ESA 
 
 DONO DEL FONDATORE. 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROFXHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 

THE 
 
 PRACTICAL NATURE OF THE THEOLOGICAL WRITINGS 
 
 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 
 
THE 
 
 PRACTICAL NATURE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 THEOLOGICAL WRITINGS 
 
 OF 
 
 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, 
 
 IN 
 
 i f ette ' 
 
 TO HIS GEACE THE LOED AECHBISHOP OF DUBLIN, 
 
 OCCASIONED BY HIS OBSERVATIONS ON THAT SUBJECT IN HIS ESSAYS ON 
 SOME OF THE PECULIARITIES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. AUGUSTUS CLIS^OLD, M.A., 
 
 FORMERLY OF EXETEB COLLEGE, OXFOED. 
 
 " Unless the Lord's Humanity be acknowledged to be Divine, the Church must 
 perish." Swedenborg's Apocalypse Revealed, art. 520. 
 
 Second Edition, revised and enlarged. 
 
 LONDON : 
 LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS, 
 
 PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 1860. 
 
 U, J 
 
LONDON ! 
 
 PRINTED BY MITCHELL AND SOX, 
 \V ARDOUR STRKET. 
 
& X 
 CS*. 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 IN the Essays on some of the Peculiarities of the 
 Christian Religion, by His Grace the present Arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, occurs the following passage rela- 
 tive to the receivers of the writings of Swedenborg : 
 " Though his followers insist much on the importance 
 of believing in this pretended revelation, it would, I 
 believe, be difficult for them to state even any one 
 point on which a man is called upon to alter either 
 his conduct, his motives, or his moral sentiments, in 
 consequence of such belief. The system furnishes 
 abundant matter of faith and food for curiosity, but 
 has little or no intelligible reference to practice." 
 
 In this statement there appears to be a slight ob- 
 scurity. It might not, perhaps, be easy at first to 
 determine whether the passage implies, that there 
 is no difference between the practical principles of 
 Swedenborg and those commonly received ; or that, 
 as a whole, his writings have little or no intelligible 
 reference to any practice whatever. A gentleman, it 
 
 M36813O 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 appears, conceiving that the latter was meant, wrote 
 to the Archbishop to the effect, that he presumed His 
 Grace laboured under some misapprehension; for 
 that so far from having no intelligible reference to 
 practice, the writings of Swedenborg advocate prin- 
 ciples which many distinguished members of the 
 Church of England themselves acknowledge to be 
 practical. So far as the argument extends, it appears 
 to be just and appropriate. 
 
 His Grace's answer, as appended in the Note in- 
 serted in the Fourth Edition of the Essays, seems to 
 leave the question where it was ; except that, instead 
 of using the term system, and thereby implying that, 
 as a whole, Swedenborg's theological writings are 
 non -practical, a distinction appears to be drawn be- 
 tween Swedenborg's doctrines and revelations, as 
 though the former might be practical, but the latter 
 not so. Whatever may have been the intention of 
 the Author, my design, on the present occasion, has 
 been rather to take a comprehensive view of the 
 whole subject, than to cavil at any particular distinc- 
 tions : and, with all due respect, to answer the main 
 argument fairly and fully. It cannot be denied, that 
 the Essays regard the revelations of Swedenborg as 
 non-practical, and hence, so far, a delusion; and 
 that the same opinion is not unfrequently entertained 
 by others. 
 
 Arguments to the same effect are pursued, to a 
 greater or less extent, in the following works by the 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 same distinguished Author : A View of the Scripture 
 Revelations concerning a Future State, by a Country 
 Pastor, which has arrived at a Seventh Edition : Lec- 
 tures on Good and Evil Angels, by a Country Pastor, 
 which have arrived at a Second Edition : Cautions 
 for the Times, which have arrived at a Second Edi- 
 tion : and occasionally the Introductory Lessons on 
 Christian Evidences, which have arrived at a Four- 
 teenth Edition. The argument, as aimed directly 
 against the writings of Swedenborg, has been re- 
 echoed by a well-known divine in a popular Lecture 
 to the Young Men's Christian Association; and the 
 very influence of those who urge the objection, has 
 been sufficient to create in the minds of some a strong 
 persuasion against these writings, without any en- 
 quiry for themselves into the real truth of the case. 
 
 With a view to counteract the effects produced, a 
 Letter to His Grace the Archbishop was published in 
 the year 1838, another edition of which appeared in 
 America, and of which I am happy to say that it has 
 been useful to an extent far beyond what I had an- 
 ticipated. 
 
 The opportunity which has been afforded of pub- 
 lishing a Second Edition, has enabled me to revise 
 the Letter, as also to comment upon many other 
 publications which have since appeared, and which 
 it was desirable to notice in so far as they had any 
 important relation to the subject. The author sin- 
 cerely hopes that the present Edition of the work 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 may contribute to open the eyes of many to the real 
 state of the case. Verb era sed Audi, is our reply to 
 opponents; and if they are unwilling to adopt the 
 latter part of the advice until after freely indulging 
 in the former, we have only for their own sake to 
 hope, in regard to the Truth, that with its stripes 
 they may be healed. In this world, indeed, it has 
 never begun to shew its strength till it has first been 
 crucified, dead, and buried ; and when its opponents 
 are congratulating each other that it is finally extin- 
 guished, it is only the signal for it to go forth con- 
 quering and to conquer. If, however, the Theology 
 of the existing Church be such as is represented 
 in the following pages, that cause must be feeble 
 indeed which is unable to sustain its attacks. On this 
 point, however, the reader will form his own judg- 
 ment ; and in enabling him to do so, I have endea- 
 vored to follow the advice given by the eminent 
 author of the Essays himself, "to take a compre- 
 hensive view of any question that may be agitated, 
 instead of being exclusively occupied in answering 
 every cavil that may be brought forward." 
 
 With respect to the passages in His Grace's Essays, 
 more or less alluding to the subject in question, to 
 produce the whole would be to quote a considerable 
 portion of the Essays themselves ; the reader, there- 
 fore, is here referred once for all to the originals. 
 In order, however, to supply him with a faithful idea 
 of the general argument urged in the Essays, it may 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 be well to subjoin the following Extracts, which are 
 those which more immediately gave rise to the pre- 
 sent Letter, and which more pointedly allude to 
 Swedenborg's Doctrines and alleged Revelations. 
 
 ESSAYS (FIRST SERIES) ON SOME OF THE PECULIARITIES OF 
 THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. Seventh Edition, Revised. 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 Page 140. " Though enough is revealed to us in Scrip- 
 ture to instruct us in our duty, and to incite us to the prac- 
 tice of it, there is much also that is not revealed, which 
 many, at least, would be eagerly desirous to know. It 
 suppresses much of what some vainly seek to find in it, or 
 complain of not finding ; which all pretended revelations 
 profess, and might be expected to profess, to make known ; 
 and which a true revelation, and none but a true one, 
 might be expected to omit." 
 
 Page 141. "The peculiar feature (of the Christian re- 
 ligion) which I allude to consists in this ; that not only, of 
 the designs and attributes of the Almighty, there are some 
 which He has vouchsafed to make known to Man by reve- 
 lation, and others which He has thought fit to keep secret, 
 but also, those which are revealed, have some relation to 
 Man, some reference to human conduct, and are, in 
 some way or other, of a practical character. 
 
 " Now, since it is undeniable that there have been, and 
 are, many systems of false religion in the world, all of 
 which profess to reveal something, as to the nature of God 
 and his dealings with his creatures, this circumstance is 
 frequently dwelt upon by those who studiously endeavor 
 to confound all religions together, with a view to hold up 
 all to equal contempt, as so many various systems of im- 
 
 63 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 posture and delusion. And others again, though they do 
 not absolutely reject our religion, are yet so far misled by 
 this fallacy, as to regard it with indifference. It will be 
 worth while, therefore, to examine attentively the point 
 above mentioned ; I mean, the exclusively practical cha- 
 racter which I have attributed to our revelation ; and to 
 enquire more fully, whether it is likely to constitute an 
 important and distinguishing feature in any professed reve- 
 lation which may possess it : in other words, whether the 
 abstaining from points of mere curiosity, be a probable 
 mark of a true revelation. 
 
 "This enquiry falls naturally under two heads; first, 
 whether or not a pretended revelation is likely to contain 
 any matters which are interesting to curiosity alone, and 
 have no reference to practice ; and, secondly, whether this 
 is likely to be the case with a true revelation. 
 
 " The former of these questions we need not hesitate, I 
 think, to answer in the affirmative. 
 
 " That the desire of knowledge, for its own sake, is a 
 part of our nature, is a truth so obvious, as hardly to need 
 being insisted on. For though it is common to hear men 
 imply the contrary, by asking contemptuously, in the case 
 of some pursuit for which they happen to have no relish, 
 * What is the use of learning this or that ? What advan- 
 tage is to be derived from such and such a branch of know- 
 ledge ?' yet, the very same persons, if some discovery be 
 the next moment announced to them, of a different kind, 
 which may happen to fall in with their own taste, will 
 probably be found to manifest the liveliest interest, and 
 the most eager curiosity, even where they would be at a 
 loss to point out what practical benefit they are likely to 
 derive from it. So far, indeed, is utility from being the 
 sole standard of value in men's minds, that even such 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 knowledge as is useful, is in general sought more for its 
 own sake, than with a view to utility ; nor are men ever 
 more eager in the pursuit of it, than when they have no 
 further object to occupy them. ' Accordingly/ as is justly 
 observed by an ancient writer, who well understood human 
 nature, * when we are at leisure from the cares of necessary 
 business, then are we eager to see, to hear, to learn some- 
 thing ; regarding the knowledge of what is hidden, or of 
 what is admirable, as an essential ingredient of happi- 
 ness.'* He is quite right in the circumstances fixed on as 
 most exciting our interest ; things hidden, and things ad- 
 mirable, being what men especially covet to know. Now, 
 nothing can be more hidden, nothing more admirable than 
 the nature, and the works, of God. The origin and con- 
 stitution of the world we inhabit of the rest of that vast 
 system of which it forms a part and of man himself the 
 nature of various orders of Beings which may exist, supe- 
 rior to man, and of the Supreme Being Himself each of 
 these subjects suggests innumerable matters of enquiry, 
 whose grandeur fills the most exalted, and whose difficulty 
 baffles the most intelligent, mind. Is it not, then, natural, 
 that men should eagerly seek for some superhuman means 
 of information on subjects so interesting to their curiosity, 
 and so much beyond their unaided powers ? and is it not 
 consequently to be expected, that both the devices of an 
 impostor, and the visions of an enthusiast, should abound 
 in food for this curiosity ? that the one should seek for 
 proselytes by professing to communicate what men are so 
 desirous of knowing; and that the other should be alto- 
 gether occupied with those questions to which the imagina- 
 tion of men is so naturally turned, till a diseased fancy 
 mistakes its day-dreams for a revelation ? 
 * Cicero de Officiis, b. i. 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 " Such, I say, is what we might be prepared, from the 
 nature of Man, to expect : and if we consult history, we 
 shall find our conjecture fully borne out by facts. In all 
 those other religions, and in all those modifications of our 
 own, which we attribute to the imagination or to the arti- 
 fice of Man, the pretended revelations not only abound 
 with matters of speculative curiosity, unconnected with 
 practice, but are sometimes even principally made up of 
 them, so as to appear to have for their chief object the 
 communication of knowledge concerning heavenly things, 
 for its own sake. 
 
 "To illustrate this by a full examination of all the 
 various systems of false revelation, would be manifestly 
 both tedious and unnecessary : tedious, inasmuch as even 
 a brief sketch of them would occupy a considerable volume ; 
 and unnecessary, for most readers, since a few moments' 
 recollection will enable them to recall from their previous 
 knowledge enough to confirm, to a great degree at least, 
 the remark which has just been made. And the conclusion 
 will be more strengthened, the further the enquiry is pur- 
 sued." 
 
 After speaking of the mythologies of the Greeks, 
 Romans, and Hindoos, and of the imposture prac- 
 tised by Mahomed, His Grace observes with regard 
 to the Koran p. 145 ; 
 
 "It would be wearisome and disgusting to introduce 
 such specimens as would fully illustrate what has been as- 
 serted ; though it is scarcely possible adequately to describe 
 in words how forcibly it will be impressed on the mind, on 
 actual perusal, that the prevailing character of the book in 
 question is such as has been described. But those who 
 will be at the pains to examine this and other pretended 
 
PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 revelations, with an express view to the subject of our 
 present enquiry, will meet with abundant instances to con- 
 firm what has been here advanced ; more than they per- 
 haps are aware of, if they have a mere general acquaint- 
 ance with those systems, but have never considered them 
 with reference to the particular point now before us. Such 
 an enquiry, it may be safely affirmed, would be profitable 
 and satisfactory, if fully pursued ; and would communicate 
 a lively interest to the perusal even of the most absurd 
 reveries of heathen mythology, and of the Koran. But 
 it will be sufficient in this place to, have suggested some of 
 the principal points towards which the enquiry should be 
 directed." 
 
 After alluding to the fables of the Talmud, and 
 the legends of the Greek and Homish churches, His 
 Grace observes p. 147; 
 
 u Lastly, to advert to a more recent instance, look to 
 the visions of the pretended prophet Swedenborg; him- 
 self the dupe, as is generally supposed, of a distempered 
 fancy. It is well known, that he professed to have been 
 favored with most copious and distinct revelations, to 
 have visited the celestial abodes, and to have conversed 
 with various orders of Beings ; of all which he gives minute 
 descriptions. Yet though his followers insist much on the 
 importance of believing in this pretended revelation, it 
 would, I believe, be difficult for them to state even any 
 one point, in which a man is called upon to alter either his 
 conduct, his motives, or his moral sentiments, in conse- 
 quence of such belief. The system furnishes abundant 
 matter of faith, and food for curiosity ; but has little or no 
 intelligible reference to practice." 
 
 (Note. " I received some time ago a friendly communi- 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 cation from a person of this persuasion, referring to the 
 above passage, and complaining of the current misrepre- 
 sentations respecting the doctrines of the Swedenborgians. 
 He set forth, in a brief outline, their fundamental points of 
 faith, and principles of duty, which were, as he studiously 
 pointed out to me, essentially in agreement with what is 
 held by our own Church. 
 
 " From his own account, therefore, it appears, (as I 
 pointed out in reply) that the point peculiar to that sect 
 the supposed revelation to their founder in which they 
 believe, is entirely of a non-practical character ., Now this 
 is precisely what I was maintaining. 
 
 " I was not designing any attack on that, or on any 
 other religious persuasion ; nor do I deny its including the 
 fundamentals of Christianity. I had in view only what 
 distinguishes the followers of Swedenborg from the rest of 
 the Christian world ; viz., their faith in a revelation, which 
 the rest hold to be a delusion. The truth or falsity of that 
 revelation, a question on which, of course, I must differ 
 from them is one which I had no intention of discussing. 
 But that, whether true or false, it is at least distinguished 
 from the revelation contained in the Gospel, by leading to 
 no practical conclusions, is a point, it seems, on which both 
 parties are agreed. And this is the only point I had in 
 view.) 
 
 " Such then being the character of false revelations, 
 what may we expect from a true one ? Since both reason 
 and experience shew, that it is the obvious policy of an 
 impostor, and the most natural delusion of a visionary, to 
 treat much of curious and hidden matters, relative to the 
 Divine operations, beyond what is conducive to practical 
 instruction, it should next be considered whether the case 
 is likely to be the same with a real revelation ; whether 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 that also is likely to be much occupied in ministering to 
 speculative curiosity. Now this question we may on good 
 grounds answer in the negative. For the general rule of 
 Providence evidently is, that man should be left to supply 
 his own wants, and seek knowledge, both practical and 
 speculative, by the aid of those faculties which have been 
 originally bestowed on him ; a revelation is an extraordi- 
 nary and miraculous exception to this general rule ; and it 
 seems, therefore, reasonable to conclude, that it should be 
 bestowed for some very important purpose. Now the 
 knowledge of our duty, beyond what is discoverable by 
 unaided reason instruction how we are to serve God, and 
 obtain his favor does seem a sufficiently important pur- 
 pose ; but not so the mere gratification of curiosity. The 
 desire of knowledge is, indeed, implanted in us by our 
 Creator ; and the pursuit of it is an innocent, and honor- 
 able, and highly pleasurable employment of our faculties : 
 but there is a sufficiently wide field of investigation within 
 the reach of our natural faculties ; there seems no reason 
 why the Almighty should work a miracle for the increase 
 of our mere speculative knowledge : not to mention that 
 our gratification consists more in the pursuit and acquire- 
 ment, by our own efforts, of such knowledge, than in the 
 possession of it. 
 
 " Whatever, therefore, it concerns us practically to know, 
 with a view to the regulation of the heart and conduct 
 whatever God requires us to be, and to do, in order to be- 
 come acceptable in his sight this, it seems consonant to 
 his justice and goodness to declare to us by revelation, 
 when of ourselves we are incompetent to discover it ; but 
 that He should miraculously reveal anything besides this, 
 for the gratification of an inquisitive mind, there seems no 
 good reason to expect. 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 " It may be said, indeed, that the trial of our faith, 
 humility, and candor, in assenting, on sufficient authority, 
 to mysterious doctrines, is a worthy and fit purpose, for 
 which such doctrines may be revealed. This is undoubt- 
 edly true ; and the purpose may even be fairly reckoned a 
 practical one, since so good a moral effect results from such 
 belief. If, therefore, none of the doctrines necessary to be 
 revealed for other practical purposes, were of such a mys- 
 terious character, as to serve for trials of faith also, we 
 might perhaps expect that some things should be proposed 
 to our belief, solely and singly for this latter purpose. 
 But if both objects can be fully accomplished by the same 
 revelation if our faith be sufficiently tried by the admis- 
 sion of such mysterious doctrines as are important for other 
 practical ends also then, the revelation of any further 
 mysteries, which lead to no such practical end, is the less 
 necessary, and consequently the less to be expected. 
 
 " What then is in this respect the character of our re- 
 ligion ? It may safely be asserted that it is precisely such 
 as we have seen a true revelation might be expected to be : 
 that it teaches us what is needful for us to know, but little 
 or nothing besides ; that the information it imparts is such 
 as concerns the regulation of our character and practice, 
 but leaves our curiosity unsatisfied. 
 
 "Those who are sufficiently conversant with the Scrip- 
 tures, will at once recognize this as a characteristic feature 
 of them. 
 
 "To prove the point in question as fully as might be 
 done, would require a detailed examination of the whole 
 Bible ; and such an examination diligently conducted with 
 a view to the particular point before us, is one which may 
 be recommended, not merely to professed theological stu- 
 dents, but (since it calls for no great ingenuity or learning) 
 
PREFACE. XV11 
 
 to Christian readers in general ; as neither an unprofitable 
 nor unpleasing inquiry, to him who delights in contrasting 
 the wisdom, and the dignified simplicity of God's Word, 
 with the idle and arrogant pretensions of human fraud and 
 folly/'' 
 
 Page 158, " He (the infidel) may ask them (Christians), 
 how it came to pass, that no one of our sacred writers has 
 given a full, minute, and engaging account of all that is 
 (according to him) to take place at the end of the world ; 
 of all the interesting particulars of the day of Judgment ; 
 of the new bodies with which 'men will arise; and of 
 ' the glories that shall be revealed ' in heaven ; or has 
 given any account at all (or at least any from which a de- 
 cisive conclusion can be drawn) of the condition in which 
 men are to remain during the interval between death and 
 the resurrection. It is plain, that nothing could have been 
 more gratifying to the curiosity of all who had an interest 
 in the subject ; nothing more likely even to allure fresh 
 converts, than a glowing description of the joys of heaven : 
 it would have been easily believed too, by those who gave 
 credit to the writer, as it is plain Paul supposed the Corin- 
 thians did : it would have been very easy, again, for an 
 impostor to give a loose to his fancy, in inventing such a 
 description ; and to an* enthusiast, it would have been un- 
 avoidable; he who was passing off his day-dreams for 
 revelations, on himself as well as on others, would have 
 been sure to dream largely on such a subject. Why then 
 did not Paul do anything of the kind ? I answer, because 
 he was not an impostor, nor an enthusiast, but taught only 
 what had been actually revealed to him, and what he was 
 commissioned to reveal to others." 
 
 Page 162, "In this present life we should carefully 
 
 * In this Essay, Mahomed is the only impostor, and Swedenborg the 
 only enthusiast specified by name. 
 
XV111 PREFACE. 
 
 guard against the too prevailing error of presumptuous en- 
 quiries, and attempts to explain unrevealed mysteries ; an 
 error which generally leaves men the more bewildered and 
 mistaken, the greater their ingenuity and diligence. 
 
 u Little as there is revealed to us of the condition of our 
 first Parents in Paradise, thus much (and let Christians 
 never forget it) is plainly taught us, that they fell from 
 their happy state through the desire of forbidden knowledge. 
 It was by seeking from men to become * as gods, knowing 
 good and evil,' that they incurred that loss, to retrieve 
 which God was made Man, in Christ Jesus ; who ' took 
 upon him the form of a servant, and humbled himself unto 
 death, even the death of the cross, to redeem us, the chil- 
 dren of Adam/ whom want of humility had ruined, and 
 to open to us the gates of eternal life, which presumptuous 
 transgression had shut. How then can we hope to enter 
 in, if we repeat the very transgression of Adam, in seek- 
 ing to be wise above that which is written ? By inquisitive 
 pride was immortal happiness forfeited ; and the path by 
 which we must travel back to its recovery is that of patient 
 and resigned humility." 
 
 Various other extracts are taken, in the course of 
 the present Letter, from other parts of the Essays ; 
 also from His Grace's Sermons, Bampton Lectures, 
 and the works of other eminent authors. 
 
 May the reader suffer himself to be guided by the 
 Holy Spirit of Truth ! 
 
 STOKE NEWINGTON, 
 Oct. 19, 1859. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAET I. 
 Introductory Observations, 
 
 page 
 
 Practical utility a fair test of an alleged Revelation 3 
 
 It is the test adopted by Swedenborg. > 4 
 
 The doctrinal system of Swedenborg practical 9 
 
 It seems to be favorably received ; and why ? 12 
 
 Doctrines. 
 
 The Divine Unity considered by the Church to be the great 
 
 Mystery 13 
 
 Three Divine Beings acknowledged instead of One 14 
 
 Three Objects of AVorship acknowledged instead of One 16 
 
 Tritheism introduced into the doctrine of the Atonement .... 43 
 
 The nature of sin not to be learned from punishment 49 
 
 Relation of the Atonement to the Spiritual World 53 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ as God-Man the only Object of Wor- 
 ship 82 
 
 The Doctrine of Mediation or Intercession 89 
 
 How carnalized .* 90 
 
 Its true nature 92 
 
 The Doctrine of Regeneration practically considered 95 
 
 Has been virtually annulled by the Church ... 97 
 
 The practical view of it by Swedenborg 99 
 
 PART II. 
 Internal Sense of the Word of God. 
 
 Revelation of the Internal Sense of the Word of God not no- 
 ticed in the Essays 105 
 
 Popular Objections to further Revelations, answered 106 
 
XX CONTENTS. 
 
 page 
 
 1. That the Church is already in possession of sufficient 
 
 knowledge for all practical purposes, and is in no need 
 of more 107 
 
 2. That as God never designed to make us prophets, it is 
 
 time enough, for all practical purposes, to derive our 
 knowledge of the meaning of prophecy, from the 
 events by which it is fulfilled ; and that these events 
 have not yet occurred 119 
 
 3. That we ought not to be wise above that which is 
 
 written 125 
 
 4. That man has no faculties- adequate to a better know- 
 
 ledge of the Divine mysteries 129 
 
 5. That a reception of the Eevelations of Swedenborg pro- 
 
 ceeds from a love of novelty 146 
 
 6. That Swedenborg wrought no miracles in evidence of 
 
 his commission 154 
 
 7. That discoveries may be made in Philosophy but not in 
 
 Revelation 162 
 
 That there ought to be no new interpretations of Scripture . . . 177 
 
 On the decline of the Bible, and its causes 187 
 
 Internal Sense of the Word of God 208 
 
 An Interpreter expected 211 
 
 An Interpreter sent 214 
 
 The Word of God the source of Unity to the Church 219 
 
 The relation of the Word of God to the faculties of the human 
 
 mind 226 
 
 The Practical Nature of the Internal Sense 229 
 
 The Regenerate Life 236 
 
 PAST III. 
 The Spiritual World. 
 
 Faith and Sight 247 
 
 Need of a Revelation concerning the Spiritual World 251 
 
 Possibility of a Revelation 258 
 
 Evidence of a Revelation 263 
 
 Alleged presumption of such a Revelation 265 
 
 The practical nature of such a Revelation 269 
 
CONTENTS. XXI 
 
 page 
 
 Need of a Revelation concerning the World of Spirits and 
 
 the nature of the Soul 2*71 
 
 A Eevelation given 301 
 
 Is uncertainty preferable ? , . . . . 309 
 
 The Three Heavens 311 
 
 The new Heavens and the new Earth 313 
 
 Cause of our ignorance respecting Heaven 321 
 
 Objections to Swedenborg's statements 341 
 
 Their minuteness of detail 346 
 
 Alleged reserve of the Scriptures 355 
 
 On Marriage in the Heavens 355 
 
 Chimerical notions commonly entertained 361 
 
 Scenery of the Heavens 365 
 
 Doctrine of Correspondence 371 
 
 Doctrine of Influx 386 
 
 The Hells 388 
 
 Duration of Punishments 389 
 
 The nature of Hell Eire 391 
 
 The nature and object of Punishments in Hell 401 
 
 The origin of Evil 403 
 
 On forbidden Knowledge 404 
 
 PART IV. 
 The Visions and Revelations of Swedenlorg. 
 
 His alleged Hallucinations and their origin 421 
 
 Line of demarcation between the Visions of Scripture and all 
 
 other Visions 431 
 
 Genuine and spurious Visions 447 
 
 Alleged hallucinations of great men 453 
 
 Nature of the Intercourse between the Soul and Body 455 
 
 The silence of St. Paul contrasted with the revelations of Swe- 
 
 denborg 460 
 
 On Inward Perception and Open Vision 469 
 
 Practical Conclusion of the whole Argument 472 
 
A LETTER 
 
 HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN. 
 
A LETTER 
 
 HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN. 
 
 MY LORD ARCHBISHOP, 
 
 IF there was ever a period in which the members of the 
 Christian Church were called upon "to believe not every 
 spirit, but to try the spirits whether they be of God," " to 
 prove all things, and to hold fast that which is good," the 
 present assuredly is one. The disposition to inquiry which 
 has been awakened, the spread of education, the increas- 
 ing desire of knowledge, and the extraordinary progress of 
 the sciences, however sometimes exaggerated, have been 
 sufficient to lead many sober and reflecting minds to con- 
 template, as not improbable, a new aspect in the history 
 of the world ; and when we connect these circumstances 
 with the disregard of human authority in matters of reli- 
 gion, the asserted right of private judgment, the conflicting 
 views which are entertained even upon the most important 
 principles of Christianity, it will be granted, I presume, 
 that if ever learning, sound judgment, piety, and diligence 
 were required in the clergy, they are certainly most requi- 
 site now. When to this we add the various expectations 
 which prevail with respect to prophecies in Scripture, the 
 fulfilment of which many believe to be not far distant, 
 
 B 
 
2 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 there is assuredly the more particular reason why the 
 Christian community should be on its guard, lest any 
 enthusiast should avail himself of these expectations, and 
 delude both himself and his followers ; especially as, under 
 the circumstances mentioned, the probability is that enthu- 
 siasts would arise, and that many consequently would be 
 deluded. 
 
 It is remarkable that the introduction of new dispen- 
 sations by the Almighty seems, in general, to have given 
 occasion for opposite and rival claims to the truth. When 
 Moses wrought miracles before Pharaoh, counter miracles 
 were said to be wrought by the magi : when Christ cast 
 out devils from the possessed, similar claims to miraculous 
 power were asserted to exist among the Pharisees : when 
 Christ assumed the character of King of the Jews, rival 
 pretensions were made by others. " Before these days 
 rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody, to whom 
 a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves, 
 who was slain, and all as many as obeyed him were 
 scattered and brought to nought. After this man rose up 
 Judas of Galilee, in the days of the taxing, and drew 
 away much people after him ; he also perished, and all 
 as many as obeyed him were dispersed"* At the Second 
 Coming of Christ into the world, we are told, it shall be 
 the same ; i( for there shall arise false Christs and false 
 prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch 
 that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."-^ 
 Thus at the end of the old and the beginning of New Dis- 
 pensations arise false and true prophets on every side; 
 whence pretensions of both kinds become so mixed up one 
 * Acts v. 36. f Matt. xxiv. 24. 
 
PRACTICAL UTILITY. O 
 
 with the other, that, unless possessed of a clear spiritual 
 discernment, a person runs the risk of receiving the false 
 as the true, or the true as the false, or of rejecting indis- 
 criminately both together, and so, in order to avoid the 
 snare of enthusiasm, of falling into the pit of infidelity. 
 
 In all cases of this kind, whether we believe in a fur- 
 ther revelation or not, Your Grace has referred us to an 
 excellent guide, namely, that of PRACTICAL UTILITY. 
 Whatever has a tendency to induce men to repent of their 
 sins, to impart to them a genuine knowledge of God, to 
 lead them to worship Him in spirit and in truth, and to 
 perform their duties to their neighbour, may safely be 
 pronounced to be of God ; whatever has no such tendency, 
 may safely be pronounced to be of man. This test of 
 truth, then, I am willing to receive as the best possible ; 
 because, although there may be mysteries in the Bible, 
 which, as your Grace observes, at present only exercise 
 our faith, yet, when their interpretation comes to be re- 
 vealed, we are ready to admit for the sake of the argument, 
 that they will be seen to be in some manner still further 
 practically useful. This test of truth seems also to be the 
 one which St. John in his Epistle,* pointed out, when he 
 says, " My little children, let us not love in word, neither in 
 tongue, but in deed and in truth; and hereby we know that we 
 are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him." 
 
 The love of God and of our neighbour, therefore, as the 
 fruit of our doctrines, being considered to be an evidence of 
 their truth, the test, in order to be used impartially, should 
 be applied not only to the principles of those whom we 
 may regard as enthusiasts and impostors, but also to our 
 * 1 John iii. 18. 
 
 B2 
 
t 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 own ; since, if by this test we do not examine our own 
 principles, as well as those of others, we may be in the 
 situation of one, who, in securing his house against an 
 enemy, may be shutting him in while he imagines he is 
 shutting him out. It is a tendency of human nature to 
 apply to others what we forget to apply to ourselves ; and 
 it is one which deserves more particular notice on the 
 present occasion ; because, when it is said that the system 
 of Swedenborg, if tried by this test, is found to have 
 " little or no intelligible reference to practice" so, on the 
 other hand, Swedenborg maintains, that the system com- 
 monly received, when tried by the same test, is found, 
 in too many cases, not only to have " no intelligible re- 
 ference to practice," but what is far worse, one that is 
 highly pernicious. The ground, therefore, upon which the 
 distinguished author of the Essays has rejected the system 
 of Swedenborg, is the ground upon which Swedenborg 
 himself has rejected the system commonly received. Which 
 of the two is right, is the question at issue. 
 
 While, however, there are some who may apply the 
 test we have mentioned, to the principles of Swedenborg, 
 however they may forget to apply it to their own ; yet, by 
 far the greater class neglect the application altogether; 
 and hence, amid the multiplicity of exhortations which are 
 given by well-meaning persons to " try the spirits" and 
 " to prove all things" there is nothing which they and 
 their hearers are, in general, more sure to omit than the 
 very thing which they recommend, namely, the trial and 
 the proof; the one having given the exhortation, and the 
 other having listened to it, the question is considered as 
 sufficiently decided, and the whole matter to be at an end. 
 
PRACTICAL UTILITY. 5 
 
 Besides, many regard an enquiry of this kind as unne- 
 cessary ; for, believing themselves to be already in pos- 
 session of the truth, whatever does not conform to their 
 persuasions, they think they have nothing to do but to 
 reject ; and hence, simple rejection they consider as the 
 whole of their duty. The examination therefore, if they 
 ever commence any, is not whether their principles are 
 conformable to the truth, but whether the alleged truth 
 be conformable to their principles, They profess, indeed, 
 that works are the evidence of faith ; but they regard a 
 man's faith as the evidence of his works ; for, however 
 blameless he may be in his life, however practically useful 
 to his fellow- creatures, yet, if this be the consequence of 
 his reception of the teaching of Swedenborg, he is looked 
 upon as a deceiver and as self-deceived.* 
 
 There are few, my Lord, who now adopt those prin- 
 ciples, who did not once oppose them. The recollection, 
 therefore, of their own errors inclines them to look upon 
 those of others with a spirit of forbearance and forgiveness ; 
 for they see in their opponents only the same misappre- 
 hensions, the same prepossessions, or, it may be, the same 
 natural and carnal ideas, which once were their own. Al- 
 though therefore there are many who, from a variety of 
 causes, have been led to regard Swedenborg as a mere 
 
 * " So the ancient apologists tell us that it was objection enough of 
 old against them, that they were Christians. The very name impeached 
 them ; such a one was a good man were it not that he was a Christian. 
 Vir bonus Cairn Seius tantum quod Christianus. This was the effect 
 of a strong prejudice, and that prejudice was founded on education." 
 A Free Discourse concerning Truth and Error, especially in matters 
 of Religion. By John Edwards, D.D., p. 360. 
 
b PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 enthusiast or fanatic, " a pretended prophet," " the dupe 
 of a distempered fancy," and consequently the receivers of 
 his writings as the victims of a religious delusion, and the 
 credulous readers of " pretended revelations " which have 
 " little or no intelligible reference to practice ;" we feel 
 bound, in all Christian charity, to give them credit for 
 what to them may be conscientious persuasions ; although, 
 if it be not demonstrated, yet it will, I think, be rendered 
 highly probable in the ensuing pages, that, in rejecting 
 the principles of Swedenborg, they know not what they do, 
 In consequence of the general ignorance which prevails 
 with respect to the writings of Swedenborg, we have not 
 only to disclaim teaching which others would impute to us ; 
 but, as in the present instance, to communicate true ideas 
 of what it is their design to oppose. Surely they should 
 reflect, that though the arrow may be good, as also the 
 bow, and the archer the first of his race, yet if he does not 
 know what or where is the mark, it is not likely he will 
 hit it. Notwithstanding, therefore, for this reason, I can- 
 not but consider the observations in the Essays with re- 
 gard to Swedenborg to be erroneous, yet it is with pleasure 
 I acknowledge the courtesy with which the subject is 
 noticed, the apparent disposition of the author to do jus- 
 tice to the question, and his practical exemplification of 
 some of the Christian precepts inculcated in his Bampton 
 Lectures ; for although he seems to designate Swedenborg 
 as a visionary and enthusiast, as well as to imply that his 
 followers are similarly deluded, yet, if a person comes to 
 this conclusion in consequence of argument conducted in 
 a fair spirit, he is perfectly at liberty to use the expres- 
 sions ; because, however we may regret the mistake under 
 
PROPOSED EXAMINATION. 7 
 
 which he labours, the error, if any, does not consist in the 
 use of the terms, but in the principles which led to their 
 use. 
 
 These principles it will be my object to examine ; and 
 in so doing, your Grace will, I doubt not, concede that 
 freedom of expression which is willingly granted to those 
 who oppose us, and which is necessary to the fair and full 
 exposition of our sentiments. A candid examination of 
 principles with a view " to prove all things, and to hold 
 fast that which is good," you will not confound with a 
 mere spirit of controversy ; especially as this is a spirit 
 which you have justly deprecated, and, at the same time, 
 did not conceive it to be inconsistent to undertake a proof, 
 though indirect* that the alleged revelations of Sweden- 
 borg are untrue. 
 
 Of those general principles from which the Essays have 
 arrived at their several conclusions, I admit some to be 
 true ; though with respect to Swedenborg, it will be seen 
 
 * It is said an indirect proof, because this appears to be all that is 
 meant by the words, " the truth or falsity of that revelation I had no 
 intention of discussing ;" since, it would seem, the only object of the 
 Essay was to distinguish a true from a false revelation, by the circum- 
 stance of the former having relation to practice and the latter having 
 none ; in illustration of which are instanced the pretended revelations 
 of Swedenborg ; of which it is observed, " the system furnishes abun* 
 dant matter of faith and food for curiosity, but has little or no intel- 
 ligible reference to practice;" and it is immediately added, " such being 
 the character of false revelations, what may we expect from a true 
 one ?" It is concluded, therefore, that one object of the Essays was to 
 discuss the truth or falsity of Swedenborg's revelations ; and that all 
 that the author meant by the expression above alluded to, is, that he did 
 not undertake any direct proof of the revelations of Swedenborg being 
 untrue ; which, indeed, is the case. 
 
8 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 that they prove the reverse of what the Essays have 
 stated : a great portion of them, however, will be shewn to 
 be mistaken. Nevertheless, as they are not ^infrequently 
 held, they are classed with others, in the following re- 
 marks, under the head of POPULAR OBJECTIONS; which 
 enables me to consider them rather as the sentiments of a 
 class of society, than merely as those of an individual ; 
 and if I quote your Grace's particular statements, it is 
 only because, proceeding from such a quarter, they may be 
 considered as the more authentic expositions of opinions 
 maintained by others. The reader is, therefore, requested 
 to bear in mind, that the following remarks are written 
 with a view, not of answering particular objections urged 
 only by some particular author ; but objections founded on 
 general principles not unfrequently entertained.* 
 
 Before proceeding to the general question, there is one 
 part of your Grace's argument, which it may be well to 
 notice. 
 
 Having admitted the practical character of Sweden- 
 borg's doctrines, mention is made of the non-practical 
 character of the revelations. The system of Swedenborg, 
 it is not denied, includes all the fundamentals of Chris- 
 tianity :-j- so far then it cannot but be practical. But there 
 
 * Many of which are to be found in Paley's Evidences of Chris- 
 tianity, and White's Bampton Lectures. 
 
 f The argument against Swedenborg's writings resembles the one 
 in the Eighth of Dr. White's Bampton Lectures, p. 335 ; seeming 
 to be a repetition of the well-known answer of Caliph Omar, when 
 solicited to spare the library of Alexandria: " Either the contents of 
 those books agree with what is written in the holy Koran, or do not 
 agree. If they do agree, then the Koran is sufficient, and those books 
 
AN OBJECTION REMOVED. 9 
 
 is nothing practical, it is said, in his alleged revelations. 
 How so ; when his alleged revelations are, in a great part, 
 only a further development of his doctrines ? 
 
 ;< The doctrinal system of the Swedish prophet," as 
 Muller observes in his Symbolik, vol ii., p. 275, " has by 
 no means, as we should be disposed to believe from many 
 of his speculations, a mainly theosophistic tendency, but 
 on the contrary an eminently practical one. . . . None of his 
 doctrinal views does he uphold by such numerous visions, 
 as that of his hostility to the Protestant doctrine of Jus- 
 tification." 
 
 Previously, then, to any remarks upon his alleged reve- 
 lations, it will be necessary to make a few with regard to 
 his DOCTRINES : but in so doing it is not my intention to 
 enter at large into the subject, but only into the question 
 of practical utility, so far as concerns the doctrines of the 
 Trinity, Atonement, Intercession, and Regeneration. 
 
 That there are writers in the Established Church, who 
 occasionally deliver sentiments in accordance with some of 
 those of Swedenborg, is acknowledged with pleasure ; still, 
 whether a person would hence be at liberty to infer, that 
 there is no essential difference between the doctrines of 
 Swedenborg and those which are commonly professed, is 
 another question. A receiver of the writings of Sweden- 
 borg often imagines that there is this difference ; the imagi- 
 nation, if such it be, is often to him the source of discom- 
 fort ; and it is no little relief to his feelings to be able to 
 point out in the different authors by which the Church is 
 distinguished, statements in which he is ready to coin- 
 are useless ; if they do not agree, they are pernicious, and must be 
 destroyed." Substitute here the Scriptures for the Koran. 
 
 B3 
 
10 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 cide.* In pursuing this course, however, he is immediately 
 liable to this retort, " Your professed revelation cannot be 
 true, because it pretends to be new ; whereas its doctrines 
 are old, or fundamentally the same with those which are 
 generally received ; but a new revelation of old doctrines is 
 unnecessary, and therefore cannot have been given." -j- On 
 the other hand, if peculiarities in those doctrines are pointed 
 out, they are for this very reason presumed to be errone- 
 ous; being considered to be only the distinctions of a 
 sect 4 
 
 Now, nothing is more remarkable, than the contradic- 
 tory views which are taken of the doctrines of Swedenborg, 
 even by eminent men. A late prelate of the Church of 
 England denounced them as preposterous and heretical, 
 and in so doing was countenanced by other members of the 
 Church ; yet the late Bishop Porteus, who was distin- 
 guished for both his piety and learning, sanctioned the 
 
 * This is all that could possibly have been intended by the corre- 
 spondent to whom the Archbishop refers in these words: " He set forth 
 in a brief outline their fundamental points of faith and principles of 
 duty, which were as he studiously pointed out to me essentially in 
 agreement with what is held in our own Church." 
 
 f See White's Bampton Lectures, p. 336. 
 
 % Swedenborg did not profess to be the founder of any sect, nor do 
 the receivers of his writings regard him as such ; indeed, there is 
 nothing to be found in his works upon the subject. The consequence 
 is, that Swedeniorgians, as they are improperly called, have not yet all 
 formed themselves into a distinct body, but pursue each the guidance 
 of his own conscience ; some belonging to a distinct religious class, 
 others remaining in external communion with the Church of which they 
 had previously been members ; the fundamental article of their religion 
 being love, not faith separate from love. 
 
BISHOP PORTEUS. 11 
 
 preaching of these doctrines in his own Diocese ; and, in 
 the following words, encouraged a clergyman to continue 
 to disseminate them : " I see no particular objection to the 
 ideas which you have stated, and which come recommended 
 to my own mind by the consideration, that they were the 
 ideas of an intimate and learned friend of mine, for whose 
 opinion and sound judgment 1 must ever entertain the 
 highest respect."f The author of the continuation of 
 Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, after giving a summary 
 of Swedenborg's doctrines of the Trinity and Atonement, 
 remarks, " In substance, perhaps, there is no great dif- 
 ference between this and the ordinary doctrine of the 
 Trinity." Your Grace also observes, " Nor do I deny 
 its including the fundamentals of Christianity ;" indeed, so 
 far from opposing the doctrines, a portion of your argument 
 is founded upon the presumption of their being essentially 
 at least in agreement with those of the Established Church.* 
 Whether or not this be the case, we shall afterwards 
 see ; at present allow me only to observe, that all who 
 
 f This observation is extracted from a work entitled, Pure Evange- 
 lical Religion Restored, by the late Rev. John Clowes, M.A., Rector 
 of St. John's Church, Manchester, and formerly fellow of Trinity 
 College, Cambridge. In this Tract an account is given of an interview 
 between a clergyman and his bishop, on the subject of Swedenborg's 
 writings, the names of the parties not being mentioned. It is known, 
 however, that the clergyman was Mr. Clowes himself, and the bishop 
 the late Dr. Porteus ; Mr. Clowes' pastoral charge being in the diocese 
 of Chester, of which Dr. Porteus was then the bishop. 
 
 * As the Essays, therefore, make no attempt to disprove the doc- 
 trinal statements of Swedenborg, so it is to be understood that the 
 remarks upon this subject, in the present Letter, are designed rather as 
 simple expositions, by way of comparison, than as formal proofs, 
 
12 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 entertain Tritheistical notions of the Trinity, have natu- 
 rally felt great aversion to Swedenborg's teaching upon 
 this subject ; and all who contemplate the Lord as the one 
 true and hence the only God, find their faith to be more 
 in accordance with the doctrines of Swedenborg. Now it 
 gives me great pleasure to see that your Grace is one of 
 this number. To no person in the present day, as far as 
 I am aware, is the Christian community more indebted, 
 for pointing out some of the lamentable errors which have 
 prevailed in regard to the doctrine of the Trinity ; and I 
 cannot help considering this to be one cause for which, 
 whatever your Grace may think of Swedenborg's revela- 
 tions, you have taken at least so favourable a view of his 
 doctrines ; all of which are founded on that one great truth, 
 that there is one God, that the Lord Jesus Christ is that 
 God, and that in the Unity of his Person there is a Trinity 
 of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus there is a Trinity 
 in Unity ; but your Grace has in your writings maintained, 
 what Swedenborg long since maintained, that the doctrine 
 of the Trinity, as generally interpreted, instead of being 
 the manifestation, is in fact the mystification of the Unity ; 
 and that the distinction of the Persons has been so ex- 
 plained, by what you call " the unprofitable, absurd, pre- 
 sumptuous, and profane speculations of scholastic theolo- 
 gians (not all of them members of the Romish Church)," 
 as to make the Unity of the Godhead inexplicable; in 
 fine, that the Unity has become the incomprehensible 
 mystery. 
 
 Your Grace's memorable observation is as follows :* 
 "Specimens of this 'philosophy and vain deceit' such 
 * The Errors of Romanism, p. 83. 
 
TRITHEISM. 13 
 
 as are to be found in various dissertations on what are 
 called the mysterious doctrines of the Christian faith such 
 as I cannot bring myself to transcribe, and cannot even 
 think of without shuddering it may be sometimes a pro- 
 fitable though painful task to peruse, in order to estimate 
 duly, as a warning and admonition to ourselves, the effects 
 of misapplied learning and misdirected ingenuity. To 
 select one instance out of many, no point in these systems 
 of speculative theology has so much exercised the perverted 
 powers of divines of this stamp, as the mystery of the 
 Trinity ; or as they might with more propriety have called 
 it, the mystery of the divine Unity : for though in itself 
 the doctrine so sedulously inculcated throughout the Scrip- 
 tures that there is but one God, seems to present no revolt- 
 ing difficulty, yet, on rising from the disquisitions of many 
 scholastic divines on the inherent distinctions of the three 
 Divine Persons, a candid reader cannot but feel that they 
 have made the Unity of God the great and difficult mys- 
 tery ; and have in fact so nearly explained it away, and 
 so bewildered the minds of their disciples, as to drive them 
 to withdraw their thoughts habitually and deliberately from 
 everything connected with the subject ; as the only mode 
 left for the unlearned to keep clear of error." 
 
 The author of this work your Grace omits to mention, 
 for the following reason : " I purposely avoid naming the 
 book, because it is not my object to discuss the merits of 
 this or that individual work, but to call attention to the 
 notions which are afloat in the world generally" The 
 notions referred to are the following : 
 
 " When the great Creator had finished the rest of His 
 works, wanting another creature to rule them all, and, as 
 
14 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 their priest, to adore Him in their name ; he said, l Let 
 us make man in our own image, after our likeness.' In 
 the creation of other things all is done with a tone of com- 
 mand, or with a mere volition : * Let there be light ; let 
 there be a firmament ; let the earth bring forth so and so.' 
 But when man is to be made a creature who is to be en- 
 dued with reason and intelligence the very image of the 
 Maker He uses an expression which indicates deliberation 
 and counsel ; He consults with some other august Beings 
 (the two remaining Persons of the Trinity, no doubt), of 
 whom, as well as of Himself, man was to be both the 
 workmanship and the resemblance." 
 
 This statement, your Grace observes, you do not specify 
 "as containing any thing novel, peculiar, likely to be 
 generally offensive, and at variance with prevailing opi- 
 nions ;" that, on the contrary, your " meaning is the very 
 reverse." Indeed, Dr. Sherlock having remarked that the 
 three Divine Persons were held by the fathers to be three 
 eternal and infinite Minds, as really distinct from each 
 other as three men, though essentially united into one 
 infinite and eternal Mind, or one God, proceeds to observe :* 
 " But I need not insist on this ; for the real distinction of 
 Persons is so plainly taught by the ancient fathers, espe- 
 cially after the rise of the Sabellian heresy, that there is 
 more difficulty to understand how they unite them into one 
 God, than that they make them distinct persons ; and 
 what they say about the Unity of the Godhead abundantly 
 proves this distinction of persons." 
 
 Now, my Lord, it is by no means the design of this 
 Letter to enter into the scholastic speculations which you 
 * Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity, p. 105. 
 
ON THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP. 15 
 
 have so justly censured ; but as your Grace has drawn 
 attention to the practical nature of Swedenborg's doctrines, 
 and especially his alleged revelations, may I entreat the 
 same liberty in pointing out, upon his principles, the prac- 
 tical nature of the received doctrine of the Tripersonality? 
 and in no other way can this be so effectually done, as in 
 treating of it in relation to THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP. " If 
 any thing be of importance in religion," said a cotempo- 
 rary of Swedenborg,* "it must be the Object of worship." 
 . . . " How can they join in worship who have not the same 
 Object of worship ?" Accordingly, your Grace will doubt- 
 less concur in the remark of Archbishop Leighton, that : 
 
 " The first thing in religion-]- is to state the Object of it 
 right, and to acknowledge and receive it for such :" hence 
 that when it is said, " I am the Lord thy God ; thou shalt 
 have none other gods before me," that " which is mainly 
 intended is the Object of worship : that that Jehovah who 
 gave, and himself spake, this law, be received and acknow- 
 ledged for the only true God, and so the only Object of 
 divine worship" Indeed, here, says another writer, J "God 
 proposes Himself as the sole Object of that religious wor- 
 ship which is enjoined in the first four of the command- 
 ments." " The first commandment," says another writer, 
 alluding to the Jews, " was designed to determine their 
 
 * A Vindication of the Worship of the Son and Holy Ghost. By 
 Thomas Randolph, D.D., President of Corpus Christi College ; Lady 
 Margaret's Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford; and 
 afterwards Bishop of London, pp. 2, 165. 
 
 f Exposition of the Ten Commandments, precept i. 
 
 J Exposition of the Old and New Testament. Matthew Henry, 
 Exod. xx. 2. 
 
 Fidde's Body of Divinity. Decalogue. Vol. ii., p. 244. 
 
16 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OR, 
 
 choice upon the true and only Object of divine worship, in 
 opposition to idols." 
 
 There was acknowledged, then, under the Mosaic dis- 
 pensation, one only God, one Supreme Being, one only 
 Object of worship, in opposition to a plurality of Objects of 
 worship among the nations which cultivated polytheism ; 
 indeed the* " separation of the Israelites from these nations 
 was in order to preserve the doctrine of the UNITY amidst 
 an idolatrous and polytheistic world." The doctrine of the 
 Unity of the Godhead was thus of sufficient importance to 
 constitute the foundation of a distinct Church established 
 with the very view of preserving this doctrine. Indeed 
 " according to our Saviour,-}- the whole duty of man, the 
 love of God and of our neighbour, is founded on the Unity 
 of the Divine nature." Hence, | " that God is one, and 
 consequently the Object of worship one only, is of the first 
 importance in religion. The wretched state of morals in 
 the heathen world flowed from their polytheism." " The 
 chief design of the Mosaical religion was to banish all 
 idolatry and polytheism out of the minds of the Jews, 
 and to possess them with the idea of one God, and of one 
 Object of worship." Both in the Old and New Testament, 
 says Dr. Waterland,|| " all religious worship is supposed 
 to have one meaning, one significancy, one Object; viz., the 
 Divine Nature, whether subsisting in one person or more." 
 " There is but one worship, and one Object of worship." 
 
 * Warburton's Divine Legation, vol. ii., p. 3. 
 
 f Sermons of Archbishop Tillotson, No. 48. 
 
 J Apology of Theophilus Lindsey, p. 82. 
 
 Bishop Burnett on the Thirty-nine Articles, p. 62, art. ii. 
 
 || See his Works, vol. i., p. 175, 185. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OP WORSHIP? 17 
 
 If then God alone ought to be worshipped, and there be 
 only one God, one Supreme Being, and consequently only 
 one Object of worship, more Objects of worship than one 
 must imply more Gods than one, more Divine Beings than 
 one. The Bible, we are told, inculcates One Supreme 
 Object of worship; Polytheism, its various Objects of 
 worship. Indeed, says Dr. Waterland* a cotemporary of 
 Swedenborg, " one considerable objection against the Arian 
 scheme, is, that it stands in opposition to the first and 
 great Commandment ; introducing two Gods, and two Ob- 
 jects of worship; not only against Scripture, but also 
 against the unanimous sense of the Christian Church from 
 the beginning, and of the Jewish Church before ; which 
 together are the safest and best comment we can have 
 upon Scripture." 
 
 One Supreme Being then is one Object of worship : one 
 Object of worship cannot be two, cannot be three, cannot 
 in fine be more than one ; and yet, notwithstanding, in the 
 time of Swedenborg the Church of England was divided, 
 against itself upon this very subject. Dr. Samuel Clarke 
 maintained that there is only one Object of divine worship, 
 and that one the person of the Father : " The Object of 
 prayer," says he,f "the Person to whom our prayers are to 
 be directed is God ; even * the God and Father of all, who 
 is above all, and through all, and in us all.' " Dr. Clarke 
 regarded the worship of two other persons, as implying 
 two other Objects of worship; but Dr. Waterland observes, \ 
 that "the Father is worshipped, and the Son is wor- 
 
 * Vol. ii., Preface, p. 24. 
 
 t Exposition of the Church Catechism : Lord's Prayer. 
 
 % Vol. i., p. 234. 
 
18 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OH, 
 
 shipped, and yet we find no foundation for asserting two 
 Objects of worship, or two worships ; in a word, the Father 
 is God, the Son is God, and yet we are nowhere taught 
 to call them two Gods," 
 
 Dr. Horberry also observes* in answer to a disciple of 
 Dr. Clarke, " He tells us that Luke xi. 2; John xvi. 23; 
 and 1 Tim. ii. 5, instruct us in the Object of Christian wor- 
 ship, that the Father is the alone supreme and ultimate 
 Object of our adoration and prayer. Are there then two 
 Objects of worship ? or is Christ not to be worshipped at 
 all ?" evidently intending that two Objects of worship 
 imply the Arian doctrine. Hence also the ostensible rea- 
 son that there are not two Objects of worship, is, that 
 although there are more persons than one, there is only 
 one nature common to all, and it is that one common 
 nature which is the one Object of worship ; for two Objects 
 of worship these writers regarded as implying two Gods. 
 
 In this case then, with a view to avoid Polytheism, is 
 inculcated the necessity of distinguishing the nature from 
 the person ; and of worshipping the nature distinctly from 
 the person ; for it is acknowledged that unless this be done, 
 the doctrine of the Tripersonality may be open to the charge 
 of introducing three Objects of worship. But the question 
 is, whether this distinction of nature from person is not 
 founded on a refinement, a nicety of discrimination which 
 people in general are unable to make ; and whether it is 
 not more like a metaphysical manoeuvre to evade a dif- 
 ficulty, than a plain, straightforward rule to avoid a prac- 
 tical evil ; shall we say, a positive sin ? 
 
 Let us see how the Christian Church has been the first 
 * Works of Dr. Horberry, vol. ii., p. 386. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 19 
 
 to ignore these subtleties, and openly to adopt the doc- 
 trine of a plurality of Objects of worship. 
 
 First of all it is asked:* "Were you solemnly dedicated 
 to the honor and service of three divine persons ? And 
 do you constantly worship them, offering up your prayers 
 and devotions directly to them, sometimes jointly to all, 
 and sometimes separately to each? And can you say after 
 this, that you know not, or believe not, that faith in them 
 is any necessary part of your religion ? What is, or can 
 be, necessary in religion, if it be riot necessary to believe 
 rightly concerning the very Object of your worship, and 
 the God whom you adore?" Here the one Godhead of 
 three Persons is the one Object of worship on the other 
 hand, the three Persons in the one Godhead are three sepa- 
 rate Objects of worship. 
 
 " Accordingly," says Mr. Faber,-j- u the thanksgiving 
 and doxology of Polycarp constitute a palpable act of 
 divine adoration, whereof the three persons of the Father, 
 and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are the declared 05- 
 jects." 
 
 So Dr. Burton, speaking of certain passages in Justin, 
 concerning the worship of the three persons :* " All these 
 passages taken together may lead us to conclude, that 
 Justin Martyr considered the Son and Holy Ghost as 
 Objects of religious worship." 
 
 Again, speaking of Origen : " These two words, wor- 
 shipper of the Triad, contain in fact the whole doctrine of 
 
 * Works of Dr. Horberry, vol. i., p. 335. 
 
 f The Apostolicity of Trinitarianism, vol. i., p. 281. 
 
 * Testimonies of the Ante-Nicene Fathers to the Doctrine of the 
 Trinity, pages 23, 44, 57. 
 
20 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OE, 
 
 the Trinity; for they shew that Origen united all the 
 three persons as Objects of the same adoration." 
 
 So again, the same author, speaking of a sentence in 
 Clement : "There may be parts of this sentence which are 
 difficult to comprehend, but it is unquestionable that the 
 Son and Holy Ghost are united with the Father as Objects 
 of praise," etc. 
 
 So the Family Bible: under the Mosaic dispensation 
 Deut. vi. 4 : " The Scripture expressly asserts, in perfect 
 conformity with reason, that there is but one God, the Ob- 
 ject of our faith and adoration." But under the Christian 
 dispensation, Matt, xxviii. 19 : u To baptize * in the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,' is 
 to perform this rite or sacrament by the authority of, and 
 by special relation to, the Three Persons of the blessed 
 Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as the chief Objects 
 of the Christian faith, of which solemn profession is then 
 made." 
 
 In his Practical Discourses on the Liturgy, vol. iii., p. 
 218, it is observed by Dr. Hole, that " though God the 
 Father be the principal Object of our prayers, yet God the 
 Son is the Mediator in whose name and for whose merits 
 we are to offer them up to him." The Holy Ghost is men- 
 tioned by Dr. Burton more than once, as " an object of 
 worship," in his Antenicene Testimonies on the Trinity. 
 
 " This requiring of worship," says Bishop Mant's Prayer 
 Book,* " to the sacred Three, cuts off all pretence of its 
 being a speculative or uninteresting doctrine. This made 
 it practical in the highest degree, and made the practice 
 instructive to the understanding as well as expressive of 
 * Litany. So again, Waldo on the Liturgy, p. 343. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 21 
 
 the devotion of the heart/' " To be baptized into 
 
 the name of these Three, is to acknowledge their Divine 
 power and dominion over us, and to dedicate ourselves to 
 them as the Objects of our faith, hope, and worship. 
 
 Thus also Wheatly :* " I would shew that in the Object 
 of our worship, there are Three Distinct Persons, and each 
 of them Divine." But then he says again : " That there 
 are Three Persons distinct from each other, and each of 
 them the Object of our adoration and praise." Accordingly 
 he elsewhere asserts that " the Three Persons in whose 
 name we are baptized are all of them the Objects of our 
 faith and worship." 
 
 Thus also Mr. G. Bingham :[- " When we are com- 
 manded to worship the Lord our God, and the same Scrip- 
 tures teach us that the Three Persons are Lord and God ; 
 we have the determined Object of our worship pointed out, 
 and we include the Second and Third Persons of the Tri- 
 nity when we cry, ' Abba, Father.' " On the other hand, 
 says he, " in Romans, chap. ix. 1, are contained all the 
 essentials of an oath, which I have always considered as 
 a solemn act, by which God is religiously invoked : either, 
 then, St. Paul sware by them that are no Gods, or the Son 
 and Holy Ghost are properly the Objects of our religious 
 addresses. "J 
 
 So Dr. Allix : " This distinction of Persons, all par- 
 
 * On the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, pp. 85, 183, 128. 
 
 f Dissertations, Essays, and Sermons, by the Rev. G. Bingham, pp. 
 85, 83, vol. ii, 
 
 J Edwards, Allix, Hole, Wheatly, Graves, Calamy, Bingham, More, 
 Stackhouse, Cudworth, Sherlock, were cotemporaries of Swedenborg. 
 
 The Judgment of the Ancient Jewish Church, pp. 80, 117. 
 
22 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OK, 
 
 taking of the same common nature and majesty, hinders 
 not their being equally the Object of that worship which 
 religion commands us to pay to God." But again, he 
 says : " We see the numher Three still observed in beg- 
 ging pardon of sins, of blessings, and in returning praises 
 to God, intimating there are Three from whom all good 
 things come, and who are therefore the Objects of prayer." 
 
 So Dr. Hales :* " The Trinity in Unity is the proper 
 
 Object of religious worship." " But the Son and 
 
 Holy Ghost, as jointly possessing the attribute of im- 
 mensity or pervading all space, equally with the Father, 
 are equally Objects of invocation or prayer." 
 
 Again, observes Dr. Graves :{- " The direct conclusion 
 which appears to follow from the Founder of our holy 
 religion having thus, in the form of baptism which he en- 
 joined, united the Son and Holy Spirit with the Supreme 
 Father as equally Objects of the Christian faith, appears 
 clearly to be, that they must all partake of the same 
 Divine nature, and form one Godhead, the exclusive Object 
 of Christian adoration and obedience." One Object, that is, 
 considered as forming one Godhead or Divine nature, and 
 three Objects considered as three Divine Persons. Hence 
 he afterwards observes again, that the " Three Persons 
 were proposed as equally the Objects of faith and acknow- 
 ledgment." 
 
 So Dr. Pye Smith :( " It may, I conceive, be justly laid 
 down as an axiom, that the proper and formal Object of all 
 religious worship is the Divine Being under the most ab- 
 
 * Faith in the Holy Trinity, vol. ii., pp. 302, 303. 
 f Select Scriptural Proofs of the Trinity, pp. 3, 4. 
 t Scripture Testimonies, vol. iii., pp. 419, 417. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 23 
 
 solute and generic mode of consideration, or that which is 
 the concrete of all Divine attributes." But, the facts are, 
 " that numerous and remarkable intimations were given 
 in the writings of the Old Testament, of a plurality of sub- 
 sistences in the Divine nature ; and that, in some passages, 
 this intimation is referred to specifically three Objects" L e. 
 personal objects. 
 
 Thus also Dr. Calamy :* "The Son and Holy Spirit are 
 joint-sharers with the Father in the most essential perfec- 
 tions of the Deity, and joint Objects' of adoration." 
 
 Thus also Bishop Horsley:f "That the Father is a 
 proper Object of prayer, God forbid that ever I should not 
 acknowledge. That He is the proper Object, in the sense 
 in which you seem to make the assertion, in prejudice and 
 exclusion of the other Persons, God forbid that ever I 
 should concede." 
 
 We must see then that a distinct personal agent is prac- 
 tically regarded as a distinct personal Object : and three 
 distinct personal agents as practically three distinct Objects 
 of Divine worship. Hence the metaphysical subtlety that 
 we worship the one Nature and not the three Persons, is 
 ignored by the very parties who, in order to avoid Tri- 
 theism, maintain it. Practically speaking, no one wor- 
 ships Divine substance in general, or the Divine nature in 
 general ; he worships the Divine Person to whom the sub- 
 stance belongs. " Worship," says a modern writer,;); " is 
 
 * Sermons on the Trinity, p. 25. So Mortlock's Scripture Testi- 
 mony to the Doctrine of the Trinity, preached before the University 
 of Cambridge, p. 143; Heurtley's Bampton Lectures, p. 172; Bishop 
 Heber's Sermons, p. 142. 
 
 t Letters in Reply to Dr. Priestley, p. 234. 
 
 Keble on Eucharistical Adoration, p. 51. 
 
24 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OH, 
 
 a personal thing ; the true real primary Object of worship, 
 in the proper and high sense of the word, for all reason- 
 able and understanding creatures, must of course be some 
 person, and that Person the Most High God." 
 
 But* the Liturgy of the Church of England is obviously 
 founded upon the idea, that in the Divine nature there is a 
 Trinity of Persons, to each of which adoration is addressed; 
 and thus it is that it acknowledges three distinct Objects of 
 Divine worship. 
 
 Now if a person be the Object of worship, then three 
 Persons are three Objects of worship, and this is the reason 
 why a plurality of Objects of worship is openly acknow- 
 ledged. Consequently as the Liturgy is founded upon an 
 acknowledgment of three Divine Persons, and every Divine 
 Person by himself is said to be God and Lord, there are 
 of course openly acknowledged three Divine Objects of 
 worship. 
 
 The way in which this divine worship is in the Com- 
 mon Prayer Book addressed to the three several Divine 
 Objects instead of one, is thus described by a clergyman, 
 a cotemporary of Swedenborg, whose mind had been much 
 disturbed by the circumstance. -j- 
 
 " The Litany, more than any other of the offices of de- 
 votion in our Church, seems to deviate most widely from 
 this rule of Christian worship, and to require a total re- 
 formation. For in this, 
 
 " 1. God, the Father of heaven, is invoked : 
 
 " 2. Then follow three several invocations of God the 
 Son, God the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Trinity : 
 
 * Lindsay's Historical View, p. 485. 
 
 f Theophilus Lindsey ; see his Apology, p. 149. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 25 
 
 " 3. Next follow several addresses to Christ by Himself. 
 And after that, 
 
 "4. 'We sinners do beseech Thee to hear us, Lord 
 God,' would seem to be directed to God the Father : 
 
 " 5. Then, after a certain space, follow many invocations 
 of the Son, as 'Lamb of God,' 'Christ,' 'Lord:' 
 
 " 6. Then we turn off all at once and address ourselves 
 to the Father : 
 
 " 7. Then we return again to the Son, and renew our 
 address to him in several invocations : 
 
 "8. Presently after we go back and say, ' We "beseech 
 Thee, Father. 1 And, 
 
 "9. In the very next address, as placed in this Office, 
 we resume our devotions once more to Christ, in the prayer 
 of St. Chrysostom. 
 
 " Is there any thing in Holy Scripture to countenance 
 this variety of address, and shifting and changing from one 
 Object of worship to another ? Can this in any shape be 
 construed into a right worship of the One Infinite Eternal 
 Mind, the wise and good Parent of the universe ?" 
 
 The answer to these objections was thus given by an 
 advocate* of the Church of England Liturgy : 
 
 " I believe no one person, instructed only in our Church 
 Catechism, ever found any difficulty or hindrance to his 
 prayer, by first addressing himself distinctly to each of the 
 Three Persons, and then jointly to the individual Trinity, 
 in the beginning of our Litany. Nay, I will go farther to 
 affirm that these frequent transitions add a life and spirit to 
 our devotions : the mind of the worshipper is more intent, 
 and never drawn off from its proper Object. And what these 
 * The Rev. G. Bingham. See his works, vol. ii., p. 85. 
 
 C 
 
26 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OR, 
 
 disquisitors call a blemish in our Liturgy, I would humbly 
 recommend as a perfection. These cavils against the 
 Litany hold equally strong against the Te Deum; and yet 
 I scarce know any human composition which greatly ex- 
 ceeds it. The sudden change of the Person, and immediate 
 address to Christ, followed by a rapid enumeration of his 
 chief characteristics, and the most interesting deductions 
 drawn from thence, are, in these species of writing, more 
 particularly beautiful ; and, in spite of Dr. Clarke's amend- 
 ments, if we strike out or change any one part, we spoil 
 the whole." 
 
 Here, as the proper Object of prayer is acknowledged to 
 be the Person to whom the prayer is properly or directly 
 addressed, so the vindication of the practice of praying to 
 three several Divine Objects, is founded upon the circum- 
 stance of every distinct prayer having its own proper 
 Object. But we now proceed further. 
 
 It was objected by a cotemporary of Swedenborg, that,* 
 "The public service of the Liturgy, or Book of Common 
 Prayer, holds out for its Objects of religious worship, three 
 distinct Beings, there styled God the Father, God the Son, 
 God the Holy Ghost : one God in Trinity, and Trinity in 
 Unity : not one only Person, but three Persons." 
 
 What foundation was there for this assertion? Dr. John 
 Edwards, a zealous Athanasian, and himself also a cotem- 
 poraryf of Swedenborg, writes thus : " The Father cannot 
 be the Son whom he begets, nor the Son that Father that 
 
 * Historical View, by Theophilus Lindsey, p. 545. 
 f Theologia Reformata, vol. i., p. 286. 
 
 So also writes another cotemporary of Swedenborg, Dr. Stackhouse 
 in his Body of Divinity, p. 116. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 27 
 
 begat him, nor the Holy Ghost either the Father or the 
 Son from whom He proceeds. Consequently, they must 
 be distinct things or Beings, and real and proper Persons ; 
 for he that begets and he that is begotten, and he that 
 proceedeth from both, cannot be the same Persons and 
 Beings.' 1 Accordingly he adds ; " It is very evident, that 
 though the Divine Essence or substance is the same, as it 
 belongs to all the Three Persons, yet it may be said not to 
 be the same as it is communicated from one to the rest, and 
 resides in different Persons. Whence I gather, that as 
 there is an identity of substance as relates to the Divine 
 Nature in general, so there is a difference of substance as 
 the reference is to the Persons. . . The substance may be the 
 same, and yet distinct. And this is the thing I offer at 
 present, viz., that the Divine Substance being considered 
 in general is one, entirely one ; but being considered as 
 possessed by Three Persons, it may be said to be Three 
 Substances : no otherwise are we to understand it." 
 
 "By the word Person, I mean a Being that hath 
 understanding, and that is a distinct entire Substance of 
 itself/'* 
 
 " A Person is a complete intelligent substance, with a 
 peculiar manner of subsistence. "{ 
 
 " Every Divine Person is an individual intelligent 
 Being." . . . ( 
 
 Bishop Bull, in what has been called his "immortal 
 treatise " on the Nicene Creed, is considered to have settled 
 this question. The following is the account of it given by 
 
 * Hid., pp. 288, 289. 
 
 f Ibid., p. 288. 
 
 J Nelson's Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity, p. 187. 
 
 c2 
 
28 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OE, 
 
 a divine of the Church of England,* and cotemporary of 
 Swedenborg : 
 
 " Whereas the schools by Homoousios (consubstantial or 
 of the same substance) mean that the Three Divine Per- 
 sons are but one Substance in number, or one selfsame Sub- 
 stance 5 Dr. Bull plainly discerned that by Homoousios the 
 Fathers intended one Substance in nature and properties, 
 not one in number. In short, that the Divine Persons are 
 three distinct numerical Substances ; and one Substance only 
 in kind and sort, that is, in essential properties : they are 
 one substance as all Angels, or, to use one of his com- 
 parisons, all Stars have the same kind of substance : the 
 Substances of the Three Divine Persons are alike immuta- 
 ble, spiritual, and qualified with all the same Divine 
 attributes : in this sense only they are consubstantial or 
 the same substance. But he expressly also saith, that they 
 are Three Spirits ; and when the Third Person is called 
 Holy Spirit, it is only by appropriation, because He is the 
 spiration of the First and Second Persons ; who are also 
 most Holy Spirits no less than He is. This is Dr. Bull's 
 explication of the Trinity of Divine Persons : 'tis unde- 
 niable that his doctrine is the same with Dr. Sherlock's. 
 Dr. Sherlock has but succeeded Dr. Bull in the heresy, as 
 the Oxford decree speaks, of Three Distinct Substances 
 and Spirits ; which also unavoidably implies Three Beings 
 and Three Minds" 
 
 We now see clearly the reason that there are three dis- 
 tinct Objects of Divine worship ; viz., that there are, not 
 one and the same Being under different respects and con- 
 
 * The Judgment of a Disinterested Person concerning the Controversy 
 about the Blessed Trinity : By a Divine of the Church of England, p. 8. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 29 
 
 siderations, but three distinct Divine Beings, as expressly- 
 asserted by various cotemporaries of Swedenborg.* Never- 
 theless, as there is but one Godhead common to these three 
 Beings, so all these together constitute but one God ; and as 
 there is but one Godhead common to the three Objects of 
 worship, so all these together constitute but one Object of 
 worship. In this sense the assertion that there is only one 
 Object of worship, does not exclude the idea of Three Divine 
 Beings, but is founded upon them. Dr. Sherlock, for in- 
 stance, when he maintains that the Three Divine Persons 
 are three distinct Beings, maintains also that thev_ are col- 
 lectively but one Object of worship, in consequence of the 
 one common Divine nature belonging to the Three ; " there- 
 fore," says he, " withf regard to the Holy Spirit, though 
 the Spirit be God, He is but one God with Father and 
 Son, and therefore not a distinct and separate Object of 
 worship ;" for Tritheist as he has been considered to be, 
 he shrank from the expression Objects of worship, which 
 nevertheless his professedly more orthodox opponents have, 
 for the most part, no hesitation in adopting. 
 
 As then "we acknowledge each Person by himself to be 
 God and Lord,"J so we invoke each Person separately and 
 apart : and vice versa, by this separate invocation we are 
 taught to acknowledge each Person by himself to be God 
 and Lord, " each being God as absolutely as if there were 
 no other Divine Person but Himself." || Thus we see how 
 
 * Cudworth, Bingham, Sherlock, Edwards, Stackhouse, etc. 
 f Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity, p. 195. , 
 
 J Bishop Mant's Book of Common Prayer, Litany, Notes. 
 || Select Treatises of Athanasius, Newman's Translation ; Notes, 
 p. 327. 
 
30 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OR, 
 
 the Liturgy responds to the Creed, and the Creed to the 
 Liturgy. This being the case, the question is how far 
 they both come into collision with the first Commandment ; 
 for in that Commandment we are required to acknowledge* 
 and believe one only God, and regard him as " the sole and 
 only Object of our adoration and worship." In reply to 
 this it is said :} " If the Jews were unacquainted with 
 the distinction of Persons in the Godhead, they could 
 worship one only God in the general. But we who have 
 been taught this distinction, and have been baptized in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost, are obliged to worship each Divine Person sepa- 
 rately. 71 
 
 Would not plain common people conclude, that here are 
 three separate Objects of divine worship ? How then does 
 Dr. Waterland escape the dilemma? He acknowledges 
 that three distinct Objects of worship are three Gods ; but 
 to avoid this, he regards the worship as passing on from 
 the three Persons to the one nature. " You find fault with 
 me," says he, in answer to his opponent,:): " for making the 
 nature of God, not the Person, the Object of worship. But 
 what if I make three Persons the Object on account of their 
 
 Divine nature ?" " Since|| all worship terminates 
 
 in the Object to which it is directed or offered, if the same 
 act of worship offered to Christ terminates in God the 
 Father ; then the case is plain that it terminates in both, 
 and both are one undivided Object." 
 
 Who could have supposed, but for this metaphysical 
 
 * Pyle's Paraphrase of the Old Testament ; Exodus xx. 
 
 f Dr. Randolph's Vindication, p. 4. 
 
 % Second Defence, vol. iii., p. 351. || Ibid., p. 346. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OP WORSHIP? 31 
 
 achievement, that making three distinct Persons each of 
 them the separate Object of prayer, was praying to one 
 undivided Object ? 
 
 We have, however, before seen how upon the same 
 principles there is said to be one undivided Substance, yet 
 three distinct Substances : one undivided Being, yet three 
 distinct Beings ; and so we have here, according to Dr. 
 Waterland, One undivided Object, and yet, according to 
 rigid Athanasians, three distinct Objects of divine worship 
 nevertheless. 
 
 This apparent profession of belief in one undivided Ob- 
 ject* is made in order to avoid a fatal objection, which may 
 be stated in the language used by one clergyman in con- 
 troversy with another-}- in the time of Swedenborg, upon 
 this very subject. 
 
 * As, for instance, Harvey, the once popular author of Theron and 
 Aspasio, writes to a friend, in the time of Swedenborg, referring thus 
 to an Arian : " It might have guarded him against some other unwary 
 expressions which imply the notion of Polytheism, particularly that in 
 p. 10, where he tells us, ' That the Scripture sets forth the Father and 
 the Son as the Objects of worship. 1 I cannot find any such represen- 
 tation in Scripture. The Scripture is uniform and consistent, and 
 speaking of but one God, speaks of but one Object of worship, viz., the 
 infinite Deity distinguished by a threefold personality." In what sense 
 the three Persons are one Object, may be collected from what Harvey 
 calls the " mysterious council of peace planned between God the Father 
 and his divine Son," which is " a solemn contract ratified on either 
 side ;" the whole being illustrated by a formal and solemn colloquy be- 
 tween God the Father and God the Son upon the occasion. Letter viii., 
 Aspasio Vindicated. 
 
 f Defence of the Appeal to the Common Sense of all Christian 
 People, p. 350. By the Rev. W. Hopkins, Vicar of Bolney, Sussex, 
 in answer to the Rev. Dr. M'Donnell. 
 
32 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OR, 
 
 "Give me leave to observe, that the true sense of the 
 first Commandment should put you upon some serious re- 
 flections, whether your scheme be not a direct breach of 
 this solemn Law ; as you acknowledge two other Persons 
 supreme and ultimate Objects of religious worship, beside 
 the Person who delivered this Commandment. Three Per- 
 sons equally supreme, whether of the same or different 
 substances, are Three distinct Gods a doctrine expressly 
 condemned by the first Commandment, and, indeed, by 
 every part of the Old and New Testament." 
 
 However the doctrine may be protested against, the 
 Liturgy remains a standing witness to the admission of 
 Three distinct Objects of divine worship. By some, how- 
 ever, who dislike this expression, the objection has been 
 attempted to be obviated in the following manner : * 
 
 "As to that prayer, '0 God the Father . . . have mercy 
 upon us : ' l God the Son . . . have mercy upon us : ' '0 
 God the Holy Ghost . . . have mercy upon us,' it hath been 
 disliked by divers learned men, particularly by Mr. Calvin. 
 But 'tis certain 'tis not the Churches intention to own hereby 
 Three Spirits, or Three Objects of worship ; the Object of 
 worship being incontestably, and, I think, confessedly, but 
 one. The Church by this Form of Prayer means only to 
 invocate God by the Three distinctions which she owneth 
 to be in Him, And when she names these distinctions or 
 Properties, Father, Son, and Spirit ; she intends those 
 words not as when they are used of men, or any other 
 creatures, but only in the sense that they are applicable 
 
 * The Judgment of a Disinterested Person, concerning the Contro- 
 versy about the Blessed Trinity : By a Divine of the Church of 
 England, A.D. 1696, p. 29. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 33 
 
 to God. Father, when said of God, is Original Intel- 
 lect ; Son, is reflex Wisdom ; and Holy Spirit, is Divine 
 Love. 
 
 " Notwithstanding, because of the common people who 
 by occasion of that Form may entertain Tritheistic notions, 
 Mr. Calvin advised well that this and such like offensive 
 Forms be taken away. When I say offensive, I mean, 
 they are Forms at which the ignorant may dangerously 
 stumble, may easily make shipwreck of the Faith. 1 ' 
 
 Now we have seen that the Objects of Divine worship 
 are, by the testimonies of reputedly the most orthodox 
 writers, incontestably and confessedly Three; for they 
 themselves ignore the temporary distinction between Person 
 and Nature ; and as to the prayer to the Person of the 
 Father, ' have mercy upon us,' which is afterwards re- 
 peated to the Person of the Son, and then again to the 
 Person of the Holy Ghost, even this writer admits that 
 it ought to be discarded, for fear of shipwreck to the Faith. 
 But further : Dr. Owen observes;* "Although we may 
 call on God in and by the name of any divine Person, or 
 enumerate at once each Person, it doth not follow that we 
 may make a request in our prayers unto one Person, and 
 then immediately repeat it unto another : for it would 
 thence follow that the Person unto whom we make that 
 request in the second place was not invocated, not called 
 on, not equally adored with Him, who was so called on in 
 the first place ; although the Divine Nature is the Object 
 of all religious invocation, which is the same in each 
 Person." 
 
 * See his Works, vol. xii., p. 32. Preface to The Glorious Mystery 
 of the Person of Christ. 
 
 C 3 
 
34 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OR, 
 
 What Dr. Owen says ought not to be done for fear of 
 Tritheism, is done nevertheless ; for the Catholic Litur- 
 gies of Christendom admit of this repetition of the same 
 prayer to each Person separately ; upon the principle main- 
 tained by Bishop Pearson,* that the Father is not included 
 in the Son, nor the Son in the Father, nor the Holy Spirit 
 in either. This is that interpretation of the Creed upon 
 which these Liturgies are founded ; and hence it is that 
 they are all standing testimonies to the acknowledgment 
 of Three Objects of divine worship. 
 
 It is remarkable that however theologians may maintain 
 the existence of three distinct Beings, three distinct Minds, 
 three distinct Substances, three distinct Spirits, three dis- 
 tinct Objects of worship ; yet they one and all ostensibly 
 repudiate with zeal the doctrine of three Lords and three 
 Gods, and this because they profess to believe in one and 
 the same numerical Divine Substance. 
 
 But, supposing they do, the practical explication of the 
 Divine Economy entirely neutralizes the profession. Let 
 it be granted that the Creed asserts only one and the 
 same numerical Divine Being ; is it consistent to use lan- 
 guage which has no meaning except as implying Three ? 
 thus to speak of three contracting parties ; of a consulta- 
 tion between the Three Persons ; a covenant or agreement 
 between them as to the plan of salvation ; of one as issuing 
 out orders to the other, holding a colloquy with the other, 
 receiving a commission from the other, and a recompense 
 from Him for discharging it ; of one praying to the other, 
 either by words or gesture ; while we also in turn pray to 
 each of them distinctly, apart, separately, conjointly, each 
 * Exposition of the Creed, art. i., p. 59. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 35 
 
 being the particular Object of worship according to the 
 particular subject of the prayer. And yet are not all the 
 Liturgies in Christendom constructed upon this principle ? 
 
 Nay, more than this : " Supposing our doctrine true," 
 says Dr. Waterland,* " there will be duties proper to be 
 paid to the Father as Father, and to the Son as Son, and 
 to the Holy Ghost as the eternal Spirit of both ; duties 
 correspondent to their distinct offices and personalities, be- 
 side the duties common to all Three considered as one God." 
 
 Let persons bear in mind this ordinary mode of expres- 
 sion, and then reconcile their ideas, if they can, with one 
 numerical Being ! Well might Bishop Horsley-(- say upon 
 this subject to Dr. Priestley, " Read the Parmenides ; you 
 will then perhaps perceive, that that Unity which must be 
 the foundation of all Being, is itself of all things the most 
 mysterious and incomprehensible" And does not this en- 
 tirely agree with what your Grace has said, that divines 
 " have made the Unity the great and difficult mystery ?"J 
 Let a man read the Parmenides, or, it would seem, he 
 cannot understand the first Commandment ; and after he 
 has read it, let him understand the first Commandment if 
 he can ; if he cannot, let him understand it to be the great 
 and difficult mystery. 
 
 Well again might the Bishop say to Dr. Priestley 
 ". You say that many passages in Scripture inculcate the 
 doctrine of the Divine Unity in the clearest and strongest 
 manner. Be pleased, Sir, to produce one of the many ;" 
 
 * Vol. v., p. 27. 
 
 f Tracts in Controversy icith Dr. Priestley, pp. 286, 287. 
 
 J See above, p. 13. 
 
36 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OR, 
 
 evidently implying, says the latter,* that no such 
 passage is to be found. " Concerning the metaphysical 
 unity of the Divine nature," says Bishop Horsley, " the 
 Scriptures are silent ; except that by discovering a Trinity 
 of Persons, they teach clearly what the Unity is not ; 
 namely, that it is not personal." May I submit, my Lord, 
 that in the mind of this Prelate, the Parmenides had effec- 
 tually done its work, and has originated a good illustration 
 of your own remark: for according to him, the Divine 
 Unity is a purely metaphysical question upon which the 
 Scriptures are silent not so the Parmenides, which treats 
 of the subject. "It is indeed in Plato's school, if any- 
 where, that a man's eyes are likely to be opened to his 
 own ignorance, "-j- 
 
 " Put the case then," says Dr. Waterland,J " that the 
 Three Divine Persons of the Trinity are equally divine, 
 and that a man has been trained up to esteem them accord- 
 ingly ; it cannot be doubted but that he goes out of the 
 world more fitly disposed in that respect to be taken into 
 their friendship, and best qualified, other circumstances 
 being equal, for the beatific enjoyment" 
 
 This mention of the beatific enjoyment in connection with 
 the Athanasian doctrine of the Tripersonality, obliges me 
 to introduce, though perhaps somewhat prematurely, a 
 subject which is more especially reserved for the latter 
 
 * Tracts in Controversy with Bishop Horsley, p. 288. 
 
 f Accordingly, no less than sixteen times in the course of the 
 Parmenides, one translator makes this remark" I am here quite in 
 the dark ; and so was Ficinus, as is evident from his unintelligible 
 version." 
 
 J Works, vol. 5, p. 33. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP ? 37 
 
 part of this Letter I mean that of the Spiritual World. 
 As Dr. Waterland however has here introduced it, and 
 spoken of the beatific enjoyment in relation to the Triper- 
 sonal doctrine, we shall compare it with what Swedenborg 
 has said in regard to the consequences of this doctrine, as 
 exemplified in the World of Spirits. 
 
 Let us take the case of Athanasius himself which is thus 
 represented by Swedenborg.* 
 
 " I spake with Athanasius : he says that he knows not 
 his own God : that he is seeking for the Father, seeking for 
 the Son, and seeking for the Holy Spirit, thus for Three, 
 and he finds them nowhere : accordingly, inasmuch as he 
 could not find his own God, he complained of his lot sadly. 
 The reason is, that he had confirmed himself in his opinion 
 concerning Three Persons ; while others, who have only 
 heard of these things from his Faith and have not con- 
 firmed themselves in them, as he did, if they have lived 
 a life of charity, are ultimately led to acknowledge the 
 Lord for their only God. Wherefore it is of the Provi- 
 dence of the Lord, that there are few who think of Him 
 from that Creed : they only listen to what others say, retain 
 it but slightly, and do not confirm themselves in it." 
 
 Now the question is not here, concerning the truth of this 
 narrative ; but concerning its practical nature. It is affirmed 
 by Swedenborg, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost have no distinct subsistence in the heavens as three 
 Persons ; and, consequently, that Three distinct Persons of 
 the Godhead are nowhere to be seen or to be found ; and 
 inasmuch as Athanasius had conceived of the Godhead 
 rather from the diversity of Persons, he sought the God- 
 * Spiritual Diary. 
 
38 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OR, 
 
 head under the idea of that diversity ; he sought the Truth, 
 that is, from an erroneous principle, and therefore could 
 not find it. Does this case, or does it not, convey a 
 practical lesson ? 
 
 Take another case.* 
 
 "I once observed," says Swedenborg, "some persons 
 lately arrived out of the natural World into the spiritual, 
 who were conversing together about the existence of three 
 Divine Persons from eternity." They were dignitaries of 
 the Church, whose ideas of the Trinity implied three 
 Objects of worship ; to whom Swedenborg represents him- 
 self as thus replying : " Is it not a sensuous conception of 
 God the Father, to think that he sits upon a throne with a 
 sceptre in his hand ? and of the Son that he is on a throne 
 with a crown upon his head ? and of the Holy Ghost that 
 he also sits upon his throne with a dove in his hand ? and 
 that in obedience to the decrees of the two former he runs 
 to and fro throughout the whole earth ? . . . . How is it 
 possible when a man is told that the Father is God, the 
 Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and that each 
 Person by Himself is God, that he should conceive there 
 is only one God ? Is there not a contradiction herein that 
 cannot be reconciled ? It may indeed be said that they 
 partake of Divinity alike, but to call them one God is 
 
 highly improper But I perceive the true reason 
 
 why you call the three divine Persons but one God, and 
 insist upon every member of the Church using the same 
 language, notwithstanding you declare each singly and by 
 himself to be God : you are ashamed to contradict herein 
 
 * True Christian Religion, art. 16. The narrative being too ex- 
 tended to insert as a whole, extracts only are here given. 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 39 
 
 the common sense and reason of all mankind, which will 
 not allow of more Gods than one ; and yet you are not 
 ashamed, while you profess with your lips only one God, 
 to entertain the idea of three in your hearts. On hearing 
 these words the bishop retired with his clerical attendants ; 
 and as he went away he turned about and endeavoured to 
 say, 'There is but one God,' but he was not able ; inasmuch 
 as his thought drew his tongue back again, and then with 
 open mouth he proclaimed three Gods. All who stood by, 
 smiled at the strange sight and departed." 
 
 After a further conversation in the World of Spirits with 
 these metaphysicians, Swedenborg observes : " There was 
 present at the debate* a certain wise man, who, when it 
 was ended, said to these three learned disputants : ' I have 
 no inclination to examine this high subject through the 
 medium of such subtle arguments ; but setting these aside, 
 I can see as clear as the light, that in the ideas of your 
 minds there are three Gods; yet, forasmuch as you are 
 ashamed to publish them to the world, for fear of being 
 called madmen and idiots, which would certainly be the 
 case ; therefore, to avoid that ignominy, you confess but one 
 God with your lips.' The three disputants gave little 
 attention to these words, continuing firm to their own 
 sentiments ; and as they departed they muttered some 
 metaphysical terms which they had learned by rote ; 
 
 * " Others apart sat on a hill retired, 
 
 In thoughts more elevate, and reasoned high 
 Of Providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate ; 
 Fixed fate, freewill, foreknowledge absolute, 
 And found no end in wand'ring mazes lost." 
 
 Paradise Lost, Book ii. 
 Probably so ; as Milton's immortal spirits were Arians. 
 
40 ONE OBJECT OF WORSHIP? OR, 
 
 whence I perceived that that science was the tripod from 
 which they were desirous to give their answers." 
 
 Such was the result, according to Swedenborg, of a 
 debate in the Spiritual World, on the subject of the Trinity, 
 between certain metaphysical disputants on the one side, 
 and on the other a man of plain common sense. The reason 
 is, that the received doctrine of the Unity of God is said to 
 belong properly to the science of Metaphysics ; the doctrine 
 of the Tripersonality, to the Economy or to practical Theo- 
 logy. Concerning the metaphysical Unity of the Divine 
 Nature the Scriptures are said to be silent ; the metaphy- 
 sical terms therefore uttered by the foregoing disputants, 
 were probably something about co -inherence or cir cumin- 
 cession as the effectual preservative of the Divine Unity ; 
 of which common people, nevertheless, obviously know 
 nothing. Hence it is that the Liturgy, as implying a 
 practical system of theology, is as silent concerning the 
 perichoresis as the Scripture : most people never heard of 
 it, and would be astonished to hear that, nevertheless, it is 
 this metaphysical enigma which is said to be the one grand 
 safeguard against Tritheism. 
 
 In regard then to the admission of three Objects of wor- 
 ship, Athanasians need not be fastidious in the use of an ex- 
 pression which the Liturgy so clearly sanctions ; and which 
 tells them plainly what their genuine doctrine is ; and that 
 they really think three Objects of worship, though some 
 few among them are afraid to say so ; for after having ex- 
 pended all their zeal in proving that there is one sole Ob- 
 ject of religious worship, and that 'to admit more is Poly- 
 theism, we have seen how Tripersonalists in general speak, 
 nevertheless, of Three Objects of religious worship, as 
 
THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP? 41 
 
 familiarly as any Arian or Polytheist could desire. And 
 why so ? Because " Much as we may wish it," says Mr. 
 Newman,* u we cannot restrain the rovings of the intellect, 
 or silence its clamorous demand for a formal statement con- 
 cerning the Object of our worship. If, e.g.. Scripture bids 
 us adore God, and adore his Son, our reason at once asks, 
 whether it does not follow that there are two Gods ; and a 
 system of doctrine becomes unavoidable, being framed, let 
 it be observed, not with a view of explaining, but of 
 arranging the inspired notices concerning the Supreme 
 Being ; of providing not a consistent, but a connected 
 statement." 
 
 What, then, is this system of doctrine which provides 
 " not a consistent but a connected statement ?" Here it 
 is : " On these two truths the whole doctrine turns, viz., 
 that our Lord is one with, yet personally separate from 
 God."-j- One with God, and therefore one Object of wor- 
 ship with God ; personally separate from God, and there- 
 fore an Object of worship personally separate from Him : 
 in plain words, another Object of worship ; and thus we 
 have the Ecclesiastical doctrine, which provides " not a 
 consistent but a connected statement." Is there only one 
 Object of worship ? Of course there can be but One, and 
 one only, inasmuch as there is only one God : such is the 
 plain and palpable doctrine of the Church : " Let every 
 man," says the Bishop of Cork,J "believe firmly and 
 without any base equivocation or fallacy, that there is but 
 one God, the sole and only invisible Object of any divine 
 
 * The Arians of the Fourth Century, p. 161. 
 f Ibid, p. 171. 
 
 J Procedure, Extent, and Limits of the Human Understanding, p. 
 286. By Dr. Brown, Bishop of Cork. 
 
42 THREE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP. 
 
 worship whatever." Are there three Objects of divine 
 worship? Of course there are, because there are three 
 Persons : this also is the plain and palpable doctrine of 
 the Church. " The Holy Ghost is the third Object of our 
 baptismal faith," says Archbishop Seeker.* Accordingly 
 we are told by Bishop Tomline,f that " As our Lord evi- 
 dently distinguished these Persons from each other, with- 
 out any difference in their authority or power, all standing 
 forth as equally dispensing the benefits of Christianity, as 
 equally the Objects of the faith required in converts upon 
 admission into the Church, they clearly understood that 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, were likewise 
 equally the Objects of their grateful worship : this fully 
 appears from their prayers, doxologies, hymns, and creeds, 
 which are still extant." Hence also, the way in which 
 the worship of three Divine Objects was carried out in the 
 doxologies, is thus described by Wheatly in his Rational 
 Illustration of the Book of Common Prayer. \ " In the pri- 
 mitive times almost every Father had his own doxologies, 
 which they expressed, as they had occasion, in their own 
 phrases and terms ; ascribing Glory and honour, etc., 
 sometimes to the Father ONLY, and sometimes ONLY to the 
 Son ; sometimes to the Father through the Son, and some- 
 times to the Father with the Son ; sometimes to the Spirit 
 JOINTLY with both, and sometimes through or in the Spirit 
 to either ; sometimes through the Son to the Father with 
 the Holy Ghost, and sometimes to the Father and Holy 
 Ghost with the Son" 
 
 Are there not then confessedly three distinct Objects of 
 
 * Lectures on the Catechism. See Creed. Article Holy Ghost. 
 f Elements of Christian Theology, vol. 2, p. 88. 
 J Chap, iii., section 7. Of the Responses. 
 
ATONEMENT. 43 
 
 divine worship ; while yet it is said, that there is but One 
 Sole Object of divine worship ? 
 
 But who can charge the Ecclesiastical doctrine of the 
 Trinity with equivocation or fallacy, so long as it pretends 
 to nothing more than to provide " not a consistent, but a 
 connected statement?" 
 
 How then does the case stand? Swedenborg affirms 
 in his alleged revelations, that all fallacies, equivocations, 
 inconsistences, in regard to the fundamental idea of God, 
 are exposed to open view in the Spiritual World, where 
 spirits are unable to speak otherwise than as they think. 
 If then we are told by the Church that the three Divine 
 Persons are as distinct as any three human persons, but so 
 united that the union is above our ideas, it is obvious that 
 we have an idea of the distinction but no idea of the 
 union ; so that, to all practical purposes, the union is as 
 though it were not, and the distinction alone remains ; 
 and as in the Spiritual World no one can speak but as he 
 thinks, so in that world he who thinks three Gods, however 
 in this world he may say that there is only one, cannot in 
 the Spiritual World even utter the expression One God, 
 but affirms that there are THREE. Hence the spiritual 
 condition of Athanasius. 
 
 Are these alleged revelations practical or not ? 
 
 With respect to the question concerning the Object of 
 Divine worship, viz., WHO the sole Object of worship really 
 is, this we reserve for the sequel : in the meantime we pro- 
 ceed, in the next place, to the doctrine of the ATONEMENT. 
 
 I take this for granted ; a universal truth must enter into 
 all the particular truths under it. Consequently, if there 
 be any Tritheism in our doctrine of the Trinity, we must 
 
44 ATONEMENT. 
 
 carry it into that of the Atonement and of Mediation ; and 
 not only so, but this system of Tritheism must be, more or 
 less, the basis upon which our interpretation of these doc- 
 trines is founded ; and hence, the doctrines of the Atone- 
 ment and Mediation will be, in a greater or less degree, 
 only a practical development and application of a system 
 of Tritheism. My Lord, I cannot but conceive that any 
 one who first admits the fact, as you have candidly done, 
 of an introduction of Tritheism into the popular views of 
 the Trinity, must necessarily admit this conclusion. It is 
 one which is not adverted to in the Essays, although it 
 appears necessarily to follow from what you have stated ; 
 but it is one which is openly asserted in the writings of 
 Swedenborg, of which your Grace says, " You do not deny 
 that they include the FUNDAMENTALS of Christianity." Of 
 these FUNDAMENTALS the following is extracted from the 
 Universal Theology, art. 132. 
 
 "It is a FUNDAMENTAL error of the Church to believe 
 the Passion of the Cross alone to be Redemption itself; 
 and this error together with that relating to Three Divine 
 Persons from eternity, hath perverted the whole Church, 
 so that nothing spiritual is left remaining in it. 
 
 " What doctrine doth more abound in the books of the 
 orthodox at this day, or what is more zealously taught and 
 insisted on in the schools of divinity, or more constantly 
 preached and cried up in the pulpit, than this ; that God 
 the Father, being full of wrath against mankind, not only 
 separated them from himself, but also sentenced them to 
 universal damnation, thus, excommunicated them from his 
 favour ; but because He was gracious and merciful, that 
 He persuaded, or excited, his Son to descend, and take 
 
ATONEMENT. 45 
 
 upon himself the determined curse, and thus expiate the: 
 wrath of his Father ; and that thus and no otherwise 
 could the Father be prevailed upon to look again with an 
 eye of mercy on mankind ? As also, that this was effected 
 by the Son, who, in taking upon himself the curse pro- 
 nounced against men, suffered himself to be scourged by 
 the Jews, to be spit upon, and lastly, to be crucified as the 
 'accursed of God' (Deut. xxi. 23) ; and that the Father 
 was by this means appeased, and, out of love towards his 
 Son, cancelled the sentence of damnation, yet only in 
 favour of those for whom the Son should intercede, who 
 was thus to be a perpetual Mediator in the presence of the 
 Father? These and the like doctrines are at this day 
 trumpeted forth from the pulpit, and are re-echoed from 
 the walls of the temple, as sound is re-echoed in a forest ; 
 so that the ears of all present are filled with it. But who, 
 that hath his reason enlightened and restored to health by 
 the Word, cannot see that God is mercy and clemency 
 itself, because he is love itself and goodness itself, and 
 that these constitute his essence ; and consequently that it 
 is a contradiction to say, that mercy itself or goodness 
 itself can behold man with an angry eye and sentence him 
 to damnation, and still abide in its own Divine essence ? 
 Such dispositions are never ascribed to a good man or an 
 angel of heaven, but only to a wicked man and a spirit of 
 hell ; it is therefore blasphemy to ascribe them to God. 
 But, if we enquire into the cause of this false judgment, 
 we shall find it to be this ; that men have mistaken the 
 passion of the cross for Redemption itself: hence have 
 flowed those opinions, as falses flow in a continued series 
 from one false principle ; or as from a cask of vinegar 
 
46 ATONEMENT. 
 
 nothing but vinegar can come forth ; or as from an insane 
 mind we can expect nothing but insanity. For one point 
 being taken for granted, the conclusions that are made 
 from it must be of the same family, because they are in- 
 cluded in it, and are severally and successively produced 
 from it ; and from this one point concerning the passion of 
 the cross, as constituting the sum of Redemption, many 
 more shocking and impious opinions, scandalous and dis- 
 graceful to God, may still take rise and go forth into the 
 world, until that prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, where it 
 is said, ' The priest and the prophet have erred through 
 strong drink, they stumble in judgment ; all tables are full 
 of vomit and filthiness ' (xxviii. 7, 8). 
 
 " From this idea concerning God and Redemption, the 
 whole system of Theology hath lost its spirituality, and is 
 become in the lowest degree natural. This was the neces- 
 sary consequence of ascribing to God merely natural pro- 
 perties and attributes ; and yet on the idea entertained of 
 God, and that of Redemption, which makes one with sal- 
 vation, everything that hath relation to the Church 
 depends. For that idea is like the head, from which all 
 parts of the body are derived ; when therefore that idea is 
 spiritual, everything that belongeth to the Church be- 
 cometh spiritual also ; but when that idea is natural, then 
 everything belonging to the Church becomes natural. 
 Now, forasmuch as the idea of God and of Redemption is 
 become merely natural, that is, sensual and corporeal, it 
 follows that all those things are merely natural, which the 
 head and members of the Church have maintained, and do 
 maintain in their systems and forms of doctrine. The 
 reason why that idea must of necessity give birth to 
 
ATONEMENT. 47 
 
 nothing but falses, is, because the natural man is in con- 
 tinual opposition to the spiritual man, and thus regardeth 
 spiritual things as airy and visionary phantasies. It may 
 therefore be truly said, that, in consequence of that sensual 
 idea concerning Redemption and thence concerning God, 
 the ways toward heaven, which are those that lead to the 
 Lord God the Saviour, are beset with thieves and robbers 
 (John x. 1, 8, 9) ; and that the doors of the temple are 
 thrown down, so that dragons and owls, and the tzjim and 
 jiim have entered, and made a concert of dreadful discord. 
 That this idea concerning Redemption and concerning 
 God, pervades the faith which prevails at this day through- 
 out all Christendom, is an acknowledged truth ; for that 
 faith requires men to pray to God the Father, that he 
 would remit their sins for the sake of the cross and blood 
 of his Son ; and to God the Son that he would pray and 
 intercede for them ; and to God the Holy Ghost, that he 
 would justify and sanctify them ; and what is all this but 
 to supplicate Three Distinct Gods, one after another? 
 And, in such a case, how can the notion which the mind 
 forms of the Divine government differ from that of an 
 aristocratical or hierarchical government ? or from that of 
 the Triumvirate which once existed at Rome, if only in- 
 stead of a Triumvirate it be called a Triumpersonate ? 
 And in such a government, what is easier than for the 
 devil to put in practice the old maxim, ( divide and govern;' 
 that is, to distract men's minds and excite rebellious mo- 
 tions, sometimes against one God, and sometimes against 
 another, as hath been his practice since the time of Arius 
 to this day ; and thus to thrust the Lord God the Saviour 
 from His throne, * who hath all power in heaven and in 
 
48 ATONEMENT. 
 
 earth" (Matt, xxviii. 18), and to exalt some creature of 
 his own in His place, and to enjoin men to worship him ; 
 or, when the folly of this is detected, to destroy the wor- 
 ship of the Lord Himself together with that of the 
 imaginary idol." 
 
 Such, my Lord, is one of the statements to be found in 
 the theological system of Swedenborg ; of which you ob- 
 serve, " nor do I deny its including the FUNDAMENTALS of 
 Christianity. I had in view only what distinguishes the 
 followers of Swedenborg from the rest of the Christian 
 world ; viz., their faith in a revelation which the rest hold 
 to be a delusion." Your Grace is well aware that the 
 writings of Swedenborg contain doctrines as well as reve- 
 lations; should, then, the Essays continue to maintain that 
 these doctrines need not be regarded as distinctive, I can 
 account for it only on the principle, that, as to practical 
 theology, your Grace cannot approve of what Swedenborg 
 condemns; and as to speculative theology, that the specimens 
 of philosophy and vain deceit which are to be found in 
 various dissertations on what are called the mysterious 
 doctrines of the Christian faith, are such as your Grace 
 cannot bring yourself "to transcribe, and cannot even think 
 of without shuddering."* 
 
 Since however the time that Swedenborg wrote, there 
 have been various modifications of the doctrine of THE 
 ATONEMENT ; but, as far as I am aware, they all involve, 
 among those who acknowledge the Lord's Divinity, the 
 two doctrines which Swedenborg has laid down as funda- 
 mental errors, viz., that of the existence of Three Divine 
 Persons from eternity, and that of the passion of the cross 
 * See above, p. 13. 
 
ATONEMENT. 49 
 
 as alone Redemption and Atonement; the passion of the 
 cross being regarded as not so much a pacification of the 
 wrath of the Father, as a display of his justice ; and hence, 
 as a reconciliation not only of God to man and of man to 
 God, but of God to Himself; that is, of his justice to his 
 love. 
 
 Such expositions of the doctrine of the Atonement we 
 consider to be untrue ; not only as involving the two fun- 
 damental errors above mentioned, but as implying the sepa- 
 ration of the Divine attributes, which neither does nor ever 
 did take place in the Divine Being, but in man alone. 
 
 When a person acknowledges the truth, but does not 
 live according to it and hence does not really love it, 
 there is then in his mind a separation of truth from love ; 
 whence, the truth that would otherwise save him then con- 
 demns ; in which case it is seen, when the conscience is 
 awakened, with the aspect of a terrible justice, and excites 
 in him the fear of an everlasting punishment : still if his 
 abhorrence of sin is not an abhorrence of its sinfulness as 
 opposed to the Divine Nature, but arises only from a con- 
 sideration of the punishment that has been inflicted upon 
 another and will be inflicted upon himself, he has no true 
 idea of the nature of sin, or of the attribute of Divine 
 Justice. As the sinfulness of sin is not known through 
 the medium of punishment, so the doctrine of vicarious 
 punishment can never reveal it. Then only is the nature 
 of sin truly known, when the heart is touched not with 
 the fear of punishment but with a sense of Divine love, 
 and begins to perceive the nature of sin from the opposite 
 nature of holiness. 
 
