Margaret Hiller RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY UNITED Boston 1817 Second Edition Oliver Prescott Hiller London 1856

8/6/2019 Margaret Hiller RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY UNITED Boston 1817 Second Edition Oliver Prescott Hiller London 1856

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RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

UNITED:OR ,

AN ATTEMPT TO SHOW THAT PHlLOSOPIDCAL PRINCIPLES

UE AT THE FOUNDATION OF THE

NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH.

~ ' d ( , ~MftS._ M. H. PRESCOTT.

""""

SE(.'OND EDITION.

W I T H A M E M O I R O F T H E A U T H O R ,

BY B E R SON,

REV. 0, PRESCOTT BILLER."

LONDON:

W I L L I A M WHITE, 36, BLOOMSBURY STREET.

BOSTON: OTIS CLAPP, 3, BEACON STREET.

1856.


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THE GIFT OF

OLIVER PRESCOTT HILLER

OF LONDON

~ H A R V A R DC O L L E G E L I B R A

Cooglc


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HARVARD CUL LEGE L1IlHlIl1

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G L A S G O W :

P R t N T E D DY BEJ.L AN D BAIN.

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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

THE first edition of the following little work was

published at Boston, United States, in the year

1817, and has been long out ofprint. On arrivingin this country, l was gratified at finding copies in

the libraries of several English N ewchurchmen, one

of whom was the late Mr. Noble. The name ofthe author was not, however, generall:r known, as

i t was not affixed ta the original edition. A pos

sessor of one of the copies, a Minister of the Church,

on leaTning that the work wa.s by my mother,warmly urged me to re-publish it. The idea had pre

viously oeeurred ta myself, but wa.s mueh strength-

ened by a recommendation from sueh a quarter.l felt, moreover, in a manner, eonstrained by a

sense of filial dut y, ta undertake i t ; and l mayfrankly add, that, after a careful penlsal of the

work in my Inature years, its intrinsie value seemed

to me a sufficient reason for iu. re-publication. It.

i l Dot, perhaps, becoming in llo son ta speak too


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iv PREFACE.

strongly in this regard; yet, when, in particular, the

period of its publication is considered, i t will, 1think, be pronounced a work of more than ordinary

literary merit. A t that time, few, comparatively,

of the collateral wOl'ks of the Church had been

published. Mr. Noble's "Appeal" and other excellent

works had not yet appeared; and, in America, sofar as 1 am aware, nothing whatever of the kindhall been written. So that this l it tle work stands

among the very beginnings of New Church litera-

ture, and from that circumstance alone possesses a

certain value, which will be enhanced with the

progress of time. I t may be added, that the fact

of a work of this philosophical and abstract cha-

racter being written by a lady, is a circumstance

which tends also to invest i t with more than a

common interest. The attempt itself at the pro-

duction of such a work, is pl'oof of a high degree ofelevation of intellect and power of abstract thought;

and the execution of the plan be not found com-

mensurate with i ts conception, the writer has herself

furnished the apology. N ear the close of the work,

shehas the

followingremark : - " In

mankind,the

particular receptacle for the light of divine truth is

the understanding, 'and that for the heat of divine

love is the will; 80 , the male is formed to excel

his panner in the department of the understanding,


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PREFACE. v

ami consequent reception of divine wisdom; and

the female to be distinguished by the predominance

of the love of wisdom as existing in the male. Thus,i f the writer has herein given but an obscure and

very imperfect sketch of the philosophical princi-

pIes, which form the basis of a glorious system of

divine t ru th , - i t is, that its heavenly image basbean received in the warmth o f the heart rather than

in the light of the understanding; and that, to be

fully illustrated, i t must be transfused from the

feminine heart into the masculine understanding,

thence to be made manifest in the light of truewisd "mo

In the present edition, a slight change has been

made in the arrangement of the Chapters,-what

were originally a "Preface" and an "Introduction"

being taken into the body of the work, and headed

Chapters 1. and II. With these exceptions, and an

occasional verbal correction, the work remains as

originally published.O. P. H.

UL.UGOW, N ~ 4, 18li6.


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CONTENTS.

M E M O I R O F MRS. PRESCOTT

CHAPTER J.

I ~ R O D U C T O R Y

9

21

CHAPTER II.

E N D E AV O U R I N G TO PROVE THREE PROPOSITIONS 29

CHAPTER III .

ON T H E P HI LO S OP HI CA L P RI NC IP L ES IN GENERAL,

U N F O L D E D IN THE SYSTEM OF SWEDENBORG 38

CHAPTER IV.

ON T H E PRINCIPLE OF SPHERES, AS UNFOLDED IN

T H E COMMUNICATIONS OF SWEDENBORG 43

CHAPTER V.

ON T H E PRINCIPLE OF DEGREES, AS COMMU1!lI-

C A T E D B Y THE SAME FAITHFUL MESSENGER 49

CDAPTER VI .

ON T H E PRINCIPLE OF CORBESPONDENCE, AS

D E V E L O P E D BY THE SAME 56


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MEMOIR OF MRS. PRES COTI.

MRs. MARGARET HILLER PRESCO'IT was a daughterof Major Joseph Hiller, of Salem, Massachusetts.

The fa.mily came originally from the town of

Watford in Hertfordshire, England, whence an

ancestor, Joseph Hiller, emigrated to America, inthe year 1677, and settled Ilot Boston. The fatherof the subject of this sketch removed, early in life,to Salem, where he married Mu.rgaret Cleveland.

Six children were born to them, five daughters anda son : -Margaret was the third child.

8 he was born in July, 1775, in the State of Connecticut, whither her mother had retired from the

dangers of the Revolutionary War, then just commencing.

From her earliest childhood, Mrs. Prescott was remarkable for her feelings of piety and habits of

devotion. She would go alone through storms to

church on the Sabbath, rather than millS the servicesof public worship. She was equally regular and

ea.rnest in her private devotions. The followingB


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10 MEMOIR.

passages of a communication from her youngest

sister, wri tten in answer to a 1etter of inquiry, state

this fact in artless yet glowing terms, mentioning a t

the same time other particulars, which set forth in

a st rik ing manner Mrs. Prescott's early spiritua1

mindedness and moral e1evation of character :

" You will remember," remarks the writer, " tha t1 was the youngest of the six children, and thatthere were two between your mother and myself, so

that of her young .life 1 really know nothing but

that she was ever pure-minded, warm-hearted, and

peculiarly and steadily religioUB,-as my mother

often expressed it, 'sanctified from her birth.' 8he

was a strict disciplinarian over her own heart, and

tenderly active and interested in training her little

sister Lucy [the writer] to the difficult and almost

hopeless task of self-control and self-improvement.

R er habits of private devotion, so strict and celle-less, deeply impressed my young mind. 1 rememberweIl, that a little unfinished shapeless room, in the

attic, was taken into her possession, rubbish removed

into one corner, and in the other she had fixed a

cushionedc11air

covered with a blanket, and akneeling-stool before it. To this, in the coldest

season, she would daily resort j and, covered with

the blanket, she would enjoy an hour of sacred

devotion, reading and prayer.


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MEMOIR. 11

"When l was about a dozen years old, although

in the same family and house, we kept up a regular

correspondence, for a long period. Her letters would

have made a volume : - she , scrutinizing, watching,

commending or reproving my daily life, my wrong

or right feeling, my victories or submission when

assailed by temptation, full of earnest exhortation andtenderest love : - 1 , drinking in instruction, stimu-

lated to effort, or sorrowing over the delinquencies

and wanderings she so faithfully pointed out, and

glowing with devout gratitude for any deserved

praise. To her latest days, ar- peculiar tendernessfor her pupi! continued to glow, and was often ex-

pressed with earnest feeling."

How does this artless picture of my mother's early

habits of devotion, bring to my mind what l have

oft,en myself witnessed when a child! When in

health, she was the earliest riser of the family;

a n d often, when l came down in the morning, would

I find her, as l opened the parlour door, kneeling

before the fue, with the large Bible on the chair in

f ront of her. And when she saw me, she would calI

I l l e to her and bid me kneel down by her side.W h a t mere teaching, what mere precepts, could

h a v e ever made upon my young heart Buch an im-

pression, as did this example of devotion !

