except tbe Phari!lees. Every reader would find it 10. Tbus the advertisement is not
worth answering, being of the same quality with other quack advertisements. But it is
a matter of great importance to prove the identity of Hahnemann's principles with the
doctrines of the New Cburch.
.. As rogBrds myself, I have, for the space of 25 years, defended the identity of the law
nmiLia .imilib. whh the law contraria contrarii., provided we understand clearly what
VOL. 111. 33
502 Have the pJ'inciplea of Homreopathy an Affinity [Nov.
i. similar and what i. contrary. Having been a receiver or the New Chureh since 1840.
my views have become clearer, but 110t altered.
.. Thus I can only hear, with the greatest interest, what others have to say, especially
such as are at home in the books of tbe Church-and I asked Mr. De Charms what he
would say to defend Homwopathy on New Church grounds.
.. His answer is a complete exposition and ought to be given to others. I enelose it to
you aud I wish you would consider it worth the trouble to ask the Editor of the Tribune
if he would print it in bis columns; and if, what I anticipate, he refuses, to have it
printed in your New Church Magazine."
As the writer anticipated, the Tribnne declined the publication of the Reply, but not,
wc arc happy to statt', from any prejudice against the system of Homreopatby, of which
the editor is a firm friend and patron, and in favor of which his paper has oftlm emphat-
ically spoken, but from the crowded slate of his columns and from the peculiarly theologi-
cal cast of the communication. In these circumstances the alternative course suggested
of its publication in the pages of thc Repository has been determined upon, a decision
which we doubt not will justify itself to the mass of our readc", from the ability and good
spirit which mark the article, and from its evidently intimate relations with the funda-
mental philosophy of the New Church.
As, howevcr, in this and all similar cases, we would avoid the imputation of nndulI
partisanshi p in regard to disputed questions, we shall cheerfully accord to" Investigator," or
anyone of kindred sentiments, tbe opportunity of reply, provided only that such reply be
a candid and orgummtati17e discussion of the principles involved. Mr. De Charms, it will
be seen, has Iaken a strongly affirmative ground on the subject, and sustained his position
by a ril\'idly logical course of reasoning. The proper and only proper mode of meeting hill
conclusions is to show that his premises are false or his dialectical processes unsound.
Anyone who shall see fit to assume thc task of refutation on these conditions shall have
free acecss to our pages, but they will be ht'rmetically closed against vague declamation,
loose logic, or appeals to prejudice. ED.
but they are also derived from the human economy, and man thus
preserved from their sickening influences, by the Lord's permitting
poisonous minerals, and noxious weeds, and hurtful animals to exist,
grow, aud live, as planes of their operation below man. Hence,
Swedenborg says, the use of narcotic plants, like tobacco, is to
" abS01'b malignities." And this they do, whether they are growing
as weeds in the fields around a man's dwelling, or are introduced into
his system as medicaments, or as pleasurable excitants, and agreeable
stimulants, and lulling soporifics of his bodily f1·ame. Consequently,
there is a great and most benevolent use in the growing of u;eeds in
some near or remote proximity to human dwellings. And we see a
good reason wh)' certain noxious and apparently useless plantd, like
the stramonium, are permitted to be so common, and to grow so
widely, as they are in fact everywhere found to do. For they are
needed, not only as medicaments to cure the diseases into which
mankind are very generally prone to fall, but also to absorb those
malignities, by the influx of' which into men, those diseases would
be too generally and inevitably produced, and mankind be thereby
destroyed.
R. DE CHARIlIIS.
Pblladelpl1la.
ARTICLE V.
EQUILIBRIUM.
THE queries In our last, on the subject of "Equilibrium," accompanied with a request
for appropriate an$wers, has drawn out the t\Vo followinl( communications, for which our
readers will no doubt unite with us in a grateful acknowledgment to their authors.
MR. EDITOR,
I OBSERVE in the October number of the Repository that a corres-
pondent under the signature of M. proposes a difficulty with regard
to the equilibrium between Heaven and Hell. This same difficulty
suggested itself to a couple of persons on reading the chapter relating
to this subject in the work on Heaven and Hell, whom I had every
reason to consider candid inquirers. They urged that if this equili-
brium really existed, it could not be preserved, unless as many were
added to hell as to heaven. As my attention was thus turned to the
subject, I venture to send you the answer which I ga\"e to them,
hoping that it may prove satisfactory to your correspondent.
The error which creeps into t.he understanding of this subject and
confuses it is, I suppose, the idea that Heaven and Hell have equal
pou;er as against olle another. If this were so it is manifest that the
balance between them could be maintained only by recruiting each
alike. For then the)" would be like two armies equally matched in
1850.] Equilibrium. 509
there was no necessity that a single soul of the whole universe should
ha,-e heen consigned to the infernal ahodes. Before the accumulation
of evils and falses which resulted in the formation of the hells, the
prop,'irtm of each, man and angel, served for equilibrium.
Swedenborg says:
"It has been shown me hy lively experience, that a man and a
spirit, yea, an angel, considered in himself, that is, in all his proprium,
is the vilest excrement, and that left to himself he would breathe no·
thing but hatred, revenge, cruelty, and the mo~t foul adulteries; these
things are his proprium and his will."-A. C. 987.
Hell, therefore, existe{l before the hells were formed, because pro-
prium in itself is hell. In truth there can be no human being without
self-hood, no pleasure without pain, no heaven without hell. This is
the inevitable law of all spiritual existence. If proprium or self-hood
was sufficient to hold the first created man in equilibrium, as is very
evident, and as is conceded by M. (Repository, Oct. No.) tben surely
it would suffice for any number of men, prior to the formation of the
hells by the accumulation of evils. If sufficient for the first man, it
would be for the second and so on ad infinitum.
But an idea is started by M. to the effect that" if good prevails the
equiliorium is as much destroyed as though the contrary." Thishowever
is hardly a supposable case, inasmuch as good is not in its nature ag-
gressive. It does not encroach or make war upon evil, but is mild,
gentle, persuasive, seeking to mitigate and restore, not to attack and
destroy. Yet it may be said, though it will seem paradoxical, that it
is as necessary to save tha hells from the heavens as the reverse. The
inhabitants of the hells are permitted; by the Divine mercy, to be in the
delight of their ruling loves, subjeet to sucb punishments as they draw
upon themselves by unbounded indulgence. This is their life. An
uninterrupted and unclouJcd influx from the heavens would destroy
them. Infernal life could never endure the proximate and untemper-
ed effulgence of the sun oC the spiritual world.
It may also be said, that if good could so prevail as to destroy evil,
it would invoh'e the proprium of the angels in ruin, as well as the
hells. In that case good alone would exist, and as the Lord only is
good, the distinction between uncreate and created would cease;
and the unh'erse revert to a state anterior to creation when there was
no derived existence.
B. G. F.
1lhaca, N. Y.
EXTRACT.
.. The reason why it i3 said. woP. to the inhabitants of the earth and of tbe sea, because
the devil comes down unto you having great anger, is, because, after the last judgment,
the state of the spiritual world was nlto!l'ether changed; before the last juugmtlnt it was
permitted those who could nct 0. civil and mornllife in externals, a\l~ou!lh thHY were not
spiritual, to form to them,dves, as it were, heavens, Rnd there to enJoy such pleasures as
they delighted in in the world; but since the last judgment wos accomplished, this is no
]o0l.",r permiued, for now everyone is carried awuy according 10 his lile, he who is mere
Iy nntural to hell, and he who is spiritunl to heaven."-olf. E. 754.
514 The Jewish Tabernacle viewed ill il8 Spiritual Import. [Nov.
ARTICLE VI.
HAYING thus far treated of the various objects and appendages con·
nected more immediately with the structure itself of the Tabernacle,
such a8 the Curtains, the Outer and Inner Rooms, the Ark, the Cheru-
bim, the Altar of Incense, the Table of Show.Bread, and the Golden
Candlestick, we come now to the consideration of various items con-
nected more remotely with the central edifice, but still forming im-
portant features in the general Levitical economy, such as the Altar
of Sacrifice, the Laver, the Court of the Tabernacle, and the Garments
of the Priests. Of these the Altar of Sacrifice first claims our atten-
tion, the order for the construction of which is contained in the fol-
lowing passage.
.. And thou shalt make an altar of shittim-wood, five cubits long,
and five cubits broad: the altar shall be four-square: and the height
thereof shall be three cubits. And thou shalt make the horns of it
upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and
thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make his pans to
receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basins, and his flesh-hooks,
and his fire-pans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.
And thou shalt make for it a grl}-te of net-work of brass; and upon
the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof.
And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the
net may be even to the midst. of the altar. And thou shalt make
staves 10r the altar, staves of shittim.\Vood, and o\'erlay them with
brass. And the staves shall he put into the rings, and the staves shall
be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. Hollow with boards
shalt thou make it: as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they
make it."-Ex. xxvii. 1-8.
To.this description the appended cut is supposed more or less truly
to correspond. •
Coogle
1850.] The Altar of Sacrifice. 515
From this it appears that the Altar was a sort of square chest of
shittim-wood, overlaid with brallS. It was five cubits'long by five
. broad, and three in height (about three yards square and five feet
high), and had a horn or projection at each corner. It was hollow
within, and in the middle of its surface was a sunk grating of brass
to support the fire, which was furnished with four rings, that it might
be taken out and carried separately from the body of the Altar. The
ashes from the fire sunk through the grating, and were taken thence
in a pan made for the purpose. The altar had four rings or staples at
the sides, into which poles of shittim-wood covered with brass were
inserted when the altar was to be moved from place to place. This
is the account which seems to agree best with the text, although some
of the details have been differently understood by various expositors.
It is thought that both this altar and the larger one made by Solomon,
by which it was superseded, had the lower part of the hollow filled up
either with earth or stones, in compliance with the injunction in chap.
xx. 24, 25. Josephus says, that the altar used in his time at the Tem-
ple was of unhewn stone, and that no iron tool had been employed in
its construction. None of the altars which tbe Scripture assigns to
either tbe Tabernacle, or Temple were of this construction, but that
erected at Mount Ebal by Joshua was so (Josh. viii. 31), and ap-
parently others which were set up in different parts of tbe land of
promise. The borns of the altar have given scope to voluminous
discussion, both as regards their form and their design. They were
certainly projections of some kind or other at the four corners, but thf'ir
precise shape, ('I' even the direction in which they projected, cannot
be distinctly collected from the sacred text. By many it is supposed
that they were actually horn.shaped, and this opinion is supported by
the authority of Josephus as to the Altar used in his time. Dut tbe
opinion 8eems preferable that they were square risings, orpinnacles, from
each corner of the Altar; or square to half their height, and termi.
nating pyramidically in a sharp tip or point. The descriptions given
by the Rabbins, and the pictures of the most ancient altars go to con·
firm this view of their form.
As to the uses which were subserved by the horns in the actual
material altar pertaining to the Tabernacle, it is difficult to find any
satisfactory account either in Jewish or Christian commentators. It
is inferred by some from Ps. cxviii. 27, .. Bind the sacrifice with cords
to the horns of the Altar," that these appendages were designed for the
purpose of fa~,.tcning the victim to the Altar before it was slain. But
of this there is little probability, as the inceno;;e-altar, at which no
bloody sacrifices were'offered, also had horns; and there is nothing in
all Jewish antiquity to favor the idea of the victims being ordinarily
thus secured and slain immediately contiguous to the Altar. In this
emergency we are relieved from doubt by the internal sense which is
thus given by Swedenborg:
"By binding the sacrifice with cords, even nnto the horns of the
Altar, is signified to conjoin all things of worship; to bind with cords
denoting to conjoin, the sacrifice at the horns of the Altar denoting all
things of worship; horns, as being ultimates, denoting all things, and
516 The Jewish Tabernacle viewed in its Spiritual Import. [Nov.
sacrifice Rnd altar denoting worship. All things of worship are con-
joined when externals are conjoined with internals, and when goods
are conjoined with truths." As the original phrase imports not so
much a ., binding to" as " binding even unto" the altar, which Sweden-
borg's rendering recognizes, the following interpretation of Rabhi D.
Kimchi gives, as we conceive, a sense nearer the truth than our Eng-
lish \"ersion: "Bring the sacrifices bound with cords until (from their
great numbers) they shall have reached even to the horns of the altar"
-the sacrificial victims being supposed to crowd the outer court and
to press up even against the very Altar. But as the spiritual sense
makes the matter sufficiently plain, it is not necessary to dwell upon
critical niceties.
.. Thou shalt make his panl'l to receive his ashes." The original
word here rendered to" receive his ashes" ('~1tl;"":, ledash-sheno), sig-
nifies rather to remove, to carry out, the ashes which fell from the
grate to the earth within the compass of the Altar; and Swedenborg
accordingly, with that exact perception of the import which so often
distinguishf's him, rendf'rs it, .. to sift his ashes." The basins were for
receiving the blood of the sacrifices that it might be sprinlded upon
the people, upon the horns of the Altar, &c. The flesh-hooks were
for picking up and replacing any portion of the sacrifice which may
have fallen out of the fire, while the fire-pans were probably a larger
kind of vessels in which the sacred fire, that camc down from hea·
ven (Lev. ix. 24), was kept burning whilst they cleansed the Altar and
the grate of the coals and ashes; and while the Altar was being
transported from place to place, as it oftcn was in the wilderness.
"Thou shalt make for it a grate of net-work of brass." From the
phraseology of the text it would appear, that this brazen grating was
let into the hollow of the Altar, and sunk so far below the upper sur-
face that itl'l bottom, which was probably convex, reached to midway
of the height of the Altar; "that the net may be even to the midst of
the altar." Being thus made of net-work like a sie"e, and hung hol-
low, the fire would burn the better, and the ashes would sift through
into the hollow of the Altar, from whence they were removed through
a door constructed for the purpose. The four rings attached to the
corners of this grated partition were for the purpose of lifting it out
and putting it in. Some of the elder commentators have suggested
that these rings were connected by chains with the horns of the Altar,
which thus served an important purpose in suspending the grate.
However this may be it il'l altogether probable that·the rings fell
within the compass of the Altar below the top, Rnd were not seen
without. Some writers have been much embarrassed by a fancied
difficulty in seeing how the wood-work of the Altar could be kept
from being burnt, when exposed to such a constant heat. But no-
thing forbids the supposition that a lining or casement of stone may
have been placed within the structure and against its sides; and as
the grate was suspended by the rings, and the fire nowhere in contact
with the frame, besides the whole being under the constant inspection
of the priflsts, the danger of combustion was very slight.
In pursuance of our general plan, it now becomes requisite to en-
deavor to settle the spiritual significancy and scope of the Altar of
ISM.] The Altar of Sacrifice. 51'7
all divine defence is by truths from good, therefore also they who com-
mitted evils and feared death caught hold of the!lorns of the altar and
were preserved (1 Kings i. 50,51) i but they who from premediation or
the will committed evils were not preserved (1 Kings H. 28-3]). More-
over, because horns signified truths from good, therefore also woon
kings were anointed, this was done by oil out of a horn. David and
Solomon were both thus anointed i the oil signifying the good oflove.
From this signification of horns, which was known to the ancients, it
was customary to make horns budding forth and fragrant, whence
came the expression cornucopia."
Among the implements mentioned as pertaining to the Altar, that
which was most pregnant with spiritual import were perhaps tbe
.. pans for receiving tbe ashes," which dflnote such things as are in-
strumental in removing whatl'emains after use in thfl natural or external
memory. These remnants are what are signified by ashes, of which
the evident correspondenco is with such things as remain in mag after
uses, as the scientifics or lower kno~ledges of the natural mind.
These knowledges are stored up in the memory of the external man,
and constitute the material from which the internal man extracts the
pabulum which goes to sustain its spiritual life. Seeing from the light
of heaven the intrinsic quality of these knowledges, it chooses and !!le-
lects from' them such as are in agreement with its love, and rejects
every thing that is repugnant. In the man, therefore, who is regener-
ating, the good which is of love chooses to itself the congenial and
fitting truths of faith, and by them perfects itself. Such scientifics or
knowledges of good and truth in the memory of the external man,
after performing the above use, vanisb, as it were, from the natural
memory, just as the first principles or rudiments of every kind of in-
struction perish from the memory when the attainment is actually
made. "Thus," says our author, "man learns to speak, learns to
think, learns to discern and judge, learns to behave morally, and to
demean himself decorously: in a word, learns languages, manners,
intelligence, and wisdom. The scientifics which served for those uses
are signified by ashes which aro to be removed: and the knowledges
.of truth and of good, by which man receives spiritual life, after that
they have served for use, that is, have imbued life, are signified by
the ashes of the altar which also are to be removed."
As to the various other items which go to form the inventory of the
Altar's appendages it is scarcely necessary to dwell upon them, as
they all refer themselves, in their spiritual import, to the general in-
terior scope of the main objects thus far considered. It is sufficient
to say that the several vessels of ministry, indicated in the connexion,
represent containing scientifics adapted to be the receptacles of some
Hpecific good or truth, especially such as are related to worship. It
remains, therefore, to pass, in subsequent articles, to the consideration
of other items in the ritual of the Tabernacle.
G.B.
(To bt COfItifltW.)
520 Corre8ponderice. [Nov.
CORRESPONDENCE.
I will now refer to matters counected with the Church. We have had lately
published here" A Biographical Sketch of SwedenborA', with an account of his
writings, by Elihu Rich," and a more extended Biography, by Mr. Wilkinson.
You have, perhaps, seen them both, I shall therefore simply offer a few re-
marks upon them. They are both very interesting, though considerably dif-
ferent. Rich, though his work iS'much smaller, goes at far greater leugth into
the theological works of E. S. than Wllkinson, and I think very satisfactorily.
He tal,es up the Arcana throughout Genesis, almost chapter by chapter, while
Wilkinson has not a word on it, except as to the manner. A friend lent me
Wilkinson's a fortnight ago, and, t,vo days after, sent me a note, containing the
following critique 011 it by a friend of his whom I do not know. It is the UJif-
writing the husband" opinion to the sister of my friend.
"You ask what C/;larles thinks of Wilkinson's Life of E. S. He has read it,
and at the same time has read another Biographical SI,etch of the same person
by E. Rich, late Editor pf the New Church Quarterly. ;rhe latter Charles much
prefers to the former, as he thinks it places the author's reul mission more cor-
rectly before the reader. He is fearful that Wilkinson h.as misconceived the
• character of E. S.'s spiritual illumination, which he appears to identify with
the developments of Mesmerism, instead of considering him, as he certainly
was, an especially enlightened messenger of the Lord for an t'special purpose,
which cannot Of:CUT again. W.'s own remarks on abstract questions are so dis-
tinctly marked by their tendency to naturalism, and the phraseology he makes
use of savors so much of the philosophy of Schiller, Emerson, and that school
of writers, that Charles says he cannot but fear that its effect, coming from a
person who is high ill the estimation of Newchurchmen, may be to insensi-
bly lead them from the real origin. and consequently the truthfulness of New
Church doctrines. We should, after thus explaining our own im'pressions,
very much like to know yours, and your brother F .'s real oJ;linion respecting it."
The above observations caused me to read the book With much care' Bnd,
after having done so, I cannot but think that, though the opinions formed may
be too strong, yet thar. there is ground for at leBst a portion of th~m. The
Ernersonian spirit and phraseology Bre strong. Emerson himself speaks very
highly of Wilkinson, classing him with Bacon j and tbough it is 1l0t possible
to suspect Wilkinson of being a naturalist lil,e Emersou, yet I canuot help
thinking that the similarity which does exist may have a tendency of the kind
suspected by the writer of the above critique.
But there are two things not touched on in the above, the second at least of
which appears to me much more objectionable, and which would both forever
prevent me from putting the book into the hands of an Old churchman. These
are the statement of David and Paul being amoug the lost, and opiuions ex-
pressed on the subject of Scortatory love. For the first of these, what would be
Its effect on serious Oldchurchmen 1 In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred it
wonld probably preveut the reading of another page. The author who should
dare to assert that Paul was among the lost, would be thought unworthy of
the least consideration, except to condemn him, and with lhon~ands the read-
ing of Swedenborg would be forsworu for ever, for this statement of his ad-
vocate. For myself, with all my predilections in favor of Swedenborg, I am
not, QI yet, prepared to believe this; and with whatever strength of faith I may
'receive his acconnts of the spiritual world, general and particular, I must say
f'
of this, in your own words (Statement, &c. 72), .. I am still very far, as indeed
1hope ever to be, from a blind surrendero my ownjndgment as to every point-
1850.] 521
oC his announcements." Concerning David I have heard the statement long
ago j and the Scriptural character of the man, el'pecially as portrayed on his
death-bed, is such as to raise no strong objection ill my mind to Swedenborg's
statement. Concerning Paul I have more receutly heard the same, and there,
I must confess, my feelings are very different. With regard to the expressions
of David iu the Psalms, and those of Panl iu the Acts and the Epistles, there is
this wide difference. The former are the words of Plenary Divine Inspiration j
and they, by no meaDS, ntiCUMlrily imply that the writer had in his mind lhe
ideas which the words express. Thl! Epistles have not this sense; the ideu
and sentiments expressed must, therefore, be taken for those of the writer's,
and they are e~her sincere or hypocritical. The lalt" I do not think it possi.
ble for me ever to believe of. the expressions of Paul i-and if the fOT11UT be
their true cbaracter, it is impossible he can be in the place which I am told
Swedenborg assigns him. I have never seen the passage; but I am told b,. a
learned friend in London, that there is in the relation a word, the sublracmoa
of a single letter from which would leave auother perfect word, giving a perfect
sense, and entirely removing the dreadful idea. What the word is l do not
know j but my frieud adds, that there is nothing whatever in the appearance
of the manuscript that can give the idea of a mistake.