 Accordingly, the author of the Horce Solitarice has 
 
50 ATONEMENT. 
 
 remarked, that " God is love* pure, perfect, and incor- 
 ruptible love ; but the carnal mind, the mind of every man 
 by nature, the mind which is under the dominion of his 
 flesh, and makes this flesh his only end, is corrupted, de- 
 based, and absorbed with enmity." . . . . "As he became 
 opposite to the love of God, he became possessed with 
 enmity; being contrary to the holiness of God, he was 
 filled with sin ; repugnant to the goodness of God, he was 
 seized with evil ; and cut off from the life of God, he in- 
 herited death, spiritual, temporal, and eternal. The Divine 
 Nature could not be contaminated by, nor hold communion 
 with a sinful nature : and therefore there ensued a separa- 
 tion of God from man, which having every dreadful con- 
 sequence to the latter, is expressed by the wrath, abhor- 
 rence, vengeance, judgment, etc., of God terms adapted to 
 the workings and capacities of the human mind, and used 
 to mark out its entire alienation (with the sad effects of it) 
 from its Maker. There is no wrath in Gfcd, as wrath, be- 
 cause He is wholly love ; but His separation of man-j- from 
 the participation of His love, with all its various blessings, 
 operates upon the human passions, now defiled with 
 enmity, under the notions and impressions of anger and 
 indignation. Thus God's love, being pure and unapproach- 
 able by sin, becomes a most dreadful and even horrible 
 attribute to a sinner ; because, as a sinner, he can never 
 come nigh to God, never hold communion with Him, nor 
 receive delight or blessedness from Him. And if Divine 
 Wisdom had not found a method of reconciliation, human 
 nature would and must have sustained whatever can be 
 
 * Ambrose Serle, Vol. ii., p. 417, art. LOVE. 
 f Or rather, man's separation of himself. 
 
ATONEMENT. 51 
 
 conceived under the awful idea of damnation, or the state 
 of absolute rejection from the presence of God. By these 
 considerations it might appear, were it necessary to extend 
 them, that enmity, sin, wrath, and misery, with other 
 words of the like import, are all correlative terms, which 
 only variously express the nature or effect of man's aliena- 
 tion from God" etc. ... u On the other hand, the word love 
 is also correlative, and entirely connected with every other 
 Divine attribute and perfection, or with whatever may be 
 called by those names : it has, and can have, no difference 
 from them, however distinguished by a merciful condes- 
 cension, for the better comprehension of our minds. Righ- 
 teousness, for instance, is only a name for this love in act 
 and exercise ; for the love of God in its energies does only 
 what is right or righteous. Love is the motive of all His 
 actions, according to the Scriptures ; and by communicat- 
 ing this love, He renders it the essential principle of all 
 righteous action in man (John iii. 16 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 4, etc.*) 
 Truth, purity, and the like, are also but love in particular 
 forms, actions, or aspects. In short, all the attributes and 
 perfections of the Divine Nature have their essence in 
 love, and the term love is but a glorious title for the grand 
 assemblage of them, denominating (as the Bible hath) the 
 first and supreme Nature. God is love then ; uniting as in 
 that one attribute, all the other predicaments and glories 
 of His majesty and goodness, not per accidens, but in 
 essentiality ; and with respect to His creatures, there is 
 no grace nor act of righteousness but what is an emanation 
 
 * It is singular to observe how this author, after having made the 
 foregoing remarks, comes into collision with his own principles. 
 
 D 2 
 
52 RELATION OF THE ATONEMENT 
 
 from the same principle, enlivening, invigorating, and 
 making them happy." 
 
 Hence it follows, that in God justice itself is only a 
 form of love; to reconcile therefore justice to love or love 
 to justice, is to reconcile love to itself a reconciliation 
 which it never needed.* Justice and love, therefore, were 
 never separated in God, but in Him were always one ; and 
 in this oneness consist the unity and perfection of the 
 Pivine Nature. 
 
 The reconciliation then which took place was not the 
 reconciliation of one Divine attribute to another, or of 
 Divinity to Divinity, but of the Humanity assumed by 
 our Lord to his Divinity, in virtue of which the Humanity 
 became one with the Divinity ; and this in order that by 
 influences descending from the Humanity thus glorified, 
 all true believers might be born again, and made the sons 
 of God. What now is the relation of this doctrine of re- 
 
 * Mr. Law is very unsparing upon this subject. " What," observes 
 he, " a paltry logic, to say, God is righteousness and justice as well as 
 love, and therefore His love cannot help or forgive the sinner till His 
 justice or righteous wrath has satisfaction ? Every word here is in full 
 ignorance of the thing spoken of; for what is love in God but His will 
 to all goodness ? "What is righteousness in God but His unchangeable 
 love of His own goodness ; His impossibility of loving anything but it ; 
 His impossibility of suffering anything that is unrighteous to have any 
 communion with Him ? What is God's forgiving sinful man ? It is 
 nothing else in its whole nature, but God's making him righteous again. 
 There is no other forgiveness of sin but being made free from it. 1 ' 
 (Vol. i., No. 13.) It is justly remarked by Mr. Law, in other parts of 
 his works, that as all attributes of the Creator are infinite, and all 
 attributes of the creature finite, so, if there be wrath in the Creator, it 
 must be infinite wrath, which is to make Him infinitely worse than any 
 man or devil. 
 
TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. 53 
 
 conciliation to the Spiritual World? "For this purpose the 
 Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works 
 of the devil.* The devil has designed and endeavoured to 
 ruin the work of God in this world. The Son of God has 
 undertaken the holy war against him. He came into our 
 world, and was manifested in our flesh, that He might 
 conquer him and dissolve his work. Sin will He loosen and 
 dissolve more and more, till He has quite destroyed it." 
 
 This doctrine we are taught not only by modern divines, 
 but also by the Fathers, It was in and by the Humanity 
 that this warfare with the powers of evil was earned on. 
 Their influxes from below into the Humanity were ex- 
 perienced in the form of temptations, which the Humanity 
 overcame by influxes from above, viz., from the Divinity ; 
 every distinct victory by the Humanity being a distinct act 
 of reconciliation to the Divinity ; a process which was con- 
 tinued till the Humanity had acquired from the Divinity 
 all power in heaven and in earth, and as such was Lord 
 over all the powers of evil. There is thus established a 
 direct relation of the process of reconciliation, to victory 
 over the powers of Hell, thus, to the Spiritual World. 
 
 Now it is observed by a modern writer,-}- that, indeed, 
 " St. John tells us that for this purpose the Son of God 
 was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. 
 But if we cannot understand the nature and origin of those 
 powers of evil which Christ came to conquer, nor the 
 reason why they are so long permitted to ruin and deface 
 the works of God, how shall we comprehend the nature 
 
 * Matthew Henry's Exposition, 1 John iii. 8. 
 f Macdonnell, on The Doctrine of the Atonement, Donellan Lec- 
 tures, p. 201. 
 
54 RELATION OF THE ATONEMENT 
 
 and efficacy of that remedial system, which stands face to 
 face with evil, and which centres in the Atonement? 
 However clearly we may discern particular aspects of this 
 great truth, we can never feel sure that we apprehend its 
 whole scope and purpose." 
 
 What then is here admitted ? that, without some know- 
 ledge of the Spiritual World, we cannot duly under- 
 stand the great work of the Atonement: nay further, 
 that this is the reason for which it is not understood, 
 there being nothing in the prevailing system of theology 
 to furnish the knowledge required ; and hence it is that 
 all mention of the Spiritual World is so systematically 
 omitted from works professing to treat of this subject ; 
 while yet there is admitted to be an essential relation 
 between the great work of the Atonement and the prin- 
 cipalities and powers of the Spiritual World. Is it not 
 then clear, that there is some knowledge of the Spiritual 
 World, which may be regarded as doctrinal, i. e., as form- 
 ing some part of the true doctrine of the Atonement ; and 
 if doctrinal, may we not add practical, inasmuch as the 
 doctrine of the Atonement is a practical doctrine, and we 
 cannot rightly understand it without a right knowledge of 
 the Spiritual World ? 
 
 What then has been systematically omitted from the 
 prevailing doctrines of the Atonement, Swedenborg under- 
 takes to supply; and we shall see that so far from his 
 statements concerning the Spiritual World being " the day- 
 dreams of a distempered fancy," and having no place in 
 any true system of theology, they really hold an important 
 position in the heart of Christianity itself, and thus supply 
 the very defect which is acknowledged to exist in all other 
 
TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. 55 
 
 systems of theology. This, in fact, is one grand feature 
 of his system; a true doctrine concerning the Spiritual 
 World being regarded as essential to the true doctrines of 
 Redemption and Atonement; as indeed we have seen 
 already admitted. 
 
 Now any one may see the place which Swedenborg's 
 alleged revelations concerning the Spiritual World hold in 
 his doctrinal system in the following statements. 
 
 " That Redemption itself consisted in bringing the Hells 
 into subjection, and the Heavens into order, and in thus 
 preparing the way for a New Spiritual Church. 
 
 " That the subjugation of the Hells, the restoration of the 
 Heavens to order, and the establishment of a New Church, 
 constitute the true nature of Redemption, is a truth grounded 
 in this circumstance, that without such a process no man 
 could have been saved ; the parts of that process also 
 follow each other in an orderly connection ; for it is neces- 
 sary that the Hells should be subdued, before a new angelic 
 Heaven can be formed, and the formation of a new Heaven 
 is equally necessary before a New Church on earth can be 
 established ; inasmuch as mankind on earth are so connected 
 with the angels of Heaven, and with the spirits of Hell, 
 that to whichsoever they are joined, they make one with 
 them as to the interiors of their minds. 
 
 " The subjugation of the Hells, the orderly arrangement 
 of the Heavens, and the consequent establishment of a 
 Church, may be illustrated by various similitudes. The 
 influence and power of the Hells may be compared with 
 an army of robbers or rebels, who invade a kingdom or 
 city, and set fire to the houses, lay waste the possessions 
 of the inhabitants, divide the spoil one amongst another, 
 with great joy and triumph ; but Redemption may be 
 
56 RELATION OP THE ATONEMENT. 
 
 compared with a righteous king, who marches against 
 them with his army, and puts part of them to the sword, 
 confines another part in prison, takes away the spoil, and 
 having restored it to his subjects, afterwards establisheth 
 his kingdom in peace and order, and secureth it against the 
 like outrages for the future. The influence and power of 
 the Hells may also be compared with a number of wild 
 beasts sallying forth in a body from the forests, and com- 
 mitting depredations on flocks and herds, and even on 
 men, so that none dare stir out beyond the walls of the 
 city to till the ground ; in consequence of which the fields 
 are left uncultivated, and the inhabitants of the city are in 
 fear of perishing by famine ; but Redemption may be com- 
 pared with the slaughter and dispersion of those wild 
 beasts, and with the defence of the plains and fields 
 against all further depredations. The influence of the 
 Hells may be compared also with the locusts that consume 
 every green thing growing on the earth, whilst Redemption 
 may be compared with the means to prevent their further 
 progress. In like manner the influence of the Hells may 
 resemble that multitude of caterpillars, which at the begin- 
 ning of summer devour the leaves of trees, and thus prevent 
 the growth of any fruit, so that the boughs are left bare 
 and barren as in the depth of winter ; but Redemption will 
 resemble the destruction of such vermin, by which the 
 trees of the garden are restored to their natural state of 
 bloom and fruitfulness. All these are exact pictures of 
 the state in which the Church must have remained, had 
 not the Lord, by Redemption, separated the good from the 
 evil, and cast the latter into Hell, and raised up the former 
 into Heaven ; for what consequences are not to be dreaded, 
 where there is neither justice nor judgment in a kingdom, 
 
TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. 57 
 
 to separate the evil from the good, and to secure the latter 
 from injuries, so that every one may dwell safely in his 
 own house, and, as the Scripture expresseth it, may sit 
 quietly under his own vine, and his own fig-tree ? 
 
 "... That without such Redemption no man could have 
 been saved, nor could the angels have remained in a state 
 of integrity. 
 
 " It may be proper first to state the true nature and 
 meaning of Redemption. To redeem signifieth to deliver 
 from damnation, to rescue from eternal death, to snatch 
 out of Hell, and to pluck out of the hands of the devil 
 those that were led captive and bound by him. This was 
 effected by the Lord, in that he reduced the Hells under 
 subjection, and formed a new Heaven. The reason why 
 man, without such a process, could not have been saved, 
 is, because the Spiritual World and the Natural have such a 
 connexion with each other, that they are incapable of 
 separation, particularly with respect to men's interiors, 
 which are called their souls and minds, and which, if good, 
 are connected with the souls and minds of angels, but if 
 evil, with the souls and minds of infernal spirits. Such is 
 the nature of this union, that if angels and spirits were to 
 be removed from man, he would instantly fall down dead 
 like a stock or a stone ; nor could they, on the other hand, 
 subsist, if they were deprived of their support and resting- 
 place in mankind. Hence may be seen a reason why 
 Redemption took place in the Spiritual World ; and why 
 Heaven and Hell were first to be regulated before the 
 Church on earth could be established."* 
 
 Thus, then, may we see the practical utility of a right 
 * True Christian Religion, art. 115, 117, 118. 
 
 D 3 
 
58 RELATION OF THE ATONEMENT 
 
 knowledge of the Spiritual World; since it is essential 
 to a right understanding of Redemption and Atonement ; 
 there being an immediate connexion between the truths of 
 Christianity and the laws of the Spiritual World. Thus in 
 regard to the doctrine of the Trinity : in like manner as the 
 Church on earth is one Man, so the Church in heaven, i.e., 
 heaven itself is one Man, and hence the unity of God is 
 represented by the unity of heaven as one man : divide 
 this personal unity, and we divide the unity of the Church ; 
 for if the Father be a personal Being, and if the Son be a 
 personal Being, and the Holy Spirit be a personal Being, 
 and every one Person be separate and distinct from the 
 other, it will be in vain to tell the world in general, that 
 the Being is not to be conceived of as separately and dis- 
 tinctly as the Person. To all practical intents and pur- 
 poses there will and must be three personal Beings 
 represented : the unity will be divided. 
 
 Hence the alleged revelation by Swedenborg, that the 
 Church in Heaven, or that all the angelic societies are 
 before the Lord as the person of one Man, has a real posi- 
 tion in what is called dogmatic theology ; inasmuch as it 
 implies that God is one Personal being, and that as the 
 great Archetype of the heavens which are in His image 
 and likeness, He is one Divine Man. 
 
 We have already seen how the doctrines of Redemption 
 and Atonement are immediately connected with the laws 
 of the Spiritual World, and we now further proceed to shew 
 how the knowledge of this fact bears upon certain great 
 difficulties by which divines have been perplexed. 
 
 Among the objections to the cardinal doctrine touching 
 Christ's death and passion, it has been asked by Peter 
 
TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. 59 
 
 Abelard and others,* what necessity or reason there was 
 when the Divine Mercy might have delivered man from 
 sin by its command alone, that God should become incar- 
 nate, and, as man, should sustain such sufferings. The 
 answer given by St. Bernard is, " The reason of this fact 
 was the good pleasure of the doer. Who should deny 
 that there were not other modes, and others yet of our 
 Redemption, justification, deliverance, at hand to the Al- 
 mighty? But this doth not prejudice the efficacy of this 
 which he chose out of many." 
 
 Accordingly it has been maintained that we have no 
 right to say what God could or could not do in such a 
 case ;-j- that all that we know is, that the Incarnation was 
 the way chosen by the Divine appointment, and that 
 beyond the fact of the appointment we have no right to 
 enquire.:): 
 
 Others have been convinced that there must be in the 
 case some deep relation of cause and effect; and that al- 
 though the Incarnation be of divine appointment, there 
 must be some deep wisdom in the appointment, though we 
 may not have discovered it. Accordingly, a modern writer 
 observes, that "the efficacy of Christ's vicarious sufferings 
 and obedience is not indeed based upon any mere appoint- 
 ment on any arbitrary transfer of suffering and obedience, 
 but on deep and essential relations between God and Christ 
 (i. e.j the Divinity and Humanity) and between Christ and 
 man. But here our progress is arrested ; and we can go 
 
 * Owen's Dogmatic Theology, p. 279. 
 
 f Magee on The Atonement, p. 24 : also Note 17. First Ed. 
 
 % See Wilberforce on The Incarnation, p. 194. Fourth Edition. 
 
 Macdonnell on The Atonement, p. 171. 
 
60 RELATION OF THE ATONEMENT 
 
 but little beyond establishing the existence of such rela- 
 tions, without attempting to define their nature and limits. 
 The Redemption of man, while in some measure depending 
 on the forces and laws with which experience acquaints 
 us, seems in part also to result from others which come 
 not within the range of our knowledge. And thus while 
 we recognize the operation of forces with which we are 
 familiar, we must perceive that other and vaster forces are 
 at work, acting in unknown directions, and perhaps follow- 
 ing unknown laws." 
 
 Let us see how Swedenborg's statements bear upon this 
 idea of " Other and vaster forces." He affirms in his True 
 Christian Religion,* 
 
 " That this real Redemption could not possibly have been 
 effected, but by God incarnate. 
 
 " It was shewn in the foregoing article, that Redemption 
 was a work purely divine, consequently that it could only 
 be effected by an omnipotent God. The reason why it 
 was necessary for this God to be incarnate, that is, to be 
 made man in order to effect Redemption, is, because Jeho- 
 vah God, such as He is in His infinite essence, cannot 
 approach unto Hell, much less enter into it; being in that 
 essence in purest and first principles ; wherefore Jehovah 
 God, being such in Himself, if he had only breathed on 
 the inhabitants of Hell, would have deprived them instantly 
 of life ; for He said to Moses, who was desirous of seeing 
 Him, ' Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man 
 see me, and live ' Ex. xxxiii. 20 ; and if Moses could 
 not see Him, much less could the infernal spirits, who, 
 being in the lowest degree natural, are in last and grossest 
 * Art. 124, 125. 
 
TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. 61 
 
 principles, and thus in such as are most remote from God ; 
 consequently, unless Jehovah God had assumed the Hu- 
 manity, and had thus clothed Himself with a body, which 
 is in last or ultimate principles, it would have been vain to 
 have attempted anything like Redemption. For who can 
 attack an enemy, unless he approach towards him, and be 
 furnished with arms for the battle ? Or who can disperse 
 and destroy dragons, hydras, and basilisks in the wilder- 
 ness, unless he cover his body with a coat of mail, his 
 head with a helmet, and be armed with a spear in his 
 hand ? By these, and such like comparisons, the combat, 
 which the omnipotent God waged with the Hells, may in 
 some sort be illustrated, though by no means perfectly 
 represented ; in this combat He could not possibly have 
 engaged, unless He had first put on the Humanity. But 
 it is to be observed, that the combat which the Lord waged 
 with the Hells was not an oral combat, as between reasoners 
 and disputers, for here such kind of warfare would have 
 had no effect; but it was a spiritual combat, or the combat 
 of divine Truth from divine Good, which was the Lord's 
 very principle of life, the influx of which, when made 
 through the medium of sight or aspect, is irresistible to 
 all in the Hells ; for such power is contained in it, that the 
 infernal genii flee away at the mere perception of it, cast 
 themselves into the deep, and creep into clefts and caverns 
 to conceal themselves, according to tbe description given 
 of them by Isaiah in these words : * They shall go into 
 the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the dust, 
 for the dread of Jehovah, when he ariseth to affright the 
 earth,' chap. ii. 19 ; and in the Revelation : ' They shall 
 all hide themselves in the dens of the rocks, and in the 
 
62 RELATION OF THE ATONEMENT 
 
 rocks of the mountains, and shall say to the mountains 
 and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him 
 that sitteth on the throne, and from the anger of the 
 Lamb,' chap. vi. 15 17. . . . 
 
 "That Jehovah God could not have been thus active 
 and operative, except by His Humanity, may be illustrated 
 by various comparisons ; as, for example, it is impossible 
 for persons that are invisible to each other, to unite to- 
 gether in salutation or conversation ; angels or spirits can- 
 not join hands, or engage in discourse with a man, even 
 though they should stand just beside his person and before 
 his face ; nor can the soul of any one converse and nego- 
 tiate business with another, except by means of his body. 
 The sun cannot enter with its light and heat into any man, 
 beast, or vegetable, unless it first enter into the air, and 
 act by that as a conveying medium ; nor can that heat and 
 light enter into fish, in like manner, but by the medium of 
 water ; for it is necessary it should act by means of the 
 element, in which the subject of its operation dwelleth. 
 In short, one thing must be accommodated to another, 
 before there can be any communication between them, or 
 any operation, either of contraiety or concord." 
 
 Redemption, then, and Atonement being Divine works, 
 so Divine works are wrought, not merely according to the 
 good pleasure and arbitrary appointment of the doer, but 
 according to Divine Order ; the great chain of End, Cause, 
 and Effect extending from the throne of Deity downwards 
 through the Spiritual and Natural Worlds. And therefore 
 we are thus supplied with the knowledge of that relation be- 
 tween the death of Christ and the forgiveness of sin, which 
 the received doctrines of the Atonement are unable to fur- 
 
TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. 63 
 
 nish ;* for the clouds of dark spirits being removed from man, 
 and consigned to their abode, the beams of light and love 
 from the glory of the Lord could no longer be intercepted 
 by them, but could descend from the Lord's glorified 
 Humanity into the minds of men, and there perform their 
 work of convicting the world of sin, infusing into the will 
 and understanding power over evil and error, and enabling 
 them to be born again by the Spirit of Love and Truth. 
 
 It will be seen, therefore, that the doctrine of the Atone- 
 ment, as explained by Swedenborg, involves a view of the 
 Divine perfections fundamentally differing from those which 
 are commonly received ; the consequence is, that as the 
 waters of the fountain are different, so are all the streams 
 which issue from it. A false idea of God cannot consist 
 with the worship of Him in spirit and in truth. " Upon 
 a just idea of God," says Swedenborg, "is founded the 
 universal heaven ; and, upon earth, the universal Church ; 
 and in general, all religion ; inasmuch as by such idea 
 conjunction is effected ; and by conjunction, light, wisdom, 
 and eternal felicity."f " The idea concerning God is the 
 primary of all ideas ; for according to the quality thereof 
 with man, such are his communication with heaven and 
 conjunction with the Lord ; and hence, such are his illus- 
 tration, affection of truth and good, perception, intelligence, 
 and wisdom ; for these things are not from man but from 
 the Lord, according to conjunction with Him."J 
 
 * " I know not, nor does it concern me to know in what manner the 
 sacrifice of Christ is connected with the forgiveness of sins." Magee 
 on the Atonement, vol. L, p. 24. First Edition. 
 
 f Preface to the Apocalypse Revealed. 
 
 Apocalypse Explained, n. 957. 
 
64 JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 
 
 Now why have I introduced these observations? First 
 with a view to shew what are the doctrines of the Trinity 
 and Atonement popularly received, and what are those 
 maintained by Swedenborg in their relations to the Spi- 
 ritual World : and secondly, with a view to observe that as 
 the two are not practically the same, so much of the argu- 
 ment in the Essays as is founded upon the supposition that 
 they are, falls to the ground. 
 
 Not only, however, according to the popular faith, is 
 the Father divided in Himself, by setting one attribute 
 against another ; but the Son is divided in Himself, by 
 possessing two substances, the one created, the other un- 
 created ; one finite the other infinite. 
 
 Now, on this subject Swedenborg explains how the 
 names, JESUS and CHRIST, are names signifying a nature, 
 that is to say, the Human nature assumed by Jehovah. 
 What follows from this statement ? That in the Christian 
 church Jesus Christ is not worshipped, inasmuch as the 
 Human nature is not worshipped ; for the Human nature is 
 generally considered as not Divine. I say, not Divine; 
 except in the same sense in which we speak of a divine 
 countenance, divine music, or of the Christian as being 
 divine, from his participation of the Divine nature; thus St. 
 Peter says, " whereby are given unto us exceeding great and 
 precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the 
 DIVINE NATURE."* Hence also, the author of the Horce 
 Solitaries" observes, " Human life upon earth may be dis- 
 tinguished into three modes or conditions, natural, artificial, 
 divine or spiritual" Thus, although a person declares 
 that he believes the Human nature of the Lord to be 
 * Ep. ii., c. L, v. 4. 
 
JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 65 
 
 Divine, he believes also that this Human nature, notwith- 
 standing it may be called Divine, is still creaturely. Hence 
 writers, in general, speak of the Human nature of the 
 Lord as still finite and created ; and if what is finite and 
 created can be no Object of divine worship, so neither can 
 the Human or Christ-nature of Jehovah. " His know- 
 ledge," says Aquinas, " extends to all things which are in 
 the power of a creature."* " The 'glory of the Godhead 
 which dwelleth bodily in Christ," says Dr. Jackson, "is 
 infinite. But it is not communicated to Christ's, nature 
 according to its infinity. The communication of it, or the 
 glory communicated is created, and therefore finite."-^ 
 
 Thus the Humanity being creaturely, and the glory 
 communicated being creaturely, and it being idolatry to 
 worship a creature, our Lord's glorified Humanity is not 
 regarded as the Object of worship. Hence also Bishop 
 Burnett observes,:]; that God is the only proper Object of 
 adoration; that the Saviour is indeed set before us as 
 the Object of our worship ; but then, " it is certain that 
 His human nature cannot be worshipped; therefore there 
 must be another nature in Him to which Divine worship 
 is due, and on the account of which he is to be worshipped." 
 
 Matthew Henry observes, " The glorified Humanity of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, with all the dignity and power 
 conferred on it, was no more than a glorious creature. 1 ' 
 (Comment. 1 Cor. xv. 28.) Dr. Owen observes, "That 
 He (Jesus Christ) is still in the same Human nature 
 
 * Summa Theol. iii., x., 3. See also Wilberforce on The Incarnation, 
 p. 85. Ed. 4. 
 
 f Works of Dr. Jackson, President of Corpus Christi College, vol. x., 
 p. 31. 
 
 J Treatise on the Thirty-nine Articles. Art. ii., p. 63. 
 
66 JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 
 
 wherein He was on the earth, that he hath the same 
 rational soul, and the same body, is a fundamental article 
 of the Christian faith. This nature of the man Christ 
 Jesus, is filled with all the divine graces and perfections, 
 whereof a limited created nature is capable. It is not 
 deified]* it is not made a God; it does not in heaven 
 coalesce into one nature with the Divine, by a composition 
 of them ; it has not any essential property of the Deity 
 communicated to it, so as subjectively to reside in it ; it is 
 not made omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent ; but it is 
 exalted in a fulness of all Divine perfection (! ) ineffably 
 above the glory of angels and men. It is incomprehensibly 
 nearer God than they all ; has communications from God 
 in glorious light, love, and power, ineffably above them 
 all but it is still a creature." \ 
 
 Your Grace, also, having used the expression, " when 
 we worship Christ, though we worship Him not as man 
 but as God" proceeds a little subsequently, as follows \\ 
 " When I say, however, that we worship Christ not as 
 man, but as God, I mean only, that the worship which 
 evidently the Apostles and their immediate disciples paid, 
 and were taught to pay, to Him, was not directed to a 
 mere man, however high in the Divine favour, but to God 
 * manifest in the flesh.' I am far from supposing that the 
 generality of Christians, that is, the unlearned and un- 
 philosophical, were, or can be, capable of making, in their 
 worship, a complete mental separation of the two Natures, 
 
 * The Fathers maintained that it was deified, and as such to be 
 worshipped. See also Dr. Pusey's Parochial Sermons, vol. ii., p. 226. 
 
 f Ned. and Dis. on The Glory of Christ, chap, vii., p. 439. 
 
 t Essays on some of the Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, 
 p. 168. 
 
JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 67 
 
 abstracting distinctly, and contemplating solely, the Divine 
 character, and laying aside all consideration of the Human 
 Nature, of Christ. This may be possible for an acute, ancf 
 learned, and reflective philosopher, without his adopting 
 the notion into which the attempt seems to have led some 
 of those early heretics, who regarded our Lord as two 
 Persons, the man Jesus, and Christ, a distinct emanation 
 of the Deity. The distinction, I say, it may be possible 
 for a profound and reflective mind so to draw, as yet to 
 keep clear of that heresy ; but the bare description of such 
 an abstractive process of thought, would, I conceive, have 
 as much perplexed the greater part of the early disciples, 
 as it manifestly would the generality of unlearned Chris- 
 tians now. The Apostles and their hearers would have 
 told us simply, that they addressed their prayers to a 
 Being whom they regarded as both divine and human, 
 'the man Christ Jesus,' in whom 'dwelleth' (not some 
 emanation or portion of the Deity, but) ' all the fulness of 
 the Godhead, bodily.' They addressed Him in their wor- 
 ship by his human name ; as, 4 Lord Jesus receive my 
 spirit/ etc. Nor could they, indeed, have invoked Him as 
 their Intercessor and Mediator, by virtue of his meritorious 
 sacrifice, keeping out of their minds the Human Nature 
 which those offices imply. And if such is the impression 
 naturally produced in the generality of simple unphiloso- 
 phical minds, it cannot be a practically incorrect one," 
 etc., etc., etc. " The Apostles do, indeed, direct our wor- 
 ship exclusively to God ; but to ( God in Christ, recon- 
 ciling the world unto Himself:' nor do they dwell on the 
 necessity of making, in our devotions, any mental separa- 
 tion of the two Natures of that Person who is the Object 
 
68 JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 
 
 of our worship. On the contrary, observe how, in the 
 Epistle to the Colossians, Paul presents to our view the 
 clivine and the human attributes of the Saviour almost 
 simultaneously ; ' in whom,' says he, l we have redemption 
 through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins ; who is 
 the Image of the invisible God, the first-born of every 
 creature TT^OTO'TO/COS iraa^ KTiaews, born before all creatures,) 
 for by Him were all things created that are in heaven, and 
 that are in earth, visible and invisible'" (Col. i. 14 16). 
 To these observations, your Grace, in accordance with the 
 generally received views, adds the following remark : 
 
 " That the notions conveyed by such expressions to a 
 plain reader, are philosophically correct, / will not undertake 
 to maintain: it is sufficient that they are Scriptural" 
 
 Now, to say nothing of a notion which, it seems, is not 
 practically incorrect, but is so philosophically,* and though 
 philosophically incorrect is nevertheless Scriptural, I would 
 observe, it appears that the apostle speaks of the Human 
 nature as, in the strict sense of the term, Divine ; that a 
 simple unphilosophical mind would be disposed to form the 
 same conception of it ; that such a conception is, in point 
 of fact, untrue ; and that it is only the acute, learned, and 
 reflective philosopher, who is capable of making a complete 
 
 * The Bishop of Durham observes in his Boyle Lectures (Sermon 
 vii., p. 251). " Nay, more, to such lengths did some of these school- 
 men proceed, that when accused of advancing tenets repugnant to the 
 Scriptures, instead of repelling the accusation, they had recourse to the 
 dangerous position, that opinions might be philosophically true, yet 
 theologically false ; a position obviously mischievous in its principle, 
 and opening a door for the admission of infidelity into the very bosom 
 of the Church." In the present case the doctrine is intimated to be 
 Scripturally true, but philosophically false. 
 
JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 69 
 
 mental separation of the two natures, abstracting distinctly 
 and contemplating solely the Divine character, and laying 
 aside all consideration of the Human nature, of Christ. 
 From the authors first quoted, it likewise appears, that the 
 Humanity of Christ is not, in the strict sense of the term, 
 Divine. Your Grace, however, shews how the apostles 
 did appear to consider it so ; how the simple-minded might 
 be disposed to do the same ; but you observe, that philo- 
 sophically it is not correct, that is to say, although the 
 expressions appearing to attribute Divinity to the Huma- 
 nity may be Scriptural, nevertheless, that the Humanity 
 is, in the strict sense of the term, Divine, is not the fact. 
 This, I believe, is no peculiar notion of your Grace, but 
 one which is generally considered orthodox. 
 
 Now permit me to observe, that Swedenborg so far 
 agrees with your Grace as to admit, that the acute, 
 learned, and reflective philosopher, is capable of making 
 this distinction, or rather separation, between the Divine 
 and Human natures ; that this separation the apostles did 
 not make, the simple-minded Christian cannot make, but 
 the Church has made ; and this, he maintains, has been 
 the great source of all the mystery and confusion which 
 have prevailed upon the subject. This is a vital point, 
 and upon this question the whole system of Swedenborg 
 stands or falls. 
 
 That the infirm human nature which the Lord assumed 
 in the womb of the virgin, and which hungered, thirsted, 
 was wearied, tempted, and put to death upon the cross, 
 was Divine, Swedenborg does not admit ; and in this, 
 I presume, that he and your Grace are both agreed. But 
 there is one thing which forms a leading feature in his 
 
70 JESUS CHKIST AS GOD-MAN. 
 
 works, and which is wholly left out of the common 
 theology; I mean, the process by which that Human 
 nature was sanctified, glorified, and thus united or made 
 one with the Father. The Humanity thus glorified, we 
 consider to be the Humanity which Christ now has ; and 
 that this Humanity is, in the strictest sense, Divine, is the 
 fundamental doctrine of the system of Swedenborg. How 
 can we ascribe to God by analogy human attributes, yet 
 not humanity ? If there be in God what really corresponds 
 to human qualities, must there not be in Him what cor- 
 responds to humanity? Let us proceed to consider this 
 question ; and in so doing, although it may appear, from 
 the mode of speaking of it, that the doctrine is only specu- 
 lative and unconnected with practice, the result will shew 
 that it involves the whole system of Christian life and 
 conduct, and leads to a revolution in all our motives and 
 moral sentiments. 
 
 In speaking of the Divinity of the Lord's Humanity, it 
 is desirable that we first have clear ideas of what consti- 
 tutes humanity or human nature. 
 
 That by which we are distinguished as human beings, 
 is the possession of a will and understanding ; and the per- 
 fection of these consists in willing what is good, and under- 
 standing what is true ; so that the more good we will, and 
 the more truth we understand, the more are we truly 
 human, and the more completely are we distinguished, as 
 such, from the rest of the animal creation. If, therefore, 
 it be good and truth which makes us human, then are these 
 two the essential human principles ; and in this point of 
 view, to speak of an infinite Humanity, is no other than to 
 speak of infinite Good and Truth. Hence, to consider our 
 
JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 71 
 
 Lord's Humanity as finite, is to consider His goodness and 
 truth as finite ; and since His goodness and truth are ma- 
 nifested only in His Word, it is only to consider His Word 
 as finite, that is to say, as possessing only a creaturely 
 wisdom. Such, then, as are our ideas of the Lord's Hu- 
 manity, such must be our ideas of His goodness and truth, 
 or His Word ; and such as are our ideas of His Word, 
 such must be our ideas of His Humanity. 
 
 When, however, we speak of an infinite humanity or in- 
 finite goodness and truth, we speak in reference to what is 
 interior ; for God is not called infinite in reference to space, 
 but in reference to interiority, that is to say, purity. 
 Hence, when we speak of infinity of wisdom, we do not 
 speak in regard to quantity but to quality, that is to say, 
 interiority and purity. The more interior is our wisdom, 
 the more do we see of the internality or infinity of the 
 Divine wisdom ; the purer we are, the more do we see of 
 the Divine purity ; the more spiritual we are, the more do 
 we see of the Divine spirituality. To attempt to contem- 
 plate God, therefore, out of His Humanity,* is to attempt 
 
 * Dr. Hey, formerly Divinity Lecturer of Cambridge, amongst other 
 remarks with regard to Swedenborg in his Lectures, makes the follow- 
 ing : " In the summary of the doctrines of Swedenborg, we find this 
 account of the Trinity. ' There is a Divine Trinity of Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost, or, in other words, of the all-begetting Divinity, the Divine 
 Humanity, and the Divine Proceeding or Operation ; and that this 
 Trinity consisteth not, therefore, of three distinct persons, but is united 
 as soul, body, and operation in man, in the one person of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who, therefore, is the God of heaven, and alone to be wor- 
 shipped ; being Creator from eternity, Redeemer in time, and Regene- 
 rator to eternity.' I mention this notion chiefly on account of its 
 making the Father no Object of our worship, and dropping also all wor- 
 
72 JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 
 
 to contemplate Him out of His goodness and truth; for 
 goodness and truth are the essential human principles, or 
 the Humanity, of which the outward body is but the ulti- 
 mate form ; and since the Word of God is a revelation of 
 His goodness and truth, to attempt to contemplate God out 
 of His Humanity, is to attempt to contemplate Him out of 
 His Word, or independently of any revelation He has 
 made of Himself; and to think we thus can know Him, is 
 
 ship to the Holy Ghost." Book iv., art. 1, sect. 6. In reply to this it 
 may be observed, that St. Paul says, " God was in Christ, reconciling 
 the world unto Himself," that is, as we interpret the expression, the 
 Father was in the Son, reconciling the world unto Himself. Now, if a 
 person worships Christ, I suppose he worships God in Christ ; for were 
 not God in Christ, Christ could not be an Object of divine worship. 
 Suppose now I were to say, that, in this case, a person worshipping 
 Christ does not worship God, or because he worships God in Christ 
 alone, he does not contemplate God as an Object of worship ; would 
 this be considered a just conclusion ? As God then is in Christ, so the 
 Father is in the Son ; we could not worship the Son if the Father were 
 not in Him ; it is because the Father is in the Son that we worship the 
 Son ; knowing that, in thus worshipping the Son, we worship the 
 Father also, nay, that we cannot worship the Father in any other way ; 
 for we know nothing of the Father out of the Son, therefore, we can- 
 not worship the Father out of the Son. They rather make the Father 
 no Object of divine worship, who think to worship Him out of the 
 Son ; for as out of the Son we can know nothing of Him, so to wor- 
 ship that of which we know nothing, is to worship we know not what, 
 which is in fact no worship at all. We, therefore, worship Christ alone, 
 because it is in Christ alone that the Father is, or in whom is all the 
 fulness of the Godhead bodily. It is the attempt to produce division 
 in the Godhead, and hence a divided worship, that has produced divi- 
 sion in the Church. If, in the way in which it is generally understood, 
 God be three, how can the Church be one? If there be a divided 
 Godhead, how can there be an undivided Church ? 
 
JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 73 
 
 as absurd as to think we can climb up into heaven by 
 some other way than the one which He has opened. The 
 Divinity, considered independently of the Humanity, 
 transcends all possible thought of angels and of men ; it 
 has no conceivable distinctions, hence no conceivable attri- 
 butes or perfections. It is, therefore, in the Humanity 
 alone that the Divinity has any relation to us, and through 
 the medium of that Humanity alone that we can approach 
 to the Divinity ; which Humanity is, therefore, our Medi- 
 ator ; hence we can speak of God's love, truth, mercy, 
 wisdom, and so forth, all of which perfections evidently 
 exhibit the human character and nature. Goodness and 
 truth, therefore, being the essential human principles, of 
 which the body is but the ultimate form, it follows that, 
 as the Lord alone is essential goodness and truth, He 
 alone is truly Man;* and that human beings are men 
 only in proportion as they receive of His nature. Hence 
 it is the doctrine of Swedenborg, that the Lord alone is 
 a perfect Man ; or that His Divinity alone is perfectly 
 Human ; or again, that that only is perfectly Human which 
 is Divine. Though we cannot, therefore, know God as 
 
 * As it is not my design to enter into this subject any farther than is 
 connected with the argument in the Essays, the reader is referred, for 
 a fuller explanation of it, to the writings of Swedenborg. At the 
 same time, to guard against misapprehension, it may be well to observe 
 that, as the Divinity never was known except through the medium of 
 a Humanity, so the Humanity with which He is now clothed, is a 
 Humanity in ultimates, or in a lower degree than was possessed by the 
 Lord before He came into the world, and assumed a body in the 
 womb of the Virgin ; it being only through the medium of this lower 
 degree, or Divine Humanity in ultimates, that the Divinity can now be 
 approached. 
 
74 JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 
 
 He is in His pure Divinity, yet we can know Him as He is 
 in His Humanity ; and since He has a Divine Humanity, 
 and we also a humanity though finite and creaturely, 
 therefore there is a relation of analogy established between 
 the two ; but there is no traceable analogy between our 
 finite humanity and His Divinity independently of His 
 Humanity ; because that Divinity is antecedent to any 
 relation to the creature ; being sole, supreme, and inde- 
 pendent. 
 
 It is from not attending to this circumstance, that some 
 appear to have fallen into error upon the subject of analogy. 
 From not having any just idea of a Divine Humanity, 
 they think that, in contemplating God, they must contem- 
 plate the Divinity independently of the Humanity. Hence 
 they imagine, that there is no ascertainable analogy be- 
 tween the perfections of the Almighty and the attributes 
 of human nature ; and consequently that, know what we 
 may of Him, we after all know nothing. No wonder that 
 they should come to this conclusion ; for, in consequence 
 of separating the Divine Nature from the Human, they 
 have only indefinite, or rather no ideas of the Divinity ; 
 and in consequence of separating the Human from the 
 Divine, they contemplate the Human only as creaturely ; 
 and therefore, either, as in the former case, know nothing 
 whatever of God, or else, as in the latter, consider Him to 
 be such a one as themselves ; that is to say, their theology 
 is either a system of self-originated abstract reasonings, or 
 of sensuous conceptions. 
 
 The truth of this we may see exemplified in those 
 speculations which have usurped the name of profound 
 philosophy ; and in that system of mere naturalism, which 
 
JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 75 
 
 has often become current under the name of the objec- 
 tive truths, or plain and practical doctrines of Christi- 
 anity. Thus we find the Christian community divided 
 into two classes ; the one understanding the doctrines 
 of Christianity in the lowest and most carnal manner, 
 in which case they see little or no mystery in them ; 
 while the more educated and reflecting, perceiving the 
 impossibility of such things, confess they have no clear 
 notions upon the subject, and, in fine, that nearly the 
 whole is unintelligible. Hence, the Doctrines of the Tri- 
 nity, Atonement, Satisfaction, and Mediation, etc., are 
 one after the other proclaimed to be mysteries inscrutable ; 
 and the truth, which was intended to be the light of the 
 soul, is contemplated as abyssal darkness ; the pious few 
 awaiting the period when God, in His mercy, may vouch- 
 safe a clearer revelation. 
 
 Now if the Human nature be the only medium through 
 which we can have any idea of the Deity, it follows that, if 
 that Human nature be regarded as finite and creaturely, 
 our ideas of God must be of Him as a finite creaturely 
 being, far above all angels it may be, but still finite and 
 creaturely ; as such, we must conceive Him to be possessed 
 of a nature the same with our own, and worship a finite 
 Being like ourselves : the consequence will be the imita- 
 tion of an imperfect model, comparatively low ideas of the 
 Divine perfections, a comparatively low standard of reli- 
 gion or of life and conduct, and hence a degenerated 
 Church. This it is which Swedenborg maintains to be 
 the cause of the present state of the Christian community.* 
 " At the end of the Church the Lord is indeed preached, 
 
 * Apocalypse Explained, 649. 
 
 E 2 
 
76 JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 
 
 and also from doctrine Divinity is attributed to Him, like 
 to the Divinity of the Father; but, notwithstanding, 
 scarcely any one thinks of His Divinity, by reason of 
 their placing it above or without His Humanity. Where- 
 fore, when they look to His Divinity, they do not look to 
 the Lord, but to the Father as to another ; when notwith- 
 standing the Divinity which is called the Father is in the 
 Lord, as He Himself teacheth in John x. 30, 38 ; xiv. 7. 
 Hence it is, that man doth not think of the Lord other- 
 wise than as of a common man, and from that thought 
 flows his faith ; howsoever he may say with his lips that 
 he believeth his Divinity. Let any one explore, if he can, 
 the idea of his thought concerning the Lord, whether it be 
 not such as is here described ; yet when it is such, he 
 cannot be conjoined to Him in faith and love, nor by con- 
 junction receive any good of love and truth of faith. 
 Hence then it is, that in the end of the Church there is 
 not any acknowledgment of the Lord, that is, of the 
 Divine in the Lord and from the Lord. It appears, in- 
 deed, as if the Divine of the Lord was acknowledged, 
 because it is affirmed in the doctrine of the Church; but 
 whilst his Divine nature is separated from his Human, his 
 Divine is not yet acknowledged inwardly, but only out- 
 wardly ; and to acknowledge it outwardly, is to acknow- 
 ledge it only with the mouth and not in the heart, or with 
 speech only and not in faith." 
 
 Now the Humanity of the Lord being infinite, and our 
 human nature being finite, it is clear, that as finite beings 
 can never have adequate ideas of what is infinite, so we 
 .can never have adequate ideas of the Lord's Divine 
 Humanity. Still, our ideas though finite, may, as we 
 
JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 77 
 
 have said, be true in their degree ; being founded on a 
 real analogy between the humanity of the creature and 
 that of the Creator. Consequently, our knowledge of God 
 may be as certain as it is certain we may be an image 
 and likeness of God ; for, in regard to Divine Wisdom, we 
 have the faculty of receiving only that which we have the 
 faculty of being, and no further. Though our finite affec- 
 tions and thoughts, therefore, can never be adequate to 
 the Love and Wisdom of The Infinite, any more than we 
 ourselves can be infinite, yet The Infinite may be in them, 
 making them so many finite likenesses and images of 
 Himself. Nevertheless, He is not in us in the fulness 
 of the Godhead bodily, or personally : He is in us only 
 by the Spirit of Truth proceeding from Him ; and which, 
 in coming down to our souls, becomes accommodated to 
 them, just as the heat and light of the sun, in passing 
 through the atmospheres, become accommodated to each 
 created object, according to its nature and requirements. 
 Thus it is, that the spirit of man stands in the same rela- 
 tion to the Sun of Righteousness, in which the body of 
 man stands to the outward and visible sun. Thus also it 
 is, that man walks between two great lights ; the one de- 
 signed to enlighten his body, the other, if he pleases, to 
 enlighten his soul. 
 
 Although, however, authors in general regard the Hu- 
 manity of the Lord as creaturely, yet, some appear to have 
 seen, obscurely indeed, the possibility in some sense of a 
 Deified or Divine Humanity, or a Humanity endowed with 
 Divine Attributes. 
 
 Accordingly Archbishop Leighton observes, that, " con- 
 sidering the work to be done, it was altogether needful 
 
78 JESUS CHKIST AS GOD-MAN. 
 
 that the undertaker should be God and Man, Humana 
 Divinitas et Divina Humanitas* the Divinity Human 
 and the Humanity Divine" So also the unction im- 
 plied in the title Christ was no other, says Bishop Pearson, 
 than " the Divine Influx, nay, the Divinity itself, the 
 Godhead dwelling in him bodily. "{ It was in virtue of 
 this anointing of the Humanity with the Divinity, I e., 
 of the influx of Divine Love, Wisdom, and Power, into 
 the Humanity, that the Humanity became at length en- 
 dued with all power, i. e., with Omnipotence, and hence 
 sat down at the right hand of God, or on the throne with 
 the Father, i. e., became wholly Divine ; having ultimately 
 put off all creaturely conditions, \ and being thus Deified, 
 or made one with the Father ; not ceasing to be very 
 Man because he is wholly Divine, but because He is 
 wholly Divine, being therefore more perfectly Man hence 
 the one Divine Man, as exemplified in the first chapter of 
 the Book of Revelation. 
 
 * Exposition of the Creed. So Augustin, vol. x., p. 754. 
 
 f Exposition of the Creed, art. 2, p. 188. 
 
 J " It is a question in controversy whether even his Manhood can 
 be called a creature, though many of the Fathers, including Athana- 
 sius in several places, seem so to call it. ... The question is discussed 
 *n Petav. de Incarn., 7, 6, who determines that the Human nature, 
 though in itself a created substance, yet viewed as Deified in the "Word, 
 does not in fact exist as a creature" (Select Treatises of St. Atha- 
 nasius, with Notes and Indices, by Dr. Newman ; Notes, p. 344.) The 
 reason assigned by Dr. Newman is, that the Human Nature is, or 
 ought to be, worshipped ; which would be idolatry if it were a crea- 
 ture. According to Swedenborg, creaturely conditions were, by the 
 process of glorification, ultimately put off altogether ; so that, in wor- 
 shipping the Humanity, we do not worship a creature. 
 
JESUS CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. 79 
 
 Thus Hooker,* though repeatedly speaking of Christ as 
 a creature, makes the following admission : " Touching 
 the manner how he worketh as man in all things ; the 
 principal powers of the soul of man are the will and un- 
 derstanding, the one of which two in Christ assenteth unto 
 all things, and from the other nothing which Deity doth 
 work is hid ; so that, by knowledge and assent, the soul 
 of Christ is present with all things which the Deity of 
 Christ worketh. And even the body of Christ itself, al- 
 though the definite limitation thereof be most sensible, 
 doth notwithstanding admit, in some sort, a kind of infinite 
 and unlimited presence likewise." . . . "The nature which 
 cannot have in itself universal presence, hath it, after a 
 sort, by being nowhere severed from that which every- 
 where is present." f " The union of flesh is to that flesh 
 a gift of principal grace and favour ; for by virtue of this 
 grace man is really made God; a creature is exalted 
 above the dignity of all creatures, and hath all creatures 
 else under it." Hence also he afterwards speaks of God 
 having deified our nature.^ 
 
 There are others who affirm that Christ had a kind 
 of Humanity before he came upon earth ; and although 
 they do not appear to have any distinct idea of what they 
 mean, yet the very admission tacitly implies a Divinity of 
 the Humanity ; unless they consider Christ as a creature 
 before he came upon earth, which, it is presumed, most per- 
 
 * Eccles. Pol, book v., sec. 55 ; 8, 9. 
 
 t Book v., sec. 55 ; 7. 
 
 J Book v., sec. 54, 3, 5. The Humanity received the Divine Influx, 
 not in the way merely of grace or favour, but, according to Sweden - 
 borg, by conception. 
 
80 JESUS CHRIST AS 
 
 sons would not do. Besides, the Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper might itself be considered a symbol of some kind 
 of presence of the body and blood of Christ, that is to say, 
 of his Humanity ; and this itself might shew us the pos- 
 sibility of an omnipresent, thus of an omnipotent, or Divine 
 Humanity.* 
 
 Now, why have I entered into this subject ? Because, 
 if the Humanity of the Lord be divine, if in Him man be 
 God and God be Man, what becomes of the popular theo- 
 logy ? " An absolutely perfect creature" says Archbishop 
 King, " implies a contradiction. For it would be of itself 
 and not of itself at the same time. Absolute perfection is, 
 therefore, peculiar to God, and if he should communicate 
 his own peculiar perfection to another, that other would 
 be GW.-j- We cannot regard then the Humanity, as 
 some do confusedly, both as finite and infinite : it is either 
 one, or the other : it is either Divine, or not Divine : it is 
 either the Object of worship, or it is not. If the Humanity 
 be the Object of worship, then we address our prayers to 
 Christ alone, that is, to the Divine Humanity alone ; be- 
 cause in that Humanity alone can the Divinity or Jehovah 
 be approached, this Humanity being the manifestation of 
 all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Hence, all those 
 sensuous notions of Mediation and Intercession popularly 
 entertained we reject, as unworthy of the Deity and un- 
 founded in Scripture ; it being obvious from the admission 
 made in the Essays, that the separation between the Divine 
 and Human natures of the Lord, the apostles did not 
 
 * See an ample list of ancient testimonies on this subject in Dr. 
 Pusey's Sermon on the Ascension. Parochial Sermons, vol. ii. ; Ser- 
 mon 13. t Origin of Evil, chap. iii. 
 
THE SOLE OBJECT OF WORSHIP. 81 
 
 make, the simple-minded Christian cannot make, but the 
 acute, learned, and reflective philosopher has made.* 
 
 Nevertheless, allow me to express a conviction, that 
 much of what your Grace has said upon the subject, is 
 worthy of a truly enlightened mind, and deserves the pro- 
 
 * Some of the practical evils mentioned lay Swedenborg as resulting 
 from not considering the Lord's Human nature Divine, are the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 1. Ignorance of God among the learned, who contemplate the Di- 
 vine nature out of the Human. 
 
 2. Ignorance of God among the unlearned; because they contem- 
 plate the Human nature out of Divine ; and so, by considering Christ 
 as a creature and yet God, degrade the Divine Being to the level of a 
 creature, or to one like themselves. 
 
 3. A consequent tendency in some to unbelief in God, arising from 
 an ignorance of His nature. 
 
 4. The support of the Papacy; because, when Christ is considered 
 a creature, and nevertheless invested with Divine attributes, it is less 
 repulsive to the mind to consider another creature (as the Pope for 
 instance) to be invested with Divine power. 
 
 5. The worship of angels ; because if one creature may be wor- 
 shipped, another may. 
 
 6. An unbelief in angels, or any intercourse with another world ; be- 
 cause the Divine, when contemplated out of the Human, is no object 
 of thought or love, hence, virtually a nonentity ; consequently, also, 
 heaven and hell. 
 
 7. Intercession of angels and saints ; because, if one creature may 
 intercede, another may. 
 
 I will here add, that, after once communicating to a Roman Catho- 
 lic the true idea of Christ's intercession, as explained by Swedenborg, 
 and so removing the common idea of its nature, he at once saw the 
 folly of his belief in the intercession of the Virgin Mary, and the saints ; 
 the consequence of which was, he, of his own accord, renounced the 
 whole doctrine, and addressed himself to the Lord alone. 
 
82 JESUS CHRIST AS 
 
 found attention of every member of the Church of Christ. 
 I refer more particularly to the following passage in your 
 Grace's Sermon on the Name of Emmanuel. 
 
 " There are, indeed, very few Christian prayers ex- 
 pressly recorded in Scripture ; but from those few, it 
 should seem that our Lord's disciples understood his in- 
 junction to them, to pray to the Father in His name, as 
 meaning that they were to address their prayers directly 
 to Christ, and pray to God in Him. This, indeed, if you 
 consider what has been said on the use of the word name, is 
 what we might naturally have supposed would be their in- 
 terpretation of the command to ask of God in Christ's name ; 
 i. ., of God as manifested in Christ for the redemption of 
 the world. And the few instances that are recorded, go 
 to confirm this. Keeping in mind that the title of ' Lord/ 
 or * the Lord/ is that which the Christians constantly ap- 
 plied to Jesus Christ, look at the prayer recorded in the 
 beginning of Acts, where they apply to Him who had in 
 person chosen each of the Apostles, to fill up for Himself 
 the number left deficient by the apostacy of Judas. They 
 do riot say, ' Our Father, we pray thee, for the sake of 
 Jesus Christ to fill up the number of his Apostles," 1 but they 
 apply themselves to Him direct, saying, ' Thou Lord! who 
 knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two 
 thou hast chosen.' Again, look to the dying prayers of 
 the blessed martyr, Stephen, whose birthday to immortal 
 life we celebrate to-morrow. His prayers are an evident 
 imitation of those of his crucified Master. Yet he does not 
 use the same invocation of Father, but addresses himself 
 direct to Christ. Our Lord had said, when his enemies 
 were nailing him to the cross, l Father, forgive them, for 
 
THE SOLE OBJECT OF WORSHIP. 83 
 
 they know not what they do ;' and again, when about to 
 expire, * Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' 
 Stephen, in manifest imitation of him, says, ' Lord, lay 
 not this sin to their charge ;' and again, * Lord Jesus, re- 
 ceive my spirit.' It is plain that these persons, if they 
 designed at all, as they assuredly did, to obey the injunc- 
 tion of praying to the Father in Christ's name, must have 
 supposed themselves to be conforming to it, by praying im- 
 mediately to Christ. It would perhaps be too much to 
 assert positively, that they prayed usually in this form, 
 and seldom in any other ; but it is plain that, according to 
 their views, such might have been their usual practice : 
 and, I believe, not above* one instance of a departure from 
 it is recorded. It is remarkable, too, that of the same 
 character is the oldest, or one of the oldest, of all the 
 prayers for general use, that have come down to us com- 
 posed by an uninspired Christian ; that of the celebrated 
 Chrysostom, retained in our service. It is addressed to 
 Christ Himself, with the title of ' Almighty God,' and with 
 an allusion to his promise, to be present in the midst of his 
 disciples, and that they should obtain what they should 
 agree to ask, in a common or joint supplication, when 
 
 * " The only instance," says the Archbishop, " as far as I recollect, 
 recorded of the employment, by the Apostles, of any other mode of 
 address to God, is that which occurred after Peter and John had been 
 brought before the Jewish rulers, when they had healed the cripple at 
 the temple gate. The occurrence suggests to the assembly the words 
 of the Psalm : ' The rulers took counsel together against the Lord, and 
 against his Christ' (or Anointed). And it appears as if they were 
 thence led to speak of Jesus Christ in the third person, in their prayer, 
 on the only recorded occasion in which they do so." 
 
84 JESUS CHRIST AS 
 
 assembled in his name ' Almighty God, who hast given 
 us grace at this time with one accord to make our com- 
 mon supplications unto thee, and dost promise, that when 
 two or three are gathered together in thy name, thou wilt 
 grant their request; fulfil now, Lord, the desires and 
 petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for 
 them ; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, 
 and in the world to come, life everlasting.' " 
 
 In this view of the subject concurs the late Bishop of 
 Norwich, in his History of the Early Rise and Progress of 
 Christianity, when he says, that " our Saviour's command 
 to address prayer to the Father in his name, appears to have 
 been fulfilled by the Apostles and early Christians, by ad- 
 dressing their prayer to the Lord Jesus." Vol. i., p. 152. 
 
 So likewise your Grace again observes in the Cautions 
 for the Times ; "In the matter of devotion, too, it is plain 
 that the Apostles thought only of one Object, and one kind 
 of worship for all. They set before men one God and one 
 Mediator between God and man the Man Christ Jesus, 
 who gave himself a sacrifice for all," etc. 
 
 " Now Almighty God has revealed Himself as the pro- 
 per Object of religion as the one only Power on whom we 
 are to feel ourselves continually dependent for all things, 
 and the one only Being whose favour we are continually 
 to seek; and lest we should complain that an infinite 
 Being is an Object too remote and incomprehensible for 
 our minds to dwell upon, He has manifested Himself in 
 his Son, the Man Jesus Christ, whose history and character 
 are largely described to us in the Gospels ; so that to love, 
 fear, honour, and serve Jesus Christ, is to love, fear, 
 honour, and serve Almighty God ; Jesus Christ being one 
 
THE SOLE OBJECT OF WORSHIP. 85 
 
 with the Father, and all the fulness of the Godhead dwell- 
 ing in Him."* 
 
 It is obvious from these remarks, that as Jesus Christ 
 is one with the Father, your Grace -regards the Man 
 Jesus Christ as the only proper Object of religious 
 adoration. 
 
 So likewise a modern commentator-]- on the words of the 
 Apostle in Philippians ii. 10, " That in the name of Jesus 
 every knee should bend, i. e., all prayer should be made, 
 But what prayer? To Jesus or to God through Him?" 
 The only way to answer this question is to regard the 
 general aim of the passage. This undoubtedly is the 
 exaltation of Jesus. . . , This would lead us to infer that 
 the universal prayer is to be TO JESUS, 
 
 Accordingly, as Athanasius says,| " He who worships 
 and honours the Son, in the Son worships and honours the 
 Father; for one is the Godhead, and therefore one the 
 honour and one the worship which is paid to the Father in 
 and through the Son. And he who thus worships, worships 
 one God and none other than He." 
 
 If then one be the honour, one the worship, one the 
 God who is worshipped, of course one only must be the 
 Object of worship. Hence, also, Dr. Newman admits, 
 that " Christ is o'Xos Geo?, all God, as fully and entirely 
 the one infinitely simple, all-perfect Being, as if there 
 
 * pp.90, 71. t Alford. 
 
 J Newman's Select Treatises of Athanasius, p. 407. 
 
 "To address the Father in the name of Christ, or to address the 
 Son as God dwelling in Human nature and reconciling the world to 
 Himself, must be equivalent, if indeed the Father and the Son are one 
 Deity." Scott's Annotations, John xvii. 23. 
 
86 JESUS CHRIST AS 
 
 were no Person in the Godhead but He."* Accordingly, 
 " thus is he represented in the Book of Revelation/' says 
 Dr. Wilberforce, " where a Lamb as it had been slain, 
 is described as standing before God's throne, and as the 
 perpetual Object of worship to the ransomed in heaven." -j- 
 
 " They all," says a modern commentator,"^ " in perfect 
 harmony, with a loud voice of adoration, confessed that the 
 Lamb, who had been slain for the redemption of sinful 
 men, was worthy to receive 'power* in his mediatorial 
 character and in human nature, over all creatures in heaven 
 and earth ; and l riches,' even all the treasures of grace 
 and glory for the benefit of his people ; and that ' wisdom, 
 strength, honour, glory, and blessing,' 1 should be vested 
 in Him, and ascribed to Him as The Object of universal 
 adoration, praise, gratitude, and admiring love." 
 
 " The Object of their worship," says another commen- 
 tator," is the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Well, then ; we are told tn Father creates, and the 
 Son creates, and yet we nave no warrant to say two 
 Creators ; the Father is worshipped, and the Son is wor- 
 shipped, and yet we find no foundation for asserting two 
 Objects of worship, or two worships ; that to admit of two 
 Objects of worship is the same as to admit of two Creators. 
 This being the case, if there be only one Object of worship, 
 or one Creator, the Object of worship to the Church upon 
 earth must be the same as to the Church in heaven, and this 
 
 * Select Treatises of Athanasius, p. 515, Note ( r ). 
 f Doctrine of the Incarnation, chap. ix. ; yet in chap. vi. he too 
 speaks of " the sacred Objects of our worship." 
 J Scott ; see also Gill, on Rev. v. 11. 
 Tract Society's Commentary. 
 
THE SOLE OBJECT OF WORSHIP. 87 
 
 Object, as set before us in the Apocalypse, we have seen to 
 be no other than the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 This, according to Swedenborg, is the one grand doc- 
 trine which the Church upon earth has yet to -learn ; for 
 in opposition to this we are told that, "As the Son stands 
 to us under the particular character of Mediator, our 
 prayers are to be offered rather through him than to him."* 
 .... "I allowed that prayers are to be offered rather 
 through than to the Son, because of his being Mediator." 
 This is the principle upon which all the Liturgies in Chris- 
 tendom are founded. The Lord Jesus Christ is the medium 
 through which worship is offered, but is not himself the di- 
 rect Object of worship. This is expressly admitted when we 
 are further told that {- " there is a direct prohibition, for 
 whatever reason, of special prayer TO our Lord, as also to 
 the Holy Ghost, in the Communion office. How is this to be 
 accounted for ? Perhaps by recollecting that the rationale 
 of the Holy Eucharist is to be a sacrifice offered by the 
 Son to the Father," etc. Hence in this case there might 
 be danger " of obscuring the simplicity of the priestly act, 
 by intermingling prayers to our Lord with those which are 
 eminently and particularly offered by our Lord." .... 
 There are, however, a few exceptions ; but, it is added, 
 " Will it be too much to say, that in spite of these excep- 
 tions, the clear mind of the Church in her Eucharistical 
 offices has always been to offer the sacrifice directly and 
 immediately to God the Father ONLY?" ... "In the mystery 
 
 * Dr. Waterland: see his Works, vol. iii., p. 363 ; vol. L, part ii., 
 p. 186. 
 
 f Eucharistical Adoration, by the Rev. John Keble, p. 114. 
 
00 THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP. 
 
 of the Altar (which in heaven is the mystery of Christ's 
 Intercession) the Holy Ghost prepares the sacrifice, the 
 Son offers it, being his own incarnate Person, and the 
 Father receives it." 
 
 Is this anything more than what Unitarians maintain 
 to be the rule in regard to all prayer, and according to 
 which prayer is to be offered TO God the Father ALONE ? 
 
 For, as they maintain, " Jesus Christ cannot be the God 
 to whom prayer is to be offered, when he is the High 
 Priest of that God, his minister, to manage before him the 
 interest and offer up the prayers of others, to appear in the 
 presence of God for us. What a strange thing would it 
 have been for the Jews to have worshipped Aaron, their 
 High Priest, instead of the great Jehovah whom Aaron 
 served."* And what a strange thing for the Jews to have 
 worshipped the sacrifice instead of the great Jehovah, to 
 whom the sacrifice was offered ! therefore, there is but one 
 Object of our prayers, God the Father only ; and one 
 Mediator by whom we are to make our addresses to Him ! 
 
 Now it has already been observed, that Swedenborg 
 teaches that there is but one Object of worship, the Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ, in whom is the whole Trinity, 
 of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ; and your Grace admits 
 that the Apostles understood prayer to the Father in the 
 name of Christ, to be the same with prayer addressed im- 
 mediately to Christ. But if this be the case, what be- 
 comes of the phraseology with which prayers in general 
 are opened and terminated ? What becomes of our addresses 
 to the Father, beseeching him to listen to the prayers of his 
 Son Jesus Christ, and to receive us for his sake ? What be- 
 * Lindsey's Apology, p. 127. 
 
MEDIATION AND INTERCESSION. 89 
 
 comes of the popular notion, of Christ as an Advocate 
 pleading His merits to the Father, and interceding with Him, 
 for the sake of these merits, to send the third Person of the 
 Holy Spirit ? For regarding Christ as an Intercessor, we 
 have the authority of Scripture ; but we do not conceive 
 that we have any such authority for regarding all these as 
 separate Objects of worship,* or for those sensuous ideas 
 which are commonly entertained upon this subject. 
 
 Here we conclude our remarks on The Object of Worship. 
 
 That Scripture accommodates itself to the apprehension 
 of the simple; and hence, that its expressions are not 
 always to be taken in their most literal sense, there are 
 few who will not admit. Man having become a creature 
 of the senses, it was necessary to address him through the 
 medium of the senses. In teaching a child, we are obliged 
 to convey our instructions in a similar manner. We may 
 speak to the child of the sun rising and setting ; iior are we 
 thus perverting its mind, because it is not yet able to ex- 
 ercise the powers of reason. But if, when the child becomes 
 a man, we teach its reason that the sun moves round the 
 earth; and if, upon this principle, we build a whole system 
 of natural philosophy; are we not then perverting the mind 
 of our pupil, and turning an innocent and even necessary 
 mode of instruction, into a means of falsification of the 
 laws of nature ? 
 
 From this cause then, the doctrine of Mediation and 
 Intercession, as commonly understood, is, according to 
 
 * Even the eminent Archer Butler could say that, " Three Beings 
 are, on divine authority, represented to us acting with mysterious but 
 real distinctness of operation, yet each possessing the attributes of 
 supreme Godhead." Development of Christian Doctrine, p. 58. 
 
90 MEDIATION AND INTERCESSION. 
 
 Swedenborg, a perversion of the truth. Inasmuch, how- 
 ever, as the darkness occasioned by the absence of true 
 light, is far less deplorable than that which is occa- 
 sioned by the presence of a false one ; there is no doubt 
 that the acknowledgment of ignorance, in regard to the 
 great doctrines of Christianity, is more becoming a pious 
 and humble mind, than those bold expositions which only 
 indicate the intrusion of the natural man behind the 
 veil of the Temple, or his attempt to approach Jehovah 
 without taking his shoes from off his feet. * 
 
 What, then, is the practical idea of the Lord's Interces- 
 sion and Mediation, as explained by Swedenborg? Let 
 us hear what he says : 
 
 " They who believe that there are Three Persons who 
 constitute the Divine (being), and are together called one 
 God, from the sense of the letter of the Word derive no 
 other idea concerning Mediation and Intercession, than 
 that the Lord sits at the right hand of His Father, and 
 discourses with Him as man with man, and brings the 
 supplications of men to the Father, and entreats that for 
 His sake, because He endured the cross for the human 
 race, He would pardon them, and be merciful. Such is 
 the idea concerning Intercession and Mediation, which the 
 simple derive from the sense of the letter of the Word. 
 But it is to be noted, that the sense of the letter is accord- 
 ing to the apprehension of simple men, that they may be 
 introduced into interior truths themselves ; for the simple 
 cannot form any other idea of the heavenly kingdom, than 
 as of an earthly kingdom ; nor any other idea of the Fa- 
 ther, than as of a king on earth ; and of the Lord, than as 
 of the son of a king, who is heir of the kingdom. That 
 
MEDIATION AND INTERCESSION. 91 
 
 the simple have such an idea, is very manifest from the 
 idea of the Lord's Apostles themselves concerning His 
 kingdom ; for at first they believed, like the rest of the 
 Jews, that the Lord, as being the Messiah, would be the 
 greatest king upon earth, and would raise them to a height 
 of glory above all nations and people on the universal 
 globe. But when they heard from the Lord Himself, that 
 His kingdom was not on earth but in heaven, then neither 
 could they think any other than that His kingdom in hea- 
 ven was to be altogether as a kingdom on earth ; where- 
 fore also James and John asked, that in His kingdom one 
 might sit on the right hand and the other on the left ; and 
 the rest of the Apostles, who were also willing to become 
 great in that kingdom, had indignation, and disputed 
 among themselves which of them should be greatest there; 
 and whereas such an idea was inherent in them and could 
 not be extirpated, the Lord also said to them that they 
 should " sit on twelve thrones, to judge the twelve tribes of 
 Israel ;" but on this occasion, what was meant of the 
 Lord by "twelve thrones" by "twelve tribes" and by 
 "judgment" they knew not. From these considerations 
 now, it may be manifest what and whence is the common 
 idea concerning the Lord's Mediation and Intercession with 
 the Father. But he who knows the interior things of the 
 Word, hath altogether another notion concerning the Lord's 
 Mediation, and concerning his Intercession, viz., that he 
 doth not intercede as a son with a father, as a king on 
 earth, but as the Lord of the universe with Himself,* and 
 
 * The Humanity is the hody, the Divinity the soul ; the soul as- 
 sumes the body, in order, that through this intermediation or inter- 
 cession, it may hecome visible to the creature, and hold communion 
 
92 
 
 MEDIATION AND INTERCESSION. 
 
 as God from Himself; for the Father and He are not two, 
 but are one, as He himself teaches (John xiv. 8 11). 
 The reason why He is called Mediator and Intercessor, is, 
 because by the Son is meant Divine Truth, and by the 
 Father , Divine Good ; and mediation is effected by Divine 
 Truth ; for by it is given access to Divine Good. For 
 Divine Good cannot be approached, because it is as the 
 fire of the sun ; but Divine Truth can be approached, be- 
 cause this is as light thence derived, which affords passage 
 and access to man's sight when grounded in faith. Hence 
 it may be manifest, what is to be understood by Mediation 
 and Intercession. 
 
 " It may be expedient, further, to say from what ground 
 it is, that the Lord Himself, who is the Divine Good itself 
 and the Sun itself of heaven, is called a Mediator and 
 Intercessor with the Father. 
 
 " The Lord, when He was in the world, before He was 
 fully glorified, was Divine Truth ; wherefore at that time 
 there was Mediation, and He interceded with the Father, 
 that is, with the Divine Good itself ;* but after that He 
 was glorified as to the Human nature, then He is called 
 Mediator and Intercessor from this ground, that no one can 
 think of the Divine Himself, unless he forms to himself 
 the idea of a Divine Man ; still less can any one be con- 
 joined by love to the Divine Himself, except by such an 
 
 with it ; just as the soul of man is enabled to hold communion with its 
 fellow-creatures on earth, through the mediation or intercession of the 
 body. The soul and the body are not two persons, but one ; in like 
 manner the Humanity is not a separate person from the Divinity ; still 
 it is the Humanity which intercedes. 
 * John xiv. 16, 17 ; xvii. 9, 15, 17. 
 
REGENERATION. 93 
 
 idea. If any one, without the idea of a Divine Man, thinks 
 of the Divine himself, he thinks indeterminately ; and an 
 indeterminate idea is no idea : or, he conceives an idea of 
 the Divine from the visible universe, as without limit, 
 or as with a limit in what is obscure ; which idea conjoins 
 itself with the idea of the worshippers of Nature : it also 
 falls into Nature, and thereby becomes no idea. Hence it 
 is evident, that there would not be any conjunction with 
 the Divine by faith nor by love. All conjunction requires 
 an object, and the conjunction effected is according to the 
 quality of the object ; hence it is that the Lord, as to the 
 Divine Humanity, is called a Mediator and Intercessor, 
 but mediates and intercedes with Himself. That the 
 Divine itself cannot be apprehended by any idea, is mani- 
 fest from the Lord's words in John, * No one hath seen 
 God at anytime; the Only-begotten Son, who is in the 
 bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth to view; 1 * 
 and again, ' $ Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father 
 at any time, nor seen his appearance.'^ Nevertheless it is 
 remarkable, that all who think from themselves, or from 
 the flesh, concerning God, think of Him indeterminately, 
 that is, without any determinate idea ; whereas they who 
 think of God not from themselves, nor from the flesh, but 
 from the spirit, think of Him determinately, that is, pre- 
 sent to themselves an idea of the Divine Being under a 
 human appearance," etc.J 
 
 In these remarks upon Mediation and Intercession, the 
 sense of the letter of Scripture, says Swedenborg, is ac- 
 cording to the apprehension of simple men, in order that 
 
 * i. 18. f v. 37. t Arcana Cmkslia, 8705. 
 
94 REGENERATION, 
 
 by these means they may be introduced into interior 
 truths. But simplicity is of two kinds : there is the sim- 
 plicity of ignorance, and the simplicity of knowledge. 
 According to the simplicity of ignorance, which is that of 
 the senses, the sun revolves round the earth ; according to 
 the simplicity of science, the earth revolves round the sun. 
 But in matters of religion, the simplicity of the Gospel 
 has been supposed to be that of the senses ; and hence 
 to elevate the mind from sensuous apprehensions to in- 
 terior truths, has been said to be no other than seducing 
 it from the simplicity of the Gospel, corrupting the pure 
 unadulterated Word, and preaching another Jesus. Hence, 
 also, mere sensuous apprehensions of Christian doctrine 
 have come to be regarded as plain and practical, and inte- 
 rior truths as visionary and speculative. Accordingly, 
 what is the generally received doctrine of Mediation but a 
 clear and consistent development of Three Objects of wor- 
 ship ? I shall, however, say nothing here of the extra- 
 ordinary scenic displays to which it is said to give rise in 
 the Spiritual World,* under the plea of its being one of 
 the objective truths of Christianity ; in which many of the 
 learned surpass, if possible, in grossness of conception, 
 minds the most sensuous and external : I will say no- 
 thing of the influence it has had in interpretations of the 
 nature of the Lord's Supper, of the priestly office, or of 
 public worship, and which are almost incredible to those 
 who have not investigated the subject. Suffice it to observe, 
 that the Essays have not advocated such unworthy notions : 
 may I, therefore, only suggest their want of positive state- 
 
 * See Dr. Wilberforce's Treatise on The Incarnation : and compare 
 his notions of Intercession with those we have stated in the Appendix. 
 
REGENERATION. 95 
 
 ment on this subject, and the utility of comparing it with 
 Swedenborg's clear and reasonable teaching ? 
 
 Thus far, then, with respect to Swedenborg's distinctive 
 doctrine of Mediation and Intercession : we next proceed 
 to a notice of his doctrine of Regeneration, and in order to 
 test its practical nature, we shall compare it with the one 
 which is generally considered orthodox. 
 
 First, as to the mystery attached to the doctrine, which 
 we are often told, ought to prevent enquiry into its nature. 
 
 We know not, it is said, "how Three distinct Per- 
 sons can so partake of the Divine Nature as altogether 
 to make but one God.* We know not how the sacrifice 
 of Christ is connected with the forgiveness of sin.-i- We 
 know not how it is that the Intercession of Christ is carried 
 on ; J and we know not how it is that Regeneration is 
 effected by baptism. In the first of these cases, however, 
 your Grace has pointed out the cause of our ignorance : 
 you have admitted that the Unity of the Divine Being 
 has itself been destroyed, and therefore that there naturally 
 arises a mystery as to the manner how it can exist. Let 
 us only apply the same rule to the other cases. If the 
 divine work of the Atonement be misunderstood, will it not 
 be a mystery how forgiveness can result from it ? If the 
 sacrifice of Christ be misunderstood, will it not be a mys- 
 tery according to some a " tremendous mystery " how 
 the so-called sacrifice upon the altar is efficacious? If 
 
 * Archbishop Wakes' Catechism, sec. 15. 
 f Archbishop Magee, on The Atonement, vol. L, p. 24. 
 J Penrose, on The Atonement, p. 58. 
 
 General View of the Doctrine of Regeneration in Holy Baptism, 
 by Christopher Bethel, Bishop of Bangor, p. 134. 
 
96 REGENERATION. 
 
 the Doctrine of Regeneration be misunderstood, will it not 
 in like manner be a mystery how Regeneration is effected ? 
 Certainly, it is a mystery how a wicked man can at the 
 same time be regenerate ! Before, then, we regard the 
 manner how as a mystery, and enquiry into it as presump- 
 tion, is it quite certain that the doctrine propounded is a 
 true one ? quite certain, as in the present instance, that 
 regeneration is baptism, or is effected in baptism, and this 
 all at once ? If not, may not this account for the mys- 
 tery with regard to the manner how f That there is a 
 mystery in the process of Regeneration we admit ; but we 
 shall see that it is not that which is commonly set before us. 
 
 If a man has no part to perform in the process of his 
 Regeneration ; if it takes place while he is simply passive, 
 and altogether unconscious of what is going on ; of course 
 the manner how it is performed, is to him not only a mys- 
 tery, but a matter of no consequence. Nay, he may 
 regard the enquiry " how these things can be" as idle 
 and presumptuous. On the other hand, if a man has to 
 engage in a work in which he himself has to bear a 
 responsible part, the manner how to set about it becomes 
 to him a practical question. 
 
 Now Swedenborg informs us, that, in respect of the 
 part to be taken by man in his regeneration, the manner 
 how is not a mystery. Thus, the manner how a man is 
 regenerated is this : " he is regenerated by truths and by 
 a life according to them,"* and "the several stages of re- 
 generation in man answer to his natural conception, gesta- 
 tion in the womb, birth, and education. "f All this, of 
 
 * New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, art. 203, 209. 
 f Universal Theology, art. 583. 
 
REGENERATION. 97' 
 
 course, according to the orthodox doctrine, would be pure 
 speculation ; for according to this, not only has man no- 
 thing to do with his Regeneration, but the whole process 
 is shrouded in impenetrable obscurity. Hence it is myste- 
 riously described as being " a new principle of spiritual 
 life consigned over to the soul by a mysterious operation 
 of the Holy Ghost, which we can neither describe in words 
 nor discern ~by its effects " as " a pure act of God's special 
 grace, immanent in Himself and terminating in man; 
 limited and determined to a particular time, and incapable 
 of latitude or increase ;"* and to the mysterious infusion of 
 this mysterious grace (of which no one knows anything, 
 since it cannot be determined even by its effects), the two 
 external media requisite, are said to be " Words and 
 Water." 
 
 Yet we are told that the doctrine is, in one sense, of 
 practical importance; and why? because the Sacrament 
 teaches man to separate his own activities from the Divine 
 operation, and to shew him-j- that, in the case of his Rege- 
 neration, he has nothing to do with it. It is practical in 
 the sense of teaching man that, with respect to the latter, he 
 has nothing to practise. The infant is regenerate from the 
 moment the ceremony is over : it is not pronounced re- 
 generate on the presumption that any one of its engage- 
 ments will be performed ; \ and " once regenerate always 
 regenerate" has been invariably a maxim of the Catholic 
 
 * General View of the Doctrine of Regeneration in Baptism, by 
 Christopher Bethel, Bishop of Bangor ; Preface, p, 30 ; also p. 31, 
 120. 
 
 t Wilberforce, on The Doctrine of Holy Baptism, p. 127, 124. 
 
 t See the foregoing Work of Bishop Bethel, pp. 87, 130. 
 
 r 
 
98 REGENERATION. 
 
 Church : " he who is once a Christian is always a Chris- 
 tian."* 
 
 Accordingly, what is the origin of the mysterious nature 
 of Regeneration ? We shall see that it is its non-practical 
 character. We are taught by the " masters in Israel," that 
 
 " All the ancient Christians, not one man excepted, do 
 take Regeneration to signify Baptism."-)- (Just inverting 
 what Swedenborg says, viz., that Baptism signifies Re- 
 generation). 
 
 " Regeneration ordinarily is in and through Baptism 
 only, a transient thing which comes but once." 
 
 Man is " not his own regenerator or parent at all, in his 
 new birth ; for that would be a solecism in speech, and a 
 contradiction in notion. . . ."J 
 
 " Seeing that," (in the case of the Baptism of infants,) 
 "the will of the human receiver is wholly inoperative ; the 
 benefit of the ordinance must fall entirely on the side of 
 the Divine Giver. " 
 
 " No man, regenerates himself at all ; that is, he has no 
 part in the regenerating act, which is entirely God's. . . .|| 
 
 " Regeneration is a spiritual change, in which the prin- 
 ciple of self-action implanted in man has no part."^ 
 
 Now if Regeneration signifies a spiritual change in 
 which the man himself has no part, what is left for the 
 man to do, or practise in regard to it ? or in what sense, 
 
 * Dr. Water-land's Works, vol. vi., pp. 353, 359. 
 
 f Bishop Bethel; see his foregoing Work, p. 14. 
 
 I Dr. Waterland ; see his Works, vol. vi., pp. 346, 347, 352. 
 
 Wilberforce, on Baptism, p. 127. 
 
 || Waterland's Works, vol. vi., p. 352. 
 
 fl Bishop Bethel, on Baptism, p. 25. 
 
REGENERATION. 99 
 
 relatively to the man, can the doctrine be called practical ? 
 It may, indeed, imply a practice on the part of others, 
 such as the use of words and water ; but, in regard to 
 infants, in what respect has the doctrine any claim to be 
 called practical f 
 
 In the case of the doctrine as taught by Swedenborg, 
 so far from the work of Regeneration being transferred to 
 others, or a man having no part in, the work, it must be 
 wrought out by the man himself; for it implies a new will, 
 a new understanding, and hence a new nature ; and so far 
 from requiring no effort on the part of the man, it requires 
 every effort which it is possible for him to make ; being a 
 state not of unconscious passivity, but of conscious activity 
 in the rejection of evil and in the implantation of good. 
 The man, indeed, must be passive in respect to a reception 
 of Divine Truth ; but he must be active in respect to the 
 effects to be produced by it ; in fine, he must be passive 
 only in order to be active, for without the activity of re- 
 action there is no reception. 
 
 This, my Lord, is the practical difference between the 
 two doctrines. Accordingly, Swedenborg observes : 
 
 " Unless a man be born again, and, as it were, created 
 anew, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. . . . That 
 man ought to be regenerated, is obvious to reason ; since he 
 is born with a propensity to evils of every kind derived 
 from his parents, and these have their abode in the natural 
 man, which of itself is diametrically opposed to the spiritual 
 man ; and yet he is born also to be an inhabitant of 
 heaven ; to which place, nevertheless, he cannot be admitted 
 unless he be rendered spiritual ; which can be effected only 
 by Regeneration. Hence it necessarily follows, that the 
 
 F 2 
 
100 REGENERATION. 
 
 natural man with his lusts ought to be conquered, subdued, 
 and inverted ; for otherwise he cannot stir a step toward 
 Heaven, but must needs cast himself deeper and deeper into 
 
 Hell The new birth or creation is effected by the 
 
 Lord alone, through Charity and Faith as two means 
 
 during man's co-operation These two, Charity and 
 
 Faith, are called means or mediates, because they conjoin 
 man with the Lord, and cause Charity to be Charity, 
 and Faith, Faith ; which could not be the case except man 
 also had some share in Regeneration; hence it is said 
 that this work is effected during man's co-operation. . . In 
 all motion, and consequently in all action, there is an 
 active and a passive, i.e., a something which acts as an 
 agent ; and a something which, being passive, acts from 
 the agent. Hence, one action is effected by both together, 
 comparatively as a mill is put in action by a wheel ; or a 
 chariot by a horse ; or as motion is produced by the 
 endeavour to move ; or as an effect proceeds from its cause ; 
 or as a dead power put into activity by a living power ; and 
 in general, as the instrumental is acted upon by its prin- 
 cipal ; in all which instances it is well known, that the 
 two together constitute but one action. With respect to 
 Charity and Faith, the Lord is the agent, and man acteth 
 from the Lord ; for the active power (activum) of the Lord 
 is within the passive (passivum) state of the man. Wherefore 
 the power of acting well is from the Lord, and thence the 
 will to act is, as it were, man's ; because he is in possession 
 of free will ; so that he has the power to act (as from him- 
 self) in unity with the Lord, and to conjoin himself with 
 Him ; or to act (as from himself) from the power of Hell, 
 which is extraneous to that of the Lord, and thus to sepa- 
 
REGENERATION. 101 
 
 rate himself from Him. Man's action, when concordant 
 with that of the Lord, is what is here meant by co-opera- 
 tion. . .It is a vanity of vanities to suppose that Regener- 
 ation follows as a necessary consequence of the faith now 
 prevalent in the Church, which excludes the co-operation 
 of man"* 
 
 Compare now this general statement of the doctrine of 
 Swedenborg, with the alleged Catholic doctrine. The 
 question is not which of the two is heretical, and which 
 orthodox; but which of the two is practical, and which 
 non-practical. If Swedenborg' s doctrine be heretical, is 
 it not clear that it is at least the one which is practical ? 
 
 It may be said perhaps in this case, that we are only 
 attributing to Regeneration, what the Catholic Church 
 attributes to Renovation. Now we acknowledge that Reno- 
 vation is the consequence of Regeneration ; the growth of 
 the new man, the consequence of the implanted seed of the 
 new life. But Swedenborg maintains, upon the principle 
 already stated, that the implantation in the mind, of the 
 seed of the Word, requires as much a co-operation on the 
 part of man as the actual growth itself of the new man 
 afterwards. For the seed is the Word ; and whether or not 
 it brings forth good fruit, depends upon the ground into 
 which it falls. We are not excluded from taking a part in 
 our Regeneration because it is a mystery, any more than 
 we are excluded from taking a part in our Renovation be- 
 canse it is a mystery. If " the wind bloweth where it 
 listeth, and we hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell 
 whence it cometh and whither it goeth ;" so also when the 
 
 * Universal Theology, art. 572, 574, 576. 
 
102 REGENERATION. 
 
 seed is cast into the ground, it " springeth and groweth up 
 man knoweth not how." Besides, if in the process of Re- 
 generation man is said to hear the voice of the Spirit, how 
 does this accord with a state of unconscious passivity? 
 " The Spirit breathing where it willeth" says Swedenborg, 
 " signifies that the Lord, by Divine truth derived from 
 mercy, gives new life : hearing its voice, signifies that those 
 things come to perception in the external or natural man ; 
 voice denoting what is announced from the Word. By 
 not knowing whence it cometh and whither it goeth, is signi- 
 fied that man doth not know in what manner Regeneration 
 is effected (i. e., on the part of the Lord) ; for it is effected 
 by innumerable and ineffable arcana from the Lord." 
 
 But although this be the case, yet, in respect to the part 
 to be taken by the man himself, it is not true that Rege- 
 neration is a work so shrouded in mystery that every part 
 of it is incomprehensible to him ; it is not true that it is a 
 work so exclusive of man's co-operation that he has nothing 
 to do with it ; it is not true that it is a work limited and 
 determined to a particular time, and incapable of latitude 
 and increase ; nor is the idea of a man co-operating in the 
 work of his Regeneration, any more self-contradictory, than 
 that of one called the " old man" co-operating to make 
 himself new, or of one who is dead in sins co-operating in 
 his own resurrection to newness of life, or of one who is 
 not yet created anew in Christ, co-operating in the work 
 of his own creation. To the natural man, as to Nicodemus, 
 it is a paradox ; but not to the spiritual. 
 
 That there are mysteries not fictitious, but genuine 
 in the work of Regeneration, who denies ? Are there not 
 mysteries in the natural formation of the human body ? 
 
REGENERATION. 103 
 
 Are we not, both in the natural and spiritual senses, fear- 
 fully and wonderfully made ? We cannot fathom the man- 
 ner how a shapeless mass is wrought up into such an 
 intricate texture of nerves, veins, arteries, bones, muscles, 
 membranes, and skin ; all skilfully interwoven and con- 
 nected with each other till it becomes a body harmoniously 
 diversified with all the limbs and lineaments of a man. 
 But though we cannot fathom tfyese mysteries, enquiry 
 into them is not presumptuous, investigation is not im- 
 pious, discoveries are not impossible, knowledge not use- 
 less or forbidden. 
 
 As, however, we shall have to revert to this subject in 
 the sequel, and to point out the relation of this doctrine to 
 the Spiritual World, allow me here to conclude the subject 
 of Doctrine, with the following remark. 
 
 Your Grace has spoken of the visions and revelations of 
 Swedenborg as if these alone were "peculiar" to his sys- 
 tem ; as if the Doctrines of Swedenborg contained the fun- 
 damentals of Christianity only as they are acknowledged 
 by Christendom, and stood in need therefore of no new 
 or pretended revelation. I shall have occasion to shew 
 in the sequel, how his Revelations stand in close relation 
 to his Doctrines : in the meantime, it may be well to 
 hear what he himself says upon the foregoing subject. 
 
 " The faith of the New Church cannot by any means 
 abide together with the faith of the former Church ; and 
 in case they did, such a collision and conflict would ensue 
 as to destroy everything relating to the Church in man ; 
 for they do not agree together in one -third, no, nor even 
 one-tenth part; they are heterogeneous, or diametrically 
 opposite to each other in nature and quality ; for the faith of 
 
104 REVELATION OF THE INTERNAL SENSE. 
 
 the former Church springs from an idea of three Gods, but 
 the faith of the New Church from the idea of one God."* 
 
 What is the consequence ? The Object of worship in the 
 two Churches is different, and the nature of the worship it- 
 self is different. Now, says Dr. Waterland, " worship is a 
 practical thing ;"-j- and hence, when the Arians wished to 
 abide together in the Church with Trinitarians, " In my 
 humble opinion," says he, " the thought is wide and the 
 project impracticable. There is no patching up any last- 
 ing or rational agreement of that kind, while the parties 
 cannot unite so much as in the Object of Divine worship." 
 
 " It is unreasonable and morally impracticable 
 
 to come to any composition, where the parties differ so 
 widely, and in so material a concern, as the Object of 
 Divine ivorship." .... u It is in vain to cast about for 
 any far-fetched reasons, colours, or pretences in a plain 
 case. Supposing it not necessary that all Doctrines, even 
 though very important, should be expressed in a public 
 Liturgy yet, certainly, the Liturgy should be so con- 
 trived as effectually to point out the Object of worship. 
 If the supplicants cannot agree about the very Object of 
 worship, I do not see how they can at all unite in one 
 common Liturgy. "J 
 
 So much, then, for three Objects of worship, as taught 
 
 * Brief Exposition of the Doctrines of the New Church, art. 102, 
 103. 
 
 f See his Works, vol. v., pp. 27 29. 
 
 J Vol. v., p. 385 : he adds, " or so much as hold communion with 
 each other," which is too absurd to be seriously treated. He in whom 
 is genuine truth, will always be in genuine charity ; and will, on that 
 very account, desire the more earnestly Christian communion even with 
 those whom he esteems to be in error. 
 
OP THE WORD OF GOD. 105 
 
 by the Liturgies ; which have for this reason, according to 
 Swedenborg, sounded the downfall of the Catholic Church ! 
 
 I now come to the other part of our subject, and, indeed, 
 to the principal object of this Letter ; I mean the alleged 
 REVELATIONS of Swedenborg, of which it is affirmed, that 
 that they are of a nonpractical character. 
 
 Your Grace observes, that Swedenborg "professed to 
 have been favoured with most copious and distinct revela- 
 tions, to have visited the celestial abodes, and to have con- 
 versed with various orders of beings, of all of which he 
 gives minute descriptions. Yet, though his followers in- 
 sist much on the importance of believing in this pretended 
 revelation, it would, I believe, be difficult for them to state 
 even any one point in which a man is called upon to alter, 
 either his conduct, his motives, or his moral sentiments, in 
 consequence of such belief. The system furnishes abun- 
 dant matter of faith, and food for curiosity ; but has little 
 or no intelligible reference to practice." 
 
 An ordinary reader of the Essays might naturally, from 
 this statement, be disposed to presume, that the revelations 
 alleged to be made to Swedenborg are principally con- 
 cerning the celestial abodes, and the various orders of 
 spiritual beings. 
 
 Whereas, on the contrary, the principal revelation 
 alleged to be made to Swedenborg, is that of THE IN- 
 TERNAL SENSE OF THE WORD OF GOD a revelation all 
 mention of which the Essays have omitted ! As, how 
 ever, in the words of your Grace, "both reason and 
 experience shew, that it is the obvious policy of an im- 
 postor, and the most natural delusion of a visionary, to 
 treat much of curious and hidden matters relative to the 
 
 F3 
 
106 POPULAR OBJECTIONS, 
 
 divine operations, beyond what is conducive to practical 
 instruction," " and to be much occupied in ministering to 
 speculative curiosity;" as the Essays observe, that the 
 system of Swedenborg affords food for this curiosity ; that 
 we ought to consider " whether the case is likely to be the 
 same with a real revelation ; " and that " such an inquiry 
 will be profitable and satisfactory, if fully pursued ;" per- 
 mit me to state the results of an inquiry made upon the 
 principles recommended by your Grace, an inquiry which 
 has been found both profitable and satisfactory; and 
 which has terminated in the conviction, that the Internal 
 Sense of the Word of God, as professedly revealed to 
 Swedenborg, does not appeal to a blind credulity, is not 
 speculative, does not minister to curiosity, but has a direct 
 relation to our life and conduct, and is of the highest 
 practical importance. 
 
 On entering, however, upon this subject, I am antici- 
 pated by objections, in limine, against all further revela- 
 tions whatever from the Almighty, whether through 
 Swedenborg or any other human medium ; and as these 
 objections have effectually precluded many from making 
 inquiry into the subject, or, when making it, predisposed 
 them against the evidence adduced ; I am under the ne- 
 cessity of first answering such of the objections as are 
 more particularly opposed to any further revelation of the 
 Internal Sense of the Word of God ; and the remaining, 
 which are meant to discredit any further knowledge with 
 regard to the Spiritual World, will be reserved as a sub- 
 ject for separate consideration. 
 
 I proceed, then, to the consideration of certain POPULAR 
 OBJECTIONS to further revelations, whether through Sweden- 
 
LIGHT ENOUGH. 107 
 
 borg or any other medium ; as, First, That the Church is 
 already in possession of sufficient knowledge for all prac- 
 tical purposes, and is in no need of more. Secondly, 
 That as God never designed to make us prophets, it is 
 time enough for all practical purposes, to derive our know- 
 ledge of the meaning of prophecy from the events by which 
 it is fulfilled, and that these events have not yet taken 
 place. Thirdly, That we ought not to be " wise above 
 that which is written." Fourthly, That man has no facul- 
 ties adequate to a better knowledge of Divine mysteries. 
 Fifthly, That inquiry into them proceeds from a love of 
 novelty. Sixthly, That Swedenborg wrought no miracles 
 in evidence of his commission. Seventhly, That there 
 may be new discoveries in Science, but not in Religion. 
 
 First, it is objected that the Church is already possessed 
 of sufficient knowledge for all practical purposes, and is 
 in no need of more. A very common opinion ; the state- 
 ment in favour of which is thus set before us in the Essays. 
 There is a close analogy, we are told, between the condi- 
 tion of Christians in this life and that of children* As the 
 knowledge possessed by children, u scanty and imperfect as 
 it is, is yet fully sufficient for all practical purposes ;" so 
 likewise, since Christians in this present life are only in 
 the condition of children, their knowledge, though indis- 
 tinct, scanty, and imperfect, is yet " an abundant know- 
 ledge for practical purposes." .... "The habitual study 
 of the infantine mind will prepare us to go any lengths in 
 the confession of our ignorance, and the due distrust of our 
 faculties. . . , Where the darkness cannot be removed, it is 
 a great point to be aware that it is darkness ; instead of 
 being deceived and misled by false and delusive appear- 
 
 * Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, Essay v., pp. 182, 183. 
 
108 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 ances." Accordingly, as to the Revelation of God in Christ 
 Jesus :* " Our views, indeed, on this awful subject must, 
 after all, be indistinct, confused, and imperfect ; but if they 
 are better than we could otherwise have attained, and are 
 the utmost that we can or need attain, the object is suffici- 
 ently accomplished." As to the State of Man after death^ 
 " I have always found that the more I inquire into these 
 matters, by examining the Scriptures, and reasoning from 
 them, even when I have succeeded in ascertaining some 
 points, the more I am struck with the reflection how vast is 
 the extent of man 1 s ignorance on this awful and mysterious 
 subject, and how unequal are his faculties in the present 
 state to the full comprehension of it. 
 
 "... A man who is compelled to travel in the twilight may 
 wish, indeed, that the sun would rise; but in the mean- 
 time makes the best use he can of the light that is afforded 
 him ; he still employs his eyes, and still is able to see 
 with them, to a profitable purpose ; though he cannot see so 
 far as in broad daylight. Only, if he is prudent, he will 
 take heed not to forget how faint a glimmering it is that 
 he now enjoys, lest he incur danger by heedlessly running 
 too far from the path ; nor will he allow himself to form 
 too hasty a judgment concerning the prospect around him, 
 while viewed by this imperfect light. "J 
 
 Now we are far from saying that this state of twilight 
 may not be a fair representation of the state of the Chris- 
 tian Church in these latter times ; nor do we deny that, 
 in the case of so faint a glimmering, the utmost caution 
 in pursuing our way may be requisite. But the ques- 
 
 * Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, Essay ii., p. 107. 
 
 f Scripture Revelations on a Future State, p. 38. 
 
 Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, Essay v., p. 190. 
 
STATE OF CHILDREN. 109 
 
 tion is, what is the cause of such a state of things ? Is 
 it the necessary condition of our being, regarded as that 
 of children in this present life ; or is it an artificial con- 
 dition, which the Church has, by its decline, superinduced 
 upon itself? The Essays affirm it to be the former : the 
 writings of Swedenborg, to be principally the latter. " To 
 implant in children," says he,* " and in young people, the 
 idea of Three Divine Persons, to which is unavoidably 
 annexed the idea of Three Gods, is to deprive them of all 
 spiritual milk, and afterwards of all spiritual meat, and 
 lastly of all spiritual reason ; aud the consequence is spi- 
 ritual death to all those who confirm themselves in such 
 an opinion." Let a child be taught that there are Three 
 Objects of Worship ; or, if only one, that one part of 
 that Object is divine, and as such ought to be worshipped ; 
 another part human, and as such ought not to be wor- 
 shipped; and are we not at once supplied with a cause 
 of the obscurity and confusion existing in the mind of 
 the child with regard to God, without referring them to 
 the natural feebleness of its faculties ? This certainly is 
 the way in which Swedenborg puts the case. What the 
 distinguished author of the Essays has imputed to the 
 weakness of our faculties belonging to our condition as 
 children, Swedenborg has imputed to their perversion ; 
 and it is purely an oversight on the part of the author 
 to have omitted this view of the subject in his Essay on 
 The Example of Children, after he had pointed out and 
 admitted so much of the evil in other parts of his works. 
 " T$y morning," says Swedenborg,-]- "is signified, in the 
 
 * True Christian Religion, art. 23. 
 t Arcana Ccelestia, art. 10,134. 
 
110 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 Word, a state of love ; by midday, a state of light in clear- 
 ness ; by evening, a state of light in obscurity ; and by 
 night or twilight, a state of love in obscurity." "The case 
 of the Church in general is as with man in particular. The 
 first state of a child is that of innocence, thus of love to- 
 ward his parents. His second state, a state of light ; for 
 when the infant becomes a boy, he learns those things 
 which are of light, i. e., the truths of faith, and believes 
 them. The third state is when he begins to love the world 
 and himself, as is the case when he becomes a youth, and 
 thinks from himself ; and in proportion as these loves in- 
 crease, in the same proportion faith decreases, and together 
 with faith, charity towards the neighbour and love to God. 
 The fourth and last state is, when he has no concern about 
 truths, and especially when he denies them." Through 
 these phases, says Swedenborg, the Church has passed : 
 the first, that of love, when it was said, " See how these 
 Christians love one another ; " the second, when, like the 
 Church of Ephesus, it fell from its first love and concerned 
 itself more with the doctrines of faith ; the third, when, 
 in consequence of self-love and love of the world, it de- 
 clined gradually into a state of error ; the last, when 
 the day had altogether gone down over the prophets, 
 and that state of twilight alone remained which is above 
 described. 
 
 It is of importance, then, that we distinguish between 
 the morning or dawning twilight which pertains to an in- 
 fantine state of being, and that evening twilight which 
 the prophets have foretold as the result of the decline of 
 the Church. To treat of subjects which transcend our 
 capacities may be the part of an enthusiast or impostor ; 
 
TWILIGHT OF THE CHURCH. Ill 
 
 but to remove the darkness resulting from a state of spi- 
 ritual degeneracy, may be the part of a servant of God ; 
 and unless we keep in mind this distinction, we shall be in 
 danger of confounding the claims of the messenger sent by 
 the Lord to his Church, with the pretensions of enthusiasts 
 or impostors. 
 
 Doubtless, under the Dispensation in which St. Paul 
 wrote, it is perfectly true that li ,we see through a glass, 
 darkly ;" and that relatively to a more advanced state, 
 Christians under that Dispensation must be regarded as 
 children. We therefore admit that the revelation which 
 our Scriptures afford under that Dispensation, is in many 
 points imperfect and limited ; and that they themselves 
 represent it as such, that consequently under such an 
 Economy, we know only in part, and see by means of a 
 mirror darkly. But while Scripture admits this, does it 
 also maintain that obscurity, indistinctness, and confusion of 
 thought, are ever to be the lot of the Christian on this side 
 of the grave ? and, as such, that these will always remain 
 the marks of a true revelation, while an attempt at clear- 
 ness and distinctness of thought will be as certainly the 
 marks of a false one ? Yet this is the argument against 
 Swedenborg in the Essays. 
 
 If such be the case, what is to become of Prophecy upon 
 this principle ? Would not its very fulfilment place the 
 Scripture in open contradiction to itself? For instance, 
 "Arise, shine, for thy light is come" (Is. lx,), is a pro- 
 phecy generally interpreted to refer to the " glorious 
 establishment of Christianity in the last days ;"* when 
 " the Lord himself will shine upon the church with so 
 
 * Bishop Butler's Sermons, p. 287. Analogy, part, ii., chap. iv. 
 
112 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 glorious and enduring a light, as shall eclipse all which 
 has heretofore been enjoyed by her from the Word and 
 Spirit of God."* But how can this be, if a pretension to 
 further light be the mark of a false revelation ? Or to take 
 another prophecy : " The city had no need of the sun" etc. 
 (Rev. xxi. 23) : not that there would be no need nor use 
 of light or comfort, or true religious understanding ; but 
 that these now should so far surpass what was formerly 
 enjoyed among Christians, as in a manner to supersede 
 them ; agreeably to those other expressions of the prophet 
 Isaiah xxx. 26, -j- concerning this very time of Christ's 
 kingdom, " The light of the moon shall be as bright as the 
 light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be as seven- 
 fold" i.e., all religious knowledge and prosperity shall be 
 vastly increased. But how can this be ? replies the ob- 
 jector ; does not the Apostle say, that " NOW we see through 
 a glass, darkly " " NOW we know in part, we prophecy in 
 part:" we think and speak NOW but as children, confusedly, 
 indistinctly, imperfectly ? Is not this the necessary con- 
 dition of our being in this life ; to contravene which is 
 only the attempt of fanatics and impostors ? In opposition 
 then to these, both one and all, says he, I affirm that 
 " the Bible suppresses much of what some vainly seek to 
 find in it, or complain of not finding ; which all pretended 
 revelations profess, and might be expected to profess, to 
 make known ; and which a true revelation, and none but 
 a true one, might be expected to omit."J 
 
 * Scott's Annotations, Isaiah, chap. Ix. 15. Also Bishop Butler's 
 Analogy, part i., chap, iii., where he alludes to this prophecy, 
 f Pyle's Paraphrase on the Revelations, chap. xxi. p. 233, Note. 
 J Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, Essay iii., p. 140. 
 
TWILIGHT OF THE CHURCH. 113 
 
 How effectually, by this reasoning, is any light to be 
 derived from prophecy extinguished ? 
 
 Granting, however, that the Bible reveals only, and 
 never was intended to reveal other than, a very imperfect 
 and limited knowledge is it not a strange method of pro- 
 ceeding, to attempt to prove to the unbeliever the truth of 
 the Christian revelation on the ground that it has so little 
 to reveal : that the Bible is probably true, because it has 
 not much to say that is true : that its revelations with re- 
 gard to a Future State are probably genuine, because it has 
 so little to tell us that is genuine ? Might not the Mosaic 
 Dispensation, upon this principle, have still stronger claims 
 upon our belief; inasmuch as regards a Future State, it is 
 said that it tells us nothing at all?* and however ano- 
 malous this method of proof may seem, yet how triumphant 
 it becomes we shall see when we apply it to the copious 
 and distinct revelations upon this subject, of enthusiasts 
 and impostors ! Some persons might have thought, per- 
 haps, that if the Jewish Dispensation had revealed nothing 
 at all concerning a Future State, and the Christian Dis- 
 pensation very little, it might be no such strange matter 
 if Providence, in the course of his dispensations, should 
 think proper to reveal something more ; but it seems that 
 the argument, first of nothing, then t of little, is decisive 
 against anything further. Yet when we consider that the 
 little that is revealed is said to be very practical, one 
 might be led to expect that were anything more revealed, 
 this might be very practical also certainly not of neces- 
 sity, as assumed in the Essays, a matter of mere curiosity. 
 For if this were necessarily the case, might not the Jew 
 
 * Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, Essay i., p. 53. 
 
114 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 have reasoned thus : " God has not thought proper to 
 reveal to me anything concerning a Future State ; there- 
 fore all knowledge respecting it is speculative and not 
 practical ; and if the Christian affirms that the Gospel has 
 brought life and immortality to light, it must be, as far as 
 I am concerned, a matter of mere curiosity : in that sense 
 only I am not unwilling to enquire, what will this babbler 
 say?" 
 
 When therefore the Apostle says, "Now we see through 
 a glass, darkly" could he mean that the Church had then 
 attained to all the knowledge of God which it was destined 
 to possess in this life ?* Could he mean to neutralize all 
 Prophecy upon the subject, and to deny that the Church 
 would ever receive any further great accessions of light ? 
 Or did he mean not to contradict, but to harmonize with 
 his own, the words of St. Peter, thus ; that " now we see 
 through a glass, darkly" for now prophecy is but " as a 
 light shining in a dark place;" wherefore also we prophecy 
 in part " until the day dawn and the day-star arise in your 
 hearts" when prophecy shall be accomplished or perfected, 
 and that which is now spoken after an enigmatical man- 
 ner, shall then be seen in a clear and unenigmatical 
 manner ? 
 