B ut l have anticipated. About the time of her


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12 MEMom.

arriving at womanhood, a circumstance occurred

which had the deepest influence on Mrs. Preseott'swhole after-life: that circumstance waa her ooming

to the knowledge of the Doctrines of the New

Church. I t happened in the following manner.

:fIer father, Major Hiller, after serving in the W ar

of Independence, had been appointed by President

Washington to the office of Collector of customs for

the port of Salem, which office he eontinued to holdf(}r many years. He was a man of sterling upright

ness and integrity of character, and also very

religiously disposed. But, though a member of the

Episcopal church, his mind had never been satisfiedin regard to points of doctrine, and particularly in

reference to the Doctrine of the Trinity. Howthere could be three Persons and one God, he could

never satisfactorily discern; and he longed for light

upon this point. The light was on its way for him.One Sabbath evening, calling in, as was his wont,

to visit his pastor,-the minister exclaimed, as he

opened the study door, " H a ! Major Hiller, l havea treat for you here. Here is a man who pretendsto give a full description of the next world, heaven

and hell. W ould you like to read the b o o k ~ "My

grandfather, surprised at the minister's exclama

tion, and struck with the title of the book produced,

expressed a curiosity to read it. " 0 , you are quite


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H E M O m . 13

welcometo it," Baid the other, " I have ha.d enough

of it." ccordingly, hetook the book home, anxiousto Bee what the wri ter had to sayon so remarkablea subject.

The work was Swedenborg's"Treatise on Heavenand Hell" He, in companywith Mrs. Hiller, whowas a true partner to him, and who had suffereddoubts similar to his own, immediately commencedthe perusalof the volume. Beforethey ha.d read ithalf through, they were satisfiedthat it eontainedt ruth and the truth. MajorHiller at once procuredfrom England moreof Swedenborg's worka,and

became an earnest receiverof the New ChurchDoctrines. This waa, it is believed, aboutthe year1796or 1797.

Some of the younger membersof the family nowcommenced reading;and Margaret,with one of hersiBters, a.rdently embracedthe new truths. In hermind this heavenlyseed found a congenial soil.Herearly habits of devotion and communionwith herHeavenly Father ha.d fully preparedher spirit forthe reception of the New Church Doctrineof theLord,which,in the One Personof Jesus, bringstheDivine Objectof worship sonear to the mindj whileher long continued courseof self.examinationandstrict self-watchfulness,and combatwith her ownheart,had made it easyfor ber to acceptand take tu


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14 llEMOIR.

her bosom the pure Doctrine of Life, which inculcates

the necessity of self-combat and self-conquest, asthe great means of preparation for heaven. R er

habituaI study, too, of the Roly 8criptures, her

longing to understand their full meaning, her know

ledge of their difficulties, rendered most welcome

and delightful to her that opening of the internaI

sense, which is able to remove aIl the obscurities of

the letter, and to cause the whole W ord to shine

with a heavenly light. And finally, her habits of

piOUB meditation and spiritual contemplation, her

frequent lookings upward and inward towards the

heavenly world, her longings to know the nature of

that state which the Good Creator ha

man's eternal home,-made her eager to understand

and quick to perceive the rational beauty of those

clear and full revelations concerning the spiritual

world, which the Lord, at this His Second Coming,has vouchsafed to mankind. In this great treasuryof spiritual truths, a new life-study seemed opened

to her; and she hastened, with aIl the ardor of an

enthusiastic nature, to devote herself to the investi

gation. She saw that the Lord had thrown a new

and bright light upon the path of her life,/and she

went forward rejoicing in its rays; and thfough me

weIl knew that many needful crosses and,..,-rials yet

awaited her, in the process of her regene':ation, yet,

\

)


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MEMOm. 15

she felt that the Comforter had now come, which

would BUstain her through them aU.I t was a few years after this important event

in her life, that she became acquainted with Mr.

S. Jackson Prescott, her future husband. He

was the younger son of Dr. Oliver Prescott, an

eminent ,physician of Groton, Massachusetts ,-

brother to Colonel William Prescott, the brave

commander of the American troops at the battle

of Bunker's Hil l . " Mr. Pre scott, after graduating

with distinction at Harvard University, had pre-

pared himself for the profession of the law; but

being unable, through a defect in his hearing, topursue the practice, he turned his attention to

mercantile pursuits, in which he became very suc-

cessfuI.They were married in the year 1804, and settled

inBoston. A new sphere of duties now opened

upon Mrs. Prescott, aU of which she sought to dis-charge with her accustomed diligence, conscientious-

ness, and reliance on Divine Providence. And, ere

long, she had need of aU her religious trust to

sustain her under trill,ls and adversities. The loss

of a little daughter, the third child, sank deep into

A biographieal notice of Dr. Preseott, as also of Col. PreseaU,may be seen in the Enryclopdia A mericunu. The distinguishedhistorian, William H. Preseott, is a grandson of the latter.


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16 MEMOIR.

her tender nature: but she now found the great

consolations which the pure and clear doctrines ofthe New Dispensation particularly aH'ord on occasion

of bereavements such as this. Learning from those

Doctrines the great truth of the Lord's perfeet good

ness and Fatherly tenderness,- that the one end

which He had in creation was to form a heaven of

human beings, whom He might bless with eternal

happiness,-and that all, without exception, who

die in infancy and childhood, are received into that

heaven and become angels; being enabled, too, by

means of the clear and full descriptions of the

spiritual state given by the New Church Doctrines,to form a distinct idea of the heavenly home towhich her child had been taken, she could l i f t up her

thoughts to that higher world, that "better l a n d , ' ~

and behold her darling in the care of guardian

angels, led by them through gardens of beauty,taught by them aH heavenly truth with more than

a parent's power or even than a parent 's love, and

preparing thus to become herself an angel, a happy

dweHer in the heavens. With these thoughts, she

felt a consolation come to her heart, a balm to her

bosom; she felt her mind altogether lifted above

the thoughts of death and the grave, to life and

eternity; and, in time, she was enabled to rejoice a t 11

having been made the. honored instrument of adding 1

- J


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HEMOIR. 17

one to the heavenly hosto A t tm:es, indeed, tender

reco11ections would come over her; and, years after,m e would repeat, with a mother's fond particular-

ity, the sentences and exclamations which the little

prattler had u ttered in her last ijlness. But though

with tenderness, yet i t was without sadness or

regret, that she reca11ed these circumstances. She

could n o t ~wish her child back again to earth; she

only was anxions so to live as to rejoin her, byand

by, in the heavens.

But trials of a different kind awaited her. For

many years Mr. Prescott was greatly prospered in

bis mercantile undertakings; and, having acquired aconsiderable property, was about making prepara-

tions to retire from business to bis paternal estate

. at Groton, to spend the remainder of his days in

literary leisure,-when the embargo and second

war with Great Britain came on, suddenly reduc-ing him, with hundreds of other prosperous mer-chants, 1A;> the verge of ruin. I t required a11

Mrs. Prescott's fortitude and conjugal devotion, toBUpport her husband under these severe reverses.

Born and brought up in afRuence, he felt the stroke,

which swept his property entirely from him, as one

exceedingly hard to bear. A t this trying time,:Mrs. Prescott's religious trust, her habit of depend-

ence on Divine Providence, her faith in the perfect


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18 HEMOIB.

love and parental care of her Heavenly Father,

which,originally strong, had been so greatly deep

ened by the teachings of the New Church doctrines,

were caUed fully into operation: and they were aU

needed. Often has the writer heard her say, that

but for the support afforded her by the New Church

doctrines, in the bright and cheering views and

heavenly consolations which they communicate, sheshould not have been able to endure the load which

at this time, and indeed long artel', pressed upon her.And i t may be said that i t was her gratitude for this

support and comfort, and her ardent conviction

of the blessings which a wider knowledge of thoseDoctrines would confer upon mankind, which in

duced her to undertake the composition of the little

Treatise contained in the following pages. For i t

was in the very midst of these trials and troubles

that this work was written. I t was published in

the year 1817. How far the writer's ardent wishes

have been accomplished,-how many minds may

have been led by its pemsal to the rich fountains

of truth, whence i t had itself proceeded but as a

little stream,-is known only to the Omniscient One.

