continued to unloose myself more and more from those whom I had now proposed to leave. But there remained nothing else, in so great dangers, than with words full of tears and sorrow to entreat the Divine Providence to help me."

This example of sincere seeking after the truth for its own sake, and from a love of it, is worthy of emulation. Hear now his reverence for the Old Testament writings. He says,―

"I call to witness my conscience and God, who hath his dwelling in pure souls, that I account nothing more prudent, chaste, and religious, than are all those Scriptures which, under the name of the Old Testament, the universal Church retains. (To the pure all things are pure.') Believe me, whatever there is in these Scriptures, it is lofty and divine; there is in them altogether truth, so ordered in measure, as that there is no one but may draw thence what is enough for himself, IF only he approach to draw with religion and piety, as true religion demands." (page 590.)

That this disposition of mind should be cherished, if men would read the Word of God with benefit to themselves, admits not of a doubt with those who have realized the beneficial effects of so doing. Again,

he says,

"We ought therefore so much the more eagerly to seek the more open and clear knowledge of the truth, the more we find ourselves to make progress in love, and in its simplicity to have our hearts purified; for it is with the very interior eye that truth is seen; and 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.""

In the following words we see the opposite of Solifidianism, or faith alone :

"Universally, then, we have need of continence, in order that we may turn away from evil. But to do good seems to pertain to another virtue, that is, to righteousness. This the sacred psalm admonishes us, where we read, 'Turn away from evil and do good.' But with what end we do this, it adds, by and by, saying, 'Seek peace, and ensue it.' For we then shall have perfect peace, when, our nature cleaving inseparably to our Creator, we shall have nothing of ourselves opposed to ourselves. This our Saviour also himself would have us to understand, so far as it appears to me, when he said, 'Let your loins be girt, and your lamps burning.' What is it to gird the loins? To restrain lusts, which is a work of continence. But to have our lamps burning, is to shine and glow with good works, which is the work of righteousness. Nor was he here silent as to what end we should do these things, adding,' And you like men waiting for their Lord, when he cometh from the marriage.' But when He shall come, He will reward us who have kept ourselves from those things which engender evil desires, and have done those things which charity hath bidden us; that we may reign in His perfect and eternal peace, without any strife of evil, and with the highest delight of good.” (Page 257.)

His ideas of hereditary and actual evil, may be seen in the following

extract:

"There are therefore in us evil desires, by consenting not unto which we live not ill; there are in us lusts of sins, by obeying not which we confirm not evil; but by having them, do not, as yet, perfect good. The apostle shows both, that neither is

good here perfected. where evil is desired, nor evil here perfected, wherein lust is not obeyed. (Rom. vii. 18.-Gal. v. 16.) For neither in the former place does he say that to do good is not with him, but to perfect; nor in the latter place does he say, ye shall not have lusts of the flesh, but, ye shall not perfect (or fulfil) the lusts of the flesh. Therefore there take place in us evil lusts, which those things please that are unlawful; but they are not perfected (or confirmed) when evil lusts are restrained by the mind serving the law of God. And good takes its place, when that which unlawfully pleases takes not place through the good delight prevailing." (Page 260.)

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Thus, the ideas of this early writer respecting good and evil were clearer, and far in advance of too many who now profess and call themselves Christians; and so also were his ideas of the origin of evil, although seen as through a glass, darkly. Hence he says,—

"Neither is God the author of evil, nor hath it ever repented him that he hath done aught; nor is he troubled by storm of any passion of soul; nor is a small part of earth His kingdom; He neither approves nor commands any sins or wickedness; He never lies. For these, and such like things, used to move us, when they employed them to make great and threatening assaults, and charged this as being the system of teaching in the Old Testament, which is most false. But how it is that neither God begot nor created evil, and yet that he setteth us free from evil, is proved by reason so necessary that it cannot at all be matter of doubt, especially to you, and such as you, (Honoratus) if to a good disposition there be added piety, and a certain peace of mind, without which nothing at all can be understood concerning so great matters.” (Page 617.)