 This certainly appears to be the way in which Bishop 
 Butler contemplated the subject ; for, speaking of the gene- 
 ral ignorance of man in the present state of the world, he 
 says ;f " If a man were to walk by twilight, must he not 
 
 * See Mansel's Bampton Lectures, p. 263. This view of prophecy 
 seems to be essential to the psychological and metaphysical theories 
 contained in this work. 
 
 t See his Sermons, p. 269. Also Analogy of Religion, part L, chap, 
 iii., as before. 
 
115 
 
 follow his eyes as much as if it were clear day and broad 
 sunshine? Or if he were obliged to take a journey by 
 night, would he not give heed to any light shining in the 
 darkness, till the day should break and the day-star arise ? 
 It would not be altogether unnatural for him to reflect 
 how much better it were to have daylight : he might per- 
 haps have great curiosity to see the country round about 
 him : he might lament that the darkness concealed many 
 extended prospects from his eyes, and wish for the sun to 
 draw away the veil ; but how ridiculous would it be to re- 
 ject with scorn and disdain the guidance and direction 
 that lesser light might afford him, because it was not the 
 sun itself." 
 
 Has not Bishop Butler, then, here introduced the question 
 of Prophecy ? and if the twilight of which he has spoken 
 correspond with the expression, "Now we see through a 
 glass darkly" will it not follow that the expressions "face 
 to face" and " when that which is perfect is come," cor- 
 respond to the time of which St. Peter spoke, when ** the 
 day shall dawn and the day-star arise in your hearts?" 
 for surely Bishop Butler never meant to say, that the 
 twilight would equally remain after the day had dawned 
 and the day-star had arisen ; any more than the Apostle 
 Paul meant to say, that when prophecy had received its 
 accomplishment, and its enigmatical language was ex- 
 plained, we should continue as before, to see only eV 
 
 We come then to the conclusion ; either that Prophecy 
 does not mean what the Church in general interprets it to 
 mean, or else that the Apostolic expression " now we see 
 through a glass, darkly" in no way militates against the 
 
116 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 writings of Swedenborg. Yet how often, in this argument, 
 is the qualification arising from Prophecy omitted ; and the 
 language of the Apostle quoted as one universal and 
 sweeping condemnation of any attempt or expectation to 
 acquire a higher knowledge of God's will in this life than 
 the Church now possesses ! How often do we hear in 
 every direction, the echoes of locks, bolts, and bars, fasten- 
 ing the very gates of which it is written, " Blessed are they 
 who enter in through the gates into the city !" 
 
 Thus for instance ; " After all our endeavours," says 
 Archdeacon Balguy,* " we can but hope to attain a very 
 obscure and imperfect view of the wisdom of God in the 
 Redemption of mankind. So long as we continue in this 
 life, divine things are to be apprehended by faith, not by 
 sight : we only discern them through a glass darkly ; and 
 shall not be admitted to a full participation of them, till 
 we pass from a state of trial to a state of glory." 
 
 But who pleads for a full participation of divine things 
 in this life ? Is there no intermediate between a scanty 
 and a plenary knowledge ; between obscurity and the full 
 blaze of light? between brass, iron, and wood, and the 
 rainbow round about the throne? Surely, even if the 
 Apostle meant to contrast the whole state of the Church 
 here with its state hereafter, he never could mean to ex- 
 clude all possibility of progress, all further accession of 
 heavenly knowledge; or to put an extinguisher upon 
 Prophecy, in the way in which some are accustomed to 
 contend ! There are many phases through which the Moon 
 of the Church has to pass from the twilight of her last 
 quarter to the effulgence of her full orb; and whatever 
 
 * Discourses, etc., vol. i., p. 120. 
 
THE DAY-DAWN. 117 
 
 may be the glory of the new Jerusalem on earth, we admit 
 that it will be relatively obscure to that of the new Jeru- 
 salem in heaven. Relatively we say, not absolutely : as 
 compared with former Dispensations, the Church will be in 
 light ; as compared with the glory hereafter, she will be in 
 dimness ; but it does not follow therefore, as I most re- 
 spectfully submit, that absolute confusion, obscurity, and 
 indistinctness of thought, must be for ever her inevitable 
 destiny in this world, in the sense in which the author of 
 the Essays and other divines contend. 
 
 But, doubtless, if there be an increase of light, there will 
 be an increase of responsibility. If the standard of know- 
 ledge be raised, the standard of duty must be raised. The 
 life cannot be the same in both cases ; consequently, neither 
 the practical purposes. The knowledge which sufficed in 
 the one case, does not suffice in the other. So, vice versa, 
 if a higher standard of character be required, there is re- 
 quired a higher knowledge ; and this knowledge is pre- 
 cisely what we believe Swedenborg has supplied in his 
 writings, the whole of which has a relation to the Regene- 
 rate life. 
 
 In this point of view, when it is objected that we have light 
 enough already for all practical purposes, and do not need 
 more, is not this the same with asserting, that we are good 
 enough already and need not be better? For goodness and 
 truth are inseparably united : we cannot possess one with- 
 out possessing the other. Genuine goodness cannot consist 
 with a state of spiritual darkness ; and it would be difficult to 
 discover how the Christian can be too much enlightened. 
 Assuredly, when he experiences Divine light in his soul, 
 he loves it so much that he prays for more, knowing, in 
 
118 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 the language of the Psalmist, that, " in thy light we see 
 light."* If a man says he has light enough already ; how 
 can he think of praying for more ? The force of the ob- 
 jection, however, would seem to lie only in its ambiguity. 
 For, if by light be meant mere intellectual knowledge, or 
 the mere science of religion, then undoubtedly of this we 
 may already have enough ; nay, we may possess too much ; 
 and further still, it might have been better for us if we 
 never had any at all. If we possess any knowledge of 
 religion, however practical in itself, which nevertheless we 
 do not mean to practise ; we have not only light enough 
 for our own practical purposes, but more than we need. 
 If we possess any knowledge of religion which we do not 
 practise, but try to do so ; we may have sufficient know- 
 ledge for the present, but not for the future ; for as our 
 practice may be always improving, so may the time come 
 when further knowledge may be desirable. Can any true 
 Christian say, that at any period he possesses too much 
 knowledge of himself? That the light whereby he is 
 enabled to discover the evils of his nature, and the purity 
 and holiness of God, he already possesses to a greater de- 
 gree than is needful ? Or, that he has already so much, 
 that in this life he will never need more ? If this be the 
 case, what further proof can be given that he is in total 
 darkness ; and that instead of having light enough he has 
 none whatever ? That we may have more light than we 
 use, may be true. That we may desire no more, may be 
 true. This may be said of the world in its darkest and 
 corruptest state ; yet so far from its being a reason why 
 God should not send further light, it may be the very 
 
 * Psalm xxxvi. 9. 
 
NO PROPHETS. 119 
 
 reason why he should ; for if he did not, even that we 
 possess might be extinguished. The contentment of the 
 world in general with the degree of light they possess, is 
 never any argument with Divine Providence for withhold- 
 ing his light from those who want more. The Jews had 
 certainly more light than they used ; yet this did not 
 prevent our Saviour from coming among them, and diffusing 
 a still further degree. " The ligh't shined in darkness," 
 though " the darkness comprehended it not." 
 
 Now the internal sense of the Holy Word, as explained 
 by Swedenborg, we regard as not the light of mere science 
 or abstract knowledge ; but as that which reveals to us 
 the knowledge of our own nature. To affirm otherwise, is, 
 for the present at least, to beg the question. Nay, to as- 
 sume that we already have light enough for all practical 
 purposes, is to beg the question ; for the ground of the 
 revelations alleged to be made to Swedenborg, is, that 
 we have not sufficient light ; that the Lord has come and 
 removed the candlestick of the Church out of its place, 
 she having put darkness for light, and light for darkness. 
 How far this is true, we have in some measure already 
 seen. That a Church may possess a degree of light ade- 
 quate to the practice she requires of her members, may 
 be true ; but the question is, whether the standard of prac- 
 tice with which she is content, be itself adequate to that 
 which is required of her. But to proceed : 
 
 It has been objected, Secondly, that as God never de- 
 signed to make us prophets, so it is time enough for all 
 practical purposes, to derive our knowledge of the mean- 
 ing of Prophecy, from the events by which it is fulfilled ; 
 and that these events have not yet taken place. 
 
120 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 Accordingly we are told that " Prophecy* is not to be 
 its own interpreter ; that is, it is not to have its full sense 
 made out (like that of any other kind of composition) by 
 the study of the very words of each prophecy itself, but it 
 is to be interpreted by the event\ that fulfils it " .... 
 " Scripture prophecies are mostly so drawn up, that the 
 events which fulfil them should also be needed to explain 
 their meaning " . . . . " Many of the prophetic vision sj 
 and declarations pertaining to the kingdom of the Messiah, 
 were very obscure as to their true purport, till they were 
 cleared up by his advent ; but then, they furnished both a 
 proof and an explanation of his religion. In like manner, 
 also, many similar prophecies both in the Old and New 
 Testament, may be designed to answer the same purpose 
 hereafter, when the appointed period shall arrive which is 
 to bring with it, at once their fulfilment, their explanation, 
 and their practical use." 
 
 Supposing then the period to arrive which brings at 
 once the fulfilment, the explanation, and the practical use : 
 of course if the fulfilment is not perceived, so neither is 
 the explanation, nor the practical use : the prophecy to 
 all practical purposes remains as if unfulfilled, the ex- 
 
 * A View of the Scripture Revelation concerning a Future State, 
 pp. 175, 176. 
 
 f These words of St. Peter have been otherwise explained, thus ; 
 The prophets were led to utter their expositions of God's will, not by 
 the suggestion of their own minds, but by the Holy Ghost. This ex- 
 planation, however, does not interfere with the general adoption of the 
 rule that prophecy, to be properly understood, must be explained by 
 the event. 
 
 % Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, p. 153. 
 
UNSEEN EVENTS. 121 
 
 planation as if speculative, and the application non-prac- 
 tical: it is still apparently awaiting its accomplishment, 
 and, till that period arrives, remains a dead letter as much 
 as ever. The fulfilment, the explanation, and the practical 
 use might thus be already before our eyes, and ourselves 
 blind to all three together ! 
 
 It is written, for instance, that " the sun shall be dark- 
 ened, and the moon shall not give her' light."* " How the 
 sun is to be darkened," says Calvin, " we cannot possibly 
 at this time conjecture, but the event will shew." Suppose 
 now the time of fulfilment to have arrived, and the event 
 to shew it* i.-e.j suppose a state of the Church in which 
 it is divided against itself as to the Object of worship ; in 
 which the doctrines of Christianity are understood in a 
 most sensuous manner ; or, if we aimed at anything better, 
 that we should find our ideas indistinct, obscure, confused, 
 or altogether lost in mystery; might we not say, Here is an 
 event a state of the Church in which the light is ob- 
 scured ? Now it is an admitted interpretation of this pro- 
 phecy, that it refers to a period when " the light of the pure 
 heaven of the Church will be dimmed with thick mists"^ 
 Even Grotius could interpret the prophecy to mean, that 
 " the knowledge of the Divine Law would be obscured, 
 partly by false interpretations, partly by feigned traditions, 
 which, after the death of the Apostles and of John the last 
 of the twelve, began to be diffused on all sides, and as cen- 
 turies rolled on, were more and more increased." As then 
 no one has lamented the corruptions of doctrine by these 
 
 * Matthew xxiv. 29. 
 
 t Lectures on the Apocalypse, by Dr. Wordsworth, Canon of West- 
 minster, p. 69. 
 
 G 
 
122 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 means more than your Grace, are we not here presented 
 with an event, and an explanation ? But what of the prac- 
 tical application I 
 
 Take the case of another prophecy : 
 
 "See ye not all these things 1 verily I say unto you, There 
 shall not be one stone left upon another that shall not be 
 thrown down."* Suppose now that a state of Christendom 
 should arise in which it is divided against itself, and pre- 
 sent as a whole a scene of disorganization ; suppose this 
 to be one reason why Christianity has lost its power over 
 the world, and is paralyzed in its efforts against the super- 
 stitions of the heathen ; and that infidelity and Rationalism 
 are prevalent in countries where Christianity should possess a 
 powerful sway ; nation fighting against nation, and kingdom 
 against kingdom, all under the plea of contending for the 
 faith once delivered to the saints. Here is an event! Now 
 it is an ancient interpretation that stone means truth; stones 
 of the TEMPLE, truths of the CHURCH ; and that one stone not 
 left upon another which shall not be thrown down, means 
 one truth of the Church not left upon another which shall 
 not be thrown down. Here is an explanation ! But where is 
 the application? Does not one Church apply it, either 
 in whole or in part, to another? But what Church will 
 apply it to itself? What Church does not think itself 
 the very Church to which the prophecy was not meant to 
 apply ? 
 
 "What is the consequence ? The event may happen 
 the explanation be given but what becomes of the appli- 
 cation ? Shall we refer to Swedenborg ? But on this very 
 subject he is said to be non-practical, a fanatic, and an 
 
 * Matthew^xxiv. 2. 
 
UNSEEN APPLICATION. 123 
 
 enthusiast. Why so ? Because he has given an interpre- 
 tation the application of which is not perceived. 
 
 " The present day"* says he, "is the last time of the 
 Christian Church, which is foretold and described by the 
 Lord in the Gospels and in the Revelation." Had he been 
 a seer pretending only to pry into futurity, he might, upon 
 this ground, have been deemed presumptuous ; but as all 
 his interpretations of prophecy are concerned not with the 
 future but with the present, is he not too practical to be 
 any other than visionary ? 
 
 May not that which was true of the Jews be true in 
 the present day ? so that not only may events occur to 
 explain prophecy, but " more than this ; that even when 
 fulfilled, it should be possible for the uncandid, the pre- 
 judiced, and the perverse, to miss the explication, and to 
 be blind to the fulfilment ; while those who are humble, 
 patient, and docile, are enabled to understand it."-(- 
 
 Moreover, if it be objected against any inquiry into pro- 
 phecy, that as God never designed to make us prophets, 
 it is time enough for us to have a knowledge of its meaning 
 after the events by which they are fulfilled ; is not this as 
 much as to say, that if a man forewarned us of our house 
 being robbed, it would be time enough for us to give 
 heed to the warning, after the robbery had been effected ? 
 For our Lord declares, that He will "come as a thief 
 in the night," and at such an hour as we look not for 
 Him. Suppose any one should predict the coming of a 
 flood, which, unless we escaped, would inevitably destroy 
 
 * Universal Theology, art. 757. 
 
 t A View of the Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, 
 p. 176. 
 
 G2 
 
124 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 us ; should we act as reasonable creatures if we an- 
 swered, that it would be time enough to attend to it after 
 the event was fulfilled ? We could say so only on the 
 ground that we did not care for the prediction. Now 
 our Lord affirms, that as it was in the days of Noah, so 
 shall it be also at the coming of the Son of Man, "they 
 knew not until the flood came and swept them all away." 
 God, certainly, never designed to make us prophets, that 
 we might be able to foretell future historical events ; nor are 
 the prophecies of Scripture interpreted by Swedenborg as 
 relating to this subject, but only to the spiritual state of 
 the Church, consequently, to the spiritual state of every 
 individual of the Church. The subject of the prophecies, 
 therefore, is as practically important to every member of 
 the Church, as the nature of his own spiritual state ; and, 
 if he is warned beforehand of certain errors and evils into 
 which, without Divine illumination, he will assuredly fall 
 by reason of the darkness of the age, what subject can be 
 more practical to him, than the one which treats of his 
 danger ? He is not called upon to foretel the future, but 
 to understand the present; to give the interpretation of 
 the handwriting which is already upon the wall. Many 
 seem to imagine, that events have only to occur in order 
 for us to recognize them ; and certainly, where these events 
 are only outward or political, such may be the fact ; but 
 where they are the same with inward, moral, or spiritual 
 states, great is the mistake to suppose that we must be 
 necessarily aware of their nature. The character of an 
 age may be as much hid from that age, as the character of 
 an individual from himself. Generally speaking, the most 
 unfavourable period for perceiving it, is that of the very 
 
BEING OVER-WISE. 125 
 
 age itself ; for the mind has been so educated into its evils 
 and errors, as to be unable to detect them ; so that, perhaps, 
 they may not be generally seen until after the age has 
 passed away, and all the consequences ensued which might 
 otherwise have been averted. If this be the case with 
 regard to external events, how much more with regard to 
 inward and spiritual states ? For changes in the external 
 world are comparatively easily discernible : the spiritual 
 states of the Church are not so discernible ; they are conse- 
 crated by the very externals of the religion professed, and 
 lie more deeply hidden within the soul. The longer a state 
 continues, also, the less is its nature likely to be perceived ; 
 and if it be one of error and evil, nothing but a new com- 
 munication of light to those who are willing to receive it, 
 can enable them to see or understand it. After all, there- 
 fore, it is possible for us to be living during a state of the 
 Church, of the real nature of which even the wisest of its 
 members may be in profound ignorance. 
 
 But I proceed to a Third objection, which is, That " we 
 ought not to be wise above that which is written." 
 
 Undoubtedly; but neither ought we to be wise below 
 that which is written. How indifferent are some if any of 
 their fellow-creatures are ignorant of what they ought to 
 know ; if in fine, they are wise far below what is written ; 
 how alarmed should any appear to them to be wise above 
 what is written ! Now we readily grant, that to be wise 
 above what is written is a great evil ; but the question is, 
 what that is which is written; and until this question be 
 settled, it will be in vain to attempt to decide whether any 
 given views are above or below what is written. 
 
 According to many, that only is written which is on 
 
126 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 the outside :. all tlie writing is without, none of it within. 
 What then does that mean which is spoken of by St. 
 John,* " / saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the 
 throne a book, written within and on the back side, sealed 
 with seven seals ?" What is it to us to know the meaning, 
 if we determine beforehand that there is no writing within ; 
 or that if there be, it does not practically concern us? In 
 this case, whether the seals be opened or unopened, whether 
 they refer to external dispensations of Providence, or to the 
 internal sense of Scripture and hence to spiritual states of 
 the Church, must be to us a matter of indifference. The 
 outer writing we see ; the inner writing we see not ; and as 
 it is sealed by seven seals, we have no evidence of its ex- 
 istence. To appeal to the evidence of events in this case 
 is useless ; for the event may be as little perceived as the 
 writing ; indeed no event can interpret an inner writing, 
 the very existence of which is denied. Hence any inter- 
 pretation of language, any appeal to events, must be equally 
 vain, as only being wise above that which is written. 
 
 For an inner writing in the book, there must be an inner 
 sense in man; so that we may say with an eminent-[- 
 divine u Till there is in man the sense which receiveth 
 these things, the Book which treats of them will not be 
 understood. If they are rejected, we must conclude this 
 sense to be wanting; and when that is the case, the 
 evidence of a miracle will not force its way through the 
 hardness of the human heart. Some speculative writers 
 have treated of credibility and probability, and the nature 
 
 * Rev. v, 1. 
 
 f Rev. W. Jones, of Nayland : Figurative Language of the Holy 
 Scriptures, p. 19. 
 
PLAIN MEANING OF SCRIPTURE. 127 
 
 and force and degrees of evidence, as if we had rules for 
 weighing all truth to a single grain with mechanical cer- 
 tainty : whereas, in fact, man, with all his boasted balancings 
 of reason, can resist a proof that would confound a devil." 
 There are some, however, (and I am happy not to in- 
 clude the Author of the Essays, ) who would seem to settle 
 this question in a summary manner. In determining what 
 is written, the rule to be observed is, as they affirm, that 
 we are to adopt only that sense of Scripture which is plain 
 and obvious. Plain, it may be asked, to whom ? To the 
 natural man or to the spiritual 1 Even in regard to histo- 
 rical facts, your Grace has well observed, that persons in 
 the present day may be mistaken in speaking of the plain 
 sense of Scripture ; and if the natural man may be mis- 
 taken in regard to external historical facts,* how much 
 more so when he applies the test of plainness to internal 
 spiritual truths ! Assuredly, if we adopt that sense only 
 which is plain to the natural man, is it not probable that 
 we shall adopt the wrong one? "for the natural man re- 
 ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are 
 foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, for they 
 are spiritually discerned"-^ 
 
 If, therefore, in determining the sense of Scripture, a 
 person uses only his natural discernment, and appeals to 
 what he considers to be the plain sense of the Word of 
 God; there needs no stronger proof^ that the sense to 
 
 * See Sermon ii., Name of Emmanuel. 
 
 f 1 Cor. ii. 14. Of course the whole of this argument is intended 
 to apply only to those books of Scripture in which we maintain there is 
 an inward sense, and which, by way of distinction from the other books 
 in Scripture, we expressly denominate The Word of God. 
 
128 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 which he appeals may not be the primary sense designed 
 by the Divine Author ; and yet on this appeal rests the 
 whole of the argument generally urged by those who 
 speak of the plain sense and meaning of Scripture, 
 
 To the natural man, the plainest sense is the merely 
 historical or moral : the less spiritual it is, the plainer it 
 is to him ; nothing being to him less plain and obvious 
 than the spiritual sense. To the spiritual man, however, 
 the spiritual sense, to the extent in which he understands 
 it, is quite as plain as to the natural man the natural sense. 
 The question therefore is, what is the state of mind of the 
 person who makes the appeal to Scripture? If it be a 
 merely natural state, the plainer to him is the sense of 
 Scripture to which he appeals, the more external or natural 
 it is, and the less spiritual; consequently, the farther 
 removed from the one primarily designed, that is to say, 
 in those books in which a spiritual sense exists. What 
 was plainer to the Jews, than that when the Messiah was 
 spoken of as one whose kingdom should have no end, a 
 temporal monarchy was meant? And why? Because 
 they could form no idea of any other. The plainest and 
 most obvious sense of Scripture, in these passages, was to 
 them its most natural and literal sense ; the lower it was, 
 the plainer it was. 
 
 If a man says, therefore, that he rejects a given inter- 
 pretation of the Word of God, because it is not the plain 
 one ; what is this but making the degree of his discernment 
 the standard of Divine Wisdom ? If his life and conduct 
 were more improved, how does he know but his spiritual" 
 discernment would be increased ; and that things which 
 belong unto his peace would be plain to him then, which 
 
LIMITATION OF FACULTIES. 129 
 
 are now hidden from his eyes ? " All the words of my 
 mouth, 17 says Divine Wisdom, "are plain" to whom? 
 to him," it is added, "that understandeth,"* Before a 
 man, therefore, objects to a given interpretation of Scripture, 
 that it is not the plain one, ought he not first to consider, 
 what is the degree of his own spiritual discernment ? For 
 the Word of God, as to its spiritual truths, does not pro- 
 fess to be plain, except to those who can understand, any 
 more than objects in the natural world are plainly visible, 
 except to those who can see. Now in Scripture it is a first 
 principle, that the state of our spiritual understanding de- 
 pends upon the state of the heart ; therefore, in Dan. xii. 
 10, it is said, " none of the wicked shall understand, but 
 the wise shall understand." To consider, therefore, the 
 degree of plainness with which a passage in the Word of 
 God may present itself to us, as the test of its genuine 
 meaning, is much the same as if the person who saw men 
 as trees walking, should insist upon this as the real fact, 
 because it was the one which was the most obvious to his 
 eyes in the state in which they then were. 
 
 A Fourth objection is, that man has no faculties adequate 
 to a better knowledge of the Divine mysteries. 
 
 Accordingly, when speaking of the revelation of God in 
 Jesus Christ it is observed, " Our views, indeed, on this 
 awful subject must after all be indistinct, confused, and im- 
 perfect ; but if 'they are better than we could otherwise 
 have attained, and are the utmost that we can or need 
 attain, the object is sufficiently accomplished."-|- 
 
 We have here an acknowledgment that the way in 
 
 * Proverbs viii. 9. 
 
 f Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, Essay ii., p. 107* 
 
 G3 
 
130 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 which the revelation of God in Jesns Christ is contem- 
 plated in the Essays, leads to indistinct, confused, and 
 imperfect views; and this being the case, the question 
 arises whether these are, indeed, the utmost that we can 
 or need attain ; for, if they are, Swedenborg, in attempt- 
 ing to arrive at clear and distinct ideas upon this subject, 
 is only aiming at what is beyond the reach of human 
 faculties. Before, however, coming to such a conclusion, 
 there is a point to be considered which the Essays have 
 omitted : " The mind of man," says Bishop Berkeley,* 
 " being finite, when it treats of things which partake of 
 infinity, it is not to be wondered at if it run into absurdities 
 and contradictions, out of which it is impossible it should 
 ever extricate itself ; it being of the nature of Infinite not 
 to be comprehended by that which is finite. But, per- 
 haps, we may be but too partial to ourselves in placing the 
 fault originally in our faculties^ and not rather in the. 
 wrong use we make of them. ... I am inclined to think 
 that the far greater part, if not all, of those difficulties 
 which have hitherto amused philosophers, and blocked up 
 the way to knowledge, are entirely owing to ourselves. 
 That we have first raised a dust, and then complain we 
 cannot see." 
 
 In the present case the complaint is, not that we cannot 
 see ; but that we see but indistinctly, confusedly, and imper- 
 fectly. Is this owing to the inadequacy of our faculties, 
 or to the wrong use of them ? 
 
 Let us illustrate the difference between the two cases, 
 by a few examples : 
 
 * See his Works, vol. i., p. 4. Introduction to the Principles of 
 Human Knowledge. 
 
LIMITATION OF FACULTIES. 131 
 
 1. In regard to the Tripersonality* we are told that 
 " Each Divine Person is to be received as the one God, 
 as entirely and absolutely as he would be held to be 
 if we had never heard of the other Two ; and that he 
 is not in any respect less than the one and only God, 
 because they are each that same one God also ; or, in 
 other words, that as each human individual being has one 
 personality, the Divine Being has three." If then we 
 ask, what thus becomes of the Divine Unity ; the answer 
 is, it is a mystery beyond the reach of our faculties. Now, 
 your Grace has clearly pointed out that the origin of the 
 mystery is not in the original constitution of the mind, but 
 in the originally false conceptions formed by it ; and that 
 the Unity of God is no mystery, if we worship God 
 manifested in the one Person of Jesus Christ as the one 
 only Object of worship. In this case, what one theologian 
 attributes to the inadequacy of our faculties, your Grace 
 attributes to the wrong use of them. 
 
 2. Another example we may take from the Incarna- 
 tion. It has been assumed that Divinity is incompatible 
 with Humanity ; that what is Divine cannot be Human, 
 nor what is Human, Divine ; the consequence is, that 
 while the Incarnation has been allowed to be a fact, it 
 has been declared to be a mystery which we have no facul- 
 ties to understand ; while some unbelievers regard-)- the 
 mystery as so great as to amount to a contradiction, and 
 hence deny the fact altogether. Others, on the contrary, 
 assert that we can form no ideas of Divinity which are not 
 
 * Atlantis, No. 2 ; St. Cyril's formula, sec. vi. By the Very Rev. 
 J. H. Newmau, D.D. Also Sermons, vol. vi., p. 61. 
 f Such as Lord Bolingbroke, in his Essays. 
 
132 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 anthropomorphic:* hence, that God cannot be conceived by 
 as ever being any other than a Man. Assuming humanity 
 upon earth is thus only assuming humanity in a lower 
 form ; humanity in a higher degree assuming humanity in 
 a lower. The mystery, therefore, which arises from the 
 supposed incompatibility of Divinity with Humanity, in 
 this point of view disappears, and together with it the as- 
 sumption that we have no faculties to understand it : for 
 in this case, so far from the constitution of our minds not 
 allowing us to understand the mystery, it is that very 
 human constitution which enables us to do so. 
 
 3. So again in regard to the Worship of the Lord. It 
 has been assumed that what is human is necessarily not 
 Divine, but creaturely ; and, the glorified humanity of 
 Christ being regarded as a creature, it has been said that 
 we worship Christ as God, but not as man, i.e., we wor- 
 ship one part of the Person of Christ, and not the other. 
 If it be asked how is this ? the answer is, it is a mystery 
 which we have not the faculties to understand. On the 
 contrary it is maintained by others, that, as the Divine 
 may be Human, so the Human may be Divine ; and that 
 this is actually the case in the Person of Christ glorified 
 as He is now in heaven ; so that we thus worship the whole 
 Person and not a part. In this point of view the com- 
 plaint concerning mystery and the limitation of our facul- 
 ties disappears, and our difficulty is resolved into originally 
 false conceptions of our own making. 
 
 4. So also with regard to the Attributes of God. Arch- 
 bishop King maintains that in themselves they are of a 
 totally different nature from those of man ; that, as such 
 
 * Hansel's Bampton Lectures, p. 17. 
 
LIMITATION OF FACULTIES. 133 
 
 we cannot reason by any direct analogy from the one to 
 the other ; that we want faculties to discern them that 
 our knowledge of them therefore is exceedingly dim, faint, 
 and imperfect ; that nevertheless such knowledge is suf- 
 ficient for all the practical purposes of religion ; and that 
 it is presumptuous to enquire further. On the other hand, 
 other divines regard the whole method of Archbishop 
 King, in treating of the Divine attributes, as mistaken ;* 
 so that what he assigns to the infinitude of Deity, to our 
 want of proper faculties, and our necessary ignorance ; 
 others assign, in great part, to his own erroneous method 
 of investigation. 
 
 5. So again with regard to the question concerning the 
 Finite and Infinite.- 3 ? The Finite, it is said, can never com- 
 prehend the Infinite ; for " if all thought is limitation ; if 
 whatever we conceive is by the very act of conception 
 regarded as finite ; the Infinite, from a human point of 
 view, is merely a name for the absence of those conditions 
 under which thought is possible. To speak of a conception 
 of the Infinite, is therefore at once to affirm those condi- 
 tions, and to deny them. The contradiction which we 
 discover in such a conception is only that which we have 
 ourselves placed there, by tacitly assuming the conceiv- 
 ability of the inconceivable." Hence is inferred the utter 
 inadequacy of our faculties to any rational knowledge 
 of God, who is regarded therefore, in this respect, as the 
 
 * As Edwards, Tillotson, Davison, etc. 
 
 t See Mr. Mansel's Bampton Lectures, p. 72 ; also, A Letter to the 
 Vice- Chancellor of the University of Oxford, on " The Present State 
 of Theology in the Church of England." By Clericus. Hammans, 
 Oxford, 1856. 
 
134 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 unknown subject of unknown attributes. On the other 
 hand, what is attributed here to the limitation of our 
 faculties, is attributed by others to wrong conceptions con- 
 cerning the Infinite, and a wrong method of investigation ; 
 for, " all these perplexities," it is said, " arise out of the 
 spurious Spinozistic demand that this idea shall be kept 
 out of relation to any thing, and the false assumption that, 
 unless this is done, the idea is sacrificed. ... No religious 
 truth or moral interest requires us to identify God with 
 any infinitude, but that which stands in ontological rela- 
 tion to the finite."* 
 
 6. So again with regard to the Intercourse between the 
 Soul and the Body it has been said to be a subject which 
 is inscrutable, or which we have no faculties to investi- 
 gate : while others attribute our ignorance to the scarcity 
 of facts, and the want of generalizations, which time will 
 remedy. For example: " In the present state of science," 
 it is said, " of all subjects that on which we know least is 
 perhaps the connexion of our bodily and mental nature, the 
 action of the one on the other, and all the vast range of sen- 
 sations, sympathies, and influences in which those effects are 
 displayed, and of which we have sometimes such extraordi- 
 nary manifestations in peculiar states of excited cerebral 
 or nervous action, somnambulism, spectral impressions, the 
 phenomena of suspended animation, double consciousness, 
 and the like. In such case, science has not yet advanced 
 to any generalizations ; results only are presented which 
 have not as yet been traced to laws. Yet no inductive 
 enquirer for a moment doubts that these classes of pheno- 
 
 * National Review, Jan. 1, 1859 ; p. 225. 
 
LIMITATION OF FACULTIES. 135 
 
 mena are all really connected with some great principles 
 of order."* 
 
 . . . " Inductive philosophy has within itself a propheti- 
 cal warrant to foresee, that a time will come when those 
 things which seem most obscure, will become clear. The 
 well-known prediction of such a disclosure in the case of 
 the celestial motions, uttered long ago by Seneca, and ful- 
 filled in Newton, is not less applicable at the present time ; 
 and points to equally grand openings in all branches of 
 physical science, which will as assuredly be made at other 
 future epochs of scientific revelation." 
 
 ... " It is an unwarrantable presumption to assert, that 
 at a mere point of difficulty or obscurity we have reached 
 the boundary of the dominion of physical law, and must 
 suppose all beyond to be arbitrary or inscrutable to our 
 faculties. It is the mere refuge and confession of ignorance 
 and indolence to imagine special interruptions, and to 
 abandon reason for mysticism." 
 
 " Of the Baconian philosophy, it has been said by a 
 masterly writer : It is a philosophy which never rests ; 
 which has never attained ; which is never perfect. Its 
 law is progress. A point which yesterday was invisible 
 is its goal to-day, and will be its starting post to-mor- 
 row."f 
 
 Now from the remarks made in these several cases it is 
 clear, that there prevails a practice of assigning to the limi- 
 tation of our faculties what really belongs to our own mis- 
 taken principles. If, then, we erroneously assume this 
 
 * Unity of Worlds and of Nature, pp. 114, 115 ; by the Rev. Baden 
 Powell, Savilian Professor : Oxford, 2nd Edit, 
 t Ibid., Note, p. 117. 
 
136 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 limitation, and make our standard of practice accord with 
 it, the result will be, that our notions of duty will partake 
 of this limitation, and our spiritual knowledge and life will 
 be very far indeed below " the utmost that we can or need 
 attain." 
 
 What an eminent Prelate said of human knowledge in 
 general, may be said of religious knowledge in particular. 
 " Surely," observes he,* "it is a work well deserving our 
 pains to make a strict inquiry concerning the first principles 
 of human knowledge, to sift and examine them on all sides ; 
 especially since there may be some grounds to suspect 
 that those lets and difficulties, which stay and embarrass 
 the mind in its search after truth, do not spring from any 
 darkness and intricacy in the objects, or natural defect in 
 the understanding, so much as from false principles which 
 have been insisted on, and might have been avoided." 
 
 This is clearly exemplified in the Essays-^ of Lord 
 Bolingbroke. No person insists more strongly than he 
 on the narrowness of the limits of the human faculties ; 
 on the folly and sin of presumptuous inquiries. But then 
 he confines the limits of human knowledge to those of 
 Nature, and places revealed on a level with natural theology. 
 All beyond this he regards as madness, enthusiasm, or pre- 
 sumption. " Who, indeed," says he, " but the Author of 
 Nature can see and know to the utmost extent of it ? And 
 who that is not delirious, therefore, can presume to see and 
 know beyond it?" "When the Theist has demonstrated 
 the existence of a supreme and all-perfect Being, he stops 
 
 * Works of Bishop Berkeley, vol. i., p. 5 : Introduction to A Treatise 
 concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. 
 
 f Works of Lord Bolingbroke : Essay ii., vol. vi., p. 113. 
 
LIMITATION OF FACULTIES. 137 
 
 where the means of human knowledge stops ; and makes 
 no vain and presumptuous efforts to go beyond them, by 
 the help of Reason and Revelation." He, too, thinks it 
 important to distinguish what we can know of God from 
 what we cannot ; and having from his own Theistic system 
 laid down his own limits of the human mind, thenceforth 
 pronounces all beyond them as pure imagination, the off- 
 spring of mere curiosity, pride, prejudice, and delusion.* 
 
 But to proceed : your Grace adds j "And indeed if any 
 one had clear, distinct, and complete views of the Divine 
 Being, this would alone be a sufficient proof to me that they 
 were incorrect views." 
 
 Now, if by complete he meant adequate, it is readily 
 granted that we can never have adequate views of the 
 Deity ; inasmuch as what is finite can never be adequate 
 to what is infinite. Nevertheless, this does not imply, as 
 I humbly conceive, that all our views of the revelation of 
 God in Christ must be necessarily obscure, confused, and 
 indistinct. The finite, we know, can never comprehend 
 the Infinite ; nor can it ever have adequate ideas even of 
 the finite, inasmuch as the finite is indefinite ; and to com- 
 prehend the Indefinite is as much a contradiction as to 
 comprehend the Infinite. Nevertheless, as this would be 
 no good excuse for an ignorance of the laws of Nature, or 
 of the human mind, so neither would it be a good excuse 
 for an ignorance of God. 
 
 Besides, an idea may be inadequate, without being in- 
 distinct or confused. We may have a clear and distinct 
 idea of a thing to a certain extent. The point up to 
 which we may have clear ideas of Divine Truth, is the 
 
 * Works of Lord Bolingbroke, vol. v., p. 92, 93 : Letters addressed 
 to Alexander Pope. 
 
138 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 degree of good to which we have attained ; beyond which 
 our views become, indeed, more or less indistinct and con- 
 fused. Whether in regard to man or angel, the rule holds 
 equally good, that the pure in heart only shall see God. 
 Their ideas of God are true, clear, and distinct, according 
 to the degree of purity to which they have attained. Ne- 
 vertheless as, in relation to the Divine purity, the very 
 heavens are unclean ; so, in relation to the Divine glory, 
 the light of the highest angel is but as darkness. Still, 
 should we be justified in saying, that all angelic percep- 
 tions are only dark, indistinct, and confused ? 
 
 The same rule holds in regard to man, although it is 
 capable of being exemplified in him only in a lower de- 
 gree. There is a point up to which a good man has a clear 
 idea of Divine Truth, and beyond which it becomes ob- 
 scure; a greater clearness in his perception requiring a 
 higher degree of good than that to which he has yet 
 attained. Nevertheless, the higher the good to which he 
 attains, the clearer the perception at which he arrives. 
 This is true with regard to his condition both in this world 
 and in the next. 
 
 Hence Swedenborg observes :* " During man's initia- 
 tion into truth, and thence into good, all that he learns at 
 this time is obscure to him ; but when good is conjoined 
 thereto, and he thence respects truth, in this case all becomes 
 clear to him ; and this successively more and more. For 
 now he is no longer in doubt Whether a thing be, or Whether 
 it be so ; but he knows that it is, and that it is so. When 
 man is in this state, he then begins to know innumerable 
 things ; for he proceeds, in this case, from the good and 
 truth which he believes and perceives, as from a centre to 
 * Arcana Ccelestia, 3833. 
 
LIMITATION OF FACULTIES. 139 
 
 the circumferences ; and in proportion as he proceeds, in 
 the same proportion he sees the things which are round 
 about ; and successively extends his views still further, for 
 he is continually removing and expanding the boundaries of 
 things. Henceforth, also, he commences from every par- 
 ticular in the region within those boundaries ; and from 
 these, as from new centres, produces new circumferences ; 
 and so forth. By these means, the light of truth derived 
 from good increases immensely, and becomes as one con- 
 tinuous lucidity ; for, in this case, he is in the light of 
 heaven, which is from the Lord. But to such as are 
 in doubt and in disquisition Whether a thing be, and Whe- 
 ther it be so, these innumerable, yea, indefinite things, do 
 not at all appear. All and each of these things are to 
 them obscure ; and are collectively regarded scarcely even 
 as one thing really existing, but rather as one whose 
 existence is doubtful. In such a state are human wis- 
 dom and intelligence at this day ; when he is deemed w r ise 
 who can reason with ingenuity Whether a thing exists; 
 and he is deemed still wiser, who can reason in proof of its 
 non-existence. As for example ; in respect to this ques- 
 tion, Whether there exists an internal sense of the Word 
 which is called mystical ? until this is believed, it is im- 
 possible for any one to attain the least knowledge of those 
 innumerable things which are in the Internal Sense, and 
 which are so many as to fill the Universal Heaven with an 
 infinite variety. So also in regard to the Divine Provi- 
 dence ; he who reasons concerning it, Whether it be only 
 universal and not extended to particular things, cannot pos- 
 sibly become acquainted with the innumerable arcana 
 respecting Providence, which are as many in number as 
 
140 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 the contingencies of every one's life, from first to last, and 
 from the creation of the world to its end, yea, to eternity. 
 To take yet another example ; he who reasons, Whether it 
 be possible for any one to be principled in good, by reason 
 that the will of man is radically depraved, cannot possibly 
 know all the arcana relating to Regeneration 5 nor even 
 that a new will is implanted by the Lord ; nor can he 
 know the arcana of such implantation ; and so in all other 
 cases. Hence it may be clearly perceived, in what ob- 
 scurity such persons are ; and that they do not even see, 
 much less touch, the first threshold of wisdom." 
 
 It is obvious from hence, then, that the limits of our 
 intellectual faculties, in regard to a saving knowledge of 
 God, are the same, with the limits of our spiritual affec- 
 tions, or the will; thus, that the natural man, as such, 
 having no affection of spiritual truth for its own sake, 
 has so far no perception of it, in other words, no faculties 
 to understand spiritual things. But if these faculties are 
 lost, what is the cause of it? What is it that makes 
 Divine truths such profound, inscrutable mysteries ? Is it 
 that they were not intended for man while on this side of 
 the grave ? Or, that he has buried the higher powers of 
 his soul in a selfish and sensuous nature ; which averts 
 itself from spiritual things, and therefore cannot understand 
 them ? Ought we not at least to inquire how far this may 
 be the case? How far the mysteriousness of Christian 
 doctrine originates from the infinitude of Divine truth ; 
 and how far, from the mere external state of our own 
 minds ? Ought we not to ask, whether the darkness be in 
 the object, or in the eye that looks at it ? Whether it be 
 that of night to an eye that is open, or that of day to an 
 
LIMITATION OF FACULTIES. 141 
 
 eye that is closed ? Is not light itself as darkness, when 
 we are blind ? Have we not yet learnt that man has spi- 
 ritual faculties as well as natural ? Yea, that the natural 
 were given him that he might become spiritual? 
 
 Surely, then, the limit of the spiritual sight is the same 
 with the limit of the spiritual life, To say, " hitherto shalt 
 thou see and no further," is to say, " hitherto shalt thou 
 be holy and no further ; " for as living truth cannot be in 
 us without goodness, so we cannot have genuine goodness 
 without truth. To place a limit therefore to our advance 
 in truth, is to place a limit to our advance in good. 
 
 And yet how many, when reasoning upon this subject, 
 speak of the spiritual faculties as they do of the natural ! 
 Of ability to comprehend spiritual things as they do of na- 
 tural talent and genius ! not recollecting, that, as natural 
 talent is given them by natural birth, so spiritual talent 
 can be given them only by spiritual birth j and that it is 
 only in proportion as a man is regenerated, that he can see 
 the kingdom of God. Mistaking, as they do, the merely 
 natural faculties for the spiritual ; and then endeavouring 
 with the natural to comprehend spiritual things, one attempt 
 of course fails after another ; their labours are all fruitless ; 
 and the truth at which they are aiming is consequently 
 declared to be wholly beyond the reach of man, never 
 designed by Providence to be known, written only with a 
 view to try our faith, and never intended to be otherwise 
 than inscrutable mystery ; that hence, it is the part of 
 the humble mind to be content with a state of profound 
 ignorance, and only of a presumptuous inquirer to seek for 
 more Divine light. Undoubtedly they are right, if a per- 
 son seeks for Divine knowledge in their way, or upon their 
 
142 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 principles. But in coming to their conclusion, this is the 
 point they assume. Now, we reject those merely natural 
 ideas which they would carry into the investigation of 
 Divine truth. We know that a spiritual mind only can 
 have a saving knowledge of spiritual things, and this is 
 the only ground upon which we attempt to acquire that 
 knowledge. 
 
 Besides, is it quite certain that confessed ignorance of 
 spiritual things is always a sigh of humility ? May it not 
 be the sign of that merely natural state of mind to which 
 we have been adverting ? or of that indocility which re- 
 fuses to believe that its failure in the search of truth is, in 
 the slightest degree, owing to commencing the inquiry 
 upon wrong principles? or that, previous to inquiry, it 
 was under the influence of error and of natural and carnal 
 feelings ? May it not be the sign of that humility which 
 tacitly says, " If I cannot find out the truth upon the prin- 
 ciples I now hold, I will not attempt to find it out at all. 
 It shall be consistent with my present views, or else I will 
 reject it ; I will maintain that it is inscrutable mystery, 
 and that every one who attempts to inquire into it must be 
 actuated by a spirit of curiosity or presumption ?" Yet, 
 what says an eminent philosopher* upon this subject ? " It 
 is madness and a contradiction to expect, that things which 
 were never yet performed should be effected except by 
 means hitherto untried." 
 
 Upon what ground, moreover, does any person maintain 
 that such a knowledge would be speculative, or not prac- 
 tical? How can he maintain it to be so, if he begins 
 with declaring the whole subject to be a mystery, and that, 
 
 * Lord Bacon, Novum Organum, Apothegm vi. 
 
NON-PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE. 143 
 
 as such, he knows nothing of the matter? If he had pre- 
 tended to understand the mystery, and having this done, 
 clearly perceived that it had no relation to practice, he 
 would be justified in affirming such a knowledge to be spe- 
 culative and not practical ; but when he begins with 
 declaring himself to be ignorant of the subject, why should 
 he proceed to pronounce upon it with as much confidence 
 as if he understood it ? The particular explanations given 
 by others he may indeed pronounce to be speculative, or 
 non-practical, so far as he understands them ; especially 
 when he believes they are untrue ; but has he therefore a 
 right to assume, that no true explanation of the subject 
 can be practical? Or, that the subject is one with which 
 we are not concerned ? 
 
 To pronounce everything in religion with which we 
 happen to be unacquainted, to be speculative and non- 
 practical, appears then to be a premature proceeding. If the 
 subject be one upon which we confess that we are entirely 
 in the dark, how can we come to any other conclusion than 
 that of Bishop Butler ; who, speaking of the economy of 
 the universe and the course of Nature, of which, he says, 
 we are confessedly ignorant, observes,* u What would be 
 the consequence if we could really get an insight into these 
 things, is very uncertain ; whether it would assist us in, or 
 divert us from, what we have to do in this present state ?" 
 This, I conceive, then, to be the only conclusion to which 
 the distinguished Author of the Essays is entitled on the 
 present occasion. I respectfully submit, that he is not 
 justified in assuming, that what is alleged to be unknown 
 in religion, or unrevealed, would, if known, be non-prac- 
 * Sermon on the Ignorance of Man. 
 
14:4 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 tical : and then in proceeding, consequently, to hold up to 
 view those who believe these mysteries to be revealed, as 
 necessarily mere speculators. All that he is entitled to, is, 
 the mere doubt and uncertainty whether such a knowledge 
 would be practical or not. He has assumed that it would 
 be non-practical ; and this mere assumption vitiates, as I 
 humbly conceive, the whole of the argument which is 
 founded upon it. 
 
 As to the jfositive affirmation, that what Swedenborg 
 has written upon the subject is non-practical, the truth of 
 this will be ascertained in the sequel. 
 
 In the meantime, it may tfe well to repeat the question, 
 Why real ignorance should be considered to be so con- 
 sistent with humility ?* True it is, that this present world 
 is but the infancy of our being ; that as such, know what 
 we may, we are after all but children. It should however 
 be remembered, that the very design of Divine knowledge 
 is more and more to make us children. None was such a 
 little child as Jesus himself. Arrayed in all the majesty 
 of his glory, even now none is such a little child as He : 
 no seraph so lowly, yet none so wise ; for with whatever 
 humility the angels may bow before His throne, it is a spirit 
 which first descends to them from that throne before which 
 they bow ; and if in this world the smile of the infant be 
 that which most directly reflects the Majesty of the Most 
 High, so have always the wisest men been the most 
 truly children; and though filled with the light of the 
 
 * " It is by the confession of real ignorance, that real knowledge must 
 be gained." Lord Bacon's Essays: Annotations, p. 479. True : but 
 we are speaking of a case in which real ignorance is said to be our only 
 condition in this life. 
 
CHILD-LIKE WISDOM. 145 
 
 glory of God, have always the most sincerely confessed 
 their ignorance. Their knowledge, not their ignorance, 
 taught them to see that, which, without their knowledge, 
 they could not see, viz., the all- sufficiency of the Creator, 
 the nothingness of the creature ; none, therefore, can more 
 truly say with the Psalmist, "Lord, I am not high-minded: 
 I have no proud looks ; I do not exercise myself in great 
 matters which are too high for me; but I refrain my 
 soul and keep it low, like as a child that is weaned from 
 its mother ; yea, my soul is even as a weaned child." 
 (Psalm cxxxi.) Therefore also can they say in the words 
 of Anselm : "I ask not, Lord I to attain to thy height, 
 which is not compatible with my own understanding ; but 
 yet I desire in some measure to understand thy truth, 
 which my heart believes and loves."* 
 
 Let us not, then, suppose, that the ignorance confessed 
 by wisdom, is the same with the ignorance of the infant or 
 child in its merely natural state. "There are some," says 
 Swedenborg, " who imagine innocence to be the same 
 thing as infancy ; by reason of what the Lord said con- 
 cerning infants, that ' of such is the kingdom of heaven ;' 
 and that they who do not become as infants cannot enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven. But they who yield to such 
 an imagination, are unacquainted with the internal sense 
 of the Word ; and consequently, with what is meant by 
 infancy. By infancy is meant, the innocence of intelli- 
 gence and wisdom ; which is such, that they who possess 
 it acknowledge themselves to have life from the Lord 
 alone, and that the Lord is their only Father : for man is 
 man by virtue of the intelligence of truth and the wisdom 
 
 * Prosologion, cap. i. 
 
146 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 of good, which he hath solely from the Lord. Real essen- 
 tial innocence, which in the Word is called infancy, hath 
 no existence or abode but in wisdom ; insomuch that the 
 wiser any one becomes, so much the more innocent he is : 
 wherefore, the Lord is essential Innocence, because he is 
 essential wisdom."* Allow me only to suggest that the 
 progress from natural to spiritual innocence, as unfolded 
 by Swedenborg, is profoundly interesting ; and of the 
 deepest importance to those who desire to follow in the 
 path which leads to the mind of the Lord. 
 
 The Fifth popular objection is, That our reception of 
 the revelations of Swedenborg proceeds from a Love of 
 Novelty. 
 
 Your Grace observes that even at the Reformation 
 many were led astray by a spirit of innovation, and that-j- 
 " the danger which the Reformers withstood, though then 
 peculiarly strong, is not now, nor ever will be, removed 
 while human nature remains the same. Most sedulously 
 are we still bound to guard against the temptation of 
 novelty, when we consider that it had power to seduce even 
 the hearers of the Apostles themselves. With this view 
 we must constantly bear in mind, that, however the case 
 may be with other subjects, in religion, whatever appears 
 to be new, if it relate to any point of considerable import- 
 ance, carries with it, so far, a presumption against its 
 being right." 
 
 That a mere love of novelty is to be deprecated there is 
 no doubt, more particularly in our search after Him who 
 is "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." It is 
 certain, however, that as many love a thing only because 
 * Arcana Ccelestia, 2305. f Bampton Lectures, p. 90, third edition. 
 
LOVE OF NOVELTY. 147 
 
 it is new, so, as soon as the novelty is gone, the opinion is 
 apt to be readily parted with. I am not aware, however, 
 that this is the case with receivers of the writings of Swe- 
 denborg, but have good reason to believe the contrary. 
 With regard, however, to a mere love of novelty, it will be 
 readily granted that, although it is an error, it is not the 
 only error to be avoided, inasmuch as we are also called upon 
 most sedulously to guard against a mere love of antiquity. 
 The early Christians could not so fully display this failing, 
 because in their time the Church itself was a novelty : in- 
 deed, had the love of antiquity prevailed, we should never 
 have known anything of the Christian religion. Accord- 
 ingly Symmachus, High Priest of the Pagan mysteries at 
 Rome, objects to the Christians, " We follow our fore- 
 fathers, who happily followed theirs ; but you bring in a 
 new religion, never known nor heard of in the world before." 
 Hence " Lactantius, speaking of the heathens, observes, that 
 they go on most pertinaciously to maintain and defend the 
 religions derived down to them from their ancestors, not so 
 much considering what they are, as concluding them to be 
 right and good because the ancients conveyed them to 
 them ; nay, so great are the power and authority of antiquity, 
 that it is accounted a kind of impiety to question it or to 
 enquire into it. Upon these accounts the Gentiles bore so 
 hard upon Christianity, beholding it as a mushroom sect, 
 sprung up of a sudden, and, as an encroaching inmate, un- 
 dermining the established religions of the world."* 
 
 Thus an undue love of antiquity was by no means 
 the failing of the early Christians ; how could it be when 
 the Christian Church was itself a novelty? Hence, in 
 * Primitive Christianity, by Dr. Cave, chap, ii., p. 21, etc. 
 
 H2 
 
148 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 early times, the argument ran in favour of what was new, 
 to the exclusion of what was old ; and so Christians pleaded 
 against the Heathens " that novel truth was better than 
 ancient error, and that they ought not to be eternally bound 
 up in old inveterate customs and principles, when those 
 which were abundantly more reasonable and satisfactory 
 were presented to them." Accordingly, whenever the term 
 new occurs in the New Testament it is in a favourable sense. 
 Thus we have the expressions " new wine," ''''new man," 
 " new creature," "new covenant," " new tongues," "new 
 doctrine," "new commandment," " new name," " new Je- 
 rusalem," " new heavens and a new earth." And as the 
 term new was then received in a favourable sense, so the 
 term old in a sense unfavourable. Thus we have "old 
 garments," "old bottles," "old leaven," "old lump," "old 
 wives' fables," " old covenant," " old sins," " old man," 
 " old world," " old serpent," " old things passed away and 
 all things made new." The persons who at that time said 
 "the old is better," were those disciples who were not yet 
 weaned from the old, as also the obstinate Pharisees and 
 unbelieving heathens. "No man having drunk OLD wine 
 straightway desireth NEW, for he saith the OLD is better." 
 " He who is accustomed to the antiquity of the Law cannot 
 endure the novelty of the Gospel, since he thinks the old 
 preferable from having been accustomed to it ; for use forms 
 the taste."* Therefore, it is not to be expected " that men 
 should be brought immediately* to forsake the old and em- 
 brace the new"\ Or, otherwise, thus : " No one accus- 
 tomed to drink old wine straightway desireth new, but 
 becomes accustomed to the new only by degrees ; for he 
 
 * Bloomfield, Luke v. 39. t Menbchius. 
 
LOVE OF NOVELTY. 14 
 
 says the old is better, because he has been accustomed to 
 it ; although in itself perhaps it is not the better."*" The 
 traditions of the elders were highly pleasing to the Phari- 
 sees, and pretended to great antiquity. Of these they 
 might be said to drink, being inured to them from their 
 youth ; and therefore they could not like the dispensation of 
 the Gospel, neither its doctrines, nor' its ordinances, but pre- 
 ferred their old laws and traditions to them."-}- The old 
 was better. " In time the new wine will become older ; 
 the man will become habituated to its taste, and the wine 
 itself mellowed ; and the comparison between the wines is 
 not then which is the older but which is the better."^ 
 
 It is, however, certain that as some persons love what is 
 new only because it is new, so others love what is old only 
 because it is old. In so doing they have this advantage, 
 that being always stationary they can assume the appear- 
 ance of what is sometimes undoubtedly a great virtue, a 
 stability and fixity of mind ; an immovable persistence in 
 which they represent as standing in the old ways, and 
 abiding in the faith once delivered to the saints. 
 
 In such a state of things, may not a candid mind ask, 
 how far the following observation, which Lord Bacon 
 applied to the arts and sciences, is applicable also to 
 theology ? " If a man turn his eyes to the library, 
 he may perhaps be surprised at the immense variety of 
 books he finds ; but upon examining and diligently weigh- 
 ing their matters and contents, he will be struck with 
 amazement on the other side; and after finding no end 
 of repetitions, but that men continually treat and speak 
 
 * Estius. t Dr. Gill, Luke v. 39. 
 
 J Alford, Luke v. 39. 
 
150 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 the same things over and over again, fall from his ad- 
 miration of the variety into a wonder at the want and 
 scantiness of those things which have hitherto detained 
 and possessed the minds of men." Did not this philoso- 
 pher frequently deplore that shew of variety in scientific 
 works, which, upon examination, resolved itself into infi- 
 nite repetitions of a few things, or numerous applications of 
 a few principles differently dressed and modelled, according 
 to particular humours, fashions, and exigencies ?* 
 
 There is nothing, however, in which persons are more 
 apt to be deceived by appearances than in the case of those 
 who, in adhering to antiquity, are presumed to have a 
 fixity and stability of principle. It is often for the very 
 reason that they have no such thing that they are glad to 
 cling to anything which appears to be stationary, and hence 
 to what appears to be old : they allow others to think for 
 them only because they cannot think for themselves. They 
 are like a vessel without rudder or compass, and hence feel 
 themselves safe only in harbour ; it may be, drawn up upon 
 shore and there made secure ; nothing being so much 
 dreaded by them as venturing out upon the element on 
 which they were designed to be useful. When society in 
 general is formed of this class, they who receive what 
 appears to be new become the exceptions ; hence their 
 principles are more the subject of notice, and a love of 
 novelty becomes the theme of general reprobation, while 
 there is an utter silence with regard to the love of antiquity. 
 Besides, in this case, the errors of persons said to be misled 
 by novelty are errors of individuals. The errors of those who 
 are seduced by a love of antiquity are errors of the mass. 
 * Nov. Org., Ap. 85. 
 
LOVE OF NOVELTY. 151 
 
 The pursuit of what is new by ten distinct minds is ten 
 separate events ; the ruin of a single Church by a mere 
 love of what is old, is only a single event an event, more- 
 over, arising from this that all change is attributed only 
 to a love of novelty, all reformation to a spirit of inno- 
 vation ; " and this objection of novelty" says Archbishop 
 Tillotson,* "lies against all reformation whatsoever, though 
 never so necessary, and though things be never so much 
 amiss. And it is, in effect, to say that if things be 
 once bad they must never be better, but must always 
 remain as they are; for they cannot be better without 
 being reformed, and a reformation must begin some time, 
 and whenever it begins it is certainly new. So that if a 
 real reformation be made, the thing justifies itself, and no 
 objection of novelty ought to take place against that which, 
 upon all accounts, was so fit and necessary to be done. 
 And if they of the Church of Rome would but speak their 
 mind out upon this matter, they are not so much displeased 
 at the Reformation which we have made because it is new, 
 as because it is a Reformation." 
 
 That which is alleged to be novel, is, however, too often 
 judged to be so only in relation to that which is common, 
 not in relation to that which is old. Considered in relation 
 to that which is common, it may be novel ; considered in 
 relation to that which is old, it may not be so ; for instead of 
 being anything new, it may be only the old revived. Even, 
 however, the love of antiquity is often not so strong as the 
 love of what is common ; for it is frequently the case, that 
 however old a thing may be, if it be not commonly adopted, 
 neither its excellence nor its antiquity will be of any avail 
 * Sermon 27. 
 
152 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 in introducing it into practice. The approbation of anti- 
 quity is the approbation only of the dead, the approbation 
 of society as it is, is that of the living ; and we know how 
 strong a motive to action has been always the love of the 
 praise of men, particularly the praise of the living. 
 
 We say not that a person might not read the writings 
 of Swedenborg out of a mere love of novelty ; but it will be 
 seen in the sequel, that there are too many barriers in the 
 way to permit him finally to receive them upon this prin- 
 ciple ; and that it is as absurd to suppose that a person 
 does so from a mere love of novelty, as to suppose that it 
 is a mere love of novelty which induces the natural man to 
 become spiritual. 
 
 It is however singular, that many, when arguing upon 
 the subject of theological novelties, should entirely forget 
 the possibility or probability of any New Dispensation ; 
 and treat the whole subject as if every one admitted that 
 no such promise in Scripture had ever been made, or as if 
 no rational man had ever believed it. For if a doctrine be 
 false because it is new, or because no one has had any op- 
 portunity of considering whether it be true, it necessarily 
 follows, that any alleged revelation which shall pretend to 
 anything new, come with what authority it may, is on that 
 very account a delusion. Yet what do we read in the 
 work of a recent Roman Catholic writer ?* " Tell me not 
 that all has been spoken, that all has been revealed, and 
 that it is not permitted to us to expect anything new. 
 Without doubt, nothing is wanting that is necessary to 
 salvation ; but in regard to a knowledge of divine things, 
 
 * Soirtis de St. Peterslurg : Le Senateur ; vol. ii., p. 201. By Le 
 Compte de Maistre. 
 
LOVE OF NOVELTY. 153 
 
 we are greatly in want of it ; and as to future manifesta- 
 tions, I have, as you see, a thousand reasons for expecting 
 them, while you have not one to prove to me the contrary. 
 Did not the Hebrew who fulfilled the Law, do so with a 
 safe conscience? I could cite to you, were it neces- 
 sary, I know not how many passages in the Bible which 
 promised to the Jewish sacrifices', and to the throne of 
 David, a duration equal to that of the sun. The Jew 
 who continued in the externals of religion had every 
 reason, till the actual event, for believing in the temporal 
 reign of the Messiah. He was mistaken, nevertheless, as 
 was afterwards seen : but do we know what is awaiting 
 ourselves ? * God will be with us even to the consumma- 
 tion of the ages : the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
 the Church,' etc. Very well : but does it follow from 
 this, I pray you, that God has interdicted all new mani- 
 festation, and that it is not permitted us to learn anything 
 more than what we know already ? This, it must be 
 acknowledged, would be very strange reasoning." 
 
 But the counsels of Divine Providence will come to pass 
 whether we will or not.* " It has become a trite observa- 
 tion of thoughtful men, that in all around us in the present 
 day there is a sound and a movement a working in the 
 human mind a stirring in the waters, which betokens the 
 approach of some great change. Not only in this country, 
 but throughout the civilized world, there are symptoms of 
 a crisis in opinion as well as in society. The two cannot 
 be separated. Old forms are breaking up, and new are 
 thickening on each other. Wider scenes of action seem 
 opened to practical minds, and deeper mines of thought for 
 
 * Sewell's Dialogues of Plato, p. 1. 
 
 H3 
 
154 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 speculation. There is in the many an eager restless crav- 
 ing for some vague good, which all anticipate and none 
 define ; an exultation at coming prospects ; a contempt for 
 the poverty of the past, and the imperfection of the pre- 
 sent ; a sense of newly awakened powers ; a passion for 
 new sympathies and combinations ; a general baring and 
 exposure of the human mind, as among men who have 
 cast off restraint, and are about to enter together on some 
 great enterprise. And where the current is not rushing 
 forward with an accelerated movement, it is turning in an 
 extraordinary way, and remounting back to its source. 
 Those who think, and those who think not, all seem im- 
 pressed with something of a mysterious action. And even 
 the few who take no part in the crowd, are sitting with 
 anxious eye watching for the end." So much for the Love 
 of Novelty. 
 
 It has been objected, Sixthly, that Swedenborg wrought 
 no miracles in evidence of his commission. Accordingly, 
 
 It is remarked that : " Anything wonderful is then, 
 and then only, a miraculous sign, when some one per- 
 forms or foretells it in a manner surpassing human power, 
 so as to make it attest the truth of what he says. And 
 this may fairly be required of any one professing to be a 
 messenger from heaven. For if a stranger were to come 
 to you, professing to bring a message from some friend of 
 yours, you would naturally expect him to shew you that 
 friend's handwriting, or some other such token, to prove 
 that he really was so sent. And so also when a man 
 comes to this country as an ambassador from some other 
 country, he is required to produce his ' credentials, 1 as 
 they are called ; that is, papers which prove that he is no 
 
NO MIRACLES. 155 
 
 impostor, but is really commissioned as an ambassador. 
 And it is equally right that men, professing to bring a 
 message immediately from God, should be required to 
 shew what may be called their l credentials,' that is, such 
 miraculous powers as God alone could have bestowed, as 
 a sign or token to prove the reality of their divine com- 
 mission."* 
 
 Now does not this statement require such modifica- 
 tions, as in the case of Swedenborg, nullify the statement 
 itself ? for 
 
 First, the Essays affirm, that " his system furnishes 
 abundant matter for faith, and food for curiosity, but has 
 little or no intelligible relation to practise;" and such 
 being said to be the characteristic of "false revelations" 
 could it be worth while to demand miracles, in proof of 
 that which we had previously determined was unworthy of 
 miracles ? 
 
 Secondly ; if we believe there are Three Objects of wor- 
 ship, to ask for a miracle to disprove the existence of Two 
 of them, would seem nearly as profane as to ask for a miracle 
 to disprove the existence of One sole Object of worship. 
 
 Thirdly ; to require a miracle to disprove the doctrine of 
 the Tripersonality, is to require a proof which no Church 
 would accept even if it were given: for what Church 
 would be willing to surrender the doctrine of the Triper- 
 sonality, on the ground of the performance of miracles ? 
 Would not the doctrine, in this case, be considered as 
 determining the miracle, rather than the miracle the 
 doctrine ? 
 
 * Introductory Lessons on Christian Evidences, p. 50, fourteenth 
 edition. 
 
156 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 Fourthly : " It is certain that John the Baptist wrought 
 no miracles ; yet his ministry, so entirely distinct from the 
 Priesthood, was from God, without any human appoint- 
 ment. It is far from clear that all the prophets wrought 
 miracles : indeed, it is recorded of only a few of them that 
 they did, and they were not sanctioned but opposed by the 
 stated ministers of religion : yet their calling was divine. 
 This appeared by the agreement of their instructions with 
 the Scripture, and by the effects of their labours."* 
 
 Fifthly: It is the belief of the largest part of the 
 Catholic Church, that there is to be some kind of herald 
 or forerunner * of the Second Advent. Our Lord said 
 of John the Baptist that he was the Elias to precede his 
 first coining ; but as this Elias wrought no miracles, 
 neither are they to be expected of the Elias of the 
 Second Coming. 
 
 Lastly : even if they were wrought, they would be re- 
 garded rather as an evidence to disprove the commission of 
 Swedenborg than to prove it, unless he conformed to the 
 teaching of the Church. -}- 
 
 * Scott's Annotations on the Bible, Acts vi. 8. 
 
 f Thus for instance 3 a Roman Catholic writer (Da Sylveira on The 
 Apocalypse,}). 579, 583) observes of Elias ; that " He received many 
 commands from God ; and on these occasions made no reply, but 
 obeyed them in silence ;" that as such, " we are presented in Elias not 
 only with the instance of a holy man and a prophet, but with the ex- 
 emplar of a Monk, and the prototype of religious obedience :" for that 
 " others, although saints and prophets, speak when God speaks, make 
 replies, propound objections ; but Elias, as being a Monk and the ex- 
 emplar of entire obedience, is silent at the commands imposed upon him, 
 and does not offer to utter a word ; for true obedience is altogether ig- 
 norant how to speak and to reply, knowing only how to obey and execute 
 
NO MIRACLES. 157 
 
 Thus, although* the Apostle Paul wrought miracles, 
 and, as such, delivered his credentials as ambassador yet, 
 as soon as his message did not please those to whom he 
 was sent, he became an " ambassador in bonds."-\- 
 
 If therefore the Church demanded of any messenger 
 professing to come from God his credentials, and those 
 credentials were exhibited ; the Church would still reserve 
 to itself the power of determining of what they should be 
 the credentials, and from whom they came, independently 
 of the credentials themselves. 
 
 That miracles are the genuine evidence of Christianity 
 is the doctrine of Pale} r ; for having already determined 
 that there is no such thing in man as a moral sense, or 
 as conscience, all source of internal evidence he thus en- 
 tirely removed, and in such a case the only evidence upon 
 which Christianity can be supposed to rest is external. 
 Thus, in the same proportion that men have lost the 
 power of perceiving internal evidence, they demand ex- 
 ternal. Having admitted that we " walk by faith and not 
 by sight" they proceed to demand an evidence in virtue of 
 which they shall walk by sight and not by faith. 
 
 Accordingly, in the case of the alleged .introduction of 
 any new form of the Christian religion, or of any new 
 Christian dispensation, divines lay down beforehand what 
 what is enjoined and commanded." Therefore when Elias comes alone, 
 or with another, he is to exercise his miraculous power " in subjection 
 and subordination to the great High Priest of the Church of God," 
 viz., the Pope ; who, being the Vicar of Christ, would by right possess 
 authority to control his doctrine, and any miraculous powers which 
 as a messenger from heaven, he might profess to put forth. 
 
 * See here Bishop Newton's Works, Dissertations on the Prophecies, 
 vol. i., p. 433. f Ephes. vi. 20. 
 
158 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 is the evidence with which God ought to furnish them : 
 they take upon themselves to determine that in such a 
 case miracles are the evidence with which they ought to 
 be supplied ; and they consequently proceed to ask of the 
 messenger professing to come from Him, as in the case of 
 Swedenborg, where are your miracles ? 
 
 Now the answer to this question may be given to them 
 from their own acknowledged authorities. 
 
 " God is the best,* and indeed the only judge how far 
 miracles are proper to promote any design of his Provi- 
 dence ; and how far that design would have been left unac- 
 complished, if common and ordinary methods only had been 
 pursued. So from the absence of Miracles, we may conclude 
 in any supposed case that they were not necessary ; from 
 their existence, supported by testimony in any given case, 
 we may infer with confidence that they are proper." 
 
 . . . "The greater part of the objections," says Bishop 
 Hurd,-|- " which weak, or libertine men, have opposed to the 
 authority of revealed Religion, arises from this ; that they 
 first imagine to themselves what evidence would be the most 
 convincing, and then refuse their assent to any other." 
 
 " Such high- demands of evidence for the truth of the 
 Christian revelation are impertinent at the best ; they are 
 most probably, on the part of the revealer, improper to be 
 complied with, and they must be, on the part of man, pre- 
 sumptuous and unwarrantable." . . . u For the question is, 
 whether such religion be not accompanied with that evi- 
 dence which is sufficient to determine the assent of a 
 reasonable man, not whether it be the highest in its kind, 
 
 * White's Bampton Lectures, A.D. 1785. Notes, p. 56. 
 
 f See his Works, vol. vi., Sermon 6, pages 87, 88, 91, 92, 98, 100. 
 
NO MIRACLES. 159 
 
 or in its degree, which might be imagined." . . . " When, 
 in matters of religion, men indulge themselves in fancying 
 what evidence would have been most convincing to them, 
 and then erect such fancies into expectations, they are at 
 best employed but very idly." . . . " Put the case of an 
 overpowering irresistible evidence, and the understanding 
 is convinced indeed, but the will (that other and better half 
 of his composition, the spring of liberty and virtue) this, 
 with all the energies depending upon it, is untouched and 
 has no share in the operation." ..." Why then expect 
 the greatest of God's blessings, a divine Revelation, to be 
 made cheap in being forced upon us whether we will or no, 
 by an evidence which silences reason rather than employs 
 it, and precludes the exercise of the noblest faculties with 
 which our nature is invested?" ... u To call for light 
 when we have enough to serve our purpose, is indeed 
 foolish : but to make this noisy demand, when we have 
 previously blinded our eyes, or have resolved to keep them 
 shut, is something more than folly." 
 
 If, then, in the case of Swedenborg, God has not 
 thought proper to grant the evidence of miracles, what 
 evidence has he granted ? Swedenborg points to the ful- 
 filment of the Scriptures to the event " which brings 
 with it the explanation and the practical use." 
 
 Accordingly, says Bishop Newton,* " Miracles may have 
 been the great proofs of revelation to the first ages who saw 
 them performed ; prophecies may be said to be the great 
 proofs of revelation to the last ages who see them fulfilled." 
 . . . " Men are sometimes apt to think," says he, " that if 
 
 * See his Works, Dissertations on the Prophecies, vol. i., p. 11, In- 
 troduction. Also, p. 779. 
 
160 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 they could but see a miracle wrought in favour of religion, 
 they would readily resign all their scruples, believe with- 
 out doubt, and obey without reserve. The very thing that 
 you desire, you have. You have the greatest and most 
 striking of miracles in the series of Scripture prophecies 
 accomplished. ... It is not a miracle delivered upon the 
 report of others, but is subject to your own inspection and 
 examination. It is not a miracle exhibited before only a 
 certain number of witnesses, but is open to the observation 
 and contemplation of all mankind ; and after so many ages, 
 is still growing, still improving to future ages. What 
 stronger miracle therefore can you require for your convic- 
 tion, or what will avail if this be found ineffectual ? Alas ! 
 if you reject the evidence of prophecy, neither would you 
 be persuaded though one should rise from the dead." 
 
 Now it is this very evidence of prophecy, as including 
 both prediction and internal spiritual truth, to which Swe- 
 denborg points. Miracles then of the other kind, are not 
 necessarily the credentials to be expected of a messenger 
 from God ; there is the evidence arising out of the message 
 itself " THE PAPERS, which prove that he is no impostor, 
 but is really commissioned as an ambassador." But when 
 we are averse to the message, of what use is the evidence ? 
 To what purpose is the fulfilment of a prophecy which we 
 will not perceive, an explanation we will not admit, a prac- 
 tical application we choose to repudiate ? 
 
 How then stands the case in the present day as to mira- 
 cles and prophecy in regard to the Church ? Precisely 
 as it stood in the days of the Saviour with regard to the 
 Jews. If we consider that miracles are regarded by the 
 largest part of the Christian Church as one note of the 
 
NO MIRACLES. 161 
 
 Church, we shall find the whole argument to be now in 
 in the same position in which it was then. " You adduce 
 the miracles of Christ," said the Jews to the Apostles: 
 " we adduce the miracles of Moses. Where is the proof 
 that the object of the former, even admitting them to have 
 happened, was to release our nation from the future ob- 
 servance of the ceremonial law ? It was imposed upon our 
 fathers, on the evidence of signs and wonders, greater and 
 more numerous than those which you adduce : By what 
 mark, then, are we to know that the signs you speak of, 
 were designed by God for the purpose of signifying that 
 we, their children, are released from the covenant, by 
 which they were so straitly bound ? You refer us to the 
 Old Testament : but then you apply to it a principle of 
 interpretation which we do not recognize, and which, from 
 the nature of things, you cannot demonstrate. We read of 
 a king who should ascend the throne of David of a do- 
 minion which is to extend from one end of the earth to the 
 other ; and you say that all this is to be understood not in 
 the gross literal sense, but in a spiritual way. Such is 
 your persuasion and belief; but by what test do you pro- 
 pose to shew that you are right ? The question, whether 
 your view of God's meaning, or our view, be the true one, 
 is not a question of reason, but one which it is for events 
 to determine : if you appeal to this evidence, where does 
 it meet our eyes ?"* 
 
 Such is the manner in which, where there is an aversion 
 to the truth proposed, the evidence of miracles, prophecy, 
 reason, and events, is all equally unavailing. 
 
 A Seventh objection to which I now advert, is one which 
 * Propcedia Prophetica, by Archdeacon Lyall, p. 227. 
 
162 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 is not unfrequently advanced by divines, namely, That 
 discoveries may be made in Science and Philosophy, because 
 these are subjects proper to the exercise of human reason ; 
 but that God having made a final revelation which in no 
 wise resulted from any exercise of our faculties, no disco- 
 veries of importance in Christianity can in future be made, 
 nor can any more be expected. 
 
 In order to meet the objection fairly, allow me to quote 
 your Grace's words. " In philosophy, we know not that 
 there may not hereafter be discoveries made, even of 
 greater magnitude and importance than all that have gone 
 before ; so that, there, though a rash prejudice in favor of 
 everything new, is to be avoided, the pursuit of novelty and 
 truth may often chance to coincide. In religion, on the 
 contrary, a full and final revelation having been made, no 
 disco\ r ery, properly so called, of any high importance, is to 
 be expected ; not merely, because the book which contains 
 all we know of the Divine will has been so long before us, 
 (for so also has the book of Nature, in which M-e are never- 
 theless daily reading new truths which had escaped the re- 
 searches of our predecessors,) but because that book was 
 designed by the Almighty to convey such instruction as he 
 judged needful for all ; which purpose it would not have 
 answered, had its true meaning in essential points been 
 hidden until now."* 
 
 Let us suppose the case of a person cultivating Science 
 and Philosophy, not from a love of novelty, but with a 
 view of improving his mind and acquiring useful know- 
 ledge. It will doubtless be granted, that between a true 
 Theology on the one hand, and true Science and Philosophy 
 * Bampton Lectures, p. 91, third edition. 
 
NEW DISCOVERIES. 163 
 
 on the other, there is some connection, and not only so, 
 but a close connection. If this be the case, is it reason- 
 able to suppose that discoveries of great magnitude and 
 importance can be made in Science and Philosophy with- 
 out producing any change in our views of Theology ? Or, 
 if this be admitted, that the change will not be of any im- 
 portance? If so, let us take a case, and first, that of 
 Science. Suppose Science should discover that there 
 never could have taken place such a Flood as is popularly 
 thought to have occurred in the time of Noah ; and that 
 the account of the Creation, presented to us in the book of 
 Genesis, cannot possibly be true as popularly interpreted ; 
 would the consequences arising from this circumstance occa- 
 sion no change in our theological views of any importance ? 
 If they would not, (and some might think so,) let us take 
 the case of Philosophy. Your Grace speaks in your Bamp- 
 ton Lectures, page 194, of the indistinct comprehension we 
 have of numerous words familiarly employed in our rea- 
 soning, u and which lead, by a very few steps, into an 
 unfathomable abyss of darkness. Such are Time, Space, 
 Eternity, Infinity, Cause, and, in short, most of the terms 
 employed in the discussion of questions even of natural reli- 
 gion." Now, as it is acknowledged that " in philosophy we 
 know not that there may not hereafter be discoveries made 
 even of greater magnitude and importance than all that 
 have gone before," suppose that, under the blessing of God, 
 Philosophy should clear up our ideas upon these subjects ; 
 should give us true and distinct ideas of Time, Space, 
 Eternity, Infinity, Cause, and all those other things which 
 enter into our reasonings both in natural and revealed re- 
 ligion, and which, your Grace admits, are at present but a 
 
164 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 few steps removed from an unfathomable abyss of darkness ; 
 can it be said, tbat if we arrived at true and clear ideas on 
 these subjects, no discoveries had been made, which, in re- 
 lation to religious knowledge, would be of any great im- 
 portance? Suppose that, under the blessing of God, a 
 true Philosophy should discover to us the nature of the in- 
 tercourse between the soul and body, nay, in a greater or 
 less degree, the very nature of the soul itself: suppose a 
 true Philosophy should discover, that there is a correspond- 
 ence between the spirit of man and the body of man, hence, 
 between the world of spirit and the world of matter : sup- 
 pose it should discover the very nature and laws of this 
 correspondence, so as to enable us to see, that material 
 things are types and shadows of spiritual things : suppose, 
 above all, that, by the Divine mercy, it furnished us with 
 a key to open the mysteries of God's Word, and enabled 
 us to perceive that His Word is capable of being inter- 
 preted upon the same principle as His works ; and that, if 
 so interpreted, views are opened to us of the nature of God 
 and the nature of man, in comparison with which all our 
 former knowledge was ignorance and darkness : can it be 
 said that, under such circumstances, no discoveries had 
 been made which would have any important influence 
 upon our religious ideas? This case is put hypotheti- 
 cally, because the nature of the argument allows me to do 
 so ; inasmuch as it is admitted, that " in philosophy we 
 know not that there may not hereafter be discoveries made 
 even of greater magnitude and importance than all that 
 have gone before." What, my Lord, if the case need not 
 be put hypothetically ! What, if these discoveries have 
 already been made ! What, if the light has shined in 
 
NEW DISCOVERIES. 165 
 
 darkness and the darkness has comprehended it not ! It 
 was a pointed question once asked by Swedenborg, " Will 
 it take ages to discover the truth, or ages to acknowledge it 
 when discovered ?" Does not the history of human science 
 shew, that in proportion as a truth is great, and transcending 
 the capacity of the age, it is either forgotten or rejected ? 
 
 " He," says Archdeacon Balguy 1 , " who goes about to 
 deprive mankind of opinions which length of time has ren- 
 dered dear and sacred, engages in a thankless and an 
 odious task ; and the life of one man is much too short a 
 space for subduing effectually either the folly of the many, 
 or the envy of the few. Posterity indeed may be just and 
 impartial : but the present age will seldom bear the lustre 
 of superior wisdom.* 
 
 But let us pass from Science and Philosophy in their 
 relation to Theology, to the Word of God itself. Does the 
 interpretation of this Word come under any theory of de- 
 velopment or discovery ? 
 
 We are told by some eminent writers that it does ; that 
 " Theological knowledge-}- is capable of a real movement in 
 time, a true successive history ; through the legitimate ap- 
 plication of human reason," First in the way " of logical 
 development of primitive truth into its consequences, con- 
 nections, and applications ;" Secondly, in the way of " posi- 
 tive discovery," such as " unexpected confirmations or illus- 
 trations of revealed doctrine from new sources," "new 
 proofs in support of the evidences of religion," "discoveries 
 regarding the form and circumstances of the revelation it- 
 
 * Discourses, vol. i., p. 27. 
 
 f Development of Christian Doctrine, by the late Rev. W. A. 
 Butler, Professor of Moral Philosophy, &c., p. 240, 241, 242. 
 
166 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 self," " discoveries of divine laws in the government of 
 the Church and world, so far as the same may be lawfully 
 collected by observation and theory;" and Lastly, "dis- 
 coveries through events disclosing the meaning of prophecy ; 
 or correcting erroneous interpretations of Scripture. And 
 others either already exemplified in the history of divine 
 learning, or which possibly may still remain unexplored 
 and even unimagined, designed to reward the noble ambi- 
 tion of those who shall yet search for the hid treasures 
 of wisdom." 
 
 In these admissions, are we not presented with ample 
 room for comprising all the writings of Swedenborg ? But 
 as this might seem to open the door too widely, we are 
 thus met with an argument from another quarter.* 
 
 " Some there are in these our days," we are told, " who 
 venture to affirm that Christianity is only a provisional and 
 temporary dispensation ; that it is but one link in the 
 chain of truth ; that it is only a transitory stage, a mov- 
 ing scene, in God's revelations ; and that, as it has super- 
 seded Judaism, so, in its turn, it maybe expected to give 
 place to some other Religion." 
 
 " Others, again, imagine that Christianity, like human 
 science, admits of discoveries ; that the Faith originally 
 taught by Christ and his Apostles, and as St. Jude says, 
 once for all delivered to the Saints, may be developed in 
 greater fulness and expanded in wider amplitude ; and 
 that it is the privilege, nay, and even the duty of Reason 
 and Philosophy, as some pretend, or of a self-styled in- 
 
 * Lectures on the Apocalypse, delivered before the University of 
 Cambridge : by Christopher Wordsworth, Canon of Westminster, 
 p. 108. See also our Appendix. 
 
NEW DISCOVERIES. 167 
 
 fallible Church, as others no less confidently assert, to give 
 due extension and adequate perfection to the unchangeable 
 "Word of God, and to the everlasting Gospel of Christ." 
 
 " But all these proud and presumptuous imaginations 
 are put to flight by the Apocalypse." 
 
 " This Divine book teaches us that we are not to look 
 for any new Religion, nor for any new form of Christianity. 
 It opens to us a view, as in an unbroken avenue, of the 
 whole interval between Christ's First Advent as a Saviour, 
 and his Second Advent as our Judge ; and it declares that 
 the Gospel first preached by Him, eighteen centuries ago, 
 is the code of faith and duty by which He will judge us all 
 at the last day." 
 
 " To those, then, who present us with new religions, or 
 with new forms of Christianity, we reply : Look at the 
 Apocalypse. Its counsel to the world in the great concern 
 of religion, is, not to find out what is new, but to maintain 
 what is old.' 1 
 
 How this counsel is afforded to the world in the expres- 
 sions " New Heaven and New Earth," a " New Jerusa- 
 lem," and of all things being made new, the author does 
 not say, as he omits all reference to the passages ; although 
 these are the very passages on which is founded the ex- 
 pectation of a new form of Christianity. Now, whatever 
 these expressions may really mean, it is certain that they 
 do not mean an improved version of the Scriptures, nor a 
 progress in theological criticism, nor a process of " logical 
 development," nor "illustrations of the doctrine of the 
 Church from new sources," nor " new proofs in support of the 
 evidences of religion," nor " discoveries regarding the form 
 and circumstances of the Christian revelation ;" but they may 
 
168 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 imply " discoveries through events disclosing the meaning of 
 prophecy, correcting erroneous interpretations of Scripture " 
 and even " discoveries unimaglned and destined to reward 
 those who search for the hidden treasures of wisdom." 
 These discoveries, moreover, may involve the very question 
 concerning the signification of the " new heavens" and 
 "new earth" and the " new Jerusalem" as signifying a 
 New Dispensation, a New Church, and thus a new form of 
 Christianity. Why should such discoveries be deemed to 
 arise from pride and presumption, when they are a ques- 
 tion of pure interpretation ? Might not a person against 
 whom the charge was brought, reply in these words : ' I 
 give to these expressions in the New Testament only the 
 same interpretation which you give in the Old; and I 
 cannot see why prophecy in the one case is to be inter- 
 preted by a different rule from what it is in the other. It 
 is true that upon this principle I regard the present Dis- 
 pensation as coming to an end. Thus ; " Behold I create 
 new heavens and a new earth ; and the former shall not be 
 remembered nor come into mind" (Isa. Ixv. 17.) "This, in 
 the prophetic style," says Bishop Warburton, " means a 
 New Religion and a New Law."* The question, then, is not 
 one of pride and presumption, but purely of interpretation. 
 If, however, you still regard any one as presumptuous in 
 giving this interpretation ; may he not regard you as misled 
 by your prepossessions, and disposed to prophecy in conse- 
 quence only smooth things ? For what, if the reason why 
 you do not interpret prophecy in the New Testament by 
 the same rule that you do in the Old, is only because you 
 have not the moral courage or candour to do so ! What if 
 
 * Divine Legation, vol. vi., p. 87. 
 
NEW FORM OF CHRISTIANITY. 169 
 
 this be the reason, that in the last chapters of the Apoca- 
 lypse, you prematurely shift the scene of prophecy from 
 earth to heaven ; and, after insisting that we have no facul- 
 ties to understand any thing concerning the Eternal World, 
 and as such that any revelation concerning it must be use- 
 less, that you virtually dispense with the New Jerusalem 
 altogether; quiet your alarms for the safety of your 
 own Church ; and take exceeding good care, that, all glori- 
 ous as you say is the New Jerusalem, it shall remain 
 where it is, and not come down from God out of heaven 
 to dissipate the theories of divines concerning the stability 
 of their Church !' 
 
 Might not such an answer be given to the charge of 
 presumption, in expecting a new form of Christianity? 
 
 Suppose, then, discoveries in the interpretation of pro- 
 phecy should lead to the conviction, that the last two chap- 
 ters in the Apocalypse refer to a new Dispensation and a new 
 Church upon earth ! No one has a right to say before- 
 hand that they shall not mean this ; and if so, no one has a 
 right to deny, that a period may come when the Church upon 
 earth may receive a very considerable accession of light. 
 Whether, however, we refer the last two chapters in the 
 Apocalypse to things on earth or to things in heaven, 
 they designate, at all events, as is admitted, the state of 
 things alluded to by the Apostle in the expression, "when 
 that which is perfect is come."* Consequently, when it is 
 implied, as at the opening and close of the Fourth Essay, 
 
 * The word TeXcwo/tat is applied to prophecy as signifying com- 
 pleted, or accomplished, Luke ii. 43 John xix. 28 Rev. x. 7. The 
 adjective reAetos is also, in other places, applied to the adult or one full 
 grown, as distinguished from the child. 
 
 I 
 
170 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 that the words "NOW we see through a glass darkly" com- 
 prise the whole period of the Church upon earth, a very- 
 large assumption is made with regard to the interpretation 
 of prophecy. We are told that " In the days of the voice of 
 the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery 
 of God should be PERFECTED, as he hath declared to his ser- 
 vants the prophets."* Now this is generally admitted to 
 allude to the time when prophecy shall cease, and that 
 which is perfect-]- shall have come ; and the question is, 
 whether this refers to a state of things on earth, or to a 
 state of things in heaven. Interpreters are not agreed 
 upon the subject, and at all events it is an open question. 
 If so, on what principle of justice can any one assume, as 
 a matter of course, that the prophecy has no reference to a 
 future state of things upon earth ; and then proceed to con- 
 demn the writings of Swedenborg, on the ground of their 
 presuming to a knowledge not destined for man in this 
 state of existence ? For assuredly whenever we may re- 
 gard that which is perfect, as come, there are no higher 
 subjects treated of in Swedenborg' s writings than what 
 might be expected under such circumstances. 
 
 The argument in this case applies, however, not to 
 Swedenborg only. To say nothing of ancient inter- 
 preters, such as Ausbertus, Albertus Magnus, Bede, and 
 others, who are considered as referring the title New 
 Jerusalem to the Church on earth as well as the Church 
 
 * Revelation x. 7. 
 
 -f- The common marginal references atl Cor. xiii.9, 10, are to the last 
 two chapters in the Apocalypse ; in the exposition of which, ancient 
 and modern Commentators also expressly refer to this passage in the 
 Corinthians. 
 
NEW CHURCH UPON EARTH. 171 
 
 in heaven ; as also of Cocceius, Robinson, Wells, Bright- 
 man, Forbes, and others, who refer the last two chapters 
 in the Apocalypse to the Church upon earth only, we 
 proceed to adduce other testimonies, and some from more 
 recent sources. 
 
 First, the Abbe de la Mennais. " I remember," says a 
 modern writer,* " his once describing in glowing colours 
 the future prospects of the Church. He had referred to 
 prophecies of Scripture and fulfilments in history, and had 
 concluded that not even at the period of Constantine, had 
 perfect accomplishment of predictions and types been made ; 
 and that, therefore, a more glorious phase yet awaited the 
 Church than any she had yet experienced. And this, he 
 thought, could not be afar off." 
 
 So thought also the Count de Maistre, in his Soirees de 
 St. Petersburg. 
 
 11 All Divine revelation in Scripture," says another, -j- 
 " must concern some state in this world. And so we must 
 understand all those places that treat of a new heaven and 
 a new earth, and such like. And so we must understand 
 the new Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament, in 
 that prophetical book of the Apocalypse, chap, xxi." The 
 reason assigned is, that otherwise the Revelation would not 
 practically concern us. 
 
 Another! interpreter refers the last two chapters to "a 
 more complete and improved state of the Christian Church 
 
 * Recollections of the last Four Popes, p. 338, by Cardinal Wiseman. 
 
 f Select Discourses, by John Smith, Fellow of Queen's College, 
 Cambridge; Discourse on Prophecy, chap, xiii., at the end. 
 
 J Survey of all the Dispensations and Methods of Religion, by 
 J. Edwards, B.D., Fellow of St. John's, Cambridge, vol. ii., p. 637, 
 638. 
 
 12 
 
172 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 upon earth," when there is to be a great increase in the 
 knowledge of divine things ; " a New and Last Dispen- 
 sation " to follow the consummation or end of the age a 
 Renovation of all things, and their happy Restitution to 
 their former state. 
 
 Another* regards them as signifying " the time of the 
 Restitution of all things to their Paradisaical state." 
 
 Another-j- as " a blessed Revolution and Reformation of 
 the whole Christian Church even here upon earth" "the 
 last of the divine Dispensations" "that total Revolution 
 of things and men in the Christian world, with respect to 
 religion, which Isaiah expressed in the phrase, Behold I 
 create a new heaven and a new earth." 
 
 Indeed, the eminent writer himself, who brings the 
 charge of pride and presumption against interpretations of 
 this kind, strongly recommends the work of Vitringa on 
 the Apocalypse, \ who himself gives the very same kind of 
 interpretation with the foregoing. 
 
 A modern popular divine of the Church of Scotland also 
 hesitates not to say ; " The evidence is irresistible, that all 
 visible Churches are to be broken up. And what are they 
 at best? Mere provisional arrangements till the true 
 Church come down from Heaven, ready as a bride adorned 
 for the bridegroom." " The true Catholic and perfect 
 
 * Essay on the Scheme and Conduct of Man's Redemption, by W. 
 Worthington, M.A., p. 387, etc. 
 
 f Paraphrase on the Apocalypse, by T. Pyle, M.A., Prebendary of 
 Sarum. 
 
 J Lectures on the Apocalypse, by Christopher Wordsworth, D.D., 
 p. 165. "I cannot forbear to notice the elaborate comment of Cam- 
 pegius Vitringa, distinguished alike by solid learning and Christian 
 moderation." 
 
QUALITY OF KNOWLEDGE. 173 
 
 Church is yet to come ; and when it comes that which is 
 provisional shall be done away, and that which is perfect 
 will flourish ;" evidently alluding to 1 Cor. xiii. 10.* 
 
 In this case, then, it is obvious that the Church upon 
 earth is regarded as arriving at a state when it no longer 
 sees Divine Truth through a glass darkly ; no longer in-j- 
 an enigma^ but plainly, clearly, and distinctly. The 
 back parts only of the Word are no longer seen, but the 
 face of it; not the mere letter, but the spirit; not the 
 mere sign, but the thing signified ; not the mere history 
 and ritual, but the truth living within. In this state of 
 the Church we know, even as we ourselves are known. 
 
 Our knowledge of God is like His knowledge of us ; for He 
 is said to know us in proportion as our nature is like His ; and 
 when it is not, His language is, " / know you not," " / 
 never knew you." Thus likewise it is said, " If any man 
 love God t/ie same is known of him." Accordingly, 
 
 We, also, know God after the same manner in which 
 He knows us, viz., by a correspondency of nature. When, 
 therefore, it is said, " Then shall I know even as also I am 
 
 * The End, or the Proximate Signs of the close of this Dispensa- 
 tion, pp. 310, 112. 
 
 t See Family Bible, Exodus xxxiii. 23 ; Numbers xii. 8. 
 
 " I agree with Meyer, notwithstanding De Wette's strong objec- 
 tions, in believing eV &ivlyfj.a.Ti to mean in a dark discourse; viz., 
 the revealed Word, which is dark by comparison with our future perfect 
 knowledge." (Dean Alford.) 
 
 1 Corinthians viii. 3." We cannot be said to know God in any 
 full sense of the word to know ; but those who become acquainted with 
 God by love, are known by Him ; are the especial objects of the Divine 
 knowledge : their being is pervaded by the Spirit of God, and the 
 wisdom of God is shed abroad in them." (Dean Alford.) 
 
174 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 known," in this passage the Apostle implies, that* "he who 
 to his knowledge conjoins love, not only knows God but is 
 also known by God; whilst he who has knowledge without 
 love, has indeed a knowledge of God and divine things, yet 
 is not reciprocally known by Him ; but, together with wicked 
 and wonder working prophets, will hear from the Lord these 
 words, * I never knew you.' " The Apostle, therefore, is 
 here speaking of the quality of knowledge, possessed in that 
 state in which we no longer see merely in enigma. Love 
 will then be the first principle of knowledge, and this is a 
 knowledge in virtue of which we shall know God and be ac- 
 knowledged by Him. " And then shall they no longer say 
 know the Lord, for all shall know Him, even from the least 
 to the greatest" '''All thy people shall be taught of God" -^ 
 In this way are fulfilled also the words of the Saviour,:): 
 " When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you 
 into ALL truth" For the "many things" which the Apostles 
 could not then endure, are to be found in the Acts of 
 the Apostles, the Apostolic Epistles, as also the Apoca- 
 lypse, which, together with the Gospels and the Old 
 Testament, constitute all the Truth. || This expression, 
 "all the truth" or the whole truth, is what the Apostle 
 Paul was referring to in the term perfect, or complete, as 
 contrasted with the expression in part; and this being the 
 case, it is certain that when he uses the expression^} "when 
 
 * Estius, 1 Corinthians viii. 3. f Jeremiah xxxi. 34 ; Isaiah liv. 13. 
 
 J Johnxvi. 13. Bengel. || See Dean Alford on this passage. 
 
 ^ Most of the recent foreign Commentators refer this to some more 
 perfect state of the Church, in which Divine knowledge shall have 
 made a considerable advance ; says Bloomfield ; though he does not 
 agree with them. 
 
" RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS." 175 
 
 that which is perfect is come," he was referring to the whole 
 of the truth which the Spirit was in due time to disclose, 
 by the fulfilment of all the prophecies, and the restitution 
 of all things, or their reduction to primeval order. In 
 this case, the scantiness of the knowledge which was com- 
 municated to the early Christians, did not arise out of any 
 limitation of their faculties by reason of the constitution 
 of their nature, but by reason of the slowness of their 
 hearts to believe, and the circumstance that the times were 
 not then fulfilled. 
 
 In like manner are interpreted the words of the Apostle 
 John,* " But we Jcnoiu that ivhen he shall appear "\ i.e., 
 when he shall be manifested or revealed, viz., at his coming, 
 11 we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." 
 As the manifestation or revelation off Christ therefore refers 
 to His coming, so, whatever this coming may be, of the same 
 nature will be the manifestation. If that manifestation 
 refer to a disclosure of himself in his Word to the Church, 
 it is that to which the expression of the Apostle refers ; 
 and, in this case, when he says "it doth not YET appear," it 
 cannot be that the term yet includes the whole duration of 
 mankind upon earth : it can refer only to the duration of 
 that Dispensation; but if that Dispensation be followed 
 by another, as we have seen that it may, the term yet can 
 mean only until the coming of this other. "It doth not YET 
 appear" because " NOW we see through a glass darkly" or 
 enigmatically ; but when we shall see him "face to face' ' in his 
 Word, we shall see him as He is, the enigma will be solved, 
 
 * 1 John iii. 2. 
 
 t " It doth not yet appear, but when it doth or shall appear." So 
 Dr. Benson. J Estius in loc. 
 
176 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 its meaning seen, and the whole of prophecy be perfected : 
 the best Dispensation will have been reserved to the last. 
 Hence " although He is at present hid from our view ; 
 though the heavens have received Him, and must retain 
 Him until the time of the restitution of all things ; yet 
 then he will appear in his glory."* And should any 
 one object to these passages, that, if thus interpreted, 
 they are not clearly expressed by the Apostles ; we have 
 only to answer, that it is no wonder that those who saw 
 through a glass darkly, should speak but obscurely ; and 
 that "what was to be obscurely foretold, a Prophet or 
 Apostle might but obscurely foresee.' '-J- 
 
 Such is the meaning which some eminent divines have 
 given to the passages we have been considering. 
 
 As far as the argument is concerned, then, it is this : 
 our opponents have no right to assume as true their own 
 particular interpretations of prophecy, J and then quote 
 them against us as if these only were true, and no one had 
 ever called them in question. We claim the privilege, in 
 common with other theologians both ancient and modern, 
 of regarding this earth as the scene of the New Jerusalem, 
 and the words of the Apostle Paul as referring to that 
 period. Indeed, the attempt so frequently made to transfer 
 all higher knowledge of Divine things from out of the pre- 
 sent into a future life, not unfrequently arises from a real 
 opposition to it in this life. Men love darkness rather 
 than light, and therefore are glad to contemplate the light 
 as far off as possible. In this case the zealous members 
 
 * Dr. Benson in loc. f Scott's Annotations, Acts iii. 19. 
 
 $ As at the commencement and close of the Fourth Essay, on the 
 Peculiarities of the Christian Religion. 
 
NEW INTERPRETATIONS. 177 
 
 of the Church think they have nothing to fear for its 
 security, and have abundance of arguments to prove that 
 things in the Church must ever remain as they are ; doc- 
 trines undisturbed, councils unquestioned, authority un- 
 shaken. But whatever aversion we feel to the light here, 
 we shall equally feel to it hereafter ; nor does it at all 
 follow that because there is more light in the other world, 
 we shall be ready to receive it when we arrive there. If we 
 love twilight here, we shall love it there. We shall not 
 improve our moral nature by dying, or leave behind us 
 our evils merely because we leave behind us our body. 
 Our blindness and darkness we may take with us ; and 
 there, as here, " the light may shine in darkness, and the 
 darkness comprehend it not." 
 
 Having said thus much upon the subject of Novelty and 
 New Discovery, we proceed to the objection to New Interpre- 
 tation, as thus continued in the Bampton Lectures, page 92. 
 
 " If, therefore, for instance, a new mode of interpreting 
 or of translating Scripture be proposed to us, which mate- 
 rially alters its doctrines from what have been uniformly 
 received, we have no need, however plausible it may ap- 
 pear, to rest the question upon critical researches into the 
 ancient languages ; our ready answer may be, that Plato, 
 or Aristotle indeed, may have designed to write mysteri- 
 ously, and to conceal their doctrines from all but the most 
 acute philosophers ; and that Polybius, or Livy, may have 
 been accidentally misunderstood till modern researches 
 cleared up their narratives ; but that, if the true sens 
 and doctrine of the Bible was not understood by any for 
 so many centuries, it cannot be called (at least a final} 
 Revelation." 
 
 i3 
 
178 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 Here, it is not without considerable satisfaction that 
 we find the Lecturer possessed too sound a judgment 
 to insist upon uniformity of reception as a genuine cri- 
 terion of the truth of Christian doctrine ; and though 
 it is intimated, that certain doctrines of Christianity, 
 as now generally understood, have been uniformly re- 
 ceived ; yet there is reason to think that, since this obser- 
 vation was made, the distinguished Author has availed 
 himself of the privilege of modifying his views upon the 
 subject. Still, as uniformity of reception is asserted, and 
 an argument is founded upon it, which, in an external 
 point of view, militates against the credit of Swedenborg's 
 alleged revelations ; as the principle moreover is often in- 
 sisted upon by those who oppose us, and, indeed, is one of 
 the strong-holds of their opposition ; it may be pardonable, 
 perhaps, to make a few observations, which, were we ap- 
 pealing to the judgment of your Grace only, might be 
 altogether unnecessary. 
 
 Mention then is here made of doctrines which have been 
 uniformly received ; and the question is, what these doc- 
 trines are ? On the Primitive Doctrine of Justification, a 
 modern writer observes* " When from age to age, with- 
 out any variation, the Fathers deliver as the sense of the 
 whole Church, an interpretation of certain texts which ex- 
 hibits them as declaring the doctrine of the Trinity, or the 
 doctrine of Christ's Godhead, or the doctrine of the Atone- 
 ment, and the like ; when from the very beginning, in per- 
 petual harmony, they professedly speak, not merely their 
 own private sentiments, but the sentiments of the Church 
 
 * Faber, on the Primitive Doctrine of Justification, p. 47. Note. 
 
UNIFORMITY OF RECEPTION. 179 
 
 at large, the* Quod semper, quod ubique, quod db omnibus; 
 I really, however mortifying such an opinion may be to 
 modern self-conceit, cannot help thinking ; that the autho- 
 rity of their interpretation considerably transcends the 
 authority of any mere private interpretation even of the 
 enlightened nineteenth century." 
 
 The learned author had previously observed, in the same 
 chapter, " It is somewhat remarkable, that the Church 
 of England, notwithstanding she defines the doctrine of 
 Justification after a manner altogether different from that 
 which has been adopted by the Church of Rome, similarly 
 appeals to Antiquity as her voucher for primitive and 
 therefore accurate interpretation." 
 
 To these two statements allow me to add a few more ; 
 and first, one by your Grace.* " We may, however, per- 
 
 * The universal consent of Fathers and Councils, etc., or the rule 
 " Quod semper, quod ubique, quod db omnibus ;" does not appear to 
 have been unknown to the Jewish school of Tradition. Thus, in Allen's 
 Modem Judaism, (chap, iii.) we find the following observations, as 
 stated to have been derived originally from Maimonides ; 
 
 " Whatever Joshua and the elders had received from Moses was ad- 
 mitted without any controversy or disagreement ; but if there was any 
 branch respecting which nothing had been delivered by Moses, the de- 
 cision proper to be made, in such a case, was discovered by fair infer- 
 ence from the original precepts, by the help of some of the thirteen 
 rules given to Moses on Mount Sinai, which are so many ways of argu- 
 mentation to elicit the true sense of the Law. In some cases of this 
 kind there was but one opinion, and the decision was received with 
 universal consent ; whenever there was a difference of sentiment, the 
 opinion uf the majority prevailed." " When Joshua died, all the in- 
 terpretations which he had received from Moses, together with all that 
 had been made in his time, whether settled by unanimous consent or 
 determined by the opinion of the majority, were transmitted by him to 
 
180 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 versely* refuse to take advantage of these wise provisions,-)- 
 by exalting, like the Romanists, (and I am sorry to say, 
 some Protestants of these days,) the Creeds, Formularies, 
 etc., which are sanctioned by Tradition, and by the enact- 
 ments of a Church, to a level with the Scriptures. Then, 
 indeed, we incur the evils already spoken of, with the ad- 
 ditional one of ' teaching for doctrines the commandments 
 of men.' Such a system, accordingly, tends to foster that 
 neglect of the study of Scripture, that averseness to labor 
 in the investigation of truth, that indolent, uninquiring 
 acquiescence in what is ready prepared for acceptance, in 
 the lump, to which man is by nature so much disposed, 
 and which the structure of the Christian Scripture seems 
 
 the elders who survived him. Those elders conveyed them to the 
 prophets, and by one prophet they were delivered to another ; so that 
 no age passed without enquiries heing made into the meaning of the 
 Law, and conclusions being drawn from it ; the men of every age taking 
 the determinations of their predecessors as the foundations of their 
 conclusions. Now, respecting the foundations received by Tradition, 
 there never was any disagreement down to the time of the men of the 
 great synagogue" etc. Among the various ordinances to be observed, 
 as contained in the Mishna, were the following : Interpretations re- 
 ceived from Moses, which are either implied in the written Law, or 
 elicited from it by reasoning ; and these have never been controverted, 
 but as soon as any one said, ' / have received it by Tradition, 1 the 
 point was settled." Again, " Opinions that had been formed by the 
 thirteen ways of reasoning, and which were first controverted and after- 
 wards determined by the majority.'' 1 
 
 We have seen also that the rule Quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab 
 omnibus, was not unknown to the heathens, who obstinately pleaded it 
 against Christians in favor of their idolatry. See above, p. 147. 
 
 * Essay 6. First Series, p. 222. 
 
 f The omission, in Scripture, of Articles of Faith, etc. 
 