No society of the New Church as yet existed inBoston, and but two in the whole country, those,

namely, of Baltimore and Cincinnati. There were,

however, a few receivers of the doctrines in Bos-


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fMEMOIR. 19

ton, New York, and Philadelphia, and with many

of these Mrs. Prescott had acquaintance or heldcorrespondence. She also corresponded with the

Rev. John Clowes, of Manchester, England. And

her intelligence and zeal in the cause were generally

known andjustly appreciated throughout the narrow

boundsof what then

constitutedthe

visibleNew

Church. In 1818, t h e " Boston Society of the New

Jerusalem" was formed, consisting a t first of only

twelve members, of whom Mrs. Prescott was one.That Society has,since grown and flourished, till i t

' is now the largest New Church Society existing,

numbering .at the present time between four hundred

and five hundred members.

Mm Prescott, through her whole life, was a greatBUfferer, both physically and mentally. She was

subject to palpitation of the heart, which at times

ca.used her great distress, and once or twice broughther to the verge of the grave. She endured, too ,as every true follower of the Lord must-deep inter-na.l temptation. Being' of an exceedingly spiritual

and interior charaeter, her temptations were of a

corresponding depth and intensity. But she weIl

knew that they were permitted for her purification

and regeneration; and she meekly bowed her head

to the stroke, striving to sayever, "Lord, not mywill, but thine, be done." A t length, the hour of


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20 KEKOIR.

her relea.se came. On the 4th day of August, 1841,

after a period of deep distress, both of mind and

body, she p&!8ed away from earth, in the 67th year

of her age. The battle. of life was fought, the victory

won j and we are sure that she is now inheriting

the promises made to those that overcome: "To himthat overcometh, will l give to eat of the tree of life

which is in the midst of the paradise of God j""H e that overcometh shall inherit all things." She

has entered upon those heavenly felicities which the

revelations made to the New Church so clearly and

charmingly describe, and which she so delighted ta

contemplate in prospect. She haB, doubtless, longere this, found that angelic society with which her

spirit was connected even while here on earth j she

has entered into full and blessed companionship

with the spirits of the jnst made perfect, her fel

low-angelsj she is enjoying that blessed light andwarmth that flow directly from the eternal Sun of

Righteousness, the Lord himself: a glorions existence of love and bliss now spreads itself before

her, and she has begun the joyons race that knowsno end.


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RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY UNITED.

C H A P T E R J.

INTRODUCTORY.

THEBE is a mode of reasoning, which has long, we

believe, been more prevalent than any other in thescientific world, which is that of proceeding fromaffects to caUBel!. This mode of reasoning is, doubt-less, predicated on the very natura! ground, that amu1tiplicity of effects is always exhibited before us,the causes of which are tota1ly unknown; th is worldbeing literally and truly, in itself, a world of effects.A consequence of this mode of reasoning has, natu-ral ly, been that of endeavouriug to clear the wayto causes, by striving to ascertain what they werenot; thus hopiBg, by many negatives, to discoverIIOmething positive. That tills is often, to say theleaet, a deceptive and illusory mode of reasoning, is

preved by the manY false hypotheses which have beenits inevitable result. I t has, we presume, proceededfrom a radical error into which man is naturallyprone to fall, but which Revelation alone Clin in-form him is really an error. This is nothing le88


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22 RELIGION AND PHILOBOPHY UNITED.

than the belief, that man possesses in himself a

life distinct from that of his Maker, when he is, intruth, but an organ receptive of life from its onlytrue Source. Feeling a powerful conviction, fromthe sense of his real existence, that life lB his ownperfect property, he is led to think, also, tha t hispowers are truly his own, and thence that in himself originates thought. From this belief i t is easyfor him ta infer, that in himself also rests the powerof discovering the true causes of the numerouseffects displayed around him. But i f ~ a nwouldtruly humble himself, and intellectually look upand refiect, that as there is, as there can be, but OneSource of Life-so would he surely see, that fromthat Source must issue the knowledge of aU t ruecauses; and that they can be communicated to manhy Revelation alone, though varying, perhaps, inkind and degree. As from one ,cause, . however,numerous and varied effects continually proceed,man need not suppose, that because real causes are

to be found in God alone, that there is nothing leftfor the exercise of his noble powers. Believing thefact, and looking ta the Author of his existence andcontinual subsistence, for the first link in everychain, he will flnd abundant and delightful exercise for those powers, in deducing various particu

lars from one general idea; and in tracing the causein the successive effects down ta his own naturalperceptions of the variously beautiful objects dis-played in the world and universe around him.

The assertion may, perhaps, be deemed a bold


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RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY UNITED. 23

one, that "man is but an organ receptive of lifefrom the Lord." But let us inquire, What is life 1How came it into our possession 1 And by whatmeans is it preserved 1 nd the more minute, themore thorogh, the investigation of this subject,the more fully, we believe, will it appear, that it isindeed an error, to suppose that man possesses any

thing of life in himself, separately from, or indepen-dently of, his Maker. The mode of reasoning, how-ever, adopted on this occasion, must be from causest o effects, and not vice Vfffsa; we must, therefore,commence from some revealed truth, and he led bythat truth, through its regular consequences, to theresult, which observation and experience point out.By this process, perceiving the truth in its fulneSkland power, we shall no longer doubt the proprietyof reasoning thus, or the truth of the proposition,that "man has not life independently in himself."On this aH important axiom, rests, we believe, muchof true wisdom. But this is only one of the manyportentous truths, that are now presented to man-kind; and in the following pages, it is humblyhoped that this method of tracing the finger ofGod through some of the numerous wonders ofcreation, will evince itself as a true and happyDleans of bringing man to a more perfect acquaint-

ance with the uthor and constant Supporter ofms existence, and of educing a more clear andcomplete system of his own nature, powers, andduties, than has ever before been presented to hiscomprehension.


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24 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY UNITED.

But as we have above observed that Revelation

cau alone infonn man o f the true cause and mannerof his own existence, we shall probably he expectedto sta.te wherein we find the information that"man is an organ, receptive of life from the Lord."W e hesitate not to say, and humbly hope we areprepared to meet the coasequences, that we find i tin the "spiritual sense of the Sacred Scriptures,"revealed to that faithful and meek servant of theLord J eBUS Christ, Emanuel Swedenborg, who, bya regular and powerful train of reasoning, does trulyand fully prove, that "G od " is indeed "with us."

Long have we desired to see these importantworka translated from their purely spiritual into amore natural language; and thus accommodated tothe more general understanding of mankind at thepresent day. But to the accomplishment of this,we believe, higWy useful and very beneficial work,there are opposed many very formidable obstacles.

A popular cry, almost terrific in a rational

age, of "enthusiast ," "visionary," everywhere pre-cedes the volumes of Swedenborg. That he wasgranted supernatural information respecting as ta teof existence superior to the present life, is noisedabroad in tenns of ridicule by those, who may, per-haps, have felt l i tt le interest in an inquiry into thevery important object of this information. Findingthis astonishing daim really made by a philoso-phical author, at this enlightened period of theworld, when instruction from our Heavenly Fatheris considered so totally unnecessary, many sincere


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RELIGION A.'ID PHILOSOPHY UNITED. 25

seekers and powerful judges of truth have been

deterred from farther inquiry, by the immediateand premature conclusion, that none but a deceiveror self-deceived man could think of making sucha pretension. Some there are, however, who havegone a little farther. In a rational pursuit of theological truth, they have ventured to dip into these

volumes as they have occasionally fallen in theirway. Such persons being disgusted by an apparentcrudeness in the author's cOlnmunications (the necesait Y of which is easily explained), a singularity inthe style, or a seeming obscurity in the sense, havefound this disgust, aided by a previous prejudice,

quite sufficient to satisfy the slight interest excited;and they, too, have thrown them aside, as nothingworth. Thus, have these treasures been buried inthe earth! Respecting the author's knowledge ofthe spiritual world, i t were weIl, perhaps, to remember, that there have been many periods during thecourse of time, when apparently "new things nuderthe suu" were permitted to take place among llIen.The age of exterua1 miracles has doubtless pastaway j but in these works is exhibited a species ofinternaI or spiritual miracle, absolutely new andtruly astonishing. An extent of intellectual informatidn is spread before the attentive reader, far

exoeeding any thing that science bas heretofore presented, or the human mind was capable of conceivingwithout supernatura.l aidj the trnth of which information is morally demonstrated in its wonderfuldisplay. The mind of man, generally speaking,

c


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26 RELIGION AND PHIWSOPHY uNITED.