Again. His ideas concerning the performing of miracles are far more consistent than the notions of some, who seek after a sign or miracle in attestation of every newly discovered truth. Thus he writes,

"I call that a miracle whatever appears that is difficult or unusual above the hope or power of them that wonder. Of which kind there is nothing more suited for the people, and in general for foolish men, than what is brought near to the senses. But these, again, are divided into two kinds; for there are certain which cause only wonder, but certain others procure also great favour and good will. For, if one were to see a man flying, inasmuch as that matter brings no advantage to the spectator, besides the spectacle itself, he only wonders. But if any affected with grievous and hopeless disease, were to recover straightway upon being bidden, his affection for him who heals will go beyond even his wonder at his healing. Such were done at that time when God in True Man approached unto men, as much as were enough. The sick were healed; the lepers were cleansed; the lame walked; the blind were restored to sight; and hearing was restored to the deaf. Men at that time saw water turned into wine; five thousand filled with five loaves; seas passed through on foot; dead rising again; thus certain were provided with good for the body by more open benefit, and others again for the good of the soul by more hidden sign; and all for the good of men by their witness to Majesty. Thus, at that time, was the divine authority drawing towards Itself the wandering souls of mortal men. Why, say you, do not these things take place now? Because they would not move, unless they were wonderful; and if they were usual they would not be wonderful. For the interchanges of day and night; and the settled order of things in heaven; the revolution of years divided into four

parts; the fall and return of leaves to trees; the boundless power of seeds; the beauty of light; the varieties of colours, sounds, tastes, and scents; let there be some one who shall see and perceive them for the first time, and yet such a one as we may converse with, he is stupified and overwhelmed with miracles. But we think little of these things, not because they are easy to understand, (for what more obscure than the causes of these things?) but because they constantly meet our senses.' (Page 614.)

This is at least an approach towards the threshold of the temple of Truth. The subject, we are aware, is extensively treated upon, and fully illustrated in the writings of Swedenbrg; as, for instance,--A. C. 5508, 7290, 7337, 8364, &c. &c.; also U. T. 501, 849.-It will now be seen that the Bishop of Hippo has some idea of the Divine Love as a Substance a truth which has been altogether lost sight of in the Christian world. On this point he says,—

e;

"This opinion is opposed by them who judge that the communion which we call either Godhead or Love, or charity, is a substance; but they require the Holy Spirit to be set forth before them according to that he is a substance, and understand not that it could not otherwise have been said, "God is Love," unless Love were a Substance. But let such as these make pure their heart, as far as they can, that they may be able to see that there is not any thing in the Substance of God such as if in It, Substance were one thing, and that which is accident to Substance were another thing, and not Substance; but whatsoever can in It be conceived of, is substancc." (Page 32.)

This point is, we are aware, beautifully illustrated, and in a manner free from all ambiguity, in the Treatise on Divine Love and Wisdom, by Swedenborg. Having spoken of the Divine Love, he then makes mention of the Divine Good, and says,

"It is enough for the Christian to believe that the cause of created things, whether heavenly or earthly, whether visible or invisible, is none other than the Goodness of a Creator, who is God, One and True; and that there is nothing that is not either Himself, or from Himself; and that He Himself is a Trinity. But what else is that which is called evil but a privation of good? For like as in the animal body, to be affected with disease and wounds is nothing else than to be deprived of health, so also, whatsoever are the faults of minds are the privations of good things.' (Page 91.)

In the above remarks we read of nothing approaching to the doctrine of a Tripersonality. Of the Divine Being he says, that, "He Himself is a Trinity;" and that God is Love, and that Love is a Substance. Again, he affirms that, God is Truth; and advises that,—

"With all earnestness, and with prayers, you intreat of God to set you free from the evil of error; if your heart be set upon a happy life. And this will take place the more easily, if you obey with a willing mind His commandments; which he hath willed should be confirmed by his church. For whereas the wise man is so joined to God in mind, as that there is nothing set between to separate; for God is Truth, and no one is by any means wise unless his mind come into contact with the Truth, we cannot deny that between the folly of man, and the most pure Truth of God, the wisdom of man is set, as something intermediate."

