But even granting that musical responses are suitable to the genius of the New Church, it would not be easy at present for us to conduct them efficiently in our smaller societies; and even after the great labour should have been successfully accomplished, of producing such music as amateurs will despair of depreciating, and displacing by their own,-if it be suitable for execution by a certain number of persons only, a much smaller number would not be able to go through their office satisfactorily to their own feelings. In this case, supposing the outcry to provide more for the people to do," by giving them responses to utter aloud, to die away, on account of its want of all reasonable grounds, a New Church congregation may surely find enough to do, and without weariness, in joining, in heart and understanding, in those sacred truths of heaven which are equally uttered in the prayers and the discourses of the minister. M. D.

ON A PROSPECTIVE USE OF THE SWEDENBORG

ASSOCIATION.

"The field of man's nature and life cannot be too much worked, or in too many directions; until every clod is turned up, the work is imperfect; no whole truth is possible but by combining the points of view of all the fractional truths, nor, therefore, until it has been fully seen what each fractional truth can do by itself."

John Stuart Mill, in the Westminster Review.

As it is every one's duty to lead a life of as much use as possible, it follows that the search for truth is equally a duty, because truth is a means to the good end. So far, all men will agree; but when the question is raised concerning the truth to be sought, disagreement begins; for many are unwilling to think that they require more than they already possess: others do indeed desire more, but it must be similar in kind to that already possessed, and both parties join in repudiating facts or opinions of a very novel kind, or as the phrases run, "extravagant, visionary, wild, strange," and so forth.

It has often occurred to me that two lines in the wonderful play of Hamlet contain a profound meaning, most happily expressed, and

of excitement. Now, is it not the want of something like this lively kind of attention; a want arising either from defective intellectual habit, or a lack of deep piety, that makes people desire responses to be read, in order to make them feel lively ?—A vain desire !

exactly applicable to the mental state now spoken of. When Horatio exclaims,

"Oh, day and night, but this is wondrous strange!"

Hamlet replies,

"And therefore as a stranger give it welcome."

No further teaching seems to be required as to the reception of the new and strange; and what a change would not the admission of such an axiom make? Welcoming the strange fact or opinion would give it the fair chance of being admitted for true, if it were really so; consequently, of increasing our own power for good; welcoming it as a stranger, would secure us from being imposed upon, and give a scope both for benevolence and penetration: nor would the labour be wholly lost, even if the stranger proved to be an impostor; for from a real knowledge we might guard others from danger who were less wary than ourselves.

Thus far, then, all New Churchmen will assent, for no set of men have more reason to complain of the reception given to the seemingly strange, by the world, and it is a New Churchman who has remarked, that

"The ground on which new things rely, is somewhat pertinaciously misapprehended. For when a discovery is made, the world puts the question, Is it likely? And as the new is unlike the old, i. e., is unlikely as compared with the old, so the correct reply is, that prima facie, the discovery is not likely. Whence the discoverer properly relies on truth of fact, and not on probability of appearance; for he knows by experiment that truth is, in the vulgar sense, unlikely. Therefore honesty requires the reasoner to cease battering against the unlikelihood of things whereof the likelihood is not asserted, and to address his wits to the question of fact, which is the only point at issue. For who will not agree that new truth is oft-times unlikely; and that to ignorance, whether natural or voluntary, all knowledge is unlikely ? So that, if such unlikelihood is to have any jurisdiction, it becomes presumptive evidence of truth, though it is safest to regard it as so much idle prejudice intervening between 'the mind and things,' and to put it away accordingly."-See Wilkinson's Remarks on Swedenborg's Economy of the Animal Kingdom, page 57.

But now a new question arises, as to how far New Churchmen are bound to look into what appears strange to them? Many, I believe, among the best and most earnest of us, do not feel called upon to do this; and accordingly it is not uncommon to hear New Churchmen, on such a subject as Mesmerism, for instance, expressing mere scepticism, or complete belief, just as with other men; or again, with regard to such remarkable writings as those of Fourier, which are denounced by some as objectionable to the last degree, whilst others, equally sincere in their opinion, believe them to be well worthy of every thinking man's attention, more especially as connected with the terrestrial welfare of the

race. In both these instances. I believe the chief cause of such a difference of view amongst New Churchmen, is the repugnance felt on one side to examination, as being both useless and dangerous.

:

The leading idea I presume to be this,-that if the New Church writings be the body of truth we believe them to be, then other things, seemingly out of their pale, are either false or superfluous but I submit that this can only be a plausibility; for our author tells us, not only that all in Nature is from the Spiritual World, but that in the latter are numerous things, both good and evil, not appearing in Nature at all, and if so, the New Churchman would seem to be bound, above all other men, to look out into the Natural World for new effects of the Influx from the Spiritual World.