under the blessing of Heaven ever tending upwardin its progress, is, we conceive, making continuaIadvances in knowledge; and every new acquisitionadds greatly to its capability of advancing. Therevelation, therefore, now made to man, is snch ashe never could have borne at any former period; andcontains such "things" as our blessed Saviour " hadto say" to the disciples, but which they, on ea.rth,

" could not bear."On a deliherate, patient, and thorough examina

tion of the communications made to the world bySwedenborg (the writing and publishing of whichin the original Latin, wholly and fully occupiedabout thirty years of the author's life), snch a grand

spectacle of new, yet decidedly important principles,is presented to the human understanding, that itshould soom they need but to he thoroughly com-prehended to be cordially received, and with humble yet awful admiration. How then, may he thevery natural query, can we account for the phenomenon, that even simple, unlettered minds can

enter into the depths and subtilty of those com-mandingly grand, yet exquisitely refined prilllciples,while the man of extensive erudition, the elegantclassical scholar, the deep-read theologian, the acutephilosopher, and the truly rational moralillt, findthemselves repulsed at the very entrance of thisMansion of Glories 1 I t is at this very fountain ofreasons, and this only, that the above enigma canund a solution; and in this system we may find afull, a satisfactory elucidation of this, and every


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other species of intellectual phenomena. I t is thisheaven-derived power of unfolding the heretoforeinexplicable secrets of the creation j of developingthe innumerable mysteries with which science atevery step continually presents its votaries j oftmcing the blessed connection between the gloriousCreator and every possible form and degree of his

works, that stamps the signature of Divinity on thisprecious message! I t is from this glorious light,which is now permitted to beam forth from theinterior of the sacred W ord of God, that every realpart of its literaI sense is now rescued from theobscurity into which a large portion of its contents

wss fast falling j and that i t is once again preparingto become the delight, the glory, and on earth theHeavenly Sanctuary of man.

That this is not the vision of a diseased imagination, but a substantial view of truth, time onlycan demonstrate. But i t belongs to the cool calcu!ator, and not to the warm philanthropist, to wait-for the slow progress of time to unfold the promiseof new and transcendant joys to man! The livingCUITent of Christian charity circulating in the heart,strongly impels its real possessor to impart to hisfellow-creatures every good in possession, or even inanticipation. But should the attainment of a greatgood in prospect, depend in a considerable measureon the knowledge and efforts of the candidates forits reception, how would a belief of this conditionstimulate the real believer to make known the" gladtidings of great joy," and urge on his bre thren the


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28 RELIGION AND PHlLOSOPHY UNITED.

importance of seelcing for this "pearl of great priee."That such a pearl bas really been for nearly half acentury within the reach of thousa.nds of mankind,who have given no attention to it, i t may appear,perhaps, like presumption to assert. But i f amongthose thousands, can be found even one who will

now listen to the friendly information, and apply

the test of his own observation and experience t oascertain its truth, the writer of these pages will

esteem such an effect a full compensation for thismental effort" and offer to the Fountain of all goodsincere grat itude for such a degree of success.


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C H A P T E R I l .

ENDEAVOURING TO PROVE THREE PROPOSITIONS.

PROPOSITION FIRST.-That aU trne principles, spring-ing from one onlyEternal Source,must be foundtoharmonize with the observationand experienceofthe wisest amongmankind in aU ages.

I t is equivocaUy acknowledgedby every rationalmind, that trnth can have but one eternal source;yet that source, being also infinite,must emit innu-merable and ever varying, because diverging rayso r principles,in which that source is tracedandacknowledged through the beautiful harmony by ,which they coalescewith and illustrate eachother;therefore, though ever varying,they a.re never op-posing, like light and darkness, blackand white.Thus trnth appears to man in infinitely diversmedforms, exercising his powersin the investigationofi ts nature and its uses. We universaUy findthat

exercise producesstrength: by use, therefore,thepowers of man expand and increase, and becomemore and more largely recipientof those Divinerays which illumine bis souI.

On. taking an enlarged viewof the state of thehuman rlind, at the present periodof the world,


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who can doubt that the aggregate portion of know

ledge now enjoyed, very far surpasses that whichhas ever been possessed by mankind in any formerperiod 1 Ever making new discoveries, new acquisitions, the old are rarely, we believe i t may be saidare never, whoUy lost. Thus, though there havebeen periods when the clarkness of ignorance and

superstition seemed to envelope the world; yet,these have been succeeded by others of so muchgreater light and information, as to unfold thehidden treasures of the darkest ages; and prove t othe refiecting mind, that the temporary night wasonly to prepare for a more effulgent clay. In thisview of the subject, then, we think i t evidentlyappears, that the world at large, like its inhabi-tants, each in particular, has its graduaJ progressions from infancy towards maturity; who shaHsay when the latter periud has arrived, and tha tits motion must be retrograde 1

But i t may be asked, in what consist these gra-duaI progressions of the world 1 We answer, inthe discovery and application of apparently newprinciples, or additional rays of truth. l s i tqueried, how we ascertain that these principleshave not been known and lost 1 We answer, tha tno principles of truth can be absolutely new in them-

selves, being from an eternal and self-existent foun-tain; but that some of them may, even now, be new .to the mind of man, is, we think, moraJly proved,by the order and tenacity of that mind in seizingand retaining any degree of real knowledge; also,


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in our love of diffusing or imparting our mental

acquisitions.,There are, in individuals, widely different and.

even opposite motives for this desire; but the resuitis the same, that of increasing the aggregate ofhurnan knowledge. l s it farther inquired, how wedistinguish and ascertain the true from the faise

principles, many of which, we are informed, areabroad in the world 1 We answer, that true principles are fixed and substantial; the false are everchanging and illusory. The true will thus hefound to coincide and harmonize with those alreadyknown and acknowledged by the observation andexperience of the wisest among mankind; whilethe faIse are examined and rejected at the sametribunal.

PROPOSITION S E C O N D . - Whenever, therefore, theardent intellect of industrious man discovers principles apparently new, they may he fairly tried byan appeal to the enlightened understanding of hisfellow-men, and will deservedly stand o r fall by thedecision consequent on such an appeal.

If, then, aU true principles spring from onesource, we have only to inquire, when new principles present themselves, whether they bear thestamp of this Almighty Rand. And to determine

this important point, they must he submitted tothe critica.l ordeai of the collected wisdom of allpast ages. Mankind, then, are to sift, to anaIyze,and to explore such principles, to examine theirinmost nature and tendency; to try them by OPPO-


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32 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY LNITED.

Rition, by coalition, by every process which may he

devised; and if, after this thorough and elaborateinvestigation, no flaw or imperfection cau he ds-covered, they have surely weIl stood this Heryordeal, and may be pronounced true. During thiscritical cross-examination, however, vast must hethe variety of opinions entertained respecting these

principles; for each individual who thinks at aIl,will think for himself, and form his own conclusions according to the degree of light he himselfcnjoys. No two, therefore, will make up preciselythe same judgment, for no two can view the B8:rneobject, at the same moment, and through the Barne

medium, from the same point. But the humanmind is, we have' reason to think, never stationary.Though often apparently at rest, it is never t ru lyso, but is gradually and often, imperceptibly changing its views of the same object; and, at length, onexamining opinions supposed to have been firmlyfixed, we find ourselves under the necessitJ ofacknowledging a decided change. Should any discovery of new principles. then, purport importantadvantages to mankind, "though an host shouldencamp against them," if trne, there would hefound powerful advocates; the wisdom of the wisewould carefully examine, the simplicity of the sim-

ple would readily receive, them. By the former,they would be discovered to harmonize with theknown and acknowledged axioms of the w e s tamong mankind of aIl past ages; and by the latter,to agree with the substantial, though unexamined


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RELIGION AND PHlLOSOPHY UNITED. 33

sentiments which ha

peace from their youth upward. On the conttary,should such principles, however specious their ex-terior, be intrinsically false, the truly wise wouldnot be long deceived; they w o ~ l dnot rest till thehidden mischiefs were discovered, the charm dis-solved, and the hypothetical principles dissipated

in air.PROPOSITION THIRD.-That there are apparently

new principles unfolded by Emanuel Swedenborg,which are, at the present period of the world,offered to this ordeal. And that the appeal mayhe the more clear and direct to the enlightened

understanding of man, the philosophical principlesare , in this "attempt," in a measure separated fromth e religious doctrines contained in these works,and presented at one view; that the judgment ofthe ingenuous examiner may act with cool impar-tiality, and thus render the decision, whether intheir favour or otherwise, complete.