MISCELLANY.
The follOWing, (rom the German of Herder, would seem entllied (rom It. general tone
to olalm B New Churoh patrrulty, but we know not any otltrr rround on whioh to recog-
nize for It lUoh B source.
A father was sitting among his children, who were making a long win-
ter evening shorter by playing, talking and jemng. At this time their
conversation had taken a very philosophical turn; for they were disput-
ing about the understanding and the heart, in regard to the relative value of
the impressions derived from each. They were, fOU perceive, very metapby-
,iCRI children. The boys natuTally adopted the Side of the understanding, be-
cause they set out to be very sensible i but all the rirls took part with the
heart, and were for lodging the great working power lower down in man. So
the boys illustrated their notion by drawing faces which were intended to rep-
resent every grade of intellect, while the girls cut out hearts with flames and
wings, insisting that with the wings they swiftly flew, and with the flames
kindled all around them and burnt forever.
When, however, after long arguing, they were unable to agree, they appeal-
ed to their father, who with two night-caps all his gray head was smoking his
pipe among them, and thinking upon something else. He roused himself as
from a dream, when this question was submitted to him by his boys and girls,
.. Which are the most true aud lastinl!'. perceptions or emotions-the impres-
sions of the understanding or tbose of tbe heart'!"
" Which are the most tTUe and lasting, do you ask, perceptions or emotions !"
-and he shoved his caps from side to side-" the Impressions of the under-
standing or of the hel;\lt 1"-and he took both of them off, laid them on the
table, knocked out his pipe and continued. "That is a difficult question, my
children. I should like to know how you came to propose it. n
ISM.] .The Underlttm4ing OM the Heart. 5t3
They agreed with one accord that it was .Iso a very imf0rtant question, and
that the answer to it ought to fashion their whole plan 0 liCe, and Curnish its
form and basis. They wished to know precisely the relative worth oC the
understanding and the heart-where was the Beat oC each, and what were the
<\ualities each was capable oC accommodating-also whether the Kcommoda-
tlons were coonlnient and durable.
" If that be all you want," said the old gentleman, replacing his two night-
caps, .. the affair is soon settJ.ed. Use tbe two rightly, my children, for the pur-
poses that God bestowed them ou you. Lay before the understanding what-
ever pertains to it, and do the 8tlme in regard to the heart. Seek to think
rightly witb. the one, and to feel in purity and sincerity with the other, then will
both your perceptions and seD8ations remain true and eternal. In short, make
them· both go hand in hand. as God has placed both in the same human being
-the understanding in the head, the heart in the breast. Let your light there-
fore shine down on men from abov!!, and let your lamp burn cleat' in the cen-
tre of your being. The heart must not gnllop' away without the head, neither
IJIUllt the head become a cold stone image, void of breast and heart. Thus
will both at length meet together and be<;ome united, and through the two you
will be rendered happy, while without this unioll you wiU alW1lys have your
labor for your pains.
"But what have you beeumakinghere, boys! heads l-wby heads 1 Did you
ever se~ a head walk about without a trunk 1 And you, girls-wbat have you
made l-winged hearts 1 Silly children! did you ever see burning hearts fiy, or
would the aimless Hi~ht prosper! Had you only painted an eye in the heart,
Ishou1d not have obJected to your symbol."
"But, father," said the maidens, " that is the very meaning of the Hames and
the wings; that which bums and flies hus no need of an eye, it would do
barm." "And do yOI1 not perceive, vou little fools, that a heart Hying without
an eye, flies all manner of ways, and may be pricked and wounded in all di-
rections-moreover an ever.burning heart consumes itself."
" But, father, a heart all eye would be too fastidious, and could fix itself no-
where, as whenever it came close to an object it would always see too much,
and have to take itself oft' again."
"I did not say that your hearts onght to be all eye, but that they should
have an eye in them, so as to know upon what to fix and where to fix
securely. No wings, however, for heaven's sake; I cannot at all endure
tllinged hearts. Your hearts ought to find rest and a firm stand-point, and
they should be firm ar.d faithful hearts, {or no one would seek a heart which
might alight somewhere else to-morrow.
.. But lay aside this childish symbol, and draw for yourselves a beautiful
temp-le oC the hean. standing behind the beautiful open door of understanding.
I WIll give you an inscription for both. Upon the boys' door shall be written,
• To the everlasting Intellect,' which includes tire signification that its impres-
sions must be Irne, tolse they could not be eternal. And upon the girls' taber-
nacle, or temple, shall be inscribed, 'To the good Heart,' signifying that the
impressions of the beart must be in harmony with truth, else they can be nei-
ther good, nor aKreeable, nor lastiRg. Boys, make your door firm and beau-
tiful, and put a radiant sun over it. Girls, draw in your temple an altar to
Innorence, with the pure flame oC joy, gratill1de, love, and friendship rising
from it, and wreathe the whole with becoming garlands, as yOIl know how.
Above all things, however, open your own souls to the impressions both of
the intellect and of the heart."
The old man here paused.
.. Why are you so still and sorrowful all at once, father 1" said the children.
" I am not sad, my children, but still, and longing for a more perfect state of
being. I was thinking of the difference between our speaking aDd living-in
short, of what a poor thing human nature is here below. We are obliged to
divide and to subdivide things that are united; I am old, and I long for that
place where there are no more separations; where the heart and the intellect
will be one, where the same door which leads into the pnre intellect, will also
614 MUcellaflg. [Nov.
be an entrance into the pore, perfect, happy heart-where the beart and tbe
intellect will be, no more separate. and all the faculties of the soul will har-
monize together, as indeed they would here, did not oor disunited, sluggish
bodies separate tllem. Prepare yourselves here below, my children, for tbe
union of tlte understanding and the heart j then will your ptorceptiolls and
emutions no longer change with the years, days, and hours of your earthly
lives, but perpetuate· and confirm Qne another j and thus the impressi0I!s de-
rived in friendship and in love from both, will remain beyond the graYe, trUe,
one, and eternal."
The old man knocked out his pipe, and all the oppouen:&, both thmle wbe
had contended for the understanding and those who had contended for the
h~art, retired to their beds calm and reconciled. L. O.
LUTHER ON JUSTIFICATION.
We know Dot tbat we bave met anywhere with a more aluple and able sbowing up of
the Great Reformer's doetrine of Justification by Failh alone, Ihan In the ensuing para-
grapbs from a masterly revle"(oftbe Life of Lnther. published not long since In the Lon-
don Ch,utia" &membrafICer :-
Faith, then, before it was allowed to occnpy its position in the Lutheran
process of justification, was carefully divested of all moral eharacteristics.
There is a faith, which is, in its very nature, akin to love or moral: but it was
not this kind of faith which Luther made the medium between man and God
in the act of justification. To pave allowed any moral element in this medium,
would have been to allow human goodness a place in the act of jnstification,
which it was its first principle to avoid: and, therefore, he jealously and ac-
curately guarded his faith from such admixture. He again and again incul-
cates and presses the distinction, that the faith which he menns is not that
faith which includes love' that it is a faculty of apprehension simply. "That
faith,which apprehends Christ, 1/ot that which includes love, justifies." "Faith
is 1/ot ineffectual till joined by charity." He speaks of it as an insult to faith,
and" making it an empty quality ill the soul," to assert that it depended on
the companionship of charity for its effect :-_" as if," he says, "it could do
nothing without charily; and when charity came, then was effectual, and Ihro
was justifying." 11 The Apostle attributes the operation (in jnstification) to
faith and not to love." 11 Perish the sophists with their accursed gloss, Fidts
formata charilale:" that 11 impious gloss," that "pestilent gloss." "It is by
faith sole, not by faith perfected ill love, that we are justified." "Faith may
be Iwncreted in works after we are justified, but it is faith abstract by which
wJ! are justified." The f<lith, theu, which was the medium of justificatioll ill
Luther's system, was an extra-moral faith. It was, as far as we can appre-
hend its lJature, which it is not easy to do, the pure abstract faculty of confi-
dence, whereby the mind assures itself of sc.mething of which it wants to be
assured. As such, it is not untypical of Lllther's temper i aud the reader, who
follows him through his career, or listens to hi~ table-talk, or watches those
symytoms of personal character which appear, as they often do, in his theolo-
gica works, will catch many a trait, aud sentiment, which may carry him
back to his original dogma.
The faith which was the medium in Luther's process of justificatiou, was
thus a I,JllTe and abstract faculty of confidence, which was efficaciolls in and
ont of ltself. Believe that yOll are absolved, and you are absolved-was his
teaching as a priest, before he broke from the church-ne\'er mind whether
you deserve absolution or no. He that believes is better than be that de-
serves. Alway!' be sure that you are pleasing to God: if you are sure you
are, you are.i., Feel yourself safe: if you feel safe, you are safe. ,011 the con-
1850.] Luther on Ju,tijM:atwn. 525
,
trary, if you doubt about it, you are condemn~, because you are self.con-
demued. You are not in the image of God then, but in the image of the devil.
Recollect yourself; make an effort; believe;. be" certainly resolved that you
are in favor with God." You are then a son of God and a saint; strong, per-
fect, and triumphant; you go forth like the sun iu the heaven, and rejoice like
a giant refreshed with wine. You have conquered the world, the flesh, and
the devil, and have trodden hell and darkness under foot.
But this confidence, whatever apparent strength it might attain to, wanted,
from the very hypothellis on which Luther·s system was built, that reality and
basis which Catholic faith has. All faith is, indeed, a sort of confidence; but
the confidence of Catholic faith has this remarkable characteristic, that it at>-
peals to positive fact for its basis. Human nature is not, according to Cathobc
theology, though brought by an incomprehensible mystery under a condition
or state of evil, in a totally evil state. It still bears the stamp of its Divine ori-
ginal, has moral tastes and preferences, and a real power of performing acts
of various degrees of moral goodness; has memorials of past and future
pledges of future perfection. Catholic faith, then, with respect to the unseen
world, rests upon the actual facts of the seen. Proceeding upon data, it is a
faith allied to reason, and not a blind faith. Man has some Rood in him,
therefore he may one day be better, and an ultimate state of acceptableness in
God's lIight is made credible to him by the fact, that he can make some ap-
proaches to such acceptableness I1ow. It is for the same cause a faith allied
to hope. For it is the peculiar characteristic of the faculty of hope to enlarge
and advance upon fact as distinct from doing VTithovt fact altogether; existing
fact given, hope can proceed upon it indefinitely; but some ground of fact it
must have. The phr811e, of .t hoping against hope," does not suppose the
, total absence of all such ground, but only the reduction of it to the smallest
imaginable quantum. Sailors wrecked in the middle of the sea hope for the
sight of a sail, in proportion as they know their situation to be ill some gelleral
line of navigation, know the traffic, on that line to be considerable, know the
time of the year to be the customary one for that traffic, and other like data :
if they have no data at all for hope, they cannot legitimately hope. So far as
faith and hope can lie viewed as distinguished from each otber, faith takes the
, negative, and hope the positive side: faith exerts her particular powers in
opposing those appearances which are hostile; hope hers in enlarging those
appearances which are friendly. Catholic faith, then, as it has existing fact
to proceed uvon, is a faith allied to hope; nay, tiO intimately allied, that hope
Jractically precedes faith In the act of belief; and we believe because we
I lOpe, rather than hope because we believe: we see all actual ground, how-
ever small; hope expands this, and not till then we have faith.
Allied thus to hope and reason, Catholic faith is emphatically a natural
kind of faith. It is not violent or forced: it has only to believe in the future
expansion and perfection of that which it now sees. The Christian sees ten-
dencies, and he has to believe in issues; he sees approaches, und he has to
believe in fulfilments; he sees a foundation, and he infers a superstructnre:
he rises by a reasonable ascent from earth to heaven; the visible world COll-
tains the elements of the invisible; the kingdom of nature opens by a gradual
process into that of grace. The very smallest act of our moral nature connects
him by anticipation, with the ., glory which shall be revealed in him." Though
he cannot say, "It is finished," he can say, It is begun j and in that visible be-
ginning has a solid substratum for the most illspiring belief. Thus when the
great philosopher of our own Church undertook the task of cOllvinciug an in-
fidel age of the truth of religioll, the line he adopted was that of calling its
Ilttention to prl!sent visible facts. He told men that they were moral beings,
born with the love of virtue and hatred of vice, endowed with generous affec-
tions, and with the power of doing virtuous actions,-a power which could
be illd.efiuitely increased by habit and self.discipline: and he proved, next,
that .thls goodness was more or less rewarded. There were then tendencies,
he said, which pointed of themselves to some ultimate completion. That
which religion taught us did exist to a certain extent now.; and, therefore.
526 Miscellany. [Nov.
might exist to a much greater extent hereafter. That is to lIay, his was a
philosophy of hope; it saw in the midst of the wildness and disorder of tbis
present ecene some facts which bore in one direction, and hope took up those
facts, and enlarged them into a system.
But Luther had no present facts to appeal to according to his system. He
had no tendencies and no approaches. And, therefore, though he· recognized
an unseen world of absolute good, and, in distinction to making evil of the
essence of humanity, or irrevocab1ffixing and perpetuating it in us, pointed
to a lime when we should be perfect.ly righteous; and could say-Jwtitia tibi
parata t6t in caIo: "In a futnre life, thou shalt he cleaused from all sin, cleared of
1111 concupiecence, be pure as the Slln, and have perfect love ,It this unseen
world was deprived of all medium to connect it with the seen one, and, there.
fore, deprived of that evidence which r,onstitutes the legitimate claim to our
faith. Of two worlds, of absolute evil and absolnte good diametricallyop-
posed, he placed us in the one, and told us to believe in the other. But the
Ilatural question immediately arises, why shonld we 1 No system of evi·
dences, either in the religious, or in any other department, can dispense with
that primary law of all argument-how can we reason but from what we
know 1 Let any basis of fact, however small, be allowed us, aud we can
build indefinitely upou it; but, if we have no fact at all, we liave nothing to
build upon. The faith of Lutheran theology was thus excluded, by the very
fundamental principles of that theology, from the reasonable and natural type.
The act of faith became rather one of mental power, by which a person, from
pure force of will, made himself believe in what there was no ground to be·
lieve, than one of natural conviction. It was faith deprived of its member-
ship with the other portions of our spiritual nature; faith without hope, as it
was faith without love. Excluded from a reasonable and natural character,
it was compelled to assume a fanatical one: faith became assnrance. The
task of tbe Christian was to work himself up by strong effort to the belief that
he himself WIlS personally saved, was a child of God, was in a state of justifi-
cation. If the believer asked why, or how, he was to believe, he was told
again, Believe; make yonrself beheve; believe somehow or other. He was
mged with arguments enough, addressed to his mere will and sense of per-
sonal advantage j was threatened and promised; was told he would be in-
tolerably wretched if he did not believe so, unutterably happy if he did; but
ground of reason there was none. Assurance, thus left to assure itself as it
could, became an anxious, struggling, and fluctuating gift. It rose and it feU
with the state of the spirits, and even state of the body. It Wl18 at any mo-
ment liable to be upset, and when up~et the will had to make another effort
to regain it. These struggles, or .. agonies," occupy a prominent place in the
practical or devotional department of Luther's theological system. They are
appealed to as the tests of the genuineness and reality of the Christian's belief.
Has he been tempted to doubt and despair of his slllvation, and has he had to
make the most tremendoQs internal efforts to recover his certainty of it 1 these
are the tokens which a loving but chastising Father sent him of good will and
favor. They were the trials to prove him, and stimulants to raise him to a
higher degree of assurance than ever. The same reason which gave Luther's
faith a fanatical, gave it a personal and individual character too. Gennine
faith, as it rests on a large external ground, is wide and social in its object.,
looks forward to the final issue of this whole system of things, the ultimate
triumph of virtue over vice, to the great Day of Judgment and the Restitution
of all things. But Luther's faith, as it narrowed its basis, narrowed its object
too. Withdrawing from the wide ground of reason and nature, the unsup-
ported faith of mere will, choosing to believe because it wished to do so ; as
It derived all its strength from the individual, interested itself about the indi-
vidual only: and faith became, ill its whole scope and direction, personal.
Snch i!l that whole system which, amongst ourselves, goes pnder the name
of Calvinism. It is, of course, wrong, historically speaking, to call Luther a Cal-
vinist, because Luther preceded Calvin, and was the original discoverer of that
set of ideas which Calvin only compacted and systematized. But, amongst
1850.] . Notice. of Boob. 527
oUl'llclves.. in consequence of onr acquaintance having lain more with the Ge-
nevan than tbe German branch of tbe Reformation, these ideas are associated
with the name of Calvin, and, therefore, amongst us, Luther's theology may
be designated as Calvinism. No greater contrast, indeed, than that betwtlen
the personal characterll of the German and the Genevan Reformer can be well
imagined, and the types of cbaralJter they have handed down to their respec-
tive schools are widely distinct, but their theology is essentially the same.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
1.-TBE RECENT PaOORJ:ll1 or ASTRONOMY; especially in tlu United State,. By
ELIAS 1.o0llU8,ProfwOr of Math. and Nat. Phil. in tlu Uni'IJeTlity of the Citg of
New-York. N. Y.: Harper at Brothers. 1850. 12mo. pp. 257.
The distinguished reputation of Prof. Loomis in his department is well sus-
tained by the present volume. It is a clear and judicious compend of the ad-
vances made in the field of astronomical research chiefly during the current
century, and more especially duriI!g the last ten years. In this period the
science of Astronomy has made the most astonishing strides. The discovery
of the planet Neptune-of seven new Asteroids-of an eighth satellite of Saturn
-of the periods of two satellites of Uranus-of a new comet by Miss Mitchell,
of Nantucket, for which was awarded to her a rold medal by.the King of Den-
mark-together with the determination of the parallax of some of the fixed
stars by which we are enabled to measure their immense distances, the reso-
lution of uebulre, and the ascertainment of a relative motion among the stars
-are among the signal triumphs of Astronomy in our day. These grand re-
sults are detailed with reinarkable perspicuity in Pro£. Loomis' work, which
disllenses, as far as possible, with technical language, and presents the subject
in a style easily intelligible to the ordinary reader.
The autbor is of courae to be excused for a complete ignoring of the claims
of Swedenborg to the honor of havioi' been the first to announce to the world
several of the meet magnificent results of the scientific researches of modern
times in _this department. To those of onr readers who have followed the
Rev. Mr. Beswick's series of articles on the uPrincipia" of Swedenborg, it can-
not be a question that he has demonstrated the priority of the illustrious Swede's
announcements on these heads to those of Laplace, Herschel, Maedler, or any
other renowned name in the li5t of star.sages of the last or the present cen-
tury. We say that Prof. Loomis is to be excused for hisnuczence all this score,
which he abares in common with thousands of the literati and the ,avans of the
age, for probably both he and they would as soon look for true science to the
vagaries'of the inmates of a lunatics asylum as to the pages of the herald of the
New Jerusalem. But" tbe times of this ignorance" the growing intelhgence
of the age will not much longer" wink at." Claims so positive aud lofty as
those of our illustrious author cannot be permanently in abeyance, especially.
when the evidence of their validity is so easily established. Prof. L. remarks,
iD regard to American astronomers, that he is anxious to award to them all
, . Noticu of Boolu. [Nov.
equal and exact justlc~, and that if any individual shonld feel that he ha. not
been duly accredited, and will inform tbe author by letter of the nature and
extent of the omission, he will make ample amends in a second edition. Act-
ing in the spirit of this I,ledge he could' not well refuse to accord to Sweden-
borg the recognition of his extraordinary merits as a philosopher provided he
shall satisfy himself as. to the fact of having withholden what was due to him
on this syore. Should it be said that the plan of his work did not require bim
to go/so far back in the history of the science, his object being to give ruthe:-
the latest results of sidereal study, we would say in reply that as many of these
very results have been distinctly anticipated and announced by Swedenborg, tlle
Blast common courtesy, where the fact was known, would have prompted re-
ference to his name in some portion or other of the work. But we presume the
fact was not known to Prof. L. The discovery of Swedenborg's claims on this
head is but of recent occurrence, and may be ranked: among the discoveries
themselves which have gone to certify the truth of his inductions. They are
both equally marvellous. The achievements of the telescope have brought
to light the structure of the universe, and the developments of Providence,
bearing upon the establishment of the New Church, have brought to light the
fact hitherto hidden from the world, that the magnetic experiments and the
profound reasoning of Swedenborg had reached the same results long before.
This is the truth to which the justice of science is now called to do homage.