UNIFORMITY OF RECEPTION. 181 
 
 to have been expressly designed to guard against. And 
 all this evil is incurred by reliance on an infallibility, 
 (either of some particular Church, or some undefined uni- 
 versal Church,) which after all is only imaginary. When 
 we enquire what we are to receive as sanctioned by the 
 unerring judgment of the Universal Church, the answer 
 usually given, is, ' whatever has ,been believed, always, 
 everywhere, and by all,' (quod semper, quod ubique, quod 
 db omnibus) ; but if those who give this answer are re- 
 quested to make out a list of the Articles of faith which ful- 
 fil these conditions, and to prove them to be such, they do 
 not find it easy. They do, however, often find it easy 
 to make an unlearned Christian believe, that what their 
 Church and their party hold, is to be received by him as 
 possessing this claim."* 
 
 To take another instance ; speaking of the rule of faith 
 adopted by the Roman Catholics in the interpretation of 
 the Scriptures, Bishop Marsh observes :-j- " It is repre- 
 sented as a doctrina tradita, handed down by the Fathers 
 of the Church, who are considered as the depositories of 
 this rule ; whence it is inferred, that the expositions in 
 
 * " Among the tenets which he " (Lord Herbert of Cherbury) 
 "advances to bring Christianity into discredit, is the maxim that 
 universal consent is the necessary criterion of truth ; so that nothing 
 is to be admitted as an essential or certain article of belief, which is not 
 thus attested ; a maxim according to which no one doctrine of the 
 Christian Faith could be maintained; since, from the first promulga- 
 tion of the Gospel to the present hour, numerous opponents have been 
 found to call in question every position, every doctrine, nay, almost 
 every fact which it contains. This, therefore, must be considered as 
 
 an intentional, though indirect, attack upon its credibility." Boyle 
 
 Lectures, by W. Van Mildert, Lord Bishop of Durham, vol. i., p. 326. 
 
 t Interpretation of the Bible. Lecture i., p. 272. 
 
182 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 which they agree, are the true expositions of Scripture. 
 Now all this is mere matter of opinion, and is calculated 
 solely to support the credit of the Church of Rome. There 
 is not the slightest historical evidence that the Apostles 
 transmitted to posterity any Rule, but what is recorded in 
 the New Testament. The Fathers, therefore, are pre- 
 cisely on the same footing with respect to the authority of 
 their interpretations, as the commentators of the present 
 age. Nor, in fact, are they uniform in their interpreta- 
 tions even in regard to doctrine, notwithstanding the 
 agreement alleged by the Church of Rome ; though some 
 commentators may be selected, as well ancient as modern, 
 which agree on particular points." 
 
 Again, Mr. Chillingworth, who is no inferior authority, 
 at least with some Protestants, observes ; " I, for my part, 
 after a long, and (as I verily believe and hope) impartial 
 search of the true way to eternal happiness, do profess 
 plainly, that I cannot find any rest for the sole of my foot, 
 but on this rock only (of the Scriptures). I see plainly 
 and with mine own eyes, that there are Popes against 
 Popes, Councils against Councils, some Fathers against 
 others, the same Fathers against themselves, a consent of 
 Fathers of one age against a consent of Fathers of another 
 age, the Church of one age against the Church of another 
 age. Traditive interpretations of Scripture are pretended, 
 but there are few or none to be found," etc.* 
 
 The fact, then, of uniformity of reception appears to be 
 disputed. The quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omni- 
 bus, is a rule, the existence of which is as much contested 
 as the doctrine it is called upon to settle. Besides, even 
 if it were not, its first principles as a test of Divine Truth 
 * Religion of Protestants, chap, vi., art. 56. 
 
UNIFORMITY OF RECEPTION. 183 
 
 are inadmissible; inasmuch as they resolve themselves 
 only into those of time, space, and custom which are far 
 more applicable to the fashions of the world, than to the 
 doctrines of eternal life. The always of Divine Truth is 
 not the always of time, but of eternity : the everywhere is 
 not that of space, which is finite, but of the Spirit of Him 
 who is omnipresent : and the by all, is not that of the 
 many who are called, but of the few who are chosen. A 
 truth, though only the alleged novelty of yesterday, may 
 have in it more of durability, than a doctrine which has 
 lasted from the time of the fall : though confined only to a 
 single spot of earth, it may have in it more of the prin- 
 ciple of ubiquity, than an opinion which has spread itself 
 over the globe : though received only by one, it may have 
 in it more of catholicity, than an opinion which has been 
 received by one million. Indeed, to test the eternal truth 
 of a doctrine by the number of hours it has lasted, as 
 counted out by the clock ; the universality of its nature, 
 by the multitude of superficial miles over which it has ex- 
 tended, by the decrees of human authority, or by the 
 number of voices who have proclaimed in its favour ; is to 
 employ a test which is worthy only of that which can be 
 so tested. Let us, then, concede to the fashions of the 
 world the principles of time, space, and custom ; and re- 
 serve to ourselves the only characteristics of Divine Truth, 
 its intrinsic Eternity, Infinity, and Universality. 
 
 But it is said, " If the true sense and doctrine of the 
 Bible was not understood by any for so many centuries, it 
 cannot be called (at least a final) Revelation"* 
 
 * " The more distinct and particular knowledge of those things, the 
 study of which the Apostle calls going on unto perfection, and of the 
 
184 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 Perhaps, in the idea conveyed by the term revelation, 
 there is a slight ambiguity. It is often used to convey 
 one or both of two things ; either the thing communicated, 
 or our apprehension of its nature. If it be meant to signify 
 the thing communicated, of course, a thing may be com- 
 municated to us which we do not therefore necessarily 
 understand. The Apocalypse of St. John, for instance, 
 commonly called the Book of Revelations, communicates, 
 as many are willing to admit, a variety of things of the 
 meaning of which they have no apprehension ; and hence 
 there is no book of which the meaning more requires to be 
 revealed, than the Book of Revelation itself. Still, in one 
 sense, although a person may not understand the Book, he 
 may admit it to be a final revelation ; but if by this 
 he means to imply, that its meaning or interpretation is no 
 further to be understood, then, undoubtedly, it is not a 
 final revelation. Revelation, therefore, so far as the Book 
 itself is concerned, is final ; so far as our understanding its 
 contents is concerned, it is not final. This distinction, 
 which I cannot but think will be readily admitted, removes 
 
 prophetic parts of Revelation, like many parts of natural and even civil 
 knowledge, may require very exact thought and careful consideration. 
 The hinderances, too, of natural and supernatural light and knowledge, 
 have heen of the same kind. And as it is owned the whole scheme of 
 Scripture is not yet understood, so, if it ever comes to be understood, 
 before the Restitution of all things and without miraculous interposi- 
 tion, it must be the same way as natural knowledge is come at ; by the 
 continuance and progress of learning and of liberty, and by particular 
 persons attending to, comparing, and pursuing intimations scattered up 
 and down it, which are overlooked and disregarded by the generality of 
 the world." Bishop Butler's Analogy, part 2, chap. iii. 
 
FINAL REVELATION. 185 
 
 the difficulty above stated. For when it is said, that the 
 Bible was designed by the Almighty to convey such in- 
 struction as He judged needful for all, reference is evidently 
 made to the Book the Book as containing instruction, and 
 which would fully answer its purposes as a record of the 
 Divine Will, without its being necessarily understood till 
 the time appointed. It is not the Book that makes us 
 understand, but the Holy Spirit that makes us understand 
 the Book ; and I apprehend, that the understanding of the 
 book depends upon the state of the reader. The Book, 
 therefore, would answer its purpose as a means of con- 
 veying instruction, even though but few were willing to 
 use them. It certainly contains truths needful for all, 
 yet none are compelled to receive it : they may, if they 
 will, reject it : still, although they reject it, the Book 
 nevertheless serves its purpose as a record of the Divine 
 Will, and a testimony against them. 
 
 If then God has given us Scriptures, the knowledge of 
 whose truths is designed for our salvation ; and if, at the 
 same time, we are not compelled to understand them, it 
 follows that, notwithstanding our possession of the Book, 
 causes may operate to blind our eyes, and to prevent us, 
 some in a greater, some in a less degree, from under- 
 standing its contents, and that too, even on essential 
 points.* The question, therefore, is, What are these 
 causes, and is it the fact that they have so operated. 
 
 * " It may be objected still farther, and more generally ; the Scrip- 
 ture represents the world in a state of ruin, and Christianity as an 
 expedient to recover it, to help in these respects where Nature fails ; in 
 particular, to supply the deficiencies of natural light. Is it credible, then, 
 that so many ages should have been let pass, before a matter of such a 
 
186 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 Let us consider them, first, in the decline of the Doctrine 
 of Inspiration. 
 
 With respect to the quotation about to be made, it is to 
 be observed, that it does not convey the sentiments merely 
 of an individual, but of an existing class of the Protestant 
 community. I refer to a work entitled " The History of the 
 Early Rise and Progress of Christianity /"* and, in reading 
 
 sort, of so great and so general importance, was made known to man- 
 kind ; and then that it should be made known to so small a part of 
 them ? Is it conceivable, that this supply should be so very deficient ; 
 should have the like obscurity and doubtfulness ; be liable to the like 
 perversions; in short, lie open to all the like objections, as the light of 
 Nature itself ? Without determining how far this in fact is so, I answer, 
 it is by no means incredible that it might be so, if the light of Nature 
 and of Revelation be from the same hand. Men are naturally liable to 
 diseases, for which God, in his good Providence, has provided natural 
 remedies. But remedies existing in Nature have been unknown to 
 mankind for many ages ; are known but to few now ; probably many 
 valuable ones are not known yet. Great has been, and is, the ob- 
 scurity and difficulty in the nature and application of them. Circum- 
 stances seem often to make them very improper, where they are absolutely 
 necessary. It is after long labour and study, and many unsuccessful 
 endeavors, that they are brought to be as useful as they are ; after high 
 contempt and absolute rejection of the most useful we have ; and after 
 disputes and doubts which have seemed to be endless. The best reme- 
 dies, too, when unskilfully, much more, if dishonestly, applied, may 
 produce new diseases, and with the Tightest application, the success of 
 them is often doubtful. In many cases, they are not at all effectual ; 
 where they are, it is often very slowly; and the application of them, 
 and the necessary regimen accompanying it, is, not uncommonly, so 
 disagreeable, that some will not submit to them ; and satisfy themselves 
 with the excuse, that if they would, it is not certain whether it would 
 be successful." Bishop Butler's Analogy, chap, iii., part 2. 
 
 * By the Rev. S. Hinds, M.A., Vice Principal of St. Alban's Hall, 
 
DECLINE OF THE BIBLE. 187 
 
 the quotation, it will be desirable to mark the several grada- 
 tions by which, it seems, since the Reformation, or the period 
 when the Church began to profess itself to be founded upon 
 the Scriptures only, a highly respected Prelate of the 
 Church of England maintains, that the estimation in ivhich 
 the Inspiration of the Scriptures has been held, has been 
 gradually on the decline. For the convenience of the 
 reader, the several stages are numbered. 
 
 1. " Whilst Christians of all denominations have ever 
 agreed in admitting the Inspiration of the New Testament ; 
 on no one point, perhaps, has there been a greater diversity 
 of opinion, than on the character of this Inspiration. On this 
 diversity of view, one general remark may be hazarded, and 
 it will be found, I think, warranted by historical fact. In 
 proportion as Inspiration has been made to approach to a 
 complete inditing of the Scriptures, the Scriptures have 
 been neglected. The consequence of the study and appli- 
 cation of the BibUj from the period of the Reformation, has 
 been, gradually and progressively to limit the extent of 
 Inspiration ; and by so doing, to vindicate the holy cha- 
 racter of what is unquestionably of Divine origin, and to 
 make the application of the rule of faith more sure. It 
 was only perhaps in the worst ages of superstition, that 
 an entire inspiration of matter, words, and composition 
 generally, like that asserted of the Koran, was universally 
 contended for. At the period of the Reformation, Luther 
 placed the first limit on this view, and contended that the 
 matter only was of Divine origin, the composition human, 
 etc. 
 
 Oxford ; late Bishop of Norwich. Appendix, vol. ii., Article, Inspira- 
 tion of Scripture ; p. 334. 
 
188 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 2. " With the gradual progress of inquiry, however, and 
 the more diligent use of Scripture, a further limitation 
 came in time to be put on Scriptural Inspiration. It became 
 a question whether even all the matter of the Bible was to 
 be considered as having the stamp of Divine truth on it. 
 The progress of natural philosophy made it impossible, that 
 any thing but blind superstition should assert this cha- 
 racter for all physical facts ; and the whole branch of 
 topics which fall under that head, have been accordingly 
 excluded by a great part of Christians, etc. 
 
 3. "But one portion of the matter of the Bible, its 
 natural philosophy, having been once excluded from the 
 sphere of Inspiration, in the view of so many learned and 
 pious Christians, further doubts, on similar grounds, have 
 been suggested respecting the statement of those historical 
 facts, which belong not to sacred but to profane history. 
 It has been justly contended, that similar difficulties are 
 obviated by excluding profane history^ as by excluding 
 natural philosophy ; and that there is no more ground 
 for maintaining the Inspiration of the sacred writers in the 
 one, than in the other case, etc. 
 
 4. "It would lead to much more discussion than is com- 
 patible with a mere note, to enter into the general questions 
 of what further limitations may and ought to be put on the 
 inspired character of Scripture. I will only briefly state, 
 that the following may perhaps on reflection be found not 
 inconsistent with the purest view of God's written Word. 
 It may be fairly questioned, then, first, whether even 
 its sacred history is inspired. For although wherever a 
 point of faith or practice is involved in the historical 
 record, Inspiration must be supposed, (else the application 
 
DECLINE OF THE BIBLE. 189 
 
 of the record as an infallible rule must be abandoned,) yet, 
 where this is not the case, there seems to be no necessity 
 for supposing Inspiration ; and by not supposing it, several 
 difficulties in the attempt to harmonize the sacred histo- 
 rians are removed. 
 
 5. " Again ! proceeding still on the principle, that the 
 truths to be believed, the material of faith, is the point to 
 which the control or suggestions of Inspiration must have 
 been directed, and to which alone it is necessary for consti- 
 tuting the Bible the rule of faith, that it should be 
 directed, the reasoning of the inspired writers may be 
 considered as safely as their own. I do not mean to im- 
 pugn the reasoning of any one passage in the Apostolical 
 writings ; but were any found open to it, the circumstance 
 would not, according to this view, affect the inspired cha- 
 racter and authority of the work. The assertions, not the 
 proofs, are the proper objects of unqualified assent," etc., 
 etc., etc. 
 
 While, however, there are authors in the Protestant 
 Church, who think the only way of vindicating the Scrip- 
 tures, is that of indiscriminately lowering their Inspiration ; 
 there are others on the opposite side, who consider the 
 only way of doing so, is that of indiscriminately exalting 
 it : and it is with pain I add, there is as much confusion 
 on this side as on the other. A modern eminent writer,* 
 who advocates the highest degree of Divine inspiration for 
 all the books now commonly composing our Scripture, says, 
 " We have no means to discover the Inspiration of the 
 Scriptures, but by historical testimony ; it cannot be dis- 
 
 * Dr. Chalmers. Miraculous and Internal Evidences of the Chris- 
 tian Revelation. Book iv., chap. 3. 
 
190 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 covered by any internal evidence." " Internal evidence," 
 he says, " may verify the fact of Inspiration, but could 
 never discover it." And how, according to him, does 
 internal evidence verify the fact of Inspiration ? By its 
 moral and spiritual effects upon the mind. True. But in 
 what particular are these moral and spiritual effects distin- 
 guishable from those produced by other pious writings ? 
 In none, so far as we are told. To what extent, then, are 
 we to rely upon these moral and spiritual effects as an 
 internal evidence of the Divine Inspiration of the Scrip- 
 tures ? The learned author thus answers the question.* 
 u Richard Baxter seems to have thought more judiciously 
 on this subject than some of his contemporaries. 'For my 
 part/ says he, ' I confess, I could never boast of any such 
 testimony, or light of the Spirit, -j- nor reason neither, which, 
 without human testimony, would have made me believe, 
 that the Book of Canticles is canonical and written by 
 Solomon, and the Book of Wisdom apocryphal and written 
 by Philo. Nor could I have known all or ANY historical 
 books such as Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chro- 
 nicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, etc., to be written by Divine inspi- 
 ration, but by Tradition." 
 
 When Baxter, therefore, urges Tradition, as the evidence 
 of Inspiration, what does Calvin say ? Let us hear Dr. 
 Chalmers, j: " Calvin antedated the matter wrong, when, in 
 his controversy with the learned o the Church of Rome 
 in behalf of the Scriptures, he made appeal to that internal 
 
 * Page 405, v. ii. 
 
 f So Michaelis, in his Introduction to the New Testament, vol. i., 
 part 1, p. 77. Edition by Bishop Marsh. 
 % Page 418. 
 
DECLINE OP THE BIBLE. 191 
 
 evidence which is felt and appreciated by the unlearned ; 
 at the time when, fighting his adversaries with their own 
 weapons, he should have urged the argument critically 
 and historically. He has charged it as preposterous to 
 plead this argument as distinct from the internal evidence ; 
 but we should reverse the proposition, and call it prepos- 
 terous in this matter, to place the internal before the 
 external evidence." Now, what is the external evidence ? 
 It is said to be Tradition. 
 
 Here, then, we find it maintained, by one who advocates 
 the highest degree of Scripture Inspiration, that it is pre- 
 posterous for the Church, as a public body, to place the 
 internal evidence of this Inspiration before the external 
 evidence of Tradition ; and why ? Because it is declared 
 to be inadequate to a discovery of the Divinity of, at least, 
 a considerable portion of the Scriptures. It is true, the 
 learned author adds ; " In the Christianization of indi- 
 viduals, the experimental probation is the only one resorted 
 to, and the only one realized by the great majority of the 
 household of faith" : still, no definite signs by which to 
 verify the fact of Inspiration are given us. Hence we cannot 
 help calling to mind the statement of another well-known 
 writer, who observes ;" If it be said, that pious Protestants 
 have the witness in themselves as a sure test to their own 
 hearts of the truth of Scripture, the fact is undeniable ; 
 and a sufficient and consoling proof is it to them, that the 
 doctrines of Scripture are true ; but it does not prove, that 
 the very book we call the Bible was written, and all of it 
 written, by Inspiration ; nor does it allow us to dispense 
 with the external evidence of Tradition, assuring us that it 
 is so."* 
 
 * Newman's Romanism and Popular Protestanism, page 43. 
 
192 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 Others, again, affirm that Tradition has nothing to do 
 with the Inspiration of Scripture ; but is an evidence only 
 of the authenticity and genuineness of the writings of which 
 Scripture is composed. 
 
 Others, again, that the criterion of Inspiration is Pre- 
 diction, as also the working of Miracles or the testimony 
 of those who have wrought them.* 
 
 From all these difficulties there are two kinds of refuge : 
 the one in the virtual, or open denial of divine Inspiration 
 altogether a denial which has recently been gaining con- 
 siderable ground even in the Church of England : the 
 other, in a reliance upon the authority of the Church ; 
 and yet the Church, with all its authority, has not ven- 
 tured to put forth any theory of Inspiration. " The reason 
 why the Church has never put forth any theory of Inspira- 
 tion," says Dr. Wilberforce,-(- " is because, building on the 
 rock itself, she stands in no need of such factitious expe- 
 dients." Now the rock itself is the living Word ; and 
 in this case, one would have thought that this would be 
 the very reason why the Church should be enabled to fur- 
 nish a theory of Inspiration, instead of why it should not. 
 
 If, however, the Church has no theory of Inspiration, 
 it can have none of Interpretation; and this is another 
 principal cause of the present state of Interpretation. 
 
 " How far Inspiration, properly so called, extends itself," 
 says a modern theologian, { "neither Christ nor the Apostles 
 
 * See Home's Introduction to the Study and Critical Knowledge 
 of the Scriptures. Tenth Edition. Vol. i., p. 202. Introduction to 
 the New Testament, by Michaelis, vol. i., p. 79. 
 
 t On The Incarnation, p. 416. Ed. 4. 
 
 % Hermeneutica Sacra, by J. H. Janssens, Professor of Dogmatic 
 Theology. Liege, 1835. 
 
DECLINE OF THE BIBLE. 193 
 
 have defined. Hence of the Fathers of the Church, some 
 maintained, in regard to such things as were known to the 
 sacred writers from other sources, only an immunity from 
 error ; others, that all the words of the Sacred Scripture 
 were inspired, in the proper sense ; while yet in other 
 places, when speaking of things known to the sacred writers 
 from other sources, the same Fathers taught only a preven- 
 tion from error. As, however, all then agreed upon the sub- 
 stance of the thing, there arose no dispute between them. 
 
 " In later ages, however, no small controversy sprang 
 up among the Scholastic theologians. Some, on the autho- 
 rity of certain passages in the Fathers, contended for a strict 
 Inspiration in all those parts of Scripture which themselves 
 laid claim to Inspiration : and indeed for the strictest Inspi- 
 ration everywhere. Others, relying upon certain passages 
 in the Fathers, which maintain only an immunity from 
 error, asserted the more free idea of Inspiration. Hence in 
 different parts of Christendom prevailed different opinions 
 concerning the mode of Inspiration. The Council of Trent 
 asserted, indeed, that God was the author of both Testa- 
 ments ; but it did not settle the Scholastic controversy ; its 
 decree being perfectly true either way. 
 
 "Among others, Less and Hamel, of the Society of 
 Jesus, in their public theses in Louvain, A.D. 1586, con- 
 tended for the freer notion of Inspiration, maintaining : 1. 
 That in order for any writing to be Sacred Scripture, it is 
 not necessary that each of its words should be inspired by 
 the Holy Spirit. 2. That it is not necessary that each 
 one of the truths and sentiments be inspired into the writer 
 immediately by the Holy Spirit. 3. That any book, such 
 perhaps as that of 2nd Maccabees, though written without 
 
194 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 the assistance of the Holy Spirit, yet, if the Holy Spirit 
 afterwards testify that there is nothing false in it, is 
 thereby constituted Holy Scripture. 
 
 " These propositions the theologians of Louvain and 
 Douay condemned in the years 1587 and 1588. But this 
 censure was by no means approved of by other Catholics, 
 by the University of Paris, and the Roman Pontiff. To Less 
 and Hamel there adhered, of the Society of Jesus, Cardinal 
 Bellarmine, Mariana, Cornelius & Lapide, Bonfrere, and 
 others. To the same system subscribe Melchior Canus 
 Bishop of the Canaries, Dupin, Simon, Contenson, Calmet, 
 and nearly all the more recent writers. 
 
 " Henry Holden, doctor of the Sorbonne, assigned yet 
 narrower limits to Inspiration. He contends that the as- 
 sistance of the Holy Spirit in preventing error, pertains 
 only to such things as relate to our own instruction, or 
 which respect them proximately or necessarily. 
 
 " Certain others asserted that the Holy Spirit did not 
 preserve the authors from lighter errors, and that they 
 mixed up human things with Divine ; an opinion which 
 coincides with that of Holden. 
 
 "They, however, think but unworthily of the perfect Pro- 
 vidence of God, who imagine that he chose ambassadors and 
 ministers of his Word, of such a kind as would mix up things 
 false and heterogeneous with truths Divine and infallible. 
 
 1 'In this our present age, some there are who doubt 
 whether the assistance of the Holy Spirit be necessary to 
 guard the historical writers from error ; because history, 
 written by sincere men who were well informed of the 
 facts recorded, possesses itself sufficiently ample authority. 
 " These, however, do not consider that religious teach- 
 
DECLINE OF THE BIBLE. 195 
 
 ing depends, for a great part, on the histories in the Bible; 
 so that if these histories be not of themselves free from all 
 doubt, nor of Divine authority, neither is the religious 
 teaching which is founded upon them. Moreover, the his- 
 torical books constitute the most considerable portion of 
 Sacred Scripture ; and Christ and the Apostles have attri- 
 buted to the Sacred Books a Divine authority without any 
 restriction. Indeed, St. Paul (Rom. xv. 4) refers every 
 word in sacred Scripture to things pertaining to our learn- 
 ing ; where he says, L Whatsoever things were written in 
 the Holy Scripture, were written for our learning.' Fur- 
 ther ; the opinion of the moderns was totally unknown to 
 the primitive Church." 
 
 Is it not obvious, then, that there is no one settled prin- 
 ciple in the Church with regard either to the discovery, or 
 the verification of the fact, of Divine Inspiration ? 
 
 Now if those who advocate the highest views of Scrip- 
 tural Inspiration make admissions such as have been here 
 presented ; of course those who adopt lower views of that 
 Inspiration, and much more those who adopt the lowest, 
 cannot be supposed to consider the Scripture as invested 
 with any higher authority. Indeed, the advocates of these 
 respective systems seem to regard each other as destroy- 
 ing the Divine authority of Scripture, while intending to 
 uphold it. What is the consequence ? The whole subject 
 is converted into one mass of confusion. The term Inspi- 
 ration, and the expression Word of God, are used in 
 scarcely any definite sense ; the very Canon of Scripture 
 itself is called into question ; and even in regard to those 
 Books which are admitted to be inspired and canonical, 
 there is no end to the diversity of interpretations. 
 
 K 2 
 
196 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 Thus, in regard to the Canon of Scripture, it is observed 
 by a modern writer* of no inferior repute, " Next in 
 point of importance and interest to the fact, that the sacred 
 writers were inspired, are the questions : What are those 
 books on behalf of which the claim of Divine Inspiration 
 is advanced ? And what is the evidence on which we be- 
 lieve, that a certain specific number are exclusively en- 
 titled to this distinction ? It is notorious, that nothing like 
 unanimity respecting these points prevails. Not only have 
 they been keenly agitated among theologians of different 
 periods ; but collections of books, differing more or less in 
 point of size and number, yet all comprehended under the 
 general name of * the Holy Bible,' have obtained in several 
 of the churches in Christendom. The Scriptures, as gene- 
 >ally received by us, differ from those in accredited circu- 
 lation among the Lutherans ; the books, to which Inspira- 
 tion is ascribed by that body, are not numerically the same 
 with those for which it is claimed by the Roman Catholics : 
 the catalogues of sacred writings sanctioned in the Rom- 
 ish and Greek churches also differ from each other ; while 
 the Armenian Bible contains more books than are to be 
 found in any other. With respect indeed to the books 
 which are commonly circulated in this empire as Divine, 
 and which accord with those composing the Hebrew Bible 
 and the Greek New Testament, there exists no disagree- 
 ment in the creeds of the different churches. In all and 
 each of these creeds, the claims of the whole Scripture, to 
 the extent in which it is approved by us, are unhesitat- 
 ingly admitted. But, most of the foreign churches have 
 appended to them, intermixed with them, or sanctioned by 
 
 * Dr. Henderson on Divine Inspiration, Lecture ix., p. 449. 
 
DECLINE OF THE BIBLE. 197 
 
 promoting their joint circulation, other books or portions, 
 which possess no claim to inspiration. On the other hand, 
 the demands made on our religious regard by some of the 
 books of the Old and New Testament, have been called in 
 question both in ancient and modern times." 
 
 So much for the subject of Inspiration ; let us next con- 
 sider that of Interpretation. 
 
 With, regard, then, to the Interpretation of Scripture, 
 Bishop Marsh, in his first Lecture upon this subject, having 
 observed that Tradition was the acknowledged rule of faith 
 guiding the Roman Church in its interpretations, adds, 
 that when the early Reformers abandoned the guidance of 
 Tradition, they supplied its place by u Reason and Learn- 
 ing." What Reason and Learning have done for the 
 Scriptures, we have been told in a foregoing extract upon 
 the gradual limitation of their extent of Inspiration. In 
 regard to Interpretation, however, the learned Prelate ob- 
 serves, page 269, " If the Interpretation of Scripture were 
 easy and obvious, there would be little or no diversity in 
 the explanations which different commentators have given 
 of the same passage. But, if we compare the Greek with 
 the Latin commentators, we shall frequently find such a 
 variety of Interpretation, as would appear almost impos- 
 sible to be extracted from the same text. If we compare 
 the Jewish commentators either with the Greek, or with 
 the Latin, we shall find as great a variety, though a 
 variety of a different kind. If we compare our English 
 commentators with any of the preceding, we shall find no 
 diminution in the variety of Interpretation. Nor do we 
 find uniformity either among commentators of the same 
 language, or even among commentators of the same 
 
198 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 Church. It is true, that in all things relating to doctrine 
 and discipline, the Church of Rome preserved, during 
 several ages, an uniformity of Interpretation, by the com- 
 mentary which was called the Glossa Ordinaria. But 
 when the revival of learning had opened new sources of in- 
 telligence, and the Reformation had restored the right of un- 
 fettered exposition, the Glossa Ordinaria was exchanged for 
 new systems of Interpretation, from Luther and Melancthon, 
 from Calvin and Beza, from Grotius and from Spanheim." 
 "The sum is this," says Jeremy Taylor:* " Since Holy 
 Scripture is the repository of Divine truths, and the great 
 Rule of Faith to which all sects of Christians do appeal for 
 probation of their several opinions : and since all agree in 
 the articles of the Creed as things clearly and plainly set 
 down, and as containing all that which is of simple and 
 prime necessity : and since, on the other side, there are in 
 Scripture many other mysteries and matters of question, 
 upon which there is a veil : since there are so many copies 
 with infinite varieties of reading : since a various interpunc- 
 tion, a parenthesis, a letter, an accent, may much alter the 
 sense : since some places have divers literal senses, many 
 have spiritual, mystical, and allegorical meanings : since 
 there are so many tropes, metonymies, hyperboles, proprie- 
 ties and improprieties of language, whose understanding 
 depends upon such circumstances that it is almost impossible 
 to know its proper interpretation, now that the knowledge 
 of such stories and particular circumstances is irrevocably 
 lost : since there are some mysteries which, at the best ad- 
 vantage of expression, are not easy to be apprehended, and 
 whose explication, by reason of our imperfections, must 
 * Liberty of Prophesying, see his Works, vol. viii., p. 9. 
 
INTERPRETATION DIFFICULT. 199 
 
 needs be dark, sometimes weak, sometimes unintelligible : 
 and lastly, since those ordinary means of expounding Scrip- 
 ture, as searching the originals, conference of places, parity 
 of reason, and analogy of faith, are all dubious, uncertain, 
 and very fallible, he that is the wisest, and by consequence 
 the likeliest to expound truest, in all probability of rea- 
 son, will be very far from confidence ; because every one of 
 these and many more, are like so many degrees of impro- 
 bability and uncertainty, all depressing the probability of 
 our finding out the truth in such mysteries, and amidst so 
 many difficulties. And therefore a wise man that con- 
 siders this, would not willingly be prescribed to by others ; 
 and therefore if he also be a just man, he will not impose 
 upon others ; for it is best every man should be left in that 
 liberty from which no man can justly take him, unless he 
 could secure him from error : so that here also there is a 
 necessity to conserve the liberty of prophesying and inter- 
 preting Scripture ; a necessity derived from the considera- 
 tion of the difficulty of Scripture in questions controverted, 
 and the uncertainty of any internal medium of Interpreta- 
 tion." 
 
 This eminent Prelate has, indeed, been censured by some 
 who have seen the consequences of these admissions ; but 
 if we look to more recent authorities, it would not appear 
 as if the Church had made any considerable progress in 
 many of these respects ; especially, when we are told, that 
 the Inspiration of the Scripture consists only in the In- 
 spiration of the writer, and that the minds of the prophets 
 were " by no means distinctly enlightened as to the nature 
 of the predictions they uttered. They were not conscious 
 of a precise sense attaching to their utterances in many 
 
200 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 cases. Hence their language was vague, general, dim, 
 even when they referred to a particular place or country. 
 While necessarily objective in part, it partook of much 
 subjective groping"* Hence in regard to the deliverance 
 of Israel from Babylon as depicted by Isaiah, this, it is 
 said, " is set forth in a peculiar way. The prophet sees 
 it, but dimly. Hence describes it in very indefinite lan- 
 guage." . . . " He had faint foreshadowings of the Church's 
 future. . . . Certain things connected with Israel, the Old 
 Testament Israel and the New, are set forth in language 
 vague and indefinite the expressions of the prophet's grop- 
 ings and hopes, linked to and suggested by the future deliver- 
 ance of the Jews from Babylon." . . . "His discourse is not 
 connected or consecutive. It moves onward without advanc- 
 ing much beyond where it commenced. The theme is the 
 same, treated somewhat variously in different parts. It 
 does not receive a gradual and progressive development 
 under the hands of the prophet ; because it is apparent, that 
 his views of the future Church were vague, and dim." 
 
 As to the prophecies of Ezekiel; the symbols and allego- 
 ries, it is openly acknowledged, " give them a dark mys- 
 terious character. They are obscure and enigmatical. A 
 cloudy mystery overhangs them which it is almost impos- 
 sible to penetrate. It is no wonder that ancient writers 
 often complain of such darkness. Jerome calls the book 
 ' a labyrinth of the mysteries of God.' It was because of 
 this obscurity that the Jews forbade any one to read it till 
 he had attained the age of thirty."-}- 
 
 So much for the state of Interpretation ! 
 
 * Home's Introduction to the Scriptures, vol. ii., p. 462, 855. 
 f Ibid., vol. ii., p. 899. 
 
INTERPRETATION DIFFICULT. 201 
 
 Now, if a true Church be built upon true doctrine ; if 
 true doctrine be built only upon a true interpretation of 
 Scripture; if a true interpretation be founded only on 
 true ideas of Inspiration ; and if our views of the Inspi- 
 ration of the Scripture constitute thus the very foun- 
 dation of the Church ; we cannot but conclude, when re- 
 flecting upon statements such as we have adduced, that 
 "the foundations of the Church are shaken." I will not 
 say whether a person would be right or wrong in his 
 application of the passage ; but when he meets with a fact 
 answering to a description, can he avoid associating the 
 description with the fact, and so repeating the words of 
 the Scripture, " The sun shall go down over the prophets, 
 and the day shall be dark over them" (Micah iii. 6) ?* 
 
 It may be said, indeed, that differ as the Church may 
 upon the interpretation and doctrines of Scripture, there is 
 one thing upon which all are agreed, that "with out holiness 
 no man shall see the Lord ;" and it is consolatory to believe, 
 that there have been, and are, many pious and holy men in 
 the Christian community, with whom therefore so far we hold 
 no controversy ; but yet if holiness depends upon our doing 
 the truth, the nature of our actions will depend upon the 
 nature of our principles, and consequently, there will be as 
 much difference in the nature of actions, as there is in the 
 
 * They who maintain the permanency of the Protestant, or else of 
 what they call, the infallible Universal Church, partly found their 
 opinions on these words of our Saviour, " Lo ! I am with you always, 
 even to the end of the world," a text we should quote as proving the end 
 of that which they maintain is not to come to an end. For by " the 
 end of the world," we consider to be meant the end of the age or Dis- 
 pensation an interpretation which is actually given to the terms, when 
 applied to the end of the Jewish Dispensation. 
 
 K3 
 
202 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 nature of the principles upon which we act. When, there- 
 fore, in addition to the want of unity in regard to the In- 
 spiration of Scripture, the Interpretation of Scripture, and 
 the Doctrines of Christianity, we add also that which pre- 
 vails with regard to good works, or to the nature of holiness 
 in outward life and conduct ; will not a reflecting person 
 be strongly disposed to call to mind those words in Isaiah 
 (xxxiv. 11), " He shall stretch out upon it the line of con- 
 fusion ?" That the line of confusion is stretched out upon 
 Christendom, who ever doubted ? 
 
 There is no need to draw a picture of what the state of 
 the Church has hitherto been. More is offered to our accept- 
 ance than the present argument requires. Suffice it to 
 quote only the description given by a former member of 
 the Church of England, who does not seem to have any 
 repute on that account, for being an enthusiast. "In truth," 
 says he, "the whole course of Christianity from the first, when 
 we come to examine it, is but one series of troubles and 
 disorders. Every century is like every other, and to those 
 who live in it seems worse than all times before it. The 
 Church is ever ailing, and lingers on in weakness, ' always 
 bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, 
 that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in her 
 body.' Religion seems ever expiring, schisms dominant, 
 the light of Truth dim, its adherents scattered.* The cause 
 of Christ is ever in its last agony ; as though it were but 
 a question of time, whether it fails finally this day or 
 another. The saints are ever all but failing from the 
 earth, and Christ all but coming ; and thus, the day of 
 judgment is literally ever at hand ; and it is our duty ever 
 
 * Quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus. 
 
SUNSET. 203 
 
 to be looking out for it, not disappointed that we have so 
 often said, * now is the moment ; ' and that, at the last, 
 contrary to our expectation, Truth has somewhat rallied. 
 Such is God's will, gathering in His elect, first one and 
 then another, by little and little, in the intervals of sun- 
 shine between storm and storm, or snatching them from the 
 surge of evil, even when the waters rage most furiously. 
 Well may prophets cry out, * How long will it be, 
 Lord ! to the end of these wonders ? How long will this 
 mystery proceed ? How long will this perishing world be 
 sustained by the feeble lights which struggle for existence 
 in its unhealthy atmosphere ? ' God alone knows the day 
 and the hour when that will at length be which He is ever 
 threatening ; meanwhile, thus much of comfort do we gain 
 from what has been hitherto ; not to despond, not to be 
 dismayed, not to be anxious at the troubles which encom- 
 pass us. They have ever been ; they ever shall be ; they 
 are our portion ; ' The floods are risen, the floods have 
 lift up their voice, the floods lift up their waves. The 
 waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly, but yet 
 the Lord who dwelleth on high is mightier.' "* 
 
 If, then, such be the state of things ; more particularly 
 if under the present Dispensation of the Church, there be 
 no hope of any regeneration of her nature, may it not be 
 fairly asked, whether there is any enthusiasm or fana- 
 ticism in supposing, that such a state of the Church 
 cannot be a matter of indifference to Him who first founded 
 the Church ; that the Lord of the vineyard would have 
 prevented these evils, had it been consistent with man's 
 
 * Romanism and Popular Protestantism, by J. H. Newman, B.D., 
 Fellow of Oriel (conclusion}. 
 
204 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 free agency; that, if He could not have prevented them, 
 He would provide a remedy for them ? We have no 
 reason to think that human tradition, or human reason, or 
 human learning, will of themselves do more for the Church 
 than they have already done. Authority has tried its iron 
 yoke, and the result is an iron bondage. Reason and 
 learning have set the faculties free, and the result is con- 
 fusion. Is there so far, then, no d priori argument in 
 favor of an additional revelation ? Many, both in the 
 Established Church, and out of it, who know nothing of 
 the writings of Swedenborg, and whose general orthodoxy 
 would not be doubted by their respective followers, have 
 thought that some additional Revelation is requisite ; nay, 
 that in the Scriptures it is actually promised. 
 
 But it is said by some, * Though reason has failed, why 
 may we not pray to God to enlighten it ? He has pro- 
 mised to do so, if we faithfully ask him ; and in this case, 
 what is the use of a further revelation ? ' Suppose, how- 
 ever, it should happen that this Revelation should be the 
 very source from which our reason was designed to be en- 
 lightened ! " Nay," it is replied, " God's design is to 
 leave the reasoning faculties free, and a Revelation inter- 
 feres with their freedom." I answer, " Why should we 
 presume this ? Even if it were true, shall we be content 
 to live in moral darkness, in order that our reasoning 
 faculties may be left free? But the truth of the objec- 
 tion we do not admit ; for may not Revelation enable us 
 the better to exercise our rational powers, instead of neces- 
 sarily superseding them ? Are not many of the obser- 
 vations in the Essays a proof, that Revelation instead 
 of destroying reason may strengthen it, and afford it a 
 
SUNSET. 205 
 
 more ample scope for exercise ? If it were an argument 
 against another Revelation, that it would interfere with the 
 exercise of our rational powers such as they are ; and that 
 the very darkness in which we live, enables us the more to 
 resort to the free exercise of reason ; then, might we not 
 presume that life and immortality ought never to have 
 been brought to light ; for that, as long as men were in 
 the dark as to the immortality of the soul, they were 
 enabled freely to exercise their reason, and come to various 
 conclusions, or rather conjectures, or rather doubts upon 
 the subject, or, it might be, positive denials ; but no 
 matter, so long as the reasoning faculties were left free to 
 arrive at any results they might think proper ? There is, 
 however, one point of view in which a Revelation may be 
 considered as interfering with the free exercise of reason ; 
 for in human reason unregenerated there is a root of self- 
 hood ; and the destruction of this it is, which is regarded by 
 some as the destruction of all freedom of the rational facul- 
 ties. With such a reason, Revelation doubtless comes into 
 collision. Even what such a reason admits to be true, it 
 nevertheless rejects, if the discovery of the truth was not 
 its own. Hence, what vain speculations will it not pursue 
 with avidity, if they are but its own offspring ! What 
 Divine wisdom will it not reject, if it comes not in the form 
 of its own self- intelligence ! 
 
 Supposing then a Revelation to be made, in what is it 
 reasonable to presume that it would consist ? Most per- 
 sons, probably, will agree that the Word of God is sufficient 
 to guide man in the way of salvation, provided there be a 
 right understanding of that Word. What, therefore, is 
 it more reasonable to presume than that, if a Revelation 
 
206 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 should be made, it would consist in communicating a bet- 
 ter knowledge of that Word ?* It is obvious, however, 
 that if a right knowledge of the Word of God depend upon 
 right views of Inspiration, and right principles of Interpre- 
 tation; the Revelation would probably consist either of 
 some new principles relating to these subjects, or else of 
 some improvement of the old principles. In this case, the 
 newness of the interpretations given to Scripture, and their 
 opposition to doctrines popularly received, so far from being 
 an argument against their being a Divine Revelation, would 
 be only what might be reasonably expected ; for if the 
 Revelation alleged to be made with the view of introducing 
 unity into the Church, resolved itself only into principles 
 which had already brought confusion ; then, however the 
 more disposed some persons might be to receive it on that 
 account, there would be good reason for the conclusion 
 that it was of a non-practical character, or, rather, that it 
 was helping to increase the mischief it was intended to 
 remove. Now Swedenborg has shewn how all the evils 
 which have originated in the Church, have arisen from its 
 tendency to merely natural and carnal principles ; how 
 these principles have produced not only contradictory 
 
 * The views of the nature of the Inspiration of the Scriptures have 
 been frequently so low, and the authority of Tradition has been so 
 much exalted, that it is very questionable whether many, of the 
 Church in the present day, will not refuse assent to this position. 
 If the Scriptures are such as many consider them to be, they are not 
 worth any further revelation ; they are but as a candle in the Temple 
 which has almost burnt to the socket, and whose light is on the verge 
 of becoming extinct. No wonder that such persons should smile at the 
 idea of an inward and spiritual sense capable of being derived from their 
 contents. 
 
SUNSET. 207 
 
 interpretations of Scripture, but untrue and degraded views 
 of the nature of Divine Inspiration, of the Doctrines of 
 Christianity, and of the subject of Prophecy ; while they 
 have obliterated some portions of Scripture, and involved 
 others in impenetrable darkness. And we appeal to fact in 
 confirmation of what he has stated. 
 
 Many authors, perhaps even most, regard the Inspira- 
 tion of the Word of God as consisting in the Divine in- 
 fluence exercised upon the minds of the writers ; whereas 
 Swedenborg considers that, however conjoined, they are 
 two distinct things. One consequence of the former view 
 is, that where the writer is acquainted with the historical 
 facts he records from his own personal observation, or the 
 testimony of others, he is regarded as in no need of Inspira- 
 tion to enable him to record them ; hence that those parts 
 of Scripture, the writing of which may be accounted for 
 upon this principle, are virtually without Inspiration; 
 while other theologians, who are justly alarmed for the 
 authority of Scripture when placed upon this basis, claim 
 for the sacred writers, indiscriminately, a degree of super- 
 natural influence which their opponents rightly argue it is 
 impossible to maintain. Hence the necessity under which 
 they labor, in settling the authority of Scripture, of 
 resorting to Tradition, or external evidence, where they are 
 so wholly at variance on the subject of any other. Now 
 we humbly submit, that these disputes originate* from the 
 
 * A bare enumeration of the theories of Inspiration would perhaps 
 occupy a volume. The various aspects under which it is viewed, are as 
 different as the various theories. A few writers, indeed, appear to in- 
 clude in their definition of Inspiration, the truth it conveys ; but, still, 
 these truths they often consider as identical with correctly-stated his- 
 
208 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 I 
 
 error of confounding the inspiration of the writer with the 
 inspiration of the tiling written ; of mistaking the inspira- 
 tion of the Word of God for the inspiration of the penmen 
 who recorded it. The two questions we believe to be 
 wholly distinct. If we say the Word of God is inspired, 
 we say what we mean ; that the thing written is inspired, 
 independently of the mind of the penman who wrote it. 
 And in what does the Inspiration of this Word consist ? 
 In what can it consist, but in the Divine Wisdom it con- 
 tains, which alone giveth spiritual life? " The words 
 which I speak unto you" saith our Saviour, "they are 
 spirit and they are life" (John vi. 63). Here is the real 
 principle of their Inspiration. 
 
 The written Word, therefore, does not derive its Inspira- 
 tion from the writer, but from the Living Word Himself. 
 This is the principle upon which we consider the Canon of 
 Scripture to be determined, independently of any authority 
 of Tradition. This is the principle upon which we steer 
 perfectly clear of all the controversies upon the subject in 
 the present day. This principle also furnishes us with a 
 key to Interpretation ; and this key is Analogy or Corre- 
 spondence, which is a distinct, definite, and tangible method 
 by which to determine, upon internal evidence, the Divine 
 
 torical facts, dates, and so forth ; in fine, with the lowest species of 
 truth in the merely natural mind. Ordinary providential circumstances, 
 oriental imagery, the use of hyperboles, and an almost unbounded 
 license of the natural imagination, are also included under the compre- 
 hensive term of Inspiration ; not to mention that the expression Word 
 of God is frequently used by writers in a sense so lax, that it is not 
 always easy to determine its meaning ; and in many cases, where its 
 meaning is determiuable, it obviously implies nothing more than the 
 word of man considered as in accordance with the Divine Word. 
 
SUNRISE. 209 
 
 Inspiration of every part of the Word of God. We main- 
 tain, then, the genuine books of Scripture to be the written 
 Word, even as the Divine Humanity of the Lord is the 
 living Word ; the consequence is, we believe the written 
 Word of God to be as far above all other books, as the 
 Divine Humanity of the Lord is above the humanity of 
 any created being. , 
 
 After, however, we have settled the question of Inspira- 
 tion, how are we to arrive at a true Interpretation ? " To 
 say that the Scriptures," observes Bishop Butler,* " and 
 the things contained in them, can have no other or farther 
 meaning than those persons thought or had, who first recited 
 or wrote them, is evidently saying that those persons were 
 the original, proper, and sole authors of those books ; that 
 is, that they are not inspired ; which is absurd, while the 
 authority of these books is under examination ; that is, till 
 you have determined they are of no Divine authority at all. 
 Holy Scripture, in short, presents the prophets to our 
 view as human instruments through whom the Spirit of 
 God speaks, and by whose lips he announces the Divine 
 Oracles the sense of which, however, the prophet himself 
 does not always understand, but after which he ' diligently 
 seeks ' like other men." 
 
 Now this being the case, Bishop Marshf thus argues : 
 " Most writers who treat of secondary senses, contend, that 
 those secondary senses were unknown to the prophets 
 themselves ; and that Divine Providence so ordered it, that 
 
 * Inspiration of Holy Scripture, by William Lee, M.A., Fellow and 
 Tutor of Trinity College, p. 198. See also p. 208. 
 
 f Lectures on the Criticism and Interpretation of the Bidle, by 
 Bishop Marsh, p. 440. Also, p. 452. 
 
210 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 the very persons who committed the writing to words which 
 were dictated by the Holy Spirit, did not perceive the whole 
 extent of their meaning. But if words employed in a He- 
 brew prophecy, were intended to convey a sense so remote 
 from the common acceptation of the words, that even the 
 prophet who wrote the words did not perceive the sense 
 intended, the same Divine authority which communicated the 
 prophecy, must interpose to explain the prophecy. For, 
 without such Divine interposition, it would be absurd to sup- 
 pose that we could discover the meaning of a prophecy, 
 which the prophet himself was unable to discover." . . . 
 Hence, again it is observed, "The difficulties which no 
 human system can remove, are in such cases removed by 
 Divine Power: the discoveries which human reason 
 attempts in vain, are there unfolded by Divine Intelligence ; 
 and the same Divine authority which communicated the 
 prophecy, interferes to explain the prophecy." 
 
 The combined statements of these two Prelates contain 
 the following argument : First, that there is an internal 
 sense in the Word of God which constitutes its Inspira- 
 tion ; and, Secondly, that the same Divine authority which 
 communicated the prophecy must raise up an interpreter to 
 explain the prophecy. 
 
 This being the case, what more important event can 
 happen to the Church, than that of an Interpreter being 
 sent to explain the mysteries of God's Word ? It is the 
 ancient belief in such an event, that has so long kept alive 
 in the Church, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, the 
 expectation of the coming of some Elias. 
 
 " When Elias comes," observes Mede,* " solvet nodos 
 * Discourse 25, p. 99. 
 
AN INTERPRETER EXPECTED. 211 
 
 he shall dissolve hard questions," and be " the harbinger of 
 Christ's Second Advent." 
 
 " It is no unreasonable belief," says Dr. Arnold,* . . . 
 " that as John the Baptist was the Elijah to prepare the 
 way for Christ's coming, so another Elijah may yet arise 
 to prepare the way for his Second. But whether it may 
 be fulfilled in one individual or in more, or in any one 
 Church, or in any one people, this can be known only in 
 its season, when God shall reveal it." 
 
 "The coming of John the Baptist," says another 
 writer, -j- " in the spirit and power of Elijah, is a pledge 
 of some other great forerunner as the herald of Christ's 
 Second Advent.". . . . 
 
 ..." Some divine person may appear before the Second 
 Coming of our Saviour,";): says another, " as did John the 
 Baptist before the First Coming ; and, by giving a new 
 light and life to the Christian doctrine, may dissipate the 
 mists of error, and abolish all those little controversies 
 amongst good men, and the divisions and animosities that 
 spring from them ; enlarging their spirits by greater dis- 
 coveries, and uniting them all in the bonds of love and 
 charity, and in the common study of truth and perfection. 
 Such an Elias the prophet seems to point at ; and may he. 
 come, and be the great peacemaker and preparer of the 
 ways of the Lord!" etc. 
 
 " Why should we not look forward," says another, "to 
 some theological Newton, who may be permitted to throw 
 
 * Sermons, p. 185. 
 
 f Brooks's Elements of Prophetical Interpretation, p. 123. 
 
 J Dr. Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth, ii., 52. 
 
 Myers' Condones Basilica (Cambridge), Int., p. 15. 
 
212 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 the light of chastened reason on the firmament of prophecy, 
 and be hailed as a divinely sent teacher of the Church in 
 the mysteries of the future ? Surely one chief means of 
 disciplining the mind, and of preparing the way for such 
 an expounder of holy things, is a strong conviction that, 
 on the whole, previous expounders have failed" 
 
 If, then, expounders have hitherto failed, we so far see 
 only through a glass darkly ; but is there no alternative be- 
 tween seeing thus darkly now, and waiting, not for the con- 
 summation merely, but for the conflagration of all things ? 
 Certainly there is: for we read, "Darkness is upon the face 
 of the prophetic creation, and the Spirit of God must move, 
 ere it can be broken and dispersed ; and we must either 
 wait for some inspired interpreter to unravel its intricacy, 
 or sit down in contented expectation for that period of 
 blessedness in which the difficulties of Christianity shall 
 be swallowed up in the glory of the Second Coming of our 
 Lord, as the seeming inconsistencies of the Jewish scheme 
 were illuminated by the brightness of his first."* 
 
 The alternative then is, that of the coming of some in- 
 spired interpreter to disperse the darkness. 
 
 Accordingly, not only Religion but even Science itself, 
 in consequence of the connection between the two, has been 
 considered to point in the same direction ; and thus it has 
 been argued, that the time will come when " the natural 
 affinity between Religion and Science may reunite these two 
 in the mind of some one man of genius. The appearance 
 of such a man cannot be afar off, and perhaps even he 
 exists already. He will be a man of renown, and put an 
 
 * Evidences of Christianity : Hulsean Lectures, by the Rev. C. A. 
 Benson, M.A., Prebendary of Worcester ; p. 138. 
 
AN INTERPRETER EXPECTED. 213 
 
 end to this eighteenth century of ours which is ever en- 
 during; for intellectual ages do not regulate themselves 
 by the calendar like those which are properly so called. 
 Then will opinions, which to-day appear bizarre and in- 
 sensate, become axioms of which it will not be permitted 
 to doubt ; and then also shall we speak of our present stu- 
 pidity, just as we now speak of the superstition of the 
 Middle Age."* 
 
 In a similar manner, the Christian Advocate of Cam- 
 bridge-[- speaks of "further revelations " to be made under 
 some subsequent " dispensation of prophecy" all which 
 opinions are only so many versions of the ancient tradition 
 of the Church, that in the latter times, after a long inter- 
 val of silence, the Lord will again send forth his voice, and 
 prophetic teaching will again arise.J 
 
 This being the case, why should it be thought so strange 
 a thing, that we should believe these expectations to be 
 already actually fulfilled ; and that the Lord has at length 
 commissioned a teacher to instruct his Church ? 
 
 Here, however, I am met by the observation that Swe- 
 denborg's alleged revelations are non-practical. Now on 
 this point we shall speak in the sequel : at present we 
 only ask, why have the Essays passed over in silence the 
 principal revelation alleged to be made to him, and in 
 relation to which all the others are merely subordinate ? 
 I mean the Revelation of the Internal sense of the Word 
 
 * Soirees de St. Petersburg, by Le Compte de Maistre, vol. ii. 3 
 p. 196. Le Senateur. 
 
 f Prophetical Character and Inspiration of the Apocalypse, by G. 
 Pearson, B.D., p. 32, 38. 
 
 % See here, Calvin, on Malachi iv. 5. 
 
214 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 of God; the very Revelation which, we are told, that some 
 precursor or other of the Second Advent, is, at some time 
 or other, expected to make ? 
 
 That all the revelations of Swedenborg concerning the 
 Eternal World are only subordinate to the one pre-eminent 
 revelation of the Internal sense of the Scriptures, is 
 obvious both from the order of his writings and from his 
 own representations. The first volume of Revelations 
 which he published, is that of the Arcana Cadestia, of 
 which the following is the title-page : "ARCANA CCELESTIA, 
 or Heavenly Mysteries contained in the Sacred Scriptures 
 or Word of the Lord, Manifested and Laid Open ; Begin- 
 ning with the Book of Genesis ; Interspersed with Rela- 
 tions of Wonderful Things, seen in the World of Spirits 
 and the Heaven of Angels" This work extends to twelve 
 volumes. 
 
 Is it not palpable from this very title page itself, that 
 the principal revelation is the one which relates to the In- 
 terpretation of the Scriptures; and that the narratives 
 concerning the Spiritual World are introduced only as 
 subordinate? But, why are these narratives introduced 
 at all ? Even these, a fact which the Essays entirely 
 omit, are themselves introduced with a view to the inter- 
 pretation of Scripture. Thus " Inasmuch," says Swe- 
 denborg,* " as by the Divine Mercy of the Lord, it has 
 been granted me to know the Internal sense of the Word, 
 in which are contained the deepest arcana, such as have 
 never heretofore come to the knowledge of any person, nor 
 can come unless it be known how things are circumstanced 
 in another life, (for the chief part of what is contained in 
 * Arcana Coelestia, art. 67. 
 
AN INTERPRETER SENT. 215 
 
 the Internal sense of the Word hath regard to those things, 
 containing their history and unfolding their essences;) 
 therefore, it is allowed me to lay open what I have heard 
 and seen now for several years, during the communications 
 which have been permitted me with Spirits and Angels." 
 Inasmuch as it has been granted me to know the Internal 
 sense of the Word, therefore I am allowed to communicate 
 information respecting the Spiritual World ! 
 
 But what connection have narratives concerning the 
 Spiritual World with a right interpretation of the Scrip- 
 tures ? The answer to this question is founded in Swe- 
 denborg's elementary idea of the Scriptures as the Word 
 of God. The title Word of God he understands in the 
 strictest sense, as signifying essentially Divine Wisdom ;* 
 and as that Wisdom created all things, so there is but one 
 Divine Wisdom, or one Word of God for all created 
 beings, thus for angels as well as for men ; though vari- 
 ously received by them according to their various states. 
 This is shewn in the following extract :-j- 
 
 " In order that it may be comprehended how the case is 
 in regard to the goods and truths appertaining to man, it 
 may be expedient to reveal what is known scarcely to any 
 one. It is, indeed, known that all good and all truth are 
 from the Lord ; and it is also acknowledged by some that 
 
 * The books which constitute the Word of God in the strictest 
 sense of the terms, are, according to Swedenborg, the five Books of 
 Moses; the Book of Joshua; the Book of Judges; the two Books of 
 Samuel ; the two Books of Kings ; the Psalms of David ; the four 
 major Prophets ; the twelve minor ; the four Gospels ; and the Apo- 
 calypse, 
 t Arcana Ccelestia, art. 4067. 
 
216 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 there is an influx, though of such a nature as to be unknown 
 to man ; yet whereas it is not known, at least is not ac- 
 knowledged in heart, that about man there are Spirits and 
 Angels; and that the internal man is in the midst of them, 
 and is thus ruled of the Lord ; therefore also it is little 
 believed, though it is professed. There are innumerable 
 societies in the other life, which are disposed and arranged 
 of the Lord, according to all the genera of good and truth ; 
 and societies which are in the opposite principle, according 
 to all the genera of what is evil and false ; insomuch that 
 there is not any genus of good and truth, nor any species of 
 that genus, nor even any specific difference, but what has 
 such Angelic societies, or to which Angelic societies do not 
 correspond. And, on the other hand, there is not any genus 
 of what is evil and false, nor any species of that genus, nor 
 even any specific difference, which has not corresponding 
 diabolical societies. Every man is in the society of such as 
 to his interiors, that is, as to his thoughts and affections, 
 although he is ignorant of it : and hence cometh all that 
 man thinketh and willeth, insomuch that if the societies 
 of Spirits and Angels, in which he is, were taken away, in 
 that instant he would cease to have either thought or will : 
 yea, in that instant he would fall down absolutely dead. 
 Such is the state of man ; although he believes that he 
 hath all things from himself, and that there is neither Hell 
 nor Heaven, or else that Hell is far removed from him, as 
 also Heaven." 
 
 "That even in the historical parts of the Word," says 
 Swedenborg, " there is inwardly something celestial and 
 Divine, which is not outwardly apparent, may be confirmed 
 from these considerations. First, that the Word was sent 
 
RESURRECTION OF THE WORD. 217 
 
 down from the Lord through Heaven to man, and conse- 
 quently is different in its origin from what it is in its 
 external derivative form ; the nature of which difference, 
 and why the Word is such as it is in its origin, is not even 
 seen, and consequently not acknowledged, by those who 
 are of a worldly mind. Secondly. . .The Word, as being 
 Divine, is written not only for man but also for the Angels 
 attendant upon man, so as to serve not only for use to the 
 human race but also for Heaven ; and thus the Word is a 
 medium effecting the UNION of Heaven and Earth. This 
 UNION is by means of the Church, and indeed by the Word 
 in the Church ; which Word, therefore, as being of such a 
 nature, is distinguished from all other writings."* 
 
 Since, therefore, Angels as well as men derive all their 
 wisdom essentially from the same Word, there is an inner 
 sense of the Word which is angelic ; and as men are born 
 to become Angels, and are themselves even now Angels of 
 light or Angels of darkness, it is obvious, that, upon this 
 principle, there is established a close connection between 
 Heaven and Earth, between Angels and men, the same ideas 
 being inmostly common to both ; the difference being, 
 that, in the case of man while living upon this earth, 
 his spiritual ideas are circumscribed by outward and lower 
 forms derived from Space and Time. 
 
 Now, many of the most eminent interpreters of the Apo- 
 calypse have expressly maintained, that some Union of this 
 kind will actually be the privilege of the Church in its last 
 and best (Economy. " With respect to the true Church of 
 Christ," says Vitringa,-j- u which in the last time is to be 
 exhibited upon earth in its true and genuine aspect, many 
 
 * Arcana Ccelesiia, art. 2310. f In Jpocalypsim, p. 885. 
 
 L 
 
218 END OF OBJECTIONS. 
 
 things may be spoken in magnificent and glorious terms ; 
 according to the saying of the Holy Prophet, ' Glorious 
 things are spoken of thee, thou city of God.'* The Church 
 of Christ Jesus is actually the kingdom of the heavens ; and 
 between its own state and that of the Church in heaven, 
 there is the greatest affinity and conjunction. For Heaven, 
 which before was closed, is now opened, and most closely 
 conjoined to Earth. Earth is, as it were, commingled 
 with Heaven. Heaven and Earth form one Sanctuary of 
 God, and one dwelling place. There is a ladder between 
 Earth and Heaven, on which Angels ascend and descend, 
 and which unites Earth to Heaven in such a manner, that 
 the Earth is 'the house of God and the gate of Heaven;' 
 and they who are upon Earth seem to be acting as in 
 Heaven itself, sitting with Christ already in the heavens, 
 seated upon his throne, and partakers of his glory. "[ 
 
 In what way, then, is this Union between Heaven and 
 Earth effected ? It is through the medium of the ladder 
 let down from Heaven to Earth. What is this ladder ? 
 " This ladder" says Bede, " signifies sacred doctrine by 
 which we ascend to the knowledge of God and of heavenly 
 things." And where is this doctrine to be found but in 
 the Word? This ladder, therefore, is the Word of God ; 
 Divine Wisdom, in all its gradations from the throne of 
 the Highest to the mind of man? Hence it is, that to as- 
 cend to heaven is a form of expression anciently signify- 
 ing, to be instructed in heavenly wisdom or in the wisdom 
 of Angels. Through the medium of this ladder it is, then, 
 that is to be effected the grand Union between Heaven and 
 
 * Psalm Ixxxvii. 3. 
 
 f So Bossuet, and numerous other Commentators upon this subject. 
 
BEGINNING OF UNION. 219 
 
 Earth. " You," it is observed in a Roman Catholic publi- 
 cation, by one addressing his friend ;* " you, who are so 
 strict an Apostle of Unity and Authority, you have not, 
 doubtless, forgotten what you said at the commencement of 
 our conversations, concerning the extraordinary events 
 taking place at the present moment. Every thing an- 
 nounces, and even your own observations demonstrate, / 
 know not what GRAND UNITY toward which we are striding. 
 You cannot, then, without contradicting yourself, condemn 
 those who hail this UNITY from afar off, as you call it ; and 
 who endeavour, according to their, ability, to penetrate into 
 mysteries formidable no doubt, but yet altogether so con- 
 solatory even to yourself." 
 
 And, what is the solution of these mysteries ? That to 
 the Church upon earth Unity can never be restored, until 
 its union with the Church in heaven be restored ; and that 
 this reunion must be effected through the medium of The 
 Word. Such is the GRAND UNITY toward which, it is 
 said, we are striding ; and such the practical means by 
 which to attain to it.-j- 
 
 * Soirees de St. Petersburg: By the Count de Maistre, vol. ii., 
 p. 20. Conversation the Eleventh. 
 
 f And which is also the true answer to the question put by Cardinal 
 Wiseman to the Abbe de la Mennais, viz., ' By what means the Grand 
 Unity to which he alluded, was to be effected ;' a question to which he 
 was unable to reply : (See above, page 171.) " 'And how,' I asked, ' do 
 you think or see that this great and wonderful change in her condition 
 will be brought about ?' ' I cannot see,' he replied. ' I feel myself like 
 a man placed at one end of a long gallery, at the other extremity of 
 which are brilliant lights, shedding their rays on objects there. I see 
 paintings and sculpture, furniture and persons, clear and distinct ; but 
 of what is between me and them I see nothing: the whole interval is 
 
 L 2 
 
220 END OF OBJECTIONS. 
 
 To limit, therefore, the faculties of the mind merely to 
 the conditions of space and time, or to deny the Internal 
 Sense of the Holy Scriptures ; is to destroy the connection 
 between Heaven and Earth, and, as far as in us lies, to 
 render for ever hopeless the Unity of the Church.* 
 Swedenborg would, therefore, recall the Church to its 
 ancient principles of Inspiration.-}- "7 saw in the right 
 hand of Him which sat upon the throne, a Book written 
 within and on the bacJcsidej sealed with seven seals." What 
 Book? Let the ancient writers of the Church testify.}: 
 Richard of St. Victor, for instance : 
 
 " The Book which is held in the right hand of God, is 
 
 dark ; and I cannot describe what occupies the space. I can read the 
 consequence, but not the working of the problem.' " The lamps, it 
 would seem, in the long gallery, had gone out : Thy Word is a lamp 
 unto my feet, and a light unto my paths.' 
 
 * Referring to a work of Mr. Maurice, a distinguished writer ob- 
 serves " I approve as little as he does of allegorical, or metaphysical, 
 or mythical interpretations of Scripture : I believe that he is generally 
 right in maintaining that the most literal meaning of Scripture is 
 the most spiritual meaning." Mansel's Bampton Lectures; p. 433. 
 " It is the great metaphysician of Kcenisberg (Kant), who is the veri- 
 table father of the mythical system ; it is he who has created the 
 Divinity, which is obtained by the realization of an idea divinely 
 implanted in the human conscience, represented by Jesus Christ." 
 See The Philosophy of Religion, by M. Matter, Honorary Counsellor of 
 the University, etc. Paris. Vol. ii., p. 326. 
 
 f Apocalypse, v. 1. 
 
 % That this Book is the Bible wholly or partly, was maintained also 
 by Estius, Zegerius, Ambrose, Bede, Ribera, Hilary, Origen, Epiphanius, 
 Severianus, Andreas, Victorinus, Tychonius, Jerome, Cassiodorus, 
 Joachim, Haymo, Bruno, etc., etc. As soon, however, as the Reforma- 
 tion began to limit and lower the theory of Inspiration, this interpreta- 
 tion disappeared. See here Dr. Adams on The Sealed Bootes. 
 
BEGINNING OF UNION. 221 
 
 The Holy Scripture ; in which is contained all knowledge 
 conducive to salvation. Of this Book well is it said, that 
 He holds it in his hand ; because God is a God of know- 
 ledge, and to whomsoever He will, He offers it. It is held 
 not in the left, but in the right hand ; becaus^ the spiritual 
 good which is latent within it, is hidden from the evil and 
 manifest to the good. Of this right hand and this Book it is 
 written, * In his right hand was the fiery law? For Scripture 
 is a law of fire ; a law, because it binds our nature by 
 restraining it ; fiery, because it ardently inflames us to a 
 love of the Creator. It is written within and without : 
 within, in regard to its allegorical sense ; without, in regard 
 to its historical sense; within, in regard to its spiritual 
 meaning ; without, in regard to its literal. Within, for the 
 exercise of those who are matured in spiritual things ; 
 without, for the instruction of the simple and those of lesser 
 understanding. Within, that the secret of Divine wisdom 
 may be concealed from the impure ; without, in order that 
 truth may be made known to the pure." 
 
 And so Gregory the Great :* " Those things which he 
 commands externally, are evident ; but what he says con- 
 cerning internal things cannot be fully apprehended. 
 Whence it is written :-j- ' Who stretcheth out the heavens 
 like a curtain, who cover eth his higher places in the waters? 
 For what is designated by the name of heaven, unless it be 
 the Sacred Scripture ? from out of which shine forth the 
 Sun of Wisdom, and the Moon of Knowledge, and the 
 Stars of the examples and virtues of the ancient Fa- 
 thers. The Scripture is stretched out as a curtain, be- 
 cause the Word spoken and written, is unfolded by the 
 * In EzeJcielem : vol. i., p. 1261. f Psalm civ. 2. 
 
222 SEEING GOD 
 
 
 
 expositions of its teachers. What, moreover, is desig- 
 nated by the term waters, unless it be the most holy 
 choirs of the Angels, of which it is written,* " Praise Him 
 ye heaven of heavens, and ye waters which are above the 
 heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord?" The 
 upper regions of this Heaven the Lord conceals in the 
 waters; because the heights of Sacred Scripture, i. e., those 
 which relate to the nature of the Divinity and the joys 
 of eternity, are secretly known to the Angels alone ; we 
 ourselves as yet remaining ignorant. This is the Heaven 
 which is stretched out before us ; and yet its higher truths 
 are overspread with waters ; because some things there 
 are in the Sacred Scripture which are manifest to us by the 
 opening of its spirit ; while some, which can be known to 
 the Angels alone, are kept concealed from us. And yet even 
 of these things which are thus kept concealed, we perceive 
 some portion by spiritual understanding, which we receive 
 as an earnest of the Spirit; for although we know not 
 these things fully as yet, still we love them interiorly ; 
 and in the many spiritual senses which we already know, 
 we feed upon the pasture of Truth." 
 
 If now-J- " the Law was given by the disposition of 
 angels" and the mysteries of Redemption are such thatj 
 even " the angels desire to look into " them ; there is no 
 difficulty in conceiving that the truths of the Word of God 
 concern Angels as well as men. 
 
 But man, it is said, has no faculties to apprehend 
 
 angelic wisdom, u for now we see through a glass darkly" 
 
 See what ? See the glass, or see in the glass ? If in the 
 
 glass, then is the glass only the medium for seeing some- 
 
 * Psalm cxlviii. 4. f Acts vii. 53. 1 Peter i. 12. 
 
FACE TO FACE. 223 
 
 thing else. What then is the glass ? The natural sense 
 of Scripture as distinguished from the spiritual. What 
 are the things seen in the glass ? The spiritual things of 
 the Word as distinguished from the natural. The natural 
 are the things derived from Nature, and visible Nature is 
 conditioned in time and space. But are spiritual things 
 so conditioned ? Assuredly we cannot identify the image 
 in the glass, with the glass itself. We may see now in a 
 glass darkly ; but, as before observed,* we may see clearly. 
 And if so, when we see celestial truths in the glass, i. e., 
 in the natural sense of the Word of God, we are in this 
 respect said to " see God's face." Still, though it is written 
 " they shall see his face,"-\- no man nor angel can see the 
 face of God and live, He being the Sun of heaven and of 
 the whole Spiritual World ; and, therefore, to see his face 
 would be as if any one should enter into the Sun ; by the 
 fire of which he would be consumed in a moment. " By 
 seeing his face" therefore, says Swedenborg,^ "is here 
 meant to see the truths which are in the W T ord from Him, 
 and through them to know and acknowledge Him. For 
 the Divine truths of the Word make the light which 
 proceeds from the Lord as a Sun, in which the angels 
 are ; and they make the light, as being like glasses in 
 which the Lord's face is seen and reflected." . . . " Thus by 
 seeing the face of the Lord, is meant to know and acknow- 
 ledge Him, viz., what He is as to His Divine attributes." 
 Indeed, the expression "seeing the face" is derived 
 from what actually takes place in the operations of the 
 human mind. For as Swedenborg observes ; "Man, in 
 
 * P. 167. t Rev. xxii. 4. 
 
 J Apocalypse Revealed, art. 938, Arcana Ccelestia, 5165. 
 
224 SEEING GOD 
 
 the sensuous things which are of the exterior natural prin- 
 ciple, sees interior things almost as he sees affections in 
 the face, and affections still more inward in the eyes. 
 Without such an interior face, or without such a plane, 
 man, in the body, cannot in any wise think of those things 
 which are above things sensuous ; for he sees them there 
 as when a man sees affections and thoughts in another's 
 face, not attending to the face itself; and also as when he 
 hears another speaking, not attending to the expressions, 
 but to the meaning of the speech ; the speech itself con- 
 sisting of expressions is the plane in which that meaning 
 is. The case is similar with the exterior natural principle ; 
 and unless it served interior things for a plane, in which 
 as in a mirror interior things might see themselves, man 
 would not be able to think at all ; wherefore this plane is 
 formed the first, viz., from infancy. But these things are 
 unknown ; because the things which exist interiorly with 
 man, are not made manifest without interior reflection." 
 
 In this sense, then, we may no longer see through a 
 glass darkly, but face to face. When we see but darkly, 
 we are as children. " When I was a child I spake as a 
 child, I thought as a child, I understood as a child ; but 
 when I became a man, I put away childish things." Are 
 we, then, never in this state of being, to put away puerile 
 or childish thoughts ? Are we never to aspire to become 
 men, without the charge of folly and presumption ? Are 
 we to sit down contented with the existing limits of our 
 faculties, without any attempt to enlarge them ? 
 
 Before we resolve upon this, let us look to what we are 
 told on the other side of the question ; to the privileges and 
 dignities of the spiritual man, considered as the subject of a 
 
FACE TO FACE. 225 
 
 supernatural agency.* " In this high and mysterious point 
 of view, which realizes the expression of St. Peter, and 
 makes a portion of mankind literally ' partakers of the 
 Divine nature,' I suppose it will be scarcely denied that 
 Christianity justifies the loftiest conceptions which philo- 
 sophy can form, as to the essential or acquired greatness 
 of the human mind. But why should I pause upon this ? 
 The fundamental doctrine of Christianity is one which 
 exalts human nature to a degree even more prodigious. 
 The assumption of that nature by the Creator of it, brings 
 us to a point where conception absolutely fails where the 
 light of imagination goes out where language moves with- 
 out ideas where all is lost in one vast and vague emotion 
 of awe at the contemplation of ourselves ! awe at the 
 glimpse this amazing story gives us of the immeasurable 
 importance of our human nature in the systems and coun- 
 cils of the Universe ! This doctrine, and all it brings with 
 it, are exclusively Christian." 
 
 Why, then, need we marvel that Swedenborg speaks of 
 the truths of the Word of God in a similar strain ?-j- 
 
 " The Word," says he, "in the inmost sense, treats solely 
 of the Lord ; describing all the states of the glorification 
 of his Humanity while upon earth, that is, of its union 
 with the essential Divinity ; and likewise all the states of 
 the subjugation of the Hells, and the reduction to order of 
 all things therein, as well as in the Heavens. Thus, in the 
 inmost sense, is described the Lord's whole life upon earth ; 
 and thereby the Lord is continually present with the 
 
 * Lectures on the History of Ancient Philosophy, by W. A. Butler, 
 M.A., late Professor of Morkl Philosophy in the University of Dublin. 
 Vol. i., p. 143. f Treatise concerning the White Horse. 
 
 L 3 
 
226 THE CHILDHOOD OP INTERPRETATION. 
 
 Angels. Therefore the Lord alone is in the inmost part of 
 the Word ; and the Divinity and sanctity of the Word are 
 thence derived." 
 
 Now the question is, Are the Scriptures adapted to 
 human nature or are they not ? If they are, there must 
 be a reciprocal relation between the two. If we take low 
 views of the faculties of the human mind, we shall take 
 low views of the inspiration of the Word of God ; for 
 Revelation is subject to no other limitations than those 
 which encompass all human thought 5* and vice versa, if 
 we take exalted views of the inspiration of the Word of 
 God, we shall take exalted views of the capabilities of 
 human nature. There cannot be a great Bible for a little 
 mind, or a little Bible for a great mind. If we can know 
 but very little, it is useless to give us anything but very 
 little to know ; but a little Bible will never satisfy great 
 wants. Lower therefore the inspiration of the Bible, as 
 we see has been done, and the corresponding limitation of 
 human thought will follow as a matter of course. The 
 most literal meaning of Scripture will be regarded as the 
 most spiritual : the very conditions of our being, as allow- 
 ing us only to see through a glass darkly. We have 
 lived, accordingly, to see the time, when Astronomy itself 
 has passed through the same phase of interpretation with 
 the Bible; when the visible Heavens have been inter- 
 preted into one vast chaos of naturalism and materialism ; 
 all the starry hosts dwindling down to a single solar orb, 
 and a single habitable planet the sole remaining choris- 
 ters to declare the glory of God. We have lived to see 
 the time, when all the truths of the Word have, in like 
 * Hansel's Bampton Lectures, p. 432. 
 
THE CHILDHOOD OF INTERPRETATION. 227 
 
 manner, dwindled down to a few straggling lights, rari 
 nantes in vasto, scattered through the heavens of Scrip- 
 ture, and these seen but through a glass darkly. " The 
 stars of the twilight thereof have become dark." But there 
 can never be a little Cosmos, and a great God ; or a little 
 Bible, and a mighty Redeemer. Are we always to remain 
 children in this life, and never to become men ? If not, a 
 manly mind will never be satisfied with puerilities. 
 
 "Tell me, I pray you,"* says a certain Senator, "in 
 your conscience, do you understand the first chapter of 
 Genesis? Do you understand the Apocalypse, and the 
 Song of Songs ? Does Ecclesiastes cause you no difficulty ? 
 When you read in the Book of Genesis, that, at the mo- 
 ment in which our first parents perceived their nakedness, 
 God made for them coats of skins, do you understand this 
 in the lowest sense of the letter ? Do you believe that 
 Omnipotence would employ himself in killing animals, 
 then in skinning them, then in tanning their skins, and 
 finally in creating thread and needles in order to complete 
 their new tunics ? Do you believe that the guilty rebels 
 of Babel, in order to satisfy their minds, undertook to 
 build a tower whose top should reach even as high 
 as the moonf (you see I am understating the matter) : 
 and when it is said the stars shall fall upon the earth, 
 do you find no difficulty in replacing them ? But as we 
 are raising a question concerning the heaven and the stars, 
 what say you of the manner in which the word heaven 
 is often employed by the sacred writers? When yon 
 
 * Soirees at St. Petersburg. Le Senateur. Convers. 11. 
 t See here Christian Orthodoxy, by Dr. Donaldson ; p. 156 ; where 
 similar observations are applied to Noah's Ark. 
 
228 THE CHILDHOOD OF INTERPRETATION. 
 
 read that ' God created the heaven and earth,' that l the 
 heaven is for Himself but that the earth He has given 
 to the children of men;' that the Saviour 'ascended to 
 heaven' and 'descended to hell,' how do you understand 
 these expressions ? And when you read that the ' Son is 
 set down at the right hand of the Father ;' and that the 
 holy Stephen also, when dying, beheld Him ' at the right 
 hand of God ;' does not your mind feel a certain uneasi- 
 ness ; and I know not what desire that some other words 
 had presented themselves to the sacred writer ? A thou- 
 sand expressions of this kind will prove, that it has pleased 
 God, sometimes to let man speak as he pleased, following 
 the ideas prevailing at such and such an epoch ; sometimes 
 to conceal under forms, apparently simple and occasionally 
 gross, high mysteries which are not designed for the eyes 
 of all. Now in case of these two suppositions, what evil can 
 there be in digging out treasures from the depths of Grace 
 and divine bounty, as people dig into the earth to extract 
 from it gold or diamonds ? More than ever, Sirs, ought we 
 to occupy ourselves with these high speculations 5 for we 
 ought to hold ourselves ready for an immense event in the 
 course of Divine order, toward which we are marching with 
 an accelerated pace which cannot but strike all observers. 
 There is no longer any religion upon the earth : the hu- 
 man race cannot be always living in such a state. Great 
 oracles are announcing, moreover, that the time is now 
 come. Many theologians, even Catholics, have thought 
 that facts of the first order and but little distant, are 
 announced in the Revelation of St. John; and although 
 Protestant writers have vended, in general, only sorry 
 dreams concerning this Book, where they have never 
 
PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 229 
 
 been able to see anything but what they wished to see ; 
 still, after paying this melancholy tribute to the fanaticism 
 of sect, I perceive that certain writers of this class have 
 already adopted the principle, that many prophecies con- 
 tained in the Apocalypse have relation to the present times.' 1 '' 
 
 But it will be said, that if the Bible contain an inner 
 or spiritual sense, it must be at least of a practical nature. 
 
 Here, however, I am met by the objection, that the 
 writings of Swedenborg have " little or no intelligible re- 
 ference to practice." Why have they not ? Because prac- 
 tice, in general, has little or no, intelligible reference to 
 them. For practice is of two kinds ; the one relating to 
 the mind, the other relating to the body ; the one relating 
 to the formation of right principles, the other to the per- 
 formance of right actions. It is a maxim with Sweden- 
 borg, that no man can perform a right action except upon 
 right principles ; and hence, that it is of the utmost im- 
 portance that right principles should first be laid down. 
 His writings therefore may be said to form a book of prin- 
 ciples ; principles which relate to a practice that is not, 
 and which in this sense are undoubtedly not practical ; 
 although they relate to a practice which ought to be, and 
 are in this sense most highly practical. If the practice 
 existing in the present day be right, then certainly, inas- 
 much as the works of Swedenborg do not assist us in this 
 practice, they are not to be considered practical. To a 
 man of the world, -that only is practical which enables him 
 to practise the ways of the world ; and any thing which 
 will not bear upon this practice, is to him not practical ; 
 for, with him, the only criterion of what is practical is 
 that which is generally practised, quod semper, quod 
 
230 PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 
 
 ubique, quod ab omnibus ; and if anything be told him 
 which in itself is right, but which is not generally prac- 
 tised, he immediately receives it as speculative. 
 
 Now it is admitted, that the principles of Swedenborg 
 relate to that which is not practised by the Church, the 
 reason of which we have already seen ; for, the two things 
 to which the internal sense of the Word refers, as inter- 
 preted by Swedenborg, are, the Glorification of the Lord's 
 Humanity, and the Regeneration of the soul, the former 
 being the archetype of the latter. But, the Divine Hu- 
 manity of the Lord, as we have seen, is denied ; hence the 
 Regeneration of the soul, as founded upon that doctrine, 
 is also denied ; and the entire process by which Regenera- 
 tion is effected, is declared to be an inscrutable mystery. 
 
 Whether Swedenborg's principles are true or not, is not 
 here the question ; we only say, that it is very natural to 
 consider a work which treats entirely of what is either 
 denied, or is unknown, as having " little or no intelligible 
 reference to practice;" and this, I think, will be seen to 
 be the true reason for which it is considered to be " non- 
 practical." What is more unintelligible to a great portion 
 of mankind than a spiritual life ? and consequently what 
 appears to them less practical and more unintelligible than 
 the truths which relate to it ; and should any one attempt 
 to describe that of which another could as yet form no 
 idea, would not the description appear to him to be obscure 
 or unintelligible, and its import non-practical ? Yet, spi- 
 ritual life is the sole object of Swedenborg's writings; and 
 surely it has its laws, its distinct stages, as well as natural 
 life ; but who has hitherto ventured clearly to point them 
 out? If spiritual life be the life of the will and under- 
 
PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 231 
 
 standing, if it be thus a voluntary and intellectual life, it 
 must be a life which is willed and understood. It must be 
 understood in order to be willed ; for no one can will to 
 do that of which he knows and understands nothing. Yet, 
 we ask it with all possible deference and submission, what 
 does the Church know concerning the states and stages of 
 Spiritual Life? Is not the subject avowed to be a profound 
 mystery ? How then can we say of an author who at- 
 tempts to unfold this mystery of godliness, nay, who has, 
 as I may presume until it is disproved, unfolded it, how- 
 ever unintelligible it may appear, to some ; that there is 
 nothing practical in his principles, or nothing peculiar in 
 his views of practice ? 
 
 It will be granted that the knowledge of the laws of the 
 human mind is a practical knowledge ; else, why do we 
 read and recommend the writings of various authors upon 
 the subject? Now, what these authors have attempted 
 with regard to the natural mind, Svvedenborg has effected 
 with regard to the spiritual ; and not only with regard to 
 the spiritual, but with regard to the natural also. Is it a 
 useful and practical undertaking to unfold the laws of the 
 natural mind ; and shall an attempt, at least, to unfold the 
 laws of the spiritual mind, have necessarily little or no in- 
 telligible reference to practice ? Is man, in the cultivation 
 of his natural faculties, to be guided by the strictest rules ; 
 and, the moment he enters upon the cultivation of his spi- 
 ritual faculties, to be abandoned to his feelings, or left to 
 adventure ? Have natural things their laws, and spiritual 
 things none ? Is it nothing to unfold the nature of hea- 
 venly affections and thoughts? to mark our progress in 
 the spiritual life, and thus to walk with our eyes open on 
 
232 PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 
 
 the road that leads to the New Jerusalem ? Had the sub- 
 jects of which Swedenborg treats been well understood, 
 there would have been little or no occasion for his works : 
 since they would be only the republication of what was 
 previously known. But may not the very circumstance 
 of these subjects being not understood, or being conceived 
 as having "little or no intelligible reference to practice," 
 tend to shew only how loud was the call for his works 5 
 since truths the most practical, nay, of the most awful im- 
 portance, had come to be considered as wholly unintelli- 
 gible, or having little or no relation to man's life or conduct? 
 
 How, then, in the present case is their practical nature 
 shewn ? 
 
 "We answer : In their relation to the Regenerate life. The 
 great end and object of man's existence is to become more 
 and more an image and likeness of God; and this is 
 effected only by the process of Regeneration. Now it is 
 of this process that, according to Swedenborg, the internal 
 sense of the Word of God treats ; and which, as he ob- 
 serves, consequently contains* " the arcana of Regenera- 
 tion, which in themselves are innumerable and scarcely at 
 all known to man. For the man who is principled in good, 
 is reborn every moment, from earliest infancy to the last 
 period of life in the world ; and afterwards to eternity ; 
 not only as to exteriors, but also as to interiors ; and this 
 by stupendous processes. These processes are what, for the 
 most part, constitute angelic wisdom ; and it is a known 
 thing, that that wisdom is ineffable, and contains such 
 things as the ear hath not heard, nor the eyes seen, neither 
 have entered into the thought of man. The internal sense 
 
 * Arcana Ccelestia, art. 5202. 
 
PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 233 
 
 of the Word treats of such things : thus it is adequate to 
 angelic wisdom ; and when it flows thence into the sense of 
 the letter, it becomes adequate to human wisdom; and 
 thereby, in a hidden manner, affects those who, from a 
 principle of good, are in the desire of knowing truths from 
 the Word." 
 
 There is. accordingly, in this case, no such thing as 
 speculative knowledge, as distinguished from practical. For 
 all Truth is creative ; it is a power ; a vitalizing influx in 
 virtue of which the spirit of man is constantly undergoing 
 renovation and transformation as to his inmost affections, 
 his consequent thoughts, and his outward actions ; so that 
 the distinctions introduced by the natural man between 
 speculative and regulative, or theoretical and practical, 
 entirely disappear. The profoundest truths concerning 
 God and man are all regulative, all practical ; as having all 
 of them relation to life from God, which life is the light 
 of men. It is the erroneous way of viewing them which 
 makes them merely speculative or theoretical, and as 
 such incomprehensible. For that which changes the 
 quality of the inmost affections is practical ; that which 
 changes the quality of the thoughts is practical, as truly 
 as that which changes the quality of actions; for the 
 very quality of actions depends upon that of the affections 
 and thoughts. And in proportion as it can be affirmed, 
 that man may become positively an image and likeness of 
 God ; so in proportion it may be affirmed, that he may have 
 a positive knowledge of God, just as truly as that he may 
 have a positive love of God ; in which respect a man's 
 knowledge of God is not negative but positive. But that 
 a man may be an image and likeness of God, there must 
 
234 PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 
 
 be an order in man corresponding to the order in God. 
 The Divine order is that, first, of Love, secondly, of Wisdom, 
 thirdly, of Power : the Father being love, the Son wisdom, 
 the Spirit power : accordingly, when from love a man per- 
 ceives truth, and acts it out in the external life, there is an 
 order in him corresponding to the Divine. His affections 
 in the will are the source of his perceptions of truth in 
 the understanding; and although no created being can 
 ever, in the highest sense of the terms, see God as He is, 
 yet, when we have attained to the Divine order, we can 
 see the Divine image and likeness of that which He 
 is in the Divine Humanity ; thus in a secondary sense, 
 we can know God as He is, because we can see Him 
 as He is ; and the same truth which guides the practice, 
 satisfies the intellect ; our perceptions of truth being more 
 or less real, according to the purity of our affections. This 
 state of life is that which Swedenborg attributes to the 
 celestial man, or to the Angels of the first or highest 
 Heavens, in whom there is a direct correspondence be- 
 tween the creature and the Creator ; and to attain to this 
 correspondence, is the great end and object of Regeneration. 
 As, however, the Divine Order in God is that of Love, 
 Wisdom, and Power ; so, even in the best of men, there is 
 almost universally a disturbance of this order; such as 
 that of Wisdom, Love, and Power; or rather of Truth, 
 Goodness, and Power ; for as man is in correspondence with 
 God, when goodness leads to truth, or love to wisdom ; so 
 the order is broken when conversely truth leads to good- 
 ness or to love ; or when a man perceives goodness from 
 truth ; and as the order is in this case disturbed, so the direct 
 correspondence between God and man is destroyed. This is 
 
PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 235 
 
 the case with all Christians when in that state in which it is 
 the knowledge of truth which leads to the life of good ; men 
 of which class become Angels only of the second Heaven. 
 These are they who arrive at the truth by conclusions of 
 reason with respect to it, and not by the direct intuitions or 
 perceptions derived from the affections of love. Consequently, 
 the mode of consciousness in the two minds is entirely dif- 
 ferent ; having nothing in common between them. In this 
 case the regenerate life is imperfect, and man is not yet 
 fully restored to a correspondence with Divine Order ; he 
 is not yet in the image and likeness of God, and therefore 
 cannot see God as He is, or face to face. Therefore none 
 of man's ideas of God, in this case, represent Him as He 
 is ; there being an inversion of the true order of thought 
 arising out of the very quality of the thought itself. 
 
 There is yet a third order of minds, in which is the ex- 
 ternal life of good derived from that truth which ascends 
 no higher than the appearances proper to the natural mind ; 
 in which case, the order is that of external action, then 
 truth, and from truth the perception of good. In this case, 
 "heavenly affections take their source and their form from 
 earthly ones ;" whereas, when the work of Regeneration is 
 perfected, the earthly affections take their source and their 
 form from the heavenly. 
 
 Now, it is because the Word of God, more especially in 
 its internal sense, relates to the Regenerate life, that it is 
 represented as the Book, from out of which, written within 
 and without, the Last Judgment is performed. Accord- 
 ingly, Swedenborg represents the Opening of the Seals as 
 the manifestation of the spiritual states of the Church, 
 whether good or evil ; which are brought into outward ac- 
 
236 REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 tivity by the influx of Truth as represented by the sound- 
 ing of the Trumpets, and the influx of good as represented 
 by the outpouring of the Vials. 
 
 The doctrine of Regeneration, then, being founded on 
 that of the glorification of the Lord's Humanity, Swe- 
 denborg further observes ; 
 
 " 2796.* The various states which were assumed by the 
 Humanity of the Lord when upon earth, must needs be 
 unknown to man; inasmuch as he never reflects on changes 
 of states, notwithstanding such changes take place con- 
 tinually, both as to things intellectual or the thoughts, and 
 as to things of the will-principle or the affections. The 
 reason why he does not reflect on these changes, is, be- 
 cause he believes that all and each of the things apper- 
 taining to him, follow by natural order, and that there is 
 no superior principle which directs them ; when, never- 
 theless, the case is this, that all and each of the things 
 appertaining to man are disposed by Spirits and Angels ; 
 that hence come all states and changes of states, and thus 
 that they are directed by the Lord toward ends, to eternity ; 
 which ends the Lord alone foresees. That this is the case, 
 hath been made known to me most clearly by the experi- 
 ence now of several years. It hath been given, also, to 
 know and observe what Spirits and Angels were attendant 
 upon me, and what states they occasioned ; and this I can 
 positively declare, that all states, even to the smallest 
 particulars thereof, are from this source, and that they are 
 thus directed by the Lord. It hath been also given to 
 know and observe, that, in each particular state, there are 
 several others which do not appear, and which, when they 
 * Arcana Ccelestia. 
 
REGENERATE LIFE. 237 
 
 are together, appear as one common state ; and that those 
 states are directed and disposed to states which follow, in 
 an orderly series. These things with man are of the 
 Lord's operation ; but with the Lord Himself, during His 
 abode in the world, they were effected by and from Him- 
 self; because He was Divine, and the very esse of His 
 Life was Jehovah. To know the changes of state as to 
 things of the understanding and of the will in man, and 
 in what order they follow each other, and through what 
 series they pass, and thus, how, as far as is possible, they are 
 bended by the Lord to good ; is angelical. The wisdom of 
 the Angels is such, that they perceive these things most 
 minutely ; and hence it is, that the things here revealed 
 in the internal sense concerning the changes of state with 
 the Lord, are clearly and distinctly perceived by the 
 angels, inasmuch as they are in the light of heaven from 
 the Lord ; and they are also, in some small degree, intelli- 
 gible to the man who lives in simple good. But they are 
 obscure and as nothing, to those who are principled in evil, 
 and also to those who are in the deliriums of their own 
 wisdom ; for these have obscured and extinguished their 
 natural and rational light by various things which have 
 induced darkness ; howsoever they may believe themselves 
 to be in a superior light to others." 
 
 " Moreover,* the good appertaining to man appears to him 
 as somewhat simple or as one ; nevertheless it is so mani- 
 fold, and consists of such various principles, that it can in 
 no wise be explored even as to general principles only. The 
 case is the same with evil appertaining to man. But such 
 as is the good appertaining to man, such is the society of 
 * Arcana Ccelestia, art. 4067. 
 
238 REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 Angels with which he is associated ; and such as is the 
 evil appertaining to man, such is the society of Evil Spirits 
 with which he is associated. Man invites to himself such 
 societies, or places himself in the society of such, inas- 
 much as like associates with like. He, for example, who is 
 covetous, invites to himself the societies of such as are 
 principled in a like lust ; he who loves himself in prefer- 
 ence to others, and despiseth others, invites to himself like 
 Spirits ; he who takes delight in revenge, invites such as 
 are principled in a similar delight ; and so in other cases. 
 Such Spirits communicate with Hell, and man is in the 
 midst of them, and is ruled altogether by them, insomuch 
 that he is no longer under his own power and guidance, 
 but under theirs ; although he supposes, from the delight 
 and consequent liberty which he enjoys, that be ruleth 
 himself. But he who is not covetous, or who doth not 
 love himself in preference to others, and doth not despise 
 others, and doth not take delight in revenge, is in the 
 society of like Angels, and by them is led of the Lord; 
 and indeed, by freedom, to every good and truth to which 
 he suffers himself to be led ; and as he suffers himself to 
 be led to an interior and more perfect good, so he is led to 
 interior and more perfect Angelic societies. The changes 
 of his state are nothing else but changes of societies. That 
 this is the case, is evidenced to me by continual experience, 
 which hath now been enjoyed several years ; whereby the 
 circumstance is become as familiar to me, as anything to 
 which man hath been accustomed from his infancy." 
 
 Such, then, is the communion with Angels, in which 
 every true Christian lives, although he may not be gifted 
 with any open vision of the societies with which he is sur- 
 
REGENERATE LIFE. 239 
 
 rounded, Such is that inward consociation with Angels, 
 which the Church of Christ enjoys even upon earth, as we 
 have already stated, and is announced by the Apostle 
 14 Ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the 
 living God, the heavenly Jerusalem ; and unto an innumer- 
 able company of angels, to the general assembly and Church 
 of the first-lorn, which are written in heaven ; and to God 
 the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made per- 
 fect ;" Heb. xii. 22. On this subject, Swedenborg observes ; 
 
 * " 2886. The case with man, as to his affections and as 
 to his thoughts, is this. No person whatsoever, whether 
 Man, Spirit, or Angel, can will and think from himself, but 
 from others ; nor can these others will and think from 
 themselves, but all again from others, and so forth ; and 
 thus each from the first source of principle of Life, which 
 is the Lord. That which is unconnected doth not exist. 
 Evil and false principles have connection with the Hells ; 
 whence comes the power of willing and thinking, with such 
 as are in those principles ; and also their love, affections, 
 and delight, consequently their freedom. But goodnesses 
 and truths have connection with Heaven ; whence comes 
 the power of willing and thinking with such as are prin- 
 cipled therein ; and also their love, affection, and delight, 
 consequently their freedom. Hence it may appear, what 
 is the source of the one freedom, and of the other. That 
 this is the real case, is perfectly well known in another life ; 
 but, at this day, it is altogether unknown in the world." 
 
 f " 5398. They who are of the Church at this day, are 
 so little acquainted with anything respecting Regeneration, 
 that it can- scarcely be called any acquaintance at all. 
 * Arcana Coelestia. f Ibid. 
 
240 REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 They do not even know this, that Regeneration continues 
 through the whole course of the life of him who is re- 
 generated, and that it is continued in the other life ; also, 
 that the arcana of Regeneration are so inumerable. that 
 scarcely the ten thousandth part of them can be known to 
 the Angels ; and that those which the Angels know, are the 
 things which constitute their intelligence and wisdom. 
 The reason why they who are of the Church at this day 
 know so little concerning Regeneration, is, because when 
 speaking so much concerning the remission of sins and 
 concerning Justification; they believe, that sins are re- 
 mitted in an instant ; and some, that they are wiped 
 away as filth from the body by water ; and that man is 
 justified by Faith alone, or by a momentaneous confidence. 
 The reason why the men of the Church believe thus, is, 
 because they do not know what sin or evil is ; for had they 
 known this, they would know, that sins cannot be wiped 
 away from any one ; but that they are separated or cast 
 aside to prevent their rising up, when man is kept in good 
 by the Lord, Also, that this cannot be effected unless 
 evil be continually cast out, and this by means which are 
 in number indefinite, and fqr the most part ineffable. 
 They in the other life who have carried with them the 
 foregoing opinion, that man is Justified in an instant by 
 Faith, and is washed altogether clean from sin 5 when they 
 apperceive that Regeneration is effected by means indefi- 
 nite in number and ineffable, are amazed, and laugh at 
 their ignorance, which they also call insanity, concerning 
 the instantaneous remission of sins, and concerning Justi- 
 fication, as they held them in the world. They are occa- 
 sionally informed, that the Lord remitteth sins to every 
 
REGENERATE LIFE. 241 
 
 one who from his heart desires it ; nevertheless, they to 
 whom sins are so remitted are not, on that account, sepa- 
 rated from the diabolical crew, to which they are close tied 
 by evils ; which evils follow the life which all carry along 
 with them. They learn afterwards from experience, that 
 to be separated from the Hells is to be separated from 
 sins ; and that this cannot in any wise be effected, except 
 by a thousand and a thousand means known to the Lord 
 alone, and this by continual succession, if you are willing 
 to believe it, to eternity ; for man is so great evil, that he 
 cannot be fully delivered even from one sin to eternity, 
 but can only, by the mercy of the Lord, if he hath re- 
 ceived it, be withheld from sin and kept in good." 
 
 " 10,225. Man, when he attains to the age of twenty 
 years, begins to think from himself; for man from first 
 infancy to extreme old age passes through several states 
 as to his interiors, and which are states of intelligence and 
 wisdom. The First state is from nativity to the fifth year 
 of his age ; -this is a state of ignorance, and of innocence 
 in ignorance, and is called infancy. The Second state is 
 from the fifth year of age even to the twentieth ; this is 
 a state of instruction and of science, and is called boyhood. 
 The Third state is from the twentieth year of age to the 
 sixtieth ; this is a state of intelligence, and is called ado- 
 lescence, youth, manhood. The Fourth or last state is from 
 the sixtieth year of age and upwards ; this is a state of 
 wisdom, and of innocence in wisdom, etc. That the First 
 state is a state of ignorance, and also of innocence in ig- 
 norance, is evident. During its continuance, the interiors 
 are forming to use, consequently are not manifested, but 
 only the most external which are of the sensual man. 
 
 M 
 
242 REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 When these alone are manifested, there is ignorance ; for 
 whatsoever man understands and perceives, is from the 
 interiors. Hence also it may be manifest, that the inno- 
 cence which exists at that time, and is called the innocence 
 of infancy, is innocence the most external. That the 
 Second state is a state of instruction and of science, is also 
 evident : this state is not yet a state of intelligence, be- 
 cause the child at that time doth not form any conclusions 
 from himself, neither doth he discern between truths and 
 truths, nor even between truths and falses, from himself, 
 but from others : he thinks and speaks things only of the 
 memory, thus from science alone ; nor doth he see and 
 perceive whether a thing be so, except on the authority of 
 his master, consequently, because another hath so said. 
 But the Third state is called a state of intelligence, since 
 at this time man thinks from himself, and discerns, and 
 concludes; and what he then concludes, is his own and 
 not another's : at this time faith commences ; for faith is 
 not the faith of the man himself, until from the ideas of 
 his own proper thought he hath confirmed what he be- 
 lieves : previous to this time, faith is not his, but another's 
 in himself; for he believed the person, not the thing. 
 Hence it may be manifest, that a state of intelligence then 
 commences with man, when he no longer thinks from a 
 master, but from himself; which effect hath not place until 
 the interiors are open towards Heaven. It is to be noted, 
 that the exteriors appertaining to man are in the world, 
 and the interiors in heaven ; and that in proportion to the 
 quantity of light which flows in from heaven into those 
 things which are from the world, in the same proportion 
 man is intelligent and wise : this is effected in the degree, 
 
REGENERATE LIFE. 243 
 
 and according to the quality, in which the interiors are 
 opened; and they are so far opened as man lives for hea- 
 ven, and not for the world. But the Last state is a state 
 of wisdom and of innocence in wisdom; which is, when 
 man has no longer any concern about understanding truths 
 and goods, but about willing them and living them, for 
 this it is to be wise; and man is enabled to will truths and 
 goods, and to live them, so far as he is in innocence, that 
 is, so far as he believes that he hath nothing of wisdom 
 from himself, but that whatever relish he hath of wisdom 
 is from the Lord; also, so far as he loves it to be so; 
 hence it is, that this state also is a state of innocence in 
 wisdom. From the succession of these states, the man 
 who is wise may also see the wonderful things of Divine 
 Providence, which are these ; that a prior state is the 
 plane of those which continually follow; and that the 
 opening or unfolding of the interiors proceeds from outer- 
 most things even to inmost things successively; and at 
 length in such a sort, that what was first but in things 
 outermost, this also is last but in things inmost, viz., 
 ignorance and innocence ; for he who knows that of him- 
 self he is ignorant of all things, and that whatsoever he 
 knows is from the Lord, he is in the ignorance pertain- 
 ing to wisdom, and also in the innocence pertaining to wis- 
 dom." 
 
 "4136. Man knoweth not how goods are varied with 
 him, still less how the state of every good is changed ; 
 not even how the good of infancy is varied and changed 
 into the good of childhood, and this into the succeeding 
 good which is that of youth ; afterwards into the good of 
 adult age; and lastly into the good of old age. With those 
 
 M 2 
 
244 REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 who are not regenerated, they are not goods which are 
 changed, but affections and their delights ; whereas with 
 those who are regenerated, there are changes of the state 
 of goods, and this from infancy even to the last period 
 of their life ; for it is foreseen of the Lord what kind of 
 life man is about to lead, and how he will suffer himself to 
 be led of the Lord ; and inasmuch as all and each of these 
 particulars, yea the most minute, are foreseen, they are 
 also provided for. But how the case is on such occasion 
 with changes of the state of good, man knoweth nothing ; 
 and this, principally, by reason that he hath no cognizance 
 of the fact, nor at this day desires to have. And whereas 
 the Lord doth not flow in immediately with man and 
 teach, but flows in into his thoughts, thus, mediately; 
 therefore he cannot in any wise know the changes of the 
 state of those goods. And inasmuch as man is such, viz., 
 without knowledges of this subject, and moreover there 
 are few at this day who suffer themselves to be regenerated; 
 therefore, if these things were explained more fully, they 
 could not be comprehended." 
 
 4096. With regard to the reciprocal application of the 
 affections of truth to good . . . "these things are such that 
 they do not fall into any but an instructed understanding, 
 and one which perceives a delight in the science of such 
 things, consequently, which hath for an end spiritual 
 knowledges. Others have no concern about such things, 
 and are not able to stretch the mind to the consideration of 
 them ; for they who have worldly and terrestrial things for 
 an end, cannot withdraw the senses thence ; and if they 
 did withdraw them, they would perceive what is unde- 
 lightful ; for in such case, they would depart and remove 
 
REGENERATE LIFE. 245 
 
 themselves from those things which they have for an end, 
 that is, which they love. Let every one, who is of such 
 a quality, make the experiment with himself, whether he 
 be willing to know how good adjoineth itself to the affec- 
 tions of truth, and how the affections of truth apply them- 
 selves ; whether or not it is not irksome to him to know 
 this ; and whether he will not say, that such considera- 
 tions are of no profit to him, and also that he apprehends 
 nothing about them. But if such things are told him as 
 relate to his business in the world, howsoever deep and 
 hidden they may be ; and what is the quality of such and 
 such a person as to his affections ; also how by those affec- 
 tions he may adjoin him to himself, by applying himself 
 to his intentions and expressions ; this he not only appre- 
 hends, but has also a perception of the interior things 
 thereof. In like manner, he who studies from affection to 
 investigate the abstruse principles of the sciences, loves to 
 look into, and also does look into, subjects of a more 
 intricate nature than what are here treated of; but when 
 spiritual good and truth are treated of, he feels it irksome, 
 and also holds it in aversion. These observations are 
 made, in order to shew what is the quality of the men of 
 the Church at this day." 
 