I t bas not been the happiness of every age of theworld, to reap the vast advantages which resultfrom the development of important principles. Sodense has been the mist of ignorance and corrup-tion, which haB widely extended over the inhabi-tants of the world at some periods of time, as torender the human mind, for a season, almost im-pervious to the rays of trnth. Yet, so vast innumber are the l>ints of absolute knowledge nowin the possession oi man, that he bas varions meansof trying any theory that may be 8Uggested. That


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34 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY WUTED.

new combinations of thought are continually pre-

senting new results, is also, we presume, beyond adoubt. What, then, of the novel and wonderfulmay not be offered to our consideration, i t is impos-sible to 'OSly. I t is time, we may conclude, to resignthe puerile habit of circumscribing the range ofhuman intel lect ,- -of limiting that, which in its

essence is illimitable, aspartaking the

nature ofits infinite source. Much real h u ~ t y ,then, andpatient investigation are necessary to the success ofevery sincere inquirer after important truths. Theimpatient desire to arrive at conclusions before thepremises are thoroughly examined, weighed, and'understood, is too natura! to the human mind; andis continually preventing deductions, which mighthe just, decisive, and therefore permanent. To"learn to wait," is one of the hardest lessons givento man; yet nothing can be done well which isdone impatiently. As the perception and acknow-ledgment, or the rejection or neglect of substantial

principles of truth, is a most momentous concern inthe life of man, it surely behoves him to he cau-tiously on his guard, whenever his attention is

turned to this portentous work. That the presentis a period of this nature, is known to thousands,in various parts of the world, who have bean blessed

with the ability and inclination to examine andthence perceive the solid foundation of those prin-ciples. But how to produce in others that mentalstate of calm, candid, humble, and patient inquiry,which is absolutely necessary, as preparatory to


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such a perception, is the subjeet of doubt and diffi-

culty.That the spirit of the Supreme is the only effec-

tuaI operator in this blessed work, we weIl know.B ut that the Divine blessing must descend throughhuman, voluntary instruments, is no less certain;JI.Ild that himself may he thus honoured, is the

ardent though humble desire of every sincere reci-pient of Divine trnth.

That there are apparently' new and highly im-portant principles unfolded by Emanuel Swedenborg,can he known only to those who have thoroughlyexplored the invaluable treasures of spiritual truth

whi.ch he has presented to the world. To those,thiB foot is beyond all doubt. But i t would he ofno use to any one to helieve this upon the assertionof others, as sueh persons would rest on humanauthority, whieh is no actual belief of the mind.This can he useful, indeed, so far as to dispose themin to pat ient researeh; and proportionate to this,where no other impediment arises, will be thedegree of success in obtaining a rational convictionof the understanding respeeting those prineiples.To mankind at large, however, they were, "by theirauthor, conscientiously subrnitted. They are nowpaatling the ordeal of human investigation. Personsof all degrees of rnind, from the most simple andunlearned to the most highly cultivated and intelli-gent, are earnestly desired " to pause, to ponder,"to sifi and to weigh them; only rememhering thedeep solemnity of the work, an the importance of


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imploring for themselves the gracious aid of a

spirit of candour, humility, and firm rationality inthis interesting investigation. By the final decisionof mankind, which must be consonant with that ofthe Supreme, they must necessarily stand or faI lI f .they diffuse, indeed, the glorious rays of Divinetruth, "the gates of hell cannot prevail against

them." The mind of man win be gradually pre-pared to receive and refiect them, by gratitude,obedience, and joy, wj.th ap their delightful train o feffects. I f they are the works of darkness, theywill soon be overthrown and destroyed for ever.

One objeet is contemplated by the writ er of thia

little work, which,i f

accomplished, will serve, i tis hoped, as a preparatory step to many rationalminds in the investigation of these works. T'hesystem, i t is well known, is professedly a religiousone. Its object is to mise its votary to a highdegree of excellence in religious knowledge, conduct, and worship. But religious exaltation. hasever, heretofore, been of so doubtful, and thereforedangerous a character! I ts pretended foundations,-that wild superstition, which disgraces the pages ofecclesiastical history; that cruel fanaticism, whichhad well nigh given a death-blow to Christ ianity,-these, its foundations, have been so baseless, i f wemay be aIlowed the expression, and i t has reared asuperstructure, in the monastic life, so grotesqueand useless, so gloomy and deformed, that i t basleft on the minds of aIl spectators disgust andabhorrence, or contempt. How, then, are we to


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RELIGION A,'W PHILOSOPIIY UNITED. 37

proye that we shall exhibit a more substantial or

life-breathing fOrIll of holy symmetry1 How (tochange the figure) shall we prove that ours is a"city not made with hands, whose Maker andBuilder is God 1" We can do i t only by showingand explaining in what manner "God's footstool isthe earth; that His holy City, the New J erusalem,hath its foundations here; that the solid principlesuf pure and. genuine philosophy form the eternalbasis on which i t rests; and that those principles ofphilosophy will be more and more confirmed andconsolidated in the Inind, the more minute and closerthe investigation of every reasoning inquirer. Inorder ta this, then, we would once more observe,that the object of the present undertaking is tocollect and place in a prOIninent point of view, thepeculiar phiiosophical principles which really consti-tute this foundation of the New J erusalem Church;and to show, by the blessing of God, that they are,indeed, a full and sufficiently substantial foundation,on which the eternal hope of man may l'est.


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C H A P T E R I I I .

ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL PIUNCIPLES IN GENERAL,

UNFOLDED IN THE SYSTEM OF SWEDENBORG.

" Can man, by searcbing, find out God ?"

lT bas already been intimated in the introductorychapter, that right reasoning must proceed from

causes ta effects; that causes, existing alone in theSupreme Being, must be made known ta man byrevelation. I t being now thus made known, that theglory which for ever emanates from and surroundsthe Eternal Being, forms really and substantiallya Spiritual Sun, which warms and irradiates theintellectual creation,-we find, clearly deduced fromthis truth, the following rational result: that theheat f1.owing from this Sun is in its essence divinelove; and the light, divine wisdom. Tht fromthis spiritual light and heat, t he natu ral or materialsun, with its light and heat, solely derives its powerand efficacy.

That all worlds, or combinations of worlds insystems, derive their existence and subsistence fromone eternal and infinite source, is acknowledgedby every rational mind. For, surely, i f there eve rexisted a real atheist, he must be either wholly


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destitute of understanding, or possess one so blinded

or perverted, as to be wholly useless on this subject.That the sun of our system has, then, the samederivation and continuaI support, is beyond a doubt;but in what manner this wonderful work is accom-plished, is a problem, which has ever heen deemedheyond the power of the human intellect to solve,or the human understanding to conceive. And i f

they have gone one step farther than a mere know-ledge of the sun's origin, and said, i t is done by theword of God's power, the same question " h o w ~ "re-curs, and brings the subject to the same issue. Rasthere not heen a period in the life of man (thatperiod when the Copernican system was first pre-sented to the world), when i t was thought a diffi-cult Y of perhaps equal magnitude to reconcile thesun's apparent motion and real rest ~ Yet i t is nowas generally received and understood as any princi-pIe of common knowledge. That the sun was createda perfect type, an imitator, as i t were, of its glori-OUS Author, and like the hand of a dial, constantlyguided by, and pointing out His movements, is, wel1umbly undertake to support, a truth which mayhe proved by the philosophicai principles, that are,by Emanuel Swedenborg, first presented to the com-prehension of man. We say philosophical princi-

pIes, because upon these premises is raised a system,apparently new, which must necessarily stand orfall with them. Therefore, whether this he a trueor false philosophy, is the point to he now decidedby 0001 examination.