EDITORI!],; ITEllIS •
.. Arthur's Home Gazette," is the title of a new weekly paper wbieh has evidently
sp01l:en a good word for itself in tbe ear of a 111J'Ke IInd favoring public. The name of the
editor carries with It a prestige of success with the thousands who bave communed with
bim as a fireside or parlor-window Mentor, dispensing soge lessons under the veil of
pleasant fictions. It is eosy to see, however, that Mr. Arthur is not dispooed to ~llle on
the lees of an established repntation or to wear only the hurels won in another field. He
comes to his pr~ent work with a fresb alacrity and vigor, and seems re!!Olved to give the
world lLSlIurance of a poper that shllll come Into the domestic circle with blessings in its
train, as did tbe Ark of old into the house of abed Edom. He bas secur;d tbe aid
of some of tbe ablest pens in the eounlry, and his own 'does not by IIny means confine it-
self to leaders in the editorial columns. He writes all over his paper, and interesting
matter greets us in every corner. We observe thllt one department is devoted to choice
extracts from Swedcnborg, though not bearing his name. which is doubtless a matter of
policy, although we think he might occasionally venture to introduce it without detriment
to any interest exceptthnt of ignorance and prejudice. On th. whole. we consider the
" Home Gazelle" a very valuable accession to our present host of hebdomadals. and though
not strictly or distinctively a New Church paper. yet as edited by a Newchurchman. and
intended to irlculcnte Xew Church principles in their social and secular bearing. well
wdtthy the patronage of all to whom tllose principles are of paramonnt interest and ur-
gency. For further information relative to the" Gazette" see advertisement on the cover.
To New Chmcl. friends from abroad who may visit the city and desire to attend our
worship on the SIIbbeth, it may be a maller of some interest to be informed that on and
.after tbe firpt Sahbath in 111_ _• the flut Society of the New Jemsalem in New-York:
will remove its place of worship from the building hitherto occupied Rt the corner of
Broadway Rnd I.eonard-street. to the Church in Eightb-strect. near Broadway, known at
present RS tbe Church oftbe Mediator, and recently occupied by tbe EpillCopal congrega- ,
tion of wbich thc Rev. Dr. Hawkes is pastor, mo" of whQJ11, togetber witb their pastor.
have transferred theIr re!:ltion to Calnry Churcb, Fourth Avenue. This movement.
which has been mainly effected by the generous agency of some of ollr up-town friends.,
marks an important cm in thc history of our society, and one in which we are called to ac-
kn'owledl;e .. the good hand of the Lord our God upon us." From a little bandful wo
have grown by slow but steady accessions to a somewhat large aod every way respectahle
congregation, competent to tbe occupancy of one of the most spacious and imposing
churcb edifices in tbe city. The new location is pre-eminently central and convenient to
our New-York a\lendant', and althou:;h our Broolllyn brethlen feel that the removal un-
avoidably separates them in a measure from the connection which has so long and
so pleasantly subsisted uetween them and us. yet their conviction of the great
importance of the step to the good of the cause has induced them cheerfully to wave all
ohjections and to concur heartily in it. The indication of the Divine Providence seems
auspicious to the movement, and WII cannot but regard it as ODe which the NeW'
530 Editorial [terM.
Church at large will look upon with sympathising interest. It marks a decided advance
in at least the external prospects and prosperity of.the Lord's New Church in our country •
and it devolves upon the parties concerned to see that her interDal interests recei"" no detri-
ment thereby. The church was originally built for and occupied by the Rev. John M.
Mason, well remembered by many of the preeent generation as one of the ableat aDd
stemest champions of Calvinistic orthodoxy wJ1ich our country has ever produced. How
singular the fact-how impre.sive the reflection~at the walls which have so often
echoed to the pulpit enunciations of that system shall perform the same office for the
sublimer truths of the New Dispensation! .. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvel-
10uI in on r eyes."
We have just received from Mr. Hodson a beautifullillle volum~, by the Rev. Wood-
ville Woodman, entitled," Baptism; its true Nature, ObjllCt, Neeesaity, and Usea." III
""ry recent reception prevents us from living any further notice of It at pl'Nllnt, but we
shall hope to make it better known to our readers in another number. Meantime the
work can be obtained of Mr. Alien.
Rev. Silas Jonel, of South Dauby, has recently made a visit to Canastota, Verona, aDd
eeveral of the ecattered groups of receivers in Central New York. At Canaetota he
preached eeveral times, administering baptism to twelve persons, six adults, and six chil-
dren. At an evening service on the same day he Inaugurated Into the ministry of the New
Church, with the rank and functions of a miuionary, our brother Alexander Wilder, who
has been long desiring a formal initiation into a higher uee than he has as yet felt him.lf
able to perform. Our correspondents in that region speak of Mr. Jones'visit as interesting
lUld profitable.
According to a notice in our last, Mr. Clapp hal jost issued from the presa Mr. Bruce'.
admirable discourse on" Marriage, its Uses and Duties." A. friend w whom we had lent
a package including that, says in a letter :-" I bave read with a ,reat deal of pleasure
the little work on • Marriage, its Uses,' &c. I think when you put that into the package
you must have divined my own though!!, for it could not ha"" been lent more opportune-
ly. The work is a perf~ct gem, and of itself to me worth the moderate sum charged.Icn
the whole packllge." The price is 1'l 1-2 cents in boards, and 6 1-4 in,...er.
The Seventh Annual meeting of the Illinois Association of the New Church, was.held
at Pearia, Friday, Sept. 13, and continued in _sion two days. Twenty-three members
were present In attendance. The time appears to have been chiefly occupied in listening
to the reports, wrillen and verbal, from the different societies in the connuion, which were
for the mo!t part highly encouraging. The following among other resolutionl wae adopt-
ed :-" &.oltltd, That this Association approve the labors Rnd efforts of the' American
Swedenborg Printing and Puulishing Society,' and recommend the formation of societies
auxiliary thereto wherever It moy be convenienL" The formation of libraries in eeveral
places and the wide circuletion of New Church tracts, is spoken oras also the evidence of
a growing interest in this class of publications. Rev. Mr. Hibbard, who has travelled
somewhat extensively in the State during the year, remarks :-" My observation for the
past year leads me to believe that a state of mind very faYorable to the examination, if
not the reception, of truth is rapidly taking the place of that shynesa and reeerve,lf Dot
opposition and latent hate with which new truths bave heretofore been regerded and aI'-
proacbed; and this state of mind must sure1y call upon those who love the truth, to make
all reasonable exertion to spread tbe heavenly doctrines before their fellow-men." Rev.
Dr. Melrolll, of Canton, suggelts to the AasociatioD the use of forming a tract fund for the
1850.] Editorial Items. 531
distribution of New Church tracts and the minor works oC Swedenborg, as they may
reach muilitades of those who have no opportunity to hear the voice of the living teacher.
The next meeting of the AlBOCiation is to be held at Chicago, on the 1CC0nd lo'riday pre-
ceding the next meeting of the General COllvention at Boston.
. A very considerable excitement, evidently of a growing character, having sprung up
within a few months past, occasioned by what are termed spiritual manifestations in the
form of knocking, voices, personal contacts, removal of articles of furniture, &c., which
have been witneued at Rochester, N. V: j Bridgeport, and Stratford, Conn. j Boston,
Charlestown, and other places, we propose in our next to give some account of these phen-
omena, with such refiections as they may suggest.
The Oct. No. of the .. Princeton Repository," the grand organ of the Old School (i. e.
the high school) portion of the Presbyterian Church, contains Bn elaborate review of thll
oontroversy on the·Origin and Unity of the Human Races, in which the writer uses up,
to his own satisfaction, the positions and reasonings of Prof. Agassiz, and would fain ...t
before us the" conclusion of the whole matler"ln the good old fashioned theory of Adam
and Eve as a singlll pair and the head of a covenant to the whole federated family of thll
human race. It is altogether too choice a specimen of special plllading to be whoUy
wilhholden from our readers, and we shall give, them a taste of it in our next.
From Mr. Hodson's announcements we learn that the Re". E. D. Rcndell, of Preston,
has in press a work eotil1ed, .. Antediluvian History, and Narrative of the Flood, as set
forth in the early portions of the Hook of Genesis, crilic3.lly examined and explained."
To be printed in royal 12mo. and to come at about $2, imported. Such a work, under-
taken from a New Church point of view, we should think would meet with a cordial ao.
ollptancll from the New ChurCb public. Frotn the same BOurce we learn that the Man-
chester Printing Society has jllst issued a new edition of Rev. Mr. Clowes' Sermons on
the CaU and Deli~ance oC the Iaraelites, as also a new edition of the tract by the same
author on the Two Worlds j thll Visible and the Invisible, which has been long 'Out of
print. To the former of the~ works is now added trMflty new lIermons, selected from
Mr. Clowes' manuscripts and never before published, making in allfifty-two sermons, or
0B6 for "ach Sabbath in the year. These works will be soon to be had of our American
publishers Meslll'll. Clapp and Alien, who will supply &Ily orders that may be sent them.
In the October No. of the Intellectual Repository, Mr. Beswick has resumed his able
series of papers on thll Principia of Swedenborg. In this number he undertakes to es-
tablish Swedenborg's claim to priority in the discovery of the constituent elements of air
and water. We are happy to leam from a letter of Mr. Beswic!t's ill the September No.
oC the Intellectual that the entire .eries when complete will bll published separately, with
considerable additions and improvements. .. The work," he remarkl. " will prove that
Swedenburg's science has most mysteriously and unobservedly, even by his admirers, be-
come the fMfldamtfftal prifICipln of th, scUflCf of th, day, and is now BO far incorporated &8
to be Inseparable from and nsmtial to th, 'ZUtltKl of BOme oellS departments."
The objects of the American Tract and MiBBlonary Society are cornmending them-
.1... mOnl and more to the favor oC the New Church public, and thouSh our means are
532 Obituary. [Nov. 1850.
not at all commensurate to our desires, yet we are actively employing th,,", which have
been put at our disposal. As it has been deemed expedient to be eelect and discriminat-
ing in our distributions, we would suggest to our friends in every part of the country that
whenever convenient they would forward us, free of expense, the names of such individ-
uals of their acquaintance as may have expressed interest in the New Church doctrines,
and who, they bave resson to think, would be gratified with such publications as we
might be able to send them. We would sow our seed, as far as ponible, on promising
soil. Address the Editor of the Repository.
OBITUARY.
Oft' Monday afternoon, October 14, 1850, the material body of Ma. THOXAS SJlITIt was
consigned to the grave in Allentown, the county eeat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Smith was a natin of England, who had long resided in Philadelphia, and was
one oC the earliest and most ardent receivers of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem in this
city. He W09, therefore, a prominel1t actor in the first social organization oC tbe ret'eivers
of those doctrines bere, and wu especiaIly a conspicuous member of the society that wor-
sbiped in the temple erected on the soutb-east corner of Twell\h and George streets. He
was by profession a olerk, or accotmtant; in which capacity he was engaged, for many
years, in tbe old Bank of the United States, at its banking·house in Third-street, opposite
to Dock-street, and al\erwards in the employment of Btepben Girard, in the banking in-
stitution wbich he estaLlished in tbe same building, wben tbe cbarter of the old bank ex-
pired in HilI. During these years, Mr. Smith-wbOl!e habits were closely economical-
accumulated B handsome fOltune; a great portion of whioh, however, he lost in subse-
quent years: first, by the failure oftbe new or Pennsylvania Bank of the United States;
next, by the depreciBtion of the Stock of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, and lut,
by tbe failure of the Girard Bank. Still he saved from the wreck a sufficient competl'ncy,
possening, at the time of his deatb, two houllBs ili the city ofPbiladelphiR, nnd funds, in
the city loans of Cincinnati and Philadelphia, and in the Stock of the Lehigh Coal Com-
pnny, to the amount of about $25,000.
Mr. Smith was twice mBrried, and has left, Issue by his fir~t wife, two children;
Sarah, the wiCe of a Mr. Sweitzer, a most respectable citizen of AlIentown, and Josepll,
at pruent married and living In Strasburg, Franklin Co., Pennsylvania.
Mr. Smith was B man remarkable for energy and decision of character, and was pos-
K'8sed of very considerable general knowledge, besides being well read in the writings of
the New Church. His colloquial powers were great. He was widely known and,mueh
respected iu this community. He lived to the good old age of some eiIJAly-sevcn yean.
Fond of exercise in the open air, having strongly tbe Englisb pedesfrian habit, and most
temperate and frugal in his mode of living, he w. . ,.rely sIck, and showed at tbe last
hardly a single grey lock in a remarkably fine and silky though sparse head of hair. A
stroke of the palsy enfeebled him a few months ago, and he went a few weeks since to
enjoy the sffectionate care of his daugbter in AlIentown, and to 'lay his bones in that
lovely rurul place. He died tbere at 1 o'clock, A. M., of Friday, October 11, 1850, witlJOut
any strongly marked disease. In fnct, he died simply of old age. On Thursday, be took
tea as usual, and retired to rest at bi.l usunl hour j and, at tbe time just specified, went to
sleep without a struggle !'r a groan. A New Church minister from Philadelphia, was
caU"d by telegraph. HIa body was intarred in the publio burying ground of Allentown,
with the funeral service of the English Conference Liturgy. After this the cortege pro-
c"cdcd to allenu the delivery of a discourse in tbe Presbyterinn meeting-bouse, whicb had
been kindly oBered to Mr. Smith's relatives for that purpose. The minister designed to
improve the occasion by a brief exhibition of the New Churoh view iu general DC death
and re~urrection, and by a particular iIlustmtion of the nature of the agonies of spirilUal
deatb, Rnd of those all-sufficieut comolatious which Divine mercy vouchsafes to tbe true
Christialls in them; but the waning Iigbt of closing day would not permit him to tax the
patience ofhis audience with more than a very brief, and broken,and unsatisfactory view oC
the subject. From tbe place of worsbip, the friends of Mr. Sweitzer, Mr. Smith'. son-in-
law, repaired, according to the German custom of that part of our country, to a most
sumptuous table, spread in Mr. Sweitzer's parlors, for their refreshment and entertain-
men I. III short, nothing was left undone in evincing the becoming atfection of his chil-
dren, or tbe general respect which was due to tbe memory ofrhe departed.
PI1JL.U)Ex;nn~ Oct. 16, 1850. D.
NEW CHURCH REPOSITORY
MONTHLY ,REVIEW.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
AaTlCLB L
TRB LAVBL
.. An the Lord &pue unto Moses, saying: Thou shalt also mutt
a laver of brass, and his foot also ofbrau, to wash withal: and thou
ahalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar.
and tl10u shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash
their hands ana their feet thereat. When they go into the tabernacle
of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not:
or when they come near to the altar to minister. to bum offering
made by fire unto the Lord. So they shall wash their hands and their
feet, that they die not: and it shall b~ a statute for ever to them. even I
·1
I
to him and to his seed throughout their generations."-Ez. xxx. 17-21.
I
These words contain the order for the construction of the Laver
which was to be placed in the Court of the Tabernacle. The originaf
'"l,..~ kigor, is rendered caldron, 1 Sam. H. 14, but is applied for the
most part to the large basin or vessel which our version has denomi-
nated Laver. In respect to none of the sacred articles is the infor-
mation of the text more brief than in respect to this, as nothing is said
of its form or dimensions. It is reasonable, however, to infer, that
as Solomon modelled the furniture of the Temple after that of the
Tabernacle, only on a vastly larger scale, and as his Laver was an
immense vat or reservoir. called" a sea,w and of a circular form, so
the form of the Tabernacl~laver was also circular. De Dieo wen
vor.. DI. 11
584 ne JeuMA Tabemack ~fDfId in ill Spiritual Import. [Dee-
the same from the fact, that the analogous Arabic word is used to de-
note vessels of that form, and to this inference we have nothing to ob-
ject. The original word rendered/GOt. ~ (ken), has H. meaning not easi-
ly determined. Some interpreters nnderstand it o( a lid or cover, but
88 the root has the sense of e,tobli8Aing, Ji:ring,founding any thing.
we p'refer to consider it a8 impOrting in this connexion a ba,i" pe4i-
ment, or ..PJ1O!1er upoQ which the Laver 1'e8ted. It is also rendered
basis by Swedenborg. As the cut which we have given bfllow is sub-
stantially the same with that of the Pictorial Bible, and adopted for
a like reason, we cite the words 01· the Editor 88 conveying on the
whole that view of the subject which we cODsider the most correct.
.. Our impression is, tbet. ah. L."e. wbate'Y8» 1ll'en its shape, stood
upon anotlier basin, mor.e wide and shallow, asa cup on a saucer;
and that the latter received, from cocks or spouts in the upper basin,
the water which W88 allowed to escape when the pricsts washed
themseh'es with the water which fell fJ'OlR the-upper basin. If by the
UDder basin we understand the· foot' of the text, the sense is clear.
The text does not say thM th4 pri.estl wereta wash themsfllves in the
basin, but at it. In it they could not welt wash their hands and feet
if the Laver was of any height. The Rabbins say the Laver had
several coc~ or • nipples,' as. tbey caJI them, from which the water
was let out as wanted. There were !levera} such spouts, but the
number is differently stated. How the priests washed their hands
and feet at the lI.aver seeD uDcertam. Tllaa they. did not wash. ill
either the Laver or its base seems clear, because then the water in
which they washed would have heeD rendered impure by those who
washed before or with them; and as we know that Oriental, do not
like to wash in a basin, after our manner, in which the water with
which we commence washing is clearer t.h.8.n tha.t witll which 1'18
finish, but a.t H. falling stream, where each.. successive affusion is of
clean water, we incline to think that the pdests either washed tbeua--
selves with the stream. a/J it fell from the spouts into the eue, or else
received in proper vessels so much water u. tb8~ needed for ilie occa-
8i90. The Orientals,. in thJ,ir washings, make use of a vessel with a
1000g spout, and wash at the streartJ. which. issues from thell,ce,. the
waste water beiog reoeived in. a baein which is placed underneath.
This seems to us to illustrate tl1e idea of tile Ll)ver with its base, Ba
well aaJ the ablutions of the priests. The Laver had thus its upper
b~in,. from which the stream feU, and the under basin for receiving
th., waste waLer; or it is quite compa.tible with the same idea aall
p~,,~ic8 to suppose that, to prevent toO. great an expenditure of water,.
they received a quantity in separate vessels, using it. as described" awl
the. Lwte receivilJg the water which in washing fell from their hands
and feet.. This explanation, although it seems to us probable, is ne-
cessarily, little, more tha.a conJectural Our cut exhibits another Ticny"
more in conformity with the WlUAl interpretations. The Jewish com-
mentators say that anX kind of water miget be used for the Laver;
bQ.t tIJat the water 'W88 to be c.hangeda every day. They also I~to.
thJ't abllWOQ before entering the Tabernaole was in ~ case dispeol1-
ed with. A man inight be perfectly clean, mig~ be quite free from
IM.}
_.
aay eteNtIIOnial impuri1y, and might even '.ve washed his h.....nd
feet before he left home, but still he could by no mE'.8JlS enter the
Tabenaole without previous ablation at tbe Laver.-
TUK LAV&L
The posttlon or the Laver in the Court WftS between the Attar cl
Sacrifice and the Tabt>macfe, and its retatlv6 localify to the various
other objects in proximity may be seen from the eat appeDdecl.
The spiritual purport of the Laver flows very naturaUy out orits
primary uses. The external ablution of the body with water, ei~beI:
in whole or in part, was a significant mode of teaching the nece~(ty :
of an inward purification of the spirit, and its position betwe~. t.4e
Altar and the Tabernacle, would naturally convey theintimatiQJJ.t~~·
there was no entering heaven, figured by the inner saneUl-a,ry~ w.Ii.Q.;'
out the previons washing of regeueration. Bn~ this Be.Mml. t,mg.., ,-
Digitized by Google"
....
588 n. J.V1U1a T~cl. ~ ill iU BpiritfUl1lrnpart. [}M...
will come home to the mind with more force from a conaidera&ion of·
the details.
.. Thou shalt make a laver of br..." That the lIlaterial of which
the Laver was to be constructed should denote the good of the natu-
ral man as gold does that of the celestial, and silver of the spiritoal,
is easily inteJligible to the Newchurchman who has familiarized him-
self with the langnage of correspondences. But that the LaTer shoold
denote the natural principle itself in which the process of purification
takes place would not be apt to strike one as a congruous analogy,.
especia1l1 unless he were reminded that somewhat of man, to whom
appertain the things of heaven and the chorch, were repr<!sented by
each and all of the objects of the Levitical coItus or worship. Neither
would it be easy to perceive otherwise why it was requisite that the
material should be of brau rather than of any other substance. The
nse of the Laver was for washing; washing denotes purification from
evils, and as this is effected in the natural principle, which is another
Dame for the external man, therefore the vessel itself in connection
with which ~e proce.u was performed is made to denote the subjeet
of the \lurification. There is the more ground for this, inasm!lch as
vessels In general are significant of the things pertaining to t~ natu-
ral principle, into which flow the spiritual things of the internal man.
It is from this explanation, according to Swedenborg, that we ob-
taiD a clew to the spiritual import of the somewhat similar vessel,.
called the Brazen Sea, which Solomon ordered to be constructed
among the various appendages of the Temple. This vast basin was
called a Brazen Sea for the reaSOD that by sea is signified the scien-
tific principle in general, and this ill of the natural principle or, in
other words, an appurtenance of the external man. By the twelve
oxen upon which it was supported as UpoIl a bMe, were represented
and signified all the goods in the complex of the natural or sensual
principle of man,. 88 by B basis is signified what is ultimate and what
supports, and this, in the economy of oa.r being, is the fUlHltion per-
formed by the natural or sensual hom.anyrinciple, whicll. stands in
immediate connexion with the 8Qientific. H1 the circumstance oftheir
looking to the four cardinal poin~ of the compass W88 denoted th.
recipiency, by the good of the natural principle of man, of all th088
manifold infiuxes which flow in from the world, both thoSe .. which have
relation to goods and which have relation to truths." Upon thisheacl
and upon the relative position of'the Molten Sea and of the ten minor
lavers, of which it is said that he ",ut five bases on the right side
oC the house, and five on the left side 0 the house; and he set the sea
OD the right side of the house eastward, over againat the BOUth,'"
our author remarks as follows: .. The re880n of this was, because the
house or temple represented heaven and the church. and the lavers
represented purificatioDs from falsities and evils, and preparations
&hereby for entrance into heaven and the church: the right side of the
house is signified the BOuth in the heavens, where divine truth is in its
light, and the left side signified the north, where divine truth is in its
ab.ado j ~hU8 by the ten lavers were signified all things pertaining
to purification, aud all who are purified, and by five OD the one side•
..