 Here, my Lord, are brought to a close our present extracts 
 from the Arcana Ccelestia, and with these, our observations 
 on the Internal Sense of the Word of God, as unfolded by 
 Swedenborg. That these observations will be satisfactory, 
 nay, that they will occasion any serious reflection in the 
 minds of some of my readers, is more than there is reason 
 to anticipate. We know too well the force of prejudice ; 
 the determination of too many opponents, that Swedenborg 
 
246 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 shall be wrong at any rate. Do we teach the plainer pre- 
 cepts of the Gospel? What folly to inculcate, as part of a 
 new Revelation, what every one knew before ! Do we un- 
 fold the more inward and spiritual truths of the Gospel ? 
 We are teaching what is unintelligible and speculative ; 
 whereas, the Word of God is plain and practical! Do 
 we shew the reasonableness of our views of Christian 
 doctrine? It is presumption to introduce reason into 
 Divine mysteries, or to attempt to explain them without 
 an express Revelation ! Do we plead the fact of a Revela- 
 tion ? The very supposition of such a thing implies the 
 greatest folly and fanaticism ! Do we inculcate doctrines 
 which are old? How absurd to teach them as part of 
 what presumes to be new ! Do we teach what is new ? 
 for that very reason it must be false ! Do we, like the 
 householder, bring out of our treasure things old and 
 new ? We are on this account doubly deluded ; for what 
 is new cannot be true, and what is old cannot be new. 
 Verily, may we say, " Whereunto shall we liken the men 
 of this generation, and to what are they like ? They are 
 like children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to 
 another, and sayiny, We have piped unto you and ye have 
 not danced : we have mourned to you and ye have not wept. 
 But wisdom is justified of all her children!" (Luke vi. 31.) 
 I now proceed to another part of this Letter to the 
 subject of the SPIRITUAL WORLD, or the Doctrine of a 
 Future Life, as unfolded by Swedenborg ; and as it is with 
 his alleged Revelations upon this subject that the argu- 
 ment in the Essays is more particularly concerned, the 
 teaching of Swedenborg will, in the sequel, be brought into 
 more direct contact with that of the Catholic Church. 
 
INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE. 247 
 
 It is a remark of Paley* that " Concerning the par- 
 ticular nature of the change we are to undergo, and in 
 what is to consist the employment and happiness of those 
 blessed Spirits which are received into Heaven ; our infor- 
 mation, even under the Gospel, is very limited. We own 
 it is so. Even St. Paul, who had extraordinary communi- 
 cations, confessed, that in these things ' we see through a 
 glass darkly.' " This is the position maintained in the 
 Essays; and not only so, but in the way of opposition 
 to any further disclosures of the Divine Will relating 
 to this subject ; on which ground it is, that the alleged 
 Revelations of Swedenborg are set aside, as contravening 
 that condition of seeing darkly under which the Church 
 upon earth is supposed ever to remain. But would Paley 
 himself have adopted such an argument ? Let us hear. 
 Paley was speaking of what was to take place in this 
 world, when he said:-j- "The Christian Dispensation, 
 nay the world itself, may be in its infancy. A more 
 perfect display of the power of Christ, and of his re- 
 ligion, may be in reserve; and the ages which it may 
 endure, after the obstacles and impediments to its reception 
 are removed, may be beyond comparison longer than those 
 which we have seen ; in which it has been struggling with 
 great difficulties, most especially with ignorance and pre- 
 judice." 
 
 How wide the difference, then, between the language of 
 the Essays and the language of Paley? The Essays 
 
 * Sermon 34 ; Col. i. 28. 
 
 f Sermon 22 ; Heb. xiii. 8. Something like this seems to be ad- 
 mitted in the Essays on the Peculiarities, Note, p. 153. Only the 
 scene is transferred to the other World. 
 
248 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 assume, indeed, that we are as children ; nay, more than this, 
 that we are ever to remain as children while sojourning 
 upon earth. Faley intimates the contrary ; the Christian 
 Dispensation, says he, is in its infancy ; but for this very 
 reason he regards it not as stationary but as progressive. 
 It is because we know so little at present, that he thinks 
 the time will come in this world when we shall know 
 more. If this be the case, the Church was not originally, 
 as is too commonly supposed, put into possession all at 
 once of all the knowledge which was ever to be communi- 
 cated to it throughout all ages ; nor was that knowledge 
 designed to be the standard and limit of all that ever 
 could be made known to mankind; although, whenever 
 additional light might come, those who loved darkness 
 rather than light might naturally prefer so to argue, and to 
 go on seeing darkly. 
 
 Suppose then a person whose thoughts were confined 
 within the limits of such a theology, out of which he 
 would esteem it presumptuous to venture, should happen to 
 meet with Swedenborg's treatise on Heaven and Hell, and 
 rend the title page as follows ; " Concerning Heaven and 
 its Wonders, and Concerning Hell: Being a Relation of 
 Things Seen and Heard." l Things Seen and Heard!' he 
 exclaims : ' I thought we walked by faith and not by sight.'* 
 True, we reply : but what is it to walk by faith and not by 
 sight? " We who walk by faith," says an eminent writer,^- 
 " contemplate with our inner eye those objects which we 
 cannot look at with our outward eye ; for we know that 
 
 * Mesmerism and its Opponents, by George Sandby, Vicar of Flix- 
 ton, p. 88. 
 
 t Dr. Wordsworth, on 2 Cor. iv. 18. 
 
FAITH AND SIGHT. 249 
 
 those things which we can look at with our outward eye 
 are temporal, but those which we cannot so discern are 
 eternal." 
 
 Accordingly, another writer observes upon this subject : 
 * " The wisdom of this world being conversant with 
 worldly objects only, is derived through the medium of the 
 senses ; and all the information which man can acquire by 
 the mere exercise of his natural powers, is confined to the 
 transitory concerns of this present life. The wisdom of 
 the Christian is of a higher cast. It is conversant with 
 the World of Spirits ; and by it man aspires to a knowledge 
 of God and a future state, of the human soul, of good and 
 evil, of every thing which relates to his spiritual and 
 eternal interests. ... As far as God sees fit to impart know- 
 ledge to him, he becomes acquainted with the Spiritual and 
 Invisible World ; he ascertains his rank in the scale of 
 creation ; he learns his duty and his destination ; and is 
 able to form a just comparative estimate concerning things 
 temporal and eternal." 
 
 The Spiritual World, therefore, although invisible to the 
 outer eye, is visible nevertheless to the inner eye ; for 
 eyes in the Scripture signify understanding and intelligence; 
 and therefore the things relating to the Spiritual World are 
 seen intellectively by spiritual sight, namely, that of un- 
 derstanding and intelligence. Swedenborg indeed pro- 
 fesses to have seen them objectively also. But we are no 
 called upon to see them in this manner. It is enough for 
 us to see them intellectively, or by spiritual understanding 
 and intelligence. It is to this spiritual understanding that 
 
 * Boyle Lectures, by Dr. Van Mildert, Bishop of Durham, vol. 
 ii., p. 119. 
 
 M3 
 
250 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 Swedenborg appeals, not to a man's credulity ; although 
 he who has no spiritual understanding, will naturally re- 
 gard the appeal as made only to his credulity. 
 
 These two kinds of evidence, objective and intellective, it 
 is important to distinguish ; more especially as there have 
 been those who have doubted whether the things alleged to 
 be heard and seen by Swedenborg, were perceived by him 
 objectively ; and who, nevertheless, believe that his Trea- 
 tise on Heaven and Hell is by far the most rational and 
 satisfactory account which has ever yet been given to the 
 world. Now, this is all the evidence at which we shall aim 
 in our ensuing remarks. And if any one in the present 
 day be ready to say with the heathen disciple of Socrates ;* 
 "I am of the same opinion with you, Socrates, concern- 
 ing these things ; that to discover the certain truth of them 
 in this present life, is either absolutely impossible for us, 
 or at least exceedingly difficult;" yet, let not the professed 
 Christian shew himself less teachable than this heathen, 
 who, notwithstanding, could say ; " Yet not to enquire 
 with our utmost diligence into what can be said about them, 
 or to give over our enquiry before we have carried our search 
 as far as possible, is the sign of a mean and low spirit. 
 On the contrary, we ought therefore by all means to do 
 one of these two things ; either by hearkening to instruc- 
 tion and by our own diligent study, to find out the truth ; 
 or, if that be impossible, then to fix our foot upon that, 
 which, to human reason, after the utmost search, appears 
 best and most probable ; and trusting to that, venture upon 
 that basis to direct the course of our lives accordingly. 
 
 * See the Works of Dr. Samuel Clarke, vol. ii., p. 668. Evidences 
 of Natural and Revealed Religion. 
 
NEED OP A REVELATION. 251 
 
 Unless a man could have still some more sure and certain 
 conduct to carry him through this life, such as a Divine 
 discovery of the truth would be." 
 
 With these remarks, then, we proceed to observe, that 
 all the general arguments which have been urged against 
 the credibility of Swedenborg's alleged Revelations con- 
 cerning the Spiritual World, arrange themselves under the 
 following heads ; Those which relate 
 First ; to the Need of a Revelation : 
 Secondly ; to the Possibility of a Revelation : 
 Thirdly; to the Evidence of a Revelation : 
 Fourthly; to the Presumptuous character of any sup- 
 posed Revelation whatever ; and 
 
 Fifthly, to the Non-practical nature of the Revelation 
 itself. 
 
 And, First, it is to be observed, that in all these cases 
 the arguments against the credibility of Swedenborg's al- 
 leged Revelations, are mere reproductions of old arguments 
 used by Deists against the credibility of Christianity it- 
 self; so that in judging of them, we propose to adopt the 
 same rules which Divines have laid down in their answers 
 to Deists, to submit to the same decisions, and to give the 
 same answer in the same words which the former give to 
 unbelievers. 
 
 We observe, then, that one of the first points on which 
 Swedenborg insists, is, the absolute NEED of a Revela- 
 tion; and one of the first points on which the Divine 
 insists in answer to Deists, is also the absolute need of a 
 Revelation. The case therefore is this ; the unbeliever 
 in Christianity denies the need of a Revelation : the Chris- 
 tian asserts it. The unbeliever in Swedenborg's alleged 
 
252 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 revelations denies the need of a Revelation : Swedenborg 
 asserts it. 
 
 The argument, as urged by Deists against the need of a 
 Revelation, is thus presented in brief by Dr. Leland.* It 
 was affirmed, says he, that from the first, through the 
 medium of Natural Religion, God had communicated a 
 full and final Revelation of His will ; that mankind already 
 knew enough to instruct them in the practice of their duty ; 
 that the Law or Religion of Nature was, from the first, 
 absolutely perfect and immutable, so that nothing could be 
 ever added to it by any subsequent Revelation ; that it 
 comprehended from the beginning all that men were obliged 
 to know, believe, profess, and practise ; that it is so clear 
 in this respect that nothing could make it clearer; that 
 because God is unchangeable and absolutely perfect, to 
 suppose any subsequent addition to it, or alteration in it, 
 is to suppose a change in God. 
 
 If now, instead of the Laws of Natural Religion, we 
 substitute the present Dispensation of Christianity, we have 
 the very same argument which has been urged against 
 the teaching of Swedenborg; as, for instance, that we 
 have already sufficient light for all practical purposes, or 
 the utmost that we can or need attain ;-j- that God has 
 made a final and full Revelation ; that, as such, the pre- 
 sent Dispensation is unchangeable, the Church unchange- 
 able, the teaching of the Church unchangeable ; and as 
 this teaching is said to be derived from Christ, so for Him 
 to change it in any way, would be to suppose a change in 
 Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 
 
 * View of the Dcistical Writers, vol. i., p. 129 ; Letter ix., on Dr. 
 Tindal; fifth edition. f See ab ve, pages 107, 162, 167. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 253 
 
 Now granting all this to be the case, what is the answer 
 made by the Christian to the Deist ? For, in the case of 
 Swedenborg, it may be adopted word for word. 
 
 "The argument will not answer the purpose, except 
 they can prove that man is unchangeable too ; and that the 
 state of mankind must necessarily in all ages and seasons 
 continue precisely the same that it was at the beginning 
 of the world. For, if there should be a change in the 
 state and circumstances of mankind, i. e., from pure reli- 
 gion to superstition, or from a righteous and innocent to a 
 guilty and corrupt state, God may see fit for excellent 
 ends to lay new injunctions upon men, or make some 
 farther discoveries of His will suited to that alteration of 
 circumstances."* 
 
 Here we might be content to rest the argument ; but it 
 may be well to proceed to facts. Has there been any such 
 change in the state and circumstances of mankind, as to 
 require any further revelation with respect to the Immor- 
 tality of the Soul, and the doctrine of a Future Life ? For, 
 "What made it," says Dr. Leland, " more necessary to 
 insist explicitly and fully upon the doctrine of a Future 
 State in the Gospel, was, that through the corruption of 
 mankind the ancient belief of the Immortality of the Soul 
 and a Future State was very much obscured and defaced. 
 As to the heathens, there were many among those who 
 made great pretensions to learning and philosophy, that 
 absolutely rejected it ; and most of those who did not posi- 
 tively reject it, treated it as a thing doubtful and uncertain. 
 And it had been so much blended with fables, that at last 
 
 * Leland's View of the Deistical Writers; Letter ix., Ibid. 
 
254 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 it seemed to have little hold even on vulgar opinion. To 
 which it may be added, that there was at that time a party, 
 even amongst the Jews themselves, considerable for their 
 power and quality, though not for their numbers, who 
 denied it. On all these accounts it became the Divine 
 Wisdom to interpose by a more express Revelation, con- 
 taining clearer discoveries and fuller proofs of it than had 
 been ever given to mankind before."* 
 
 Were these circumstances sufficient to establish the need 
 of a new Revelation ? If so, let us hear the correspond- 
 ing statement of Swedenborg. 
 
 "769. In regard to the state of Souls after Death, both 
 universally and particularly, it is the common belief at 
 this day, that human Souls after Death are mere aerial 
 beings, of which it is impossible to form any idea but as 
 of a vapour or exhalation ; and that such being their state 
 and nature, they are reserved to the day of the Last Judg- 
 ment, either in the middle of the earth, where their Pu is 
 placed, or in the limbus of the ancient Fathers. On these 
 points, however, there are various opinions : some suppose 
 them to be ethereal or aerial forms, and thus that they are 
 like ghosts and spectres, certain of them dwelling in the air, 
 others in woods, and others in waters : some again suppose 
 that the Souls of the deceased are translated to the planets 
 or to the stars, and there have their abodes allotted them : 
 and some again, that after thousands of years they will re- 
 turn back into material bodies. But the general supposition 
 is, that they are reserved till the time when the whole fir- 
 mament, together with the terraqueous globe, will be de- 
 
 * View of the Deistical Writers, vol. ii., p. 170. Letter xxx., on 
 Lord Bolinbroke. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 255 
 
 stroyed ; and that this is to be effected by fire either burst- 
 ing from the centre of the earth, or cast down from Heaven 
 in a universal blaze of lightning ; that then the graves 
 will be opened, and the Souls that were reserved will be 
 clothed again with their bodies, and be translated into the 
 holy city Jerusalem, there to dwell together on another 
 earth in purified bodies, some in a lower region, some in 
 a higher ; ' for the height of the city will be twelve thou- 
 sand furlongs, the same as its length and its breadth,' Rev. 
 xxi. 16. 
 
 " When a clergyman, or layman, is asked whether he 
 firmly believes all these things ; as that the antediluvians 
 along with Adam and Eve; and the postdiluvians with 
 Noah and his sons ; and also that Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob, with all the prophets and apostles ; are, in like 
 manner as the souls of all other men, still reserved in the 
 middle of the earth, or flying about in the a3ther, or air ; 
 and also whether he believes that their Souls will be again 
 clothed with their bodies, and again enter into connection 
 with carcases eaten by worms, by mice, by fish, or, as in 
 the case of Egyptian mummies, by men, and with skele- 
 tons parched in the sun and reduced to powder ; and fur- 
 ther, whether he believes that the stars of Heaven will 
 fall upon the earth, which yet is smaller than any of them ; 
 if clergymen or laymen, I say, be asked whether they 
 believe all this, or whether such conceits are not mere 
 paradoxes, which, like all other contradictory notions, are 
 dispelled and dissipated by right reason ; some of them 
 will make no reply ; some will insist that such points are 
 matters of faith, to which the understanding must be kept 
 in obedience ; some again will argue, that not only these 
 
256 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 things, but also many others, which are above the compre- 
 hension of reason, are works of Divine Omnipotence ; and 
 when they mention faith and Omnipotence, sound reason 
 is banished, and either disappears like a thing annihilated, 
 or becomes like a spectre, and is even called insanity : to 
 this they will add, ' Are not such opinions agreeable to the 
 Word? and ought not that to be the rule and measure of 
 our thoughts and speech ?' 
 
 "771. That the Word, as to the letter, is written by 
 appearances and correspondences ; and that thus there fe a 
 spiritual sense contained in each expression, in which sense 
 truth appears in its light, whilst the sense of the letter is 
 in shade ; has been already shewn in the chapter on the 
 Sacred Scripture. Lest, therefore, the members of the 
 New Church should wander, like those of the Old, in the 
 shade of the literal sense of the Word, particularly on the 
 subjects of Heaven and Hell, and of a Life after Death, 
 and the Coming of the Lord ; it has pleased the Lord to 
 open the sight of my spirit, and thus to let me into 
 the Spiritual World ; permitting me not only to converse 
 with spirits and angels, and with my relations and friends, 
 nay, with kings and princes, who have departed out of 
 the natural world, but also to behold the stupendous 
 sights of Heaven, and the miserable scenes of Hell ; de- 
 monstrating by this, that man does not live after death in 
 any region of the earth called PM, nor flit about blind and 
 dumb in air or in emptiness ; but that he lives a man in a 
 substantial body, and in a far more perfect state, if he goes 
 amongst the blessed, than when he lived before in a ma- 
 terial body. To prevent man from plunging deeper into 
 this false opinion of the destruction of the visible Heaven 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 257 
 
 and the habitable earth, and thereby of the Spiritual 
 World, in consequence of that ignorance which has given 
 rise to so much Naturalism and Atheism ; and to prevent 
 such Naturalism and Atheism from spreading, as a mortifi- 
 cation in a limb, through man's external mind whence 
 his speech originates, in like manner as they have already 
 begun to affect and to take root in the interior rational mind, 
 especially among the learned ; I have been enjoined by the 
 Lord to publish some of the various circumstances of what 
 I have seen and heard, as well concerning HEAVEN AND 
 HELL, as the LAST JUDGMENT; 'and also to unfold the 
 APOCALYPSE, which treats of the Lord's Coming, of the 
 former Heaven, of the New Heaven, and of the Holy 
 Jerusalem ; which, when read and understood, will enable 
 every one to see what is there meant by the Coming of the 
 Lord, by the New Heaven, and by the New Jerusalem."* 
 
 Now was it the fact, that, in regard to these subjects, 
 Naturalism and Atheism did then prevail ? Let us hear the 
 testimony of Professor Brown, when speaking of that period. 
 
 " A general indifference for religion had begun to spread 
 over Europe. Ashamed of superstition and bigotry, man- 
 kind were verging to the contrary extreme, and the flame 
 of piety was fast expiring in every heart. Political, com- 
 mercial, and economical subjects wholly engrossed the en- 
 quiries of philosophers, and constituted the chief study of 
 those who devoted any part of their time to serious read- 
 ing. Theology was no more attended to; and even in 
 Protestant countries the grossest ignorance of religious 
 truth began to prevail. It was no disgrace for a man of 
 education, who was not by profession a Divine, to know 
 
 * True Christian Religion, art. 769, 770, 771. 
 
258 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 nothing of the fundamental doctrines which he professed ; 
 of the discriminating Articles of Faith, discipline, and 
 worship of the different Churches into which Christians 
 are divided; or of those evidences of divine original by 
 which they concur in defending their religion against the 
 attacks of Deists. As for practice, how few in any Chris- 
 tian country thought of regulating their lives by the pre- 
 cepts of Christ, or allowed their plans of conduct to be 
 influenced by their views of heaven ! 
 
 " Infidels, availing themselves of this neglect of religion, 
 so generally prevalent, formed the design of extirpating 
 every species and description of Christianity, and of putting 
 their Atheistical philosophy in its place."* 
 
 On the subject of the Need of a Revelation, more will 
 be adduced in the sequel : let this suffice for the present : 
 in the meantime we proceed, Secondly, to the question as 
 to the Possibility of a Revelation concerning the Spiritual 
 World. 
 
 Deists have objected against Christianity, that, suppos- 
 ing a Revelation possible, yet that any evidence of its 
 certainty is impossible, unless each individual receives a 
 like Revelation. The same objection, as we shall see, has 
 been urged in the case of Swedenborg ; in virtue of which 
 it is affirmed, that his alleged Revelations are of no higher 
 estimation than those of the Talmud, the Koran, or the 
 Sybilline Oracles. 
 
 For instance, with regard to the argument of the Deist, 
 " Some there are," says Dr. Leland,f " who seem not will- 
 
 * View of the Principe^ Deistical Writers, vol. ii., p. 485, Ap. 
 f Summary of the Evidences for Christianity in the View of Deisti- 
 cal Writers, vol. ii., p. 396, Letter xxxvi. 
 
POSSIBILITY OF A REVELATION. 259 
 
 ing to allow that any persons but those to whom the Reve- 
 lation is immediately made, can have sufficient evidence or 
 proof to satisfy them that it is a true Revelation from 
 God. This is what Lord Herbert insisteth upon in his 
 book De Veritate, and in several parts of his other works ; 
 where he makes it a necessary condition of a man's having 
 a certain knowledge of a Divine Revelation, that it be 
 made immediately to himself, and that he should feel a 
 Divine afflatus in the reception of it. In this his Lordship 
 has been followed by other writers, that have appeared in 
 the same cause." 
 
 A similar objection has been made use of by others in 
 the case of Swedenborg. As stated in the words of Paley, 
 we shall consider it in the sequel : in the meantime we 
 produce it in the words of Bishop Brown : 
 
 "If a man did himself receive any such immediate 
 impressions (of heavenly objects), it would be such a light 
 within him as could never be seen by others : he could 
 have no way of communicating them to any one else. And 
 this appears from the case of St. Paul, who, when he was 
 caught up into the third heaven, his Visions and Revela- 
 tions were such that he could give other people no notion 
 of them : the words he heard were unspeakable, and which 
 it was not possible for a man to utter ; the reason of which 
 he himself assigns : because it was in a trance ; or, the 
 revelations were to his spirit only in actual separation from 
 the body ; and whether it was the one or the other, they 
 could not b& communicated to any but such as were in the 
 same supernatural state and condition he then was."* 
 
 Of the difference between the cases of St. Paul and 
 * Divine Analogy, p. 31. 
 
260 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 Swedenborg we shall speak in the sequel. In the meantime 
 the same answer to the same objections in both cases, may 
 be given in the same words. Thus, in reply to the Deists, 
 Dr. Leland observes ; 
 
 " According to this scheme, it is vain for those who have 
 received a Revelation from God to offer to produce any 
 proofs of their Divine mission ; since no proofs or evi- 
 dences that can be offered will be sufficient, except every 
 one of those who impart this have another particular Re- 
 velation to assure them of it. This is in effect to pro- 
 nounce, that, supposing God to have communicated to any 
 person or persons extraordinary discoveries of His will, to 
 be by them communicated for the use and instruction of 
 mankind, it is absolutely out of His power to furnish them 
 with such credentials of their Divine mission as may make 
 it reasonable for others to receive the doctrines and laws 
 delivered by such persons in His name, as of Divine autho- 
 rity. But such an assertion cannot be excused from great 
 rashness and arrogance ; and is a most unwarrantable limi- 
 tation of the Divine Power and Wisdom."* 
 
 "Indeed," says the Bishop of Durham, referring to this 
 argument as urged by Lord Herbert,-}- " the inference is 
 unavoidable, that none but Prophets, Apostles, or those 
 who are actually inspired, can rationally believe anything 
 which God has been pleased to reveal." This, he says, is 
 one among the general positions urged by his Lordship, 
 "with a manifest design to cast suspicion and contempt upon 
 the sacred writings; which indeed he scruples not occa- 
 
 * Summary of Evidences, etc., in Leland's View of Deistical 
 Writers, vol. ii., p. 397, Letter xxxvi. 
 f Boyle Lectures, vol. i., p. 327, Lee. 9. 
 
POSSIBILITY OF A REVELATION. 261 
 
 sionally to allude to, as deserving of no higher estimation, 
 than the Talmud, the Koran, or the Sybilline Oracles." 
 
 But there is another respect in which the possibility of 
 a Divine Revelation has been denied. 
 
 It has been urged by Lord Bolinbroke that all our ideas 
 are derived from the senses, and as such partake of the 
 conditions of Space and Time : that it is impossible for the 
 human mind to divest itself of these conditions ; that if a 
 Revelation be made to it from the Eternal World, the ideas 
 imparted can no more come under the conditions of Time 
 and Space, than Eternity can come under the conditions of 
 Time, or what is without Space under the conditions of 
 Space. Consequently, that there is nothing in common 
 between the two states of mind ; and as such, that when 
 the ideas of the Seer return into the conditions of Time and 
 Space, all consciousness or memory of the former Revela- 
 tion on the part of the Seer must necessarily perish. 
 
 A similar argument has been applied to the case of 
 Swedenborg. It is thus stated by Bishop Brown :* 
 
 " Whatever in mystery is above all sensitive percep- 
 tion, immediate consciousness, and the direct apprehen- 
 sion of the intellect, is properly above our comprehen- 
 sion ; because it is beyond all our direct ideas and concep- 
 tions, and consequently beyond all the direct and imme- 
 diate operation of reason." " Therefore," says the Bishop, 
 " his intent is, to dissuade others from all vain attempts 
 and impotent struggles for looking straight before them 
 over those bounds, for any direct and immediate view and 
 forbidden prospect into the other World. For let them 
 strain their optics and gaze with ever so much intenseness, 
 * Divine Analogy, pp. 203, 204. 
 
262 WORLD OP SPIRITS. 
 
 they never will be able to obtain any one minute, distant, 
 obscure glimmering idea of the real nature of things 
 divine and supernatural, or of anything the same in kind, 
 by the eye of the mind, any more than they would by the 
 eye of the body : and if it were possible to obtain any 
 such idea, it must be expressed by the tongue of an Angel, 
 and not in sounds of syllables articulated by a mere colli- 
 sion of air." 
 
 The use which Lord Bolinbroke makes of such state- 
 ments, may be seen in the following remarks ; where, 
 speaking of certain divines and metaphysicians, he includes 
 the cases of the Apostles Paul and John ; 
 
 " They may have thought themselves rapt into a 
 third Heaven, as St. Paul says that he, or somebody that 
 he knew, was ; or that they rose in ecstasy, like Plotinus 
 and Porphyry, up to a Divine union ; but we may assure 
 ourselves that they were never rapt into any Heaven but 
 that of their own imagination." . . . Hence, alluding to a 
 spurious Apocalypse of St. Paul which has been lost, he 
 observes ; " I could almost wish that we had it ; since it 
 pretended to relate the ineffable things which he saw in the 
 third Heaven. But it is lost as well as others ; and if that 
 which we have under the name of St. John had been lost 
 likewise, there might have been some madmen the fewer, 
 and Christianity would not have suffered so much."* 
 
 The way in which theologians in arguing against the 
 revelations of Swedenborg, put arguments into the mouths 
 of Deists against the Christian revelation itself, is not a 
 little remarkable. In contrasting the silence of St. Paul 
 
 * Works of Lord Bolinbroke, vol. vi., p. 403. Essay the Fourth, 
 on Authority in matters of Religion. Also p. 461. 
 
EVIDENCE OF A REVELATION, 263 
 
 with regard to his Revelations, with the copious communi- 
 cations of Swedenborg, both theologians and Deists make 
 no distinction between the cases of St. Paul and St. John. 
 St. Paul saw his visions in the highest or third Heaven ; 
 St. John in the lowest or first Heaven, or that which was 
 nearer to human apprehension. St. Paul, therefore, saw 
 things unutterable ; the things which St. John saw were 
 not unutterable ; or he could not have written the Apoca- 
 lypse. Of this however we shall speak in the sequel. 
 
 But, Thirdly, we proceed to the subject of EVIDENCE. 
 
 It has been affirmed by Deists, as we have already seen, 
 that no amount of evidence can ever establish the fact of 
 a Revelation from God ; a similar mode of argument has 
 been applied also to the case of Swedenborg. Now we 
 return to opponents, the same answer, word for word, 
 which is given to the Deists. 
 
 " It will indeed be readily allowed," says Dr. Leland,* 
 u that supposing persons to declare with ever so great 
 confidence, that they are extraordinarily sent of God, we 
 are not to receive their bare words for a proof of it ; and 
 though they themselves should be firmly persuaded of the 
 truth and divinity of the Revelation made immediately to 
 them, this their persuasion is not a sufficient warrant for 
 others to receive that Revelation as true and Divine, except 
 some farther proofs and evidences are given. And it is 
 reasonable to believe that, in that case, if God hath sent 
 persons, and extraordinarily inspired them to deliver doc- 
 trines and laws of great importance to mankind in His 
 name, He will furnish them with such proofs and evi- 
 dences as may be a sufficient ground to those to whom this 
 
 * View of the Principal Deistical Writers, vol. ii., p. 397. 
 
264 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 Revelation is not immediately made, to receive those doc- 
 trines and laws as of Divine authority. And here, in 
 judging of these, it must be acknowledged that great care 
 and caution are necessary ; since it cannot be denied that 
 there have been false pretences to Revelation, the effects 
 of enthusiasm or imposture, which have given rise to im- 
 positions which have been of ill consequence to mankind. 
 And though that is not a just reason for rejecting all Re- 
 velation at once, as false or uncertain ; yet it is a very good 
 reason for making a very careful enquiry into the evi- 
 dences that are produced for any pretended Revelation." 
 
 Therefore,* 
 
 On subjects of this kind, " Every man," says Bishop 
 Horsely,-j- " may be allowed to say, that he will not believe 
 without sufficient evidence ; but none can, without presump- 
 tion, pretend to stipulate for any particular kind of proof, 
 and refuse to attend to any other if that which he may 
 think he should like best, should not be set before him. 
 This is indeed the very spirit of infidelity and this 
 was the temper of those brethren of the rich man in our 
 Saviour's parable, who hearkened not to Moses and the 
 prophets, and yet were expected to repent if one should 
 arise from the dead. This is the conduct of modern un- 
 believers ; who examine not the evidence of Revelation as it 
 actually stands, but insist that that sort of proof should be 
 generally exhibited, which from the nature of the thing, 
 must always be confined to very few. The apostle Thomas, 
 in the principles of his unbelief, too much resembled these 
 uncandid reasoners." 
 
 * See above on this subject, p. 158. 
 f Sermon 41, p. 511. 
 
EVIDENCE OF A REVELATION. 265 
 
 " To* perceive truth by its proper evidence, is of the 
 formal nature of the rational mind ; as it is of the physical 
 nature of the eye to see an object by the light that it reflects, 
 or of the ear to hear the sounds which the air conveys to it." 
 
 To this view of the subject it has been objected, that a 
 thing may appear to us to be rational and even probable, 
 without its being therefore true, or having any claim to be 
 considered as part of a Revelation from God. To this 
 objection our answer is that of Leland to the Deists ; viz., 
 that if any Revelation proceeds from God, though reason 
 might not be able to discover it, still, when discovered, it 
 will be consistent with a reason enlightened by God, and 
 as such may be regarded both as probable and true ; and 
 this is all the evidence at which we at present aim. 
 
 The Fourth objection to supposed Revelations concern- 
 ing the other World, is derived from their alleged Pre- 
 sumption ; the subject necessarily transcending the limits 
 of the human intellect. 
 
 Thus it is urged ; " There-j- is one point most important 
 to be kept in view, which many men are apt to overlook ; 
 those, viz., who imagine themselves to be not at all deficient 
 in humility, provided they abstain from overrating their 
 own talents as compared with those of other men ; whereas 
 it is evidently possible for a man to possess this personal 
 humility, as it may be called to think very modestly of 
 himself in comparison of those around him, and yet greatly 
 to overrate the human faculties in general ; and without 
 giving himself credit for acuteness and profundity beyond 
 
 * Ibid., p. 512. 
 
 f Essays on some of the Peculiarities of the Christian Religion; p. 
 186. Seventh Edition. 
 
266 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 the rest of his species, to be guilty of rashly prying into the 
 mysteries of the Most High, and of speculating boldly on 
 subjects which are out of the reach, perhaps, even of the 
 faculties of angels. No cautions against personal arrogance 
 will guard a man against this (if I may so speak) generic 
 arrogance, this over-estimate of the human faculties. No 
 man must be satisfied with thinking modestly of himself, 
 individually, as compared with others, unless he also form 
 a sufficiently humble estimate of human nature itself; 
 recollecting that the whole race of mankind are in a state 
 of ignorance and weakness analogous to that of child- 
 hood." 
 
 In like manner, even the Deist is willing to admit, 
 "that* no human authority can supply or alter, much 
 less improve, what the Son of 'God came on earth to 
 reveal." Therefore Lord Bolinbroke urges, " that Divines 
 should return to the Gospel as philosophers have returned 
 to Nature ; and presume to dogmatize no farther than the 
 plain import of it will justify. And here he recommends 
 it as the most effectual way to remove the scandals arising 
 from dissensions among Christians, that the Christian 
 divines should be content to explain what they understand, 
 to adore what they understand not, and to leave in mystery 
 all that Christ and His apostles have left so." 
 
 Now this is precisely the language of the Essays in 
 regard to Swedenborg; and we receive the admonition in the 
 same manner in which Leland receives it from the Deists :-j- 
 " These advices," says he, "considered in themselves, 
 
 * View of Deistical Writers, vol. ii., p. 259. Letter xxiii., on 
 Lord Bolinbroke. 
 
 f Ibid., vol. ii., p. 259. 
 
PRESUMPTUOUS KNOWLEDGE. 267 
 
 might have been thought to proceed from a good and 
 friendly intention. But everything is suspected that comes 
 from such a hand. Yet a real friend to Christianity will 
 know how to make a proper use of admonitions and re- 
 proofs, even when given by an enemy." 
 
 It was, however, still further urged by the Deist against 
 the presumption of divines,* that "it would pass for down- 
 right madness, if we were not accustomed to it, to hear a 
 creature (man) of the lowest form of intelligent beings, 
 undertake to penetrate the designs, to fathom the depths, 
 and to unveil the mysteries of Infinite Wisdom, which the 
 most exalted intelligences would adore in silence." 
 
 The same argument is applied in the Cautions for the 
 Times both to Scholastic Divinity, and to the theology of 
 Swedenborg. We are concerned with it only so far as it 
 relates to Swedenborg. Thus it is said : 
 
 " It-j- would be much safer and more reasonable to con- 
 sider what is not taught with respect to these matters in 
 Scripture, as withheld ; doubtless because the knowledge of 
 it would not be suitable to our present state in this life. 
 In such a case, it is both foolish and presumptuous to seek 
 to pluck the fruit of the forbidden tree of knowledge. 
 What Scripture has left obscure, we should be satisfied to 
 let remain obscure, until God Himself sees fit to clear it 
 up ; and instead of looking out for theories and satisfactory 
 accounts of ; how these things can be,' we should be content 
 to say plainly, 1 1 do not know.' 
 
 " There is, you remember, an old proverb, that ' a fool 
 can ask more questions than a wise man can answer ;' but 
 you may very fairly, if you please, add this as a rider to 
 * Ibid., p. 231. f Pages 277, 131. 
 
 N 2 
 
268 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 it : 'A wise man cannot answer more questions than lie 
 will find fools ready to answer.' " 
 
 That this observation is intended to apply also to the 
 case of Swedenborg, is evident not only from the general 
 argument in the Essays, but from the following passage in 
 the Cautions for the Times: 
 
 "As for professing to know a great deal about the other 
 World, the Swedenborgians beat us all out hollow. We 
 Protestants pretend to no more knowledge than the little 
 that God has told us. The Pope boasts of some more. 
 He can tell you about Purgatory, and Limbus Patrum, 
 and a great many other curious places, some of which, 
 according to him, you are likely to visit one of these days 
 yourself, and out of which you will not easily get, unless you 
 pay the priests to pray for you. But the Swedenborgians 
 can tell more again than he ; and, what is more, they 
 can shew you the other World now, and that too without 
 charging a single penny for the exhibition. If, therefore, 
 you are very curious about such things, and long to be 
 4 told about them,' without caring much whether what you 
 are told be true or false, by all means turn Swedenborgian 
 without delay." 
 
 Now as, in this case, the argument urged by divines 
 against the revelations of Swedenborg is again the same 
 with that which is urged against Christianity by the 
 Deist, the same answer will suffice in both cases. Thus 
 Dr. Leland observes ; " It* is no presumption to believe 
 what God has revealed of his own councils concerning 
 ,he methods of our salvation, or to think and speak of 
 
 * View of Deistical Writers, vol. ii., p. 231. Letter xxxii., on 
 
 Lord Bolinbroke. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURE OF REVELATION. 269 
 
 them as far as he has been pleased to declare them. But 
 it is an inexcusable arrogance to presume to arraign the 
 proceedings of Infinite Wisdom, made known to us in a 
 well -attested Revelation, because there are some things 
 relating to them which we are not able distinctly to ex- 
 plain or account for." Would it not be well for the divine 
 to recollect this on reading the works of Swedenborg? 
 for if this answer can be given to the Deist, even in the 
 case of a Revelation in which difficulties occur ; how much 
 more in a case in which they ultimately disappear ? 
 
 Lastly, a strong objection was urged by Deists against 
 the Practical Character of the Christian Revelation.* "If 
 those learned gentlemen," says one of them, u that are 
 the directors of others will choose to give up speculative 
 principles and an historical faith, and insist only on that 
 practice which will recommend men in every religion to 
 the favor of God, the good will of man, and peace of their 
 own conscience ; and own that the whole of the Christian 
 religion which is worth contending for, are all relative and 
 social virtues ; then, the contention between the Christians 
 and Deists will drop." 
 
 A similar objection founded on the want of a practical 
 character, has been made to the writings of Swedenborg. 
 Thus : 
 
 " Lastly, -[ to advert to a more recent instance ; look to 
 the visions of the pretended prophet Swedenborg ; himself 
 the dupe, as is generally supposed, of a distempered fancy. 
 
 * Leland's General Reflections in the View of Deistical Writers, 
 vol. ii., p. 390. Letter 35. 
 
 f Essays on some of the Peculiarities, etc., p. 147. Seventh 
 Edition. 
 
270 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 It has been well known that he professed to have been 
 favored with most copious and distinct revelations to 
 have visited the celestial abodes, and to have conversed 
 with various orders of Beings ; of all which he gives 
 minute descriptions. Yet though his followers insist much 
 on the importance of believing in this pretended revela- 
 tion ; it would, I believe, be difficult for them to state even 
 any one point, in which a man is called upon to alter either 
 his conduct, his motives, or his moral sentiments, in conse- 
 quence of such belief. The system furnishes abundant 
 matter of faith, and food for curiosity ; but has little or no 
 intelligible relation to practice" 
 
 As the objection of Deists to the teaching of the Church, 
 is the same with that which is here urged against the 
 teaching of Swedenborg ; the same answer will suffice in 
 both cases, and in the same words. 
 
 " With* some that call themselves Deists, the most im- 
 portant principles of Natural Religion, the belief of a 
 Providence, of the Immortality of the Soul, and a state of 
 future Judgment and retribution, are looked upon to be 
 'needless speculations, and either denied, or treated as mat- 
 ters of doubtful disputation. But let us suppose that no 
 stress is to be laid upon any doctrines or principles at all, 
 and that practice alone is to be insisted on, though some 
 principles seem to lie at the foundation of a good and vir- 
 tuous practice; it will be found no easy matter for the 
 Christian and Deist to agree what that practice is which is 
 to be regarded as necessary." 
 
 Now, on reviewing the foregoing objections made by 
 Deists to Christianity, and by divines to what they mis- 
 
 * Leland's View of Deistical Writers, vol. ii., p. 391. Letter xxxv. 
 
THE LITTLE KNOWN. 271 
 
 takenly call " Swedenborgianism" expressed in correspond- 
 ing terms, a question is unavoidably suggested, What is 
 the cause of so remarkable a coincidence between the two ? 
 Is it possible that the two can have but one common 
 origin ; particularly considering that the origin of the 
 Deistical objections is Naturalism and Materialism openly 
 avowed ? In answer to this question, we must leave the 
 statements in the sequel to speak for themselves. 
 
 Proceeding then to the subject of THE SPIRITUAL WORLD, 
 we shall treat first of the Intermediate State or WORLD OF 
 SPIRITS ; secondly, of HEAVEN or the World of Angels ; 
 thirdly, of HELL or the World of Devils ; and in so doing, 
 it will be desirable to state the doctrine of the Church 
 upon these subjects, and compare it with that of Sweden- 
 borg. 
 
 First then, with regard to the INTERMEDIATE STATE or 
 WORLD OF SPIRITS : what is the Protestant doctrine upon 
 this subject? " We Protestants pretend to no more know- 
 ledge than the little God has told us." What then is that 
 little ? for it is important fully to answer this question, 
 and to consider well the doctrine of the Church before we 
 refer to that of Swedenborg : as we shall then be enabled 
 to compare the two, and to decide upon their comparative 
 merits. "What then is that little?" we repeat. The 
 answer is thus given by the Country Pastor : 
 
 " The* Intermediate State is a point on which, I think, 
 nothing is so clearly revealed in any part of Scripture, as 
 to allow us to pronounce positively that such and such a 
 belief respecting it, is to be held as an essential part of 
 
 * A View of the Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, 
 laid before his Parishioners; by a Country Pastor, p. 54. 
 
272 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 the Christian Faith ; since if such had been the design of 
 the Almighty, I cannot but think there would have been 
 some explicit and decisive revelation given on that point."* 
 
 . . . u Since the Intermediate State is not one of trial, it 
 must be either one of enjoyment and suffering according 
 to each man's character, that is, a state of reward and 
 punishment ; or else a state of utter insensibility and un- 
 consciousness ; EITHER of which opinions may, I think, be 
 safely entertained, though only one of them can be true, 
 without failing in any part of the Faith-j- which it is essen- 
 tial for a Christian to hold." 
 
 Such is the answer of the Country Pastor. 
 
 Accordingly, a certain Prelate:): of the Church of Eng- 
 land remarks : 
 
 " Scholars may reason of the nature of the Soul, and 
 the condition of it when separated from the body ; but the 
 common hopes of Nature receive no support from such en- 
 quiries. . . . We die and moulder to dust; and in that state, 
 what we are, and where we are, Nature cannot say. . . . 
 Death, to all appearance, destroys the 'person, the whole 
 man ; and though possibly there may be a Renovation of 
 the World, yet still it is difficult to conceive how individual 
 persons may be so preserved through all the changes of 
 many ages as, at the last Day, to find themselves to be 
 
 * So Archdeacon Blackburne in his Historical View of the Contro- 
 versy concerning an Intermediate State, and the separate existence of 
 the Soul between Death and the General Resurrection, p. 310. 
 
 f See a similar opinion of Antony de Dominis, Archbishop of Spa- 
 latro, in the forementioned work, p. 97. 
 
 J Quoted from Bishop Sherlock, in Law's Considerations, p. 379. 
 See also, Use and Intent of Prophecy, by Bishop Sherlock, Bishop of 
 London, A.D. 1755. Page 230. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 273 
 
 themselves again." This Prelate was, therefore, inclined 
 to the doctrine of the sleep of the Soul after Death. 
 
 So also another Prelate of the Church of England :* 
 
 " I proceed, in the next place, to consider what account 
 the Scriptures give of that state to which death reduces 
 us. And this we find represented by sleep; by a negation 
 of all life, thought, or action ; by rest, resting-place, or 
 home ; silence, oblivion, darkness, destruction, or corruption. 
 . . . Death is represented by a negation of all life, thought, 
 or action ; even to good men. . . . 'Death is represented as 
 a rest, and the Grave a resting-place, house, or home. . . . 
 As a state of darkness. ' A land of darkness, as darkness 
 itself, and of the shadow of death, without any order, 
 and where the light is as darkness.' . . . Revelation informs 
 us we shall not awake or be made alive till the Resurrec- 
 tion. , . . * Who knoweth the spirit of man, that goeth 
 upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward 
 to the earth ? Who knows the difference between them ?' 
 Answer. Nobody. For, ver. 19, ' that which befalleth the 
 sons of men befalleth beasts ; even one thing befalleth 
 them ; as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have 
 all one breath ?' verse 20, " All go unto one place, all are 
 of the dust, and all turn to the dust again.' " 
 
 In like manner also a modern Prelate of the Church of 
 England observes upon this subject : 
 
 u No-j- faculties, not even those which impel us to dis- 
 cover and adore a Supreme Being, or recognize the force 
 
 * Dr. Law, Bishop of Carlisle, in his Considerations on the Theory 
 of Religion, p. 424, 426, 427, etc. 
 
 f The Future States : by the Right Rev. Reginald Courtenay, Lord 
 Bishop of Kingston (Jamaica), pages 42, 87, 95, 244, 230, 249, 391. 
 
 N3 
 
274 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 of moral obligations, can, in this world, dispense with the 
 aid of a material mechanism. Immeasurably exalted as 
 we are, by the possession of these powers, above the brutes, 
 we yet do not appear to have made any approach, physi- 
 cally speaking, to an exemption from the general law of 
 mortality. 
 
 " If it is reasonable to conclude that after death we shall 
 no longer feel, or hear, or see ; because those material 
 organs are destroyed, or impeded in some essential func- 
 tion, by which we felt and heard and saw ; it is also rea- 
 sonable to conclude that we shall cease to think, when 
 the organs of thought are rendered incapable of action!" 
 Again ; 
 
 " Nothing contributes more to false notions on this sub- 
 ject, than the opinions so commonly entertained of the in- 
 trinsic dignity of all that is not material. It is, indeed, 
 derogatory to the dignity of man, to acknowledge a bro- 
 therhood of mind, such as shall include the polypus, the 
 seajelly, and the animalcule of a stagnant pool. But 
 science knows of no aversions, and must hold on its way, 
 through evil report and good report. Truth, in the end, 
 will not fail to justify itself in all its consequences and 
 relations." Again ; 
 
 "The sensation of an animal of an oyster cannot be 
 supposed to belong to any other being, and must perish 
 with the oyster. There is no shadow of reason for sup- 
 posing that a substance capable of sensation remains at 
 the death of the oyster. The oyster itself was that sub- 
 stance. If we are to consider the human mind as a simple 
 elementary substance, notwithstanding the endless variety 
 of thought, the great diversity of faculties which it dis- 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 2?O 
 
 plays, the mind of an oyster, which has little beyond the 
 faculty of sensation, may certainly be regarded as simple 
 and elementary ; and. from its more evident simplicity, as 
 less likely to undergo dissolution than the mind of man, 
 But if the sensations of an oyster perish, mind, in this its 
 enlarged and general sense, is not indestructible, though 
 it be a single and indivisible thing." Again; 
 
 " Turning afterwards to the New Testament, we shall 
 have to consider, whether it does not confirm the impres- 
 sion produced by the Old, that the grave is to the soul of 
 man a place or state of utter darkness and desolation, of 
 profound sleep, of utter insensibility, without hope or re- 
 trospect, sorrow or joy : whether it does not leave Hades 
 still in gloom, and reserve all its rays of glory for the 
 brightness of the coming of Christ, and the resurrection 
 of the dead." Again ; 
 
 " In the opinion of the writer, Scripture, when carefully 
 and seriously pondered, positively confirms that sentence 
 of unaided reason, * When man returns to the earth all his 
 thoughts perish.' " Again ; 
 
 " Solomon uses language even stronger than this, if 
 possible, to shew the utter unconsciousness of the grave. 
 ' A living dog,' he says, ' is better than a dead lion. For 
 the living know that they shall die ; but the dead know 
 not anything.' " Again ; 
 
 " There is much, also, to flatter the pride of intellect, 
 and to gratify a curious mind, in the popular arguments 
 which advocate a belief in the Immortality of the Soul. 
 But the infallible testimony of Scripture proves all such 
 search to be vain; for in Adam all die, and the dead 
 know not anything." 
 
276 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 So much for the doctrine of the Unconsciousness of the 
 Soul. 
 
 It is, indeed, readily granted, that most perhaps of the 
 divines in the Church of England would protest against 
 this kind of interpretation of the Bible; but they do so 
 only on their own individual responsibility ; the Church of 
 England, as a Church, having, it is said, no definite doc- 
 trine upon the subject. Thus : 
 
 " The* authors of our Churph Services, at least of the 
 Burial Service, seem indeed to have adopted" the opinion, 
 that the Intermediate State is one of enjoyment and suf- 
 fering, " though they have nowhere insisted on it as an 
 article of Faith ; nor is the point noticed at all in the Creed 
 or Symbol of our Church, which the Reformers of it drew 
 up, and which is usually called the Thirty-nine Articles. -j- 
 Indeed, in the Burial Service itself, there is an expression 
 in which, adopting the Apostle's expression, they speak 
 of the dead as ' those that are asleep ;' which, in its most 
 obvious and natural sense, favours the other supposition ;" 
 viz., a state of unconscious existence. 
 
 Therefore either party in the Church of England may 
 hold either doctrine, the Church of England having nothing 
 definite to say upon either side ; or, it may be, a little of 
 something upon both sides ; and, as such, being sufficiently 
 comprehensive to include both parties within her pale. 
 
 We have now stated the doctrine of the Soulsleeper in 
 
 * A View of the Scripture Revelations concerning the Future State : 
 laid before his Parishioners : by a Country Pastor, p. 48. 
 
 f Compare this with the definite doctrine upon the subject in the 
 Creed of the New Church, "I believe that when I die as to my na- 
 tural body, I shall rise again in a spiritual body." 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 277 
 
 regard to an Intermediate State ; and proceed, in the next 
 place, to point out the nature of the more Orthodox doc- 
 trine, as generally received ; namely, that of the Conscious- 
 ness of the Soul, after death, in some Intermediate State. 
 
 On this subject, then, the doctrine most generally received 
 seems to be that of Bishop Bull. Accordingly, says he, 
 
 " How* can the Soul subsist and remain a Soul without 
 sense and perception ? For, as Tertullian somewhere truly 
 saith, vita animce est sensus, l the life of the soul is percep- 
 tion.' Wherefore, to say an insensible Soul, seems a con- 
 tradiction in terms. ... If it be enquired in what way the 
 Soul perceives when out of the body, whether by the help 
 of some new sub tiler organs and instruments fitted to its 
 present state, which either by its own native power given 
 in creation it forms to itself, or by a special act of the 
 Divine power it is supplied with, or whether without them ; 
 
 I must answer with St. Paul in a like case, 2 Cor. xii. 2, 
 
 I 1 cannot tell: God knoweth.' . . . We can now no more con- 
 ceive the manner of the Soul's operation when absent from 
 the body, than a man born blind, that never saw the light, 
 can understand a discourse of colors, or comprehend all 
 the wonders and mysteries of the optic science." 
 
 If this be the case, may we not ask, What is the cause 
 of all this extraordinary mystery in which the operations 
 of the Soul are involved in the Intermediate State? Is 
 it inherent in the very nature of the subject itself; or are 
 the mysteries created by man ? This question we propose 
 to answer, by shewing that the cause of these difficulties is 
 of man's own creation; that it is to be found in ihe false 
 
 * Sermon on The Middle State of Happiness or Misery, p. 51, 52, 
 53. 
 
278 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 principles from which he sets out; and that, notwithstanding 
 the ostensible rejection of the Soulsleeper's doctrine of in- 
 sensibility, the main doctrines held by the Orthodox divine 
 who rejects, and the Unorthodox who maintains, the un- 
 consciousness of the Soul after Death, are really common 
 to both parties. 
 
 1. The doctrine of the Resurrection of the material 
 Body at the Judgment-day, is held in common by both 
 parties as an essential of Christianity. 
 
 2. Both parties are at liberty equally to admit that the 
 Soul is a distinct immaterial substance ; or both may object 
 to the term substance, as they have actually done, and 
 regard the Soul only as a principle of thought. 
 
 3. Both may regard the Soul itself as incorporeal ; and, 
 when separated from the material Body, as disembodied, 
 in the sense of having no body of any kind, whether ma- 
 terial or immaterial. 
 
 4. Both may regard the Soul as simple and uncom- 
 pounded, hence as indivisible. 
 
 5. Both may regard the Soul, therefore, as without ex- 
 tension or magnitude ; thus as a monad, or a point which 
 hath no parts and no magnitude. 
 
 6. Hence both may regard the Soul as without place. 
 
 7. Both may agree that as man is a compound of Soul 
 and Body, the Soul alone is not the man, and the Body 
 alone is not the man. 
 
 8. Both may agree that the material Body is essential 
 to the man. 
 
 9. Both may agree that there is no Resurrection of the 
 Soul on its departure from the Body. 
 
 10. Both may agree that the material Body is essential 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. '279 
 
 to the proper life of the Soul ; for that death being the sepa- 
 ration of the Soul and Body from each other, and the Soul, 
 while in Hades, being in that state of separation, the Soul 
 is then in a state of death. 
 
 11. Both may agree that as the person is a compound of 
 Soul and Body, and the Body is essential to complete 
 personality, personality belongs to each only in an im- 
 perfect sense; that in this sense, it may be predicated 
 of the Body, and when the Body is deposited in the grave 
 that the man is buried; and when' the Body rises from the 
 grave, that the man rises from the grave. Both agree, 
 therefore, in speaking of their friends as lying in the grave 
 till the Judgment day. 
 
 12. Both may agree, therefore, in paying as little atten- 
 tion as possible to an Intermediate State ; and thus in re- 
 garding the doctrine that the Soul is a distinct substance 
 from the material body, as a matter of indifference or as of 
 no importance. 
 
 13. There is thus no real difference between them ; 
 except that when the Orthodox divine, after all these ad- 
 missions, speaks of the consciousness of the Soul after 
 death, the Soulsleeper asks him to prove it, or even to 
 point out the shadow of its probability : this being the 
 case, both parties are equally comprehended within the 
 pale of the same Church. 
 
 Let us consider these propositions separately. 
 
 1. The doctrine of the Resurrection of the material Body 
 is regarded by divines in general, as one of supreme im- 
 portance. 
 
 The Soulsleeper, in particular, insists upon the Resur- 
 rection of the material Body as the all in all of that Reve- 
 
280 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 lation which has brought life and immortality to light ; 
 for he maintains that it is by means of the material Body 
 that the Soul is rendered sentient ; and hence that to deny 
 the Resurrection of the material Body, is virtually the 
 same thing as to maintain the annihilation of the Soul 
 itself. Hence, as he thinks, the awfulness of the heresy in 
 denying the Resurrection of the material Body. So also, 
 the Orthodox divine : the Christian's hope, as founded in 
 the promises of the Gospel, is in like manner, as he thinks, 
 the Resurrection of the Body ; for which reason the Im- 
 mortality of the Soul as a disembodied spirit, is said to 
 be a doctrine of secondary consideration. 
 
 The supreme importance, therefore, of the doctrine of 
 the Resurrection of the Body is founded upon the great 
 obscurity, or the unimportance, or the untruth of the doc- 
 trine of the Immortality of the Soul. Hence the more 
 zealous are the advocates of the Resurrection of the 
 Body, the more they incline to depreciate the doctrine of 
 the Soul's Immortality ; and hence also the doctrine of the 
 Resurrection of the material Body is opposed by some to 
 what is called " the heathenish tenet of the mere Immor- 
 tality of the Soul." 
 
 2. That the Soul is a distinct substance is both admitted 
 and doubted. "Instead of denning Mind" says Dugald 
 Stewart,* "to be a thinking substance, it seems much more 
 logically correct to define it a thinking being. Perhaps it 
 would be better still, to avoid, by the use of the pronoun 
 that, any substantive whatever; Mind is that which thinks, 
 wills," etc. 
 
 * Dissertations on Ethical and Physical Science. Notes and Illus- 
 trations, p. 242. 
 
NEED OP A REVELATION. 281 
 
 " We* talk indeed about matter and we talk about 
 mind ; we speculate concerning materiality and immate- 
 riality, until we argue ourselves into a kind of belief that 
 we really understand something of the subject. The 
 truth is, that we understand nothing," . . . These properties 
 (viz., of matter and mind) are indeed quite distinct from 
 each other ; but, " whether in their substratum or ultimate 
 essence they are the same, or whether they are different, 
 we know not, and never can know in our present state of 
 being." The Soulsleeper is therefore at liberty to form 
 any conjectures he pleases upon the subject ; and accord- 
 ingly is of opinion, that immaterial substances are the im- 
 ponderable substances of Nature ; and consequently that 
 when we speak of the immateriality of the Soul, the Soul 
 itself may be one of these imponderable substances, and 
 thought, nothing more than one of its activities. 
 
 3. Both agree that the Soul is the principal, the Body 
 instrumental : that the principal cannot act without an in- 
 strumental ; but inasmuch as, in the Intermediate State, the 
 Soul is generally said to be without a Body, hence without 
 bodily organs of any kind,-}- it is an equal mystery to both 
 how it is possible for the Soul to be active in such a State. 
 For though it be admitted that the Soul may be endowed 
 with new and subtler organs, the existence of those organs 
 is inconceivable, unless regarded as those of a Body : but 
 as the Soul is said to be without Body, it is inconceivable 
 equally to both, how it can have new and subtler organs. 
 
 4. Moreover, whatever may be the substance of the 
 Soul, that it is simple and uncompounded is generally 
 
 * Abercrombie's Enquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers, p. 34. 
 f Bishop Courtenay's Future States, p. 148. Compare Cowie's 
 Hulsean Lectures, p. 14. 
 
282 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 agreed. This was the doctrine of Plato,* Aristotle, and 
 Cicero ; and from these it has been derived into the 
 Catholic Church, and continued to be one of its prominent 
 doctrines down to the present day. Indeed upon this doc- 
 trine has been founded that of the Immortality of the Soul 
 by those who believe in it. 
 
 5. For the Soul as being simple must, it is argued, be 
 a monad, an indivisible, unextended, and therefore an im- 
 material substance; being absolutely one arid simple, it 
 can have no parts or composition, and as such is incapable 
 of resolution or dissolution ; therefore it is indiscerptible, 
 and indestructible ; and as it is also without extension 
 
 6. It corresponds to a geometrical point, which also hath 
 no parts and no magnitude. It has, indeed, been ques- 
 tioned how far a substance of this kind can be anything, 
 for, as Dean Sherlock observes,-}- " A substance which has 
 no parts, and no extension, and is circumscribed bv no 
 place, sounds very like nothing ; to be sure, it is what we 
 can form no positive idea of." Accordingly, it is main- 
 tained, \ that what has no extension, and is circumscribed 
 by no place, has itself no place, or no locality : you can- 
 not say it is here, or there, or any where, except in rela- 
 tion to its own material Body : and though it be said, that, 
 on the separation of the Soul from the Body, the Soul 
 passes into Hades, yet all that is meant is the removal 
 of " that which thinks" into " that which is invisible :" for 
 locality is proper to bodies ; but the Soul being incorporeal 
 
 * Lord Brougham's Discourse of Natural Theology, p. 108. Dean 
 Sherlock on The Immortality of the Soul; Section 2. And, in general, 
 Roman Catholic and Church of England Divines, passim. 
 
 f Dean Sherlock, Ibid. 
 
 % Archbishop Usher's Answer to a Jesuit ; chap, viii., p. 327. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 283 
 
 has no. body, and consequently cannot be detained in any 
 place. Therefore to say that the Souls of men after death 
 are gone to their own u proper places," to their "due 
 places," to their " meet places," or to "places appointed 
 by God for them," is only to predicate place of that which 
 has no extension, and, consequently, cannot be in any 
 place. And hence it is, that Gentiles, Orthodox divines, 
 and Soulsleepers, can equally join in one and the same 
 Persian lament over the grave 
 
 " Where are the friends my heart doth lack, 
 
 Whose words in grief gave peace? Ah! Where ! 
 And Fate by Echo gave me back 
 
 This short but just reply ; Ah ! Where !"* 
 
 7. Of course, when the Soul has been thus reduced to 
 such a state that we can form no positive idea of it, it may 
 be asked how we can regard it as the whole man ; espe- 
 cially as having no parts it cannot be a whole, or be any 
 thing, or at least anything conceivable ? 
 
 Nevertheless, as this would go far to imply the anni- 
 hilation of the Soul at death, and " as human nature is 
 and must be constituted of an immaterial together with 
 a material substance," therefore although the Soul may 
 be said to continue after death the same, still it will not be, 
 properly at least, a human Soul.f But as the Orthodox 
 divine would think it necessary to maintain, in opposition 
 to the Soulsleeper, that humanity must in some sense or 
 other be predicated of it, therefore he is disposed to maintain 
 
 * Dr. Adam Clarke's Commentary on Job xiv. 10. 
 f Broughton's Pschychologia / or, An Account of the Rational Soul ,- 
 p. 102, 104. 
 
284 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 that, when separated from the Body, the Soul, if it be not 
 the whole man, is at least half a man ; and thus with Bishop 
 Andrews* to admit, that "The soul is but half; though 
 the better half, yet but half; and the redeeming it is but a 
 half redemption ; and if but half then imperfect." " For 
 seeing the soul alone," says Bishop Bull,-)- "doth not con- 
 stitute human nature ; that being which we call man, if the 
 body utterly perished, would for ever remain as it were a 
 half man, and be destitute of a part of himself;" or would 
 enjoy only, as A Lapide says, dimidiatam quasi existentiam. 
 
 8. Hence also says Bishop Bull, " the body is not in 
 man a thing adventitious or superinduced" but " it is an 
 essential part of man." "The body, as well as the Soul," 
 says Doddridge,J " makes an essential part of man." 
 " The body is an essential part of the man," says Matthew 
 Henry : for were the body not an essential part, the Re- 
 surrection of the Body would be the Resurrection of a 
 non-essential, and the doctrine of the Resurrection of the 
 material Body a non-essential doctrine. The foregoing 
 obscure theories, however, concerning the Soul, have cast 
 such an obscurity over the nature and separate existence of 
 Souls, as also over the " several limbos where these un- 
 embodied, unemployed and shapeless beings, these blank 
 
 * See his Works, vol. ii., p. 262. 
 
 f Sermons, p. 38, 37. 
 
 J See the Comments of Doddridge, and Henry on Matthew xxii. 32. 
 The same doctrine is taught by the Archbishop of Spalatro : see Arch- 
 deacon Blackburn's Historical View, p. 108. Also by Calvin, Grotius, 
 Bengel, A Lapide, Maldonatus, and others, in their Comments on Matt, 
 xxii. 32. 
 
 Archdeacon Blackburn's Historical View, p. 109. Bishop Law's 
 Considerations, etc., p. 477. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 285 
 
 ingredients of the human composition, are deposited after 
 death," that " we are forced to reduce them all to a state of 
 existence so extremely low and imperfect, that it lies in the 
 very next line to non-existence, a Middle State between 
 something and nothing ; and, to all valuable purposes, so 
 wholly insignificant, as to leaVe every one just in the same 
 situation in which it found him with regard to any kind of 
 moral use, or spiritual improvement whatever." There 
 being, therefore, in this respect only, the shadow of a shade 
 of difference between the Orthodox divine and the Soul- 
 sleeper, there is no reason why they should not be com- 
 prehended within the pale of one and the same Church. 
 
 But, inasmuch as the Soul is said to be without parts, 
 without extension, and without locality ; and besides, is not 
 per se properly human ; resembling a monad or point, which 
 " sounds very much like nothing;" it seems to be imperilling 
 humanity altogether to regard this as the better half: and 
 therefore the question arises, whether it may not be expe- 
 dient to abandon that of which we can form no positive 
 idea, and to resort to that of which we can ; particularly 
 as, when we speak of a Resurrection at the Judgment-day, 
 the Resurrection of nondescript " entelechias," and " phy- 
 sical minimums," which have no parts, no extension, and 
 no locality, sounds very much like a Resurrection of no 
 things, or of nonentities, which is the same as no Resur- 
 rection. Besides, it seems to imperil the doctrine of the 
 Resurrection even of the material Body ; for if the material 
 Body be raised again only in order to be rejoined to the 
 Soul, and that Soul be virtually a nonentity, a Resurrec- 
 tion of the Body for this purpose would seem to be need- 
 less. Hence the assurance that the Soul is, notwithstand- 
 ing, at least half the man, is so far important. 
 
286 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 9. Accordingly, as the doctrine of the Resurrection is 
 one grand doctrine of the Christian Faith, so that Resur- 
 rection must needs be that of the material Body ; and thus, 
 coming back into regions of materiality, we come back 
 into those of reality. Indeed, both the Soulsleeper and 
 the Orthodox divine agree, that, " we* must not suppose 
 that we are gaining much in the way of clearness, if we 
 use the words, * resurrection of man ' instead of ' resurrec- 
 tion of the body;' because we cannot have a conception 
 of a resurrection at all, unless we mean thereby restoration 
 of a corporeal frame to the disembodied spirit." The con- 
 sequence is, that there is either no Resurrection immediately 
 after death, or else the Soul is then clothed with some kind 
 of body. But inasmuch as the Soul is then generally said 
 to be disembodied, the only alternative is to deny that 
 there is then any Resurrection. 
 
 In this case, the better half of humanity is the material ; 
 especially as the Body is that of which we can form a 
 positive idea ; the Soul, for the reasons already mentioned, 
 being that of which we can form no positive idea. " The 
 doctrine of a bodily Resurrection," says the late Bishop of 
 London, " invests with somewhat-j- of a tangible and prac- 
 tical character our notions of Immortality. We have so 
 little conception of the nature and operations of pure dis- 
 embodied spirit, that our aspirations to the glories of a 
 Future State are apt to be checked by the indistinctness of 
 our ideas, as to the manner in which we can hereafter be- 
 come the objects of reward or punishment. Inquire into 
 your own views on the subject, and see whether it be not 
 almost impossible to divest yourselves of the opinion, that 
 
 * Cowie's Hulsean Lectures, p. 14. Lecture 1. 
 f Sermon xx., p. 373. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 287 
 
 you are to be clothed upon with bodies, of whatever 
 kind, in the life to come." This being the case, and a 
 disembodied spirit meaning that which has no body, it is 
 obvious that the balance of the argument now turns in 
 favor of the material body ; and as such, the material 
 body and not the Soul comes to be regarded as the better 
 half. Accordingly, although it were admitted that, theo- 
 retically, the Soul is the better half; yet, inasmuch as we 
 can form no positive idea of it when separated from the 
 body, the doctrine with which we are practically concerned 
 is the Resurrection of the material Body ; all that concerns 
 the Soul as a distinct substance, being the subject only of 
 metaphysical speculation, or, in other words, " furnishing 
 abundant matter of faith, and food for curiosity, but having 
 little or no intelligible relation to practice." 
 
 The material Body being thus considered as of most im- 
 portance, we are accordingly told* that the Body was made 
 before the Soul. The Platonists and others regarded, in- 
 deed, the Soul as first and most important ; and when dis- 
 coursing of Immortality, thought only of the Immortality 
 of the Soul, or as a modern orthodox divine expresses it, 
 " of the heathenish tenet of the mere Immortality of the 
 Soul."-|- The body being thus the first created, and the 
 Soul superadded, the Soulsleeper naturally re-echoes the 
 doctrine ; and affirms that it is in accordance with what 
 he had always maintained, viz., that mind is a mere 
 superaddition to matter. "All that distinguished man 
 from the ground," says Bishop Barrington,| "besides the 
 
 * Bishop Bull's Sermons, p. 37. 
 
 f Evans' Ministry of the Body, p. 36, 23. 
 
 J See his Works, vol. in., p. 162. 
 
288 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 different modifications of his body, was the breath of life 
 that God breathed into his nostrils. And so man be- 
 came a living Soul. The body was first ; and a breath 
 breathed into that body, to animate it afterwards. It was 
 no separate pre-existent Soul, and is not like to be in a 
 state of separate action after the body goes to the dust ; 
 but, as it was designed at first to animate that body, it is 
 most likely to be totally inactive, till it animates its own 
 body again." 
 
 10. For that the material Body is essential to the proper 
 life of the Soul, is admitted even by all orthodox divines ; 
 since the Soul, in the Intermediate State, is in a state of 
 death. For death being the separation of the Soul and 
 the Body ; the Body is dead because separated from the 
 Soul, and the Soul is dead because separated from the Body. 
 For though terms are commonly used which seem to im- 
 ply the contrary ; yet, Hades being the continuation of 
 the separation of the Soul and Body, so, for the Soul to 
 enter into Hades, says Archbishop Usher,* is for it " to 
 enter into that state of Death under which man lieth from 
 the time of his departure out of this life unto the time of 
 his Resurrection," viz., the Resurrection of the Body. 
 For as Athanasius saith,-(- " God passed upon man a double 
 sentence of punishment ; saying to his earthly BODY, 'Dust 
 ihou art, and unto dust shalt thou return] and so the body 
 turned into corruption ; and to his SOUL, * Thou shalt surely 
 die;' and so the Man was separated, and condemned to de- 
 part into two different places;" viz., the Body to its grave 
 in the churchyard, where it is detained in a state of death ; 
 
 * Archbishop Usher's Answer to a Jesuit: Limbus Patrum, p. 353. 
 f Dr. S. Clarke's Works, vol. ii., p. 739 ; Letter to Mr. Dodwell. 
 
NEED OF A KEVELATION. 289 
 
 the Soul to its grave in Hades, where itself also is detained 
 in a state of death ; and in that state of separation is, even 
 though in Paradise, undergoing the curse and penalty of 
 death till the Judgment-day.* 
 
 Accordingly, says Bishop Barrington,f " Supposing the 
 Souls of good men are conscious in a separate state, the 
 persons whose souls they are, are not said to be living, in 
 the language of Scripture. The style of Scripture is the 
 reverse ; and ever calls persons dead till their souls at the 
 Resurrection are united to their proper bodies ;" in which 
 respect, the Orthodox divine and the Soulsleeper again 
 coincide.^: 
 
 11. Hence both parties can, as we have seen, use the 
 same language with the unbeliever, and speak of the man 
 or the person as lying in the grave ; for although the body 
 be but half the man, it is essential to the man ; and is, 
 moreover, that constituent of his personality of which 
 alone we can form a positive idea. Thus both believers 
 and unbelievers can join in the same language when com- 
 mitting their beloved friends to the ground "Dust to 
 dust, and ashes to ashes ;" for who knows anything NOW 
 of the Soul, or of the World of Spirits in which the Soul 
 
 * The same doctrine is taught by Bishop Beveridge, on The Thirty- 
 nine Articles, vol. i., p. 186. Article iv., Dean Sherlock on the Im- 
 mortality of the Soul, vol. ii., Section v.; Archbishop Seeker on the 
 Catechism, Lecture 17. 
 
 f See his Works, vol. iii., p. 290. 
 
 J Maldonatus observes on Matthew xxii. 32, " Quod ohm non 
 solum inter Judceos, sed inter omnes etiam fere philosophos, ha duce 
 questiones, altera de immortalitate animarum, altera de corporum re- 
 surrectione, adeo copulates jugataque fuerunt, ut pro una eademque 
 haberentur," -which is also the doctrine of the Soulsleeper. 
 
 O 
 
290 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 is ; or whether there be an Intermediate State or World of 
 Spirits at all? Some Protestants say that there is; others, 
 who even deny the sleep of the Soul, say that there is not ; 
 and into these two classes the Protestant Churches are 
 divided ; and even with regard to those who admit an In- 
 termediate State, it is affirmed that Scripture says little 
 beyond assuring us that there is such a condition. 
 
 Indeed, it is affirmed by an advocate for the existence 
 of an Intermediate State, that in comparison with the doc- 
 trine of the Resurrection of the Body at the Judgment 
 Day,* " The view of our human nature in its Intermediate 
 State sinks into such insignificance before it, as to be left 
 to inference from parables and expressions by the way ; so 
 that we need not trouble ourselves with curious enquiries 
 about it, but regard it as the same thing to our immaterial 
 part as the Grave is to our material, in which it lies for a 
 short time to rise again for Eternity." Now, we have 
 already seen, that in the Intermediate State the Soul is 
 regarded as in a state of Death ; and therefore it is only 
 consistent that the Intermediate State should be repre- 
 sented as a Grave; so that in the Intermediate State 
 the Soul is affirmed to be dead and lying in its Grave. 
 
 12. Hence with regard to this Intermediate State says 
 another,-)- " Scripture says little beyond assuring us that 
 there is such a condition ; and the Scripture writers seem 
 always fond of bounding over that real but obscure region ; 
 and landing on the firm ground of the Second Advent and 
 the Resurrection, when the unnatural separation between 
 
 * Ministry of the Body, by R. W. Evans, B.D.; Vicar of Hever- 
 sham, and late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, p. 406. 
 f Christianity and our Era, by G. Gilfillan, pp. 396, 397. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 291 
 
 the Body and the Soul shall come to an end." ..." Death 
 is a parting, not a meeting ; it is a sorrowful parting, not a 
 joyful meeting ; it is a parting in feebleness and helpless- 
 ness to we know not whither, into a being we know not 
 what" . . . Therefore " I desire for myself some object and 
 event so glorious as shall carry my eye clean over and 
 beyond this chasm and abyss of being." How can we won- 
 der at this state of mind? for when the man dies the material 
 Body goes to its own grave in the churchyard, and the Soul 
 to its own grave in Hades ! Arid as to the Immortality of 
 the Soul, it is indeed, says one writer, taught in Scrip- 
 ture ; but is not sufficient to ground any ideas or rest any 
 conclusions upon. Another believer in an Intermediate 
 State speaks equally slightingly of the doctrine : it is not 
 properly a Christian tenet, since it is held by all the 
 heathen, even in a savage* state, in some shape or other ; 
 and as to Immortality "Immortality is indeed named 
 as the future condition of man, but then it is of that which 
 is mortal in him." These theologians, therefore, approxi- 
 mate so nearly to the doctrine of the Soulsleeper, that 
 there is scarcely the shadow of a difference between them. 
 Bishop Barringtonf indeed affirms openly what these 
 writers all but affirm. He and others of the same school 
 tell us plainly, that " the Immortality of the Soul is a 
 notion not to be met with in Scripture ;" and so far from 
 considering him to be in error, even your Grace maintains, 
 that " in the Word of God no such doctrine is revealed to 
 us : the Christian's hope, as founded on the promises con- 
 tained in the Gospels, is the Resurrection of the Body" 
 
 * Evans' Ministry of the Body, pp. 400, 401. 
 t See his works, vol. iii., p. 172. 
 
 O 2 
 
292 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 In such a state, then, of interpretation, may we not fairly 
 ask with one of the foregoing Christian writers " Who 
 can fathom the melancholy tidings communicated to us by 
 the everlasting yawn of the Grave ?"* 
 
 We are now enabled to see, how the Soulsleeper and 
 the believer in the doctrine of the Intermediate State, find 
 out at last that the alleged difference between them was 
 merely nominal ; and how, consequently, both of them can 
 describe the State of Man upon the cessation of the life 
 of the material body, in the same language ! 
 
 Behold now, therefore, the Orthodox divine, the pro- 
 fessed believer in the Intermediate State, stumbling at 
 last against his companion the Soulsleeper, in one and the 
 same land of sepulchral darkness ! 
 
 First the Soulsleeper or unbeliever in the consciousness 
 of the Soul after death :f 
 
 " If the Soul of a Saint departed were already raised to 
 glory, and exerting its energies in a much more perfect 
 manner than before, that Saint would not be said to be in 
 a land of forgetfulness merely because his soulless body 
 was so. But we have seen, that the grave was called a 
 place of darkness and silence, a land of forgetfulness, a 
 hiding place from God, a land in which there is no know- 
 ledge, and where all things are forgotten." 
 
 Secondly, the Orthodox believer in the consciousness of 
 the Soul after death ;f 
 
 ..." Let me alone, that I may take comfort a little 
 
 * Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, p. 40 ; Essay i. Seventh 
 Edition. 
 
 f Bishop Courtenay's Future States, p. 262. 
 J Dr. Adam Clarke's Commentary on Job x. 22. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 293 
 
 before I go, whence I shall not return even to the land of 
 darkness" etc. There are here a crowd of obscure and 
 dislocated terms, admirably expressive of the obscurity and 
 uncertainty of the subject. What do we know of the State 
 of separate Spirits? What do we know of the Spiritual 
 World ? How do Souls exist separate from their respective 
 bodies ? Of what are they capable, and what is their em- 
 ployment ? Who can answer these questions ? Perhaps 
 nothing can be said much better of the State than is here 
 said '* A land of obscurity, like darkness." 
 
 " ' The shadow of death.' A place where Death rules, 
 over which he projects his shadow, intercepting every light 
 of every kind of life. ' Without any order,' having no 
 arrangements, no distinctions of inhabitants : the poor and 
 the rich are there : the master and his slave, the king and 
 the beggar, their bodies in equal corruption and disgrace, 
 their Souls distinguished only by their moral character. 
 Stripped of their flesh, they stand in their naked simplicity 
 before God in that place. 
 
 " * Where the light is as darkness.' A palpable obscure : 
 it is space and place, and has only such light or capability 
 of distinction as renders darkness visible. The following 
 words of Sophocles convey the same idea, ' Darkness be 
 thou my light.' It is, as the Vulgate expresses it, 'a murky 
 land covered with the thick darkness of death : a land of 
 wretchedness and obscurities, where is the shadow of death ; 
 and no order but sempiternal horror dwells every where.' 
 Or, as Coverdale expresses this last clause, ' Whereas is 
 no order, but terrible fear as in the darkness.' A duration 
 not characterized or measured by any of the attributes of 
 Time ; where there is no order of darkness and light, night 
 
294 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 and day, heat and cold, summer and winter. It is the 
 State of the Dead ! The place of separate Spirits ! It is 
 out of Time, out of probation, beyond change or muta- 
 bility ! It is on the confines of Eternity ! But what is 
 THIS ? And where ? Eternity ! how can I form any con- 
 ception of thee ? In thee there is no order, no bounds, no 
 substance, no progression, no change, no past, no present, 
 no future ! Thou art an indescribable something, to which 
 there is no analogy in the compass of Creation. Thou art 
 Infinity and Incomprehensibility to all finite beings. Thou 
 art what, living, I know not ; and what I must die to 
 know ; and even then I shall apprehend no more of Thee 
 than merely that Thou art E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y." 
 
 If any one should doubt, whether or not, upon so ob- 
 scure a subject, this pious divine may not have been too 
 doubtful; and have too nearly approached, in consequence of 
 his uncertainties, to the positive doctrine of the Soulsleeper; 
 he must remember* "That each of the two opinions has 
 been held by able and pious men ; and I am convinced 
 that a person may be blameless in point of Faith, which- 
 ever of them he inclines to, provided he do not speak too 
 positively on so obscure a point ; or demand the assent of 
 others where the Scriptures do not speak, or, at least, do 
 not speak decidedly." 
 
 Now, no one will, I think, impute to Dr. Clarke pre- 
 sumption in speaking too positively on this subject ; or in 
 demanding the assent of others where doubt and darkness 
 are common to both. It is, however, to be observed, that 
 the primary images in the mind of Job were those of the 
 
 * A View of the Scripture Revelations concerning the Future State, 
 
 p. 48. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 295 
 
 grave and of the corruption of the dead body. These 
 images are adopted in Scripture to represent the Soul 
 when in a state of spiritual corruption, or lying dead in 
 trespasses and sins ; and these same images are presented 
 to us above, as faithfully depicting the ideas of a member 
 of the Catholic Church with respect to his destiny after 
 death. Now the question will naturally arise, whether 
 this be a sound and healthy state of mind with respect to 
 the doctrine of a Future Life ; or whether it does not more 
 nearly accord with that of a Church which has a name to 
 live but is itself dead. Is this what is meant by a " final 
 and full Revelation ?" Is this what is meant by " We 
 Protestants pretend to no more knowledge than the little 
 God has told us ?" Is this what is meant by " Now we 
 see through a glass darkly? 1 ' If so, what is it that is 
 seen ? " A land of darkness, as darkness itself, and of 
 the shadow of death without any order, and where the light 
 is as darkness." 
 
 Have we, then, here no evidence of the need of a Reve- 
 lation ? Of the prevalence of Naturalism and Materialism, 
 even among divines themselves ? If the theologian could 
 infer the necessity of " a more express Revelation" con- 
 taining clearer discoveries and fuller proofs of the Immor- 
 tality of the Soul and of a Future State, from the circum- 
 stance that the doctrine concerning these subjects had 
 been obscured and defaced, or denied by others ; have we 
 not ample evidence of the very same necessity in the 
 present state of the Church ? 
 
 Your Grace has observed that divines have made "the 
 Unity of God the great and difficult mystery ; and have in 
 fact so nearly explained it away, and so bewildered the 
 
296 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 minds of their disciples, as to drive them to withdraw their 
 thoughts habitually and deliberately from anything con- 
 nected with the subject ; as the only mode left for the 
 unlearned to keep clear of error." And what else has 
 been done with regard to the Immortality of the Soul, the 
 Resurrection, and the Intermediate State ? Any one who 
 has had experience in the world must know, that this is one 
 of the reasons for which so many withdraw their thoughts 
 habitually from the contemplation of these subjects ; as 
 they profess to know nothing of these things themselves, 
 and are only bewildered by what others tell them. 
 
 There are those, we are aware, even among Protestants, 
 who believe that the Soul of the saint, when released from 
 the body, is received up into glory. But do they, or do they 
 not believe that the Soul, in that state, is invested with a 
 body? Certainly they tacitly assume it; some openly affirm 
 it: "As the Soul is immortal," says one,* "so it is highly pro- 
 bable that it is clothed with some body or vehicle when it 
 leaves its earthly habitation." But then follows this question 
 by Bishop Barrington,-j- speaking of our present material 
 bodies; "If we can be conscious and happy without our 
 own bodies, what use can a body be to us when we revive? 
 It can add nothing to a Spirit capable of acting without it. 
 Nay, what is more, it must certainly be a clog to it ; let it be 
 as refined, as active, as powerful, as glorious, and as hea- 
 venly as it may. To be pure Spirit would be the greatest 
 perfection, if it could be attained. " But if the man become 
 a disembodied Spirit in the sense of being bodiless, the 
 
 * Fleming's Christology, p. 64. Cowie's Hulsean Lectures, p. 60. 
 See Cudworth's Intellectual System, vol. iv., p. 51. 
 f See his works, vol. iii., p. 170. 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 297 
 
 Resurrection of the material body is for the purpose of sup- 
 plying it with a body : but if it had a body before, the 
 Christian would have two glorified bodies : this being the 
 case, in order to prevent the embarrassment arising from 
 these two, it was necessary to regard the Soul, on its 
 departure from this world, as bodiless ; as this, however, 
 brings it in our conceptions to the verge of annihilation, the 
 more anomalous such a state can be represented, the more 
 does the Resurrection of the material Body become all 
 important. Therefore can the Soulsleeper most cordially 
 join with the Orthodox divine in maintaining the gran- 
 deur of the doctrine of a material Resurrection ; the one 
 regarding the Soul as per se a nothing, the other as next 
 to nothing; and thus, "How seasonably," says Bishop 
 Barrington,* " does the doctrine of the Resurrection come 
 to our aid ; since as we cannot enjoy without a body, we, 
 by the revelation of this doctrine, know that we shall have 
 a body again." Here then is belief founded upon un- 
 belief; faith upon infidelity ; the Resurrection of the Body 
 upon the nonentity of Spirit ; and Christianity itself upon 
 a denial of the Immortality of the Soul ! Hence the inten- 
 sity of zeal which has been shewn for the Resurrection of 
 the material body : it is all that the doctrine of Immor- 
 tality has to depend upon, and without which the cause of 
 Christianity is lost for ever ; for who would believe in a 
 Resurrection of naked simplicities, or metaphysical enti- 
 ties, or abstract principles? And yet without a Resurrection 
 what is Christianity ? 
 
 When, therefore, Bishop Bull observes, that when the 
 Soul is separated from the material body, he cannot tell 
 
 * Ibid., p. 172. 
 
 o 3 
 
298 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 whether it perceives by means of some new and subtler 
 organs suited to its state, or by a special act of the Divine 
 power; is not the difficulty easily removed by saying, 
 " There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body?' 1 
 When the Apostle says, that " whether he was in the body 
 or out of the body he could not tell," he was evidently 
 doubting whether he was in the material body ; but not 
 doubting whether he was in any body at all. If he heard 
 unspeakable words, how could he hear without ears? If 
 he saw things ineffable, how could he see without eyes ? 
 be sentient without sense ? or have senses without organs 
 of sense? God indeed, it is said, may exercise a special 
 act of Divine power on such an occasion ; but why resort 
 to special acts, when the simple notion of a spiritual body 
 endowed with spiritual senses, answers all the require- 
 ments ? But suppose the Soul to be disembodied, in such 
 a sense as to be without any body whatever ; and then in- 
 deed it is perfectly true, that we can no more perceive the 
 manner of the Soul's operation than a man born blind, that 
 never saw the light, can understand a discourse of colours, 
 or comprehend all the wonders and mysteries of the optic 
 science ; for it is inconceivable that half a man should see 
 better than a whole man : or that a man should see or hear, 
 when he is without that which is said to be essential to 
 him as man. 
 
 The subject of the World of Spirits is not indeed, in one 
 respect, so perplexed in the Roman Catholic Church, pro- 
 vided we separate what is de fide from what is not ; since 
 the Creed of that Church is positive as to there being an 
 Intermediate State of preparation for Heaven or Hell. 
 
 The faithful who have quitted visible communion with 
 
NEED OF A REVELATION. 299 
 
 the Church have not, therefore, quitted all communion ; but 
 with respect to the place and punishment of Purgatory 
 "she has on this point received no special revelations; and 
 when we* use the expression purifying fire, we employ it 
 only in the usual figurative sense. "-j- Still, here return the 
 old unconquerable difficulties ; for when we read that the 
 Soul of the beggar was carried by Angels into Abraham's 
 bosom ; we must remember that Abraham was then under- 
 going the curse and penalty of death, as being in a state of 
 separation from the body; in consequence of which, it must 
 also be remembered that, -I* " The soul of Abraham is not 
 the whole of Abraham :" the Soul is but half the man, so 
 that we have here one half of Abraham speaking to one half 
 of Dives ; both having left the other half behind them in 
 the material world. True it is, that such doctrines shock 
 all sensible minds ; but in the received Theology there is 
 no help for it, except in the alternative of the extinction of 
 the Soul at death, which is an extinction also of the fore- 
 going absurdities ; or else, in the investment of the Soul 
 after death with a spiritual Body. 
 
 But a Body cannot be conceived without extension. 
 What has no extension is nothing. Even the early Chris- 
 tians in their arguments against Atheists, says Cudworth, 
 were obliged to make this concession. If, then, there be 
 an extended spiritual Body, that Body must occupy Space ; 
 it must have locality ; in fine, there must be a WORLD for 
 
 * Moehler's Symbolilc ; vol. ii., p. 139. 
 
 f On this subject see the Tract upon Purgatory, by the Rev. J. H. 
 Smithson, Manchester. Also, on The Resurrection of the Body see 
 Mr. Noble's Appeal. 
 
 J See Calmet's Literal Commentary, vol. viii., p. 377. 
 
300 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 the Body to live in, and to supply to the senses of that 
 Body spiritual objects of sense ; and thus we come to 
 a WORLD OF SPIRITS. If it be asked where this is ; I 
 answer, where the spiritual Body is. And where is that ? 
 I answer, where the Spirit of man is. As long as the 
 Spirit of man is in the material body, the Spiritual 
 World surrounds him. He lives in the material World by 
 means of the material body, and in the Spiritual World by 
 means of the spiritual body. 
 
 The observation of Archbishop Tillotson is thus perfectly 
 true, that* " the spiritual part of man, which we call 
 his Soul, is united to a visible and material part, viz., 
 his Body ; the union of which parts constitutes a peculiar 
 sort of creature, which is utriusque mundi nexus, unites 
 the material and immaterial World, the World of matter 
 and of Spirits." 
 
 The idea of a spiritual Body, however, implies the idea 
 of extension, space, and place ; not so the idea of a mere 
 thinking principle. Consequently, if the Soul or Spirit 
 of man be regarded as a mere principle, even though 
 associated with matter, it can never imply the idea of any 
 substance, or of any Spiritual World in which that sub- 
 stance exists ; and consequently can never lead to any dis- 
 tinct conception or belief in the existence of a Spiritual 
 World surrounding the Spirit of man even while he is in 
 the material body. This is one principal cause of so much 
 obscurity of idea, so much indifference, and practical un- 
 belief in the existence of a Spiritual World about and 
 around us. 
 
 * Sermon 175; On the Immortality of the Soul as discovered by 
 Nature and by Revelation. 
 
A REVELATION GIVEN. 301 
 
 Even Dr. Samuel Clarke* was obliged to admit, that 
 "there is need of extension to the existence of every being;" 
 and Bishop Butler,-]- that "there is somewhat in the manner 
 of the existence of Spirits in respect of space, that more 
 directly answers to the manner of the existence of body ; 
 but what that is, or of the manner of their existence, I 
 cannot possibly form an idea." Why not? because he was 
 not aware that extension is not of one kind only, namely, 
 that which is proper to material substance. There is spi- 
 ritual extension as well as natural ; spiritual dimension 
 as well as 'material : the extension of spiritual body as 
 well as of natural body ; extension within extension, space 
 within space, body within body, world within world, Hea- 
 ven within Heaven, just as there is light within light, life 
 within life. Therefore, the extension of the Spiritual 
 World, as being within, has nothing in common with the 
 extension of the material as being without; any more 
 than the extension of the spiritual body has any thing in 
 common with that of the material. One world being 
 within the other as the Spirit of man is within the body, 
 so the extension of the second Heaven is within that of 
 the first, and the extension of the third Heaven within 
 that of the second. How this is, may be learned from 
 Swedenborg's doctrine of degrees. 
 
 If, now, there be an extended Spiritual Body, and an 
 extended Spiritual World, there will be extended objects of 
 sense in that World. This brings us to the following re- 
 marks of Swedenborg in the Arcana Ccelestia : 
 
 "443. In another life it is given to perceive clearly 
 
 * Second Letter to Bishop Butler, 
 t Fourth Letter to Dr. Samuel Clarke. 
 
302 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 what opinions people have entertained whilst they lived in 
 the body, concerning the Soul, or Spirit,* and concerning a 
 Life after Death ; for when they are kept in a state, as if 
 they were in the body, they then think in like manner, 
 and their thoughts are communicated as plainly as if they 
 were expressed aloud in speech. In the case of one parti- 
 cular person, not long after his decease, it was given me 
 to perceive that he believed indeed, as he himself con- 
 fessed, in the existence of the Spirit ; but imagined that it 
 must live after death an obscure kind of life, by reason 
 that, on the removal of the life of the body, there would 
 remain nothing but what was dark and obscure. He was 
 betrayed into this imagination by supposing that life de- 
 pended on the body : wherefore his idea of a Spirit was as 
 of a ghost, or phantom ; and he confirmed himself herein 
 by what he had observed concerning brute animals, that 
 they also have life in some respects resembling that of 
 men. But what was now his astonishment, when he saw 
 that Spirits and Angels live in the highest degrees of light, 
 of intelligence, of wisdom, and of happiness, attended with 
 such a clearness of perception as can scarcely be described ! 
 consequently that their life, so far from being obscure, was 
 most perfectly clear and distinct. 
 
 " 444. Discoursing with another, who during his life in 
 the body supposed that the Spirit was not extended, in 
 consequence of which principle he was unwilling to admit 
 
 * Swedenborg generally prefers using the term Spirit, as designating 
 the rational part of man; and Soul as designating the psychical. 
 Hitherto we have used the term Soul as synonymous with Spirit, be- 
 cause the authors quoted have so used it. No confusion however can 
 arise, if this distinction be kept in view. 
 
A REVELATION GIVEN. 303 
 
 of any expression respecting the Spirit which implied what 
 was extended ; I asked him, what he now thought of him- 
 self, since he was become a Soul or Spirit, and yet had 
 sight, and hearing, and smelling, and an exquisite sense 
 of touch, and desires, and thought, insomuch that he sup- 
 posed himself altogether as in the body ? Being still pos- 
 sessed with the same idea which he had entertained whilst 
 in the world, he said, That the Spirit is the thinking- 
 principle. In reply to this it was given me to ask him, 
 "Whether he did not know, from what he had learnt in the 
 former life, that bodily vision cannot exist without an 
 organ of vision, as the eye ? and how then can internal 
 vision or thought exist, without some organical substance, 
 in like manner, as the form and mode of its existence ? 
 He then acknowledged, that in the life of the body he 
 had been perplexed with this imagination concerning the 
 Spirit, that it was a mere thinking -principle without any 
 organized or extended substance, I proceeded further to 
 observe ; that if the Soul or Spirit were merely a thinking- 
 principle, man would have no need of so large a brain, in- 
 asmuch as the whole brain is the organ of the interior 
 senses ; that if it were not so, the skull might be hollowed 
 out and emptied of its contents, and the thinking -principle 
 still act the part of the Spirit ; that from this single cir- 
 cumstance, and also from the operation of the Soul upon the 
 muscles to the producing of so great motions, it might 
 appear very evident to him, that the Spirit is an organized 
 form or an organized substance. In fine, he confessed his 
 error, and wondered that he had been so infatuated. 
 
 l 445. It was further remarked ; that the learned are 
 entirely in this belief, that the Soul which is to live after 
 
304 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 death, or the Spirit, is an abstracted thinking -principle ; 
 which belief of theirs appears plainly from this circum- 
 stance, that they are unwilling to admit any expression 
 which has reference to what is extended, as applicable to 
 the Soul ; by reason that a thinking -principle abstracted 
 from the subject of thought is not extended, but only the 
 subject and objects of thought; for to such objects as 
 are not extended, men give limits by means of terms, and 
 make them extended, in order that they may apprehend 
 them. Hence it plainly appears, that the learned have no 
 idea of the Soul, or Spirit, but as of a thinking -principle ; 
 and thus they must needs believe, that when they die, it 
 will vanish or be as nothing. 
 
 " 446. I have discoursed with Spirits concerning the 
 common opinion which prevails amongst mankind at this 
 day that the existence of the Spirit is not to be believed, 
 because they do not see it with their eyes, nor compre- 
 hend it by the sciences; observing, that thus they not only 
 deny the extension of the Spirit, but also its substantiality, 
 inasmuch as they dispute concerning the nature of sub- 
 stance. And whereas they deny the extension of the Spirit, 
 and dispute about the nature of substance, they deny also 
 that the Spirit exists in any place, and consequently deny 
 its existence even in the human body ; when nevertheless 
 the most simple person might know that his Soul or Spirit 
 is in his body. The more simple Spirits were much as- 
 tonished to learn by this account, that mankind at this 
 day are so blind and foolish ; and when they were told of 
 some expressions which give occasion to dispute, such as 
 ' parts extraneous to parts,'* and the like, they called such 
 
 * See the dispute between Clarke and Dodwell on this subject. 
 
A REVELATION GIVEN. 305 
 
 things absurd, ridiculous, and farcical, which were never 
 designed to have any place in the mind, because they close 
 up the way to intelligence. 
 
 " 1533. Before my interior sight was opened, my idea 
 concerning the innumerable things which appear in the 
 other life, differed little from that which the generality of 
 people entertain, viz., that light, and such things as exist 
 by virtue of light, together with objects of sense, could 
 by no means have existence there. This idea was formed 
 in consequence of the prevailing imaginary conceit of the 
 learned respecting immateriality, upon which they so much 
 insist in their disquisitions on the nature of Spirits and of 
 all things relating to the life of Spirits ; from which no 
 other conception can be formed, than that, being immate- 
 rial, their state must either be so obscure as to fall under 
 no idea, or else that it is a mere nonentity ; for this is 
 implied in their notion of immateriality. Nevertheless, 
 the very reverse of this is the truth : for unless Spirits and 
 Angels were organized substances, it would be impossible 
 for them either to speak, or see, or think." 
 
 " I* have conversed with some persons on the third day 
 after their decease. Three of these had been known to 
 me in the world, to whom I related that preparations were 
 now being made for the burial of their body. I happened 
 to say '/or their burial:' on hearing which they were 
 struck with a sort of stupor ; and declared that they were 
 alive, but that their friends might commit to the grave 
 what had served them for a body in the world. They 
 afterwards wondered exceedingly, that when they lived in 
 the body, they did not believe there was such a life after 
 * Heaven and Hell, art. 452. 
 
306 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 death ; and they were especially astonished that, within 
 the Church, almost all are possessed by a similar incre- 
 dulity. Those who, while in the world, had not believed in 
 any life of the Soul after the life of the body, on finding 
 themselves to be living after death, are exceedingly 
 ashamed ; but those who had confirmed themselves in the 
 denial of it, are connected in society with their like, and are 
 separated from those who had maintained the belief of it." 
 
 "There* are Three States which man undergoes after 
 death, before he passes either into Heaven or into Hell." 
 
 " Thef First State is similar to what it had been in the 
 world. His countenance is similar ; his speech is similar ; 
 and his disposition is similar : consequently his moral and 
 civil life. In consequence of this, he is not aware but 
 that he is still in this world, if he does not advert to the 
 things which occur to him. . . . Thus the one life passes 
 into the other, and death is only the actual transit." 
 
 11 TheJ Second State of man after death is called the 
 state of his interiors ; because he is then let into his 
 interiors, which belong to his rational mind, or to his will 
 and thought ; and his exteriors, in which he was in his 
 First State, are then laid asleep." 
 
 "A Spirit in this Second State thinks from his actual will, 
 consequently from his actual affection, or from his actual 
 love ; and then his thought forms a one with his will so 
 completely that he scarcely appears to be thinking, but 
 only willing." 
 
 " All 1 1 men whatsoever are let into this state after death, 
 because it is the proper state of their Spirit." 
 
 * Ibid., art 491. f Ibid., art. 493. J Ibid., art. 499. 
 Ibid., art. 503. || Ibid., art. 504. 
 
A REVELATION GIVEN. 307 
 
 " When* Spirits are in this Second State, they openly 
 and completely shew what sort of persons they had in- 
 wardly been in the world ; and they actually make public 
 what they had then done and said in secret ; for, external 
 things no longer restraining them, they openly say 
 similar things, and also endeavour to perform similar 
 actions without any fear, as in the world, for their reputa- 
 tion. They are also then led into many states belonging 
 to their former evils, that it may, appear to Angels and 
 good Spirits what sort of beings they are. Thus are hidden 
 things laid open ; and things private uncovered, according 
 to the words of the Lord, * There is nothing covered that 
 shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall not be 
 known.' "| 
 
 Thus every unrepented sin remains, and contributes its 
 own part in forming the nature and quality of the Soul 
 itself; and no immediate mercy from God, no act of Justi- 
 fying Faith, independently of the nature and quality of the 
 man himself, effects the man's final salvation. As the 
 tree falls, so it lies ; and a man's destiny in the other 
 world, is not according to what he merely believes when he 
 dies, but according to what he is. 
 
 " The;f Third State of good Spirits is that of instruction ;" 
 for there are few who have not contracted in the world errors 
 and evils of some kind or other. These willingly receive 
 instruction in the truth conformable to the ruling good in 
 which they are, abandon their evils, and from this state pass 
 on to their mansion in the Heavens : while those who are 
 in evil as their ruling principle, refuse to be instructed ; and 
 
 * Ibid., art. 537. f Luke xii. 2, 3. 
 
 J Ibid., art. 512. 
 
308 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 thus their Third State is the same with their last, and they 
 choose their own path which leads to outer darkness. 
 
 This doctrine of the Intermediate State affords the key 
 to Swedenborg' s interpretation of the Apocalypse ; so that 
 the Apocalypse cannot, he says, be understood without it ; 
 since the principal part of the narrative of that Book treats of 
 the Church in the Intermediate State, or World of Spirits. 
 
 We have now traced the contrast between the teaching 
 of Swedenborg and the teaching o/the Church, or in the 
 Church, on this subject. The teaching of Swedenborg is 
 clear, certain, and definite ; that either of the Church or in 
 it, is obscure, uncertain, and indefinite. Which of the two 
 is the practical ? The answer is : The teaching which pro- 
 ceeds from the Church. Why so? Because 
 
 " Suppose* that the Soul does retain its consciousness, 
 and remain in a state of enjoyment or suffering during the 
 Intermediate time between Death and the Resurrection 
 there seems to be a good reason why this truth, supposing 
 it a truth, should not have been distinctly revealed. In 
 the first place, it could be of no practical necessity. If, as 
 is quite clear, a man's final condition depends on his con- 
 duct in this life, and cannot be altered by anything that 
 takes place after Death, there can be no advantage in his 
 knowing during his life, or his surviving friends after- 
 wards, what the Intermediate State is." 
 
 In like manner 
 
 u Suppose-j- the contrary opinion to be true ; that the 
 
 * View of the Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State. 
 Seventh Edition, p. 102. 
 
 f View of the Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State. 
 Seventh Edition, p. 105. 
 
IS UNCERTAINTY PREFERABLE. 309 
 
 Soul is in a profound insensible sleep during the Interme- 
 diate State ; there is good reason why this also should not 
 have been clearly revealed. It not only seems not neces- 
 sary to Christian practice, but it might with some Chris- 
 tians have a disheartening effect." 
 
 What, then, is the really practical view of the case? 
 We are presented with it in the following words : 
 
 " Our* present uncertainty is that which constitutes our 
 trial." 
 
 Is uncertainty, then, the real blessing ? The answer is ; 
 
 " Doubt^ is better than error or the chance of error ; 
 and acknowledged ignorance better than groundless pre- 
 sumption." 
 
 Well, then, the alternative is between doubt on the 
 one hand, and error or the chance of error on the other ; 
 or between ignorance and presumption. This is a 
 trial, indeed ! still trials of faith are blessings where 
 they end in strengthening faith. " He who begins by 
 believing," says a philosopher, "shall end in doubting; 
 and he who begins by doubting shall end in believing I" 
 But what shall we say if he who begins in doubting shall 
 end in doubting ; and this because " doubt is better than 
 error or the chance of error, and acknowledged ignorance 
 is wiser than groundless presumption?" What shall we 
 say of trials of faith which, we are told beforehand, can 
 end in nothing but uncertainty ? Surely these are trials 
 which tend not to strengthen but to enfeeble faith ; to 
 break up the mind altogether, and leave it a helpless, drift- 
 ing, sinking wreck, without the possibility of help from any 
 quarter ! The person, however, is consoled in this state 
 * Ibid., p. 50. + Ibid., p. 43. 
 
310 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 with the reflection that, even if he knew the truth, it 
 would be of no use to him ; and that this is one reason 
 why it is not revealed. Be it so : we see then one reason 
 why, to such a man, Swedenborg's Treatise on Heaven and 
 Hell is represented as non-practical : for to him the very 
 truth itself would be non-practical. For aught he knows, 
 therefore, Swedenborg's Treatise might be said to be non- 
 practical, for the very reason that it is true. At all events, 
 ignorance and uncertainty as to what becomes of him after 
 death, are, he is assured, better than presumption, error, 
 or the chance of error. 
 
 In vain does one theologian say ;* " Now I am not 
 speaking of Freethinkers, but of good and earnest people 
 they so overlook the time between Death and the Resur- 
 rection, as virtually to shut it out of their belief; they 
 make it almost a test of sound doctrine to leave out all 
 teaching of the Unseen State." In vain does another 
 lament, that ;-}- "No circumstance connected with modern 
 theology is more surprising than the vague and unsatisfac- 
 tory notions entertained by the generality of Christians 
 respecting the present and future conditions of the dead." 
 Why complain ? Is not this a really practical advantage ? 
 We are but as children ! we see but through a glass 
 darkly ! it doth not yet appear what we shall be, a deadj 
 " oyster," or a living man ! Why then pry into subjects 
 of such a nature ? why not let the Soul in Hades go on 
 
 * Sermons by Dr. Manning, formerly Archdeacon of Colchester : 
 Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, p. 326. 
 
 f Essays on the Advent and Kingdom of Christ, by the Rev. J. W. 
 Brooks, M.A., Vicar of Clareboro' ; p. 111. 
 
 $ See above, p. 274. 
 
"NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH." 311 
 
 sleeping, and the Soul upon earth go on doubting, and 
 theologians go on disputing, and unbelievers go on laugh- 
 ing ? If so, what then ? why then, it seems, we are pur- 
 suing a right course. " What* Scripture has left obscure, 
 we should be satisfied to let remain obscure UNTIL yes 
 UNTIL God Himself sees fit to clear it up !" 
 
 Having now completed our remarks concerning the In- 
 termediate State, or the World of Spirits, we next proceed 
 to Swedenborg's teaching concerning THE HEAVENS in the 
 Spiritual World. And 
 
 Here, first, we observe that in the received theology, the 
 Intermediate State is one in which, by some, the Soul 
 is recognized as a conscious being, distinct from the ma- 
 terial body. To overlook, therefore, the Intermediate 
 State, is, so far, to overlook this doctrine : to deny an In- 
 termediate State, is to deny this doctrine ; to have obscure 
 views of the Intermediate State, is to have obscure views 
 of this doctrine ; and, as the consequence has been that 
 the doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul has either been 
 denied, or represented as too obscure to be of any prac- 
 tical importance to the Christian ; as the necessity has hence 
 arisen, of providing a material body to impart reality to 
 the state of future existence ; so also has arisen a like ne- 
 cessity of providing a place for that body, viz., in the 
 case of the Blessed, material Heavens ; for it is clear that, 
 supposing the Spirit of man after death to possess already 
 a spiritual body, and, as such, an extense or place in 
 which to be ; a material abode is not required. 
 
 Bearing this in mind, the strictly literal interpretation 
 of the prophecies concerning the passing away of the 
 former Heavens and Earth, and the formation of the New 
 * See above, p. 267. 
 
312 WORLD OF SPIRITS. 
 
 Heavens and Earth, becomes a matter of supreme import- 
 ance ; for as a material body is requisite to make the Soul 
 an appreciable object, so a place of some kind is requi- 
 site for the material body ; and unless it can be provided, 
 the cause of Christianity is lost. Accordingly it is ob- 
 served, that,* 
 
 " The eternal habitation of the blessed is described by 
 the Apostle as ' new heavens and a new earth ;' meaning 
 by heavens the air we breathe and sky over our heads, as 
 he means by earth the place on which we dwell. And 
 this description must be understood, in a great degree at 
 least, literally ; since the blessed in the next world, hav- 
 ing real material bodies as now, though different from their 
 present bodies, must inhabit some place fitted for the re- 
 ception of such bodies ; though exempt, of course, from the 
 evils of the world they now dwell in, and from all tempta- 
 tions that would lead them into sin ; * righteousness,' says 
 the Apostle, will dwell in the new heavens and the * new 
 earth ' which God has promised." 
 