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That the specific nature of heat and light, fiowing

from the sun's body, and meeting our senses of feel-ing and sight, has never been fully comprehendedby man in his fallen state, will, we trust, he unequi-voca.lly a c k n o w l e d g e ~But as there are, at pre-sent, in the human mind, many obstacles to thereception of truth, i t will not, perhaps, be so readily

granted that this natural heat and light 80lelyderive their nature, their specific power and effi-cacy, from spiritual heat and light, which areessential love and wisdom, fiowing continually fromthe Supreme Being: in other words, that from theSupreme Being constantly fiows, or emanates, aglorious sphere of light and heat, which, in theiressence, are divine love and wisdom, whence origi-nate the power and efficacy df the light and heatof the natural or material sun, thus created a type,and refiecting back, by perfect correspondence, theimage of its great Original Is not this, we wouldhumbly ask, a clear and satisfactory elucidation ofthe important, but hitherto mysterious and latelydisputed union of spirit and matter 1 "God is aSpirit," sai th the W ord of truth. I t is the natureof spirit, i f we may so spaak, to diffuse itse1f. Thisdiffusion causes a sphere of glory around the Su-preme Being. The emanating sphere of this glori-

ous spirit, then, forming and operating in andthrough the material suns of the various naturalsystems, produced, and constantly supports in ex-istence, the wonderful creation: thus descending,by degrees, from the Great First Cause, to the


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loweBt extreme of external nature. In this descent,

we perceive that varioUB degrees of spirit find theirabode in varioUB forInS of matter.

This conception of a sphere, together with thatof spiritual degrees, form two of the new and important prnciples, which are, in this age, first presented to the test of human wisdom. Let us hope,

then, that they will he brought to an open, candid,and thorough examination; that they may he dulyappreciated, and take their final station, accordingly,in the circle of knowledge.

Who will doubt, that in the natural sun, whichproximately produces and supports in existence allthe wonders of this our natural worlp, there is agoodly portion of this living tire, this self-existentSpirit, this divine union of wisdom and love 1Yet who but will acknowledge a vastly greater degree of this same all-pervading spirit in the rationalsoul of man 1 Herein the principle, also, of spiritualdegrees, is acknowledged; and its beautiful effectscaTI only he known by tracing the Barne principle"through nature up to nature's God;" which isstrikingly done by His own glorious hand, in th!,development He bas made of Himself to man, in

the works of His servant, Emanuel Swedenborg.St. Paul's three heavens are there discovered to blj

That the writer cannot here mean, as might at fil'!lt aight.ppear, that there is !ife in the natural sun itself, is plain from. .bat is afterwarda sai (p. 47), that the sun is but dead matter.The meaning intended is, doubtleaa, that the material sun is thetirat effcd of !ifc from the self existent Spirit.-EDITOB.

D


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C H A P T E R IV .

ON THE PRINCIPLE OF SPHERES, AS UNFOLDED IN

THE COMMUNICATIONS OF SWEDENBORG.

So numerous are the evils arising from a false ideapredicated on a true principle, or in other words,from the misunderstanding of such a principle, that

i t is highly important to guard,i f

possible, againstthis prolific source of pain. I t bas, we helieve, beenan idea of many persons, probably arising from amisapprehension of the eternal unity of God, thatthe blessed Author of all creation is an "wni1)(1T'sa1ens, or central fire, destitute of all form 1" Thatthis (as we esteem it) false, pernicious, and ground-letl8 idea, may not he encouraged by any th ing thatbas here been advanced, we would add a word ofexplanation. To exclude the very natura! thought,that because the material sun being a globular body,and, s t the BaIne time, u. type of the spiritual sun,that that glorious luminary, which is asserted to hethe fountain of life, is also s globular body ofspiri tual fire, we must endeavour to give, from thenew revelation, some elucidation of this very im-portant point. We are informed, then, that theerror herein (which i.tI surely u. very natura! one)


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has arisen 'entirely from supposing the spiritual sun

to be the Supreme Being Himself, when i t is, inreality, only that emanating sphere of His divineand essential constituents, love and wisdom; as thematerial sun's light and heat are not the real body,but only an emanation from it. N ow, let any re-flecting and rational man inquire of himself, if, in

the inmost thought of his soul, he can conceive of a.God without a form! Clion he even try to fix histhought on any possible thing, without its imme-diately presenting itself to his intellectual vision,in a form ~ Clion any essence exist without a form ~Does i t not, then, appear almost like profanity, to

imagine the Deityin

a globular or any other formthan the human ~ I f we cannot think intently onGod without imagining him in a form,...,...if the humanis the most perfect form ever presented to ourimaginations, and we are continuaIly, in the W ordof God, enjoined to "keep God always before oureyes," how can we obey this divine injunction, butby thinking of him as a Divine Ruman Being ~Clion i t be conceived possible, tha,t supreme wisdom,which embraces every variety and degree of know-ledge, could exist and operate the wonderful worksof creation, without the various instrumental powerswith which man, in humble imitation of his Maker,brings that knowledge into action or use ~ Clion i tbe possible to believe, that perfect, divine love,which is surely a complex source of aIl the bene-volent affections, can exist and diffuse itself overcreation, without form, or in any other than that o f


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a Divine Ruman form 1 That the common sense of

man acknowledges this essential trnth, and proclaims it, is, in a measure, proved by the mannerof worship and addI;ess to Him, from the people ofail nations and ages. Do we not universaUy ascriOOto Him, as the Parent of creation, all the powers,both intel1ectual and personal, which properly 00

long to man 1 Yet knowing Him to be infinite andeternal, the "Alpha and Omega," "without OOgin-ning of Jays or end of years," we cannot doubt,that our derivation from Him as a parent, and oursubsistence in and through Him aschildren, musthe of a kind altogether different from our natu-

ra! conceptions on these subjects. Accordinglywe find, on investigation, that between spiritualand natural ideas there is this wide difference:natura! conceptions are aU confined within thenarrow bounds of space and time, and do not riseto any thing of spirit: whereas spiritual conceptions do not admit into them any thing of time orspace. We can neither measure or weigh, literally,a thought or feeling. For we can instantaneously,or in no time, extend any object of mental visionto immensity, or reduce i t to extreme minuteness.Thus we must raise our ideas above nature, with it8time and space, into the regions of spiritual lightand life, before we can form any just conception ofthe" Father of our spirits," who is himself a Spirit j,and to approach and resemble whom, we mustworship Rim in "spirit and in trnth." I t mayalso 00 observed, that were the Supreme Being con-


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ceived ta he in any other than a human form, weshould, doubtless, use the neuter and not the masculine gender in our terms of address ta him. Aswe can form no conception, then, of a gloriouslygood, and greatly intelligent, Being, in any otherthan a human form, and as in his Roly W ord i t isdistinctly ass!Jrted, that " Gad made man in his own

image and likeness," i t is surely reasonable, i t issurely consonant with true wisdom, ta imagine andhelieve the Supreme Beingto he in a Divinely Rumanform. In what various and wonderful respects thedivine transcends the merely natural human, is a.subject tao vast for our present consideration; we

wish only to show, that i t harmonizes with thehighest wisdom of aIl past ages, and is, therefore,worthy ta be considered as established on the firmground of undisputed truth.

Respecting, however, the blessed sun of the spiritual world, the glorious sphere of divinely united

love and wisdom, which is for ever emanating fromthe Deity, we would make some further observa-tions. I t is, we helieve, a weIl known and established fact in natural philosophy, that there is constantly emitted from every created body a somewhatof itself, which finds a recipient in the atmospherethat encompasses the earth, and there produces i tsdegree of use.