1850.] The La~r.
and five on the other, were signifi~d those, or that kind of men, with
whom divine truth is in the light, and with whom it is in the shade,
for ten signify all things and all, and five, one part or one kind; but
the brazen sea represented the common or general rurificatory, and
the reason why this was placed on the right side 0 the house east-
ward Over against the south, was, because divine truth, whieh purifies,
proceeds from the divine love of the Lord, for the east is where the
Lord appears as a sun, and the divine truth, which is the light of hea-
ven from that sun, in the south is in its clearness and sunshine; this
was the reason why the common purificatory was placed eastward
over against the south. These arcana of the Word cannot be under-
stood in the world, except from a knowledge of the quarters in hea-
ven, which are .differently circwnstanced to what they are in the
world."-A. E. 600.
.. And his foot also of brass." V iewing the constituent principles
of man in descending order, we recognize in the sensual the ultimate
of the natural principle. The good, therefore, of the ultimate natural,
is the good of the sensul\l principle, which, as the sensual is the lowest
element in our nature, ifl the lowest species of natural good of which
we are susceptible; and this is denoted by the foot or baBe of the I,e..
vitical Laver. This CRnnot be more clearly set forth than in the ex-
press language of our autbor himself. .. The reason why the base de-
Dotes the ultimate of the natural principle, which is called the exter-
nal sensual principle, is, because by the Laver, which is above, is sig-
nified the natural principle in which is purification.: hence by that
which is beneath is signified what is in the lowest place, that is, in
the ultimate, thus the external sensual principle of man."
This, by the way, favors, if we mistake uot, the idea of the Editor
of the Pictorial Bible, quoted above, that the base of the Laver was a
vessel for holding water as well as the Laver itself, and that it was
related to the Ll\ver somewhat as a saucer is to a tea·cap. As the
simple natutal principle is higher than the sensual, so its representa-
tive stands above that of the senlual principle, while the process of
purification is equally requisite in both. This sensllal prin~iple, the
ultima.te of the natural, is not essentially different from the pl\Ychi-
eal or soul·element of our nature, being that upon ~hich the fune-
tions of tile bodily senses depend. It is. the ultimate plane in which
the life of man terminates a.nd on which it rests as a basis. Being
the element that pervades the bodily structure, it is in more imme-
diate contact with the outward world, and eonstitutes, as it were, the
gate of entrance by which all external objects have access to the
sensorial region of the inner man. It is a principle which man pos-
sesses in common with the brute animals, and so far as it is allowed
to predominate and the man reasons and thinks from its promptingB,
he redaces himself very nearly to the level of the beasts that perish.
Suoh persons may be distinguished for skill and cunning in accom-
plishing their selfish ends, but they do not see trhth in the light of
truth, nor are they disposed to elevate their minds to the interior
things of heaven and the church, for these are thing. of which the
'ID181 do not take cognizance, and of any thing beyond the informa-
_ ne JewisA Taherntlllle triewed in iU Spirituallmporl. [0._
or
tiOQ t.be 8eGSe8 they ha ye DO idea prqdocti ye of practical etredL
PliIriJioatioo from evils nnd fa_ in the natural and 88881181 prinoi-
pie is wbat is especially indicated by the ablutions performed at the
_«,red Laver and its Base and tbe water employed denotes the troth
of faith. This process is to be eif~cted in the natnral prinoiple, for
.the reason, sliys ODI' author, that" the truths of faith iD that priociple
eoroe to manifest perception; for the, are in that principle amoagat
Jloientifi~, PI' am0ll«st the thinp oC tbe memory, wbiob, when they
aJIB 'boug!U of, &re manifeatly perceived; but not so thOle things
which are thought in the internal man, these do not come to manifest
pe~ptioo while·man is in the world, because the ideas in that lD&1I
{i. e. the man of the other world) are spiritlial. Hence it is that
pW'ificatiolll is e1fected in &he _tu",l principle." The idea dCMtbtJees
is that the contrariety between the t.roths of faith or the dictaees of
J'eliliOll and the actinp of the Datural and the sensual man ill more
palpably obviol18 thall wl1en recard is had to the internal man, whioh,
though aeeding rectification and purification, is DOt in this life _
s8ft6ibly in the wroog, as the esteinal. The reason to be assigtHd for
this is, as Swedenborg I&~ tbat " the itleos or thought in the m&ernaJ
aan are spiritual, and spiritual ideas cannot be comprehended in the
utwal priDciple, but tbfty are intellectual ideas which are without
objects of a quality like those iD tbe material worM: nnertheless.
Ilpiritual ideas. which are propel to the intemal man, flow-in into the
Datural ideas whioh are of the external man, and produce and make
thflm by correspondence." It is therefore by means of a dfl600nding
influx from the superior regions or tbe mind to the inferior that &he
purification is effected which is signified by the Laver and its clean-
ling wateJ'S. Tbe symbolical relatia ofthis ceremony to Baptism and
its purifying efficacy is too obvious to be onrleoked. It requires bu'
little of spiritual insigbt to perceive that tbe roue rile of BaptiBm
would hal'e only the deet to wash away the impurities of the body.
and eeareely even tbatp wbile an internal regeneratinc 1JII'Oee8S was
absolutely De00888ry to 6t the BOul for bea"... This process could be
accomplished ooly by the adequate ope18tioD of tbe tnltbs of faith.
which. tbe baptismal waters signify•
.. And thou shalt put it between tbe tabemRcle of the eongregatiOD
and the altar." The ptlSition oeenpied by the Laver between the
Altar and the Sanctuary was well adapted to convey the intimation
of the neeessity of uniting the purifying troths of faith with the divine
rood of love. Neither tbe:Ore of the Rltar without the water of the
Lanr, Dor the water of the Layer without tbe fire of the altar will
suffice to entrance into heaven. The two mast be spiritually con-
joined, and this was signified in the poIlition of the Laver imerme-
diately between the Altar and the Tabernacle. "The Nl880U why
the Laver wu set between the teDt of the congngatiaa and tlite altar•
.and why Aaron and his SODS there washed their hands and their feet
was, that purification of heart might be rt'presented, and regeneration,
whieh in its essence is the conjunction of truth and good; for t!re
eonjunction of truth and of good is heayen itself with man, wherefore
~o heaven is eompared ill the Word Co a marriage. cilia ....jIlne-
18iC1.] 589
tion is effected by the. truths of faith, since these teach how man
ought to live: wherefore when the life is formed accordiDg 10 tbe
truths of faith, the conjunction 'of truth and good is effected, for truth
iD such case is made good by life. The life of truth is good. This
is also meant by man's being regenerated bl water and spirit; water
deDotes the truth of faith, and epil'it its life. .
•, For Aaron and his SODS shall wash their haDds and tbeir feet
tbereat." By the 1umdB and tbe·teet, es tbe extretaes, is deRotet1·\he
whole etlrnplex pertaining tb man both interior aad exterior. 'file
precept etIjoming puriS_tion under die ceremony ef 'WUhi*g . . . . .-
eeaded to cover 'tile ground of ttle entil'e man in Bll his inkJgait;y.
1'bat hands dentJae the ·inhmOl'S.nd feet the es:tetiOl'8 is aDIOIIg the
di8eI08D1'e8 of the New'Churob. .As ro 1be 'Wnnl!ll" it 'frill BOt be .tiii-
'Colt of admMrion -if it be coDsidered that the saperior thlugs of Cbe
bodily ma.n extend thoemselvElII into tbe ban~ and dle'l'e temdn&m, la
'C«>':lseqnenee of which the h~Dds signity the interiM poteftCY 'Of.e
man, and more espeetany Il8 'Viewed in relation to the P1'OlllpctftP 'bf
the 1Vi1l. As feet, on the other ·hand, denotle the !lstu~l pri'I'ICtpte,
'Washing the feet implies the purifyiBgor that priuetpte, and m!I d'!e
process of regeneration f!mbraces the natural principle last of all,
therefore the puriryingof that 8Up[J03U the same of an else, and cotl-
BeqDently our Saviour said on t'he occasion of washing his discipleis'
.feet, ... he who is washed hath no need to be wMbed except as to die
ket, but is clean every whit.- In accordance with this. it is probable,
(rom the remarks made respecting the atr'l1cture of the Laver, that
the washing waS done at the Base, or in the lo.er vesse~ rather than
ill the higher.
.. Lest they die." The signification of dying, in conucxioDS like the
present, is tliat of the extinction of representative!!, and consequently
of the cessation of coqjunction with the heavens. The state of the
case is thus set forth by our anthor. • Conjunction with heaven and
by (or througb) heaven with the Lord, in the Church established with
that nation (the J ewa) was solely by representatives, that is, by things
external which represented things internal; wherefore so soon as
they did not minister accordIag to the prescribed rituals, the repre-
sentative perished, and with it conjunction with heaven; and when
conjunction with heaven perished they had not any protection against
hell; hence the death of the SODS of Aaron, Nadab. and Abih~ for
they gave strange incense upon· strange fire, by which was represent-
ed worship grounded in other love than that of the Lord, heRce their
separation and extinction. The like would bave happened if Aaron
or his sons had come near to minister without waahiq; for thuslbey
would ha.ve represented worship not from heaven, but profane, which
is from hell. From which considerations it is evident, that by dyiac,
when COIIcerning the ministration of Aaron and of his sons, is sieni-
500 the extinction of representatives, and hence C4)njanotiOD with the
leaveu."-A. C. 10,244. .
G.B.
(To" amII"rIItl.)
540 [Dec.
ARTICLE D.
. . . IlDI'I'OR,
I AM glad to avail myself of your generous invitation, and attempt
a reply to Mr. De Charms' defence of Hommopathy upon New Chnrch
principles. I am especially impelled to do so, because, although an ar·
dent receiver oC Swedenborg's philosophy, I have been for several
years, and expect to continue, a ,l!ractitiooer of the so-called Allopathic
medicine. I say expect to continue-for with that spirit oC freedom
•
185C!']
and research which the New Church doctrines impart to every man,
I have studied Homreopathic literature and tested Homalopathic re-
medies. I came to that iuvestigation with liberal prepossessions in
favor of tbe new method-and even with more desire to receive it
than was consistent with a simple and purely intellectual inquiry for
truth. A non-professional Journal is not the appropriate place for an
exposition of the ratiooinative process by which I have arrived at my
present opinions. I would meet Mr. De Charms as a Newchurcbman
and not as a physician. I am glad'that he bas given me an opporta-
nity of doing so-by avoiding all Appeal to vulgar prejudice and lay-
ezperience, whicb would have precluded any reply. There is a com-
mon ground upon which we can meet in the discussion of the question,
and an authority to whose decisions neither of us will demur.
Accordingly I propose to show, not only tbat the principle" Similia
similibus curantur" is contrary to the teachings of Swedenborg's phi-
loso,phy, but that the opposite principle'" Contraria contrariis curaD-
tur, is directly and positively deducible from those teachings.
Before entering upon what may. be termed the spiritual pbasis of
the subject, J must briefly notice Mr. De Charms' view ot' the treat-
ment of frost-bite, barns, and fJItInia a potu. I do so, not only because
I would make an adequate reply to all that he has advaneed, but also
because Homeopathic writers very commonly cite thOle especial
cases as instances of Allopathic cure by Homalopathic treatment.
A frozen foot is restored to its natural condition by first ruhbing it
with snow, then bathing it with cold water, and finally wrapping it
up in a fiannel cloth.
That cold has been used to neutralize the effect of cold is entirely
an appearance. Heat has been all along applied to the injured part.
But the method of applying the heat is a matter of great importance.
It it be suddenly applied to frozen tissues, the liquids expanding will
rupture-their condensed and brittle vessels, and 80 produce disorgani-
zation which 'bIIty'terminate in gangrene. Hot and cold are relative
terms. Rubbing a frozen tiIIIb with snow is a calorific process to the
limb. After we have been in the winter air sometime cold water
feels glowing to onr hands. So in the case in question, the cold water
and the flannel cloth continue the calorifio process, until the ti8SUe8
gradually relu and the fluids slowly resume their circulation. Bums
are of two kinds, those which accelerate or excite the vital powers
and those which depress those powers. For the flrst class a sedative
for the second a stimulant, is the appropriate 1lemedy, and both on
Allopathic principles. I agree with Mr. De Charms that alcohol is
only a palliative to mtlnia a potu, but it is an Allopathic palliative, a
trtimulant remedy given to relieve intense nervous prostration. In a
form of the same disease characterized by esoitement and not pros-
tration, blood letting and other sedative means restore to health. But
the agent which approaches nearest to the nature of a specifio for
mania a potu is opium, and this acts by overcoming the estreme wake-
fulness which is the cbiefsymptom of the disease. Alcohol is a mere
adjuvant to arouse the shattered nervous system to a perception of
the opiate impression.
j
•
{Dec.
In many. of Mr. De Charms' remark. I readily acquiesce. for the
genenll principleR of spiritual philosophy constitute the common basis
of our respective systems. The spiritual w.orld is the sphere of causes,
the natural world the sphere of e1fects. All the n~ious properties of
minerals, ptants. and animals, are caused by the influx of hell into
tbese substances. Evil spirits produce diseases in the hum~n body
and cures are·etl"ected by the expulsioD. of the spirits. In all this we
agree. but ·in the manner of this expulsion or removal we entirely
differ. If I unde1'8tand Mr. De Charms aright, his position is this, that
evil spit-its leave or desert a hj,gher plane of operation for a corres-
pondillg lower plane when such plane is presented for their in.ftu:x.
He says tbey do this because" the activity of their demoniacal de-
lights is greater in the ratio that their plane of operation is more ul-
timate." This he calls the "law of derivation," and proposes by it to
explain the moons operandi of Hom<:BOpathic medicines. There
mnst be a pallwgenaic oor~spondence between the evil to be remov-
ed and the substanoe oapable of relieviag the corresponding disease.
Into these medicines, or lower poisons, the infernalspirita go freely,
and thus pus away from the human .system.
Now I think Mr. De Charms has fallen into errOl' by overlooking-
three very important truths.
18t. There is a general aad a special influx of the spiritual into ~
natural world.
2d. Infernal spirits are fonns of evil etl"ections au.d can only operate
through forml capable of that vital manifestation which we call af-
fections. Their special influx is only into animal forJ1l&,
ad. Higher forms are connected with ultimates by necessary media.
Forms of affection cannot flow immediately into ultimates which are
.detached from their corresponding superior planes.
As these truths Me so intimately blended, a general il1111tration will
be better than their isolated consideration. The scenery of H.eJJ, U&e
sum total of objects visible to an infernal spirit,.ill.... nftex or repre-
aentative of himself. His spiritual bMf is aJao a perfect reflex or
representative of his interiol"&-Of his evil and falsity. The tota1i~
and the potentiality of his life r68ide in his.piritual body•. They
eannot be insinuated into any ODe outward oliject, or into any nWllber
of outward objects. They are not without the man at all, they are
only repre8flnted as out of him. Now the spiritual and natural worlds
are col\ioined by the medium of the Human Form. Evil spirits attach
themselves to kindred spiritual bodies ofrneD,and throlJKh them effect
a general influx into the ·material worl~ and a special inftux
jnto the natutal body of the man with whom they are as&G-
ciated. They are aq;oined to the man, and they have no ten-
dency or wilh to leave the man. Their affinity for poisonous sub-
stances is entirely connected with the no~oU8 relations of those
substances to man. When a pe1'8on swallows arsenic, the spirits do
not rush into the molecules of the arsenre, display their malignant
activity, and then pass out of the body with the arsenic. They onl.Y
seize upon the arsenic 88 an ultimate agent by which they may work
that de.struction in his body which they would wreak. upon his sow.
A chemical antidote by changing the form of the substance preven.ts
1850.]
'tbe infemal inAux. Mr. De ChaTJD8' thOOl'y would establish a prin-
ciple of spiritual gravitation by which the wbole infernal world would
be precipitated into the mineral kingdom. Moreover he would make
a Homc:eop8thic drug stoE:8 a workshop of regeneration. For if iD-
fernal spirits, as he says, willi~gly and by the impulse of their OWD
loves descend into ]o\,\'er deleterious forms, they may all be readily
46 derived" away by the successive administrations of medicines. Tire
entrance of the devHs into the swine is a stereotyped illLlstration with
Homc:eQPathic Newcburchmen. But two most essential points are
commonly overlooked. The devils left the two men with gJle8t re-
luctance, prefacing their request to go into the swim', with the depre-
cating words, "If Thou cast us out." The sphere of the DiviDe Love
torment,d them 80 tbat they became willing to abaDdo~ tbeir bigher
sphere of opel'atioo, for an inferior and (coDtral'Y to Mr. De Oharms'
hypothesis) a le6. agreeable one. And, secondly, they entered into
the lusts and appetites of the swine-forms of evil adapted for their re-
ception. We have DO evidence that they could have entered into
any thing but aliYing form. Animals have the lowest plane oC life
in common with man and spirits. Vegetables and minerals have no
participation in tbat plane. When poisonous they correspond to evil
. . .6 wbich are only potent when conjoined to the higher wiR-princi-
pIe of which they are representative. An animal body is c0m-
pounded of vegetable and mineral matter, and it is only through
this medium that evil spirits can be specially or potentially ultimated
ill the mineral kingdom. When Mr. De Charms proves from Swe-
denborg that vegetables and minerals correspond to lusts and appe-
tites, so that evil spirits may enter into them without the intervention
of the animal form,l promise hi. theory a grave and thorough re-
consideration. The most virulent poisons only become 80 by absOl'p-
aon and incorporation into the animal tissues. Insoluble 8Ubstances
8nl efttl'rely iuert.
Before I leave tbis part of the subject, I may advert to a little fallacy
of statement, unimportant in twe1t~ but a necesaary deduction from an.
uDlOuud hypothesis. He says, "Denoe mineral poisons are more v","
ulent than either vegetable or animal on~ because more ultimate."
Chemists and physiologists have prof8loled to fhid no suoh very mark.
eel distinctions .. Mr. De ChamHl here intimates to exilllt. Oertafn.
animal poisons are most terrific in their effects, and prussic acid,
chloroform, strycbnine, &c., all products of vegetable matter are cer-
tainly unrivalled in toxicological properties.
Mr. De Charms' article proves nothing but the well-known and
generally received principle, that" like attaches itself to like." This
is the ceotral fact and explanation of all cbe wonderful phenomella
of spiritual consociation. But it has no analogy with the principle
that "iike oureslike," oay, between the two there ill a fundamental
antithesis. Cure involves a necessary idea of opposition, of combat,
of conquest of one thing over another. My consideration of the sub.
jeot wonld be yp.ry incomplete, and create but a vague impression on
lhe mind, should I here abandon it. I will therefore offer a theory of
cliseaae and its core, and hope ,that Mr. De Charms' fallacies will be
HommopatAy and it. New 01eurc1& AJlaitiu. [Dee..
mo~ apparent when broup;ht into contrast with principles much more
consonant with the New Church philosophy.
A perversion of physical order corresponding to a perversion
of spiritual order is the cau,e of disease. If the universe had
remained in the ordet" of its creation there would have been no
sin and no disease. Sin produced changes of form in matter and
consequent changes of property. The inBuent force and tht> recipient
Corm are mutually related. Chanp;e the influx and the form changes.
Infuse caloric into water and steam is generated. CODverseh-, change
the form and a new influx is manifested. Heat the mineral tourma-
lin so as to effect an interstitial change in its substance, and it ex-
hibits electrical phenomena. Now the general influx from hell has
perverted the order of the physical world, and hence the vicissitudes
of weather, malaria, accidents, &0., which produce changelJ of struc-
ture or function in the animal body. Into these changed forms of the
natural basis, evil spiritual principles speciall}· ultimate themselves
and produce all the varied phenomena of disease.
A distended stomacb, a decayed tooth, an abnormal secretion, a re-
laxed ti88Ue, are perverted forms which constitute moulds or matrices
for infemal influx. This theory is not contradicted, as I am aware,
by a single teaching of Swedenborg, or by a single reasonable infer-
ence from his general philosophy.