 Whether the place of habitation of the Blessed will be 
 this present earth, or whether it will be in some other 
 part of the Universe, we have no means, it is added, of 
 ascertaining, nor is it of any consequence that we should 
 know. 
 
 In the same manner, St. Peter's account of the fire 
 which is to consume the earth and all things in it, is, it is 
 said, to be taken literally, which also, it is stated, f " there 
 is no reason to doubt." 
 
 * A View of the Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, 
 
 etc. Condition of the Blessed, p. 246. Seventh Edition. 
 
 f A View of the Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, 
 
 etc. Condition of the Blessed, p. 254. Seventh Edition. 
 
"NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH." 313 
 
 Now that St. Peter was not here uttering any new pro- 
 phecy, but referring to the old, is generally granted. 
 Some expositors who have allegorized almost everything 
 else, have given a literal interpretation to " The New 
 Heavens and the New Earth;" while many ancient writers 
 who have literalized almost everything else, have allowed 
 to these things an allegorical sense. 
 
 First of all, with respect to St. Peter's account of the 
 fire : is it the fact that there is no doubt that it ought to 
 be taken literally ? 
 
 " It is true," says Dr. Lee,f "that St. Peter tells us 
 here of a dissolution of the heavens and of the elements 
 by fire ; which, if taken literally, received not their ac- 
 complishment in his days. But it may be asked, Is it 
 absolutely necessary they should be so taken ? If we ex- 
 amine the numerous prophecies relating to this particular 
 period, we shall find, I think, that they cannot be taken 
 literally. See for example, Deut. xxxii. 22; ''for a fire 
 is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest 
 Hell,' etc. ; after which we find, verse 43 ; ' the nations 
 shall rejoice with his people.' The physical world could 
 not therefore be so consumed. The same is the case 
 here in St. Peter, verse 13, ( Nevertheless we, according to 
 his promise,' i. e., as given in the Scriptures of the Pro- 
 phets, ' look for new heavens and a new earth,' i. e., a new 
 creation, mystically speaking. On this subject see too 
 Isaiah i. 7; xiii. 13 ; xxiv. 6 ; xxxiv. 4, with the parallel 
 places ; which must be quite sufficient to remove every 
 doubt, as to the true drift of all such places." 
 
 * An Enquiry into the Nature, Progress, and End of Prophecy, by 
 S. Lee, D.D., late Regius Professor of Hebrew, Cambridge: p. 111. 
 
 p 
 
314 THE THREE HEAVENS, 
 
 " There* can be no doubt, I think, that this notion 
 about a universal conflagration was originally taken from 
 the Bible, and misapplied both by heathens and believers;" 
 and, therefore, he says that St. Peter means, "Not heavens 
 with an earth physically New, or differently located, but 
 mystically New, i. e., a mystical or spiritual New Crea- 
 tion." 
 
 Of the passage in Isaiah Ixv. 17, to which St. Peter is 
 commonly supposed to refer, Forerius gives a similar in- 
 terpretation : 
 
 "'For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,' 
 i. e., I constitute a new world. In these words the Lord 
 foretold that all things were to be renovated by Christ ; 
 that old ceremonies were to b.e abrogated ; that a Church 
 was to be established ; so that we should seem to be in a 
 new world as it were. The 'new heavens' are the Apos- 
 tles: the 'new earth 1 is the new people, who, having put off 
 the old man, put on the new, to serve the Lord in new- 
 ness of spirit. Hence the frequent expression of New in 
 the Psalms ; ' Sing unto the Lord a new song. 1 The blind 
 Jews hope, that, in the time of the Messias, there will be 
 other heavens and another earth ; not considering that, in 
 the Scriptures, a thing is frequently called new, not because 
 it did not exist before, but because of its having ac- 
 quired a new quality ; as God says by the prophet 
 Ezekiel ; ' Make unto yourselves a new heart and a new 
 spirit;* that is, Be ye reformed in newness of mind ; on 
 which subject see Isaiah xliii., 'Remember ye not the former 
 things, neither consider the things of old. Behold I will do 
 
 * Notes to Eusebius on The Theophania, translated by Dr. Lee, 
 p. 87. 
 
" NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH." 315 
 
 a new thing / as also other places, in which Isaiah foretold 
 the Renovation, of which St. John in the Apocalypse, 
 chap xxi., has discoursed at large."* 
 
 In like manner, another author, Dr. Edwards, when 
 speaking of the Theory of the Earth by Dr. Burnett : 
 
 11 ' The-j- new heavens and new earth' in Isaiah| (where 
 they are interpreted to his hand, of Jerusalem the Church 
 of God), and in other places, are understood by him in a 
 strict and literal sense of a New Corporeal System of the 
 World. This is the perverseness of human wit, and it is 
 its own punishment. I heartily wish the learned author 
 were sensible of it, and then he would see that this notion 
 of a New Material Earth and a new set of heavenly 
 bodies for men to inhabit in, is all Romance and Fiction: 
 built only upon some distorted texts of Scripture, upon 
 some mistaken passages, for want of comparing them with 
 others, in the Sacred Writ." 
 
 So Mr. Faber; 
 
 "The passing away of a Heaven and an Earth, and the 
 introduction of a New Heaven and a New Earth denote, 
 sometimes the cessation of one Ecclesiastical Establish- 
 ment and the introduction of another in its place ; and 
 sometimes the transition of the same Ecclesiastical Com- 
 munity from one condition to another. . . . Signs among 
 
 * So also Sanctius, A Lapide, Calmet, and others. Indeed there is 
 a large collection of these interpretations in the Spiritual Exposition of 
 the Apocalypse, by the author of the present Letter, vol. iv., p. 450. 
 
 f Survey of all the Dispensations and Methods of Religion, by John 
 Edwards, B.D., vol. ii., p. 770. 
 
 J Isa. Ixv. 18, 19. 
 
 Sacred Calendar of Prophecy ; vol. i., chap, i., p. 17. 
 
 p 2 
 
316 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 the Heavenly bodies represent Ecclesiastical changes and 
 revolutions ; and an Earthquake is an Ecclesiastical con- 
 vulsion, or sudden mutation, by which the dominion of any 
 particular Church is thrown down in the region affected by 
 the Earthquake." 
 
 A corresponding interpretation of expressions generally 
 supposed to relate to the Last Judgment, is given by Dr. 
 Wordsworth : 
 
 "*/* will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the 
 earth beneath: blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. The 
 Sun shall be turned into darkness and the Moon into blood, 
 before that great and notable day of the Lord come.' 
 "Thus we are taught by an inspired Apostle, not to expect 
 a literal fulfilment of the prophecies in (the Sixth) Seal, 
 which describe a great elemental convulsion. We are not 
 to look for any terrific changes in the heavenly bodies 
 before Christ's Second Coming. But these prophecies are 
 spiritual, and to be understood spiritually. This is very 
 necessary to be remembered, lest our mind's eye should 
 not be open to the signs of our Lord's Coming, and so its 
 signs should be no signs to us ; and lest we should look 
 for other signs than the true ones ; and then that day 
 should come upon us unawares. It will so come on the 
 world. Upon the world it will come as a thief in the night; 
 but we are to take heed lest that day should overtake us as 
 a thief." 
 
 What now is the spiritual interpretation here recom- 
 mended ? It is as follows : 
 
 "The-j- Earthquake having been announced in the Sixth 
 
 * Lectures on the Apocalypse, by Christopher Wordsworth, D.D., 
 Canon of Westminster, p. 189. f Ibid., pp. 191, 192. 
 
317 
 
 Seal, a great convulsion takes place. ' The Sun becomes 
 like sackcloth ; the Moon as blood,' that is, the light of 
 Christ is obscured, and the Church will seem to be eclipsed. 
 4 The stars fall to earth as the fig-tree casteth its green 
 figs when tossed by the wind ;' that is, many who endure 
 but for a time, not being ripened by grace, will fall from 
 
 the faith Such is the description of the great civil 
 
 and ecclesiastical earthquake and storm, which, in a later 
 part of this Divine prophecy, is , called the conflict of 
 Armageddon ; and which, as appears from other parts of 
 the Apocalypse, will change the aspect of things in this 
 world, and terminate with the total destruction of the foes 
 of Christ." 
 
 Here, then, is the description of a civil and ecclesiastical 
 earthquake destined to change the aspect of things in this 
 world ; and which is expressed in language so appropriate 
 to St. Peter's description of the Judgment Day, that Dr. 
 Maitland* observes " Can any unbiassed reader nay, I 
 will venture to say, any reader, who is not devoted to 
 some system of chronological interpretation doubt that 
 this passage refers to the Day of Judgment ? If it does 
 not, may we not doubt that there is any passage in the 
 Scriptures about the Day of Judgment at all?" 
 
 Accordingly on the admonition of St. Peter, "Seeing then 
 that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of 
 persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godli- 
 ness^ Cocceius, who regards this passage as prophetic of 
 the dissolution of the present Ecclesiastical Economy, 
 gives the following application to the Church of Rome. 
 
 * An Attempt to Elucidate the Doctrines concerning Antichrist, p. 
 21. By S. R. Maitland. 
 
318 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 " Christians in the primitive times are here exhorted to 
 use their efforts that Antichrist should not enter into the 
 Church, and so apostacy ensue. For the reign of Anti- 
 christ would retard that reign of Christ under which all 
 nations were to become its subjects. But there is no other 
 means of averting corruption from the Church, than a 
 good life, and the study of all piety both in word and 
 deed. Neglect of Scripture, episcopal luxury, too high an 
 estimation of human traditions and conjectures, useless 
 pomps, admission into the Church of those who lie unto 
 Christ, aversion to labour, affectation of the pedagogue's 
 power, etc. these all have opposed an obstacle and re- 
 tardation to the peaceful reign of the Church. The 
 Christians who now are, and who have avoided those who 
 are in error, ought, in order to convert them, so to shine 
 that the nations may walk in their light." 
 
 We see, then, that there is very great doubt whether 
 the New Heavens and New Earth are to be interpreted in 
 the literal sense; for although some have no doubt that 
 they are to be understood in the literal, others have no 
 doubt that they are to be understood in the spiritual sense. 
 
 In such a state of interpretation, which is the safest and 
 most practical course to be taken ? The Jews believed 
 that the words were to be understood in the literal sense ; 
 and that "the Heavens and Earth" were to be lite- 
 rally consumed by fire. In this case, it was a truth 
 which was as practical to the Jews then, as it is to 
 Christians now. In the mean time, the prophecy has not 
 been fulfilled in a literal sense ; but it has been in an 
 allegorical. To the Jews, then, the most practical inter- 
 pretation of the prophecy, and that with which they were 
 
"NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH." 319 
 
 most immediately concerned, was the allegorical. What, 
 if the same be the case in regard to Christians ; and the 
 question concerning the Dissolution of the present Ecclesi- 
 astical Economy, be a far more practical question to us, 
 and one with which we are more immediately concerned, 
 than the general conflagration of the solar system ! What 
 happened to the Jews may, for aught we know, happen 
 to us. This, at all events,* " is very necessary to be re- 
 membered, lest our mind's eye should not be opened to the 
 signs of our Lord's Coming, and so its signs should be no 
 signs to us ; and lest we should look for other signs than 
 the true ones, and then that Day should come upon us un- 
 awares." 
 
 If this be the practical view of the subject, it is also the 
 very one which Swedenborg has set before us in his Trea- 
 tise on Heaven and Hell. Indeed, it is not only the most 
 practical, but as such the most real. According to the 
 received Theology, the Resurrection has no existence, the 
 spiritual Body has no existence, the New Heaven and 
 Earth have no existence : the Resurrection is to be, but 
 is not : the spiritual Body is to be, but is not : the New 
 Heaven and Earth are to be, but are not. The received 
 Theology is therefore a Theology of non-existents, de- 
 pending entirely upon faith and futurity. According to 
 the Theology of the New Church, the Resurrection now is: 
 the spiritual body now is: the New Heaven and Earth 
 now are. They are all present, all existing, realities. 
 Which then of the two "systems" is the most practical? 
 Of which can it most justly be said, " the system furnishes 
 abundant matter of faith and food for curiosity, but has 
 little or no intelligible reference t<5 practice ?" 
 * See above, p. 316. 
 
320 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 Now as doubt is better than error or the chance 
 of error, and ignorance is better than presumption; we 
 see why it is that between the two, as Swedenborg 
 says, " The* man of the Church at this day knows 
 scarcely any thing concerning Heaven and Hell, nor yet 
 concerning his own Life after Death, although all stand 
 plainly described in the Word." Plainly described in 
 the Word ! On the contrary, "!{ have always found, as 
 I dare say you will, that the more I enquire into these 
 matters by examining the Scriptures, and reasoning from 
 them, even when I have succeeded in ascertaining some 
 points, the more I am struck with the reflection how vast 
 is the extent of 'man 's ignorance on this awful and myste- 
 rious subject, and how unequal are his faculties in the 
 present state, to the full:): comprehension of it." 
 
 What is the cause of these opposite statements ? The 
 one says that he finds the whole subject unfolded in the 
 Scriptures : the other, that he finds scarcely anything. 
 To the one the Scriptures are professedly the fountain of 
 vast knowledge ; to the other, of vast ignorance. The 
 cause lies in this : that the one regards Scripture as a 
 Book written within as well as without: the other, as 
 written without only. Hence it is that by the interpreter 
 from within, the waters are regarded as very deep : by the 
 interpreter from without, as very shallow. Each one mea- 
 sures according to the length of his line, and the depth he 
 is enabled to sound. One man's mind measures a thou- 
 sand, and the waters are to the ankles : another measures 
 another thousand, and the waters are to the knees : an- 
 
 * See his Treatise on Heaven and Hell, art. 1. 
 f View of the Scripture Revelations, etc., p. 38. 
 t See above, p. 108. 
 
ON THE CAUSE OF OUR IGNORANCE. 321 
 
 other measures another thousand, and the waters are to the 
 loins.* " Afterwards he measured a thousand* and it 
 was a river that I could not pass over ; for the waters 
 were risen : waters to swim in : a river that could not be 
 passed over." 
 
 Even, however, supposing the Scriptures to contain so 
 abundant a revelation concerning the things of Heaven, 
 must we necessarily perceive it ? This brings us to the 
 argument of Paley, in his Sermon on The State after Death. 
 
 One of the most natural solicitudes of the human mind, 
 says he, is to know what will become of us after Death, 
 and what is already become of those friends who are gone. 
 Now, since of all the apostles perhaps St. John was the 
 most closely connected with his Master, and admitted to 
 the most intimate familiarity with him ; so, continues 
 
 " 1. What it was allowed, therefore, for man to know, 
 Saint John knew. Yet this very Saint John acknow- 
 ledges "that it doth not yet appear what we shall be;' 
 the exact nature, and condition, and circumstances of our 
 Future State are yet hidden from us. 
 
 " 2. I think it credible that this may, in a very great 
 degree, arise from the nature of the human understanding 
 itself. Our Saviour said to Nicodemus, ' If I have told 
 you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye 
 believe if I tell you of heavenly things ?' It is evident 
 from the strain of this extraordinary conversation, that the 
 disbelief on the part of Nicodemus, to which our Saviour 
 refers, was that which arose from the difficulty of compre- 
 hending the subject. Therefore our Saviour's words to him 
 * Ezekiel xlvii. 5. f Sermon on 1 John iii. 2. 
 
 P 3 
 
322 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 may be construed thus : ' If what I have just now said 
 concerning the new birth, concerning being born again, 
 concerning being born of the Spirit, concerning the agency 
 of the Spirit, which are all "earthly things," that is, are 
 all things that pass in the hearts of Christians in this their 
 present life, and upon this earth ; if this information prove 
 so difficult, that you cannot bring yourself to believe it, by 
 reason of the difficulty of apprehending it ; ' how shall ye 
 believe;' how would you be able to conquer the much 
 greater difficulties which would attend my discourse, ' if I 
 told you heavenly things ;' that is to say, if I speak to you 
 of those things which are passing, or which will pass, in 
 Heaven, in a totally different state and stage of existence, 
 amongst natures and beings unlike yours ? 
 
 " 3. The truth seems to be, that the human under- 
 standing constituted as it is, though fitted for the purposes 
 for which we want it, that is, though capable of receiving 
 the instruction and knowledge which are necessary for 
 our conduct and the discharge of our duty, has a native 
 original incapacity for the reception of any distinct know- 
 ledge of our Future Condition. 
 
 "4. The reason is, that all our conceptions and ideas 
 are drawn from experience (not, perhaps, all immediately 
 from experience, but experience lies at the bottom of them 
 all) ; and no language, no information, no instruction, can 
 do more for us, than teach us the relation of the ideas 
 which we have. Therefore, so far as we can judge, no 
 words whatever that could have been used, no account or 
 description that could have been written down, would have 
 been able to convey to us a conception of our Future State, 
 constituted as our understandings now are. 
 
ON THE CAUSE OF OUR IGNORANCE. 323 
 
 " 5. I am far from saying, that it was not in the power 
 of God, by immediate inspiration, to have struck light and 
 ideas into our minds, of which naturally we have no con- 
 ception, lam far from saying, that He could not, by an act 
 of His power, have assumed a human being., or the Soul of 
 a human being, into Heaven ; and have shewn to him or it, 
 the nature and the glories of that kingdom : but it is evident 
 that, unless the whole order of our present world be changed, 
 such revelations as these must be 'rare ; must be limited to 
 very extraordinary persons, and very extraordinary occa- 
 sions. 
 
 11 6. And even then, with respect to others, it is to be 
 observed, that the ordinary modes of communication by 
 speech or writing are inadequate to the transmitting of any 
 knowledge or information of this sort : and from a cause, 
 which has already been noticed, namely, that language 
 deals only with the ideas which we have ; that these ideas 
 are all founded in experience ; that probably, most probably 
 indeed, the things of the next world are very remote from 
 any experience which we have in this ; the consequence 
 of which is, that, though the inspired person might him- 
 self possess this supernatural knowledge, he could not 
 impart it to any other person not in like manner inspired. 
 
 " 7. When, therefore, the nature and constitution of the 
 human understanding is considered, it can excite no sur- 
 prise, it ought to excite no complaint, it is no fair objection 
 to Christianity, ' that it doth not yet appear what we shall 
 be.' I do not say that the imperfection of our under- 
 standing forbids it (for, in strictness of speech, that is not 
 imperfect which answers the purpose designed by it), but 
 the present constitution of our understanding forbids it." 
 
324 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 1. Such is the statement of Paley: he affirms that what 
 it was allowed for man to know, St. John knew. Yes! 
 what it was allowed for man THEN to know. St. John 
 was the writer of the Apocalypse : he wrote concerning 
 the very subjects we have been considering the New 
 Heavens, the New Earth, the New Jerusalem descending 
 from God out of heaven, and all things being made new, 
 When, therefore, St. John said, " It doth not yet appear 
 what we shall be," did he mean to say, that at that time 
 he fully understood the Apocalypse ; the utterances of the 
 seven thunders ; the perfecting of the mystery of God in 
 the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel; and that, hav- 
 ing understood all these things, he could plainly perceive 
 that no further light would then be thrown upon the 
 nature, condition, and circumstances of our Future State : 
 in fine, that at the close of the Dispensation, as at the 
 beginning, it would be equally true that " it doth not yet 
 appear what we shall be ?" 
 
 2. This is not altogether incredible, if, as Paley says, "it 
 be credible that this may in a great degree arise from the 
 nature of the human understanding itself." What then is 
 this nature? Paley illustrates it by that of Nicodemus. 
 The nature of the understanding of Nicodemus is speci- 
 fied, in order to shew why " it doth not yet appear what 
 we shall be" We find no fault with the illustration: it 
 is the one which Swedenborg himself adopts, though he 
 makes a different use of it. Paley regards it as illustrat- 
 ing the limits of the human mind universally; Swedenborg 
 as illustrating those of the merely natural man. Now, 
 there is no question that all things which are absolutely 
 beyond the reach of all human faculties, are equally beyond 
 
ON THE CAUSE OF OUR IGNORANCE. 325 
 
 the reach of the natural man and of the spiritual man. 
 In this respect Nicodemus and John stand upon the same 
 level ; there is no error in illustrating the case of the one 
 by that of the other, for one knows as much as the other ; 
 that is to say, neither of them know anything. But was 
 the subject of the new birth of this description ? If so, 
 why did our Lord say, " Art thou a Master In Israel, and 
 knowest not these things?" If not, what was that consti- 
 tution of the understanding in virtue of which Nicodemus 
 was unable to apprehend heavenly things ? Was it not 
 that of the natural man who perceiveth not the things of 
 the Spirit of God, since they are spiritually discerned? 
 and does not the constitution of the understanding of the 
 spiritual man differ so entirely from that of the natural 
 man, that it is a positive presumption for the natural 
 man, as such, to attempt to know spiritual things ? And 
 why? 
 
 3. Because his own understanding constituted as it is, 
 though fitted for its own purposes in acquiring the know- 
 ledge suited to his state, has yet " a native original inca- 
 pacity for any distinct knowledge of our Future Condi- 
 tion." 
 
 4. The reason is, that all his conceptions and ideas are 
 drawn from his experience ; and no language, information, 
 or instruction can do more than teach him the relation of 
 the ideas which he has. Now, ideas drawn from expe- 
 rience, mediately or immediately, are ideas drawn from 
 without, according to the maxim nihil in intellectu quod 
 non prius in sensu; and this, Paley intimates, is a general 
 law of the human mind. But the case of Nicodemus in 
 regard to the new birth, seems to have been that of omne 
 
326 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 in sensu, nihil in intellectu. Why so ? An eminent philo- 
 sophic writer thus accounts for it :* 
 
 " It was plainly the intention of Nature, that our 
 thoughts should be habitually directed to things external ; 
 and accordingly the bulk of mankind are not only indis- 
 posed to study the intellectual phenomena, but are incapa- 
 ble of that degree of reflection which is necessary for their 
 examination. Hence it is, that when we begin to analyse 
 our own internal constitution, we find the facts it presents 
 to us so very intimately combined in our conceptions with 
 the qualities of matter, that it is impossible for us to draw 
 distinctly and steadily the line between them ; and that, 
 when mind and matter are concerned in the same result, 
 the former is entirely overlooked, or is regarded only as 
 an accessory principle dependent for its existence on the 
 latter. To the same cause it is owing, that we find it so 
 difficult (if it be at all practicable) to form any idea of our 
 intellectual operations, abstracted from the images sug- 
 gested by their metaphorical names." 
 
 Suppose, now, that a mind so constituted be referred for 
 a knowledge of " what we shall be," to an examination of 
 the Scriptures ; what will be the answer ?f " I have 
 always found that the more I inquire into these matters by 
 examining the Scriptures and reasoning from them, even 
 when I have succeeded in ascertaining some points, the 
 more I am struck with the reflection, how vast is the extent 
 of man 1 s ignorance on this awful and mysterious subject, 
 and how unequal are his faculties in the present state to 
 the full comprehension of it." Suppose, again, such a mind 
 
 * Dissertations, etc., by Dugald Stewart ; p. 67. 
 t A View of the Scripture Revelations, etc., p. 38. 
 
ON THE CAUSE OF OUR IGNORANCE. 327 
 
 should be referred to any true Revelation concerning 
 Heavenly things, will not the answer be the same ? Will 
 there not be the same complaint of " difficulty," " impos- 
 sibility," "original native incapacity," and so forth? 
 Undoubtedly ; and in this case the complaint is perfectly 
 just, the argument unanswerable ; for " How can these 
 things bef" How can any one, be he who he may, com- 
 prehend anything concerning heavenly things ? Is it not 
 as impossible as that a man should enter a second time 
 into his mother's womb, and be born? 
 
 We acknowledge, indeed, that there is certainly no little 
 difference between a " vast ignorance" and a " full com- 
 prehension ;" but the question is, whether there may not 
 be something intermediate. Still, how vast soever be the 
 ignorance on this subject there is no difference be- 
 tween the language of Paley and that of Swedenborg, 
 if we keep in view the distinction between the natural 
 and spiritual mind ; for Swedenborg also equally affirms, 
 and for the same reasons, that there is a " native ori- 
 ginal incapacity in the human mind constituted as it 
 now is," to understand heavenly things. What then ! 
 Does he say with other divines, that therefore a man 
 must never enquire into them? No! he points out the 
 necessity of a reconstitution of the mind. The natural 
 man, says he, must be regenerate or born of the Spirit, 
 he must become a new creature, and as such one of 
 the sons of God. What says Paley to this? for the 
 question is important as determining the limits and the 
 constitution of the human understanding in relation to 
 the knowledge of a Future State. What is it that is 
 meant by Regeneration? What by a New Creature? 
 
328 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 What by sons of God? " NOTHING," says Paley ;* " no- 
 thing, that is, to us : nothing to be found, or sought for, in 
 the present circumstances of Christianity." Behold here 
 then, revealed to the face of open day, the real cause of 
 our " native original incapacity " for any distinct know- 
 ledge concerning Heaven ; of our vast ignorance concerning 
 heavenly things ! Swedenborg had thought and taught 
 that RegeMeration means something : this Master in Israel, 
 that it means nothing! 
 
 But Paley, alas ! upon this point was not orthodox ; for 
 the Catholic Church maintains the doctrine of Regenera- 
 tion, and maintains it to mean something. Well then what 
 does it mean?-}- "That," says Chrysostom, "which the 
 womb is to the offspring, water is to the believer : he is 
 fashioned and formed in the water. But that which is 
 fashioned in the womb, needeth time; whereas in the 
 water, all is done in an instant. For the nature of the 
 body is such as to require time for its completion; but 
 spiritual creatures are perfect from the beginning." What 
 Paley thought of this doctrine is evident, viz., that it 
 resolves itself into a nonentity ; for he was not a man 
 to suppose that the reconstitution of the human under- 
 standing could be effected by water, in water, much less 
 in an instant ; and it must be owned that neither has the 
 Catholic Church fallen into such an absurdity ; and there- 
 fore, instead of acknowledging that the human understand- 
 ing is reconstituted in an instant, repudiates it altogether 
 in matters of religion, and substitutes Faith ; finding that 
 in spiritual things the human understanding is as intract- 
 
 * Sermon i., 2 Peter iii. 15,16; at the end. 
 f Catena Aurea of Aquinas: John iii. 5. 
 
ON THE CAUSE OF OUR IGNORANCE. 329 
 
 able and perverse after Baptism as it was before. Accord- 
 ing to the Catholic Church, therefore, Regeneration does 
 not reconstitute the understanding, but repudiates it. 
 
 Either way, then, there is no reconstitution of the 
 understanding, nor is Regeneration concerned with it : 
 heavenly things are as much above its reach as ever, and 
 thus u it doth not yet appear what we shall be." The 
 opposition to Swedenborg's Treatise on Heaven and Hell 
 is thus one and the same with the opposition to his doc- 
 trine of Regeneration. It is the case of Nicodemus over 
 again : Paley himself has placed the argument upon this 
 ground. 
 
 How can these things be? "Words," says a well-known 
 commentator,* " which do not seem to be very far removed 
 from actual derision." And certainly the question, " How 
 can a man enter a second time into his mother's womb and 
 be born?" does not imply a more sensuous conception of 
 the truth than is implied in popular objections to Sweden- 
 borg's statements. Some have thought that Swedenborg 
 materializes heavenly things ; and Nicodemus thought that 
 the Teacher who had come from God did the same; for 
 his difficulty arose from this very circumstance. They do 
 not perceive, that, like Nicodemus, they themselves are 
 the materialists because of their own low apprehensions. 
 It is not enough that we are told what to think; we 
 must know also how to think, for otherwise the thoughts 
 presented by others will be sure to assume the sensuous 
 condition of our own : however spiritual in themselves, yet 
 they will be apprehensible by us only under the grossest 
 material forms. In this case, all right thinking must 
 * Bengel. 
 
3.30 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 depend entirely upon a right constitution of the mind 
 itself. It seems however that, in regard to eternal things, 
 there can be no such thing as a right constitution of the 
 mind, unless it be that according to which we know not 
 either what to think, or how to think. For 
 
 " The* human understanding, constituted as it is, though 
 capable of receiving the instruction and knowledge which 
 are necessary to the discharge of our duty, has a native 
 original incapacity for the reception of any distinct know- 
 ledge concerning our Future Condition," Our Future Con- 
 dition is a condition out of Time : and, " It is impossible 
 that man, so long as he exists in Time, should contem- 
 plate an object in whose existence is no Time. For the 
 thought by which he contemplates it must be one of his 
 own mental states : it must have a beginning and an end : 
 it must occupy a certain portion of duration, as a fact of 
 human consciousness. There is, therefore, no manner of 
 resemblance or community of nature between the repre- 
 sentative thought and that which it is supposed to repre- 
 sent 5 for the one cannot exist out of Time, and the other 
 cannot exist in it " therefore also " The command, so 
 often urged upon man by philosophers and theologians of 
 various ages and schools, * In contemplating God tran- 
 scend Time,' if meant for anything more than a figure of 
 rhetoric, is equivalent to saying * Be man no more : be 
 thyself God.' " 
 
 Certainly a being who exists only in Time, cannot think 
 of any object in whose existence there is no Time. But 
 is it the fact, that man, as such, exists only in Time ? If, 
 in his Treatise on Heaven and Hell, Swedenborg calls upon 
 
 * See above, p. 322 ; Mansell's Bampton Lectures, pp. 81, 82. 
 
ON THE CAUSE OF OUR IGNORANCE. 331 
 
 the reader who is in Time, to think of objects in which 
 there is no Time, he gives us the reason, viz., that man is 
 not only in the Natural World as to his exteriors, but 
 simultaneously also in the Spiritual World as to his in- 
 teriors ; so that as to his exteriors he partakes of the 
 conditions of Time ; as to his interiors, of the conditions of 
 Eternity. Philosophers and theologians have themselves 
 acknowledged this truth. The primal elements of our 
 human nature, says one,* "teach' us, that we are not only 
 formed for Eternity, but actually living in Eternity ; that 
 our nature may well bear the shock of a change, which is 
 in truth no change." "We are," says another, f "in 
 a World of Spirits as well as in a World of Sense; and 
 we hold communion with it, and take part in it, though 
 we are not conscious of doing so. ... The World of Spirits, 
 though unseen, is present : present, not future, not distant. 
 It is not above the sky : it is not beyond the Grave : it 
 is now, and here : the kingdom of God is among us." 
 
 As man exists therefore simultaneously in both Worlds, 
 his thoughts partake of both conditions ; hence, the man 
 is enabled to contemplate Eternal things, because he is 
 actually even now in the Eternal world. Our exterior 
 thoughts, or those of the natural man, are conditioned in 
 Time and Space : our interior thoughts are not so con- 
 ditioned. The natural man thinks in Time and Space, 
 and/rom Time and Space. The spiritual man thinks in 
 Time and Space, but not from Time and Space : if he did, 
 
 * Lectures on the History of Ancient Philosophy, by Archer Butler, 
 vol. i., p. 64. 
 
 f The Invisible World: Sermons by Dr. H. Newman; vol. iv., pp. 
 233235. 
 
332 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 he would be subject to the same fallacies as the natural 
 man, and there would be no difference between them. All 
 knowledge indeed proceeds from without to within ; but all 
 heavenly affections vitalizing that knowledge, proceed 
 from within to without. These affections descend from 
 above ; from heaven itself by influx into the first prin- 
 ciples of a man's being, and thence in an orderly series 
 into the ideas of the natural man, those for instance which 
 have been derived outwardly from experience, and recon- 
 stitute them, so as to make them serve as a body suitable 
 to new and interior ideas as the soul. A new rational prin- 
 ciple is thus imparted to the man ; the quality of the under- 
 standing being according to the quality of the truths it 
 receives ; thus the man himself becomes a new creature. 
 When, therefore, in contemplating God and heavenly 
 things, we are called upon to transcend the conditions of 
 Time, this is no more a figure of rhetoric than when the 
 rational man is called upon to transcend the conditions of 
 sense. In the Eternal World, equally as in Time and 
 Space, there is succession ; but it is succession of state, 
 not of Time. To all appearance, says Swedenborg, there 
 are in heaven both Space and Time, as in the natural 
 world, but it is only an appearance ; for they are of a 
 different origin and nature. There is a Sun in Heaven, as 
 there is a Sun upon earth ; but the Sun in Heaven is the 
 glory of the Lord ; that glory is the Divine Wisdom, the 
 brightness of the everlasting light ; and all apparent mo- 
 tions in Heaven arise from changes of state in relation to 
 this spiritual Centre. 
 
 The native incapacity, then, of the human mind in 
 general, for any distinct knowledge of heavenly things, is, 
 
ON THE CAUSE OF OUR IGNORANCE. 333 
 
 as we have seen, precisely the same with that under which 
 Nicodemus himself laboured. Swedenborg, therefore, lays 
 down, as a first principle, the necessity of a Regeneration 
 of the mind : Paley denies it ; although how there can be 
 a more perfect display of the religion of Christ without it, 
 is a question to which his theology returns no answer. To 
 assume the sensuous condition of the mind as plainly the 
 intention of our Creator, simply because it is the universal 
 condition of mankind in the present day ; to build upon it a 
 philosophy shewing that all our ideas are conditioned only 
 in Space and Time ; to introduce this philosophy into reli- 
 gion, in order to shew that man can have no knowledge of 
 heavenly things, and as such that the revelations made to 
 Swedenborg must be pure fictions, this this is the very 
 philosophy and religion of the natural man laying down 
 the limits of religious thought to the spiritual man. 
 
 What then does Paley substitute, in the present case, for 
 this reconstitution of the human understanding ? Imme- 
 diate inspiration* 
 
 5. " I am far from saying," he observes, " that it was 
 not in the power of God by immediate inspiration to have 
 struck light and ideas into our minds of which naturally 
 we have no conception." But why immediate inspiration 
 when we can do without it ? For the Son of God is coine 
 and hath given us an understanding, that is to say, illustra- 
 tion of mind, a heavenly knowledge, sense, and relish of 
 heavenly things. Here then is the new understanding 
 required for the perception of heavenly things, without 
 any immediate inspiration, that is to say, in Paley's sense 
 of the term, as signifying miraculous. 
 
 Suppose then, with this explanation, we proceed to the 
 * See above, p. 323. 
 
334 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 particular case of Swedenborg ; especially as it is by no 
 means improbable that this is one of the cases which Paley 
 had in view, when he remarks ; 
 
 " I* am far from saying that God could not, by an act 
 of His power, have assumed a human being or the Soul of 
 a human being into Heaven ; and have shewn to him or it 
 the nature and the glories of that kingdom. But it is 
 evident that unless the whole order of our present world be 
 changed, such Revelations as these must be rare : must be 
 limited to very extraordinary persons, and very extraor- 
 dinary occasions" 
 
 He does not say that such Revelations are either impos- 
 sible or absurd : he does not assume it as a question relat- 
 ing only to Mahomed or to the enthusiast. He says only 
 that it is a case limited to very extraordinary persons and 
 very extraordinary occasions. Be it so : 
 
 Was there, then, anything very extraordinary in the 
 occasion upon which Swedenborg wrote, viz., that of the 
 approaching French Revolution? I need scarcely say, 
 that he himself speaks of it as a crisis in the state of the 
 Catholic Church ; from which the commencement of a new 
 Era was to be dated. What, however, is the testimony 
 of others? 
 
 A writer of that period, when treating of the "Religious 
 and Moral Instruction dictated by the present awful State 
 of the Christian World" bears the following witness : 
 " It-j- is clear that Divine Providence is prosecuting some 
 great and extensive plan in this lower world. What its 
 
 * See above, Ibid. 
 
 f Appendix to Leland's View of the Deistical Writers, by W. L. 
 Brown, D.D., Principal of Marischal College, Professor of Divinity, etc. 
 Aberdeen. 
 
ON THE CAUSE OF OUR IGNORANCE. 335 
 
 peculiar nature may be, it would be rash and presumptuous 
 to determine. But, with a desire of moral and religious 
 improvement, it certainly becomes us to attend to the most 
 striking features of the Divine Dispensations, as far as 
 they can be discerned by our feeble and clouded sight. 
 Everything now happening on the great theatre of human 
 affairs, is extraordinary, and repugnant to the experience 
 of ages immediately preceding." ..." Wherever we turn 
 our views, nothing is presented J)ut the most melancholy 
 subjects of contemplation. We behold the strongest bonds 
 of Society burst asunder over a considerable part of Chris- 
 tendom, the tenderest charities of nature trodden under 
 foot : impiety, blasphemy, and Atheism stalking on the 
 earth with daring front, and bidding defiance to the 
 thunder of the Almighty." 
 
 It was when these thunders began to threaten, that 
 Swedenborg took up his pen and wrote. So much for the 
 occasion. But what as to the mode of communicating the 
 information ? 
 
 Here we are told that, the ordinary modes of commu- 
 nication by speech or writing are inadequate to any 
 knowledge or information of this sort. Why so ? " Be- 
 cause language deals only with the ideas which we have, 
 and these ideas are all founded in experience." Now this 
 is the very reason assigned by Deists for not receiving 
 the narratives contained in the Bible. Both classes of 
 writers assume, that, in a question of this kind, the alter- 
 native is between Naturalism on the one side, and Imme- 
 diate Inspiration on the other ; the intermediate, viz., 
 Regeneration, or the reconstitution of the human mind, 
 being equally omitted by both. What therefore is the 
 
336 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 conclusion both of the Deist and Divine? It may be 
 stated in the words of Paley, " The* consequence of 
 which is, that though the inspired person might himself 
 possess this supernatural knowledge, he could not impart 
 it to any other person not in like manner inspired." This 
 being the case, the Deist argues that there is no use in 
 Revelation, unless the reader pretends to miraculous in- 
 spiration. Had Paley recognized the true doctrine of 
 Regeneration, he would have said ; that, although the in- 
 spired person might himself possess this knowledge, he 
 could not impart it to any person whose ideas were all 
 derived from merely outward things ; and as such, in his 
 unregenerate state, had a native original incapacity for 
 understanding spiritual things. In regard to such a mind 
 it can excite no surprise, it ought to excite no complaint, 
 it is no fair objection to Christianity, ' that it doth not yet 
 appear what we shall be.' Why not? Because in this 
 case, we know not what we are. The man who lives a 
 merely natural life, says Swedenborg, cannot know any- 
 thing of what is transacting within him : spiritual things 
 are out of the region of his consciousness, and are alto- 
 gether to him as though they were not : hence too it is 
 that he knows nothing of the manner how he is regene- 
 rated, and scarcely that he is to be regenerated. It doth 
 not yet appear to him what he is. 
 
 Here, then, we see unfolded the cause of the incompre- 
 hensibility of Heavenly things ! It is not that they have 
 no relation to us : it is not that they are taking place in a 
 state of being, amongst natures altogether unlike our own, 
 in such a sense that there is no analogy between Heaven 
 * See above, p. 323. 
 
KNOWLEDGE OF HEAVENLY THINGS. 337 
 
 and Earth ; for were this the case, man, in order to enter 
 into Heaven hereafter, must lose not only his personal con- 
 sciousness but his personal identity : the cause lies rather 
 in this ; that man has become merely natural : the kingdom 
 of Heaven is not within him, and hence the things of 
 Heaven do not concern him : they are out of the sphere 
 of his consciousness, and therefore incomprehensible ; and 
 any one who should undertake to describe to him heavenly 
 things, such as the nature of heavenly Joy, for instance, 
 would appear to him to be only some enthusiast whose 
 imagination was carried away by things as incompre- 
 hensible in themselves as they are non- practical. Thus, 
 for example ; 
 
 "It is not known," says Swedenborg,* " what heavenly 
 Joy is; because they who have thought about it, have 
 formed their judgment from the external joys which are of 
 the natural man, and have known nothing of the internal 
 and spiritual man, and therefore nothing of his delight 
 and blessedness. If those who are in spiritual or internal 
 delight, were to tell them the true nature of heavenly 
 Joy, they would not be able to comprehend it ; because it 
 would require ideas unknown to them, and thus could not 
 fall into their perception, and therefore it would be amongst 
 those things which the natural man rejects." 
 
 Accordingly, when it is said, " Happy or blessed are 
 the pure in heart, for they shall see God :" in order to 
 describe, in this case, the nature of this heavenly felicity, 
 it would be requisite to shew its intrinsic relation to purity 
 of heart. This would be the practical view of the subject, 
 
 * See his Treatise on Heaven and Hell, art. 395. Concerning 
 Heavenly Joy and Happiness. 
 
 Q 
 
338 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 and this is precisely the method of Swedenborg. " Eternal 
 happiness," says he,* "which is also called heavenly Joy, 
 is imparted to those who are in love and faith to the Lord 
 from the Lord. That love and faith have in their very 
 selves that Joy. That man comes into it after death, who 
 hath heaven in himself. Meanwhile, it lies stored up and 
 concealed in his internal." 
 
 The same is the case with regard to the glories of 
 Heaven, in general ; the true knowledge of them cannot 
 be separated from the regenerate life ; and accordingly are 
 all treated of in relation to it by Swedenborg, as we shall 
 have occasion to see. 
 
 Even the very things which " eye hath not seen, nor 
 ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to 
 conceive," may thus be things which have a relation to 
 man in this world, as having a relation to the Regenerate 
 life : " There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth" 
 In this case, therefore, a knowledge of the nature of hea- 
 venly joy is not necessarily non-practical : nor is it in 
 every sense incomprehensible : though so much only is 
 known to each man, as his own particular state renders 
 him capable of perceiving. 
 
 Upon this principle of relation to the regenerate life, 
 a knowledge of heavenly things may be both communi- 
 cated and comprehended : but without it, neither the one 
 nor the other. 
 
 All-|- our consciousness has its origin in things incompre- 
 hensible : and, in the regenerate man, is in a state of cor- 
 respondence with them. The relation of things incompre- 
 
 * Arcana Coelestia, art. 10,722. 
 
 f See here Butler's Lectures on Ancient Philosophy, vol. ii., p. 364. 
 
HOW CAN THESE THINGS BE ? 339 
 
 hensible to things comprehended is a relation of gradations, 
 represented by the Three Heavens. The things in the 
 Highest or Third Heaven are in themselves incomprehen- 
 sible to the Second : those in the Second, incomprehensible 
 to the First or lowest. Nevertheless, those which are in 
 the Third Heaven descend by influx into the Second ; and 
 thence by influx into the First, where they are clothed in 
 outward representative forms and manifested to the Angels 
 who are there. St. John being caught up into this Hea- 
 ven, was commanded to write what he saw, because it 
 could be expressed by earthly symbols which should signify 
 to men upon earth heavenly things; i.e., such as related 
 to the Lord's Church both in Heaven and upon Earth. 
 
 It is therefore not true that " though the inspired per- 
 son might himself possess supernatural knowledge, he 
 could not impart it to any other person not in like manner 
 inspired ;" as if every man must necessarily be caught up 
 into Heaven like the writer of the Apocalypse, before it 
 was possible for him to understand its contents ;* whereas 
 the kingdom of Heaven may descend into him. In order 
 however to comprehend angelic truth in an angelic man- 
 ner, we must have angelic affections ; and only those truths 
 can be perceived, which correspond with these affections. 
 
 All heavenly affections are those of love to the Lord 
 and love to the neighbor ; it is the loves of self and of 
 the world which are opposed to these affections, and which 
 enfeeble, pervert, or altogether extinguish them. The 
 admonition therefore to " transcend time " is primarily 
 addressed to the affections ; and is only in other words, 
 
 * See here Arcana Coelestia, art. 9094, 9543. Also Treatise on 
 Heaven and Hell, art. 239. 
 
 Q2 
 
340 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 the same with that of St. Paul, " Set* your affections on 
 things ABOVE, and not on things on the EARTH ; for ye are 
 dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God" We are 
 not called upon to cease to have natural affections, but the 
 supernatural must be in them ; and, in this case, the natural 
 will acquire a very different quality from what they would 
 otherwise possess. 
 
 So far, then, as our affections are in correspondence with 
 heavenly truths, we may perceive or apprehend these 
 truths ; and it is because those of the merely natural man 
 are not in a state of correspondence but of opposition to 
 them, that he cannot perceive them. In such a case, "it 
 can excite no surprise, it ought to excite no complaint, it 
 is no fair objection " to any Revelation of " what we shall 
 be," that the natural man cannot understand it, or should 
 exclaim with Nicodemus " How can these things be .*" and 
 in order to shew that they cannot be, should quote the 
 Scriptures and maintain that "Now we know only in part" 
 that "It doth not yet appear what we shall be" -for 
 u now we see through a glass darkly" 
 
 To conclude this particular topic. " Diligentf researches 
 at home," says Dr. Edwards, "and travels into remote 
 countries, have produced new observations and remarks, 
 unheard-of discoveries and inventions. Thus we surpass 
 all the times that have been before us ; and it is highly 
 probable that those which succeed, will far surpass these 
 in all manner of human literature. And why a proportion- 
 able improvement in Divine knowledge, and in moral and 
 Christian endowments, may not be expected, I confess I 
 
 * Col. iii. 2. 
 
 f Survey of all the Dispensations and Methods of Religion, p. 615. 
 
DAY-DREAMS. 341 
 
 do not understand. Can there be any reason given, why 
 God should not prosper Religion as well as Arts ? Why 
 we may not look for increase of knowledge in the Church, 
 as well as in matters that relate only to Nature ? Why 
 there may not be a perfection of understanding in the 
 one, as well as in the other?" 
 
 We now pass on to a different subject : we come to 
 certain arguments alleged to be conclusive against the 
 narratives of Swedenborg concerning Heaven and the 
 Angels, arguments which, when we find them urged by 
 such writers as your Grace, Archdeacon Paley in his 
 Evidences of Christianity, and the Bampton Lecturer of 
 A.D. 1784, ought at least to be worth something. In order, 
 then, not to shun any portion of the objections, I shall 
 quote them at large. 
 
 First, it is urged by your Grace in allusion to infidels : 
 " The* Christian may ask them, how it came to pass, 
 that no one of our sacred writers has given a full, minute, 
 and engaging account of all that is, according to him, to 
 take place at the End of the Word ; of all the interesting 
 particulars of the Day of Judgment ; of the new bodies 
 with which men will arise ; and of the glories that shall 
 be revealed in Heaven ; or has given any account at all, or 
 at least any from which a decisive conclusion can be drawn, 
 of the condition in which men are to remain during the 
 interval between Death and the Resurrection. It is plain 
 that nothing could have been more gratifying to the curio- 
 sity of all who had an interest in the subject ; nothing 
 more likely even to allure fresh converts, than a glowing 
 description of the joys of Heaven : it would have been 
 * Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, Essay iv., p.'158. 
 
342 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 easily believed, too, by those who gave credit to the writer, 
 as it is plain Paul supposed the Corinthians did : it would 
 have been very easy again for an impostor to give a loose 
 to his fancy, in inventing such a description ; and to an 
 enthusiast it would have been unavoidable : he who was 
 passing off his day-dreams for revelations, on himself as 
 well as on others, would have been sure to dream largely 
 on such a subject. Why then did not Paul do anything of 
 the kind ? I answer, because he was not an impostor, nor 
 an enthusiast, but taught only what had been actually 
 revealed to him, and what he was commissioned to reveal 
 to others." 
 
 The conclusion would seem, from these words, to be con- 
 fined to the particular case of St. Paul, and to shew what 
 the Apostle was not : but in the sequel it is extended to 
 all who pursue a contrary course, and is designed to shew 
 what they are ; in other words, that in all such cases, their 
 alleged Revelations do not come from God, but are those 
 either of the impostor, or enthusiast. 
 
 The whole of this argument, however, is founded on that 
 of Paley in his Evidences of Christianity* and is derived 
 from what he calls the negative character of our Lord's dis- 
 courses ; derived, i.e.j not from what they did, but from 
 what they did not contain. Thus' 
 
 " They exhibit no particular description of the Invisible 
 World. The future happiness of the good and the misery 
 of the bad, which is all we want to be assured of, is directly 
 and positively affirmed, and is represented by metaphors 
 and comparisons, which were plainly intended as meta- 
 phors and comparisons, and as nothing more. As to the 
 * Page 276. 
 
GENERAL LANGUAGE OF SCRIPTURE. 343 
 
 rest, a solemn reserve is maintained. The question con- 
 cerning the woman who had been married to seven bro- 
 thers, * Whose shall she be at the Resurrection ?' was of a 
 nature calculated to have drawn from Christ a more circum- 
 stantial account of the state of the human species in their 
 Future Existence. He cut short, however, the enquiry by 
 an answer, which at once rebuked intruding curiosity, and 
 was agreeable to the best apprehensions we are able to 
 form upon the subject, viz., that '/they who are accounted 
 worthy of that resurrection, shall be as the Angels of God 
 in heaven.' I lay a stress upon this reserve, because it 
 repels the suspicion of enthusiasm ; for enthusiasm is wont 
 to expatiate upon the condition of the departed, above all 
 other subjects, and with a wild particularity. It is more- 
 over a topic which is always listened to with greediness. 
 The teacher, therefore, whose principal purpose is to draw 
 upon himself attention, is sure to be full of it. The Koran 
 of Mahomet is half made up of it." 
 
 The argument is further stated in the following remarks 
 of Dr. White in his Bampton Lectures ; and in all its 
 force is obviously urged in the Essays against the narra- 
 tives of Swedenborg. 
 
 " Our* Holy Scriptures are the only compositions that 
 can enable the dim sight of mortality to penetrate into the 
 Invisible World, and to behold a glimpse of the Divine 
 Perfections. Accordingly, when they would represent to 
 us the happiness of Heaven, they describe it not by any- 
 thing minute and particular, but by something general and 
 great; something, that without descending to any determi- 
 
 * Bampton Lectures, by J. White, D.D., Professor of Arabic, etc. 
 Oxford ; p. 267. 
 
344 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 nate object, may at once, by its beauty and immensity, 
 excite our wishes and elevate our affections. Though in 
 the prophetical and evangelical writings, the joys that 
 shall attend us in a Future State are often mentioned with 
 ardent admiration ; they are expressed rather by allusion 
 than similitude, rather by indefinite and figurative terms, 
 than by anything fixed and determinate. " ~Eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of 
 man, the things which God hath prepared for them that 
 love him" 
 
 Such then is a statement of the objections. Now this 
 language of the Apostle is admitted to have a primary 
 relation, not to the Future life, but to the present ; not to 
 a Revelation of what is to be in another World, but to the 
 Christian Revelation as already made to mankind in the 
 present ; and will any one say, that this general and inde- 
 finite language of the Apostle contains all that is suffi- 
 cient for any one to know in this world with respect to 
 Christian^, without entering into further particulars ? 
 
 The very general, indirect, and unsystematic manner in 
 which it is affirmed that the Scriptures have spoken of the 
 Future Condition of the Blessed, happens to be. moreover, 
 the very manner in which it is also affirmed that they 
 treat of Christian doctrine and morality. " Why,* for 
 instance," it is asked, " are many of the Christian doctrines 
 so indirectly taught in the Scriptures?" " Why are many 
 of the most important articles of faith rather implied than 
 taught ?" " Why this difficulty, when more direct and 
 systematic statements of the main points of faith might 
 
 * Peculiarities of the Christian Religion ; p. 260 ; extracted from a 
 work On Unauthoritativc Tradition, bv Dr. Hawkins. 
 
MINUTENESS OF DETAIL. 345 
 
 have been given, and have prevented many controversies 
 and heresies ?" and why is it, we may add, that neither 
 St. Paul, nor any other of the Sacred Writers, has given a 
 full and detailed account respecting the other World ? In 
 this latter case the answer is plain ; " Because they were not 
 impostors or enthusiasts, but plain, simple honest men, who 
 taught only what had been revealed to them, and what 
 they had been commissioned to reveal to others. You 
 may safely defy an unbeliever to -give any other answer if 
 he can. For near eighteen centuries has this proof re- 
 mained uncontradicted ; and in all that time no one has 
 given, or even attempted to give, any explanation of the 
 brief, unadorned, cool, and unpretending accounts he gave 
 of matters so interesting to man's curiosity," etc. 
 
 If, then, in regard both to particulars concerning Chris- 
 tian doctrine and particulars concerning a Future State, 
 Scripture is equally silent ; the silence is broken first by 
 the Church in supplying Creeds, Formularies, Articles of 
 Faith, and in general a more systematic teaching of doc- 
 trine ; afterwards by Swedenborg, in more systematic 
 instruction concerning the other World. If, then, to speak 
 where Scripture is said to be silent, be the characteristic 
 of the enthusiast or impostor, as is argued in the case of 
 Swedenborg with respect to the other World; what be- 
 comes of the corresponding case of the Church with respect 
 to doctrine ? 
 
 But let us take the case of Moral instruction. 
 
 " The* relative duties of husbands and wives, of parents 
 and children, of masters arid servants, of Christian teachers 
 and their flocks, of governors and their subjects, are set 
 
 * Paley's Evidences of Christianity, part ii., chap, ii., p'. 290. 
 
 Q3 
 
346 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 forth by St. Paul, not indeed with the copiousness, the 
 detail, or the distinctness of a moralist, who should in these 
 clays sit down to write chapters upon the subject, but with 
 the leading rules and principles in each, and above all, 
 with truth and with authority." 
 
 Now it is the very absence of copiousness, detail, and 
 distinctness which is said to characterize the teaching of 
 Scripture concerning another Life. But will any one say 
 that if the moral philosopher should not maintain the 
 alleged reserve of Scripture upon moral subjects, he is 
 open to the charge of enthusiasm or imposture ? 
 
 When, however, it is affirmed that the language of 
 Scripture concerning another World is only general and 
 indefinite, entering into no minuteness of detail ; it may 
 be useful to enquire how far this is the fact. And here 
 we find that so far from its being the fact, the advocates for 
 the Divine inspiration of Scripture have actually argued 
 from the minuteness of detail upon subjects of this kind, in 
 order to prove the authority of Scripture ; while opponents 
 have argued from the same fact in order to disprove it. 
 
 The following observation is to the effect, that no 
 minuteness of detail, such as we find in Scripture, would 
 have been permitted, if means had not been provided for 
 maintaining the purity of the document in which we 
 find it : 
 
 " When* we read this account, so minute and circum- 
 stantial, of the various disclosures which God has made to 
 man, we cannot believe that no information has been im- 
 parted as to the amount of care taken to ensure the purity 
 of the documents in which they are preserved." 
 
 * Inspiration of Holy Scripture, by W. Lee, M.A., Fellow and Tutor 
 of Trinity College, Dublin, p. 252. 
 
MINUTENESS OF DETAIL. 347 
 
 In the following observation minuteness of detail in pro- 
 phetic Visions, is urged as a proof of the prophet's me- 
 mory : 
 
 " The* simple fact, that the prophets of God subse- 
 quently describe the scenes enacted before the eye of the 
 Soul, even entering with the utmost minuteness upon all 
 the details connected with their Visions, affords the clearest 
 proof that their powers of memory were retained throughout 
 unimpaired, and of itself preclud.es the possibility of their 
 having been unconscious." 
 
 The same minuteness of detail is urged by another 
 writer as an argument for literal interpretation. 
 
 Most interpreters regard the vision in the Temple in 
 Ezekiel as allegorical ; but " It-)- is not easy to conceive 
 why directions so minute as his should be given, but in 
 order to a real literal building." 
 
 Another thinks that the minuteness of detail is an argu- 
 ment for the reality of the Visions. J 
 
 " The things seen in Vision by Ezekiel are described 
 with all the minuteness of detail and sharpness of outline 
 which belong to real existence." 
 
 Another thinks that the minuteness of detail proves the 
 contrary : 
 
 u Nothing exhibits more fully the prejudices and pre- 
 possessions with which some modern writers approach this 
 whole subject than the remark of Knobel, that prophetic 
 
 * Ibid., p. 205. 
 
 f Archbishop Newcome on Ezekiel, note, p. 151. 
 % Encyclopedia Biblica, art. Ezekiel. 
 
 Inspiration of Holy Scripture, by W. Lee, M.A., etc., p. 172, 
 note. 
 
348 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 Visions cannot have taken place as they are represented, 
 because most of them are described so circumstantially and 
 diffusely, and withal so clearly, accurately, and perfectly, 
 that they cannot possibly have been so seen." 
 
 Another thinks the minuteness of detail a defect in the 
 style :* 
 
 "As Ezekiel describes, designs, paints, and exhausts 
 all minutiae, he sometimes injures his poems." 
 
 Another regards the minuteness of detail as exemplify- 
 ing the Divine character of the Vision : 
 
 " Iff Ezekiel is circumstantial in describing the won- 
 derful scenes which are presented to him in the Visions of 
 God, he should be regarded as a faithful representer of 
 the Divine revelations for the purpose of information and 
 instruction; and not as exhausting an exuberant fancy 
 in minutely filling up an ideal picture." 
 
 We are not, however, left to the opinions of interpreters 
 only upon this subject ; as instruction is supplied to us 
 from out of the very Vision itself. Thus, for instance : 
 
 " Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine 
 ears, and set thine heart upon ALL that I shall shew thee ; 
 for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou 
 brought hither. Declare ALL that thou seest to the house 
 of Israel." For among all the minute particulars which 
 were exhibited in the Vision, there is, says an eminent 
 interpreter^ nothing superfluous, nothing unnecessary; 
 everything was to be explained to the sons of Israel as 
 having a useful meaning. " Set thine heart upon ALL that 
 
 * Eichhorn, see Archbishop Newcome on Ezekiel, p. 26. Preface. 
 
 f Ibid., p. 27. 
 
 J Villalpandus in Ezekielem, torn, ii., p. 172. 
 
MINUTENESS OF DETAIL. 349 
 
 I shall shew thee," i.e., says another interpreter,* "Thou 
 must let nothing pass without due observation. The shew- 
 ing of them the house was that they might endeavour to 
 understand the measures of it, and so have the knowledge 
 of it and of the Christian Church exactly in their minds. 
 It was a spiritual measuring which Ezekiel had, and such 
 a measuring they were to make ; to look at the true marks 
 of the Church which are essential and spiritual, not ex- 
 ternal and accidental." 
 
 A similar admonition is given with regard to the ordi- 
 nances of the Temple; " Son of man, mark well, and behold 
 with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears ALL that I say unto 
 thee concerning ALL the ordinances of the house of the Lord, 
 and ALL the laws thereof" If there were not a spiritual 
 meaning in ALL these ordinances and laws, to what purpose 
 would be the minute instructions concerning linen bonnets 
 for the heads of the priests, linen garments for their loins, 
 and other particulars of the same description; such as 
 "the ephod, mitre, breeches, and girdle which was the 
 habit of the ordinary priests, and which were all of fine 
 linen, contrived for glory and beauty? " 
 
 But let us pass from the Temple in Ezekiel to the 
 Temple in the Pentateuch. We are told that 
 
 "Thef Jewish tabernacle and temple, with all their 
 principal parts, were formed so as to be symbolic of things 
 in the true and spiritual HEAVENS. ' Let them make me 
 a Sanctuary that I may dwell among them. According to 
 all that I shall shew thee, after the pattern of the taber- 
 nacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even 
 
 * Greenhill on Ezekiel xliii. 10. 
 
 f Future States, by Bishop Courtenay, p. 365. 
 
350 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 so shall ye make it? And after a minute description of 
 some of the chief contents of the tabernacle it is added, 
 ' Look that tlwu make them after their pattern which was 
 shewed thee on the Mount ;' i. e., on Mount Sinai, where 
 Moses beheld the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched 
 and not man; into which Christ entering, entered into 
 Heaven itself, and the immediate presence of God." 
 
 Here then it seems that the Temple is symbolical of the 
 HEAVENS, and the things in the Temple of the things in the 
 HEAVENS. If, then, Moses has given us a minute descrip- 
 tion of the Temple and the things it contains, an interpre- 
 tation of these must so far supply us with a minute de- 
 scription of HEAVEN. In this case, the assertion that the 
 Scriptures furnish us with no particulars concerning 
 Heaven is true only upon the ground, that we are ignorant 
 of the symbolical meaning of the Temple and its contents. 
 Suppose, then, some interpreter should in due time dis- 
 cover their proper meaning : in that case he would be 
 doing what Swedenborg has done, furnishing minute de- 
 tails concerning Heaven ; laying himself open to the charge 
 of being an enthusiast or an impostor ; and the Scriptures 
 themselves to that of a false revelation 1 
 
 Further : If we regard minuteness of detail in respect of 
 heavenly things as the criterion of a false revelation, the 
 interpreter is supplied with a most important rule of inter- 
 pretation, namely, in all cases of this kind to be as inde- 
 finite, and to generalize as much as possible; lest, by 
 pursuing a contrary course, he endanger the Divine au- 
 thority of Scripture 1 
 
 Accordingly, this seems to be the rule which interpre- 
 ters generally have adopted. Thus for instance : the 
 
MINUTENESS OF DETAIL. 351 
 
 following description, as is admitted, refers to the Church 
 in Heaven as well as to that upon Earth. " Behold I will 
 lay thy stones with fair colors, and thy foundations with 
 sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and 
 thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant 
 stones" " These,"* it is said, " seem to be general 
 images to express beauty, magnificence, purity, strength, 
 and solidity ; agreeably to the ideas of the Eastern na- 
 tions ; and to have never been ^intended to be strictly 
 scrutinized, or minutely and particularly explained, as 
 if each of them had some precise moral or spiritual 
 meaning." 
 
 Now to Swedenborg, on the contrary, the images did 
 not seem to be general only, but particular : it appeared 
 to him that they were intended to be strictly scrutinized, 
 to be minutely and particularly explained as if each had 
 its own spiritual meaning. " The Word is so written," says 
 he, " that every particular thing, even the most minute, 
 corresponds to those things which are in heaven." This is 
 the real ground of the minute particulars which he gives 
 concerning Heaven. Modern interpreters in general may 
 regard him as wrong in such a method of interpretation. 
 Ancient interpreters would have thought him right. Be- 
 tween the two, the question may be regarded as at least an 
 open one. But to maintain that the Scriptures never enter 
 into particulars concerning the things of a Future Life, 
 and, as such, that general and indefinite language is the 
 characteristic of a true revelation ; definite and particular, 
 the characteristic of a false one ; is laying down a rule of 
 interpretation which, in order to demolish the authority of 
 * Lowth on Isaiah; liv. 11. 
 
352 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 Swedenborg's statements, first demolishes that of the 
 Bible. Besides : what sort of reasoning is this ? The 
 Scriptures do actually enter into particulars when treating 
 of another Life ; but in interpreting these particulars we 
 must give them a general not a particular signification ; 
 and, this done, we may deny that Scripture enters into 
 any particulars concerning another Life; and may con- 
 trast its own indefinite language with the definite language 
 of enthusiasts and impostors. 
 
 But further : the minute details given in the Book of 
 Exodus concerning the patterns of things in the heavens, 
 have even been a considerable stumbling-block to un- 
 believers. 
 
 " Our author talks," says Dr. Leland speaking of Lord 
 Bolinbroke,* " of the priests wearing a ridiculous cap and 
 breastplate, fringes and bells ; and thinks it absurd to 
 suppose that such trifles as these were the institutions of 
 Divine Wisdom ; but it was wisely ordered under that 
 constitution, that nothing relating to Divine worship should 
 be left to their own invention. It was judged proper to 
 give them rules descending even to minute particulars ; 
 and to confine them to those rules, the more effectually to 
 hinder them from deviating into endless superstition." 
 
 A similar argument is urged in the Essays in regard to 
 certain other regulations, which, it is said, required to be 
 detailed with the u utmost minuteness" in order to impress 
 them upon the mind of the Jew. This, however, according 
 to Swedenborg, was not the reason of the circumstantial 
 details into which Scripture enters on those occasions. 
 They might indeed serve this purpose in a subordinate 
 * Letter 29. Vol. ii., p. 125. 
 
MINUTENESS OF DETAIL. 353 
 
 point of view ; but the minuteness of the instruction given 
 to Moses in the Law, and the minuteness of detail ob- 
 servable in the visions of the prophets, have, according to 
 Swedenborg, one common origin ; namely, in the circum- 
 stance of their spiritual significations according to the law 
 of correspondence. 
 
 Minuteness of description, however, is not confined to 
 one part of Scripture only. Paley, before committing 
 himself to his argument, should have remembered the 
 observation of Bayle " In* particular, we must abstain 
 from rallying the Mahomedan Paradise upon the article of 
 its gold, jewels, and other such ornaments ; for you will 
 find as many ornaments of this kind, and as many sorts of 
 precious stones, in the description which the Apocalypse 
 gives us of Heaven, as in the best furnished jeweller's 
 
 Accordingly Dean Wodehouse, in his notes upon chap, 
 xxi., observes ; 
 
 " Here follows a very gorgeous description of the New 
 City, which, conformably to the prophecy of Isaiah, is 
 built of precious stones, with a superb costliness beyond 
 the reach of earthly potentates. The gems, employed to 
 decorate this glorious city, are such as have ever been in 
 the highest request in the Eastern regions which produce 
 them." What now becomes of Paley's doctrine of reserve ; 
 or of the "brief, dry, unpretending, uncircumstantial 
 manner " in which a Future State is everywhere spoken 
 of by the Sacred Writers? The dilemma, however, is 
 avoided in this case in the same manner as before : u These 
 images seem never to have been intended to be strictly 
 * See his Dictionary, art. Mahomed. 
 
354 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 scrutinized, or minutely and particularly explained, as if 
 they had each of them some moral and precise meaning." 
 But assuredly, if this be the case, they are only a multi- 
 tude of needless particulars. Yet, says another inter- 
 preter, " Every sentence of this Book is pregnant with 
 meaning : not a word ought to pass unnoticed."* 
 
 We may now understand the reason of the following 
 observation in Swedenborg's Treatisef on Heaven and 
 Hell ; and the ground of the objection to it. 
 
 " Concerning correspondences I have also been informed, 
 that not only the palaces and houses, but the minutest 
 particulars both within and without them, correspond to 
 the interior things which are in the Angels from the Lord ; 
 that an entire house corresponds to their good, and the 
 various things within it to the various particulars of which 
 their good is composed ; and that all things out of the 
 house correspond to their truths which are derived from 
 good, and also to their perceptions and knowledges : that 
 since the whole corresponds to the goods and truths ap- 
 pertaining to the angels from the Lord, therefore they 
 correspond to their love and thence to their wisdom and 
 intelligence; because love is of good; wisdom also is of 
 good and at the same time of truth ; and intelligence is of 
 truth derived from good. These interior things are per- 
 ceived by the Angels when they look at those objects, and 
 on this account they delight and affect their minds more 
 than their eyes." 
 
 Suppose, in the next place, we pass on to the alleged 
 RESERVE with respect to MARRIAGE in Heaven. On this 
 
 * Dr. Wordsworth's Lectures on the Apocalypse, p. 162. 
 f Article 186. 
 
RESERVE OF THE SCRIPTURES. 355 
 
 subject, it is well known, that Swedenborg is somewhat 
 copious ; and it is urged, on the contrary, that our Lord in 
 his reply to the Pharisees on this subject, cut short the 
 inquiry by an answer which at once rebuked intruding 
 curiosity, and was agreeable to the best apprehensions we 
 are able to form upon the subject. " I lay a stress," says 
 Paley, " upon this RESERVE, because it repels the suspi- 
 cion of enthusiasm."* 
 
 Are we then to presume that the reason for which our 
 Lord did not discourse upon this subject to the Sadducees, 
 was only lest they should consider him to be an enthusiast ? 
 Or was it because, though he had something to say upon 
 that subject, the Sadducees were not in a fit state to receive 
 it? Or again, when Paley says that " our Lord cut short 
 the enquiry of the Sadducees concerning the woman that 
 had been married to seven brothers, by the general answer, 
 that * they who are accounted worthy of that resurrection 
 shall be as the angels of God in heaven, and that in hea- 
 ven they neither marry nor are given in marriage,' does 
 Paley mean to say, that this is all that the Christian Church 
 pretends to know upon the subject ? and that he who pre- 
 tends to more is either an enthusiast or an impostor ? If 
 so, let us try the Christian Church itself by this test. 
 
 We are informed by Bishop Patrick, that the profoundest 
 of the Hebrew divines, having such a notion as this among 
 them, that sensible things are but an imitation of things 
 above ; conceived from thence that there was an ORIGINAL 
 PATTERN of that love and union which is between a man and 
 his wife here in this world ; so that they seem to say the 
 same that the Apostle Paul doth, when he tells us that 
 * See above, p. 343. 
 
356 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 marriage is " a great mystery," but he speaks concerning 
 "Christ and his Church." "This notion," says the 
 bishop, " was so ancient among these doctors, that they 
 had it before the times of Christ. It gives the plainest 
 account why John the Baptist uses the words Christ, and 
 Bridegroom, as if they were in a manner synonymous and 
 of the same import ; and why Christ himself compares the 
 whole business of his heavenly kingdom to a marriage, or 
 marriage feast, which a King made for his son." Here 
 then we are distinctly told, that marriage on earth has its 
 archetype in Heaven ; and consequently that there is in 
 Heaven a state corresponding to marriage. 
 
 But is this all ? Let us further ask, on what occasion 
 Bishop Patrick makes this remark. It is in the way of 
 Preface to the Song of Solomon, the subject of which is 
 the Love of Christ to his Church, and reciprocally of the 
 Church to Christ; and "it is very delightful," says he, 
 " to contemplate how the parable agrees with the spiritual 
 things which are thereby figured. Unto which the doc- 
 trine of St. Paul is conformable, when he saith, ' The in- 
 visible tilings of God from the creation of the world are 
 seen by those that are made.' " 
 
 Now in the way of argumentum ad hominem, have we 
 not here an answer to Paley ? Is not the Christian Church 
 here entering into the very subjects on which, according 
 to Paley, our Lord maintained a reserve? And does it 
 not also explain why the reserve was maintained? "It 
 was the practice of the Jews," says the Family Bible, "to 
 forbid their children the reading of this book till their 
 judgment was sufficiently matured ; lest in the fervor of 
 youth they should give too wide a scope to fancy, and in- 
 
RESERVE OF THE SCRIPTURES. 357 
 
 terpret in a bad sense the spiritual ideas of Solomon." 
 " Wherefore," says Mayer, " as Christ taught all things 
 concerning the kingdom of heaven by parables, and we 
 must imitate the Lord therefore in his resurrection ; becom- 
 ing now a new creature, and not tasting things pertaining 
 to the body as before ; so we, in reading this most excellent 
 Song, must rise up above carnal sense, tasting all that is 
 here said by a new kind of taste, old things being past 
 with us, and all things now becoming new. He that doth 
 not thus, cometh to the great King's nuptial feast with- 
 out a wedding garment ; and so, instead of being enlight- 
 ened hereby, incurreth the danger of being cast into utter 
 darkness for ever." 
 
 Now if it be only in such a state of mind that we are fit 
 to enter into such a subject, we ask, was this the state of 
 the Sadducees ? Was it that of the Pharisees ? Of the 
 Jews in general, who were called a wicked and adulterous 
 generation ? If not, we have here an obvious cause of 
 our Lord's reserve upon the occasion ; and, on the other 
 hand, if we say that to enlarge upon the subject argues 
 the person to be an enthusiast or impostor; what becomes, 
 upon this principle, of the Song of Solomon and its expli- 
 cations by the Christian Church I say the Christian 
 Church, for that Song is recognized by the Church as part 
 of the canon of Scripture. 
 
 If, then, RESERVE upon the subject of marriage was 
 maintained by the living Word of God, is it maintained 
 by the written Word of God? The Canticles (are regarded 
 by the Catholic Church as part of the Word of God, and 
 as relating to the subject of spiritual marriage; and if 
 the Sadducees were of that character which they are com- 
 
358 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 monly supposed to have been, would it have argued that 
 our Lord knew what was in man, if he had discoursed to 
 them from out of the Canticles, or referred them to the 
 study of that book ? If it would not, may it not account 
 for our Lord's reserve, who was always careful not to cast 
 pearls before swine ? Now what is the character of this 
 book of Canticles f Shall we lay a stress upon its reserve, 
 and then compare its silence with the minute details con- 
 tained in Swedenborg's writings? On the contrary, an 
 argument against the canonicity of this Book, which not- 
 withstanding is maintained by the Catholic Church, is 
 founded upon the fact of its minuteness of detail, and is 
 stated in Home's Introduction to the Scriptures in the 
 following words :* 
 
 " The imagery of love is drawn out into minute details 
 of personal parts and properties repugnant to a western 
 mind. . . . The prolixity and particularity of the Book are 
 beyond anything found in the Old Testament, especially 
 in relation to the person of our Lord. Had the poem, long 
 as it is, dealt more in general had the figures been con- 
 fined to outline and sketching they would have presented 
 a better claim to an allegorical interpretation, because 
 more in harmony with images relating to the Deity else- 
 where ; but taste and propriety, as well as Scripture ana- 
 logy, are violated by the tedious minuteness with which 
 the one sentiment is treated, viz., that God loves his 
 Church and is loved of it." 
 
 What now becomes of the argument concerning reserve, 
 and the absence of circumstantial details ? 
 
 Can we suppose, then, that when the Lord should come 
 * Home's Introduction to the Scriptures, vol. ii., p. 802. 
 
RESERVE OF THE SCRIPTURES. 359 
 
 to illuminate His Church, He should maintain a reserve 
 concerning the relation of Himself to His Church and of 
 His Church to Himself? That when the "marriage of the 
 Lamb" shall itself have come, and "the Bride hath made 
 herself ready," the Bridegroom will maintain a reserve 
 upon the subject of Marriage altogether, and the Bride plead 
 this reserve as an argument of the Divinity of his cha- 
 racter, and that he is "faithful and true?" Or if he gave 
 instruction to his Church upon the' subject, would all be in 
 a fit state to receive it ? It might be admitted, perhaps, 
 that something, on such an occasion, would be said upon 
 the conjugal relation of Christ to His Church in Heaven ; 
 but not concerning that of individuals between each other. 
 But if the conjugal relation between Christ and His Church 
 be so very sacred, and be represented in a corresponding 
 relation between individuals of the Church to each other : 
 how can we separate the two ? or why is the conjugal 
 relation to exist only between Christ and his Church 
 as a body ; and not between individuals of that body ? 
 The Church is a Society ; and as such requires a bond 
 of union between its members just as much as is re- 
 quired between Christ and the whole body. Nay, is not 
 the relation of Christ to His Church realized only in 
 a corresponding relation between the members of the 
 Church ? and is it not in virtue of this corresponding rela- 
 tion, that the Church is a Church? Or, if Marriage be the 
 bond of union in heaven between Christ and His Church, 
 is it to be no such bond of union between the members of 
 His Church? If it cause Christ and the Church to be 
 one, shall it fail to make the Church itself one ? Where 
 then is the Unity of the Church ? When the " marriage 
 
360 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 of the Lamb" is come, then, so far from expecting that 
 Marriage is a subject upon which reserve would be main- 
 tained, is it not the very subject of all others which, there 
 is reason to expect, would be fully unfolded ? 
 
 The truth is, that Swedenborg has maintained that a 
 New Dispensation has commenced. We have seen that 
 the coming of a New Dispensation has been also main- 
 tained by others ; and is it any argument against a New 
 Dispensation, that it throws light upon subjects upon 
 which a former Dispensation maintained a reserve? Under 
 a latter Dispensation is nothing more to be revealed than 
 under the former? Nay : but " I* lay a stress upon this 
 reserve" says Paley ! Be it so : reserve then was suit- 
 able to that period. But "the Christian Dispensation," 
 says he,-|- " nay, the world itself maybe in its infancy. A 
 more perfect display of the power of Christ and of His 
 religion may be in reserve" Is then the reserve main- 
 tained at the commencement of the Dispensation, to be 
 urged as an argument against a more perfect display at 
 its close ? For here we have reserve pleaded by Paley 
 against reserve : reserve versus reserve : in other words, 
 a more perfect revelation in reserve, in order to supply the 
 defects occasioned by the reserve of the preceding. This 
 view of the subject the Essays have omitted. They have 
 adopted just so much of that of Paley as coincided with 
 their own particular statement of the case ; while, with 
 regard to the other portion, they have maintained a re- 
 markable reserve. Why so? because to have adopted 
 Paley 's view would have dissipated a large portion of the 
 
 * See above, p. 343. 
 
 f See above, p. 247. 
 
THE CHIMERAS RECOMMENDED. 361 
 
 argument against Swedenborg, as adduced in the Essays. 
 Doubtless, however, many persons assuming credit for a 
 more sober, cautious, and discreet judgment, will be satis- 
 fied to be on their guard with respect to any " more per- 
 fect display;" particularly in respect to the state of the Life 
 hereafter, as it might expose them to the risk of " odd and 
 extravagant notions." And, in such a case, " Surely 
 doubt is better than error, or the chance of error, and ac- 
 knowledged ignorance is wiser than groundless presump- 
 tion" for, " now we see through a glass darkly : now we 
 know in part^ Be it so : the alternative then is between 
 the ignorance of a child on the one hand, and "odd and ex- 
 travagant notions" on the other. The sober divine, in 
 order to avoid the latter, chooses the former. But what 
 if the former coincide with the latter f Let the reader 
 judge for himself; bearing in mind, that, in order to avoid 
 extravagant notions, chimerical and fantastic visions, he 
 is advised to prefer the state of a child, as knowing only 
 in part. The description of our state as children is thus 
 given by Paley, and recommended in the Essays for our 
 adoption : 
 
 " We* can seldom review what passed in our minds 
 when we were children, without being surprised with the 
 odd and extravagant notions which we took up and en- 
 tertained how wildly we accounted for some things, and 
 what strange forms we assigned to many other things 
 what improbable resemblances we supposed, what unlikely 
 effects were expected, what consequences we feared. I can 
 easily believe that many of the opinions and notions WE 
 
 * Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, p. 180. See also Paley's 
 Sermons : Last Series : vol. ii., p. 223. 
 
 R 
 
362 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 now erroneously entertain, especially concerning the place, 
 condition, nature, occupation, and happiness of departed 
 Saints, may HEREAFTER appear to us as wild, as odd, as 
 unlikely, and ill-founded, as our childish fancies appear to 
 us now. Like the child, we take our ideas from what we 
 see, and transfer them to what we do not see ; like him, 
 we look upon and judge of things above our understanding, 
 by comparing them with things which we do not under- 
 stand ; and they bear afterwards as little resemblance, as 
 little foundation for comparison, as the most chimerical 
 and fantastic visions of a childish imagination. And 
 this I judge to be what Paul had particularly in his 
 thoughts, when he wrote the words of the text : ' Now 
 we know in part, but when that which is perfect is 
 come, then that which is in part shall be done away;' 
 even as ' when I was a child I understood as a child, I 
 thought as a child ; but when I became a man I put away 
 childish things.' " 
 
 Here then we are plainly told, that " HEREAFTER," that 
 is, when we arrive in the other World, we may find the 
 notions which we had entertained with respect to it while 
 in this World, to have been odd, extravagant, wild, im- 
 probable, chimerical, and fantastic. What more or stronger 
 has Swedenborg said upon this subject ? Is not the truth 
 of what he has asserted, here openly admitted ? 
 
 How stands the case then? We are called upon by the 
 Essays to repudiate Swedenborg' s Treatise on Heaven and 
 Hell as containing only " the day dreams of a distempered 
 fancy ;''' we are called upon to substitute for it a theology 
 candidly acknowledged, by the very parties themselves 
 who recommend it, to consist of "odd and extravagant 
 
THE CHIMERAS RECOMMENDED. 363 
 
 notions," " wild," "strange," "improbable," "unlikely," 
 "ill-founded" fancies; "chimerical and fantastic visions." 
 What then do " Swedenborgians " gain by going back 
 to the orthodox theology? or what could the orthodox 
 divine lose by adopting that of Swedenborg? Is there 
 to be found any language in the Essays more disparaging 
 to Swedenborg's Revelations, than is this to the received 
 Theology? The " Swedenborgian" as he is called, be- 
 lieves at least in something which he regards as certainly 
 true : the more sober and judicious divine, in something 
 which he admits at the same time is almost certain to be 
 untrue. Nay : but in rejecting the narratives of Sweden- 
 borg, we are told that " doubt is better than error, or the 
 chance of error." But is the chance of error avoided in 
 such a case? Is it not rather candidly avowed, and 
 knowingly incurred? And is not the chance moreover 
 described in the language of a certainty f Besides, how 
 can a person sincerely believe that to be true, which 
 he believes at the same time will most likely prove to 
 be untrue? Can he be said to have any sincere belief 
 whatever upon the subject ? And is it not better for him 
 to place the question upon this footing, than to profess out- 
 wardly what he cannot believe inwardly ; or to lead himself 
 to believe that he has a belief when he has none ? How- 
 ever, when we are told that " we know in part," that " we 
 see through a glass darkly," that " we must be as children," 
 we NOW at length understand what this really means. 
 The " Swedenborgian" could never receive as true what he 
 thinks at the same time is likely to be untrue; and though 
 he be told that " acknowledged ignorance is wiser than 
 groundless presumption," and he confess that it is so ; 
 
 R2 
 
364 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 yet he cannot help thinking, at the same time, that a 
 rational knowledge is better than either. 
 
 But it is added: " Our apprehensions of Futurity may be 
 in many respects childish, but still they may be inno- 
 cent." ... Be it so : but does the prevalent ignorance 
 concerning the nature of the Future State partake of this 
 innocence ? It is but fair to hear what Swedenborg says 
 upon this subject, when speaking of those who had de- 
 parted hence into the other life.* He says, that when they 
 look back upon the notions which they had entertained in 
 this World concerning the other Life, they are thoroughly 
 ashamed ; and attribute the cause of them not to the neces- 
 sity of a child-like condition, but to the Naturalism and 
 Materialism which had blinded their own faculties and per- 
 verted the Church. 
 
 To proceed: it is further asked,f "How it came to pass 
 that no one of our Sacred writers has given a full, minute, 
 and engaging account of all that is according to him to 
 take place at the End of the World ; of all the interesting 
 particulars at the Day of Judgment" and so forth. 
 
 But is it the fact? We are told by Calmet, that "Most 
 of the ancient Fathers and of the early Commentators 
 upon the Apocalypse, followed the system which explains 
 the whole Book as concerning the Last Judgment" Now 
 this very system is that of Swedenborg. The Seven 
 Churches, according to him, are the whole Catholic Church; 
 and the Book in the hands of Him who sat upon the 
 throne, is the Book out of which the Church is judged ; 
 after which are disclosed the various particulars of the 
 Judgment, each in its respective order. 
 
 * See his Treatise on Heaven and Hell, art. 312, 313. 
 f Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, p. 158. 
 
SCENERY OF THE HEAVENS. 365 
 
 It is therefore unfortunate for the argument against 
 Swedenborg, that the facts upon which they are founded, 
 are denied by many of the very expositors of Scripture 
 themselves. 
 
 Connected with this subject, another objection is raised 
 of considerable importance ; and in virtue of which Swe- 
 denborg is regarded as an enthusiast : I mean that which 
 is founded upon his giving free play to the natural ima- 
 gination. 
 
 What, for instance, is more natural than for the enthu- 
 siast to imagine, that Heaven, as a paradise, must be full 
 of the most gorgeous paradisiacal scenery ; and how 
 would his fancy glowingly depict to itself its varied pas- 
 tures, its flowing rivers, and the glories of its celestial inha- 
 bitants ! Here, then, is the very case in point. On this 
 subject, your Grace has justly said, the enthusiast would 
 be sure " to dream largely.' 1 For " Nothing* could have 
 been more interesting to a man's curiosity, than a full 
 account of a Future State ; and, accordingly, the Koran 
 abounds with the most copious and high-wrought descrip- 
 tions of Paradise and Hell, and of details of the Day of 
 Judgment. The writers of our Scriptures on the contrary, 
 while they are perpetually enforcing with all earnestness 
 the reality of this Future State, so important in practice ; 
 strictly confine themselves to the most general and brief 
 description of it." 
 
 Now what is the fact ? One of the the most copious 
 
 Relations in Swedenborg's writings, is introduced for the 
 
 purpose of exposing the folly of those ideas of Heaven 
 
 which it is asserted that he entertains ; and on the faith 
 
 * Peculiarities of the Christian Religion, p. 154. 
 
366 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 of which, he is denominated an enthusiast. My object in 
 quoting from them, is not to prove the Relations to be true, 
 but what is urged against them to be untrue; and we 
 leave every impartial mind to conclude, how far the suc- 
 cessive refutation of objections against a narrative, may 
 be any indirect evidence in its favor ; particularly, where 
 the objections arise out of principles which are said to be 
 the characteristics of that which is false. 
 
 In the Relation then to which we first refer, an Angel 
 is represented as saying,* "Thou knowest, that every 
 man who had desired Heaven, and had formed any con- 
 ceptions in his mind respecting its joys, is introduced after 
 Death into those particular joys which he had framed in 
 his imagination ; and after he experiences that such joys 
 are only the offspring of the vain imaginary delusions 
 of his own fancy, he is then led out of his error, and 
 instructed in the truth." 
 
 And what is the truth in which he is instructed ? The 
 truth is this :-f- 
 
 " ' Heavenly joy and Eternal happiness consist not in 
 external paradisiacal delights, unless they are attended also 
 with such as are internal. External paradisiacal delights 
 reach only the senses of the body; but such as are in- 
 ternal reach the affections of the Soul ; and if the former 
 be without the latter, they are void of all heavenly life, 
 inasmuch as they are devoid of soul ; and every delight 
 without its corresponding soul continually grows more 
 languid and faint, fatiguing the mind more than labour. 
 There are in every part of Heaven paradisiacal gardens 
 
 * Conjugial Love, art. 4. 
 f Conjugial Love, art. 8. 
 
SCENERY OF THE HEAVENS. 367 
 
 in which the Angels find much joy; and so far as it is 
 attended with a delight of the Soul, so far the joy is 
 real and true.' Hereupon they all asked, * What is the 
 delight of the Soul, and whence is it derived?' The 
 Angel replied, 'The delight of the Soul is the delight 
 of love and wisdom proceeding from the Lord ; and 
 whereas love is an operative principle, and is operative by 
 wisdom ; therefore the abode of both together is in the effect 
 of such operation, which effect is use. The delight arising 
 from such use entereth into the Soul by influx from the 
 Lord, and descendeth through the superior and inferior 
 regions of the mind into all the senses of the body, and in 
 them is complete and full; becoming hereby a true joy, and 
 partaking of an eternal nature from the Eternal Fountain 
 whence it proceedeth." 
 
 Again, in the Arcana Ccdestia* it is said ; " They who 
 think of the glory of Heaven from natural light not yet 
 illuminated by celestial light. . . . cannot form any other 
 idea concerning it, than as concerning the glory of the 
 world ; inasmuch as, while they read the prophetic Revela- 
 tions, particularly of John in the Apocalypse, all things 
 in Heaven are described as being most magnificent ; but 
 when they are told that the glory of Heaven exceeds all 
 the magnificence of the world, insomuch that this latter 
 can scarcely be compared with it, and that yet this is not 
 the glory of Heaven ; but that the glory of Heaven is the 
 divine principle which beams forth from each single thing 
 which appears there, and is the perception of things divine, 
 and consequent wisdom ; that this glory, however, is only 
 for those in Heaven who make no account of that mag- 
 * Art. 5428. 
 
368 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 nificence in comparison with wisdom, and attribute all 
 wisdom to the Lord and none at all to themselves ; this 
 glory of Heaven, when it is viewed by natural light. . . . 
 is in no wise acknowledged." 
 
 Again ; "All things there, to every single object, appear 
 in their most beautiful spring and bloom, with an astonish- 
 ing magnificence and variety ; and they are living by virtue 
 of their being representative ; for there is nothing but what 
 represents and signifies something celestial and spiritual. 
 Thus, the objects presented to view affect not only the 
 sight with pleasantness, but the mind with happiness. 
 But (with regard to the beauty of mere external appear- 
 ances) the Angels behold such things with other eyes, not 
 being delighted with the paradises, but with the representa- 
 tive ; and thus, with the celestial and spiritual things which 
 give them birth."* 
 
 Again ; " These things (the beauty of the external ob- 
 jects) are respectively of small account; they who are 
 principled in the intelligence itself, and the wisdom, in 
 which those things originate, are in such a state of happi- 
 ness, that the things which have been mentioned are esteemed 
 by them of but little importance."^ 
 
 Again ; after a description of some of the appearances in 
 Heaven, an Angel is represented as saying,| " Ye may 
 possibly conceive that such things bewitch our eyes, and in- 
 fatuate us by their grandeur, and that we consider them as 
 constituting the joys of our Heaven ; but this is not the case ; 
 inasmuch as, our hearts not being in such things, they are 
 only accessory to the joys of our hearts ; and therefore, so 
 far as we contemplate them as accessory, and as the work- 
 
 * Art. 1622. f Art. 4529. Conjugial Love, art. 12. 
 
SCENERY OF THE HEAVENS. 369 
 
 mansbip of God, so far we contemplate in them the Divine 
 omnipotence and benignity." 
 
 Again ; in another part it is said,* " At the sight of all 
 these things the companions of the Angel exclaimed, 
 ' Behold Heaven in form ! Wheresoever we turn our 
 eyes, we are struck with an influx of somewhat celestially 
 paradisiacal, which is not to be expressed.' At this the 
 Angel rejoiced, and said ; ' All the gardens of our Heaven 
 are representative forms or types of heavenly blessednesses 
 in their origins ; and because the influx of these beati- 
 tudes elevated your minds, therefore ye exclaimed, l Be- 
 hold Heaven in form!' But those who do not receive 
 that influx, regard these paradisiacal gardens only as com- 
 mon woods or forests. All those receive the influx, who 
 are under the influence of the love of uses ; but they do 
 not receive it, who are under the influence of the love of 
 glory not originating in uses.' Afterwards he explained 
 and taught them what every particular thing in the garden 
 represented and signified" 
 
 To these quotations only one more shall be added.* 
 " When those of the first assembly had heard these rela- 
 tions, they all likewise acknowledged that they had never 
 entertained any other notion of Heaven, than of a local 
 blessedness independent of their internal dispositions ; and 
 that to be admitted therein, would be to enter upon the 
 fruition of never-ceasing delights. Then the Angel 
 addressed them in the following words : ' Ye see now that 
 the joys of Heaven and eternal happiness have not relation 
 to place, but to the state of the life of man ; and a state of 
 heavenly life is derived from love and wisdom. And 
 * /*?., art. 12. t I^d., art. 10. 
 
 R3 
 
370 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 whereas use is that which containeth love and wisdom, 
 and in which they are fixed and subsist, therefore a state 
 of heavenly life is derived from the conjunction of love 
 and wisdom in use. It is the same thing if we call them 
 charity, faith, and good works ; inasmuch as charity is 
 love ; faith is truth, whence wisdom is derived ; and good 
 works are uses. Moreover, in our Spiritual World there 
 are places as in the Natural World ; otherwise, there could 
 be no habitations, and distinct abodes. Nevertheless, 
 place with us is not place, but an appearance of place 
 according to the state of love and wisdom, or of charity 
 and faith. Every one who becometh an Angel, carrieth 
 his own Heaven within himself, inasmuch as he car- 
 rieth in himself the love of his own heaven ; for man, 
 from creation, is a very small effigy, image,- and type, of 
 the great Heaven ; and the human JEbrm is nothing else. 
 Wherefore every one cometh after death into that society 
 of Heaven to whose general form he beareth a particular 
 agreement in his particular form. Consequently, when he 
 entereth into that society, he entereth into a form corre- 
 sponding to his own ; thus he passeth from himself into a 
 self- society, as it were; and from a self-society, into him- 
 self; and enjoy eth his own life in that of the society, and 
 that of the society in his own life. For every society in 
 Heaven may be considered as one common body ; and the 
 constituent Angels as the similar parts thereof, from which 
 the common body co- exists. 
 
 " Hence it follows, that they who are principled in evils 
 and in falses originating in evils, have formed in themselves 
 an effigy of Hell ; which suffereth torment in Heaven, from 
 the influx and violent activity of one opposite upon another. 
 
DOCTRINE OP CORRESPONDENCE. 371 
 
 For infernal love is opposite to heavenly love ; and con- 
 sequently, the delights of each are in a state of discord 
 and enmity ; and whensoever they meet, endeavor to de- 
 stroy each other."* 
 
 Now, when it is considered, that these are not mere 
 isolated assertions, but that they contain the principle 
 upon which all Swedenborg's alleged visions of Heaven 
 and Hell are written ; some of which are devoted ex- 
 pressly to the purpose of exposing the folly of those 
 ideas of Heaven which are attributed to him ; that, 
 in numerous places, he has demonstrated how, to those 
 who are not prepared for its beatitudes by inward purity, 
 Heaven so far from being a place of happiness is a 
 place of insufferable agony there is no difficulty in con- 
 cluding, that the objections urged in the Essays are entirely 
 inapplicable to Swedenborg's writings ; although there is 
 considerable difficulty in concluding, that the author of 
 the Essays has read one word of what Swedenborg has 
 written upon this subject. 
 
 The descriptions of Heaven and Hell given by Sweden- 
 borg are all founded upon the doctrine of CORRESPONDENCE, 
 commonly called Analogy ; and as there is no little ten- 
 dency to treat the subject of Correspondence, as he ex- 
 plains it, either with unconcern or ridicule ; it may be well 
 to introduce the few remarks which will be made upon it, 
 by the following quotation from an authorf who was an 
 ornament to the Church of England. 
 
 "God made the Universe and all the creatures contained 
 
 * See also Arcana Ccelestia, art. 920. 
 
 f Select Discourses, chap, viii., by J. Smith, Fellow of Queen's 
 College, Cambridge. Excellency and Nobleness of True Religion. 
 
372 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 therein, as so many glasses wherein he might reflect his 
 own glory. He hath copied forth Himself in the Creation ; 
 and in this outward world, we may read the lovely cha- 
 racters of the Divine goodness, power, and wisdom. In 
 some creatures, there are darker representations of God, 
 there are the prints and footsteps of God ; but in others, 
 there are clearer and fuller representations of the Divinity, 
 the face and image of God ; according to that known say- 
 ing of the schoolmen, Remotiores similitudines creaturce 
 ad Deum dicuntur vestigium; propinquiores vero imago. 
 But how to find God here, and feelingly to converse with 
 Him ; and, being affected with the sense of the Divine 
 glory shining out upon the Creation, how to pass out of the 
 sensible world into the intellectual ; is not so effectually 
 taught by that philosophy which professed it most, as by 
 true religion. That which knits and unites God and the 
 Soul together, can best teach it how to ascend and descend 
 upon those golden links that unite as it were the world to 
 God. That Divine wisdom that contrived and beautified 
 this glorious structure, can best explain her own art, and 
 carry up the Soul back again, in these reflected beams, to 
 Him who is the fountain of them. Though good men, all 
 of them, are not acquainted with all those philosophical 
 notions touching the relation between the created and the 
 uncreated Being ; yet, may they easily find every creature 
 pointing out to that Being whose image and superscription 
 it bears, and climb up from those darker resemblances of 
 the Divine wisdom and goodness, shining out in different 
 degrees upon several creatures, aWe/s ai/a/3a0/x,ot? -rial, as 
 the ancients speak ; till they sweetly repose themselves in 
 the bosom of the Divinity : and, while they are thus con- 
 
DOCTRINE OF CORRESPONDENCE. 373 
 
 versing with this lower world, and are viewing ' the invisi- 
 ble things of God in the things that are made' in this visi- 
 ble and outward Creation, they find God many times 
 secretty flowing into their Souls, and leading them silently 
 out of the Court of the Temple into the Holy Place. But 
 it is otherwise with wicked men. They dwell perpetually 
 upon the dark side of the creatures ; and converse with 
 these things only in a gross, sensual, earthly, and unspi- 
 ritual manner. They are so encompassed with the thick 
 and foggy mist of their own corruptions, that they cannot 
 see God there, where he is most visible ' The light shineth 
 in darkness, but darkness comprehendeth it not ;' their Souls 
 are so deeply sunk into that house of clay which they 
 carry about with them, that, were there nothing of body 
 or bulky matter before them, they could find nothing to 
 exercise themselves about. 
 
 " But religion, where it is in truth and in power, re- 
 news the very spirit of our minds ; and doth in a manner 
 spiritualize this outward Creation to us ; and doth, in a 
 more excellent way, perform that which the Peripatetics 
 are wont to affirm of their intellectus agens, in purging 
 bodily and material things from the feculency and dregs 
 of matter, and separating them from those circumstan- 
 tiating and straitening conditions of time and place, and 
 the like ; and teaches the Soul to look at those perfections 
 which it finds here below, not so much as the perfection of 
 this or that body, as they adorn this or that particular 
 being ; but as they are so many rays issuing forth from 
 that first and essential Perfection, in which they all meet 
 and embrace one another in the most close friendship. 
 
 " Every particular good is a blossom of the First Good- 
 
374 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 ness ; every created excellency is a beam descending from 
 the Father of lights : and should we separate all these 
 particularities from God, all affection spent upon them 
 would be unchaste, and their embraces adulterous. We 
 should love all things in God, and God in all things ; be- 
 cause He is All in All, the Beginning and Original of 
 being, The Perfect Idea of their goodness, and The End 
 of their motion. It is nothing but a thick mist of pride 
 and self-love, that hinders men's eyes from beholding that 
 Sun which both enlightens them, and all things else. But 
 when true religion begins once to dawn upon men's Souls, 
 and with its shining light chases away their black night 
 of ignorance, then they behold themselves and all things 
 else, enlightened, though in a different way, by one and 
 the same Sun ; and all the powers of their Souls fall down 
 before God, and ascribe all glory to Him. Now it is, that 
 a good man is no more solicitous whether this or that good 
 thing be mine, or whether my perfections exceed the mea- 
 sure of this or that particular creature ; for whatsoever 
 good he beholds anywhere, he enjoys and delights in it, 
 as much as if it were his own ; and whatever he beholds 
 in himself, he looks not upon it as his property, but as a 
 common good ; for all these beams come from one and the 
 same Fountain and Ocean of light, in whom he loves them 
 all with a universal love. When his affections run along 
 the stream of any created excellences, whether his own or 
 any one's else, yet they stay not here, but run on till they 
 fall into the Ocean ; they do not settle into a fond love and 
 admiration, either of himself or any other's excellences ; 
 but he owns them as so many pure effluxes and emana- 
 tions from God ; and, in a particular being, loves the Uni- 
 
DOCTRINE OF CORRESPONDENCE. 375 
 
 versal Goodness. Si sciretur d me Veritas, sciretur etiam 
 me illud non esse, aut illud non esse meum, nee a me. 
 
 "Thus may a good man walk up and down the World, 
 as in a garden of spices ; and suck a divine sweetness out 
 of every flower. There is a twofold meaning in every 
 creature, as the Jews speak of their Law, a literal and a 
 mystical ; and the one is but the ground of the other : and, 
 as they say of divers pieces of their Law, so a good man 
 says of everything that his senses offer to him, 'It speaks 
 to his lower part, but it points out something above to his 
 mind and spirit.' It is the drowsy and muddy spirit of 
 superstition, which, being lulled asleep in the lap of worldly 
 delights, is fain to set some idol at its elbow ; something 
 that may jog it, and put it in mind of God. Whereas, 
 true religion never finds itself out of the infinite sphere of 
 the Divinity; and wherever it finds beauty, harmony, 
 goodness, love, ingenuity, wisdom, holiness, justice, and 
 the like, it is ready to say, Here and there is God. Where- 
 soever any such Perfections shine out, a holy mind climbs 
 up by these sun-beams, and raises itself up to God. 
 
 " And seeing God hath never thrown the World from 
 Himself; but runs through all created essence; containing 
 the Archetypal ideas of all things in Himself, and from 
 thence deriving and imparting several points of beauty 
 and excellency all the world over ; a Soul that is truly god- 
 like, a mind that is enlightened from the same Fountain, 
 and hath its inward senses affected with the sweet relishes 
 of Divine goodness, cannot but everywhere behold itself 
 in the midst of that glorious unbounded Being, who is in- 
 divisibly everywhere. A good man finds every place he 
 treads upon holy ground; to him the World is God's 
 
376 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 Temple ; he is ready to say with J acob, ' How dreadful is 
 this place ! this is none other but the house of God.' 
 
 " It was a degenerous and unworthy spirit in that Philo- 
 sophy, which lirst separated and made such distances be- 
 tween metaphysical truths and the truths of Nature; whereas 
 the first and most ancient wisdom amongst the heathens, was 
 indeed a Philosophical Divinity or a Divine Philosophy, 
 which continued for divers ages ; but as men grew worse, 
 their queasy stomachs began to loathe it ; which made the 
 truly wise Socrates complain of the Sophisters of that age, 
 who began now to corrupt and debase it ; whereas hereto- 
 fore the spirit of Philosophy was more generous and divine, 
 and did more purify and ennoble the Souls of men, com- 
 mending intellectual things to them, and taking them off 
 from settling upon sensible and material things here below, 
 and still exciting them to endeavor after the nearest re- 
 semblance of God, the Supreme Goodness and Loveliness, 
 and an intimate conjunction with Him, which, according 
 to the strain of that Philosophy, was the true happiness of 
 immortal Souls." 
 
 Such are the views of Creation which were once taken 
 by an eminent divine. It was reserved for Swedenborg 
 to place the truth of these principles in a clearer light, and 
 to establish them upon a solid basis. Allow me, therefore, 
 briefly to advert to his doctrine upon this subject. 
 
 According to Swedenborg, Correspondence (or Analogy) 
 implies, in its primary sense, a relation not between one 
 natural thing and another natural thing ; but between a 
 natural thing and a spiritual thing, such as the relation of 
 the spirit to the body, or of the Spiritual World to the 
 Natural. Correspondence therefore, considered in this sense, 
 
DOCTRINE OF CORRESPONDENCE. 377 
 
 is not the relation of one natural thing to another, but of a 
 natural effect to its spiritual cause, or of the spiritual cause 
 to its natural effect ; thus, the relation of a prior principle 
 to a posterior, of a higher to a lower, or vice versa. The 
 order of Correspondence, or Analogy, is thus the order pre- 
 sented to us in the process of Creation. It is by Analogy, 
 in this sense, that we interpret the Word of God, and 
 the visible Creation in relation to that Word ; by Analogy 
 in its secondary sense, that we interpret the phenomena 
 of visible Nature. The Natural World, with all its second- 
 ary causes, is but a world of effects, the Spiritual World 
 alone being the world of causes ; hence the Correspondence 
 of the Natural World to the Spiritual is that of effect to 
 cause; whereas all analogies between one natural thing 
 and another are analogies between one natural effect and 
 another ; hence analogy in its secondary, not in its primary 
 sense. If, in natural things, the true principles of Analogy 
 are the foundation of Science ; so are they, in regard to 
 spiritual things, the foundation of all real theological know- 
 ledge. If, in the former case, they are certain and im- 
 mutable, much more so in the latter ; for the former is 
 derived from the latter : hence nothing is so certain as 
 interpretations of the Word of God founded upon 4his 
 principle. 
 
 How is it, then, that Analogy, in its primary sense, has 
 been almost so universally unknown ? The answer is ob- 
 vious : it is in consequence of the state of the Church. 
 Where Analogies exist in the Natural World only, the 
 relations are cognizable by the natural mind only ; where 
 Analogies are to be traced between natural and spiritual 
 things, the merely natural mind can perceive only one side 
 
378 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 of the Analogy ; for a spiritual mind only can discern spi- 
 ritual things : in that mind only can they be realized, and 
 until they are realized, there can be no Analogy. 
 
 Why, therefore, should we wonder at the ridicule cast 
 upon Swedenborg's interpretations of Scripture? The 
 wonder would be, if, constituted as the mind is, the case 
 were otherwise ; for the natural mind, as such, cannot be 
 analogical to itself : there cannot be a Correspondence be- 
 tween one thing. If the mind be merely natural, it is 
 but one side of the Correspondence ; and if it be in evil, 
 it is in a negation and contradiction of the other side. 
 The spiritual mind, in this case, is not yet created ; conse- 
 quently there is only one thing between which to trace a 
 Correspondence, that is to say, there is no Correspondence 
 at all. The natural man will admit of the existence of 
 Analogy in its secondary sense ; because here the natural 
 mind is employed only in tracing the relations between 
 natural things ; he denies however the Analogy beween 
 natural things and spiritual, simply because in his mind 
 spiritual things have no existence.* 
 To illustrate these remarks : 
 
 " By the Word were all things made, and without Him 
 was^irot anything made that was made." Here the Great 
 First Cause is the Word or the Creator, the effect being 
 the creature, or Creation ; hence the relation of Creation-)- 
 to the Word is a relation of effect to cause, of a natural 
 
 * When, therefore, theologians affirm that we must not pursue an 
 analogy too far, they are frequently not pursuing any analogy at all ; in- 
 asmuch as what they call a spiritual idea is not a spiritual idea, but 
 only 'a merely natural idea of a spiritual thing. 
 
 f For a fuller application of the principle of analogy to the inter- 
 pretation of the Word of God, the reader is referred to the writings of 
 
DOCTRINE OF CORRESPONDENCE. 379 
 
 object to its spiritual origin ; that is to say, it is the rela- 
 tion of a primary Analogy. Thus all Creation, so far as 
 as it is in Divine order, is a glass or mirror wherein we 
 may behold the creating Word the various objects which 
 compose Creation corresponding to spiritual things in the 
 Word of God ; so that every object of Creation answers to 
 some spiritual idea, thus to some real existence in Heaven 
 or Hell. 
 
 Accordingly, Swedenborg observes,* " It is known, or 
 may be known, that there is a Spiritual World, and that 
 there is a Natural World. The Spiritual World, in its 
 universal sense, is the world where Spirits and Angels 
 dwell ; and the Natural World is that where men dwell. 
 In a particular sense, there is a spiritual world and a 
 natural world appertaining to every individual man ; his 
 internal man being to him a spiritual world, but his ex- 
 ternal being to him a natural world. The things which 
 flow-in out of the Spiritual World, and are presented in 
 the Natural, are, in general, representations ; and so far as 
 they agree together, they are correspondences." 
 