WATCHFULNESS.

"What I say unto you, I say unto all-WATCH."-(Mark xiii. 37.)

(Translated from the French New Jerusalem Magazine for June, 1847.)

WE cannot be too watchful and too attentive. We must constantly watch over ourselves, our emotions and passions, if we desire to dwell in love and charity. These virtues soon decay and wither if we neglect to watch over ourselves. The influence of the perverse sentiments in the midst of which we live, constantly tends to gain upon us, and to corrupt our hearts. We may believe ourselves to be in goodness and in truth, when nevertheless evil has already insinuated itself into our minds; and the day will come when, examining ourselves with attention, we shall be astonished and ashamed at the rapid progress of evil. We shall find ourselves accessible to many thoughts and sentiments which we should formerly have rejected without hesitation; we shall no longer find in ourselves that abhorrence of evil, and that beneficent energy, which we formerly possessed, and which were inspired into us by the reading of the Word, and by meditating on its divine truths. When we find ourselves in this unhappy state, there remains nothing for us but to humble ourselves in the dust before the Lord, and to implore of Him, in the deepest grief for our condition, to renew within us the internal man, whose existence we had well nigh destroyed.

"If we lived in a country of cannibals, inhabited by wild beasts, and by savage and cruel men, seeing ourselves threatened with incessant danger, should we not take every precaution, and feel the necessity of constant watchfulness? The slightest negligence, and the slightest forgetfulness in taking proper precautions every moment, would expose our liberty and our life to imminent peril. But we are living in the world exposed, as to our spiritual interests, to a peril very similar, and which is the more insidious and dangerous, because it does not so obviously appear, and because it is only when we consider it with anxiety and dread that we are able to perceive it. The danger is so much the more perfidious, as we do not perceive it until we have fallen into the ambush; we are then surprised at the depth of the precipice where we did not suspect even a declivity. We find that it is necessary, in order to arrive at our former position, to put forth every effort; and after we have raised ourselves we shall soon fall again, if we relax our vigilance, and the soul becomes enfeebled and infirm by successive falls, as the constitution of a man, however robust, becomes weaker by every attack of disease, which

leaves its indelible traces behind. It is not in vain that the apostle Peter says "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour." Whilst however, we have so much blind self-complacency for our own evils, we manifest, at the same time, much severity for the evils of others.

"We have but little charity, much pride and egotism, no humility, and a fatal propensity to the most deplorable excesses in our conduct. If God has given us riches, or power, we soon forget that we hold them in tenure from his beneficent hand; and we scarcely employ them to any other purpose than to our own personal and selfish gratification, and sometimes even to satisfy our basest and most unlawful passions. If He has given us intelligence, we are too often proud of it, and, far from giving Him thanks for the blessing, we attribute it to ourselves as a thing which is exclusively our own property.

"We should seriously bear in mind, that there are two precious virtues which comprise, as it were, all others,-humility and charity. With these virtues all things will proceed well; but without them we shall never attain to salvation. With these we shall assuredly come near to God; but without them we shall never see his face; with them we shall safely pass through this vale of tears: but without them life is only a fruitless and fatal combat against the law of God.

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Let us then watch over ourselves; for if we keep these two virtues inviolate, we may be certain that the Lord will give us all others. But what incessant care, what constant vigilance, is required to preserve them! It appears sometimes easy; this however is too often but a fatal security. It is only he who has had the happiness to preserve them who knows at what price it has been achieved,-through how many trials and difficult victories he has succeeded. Indeed every thing solicits and allures us to lose our humility; temptations by which we may either pervert or destroy the life of charity in our souls are innumerable. Let us resist with firmness every evil, that we may, of the Divine mercy, maintain these virtues, for we shall then resist all the evils which assault and tempt us.

"There is in good society a manner of deportment which is the mark of a virtuous education, and which is a reflex, if not a result, of these two virtues, it is the respect for external propriety. This manner of deportment I do not call by the name of virtue, because, for the most part, it is only external. It is a virtue only when genuine charity and real humility are within it as its essence and its life. But when the respect for the external proprieties of life are based on an internal respect and love,