In accordance with Ihy hypothesis there are two methods or pr0-
cesses of cure, one acting on the natural, the other on the spiritual
plane. On the natural plane, Allopathic medicines cure dise&8('S by
acting directly upon the tissues and restoring that precise anatomi-
cal and physiological relation of parts, into which a Divine infll1X
productive of health can flow. The relaxed tissues in diarrhma, ca-
tarrh, &c., are 'Constricted by astringents and tonics. Excitement is
counteracted by a process of reduction, prostration is relieved by an
appropriate stimulus. If a disease diminishes the secretien or bile,
we give a remedy which increases that secretion. We apply cold to
neutralize heat and heat to neutralil8 cold. Although there are
many obscure points in our pathology and therapeutics, and'we have
frequently nothing but the ultimate facts of symptom and cure, yet
the accumulated experience of·ages, and a warrantable generalization
of that experience, establishes, in our opinion, the general truth of
the maxim, .. contraria coDtrariis curantur." This principle is more
fully and clearly exemplified in the spiritual cure of diselUK's. As
heat dissipates cold and light darkness, so does good expel evil aDd
truth falsity. The whole process of regeneration is beautifully. illus-
trative of the much abused Allopathic axiom. Evils are appropriat-
ed by the spiritual body as food i. by the natural body. And we
have reason to believe that they are as really sources of pain and de-
formity to the spiritual body. as tubercles, or ulcers, or cancers are
to the natural body. How are they to be relieved? B~' a further
but infinitesimal appropriation. of evil? No-but according to tbr
principle ., contraria contrariis curantur," by a counteracting appro-
priation of goods and truths. The sphere of the Lord's Divine Love
was the cnrative influx, whose' material results 80 astounded the in·
habitant. of Judea. The opposite lQ8ts and appetites of the internals
1860.J
fled before it, leaving the lOuls and bodies Qf men free from their de.
.tractive presence. And we all know that when we voluntarily
change our spiritual forms so as to admit a portion of this Divine
Love into our flouls, our sins are extirpated or removed and the peace
and health of heaven flow into our interiors. Now the heat of the
sun corresponds to this Divine Love, and as all passions and emotions
are modifications of love, so all the so-called forces of nature. Light,
Chemioal Affinity, Electricity, Magnetism, and probably Mesmerism,
are different manifestations of heat. Every year of scientific dis-
covery accumulates the probabilities of this hypothesis. And I can-
not but consider the application of these agencies to the cure of dis-
ease, since the Lord's Second Advent, as a most notable event. The
breaking up of old things and the revelation of new, 10 strikingly char-
acteristio of the age, do not promise-fiupport to HomC!'Opathy or any
kindred, incomplete and unscientific system oC medicine, but rather
foretell the development of a spiritual medicine which will be
the analogue or corresponding form of Allopathy, in a higher
sphere. But the proceS11811 which have been 10 eminently successful
in physical science-patient research, repeated experiment, and c~u
tious deduction, will be much more Dece8liary in this superior and
therefore more obscure field of inquiry. Mesmerism, Clairvoyance,
and all other forms of spiritual manifestation must be taken out of
the hands of itinerant charlatans, and submitted to the analytic
powers of the candid, laborious, disinterested and capable philoso-
phers. From the heterogeneous mass will be probably developed a
science which will supersede even that vast, mature, and venerable
system of medicine which is now shedding ita incalculable blessingB
on the human race.
W... H. HOLCO.....
ClDolJlllaU, 01110.
ARTICLE m.
HOM<EOPATHY.
.... BDrro.,
I AM pleased to find, in the last number of the Repository, an ar·
ticle from the pen of Mr. De Charms in answer to an opJ>onent of
Hommopathy who appeared, some time since, in tbe New York Tri·
bune, and signed himself" Investigator." I suppose that the writer
designed, in making the quotations referred to, to turn the attention
of the New Church from the consideration of Homwopathy, but we
trust and believe that it will prove abortive of its aim. In the Divine
Providence of the Lord evil is turned to the best account; and thus
we may hope that this effort of .. Investigator" may serve to bring
about a canvassing of Hommopathy in New Church light, and show
more clearly, to the lovers of truth, its real character, and ita true re-
lation with the philosophy of the New Church.
Bu Er.; I+g. [Thro.
By yom liberality, a medilllD is aow otfered tbroqh whi. a ~
did aDd impartial inveBtigatioD of the- sabjeot may be presented, an
it i. sincerely hoped that it will receive the attention of able and ilDo
partial minds 11lltil the whole Seld is thOl'oaghly explored.
It is not my intention to entel', here, into an extended investi«ation
of tbe subject, for I do not feel myself equal to the task. Bat I baft'
8. few words to say, which are the result of t1le thoughts or manY'
yean. During the 1l\8t ten years I have thought much npOll the BOb-
ject, and the view which prell6nted itself to my mind in the earlier
part ot this period, was given to tbe New Ohurch public, in a veF'!"
oracle fonn, BOIlW six ye8l'8 since. The cmperieDC88 of many years, and
its: aspect in the light of the New Era, have aatis8ed me of tu iden-
tity of Hommopathy with the phHOIIophy -' the New Church. The
practice of Hommopathy seems to me to be but a co-operation with
the Lord in His great work of regeneratiag humanity-but aiding in
the work of executing a judgment, hy arranging spiritual principles
according- to spirituJ affinities, in conformity witJ! the laws of tba
spiritual world-thus restorisg and preserving the gt!Cl8teBC possible
degl'ee of order, and thus imparting the greatest amoua& of 8piritual
and nataral health and happiness.
It is this coaviction that prompts me 18 oontribute my mite to a fn...
thar elucidation of tbe sabject. .
The mind of man is organised from substanees oomposiDg the
spiritoal world-each degree of the mind answering to 8 oor~
ing degree of its surrounding ,v()rl~ as the natual body is organized
from the materia.l substances composing the varioas degrees of the
natoral W<n'ld. This is according to Older. Wbenenr the mind is
thus orderly organized and sustained, it is a fit Rnd true receptacle of
the Divine proceeding Life, and spiritual health and activity is the
result. So likewise when the various degrees of the natural body
"re orderly organized and sustained, by the material substances of the
.corresponding degrees of the circumambient world of uture, there
inflows and is continued a. correspondill3 ~ of natural health and
activity. But thi!J order has been b1'9ken up by man.
We are tal,lght in the philosoph): of the New Church, that evil and
consequently spiritual and natu.x:al diseases alike have their origin in
the exercise of the selfishness 'of man. He is continually doing vio-
lence to the laws of Divine order, and thus induces and sustainsdis-
easfl, by " continued effort to elevate the lowest principles of manhood
to a place in the highest regions of mental organization. He is eYe!"
reaching forth, both mentally and spiritually, and grasping at the ob-
jects· of each world-is continually drawing the things belonging at
the circumference towards the centre, and consequently is "tl contin-
ually pushing the things belonging at the centre, toward9 the cir-
cumference. By his selfishness he is stimulated to appropriate the
objects of both worlds, and, if it were possiMe, he would uttimate the
life of both in himsel£ This is Prt'ciseJy wh~t he is doing;· aad ~be
effects are in his mind, spiritual depravity, and in his body, natlH"&l-
disease. Whenever the life of any object, either in the oat81'81 er
spiritual worlds, is arrested by any disorderly, selfish act of'man, in it-.
1850.J 54'
tendency to its OWl! ultimate fbI'm, ill which ultimate It is in its ful-
ness and power, it i$ thus drawn'tram the circumference towards the
oentre, arid as, in common with all spiritual principles, it must
have an ultimate- basis upon whiell to rest, it seeks to form one
nearer the centre, or on a higher or more interi01" plane; and
in order to fonn a receptacle perfectly adapted to its requirements,
it sets up the process of dil!lOrganization, which it will effect even
unto death, unless again removed' tu the circumference-to its
own legitimate degree and tdtimate form. ' Now as spiritual re-
generation, according tq Swed'enboTg, is not the annihilation of
any principle, 'at a rernov8J of evils (tom the centre towards the
circumference, a,nd at length into the hells, 80 what we eaU na-
taral diseases are Dot· annlbTlated 01" dmroyed, but are- removed from
the centre, which is the ~umaD body, towards the circumference into
their own hells, which are aUpoUonoul andferociou animal., all ma-
lignant, virulent, and poisonous Aerb~, and' all poiIonou, eartJul. Tltis
is as far as order can bo'restored', in the present state of regeneration
at least, without violating tbe freedom of manhood. If the self-hood
of man had not Tiolated the laws o'Divineorder~by continued eWorts
to elevate itself above,the Divine aud aH things-if man had con-
tinued to perform his orderly and' appropriate uses, there would be no
such things as the hells-no such things 8S poU01tOfU andferociou. an-
imal, j malignant, virulent, and poilmlOtU lIerb, j or poilonou~ earths.
But these are permitted' and prepared in mercy to man, for all things
~annot be restored forcibly to primitive Divine order; without violat-
ing the freedom of man-without annihilating the essential charac-
teristics in his natore; the last traces of the image of his Maker.
The helts are not only permitted and prepared in mercy to the' good,
to free them frQm the molestation of designing and' malignant spirits,
but also in mercy to the evil; for ft devil can enjoy more amGDg his
own in bell, than he 'Can among the good in heaven; and' thus hell
to him is a -place of comparative happiness, rather than one of un-
remitted and utter miser1; f4r here he has the momentary, though
poor, enjoyments resulting from' the freedom of his own infernal life.
The homwopathie doctrine te~hes that a medicament shalt be
employed for the removal of certahl'symptoms, which has the power
or producing similar symptoms in the healthy organism j or, in other
words, a drug that will produce a certain train of symptoms in the
healthy body, will cure similar symptoms ~rising from any other
cause. Then the qua.lity of the operating agent, wpich is inducing
disease iD the natural bOdY, is altogether similar to the quality of the
remedy which is used according to the homreopathic law for its re-
mova t, for if the remedy IS taken in sufficiently large doses, and long
enough continued to induce disease, we shall find exactly similar
symptoms or states resulting-proving, beyond question, that the ac-
tive principles ill both cases aTe similar, for it is an established truth
that like effects can result only from the operation of like causes.
The disease is the influence of spirits, or spiritual principles with
man, whose life tends to lower ultimate fonns, such as ferociou. ani-
mala, malignant, virulmt, and poi801lOU8 ktrb" and poi,onou, etJrtM,
and who han become consoeiate8 with man by his own Toluntal'y
choice, or hy hered.itary transmission. Now in order to regenerate
or cure the body, a separation must be eft"ected; these spirits must be
dislodged, must be removed from the centre towards the extreme
boundary, or to the circumference, or cast into their own hell. This
is not forcibly eft"ected; there is near by a herd of swine feeding,
which they voluntarily choose if they must leave their present lurk-
iug place; they are brought within the sphere of their own hell, by
approximating the ultimate form of their own life; and this nltimate
is, in technical language, the drug which is hommopathic to the di&-
e~. The disease is, as it were, drawn forth by the power, to use a
term of science, of elective affinity. There is no opposing force used
-no freedom violated; but the sphere of its own hell has a more at-
tractive and potent influence thall aught else; and thns the ~irits by
a force which they cannot resist, come forth into consociation with
their own; and the body is left free to the reception and enjoyment
of its own appropriate life, which is the healing influence of the life of
Divine order.
Let us illustrate by taking an example from the' extreme boundary
of nature, or, we might say, humanity (llSing the term in its broadest
signification), for everything in the universe of mind and matter have
especial reference to man, that is, in the capacities of use. Man, 811
to his individual physical organism, stands at the centre of natural
creation, surrounded by the three kingdoms of nature, which are ever
contributing their uses to his creation and sustentation. Thus the
mineral world forms a basis upon which the vegetable and animal
worlds rest. U has in fact, in its bosom, in a quiescent form, the
whole elements of the natural world. .The first move then, in the
humanizing process, is the disintegration, or breaking up, or tearing
asunder, of the integral parts of mineral aggregations, and the forma-
tion of earths. The earth, in its turn, yields up its life of nses in de-
veloping the vegetable world; and here in the ngetabla world, are
prepared all the elements out ofwhicb the aBimal body, including the
human, is formed. In the vegetable world we find, ready prepared,
albW1lfln,jibrill', ctueine, gelatine,Jal, 4-c., the very same proximate
elements, alike in all their physi~l characteristics, which enter into
and compose all animal organizations; and out of these proximate
elements, as they are prepared by the vegetable world, are constructed,
by the physiological movements of the human body, organs for the
uses of the mind. The human body does not prepare elemenU ont of
which to construct organs, but preparu, or comtruct8 organ' for tbe
uses of the mind or spirit, out of elements already prepared in the
vegetable kingdom. Thus we may see that every thing is within the
circle of bumaDity, receivers in the descent, and givers in the ascent,
and all are thus moving on in obedience to that Divine injunction,
.. Fhely.y, have received,free1y give." .Ar86nicum we will take to il-
lustrate the operation of the hommopathic law. This drug, or poison,
is the basis upon which a class of evil spirits of a particular character
rests. It is an ultimate of the delights of infernal spirits, or a basil
upon which a certain bell rests in the extreme boundary, and is of me
1850.] Jloma,qpatJI.y. 649
, •
ABTICI.B n.
,,
J
othpl" biography of Swedenborg, within the same length of time. It
had also been well received in Sweden, where it has been reviewed
, in two numbers of Professor Salmblad's work, published at Upsal.
Your English oorrel!lpOndent in the Nov. Repository, in drawing a
i
comparison between Rich's aud WilkiD80n's work, says that the for--
• mer" goes at far greater length into the theological worD. &c., while
•
[Dec.
Wilkinson has not a word on the Arcana except as to manner." The
fiJ'St statement may be correct, but the second is not. I find by refer~
f'nce to the work, that there are eleven pages devoted to the Arcana
and tothewbjects which it unfolds. An'analysisofeach work is given
in the order in which they are written, both philosophical and theolo-
gical. Seventy~two pages are devoted to "Swedenborg, the philoso-
pherofnature;" 147 pages to "Swedenborg, the Seer, theologian, and
philosopher of spirit;" and 60 pages, to .. peJ'Sonai testimonies and an-
ecdotes," "spiritual openings and wants."
.. He is fearful," also, "that Wilkinson has misconceived the char-
acter of E. Swedenborg's spiritual illumination, which he appeaJ'S to
identify with the. developments of mesmerism, instead of considering
him as he certainly was, an especially enlightened messenger of the
Lord' for an f>,special purpose." This identity undoubtedly 80 appeaJ'S
to this writer, but to many othef'!'J there is no such appearance, and
even in this case it seems to be only an impression. As I reooived no
such impression on reading the work, I had the curiosity to refer
again to see in what light" E. So's spiritual illumination" was pre~
sented; and was struck with the fact that it is given in Swedenborg's
OrDn language. His letters and conversations with Hartley, Robsham,
Dr. Beyer, and copious extracts from the Diary are given, to enlighten
the reader on this subject.
There are other points upon which I had intended to remark, but
88 I have already occupied more space than I designed, I will forbear.
A gentleman who is a member of a book club composed of literary
gentlemen, and who had furnished them with Wilkinson's Biography,
gave me the following letter:
.. You ask my opinion of Wilkinson's Biography of Swedenborg,
and of the' remarks upon it in the Repository for October. With Mr.
Bush's condemnation of the style I fully agree, so far as my own taste
is concerned. I prefer myself to write and read plain E~ish, in
which the style is so subordinate to the thought that th.-ettention is
not distracted from the latter by any.peClltietities of the former.
But it must be admitted that the taste of the day is widely different,
and especially among the class of ~inds to which Wilkinson belongs
and with which he is chiefly ~ated-the men of the movement-
of the New Times. Their emancipation from the old modes of
thought has been Daturally and perhaps rightly accompanied by a
contempt for the customary forms of expression, nnd they have rushed
. into a license of luguage the wild freedom of which corresponds to
the daring and irregular nature of their speculations. The apparent
vigor and originality which this gives to their writings greatly in-
ereases its effectiveness, and I am confident ~hat Wilkinson's manner-
ism would attract and secure the attention of a large cl88S of readers
tbr whom bis fact and opinions would have very little interest if'
atated in a commonplace Iltyle.
" As lor Wilkin80n's saying the worst that he honestly can of Sw&-
deDborg, I confess that I like it. I think that the impartial tone of his
book will have great weight with the higher class of reader&-the re-
8eeti'fe and CJritical, who would reject with distrust an UlUllixed
•
1850·1 TIN· QuutWa of Olergy and Laity.
eulogy like Hobart's. I have found it so in this place, where I have
oirculated Wilkinson considerably aod with acceptance among li~era
ry men who would oot read a dozen pages of the other. Still, for a.
large and perhaps the largest class of readers I think Hobart's Life ad--
mirablyadapted, and, baving copies of both, in lending I exercise dis-
crimination, and to some would by no means offer Wilkinson while I
had Hobart. To 0. man of common intellect, holding to the old creeds,
a Baptist, a Methodist. an Episcopalian, I should give Hobart. To a
literary man or to a Transcendentalist, a Come-outer, a Freethinker, or
the higher c1sss of UnitaJ"ians, I should in most cases give Wilkinson."
X. Y.
'. ARTICLE v.
For the New Chnnlh Repooitol'7.
ARTICLE VI.
THE Protestant churches claim for each and ev~ry individual of the
laity, as well as the clerlO', the right or privil«>ge of examining the
Scriptures, and of judging for themselves as to the do~trines taught
therein.
In point of fact, however, this privilege has only nominally existed,
except to a very limited extent. Among them, as elsewhere, the
child, brought ap under the father's creed, has usually continued of
the father's way of thinking; and, if he becomes religious, joins his
father's church. And whoever joins their c~urches, does so only after
confession of the same creed, which all the rest have a,knowledged
before him; and he is expected to use his right of judgment only to
find in his Bible the doctrines which his pastor preaches. And when
anyone, in the exercise of this acknowledged right, has been bold and
original enough to differ from the received dogmas of his fathers, his
opinions arensually adjudged heretical and dangerous, and he is ad-
monished. with speoial warnings, to return to the true faith.
It is natural that this should be so. It is the almost univ~rsal ten-
dency of human Dature to respect precedents, and to be guided byes-
tablished principles and customs, while new discoveries. inventions, or
opinions are but slowly received, even where their advantages are
apparently obvious. This tendency of humanity is not in itself bad.
It is rather the safeguard of stability, the security for good order, in
every usetul institution. It is the abuse of this principle to the sup-
port of the wrong instead of the right, which is alone to be deprecat-
. . The revolutionary principle (although it also has its use) ought
to be the QfilIl \sional anomaly, instead of the fixed rule, of human pro-
gress. And paHieaJujy·so in religious affairs, which (taking men as
we find them) few are capable of investigating for themselves; few
have either the mental ahility or the education for doing it properly;
and of th~se few, still fewer have.the honesty of heart and the single-
ness of mind so esseutial to lead theI1l to right results. If each were
to be the former of his own creed, who does not see how many more
bad creeds than good ones would be ori~ated 1
But the phrase .. right of private judgmMt" is not precisely the
phrase we need, to """press that religious liberty which the well-being
of the church reqUlrell. The proclamation of thil .. right" was found-
ed on a protest agains& reli~oUtJ tyranny, in the midst, or rather at the
commencement, of a religions reTolution; and it inVQlves, essentialty,
the revolutionary spirit. Tb6 demand for a right to Audge and decide
npon doctrines, implies not only that spiritual freedoto has been in-
fringed upon, but that there is a lack of confidence in the doctrines
"tready acknowled~ed. Suoh a demand and protest, very properly,
dlerefore, belongeo to a state of the church in which troths were pass-
og away; whose docUin61 had no power any Jonger to maintain con-
568 [Dec.
fidence, or efficacy to improve the mind and heart; and in which, it
each one did not Meek truth for himself; he might certainly fail of ob.
taining it at the hands of his constituted teachers.
When we ask for FBEEDOII OF COl'lSCIBHCIl, we ask for all that we
need, and for all that the" right o. private judgment" can substantiaJ.
Iy give. We do not wish literally to sit in judgment on the Scriptnres,
but we desirE' freedom to read and understand fl)r ourselves. We es-
teem it a high privilege and dnty, to under.and the things of faith,
which the Word of God teaches i but while we do so, we confess that
we have no right to judge it by our reason, and to disapprove or ap-
prove merely as our reason inclines. Not that the principle of the
right of private judgment is understood by every one as meaning this,
bnt that it does essentially (in its spirit) lead in this direction, and is
accompanied by no limitation to restr~in it from going the entire dis-
tance.
Let us inquire, what will·be the result of a better and more general
education of the people; for it may be imagined by some, that it
would lead to a fuller and more general exercise of this right of pri.
vate judgment, which now, confessedly, is far from being complete
and general. It wonld, it will be supposed, tend to render them more
independent of their religious teachers, and better fitted and disposed
for the personal examination of the gronnds of faith and doctrine.
In the first placE', a proper education would tend to remove prejudi-
ces, and thus open the mind to a more candid reception of new truths.
Thus it would tend to combine the stability resulting from adherence
to what is aclmowledged, with progress in what ill new and untried;
for the errors of the old and the ~vantages of the new would be seen,
and the one succeed the other, without the tumult and revolution
which bigotry and ignorance are ever prone to occasion.
A right religiou8 education, in like manner, will tend to open the
mind to a candid appreciation and reception of )'Vhat is good aDd. t~
in religion. And it will, from tbe nature of the case, r.u.er disp088
to the acknowledgment of divine truth, as r ~ n to the inves-
tigation of it as unknown. For the effect of such an education on
the understanding should be, to lead it to a state of singleness towards
truth, lfond cleamess of perceiving it. And truth is plain-spiritual
truth in particular-not so mucb in .proportion to acuteness of intellect,
as purity of mind.