 " That-J- natural things represent spiritual, and that they 
 correspond together, may also be known from this consider- 
 ation ; that what is natural cannot possibly have existence, 
 except from a cause prior to itself. This cause is of spiritual 
 origin, and there is nothing natural which doth not thence 
 derive the cause of its existence. Natural forms are effects, 
 nor can they appear as causes, still less as causes of causes, 
 or principles but they receive their forms according to 
 
 Swedenborg ; also to the Plenary Inspiration of the Scriptures, by 
 the Rev. S. Noble. 
 
 * Arcana Coslestia, art. 2990. f &**> art. 2991. 
 
380 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 their use in the place where they are. Still, however, the 
 forms of effects represent the things appertaining to their 
 causes ; yea, these latter things represent those which ap- 
 pertain to their principles. Thus all natural things represent 
 the things appertaining to the spiritual to which they cor- 
 respond ; and spiritual things, also, represent the things 
 appertaining to the celestial from which they are derived." 
 
 " In* the vegetable kingdom, there is not the smallest 
 thing existing which doth not represent somewhat in the 
 Spiritual World, and correspond thereto; as hath been fre- 
 quently given me to know by intercourse of a like kind 
 with the Angels ; the reason whereof was also explained to 
 me, and shewn to be this, viz., that the causes of all things 
 natural are grounded in things spiritual ; and the principles 
 of those causes, in things celestial ; or, what is the same 
 thing, that all things which are in the Natural World, 
 derive their cause from truth which is spiritual, and their 
 first principle from good which is celestial ; and that natural 
 things proceed thence according to all the differences of 
 truth and of good which are in the Lord's kingdom ; con- 
 sequently, from the Lord Himself, who is the source of all 
 good and truth. These things must needs appear strange 
 to many, and especially to those who cannot, or will not, 
 ascend in thought beyond Nature ; and who do not know 
 what is meant by what is spiritual, and therefore do not 
 acknowledge it." 
 
 " Man,-j- also, during his life in the body, is capable of 
 feeling and perceiving very little of all this ; for the celes- 
 tial and spiritual things appertaining to him, fall into the 
 natural things which are in his external man, and there 
 * Ibid., art. 2993. f Ibid., art. 2994. 
 
DOCTRINE OF CORRESPONDENCE. 381 
 
 he loses the sensation and perception of them. The 
 Representatives and Correspondences which are in his ex- 
 ternal man, also, are such, that they do not appear like 
 unto the things in the internal man to which they cor- 
 respond, and which they represent ; therefore neither can 
 they come to his knowledge, before he puts off those ex- 
 ternal things. Blessed, at that time, is he who is in cor- 
 respondence, that is, whose external man corresponds to 
 the internal." 
 
 . . . "Man* is almost in total ignorance about Correspond- 
 ence ; neither does he believe that he has any such connec- 
 tion with the Spiritual World ; when yet the truth is, that 
 all his connection is thence ; and without such connection, 
 neither himself, nor any part of him, could possibly subsist 
 a moment ; for thence is derived all his subsistence." 
 
 . . . "Hence-j- it is, that all and singular the things con- 
 tained in the Universe, represent the Lord's kingdom ; inso- 
 much that the Universe with its heavenly constellations, with 
 its atmospheres, and with its three kingdoms, is nothing 
 else but a kind of theatre representative of the Lord's glory, 
 which is in the Heavens. In the animal kingdom, not only 
 man but also each particular animal, even the least and 
 vilest, are thus representative. For instance, in the case of 
 worms which creep on the ground, and feed on the leaves of 
 plants ; these, when the time of their nuptials approaches, 
 immediately become chrysallises, and presently are fur- 
 nished with wings, and thereby are elevated from the 
 ground into the atmosphere, which is their heaven, where 
 they enjoy their delights, and their freedom ; sporting one 
 with another, and feeding on the choicest parts of flowers ; 
 * Ibid., art. 2998. f Ibid., art. 3000. 
 
382 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 laying their eggs, and thus providing for posterity ; and 
 on this occasion, in consequence of being in the state of 
 their heaven, they are also in the fulness of their beauty. 
 That these things are representative of the Lord's king- 
 dom, may be obvious to every one." 
 
 Such are the views of Swedenborg with regard to the 
 general principles of Correspondence. 
 
 Hence, also, we see how it is, that man cannot have a 
 key to the real interpretation of the Word of God, without 
 also having the key to the real interpretation of the works 
 of God ; and consequently, that the knowledge of the true 
 principles of the interpretation of Scripture, was reserved 
 for the age in which the true principles should be known 
 of the interpretation of Nature. 
 
 For to what end are all the discoveries which are 
 daily made in the different Sciences ? To this end ; that 
 the natural mind of man may be supplied with genuine 
 natural truths, by means of which it may be rendered 
 capable of being brought into correspondence with an 
 enlightened spiritual mind. The mode by which this spi- 
 ritual mind is formed, and the natural mind brought into 
 correspondence with it, is no other than the mode by 
 which man's Regeneration is effected, and by which he is 
 rendered a spiritual- natural man, a work, which, as before 
 stated, forms the leading subject of the Revelations of 
 Swedenborg. For when, as in a state of ignorance, the na- 
 tural mind is empty, it has no ideas in which spiritual 
 truths can be represented ; and a spiritual truth without a 
 natural basis, appears to the mind as unreal, consequently, 
 as a mere nothing. Besides which, the natural mind, in 
 its unregenerated state, is so loaded with fallacies, that 
 
DOCTRINE OF CORRESPONDENCE. 383 
 
 there can be no correspondence between it and a spiritual 
 mind consequently, no INFLUENCE or INFLUX of the spi- 
 ritual mind into the natural, thus of the heavenly world 
 into the earthly ; there being rather in the man an entire 
 negation or perversion of all spiritual things. When, 
 however, the spiritual mind is formed within, and the na- 
 tural is brought into correspondence with it, then takes 
 place the INFLUX from the Spiritual World or Angelic 
 Heaven into man's natural mind, nay, into the very 
 region of his perceptions ; nothing but a special act of 
 Divine Providence can withhold it ; and, in this case, the 
 miraculous exercise of power, is not in opening the Spi- 
 ritual World, but in closing it. 
 
 Such, my Lord, is the true explanation of the principle 
 of Swedenborg's pretended intercourse with the Spiritual 
 World. Being, from his earliest years, of an humble and 
 pious disposition ; the spiritual mind having been opened 
 within him, his natural mind, which, by the Divine bless- 
 ing, had been sufficiently guided into the true principles of 
 Science and Philosophy, was capable of being brought into 
 such a correspondence with the laws of the heavenly king- 
 dom, that there could be an INFLUX from the latter into 
 the former, and hence, an intercourse between one and the 
 other. This is the state in which, as Swedenborg shews, 
 man was created to live. This was his first and natural 
 state ; his present darkness being his last and unnatural 
 state ; his spirit being as truly designed to commune with 
 Heaven within, as his body with the Natural World 
 without. Thus man returns to his primitive state in Para- 
 dise ; and thus are fulfilled the words of the prophecy, 
 " Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men." 
 
384 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 For, as Swedenborg observes ;* " Man was so created 
 that during his life on earth amongst men, he might at the 
 same time also live in Heaven amongst Angels ; and 
 during his life in Heaven amongst Angels, he might at 
 the same time also live on earth amongst men ; so that 
 Heaven and Earth might be together, and might form a 
 one, men knowing what is in Heaven, and Angels what is 
 in the world ; and that when men departed this life, they 
 might pass thus from the Lord's kingdom on earth into the 
 Lord's kingdom in the Heavens, not as into another but 
 as into the same, having been in it also during their life 
 in the body. But as man became so corporeal, he closed 
 Heaven against himself." 
 
 That merely natural minds should have no other idea of 
 such a state, than what is commonly known under the 
 name of Clairvoyance, is no matter of surprise ; and ac- 
 cordingly we find their objections thus stated : 
 
 " If we compare together and weigh the advantages and 
 disadvantages resulting to the Man who is created not 
 only for the Visible World, but who is organized up to a 
 certain point for the Invisible World (supposing that such 
 a being has existed) ; a gift of this nature resembles alto- 
 gether that which Juno conferred upon Tiresias, in depriv- 
 ing him of sight in order to be able afterwards to confer 
 upon him the gift of prophecy. For we may affirm, that 
 a contemplative knowledge of the other World cannot 
 here below be obtained by Man, except with the loss of 
 some portion of that intelligence of which he has need 
 for his actual existence." 
 
 * Arcana Ccelestia, art. 1880. 
 
DOCTRINE OF CORRESPONDENCE. 385 
 
 And, it is observed by another writer, that* 
 
 " This indeed is the truth. We may without fear 
 affirm, that no one acquires a view of our relations with 
 Superior Intelligences, bnt in consequence of such a fa- 
 miliarity with intellectual things, and such an elevation 
 above things material, that life in one of these regions is 
 to the detriment of life in the other." 
 
 But why so ? Because the two are not in harmony with 
 each other; they do not correspond. Why not corre- 
 spond f Because the lower life, or the life of the natural 
 man, has not yet been regenerated. For, observes Swe- 
 denborg,-[- u The work of Regeneration consists chiefly in 
 this that the natural man may correspond to the rational, 
 not only in general but also in every particular ; and the 
 natural man is by the Lord reduced to Correspondence 
 by means of the rational principle, in that good is insi- 
 nuated into the rational principle, and in this good as in 
 good ground are implanted truths ; and afterwards, through 
 the medium of these rational truths, the natural principle 
 is reduced to obedience ; and when it obeys, then it corre- 
 sponds ; and so far as it corresponds, so far man is rege- 
 nerated." 
 
 This accordingly, as Swedenborg observes, was the case 
 with man in his Paradisiacal state. The natural mind was 
 then in correspondence with the spiritual : the works of 
 God were then perceived to be in correspondence with the 
 Word of God ; earthly things with heavenly ; and hence 
 man also was in correspondence with Angels ; and not only 
 was he in this mutual correspondence, but also in the per- 
 
 * M. Matter, on the above remark of Kant, in his Philosophy of 
 Religion, vol. ii., p. 155. f drcana Ccelestia, art. 3286. 
 
 S 
 
386 THE THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 ception of it : life in the natural mind being in perfect har- 
 mony with life in the spiritual. 
 
 The blind Tiresias therefore may represent certain mo- 
 dern philosophers, but not the genuine Christian : indeed 
 invariably in Scripture, when Divine knowledge is intro- 
 duced into the world, it is not the prophet that is struck 
 blind, but the philosopher. Yet even a modern philoso- 
 pher can make the following statement,* " All I shall 
 say at present is, that it appears to me most evident, both 
 from the philosophy and history of Man, that he is not 
 the same animal, either in body or mind, that he was in 
 former ages ; and if he be so much degenerated, as I sup- 
 pose him to be, it is no wonder that he is not a fit vessel 
 for Divine Inspiration, or proper for communication with 
 Superior Minds. For the order of Nature requires that 
 there should be an aptitude in everything for certain ends ; 
 and, in one state or condition, a thing will be fit for a cer- 
 tain purpose ; and, in another condition, utterly unfit." 
 
 By what means, however, is the regenerate state effected? 
 We answer, By Divine Influx, or, as it is now more gene- 
 rally called, Divine Influence; and as this takes place 
 according to Correspondence, the doctrine of Correspond- 
 ence is immediately connected with that of INFLUX. 
 
 " God hath His INFLUENCE," observes Hooker,f " into 
 the very essence of all things, without which INFLUENCE 
 of Deity supporting them, their utter annihilation could 
 not choose but follow. Of Him all things have both re- 
 ceived their first being, and their continuance to be that 
 which they are. All things are therefore partakers of 
 
 * Ancient Metaphysics, by Lord Monboddo, vol. ii., p. 290. 
 f Ecclesiastical Polity, book v., chap. Ivi., sect. v. 
 
DOCTRINE OP INFLUX. 387 
 
 God : they are His offspring: His INFLUENCE is in them, 
 and the personal Wisdom of God is for that very cause 
 said to excel in nimbleness or agility, to pierce into all 
 intellectual, pure, and subtile spirits, to go through all, 
 and to reach unto everything which is. Otherwise, how 
 should the same Wisdom be that which supporteth, bear- 
 eth up, and sustaineth all."* 
 
 But how is it conceivable that there should be any influx 
 into what is unsubstantial ? " The word Substance," ob- 
 serves Dugald Stewart, -j- "implies a greater degree of 
 positive knowledge respecting the nature of Mind than our 
 faculties are fitted to attain." What is the consequence? 
 To the Christian, Divine Influence has become a vague and 
 mysterious expression ; to the modern philosopher an anti- 
 quated, absurd, and impossible theory ; inasmuch as cer- 
 tain of these tell us that we must not apply to the 
 Soul and its operations any expression which implies any 
 analogy to matter ; which, if effectually carried out, would 
 oblige us not to write or even think about it at all. Swe- 
 denborg however, in this respect, preferred the wisdom of 
 Solomon to the wisdom of Descartes. 
 
 Aquinas}: indeed, came much nearer to the philosophy 
 of Swedenborg ; as also Dionysius when he said, that 
 "Men are purified, illuminated, and perfected by Angels." 
 " But this," says Aquinas, " cannot be effected except by 
 Influx ;" and hence therefore, he says, there may be an in- 
 flux of an Angel into a human Soul. Superior Angels, 
 he observes, may act upon inferior, and even upon our own 
 
 * Wisdom of Solomon, chap, vii., verse 23. 
 
 f Dissertations, p. 58. Note. 
 
 J Qucestiones Quodlibetales, quaest. iii., art. vii., vol. xvii., p. 257. 
 
 s2 
 
THE HELLS. 
 
 Souls : the superior beings, he says, are the active, the in- 
 ferior the passive ; and the active operate upon the passive 
 by Influx. Since the time of Aquinas indeed, Male- 
 branche, Leibnitz, and others have denied this doctrine : 
 Swedenborg has revived it. The denial of the doctrine 
 involved a denial also of the true doctrine of Correspond- 
 ence ; and they who have sunk into this state of denial, 
 have generally, in later times, sunk also into mere mate- 
 rialism, or into a theology of pure negations. 
 
 Thus much concerning the doctrines of Correspondence 
 and Influx ; and now at length, bidding adieu to these 
 subjects, we proceed to what Swedenborg has said con- 
 cerning HELL ; bearing in mind the objection, that " the 
 system furnishes abundant matter of faith and food for curio- 
 sity, but has little or no intelligible relation to practise" 
 
 In introducing our remarks upon this subject, it will 
 be necessary to revert, first of all, to those doctrines upon 
 the subject, which are proposed to us in the way of substi- 
 tute for those of Swedenborg. 
 
 We have already seen, that, according to the received 
 Theology, there is to be a Resurrection of the material 
 Body ; and that there is no other Resurrection, properly 
 so called, but that of the material Body at the Judgment 
 Day. Your Grace accordingly observes, that the doctrine 
 of the Immortality of the Soul, as a disembodied Spirit, 
 is not revealed to us in the Word of God ; that the Chris- 
 tian's hope, as founded on the promises contained in the 
 Gospel, is the Resurrection of the Body ; that the Blest, 
 in the next World, having real material bodies as now, 
 must inhabit some place* for the reception of such bodies : 
 
 * Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, p. 246. 
 
ANNIHILATION OF THE WICKED. 389 
 
 and that whether this place will be the present Earth re- 
 newed and restored, or some other part of the Universe, 
 we have no means of ascertaining. 
 
 Such, then, being the destiny of the Good ; what is 
 further taught us with respect to the Wicked? 
 
 We are left to infer that there will be a like Resurrection 
 of material bodies suited also to the wicked ; and as these 
 also must be provided with some -place in the material 
 Universe, this leads us to the question concerning the 
 nature of Hell, its punishments, and its place in the system 
 of Creation. 
 
 According to the Country Pastor, the duration of the 
 punishments of Hell is intimately connected with their 
 nature ; and with respect to duration, he speaks of it as 
 everlasting* in the sense of there being no final de- 
 liverance. He examines whether the terms in which the 
 doom of the wicked is spoken of in Scripture, such as 
 "death," "destruction," "perishing," etc., are to be un- 
 derstood figuratively, -j- as denoting immortal life in a state 
 of misery ; or whether they are to be understood in a 
 merely literal sense. But life and immortality^ are never, 
 it is said, applied in Scripture to the destiny of the wicked ; 
 and therefore we may suppose, that the hearers of Jesus 
 and his Apostles must " naturally have conceived them to 
 mean, if they were taught nothing to the contrary, that 
 the condemned were really and literally to be ' destroyed,' 
 and cease to exist; not that they were to exist for ever in 
 a state of wretchedness." The Country Pastor, however, ob- 
 serves^ that the expressions "everlasting fire," and "ever- 
 
 * Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, p. 234. 
 
 f Ibid., p. 230. % Ibid., p. 231: Ibid., p. 232. 
 
390 THE HELLS. 
 
 lasting punishment," and " being cast into Hell, where the 
 worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched," are inferred 
 by a large proportion of Christians to signify an immorta- 
 lity of suffering ; and that the expressions would bear that 
 sense, if* they were the only ones on that subject to be 
 found in Scripture ; but that they will also bear another 
 sense. " Fire-\- may be quenched before it has entirely con- 
 sumed what it is burning : unquenchable fire would seem 
 most naturally to mean that which destroys it utterly" 
 The effect of worms and fire, he says, is not to preserve 
 the body they prey upon, but to consume, destroy, and 
 put an end to it : that an immaterial being cannot be con- 
 sumed and destroyed by literal material fire or worms ; but 
 that no more can it suffer from these ; in which case the dif- 
 ficulty is removed by the introduction of a material body. 
 But, says the Apostle, " the last enemy that shall be de- 
 stroyed is DEATH ;" and this, we are told, "does afford some 
 ground for expecting the ultimate extinction of evil and of 
 suffering, by the total destruction of such as are incapable 
 of good and of happiness." " On the whole, therefore," 
 says the Country Pastor^ li I think we are not warranted 
 in concluding, as some have done, so positively concerning 
 this question, as to make it a point of Christian faith to 
 interpret figuratively, and not literally, the " death " and 
 "destruction" spoken of in Scripture as the doom of the 
 condemned; and to insist on the belief that they are to 
 be kept alive for ever." 
 
 We thus perceive, that the question whether the Scrip- 
 ture has taught us to believe in the ultimate annihilation 
 
 * Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, p. 233. 
 f Ibid., p. 234. t I&M't P- 236. 
 
ANNIHILATION OF THE WICKED. 391 
 
 of the wicked, or whether in their material bodies they are 
 to be the never-ceasing prey of a never-ceasing material 
 fire, is not a question concerning which we are warranted 
 in concluding anything, so as to make it a positive article 
 of the Christian Faith ; the whole being as yet involved 
 in a state of doubt and uncertainty. " Our present uncer- 
 tainty is that which constitutes our trial ; and doubt is 
 better 1 than error or the chance of error, and acknowledged 
 ignorance is wiser than groundless presumption." 
 
 This, it will be remembered, was precisely the position* 
 which was held with regard to the consciousness of the 
 Soul between Death and the Resurrection, and to the 
 nature of Heaven ; so that as to an Intermediate State, 
 the nature of Heaven, and the duration of Future Punish- 
 ment, there exist, it seems, the same uncertainty and doubt ; 
 in which respect, indeed, Christianity, if it be any Reve- 
 lation at all, is a Revelation only of uncertainties. 
 
 There is, however, one point upon which no uncertainty 
 is said to exist. We are to be furnished with material 
 bodies ; upon material bodies material fire only can operate. 
 Whatever difference of opinion may exist with regard to 
 the duration of the punishment, there is none as to this. 
 A metaphorical fire will not consume a material substance. 
 Accordingly, what in this respect is the difference between 
 the received Theology and that of Mahomed ? If we take 
 the descriptions from the Koran, and compare them with 
 those of 'the most orthodox writers of the Church on this 
 subject, in what respect do they disagree ? 
 
 " On that day," says the Koran,\ " shall they be driven 
 
 * See above, p. 309. 
 
 f Sale's Koran, vol. ii., pp. 345, 427, 144. 
 
392 THE HELLS. 
 
 and thrust into the fire of Hell ; and it shall be said unto 
 them, This is the fire which ye denied as a fiction. Is 
 this a magic illusion ? Or do ye not see ? Enter the same 
 to be scorched. Whether ye bear your torments patiently 
 or impatiently, it will be equal unto you : ye shall surely 
 receive the reward of that which ye have wrought. 
 
 " They who believe not, shall have garments of fire fitted 
 unto them : boiling water shall be poured on their heads : 
 their bowels shall be dissolved thereby and also their skins, 
 and they shall be beaten with maces of iron. So often as 
 they shall endeavor to get out of Hell, because of the 
 anguish of their torments, they shall be dragged back into 
 the same, and their tormentors shall say unto them, Taste 
 ye the pain of burning." ..." They shall be cast into a 
 scorching fire to be broiled : they shall be given to drink 
 of a boiling fountain." . . . 
 
 Thus speaks the Koran ; what says the received Theo- 
 logy ? The subject ought not to be introduced without a 
 due apology to the reader, derived from the necessity of 
 the argument. 
 
 "The sense of touching," says Bishop Taylor,* "as it 
 is the most extended sense of all the rest, so it shall be 
 the most tormented in that burning fire ; all the torments 
 which the Scripture doth exhibit to us, as prepared for the 
 reprobate, seem to fall upon this only sense : ' They shall 
 pass/ saith Job, 'from extremity of cold to intolerable 
 heats,' whole floods of fire and brimstone, which shower 
 down upon those unfortunate wretches ; all this belongs unto 
 the sense of touching. We are amazed to think of the in- 
 
 * See his works, vol. iii., p. 522, Contemplations of the State of 
 Man. 
 
HELL-FIRE MATERIAL. 393 
 
 humanity of Phalaris, who roasted men alive in his brazen 
 bull: this was a joy in respect of that^zre of Hell, which 
 penetrates the very entrails of the body without consuming 
 them. The burning of a finger only does cause so great 
 torment, that it is insufferable ; but far greater were it to 
 burn the whole arm and far greater were it, besides the 
 arms, to burn the legs; and far more violent torment 
 would it be to burn the whole body. This torment is so 
 great that it cannot be expressed, since it comprises as 
 many torments as the body hath joints, sinews, arteries, 
 etc., and especially being caused by that penetrating and 
 real fire, of which this temporal fire is but a pain ted fire 
 in respect of that in Hell." 
 
 "Among all the torments which human Justice hath in- 
 vented for the punishment of crimes, there is none held 
 more rigorous than that si fire, by reason of the great 
 activity of that element. What shall the heat of that fire 
 be, which shall be the executioner of the Justice of the 
 God of vengeance ! whose zeal shall be inflamed against 
 the wicked, and shall kindle the fire, which shall eternally 
 burn in the extremities of Hell. Such are the torments 
 and miseries of Hell, that if all the trees in the world were 
 put in one heap and set on fire, I would rather burn there 
 till the Day of Judgment, than suffer, only for the space 
 of one hour, that fire of Hell. What a miserable unhappi- 
 ness will it be, to burn in those flames of Hell, not only 
 for an hour, but till the Day of Judgment ; yea, even for 
 all Eternity, and world without end ! Who would not 
 esteem it a hideous torment, if he were burnt alive an 
 hundred times, and his torment was to last,". . . but we for- 
 bear. Suffice it to quote only the concluding sentence ; 
 
 s3 
 
394 
 
 THE HELLS. 
 
 " And what comparison will there be betwixt burning for 
 an hundred years' space, and to be burning without inter- 
 ruption, as long as God is God?" 
 
 Now the question is, What improvement this sort of 
 Theology is upon the Koran. Are not in both cases the 
 descriptions identical ; the quality of the idea, the same ? 
 In this case, then, undoubtedly it is only common humanity 
 to wish the infernal process to be as short as possible, and 
 the doom of annihilation to the wicked to hurry on with 
 all rapidity. 
 
 Here, however, it is a happy relief to the mind, to recol- 
 lect the argument in the Essays concerning our condition as 
 children, and our consequent ignorance of the State of Man 
 after Death ; the probability that the subject is one that 
 we do not understand ; and that our ideas may bear as 
 little resemblance to the things themselves as the most 
 chimerical and fantastic visions of a childish imagination ; 
 and that as such, they may be "extravagant/ 7 "wild," 
 and "improbable." If this be the case, as is admitted 
 with regard to the Intermediate State and that of the 
 Blessed in Heaven, why not also in regard to the state of 
 the wicked in Hell ? If in the one case we know only in 
 part and prophecy in part, why not in the other? The 
 notions, however, to which we have been above referring 
 are, in one respect, by no means the notions of children : 
 there is nothing in them, indeed, which children may not 
 comprehend, and yet nothing in them which would impart 
 to them any ideas of a Heavenly Father or of mercy and 
 love ; nothing which would give them the least conception 
 of the moral nature of good and evil ; nothing which is not 
 calculated to outrage the kindly feelings of filial affection 
 
HELL-FIRE SPIRITUAL. 395 
 
 which lay the foundation of all religious obedience in the 
 future mind of the child. And even were the case other- 
 wise, yet, says the Apostle, " When I was a child I spake 
 as a child, I thought as a child, I understood as a child; 
 but when I became a man I put away childish things." 
 
 There are, however, many in the present day, who, in 
 matters of Religion, never become MEN, but always remain 
 children. Let us see whether Swedenborg opens to us a 
 more rational way of thinking upon this subject. 
 
 The notions we have been presenting, arise, according 
 to Swedenborg, from a thorough misconception of the 
 whole subject. It is a misconception to regard Hell as 
 primarily in relation to misery, or Heaven as primarily in 
 relation to happiness. Misery and happiness are only 
 effects, the causes of which are to be found in evil and 
 good, falsity and truth. Heaven is essential goodness and 
 truth ; Hell essential evil and falsity. A genuine Revela- 
 tion, therefore, concerning Heaven, is a Revelation not in 
 the first place concerning happiness, but concerning good- 
 ness and truth ; and a genuine Revelation concerning Hell, 
 is not in the first place, concerning misery, but concerning 
 evil and falsity. Happiness is indeed necessarily conjoined 
 to a life of goodness and truth ; and misery to a state of 
 evil and falsity ; but the hellish nature is not primarily in 
 the misery, but in the wickedness which causes it. Heaven 
 therefore ought to be desired, because it is a place of holi- 
 ness ; and Hell ought to be shunned because it is a place of 
 wickedness. In all, therefore, that Swedenborg says con- 
 cerning the nature of Hell, the foundation lies in the 
 essential nature of evil as the opposite of good. 
 
 "Nothing," says he,* "is more necessary for man to 
 * Arcana Ccelestia, art. 7181, 
 
396 THE HELLS. 
 
 know, than whether Heaven be in Himself, or Hell ; for in 
 one or the other he must needs live to eternity. To the 
 intent that he may acquire this knowledge, it is necessary 
 that he should know what good is and what evil ; for good 
 constitutes Heaven, and evil constitutes HELL." 
 
 " Evil* in man is HELL within him ; for whether we 
 speak of evil or HELL, it is the same thing." 
 
 Man himself, therefore, as being the doer of his own 
 evil, is the cause of his own Hell : he casts himself into 
 Hell when he does evil ; and hence it is as impossible for 
 God to cast a man into Hell, as it is for him to be the 
 author of a man's sins. For God, therefore, to cast a 
 man into Hell, is the same as for him to be the author of 
 evil. 
 
 As all good consists in the love of God and love of the 
 neighbor, so all evil consists in the love of self and the 
 love of the world. Love of self is enmity to God ; love 
 of the world is enmity to the neighbor. Consequently, 
 Heaven consists in the love of God and of the neighbor ; 
 Hell, in the love of self and love of the world. Heavenly 
 love is heavenly fire; for love is the fire of life. 
 
 Heavenly fire is the love of God and of the neighbor, 
 and this love is heavenly life. Hell-fire is the love of self 
 and of the world, and this love is infernal life : this love 
 itself is therefore the infernal fire, or as it is commonly 
 called Hell-fire. 
 
 This fire, therefore, signifies primarily not infernal tor- 
 ment, but infernal life ; and Hell-fire, primarily not the tor- 
 ment of Hell but the life of Hell, which in itself is death 
 death in relation to Angels, life in relation to Devils. 
 * Heaven and Hell, art. 547. 
 
NATURE OF HELL-FIRE. 397 
 
 An exposition, therefore, of the nature of Hell-fire is 
 not an exposition of the nature of material fire, but of 
 the nature of self-love and of the love of the world ; and 
 consequently all that has been said above concerning the 
 torments arising from material fire, are nothing to the 
 purpose, and have nothing to do with the subject. Whether 
 insisted upon by the Koran, or by the commonly received 
 Theology, they are, thank God, equally hallucinations. 
 
 What is material has no necessary connection with what 
 is moral; nor is there any essential connection between 
 material fire and moral evil. There is, however, an essen- 
 tial connection between moral evil, and spiritual fire ; be- 
 cause evil concupiscences are themselves that fire. 
 
 " Inasmuch," says Swedenborg,* u as love is the fire of 
 life, and every one hath life according to his love ; it may 
 hence be known what heavenly fire is, and what infernal 
 fire. Heavenly fire is love toward the Lord, and love to- 
 ward the neighbor ; and infernal fire is the love of self 
 and the love of the world, and hence, the concupiscence 
 of all evils which flow from those loves as from their foun- 
 tains." 
 
 This being the case, heavenly love is as really fire in 
 Heaven, as material fire is really fire upon earth ; and in 
 like manner infernal love is as really fire in Hell, as mate- 
 rial fire is really fire upon earth. 
 
 These three kinds of fire are essentially different, and 
 proper each to its own World : to confound these three, is 
 to confound the three Worlds ; to commingle Earth with 
 Heaven and Hell. The result is a corresponding confu- 
 
 * Arcana Ccelestia, 10,747. See also Articles 10,740, 6832, 
 10,038. 
 
398 THE HELLS. 
 
 sion in our own conceptions, and that state of doubt and 
 uncertainty which not unfrequently terminates in a posi- 
 tive denial of Christianity, if not, in a species of indig- 
 nation at what is wrongly supposed to be its teaching. 
 
 As with the will, so with the intellect : as love is Fire, 
 so Truth also is light. In Heaven, Divine Truth is essen- 
 tial light; and is perceived as light there, as truly as light 
 is perceived in this world. In Hell, the light is that of 
 lies and falsity, and is as much opposed to heavenly light 
 as lies are opposed to truth. Hence the light in Hell is in 
 itself darkness, just as life in Hell is in itself death. In- 
 fernal light, therefore, is of the same nature with infernal 
 fire, namely, of a spiritual, not of a material nature. The 
 darkness in Hell does not arise from the invisibility of our 
 Sun ; but from the invisibility of the Sun of Righteousness. 
 If fire in Hell were the same with material fire, darkness 
 there would be the same as is proper to the material world ; 
 and, as such, it would not necessarily imply anything 
 with respect to the state of the human understanding ; nor 
 would any description of that darkness have any relation 
 to things of a moral nature ; the whole would present a 
 system of mere materialism ; a series of external pheno- 
 mena, without the smallest relation to the essential nature 
 of good and evil themselves. 
 
 The same observation applies to the expressions smoke, 
 sulphur or brimstone, gnashing of teeth, and the like. For 
 smoke signifies falsities, which appear represented as smoke 
 in the Spiritual World ; brimstone or sulphur, the nature of 
 evil concupiscences, which in the Spiritual World appear 
 in that form ; gnashing of teeth* the grating noise of dis- 
 
 * Heaven and Hell, art. 575. 
 
NATURE OF HELL-FIRE. 399 
 
 pute, and of the combat of falsities with each other ; for, 
 in Hell "every one fights in favor of his own falsities, 
 and calls them truths," speaking with "contempt of others, 
 with enmity, mockery, ridicule, and blasphemy;" "which 
 also burst forth," says Swedenborg, "into butcheries of vari- 
 ous kinds." So also with regard to the worm that dieth not; 
 that worm is not conscience, for jdevils have no conscience. 
 It is the worm mentioned in the book of Exodus xvi. 20, 
 the worm bred in the manna ; and if, in a secondary sense, 
 it signifies the torment arising from evil, it is because it 
 first signifies the evil itself; for* "There are two things 
 which make Heaven, which are good and truth ; and two 
 things which make Hell, which are evil and the false. 
 These two things in Heaven are those which make happi- 
 ness there ; and these two things in Hell are those which 
 make torment there. The torment in Hell arising from 
 the false is compared to a worm ; the torment arising from 
 evil there, is compared to fire . . . where their worm shall 
 not die, neither shall their fire be quenched" 
 
 In not one of these instances, however, does the expres- 
 sion, in its primary sense, signify torment, but rather the 
 evil which occasions the torment : the dread of the torment 
 being, for the most part, less than the love of the evil. 
 
 How is it, then, that according to these explanations, 
 given by Swedenborg, a wicked man is cast into Hell-fire 
 after death ? The case is this ; 
 
 After-j- separation from the material body by means 
 of which he was in the material World, he finds himself in 
 a spiritual body, in a human form, and in a Spiritual World, 
 
 * Arcana Ccelestia, art. 8481. 
 f Heaven and Hell, art. 502, 507. 
 
400 THE HELLS. 
 
 in all respects the same man that he was in this, only 
 without a material body. Whilst he is in this condition, 
 he is gradually let into the state of his interior will and 
 consequent thought, into which he falls of his own accord, 
 without being aware of it ; in the same manner as he did 
 in the World, when he was in his own interior thought, 
 and was withdrawn from external things. When the man 
 is in this state, he is in his very life ; for to think freely 
 from his own real affection is the very life of man, and is 
 the man himself. When a Spirit is in this state, he thinks 
 from his true will, and consequently from his real affection 
 or love ; so that his thought makes one with his will, and 
 the oneness is so perfect, that the Spirit appears not so 
 much to think, as to will. Moreover, in this state, it 
 manifestly appears of what quality the man was in him- 
 self during his life in the World ; for he publishes every- 
 thing which he had said or done in secret, because external 
 things no longer restrain him ; and in consequence of the 
 oneness of the will with the thought, he cannot but speak 
 what he thinks. 
 
 Now since evil is its own punishment, because it is an 
 essential discordance of the being of the man himself, 
 therefore he who is in evil is in the discordance or the 
 punishment of evil. No one, however, there suffers pun- 
 ishment for crimes which he had committed in this World. 
 He is punished only for the crimes which he does then. 
 There* is, however, no actual difference between the two 
 cases ; because every one after death returns into his own 
 life, and thus into similar evils, where those evils have 
 not been put away by repentance. 
 
 * Heaven and Hell, art. 509. 
 
ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. 401 
 
 It will be perceived, therefore, that this view of the 
 subject entirely removes the objection, Why should a man 
 be punished eternally for crimes which he has committed 
 in so short a life here ? The answer is, No man whatever 
 is punished for what he has done in this world. Neverthe- 
 less, he carries his evils with him, and these lead him into 
 similar acts there into which they had led him here. His 
 works follow him, because his life follows him. His life 
 in the other World is a repetition of his life in this ; and 
 consequently the same evils, although not the same acts, 
 are subjected to punishment. 
 
 We thus perceive that the difficulties arising from the 
 doctrine si Eternal Punishment proceed from misconception. 
 For punishment is only an effect, the cause of which is 
 evil ; and hence, in regard to Eternal Punishment, the real 
 question at issue is not concerning the eternity of the 
 punishment, but the eternity of the evil. Let the evil 
 cease, and the punishment will cease; but if a man has 
 identified evil with his life, and derives his life from evil ; 
 to destroy the evil would be to destroy the life, and, con- 
 sequently, to destroy the man or his personal identity. 
 Some might think this a better lot for the man ; the man 
 himself would think it a worse ; for he whose delight is in 
 evil, would think it a great punishment if that deligh 
 were suppressed; for that delight is his heaven, and to 
 take away that delight, would be to deprive him of his 
 heaven ; for though Hell is Hell to the angels, yet to evil 
 spirits it is their only Heaven. 
 
 If, then, there be punishment in Hell, what is its object ? 
 For we are told that, " If* we are to measure the dealings 
 
 * Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, p. 219. 
 
402 THE HELLS. 
 
 of God by the standard of our own reason, we shall find 
 ourselves at a loss to explain any Future Punishment at 
 all. For it is certain that the object proposed by human 
 punishments, is the prevention of future crimes, by hold- 
 ing out a terror to trangressors ; we punish a man not be- 
 cause he has offended, but that others may be deterred 
 from offending by his example. Now how any such pur- 
 pose can be answered by the Future Punishment of the 
 wicked, whether for a time, or for ever, we cannot at all 
 conceive. And yet if there be any truth in God's Word, 
 we are sure that the wicked will not go unpunished. The 
 truth is, we had better abstain from conjectures on a sub- 
 ject manifestly beyond the reach of human faculties." 
 
 But is not this excuse the favorite resort of theologians, 
 whenever they find their theology involving them in diffi- 
 culties ? Have we not seen that they are ever pleading 
 limitation of their faculties, where they are rather making 
 a wrong use of them ? Ascribing the cause of their per- 
 plexities rather to the Creator than to themselves ? For 
 the use of punishment is not only to deter others from 
 offending, but to deter the offender himself; and though 
 it may not make him better, may it not prevent him from 
 becoming worse ? though it may not implant good, may it 
 not be a check to his evils ? And what is there in Scrip- 
 ture to forbid us to believe, that punishment in Hell may 
 be a terror to transgressors, and thus serve as a check to 
 the increase of evil ? It is admitted that in Heaven there 
 is perpetual progression in love and in wisdom ; hence also 
 a perpetual increase of happiness. What if in Hell there 
 should be perpetual progression in hatred and lying, and 
 thence a tendency to perpetual increase in misery ? And 
 
ORIGIN OF EVIL. 403 
 
 what, therefore, if punishments should be a merciful pro- 
 vision to check the increase of evil, and hence the increase 
 of misery ? At all events this is the point of view in 
 which Swedenborg regards the subject. The infernal 
 nature of Hell, therefore, is not to be derived from these 
 punishments, but from the nature of the evil which is 
 punished ; just as a true sense of sin is not to be derived 
 from the punishment of sin, but from a perception of its 
 sinfulness, as in opposition to the holiness of God. 
 
 But, says the Country Pastor, the difficulty is to recon- 
 cile the existence of evil with the benevolence of God: 
 " I* will undertake to explain to any one the final condem- 
 nation of the wicked, if he will explain to me the exist- 
 ence of the wicked ; if he will explain to me why God 
 does not cause all those to die in the cradle, of whom he 
 foresees that they will lead a sinful life." 
 
 The reason for propounding this difficulty has already 
 been considered in part : I have therefore now only further 
 to observe, that 
 
 If any man perplexes himself about the Origin of EVIL, 
 let him first ask himself to determine the Origin of GOOD. 
 Let him first determine the question concerning the nature 
 of good, and he may then proceed to the question concern- 
 ing the nature of evil; but to undertake to solve the ques- 
 tion concerning evil before he has solved that concerning 
 good, is to invert the order of enquiry, and to create the 
 very difficulties which perplex him ; for evil may be per- 
 ceived from good, but not good from evil. Evil is only 
 the inversion and perversion of good. Here, however, is 
 another instance in which a limitation of our faculties is 
 * Scripture Revelations concerning a Future State, p. 221. 
 
404 INQUISITIVE PRIDE. 
 
 apt to be pleaded, where the difficulty arises, not from this 
 limitation, but from the wrong method of enquiry. 
 
 I have now brought to a close our observations on Swe- 
 denborg's teaching concerning The World of Spirits, the 
 Three Heavens, and the corresponding Hells ; for which we 
 may be regarded by some as entertaining them with fanciful 
 theories delivered as Scriptural truths, and again be re- 
 minded of the duty of ignorance ; hence of the example of 
 the Country Pastor, who says ;* " If I cannot give you such 
 full and interesting accounts of Divine mysteries as more 
 daring enquirers pretend to do, I trust I can at least pro- 
 mise not to mislead you ; having long bestowed especial 
 attention on that important and much neglected branch of 
 learning the knowledge of man's ignorance." 
 
 Accordingly, it is in the spirit of these remarks that 
 the Essays make mention of u the idle and arrogant pre- 
 tensions of human fraud and folly" of " inquisitive pride," 
 "forbidden knowledge" and "presumptuous attempts" to 
 explain unrevealed mysteries. Now let it be remembered, 
 that we are concerned with this argument only in so far 
 as the foregoing doctrines of Swedenborg are concerned. 
 The Essays observe, then,f 
 
 " Little as there is revealed to us of the condition of our 
 first parents in Paradise, thus much (and let Christians 
 never forget it) is plainly taught us, that they fell from 
 their happy state through the desire of forbidden know- 
 ledge. It was by seeking from men to become i as gods, 
 knowing good and evil,' that they incurred that loss, to 
 retrieve which God was made man, in Christ Jesus ; who 
 ' took upon him the form of a servant, and humbled him - 
 * Ibid., p. 239. f Ibid., p. 162. 
 
FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE. 405 
 
 self unto death, even the death of the cross,' to redeem us, 
 the children of Adam, whom want of humility had ruined, 
 and to open to us the gates of eternal life, which presump- 
 tuous transgression had shut. How then can we hope to 
 enter in, if we repeat the very transgression of Adam, in 
 seeking to be wise above that which is written ? By in- 
 quisitive pride was immortal happiness forfeited ; and the 
 path by which we must travel back to its recovery is that 
 of patient and resigned humility." 
 
 How can we hope to enter into Paradise, if we repeat 
 the very trangression of Adam, in seeking to be wise above 
 that which is written? What, then, was the condition 
 of our first parents in Paradise ? It is thus represented, 
 not indeed by the author of the Essays, but by a very emi- 
 nent divine of the Church of England :* 
 
 " When man was first placed in Paradise, his body was 
 in health, and his Soul had all its faculties in perfection ; 
 and if we would know what a perfect Soul is, we must 
 know what a perfect body is. When the body of man is 
 in a state of perfection, its senses are all perfect. Its 
 sight is quick and strong ; its hearing is uninterrupted ; 
 its limbs are vigorous and active : it distinguishes all 
 tastes and all odours without error, and in its feelings it is 
 sensible of all the impressions upon the elements. So 
 when the Soul is in equal health, it sees and understands 
 things spiritual : it sees God and his truth as plainly as the 
 eye sees the light of the day : it hears and attends to all 
 important and useful information : it walks with God in 
 the way of his commandments, and even runs with plea- 
 
 * Works of the Rev. W. Jones, vol. iv., p. 214. On the Figurative 
 Language of the Holy Scriptures. 
 
406 INQUISITIVE PRIDE. 
 
 sure to do his will, as the Angels fly through the Heaven 
 for the same purpose ; it distinguishes good and evil without 
 error ; and apprehending their different effects and conse- 
 quences, it relishes the one and abhors the other : its speech 
 is employed in the praises of God, and will be telling of 
 his wonders from day to day, for it knows no end thereof. 
 It therefore preserves its relation to God, as his child, his 
 scholar, his subject, in affection, attention, and obedience. 
 ! blessed state, who can survey this condition of humanity 
 without bewailing its loss, and aspiring to its restoration ? 
 For lost it was, and under that loss we are now suffering ; 
 and as such sufferers we were visited by Jesus Christ." 
 
 Here then is a state in which " the Soul sees and un- 
 derstands things spiritual " " it sees God and His truth 
 as plainly as the eye sees the light of the day " " it dis- 
 tinguishes good and evil without error, and apprehending 
 their different effects and consequences, it relishes one and 
 abhors the other." Place this kind of knowledge in 
 Paradise by the side of that which is now recommended to 
 us as children, and which is, we are told, full of obscurity, 
 doubt, and uncertainty ! Is it a sign of humility to wish 
 to remain in this state? Or of presumption to wish to be re- 
 stored to a clearer knowledge, in which " the Soul sees the 
 truth as plainly as the eye sees the light of the day ?" If 
 THIS be presumption, this we confess is our crime. Before 
 the coming of Christ into the world, many of the heathens 
 were desirous of a better knowledge concerning the great 
 doctrines of Religion, the Immortality of the Soul, and 
 the certainty of a Life to come. Was this presumption f 
 Yes: says Lord Bolingbroke, "their complaints, and their 
 expectations were founded in proud curiosity, and vain 
 
FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE. 407 
 
 presumption." Hence, observes Lelaud; "It was pride, 
 it seems,* to be sensible of their ignorance, and need of 
 further instruction : it was presumption to hope or desire 
 any further illumination in things concerning which they 
 were in doubt, and which it was of great importance to 
 them to know." Nay ; but says Lord Bolingbroke, It was 
 not of importance to them to know " The knowledge 
 they had was such as the Author of Nature had thought 
 sufficient, since he had given them no more ; and for Dr. 
 Clarke to deduce from the supposed reasonableness of their 
 complaints, the necessity of a further Revelation, is to 
 weigh his own opinion and theirs against Divine Provi- 
 dence." But were these heathens sensible of their ignor- 
 ance ? Had they too, in some measure, a knowledge of 
 man's ignorance? Then, says Lord Bolingbroke, they 
 ought to have been contented with their ignorance ! No ; 
 says Dr. Clarke, they felt the need of a further Revelation! 
 
 If our ignorance, then, be such as it is stated to be in 
 the Essays ; are we insensible of our ignorance because we 
 have felt the need of a further Revelation f Or is the very 
 fact of our ignorance, any argument that we ought to re- 
 main contented with it ? This latter is the argument of the 
 Essays ; it is likewise the argument of Lord Bolingbroke. 
 
 Presumptuous attempts to explain unrevealed mysteries, 
 are doubtless sins of the first magnitude ; and so are also 
 presumptuous rejections of Divine Revelations : of this 
 latter Lord Bolingbroke himself was guilty, at the very 
 time when he thought he was honestly protesting against 
 the former. 
 
 But there was no necessity, says Lord Bolingbroke, of a 
 * View of Deistical Writers; Letter 27, vol. ii., pp. 69, 70. 
 
408 INQUISITIVE PRIDE. 
 
 further revelation "It was absurd and trifling (in Dr. 
 Clarke) to bring the opinion of Socrates, Plato, and other 
 philosophers concerning their want of Divine Revelation 
 and their hopes that it would be supplied, as a proof that 
 the want was real ; and that after it had been complained of, 
 it was supplied." Lord Bolingbroke accordingly attempts 
 to shew that their want was not real; "as if," says Leland, 
 " he knew better what they wanted than they themselves 
 did, and were a more proper judge of the true state of the 
 case than they were." 
 
 Now certainly the wickedness of an inquisitive pride 
 can scarcely be exaggerated. But how comes it to pass, 
 that this presumptuous knowledge, of the attempt at which 
 Swedenborg and his followers are sometimes thought to be 
 guilty, is such as exposes the direful evils of presumption ? 
 How comes it, that the inquisitive pride, which is some- 
 times laid to his charge, leads him to acknowledge princi- 
 ples of child-like humility ? How comes it, that the sup- 
 posed arrogance of his self-intelligence brings him to the 
 conclusion, that man of himself is nothing but evil, that 
 in order to be saved he must be regenerated ; while many, 
 who are reputed to be more humble and unpresuming, in- 
 form us, that this is a mistake, that man is not so far gone 
 from his original state, and that he is much better than 
 many would consider him to be ? Surely an attempt to 
 know the human heart, to purify its nature, and for 
 this purpose to aim at more Divine light, could not have 
 been the crime for which Adam was cast out of Para- 
 dise. 
 
 Nay, it is replied, The crime or delusion of Swedenborg, 
 consists in his laying claim to open intercourse with an- 
 
FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE. 409 
 
 other World, and pretending to a knowledge of mysteries 
 which are beyond the Grave. 
 
 But, allow me to observe, this knowledge was not that 
 which occasioned man to fall, but was rather the knowledge 
 from which he fell. How often do well-meaning persons 
 reason backward upon this subject , as if the darkness in 
 which we live was man's natural condition, and the light 
 which we endeavor to attain was the occasion of his Fall ; 
 as if open communion with Heaven was the curse, and the 
 closing of Heaven the blessing ; as if the presumption con- 
 sisted in aiming at that Divine knowledge from which man 
 fell, and the humility in continuing in that ignorance into 
 which his presumption cast him ! How is it, however, 
 that the presumptuous knowledge, at which Swedenborg 
 is supposed to aim, acts as a check to the presumptuous 
 enquirer, and makes him not the receiver, but the unbe- 
 liever ? 
 
 With regard to the subject of forbidden knowledge, it is 
 certainly true, that our first parents fell in consequence of 
 aspiring to it ; but the question is, what that knowledge 
 is which was forbidden. All knowledge is, I apprehend, 
 forbidden, and Divine knowledge in particular, when we 
 seek it from a wrong motive. However calculated to 
 purify the heart, if received in a right state of mind, we 
 know that, if received in a wrong one, it has the contrary 
 effect. Our Saviour therefore said, even w r ith regard to 
 the truths of salvation, "/ thank thee, Father, Lord 
 of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from 
 the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes ;" for 
 assuredly it is a mercy, that God should conceal even 
 the practical truths of salvation from those, who, if they 
 
410 INQUISITIVE PRIDE. 
 
 received, would only profane and corrupt them. In this 
 case, then, even the truths of the Gospel may become a 
 forbidden knowledge; just as the Tree of Life was ulti- 
 mately as much forbidden, as the Tree of Knowledge of 
 good and evil. While man ate of the Tree of Life, he was 
 forbidden to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and 
 evil ; and while he ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of 
 good and evil, he was forbidden to eat of the Tree of Life. 
 Why so? 
 
 Solomon says, that wisdom is a Tree of Life, that is to 
 say, Divine wisdom. What, then, was the Tree of the 
 Knowledge of good and evil ? Was it of the same nature 
 with that of the Tree of Life, but only of a higher order ? 
 It must be so, if it correspond to the knowledge which the 
 Essays maintain is forbidden. For, when they speak of 
 forbidden knowledge, it does not appear that they mean a 
 knowledge essentially evil ; but knowledge divine, which, 
 it is presumed, God has withheld. Thus, not only in the 
 Essays, but often in the writings of other authors, the Tree 
 of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil are con- 
 founded with each other; and we are supposed to be guilty 
 of desiring to partake of the Tree of Knowledge of good and 
 evil, when, in fact, we are but desiring to partake, from a 
 right principle, of the Tree of Life. The consequence is, 
 that the argument, as applied to the writings of Sweden- 
 borg, appears to be altogether mistaken. 
 
 "Ye shall be as gods," said the Tempter, "knowing 
 good and evil." This was the end and object of their know- 
 ledge, to become as gods, to exalt their own self-hood, and 
 to consider self as the source of wisdom. Here, then, was 
 a presumptuous principle. Why, therefore, was Divine 
 
FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE. 411 
 
 knowledge forbidden to them, in this state ? Because the 
 principle was forbidden from which the knowledge was 
 sought; for the more the knowledge of good is sought 
 from a principle of self, the more is the knowledge of evil 
 increased; since evil is nothing but good perverted, as 
 falsehood is nothing but truth perverted. It was in mercy, 
 therefore, that God forbade his creatures to enter into 
 Divine knowledge, from an evil principle : as long as they 
 were in that evil principle they were designed to continue 
 in darkness, till the period should arrive when man should 
 be restored, and, abandoning his evil state, should have a 
 right to the Tree of Life. The Tree of the Knowledge of 
 good and evil is, therefore, the Tree of the Knowledge of 
 good from an evil or selfish and sensual state ; this being 
 the state in which man is arrogant and presumptuous, 
 relying upon his self-intelligence, and thus presuming to 
 be as God. In this case, what is the nature of his know- 
 ledge? Are not its principles sensual and earthly, con- 
 fined to the mere conditions of time and space ? Are not 
 his ideas and feelings merely natural ? And what has the 
 natural man ever done in regard to Divine wisdom what, 
 but to pervert and corrupt it ? It is, therefore, the mere 
 science or knowledge of Divine truth separate from a good 
 life, and conjoined with a selfish and sensual nature, that is 
 called the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil ; and it 
 was to prevent the attempt to enter into Divine mysteries, 
 or partake of the Tree of Life, from this state, that man was 
 driven out from the gates of Paradise. Hence, it was the 
 state of man that caused even Divine knowledge to be for- 
 bidden, and not the nature of the knowledge itself ; while, 
 on the other hand, it was the nature of the knowledge itself, 
 
 T2 
 
412 INQUISITIVE PRIDE. 
 
 which was good profaned and truth falsified, that was the 
 cause for which the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil 
 was forbidden. 
 
 Now, Swedenborg maintains that it is in consequence 
 of this tendency in mankind to the profanation of good and 
 the falsification of truthj that God in his mercy has 
 hitherto hid from them both the Divine Wisdom con- 
 tained in His Word, and the mysteries of Heaven ; and 
 that in His mercy He will, as far as possible, continue to 
 withhold them from all to whom this knowledge would be 
 pernicious. If, therefore, any one should be deterred from 
 entering into the Internal Sense of the Word of God, or 
 receiving that knowledge with regard to the other World 
 which is now placed within his reach, then, whatever be the 
 causes which operate to influence him, he may be fulfilling 
 the designs of Providence in a way in which he little sus- 
 pects ; and, as such, we should be the last to endeavor to 
 persuade him to enter through those gates which, in the 
 Divine mercy, had been closed upon him. 
 
 To these observations it may be well to add a few ex- 
 tracts from the Arcana Ccelestia, in illustration of those 
 passages of Scripture to which we have been adverting : 
 
 " 126. But of the tree of the science of good and evil, thou 
 shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof, 
 dying thou wilt die. These words together with the fore- 
 going, signify, that it is allowable to know what is true and 
 good by perception from the Lord, but not from self and 
 the world ; or that it is not allowable to enquire into the 
 mysteries of Faith, by what appertains to sense and science, 
 whereby its celestial principle dies." 
 
 "128. The worldly and corporeal man says in his heart, 
 
FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE. 413 
 
 ' If I am not instructed concerning Faith, and the things re- 
 lating to Faith, by things of sense, so that I may see them, 
 or by things of science, so that I may understand them, I 
 will not believe ;' and he confirms himself in his incre- 
 dulity by this persuasion, that natural things cannot be 
 contrary to spiritual things ; wherefore he is desirous of 
 being instructed, from things of sense, concerning things 
 celestial and Divine ; nevertheless, this is as impossible as 
 it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. The 
 more he desires to grow wise from such a ground, the more 
 he blinds himself; till at length he comes to believe 
 nothing, not even the existence of anything spiritual, or of 
 eternal life. This is a necessary consequence of the prin- 
 ciple which he lays down ; and this is to eat of the Tree of 
 the knowledge of good and evil, which causes a greater 
 death the more a man eats thereof. But whoso wishes to 
 grow wise by a wisdom not derived from the world but 
 from the Lord, says in his heart, that he ought to believe 
 the Lord, that is, the things which the Lord hath spoken 
 in the Word, because they are truths; and this is the 
 principle by which he governs his thoughts ; and then he 
 confirms himself in such belief, by things rational, scien- 
 tific, sensual, and natural ; and removes from his mind 
 whatever does not tend to such confirmation." 
 
 "129. It is in every one's power to see, that man is 
 governed by the principles he assumes, be they ever so 
 false, and that all his science and reasoning favor such 
 principles; for innumerable considerations that tend to 
 support them, are ever ready to present themselves, and 
 thus he is confirmed in his false sentiments ; wherefore, he 
 who assumes it as a principle that nothing is to be believed 
 
414 INQUISITIVE PRIDE. 
 
 before it is (from sense and science) seen and understood, 
 can never believe ; inasmuch as spiritual and celestial 
 things are incapable of being seen with the eyes, or con- 
 ceived in the imagination. But the true order is, that 
 man may be wise with a wisdom derived from the Lord, 
 that is, from His Word ; in which case, all things suc- 
 ceed in their right course, and then also he is enlightened 
 in things rational and scientific ; for man is never forbid 
 to learn the sciences, inasmuch as they contribute to the 
 use and delight of life ; nor is he who is under the influ- 
 ence of faith, forbidden to think and speak as the learned 
 do in the world ; but then he must be guided by this 
 principle, to believe the Word of the Lord, and to confirm 
 spiritual and celestial truths by natural truths, in terms 
 familiar to the learned world, as far as lies in his power ; 
 wherefore, his principle must be derived from the Lord, 
 and not from himself. The former is life, but the latter is 
 death." 
 
 "301. Lest now he put forth his handj and take also of 
 the tree of lives, and eat and live for ever. When men 
 become inverted as to the order of their life, and are un- 
 willing to confess their life and wisdom to be derived from 
 any other fountain but from themselves and proprittm, 
 then whatever they hear respecting Faith, they reason about 
 it, disputing whether it be so or not ; and whereas such 
 reasoning is grounded in themselves, and in the things of 
 sense and science in themselves, they must needs be led 
 thereby to deny the things of Faith ; and in denying, to 
 blaspheme and profane them ; till at length they become 
 so indifferent toward them, that they do not scruple to mix 
 what is profane with what is holy. ... In the other life 
 
FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE. 415 
 
 ... the separation of profane things thus joined with holy 
 things, cannot possibly be effected but by infernal torment, 
 of so terrible a kind, that if man was aware of it, he would 
 be as cautious of falling into such profanation, as of falling 
 into Hell itself." 
 
 "302. This was the reason'why the Jews, as being a 
 people so prone to profanation, never had the mysteries of 
 Faith revealed to them ; so that it was never directly de- 
 clared to them, that they should live after death, or that 
 the Lord should come into the world to save them ; nay, 
 they were kept in so great ignorance and blindness, and 
 are still kept so, that they did not know, nor do they 
 know at this day, that any internal man exists, or that 
 there is anything internal ; for had they known these 
 truths, or did they know them at present so as to acknow- 
 ledge them, they are a people of such a nature that they 
 would profane them ; and thus preclude themselves from 
 all hope of salvation in another life. This is what is meant 
 by the Lord, in John, ' He hath blinded their eyes, and 
 hardened their heart, that they should not see with their 
 eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, 
 and I should heal them.' This is the reason, too, why the 
 Lord spake to them by parables, and did not explain their 
 meaning to them ; lest, as He himself says, ' seeing they 
 should see, and hearing they should hear and understand.' 
 For the same reason, likewise, all the mysteries of faith 
 were hid from them, and concealed under the representa- 
 tives of their Church ; and for the same reason, the style 
 of the prophetic writings was in like manner dark and 
 obscure." 
 
 If then we ask why it was that Adam was driven out 
 
416 INQUISITIVE PRIDE. 
 
 of Paradise, and prevented from eating of the Tree of Life j 
 The answer is, that he was not in a proper state to partake 
 of it. He himself, therefore, and not God, was the primary 
 cause of Divine Wisdom being withheld from him. But 
 suppose that, having left Paradise, he should reason 
 within himself and say, "I am in darkness, it is true ; 
 but this is the state in which God designed me to live : 
 had He thought fit for me to know more, He would have 
 revealed it;" who does not see that, in this reasoning, 
 there is both truth and untruth ? Truth, because it cer- 
 tainly is the design of Providence that he should not know 
 more, so long as he continues in that evil principle which 
 was the occasion of his fall ; untruth, because it was not 
 the original design of Providence that man should be sepa- 
 rated from Him, and consequently live in ignorance. If he 
 argues from his ignorance as the state originally designed 
 by God, is he not attributing to Divine Providence the 
 consequences of his own evil ? 
 
 A state of absolute ignorance, moreover, cannot be so 
 consistent with a state of PROBATION, as a state of light. 
 There is nothing that tries us like truth. It is only in 
 proportion as we know the truth and endeavor to practise 
 it, that we become subject to temptation. Knowledge, 
 therefore, not ignorance, is, in this sense, the best suited 
 to a state of probation. The Christian, who is far ad- 
 vanced in spiritual truth, has many more trials than the 
 one who is comparatively ignorant ; and the farther he 
 advances, the greater are his trials, until he has finally 
 found his rest. It is true, that, for most wise and merciful 
 purposes, spiritual darkness occasionally overtakes him ; 
 but then it comes to him not as the state in which God 
 
FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE. 417 
 
 designed him to live, but as one of the trials of that 
 state, and as one of the means which God uses for the 
 purpose of introducing him, even in this world, into a 
 greater degree of light. For this spiritual darkness is 
 produced by the operation of infernal powers, and God 
 never designed that we should live continually under their 
 influence ; although out of evil He brings good, from out of 
 darkness he educes light. So far, however, from the present 
 darkness of the Christian world being to them a state of 
 trial or probation, the case is unfortunately the reverse ; 
 "they love darkness rather than light." It is true, the 
 Christian does not thus love it, but that he desires further 
 light. Unhappily, however, he is told, that it is presump- 
 tion to desire it ; that it is aiming at forbidden knowledge ; 
 and that he ought to be content with his ignorance. Cer- 
 tain however it is, that in proportion as we are ignorant 
 of God and of the nature of Heaven and Hell, we are 
 ignorant of our own hearts ; and the Almighty could no 
 more design us to be ignorant of Him, and of the nature 
 of Heaven and Hell, than He could design us to be 
 ignorant of ourselves. 
 
 There is no doubt that, had further knowledge been 
 suitable to mankind at the establishment of the Christian 
 Dispensation, God would have revealed it ; but what 
 would not have been suitable to the World eighteen cen- 
 turies ago, may be suitable now. The state of one por- 
 tion of the World, at least, has immensely changed since 
 that period. The progress of Science is itself a proof of 
 a revolution in the intellectual faculties ; and education 
 has made, and in all probability will continue to make, the 
 human mind more receptive of natural and spiritual truth, 
 
 T3 
 
418 INQUISITIVE PRIDE. 
 
 than it has ever been hitherto. Experience, however, 
 has proved, that when men have been accustomed to a 
 given degree of light, however feeble, a greater degree 
 becomes unpleasant. They love that to which they are 
 habituated, only because they have been habituated to it. 
 It is, in this respect, the same with spiritual as with 
 natural light ; after having been long withheld, its return 
 is painful. We prefer the shadows and dimness of ob- 
 scurity. It is more adapted to the weakness of our vision. 
 The longer it lasts, the more are there among us to testify 
 in its favor. We begin to see advantages arising from it, 
 which we should not enjoy in a state of light. A state of 
 darkness, we say, for instance, appears to be best suited 
 to a state of probation. The duller our vision, the more 
 opportunity have we for the exercise of faith ; the more 
 reason have we to be humbled by a sense of our ignorance ; 
 and the more occasion have we to be thankful for our 
 humility. Thus, in the case of the boy born blind and 
 couched by Mr. Cheselden, we read that, " Before he was 
 couched he expected little advantage from seeing, worth 
 undergoing an operation for, except reading and writing ; 
 for he said, he thought he could have no more pleasure in 
 walking abroad than he had in the garden, which he could 
 do very safely and readily. And even blindness, he ob- 
 served, had this advantage, that he could go anywhere in 
 the dark much better than those who can see ; and after 
 he had seen, he did not soon lose this quality, nor desire 
 a light to go about the house in the night." 
 
 We observe, then, that, antecedently to argument upon 
 the subject, there is a predisposition in human nature to 
 reject any greater light than that to which it is habituated ; 
 
VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 419 
 
 and therefore, in reasoning upon the subject, every one is 
 bound to bear this circumstance in mind ; and, while he is 
 opposing what he considers to be false knowledge, to beware 
 lest, at any time, he be unconsciously misled by the evil 
 tendencies of his nature, and oppose that which is true. 
 
 May these remarks suffice as a final answer to the charge 
 of presumptuous knowledge. 
 
 u I now come to VISIONS and REVELATIONS of the Lord" 
 Visions, in reference to the sense of seeing ; Revelations, in 
 reference to the sense of hearing. 
 
 " Look to the Visions of the pretended prophet Sweden- 
 borg ; himself the dupe, as is generally* supposed, of a dis- 
 tempered fancy :" What does this pretended prophet say? 
 
 " I-f- am well aware there are few who will believe it 
 possible for any one to see the things which exist in the 
 other Life, and be thence enabled to give an account of 
 the State of Souls after Death. The reason of this incre- 
 dulity is, that few believe in a Resurrection ; and of the 
 learned fewer than the simple. They affirm, indeed, with 
 their lips, that they shall rise again, because it is agree- 
 
 * This was the supposition of Kant ; but even Matter, in his Philo- 
 sophy of Religion, concedes, that " Kant's criticism jests in too frivol- 
 ous a manner, upon certain facts, which might rather have been 
 deemed worthy of a serious examination ; inasmuch as those who were 
 cotemporaries of the visionary were the more capable of discriminating 
 between the possible and impossible.". ..." There is more of mockery 
 in these pages than is becoming on the part of a philosopher, who could 
 not avoid making remarkable concessions on the subject of the extra- 
 ordinary faculties of the Soul and its Clairvoyance, both in ordinary 
 and magnetic sleep, as also in regard to the notions which we entertain 
 during sleep." Vol. ii., p. 6, 155. 
 
 t Arcana Coelestia, Preface to Genesis, chapter 16. 
 
420 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 able to the doctrine of Faith; but still they deny it in 
 their hearts. Nay, some even openly avow that if any one 
 should rise from the dead, and they should see and hear 
 and touch him, they would then believe, but not till then. 
 Were even this, however, to be granted, it must be re- 
 peated for the satisfaction of every individual ; and, after 
 all, not a single person who in heart denies a Resurrection, 
 would be thus persuaded ; but a thousand objections would 
 arise in his mind, which would confirm him in his negative 
 
 conclusion The Sadducees, spoken of in Matthew* 
 
 openly denied a Resurrection ; yet they did better than 
 those at this day, who profess not to deny, because it is 
 an article of Faith, and yet nevertheless do deny it in 
 their hearts ; so that their profession is contrary to their 
 belief, and their belief to their profession. Lest, there- 
 fore, mankind should any longer confirm themselves in 
 that false opinion, it has been granted me, by the Divine 
 mercy of the Lord, during my abode in this World in the 
 body, to be in the Spirit in the other life (for man is a 
 Spirit clothed with a body), and there to discourse with 
 Souls that have risen again, not long after their decease ; 
 and, indeed, with almost all those whom I knew when they 
 lived in the body, but who have since died ; as, also, now 
 for some years to converse daily with Spirits and Angels, 
 and to see there stupendous sights, such as never entered 
 into the idea of any person; and all without the least 
 fallacy." 
 
 Of course " he who was passing off his day-dreams as 
 Revelations, on himself as well as on others, would have 
 been sure to dream largely" on such a subject; and hence 
 
 * Chapter xxii. 22. 
 
ORIGIN OF HALLUCINATIONS. 421 
 
 one object of the Essays is to release Christianity from 
 that load of unauthorized additions, which the superstition 
 of weak minds would heap upon it. 
 
 Accordingly, in tracing the origin of Hallucinations, and 
 thus of spurious Visions and Revelations, it has been justly 
 observed bv an eminent physician 3 that a Erroneous* beliefs, 
 which may be called the Hallucinations of Reason, should 
 be studied in their formation ; because they exert a great 
 influence on the production of social and individual Hallu- 
 cinations." 
 
 " False ideas play a considerable part in the production 
 of Hallucinations. They are no less important in the 
 creation of Insanity. This argument appears to decide the 
 predominance of moral over physical causes." 
 
 This being the case, it is of the first importance to point 
 out the way in which a true Theology, such as that of 
 eminent divines and physicians, is enabled to trace out, in 
 a satisfactory manner, the erroneous beliefs and false ideas 
 of Swedenborg, and thus to expose to view the fountain- 
 head of his Insanity. Now upon subjects of this kind no 
 man has a greater repute for what is called common sense 
 than Archdeacon Paley, of whose theology the author of 
 the Essays is so great an admirer. Let us see, then, how 
 a sound theology can clearly demonstrate one grand source, 
 at least, of Swedenborg's mental delusions. 
 
 With this object, allow me to quote, in the way of intro- 
 duction to our present remarks, the language of Paley, -j- 
 addressed to the Bishop of Carlisle; "^"our Lordship's 
 
 * Rational History of Hallucinations, by Brierre de Boismont, 
 p. 407. 
 
 f Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy; Dedication. 
 
422 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 researches have never lost sight of one purpose, namely, 
 to recover the simplicity of the Gospel from beneath that 
 load of unauthorized additions which the ignorance of some 
 ages, and the learning of others, the superstition of weak 
 and the craft of designing men, have, unhappily for its 
 interest, heaped upon it. And this purpose, I am con- 
 vinced, was dictated by the purest motive ; by a firm, and, 
 I think, a just opinion, that, whatever renders Religion more 
 rational, renders it more credible ; that he, who by a dili- 
 gent and faithful examination of the original records, dis- 
 misses from the system one Article which contradicts the 
 apprehension, the experience, or the reasoning of mankind ; 
 does more toward recommending the belief, and, with the 
 belief, the influence of Christianity, to the understandings 
 and consciences of serious enquirers, and through them to 
 universal reception and authority, than can be effected by 
 a thousand contenders for Creeds and Ordinances of human 
 establishment." 
 
 Now, what was the Theology for which Paley was thus 
 complimenting the Bishop of Carlisle? A theology, the 
 corner stone of which was the total destruction of the man 
 at the death of the material body. If this theology be 
 true, Swedenborg's Visions and Revelations are replete 
 with erroneous beliefs and false ideas; for the doctrine that 
 the Spirit is a distinct substance from that of the material 
 body, lies at the foundation of all his intercourse with the 
 other World. 
 
 "When I went* to the University," says Bishop Wat- 
 son, " I was of opinion, as most schoolboys are, that the 
 
 * Anecdotes of the Life of Richard Watson, JBisJiop of Llandaff, 
 p. 14. 
 
ORIGIN OF HALLUCINATIONS. 423 
 
 Soul was a substance distinct from the body; and that, 
 when a man died, he, in classical phrase, breathed out his 
 Soul, animam expiravit ; that it went I knew not whither, 
 as it had come into the body from I knew not where, nor 
 when ; and had dwelt in the body during life, but in what 
 part of the body it had dwelt, I knew not. . . .This notion 
 of the Soul was, without doubt, the offspring of prejudice 
 and ignorance ; and I must own that my knowledge of the 
 nature of the Soul is much the same now that it was then. 
 I have read volumes on the subject, but I have no scruple 
 in saying that I know nothing about it.* Believing, as I 
 do, in the truth of the Christian Religion, which teaches 
 that men are accountable for their actions, I trouble not 
 myself with dark disquisitions concerning Necessity and 
 Liberty, Matter and Spirit ; hoping, as I do, for eternal 
 life through Jesus Christ, I am not disturbed at my in- 
 ability clearly to convince myself that the Soul is, or is 
 not, a substance distinct from the body." 
 
 This theology seems to be the same with that of the 
 Country Pastor, whose View of the Scripture Revelations 
 concerning a Future State has, in the present day, reached 
 the Seventh Edition ; and as the Scripture, it is said, has 
 not determined the matter, but left it in doubt and uncer- 
 taint} r , there is no question that Swedenborg's positive asser- 
 tion that the Soul is a distinct substance from the material 
 body, must in this respect be regarded as an unauthorized 
 addition to Christianity, and consequently that all his 
 
 * " Dr. Priestley, the most philosophical of the advocates of the 
 system of materialism, ventures no farther than to say that we have no 
 knowledge on the subject." Psychological Enquiries, by Sir Ben- 
 jamin Brodie, p. 40. 
 
424 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 Visions and Revelations, as founded upon it, are only the 
 day-dreams of a distempered fancy. 
 
 This being the case, since an uncertainty cannot be 
 made use of in explanation of day-dreams, much less can 
 an untruth ; the only other method of explanation is in 
 the theory that they are in some way to be referred to 
 abnormal states of the brain, giving rise to sensorial Hal- 
 lucinations and a disordered state of the rational faculties. 
 Accordingly, this is the general way of accounting for 
 them. Swedenborg may protest against this judgment 
 as much as he likes ; he may affirm that the Spirit is, 
 nevertheless, a distinct substance from the body; that the 
 body is only the clothing of the Spirit ; that as such the 
 Spirit, whenever God pleases, may act independently of 
 the body, and see the objects of the Spiritual World ; 
 and that such objects are real, more real in truth, than 
 the objects of this World j but this very belief in their 
 reality is the criterion of his disease ; for had he merely 
 seen these things, and believed them to be Hallucinations, 
 his senses might have been disordered, but his reason 
 would have remained sound ; since there is a great deal of 
 difference, we are told, between those who have Visions, 
 and those who have faith in them. 
 
 In this case we cannot believe his own account of his 
 Visions ; we must explain them upon other principles, and 
 such as appear to us to be more rational. To take a few 
 illustrations from the works of some of the most distin- 
 guished medical men in the present day : 
 
 " According* to Herbart, the mind is a simple substance, 
 without parts, without extension, and without any com- 
 
 * Miiller's Elements of Physiology, p. 1382. 
 
ORIGIN OF HALLUCINATIONS. 425 
 
 plexity in itself." . . . " The mutual reaction of the mind 
 and body on each other, consists of the action of the men- 
 tal monad upon the internal states of the monads of the 
 body and vice versa. The monad which conceives the 
 ideas, and which like all Herbart's monads, can be regarded 
 only as a mathematical point, requires no fixed seat in the 
 brain, but may move through a certain space, without the 
 least suspicion of such motion being conceived in its ideas, 
 and without the least trace of it, capable of detection by 
 anatomical research, being left behind. Such change of 
 seat of the mental monad, may be regarded as a very 
 fruitful hypothesis for the explanation of abnormal states 
 of the mind." 
 
 Miiller acknowledges, however, that the problem re- 
 quiring solution is how the mind, as a simple substance 
 not composed of parts, can acquire the perception of objects 
 having extension in space and particular forms ; he is 
 therefore of opinion that the mind itself, as a simple sub- 
 stance, is present in all parts of the brain, without itself 
 being composed of parts. This, however, he says, is not 
 offered as an explanation, since the whole matter is still a 
 mystery. 
 
 Even, then, with regard to the external World, it is 
 acknowledged to be a mystery how the mind, as a simple 
 substance without parts, is capable of perceiving, in the 
 external World, objects endowed with parts ; and if the 
 question depended only upon the hypothesis concerning the 
 nature of the mind, it might be justly denied that a mind 
 so created could have any such perception, or that in the 
 external World there could be any objects endowed with 
 parts, perceptible by that which has no parts. And thus 
 
426 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 we should have the same difficulty with regard to the ex- 
 ternal World which there is with regard to the internal. We 
 know, however, that in spite of the hypothesis we see ; 
 we have the evidence of sense : but we have personally no 
 such evidence with regard to the Spiritual World. In 
 this latter case the hypothesis remains in all its force ; 
 and suggests that there can be no such objects, and that 
 if ever seen, they must be Hallucinations ; the only scene 
 of Vision being necessarily the external World. 
 
 Accordingly in a work by another distinguished medical 
 writer, we find that, in the course of a dialogue* 
 
 Ergates mentions the case of a person who had his 
 thoughts intensely fixed, for a considerable time, on an 
 absent or imaginary object, and who at last had seen it 
 projected on an opposite wall, though only for a brief space 
 of time, with all the brightness and distinctness of reality ; 
 and it is observed by Crites, that if such a person had the 
 misfortune to lose one of his family, or a dear friend, by 
 death, it would have been easy for him to believe that he 
 had been visited by his apparition afterwards. Here, then, 
 was a satisfactory explanation of the origin of Sweden- 
 borg's Visions ; and hence it is added, " It is probable that 
 when Swedenborg supposed that he met Moses or Elias in 
 the street, some such object was really presented to his 
 mind."f 
 
 * Psychological Enquiries, by Sir Benjamin Brodie, Bart., p. 84. 
 
 f The original of this story is to be found in " A Second Address to 
 the Students of Oxford and Cambridge ; by Theophilus Lindsey :" the 
 authority for it is Mr. Lindsey's friend's friend, who speaks of it as 
 having occurred some years ago. Mr. Lindsey observes that, " A man 
 who could see Moses walking along Cheapside, could see anything." 
 
ORIGIN OF HALLUCINATIONS. 427 
 
 Nay, but Swedenborg does not say he met Spirits in the 
 street; he protests that he saw them not with the eyes 
 of the body, but with the eyes of his Spirit, not in the 
 material but in the Spiritual World. Upon this principle 
 he has himself explained the origin of all his Visions and 
 Revelations, He says that the Spirit of man is a substance 
 in a human form distinct from the outward material body ; 
 that this Spirit is endowed with senses, and is already in 
 a Spiritual World which surrounds it ; and that the eyes 
 of his own Spirit were opened to look into that World. 
 Why then is Swedenborg's explanation omitted and another 
 inserted ? The reason is obvious : there is a reluctance to 
 admit this view of the nature of Spirit. 
 
 Eubulus* indeed, believes that " there is something in 
 us which will remain and be capable of perception and 
 thought, and it may be of pure and high aspirations, when 
 the gross material fabric with which it is now associated 
 has become resolved into its original elements." 
 
 True : but can Eubulus tell us what that something is ? 
 Yes : I believe, says Eubulus, " in the independent existence 
 of the percipient and thinking principle" I am an advo- 
 cate for " an immaterial principle." I feel myself, says 
 
 The smallest acquaintance with Swedenborg's writings would shew that 
 the story is untrue ; and precisely in that particular for which it is 
 quoted as an illustration in the Psychological Enquiries. It is one 
 thing for a person walking in a street to see a spirit ; it is another thing 
 for that person to see the spirit walking in the street. In the latter 
 case the illustration would be apt ; in the former it would be foreign to 
 the purpose. "Whoever may have been the author of the story, Mr. 
 Lindsey's version of it is just such as a disciple of Priestley might na- 
 turally have given. 
 
 * Psychological Enquiries, by Sir Benjamin Brodie, Bart., pp. 37, 
 38, 39, 253. 
 
428 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 Crites, "to be a conscious indivisible monad" Here then is 
 the Spirit of man represented as a "something" a "con- 
 scious indivisible monad" "a thinking principle." But 
 what is this indivisible monad f Can it walk and talk, and 
 weep and rejoice ? This thinking principle, when acting 
 independently of the body, has it eyes, nose, and mouth ? 
 Or have we not seen that when a man dies, it is represented 
 as, " that which thinks entering into that which is invi- 
 sible?" Yet this is the theology adopted by certain me- 
 dical men when explaining the origin of Swedenborg's 
 Visions ; and it must be owned, that, if it be true, the 
 nature of the Soul and the Spiritual World are far beyond 
 the reach of any Visions or Revelations, which therefore 
 must be Hallucinations. 
 
 Now, certainly, a man may believe, if he please, that 
 the Soul is a point, a principle, a monad, a something or 
 other ; and as long as these are merely his own private 
 speculations, the error extends no farther than himself; 
 but when they are adopted as a criterion by which to 
 judge of the sanity of other minds, the speculation assumes 
 another character, and instead of being a merely meta- 
 physical, becomes a mischievous absurdity. 
 
 And what, we would ask, is gained to the cause of com- 
 mon sense by regarding Moses and Elias at the present 
 moment, as mere "somethings," "immaterial principles," 
 "points" or "indivisible monads?" Surely if a person had 
 the misfortune to lose one of his family, or a dear friend, by 
 death, it would be much more reasonable for him to believe 
 his friend to be a Spirit in a human form, living in a 
 Spiritual World in which are objects proper to that world. 
 And yet this has come to be regarded as the erroneous 
 
ORIGIN OF HALLUCINATIONS. 429 
 
 belief, and the false idea, the fertile source of all Halluci- 
 nations, and the primary source of Swedenborg's insanity ! 
 There are, however, those members of the Faculty who 
 are ready to admit, that the Spirit of man is a substance 
 distinct from his material body, and even that there is a 
 Spiritual World ; and who yet maintain that Swedenborg's 
 Visions are Hallucinations. But suppose we ask any one 
 of these, Why are they so ? The answer is, in general, 
 4 Because genuine Visions and Revelations have ceased. 
 Miracles have ceased, and Visions and Revelations are as 
 much out of the ordinary course of Nature as miracles.' 
 To this I reply ; If the general laws of Nature be un- 
 changeable ; still the Dispensations of God are not 
 unchangeable ; the state of the Church is not unchange- 
 able. The Visions and Revelations recorded in Scripture 
 have never a reference to the unchanging Laws of 
 Nature, but to the changing Dispensations of God and the 
 state of mankind. If the state of mankind changes, so 
 in fulness of time does the Dispensation. If Nature her- 
 self be stationary, yet the Church is not. The Reforma- 
 tion which has been wrought in Christendom is still ad- 
 vancing; and what if, with a very unenthusiastic divine,* I 
 repeat : " This must give pleasure to every good man ; and 
 he will cheerfully join his endeavors to bring on the next 
 glorious Dispensation which we have in prospect ; when 
 the mystery of God with regard to the aforesaid corrupt 
 state of religion shall be finished ; when Babylon in all its 
 principles and powers shall fall ; when the Holy City, the 
 New Jerusalem shall come down from Heaven, and God 
 shall set up a pure and happy state of the Church." 
 
 * Scheme of Scripture Divinity by Dr. Taylor, 1762. Watson's 
 Theological Tracts, vol. L, p. 13. 
 
430 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 What is the reply? A very natural one, because 
 altogether professional. 
 
 * My concern is with the laws o Nature, not with the 
 Dispensations of God : with the state of my patients, not 
 with the state of the Church. I have therefore nothing 
 to do with new Dispensations, or the corrupt state of 
 Religion, or the consummation of the mystery of God, or 
 Babylon, or the New Jerusalem. I am a professional man, 
 whose business is with the pharmacopeia, not with the 
 Bible ; with the affections of the body, not with those of 
 the mind, except in so far as they arise from states of the 
 body ; and as such, I deliver my professional opinion.' 
 
 Now it may be generally thought that a good physician 
 need not be a good theologian : but still, if cases are daily 
 occurring in which the physician is called upon to trace 
 out the erroneous beliefs and false ideas of the mind, as the 
 sources of Hallucinations ; ought he to evade his duties by 
 the neglect of studies essential to their just performance, 
 or himself possess an erroneous criterion of what in these 
 cases is truth or falsehood ? 
 
 To take, in the way of illustration, another professional 
 opinion : 
 
 "Any one" says a modern physician of considerable 
 celebrity,* " Any one conversant with Swedenborg's theo- 
 logical writings, and with the history of insanity, must 
 know him to have been a Monomaniac for thirty years." 
 
 Why a Monomaniac? Because his theological writings 
 shew it. But how ? Swedenborg regarded the Spirit of 
 man as a substance distinct from matter, endowed with its 
 own proper senses : he believed in a Spiritual World, and 
 professed to have seen objects in that world. So he may ; 
 * Human Physiology, by Dr. Elliotson, part ii., p. 690. 
 
LINE OP DEMARCATION. 431 
 
 but what if there be no such thing as a Spiritual World : 
 no such thing as a Spirit of man distinct from the material 
 body, or endowed with senses ! In this case, one who 
 sees Spirits in the Spiritual World, must see only Halluci- 
 nations. For* "The physical enquirer, finding the mind 
 to be Si power of the brain, and abstaining from hypothesis, 
 must conclude that in the present order of things, when 
 the brain ceases to live, the power necessarily ceases ; that, 
 in the language of Scripture, ' Dust we are, and unto dust 
 we all return ;' that our being is utterly extinguished, and 
 we go back to the insensibility of the earth whence we 
 were taken. Our consciousness of personality can afford 
 no reason for imagining ourselves immortal and distinct 
 from earth, more than brutes ; for this the fly possesses 
 equally with the philosopher about whose head it 
 buzzes." 
 
 Such are the principles upon which we are called upon 
 to test the sanity or insanity of Swedenborg, and in virtue 
 of which we may pronounce him to have been a Mono- 
 maniac. 
 
 But can we not find some other eminent physician, who 
 is no patron of this school of Theology ? Yes. We have 
 next the liberal-minded author of a very interesting trea- 
 tise upon Hallucinations. -^ 
 
 In this treatise it is observed that "A well-defined line 
 of demarcation ought to be established between the appari- 
 
 * Ibid., part i., p. 41. 
 
 f Hallucinations; or, The Rational History of Apparitions, 
 Visions, Dreams, Ecstasy, Magnetism, and Somnambulism; by 
 A. Brierre de Boismont, Doctor in Medicine, of the Faculty of Paris, 
 etc., etc., etc., p. 408. 
 
432 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 tions of Scripture, and the Hallucinations of profane history, 
 and even of many Christians. The former we are convinced 
 are explicable only by Divine interposition ; whilst many of 
 the second are referable to the belief of the times, certain psy- 
 chological conditions, and to the morbid state of the brain." 
 
 Many of the second ? Why not all of the second ? Be- 
 cause this writer was a member of the Church of Rome, 
 and it was necessary that there should be some reservation 
 in favor of the Visions and Revelations of the Saints. 
 What then is the well-defined line of demarcation f It is 
 presented as follows : 
 
 " We must not lose sight of the fact that the Visions of 
 the Prophets have signs quite distinct from these particular 
 Hallucinations (namely, those of certain persons in the 
 Church of Rome) ; they present a train of consecutive 
 Revelations, carried on through many centuries, with fea- 
 tures perfectly identical, all announcing the Regeneration 
 of the World, and the birth of a Saviour in a word, a 
 complete system."* 
 
 Here then the medical question merges into the theolo- 
 gical; it depends entirely upon the interpretation of 
 Scripture, and is, in this case, in the hands of the Roman 
 Church ; if the physician, as in the present instance, be of 
 that Church. If, on the contrary, he act independently, 
 then indeed he may affirm, and with the sanction of the 
 Church, that the line which he has drawn marks out the 
 distinction between the Visions of the Mystics and those 
 of Scripture; but it is no line of demarcation between 
 the Visions of Swedenborg and those of Scripture. And 
 why ? Because the Visions and Revelations of Sweden- 
 
 * Ibid., p. 403. 
 
LINE OF DEMARCATION. 433 
 
 borg are for the very purpose of the Interpretation of 
 Scripture ; an interpretation the primary objects of which 
 are the Regeneration of the World, the completion of a 
 prophetic system effected by the destruction of Babylon, 
 and the establishment of a New Church. In this respect, 
 the opening of the Internal Sense 'of the Word of God, and 
 the institution of a New Church founded upon it, claim to 
 be part and parcel of that system. Whether, therefore, 
 in this case the line of demarcation be right or wrong, 
 it is at least the same with the theological ; and the medi- 
 cal opinion in this case is of the same value, and only the 
 same, with the theological. 
 
 Some medical writers, however, seem to speak of the 
 Visions of Scripture as if they were all perfectly plain 
 and intelligible, and could be compared at once with those 
 of Swedenborg ; whereas Commentators have regarded 
 them as, for the most part, involved in the densest obscu- 
 rity, which the future history of the Church alone can clear 
 up ; and no line of demarcation can be distinctly drawn be- 
 tween the Visions recorded in Scripture and those of Swe- 
 denborg, until the interpretation of the Visions of Scripture 
 first be given, which he himself professes to do. 
 
 This indeed, it is said, may be true ; but still " It* were 
 well to distinguish, as that great mystic Gerson recommends, 
 between the inspirations of Heaven and those of the 
 imagination." Undoubtedly: but might not he who should 
 interpret Babylon as having any reference to the Church 
 of Rome, be regarded as under the inspiration, not of 
 Heaven, but of his own imagination ? 
 
 In the case of Visions and Revelations, then, what test 
 
 * Ibid., p. 373. 
 
434 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 can we discover for distinguishing between the inspirations 
 of Heaven and those of the imagination ? This desidera- 
 tum is professedly supplied in the following remarks : 
 
 "A man* may be accounted singular, even insane, for 
 believing in the existence of two Worlds, the one visible, 
 the other invisible ; that there is no such thing as solitude ; 
 that every secluded spot is filled with Spirits ; that there 
 is no act, however secret, but has numerous witnesses. 
 Nevertheless, in avowing this, he says nothing but what 
 has been taught him by Religion ; but if he goes one step 
 farther, if he professes to communicate with these invisible 
 beings, he runs the risk of being looked on as a madman, 
 although many great men have believed in the reality of 
 such things ; he is, in fact, under the influence of Hallu- 
 cination ; he has allowed his thoughts to assume a bodily 
 form; comparison and judgment are disordered," 
 
 A man, then, may believe in the reality of invisible 
 beings, and be in a sane state of mind ; but if he professes 
 to communicate with them, he is under the influence of 
 Hallucination ; he allows his thoughts to assume a bodily 
 form ; comparison and judgment are disordered. 
 
 Now, to say nothing of the Visions and .Revelations of 
 the Saints when judged upon this principle, let us look to 
 the narratives recorded in Scripture : 
 
 " I saw by niglit" says Zechariah,-[- " and, behold, a man 
 riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle 
 trees that were in the bottom ; and behind him were there 
 red horses, speckled, and white. Then said I, my Lord, 
 what are these ? And the Angel that talked with me said 
 unto me, I will shew thee what these be. And the man that 
 
 * Ibid., p. 466. f Chap. i. 8. 
 
LINE OF DEMARCATION. 435 
 
 stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are 
 they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through 
 the earth." Is not this a clear case of Hallucination ? for, 
 as Zechariah says concerning the appearance of the Angel, 
 in the explanatory words of a Commentator,* " Whom I 
 seemed to myself to see, not with the eyes of the body, but 
 in the imagination (QT phanta&a), talking with me and with 
 Michael." "This occurred to him," says another writer, f 
 "by an imaginary vision (a vision in the phantasiaj, pre- 
 sented objectively to him by God." "Moreover, from the 
 circumstance that he says concerning this his Angel, ' he 
 spake IN me,' some there are who think that the Angel who 
 suggested these oracles to Zechariah spoke to him, not ex- 
 ternally by any voice, but interiorly by a mental or ima- 
 ginary inspiration ; and possessed and ruled over him, as it 
 were, in like manner as a demon possesses and rules over 
 the energoumeni. And this is intimated by Gregory in his 
 Book of Morals, who observes, " When Zecharias says 
 that the Angel spoke to him, and yet spoke IN him ;J 
 this clearly shews that he who addressed words to him, 
 was not present exteriorly by any corporeal appearance." 
 
 It may be replied by some, that all these things took 
 place with the prophet only by night, and in a dream ; 
 and that to talk with an Angel in a dream, is only to 
 dream of talking with an Angel ; and certainly in this way 
 a belief in any real presence of Angels, on such occasions, 
 may be dispensed with. But what shall we say when 
 the same Angel comes again and renews his conversation 
 
 * Menochius, in loc. f A Lapide, in loc. 
 
 J " Et dixit ad me Angelus qui loquelatur IN me." " Et dixi ad 
 Angelum qui loquebatur IN me." Vulgate, ver. 14, 19, &c. 
 
 u 2 
 
436 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 with Zechariah ? " And the Angel that talked IN me 
 came again, and waked me, as a man that is waked out 
 of his sleep ; and said unto me, What seest thou ? And I 
 said, I have looked, and behold, a candlestick all of gold,' 1 
 &c., " and two olive trees by it" " a flying roll" " a talent 
 of lead lifted up" "a woman sitting in the midst of an 
 ephah" "two women with the wind in their wings, and 
 their wings like a stork" " mountains of brass' 1 " cha- 
 riots" u horses, red, black, white, grisled, and bay, walk- 
 ing to and fro through the earth." Is not the malady 
 obvious ? for we find enumerated under sensorial Halluci- 
 nations " Sounds more or less solemn. They most usually 
 resemble murmurings and whisperings. The sounds may 
 suddenly cease, and conversations take place mentally." 
 Also, " extraordinary noises, and Revelations from the other 
 World" " the voices may be very near or heard at a dis- 
 tance, and in different directions, or they may consist of 
 noises of various kinds." "Certain hallucinated persons, 
 like certain mystics, hear what they call internal voices, 
 a sort of inarticulated words, a mute communication, audible 
 only in the mind ; others, on the contrary, very distinctly 
 hear voices who call them, and reply to them, and with 
 whom they hold long conversations."* 
 
 There are parallel hallucinations in regard to the sense 
 of sight. 
 
 But surely "No one now doubts the truth of religious 
 Hallucinations ; the only difference lies in the mode of ex- 
 plaining them." 
 
 Exactly so ; and we have seen the different modes of 
 explanation, by divines and physicians, in the case of Swe- 
 denborg; each proposing his own according to his own 
 * Brierre de Boismont on Hallucinations, pp. 444, 413. 
 
LINE OF DEMARCATION. 437 
 
 theological or professional Creed. We may illustrate the 
 case by another presented in sacred history. 
 
 Paul saw a Vision : he saw at midday a light above the 
 brightness of the Sun shining round about : he heard a 
 voice : he received a Revelation of- certain new truths : he 
 had a commission to proclaim them : he proclaims them 
 accordingly. From the Judgment seat both Festus and 
 Agrippa listen at the same time to the selfsame narrative, 
 and both pronounce their opinion upon it; "Paul" says 
 Festus, " thou art beside thyself; much learning hath made 
 thee mad." "Almost," says Agrippa, "thou persuadest 
 me to be a Christian." " Festus* the Roman Governor is 
 of opinion that the poor man is crazed ; and that Bedlam 
 is the fittest place for him. . . Agrippa is so far from think- 
 ing him a madman, that he thinks he never heard a man 
 argue more strongly or talk more to the purpose." What, 
 then, occasioned this diversity of opinion? Festus, we 
 are told, "did-j- not understand what St. Paul said: it was 
 above his capacity : it was all a riddle to him : and there- 
 fore he imputes it all to a heated imagination." Nay, but 
 the Apostle spoke of very practical subjects ! Practical 
 to whom? To Festus? "/ continue this day" says the 
 Apostle, " witnessing to all both small and great, saying 
 none other things than those which Moses and the prophets 
 did say should come !" But what were Moses and the pro- 
 phets to Festus ? What was there practical in prophecies 
 about which he knew nothing and cared as little ? Nay, 
 but we of this day know that what St. Paul said was prac- 
 tical notwithstanding I Yes, because our notions of prac- 
 tice, have changed ; and we as Christians believe that to be 
 
 * Matthew Henry in loc. f Ibid, in loc. 
 
438 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 practical which Festus did not. The Apostle spoke of a 
 new light which was to dawn upon the world ! What did 
 Festus know of new lights ? The Apostle proclaimed a 
 new Dispensation ! What were new Dispensations to 
 Festus ? Were these subjects any more practical to Fes- 
 tus than to others like him in the present day ? Could 
 St. Paul's harangue appear to Festus then, any other than 
 Swedenborg's works appear to many now, strange and in- 
 comprehensible Hallucinations ? and yet both St. Paul and 
 Swedenborg declare that they say none other things than 
 those which Moses and the prophets did say should come ; 
 and as in this respect they say the same thing, the same 
 sentence will serve for both ; " Thou art beside thyself ; 
 much learning hath made thee mad" " Festus, perhaps, 
 had observed," says a modern* Commentator, "that the 
 Apostle spent much time in retirement, study, and read- 
 ing ; and he supposed, that having studied very closely 
 about certain abstract and visionary matters, his over at- 
 tention had deranged his intellects ; so that he did not deem 
 him fit either to be blamed or credited, but to be an object 
 of mere compassion." Was this the opinion of Festus 
 concerning Paul? or was the Commentator giving the 
 opinion of modern sages with respect to Swedenborg? 
 And yet the preaching of Paul was very practical. Festus 
 owns Paul to be a scholar and a man of learning ; but even 
 this is turned to Paul's reproach. The Apostles who were 
 fishermen were despised because they had no learning; 
 Paul, because he had too much. Paul spoke of spiritual 
 things, of which Festus, as a heathen, had no conception ; 
 and this led him to conclude that Paul was actually de- 
 * Scott's Annotations in loc. 
 
LINE OF DEMARCATION. 439 
 
 ranged. Men are surprised that Festus should have sup- 
 posed that Paul was beside himself; and yet when they 
 hear from another spiritual things which are beyond the 
 limits of their own ideas, coincide in the opinion of Festus. . 
 
 What then : are there no such things as religious Hallu- 
 cinations ? Most certainly there are : " No* one now 
 doubts the truth of religious Hallucinations : the only dif- 
 ference lies in the mode of explaining them." 
 
 " One-j- or other of these two things must be said : either 
 a false sensation formed in the eye is conveyed to the brain ; 
 or the brain, by the action of a false thought, creates a 
 sensation in the eye." 
 
 Either hypothesis would have suited Festus. 
 
 As to the first, Swedenborg never professed his Visions 
 to be presented to the bodily eyes ; nor to believe in them as 
 such ; on the contrary, in his own case he denied it altogether. 
 
 As to the second : what an abundance of satisfactory ex- 
 planations have we here of his Visions and Revelations ! 
 There is no Resurrection till the Judgment day, and there- 
 fore his supposed conversations with recently departed per- 
 sons, must have been hallucinations ! There are no Spirits, 
 and hence no World of Spirits ; therefore they must have 
 been hallucinations ! Or supposing such things to exist, 
 the case of NicodemusJ clearly shews that we can have no 
 conceptions of heavenly things, and for this reason also 
 they must have been hallucinations ! But time would fail 
 rue to enumerate the long catalogue of false thoughts in 
 Swedenborg's writings, which may easily account for his 
 
 * The History of Hallucinations, by Brierre de Boismont ; p. 404. 
 f See these theories considered in Ibid., p. 412. 
 % See above, p. 324. 
 
440 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 Hallucinations, or, as in the case of the Apostle, his in- 
 sanity. For as, when the Apostle preached, the Pharisee 
 rejected it because it was not Pharisaic, the Sadducee 
 because it was not Sadducean, the Pagan because it was 
 not Pagan ; so in the present day, the Calvinist rejects 
 Swedenborg's theology because it is not Calvinistic, the 
 Solifidian because it is not Solifidian, the Roman Catholic 
 because it is not Roman Catholic. Each one has his own 
 theory of false thoughts on which to found the rejection of 
 his writings. 
 
 A third hypothesis has been suggested ; viz., that the 
 seat of the affection is entirely in the brain. 
 
 This also, in his own case, Swedenborg denies. He 
 maintains that it was his spiritual eyes which were opened, 
 and that he could without any fallacy perceive the differ- 
 ence between the two cases. He says that he was con- 
 scious of a double respiration : -a respiration of the Body, 
 on which depended the sensations of the Body ; and a re- 
 spiration of the Spirit, on which depended the sensations 
 of his Spirit. Why is Swedenborg's own explanation to 
 be left out, and the explanations of others to be inserted ? 
 Why not try him by his own test ? Or, has not Sweden- 
 borg himself exposed, by means of this very test, the errone- 
 ous beliefs and false ideas of those who would set up as 
 his judges ? But further : 
 
 "The essential nature of Mind and Matter," says a dis- 
 tinguished physiologist,* " is such that no relation what- 
 ever can exist between them. Matter possesses extension 
 or occupies space ; whilst Mind has no such property." 
 
 * Principles of Human Physiology, by Dr. Carpenter, F.R.S., &c. 
 See above upon this subject, p. 301. 
 
LINE OF DEMAKCATION. 441 
 
 The following, therefore, may be considered as a disco- 
 very of the fountain-head of false thoughts in regard to 
 things concerning the Spiritual World ; 
 
 u We-j- can form no conception of spiritual things with- 
 out endowing them with a face and a form. We compre- 
 hend, it is true, that this mode is defective, even false ; 
 that these things have a mode of being which does not fall 
 within the range of the senses ; it is one of those primary 
 truths which has only to be stated to be believed ; but our 
 finite nature, encompassed by matter, to which it is bound 
 by innumerable ties, falls back incessantly into the same 
 errors." 
 
 Now be it remembered, that, in considering theories of 
 this kind, our object is only to determine how far they are 
 entitled to be used as tests of the sanity or insanity of 
 individuals. Speculations may be very harmless so long as 
 they are mere speculations ; but when constituted into a 
 practical rule for judging of sanity or insanity in others, 
 they may soon turn society into a chaos. 
 
 How stands the case then ? There are assumed to be two 
 orders of ideas in the human mind, primitive and sensuous. 
 Primitive ideas are those of existence, quality, causality, 
 order, law, &c. These, it is affirmed, are never impaired in 
 cases of insanity. On the other hand, sensuous ideas are 
 those derived from the senses, and these are assumed to 
 contain the exclusive materials of derangement of mind, 
 and, in this case, to be al so defective or false. All forms are 
 regarded as sensuous ; inasmuch as spiritual things, it is 
 assumed, are without form. Consequently, the endowment 
 of spiritual things with forms is regarded as a method de- 
 
 f Rational History of Hallucinations, p. 364. 
 
 u 3 
 
442 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 fective and even false. This very defectiveness 
 however, are considered to be a necessity of our nature ; but 
 the true philosopher knows it to be so, and therefore in any 
 forms assigned to spiritual things has no belief, What is 
 the consequence? Swedenborg has represented spiritual 
 things under certain forms ; therefore his narratives are de- 
 fective And false ; and as he believed in their truth, he is as- 
 sumed to be mentally deranged. Unquestionably, if Moses 
 and Elias be only "monads" or "principles" or "some- 
 things" it was a mere hallucination of Swedenborg to in- 
 vest them with a human form. On the supposition, conse- 
 quently, that spiritual things have no form, if we conceive 
 them only under certain forms, these forms are of course 
 material, and we are immediately supposed to be mate- 
 rializing spiritual things ; and to materialize spiritual things 
 is certainly a method not only defective but false. 
 
 So far, however, from materializing spiritual things, 
 Swedenborg expressly warns us against it as being only 
 the method adopted by the natural mind. 
 
 He speaks indeed of Spirits in the Spiritual world as in 
 a human form ; but he does not therefore assign to them 
 a material form. Spiritual things have their own proper 
 forms as well as material ; and we speak of them under 
 the correspondence of material forms ; but we do not there- 
 fore assign material forms to them, nor are we obliged to 
 conceive them under this appearance. There are moun- 
 tains, hills, rivers, trees, and rocks in the Spiritual World, 
 as there are in the material World; but height and depth, 
 length and breadth there, are not to be measured by the 
 trigonometer's chain, or by the footrule. The two forms 
 are in correspondence with each other, but are not the same 
 
LINE OF DEMARCATION. 443 
 
 with each other. When therefore we assign to Spirits a 
 human form, we are not materializing them ; spiritual sub- 
 stance having its own proper spiritual form. But un- 
 doubtedly admitting the Soul to be without parts, it is not 
 conceivable that it can have any form ; and what a Spi- 
 ritual World is without parts, 1 am at a loss to conceive ; 
 or what can be the forms of its objects ; or what objects 
 themselves can be without form nay without any parts. 
 
 If, however, no forms are admitted but such as are ma- 
 terial, and if to endow spiritual things with any forms at all, 
 must be regarded as materializing them ; then, if Sweden- 
 borg's Visions are to be rejected upon this principle, why 
 not those of the prophets ? Is there not the same reason 
 for rejecting these also, in consequence of their clothing spi- 
 ritual things with material forms ; " a method which is not 
 only defective, but even false?" Or if we say that such a 
 mode of representation, although in itself false, is yet ne- 
 cessary ; why are the Visions of Swedenborg to be rejected 
 upon that ground ? 
 
 Suppose we say, further, that the Visions recorded in 
 Scripture possess this peculiarity, that they are to be ex- 
 plained only on the principle of a Divine interposition : 
 what do we mean by this Divine interposition ? Let us 
 take the case of Amos and the " grasshoppers," chap. vii. 1. 
 
 " The prophets," says A Lapide on this subject, " re- 
 ceived and heard the oracles of God, not only through the 
 medium of words, namely, those of internal speech ; but 
 they occasionally saw certain ideas, or certain forms pre- 
 sented objectively to the eyes, or rather to their imagination ; 
 by means of which, as by symbols, they were taught of 
 God concerning future events." 
 
444 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 Now in what way does this method of explanation draw 
 a distinct line of demarcation between the Visions of the 
 prophets and those of Swedenborg? Are the Visions of 
 Scripture symbolical? so are those of Swedenborg. Is not 
 the alleged fact of certain ideas and forms of things pre- 
 sented to the eye, or rather to the imagination, charged 
 against him as a case of hallucination ; and the very 
 fact of his believing that the things he saw were not 
 Hallucinations, charged against him as a case of insanity ? 
 And what is there in Swedenborg's Visions to equal the 
 anomaly of those of Scripture ; the Lord shewing to 
 Zachariah " four carpenters " to Ezekiel, " six men each 
 with a weapon of slaughter, and one man among them 
 with a writer's inkhorn by his side;" shewing Himself to 
 Amos " as standing upon a wall made by a plumb line, 
 with a plumb line in his hand," and afterwards exhibit- 
 ing to the prophet "a basket of summer fruit?" It 
 is in vain to disguise the fact, that although a well- defined 
 line of demarcation ought to be drawn between the Visions 
 recorded in Scripture and those of certain other professed 
 Seers, this line of demarcation has not been drawn, and 
 with the present mode of interpretation, cannot be drawn. 
 And as the Visions of Scripture were of things in the 
 Spiritual World, seen with the eyes of the Spirit and not 
 of the body ; and as the existence of such things has been 
 denied, or the things themselves declared to be mysteries 
 unknown and beyond the reach of all knowledge ; it ne- 
 cessarily follows, that in these cases the Visions and Re- 
 velations of Scripture must themselves be wrapped in im- 
 penetrable darkness. Indeed, this is one reason why to this 
 very day the Apocalypse has remained a sealed book. 
 
IDEAS AND REAL EXISTENCES. 445 
 
 To ultimate ideas in external forms, and to believe in 
 them as real beings, is, we are told, a sure sign of in- 
 sanity ; but writers have not informed us what is the line 
 of demarcation between this process and that of the philo- 
 sophical theory of creation by Divine Wisdom ; accord- 
 ing to which, before all worlds, -the Archetypal ideas of 
 all things were in the Divine Mind, and the process of 
 Creation consisted in ultimating these ideas in a material 
 form. Assuredly these things ought to be duly considered 
 in any true theory of Hallucinations or of mental derange- 
 ment. Nor ought we to omit the fact, that if it be one 
 form of insanity to ascribe reality to what is unreal, it 
 may be equally another form of insanity to ascribe un- 
 reality to that which is real. 
 
 Every true Christian believes that the Visions of Scrip- 
 ture are genuine ; yet what expedient has been left untried 
 to explain them away? 
 