That this emission and this consequent use a:redrawn forth by the benign influence of the sun'slight and heat, is also weIl known and acknowledged. In this natural fact we behold a striking,


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powerful, and interesting emblem or type, and, wethink, a beautiful illustration of the existence andeternal operation of the spiritual sun, which, everdiffusing its glorious rays, by its vivifying influenceof love and wisdom, or spiritual' light and heat,gives life and activity, with the consequent powerof exertion, to every created being. But as the

material sun receives the very power of performingits uses in the natural world, from the glorious sunof the spiritual world, there is between the twoluminaries this aIl-important distinction, that thespiritual sun is replete with perfect life, becauseGad dweIls in its centre j while the natural sun,

having only the appearance of life, is in itself merematter, or perfect death. In aIl things which areproximately brought into life, and supported inexistence by the na tu ral sun, there is only apparentlife, but real death; but in aIl things which arecreated and upheld by the immediate influence of

the spiritual sun, there is a principle of eternal life.The very atmosphere of the spiritual world, fiowingfrom the fountain of life, and being consequentlyspiritual, is the means of supporting spiritual lifein its recipients; as the atmosphere of the naturalworld is a means of the existence and subsistenceof its natural inhabitants. In man, indeed, whileexisting on the natural earths, are united the opposite principles of the two suns, which are life anddeath, spirit and matter, soul and body. As theoriginal constituent principles of spiritual life arelove and wisdom, so the absence of these is spiritual


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48 RELIGION AND PHLLOSOPHY UNITED.

death. As the pervading influence of the natural

sun's light and heat extends even to the centre oNhevarious earths over which he reigns, drawing fromvery varied body its responsive effort toward thegeneral good j so does the glorious sphere of thespiritual sun diffuse its benign fervors and cheeringlight through infinitude, every where pouring its

glories into the willing recipient, and exciting in,or calling forth from, that recipient, a correspondingemission of its own degree of received life. Whenceissues, from every intelligent being as well as fromevery natural body, a sphere or emanation of itsparticular principles or degree of life, which is itsmeasure of united goodness and truth, derived fromits original and glorious fountain of divine love andwisdom, or else the same heavenly principle reducedand perverted, till at length converted to theiropposites. Finding in outward nature so beautifula counterpart to this doctrine of spiritual spheres,we think i t not fanaticism to conclude that i t isfounded on a truly philosophical principle. Yet wehave herein given but the germ j in its fartherdevelopment and illustration i t proves its origin tothe opening min d, like the sun bursting from thehorizon, and gradually reaching its glorious zenith.


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C H A P T E R V.

ON THE PRINCIPLE OF DEGREES, AS COMMUNICATED

BY THE SAME F AITHFUL MESSENGER.

WE are also informed, that "there are three de-grees of two kinds," viz., three degrees of love andthree of wisdom, which, fiowing from their DivineAuthor, are, i f we may so speak, " distinctly one;"as the divine love and the divine wisdom, which,unconvertible into each other, and therefore eter-nally distinct, are yet, in their source, inseparable.That they are in1a measure separated, or united invarious combinations by their different recipients,will be perceived as soon as their nature is fullyunderstood. But we must, for once, allow ourselvesthe gratification of using the words of our en-lightened author, as none other present themselvesin which we can so concentrate bis highly impor-tant information. He then declares to us, that

"degrees are of two kinds, degrees of altitude anddegrees of latitude. The knowledge of degrees is,as it were, a: key to open the causes of things, andenter into them; without this knowledge scarcelyany thing of cause can he known; for the objects


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and subjeets of both worlds, without it, appear sim-

ple, as i f there were nothing in them except of a.nature similar to what is seen with the eye, when,nevertheless, this, respectively to the things whichlie interiorly concealed, is as one ta thousands, yea,to myriads. The interior things which lie hid, canby no means be discovered, unless degrees he under-

stood; for exterior things proceed ta things interior,and those to the things which are inmost, by de-grees; not by continuous degrees, but by discretedegrees. The term continuous degrees is applied t odenote decrements or decreasings from more crassta more subtle, or from denser to rarer; or ratherto denote, as i t were, the increments and increasingsfrom more subtle to more crass, or from rarer todenser, like that of light proceeding to shade, or ofheat ta cold. But discrete degrees are entirelydifferent, they are as things prior, pasterior, and pas-treme; or as end, cause, and effect; these are caJleddiscrete degrees, hecause the prior is by itself, theposterior by itself, and the postreme by itself; butstill, when taken tagether, they make one. Theatmospheres from highest ta lowest, or from thesun to the earth, which are ether and air, are dis-crete into such degrees; and there are substances,seemingly simple, the congregate of these atmos-

pheres, and again the congregate of these congre-gates, which, when taken together, are called acomposite. These last degrees are called discrete,because they exist distinctly, and are understaodby degrees of alt itude; but the former degrees are


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that discrete degrees, or degrees of altitude, arederived one from another, in a series-like end, cause,and effect. Let us endeavour to "illustrate this byexample. I t is known by ocular experience, tha teach muscle in the human body consists of verysmall fibres, and that these being disposed in fascicles, constitute the larger fibres, which are called

moving fibres, and that from collections of thelatter exists that compound which is called amuscle. I t is the same with nerves; in them, fromvery small fibres, are composed larger fibres, whichappear as filaments, and from a collection of theseis a nerve compounded. The case is the same in

other compaginations, confasciations, and collections, of which the organs and viscera consist; forthese are compositions from fibres and vesselsvariously formed by similar degrees. The case isthe same, also, with aIl and every thing of th evegetable kingdom, and aIl and every thing of th emineraI kingdom; in the different kinds of woodthere are compaginations of filaments in a threefoldorder; in metaIs and stones there are conglobationsof parts, also in a threefold order. From theseconsiderations it appears what discrete degrees are,viz., that one is formed t'tom another, and by meansof the other a third, which is called composite; andthat each degree is discrete from another. Renee,conclusions may be formed respecting those thingswhich do not appear before our eyes, because th ecase is the same with them as with the organicRubstances, which are the receptacles and habita-


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tions of the thoughts and affections in the brain;with the atmospheres; with heat and light, andwith love and wisdom;. for the atmospheres arethereceptacles of heat and light, as heat and light arereceptacles of love and wisdom; of consequence,sinee there are degrees of atmospheres, there arealso similar degreesof heat and light, and similar oflove and wisdom; forthe ratio (particular constitu-tion and relation)of the latter is not different fromthat of the former."

The reasoning.by which our respected Authorconnects these degrees in external nature withtheir Glorions First Cause, is strikingly conclusive

and beautiful; and not less so his important dis-tinction betweenthe two kinds of degrees; showingthat much being alreadyknown in the world re-specting continuous degrees,or degrees of latitude,bis ditlCOveries, or communications respecting thespiritual world, were not so much connected with01' dependent on those, as onthe explanationof dis-crete degrees or degrees of altitude, respecting whichmueh greater ignorance prevails.

To concentrate and abridge,and yet render intel-ligible, the vast mass of information containedinthis luminous and highly important doctrine ofdegrees, is a work we hardly clare attempt, yetknow not how to leave unattempted. There aremany deeply interesting pointsin theology whichit embraces, illustrates,and enforces with ITesistiblepower, to which no language but that of thisA.uthor could do justice; but which (our present


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54 REUGlON AND PHILOSOPHY UNITED.

object being professedly of a philosophical nature)

are, in a measure, extraneous to our purpose. Not,indeed, that true philosophy and religion can everhe really separated, for the former is derived fromthe latter, and connected with i t by discrete degrees:in other words, true philosophy is religion exhibitedin ultimate effects. But ll.'l we wish here ta confine

our attention, in a measure, to these exterior orultimate degrees of life, as the philosophical founda-tions of the New Jerusalem Ohurch may he termed,we will endeavour to give some illustration of thispart of our subject. "That the ultimate degree isthe complex, continent, and basis of the prior de-grees, appears manifestly from the progression o fends and causes to effects; that the effect is thecomplex, continent, and basis of the causes and ends,may be comprehended by enlightened reason; butnot so clearly, that the end, with every thing 00-longing ta it , and the cause with every thing 00-longing ta it, actually exist in the effect, and tha tthe effect is the full complex of them. That thecase is 80, may appear from what haB been pre-mised, and particularly from the following consider-ations, that one is' from the other in a triplicateseries; and that the effect is nothing else but thecause in it s ul timate; and forasmuch as the ulti-

mate is the complex, it follows that the ultimate isthe continent and the basis. * As ta what relates

Bere we see the reasoning, on which is fonnded an idea, hem-after expressed, that spiritual existences cannot operate in extema!act, nntil they baye been formed and fixed by an ultimate existence


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to love and wisdom, love is th end, wisdom the

instrumental cause, and use is the effect j and useis the complex, continent, and basis of wisdom andlove j and use is Buch a complex ~ n dsuch a con-tinent, that the whole of love and the whole ofwisdom are actually in it, it heing the simultaneousexistence of them. But i t is weU to he observed,that aU the things of love and wisdom, which arehomogeneous and concordant, exist in use, accordingto what was said and shown above."

From this doctrine it appears, then, that matteris the continent and basis of spirit. The wholesystem of nature, one grand effect, containingwithin itself its glorious cause and end. Doesnot this principle beautifully harmonze with thatof the 8pheres, a faint sketch of which is givenabove 1 Does it not unfold man to himself, andGod to man 1 Does it not correspond with thegeneral sentiment of the good and wise in aU agesand nations, that God is in, every thing 1

But there is one additional and important prin-ciple, the explanation of which may throw BOmeperhaps needed light on what is advanced above.

on sorne natura! earth; and that, of course, all angels and devilswere once natural beings like ourselves. This assertion opens anextensive field of argument; which is, however, but accomplishingone abject of the writer. Thus, our blessed Saviour "came Dot 10IeIld peace but a sword on the earth."