Again. Education of the masses, instead of eradicating the men-
tal peculiarities of indMiduals, will rather tend to bring them out
more distinctly. Hdwever learned and disciplined mankind become
as a body, never cAn all become teachers, leaders, or expounders,
even for themselves. There will always be comparatively few in.
ventors or invewgators, but many who will receive and apply truth.
Here, as in mechanics, division of labor must prevail; and the more
8S the \"astnel58 of the explored fields of knowledge make it impolllli.
ble for anyone to traVf'1 over the whole.
Finally, as we have looked at thi. subject in its most general ap-
plication, lee us consider it more particularly as modified by the in-
finence of the New Church. The New Church writings constitute of
Poetry. ~r9
POETRY.
~or tho N. c. BopooItoIT.
BE STRONG.
BT Mlll. LlLA J'. nAil:.
CORRESPONDENCE.
From ollr English Correspondent.
LoXDOJI, November 18t, 1849.
MY DEAR IllR,
While the subject of the ministry and the general-organization of the" New
Church" is under discussion in your pages, it is edifying to reflect 011 the work-
ing of a similar ministry and organization in the "Old." To say nO~.ling of
the Wesley"n agitation, and the expenditure of about .£80,000 sterling in an
Ecclesiastical controversy, at a period when the cry for fresh endowments and
Bishopricks was never so importunate, we have been somewhat agitated for
the last few days by a rescript or bnll of the Pope, which. issuing from behind
the hedge of French bayouets, appOints a Cardinal Archbishop' of Westmin-
ster, and fills up twelve English Bishopricks, in order to rebUild the ancient
hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in this country. Thus Great Babylon
is bringing itself into remembrance at a time when the faith of Christendom
has already crimsoned the earth in France and Germany; and when the great
red dragon is moving in masses of tNOpS, and is lodging his soldiers in all the
capitals of 'Europe. •
In attributing the war of opinion, which has now actually commenced, aecord-
ing to the predictions of Canning and Napoleon Bonaparte, to the faith of tbe old
church, I would be understood to include in that denomination, the faith of
society in the institutions and fomls which have grown up under its influence.
We shall find ourselves wofully deceived, as apostles of the New Era, if we
imagine that a few theological dogmas (whichnardly one in twenty is now
foull(' .0 believe) are exclusively, or even pre-eminently, the strongholds of that
desolating spirit which is described under so many mournful symbols in the
Prophets. The theological faith of the old church, strictly speaking, no 101l~er
exists, and it is precisely because this is the case that the social and political
faith which were derived from it, have become so dangerous. The reason of
this is the mutual adaptation of Church and State, whether they are outwardly
connected or not, to each other's peculiar characteristics; so that the one is
always the soul' and spirit of the other. The ancient Empires always went
to pieces with the ancient churches. To this truth, Assyria, EgY(lt. Greece.
Jerusalem, Rome, and the Catholic States of Europe will all bear wJCtJess ; and
the evidence of Protestant Christendom is as surely forlh~ng in the same
category. 0
IW88 as temporal and fleeting as the religion connected with it, tbeogh both the
ODe and the otber were based on a foondation against 'W hich even the gates of
bell sball oot prevail, aod tbe exaltation of which will bring along with it, at
ODe and the same time, the fotore church and the future state of society. It
is the upheaval of this foundation which occasions those f!arthquakes of
prophecy which are the prellent troubles of nations.
Few of os have yet reflected on all the consequences to be expected from
tbe paeeing away of that old theological faith, or first heaven, of Christendom.
It is plain however, that if the mus of the people can no longer believe in
the exact letter of Scripture in regard to the consummation of temporal
nature, but are instructed in the very reverse (whether dogmatically, or
by the dictates of the newly enlightened human understanding), thaL
their zeal for the amelioration of society will bEl awakened, alld will bestir
itself exactly in proportion to the ,Previous neglect of their social and
political duties-that 18 to say, exactly m proportion to tbe abuses which re-
quire amendment. It is the activity of this zeal, cOlIsequent on the infu-
.ion of a new religious faith, and the outflow (or "common influx" as Swe-
denborg ,vould term it) of the Holy Spirit, which is now awakening all that is
.good, and, by the rule of opposites, all that is bad in human nature. As the
earth is the continent of the new heaven, it is manifest that the effervt'scence
of this masll must increase uOli! society here is made new likewise, and en-
tirely answerable to the religious idea of the age; and in proportion to the
dogged attachment of, the natural man to the old state of sOCiety-its effete
institutions and forms-in the same degree will the spirit be quenched and the
progress of the reformation retarded.
Need I add, my Dear Sir, with what sorrow a contention in the" New
Chnrch" in favor of adopting or retaining the torms vf the "Old" mutlt be
viewed by all who think thus 1 One would suppose that the" New Church"
had already become a mere human institution, as has been remarked of the
"Old," "made up of worldly power, worldly learning, and worldly prosperity
in Gospel matters," only it is too certain that the New Clrurch, which is nothing
but a nnD '1'iTitual life in society, never can have existed where such a spirit is
found to prevail. Pardon DIe a short citation: "St. Paul speaks of •a natural
man, that cannot know the things of God; but to whom they are mere foolish-
ness.' This natural man is only another name for the wisdom of this world;
and though he cannot know the things that be of God, vet he can know their,
them fo
':t.::
namt8, and learn to speak that which the saints of God have spoken about
~ make profession of them, be eloquent in their praise, and tlet
. uch a desirable view, as shall nmke them quite agreeable to the
children of w ~ wilw;lQrn. This is the natural man, who, having got iuto
the church, and church-powett has turned the things of God into things of
this world. Had this man been ~ept out of the church, the church hI¥! kept
its first purity to this day; for its ("Ien-state is no:l.mg else but its fall into the
hands of the natural man of this d. Aud when this is the state of the
church, the wisdom of this world (whic Iways loves its own) will be in love
with it, villlptJTe no cost to maintain it, will e law!, fight battlt8 in defence of i"
a"d C01IIUmn e1Jery man CJI heretical who daT. speak a word against thi! gloriou!
image of a chuTc.'l which the tDiMlom of tku tlIOTld ~·!!!et 'Up."
Had j the eloquence and logical acumen of a WiJ.J.iam Law there is one sub-
ject in connection with ~his matter which should Ce~inlY be brought home to
the understandings of your readers; '[ mean the rr ensions of a ministry tl)
rule as apostles in the church, though they are wIlho the gifts common to
the whole Christian brotherhood in Apostolic times. We read in the 19th
chapter of the Acts that "when Paul came to Ephesu., and fonnd certain
disciples there, he said unto them, 'Have ye received the Holy Ghost since
ye believed l' And when they answered that they had not 80 much as heard
whether there was a Holy Ghost, he asked them further, 'Unlb what then were
ye baptized l' And they said, 'Unto John's Baptism.' Then,eaid Paul, 'John
Yerily baptized with the baptism of repc1.l:ance, spying unt" the people that
they should believe on him that should come after hIm, thatiso~ Christ Jesus.'
When they heard this they were baptized in the Dame of the Lord Jesus,
Corre~. [Dec-
And wAen Paul had laid lail1aancU upon. tMm tAl Holy GItDIt _ Oft tAem, tmd ~
.paIu tJtitA tOftKW' and 1"'op/&aWl." Thus was fulfilled our Lord's promile thac
Inch signs should follow .. tJwm t/uJI IHINwtl." "In my name (said He) they
shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up
serpentll ; and if ther drink any deadly thing it shall not hun them; theyeball
lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark xvi. 15-18). Here
indeed we have a ministerial function, and a ceremonial connected with it.,
which Paul could exercise and Apollos could not, but it carried the evidence
of its own efficacy along with it, and it would require a lively imagination CO
conceive either Paul or Apolloa going through the fonnula if sn~h eHects bad
ceased.
The moral I would draw from this reflection may be very briefly expreseecL
Wbat bas been said over anll over again, in the course of the IBBt century, may
be said at this moment with the same truth lItl ever. Notwithstanding the
great efforts of profollnd scholars and divinee in the canse of Christianity, aud
their ingenuity in repelling the arguments of infidels and free thinkers, the
great cause which tbey have maintained contjnues to decline, and the church
BB a spiritual institution is almost literally unpeopled. Christianity wbich
began In a strict application of the doctrinea of morality and economy, BB well
BB those of the spllltual life enunciated by our Lord, and which in tbe sbort
space of two or three centuries had made a conquest of the gorgeousne88 and
luxury of Rome, of its idolatrous religion, and its epicurean spirit, is no longer
adequate to the instruction and convenion of the vUlfl'BJ' populace in its own
states. If we inquire into the reBBon of this, we shall find that the Cretinism
of Christianity is to be dated from the time when it left the practical and real
for the speculative and imaginary, and WBB paraded before the world 8S a
divine knowledge, and an inftuential and legalized institution, rather than a
Divine Lift. In short, from tbe moment when term. began to be used emong
Christians, of wbich the corrtlpOfldiflg things had either no existeuce, or no
manifestation that WBB apparent either to the eye dr the understanding. How
futile, then, mnst it be in a yet more enlightened age, to follow the same policy i
using forms of expression which belong to no subJect anywhere apJ;larent,' and
adopting a ceremuny which belongs to some occult chain of causauon though
no effects ever flow from it.
It would be only idle, however, to trace objections to this or that particular
characteristic of a system, which is wrong in principle BB well as detail. The
New Church is to be a ministration ,of charity, and amoDg the offices of charity
the teaching of the truths of faith is one (N. J. D. D. 9). It is a1lU1 to-ow.
family of God'S children, or the regenerate, those who are bo~n of the
Spirit, being more truly brothers and sisters than those ~are born of one
father and mother naturally. In accordance wiClNhis, C01Ijugial Loot is repre-
sented by Swedenborg as the foundation of ,utloves ip heaven aDd the church,
and consequently tAt family and tAl Church ar, one and tfat ImfIt tAing, and would
no more require a 'PTeaclurr as tne first tial of their combination aDd firm
cOllsistency than a laU11Jer. At p nt, nnfortunately, in imitation of the
Old Church in its fallen state, inste of the Christian brotherhood of its earlier
ages, there is hardly a "New Ch ch" society which does not depend for ita
1ery existence on the ability to employ a preacher. What a proof of their
family relationship with th~irits of the just made perfect who are one in the
bonds of love! I
p:atlett or IDOIt camplai8aut toDe towards the Ifstem we have embl1lOed and to the iu-
oulcation of which tbe pllfles of the Repository 11.1'6 devoted. In pouring out the .. ex-
cellent oU" of severe reproof of our heresy. he well nigh breaks tbe vel8C11 on our heads,
and tbe Iiqoid turns to corrosive sublimate as it flows. But we trust the mt'ekness With
which we receive tbe cauterizing current may tell some little in favorafaur ethir.al code,
and thougb, in his judgment, our system as a wbole must stand upon some other platform
&ban that of Christianity, yet we bope our patience and forbearance under the hard con-
lItrUotion put upon 'our sentiments may strike him as not ~ery unworthy to wear tbe
Dam.,. of those greces as frequently displayed by 8ncb as be lDould acknowledge as be-
lievers in the true IlCheme ofChl'lstian doctrine. We can, however, afford to he mild and
colerant in the premises, for we give our friend the writer credit for the most conIClentiou8
aincerity in his vlew8 of truth an~uty, and we should evince but a 'lender proficiency in
the ICbool pf charity, did we fail to appreciate the spirit of stern fidelity to one's convic-
. dons of religious troth. even should tbey go directly counter to our own,. and involve, to
our view, tbe most palpable enon of premise and conolu~ion. We bave determined,
therefore, to comply to the letter witb the wishes of Prof. L. as it respects the insertion of
his communication, tbough well aware bow easy it would he, on the ground of it, to
make an abundance of new illues that 'might eventually push out of sight the original
topic of dllCnllion. To avoid this we shall give more brevity to our appended remarks
than we should otherwise do.
J
Ion of my silence may not be, that I am growing weary 0 ,,11 controversy!
56! [Dec.
With all diffidence and reverence would I expreae the belief, that I ban made
such growth in grace as enables meto answer this question in the affirmative.
I am weary of, and I would wish to be weary of, all controversy, except for
tbe cause of truth and righteousuess, and even here I would pray to be dellv-
erel! from the danger of mistaking, for this cause, my own feelings, or my own
opinions, .regarded as my own. or as thol'e of my own party. In regard to
myself persoually, I am weary o(controvertlY, becanse my mind ill uot open to
conviction. It is closed against certain views, and firmly fixed on othertl, be-
cause of a deeper conviction, that for me the reception of the one or the Iou
of the otber involves a total wreck of all faith. There are some points of be-
lief on which my mind may change, and is changing; but there are others
where change (should I indulg'e the supposition of being ever forced to it)
cannot be for something else. It must leave a blank, a dark void of faith,
which nothing else can fill. On one thing, at l88st, I am fixed, because I feel
shut up to it as by an absolute necessity. I can never (so help me tbe gra-
• cious God) have any other religious creed, nor twn an'y othn- philOMJpliy, than
. such as is consistent with an honest interpretation of the Holy Scriptures of
the Old and New Testamenqd) And by an honest interpretation I mean, ODe
made (Divine grace and );bht assisting) through those univer!'al laws of
human speech Which God has given to us, and which require no new revela-
tions to anyone individual, as a key to unlock what would be otherwi!'e an
arbitrary cypher, I cannot think, anI! I '1I1ill not think, so dispara~ingly of
Christ's revelation, as to believe that it is darkness, or even a dimness, until
(seventeen centuries afterwards) Swedenborg sheds light upon it-and that too
attested by no miracle, but ouly claimed 'as the suhjective illumination of his
own dreams,(e) ~ am not open to conviction here. No evidence that the
cal!e hall furnished, or can furnish, is sufficient. Thoygh an angel from heaven
preach it, t mUl!t believe it to be .. another Gospel," as long af> I do not find it,
or any thing like it, in the direct teachings of Christ and of his commissioned
apostles ,(I) To do otherwise would be, to me, as I sRid, a wreck of all faith
-it would be a denying of the only Light of the world.
This may sound to you like dogmatism. You may pronounce it absurd' and
tlnreasoni7lg. But a man has something more to do in this serions 1H0rtallife
thau to be forever rtalO7lillK. He must have sQme time for believing. He is
bound 10 get a fixed pOllition. To deny this is to affirm that the truth CRnnot be
found, allll that even its semblance is ever to be held in suspicion as comparative
error in respect to som~lhing yet to come-and ever yet to come.(g) On this
account I hold, that, under certain circumstances, no man ever ought ~I!&"
the age of forty (at the leas L ) without having his mind made ult-QDAbe great
truths that pertain to salvation. I would make no rash d~tion, nor dis-
courage anyone from turning from the evil of __ ways 'and thoughts, even
although he had lived in falsehcud and darkneu a hundred years ;-and there-
fore 1 have qualified the assertion by saym,-under certain circumstances.
Let him be IJupposed 10 be a man of c~tent ordinary undertltanding, to
have had free access to the Scriptures, Jb have lived in a country and an age
where there was a wide lSu}lply of ~ means of information, and no impedi-
ment to the most unrl'stricted examination of every view. Now these are the
circumstances in which we hay'~oth been placed, and J affirm it again as my
deep conviction, that whoe\J:' with such means passes the age I have men-
tioned with this cry of free'ftlqniry and progress in his mouth, and an unsettled
chaos still reigning ill Ihis sonl, 1I0t only commits treason against God
and trulh, is not only/it. a state in which he ought not 10 be,-but in
all human probability twill ba ever unfixed, ever making a progress where
the new light turns e."erything else into a darkness for which it must itself be
soon exchanged,-.n::er ellgaged (in an unscriptDral sense) in proving, or rather
trying, all things, yfjt .. holJing fast ",to nothing. Do you ask, whether I mean
you 1 [answer frankly-yes, in some respects-yet soberly, kindly, Chrilltian-
Iy, I trust, with tht Jervent wish, that you might rather go on in your progre88,
in the hope perch,ance that yOll will, at last, in some way come round to your
old resting placJlli (if you ever really did rest in them) rather than get fixed (if
there can lJe sJ#ch a thing) in .Le ever rising mists of your present creed.(/a)
1850.] Letter frtm& Prof. LetoU.
It is easy to charge a man who talks in chis way with invincible prejndice,
with narrow views, with a stubborn ignorance of the doctrines he thus refuse.
to receive, with some mental or moral incapacity to appreciate them in their
true bearings, or to take the stand-point from whence they can be best sur-
veyed. Now, on all these points, yoo know something of me, and I will tell
you more. From my earliest recollection the great truths of salvation have
ever been deeply iu my thoughts. I have counted other knowledge as vanity
in comparison. I have been a traveller, tlIoogh not a resident, on other theo-
logical gronnds, widely different from those in which I have fonnd repose, and
yet, if I am making any progress, it is iu the growing and deepening convic-
tion, that the old doctrines of the Church-you cannot charge the expression
with being iudefinite,-you know what I mean-the old doctrines of the
Church, the doctrines of Grace, the doctrines of those (aud you can trace the
long line through all the Church's history) who have done the most fOl Christ,
and suffered the most for Christ, who have exhibited the most of an unearthly
power, and who have lived the most for .. the things unseen and eternal" of
another world-that these doctrines, I say, are the great and saving truths of
God, and that those who reject them for any other Gospel than that which ha.
been thus attested by confessors, and martyrs, and saints of all Christian agell,
are in danger of perishing everlastingly.(i) I claim, too, that this conviction
does not come from want of knowledge, or want of capacity to understand
and appreciate the views of Swedenborg. I have not only extensively and
carefully examined the I!ystem, but feel that I am able to put myself on the
stand-point necessary for its proper appreciation.(j) I know something of
the form of mysticism in which it had Its origin. From circumstauces in my
own experience, I can understand, what I think very many of its all vocates do
not, the nature of that strong (though sometimes unconscious) dislike to the
doctrines of jormtlic jwtiu which leads thorn to be fond of a scheme in which
the IUbjectitJe is to them in all in all though in itself a mere "'-'s, an unreality,
because grounded on nothiug objective to give it a permanent hold upon the
mind, or any hold upon the heart.(k) I have been on this mystic ground, I
say. You may regard this as egotistic j yet truth requires that I should affirm
it none the less. The result, too, is another conviction, which 1 claim to have
derived from some degree of experience, as well as reasoning, namely, that
Swedenborgianism, instead of being a htre'Y simply, a perversion of Christian-
ity, is no Christianity at all, any more than the old Gnosticism. It is a scheme
which without Swedenborg, no man woulll have found ill the Bible, or han
ever even dreamed of its being there.(l) I say this in all truthfulness, because
...-ef it~t affording any common gronnd on which we can argue respecting its
claims. It 1&1,.0 all intents a Ilew rttJtlalioll, and cannot therefore be reasoned
with from the Bitlle:~ ~ 1ini(arianism I may regard as defective Christianity,
but as long as it maintainsl(as 4le best forms of it, I believe, do) the integrity
of the written Scriptures, and thelt conclusive paramount authority as inter-
preted by the universal laws of huma~ speech, it gives a common fundamen-
tal ground on which we may meet, add regard them as thus far Christians-- .
that is, learners oj Christ and of those w h~Christ commissioned to .proclaim
His Truth.(n) I
Much has been said in controversy bet~n Romanists and Protestants
resl,lecting the 11 rule of faith." The best test he" is each man's personal ex-
perience ; the best as being after all the only real test, cause the only one that
can be made available. Pardon me again, whilst I bri y sketch my own. 1
find myself in a very dark world, and with an uQderstand, exceedingly incom-
petent to give me satisfactory answers to those deepest nd most anxious in-
quiries which something within me is everraising. 1 had eard in my earliest
childhood of the C?ame of Jesus, and that He had ':Ome ~a Ligh~ ,into the
world. To that lIght I look; and though e~eedlDg dim (Oy VISion, yet,
whether from natural power or the aid of Th.'"tine Grace st1en~thening the
visual organ, I do see something whicJ.! shines amid the sUrrO~dlDgdarkn8Ss,
and whicl1 draws me on to learn more and more of what m be revealed
by its rays. Thus Christ must be my central star, the centre Il religious
vo", Ill. 37 ....
'\ .
[Dee.
1n1tb, of all Divine revelation.(o) From this pOllition my conm6 ill clear. I
look back on-all that He has sanctioned; I look /orVJfJrd to all that teaching to
which He has given the authority of His commissIon. lbaiewtDhat Jmubaiewd,
the "J''''' ypa~a., the Holy Scriptu,.a of The Old Testament with all their diffi-
culties, and the writings of those whom he sent forth with the command to
teach and baptize all nations in his name. Here is my rule of faith. I am
tbankful to the Church for having brought it down to me-for haviug kept the
light" trimmed and burning," but it is the light itself I must follow, aiding my
weak vision, it is tnle, by the help of interpreters in the Church, but only thoee
in whom and in whose lives I can discern the most of the radiance of lbia
unearthly influenoe. This, then, is my rule of (aith-P,.op!uu and Apo6tln vit4
I""" Chr"t CJI the chi; Cornt1" ,ton,. It tells me of no new revelation, but it
dOes caution me agaIDst "false Prophets who miRht deceive the very elect,"
and by God's grace I will believe nothing that conld not have been derived
fl'Om these scriptures without the pretence of a new inspiration, or without
that fair interpretation which they themselves have sanctloned.(p)
In respect to Swedenborgianism, then, the question necessary for the appli.
cation of such a test is simply this-would any lOan, with ever so intelligent a
mind, and with ever so honest a heart, have ever derived it from the simple
Itndy of the Old and New Testament 1(q) If not, then, withont any breach
of justice, or true charity, your sectionaf ap~el1ation may be regarded as de-
noting not merely a IIpecific but a generic dl1ference.(T) Ye are tmly called
Swedenborgians, or leaT1ln" of Swedenborg, just as Christians are so called u
leamem of Christ, or as far as they take Him or the writings He has sanctioned
.. their sole aud conclusive authority. You may test this at once by tbe
qqestion-from what source do you most frequently and habitually draw your
oreed, the words of Christ, or the teachings of Swedenborg 1(,)
You.justly say-" either you or I are in a very great error." In this I per-
fectly agree with you. It ill only by way of courtesy, and! think, rather a
.questionable courtesy, that the common name Christianity can be applied to
the view8 of both.(t) In regard to what you say of the effect produced by
the Letters, and the strong call upon me, in consequence, for a "reedy answer
to counteract their influence, I think yon impose upon yoursel 11Y a fallacy.