Exclusivism in the New Church has a tendency to give thinkers out of it a low opinion of her members; as a proof of this, I may quote a passage from an Essay by an American lady (Miss M. Fuller), in which Essay, by-the-by, our author is very highly rated indeed :—

"That the body of his followers do not constitute a Catholic Church would be sufficiently proved to us by the fact, asserted by all who come in contact with them, that they attach an exaggerated importance to the teaching of their master, which shuts them, in a great measure, from the benefit of other teachings, and threatens to make them bigots, though of such mild strain, as shows them to be the followers of one singularly mild and magnanimous.”

Suppose it granted, then, at least for argument's sake, that our author's words would justify us in expecting occasional appearances of the new, and, consequently, in a certain sense, of the strange or unlikely, and that it is the business of the New Church to give some sort of welcome, what would be the best mode of so doing? And this brings me at once to the matter of this paper, which is to suggest the possibility, at some time, of a new USE peculiarly fitted for the SWEDENBORG ASSOCIATION. This would be, whenever practicable, to appoint from its own body a Committee, say of three or four persons, whose studies or inclinations bear on the point in question, and who, after a conscientious inquiry into the given subject, should draw up a REPORT, addressed to the Church at large, containing, perhaps, some very brief account of the mode of inquiry adopted, and altogether dealing in absolute facts and statements, and avoiding mere expression of individual opinions. If some remarkable author is to be reported upon, the Committee might give a classification of his leading views, expressed as much as possible in his own words; and if his terminology be peculiar, a list might be given, with the meaning of each phrase in New Church language. The Index form, of which our author has left such valuable examples, might

also be resorted to; the grand object being to produce something available to the whole New Church, which would then possess documents of real authority, composed by her own members, with the worthy end of making all truth known.

Such a mode of proceeding, it might be conceived, would not be unworthy of the New Church, and would command the respect of men out of it, to whom, also, it would be another means of making the New Church known; for many would desire to see what was done with their favourite scheme by men who proceeded so differently from the generality of the world: and who, having high truths to guide them, might sometimes find even more in a given fact or opinion than was perceived by the original promulgator. ALFRED ROFFE.

THE RENDING OF THE VAIL IN THE TEMPLE.

MANY extraordinary events occurred at the Lord's crucifixion. The veil of the temple, it is said, when the Lord yielded up the ghost, was rent in twain from the top to the bottoin. (Matt. xxvii. 51.) All the events attendant upon the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord are, when seen as to their representative character, exceedingly instructive. For all things, says Swedenborg, were representative, and when we perceive their representative import and meaning, we come into the very light of the Word,-the light of Divine Truth itself.

We read in Exodus xxvi. how this vail was constructed; it was made of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. It was hung upon four pillars of shittim-wood, overlaid with gold. Within this vail was the ark of the testimony, which, on account of its containing the Ten Commandments, was the most holy thing in the representative church. The place where this ark was kept was called the Holy of Holies, and the vail separated between this and the holy place. The Israelites were not allowed, under the severest penalties, even to look within the vail; and Aaron could only enter into the Holy of Holies once a year, on the great day of atonement, and then he had to purify himself, and to put on holy garments, (Lev. xvi.) so great was the sanctity of this most holy place. It must, however, be evident, that the place itself was holy only on account of its representative character. The testimony within the ark signified the Lord as to his DIVINE HUMANITY; hence it was

called the most holy place, because the Lord in His Divine Humanity is Holiness itself. The Jews were not able to see this. They could only see the shadows which represented the Lord; they could not see the Lord himself; nor could they consequently see the interior things of his Word, of his Kingdom, and his Church; hence a vail was hung up to prevent their seeing the Holy of Holies; because, in the representative church, could the ark of the testimony have been seen by the people, when not in states to see the pure truths relating to the Lord in his Humanity, and the interior things of his Word and Kingdom, profanations would have ensued, and the people must have been immediately smitten with a curse. Of such a character were the laws of representatives in the Jewish church; hence it was that the violation of those laws was, in most cases, punished with death.

Now, as the temple represented the Lord, (John ii. 21.) it follows that the vail, which was a part of the temple, also represented something relating to the Lord in his Humanity. This is evident from what is said in the Epistle to the Hebrews: (chap. x. 21, 22.) "Having, therefore, boldness to enter into the holiest (or Holy of Holies) by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh," &c. Here the veil is said to be his flesh, or the Humanity which he glorified, or consecrated as a new and living way to the holiest," that is, to the essential Divine Nature itself. By the rending of the veil, therefore, when the Lord was crucified, was represented the dissipation of all external rites, ceremonies, shadows, and appearances which had existed in all the representative churches, and which the mind, through the fall, had lost all ability to penetrate, and could not consequently perceive the interior, spiritual, and divine things contained therein. For, prior to the Lord's coming, the Holy of Holies, or the Divine Nature itself, could only be approached through a variety of intermediates, such as the priesthood,especially by Aaron, and the various rites and ceremonies of the representative church. Thus "there was a veil cast over all people," and "over all the glory there was a covering." But when the Lord came and glorified his Humanity, this veil and this covering were rent asunder, and the glory thereunder concealed was brought forth to view. Henceforth there is to be no veil to the real members of the church; "the new and living way to the Holy of Holies" is now prepared, and we may all immediately approach Him "in whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth bodily.”