interspersed throughout various parts of Revelation, lead us to form the most august conceptions of his creative energy, and plainly indicate that it is impossible for the highest ereated intellect to form a more magnificent idea of his designsand operations than what in reality exists. In short, though some of the preceding views may not precisely correspond to the facts which shall ultimately be found to exist in the universe, they ought nevertheless to be entertained and rendered familiar to the mind, since they open a sublime and interesting train of thinking; and since they cannot go beyond the magnificence of Jehovah's kingdom, nor be very different from what actually exists in the universe; they form a kind of sensible substratum of thought for the mind to fix upon, when it attempts to frame the loftiest conceptions of the object of our adoration. It may be laid down as a principle which ought never to be overlooked by theology, that our conceptions of the grandeur of God are precisely, or, at least, nearly commensurate with our conceptions of the grandeur and extent of his operations throughout the universe. We all admit that the Deity is infinite both in respect of space and of duration. But an infinity of empty space and an infinity of duration abstractly considered, convey no precise or tangible ideas to the mind, to guide it in forming distinct conceptions of the Deity, or of any other being. It is only when the immensity of space is considered as diversified with an immense variety and multiplicity of objects, and when eternal duration is contemplated as connected with a constant succession of glorious scenes and transactions that the soul of man can expand its views and elevate its conceptions of the incomprehensible Jehovah.

If these sentiments be admitted, it will follow that the man whose ideas are confined within the limits of a few hundred miles, or even within the range of the globe we inhabit, must have his views of Deity confined within nearly the same sphere, for we have no sensible measures of the attributes of God but those which are derived from the number and

extent of his actual operations. When we attempt to think of him without the assistance of his visible works, our thoughts instantly run into confusion and sink into inanity. And since we find that the material works of God are 6 so great above all measure,' so widely extended and so magnificent in the scale of their operation, it is of the utmost importance, in a religious point of view, that the mind accustom itself to range at large through the wide extent of creation, to trace by analogy from what is known the probable magnitude, arrangement, and grandeur of what is removed beyond the limits of our vision, to add magnitude to magnitude, system to system, and motion to motion, till our thoughts are overwhelmed with the mighty idea, and though we may occasionally frame some erroneous or inadequate notions when forming our conceptions of certain subordinate particulars, yet we need not fear that in point of number, magnitude, and variety, our conceptions can ever go beyond the realities which exist within the range of universal nature, unless we suppose that 'man can conceive beyond what God can do.' Such trains of thought will tend to expand and elevate the mind, and give it a sublime turn of thinking, and will naturally produce an ardent desire of beholding a brighter display of the magnificence of the Creator in the eternal world.”

SECTION IX.

SPIRITS.

In the contemplation of the mechanism of the Universe, in its collective magnificence, and in its individuality, as seen in any atom world; it appears consonant with reason, and with common sense, that the details of such a universe may be observed by intelligent beings, and that those beings may have duties to perform in connection with the due regulation of sectional portions of it; and as mighty effects can be effected by a man when he stands at the proper place, and guides machinery moved by hydraulic power; so, enlarging our conceptions of size and power to that which is likely to control the orrery of the universe; there are likely to be creations of essences, intelligent, and powerful, to take a more active share of the duties of supervision than we may have hitherto conceived; and this sub-agency may be carried on to as great an extent as by man on earth, when he employs inferior mental agencies for the due carrying out of the plans of the engineer or architect. This idea we gave out in the section on the universe; and we repeat it here, because we are now about to consider, not only its feasibility or its possibility, but its certainty; and the several sections have been links in the chain; the one in, and from the other extending onward, link by link; and as we are now welding that link which unites the invisible with the visible, let us see to it, that it is trustworthy; the strain of the whole subject rests on it. The object before us, is not to attempt to decide dogmatically, Who those spirits are? Our first duty, is to show that they exist. Let us ascertain, if we can, the extent of their powers: and then endeavour to ascertain who they are, so as to arrive, as far as possible, at a just conception of the truth on a subject evidently above our full apprehension.

To prove existence, we must have the evidence of all, or some of our sensations, as developed by sight, feeling, smell,

taste, and hearing. If any, or all of these powers are healthily brought into action, we are in the possession of powers, which, as a rule, enable us to arrive at a safe decision. We may have exceptions to any rule, and too frequently critics, and mere arguers lay hold of the exceptions to embarrass the question. Thus: All men must die: quibble-Enoch and Elijah did not die, 'therefore we may not. Again: Drunkenness is a vice which destroys man so that he does not live out half his days: quibble-I know a man between seventy and eighty years of age, who is a notorious drunkard. These are quibbling evasions of rules by the production of exceptions.

So with spirit manifestations; we have the quibble of, we have seen or heard of a medium who attempted to deceive; therefore all is deception. Let us doubt honestly, and fairly, and examine the evidences of credible witnesses, so as to arrive at a business-like decision in our minds on the subject, remembering that denial does not annihilate; and if immortality to you, and spirit action upon you, have entered into the depth of your reason and affections, they ought to be investigated with calmness and thoughtfulness. The leading thinkers of the past have pondered; over this subject. Socrates, Plato, and Cicero, were acted upon in such a manner as to create the thought in their minds, that probably they were immortal— that they were to live, on, but it was one of doubt; Socrates consulted with his "spirit," and accepted direction from it for the current duties of the day. The leading heroes of antiquity acknowledged a power within and without them,— guiding them, so as to compel them to feel a "destiny." Some have had a "star," a veritable appearance of light, luminous like a "star.' Others have declared that they have had guidance by a "voice," by a power unseen; now it is too much of thoughtlessness, or impudence, to give these men the "lie," and, without the slightest ground for doing so, brand the noble of past ages with ignominy :-Do you draw back, and say it was a "hallucination ?" How can that be an hallucination which appears at the proper time; and against the opinion of

the so-called hallucinated, directs him scores of times to pursue certain given lines of action; the yielding to which invariably leads to success; whilst the refusal to pursue them, invariably leads to misfortune? If it be said, oh! past history on those points is a fable, the success of the hero has created ideas in the minds of the people, which he has for selfish purposes not denied-again, I would say, this is the gratuitous insult of ignorance. If we can trace the continued recurrence of such phenomena down to the present day, and can produce living witnesses that they have been, or are now, subject to the same class of phenomena; and those persons are prepared to make their affidavit before any legal tribunal, to the fact of having seen a guiding star, heard such a voice, or by some other method, apart from their own volition, have received directions, and that they have followed those directions—we are opening a chink in the door of the past, through which the rays of light will shine, and illuminate our present surroundings. In Egyptian, Assyrian, Grecian, and Roman history, we have Gods many. Classic mythology is a declaration, of Gods for trees, Gods for rivers, Gods for every movement in creation; and sneer at it as we may, there is the ground-work of right thought and perception in it. Let us suppose for the while, that an aboriginal dwarf-sized Australian, burrowing in the earth like the earth-men of Africa, is suddenly laid hold of, and guided on board one of our steam-ships-the working of the piston, the turning of the paddle-wheels, and the steering of the ship, would invest the operators with "Godlike" powers in the eyes and comprehension of the stranger. They would be "Gods of the sea," our aëronauts would be "Gods

the air," our blast furnace workers in the iron districts would be "Gods of fire ;" and thus with his inferior mental powers, and view of the numerous adaptations of natural substances, into the forms and utilities of civilised life; he, unless undeceived, would return to his fellow savages with a mind overcharged, prostrate with the extraordinary powers and capabilities of the "pale faces," and those beings by their