Witbout any-wish to underrate their force, and even conceding to them, as I
cbeerfully do, that high ability which appeam in all your writings, I still think
you overrate the value of the result they may produce. Whether there is auy
real advance of your cause depends on the previons settlement of the ques-
tion of its tmth.(l') Could you "deceive by them any of the elecr..;there
might be some grolwd for glorying. But the gain of trueconverafon 1& ct1fe
that belongs only to truth. There is really no progJ:~ss 1IH&de..ften men are
turned only from one form of error to another.... 'AnCl'tfiis, let me say, seems
to me to be the case with most of the accea6lons to your cause. It draws
minds already prepared for it, and is in most instances merely a transfer of a
man from one false position to another-;-:as from Universalism, or Fourierism.
or. Electrical.Psfchologism, or Vesti e's-of-Creationism, or downright infidelity,
to Swedenborglallism.(tII) In s me cases in the Repository you set forth
·converts from what you take p . s to call ,I orthodox churches;" but in all that
I have examined, there is ittle difti.culty in detecting the fact, that these
"014 orthodcn: believer'" r had any solid reasons for their belief, and in fact
hardly seemed to kno .what it really was, or what their orthodoxy really con.
sisted in. I WOUld;E0ish to be uncharitable, but from some of the caricaturEll
-of creeds they have ven, no other intelligent judgment can be formed, aud the
.adden ill will the aoifest to their former alleged belief, and all whQ hold it,
,.hows that it was,never cordially received.(x)
And now I h~ written to yona very long. letter~quite long enough for
:all article in ypur Repository. I would make a request in relation to it;
Wl11 you inse~it in. your next number 1 I have no claim upon you, esrecially
in.view of my aiJure to fulfil former engagements, in respect to which do not
wish. to be h d up in the pages of your review either as a defaulter, or as con-
temJ.ltuousl[ underrating the arguments in your Letters to a Trinitarian (whieh
Trilutaria~ you say I am), or as shrinking from a reply through aD admitted
,"
1860.] Letterfrorta Prof. Leun..-Remarlu.
inability to answer them. If any thing is aaid about it, or any use made of
name,l wish it to be laid in my own way. May not this to some extent take
ai'
th~ place, for the present, of my promised reply' There ie nothing here more
plainly said in opposition to your viewll, than would have been, or may yet be
u t ~orth, in a direct anewer to yonr Letters. I have taken pailltl to write
I &hink and feel, and yet to expl'8lll my thoughts in the most careful 1DUlMt.
Ja.'-
If you aay it is an UlIumpLion, and that there is no argument in it, it will
do your readers no hurt, and may the more convince them of the suength of
their.own positionll, by revealing the weakness of the opposing grounds. If
yo~ Insert it, insert.it as a whole, just 88 it is, and you mayor course appenl1
to It any such remarks on mr
dogmatism, irrationality, and ilIiberalitT,as.yoQ
please. No difference of opmion, even on the moat sacred topiCll, Will tmtat
.our J~~g friendship, or prev8IItmy .in~erely rejoicing in your teruporalaa well
88apll1tual welfare. Yours sincerely, .
. With respect and esteem,
T.lTLU LJCWII.
B.EIlABJgI. •
(c) Dues this mean th.t .8wecleDborg .ad his followerll al'll in the habit oC obarwflllr..
.. MlC..videntl, CaIae aDd abiard" the yjews oC dlO8ll wllb whom they m., _ lit to _ _
Uato ooatroYellY, lad that too wlthoat an auempt at argumeDtative I'lIfatatloa 1 If lb.
be the _pe oC 1IIe intimation, ,ve m_t thiak it..,.., wide of the trath. W. . . .
• WI ma, be eluuwcllllriseclu r.... or fallac iou, we bell..e that N. C. writBrlI, bom S_
-deaborg oowarda, invarlabl, reel thftDaelvea bouad lo...ign the rMIOIII oC their ja~
....hloh ic but .Dother form of -r1q, thatther deal lofiaIll, aDd aot merel, . ,.....,..
·whIt the argameuta of their 0PPOIlllUtl. Iu the 8llDtenoe immediaeel, folloM.ng, the iIa·
·patatlOIl of .. OU'ioatdl'll" In I8pM to Ibe ImportaDt doctriDlll h8l'll alluded ID, Is a.-
that Daturally mUllI us feel a little 1CII'8, _ _ uoh .. DO speelflo.tloUI al'll given ad: . .
-.adard of U1Ith let ap "1' whioh . . eau m_re the lllttllDt of the a1lepd abeuatlOlll
lID \lai, head. Until this II done we oaBofoOlUlMl CBII,do5ll1' the jllltD_ of the a11ep1iaa.
We dllll' uDequi~l,that 8wedenborg si- Dny other lbea. periilod, fair ~ er
die dootriDea which be eoatallllll, inumllOh u he,ulNall, draWll them from lU·uluaoft.
.qed .,mboll or e.-ds of the Wormed Cburehlll. If the oreeds have not ogll1ll, ........
-""r _n cloccriD.S, or if tile great bodilll of Pl'UIIlItaDt Cluiltlllldom have linae...
pad~e doctrinal fonnalu·of their fadlen, that il another matter; that Is thelr~
" cem and not'QPrlI; but we will pIedgu OU _ _ IIO pl'Dducelbe most unequlYOOaI ••.....,
fftlm the public ~nhodUJin Yape in his da" for every-.temeDt whlab"
Malllllde J'1lIIplIlltiq the doctriu8I of.cbe TriDity, of Atouement. of RepaeralioD, of J.&IA-
_on by Faith, of Election, ofImpatatJoD, aDd 10 of me whole olrcle oCsubjectl formiDg1ba
bod, of the ProtllllaDt TbeoIOlJ1. We.' ge the dllIIgu.tlOII of a siDgle item in wlUeh
·be has .. oaric.laNd .. or ID au, ...., milrep uted lb. faith embodied iu the.,mbalia
tH»t1 of hiI age. As to the DeW p u - which t dootrluelI have _med liuee blsday
iD couMqaenoe of lbe iD8uillll qualiftcatiODl, abate Uti, addltamlllltl, parinp, ahapiap,
ad IhadiDga of modem lGhools, whether of Geneva, rd, Audoyer, or PriuoelOll,· . .
deem le of little oolll8lluenoe whether his a_meutl acoord .~What they
lvely bold ou tb_ polDta or DO, for it Is _roel, JJD-ible that e should be more at wan·
ma,.......
IIIIce with them than they .1'lI
with eaoh ocher. Charchell aa hllVe 10 __ IatlIIIr
...,. adop1ed woaderfulI, oon_lent S,.lIIIml oC ouuiltry In to the .uthorlty of. .
oreeds b, whloh their r.lth is undenClOOd to be clatarmlDed. Tb .1'lIftJ"f reacly. be
_sldel'lld u .\IOwiDg tbem on tbe whole, while the, Ceel at libert, ~d8ll1' _ _ ia ....,.
1Mlrt. Prof. Lewis i. him8lllf perCeedy aware that there II ao uaiform\w_ of_.,e....
plllftlling O.teobiamlor Coul'ellsiou. of the p _ t &UT la which ~ltI pr.III1'" ,_
eelvell will .,ree. Every OIIe will pat hll own pri,...tIIl111rpft11altoa it, 1IJI4. . . .
1I.entIT will reCU8ll to be tied doWD ha ......... ..,. . ta- hit ' ..
"'
CorrupondeflCt1. [Dee.
artlclel. For OUTtMllves we have loug IIDoe given up in delpair the attempt to nail a doc-
ulne to the counter of a Creed. We Ihould IllI lOon think of fastllning a shadow to •
.w all. Indeed we are perNaded that the effort would he fruilleee ID the cue of Prof. L..
hhDle.lf. Let as take for iDItanoe the doctrine of Jl18tifioalion "y FaIth, and uk dae
Prof-.or whether be lIOCeplB for hlmllll1C, witlaoat reserve, any definition of tbe doctrine
whloh he has met with In any Cteed in Christendom. If 10, Jet him state it. Is h
Luther'., is it Calvln's, is It that of the Weltmtnister A_mbly? Be it what it may,le,
him state It distinotly, and then let U8 bring it to the test oC Swcdenborg's exoruciatiDc
analysis, and tMle how quickly he will recede from his pOlition and act the wild dromedlU"J'
in tl'aasverslng his ways. Tile very point wbicb he had llefore admitled he will now
deny. Starting wltb Luther'1 position that Love ~ Charity has nothing to do with the
proceu by whioh the sinner is made to stand in a jUltifled ltate before God, he will, wheD
preased by Swedenborg's eonsequenoes. deny that he meanl a Faith purely "bsuact and
Illparate frolll all atrectional elements; and 10 in like manner of tbe doctrine of the Trinity.
There is no precise accredited forll1 of the tripenonal dogma by which uy disputant of
.Ile enogelioal ranks wiU agree to a"lde. He willstilllJivtl yon the slip If you would
tether him to any of the stakes which Fatbers and Councill have In former &fl8 planted
ever 110 firmly In the lOUd earth of orthodoxy. Yet all the while the ory goes forth tba'
Swedenborg has belied the genuine doctrine, and he is branded of course .. an aceOItll' or
Ihe brethren, and a dlll1ier of the faith. So let it be, if 10 It mast be. Bot we who re-
0111" his teaohingl will loIioltoosly take up his defenoe wben "il accusers Iball ha. .
definitely ee&tled 1be points of their own oreed and designated the exaot opposite errorl of
his. But 10 long 11.1 they OODtIlnt IhemselvllI with denounoing without deflnlng-wl•
• harglng transgrellion without declaring 111.11'_ loog shall we feel at Iillorty to reltelBle
oar .,gat.... without troubling oane.lvel with prool8.
. (Ill Prof. Lewll here strikllll a note wonderfuUy oat of aecord with an that we oan COD-
oeive of the IIlBIODing of a philOlOpber. He reads iD Swedenborg and hll followers wha.
lie oalll by a gratilllict16111 a serillll of .. carloatu",," of the very fundamental doctrlnllll or
1he Word of IJfe, and wavlDg, .. it wCluld _m, any the least nloralorrational obliplloa
el1ber to deteot or expose their fallacy, be calmly wraps hllDllllf in the manl1e of tradition
and" Deeds oolylook down the long line 0{ the ohurcb, Romish and Pl'Oteltant, and caU
10 mind the names orahe great and good who have Ihus believed. aDd In whoJll.'lbi&.creed
ta.. beeD aD element of inte.llectual and moralltrengtb such as DO other sc}l.dol, to say the
least, h.. ever surpBltMld!" This Is rich indeed-qulte wo~a-ftfOU~, of the ploUll
old Iady'l ejaoulalioD, .. Oh, IIrgument, 1be Lord reb~ thee !" What a happy mr;emptioa
from &be labor of thougbt_hat a comCorting quietus from the plaguetl of logic and tbe
lask of unravelling IIOphislry-what a b1118~II,i,W1 to the ltern duly of dilabaling
llDlIlared slmplioity, of rebuking bold e~, of charging home upon shameleu wrong the
iniquity of its deedl. The refutatioD If f..1tMl opinionlto be achieved by limply reoDl1nt-
iog the names oC thOle who have elpbraoed their opposites! Pascal, we recollect, ID ODII
'0{ hll .. Thoughts," Ipeaks of i-the glory of Chriltianity that his oppOled for the 111081
part by mlln who do not r, 011 agalult It but d,dGim; and we are here reminded that if
what our friend terml S enborgianllm II to be combatted by such weapons as are here
brought into play-if I grave charges agalnlt the old theologies are to be met oDly by
talDlng the eye and po' ting the finger to the long line of thl.'lr votaries-we have little 011.....,
to fear for the resnlts. As to the .. greatneu" of th_ Damel and the" element of Intel-
lectual and m~l strength" which they found in their doclrinllll, we doubt much whetb.
oJ
oIthllr greatn_ Itrength would have entered into their character had they been con-
IeDt to follow Pro~ L.'I eumpl_to hold their own powerl In abeyance and to leavlI ia
10 a list of lIIultrjt'iul names of &bll mighty dead to IUltaln the caDIll to which thlly were
proftlssedly c1IIv.bted. But livery mu to hll taste.
1800.] Letter fro. Prof. lAJ"u.-Remarlu.
(c:) The writer would _m to ban • strange propeaaity for Illttiog up new taCl Clf
InIth. Is there no such thing as pronouncing upon the truth or falsity of reliviou 400-
tl'inea upon the ground of their own merita 1 The system of the New Church appeala tip
tbe calm and dispaNionate reallOn of men, and wherever It is embraced It is ffC)ql iCl IA-
herellt aelf:evidencing power. Upon what other ground does Prof. L. look for the roocept-
lUlce in the world of his own peculiar views of theolOSY? Have they had theil m.~ 1
Onll as Christianity ill the groaB has had them, for they ir.re not the property of &111 DIU!
department, sect, or church; and 110 Car as the system of SWedenborJ is identical with the
true system of Christianity, 110 far cia IN Frefer our claim to the tatimony a{iaillll fro~ .
this lIOurce. Whether Swcdenborg's doctrines are iu fact coincident with the Christian
.,heme rightly interpreted la a question to be debated before the negative i. &BIumed.
Msuredly there is no force in the objection here urpd but upon the supposition that SW1I-
denborg has founded an entirely new religion as foreign from Christianity as tbat of ~
Koran or the Vedas. This of course we refuse for a moment to admiL We do admit"
however, thlltsuch is the intensity of aversion with which the claims of the New Ch9rob,
are repnied in IIOme quarters, that were it not far the protection alforded, under the ~l
vine Providence, by humane iaws and a Chtistlanized publio sentiment, there would be
some likelihood of the reproach of ita having no marlyrs being BOOn rolled away. ,As to
the lack of great names on our bead-roll, it gives us little concern as lon( ~ our motto la,
.. Thyptlmt" hath made ut ,,.,tIt," and we resard it .. a 1'001 dispute with anT church.
which has the most sainta.
(11) It is precieeJT such a religious creed and such a philosophy that we woa!d raiR .
tender to our friend if he would but accept the boon, but we cannot palm it upon b,IQIo
againlt his will. Of DOuue he will not be convinced of this without reading or reasoning.
and to a mina 110 .tringently olosed agahut the admiaaion of new ideas the frospeet of .
pining attention to either is forlarp indeed.
, (t) The claim in this case i. vastly more than that of the .. subjective Illumination of his
own dreams"-a phrase, by the way, of not the clearest import. We aNume indeed for SWlI-
denborg the fact of a supernatural illumination, and the reality of thil fact will neceNari-
Iy govern our estimate of the asserted spiritual or inlel'ior sense oC the Divine Word. He
comes before the world as a returned visitor from tbe Ipirit-realms, and among the M_
,oiIlii of 'hia ~][perience in that translated state is the development of a new law ofcor-
respondence b~e natura! and lhe spiritual worlds-a law acoording to whlcb"
Word was written, and),fWWc~ it.. is to be interpreted. Now it is palpable that the first
step towards the disproof of any sucftlaw is the denial of any such lIIumination, and.thl.
will drew af\cr it the responlibility of giving IIOme rational account of the manifold apd
ItDpendous phenomena involved in S r~s case. But wbenever a cufld", oppo-
nent proceeds thUI far, we invariably cou upon his speedily ceasing to be an
opponent. To 'his point we see no probability t our correspondent will ever advance•.
He callnot or will not perceive that the fundamental by which the spiritual _lIll or .
the Word is gOverned is in Cact the law of the universe. e insists upon it as a CODllll- •
quence that the existence of luch a sense, requiring for ita en ciation a special minion,
i. in some way a disparagement of the Divine revelation a. ady given. What more
unl8llOnable, we had almost said, absurd 1 If the child, wbe ufficientlr advanced to
understand it, is aNured of an interior or spiritual sen,. in the i1grim's Pros""" at . ~
Bunyan-that it is not the narrative ofa literal journey as it pulJlO but of a mental ex-
perience -what disparagement i. tMre In this to the work ill the in which he has
hitherto been familiar with it? The sense which has all along been nt to his under- .
standing is a sense adapted to his state. and what more could be uired? But as
his Intellect e][pands he actually requires a deeper meaning than that 0 e letter, and be .
lluds it; but in this there la nothing " - to the work i1lelf. I' i. merely _1& 01 die .
8'7-
610 Correlpondence. [Dee.
faller percoption of the p_iltent IIllDle flowing from the mind of the author l Who
could ever dream that thil would be oonltrued .. in any way derogatory to the composi-
lion or the oompoeer? And 10 of the Bible. AI the mind of the churcb r1_ to a higher
Ipirltual plane it meela a greater fulnels of truth emanating from the mind of Jehovah
ud embodied in Hil Word. The word, however, remalnl" It wal before. The truth
WILl in it already, but wu not perceived. That a key to thil truth h.. been (umilhed
tbrouSh an inltructed medium d08l not elllentially alter or dect tbe merits of tbe ca_.
any more than if the youth Ihould receive from another a clew to the allegory of the Pil-
grim, which he was prepared to receive when Imparted, though unable to dilCover of his
own ability. We can see clearly enough, however, that one who rejects an idea of such
a prosrBII of the human mind towards a higher form of religious trnth, will alllO reject
at the threshold the theory now given of the spiritual Rnse of the Word, and fall content-
edly back upon the" besgarly element" of the letter, where we. apinst other impul_.
MUlt be reelgned to leav.e him. But In doing .0 we would, if poIslble, give him to under-
stand hill true po.ition relative to tlae point at issue. He does not reject an interior or
Iplritual sense per w, but he rejects the grand law of correspondential relation between
the natural and Ipiritual worlds. Thi. he rejects because he _s no proof of it himtoelf.
aDd wbat he does not see he concludes wilh an auurance that othen do not, and therefore
.la the whole down as an idle phantasy worthy only of the supreme.t contempt. H~re
he leavel UI, and here we leave him. Hil estimate of our moral po.ture affecb UI very
muoh .. the deri.ion of Tom Paine or any other 1C0ffer at Chri.tianity would affect him.
(f> 'But the flCt i•• you do find it and a great deal like it in tbe .. direct teaeblnp of
Chrjll and of hi. commislioned apoltles." The grand principle on which the whole
qetem rella il clearly affirmed by our Lord himself when he lIlys, .. My word•• they are
.,irit and they are lif,." and wben aner hia resurreclion he .. opened the understanding of
his diICip1el that they might undentand the Scripture.... aMuring them at the lame time
that "all things mu.t be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Mo_, and In the Pro-
pbeta. and in the Plalml concerning him." The Apo.tle also affirml that f' the letter
IdUeth. but the spirit giveth life." Thele pauage. are a virtual recognition of the prirtei-
,re afll.rmed, and did our limill permit we could euily iIIultrate It by the citation of nn
merouI pallases requiring thil iuterpretation and adm itling no other. .
<&'> This may apply, for aught we know, to the ceaseleu fluotuation. ofoplnion that
prevail in the theological region in which Prof. L. hal 10~Jia-sOj~rner,but it ia
eadly mal-apropol to the man of the New Church. He'1liu'" got a fixed pOlition," and it
is ODe in which be can both rfalOll and btli,II' at the .me time.
'V.
<la> All thil 9llite. but a good natured Im~l:. accept our friend'... God .peed" OD
oQr jonmey of proBrell. but we can give h/m very, very little hope of ever _Ing ua veer
rollDd to the old relting placel upon w h we turned our back when we turned our race
10 the ptel of the Celestial City. Ime and temptation sometimes work wODders in
.en'l characterl, uut we will v ure to la>: that the day that see, UI a Calvinilt will _
Prof. L. D Swedenborgian.
(11 Prof.. L. would con r a .pecial (avor by 'elling us what these doctrines are and
where they are to be fou If the rejection of them putl UI .. in danger of pcri.hiag
averlutingly." it would ern to be but equitable that we Ihould not be left in the dark ..