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C R A P T E R V I.

ON THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE, AS

DEVELOPED BY THE SAME.

To explain clearly the principle of Correspondence,is not, we fear, an easy task; but that i t reallyexists, and is a substantial and highly importantprinciple in creation, we hope to show by illus-

tration.Correspondence, we may BaY, arises from tha t

responsive emission of its individual degree of life,which every recipient returns to its bountifulDonor. I t is that refiective power which receivesand returns the image of the Great Original; which

receipt and return, though ever theBame

in essence,are infinite in degrees and in variety, according totheir infinite source, and to their recipient subjects;thus combining eternal unit Y with illimitable diver-sity. We have said above, that the heat and l ightfiowing from the sun of heaven, the glorious sphere.ever emanating from the Supreme Being, or theDivine Proceeding, called in Scripture the RolySpirit, is, in its essence, divine love, clothed indivine wisdom, for heat is within light. Thisblessed Spirit, this heavenly Sun, bas, in forming


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man, prepared two receptacles for itself, whicharethe will and the understanding; the will receivesthe spiritualheat of the divine love,the understalld-ing the spiritual light of divine wsdom. Thesereceptacles constitutethe soul of man. When filledby the reception of the Roly Spirit, and thus ren-dered active, they constitute the perfect, the eternal

life of man. But that they may he brought intoaction in this world of ultimates, something moreis necessary than the mere will and understanding,for they can act only in organized forros. Sa far,they are only spiritualforInS, and can operate onlyin the spiritual world or region, nor indeed eventhere, until they have been fixed and ultimatedinexternal nature. They mus t find their correspond-ent receptacles in this natural world, by whichthey can operate here, before they have power todevelop theIIUlelvesin external act. I n the heartand lungs of the human materia1 body, they findthis perfect correspondence. As, however,i t iswell known that human life has i tsorigin in thebrain, we will quote some passages fromour author,illustrative of this fset in anatomy.

"Tha t the life of man, in its principles, isin thebrains, and in its principiates in the body. In itsprinciples is in its beginnings,and in its principiates

is in the parts producedand formed from its begin-nings; and by life (which is the spirit of God) ini ts principles, ismeant the will and the understand-ing. These two arewhat in the brains are in theirprinciples, and in the body in their principiates.

E


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58 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY UNiTED.

That the principles or beginnings of man's life are

in the brains, is manifest ,- l . From the sense itself,in that when a man applies his mind to any thingand thinks, he perceives that he thinks in the brain;he draws inwardly, as i t were, his eyesight, andkeeps his forehead intense, and perceives that thereis inwardly a speculation, chiefly within the fore-head and somewhat above. 2. From the formationof man in the womb, in that the brains or the headis the first, and that this, for a long time afterwards,is larger than the body. 3. That the head is aboveand the body below; and i t is according to order,that superiors should act upon inferiors, and notvice versa. 4. That when the brain is hurt eitherin the womb, or by a wound or by disease or bytoo great application, thought is debilitated andsometimes the mind is delirious. 5. That aU theexternal senses of the body, which are ' the sight, thehearing, the smell and taste, together with thegeneral sense which is the feeling, as also the

speech, are in the anterior part of the head, whichi ~ called the face, and have immediate communica-tion with the brain, and derive thence their sensi-tive and active life. 6. Hence i t is that the affec-tions, which are of love, appear in a certain imagein the face, and that the thoughts, which are ofwisdom, appear in a certain light in the eyes." I tappears, then, that the brain is the immediate re-ceptacle of man's first principles, which are the willand the understanding; and these the immediatereceptacles of life, which is the Spirit of Gad, or


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RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY UNITED. b9

love and wisdom. These first principles, the willand the understanding, are from the brain diffusedthrough the whole body.

W e will now endeavour to show, " tha t there isa correspondence of all things of the mind with 11.11things of the body. This is new, because i t hasnot heretofore been known, by reason that i t was

not known what spiritual is, and what is its differ-ence from natural, and therefore i t was not knownwhat correspondence is j for there is a correspond-ence of spiritual things with natural things, andby i t a conjunction of them. I t is said, that here-tofore i t was not known what spiritual is, and whatits correspondence is with natural, and consequentlywhat correspondence i s - b u t s ti ll both might havebeen known. Who does not know that affectionand thought are spiritual, and thence that 11.11thingsof affection and thought are spiritual 1 Who doesnot know that action and speech are natura1, andthence that aU things of action and speech arenatural1 Who does not know that affection andthought, which are spiritual, cause a man to actand speak 1 Who may not thence know whatcorrespondence is, of th ings spi ri tual with thingsnatural1 Does not thought cause the tongue tospaak; and affection together with thought cause

the body to act 1 They are two dis tinc t things: 1can think and not speak, 1 can will and not act jand i t is known that the body does not think andwill, but that the thought falls into RpCCCh, and thewill into action. Does not affection shine forth in


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the face, and present therein a type of itself. This

every one knOWs. ls not the a.ffection, consideredin itself spiritual, and the changes of the face, whichare alao caHed the countenance, uatural1 W homight not thence have concluded that there is a cor-respondence, and consequently that there is corres-pondence of all things of the mind with all thingsof the body1 A.nd forasmuch as aH things of themind have relation to affection and thought, orwhat is the same, to the will and the understand-ing, and aH things of the body to the heart and thelungs, that there is a correspondence of the wi l lwith the heart, and of the understanding with thelungs. That such things have not been known,although they might have been known, is by reason,that man was become so external, that he wouldacknowledge nothing but what was natural. Thiswas the delight of his love (or the delight of hisheart), and thence the delight of his understanding;wherefore to elevate his thoughts above the natural

principle to any thing spiritual separate from thenatura!, was unpleasant to him; therefore he couldnot think otherwise from bis natural love and de-light, than that the spiritual principle was apurernatural principle, and that correspondence was asomewhat fiowing in by continuity, yea, the merenatural man caunot think any thing separate fromwhat is natural, this to him being nothing. Afarther reason why these things have not heretoforebeen sean and known, is because aH things of reli-gion, which are called spiritual, have been removed


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RELIGION AND PHlLOSOPHY UNITED. 61

out of the sight of man by this dogma received iuthe whole Christian world, that things theological,which are spiritual, and which the councils andleaders of the church have concluded upon, areblindly to he helieved, because, say they, they trau-scend the understanding." "The correspondence ofthe will and the understanding with the heart and

the lungs cannot he nakedly confirmed, that is, bythings rational alone, but they InaY by effects j thecase herein is similar as with the causes of things jthese, indeed, may be Beon rationally, but not clear-ly, except by effects, for the causes are in the effectsand give themselves to be seen through them;neither does the mind, before seeing effects, confirmitself concerning cau!'!es: the effects of this corres-pondence shall be delivered in what follows."

To accompany ouI' Author through these varionseffects, by which alone his doctrine can be fullyproved and enforced, would require that deep in-terest in the subject, which they only who knowits importanc could he expected to feel. But asBome few striking illustrations of the operations ofthe principle in general InaY be seleeted, we willendeavour to perform this service. Though wehave, in the above quotations, attempted to showthe existence of the principle of correspondence in

it s par ticular operation between the soul and bodyof man; yet, as hinted previously to these quota-tions, its origin is in the Supreme Being, thencedescending and forming the conjunetive power,through the varions degrees of altitude, from the


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Divine Head to the feet or extreme of creation,

the naturaI earths, said in Scripture to he "God'sfootstool;" which extreme is forever protracting,that is, bcings in the natural worlds are foreverincreasing in number, in correl!pondence with theeternal emanation of divine love from its g:loriou8fountain. Our uthor himself has somewhere an

observation to this effect, that particulars areBO

numerous and llO various, as llOmetimes to confusethe mind; and that it is therefore occasionallybetter to explain a subject by universals only, leav-ing the particulars of those universals to some mo

Margaret Hiller RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY UNITED Boston 1817 Second Edition Oliver Prescott Hiller London 1856

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