 Does an Angel appear to Joseph in a dream ? It means 
 only that Joseph dreamed that he saw an Angel. Was 
 John in the Spirit ; did he hear a voice saying, " Come up 
 hither?" He did not go up nevertheless ; the whole tran- 
 saction passed in his imagination, and might be resolved 
 into certain impressions upon the brain. Did John behold 
 wonders in the Spiritual World? No; he saw nothing : 
 he was only indulging in poetical imagery. For, "If* a 
 painter designed to represent a dream occasioned by the 
 particular interposition of Divine Providence, he would 
 paint an Angel standing by the bed of the person who 
 had the dream ; and this he might do, without intending to 
 
 * Introduction to the New Testament, by J. D. Michaelis. Bishop 
 Marsh's Edition, vol. iv., p. 507. 
 
446 VISIONS AND EEVELATIONS. 
 
 signify, as a dogmatical truth, that an Angel in a bodily 
 shape really descended to that person and inspired the 
 dream. In like manner the Angels which act so consider- 
 able a part in the Apocalypse, may be considered as poetical 
 imagery" etc. But what if the prophets conceived some 
 Angels to be real ? They were only, says the Neologian, 
 mistaking their own imaginations, or the abstractions of 
 their thought, for outward realities, as poets and philoso- 
 phers are known to have done. 
 
 If, now, the Visions of Scripture can be accounted for 
 in this manner ought we to be surprised at a similar cri- 
 ticism in the case of Swedenborg ? both having their origin 
 in the alleged impenetrable obscurity which overhangs the 
 subjects of the Spirit of man, and the Spiritual World. 
 
 There is another reason for the rejection of Swedenborg's 
 narratives, which has more plausibility I mean the really 
 spurious Visions and Revelations which have resulted 
 from abnormal states of the brain, and, indeed, from en- 
 thusiasm and imposture. The existence of these causes 
 who can doubt ; or that they have led to deeply rooted 
 mistrust in cases of this kind, and a tendency to regard 
 all Visions and Revelations as equally spurious ? 
 
 But there is no good without its evil : no truth without 
 its error : no use free from abuse. If there are genuine 
 books of Scripture, there are some that are forgeries ; if 
 there are true doctrines, there are some that are false ; if 
 there are good laws, there are some that are bad ; if good 
 and practical measures for mankind, some that are vision- 
 ary and non-practical. All these things are so many 
 opportunities for the exercise of our judgment, our rational 
 faculties, our spiritual discernment, and in general for our 
 
GENUINE AND SPURIOUS VISIONS. 447 
 
 moral probation. But what if, because there were some 
 evil, it should be concluded that there is no good : or some 
 lies, that therefore there is no truth ; some imprudent 
 measures, therefore none good and practical ; some spurious 
 Visions and Revelations, therefore none that are genuine ! 
 Yet such is the tendency of the mind. The knave thinks 
 there is no honesty in the world ; the hypocrite, that there 
 is no sincerity ; the profligate, that there is no virtue or 
 religion. The existence of opposite evils or errors leads 
 persons to doubt whether there be anything either good or 
 true. But what if there have been enthusiasts, fanatics, 
 and impostors ? If all warnings are to be rejected simply 
 because some are untrue, why should we listen to esta- 
 blished pastors and teachers ; since some among them have 
 been ignorant, some unsound in doctrine, and some have 
 handled the Word of God deceitfully. 
 
 " Besides the objections," says Bishop Butler, "against 
 the evidence for Christianity, many are alleged against 
 the scheme of it ; against the whole manner in which it is 
 put and left with the world ; as well as against several 
 particular relations in Scripture; objections drawn from 
 the deficiencies of Revelation ; from things in it appearing 
 to men foolishness ; from its containing matters of offence, 
 which have led, and must have been foreseen would lead, 
 into strange enthusiasm and superstition" etc. Yet from 
 all this, what does the learned prelate justly conclude ? 
 "After all," says he, "that which is true must be ad- 
 mitted; though it should shew us the shortness of our 
 faculties, and that we are in no wise judges of many 
 things, of which we are apt to think ourselves very com- 
 
448 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS* 
 
 petent ones. Nor will this be any objection with reason- 
 able men/' etc.* 
 
 Let us take then any of the foregoing theories pro- 
 pounded by theological or medical writers, as for instance ; 
 that the Soul is not per se a substance distinct from the 
 material body ; or else, if it be, that it cannot be sentient 
 without material organs ; or else, that we cannot be cer- 
 tain that this is not the case, and that while we are in this 
 World nothing can remove the uncertainty; thus, that 
 either there is for man no Spiritual World ; or else, if 
 there be, that there is no Correspondence between the Na- 
 tural and Spiritual, especially if spiritual things have no 
 forms ; and we may easily see how, in any one of these 
 cases, all sensation must be regarded as that of the mate- 
 rial body, and hence all Swedenborg's Visions and Reve- 
 lations as mere aifections of the brain, pictorial representa- 
 tions in that part which is the region of the phantasia, or 
 natural imagination; and thus we have a very natural, 
 very rational, very common- sense view of the origin of his 
 Hallucinations ! 
 
 Some persons might indeed be disposed to think, that 
 the foregoing theories are, after all, in themselves quite as 
 much theories as anything that Swedenborg has stated ; 
 that, in fine, they are themselves but mere speculations, 
 "absurd,f ridiculous, and farcical" (as they were called 
 by the Spirits said to have addressed Swedenborg) ; that, 
 as such, there is more common sense, more of true philo- 
 sophy in his Hallucinations, than there is in the sound 
 Theology and Psychology of his opponents. Be it so ; but 
 * Chap, iii., part 2. f See above, p. 305. 
 
SCIENCE AND SCRIPTURE. 449 
 
 Swedenborg, nevertheless, is the person against whom the 
 charge of theory and speculation is brought. Well, then, 
 Upon what grounds ? Let us consider. 
 
 It must ever be remembered, that the physiologist pro- 
 ceeds only by induction; that accordingly he has no 
 physical facts to shew him that man is an immortal being, 
 or that in himself he is a Spirit which is in a human form, 
 endowed with its own proper senses, and capable of acting 
 independently of the human body. A doctrine of this 
 kind belongs rather to Revealed Theology than to natural 
 Science ; and as such cannot be received into physiology 
 except in the character of a theory or speculation. Now, 
 as in the case of observation and experiment, nothing can 
 be received into natural Science but what is founded 
 upon the evidence of the senses, a theological doctrine of 
 this kind would be regarded, physiologically, as taking a 
 great deal too much for granted ; but as Science takes as 
 little for granted as possible, it is requisite to use terms, 
 when speaking of the Soul, which shall be like those letters 
 in Algebra which express unknown quantities ; as is effec- 
 tually done when the Soul is called " a mental principle ; "* 
 for if, as some physiologists say, nothing is gained by the 
 use of the terms "vital principle ," so nothing is gained by 
 the use of the terms " mental principle ;" but in this con- 
 sists the very^utility of the expression, viz., that it ex- 
 presses nothing. This is true scientific caution ; and in 
 
 * Ergates says, " I apprehend that no one who considers the subject 
 can doubt that the mental principle in animals is of the same essence 
 as that of human beings " (p. 167). ..." It must be remembered that 
 mind, in its humblest form, is still mind; and that immeasurable as 
 the distance between them may be, it must nevertheless be regarded 
 
450 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 this case a positive theory of any kind with regard to the 
 Soul, or rather the Spirit of man, must be unscientific, 
 and rejected as a mere speculation, so far as the Science 
 itself is concerned. Accordingly physiologists, when they 
 come to treat of the subject, throw aside Revelation alto- 
 gether, whether they believe in it or not ; and consider it 
 very unadvisable to exchange the strictly inductive method 
 for that of speculation. 
 
 "The intellect of man," says one of them,* "is com- 
 posed of phenomena so different from everything else in 
 Nature, that we refer them to a particular being, which is 
 considered as an emanation from the Divinity, and of 
 which the first attribute is immortality. The physiologist 
 receives this consolatory thought from Religion ; but the 
 severity of the language or of the logic which Physiology 
 now demands, obliges us here to treat of human Intellect 
 as if it were produced by the action of an organ. Very 
 celebrated men have fallen into serious errors by not keep- 
 ing this course," etc. 
 
 What, then, is the organ by the action of which intel- 
 lect is said to be produced ? " The brain is the material 
 organ of thought." Now, there is nothing in this doctrine 
 opposed to that of the Soul- sleeper : on the contrary, it is 
 his very doctrine ! for though the Soul itself be regarded 
 as a particular being, yet if its intellect be the production 
 
 as being of the same essence with that of the Deity, by whom it has 
 been created as a faint reflection of 'his own image'" (p. 41. 
 Psychological Enquiries, by Sir Benjamin Brodie, Bart.) A student 
 of the writings of Swedenborg would never write in this manner : the 
 Doctrine of Degrees would point out the very serious error. 
 * Majendie's Elementary Compendium of Physiology, p. 99. 
 
THE BRAIN THE ORGAN OF THOUGHT. 451 
 
 of a material organ, the Soul- sleeper contends that upon 
 the dissolution of that organ, the intellectual function 
 ceases.* Bring, then, a Physiology of this kind to account 
 for the origin of Swedenborg's Visions and Revelations, 
 and the Science has but one string to its harp, upon which 
 it is perpetually harping: "the brain is the material organ 
 of thought" is all that it has to say; and as such, all 
 Visions and Revelations are only affections of the brain. 
 
 This is further evident when we consider, that the ten- 
 dency of all Science is, it is said, to reduce to natural 
 causes what had previously been regarded as supernatural. 
 The mysterious phenomena of insanity, formerly supposed 
 to result partly from the influence of evil Spirits, are now 
 reduced to purely natural causes, such as abnormal states 
 of the brain ; and are no more to be attributed to causes in 
 the Spiritual World than any other malady whatever ; and 
 thus a belief in evil Spirits may be, so far, discarded as a 
 mere superstition ; as also a like belief in the ministrations 
 of good Angels ; and hence the following observation of 
 Montaigne has been extended even to the prophetic Vi- 
 
 * Speaking of created beings, it is observed by a modern divine ; 
 " It is seemingly impossible for beings constituted as we are to con- 
 ceive of an intelligent, moral, and religious existence independently of 
 organized matter. Nine-tenths of our mental impressions are derived 
 immediately from the agency of the senses ; and of those internal ideas 
 and the mere consciousness of existence which seem to be independent 
 of any aid, or unconnected with any operation of a material nature, it 
 may be gravely doubted whether we could entertain a single one, were 
 the Soul dissevered from the body." Considerations respecting a Future 
 State, by the Rev. Lewis P. Mercier, M.A., University College, Oxford, 
 Head Master of St. John's Foundation School, p. 111. 
 
452 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 sions : u ltis probable," says he,* "that the principal 
 credit accorded to Visions, enchantments, and other such 
 extraordinary effects, proceeds from the power of the 
 imagination acting more particularly upon the weak minds 
 of the Vulgar," etc. 
 
 This being the case, why should not persons account 
 for the Visions and Revelations of Swedenborg, precisely 
 in the same way in which others would account for those 
 of Scripture? The cause assigned in both cases is the 
 same ; thus the principle of explanation is the same, and 
 its application easy and natural, especially if some per- 
 sonal failing can be discovered, as in the Apostle Paul 
 for instance, which might seem to render it plausible. 
 In this case, in order to form a true judgment of the writ- 
 ings of the Apostle, it is desirable of course, first of all, to 
 ascertain what were his personal infirmities', thus what 
 is the meaning of the "thorn in the flesh ;" and finding 
 that many Commentators are of opinion that it means some 
 nervous affection, we are supplied at once with a short and 
 easy method of explaining the origin of his Visions and 
 Revelations, nay, of his Epistles also which were said to 
 be by Revelation from Jesus Christ. \ 
 
 * Pinel's Medico-Philosophical Treatise on Mental Alienation, p. 256. 
 
 f Or the argument might take another turn ; and supposing the 
 " thorn in the flesh" to be explained as Roman Catholic commentators 
 explain it, the opponents of the Apostle, both Jews and Gentiles, might 
 be rejoiced to conclude, that a mind so constituted could not be very 
 Apostolic. Indeed the animus of the opposition to the Apostle on 
 the part of the Gentiles, may be inferred from the Philopatris, attri- 
 buted by some to Lucian, in which, by allusion, St. Paul is bantered 
 as 'The Galilean that walked through the air to the Third Heaven."' 
 See the Regius Professor Stanley in loc. 
 
HALLUCINATIONS OF GREAT MEN. 453 
 
 The opinion, moreover, would receive strong confirma- 
 tion from the judgment pronounced by Festus the Roman 
 Governor, who seemed fully persuaded that Paul was beside 
 himself; nor, perhaps, would it have been much modified 
 by the statement of Aristotle as suggested by commenta- 
 tors : tl Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementice 
 fuisse ;" for such a statement might have confirmed Festus 
 in his opinion rather than otherwise. 
 
 Accordingly, how many celebrated characters are there 
 in history of whom Hallucinations of some kind or other are 
 said to be recorded ? Socrates, Plato, Numa, Pythagoras, 
 Pascal, all of them, say certain* writers, laboured under 
 Hallucinations, nay, were " hallucinated madmen." Some- 
 times another list is presented, and we are told that " The 
 insanity of Tasso, Pascal, Rousseau, Swammerdam, Van 
 Helmont, and Swedenborg, are now almost universally ac- 
 knowledged by men who blended the study of morbid psy- 
 chology with that of history and philosophy." As to history, 
 we are informed by one of the writers of this class, that it 
 includes in the same category all the Prophets and Apostles ; 
 and, as to philosophy, we have seen enough of that of Theo- 
 logians, Psychologists, and Physiologists to cease to be sur- 
 prised at any conclusion. These psychological discoveries, 
 however, are not to the taste of Brierre de Boismont, who 
 ventures to think that on these subjects scientific men have 
 been proceeding a little too fast and too far ..." It is con- 
 trary to reason," says he, " and degrading to human nature 
 to pretend that much of what has been achieved of great, 
 
 * Lelut, Leuret, Calmeil. See these statements considered and cen- 
 sured in the Rational History of Hallucinations, by Brierre de Bois- 
 mont, pp. 396, 323, 352, 358, 399, 400. 
 
454 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 good, and sublime in philosophy and morality, has been 
 the work of madmen. To maintain that the Prophets, 
 Apostles, and Saints were hallucinated madmen, were to 
 undermine the faith of thousands, and to blame even the 
 Omnipotent himself." ..." What matters it if Socrates 
 had Hallucinations ? The truths which he taught did not 
 result from them : they existed no less before than after 
 him " but " Can we employ this word in connection 
 with pure conceptions and ideas properly expressed?" 
 
 Surely, then, we have some reason to pause, before we 
 yield to the popular outcry that Swedenborg himself was 
 a Monomaniac ; especially when we find that the author of 
 the foregoing sentiments,* himself a Roman Catholic, is 
 compelled to protest in the following language: "To 
 transform philosophers, reformers, founders of religion, and 
 creative spirits into so many hallucinated madmen, is to 
 offer the most cruel insult to human nature. 
 
 " It is not for us to examine Luther in a religious point 
 of view : that task has been gloriously performed by others. 
 But we cannot but recognize in him one of the most vigor- 
 ous natures that ever existed. What force of will, what 
 power of argument, how closely are all parts of his work 
 united ! With what perseverance he pursues the plan he 
 has traced out ! How he repulses the attacks of his 
 enemies ! Always in the breach, he dies after having seen 
 the doctrine of free discussion triumphant. And yet the 
 father of Reform, he whose name is still pronounced 
 with veneration by thousands, must be ruthlessly ranked 
 
 * Brierre de Boismont in his Rational History of Hallucinations, 
 p. 383. 
 
INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE SOUL AND BODY. 455 
 
 amongst madmen, since he had numerous interviews* with 
 the Devil I" 
 
 But to proceed : 
 
 It has been stated that nothing is gained to the phy- 
 siologist by regarding man as a compound of Soul and 
 Body, or as a Spirit which is per se a distinct being, and 
 which is clothed with an animal or natural body ; for, 
 after all, this gives no explanation of the connection be- 
 tween the two, and it is with this connection that the phy- 
 siologist is concerned. 
 
 What, then, does Swedenborg say upon this subject ? 
 
 "It is impossible,"-}- says he, "that any thing should be 
 known, or even thought, respecting Influx and the In- 
 tercourse of the Soul with the Body, unless we know 
 what the Soul is, and also somewhat concerning its quality. 
 If the Soul be a thing unknown, nothing can be said 
 concerning its Influx and Intercourse; for how can the 
 communication of two parts be a subject of thought, 
 when the mind is in total ignorance concerning the 
 quality of one of them ? That ignorance prevails as to 
 every quality of the Soul, especially in the learned world, 
 may be manifest from this consideration, that some be- 
 lieve it to be a certain ethereal principle ; some, a prin- 
 ciple of flame or fire ; some, a principle of pure thought ; 
 some, a principle of general vitality ; some, a principle of 
 natural activity ; and a still further proof 6f the prevailing 
 ignorance concerning the nature of the Soul, is, that various 
 places in the Body are assigned it ; some placing it in the 
 
 * See Luther's account of his Conferences with the Devil in his 
 Missa Privata. 
 
 t Arcana Ccelestia, 6053, 6054. 
 
 
456 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 heart ; some in the brain, and in the fibres there ; others, 
 in the striated bodies ; others, in the ventricles ; others, in 
 the small gland ; and some, in every part ; but, in this 
 case, they conceive of a vital principle such as is common 
 to every living thing ; from which considerations it is evi- 
 dent, that nothing is known concerning the Soul ; and this 
 is the reason why all that has been asserted on the sub- 
 ject, is grounded in mere conjecture. And whereas it 
 was impossible, thus, to form any idea respecting the Soul, 
 the generality of mankind could not but believe, that the 
 Soul is a mere principle of vitality, which, when the body 
 dies, is dissipated ; and hence it is, that the learned have 
 less belief in a Life after Death than the simple ; and, in 
 consequence of such unbelief, neither can they believe in 
 the things appertaining to that Life, which are the celestial 
 and spiritual things of faith and love. This is also evi- 
 dent from the Lord's words in Matthew, " Thou hast hid 
 these things from the wise and intelligent, and hast re- 
 vealed them unto infants " (xi. 25). And again, " Seeing 
 they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, neither do 
 they understand" (xiii. 13) ; for the simple think no such 
 thing concerning the Soul, but believe that they shall live 
 after Death ; in which simple faith, lies concealed, although 
 they are not aware of it, a belief that they shall live there 
 as men, shall see Angels, shall discourse with them, and 
 enjoy happiness. 
 
 " As to what concerns the Soul, of which it is said that 
 it shall live after Death, it is nothing else but the man 
 himself, who lives in the Body, that is, the interior man, who 
 by the Body acts in the World, and from whom the Body 
 itself lives. This man, when he is loosed from the Body, 
 
INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE SOUL AND BODY. 457 
 
 is called a Spirit, and appears in this case altogether in a 
 human form ; yet cannot in any wise be seen by the eyes 
 of the Body, but by the eyes of the Spirit ; and before the 
 eyes of the latter appears as a man in the world, hath 
 senses, viz., of touch, of smell, of hearing, of seeing, much 
 more exquisite than in the World-; hath appetites, cupidi- 
 ties, desires, affections, loves, such as in the World, but in 
 a more excellent degree ; thinks also as in the World, but 
 more perfectly ; discourses with others ; in a word, he is 
 there as in the World, insomuch that, if he doth not reflect 
 upon the circumstances of his being in the other Life, he 
 knows no other than that he is in the World, which I have 
 occasionally heard from Spirits ; for the Life after Death is 
 a continuation of the life in the World. 
 
 " This, then, is the Soul of man which lives after Death. 
 But, lest the idea should fall upon somewhat unknown by 
 using the term Soul, in consequence of the conjectures and 
 hypotheses concerning it, it is better to say the Spirit of man, 
 or, if you prefer it, the interior man ; for it appears there 
 altogether as a mem, with all the members and organs that 
 man hath, and it is also the real man himself in the Body. 
 That this is the case, may also be manifest from the Angels 
 seen, as recorded in The Word, who were all seen in the 
 human form ; for all the Angels in Heaven have a human 
 form, because the Lord hath, who after his resurrection 
 appeared so often as a Man. The ground and reason why 
 an Angel and the Spirit of a man is a Man in form, is, be- 
 cause the Universal Heaven from the Lord hath a ten- 
 dency to conspire to a human form, whence the Universal 
 Heaven is called the greatest created human form ; and 
 whereas the Lord lives in every individual in Heaven, and 
 
458 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 by influx from the Universal Heaven acts upon every in- 
 dividual, therefore every Angel is an image thereof, that is, 
 a form most perfectly human ; as, in like manner, is man 
 after Death." 
 
 Now in what physiological, in what theological work 
 shall we find a plain straightforward statement of this 
 kind ? Is it not a subject of which all parties think with 
 timidity, doubt, and uncertainty? Indeed, the physiolo- 
 gist could not speak out plainly, without running the risk 
 of the charge of speculation. He might venture so far as 
 to admit that man is a spiritual being ; that, in some way 
 or other, he may have some sort of consciousness after 
 death ; but if he speaks of the man as already in posses- 
 sion of a spiritual body, which, by the process of death is 
 separated from the earthly, and is then in a higher state 
 of consciousness than before, he comes immediately into 
 collision with some theological doctrine concerning the 
 Resurrection. And thus the real cause of the scepticism 
 concerning Swedenborg' s Visions and Revelations, is the 
 same with the cause of the scepticism concerning the State 
 of Man after death; for if this doctrine of Swedenborg con- 
 cerning the Spirit of Man were clearly understood, and 
 undoubtingly maintained, the remaining objections against 
 the possibility of his communication with the other World, 
 would have lost their foundation : the consequence is, we 
 consider that both physiologists and theologians, in their 
 attacks upon his Visions and Revelations, are occupying a 
 false position, in which they are sure to be defeated ; and 
 the reader of Swedenborg' s writings will humbly but still 
 firmly retain his clear, certain, consolatory, nay, glorious 
 convictions concerning the State of Man after Death, in 
 
ARE TEMPTATIONS HALLUCINATIONS? 459 
 
 spite of the attempts of all such opponents to involve him 
 once more in painful uncertainty, impenetrable mystery, 
 or infidel negation : for the case is the same with Christian 
 theologians down to the present day, as with heathen phi- 
 losophers of old :* " Quid autem sit Anima, nondum inter 
 philosophos convenit, nee unquam fertasse conveniet." 
 
 Enough has assuredly now been stated to put at least 
 some persons upon their guard with respect to those prin- 
 ciples of Theology, Psychology, and Physiology which 
 have been adopted in opposition to those of Swedenborg, 
 and which are recommended as the preservative against 
 his alleged Hallucinations. 
 
 There are those, indeed, who would rank among mere 
 Hallucinations, those messengers of Satan sent to buffet 
 the Christian Spiritual Temptations. Of these Swedenborg 
 seems to have had .abundance, in order that when he wrote 
 concerning them, he might write from experience ; indeed he 
 appears to have passed through exceedingly varied phases 
 of temptation ; and therefore, when writing concerning the 
 spiritual signification of Edom, he observes, . . . "It is God 
 the Messiah alone who sustains man in his temptations, 
 and overcomes in his behalf ; as I have so clearly experi- 
 enced in myself, because I have myself undergone temp- 
 tations which, in a certain spiritual sense, are similar. It 
 was given me clearly to distinguish, that in all these cases, 
 I could not but succumb, as far as regarded myself; for 
 when I was led on to a certain point, as far as my own 
 strength was concerned, I did actually succumb ; but being 
 at last raised up by GOD Messias, these temptations w r ere 
 carried on, as I deem, to the accomplishment of this good 
 * Lactantius De Qpificlo Dei, sec. 17. 
 
 x2 
 
460 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 end, that I might be enabled clearly to perceive, that man 
 can in no wise of himself sustain temptations, not even the 
 least of them ; wherefore that man is sustained in temp- 
 tations, is the work of GOD Messiah alone." 
 
 u Inasmuch* as at this day, Faith is rare because there 
 is no Charity, the Church being at its end, therefore few 
 at this day are admitted into any spiritual temptations. 
 Hence it is, that it is scarcely known what they are, and 
 to what they conduce." 
 
 With these observations I now pass on to the consider- 
 ation of the last of the Objections contained in the Essays. 
 
 The Essays refer us to the SILENCE of St. Paul. They 
 speak of the celestial Vision with which he had been 
 favored, and observe, that he alludes with the utmost 
 possible brevity to his being caught up into paradise and 
 hearing unspeakable words, without relating any particu- 
 lars of the Vision. This circumstance the reader is natur- 
 ally led to contrast with Swedenborg' s " copious and dis- 
 tinct revelations" his " visit to the celestial abodes," etc., 
 of all which, it is said, "he gives minute descriptions." 
 
 Now, Swedenborg tells us that there are Three Heavens, 
 the celestial, the spiritual and the natural; and that of 
 these, the Third Heaven, or the highest, is the celestial, 
 being the same with that into which St. Paul was caught 
 up. The celestial abodes are the abodes in the celestial 
 heavens ; and into these Swedenborg observes that he 
 was rarely permitted to enter ; whence, so far from giving 
 long and minute descriptions upon this subject, he is com- 
 paratively brief; declaring, like St. Paul, that it would be 
 incomprehensible or incredible ; consequently, on the point 
 * The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, art. 193. 
 
SILENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL. 461 
 
 upon which the Essays have contrasted the writings of St. 
 Paul with those of Swedenborg, there is more of coinci- 
 dence than of contrast. 
 
 Suppose, however, we apply the objection to what Swe- 
 denborg has really said upon the subject of Heaven, and 
 compare his Revelations with the silence of St. Paul with 
 regard to his own case for, " It would have been very easy 
 for an impostor to give loose to his fancy, in inventing such 
 a description ; and to an enthusiast it would have been un- 
 avoidable ; he who was passing off Ms day-dreams for reve- 
 lations on himself as well as on others, would have been sure 
 to dream largely on such a subject. Why then did not 
 Paul do anything of the kind ? I answer, because he was 
 not an impostor, nor an enthusiast, but taught only what 
 had been actually revealed to him, and what he was com- 
 missioned to reveal to others." 
 
 Well then, why was St. Paul silent as to his Visions 
 and Revelations in the Third Heaven ? because he was not 
 commissioned to reveal them. On the other hand, Why 
 was St. John not silent ? because the Lord said unto him, 
 " What thou seest write in a book, and send unto the Seven 
 Churches which are in Asia." ..." Assure* the Christian 
 world, said the Angel to me, that these predictions are 
 not the ravings of enthusiasm nor the forgeries of a false 
 prophet, but the words of God himself; whose messenger 
 I am, to declare them for the warning, comfort, and conso- 
 lation of future Christians. Time and the events them- 
 selves will demonstrate their truth ; to the glory of Divine 
 Providence over mankind." 
 
 "I John, who have committed these Revelations to 
 
 * Paraphrase on Rev. xxii. 6, by T. Pyle, M.A., Prebendary of Sarum. 
 
462 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 writing, for the constant use of the Churches* do solemnly 
 declare that they are no private fancy or invention of my 
 own ; but what I was an eye and ear- witness to ; having 
 really seen and heard these things in the visions of pro- 
 phecy, as I have faithfully related them." 
 
 " The Angel then gave me in charge not to keep these 
 Revelations private to myself, and concealed from the 
 Church : for the things revealed in them would soon begin 
 to be accomplished ; and the cautions, directions, exhorta- 
 tions, and encouragements contained in them, would be of 
 great use to give the faithful comfort, hope, and constancy, 
 in the successive times of temptation and trial ; that they 
 might learn both to expect them, and to be prepared for 
 them." 
 
 But to what purpose are these protestations that the 
 Angel charged him NOT to keep these revelations private to 
 himself? Is not the case of St. Paul decisive? If St. 
 Paul was silent, what right has any one else to speak ? 
 If his silence proved him to be no enthusiast, does not the 
 want of silence in others prove them to be enthusiasts? 
 particularly when we consider "how easy, on such an occa- 
 sion, it would have been for an impostor to give loose to 
 his fancy in inventing such descriptions ; while to the en- 
 thusiast it would have been unavoidable : he who was pass- 
 ing off his day-dreams for revelations on himself as well 
 as on others, would have been sure to dream largely on 
 such a subject." 
 
 It is certainly remarkable that, in arguing against Swe- 
 denborg, the case of St. John should be altogether omitted ; 
 and that of St. Paul alone be selected as the one suited to 
 the argument. 
 
 * Lowman's Paraphrase on Rev. xxii. 8, 9. 
 
VISIONS OF PAUL AND JOHN. 463 
 
 After all, however, can any one be certain that even St. 
 Paul himself was silent ? 
 
 It is observed by a certain Commentator,* that " St, 
 Paul had the most sublime communications from God, such 
 as it would be improper to mention, though it is very 
 likely that we have the substance of these in his Epistles. 
 Indeed, the two Epistles before us, to the Corinthians, 
 seem in many places to be the effect of most extraordinary 
 Revelations. ... It is probable that the Apostle refers to 
 some communication concerning the Divine Nature, and 
 the Divine Economy, of which he was only to make a 
 general use in his preaching and writing. No doubt that 
 what he learned at this time formed the basis of all his 
 doctrines." 
 
 "Though St. Paul," says another writer in his Sacred 
 Calendar of Prophecy^ " was not commissioned to enter 
 upon the field of Prophecy with a copiousness equal either 
 to that of Daniel or to that of St. John ; yet he has left 
 behind him two remarkable and connected predictions, 
 which stand so closely allied to the Visions of these two 
 prophets, that they must not be passed over in silence." 
 
 Now the predictions referred to are those relating to the 
 Man of Sin, and to the great Apostasy ; but these are said 
 to be prominent subjects also of the Apocalypse ; and the 
 consequence is that some have concluded that St. Paul and 
 St. John had similar Revelations. We acknowledge, in- 
 deed, that what the subjects actually were which were 
 communicated to St. Paul, no mortal can tell. No one 
 can positively affirm that they were actually the same with 
 those communicated to St. John; but no one can affirm 
 
 * Dr. Adam Clarke on 2 Cor. xii. 4. f Mr. Faber, vol. i., p. 79. 
 
464 VISIONS AND KEVELATIONS. 
 
 that they were not and if so, no one has any right to 
 affirm that what was communicated to St. Paul, has never 
 been or was never designed to be communicated by any 
 other person, or in any way, to the Church upon earth ; 
 much less to argue, that all who are not as silent as to 
 their Visions and Revelations, as St. Paul was said to be, 
 are either enthusiasts or impostors. 
 
 " Probably," says* a writer when speaking upon the 
 words of St. John, ' immediately I was in the Spirit^' 
 " Paul had similar Visions and Revelations ; though for 
 him it was not lawful to reveal them, except by such allu- 
 sions as Heb. xii. 22, etc. But John was commanded to 
 reveal them ; so far as words can convey the idea of hea- 
 venly truths, with all the aid of reference to typical in- 
 stitutions, to well-remembered prophetic symbols, and to 
 illustrative figures." 
 
 It is obvious that these writers whom I have quoted, 
 were by no means assured that St. John did not treat in 
 the Apocalypse of some, at least, of the very subjects com- 
 municated to St. Paul in his own Visions and Revelations : 
 they were not certain that the reason why St. Paul was 
 silent, may not have been, that his mission was not to the 
 Seven Churches of Asia, but to the Gentiles ; and they 
 are by no means certain that St. Paul himself was so abso- 
 lutely silent on the subject as he is sometimes supposed to 
 be ; for even though he may not allude to the fact of his 
 celestial Vision in other parts of his Epistles, yet may he 
 not, in these Epistles, have communicated some general 
 intimation of the subjects of some of his Visions ; for other- 
 wise how are we to account for his prophetic allusions ? 
 * Investigator, or Expositor of Prophecy, vol. i., p. 357. 
 
IS SILENCE TO BE PERMANENT? 465 
 
 Under any circumstances, however, even though we 
 granted that St. Paul was absolutely silent upon the sub- 
 ject of his Visions and Revelations ; how would the case 
 apply to Swedenborg? 
 
 " St. Paul," says a writer in the Church of Rome,* 
 " speaking of his rapture to the Third Heaven, says, that 
 he heard secret and unspeakable words which it was not 
 permitted to man to relate. These secret and unspeakable 
 words refer to no other than the profound mysteries shewn 
 to the Apostle, and the knowledge of which it was not 
 permitted him to communicate to the faithful of his time. 
 But, is it therefore impossible that these same mysteries 
 which were then discovered to St. Paul, God should one day 
 reveal to his Church ? It is not possible to prove by any 
 solid reasoning, or any that is even apparently so, that 
 such a manifestation is, absolutely and for all time, con- 
 trary to the order of his designs, and to the plan accord- 
 ing to which he has resolved to govern' his Church until its 
 perfect reunion in Heaven." 
 
 In this case, what becomes of the argument against 
 Swedenborg, derived from the alleged silence of St. Paul ? 
 And yet this is not the only instance in which, because this 
 Apostle was said to be silent, theologians rush to the con- 
 clusion, that we have already all the truth which we shall 
 ever have here below concerning Heaven ; that no other 
 messenger will ever be authorized to communicate anything 
 more upon the subject ; and that if men will not be satisfied 
 with their u vast amount of ignorance" with regard to the 
 other World, their only resource will be in the pretended 
 
 * Exposition of the Predictions and Promises made to the Church, 
 by Father Lambert. Vol. ii., chap. 19. 
 
 x3 
 
466 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 Revelations of enthusiasts or impostors. We have seen, 
 however, that we are by no means bound to either alterna- 
 tive ! That in order not to be ignorant, it does not follow 
 that we must become enthusiasts. 
 
 Whether or not, however, the Visions and Revelations 
 of Paul were the same with those of John, is it likely 
 that, if disclosed to others, they would be generally re- 
 ceived as credible ? The Essays, in their argument against 
 Swedenborg, say that they would : a modern Commentator 
 argues that they would not. "We are often," says he,* 
 "incredulous about what is reported to exist in foreign 
 lands on earth which we have not seen, and a long time is 
 often necessary before we will believe it. The king of 
 Siam, when told by the Dutch ambassador that water be- 
 came so hard in his country that men might walk on it, 
 said, ' I have often suspected you of falsehood, but now I 
 know that you lie!' So incredulous might we be with 
 our weak faith, if we were told what actually exists in 
 Heaven, we should not improbably turn away from it as 
 wholly incredible" 
 
 How then stands the case? Are the Revelations of 
 Swedenborg credible ? They are addressed to the credu- 
 lous, being written with a view to captivate the imagina- 
 tion, and to allure converts. Are they incredible ? " He 
 hath a devil and is mad: why hear he him?" Alciphron, 
 therefore, in his remarks to Euphranor, shewed himself to 
 be a man of sense :"!-[ tell you in plain English, Euph- 
 ranor, we do not want your Revelations ; and that for this 
 plain reason : those that are clear every body knew before, 
 
 * Barnes in toe, 
 
 f Bishop Berkeley's Minute Philosopher, Dial, vi., Sec. 19, 20. 
 
SWEDENBORG ON PHANTASIES. 467 
 
 and those that are obscure no body is the better for. . . . 
 Euphranor. It seems, then, they reject the Revelations 
 because they are obscure ; and Daniel's prophecies because 
 they are clear ! . . . Aldphron. Either way a man of sense 
 has cause to suspect there is foul play. , . . EupJiranor. 
 Your men of sense are, it seems, hard to please." 
 
 From the following remarks of Swedenborg, perhaps how- 
 ever even an Alciphron might derive some instruction ; 
 
 " The* Visions of some are much spoken of, who have 
 said that they have seen many extraordinary things. 
 They did see them, it is true, but only in Phantasy. I 
 have been instructed concerning these Visions, and it was 
 likewise shewn me how they exist. There are Spirits 
 who induce by means of Phantasies such appearances, that 
 they seem as if they were real. For example : if any 
 thing is seen in the shade, or by moonlight, or even in 
 open day if the object be in a dark place, those Spirits 
 keep the mind of the beholder fixedly and unceasingly in 
 the thought of some particular thing, either of an animal, 
 or a monster, or a forest, or some other such thing ; and 
 so long as the mind is kept in this thought, the Phantasy 
 is increased, and this to such a degree, that the person is 
 persuaded, and sees, just as if the things were really there; 
 when nevertheless they are nothing but illusions. Such 
 occurrences take place with those who indulge much in 
 Phantasies, and are of weak minds, and hence are rendered 
 credulous. Such are Visionaries. 
 
 "Enthusiastic Spirits-^- are of a similar nature; but 
 
 * Arcana Ccelestia, art. 1967 1970. 
 
 f See the Apocalypse Revealed, chap. ix. 17. Also The Apoca- 
 lypse Explained, Hid. 
 
468 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 these have Visions about matters of Faith ; by which they 
 are so firmly persuaded, and persuade others, that they 
 will swear what is false to be true, and what is imaginary 
 to be real. Concerning this kind of Spirits, many things 
 might be related from experience ; but by the Divine 
 mercy of the Lord we shall speak particularly of them in 
 another place. They have contracted their enthusiastic 
 nature from the persuasions and principles of falsity im- 
 bibed in the world. 
 
 " Evil Spirits in the other life are scarcely anything but 
 Lusts and Phantasies, having acquired to themselves no 
 other life. Their Phantasies are so strong, that they per- 
 ceive no other than that the thing is as they fancy. The 
 Phantasies of men cannot be compared with theirs, for 
 Spirits are in a more excellent state even as to such things 
 as these. Such Phantasies are perpetual with the infernals ; 
 and thereby they miserably torment one another. 
 
 "By genuine Visions are meant Visions, or sights, of 
 those objects which really exist in the other life, and 
 which are no other than real things, which may be seen 
 by the eyes of the Spirit but not by the eyes of the body, 
 and which appear to man when his interior sight is opened 
 by the Lord. This interior sight is that of his Spirit ; 
 into which also he comes, when, being separated from the 
 body he passes into the other life; for man is a Spirit 
 clothed with a body. Such were the Visions of the pro- 
 phets. When this sight is opened, then the things which 
 exist among Spirits are seen in a clearer light than that of 
 the mid-day sun of this world ; and not only are represent- 
 atives seen, but also the Spirits themselves, accompanied 
 with perception as to who they are, and likewise of what 
 
INWARD PERCEPTION OPEN VISION. 469 
 
 quality they are, where they are, whence they come and 
 whither they go, of what affection, of what persuasion, 
 yea, of what Faith they are ; all confirmed by living dis- 
 course altogether like that of men ; and this without any 
 fallacy." 
 
 Let us practically apply these remarks to Christian life. 
 
 Revelation from the Spiritual World to the mind of 
 man, may be of two kinds ; revelation by inward percep- 
 tion, and revelation by open Vision. The former supplies 
 us with an internal evidence ; the latter, with an external ; 
 the former cannot interfere with the exercise of man's 
 voluntary powers ; the latter, without the former, may. 
 The former, or inward perception, so far from interfering 
 with the exercise of the voluntary powers, implies their 
 highest exercise. For it is a perception of good, that it is 
 good, and of trutli, that it is truth ; and this, by reason of 
 the conformity of the nature of the person, to the good and 
 truth which are presented to him. If such an one, there- 
 fore, has open Vision, it is rather a consequence of his inward 
 perceptions, or of that purity of heart by which he is enabled 
 to see God. This is the kind of revelation which the writ- 
 ings of Swedenborg explain as the highest. 
 
 Hence, we have no desire to be dealers in Dreams and 
 Visions, in the way in which it is sometimes supposed. 
 We would aim rather at an enlightened conscience, or that 
 singleness of eye by which our whole body is filled with 
 light. Swedenborg has shewn, how a man is not reformed 
 by external Visions, and may be no better for seeing 
 them. For though he may see them, he may not under- 
 stand them, and so he may be no wiser than before. In- 
 deed, the mere seeing of external Visions, where the per- 
 
470 VISIONS AND REVELATIONS. 
 
 son is possessed of no inward perception, no more supposes 
 him to be wiser and better than others, than does any other 
 extraordinary gift of the Holy Spirit. Nay, Swedenborg 
 assigns the best of reasons for which, constituted as the 
 mind in general is, external intercourse with the other 
 World might be highly pernicious. For the Spirits which 
 attend a man, he says, are such as are in agreement with 
 his affections and thoughts ; hence, did he openly converse 
 with them, they would only confirm him in his existing 
 state of mind, and add their testimony to the truth of all 
 his falses, and the good of all his evils ; enthusiasts would 
 thus be confirmed in their enthusiasm, and fanatics, in their 
 fanaticism. Were the mind, however, purified from its 
 evils and falses, the case would be otherwise ; because then, 
 being in association with holy Angels, the exercise of its 
 voluntary powers would not be interfered with ; man would 
 learn what is good and true from an inward perception of 
 its nature ; in which case, open Vision, if it existed, would 
 not be the cause but the consequence of his state of life ; 
 and whatever might be the symbolical scenes then presented 
 to him, they would be perfectly intelligible, from an in- 
 ward principle of perception. 
 
 Hence, in the Arcana Coelestia* Swedeuborg observes, 
 " In regard to revelations being either from perception, or 
 from discourse with the Angels through whom the Lord 
 speaks, it is to be noted, that they who are in good and 
 thence in truth, especially they who are in the good of love 
 to the Lord, have revelation from perception; whereas, 
 they who are not in good and thence in truth, may, indeed, 
 have revelations, yet not from perception, but by a living 
 * Art. 5121. 
 
INWARD PERCEPTION OPEN VISION. 471 
 
 voice heard in them ; thus by Angels, from the Lord. 
 This latter revelation is external, but the former internal. 
 The Angels, especially the celestial, have revelation from 
 perception ; as also the men of the Most Ancient Church 
 had, and some also of the Ancient Church, but scarcely 
 any one at this day ; whereas, very many have had reve- 
 lations from discourse without perception, even who have 
 not been principled in good ; as also, revelations by Visions 
 or by Dreams. Such were most of the revelations of the 
 prophets in the Jewish Church ; they heard a voice, they 
 saw a Vision, and they dreamed a Dream ; but, inasmuch 
 as they had no perception, the revelations were merely 
 verbal or visual, without a perception of what they signi- 
 fied ; for genuine perception exists through Heaven from 
 the Lord ; and affects the intellectual principle spiritually, 
 and leads it perceptibly to think as the thing really is, 
 with an internal assent, the source of which it is ignorant 
 of. The intellectual principle supposes that this internal 
 assent is in itself, and that it flows from the connection of 
 things ; whereas it is a dictate through Heaven from the 
 Lord, flowing into the interiors of the thought, concerning 
 such things as are above the natural and sensual principle, 
 that is, concerning such things as are of the Spiritual 
 World, or of Heaven. From these considerations may 
 be manifest, what is meant by revelation from perception" 
 In accordance with this view, the Author* of the Select 
 Discourses observes, u There is an inward sense in man's 
 Soul, which, were it once awakened and excited with an in- 
 ward taste and relish of the Divinity, could better define God 
 
 * J. Smith, Fellow of Queen's Col. Cam. Chap, vii., Excellency, 
 etc., of True Religion. 
 
472 CONCLUSION. 
 
 to him than all the world else. It is the sincere Christian 
 that so tastes and sees how good and sweet the Lord is, 
 as none else does. The God of hope fills him with all joy 
 and peace in believing ; so that he abounds, in hope, as the 
 Apostle speaks. He quietly reposes himself in God ; his 
 heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord ; he is more for a solid 
 peace, and settled calm of spirit, than for high raptures 
 and feelings of joy, or extraordinary manifestations of God 
 to him ; he does not passionately desire, nor importunately 
 expect, such things ; he rather looks after the manifesta- 
 tions of the goodness and power of God within him, in 
 subduing all in his soul that is unlike and contrary to God, 
 and forming him into his image and likeness." " Should 
 a man hear a voice from heaven, or see a Vision from the 
 Almighty, to testify unto him the love of God towards 
 him 5 yet, methinks, it were more desirable to find a reve- 
 lation of all from within, arising up from the bottom and 
 centre of a man's own Soul, in the real and internal im- 
 pressions of a Godlike nature upon his own spirit ; and 
 thus to find the foundation and beginning of Heaven and 
 happiness within himself." 
 
 Such, then, is a general outline of Swedenborg's doctrine 
 in regard to Intercourse with the Spiritual World ; which 
 any one will have no little difficulty to prove to be 
 visionary, without including in the same condemnation 
 the teaching of some of the most eminent divines of the 
 Church ; nay, without involving in the sentence, the very 
 principles of Christianity itself. 
 
 To CONCLUDE this Letter. 
 
 Allow me to observe, that in like manner as translators 
 from out of one language into another have sometimes, it 
 
CONCLUSION. 473 
 
 is said, mistaken rivers for mountains and men for cities, 
 so we have likewise been warned that 
 
 " . . . . Divines* have made no less mistakes. Human 
 Reason commits, if this be possible, more unaccountable 
 errors when it treats of Divine things. But being so very 
 short-sighted and weak, it ought to be cautious and con- 
 sider its own strength. It ought to be more discreet and 
 reserved. There may be an excess in desiring to learn, 
 and make enquiry into things. The knowing too much 
 news is a vice which has been condemned by the ancient 
 moralists, and is not omitted in Theophrastus' characters. 
 And if what has been asserted in times of old be true, that 
 no man ought to be curious and inquisitive in a Foreign 
 Country ; how bold, how flagrantly audacious must it be, 
 for a citizen of this sublunary sphere, for an inhabitant of 
 of this earth, to pry so assiduously into things of a superior 
 nature, into the affairs of Heaven ? 7s any country more 
 foreign with regard to man than this ? Is he less ac- 
 quainted with any kingdom ? Is there any country he is 
 a greater stranger to, and with which he maintains less 
 correspondence ? It is our duty to shew so much rever- 
 ence to the Majesty which conceals itself, as not to attempt 
 to remove the veil which keeps it from our sight, and not 
 search for it with so much diligence and eagerness. Let 
 us stop at its outworks and ramparts, and not pursue it so 
 far as its fortress and its entrenchments. Let us adore 
 the veils and clouds which are between it and us. Since 
 it inhabits an inaccessible Light, let us no more make any 
 attempt on the place of its residence ; let us not endeavor 
 
 * Fifth Discourse of the Socrate Chretien, by M. Balzac : see Bayle's 
 Illustration upon the Manichees, p. 399. 
 
474 CONCLUSION. 
 
 to ensnare it by the subtlety of our questions, or force it 
 by the violence of our arguments. If we value the pre- 
 servation of our sight ; if life be dear to us ; let us fly that 
 formidable presence, that fatal light, that light which 
 dazzles the Angels, and which kills Man." 
 
 Have we not been listening throughout the Essays to a 
 similar warning ? Is there any country more foreign to 
 the Church than Heaven ? Is the Church less acquainted 
 with any kingdom ? Is there any country to which she 
 is a greater stranger, and with which she maintains less 
 correspondence ? And if so, is this a state of things with 
 which a Church ought to be satisfied ? 
 
 Surely, even if Heaven were indeed that foreign country 
 which it is said to be, yet every true Christian hopes to 
 go there ; and if any one proposed or expected to settle 
 for life in a Country however foreign, would he be satisfied 
 merely with the faith that such a Country exists, and 
 that its inhabitants are happy? Would he not wish to 
 know what the Country is ; where it is ; in what the hap- 
 piness of the inhabitants consists ; what are the charac- 
 ter of the people, the form of government, the laws, lan- 
 guage, social distinctions, pursuits, manners, and customs ? 
 Would he not, in fine, procure all the information possible 
 from every quarter ; not from motives of curiosity or pre- 
 sumption, or a love of the marvellous, but because his own 
 interests and welfare are concerned in the attainment of as 
 full and correct information as possible ? And if he saw 
 others careless or indifferent upon the subject, would he 
 not conclude that, whatever might be their professions, 
 they had either no real belief in the existence of such 
 a Country, or else no sincere hope or desire to become one 
 
CONCLUSION. 475 
 
 of its citizens ? Where God, indeed, purposely conceals 
 Himself, it is no part of man to attempt to draw aside 
 the veil within which he has thought proper to hide his 
 presence. But our argument is, that God himself has at 
 length revealed Himself ; that the darkness of one Dis- 
 pensation has been succeeded by the light of another ; that 
 as in old time the Lord came down upon earth, so now the 
 Holy City, the new Jerusalem, has come down from God 
 out of Heaven prepared as a Bride adorned for her Hus- 
 band. This is no work of man ; it is but the fulfilment of 
 prophecy by the Lord himself; the manifestation of the 
 New Heavens and the New Earth wherein dwelleth right- 
 eousness, the beginning of "A Blessed* Revolution and 
 Reformation of the whole Christian Church, even here upon 
 earth, when the kingdoms of this present World shall be- 
 come the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and his 
 saints shall reign with Him." If, therefore,' the gates of 
 Heaven are not shut at all by day, it is not because the phi- 
 losophy of a Plato, the logic of an Aristotle, the jargon of 
 the Schools, or even the wisdom of a Swedenborg has been 
 attempting to force a way through for itself; but because 
 those very gates have been set open by Him who is the 
 Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the 
 First and the Last ; and if we enter in, it is not through 
 our presumption, but only through his Mercy. 
 
 " Man-j- may know," says Swedenborg, " whether the 
 faith appertaining to himself be from the Lord or from 
 himself, in this manner : he who is affected with truths 
 merely for the sake of the reputation of learning, that he 
 
 * Pyle's Paraphrase on the Apocalypse ; Preface, 
 f Arcana Coelestia, art. 9297. 
 
476 CONCLUSION. 
 
 may gain honor and wealth, and not for the sake of good 
 use of life, is in persuasive faith, which is from himself 
 and not from the Lord. There are Theoretical truths of 
 Faith, and there are Practical truths. He who respects the 
 Theoretical for the sake of the Practical, and sees the former 
 only in the latter, and thus from both conjoined regards 
 good use of life, and is affected both with the former and 
 with the latter for the sake of this end ; he is in faith 
 from the Lord. The reason is, because the use of life 
 which is the end, is good appertaining to him, and accord- 
 ing to use of life all things are formed : the truths of faith 
 are those by which formation is effected." 
 
 " That this is the case, is very manifest from those who 
 are in the other Life. All, as many as are there, are re- 
 duced to the state of their good, or to the state of their evil, 
 thus to the use of their life which was their end, that 
 is, which they had loved above all things, and which hence 
 had been the very delight of their life : to this all are 
 reduced : the truths or falses which had made one with 
 that use remain, and also more are learned which conjoin 
 themselves with the former, and complete the use, and 
 cause the use to appear in its own essential form. Hence 
 it is, that Spirits and Angels are forms of their use ; evil 
 Spirits the forms of an evil use ; these are in Hell ; good 
 Spirits or Angels the forms of good use; these are in 
 Heaven. Hence also it is, that Spirits are instantly known 
 as to their quality by their presence, the truths of Faith 
 being seen from the face and its beauty as to form ; and 
 the good itself, which is the use, from the fire of love 
 therein which vivifies the beauty, and also from the sphere 
 which flows from them." 
 
CONCLUSION. 477 
 
 Can it be said that Revelations concerning the other 
 World, founded upon principles such as these, are the 
 same with what Paley* calls " such stories of supernatural 
 events as require on the part of the hearer nothing more 
 than an otiose assent ? Stories upon which nothing de- 
 pends ; in which no interest is involved ; nothing is to be 
 done or changed in consequence of believing them ?" Can 
 we say that they are to be ranked only among those which 
 appeal to the love of the marvellous ; or which are one 
 with mere vulgar errors and popular superstitions ? Does 
 nothing depend upon their being true or false ? Or do they 
 not decide, if true, the most important questions upon 
 which the human mind can fix its anxiety ? Do they not 
 claim to regulate the opinions of mankind upon subjects in 
 which they are not only deeply concerned, but usually 
 refractory and obstinate ? Surely men cannot be utterly 
 careless in such a case as this. If a sectarian takes up 
 the story, he finds his darling partiality to his own parti- 
 cular sect wounded ; if a Catholic, he finds his Polytheism 
 reprobated and condemned ; if a Sceptic, he finds clear 
 and distinct ideas respecting God and a Future State set 
 before him instead of obscure and confused ; if an Infidel, 
 he may see how Mercy and Truth have met together to 
 lead him forth out of darkness into light, and from dead 
 works to serve the living God. All these may say, and 
 indeed have already said, " If these things be true, I must 
 give up the opinions and principles in which I have been 
 brought up, the religion or irreligion in which my fathers 
 lived and died. Old things have passed away, and all 
 
 * See the whole of this argument stated in his Evidences of Chris- 
 tianity, Prop, ii., Chap, i., Sec. 6. 
 
478 CONCLUSION. 
 
 things have become new." It is not conceivable that a 
 man should do this upon any idle or frivolous account, or 
 indeed without being fully satisfied and convinced of the 
 truth and credibility of the narrative to which he trusted. 
 But it does not stop at opinions. They who have believed 
 it, have acted upon it. Many have made it the express 
 business of their lives to publish the intelligence. It is 
 required of those who have admitted that intelligence, to 
 change forthwith their conduct and their principles, to 
 take up a different course of life, to part with their habits 
 and gratifications, and begin a new set of rules and sys- 
 tem of behaviour." 
 
 Surely, then, the system of Swedenborg is one which 
 has a very intelligible relation to practice ! The progress 
 of society is beginning to create new wants. There are 
 thousands who are not satisfied with the present state of 
 Theology or of the Catholic Church, who are desirous of 
 that which the Catholic Church owns she cannot give ; and 
 who are of the number of whom it is said by the prophet, 
 " Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be in- 
 creased." But whence is that knowledge to be derived? 
 Does it proceed from the Word of God ? Alas ! how many 
 are there who think that the Bible has seen its day ! who 
 have no hope of it as being the Shekinah, from out of whose 
 interior recesses are to break forth the beams of light 
 upon the Church ! They see only the dark side presented 
 to the Egyptians, and regard it as full not of Angels, but 
 of critics, commentators, and theological disputants. And 
 yet is this Shekinah, illuminated with the glory of interior 
 truth, the sign of the Son of Man ; into the clouds of which 
 He was once received up out of the sight of the Church, 
 
CONCLUSION. 479 
 
 and in the clouds of which he has in these last days 
 deigned to appear again ; at the sight of whose presence 
 all the mighty men will have to cast their idols to the moles 
 and to the bats, to enter into the rock and hide themselves 
 in the dust for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his 
 Majesty, when he arises to shake terribly the Church. 
 
 Your Grace has expressly said " I have learned to call 
 no man Master upon earth 5 and to make a final appeal to 
 nothing but the records of Inspiration, and the force of just 
 reasoning." If, therefore, in these pages, I have frequently 
 introduced the name of Swedeuborg, it is not with any 
 view of calling him Master upon e'arth ; but only because 
 I believe his teaching to be founded upon the Word of God, 
 and to be recommended by the force of just reasoning. 
 
 With a devout admiration, therefore, of the sentiment 
 here so happily expressed by your Grace, 
 
 I beg to subscribe myself, 
 
 Most respectfully, 
 
 Your Grace's obedient and humble Servant, 
 In the Cause of Divine Truth, 
 
 AUGUSTUS CLISSOLD. 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 " There are," says Swedenborg, " Five Classes of those 
 who read my writings. The First reject them entirety; 
 because they are in another persuasion ; or because they 
 are in no Faith.* The Second receive them as scientifics, 
 or as objects of mere curiosity. The Third receive them 
 intellectually, and are in some measure pleased with them ; 
 but whenever they require an application to regulate their 
 lives, they remain where they were before. The Fourth 
 receive them in a persuasive manner, and are thereby led, 
 in a certain degree, to amend their lives and perform uses. 
 The Fifth receive them with delight, and confirm them in 
 their lives." 
 
 i.e., Unbelievers in Christianity. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Page 23. The words of Mr. Keble are quoted from the First 
 Edition ; the Second not having then appeared. In the Second 
 Edition the change of expression is into the following : " must 
 of course be some Personal Being, and that Being the Most High 
 God." Page 56. 
 
 Page 87. In the Second Edition of Mr. Keble's work on EucTia- 
 ristical Adoration, there is another change of expression : instead 
 of " special prayer," the expression is " special vocal prayer." 
 Page 114. But this complicates the subject as much as the other. 
 
 Page 94. The three following paragraphs from Bishop Buck- 
 eridge and Bishop Patrick are taken from the Tracts for the Times, 
 vol. iv., pp. 86, 209, 216 ; being only a small part of what is to be 
 found there to the same effect ; 
 
 " And surely every one that doth desire to be heard, and there- 
 fore concludes his prayers with these words, per Jesum Christum, 
 Dominum nostrum, ' through Jesus Christ our Lord,' doth repre- 
 sent and offer Christ crucified to God, and entreats remission and 
 grace, through His Death and Passion. And Christ our High 
 Priest that sitteth at the right hand of God, doth at that instant 
 execute His office, and make intercession for us, by representing 
 His wounds and scars to His Father." Bishop Buckeridge. 
 
 " And, as the minister doth most powerfully pray in the virtue of 
 Christ's Sacrifice, when he represents it unto God; so do the peo- 
 ple also, when they shew unto Him what His Son hath suffered. 
 Every man may say, ' Behold, O Lord, the bleeding wounds of 
 Thy own Son ; remember how His body was broken for us ; think 
 upon His precious Blood, which was shed in our behalf. Let us 
 die, if He have not made a full satisfaction. We desire not to be 
 pardoned, if He have not paid our debt. But canst Thou behold 
 Him, and not be well pleased with us ? Canst Thou look on His 
 
 Y 
 
482 APPENDIX. 
 
 Body and Blood which we represent to Thee, and turn Thy face 
 from us ? Hast Thou not set Him forth to be a propitiation, 
 through faith in His Blood ? Lord, then suffer us sinful crea- 
 tures to plead with Thee. Let us prevail in the virtue of His Sacri- 
 fice, for the graces and blessings which we need ; and hide not 
 Thyself from us, unless Thou canst hide Thyself from Thy Son 
 too, whom we bring with us unto Thee.' In this sort may we 
 take the boldness to speak to God, and together with a represen- 
 tation of Christ, we may represent our own wants ; and we may 
 be confident that, when God sees His Son, when we hold Him up 
 (as it were) between His anger and our souls, He will take some 
 pity, and have mercy upon us." Bishop Patrick. 
 
 " Themistocles (they say), not knowing how to mitigate and 
 atone the wrath of king Admetus, and avert his fury from him, 
 snatched up the king's son, and held him up in his arms 
 between himself and death, and so prevailed for a pardon, and 
 quenched the fire that was breaking out against him. And this 
 the Molossians (of whom he was king) held to be ' the most 
 effectual way of supplication,' and which, of all others, ' could 
 not be resisted or denied.' Of far greater prevalency is this act, 
 the holding up (as it were) the Son of God in our hands, and re- 
 presenting to the Father, the broken Body and the Blood of His 
 only begotten. Let us set this between the heat of God's anger 
 and our souls ; let us desire He would have regard to His Dearly 
 Beloved ; and the Lord cannot turn back our prayers that press 
 and importune Him with such a mighty argument. Say, there- 
 fore, to Him, " Behold, Lord, the Sacrifice of the everlasting 
 covenant : behold, t we lay before Thee the Lamb that takes away 
 the sins of the world. Is not Thy soul in Him well pleased ? Is 
 not His body as really in the heavens, as the signs of it are here 
 in our hands ? Hear, good Lord, the cry of His wounds. Let us 
 prevail with Thee through the virtue of His Sacrifice. Let us 
 feel, yea, let all the world feel the power of His intercession. 
 Deny us not, O Lord, seeing we bring Thy Son with us. Hear 
 Thy Son, Lord, though Thou wilt not hear us, and let us and 
 all others know that He lives, and was dead, and that He is alive 
 for evermore. Amen." Bishop Patrick. 
 
 " Q. How can three distinct persons so partake of the one 
 Divine Nature or essence, as altogether to make but one God ? 
 
 " A. That is not my concern to explain; this I am sure, that if 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. 483 
 
 the Scriptures be (as we all allow that they are) the Word of God, 
 what they plainly deliver must be true ; because it is, in effect, 
 delivered by God, who can neither be Himself deceived, nor will 
 deceive me. Now that they deliver both these propositions to me, 
 that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, 
 and yet that there are not three Gods, but one God, I am as sure 
 as I can be of anything that is spoken or written for my under- 
 standing. That, therefore, both of these assertions are true and 
 credible, I am sure. But hoiv, or after what manner, I am to un- 
 derstand them, so as to remove all show of contradiction in them, this 
 the Holy Scriptures has not revealed ; nor do I, therefore, presume 
 to pronounce anything more particularly concerning it."* Princi- 
 ples of the Christian Religion Explained. A Catechism, by Arch- 
 bishop Wake. Section 15. 
 
 f " Questions may, however, arise, as to the particular Divinity 
 of the Son ; whether, for instance, He may be considered as 
 Divine, by Himself and alone, and be compared with the Father, 
 as it regards His several attributes or otherwise ? I answer, I can 
 only say that, as the Scripture appears to represent Christ as pro- 
 ceeding from the Father and being very God, just as any son of 
 man may be said to proceed from his natural father and be very man, 
 although it is quite out of my power to particularize about the 
 process in either case ; so I think I can reasonably believe Christ 
 to be of God, and very God ; a being proceeding from the eternal, 
 invisible, and incomprehensible, fountain of life and light, and 
 adapted to the comprehension of creatures such as we are, as far 
 as such comprehension is necessary to our instruction and welfare. 
 If it be asked, whether the Father and the Son can be considered 
 each as existing absolutely and independently of the other, and 
 exerting the powers of independent Deity? I answer at once, 
 I cannot tell. Keason has nothing to offer on the subject one way 
 or the other, and the Scriptures are silent." Professor Leo's Ser- 
 mons. Doctrine of the Trinity, Dissertation i., p. 110. 
 
 f " The Father loveth the Son ; His one, His dear, His only 
 
 * This quotation is introduced as one instance of the Divine 
 Unity being considered the great mystery. The extracts in the 
 sequel are taken, with few exceptions, from Tracts circulated 
 either by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, or by 
 the Religious Tract Society. The few passages quoted from works 
 not circulated as Tracts, etc., by Religious Societies, are marked 
 with a cross f thus. 
 
 Y 2 
 
484 APPENDIX. 
 
 Son, or His Only-begotten Son, the Son of His love and of His 
 bosom, His Son from eternity, the everlasting Son of the Father. 
 The Son loveth the Father equally in return, and doeth always 
 such things as please Him: The Father, and the Son, in like 
 manner and degree, love the Holy Ghost, who eternally and 
 essentially proceedeth from both together ; and they are infinitely 
 and equally loved and admired by Him in His turn ; He being 
 peculiarly t|/ix7?, the soul of love, the active energetic principle of 
 all goodness and beneficence. He is, besides, the common centre, 
 the bond of union and relation, by which both the Father and the 
 Son are inseparably and eternally united, as it were consolidated 
 and identified, by the strongest ties of natural affinity, congruity, 
 and attachment. In the Father and the Son there is mutual love, 
 a re-action and reciprocation of the strongest affection, the sin- 
 cerest cordiality, the most perfect harmony and unanimity. But, 
 in and through the Holy Ghost, there is also joint love in the 
 Trinity, or the Godhead ; that is, the same common affection, the 
 same mutual pleasure and delight in the same infinitely lovely and 
 beloved individual ; and this love and delight reflected and recipro- 
 cated back, from Him and by Him on themselves, with equal 
 ardor and sincerity of unmixed complacency and purest benevo- 
 lence. Hence the third person of the Holy and undivided Trinity, 
 or the Holy Ghost is, as it were, the cement and solder whereby 
 the first and second persons are still more closely related, asso- 
 ciated, and united. Agreeably to the ancient doxology, ' through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom, and with whom, in the unity of 
 the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory be unto Thee, O Father 
 Almighty, world without end.'" Doctrine of Atonement and 
 Sacrifice, by Dr. Whitley, p. 26. 
 
 f "We first should carefully study, and duly be affected with, 
 that gracious consent, and, as it were, confederacy of the glorious 
 Three, in designing and prosecuting our good ; their unanimous 
 agreement in uttering those three mighty words of favor to 
 mankind, Faciamus, Redimamus, Salvemus, let us make man out 
 of nothing, let us recover him from sin and perdition, let us crown 
 him with joy and salvation. We should, with grateful resent- 
 ments, observe them conspiring to employ their wisdom in con- 
 triving fit means and methods to exert their power in the 
 effectual accomplishment of what was requisite to the promoting 
 of our welfare, the rescue of us from all misery, the advancing us 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. 485 
 
 to the highest degree of dignity, and installing us in the most 
 perfect condition of happiness of which our nature is capable ; in 
 the prosecution of that gracious design which their joint good- 
 ness had projected for us." With much more of the same kind. 
 Defence of the Blessed Trinity, by Dr. Issaac Barrow. 
 
 " Christ was appointed by God, and He Himself also undertook 
 to be our Surety. This you have in Heb. vii. 22. ' He was made 
 surety of a better Testament,' or covenant, namely, of the New. 
 .... Of this covenant Christ is the plighter of his troth for it, the 
 surety, the promiser, the undertaker. The verb this comes of 
 means to prove, which comes from the words signifying striking 
 hands, or giving one's hand as a sign of a covenant, and so to bar- 
 gain with, or make up a covenant. ' Be not thou one of them 
 that strike hands, or of them that are ^sureties, for debts' (Prov. 
 
 xxii. 26) God did, as it were, say to Christ, 'What they 
 
 owe me, I require it all of your hands ;' and Christ assented, and 
 from everlasting struck hands with God to do all for us that God 
 could require, and undertook it under the penalty that lay upon us 
 to have undergone ; yea, Christ became such a surety in this for 
 us, as is not to be found among men. On earth sureties are wont 
 to enter into one and the same bond with the debtors, so as the 
 creditor may seize on which of the two he will, whether on the 
 debtor or on the surety, and so, as usual, on the debtor first, for 
 him we call the principal ; but in His covenant, God would have 
 Christ's single bond; and hence Christ is not only called the 
 surety of the covenant, but the Covenant (Isa. xlix. 8 ; and else- 
 where). God making the covenant of grace primarily with Him, 
 and with Him as for us, thereby His single bond alone was taken 
 
 for all, that so God might be sure of satisfaction ' Thou 
 
 spakest in vision to Thy Holy One, and saidst, I have laid help on 
 one that is mighty.' As if God had said, ' I know that these will 
 fail me, and break, and never be able to satisfy me ; but you are a 
 mighty and substantial person, able to pay me, and I will look for 
 my debt of you.' " Christ set forth. Goodwin, p. 68. 
 
 " God trusted Christ before He came into the world, and saved 
 many millions of the Jews upon His bare word ; and then Christ, 
 
 at His death, trusts God again as much Yea, Christ thus 
 
 trusted God upon His single bond; but we, for our assurance, 
 have both Christ and God bound to us, even God with His surety 
 Christ; for He is God's surety, as well as ours. A double bond 
 
486 APPENDIX. 
 
 from two such persons, whom would it not secure ? If God the 
 Father and God the Son thus mutually trusted one another for our 
 salvation, whom would it not induce to trust them both for one's 
 own salvation, when, as otherwise, they must be damned that will 
 not?" Ibid., p. 16, et seq. 
 
 " Indeed, sacrifices, as they looked backward, could be no other 
 than a transcript of the agreement between the Father and the 
 Son ; of the one's paying, and the other's accepting, the price of 
 blood for the redemption of man ; and, as they looked forward, a 
 type of the. real performance of the sufferings on the one part, and 
 the acceptance of them on the other part, when the fulness of 
 time should come wherein they were actually to be undergone. 
 This tradition of sacrifices was handed down to all nations of the 
 world; but the knowledge of the end of them was lost." Christ 
 Crucified. Charnock, p. 65. 
 
 " If we consider it (*'. e., the sacrifice of Christ) simply in itself, 
 without any previous order, without any covenant struck between 
 the Father and the Son concerning it, He was not obliged to have 
 any respect to the apostate creature upon the account of it. But 
 after a covenant struck between them, wherein it was agreed that 
 Christ should lay down His soul as a ransom, and offer Himself 
 an unblemished sacrifice for the sons of men, and that he should 
 see the travail of His soul, and by His righteousness justify many, 
 after He had borne their iniquities in His own body on the tree, 
 God could not but accept it, unless He could have found a spot in 
 the offering, and charged Him with a non-performance of any 
 article covenanted between them." Ibid., p. 137. 
 
 " God promiseth to be a Father to Christ, in the same sense 
 that Christ owns Him to be His God and His Father after His 
 resurrection (John xx. 17), which respects God's relation to Him 
 as Mediator ; for as He is considered absolutely as the Son of God, 
 God could not so properly be said to be His God. The term im- 
 plies a covenant between them ; in pursuance of which Christ was 
 to be God's servant, and in acceptance of this, God was the God 
 of Christ, and promises to be his Father, manifesting His Fatherly 
 and gracious acceptance of His services, as a father doth the obedi- 
 ence of a son ; and therefore Christ pleads the righteousness of 
 God (for the obtaining the accomplishment of His grace in those 
 that believe in Him), as well as the love which God bore to Him 
 as Mediator." Ibid., p. 142. 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. 487 
 
 " This sacrifice was of infinite value, and therefore worthy of 
 the acceptance of an Infinite Nature. His person was of as great 
 a dignity as the Father's, to whom He was offered. Though there 
 be a distinction of order between the three Persons, yet not of 
 dignity. He had no peer but God, for He was equal with Him ; 
 had equalities of perfections with God ; was every way equal to the 
 party offended, so that He is called God's fellow, one of the same 
 nature with Him ; a man, as stricken by the sword, yet His fellow 
 as considered in His divine nature" (Zech. xiii. 7). Ibid., p. 176. 
 
 " Oh ! Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not be merciful to 
 Jerusalem, and ' the cities of Judah ?' And Zechariah saith, that 
 he observed that ' the Lord answered the angel with good words 
 and comfortable' (Zech. i. 13). God was fain to give him good 
 words, as we use to say, that is, words that might pacify him ; as 
 words of comfort to us, so good words in respect to the angel's 
 complaint. And you may observe how, in the answer God returns 
 upon it, which He bade Zechariah write, God excuseth it, as it 
 were, to Christ, that His Church had been so long and so hardly 
 dealt withal ; as if, beyond his intention, He lays the fault on the 
 instruments. ' I was but a little displeased, but they helped for- 
 ward the affliction' (ver. 15). This is spoken and carried after 
 the manner of men, to shew how tender God is of displeasing 
 Christ, our Intercessor ; that when Christ hath, as it were, been a 
 long while silent, and let God alone, and His people have been ill 
 dealt withal, He, on the sudden, in the end, intercedes and com- 
 plains of it ; and it is not only instantly redressed, but excused 
 for times past with good words and comfortable words. Christ's 
 Father will not displease Him, nor go against Him in anything. 
 Now, that you may see a reason of this, and have all cavils and 
 exceptions taken away that may arise against this, and how 
 that there is an impossibility that it should be otherwise, know 
 that this Father and this Son, though two Persons, have yet but 
 one will between them, and but one power between them, though 
 the Son outwardly executes all. ' My Father and I are one ' 
 (John x. 30), that is, have but one and the same power to save 
 you, and one mind and will. So also ' the Son can do nothing of 
 Himself, but what He seeth the Father do ; and whatever He 
 doeth, the same the Father doeth also' (John v. 19). They con- 
 spire in one, have one power, one will, and then it is no matter 
 though God commit all power to the Son, and that the Son, 
 
488 APPENDIX. 
 
 though He hath all power, must ask all of the Father ; for to be 
 sure, whatever He asks, the Father hath not power to deny ; for 
 they have but one will and power. They are one ; so as if God 
 deny Him, He must deny Himself, which the apostle tells us He 
 cannot do (2 Tim. ii. 13). And so in the same sense that God is 
 said not to have power to deny Himself, in the same sense it may 
 be said He hath not power to deny Christ what He asks." Christ 
 set forth, Goodwin, p. 172. 
 
 " As God could not testify His good will to man in a higher 
 manner than sending His Son to be a sacrifice for Him, so He 
 could not in a higher manner testify His delight in that sacrifice 
 than to send so great a Person as the Holy Ghost to be a solicitor 
 to men to accept it, and a Comforter to those who believe in it 
 the Third Person in the blessed Trinity to preserve the honor of 
 the oblation of the Second. God would never have been at the 
 expense of so great a gift to keep up the credit of a person and 
 sacrifice wherein He had no pleasure." Christ Crucified, Char- 
 nock, p. 172. 
 
 f " ' Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be 
 thought worthy, who hath done despite unto the spirit of grace ? ' 
 Things cannot be vexed and insulted, persons may. Hence the 
 Holy Spirit is not a thing, but a person, and therefore God. His 
 acts are in some sense distinct from those of God. ' He that search- 
 eth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because 
 He maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of 
 God.' If the Holy Spirit were the grace of God, what could in- 
 duce the apostle to declare, what none could doubt, that God knew 
 His own working in their souls ? Or to state that the Holy Spirit 
 intercedes for Christians ? that is, within them, according to God, 
 since it would be God Himself who did it ? Hence it is certain 
 that the work of the, Holy Spirit, in this passage is, in some sense, 
 distinct from the work of God ; and therefore the Holy Spirit can- 
 not mean the grace of God, or His influence, but is truly God the 
 Spirit, essentially one with the Father, but also mysteriously dis- 
 tinct." Christianity compared with Unitarianism, by the Hon. and 
 Rev. Baptist W. Noel, p. 46. 
 
 " (Christ) was the fittest, in regard of His being the Second 
 Person in the Trinity. It was not fit the Father should suffer ; 
 He is regarded as the Governor of the world : who should then 
 have been Judge of the satisfaction, whether it had been sufficient 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. 489 
 
 or no ? Was it fit the Father should have appeared before the 
 tribunal of the Son ? Nor was it so fit that the Spirit of God 
 should undertake it ; because, as there was a necessity of satisfac- 
 tion to content the justice of God, so there was a necessity of 
 applying this satisfaction, and quickening the hearts of men to 
 believe and accept it, that they might enjoy the fruits of this 
 sacrifice. The order of the Three Persons had then been disturbed ; 
 and that Person, whereby the Father and the Son execute all 
 other things, had changed his operation." ClirisVs death, Char- 
 nock, p. 78- 
 
 " Christ is a Person in the Godhead distinct from the Father, 
 ' Advocate with the Father ; ; the Father and the Advocate are 
 here distinct ; a Judge and an Advocate are different persons, have 
 different offices, are exercised in different acts. The Father is 
 considered as the governor, and the .Advocate, as a pleader." 
 Ibid., p. 222. 
 
 " In His incarnation, He came from the Father to acquaint us 
 with His gracious purposes, and how far He had agreed with God 
 on our behalf; and at His ascension, He went from us to the 
 Father, to sue out the benefits He had so dearly purchased. He 
 drew up an answer upon the cross, to the bill, that sin by virtue 
 of the law had drawn against us ; and ascended to heaven, as an 
 Advocate, to plead that answer upon His throne, and rejoin to all 
 
 the replies against it When His offering was accepted, He 
 
 went to heaven to the supreme Judge, to improve this acceptation 
 of His sacrifice, by a negociation which holds and continues to 
 this day. Christ is entered into heaven." Ibid., p. 227. 
 
 *' Q. Whither did our Saviour ascend? 
 
 "A. Into the heaven of heavens, the presence of God; where 
 His human nature is seated far above all Angels and Arch- 
 angels, all principalities and powers ; even at the right hand of 
 God. 
 
 " Q. What mean you by His sitting at the right hand of God? 
 
 " A. The advancement of His human nature to the height of 
 dignity and authority in the presence of God; the right hand 
 being esteemed the place of greatest honor and favor. Or it 
 may import His sitting in His human shape on the right hand, or 
 that bright form or resplendent glory which visibly accompanies 
 and manifests some extraordinary presence of God; the usual 
 symbol of His power and majesty, which was probably what St. 
 
 Y3 
 
490 APPENDIX. 
 
 Stephen seems to have seen, when he beheld the glory of God, 
 and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 
 
 " Q. What are we obliged to believe concerning our Saviour's 
 Ascension ? 
 
 " A. That the only begotten and eternal Son of God, after He rose 
 from the dead, did, with the same soul and body with which He 
 rose, by a true and local translation, convey Himself from the 
 earth on which He lived, through all the regions of the air, 
 through all the celestial orbs, until He came unto the heaven of 
 heavens, the most glorious presence of the majesty of God. 
 
 "Q. What benefit do we particularly receive from Christ's exal- 
 tation in Heaven ? 
 
 " A. The great advantage of His Intercession for us at the right 
 hand of God, where He is a perpetual Patron and Advocate in our 
 behalf, to plead our cause, to solicit our concernments, to represent 
 our wants, and to offer up our prayers and requests to God, by 
 virtue of His meritorious sacrifice. So that the true penitent may 
 expect forgiveness ; the weak but sincere Christian strength and 
 assistance, having so powerful a Mediator with the Father. Those 
 that suffer and are persecuted, may depend upon their High Priest 
 for comfort and support ; since He is touched with a sense of our 
 infirmities. And all may come boldly to the throne of grace, to 
 obtain mercy and help in time of need ; because our prayers are 
 offered to God by so powerful and prevalent a hand." Nelson's 
 Fasts and Festivals. Ascension. 
 
 '"At that day, 7 says Christ, ' you shall ask in my name ; and I 
 say not to you that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father 
 Himself loveth you' (John xvi. 26, 27). . . . Now of that time 
 when He shall be in heaven, He says, ' I say not that I will pray 
 for you,' which is not meant, that Christ prays not for us in hea- 
 ven ; but rather those very words are the highest intimation that 
 He would and doth pray for us, that can be. When men would 
 most strongly intimate their purpose of a kindness they meant to 
 do for one, they use to say, ' I do not say that I love you, or, that 
 I will do this or that for you;' which is as much as to say, I will 
 surely do it, and do it to purpose." Christ Set Forth, Goodwin, 
 p. 180. 
 
 " It is such a speech as men use, when they would express the 
 greatest reason that another hath to rest confident and assured of 
 their love. ' I do not love you ; no, not I.' It is an expressing 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. ^491 
 
 a thing by its contrary, which is most emphatical! As when a man 
 hath the greatest good turn done him that can be, we use to say, 
 * You are shrewdly hurt.' It is such an expression as Paul used 
 to the Corinthians : ' I converted your souls when you thought not 
 of it ; I caught you with guile ; forgive me this wrong.' So says 
 Christ here, ' I say not that I will pray for you ;' when the truth 
 is, that it is the chief work which He doth in heaven ; ' He liveth 
 ever to intercede ; as He ever lives, so to intercede ever, and never 
 to hold His peace, till sinners are saved.' " Ibid., p. 223. 
 
 " Now to raise up our apprehensions, how potent and prevalent 
 this intercession of Christ must needs be ; let us consider both the 
 Person interceding, namely, Christ, and the Person with whom 
 Christ intercedes for this favor, which is God; the one, the Son; 
 the other, the Father ; and so the greatness of Christ with God, 
 and the graciousness of God to Christ, together with the oneness 
 of wills and unity of affections in them both. So that Christ will 
 be sure to ask nothing which His Father will deny; and His 
 Father will not deny anything which He shall ask." Ibid., p. 150. 
 
 " All matters of Intercession are carried, we know, by way of 
 favor ; and therefore look how prevalent, in a way of merit, His 
 being God makes His death in its kind, no less prevalent doth His 
 being the Son of God make His intercession in its kind ; namely, 
 in a way of obtaining grace and mercy ; yea, so prevalent of 
 itself it is, that we might build upon it alone, even as much as 
 upon His death. And, indeed, Christ intercedes, not only in the 
 virtue and strength of His satisfaction (though in that also), and 
 of His obedience to His Father ; but also, in the strength of His 
 relation as a Son, who pleads His own grace and interest in God, 
 as He is His Son ; which is a consideration that doth always 
 actually exist and abide. Whereas His obedience, though perfect, 
 was but once offered up, and its existence is but virtual ; but He 
 continues a Son for ever, not virtually only, but actually." .... 
 Ibid., p. 153. 
 
 " And how effectual must the Intercession of such a Son be, 
 who is so great a Son of so great a Father ; equal with Him, and 
 the express image of His person ! Never any son so like, and in 
 so peculiar a transcendent manner a son ; as the relation of son- 
 ship among men, is but a shadow of it. Christ is one with the 
 Father, as Himself often speaks ; and, therefore, if His Father 
 should deny Him anything, He should then cease to be one with 
 
492 APPENDIX. 
 
 Him ; He must then deny Himself, which God can never do. 7 ' 
 Ibid., p. 154. 
 
 " The Spirit is an Advocate to indite our petitions, and Christ is 
 an Advocate to present them. Some distinguish them, that Christ 
 is an Advocate by way of office, and the Spirit by way of assist- 
 ance ; but certainly, the Spirit is an Advocate by way of office to 
 counsel us, as Christ is an Advocate by way of office to plead for 
 us ; and the Spirit is as much sent to do the one in our hearts as 
 Christ was called back to heaven to do the other for our persons. 
 The Spirit is an Intercessor on earth, and Christ is an Intercessor 
 in heaven. Again, as there are two courts we are summoned to 
 appear in, the court of the Supreme Judge and the court of the 
 Judge's deputy, our own consciences: Christ clears us by His 
 plea at God's bar, and sets us right with the offended Father ; the 
 Spirit, as Christ's deputy, being sent in His name, clears us at the 
 bar of our own consciences. Christ answers the charge of the 
 law, in the court of God's justice, and the Spirit answers the 
 accusation of sin, in the court of God's deputy; the one pleads for 
 our discharge above, the other pleads for our peace below, and the 
 voice of God's spirit is as mighty in us as the voice of Christ's 
 blood is mighty for us." Christ's Death, etc., Charnock, p. 230. 
 
 " (The petition of Christ) is in the nature of a claim and de- 
 mand. It is not a petition for that which is at the liberty of the 
 petitioned person to grant or refuse ; but for that which the peti- 
 tioner has a right to by way of purchase, and the person petitioned 
 to cannot in justice deny. An Advocate is an officer in a court of 
 judicature, demanding audience and sentence in a judicial way ; 
 so that this Intercession of Christ is not a bare precarious Interces- 
 sion ; for as, when He was in the world, ' He taught as one having 
 authority, and not as the scribes ' (Matt. vii. 29) : so in heaven, 
 He intercedes as one having authority, by virtue of His media- 
 torial power, and not as an ordinary supplicant. He hath a right 
 to demand ; on earth, indeed, He had only promises of assistance 
 to put in suit ; but in heaven He pleads the conditions performed 
 on His part, upon which the promises made to Christ become due 
 to Him. It is now, ' Father, I have glorified Thee upon the 
 earth, now glorify me with Thy own self (John xvii. 4, 5). He 
 pleads for His people as they are the gift of His Father, and as 
 they have received His words (v. 8). He pleads His own com- 
 mission as one sent (v. 23). He reminds the Father of the cove- 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. 493 
 
 nant between them both, as God gave Him a command what He 
 should do in the world ; which was no other than an injunction to 
 perform those conditions which had been agreed upon, and that 
 will of God, expressed in the covenant of redemption, which is 
 called the will of God (Heb. x. 7). Christ, having done this will, 
 mediates for the performance of the conditions God was bound to 
 by this covenant ; and claims the performance of them as a debt 
 due to His meritorious obedience on the cross ; so that it is not a 
 desire only in a way of charity, but a claim in a way of justice, 
 by virtue of meriting ; and a demand of the performance of the 
 promise." Ibid., p. 252. 
 
 " ' He sat down, expecting till His enemies be made His foot- 
 stool ' (Heb. x. 13) expecting the full fruits of that sacrifice, in 
 the complete subjection of His enemies ; and, consequently, the 
 full felicity of Himself and His Friends; and all this time of 
 expectation, He is suing out the promise of God to Him, asking 
 that inheritance which was assured Him in the covenant between 
 them (Psalm ii. 8). This is the reason of His sitting down for 
 ever, to exercise His priesthood for ever, in the presence of the 
 King and Judge of all the earth. He is always in the presence 
 of His Father, in the dignity of His person, and fulness of His 
 merit, continually spreading every part of His meritorious sacri- 
 fice in the view of God. The High Priest entered into the Holy 
 of Holies but once a year ; but this High Priest sits for ever in 
 the court, in a perpetual exercise of His function, both as a Priest 
 and a sacrifice. And since His own sacrifice for sins offered on 
 earth, was sufficient, He had nothing to do perpetually in heaven, 
 but to sprinkle the blood of that sacrifice upon the mercy seat. 
 He is never out of the presence of God ; and the infiniteness 
 of His compassions may hinder us from imagining a silence in 
 Him, when any accusations are brought in against us. The accu- 
 sations might succeed well, were He out of the way ; but, being 
 always present, He is always active in His solicitations; no 
 clamor can come against us, but He hears it, as being on the 
 right hand of His Father ; and appears as our Attorney there, in 
 the presence of God, to answer it, as the high priest appeared in 
 the holy of holies for all the people." Ibid., p. 262. 
 
 "If we have Him and his favor, we may be sure that we have 
 the favor of God by His means. For He sitteth on the right 
 hand of God His Father, as our Proctor and Attorney ; pleading 
 
494 APPENDIX. 
 
 and suing for us, in all our needs and necessities." Homilies, 
 Sermon on Good Friday. 
 
 " If any man sin, it implies, that every man ought to make re- 
 flections on his conscience, lament his condition, turn his eye to 
 his great Advocate, acquaint him with his state, and entertain 
 him afresh in his cause. Though He lives for ever to make inter- 
 cession, it is only for those who come to God by Him as their 
 Agent and Solicitor ; for those who come to the Judge, but first 
 come to Him as their Attorney." Christ's Death. Charnock, 219. 
 
 " He manages not an Intercession merely in a way of charity; 
 but in a way of authority, as a person entrusted by God, and dig- 
 nified to this end ; not only as our friend, but as a divine officer ; 
 as an Attorney may manage the suit of his kinsman, not only as 
 being related to his client, but as being admitted by the court into 
 such an office. Christ is not only admitted as one of kin to us, 
 but commissioned as Mediator for us." Christ's Death. Char- 
 nock, 231. 
 
 f " It is His propitiation that He pleads. And we might be apt 
 to suppose that His blood had lost its value and efficacy, were no 
 mention made of it in heaven since the time it was shed. But 
 now we see that it is of esteem there ; since it is continually re- 
 presented in the intercession of the Great Advocate, the Attorney- 
 General for the church of God."* Matthew Henry's Comments. 
 1 John ii. 1. 
 
 * Bishops Beveridge, Reynolds, Pearson, Archbishop Tillotson, 
 also Drs. Barrow, Hammond, etc., take fundamentally the same 
 view of the subject; although some of them do not enter into 
 the particulars supplied by others. A few, after following out 
 the details in the lowest and most literal sense, appear to have 
 occasionally some misgivings, as to whether it is possible that such 
 things can be. Of these Bishop Beveridge appears to^ be one 
 who, in his Sermon on Christ's Ascension, after describing the 
 office of Intercession in the usual manner, observes, " We must not 
 think that He makes any solemn prayers to His Father, as we do, 
 or, at least, ought to do. No ; whatsoever He would have, He 
 only actually wills it should be so, and immediately it is just so as 
 He would have it." Still, however, by this observation, the pious 
 and learned prelate seems to mean no more than that our Saviour's 
 prayers to the Father in heaven, are like the one He offered up on 
 the earth. " Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given 
 me, be with me where I am," etc. Indeed this is the explanation 
 the Bishop afterwards gives. Unfortunately, however, many a 
 learned Commentator will not allow of it ; insisting it seems, for 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. 495 
 
 " He intercedes for nothing but what He knows the Father 
 wills. What He did on earth was not without, but with, His 
 Father's will ; what He doth in heaven, hath the same rule. As 
 they were joined in the counsel of reconciliation and peace which 
 was 'between them both ' (Zech. vi. 13), so they are joined in the 
 counsel of Advocacy and Intercession which is between them both ; 
 the one as the Director, the other as the Solicitor. Their wills are 
 in the highest manner conformable to one another, and the will of 
 the Father as much known by the soul of Christ in heaven, as it 
 was on earth. He asks nothing, but He first reads in the copy of 
 His Father's instructions, and considers what His will was. He 
 reads over the annals of His Father's decrees and records ; He 
 doth nothing but what He sees the Father do ; He takes the copy 
 of all from His Father ; and whatsoever Christ doth, the same 
 doth the Father also. They have but one will in the whole current 
 of redemption ; so that He can plead nothing in regard of the 
 persons for whom He appears, and the good things He desires for 
 them, but it is according to the will of God. ... If He gives 
 blessings for the glory of His Father, He then, in His suit, urgeth 
 the glory of His Father as an argument to obtain them. God 
 must, then, be an enemy to His own glory, if He be deaf to His 
 Son's suit; and since the Advocate's plea is suitable to the Father's 
 will, He cannot reject the will of His Son, without offering vio- 
 lence to His own will. They are both one in will, and one in 
 affection. His human will cannot desire anything in opposition 
 to the Divine."* Christ' 's Death. Charnock, p. 278. 
 
 various reasons, upon prayers and entreaties, though tacit, such as 
 Christians commonly offer up. Hence some maintain that, when 
 our Saviour says, " Father, I will that they also whom thou hast 
 
 fiven me, be with me where I am," the expression I will means 
 wish, I implore, etc. This is the meaning attached to the word 
 in Parkhurst's Lexicon : as also in Bloomfield's Synopsis, where 
 any other meaning than that of petition or supplication is treated 
 as absurd. Others, like Reach, give, as will be seen, a different 
 turn to the passage ; but in both cases, the reader is thrown back 
 upon those popular views of Intercession and Mediation, which are 
 described above ; because the Mediation or Intercession going on 
 in Heaven, they conceive to be of the same nature with that which 
 took place on earth ; with this additional advantage, that Christ, 
 in Heaven, can more effectually plead his own merits. 
 
 * The following are extracts from Keach's Metaphors, on The 
 Office of Christ, as an Advocate. (Articles 11 14, 17, 18, 21, 23, 
 27.) "An Advocate usually speaks comfort to his client, especially 
 
496 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 " His advocacy for us is a confession of our interest in Him, our 
 owning of Him ; by virtue of which confession or claim, we are 
 set right in the court of God, as those for whom He hath shed His 
 blood. This intercessory demand or asking, is accompanied with 
 
 if the cause will bear it. Jesus Christ outdoes all advocates under 
 heaven, in all things ; for He speaks so as never man spake like 
 Him. He bids them ask what they will, and He will do it for 
 them. Ask and it shall be done, that your joy may be full. An 
 Advocate can use freedom of speech, and speaks boldly to the 
 Judge ; Christ most fully answers to this where he saith, ' Father, 
 I will that those whom thou hast given me, be with me where I 
 am, that they may behold my glory.' An Advocate knows the 
 fittest time to manage business ; and everything is beautiful in 
 its season. The Lord Jesus knows the fittest time to manage 
 business on the behalf of souls ; there is an acceptable time for 
 Him to be heard, and to do His work. When Satan tempts, when 
 he desires to sift, when he accuses to God, as in the case of Job, 
 when provocation is given, and the enemy lays siege against the 
 soul, then is a fit time for our Advocate to work ; this, Christ is 
 well acquainted with, etc. An Advocate hath the Judge's ear more 
 than those that are but standers by, that may be somewhat con- 
 cerned in a cause ; but the Judge listens to him, because he ex- 
 pects him to speak to the purpose, who hath authority so to do. 
 Christ hath the ear of the heavenly Judge, because he always 
 speaks to the very life of the cause. He was heard in all things, 
 and at all times : ' I know that thou hearest me always.' He only 
 is authorized to plead for poor sinners. An Advocate is much 
 honored by the Judge in all his replies ; sometimes gives him the 
 title of brother. Christ is very much honored by God, He calls 
 Him His fellow, and will have all men honor the Son even as 
 they honor the Father. An Advocate knows much of the Judge's 
 mind, being skilled in all the rules that he judgeth by ; and is well 
 acquainted with his nature and disposition. Jesus Christ knows 
 much of the mind of God ; ' being always by Him, and as one 
 brought up with Him,' etc. (Prov. viii.) An able Advocate doth, 
 and that not seldom, carry causes that are very doubtful to others ; 
 Christ did frequently, when on earth, and doth, since his depar- 
 ture into heaven, carry causes doubtful to others. He carried the 
 cause in a great trial against Satan, who had made strong attempts 
 against Him, after He had fasted forty days, etc.- A good Advo- 
 cate is always very diligent, and mindful of his client's concerns. 
 Christ is very diligent, never guilty of any neglect in acting for 
 His people ; He went about doing good, pleaded often ; pleaded 
 strongly with crying and tears / used mighty and prevailing argu- 
 ments with God, on the behalf of His flock on earth ; pleads for 
 great things for them, etc. A wise and honorable Advocate lieth 
 fair for preferment, i.e., in some space of time to be a Judge Him- 
 self, when His work and business of advocacy ceaseth. The Lord 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. 497 
 
 the presenting the memorials of His death. It is a commemora- 
 tion of the sacrifice which He offered on earth for our expiation ; 
 and the whole power of Intercession, with the prevalence of it, is 
 wholly upon this foundation ; it is a presenting the efficacy of 
 His death, the virtue of His blood, the pleasure of God in the 
 sacrifice offered by Him. It is by the displaying the whole merit 
 of His passion, that He doth solicit for us. Intercession is not 
 properly a sacerdotal act, without respect to the sacrifice. It was 
 with the blood of the sacrifice, that the high priest was to enter 
 into the Holy of Holies, and sprinkle it there. The same blood that 
 had been shed without, on the day of expiation, was to be carried 
 within, the veil. What was done typically, Christ doth really ; 
 first give Himself a sacrifice, and then present Himself as the 
 sacrifice for us. The Apostle shews us the manner of it (Heb. 
 xii. 24). The blood of Christ is a speaking blood, as well as the 
 blood of Abel. It speaks in the same manner as Abel's blood did; 
 though not for the same end. As the blood of Abel presenting 
 itself before the eyes of God, was as powerful to draw down the 
 vengeance of God, as if it had uttered a cry so loud as to reach to 
 heaven ; so the blood of Christ, being presented before the throne 
 of God, powerfully excites the favor of God, by the loudness of 
 its cry. He speaks by His blood, and His blood speaks by its 
 merit. The petitions of his lips had done us no good, without the 
 voice of His blood. He stands as a lamb slain, when He presents 
 the prayers of the saints (Rev. v. 6, 8), with His bleeding wounds 
 open, as so many mouths full of pleas for us ;* and every one of 
 
 Jesus is the wisest and most honorable Advocate that ever was, 
 and therefore, is the undoubted heir to preferment, yea, to the 
 greatest of preferments ; He being appointed the Judge of all the 
 world, by a former and unutterable decree ; ' Him hath God or- 
 dained to be judge of the quick and the dead,' " etc. 
 
 * In Scott's Christian Life, which is I believe a popular work, 
 and a reprint of which, with the rest of his works, issued from the 
 Clarendon Press, at Oxford, in the year 1826, the same idea is en- 
 larged upon ; and in the Chapter on the Intercession of Christ, the 
 whole process is explained with the same degree of minuteness as 
 that which is exemplified in these extracts. The chapter is divided 
 as follows. " First The Intercession and Advocation of Christ in 
 heaven, is a solemn address of our blessed Saviour to God the 
 Father in our behalf. Secondly, this address is performed by the 
 presenting His sacrificed body to the Father in heaven. Thirdly, 
 it is continued and perpetuated, by the perpetual oblation, or pre- 
 senting of this His sacrificed body. Fourthly, in virtue of this 
 
498 APPENDIX. 
 
 them is the memorial and mark of the things which He suffered, 
 and for what end He suffered them ; as the wounds of a soldier, 
 received in the defence, and for the honor of his country, dis- 
 played to persons sensible of them, are the loudest and best pleas 
 for the grant of his request. If the party-colored rainbow, being 
 looked upon by God, reminds Him of His covenant not to destroy 
 the world again by a deluge (Gen. ix. 14, 16); much more are the 
 wounds which Christ bears both in his hands, feet, and side, re- 
 membrances to Him of the covenant of grace, made with repent- 
 ing and believing sinners. The look of God upon those wounds, 
 whereby so great an oblation is remembered, doth as efficaciously 
 move Him to look kindly upon us, as the look upon the rainbow 
 disposeth Him to the continuance of the world. If our Saviour 
 had not a mouth to speak, He hath blood to plead ; and His blood 
 cries louder in heaven for us, than His voice did in any of the 
 prayers He uttered upon earth ; for by this, His performance of 
 the articles on His part is manifested, and the performance of the 
 promises on God's part solicited; when He sees what the Kedeemer 
 hath done, He reflects upon what He Himself is to do ; the blood 
 of Christ speaks the tenor of the covenant of Redemption made 
 with Christ on behalf of sinners." Ibid., 254. 
 
 " As therefore He is entered into heaven, sat down at the right 
 hand of God, and has maintained the plea of His sacrifice for so 
 many hundred years since He first entered His suit, it is a proof 
 that the pleading His death, and the sight of His sacrificed body, 
 is not wearisome and distasteful to God. It is not like a carcase 
 that He desires to be buried out of His sight. He joyfully hears 
 the voice of His blood sounding in His ears to this moment. Well, 
 therefore, might the apostle, upon this account, make so great a 
 challenge to all, ' Who is He that condemneth ? It is Christ that 
 died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand 
 of God, who also maketh intercession for us ' (Rom. viii. 33, 34). 
 Christ by His death appeased the wrath of God ; by His resurrec- 
 tion He was acquitted by the justice of God ; by His ascension 
 He took possession of His regal throne ; by His sitting at the 
 right hand of God, He prevalently pleads His sacrifice for the ends 
 
 perpetual oblation, He doth always successfully move and solicit 
 God : and this, first to receive and graciously accept our sincere 
 and hearty prayer ; and secondly, to empower Him to bestow on 
 us all those graces and favors, which, in consideration of His 
 sacrifice, God hath promised to us." 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. 499 
 
 for which it was offered ; and by His spirit applies His blood to 
 them that believe in His." Christ Crucified. Charnock, p, 157. 
 
 " He understands our cause ; He understands the law according 
 to which He is to plead the articles of agreement between the 
 Father and Himself; and He understands the fulness and redun- 
 dancy of His own merit. He uses arguments proper to the cause 
 He pleads, and drawn from the nature of the person He applies 
 Himself to. When He meets with the church in weakness and 
 distress by potent adversaries, and would have the Jews delivered, 
 and the temple rebuilt, He solicits God as the Lord of Hosts 
 (Zech. i. 12). When He finds His people in danger of sin and 
 temptation, He petitions God under the title of Holy (John xvii. 
 11). When He would have promises performed to them, He ap- 
 peals to the righteousness of the Father (John xvii. 25), it being 
 part of His righteousness to fulfil that word which He hath passed, 
 and make good the grant which so great a Eedeemer merited. He 
 pleads the respects He had to the Divine will in the exercise of 
 every part of his office, both of Priest and Prophet (Psalm xl. 9, 
 10), (a prophetic psalm of Christ). ' I have not hid Thy righteous- 
 ness within my heart, I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy 
 salvation, I have not concealed Thy loving kindnesses and Thy 
 truth from the great congregation.' The adding thy to every one 
 of them is emphatical : it was Thy righteousness I had commission 
 to declare, Thy faithfulness I had order to proclaim, Thy mercy I 
 had a charge to publish ; Thou wert as much interested in all that 
 I did, as I myself was. I shall be counted false and a liar, Thou 
 wilt be counted unjust and cruel, if all be not fulfilled as I have 
 spoken ; since it was Thy rule I observed, and Thy glory I aimed 
 at in declaring it. Disgrace not Thyself and Me in refusing the 
 petition of such a supplicant, who believes in My word which I 
 gave out by Thy authority. Surely as Christ observed the will of 
 God upon earth, so He is wise to intercede for nothing but accord- 
 ing to those rules He observed in His humiliation, which was 
 whatsoever might honor and manifest the righteousness, faithful- 
 ness, salvation, truth, and loving-kindness of the Father. This is 
 a part of His wisdom, to plead for nothing but for what He hath 
 the nature of God to subscribe to His petitions, and back Him in 
 them. It is not for the honor of an Advocate to undertake a 
 cause he cannot bring to pass ; nor will any wise man engage in 
 a suit which he hath not some strong probability to effect. Our 
 
500 APPENDIX. 
 
 Lord, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, 
 stands more upon His honor than to undertake a cause He cannot 
 accomplish."* Christ' >s Death. Charnock, p. 234. 
 
 Not only however is Christ an Intercessor for us, but it appears 
 that we are also sometimes Intercessors for Christ. I quote from 
 the Eighth Edition of Family Prayers by a clergyman of the Church 
 of England. Rev. T. Cotterill, Fellow of St. John's, Cambridge. 
 
 f " Pardon us, therefore, Lord, according to the multitude of 
 Thy mercies. Have regard unto Him who knew no sin, and was 
 made a sin-offering for us, that we might be made Thy righteous- 
 ness in Him. Look upon Jesus, the Son of David, the Son of thy 
 love. Lord, remember Him and all His troubles. Eemember His 
 offering, and accept His sacrifice. Turn not away the face of 
 Thine Anointed, who, by His own blood, is entered into heaven 
 itself, and now appeareth in Thy presence for us. Hear us, we 
 pray Thee, for His sake, and for the glory of Thy name." 
 
 * The works of Goodwin and Charnock, from which these ex- 
 tracts are taken, are circulated by the Religious Tract Society, 
 who have established district libraries all over the kingdom, and 
 in many of the Colonies. To shew the high opinion which they 
 entertain of these doctrines, it may be observed that, in the ad- 
 dress of the Committee as published in the Report for the Year 
 1837, the nature and qualities of the Tracts are thus alluded to: 
 " They should consist of pure truth" .... " uncontaminated with 
 error, undisturbed with human systems, clear as crystal, like the 
 Kiver of Life." . . . . " Here should be seen nothing but Divine 
 Truth, unmingled, unadulterated, pure as it came from heaven, 
 and fit for the whole human race to imbibe." " By pure truth," is 
 meant " those Evangelical Principles of the Reformation in which 
 Luther, Calvin, and Cranmer were agreed, and that system of doc- 
 trine and Scriptural interpretation which is comprised in the Har- 
 mony of the Confessions of the Reformed Churches, both at home 
 and abroad." .... Among the Committee, it is said, " There has 
 been such a perfect understanding of these principles, as they re- 
 late to the doctrinal sentiments, and the bond of union which con- 
 nect the members of this institution in affection and in exertion, 
 that these endeavors have been easy to themselves, and have 
 been acknowledged to be satisfactory to the Society at large." I 
 will here only add, that I have not availed myself of all the illus- 
 trations of the doctrine of the Trinity and Atonement which the 
 Society have circulated as " pure truth," uncontaminated with 
 error, " clear as crystal," and " fit for the whole human race to 
 imbibe." More might have been added ; but some of my readers 
 may think perhaps that enough has been given, and others, per- 
 haps, too much. 
 
TRINITY, ATONEMENT, INTERCESSION, ETC. 501 
 
 Page 126. On this subject see the works of Jeremy Taylor, 
 vol. vi., p. 394. Sermon preached to the University of Dublin. 
 
 Page 167. Dr. Wordsworth, in order to shew that the Apoca- 
 lypse does not refer us to anything new, but counsels us to main- 
 tain what is old, quotes Rev. ii. 10 ; ii. 4, 5 ; iii. 2, 3. 11 ; but how 
 these passages prove it I am at a loss to conceive. On Apoc. ii. 25 
 he quotes Bede as saying, " Beware of false prophets ; for I do 
 not communicate to you any new doctrine; but that which ye have 
 received, retain unto the end :" that is to say ; if they did this, 
 instead of receiving new light from false prophets, they would 
 receive it from the Lord himself, as being the Morning Star. 
 
 Page 225. See here Arcana Ccelestia, art. 5688. 
 
 The words, "literally partakers of the Divine nature," will be 
 incorrect unless understood according to Swedenborg's Doctrine 
 of Degrees. 
 
 Page 273. " Who knoweth the spirit of a man," etc. The 
 answer of Bishop Law here quoted, is one of two which he offers, 
 according as the question is interpreted. 
 
 Page 292. " Who can fathom the melancholy tidings commu- 
 nicated to us by the everlasting yawn of the Grave ?" These are 
 the words of Mr. Gilfillan in his Christianity and our Era, p. 396. 
 The asterisk and Note ought to be transferred to the words Ee- 
 surrection of the Body, in the last line of p. 291. 
 
 Page 439. " Swedenborg never professed his Visions to be 
 presented to the bodily eye," etc. Of course we are speaking of 
 the time from which he commenced his Theological writings (or 
 the First Volume of the Arcana], as it is these writings which are 
 called in question. It was with the Arcana that he commenced 
 his office as one commissioned to instruct the Church ; as such, 
 the personal history of his life antecedent to this, however inter- 
 esting in itself, is, in relation to the general argument, a very 
 subordinate subject ; altogether distinct from that of the truth of 
 the theological principles to which we have referred principles 
 which rest entirely upon their own basis, and the truth of which 
 has been the only question at issue. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 8, fifth line from the bottom, erase the words " the Eighth of" 
 
 Page 57, fifth line from the top, before the word That, insert the words " Sweden- 
 
 borg further observes." 
 Page 85, fifth line from the top, for " the Man Jesus Christ," read "the Person of 
 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 Page 86, sixth line from the bottom, for "find no," read " find that there is no." 
 Page 97, nineteenth line from the top, for " to shew him," read " shews him." 
 Page 132, first line, for " conceived by," read " conceived by us." 
 Page 143, ten lines from the bottom, after the word " Nature," insert " and the 
 
 Almighty Power exerted in the Creation and Government of the World." 
 Page 172, seventh line from the top, for " Paradisaical," read " Paradisiacal." 
 Page 249, fourth line from the bottom, for " no," read " not." 
 Page 261, fifth line from the top ; also in several other passages, for' t Bolinbroke," 
 
 read " JBolingbrohe." 
 Page 285, ninth line from the top, for "in this respect only, the," read "in this 
 
 respect, only the." 
 
 Page 382, twelve lines from the bottom, for " mode by," read " mode in." 
 Page 448, note, insert Analogy before " chap, iii." 
 
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