10 the precise ICheme docuinel wbich it il.o importaDt for us to believe. The" doe-
.iD8I of Brace" il rat er a vague dellgnation, as all tbe schooll hold in one form or other
10 a dlspenlatioD of.. grace." thoUSh in some of them :he qualifying 'term" sovereign,"
would be requilite \0 convey more correctly the idea attached to it by ilaadvocatee. Thi.
probably 1I the b,J. id,al of a .ystem of grace in Prof. L.'s eye-a purely arbitrary be-
BlGwment of mrlcy upon the guillY in virtue of a vicarioul atonement made by the second
11I0Il ofth,.,rriuity to the fint, and drawins aner it the 18net of inltantaneonl repnera-
1850.] •
Letter from· Prof. Lewu.-Remarlu. 571
don, of justification by faith alone, of imputed rlgbll!ousneu, Bnd 10 of tbe wbole train of
IIequences wbich wait upon the main position. Of this system as B whole we can Bt pre-
Nnt only SBy that It involves such Btotal subversion of the great principles of order In the
Divine govemment tbat, Bltbougb we bave no doubt of many holy cbaracters having befon
formed under It, yet we Bre firmly persuaded tbe danger of" everlasting perdition" Is quite
BB great from receiving and resting upon It BS from rejecting It; and until the subject I.
fairly argued on its merits, tbe opinion of the one party is as good as tbat of the otber.
(j) Wltb all due deference we are obliged to question this statement in the most em·
pbatic terms. No candid or Intalligent man can speak of Swedenborg's doctrines and dis-
closures as Prof. L. does and yet understand tbem. The tbing we regard as a moral im-
possibility. He undoubtedly thinks he has mastered tbe system, from having read a great
many fragmentary extracts, and be probabiy hlls a general idea of several of the lead ing
points. We could easily frame a little catecblsM wblcb would put tbe matter to a speedy
test. Bnt as our space will not allow this, we would respectfully suggest to our friend
that ifbe is master of Swedenborg's system and sdll rejects It, he is the very opponent of
whicb the New Church hBS been so long In quest, and yet bas never found. Multitudes
who have I1Ippoltd that they understood it have thrown down tbe glove and entered the'
lists, but the result has shown that they were mere tyros in tbe matter, and utterly Incom-
petent to argue the question on its merits. He must pardon us if we Intimate a strong
impreuiou that sucb would prove to be the case in tbe present instance.
(1&) No better evidence than this sentence is needed to prove that Prof. L. Is in bis ver"f
lowest novitiate BS concems tbe true pbilosopby of the New Church. The Idea of a sub-
jective, as taught by Swedenborg, apart from an objective or ultimate basis ofsupport, Is
the wildest of fancies. Prof. L. would bold, for installce, in regard to the death of Christ
that it has no reality, that it is a mere ".......s (knowled~e), unle.. it be viewed as the
outward or objtctive expreaslon of Bn atoning saerifice made to propitiate a positive wrBtb
on the part of the Divine Fatber, and rendered according to tbe principles oC "forensio'
jUltice." Now in the New Church we recognize the I1Ibjecti1'e in the infinite 10Wl of Je-
hovah moving bim to the BIIumption of humanity, and the objtctifJe In the whole COnt.,
and process of his manifested life in the world. in his temptations and victories, In hi.
teech!.lliiJ-,JTliracles, sufferings, and cmclfixion. His er.tire outward history was the ell:-
p/nent of bl.. mward love, and we kno'Y of no other Ivbjectitle and objective than tbelle.
So as to la w. T~ent~:ll or power of the Divine law Is no more In the code
ofthe Decalogue than the power vitation is in Newton'l Prinoipla. The written law
is merely the exponent of tbe unwrit~, which II I1IbjectifJe In the nature of thp case.
Human laws are written in statute boob. ,. e laws upon the f1esby tables of the heart.
The letter is objectiee, tbe spirit rvbjective. But rof. L.'s speculations on this head are BS
wide of the truth, as that the New Church origin d in mysticism, and that its genius
may be defined by Gnosticism.
(1) Undoubtedly. This is precillely wbat we claim fo '
light whicb no mortal could have done without being prete turally iUuminated as he
was. To say that the New Cburcb scheme Is one which, wit t Swedenborg, no man
would have found In tbe Bible, Is like saying, that the predictio of tbe Apocalypse are
what no man would have discovered without John, or BOrne ot
Ipired. Who ventures to auume that he would? As to SWedenb
part of Christianity.t all," the writer is of course fully entitled 10 enjoyment of his
opinion on that head. We tbink it would be difficult to find lIny thing' better in Christ-
ianity than we meet witb in a system which aflIrms the IlUpreme and e~lusiYe Godhead
of our Lord and Saviour. Cbrlst-the divinity of tbe WOrd-thfl funda ntal nature of
love and charity-the indispensable importance of a holy life--and a retribu . e ltale here
after determined byour cbaracten and loves OD earth. Indeed, If these Bre n bristiaa
[0...
4actdDII" what are' And if the 51J1ea1 C:ODtaiu u,. cloo&riD<whiah 11110& Cbristian, _hac
la it 1 Point it OQt and let u. brilllJ le c. cbe le8&. Let ie be tried, DlOI8OVW, b,. che _
of the lener of cbe Word, &lid w. will abidtl cbe Inue.
(.) It is a .. aew revelatioa" ill cbe _ e sense in which the New Teetament is a _
....elaeion io respect to ch" Old. It is a Bew reYelaciOIl .. cbe frllit of a tree is a Dew ~
lacion of the nature and qualil" of the tree U IlODIrared Wilh cbat which Is made by the
leaves, buds, and 1IoweN. We claim .. real ud direcl all aachoric,. from Heaven Cor
Swedenbo'll'" eBtllIciacioaa .. for cho.. of M~, Iaaiah, David, Daniel, Paul, or Joba.
aa1 proce.. of refutalion cbe vety fiNt step masc be to show tbat all upectalioa of
revelalion. is absolutely precluded by the expreu dictum of Holy WrlL When he h.. la-
D_
Thl. of course Prof. L. will deny, bue be will 8Il1l'er hiJnself tu be reminded that in a lasi·
keo chis first step, we wiU wah patiently to I8Il lIilll take cbe neu.
(_) It i. ourious to _ how the fOlCe of Olrejudice "ill mould a man', llStim.to of _
aicting sebemea of tbwlotJ1. Here we _ lhat Prof. L. giYe41 a preference la Uuitariaa-
I,m oyer the sy.tom of the Ne" Cbnrcb, becau.se the Cormer ignores a/l Internal spirltnal
_se in the Word wbich the laUer I8CCJKIII.... Yet the latter Dot ouly acknowledges, blJC
la actlJally huilt uporl, tbe aupIC verity of the 8Ilpreme and absolute Deity of Jesus Cbriat,
w"'ich the former rejeetal How amuillll,low mUlt be any man's estimate of the value
of the cardinal truth of Christianity and tbe universe wbo will thus judge? "Their
conclusive paramoUBt anthority .. iaterpreted bl tbe universal laws of human speec:h."
Bat is dJel8 Dot a Dirine . . . .h .. well .. a halllUl? And bu It not law. of inte:rpreta-
tioa peculiar to it_If 1
(0) With those whose . .res admit aothilll hllher we are happy to know tban tbe,. Cl&1l
_ Christ .. a eentralllCar. In the New Church we are taughe to see this star expand and
brighten to .. glorious 'IID, iIlllminaling heaven and earth with Ita lIIYS. The implication
" t the Lord tbe Saviour Is DOt all to DS t1ul~ He is to him, aad a thousand limes more, la
.. greae a miacakll" ..vera! other thlll&' In \he letter.
(P) This lanpal" breathes a C8rlRln heroiam of fixed faith that is fIIther imposing in
cbe utterance, &lid yee bow ....y I. it to ooneein that the same vein of a..urance might
ha'" been adopted by Cailifhas or Gamaliel in the day' of Chri.t and the Apostles.
Howsuikinllly in charaoter would it have beea for thollll dignitaries to say of the Old T_
tament what Prof. L. here Bay' of both Old aIM! Ne" topher. :pat would i~Vt!""
wise? Would it bave been _tioued bytnICb? A new M;,!elation Wlls jiveD, and chat
wlthoue ally more ill.pind pre·lntimaUoa of the fact;p."'we-W in the ca.. no... be-
fON us.
(f) No-we again repeat, it 11''' .h~DYuse man could noe bave dilCovered the
whol8 eruth by his own unaided power at the Lord wa. pleNOd to re..eal it to him.
Whae objection to thi'? .
(,.) This i. your judgment, whi appens not to be final in the ca... Besides, 0111
.. IIllOtiouRl appell.tiou" il n ne of our chooellll or adoption. It i. ptuitousll be-
stowed apon as by those w. OlInnot or 11' ill not perceive the grounds on which we claim
to be identioal with the I Christian Cburcb, profeuiDi' the II"IH ChriBtiaD religion. But
their seatence may I'la Its "here tblly pl~ or off tbe Chriltian placform. The
cia,. will declare our r 1 position.
(d Wilh all due re eet we mUlt Aythi. il~elyweU.uilevel1 tbinlwlUeh does
ao~ rest upoa pos' ve troth as a basil. Wh,. will not a mind of cODlmon intelligeQc:e
paroein chat we ganithe" Word. of Christ" and the "teachings of Swedcnbo'i',- as
Identical? We I_ve 110 ereed but wbat we aJlUm to be the wry truth of heaven u
embodied~'n th writin'lof the Old and New Testament, and expounded by the ....
aathority tha Ictated it. Thi. iI our potitlOQ, UIII ie I, ,recisel, 011 this potltiOD and 110
~r tha e muse be assail8d., if a warfare la ID be wapd lIpina~ 111 t9 lUll pllrJHlll'.
L
1850:] Letter from Prof. Lewi8.-Relllarla. 573
ETery other mode of attack is a mere idle beating the air. An honest and honorable
opponent will meet UI here, and one of another ltamp will meet u, no where, for he will
haTe the field to himaelf. We have far ocher work on hand than to be defending men of
straw with which our advenariel may _ fit to do battle. ~t chem address themselves
to the true question at issue, A.re the theological doctrines taught by Emanuel Swedenborg,
the genuine dor.trines of the Word of God l_nd they could not desire more prompt rea-
pondents than they will find in as.
.(1) Who is to exotcise the courteRy in this CUl'-Our opponents or ourselves 1 If they
should alIsumetotake the chair and speaking in the name of the Master, call us Christian'
by courtesy, we should probably demur to their rigbt, for we feel ourselves quite as com-
petent to adjudicate our claims on that head as they are. Yet if it Is a plealure to them
CO Wallte their wind in denoullcing us all intruders upon their prerogative, we shall be
the last to Interfere with it. Let them enjoy their delight.
(to> Just so-and this is the I..ue to which we are ·Ilonstantly inviting them, and to
whIch they all constautly refuse to come. A.nd as It h•• been, so we presume It will be.
(,,) Aud quite all little i8 there made when men stlek fast In one form of error without
lUIy turning atall.
(ICI> Not tlYer complimentary this, bllt the load of opprobiam heaped upon them by the
••illu" of the paragraph is not such as the .. conYerts" need to slallger under. They will,
donbtleas, everyone of them, glory in their shame, and yet we will engage for them, one
and all, tbat they will COl8wrl back ageln as soon as PlOf. L. or any body else will expoee
to them their error, and show them that the old Is a more excellent way.
(z) We should not wonder If this were true; In all probability they lDert persons who
never could swallow, or If they swallowed could neTerdigest the crudities and absurdillesof
their traditional creeds. They were ever haunted by alatent mlltllving as to the truth of what
they had been taught to believe, and 10 probably would have remained but for the kind
and never-enough·to-be-adored ProTldence of the Lord which brought totbeir knowledge
the precious truths of the New Displ"nsatlon. If they subsequently manlfetited .. ill will "
to their former faith, It was from the same pri\lolple that we feel Indignant at bBYlng found
a profelllllld friend of long standing fallllathealt and no more worthyofcoofldenoe. Alto
the charge brought agelnst such perlOns of feeling" ill will" toward. those who hold tlteir
previous belief, we oan Tiew it in no other light than .. a Yery unfair and unfounded refleo-
tlbn.· Th"l mal regard them as In error, and serious error, and feel an earnest desire for
their emanciplr.tion from ltl ~ut why should they cherish III will towards them 1 They
could not do it without doini ~lllll!le to that spirit of obarity whiob Is the very _ntlal
element of a New Church faith and \iftl.
We hue, after all, extended our remarQ.aa...a length whloh we had DOt designed at the
outset. But the letter Is in 10 many points p ocatlve or a reply that we have allowed
ourselve. to be led on unconsciously In our comm ts. It wl1l be _n that It deals little
In specific objections, and consequently leaVllll us 1 h,e than to deal in general a_r-
tions. But this is the stereotyped mode of ....ilInll' the N Church. It Is the" spatllere
dubias voces" policy, or creating prejudice by" omlnolls gi out," and yet perpehlally
shunning a direct encounter with the groundwork of the SYS18 pror. L. Is perhaps ..
fair a. the genius of his sYltem will allow him to be, but we h e no Idea that be will
llYllr come 10 rar towards an affirmatiTe state of mind as to lIrap lllther on the ground
of scripture or reason with a single dlstinot aWlrment of the New C roh. HI. purpoaed
",ply to the" Letters," when it oomes will, we I1lspeot, resolve the hole maller into a
lIIystery which is unfathomable by the human mind. BDt we will wal~BDd_.
I, Ell.
'.
674 [Dec.
NOTICES OF BOtlKS.
2.-8I:&IIo.s BY 8A11t1ZL WOKCUTDt Mini-Iter qf tAl NIV ChurrA. Boston: O&ia
Clapp, 1851. 12mo. pp. 219.
We can beartily recommend this volume u containing, in Ilixteen di8C01ll'8e8,
u many exquisite and admirable specimens of New Church sermonizing u
are any where to be found. Whether on the score of luminous exposition or
powerful practical application to life, we can scarcely imagine models ofsnperi-
or excellence in their province. Tbe style combines the utmost simplicity with
an extraordinary degree of tersene85 and condensed force. The subjeeta of
r.be present volume are the followiqg: Love of Reputation; AfIlictions j Sick-
D888 j The Heat and Light oC the Holy City j AppeaWlce8 of Truth j Come,
He where the Lord lay j Parable oC rhe Sower j Why die Lord spake in Para-
bles j The Parable of the Tares oC the Field j The Grain of Mustard Seed j
Parable of the Leann j The Treuure hid in a Field; TIle Mercbant leek...
Pearls j The Net cut into the Sea j Tbe Scribe ioatructed in the Kingdom. 'Of
HeaYen j Reception of Trath with the Natural.
We understand that there is a large stock of sermons of equal merit remain-
me among Mr. Worcester's papers. We cannot but hope tbat the sale of the
present volume will be sf1fficiently encouragina to warrant the publication of
a llomewhat extended 8er~es of similar volumes, as nothing can be better
adapted to the wants of isolated grOUpR of receivers lcattered over the land,
wbo are in the hab~ of meeti~g and reading a diacolUl8 on the Sabbath.
TIle Oolober alllDbea- of the N. J. M...... 1OUow. up le. previoul ~Ult upon the
Editor of tbe Repoeitory ,u bvilll iBOuloa&ed _ deli~~j . . . wa1lCOllly disparqial
eetimate of the IaDctity of tbe Sacramene.. h w~d be an easy matter 10 reply to lea
.plen.tio aad rilifyllllJ orilloleml, bllt the 10 f the wlaole article il 10 remote from _y-
lIaiDI wbiob Chriltian charity would I t or laoctiOll-the ."imlll of the piece il 10
II1IIIIPIU'llBt al aimiDg 101:_ a per na1 odium qaiUlt u. . . an enemy of tbe New
Church, and a profaner of ne lily , that we W oureelRl releaRd from aU obllpr.ioo
of dluy or oaartelr to _tow y farther DOtioellpon p..- wbich betnlya in eYe'1 _ -
tIDOe • por~ IilI ovenrh with obloquy rather than 10 oonvinoe byargumllllL To
_e who aan find it oan nt with bil "iewl of the lpirit of the New Church to w. . . .
war of mere ~rlOaal 0 robrium q_iut another wba veuturee to di_nt from c:U'1aia
"iew. to wbloh .. le gad, aod ,*--.he thu. di_ra, ,..e shall leave the field 10 be
_upied by himself oDe. Whenever he le able 10 _ that there I•. a fuadamealai trada of
---r.. .
aooulne involved' the whule matter which le ye& to be settled by fair and oandid IllI.
ca..ion, uad tha bat he deellll the ou.&rapolll and blupbemoQl COIIdtId exhibit8d 117
al lIIust and d
_u..............._......-
reoelve le. obaracter from the lOuadne.. or faUacy of oar POlitioU-
when.ver be Ib~ see fit to lay ulde the infallible cburobmau aDd euact the oaDdid na-
bj... " - . . . . . . . . .
-~-
1850.] Editorial-Item•.
glng In a" portion of Prof. Bash'. pel'llOnal hl.tory (tbe biltory of our ordtuation) as in·
timately connected with the .ubject of these remarks," we can afl"ord to thanlt bim for
gh'iog the narrative In our own words. altbougb the critlo's construction may lu·
ten upon the venerable Dr. Beers the charge of having been guilty of a "ll!Itemn
mookel'1" in administering the rigbt of ordinadon to one who saw fit to put his own In·
&erpretation upon the ceremony and to insist upon receiving it in tbat sense or not at all.
Whether the formula lLctnally employed on the occasion was by fair construction adapted
to that leD se or not. was tbe concern of tbe ordainer and not oftbe ordained i as be had
made his mind suffilllent1yltnown on tbe subject. But the tbing that .triktlthroughontl.
the invidious and unkind spirit In wblch the whole article Is conceived. and whlcb prompts
u to bave done with It and let hasten away from Its sphere 1llI quickly as pOlSible.
It il net a bad Idea whloh il presented by- a ~iter in tbe last No. of the Detroit" Me-
dium" la answer to the question, .. What one m_re will in.ure the largest amount oC
IIOI'lItin1 into the doctriaOl revealed·tbrough Emanuel Swedenborg1" While admiulDg
IlIetmpOrlaDce of the pabllcadon of hil writings and of thOlle of hi. commentators. BB
aLto oC vulous periodicals. preaehiap. millSionary labors. colporlap. &0.• yet he thinlt.
that _ more powerfulltlmnlul i l n - r r to be admlniitered to 8]l;clta the requilile
-.me of curiosity amidst the ablO1'p1ions of" tb_ harry'llturry days of Ilte8m and e'-
triolty," and for this eael he IGgests the follOWing expedieDt, viz•• to ofl"er a premium of
- - dollars for the best reflltatioll of these doctrines; proving the impoqibility oC Swe-
denborg's illumination. the Incompatibility of his doctrines wilh the sacred ScriplUrOl.
their absurdity In themselves. their contradictory and Inconsistent cbaracter. the immor·
alltyor tbelr tendency, their Insufficiency as a guide to life. and t!leir debasing efl"oot upon
the reason. We should like to see tbis hint acted upon j such a work would Itselfbe a
curio.ity to a Newchurchman wortb any ordinary amount which he might be Induced
to contribute to tbe general objt!Ct.
The iDftux oC oemmuaioatioa•• whioh oould not WlIU be put off nor iD any way oondeu..
ell, bat! compeRed n to deCllI' sevlllBI things whioh we had fully intended ror tbe present
Dumb.. Among tb_ was aD article· on the mysterious" rapping.... wbiob bave been
wilDelled at Rooheater, New-York. Auburn, CiaoiDna&i. and IMIveral other places. and
wbich appear to be still D1ulliplyiDg In variou. diaection.. Meantime we learn thalthe
Rev.... I2L Phelpl has. for .ome time, been preparilll a very Cull and particular account of
th8 8]l;lraC$\inary lICllnlllto wbtch he and hi, family at Stratford. Coon.• and many If'Spect.
able persont not cllIMIIXlted ~jtb hi. Camily, were wiIDe_s. The account will be fortifted
by the affidavits; of many jn~als, wholMl obal'Rcterl Cor .alJ8oity and integrity are
above the reach of detrection or eve.. suspicion.
A WaJT1'&l'l L,urGUAe. 11'11 WnTElll'II {;;;~-One of t!le Sierra Leobe agents 0( tbe
CIRuoh Minion Society of London, Rev. Mr.~lle hu discovered a written laupare
uMcing in tbe interior of Weac AfHca-the Vy lan Mr. KoeUe lays tbat the.1-
phabet oonsisll of about one hundred letlerS. each rep ir,g a "1l1able. The new oha.
raoters are lBid to have no analogy with any other known. r. Koelle has taken palSago
aa board a vesool going to the nearest polDt from [wbich tbe Nation can be reached.
'11th the relOlulion to InvOltigate Cully tbl. interesting discove
We have been quite agreeably surprised to.Jl.Dd upon cODsulting the volume ofPosthll-
mous Works of the late Thomas Am", Master oC Rugby school, Eng., that his
views of the relation of a Priesthood ~~the Church are very nearly akin to those which
we have from time to time advan n our pages. We have some striking extracts in
atore for a future number.
A very admirable boo reference is Mr. Putnam's (the bookseller's) .. The World's
Progress: 11 Dictionary Dates; with Tabular Views of General History." Its object
is to indicate, in brieC d suggestive terms, the succession of the prominent occurrenoes
and of the goverume in the chief Dations of the world. All the leading events of An-
cient and Modern H" tory are indicated in their chronological order, aDd to make the
work more Cull a complete the author has added a department of Literary Chronolcv,
aDother of Heath Deities, and crowned the whole with a biographical Index of the great-
est Illrvice to th. general reader. It is a work of great labor in the oompilation ~of
proportlooable.Y'ilue as a manual for conltaDt reference .SI"
( ~,
-
e,c,