be one with us in this, that we each have the same God-that heaven has revealed to us both the same supreme. The unity of God implies that his various manifesting mediums have unity also, so that, through the infinite space, the roads which lead to the Supreme are similar. In other words, God must be known by what he does, by his own works and language. Now, the unity of the actor and of the speaker is necessarily impressed on the ac-, tion and the speech. There is this unity to all the acts and words that ever came from any one-that, sum them all up, not even omitting the contradictions, and that sum is the full revelation of him. All the parts unite to tell us who and what He is. But the field of man's doing is limited. The field of the Divine action is unlimited: it is equal to himself. And there is unity flowing throughout the entire doings of God, so that the whole circle of his works and utterance tells who, and what He is. As his manifestations include all things, and as there is unity flowing through all these, is it not safe to say that there are likeness and unity in the experience of all the beings of the different worlds, capable of coming to the Divine Mind through its manifestations? For their experience must accord with the universe in which they are placed, and the means through which the Deity is revealed.

"I would here pause for a moment to apply the truth already gained. We have gone over the evidence which yields us the two convictions, that the powers and the experience of all moral intelligences are kindred, are similar. Reciprocal influences and sympathies cannot exist without these. They are the necessary, though not the entire, fountains of the universal concord of minds, Behold the beautiful lesson! The school of the universe is so arranged, the universal order is so fixed, that, from all ends of the vast creation, rational and moral beings may hereafter meet with the power of mutual love and sympathy. All things point to the spiritual, and the general harmony of minds. Glorious universe! Prophetic Nature!

"One more element in the grand concord of souls let me here point out. I mean the elective affinity by which all minds and hearts recognize those of their own order. The astonishing facility and accuracy which mark the operation of this principle in human society, among every order of talent, taste, genius, disposition, and character, are truly remarkable. By this elective affinity we are drawn to some, and repelled from others. By it we would choose our society and friends. But there are obstacles to its perfect operation here. The transient affinities of local and selfish interests do it violence. But it is a perfect law. In the free future these obstructions will be removed; and under its perfect and universal action society will form itself. Every degree of moral and intellectual excellence, every shade of ignorance and vice, will so control its action, that society will fall into the most harmonious relations possible. The law which forms the crystal is not more infallible than this elective affinity, which, cleared of obstructions, shall form society into concordant relations and parts.

"Thus dawns upon us the Infinite Harmony. It flows through the ages, and ranges through all time and space. It pervades the infinite divisions of nature, and ascends as a silent hymn from all the changes and facts of life. Justice works in order. It has an infinite range. Wisdom works out nothing but harmony. It holds empire over a boundless sweep of Providence. God is one. Hence the universe is the infinitely divided harmony. God is Love. This is the great fact; for love is the harmonizer of discords, the great fountain of union and peace. The infinite harmony of God, nature and time, is laid in the human consciousness: otherwise the soul could not know it when revealed; otherwise the soul is not descended from God. Rejoice that such a nature is yours. Rejoice that such a universe surrounds you. Rejoice in Him whose unseen hand so moves upon the harp of time, as to bring music from all its trembling strings. Trust deeply in Him. He is the harmonic worker. Gain the spirit of all things-the Spirit of God. Be within yourselves the harmonious fountain. Make the universe your song, and the endless time your solemn anthem. Be one, and your concords are eternal."

one.

It will interest the readers of the "Repository" to learn that the author of the "Reviews and Essays" is a minister in the religious body styled “Christians," a denomination whose preachers in the Eastern and Middle States number several hundreds; and whose adherents, west of the Alleghanies, are computed at hundreds of thousands. In several of the important points of faith and life, this denomination, and the "Church of the New Jerusalem," are at The basis of religious association among the "Christians" is not a code of speculations, but the active principles of Christian love and life. We are freemen of the universe. We permit no ecclesiastical body to prescribe to us what we must believe or do. Each of us for himself, in the fear of God, and in the use of the light which God may give to him, determines what is truth, what is duty. Love we regard as the esse of religion; hence we esteem the good of all sects, and of all worlds, as equal members of our Lord's great, undivided family. In the advocacy of these principles we are happy in recognizing many fellow-laborers among our brethren of the "New Church."

We bid them God speed in the holy labor. And we unceasingly desire that the Divine Wisdom and Love may be more and more multiplied to us, and to the whole family of God, for ever, Peapack, N. J., Nov. 1849.

A. C.

2.-ON THE CHARACTER AND WORKS OF CHRIST. BY WILLIAM B. HAYDEN. BOSton: Otis Clapp. 12mo. pp. 83.

This work is a review of Dr. Bushnell's "God in Christ," and is, in brief but pithy terms, dedicated to that gentleman, by whom we understand it is regarded as by far the ablest critique that has appeared on his far-famed and much-controverted volume. The pamphlet of Mr. Hayden consists of three parts, the first an Introduction, while the second and third are devoted to the subjects of Incarnation and Atonement. The entire work is written with great force of conception and felicity of style, and a very engaging and amiable spirit breathes throughout the whole. Mr. H. is extremely happy on the score of luminous statement, and he evidently inclines to rely more on the distinct affirmative putting of the true doctrine in all cases, than on the formal or logical refutation of the false. As a specimen of this peculiar trait of Mr. H.'s writing, we cite the following:

"Taking our stand upon the merely human side of the subject, it shall be our present purpose to view some of its aspects simply in the light of the evangelic narratives. The man, Christ Jesus, is there represented as entering upon his existence under a parentage half divine, half human. With our eyes constantly fixed upon this fact, let us consider the normal consequences likely to flow from such a development. There can be no difficulty in conceiving that such a being would constitute one simple unitary personality; for every human being has a similar dualistic derivation. And the specific traits of character-moral, intellectual, propensive-inherited from each parent, are often clearly distinguishable by the individual himself, and by others; and the distinction always exists, though often too occult for observation. The child Jesus, then, would inherit two classes of psychological qualities; the one class, derived from the mother along with the material body, would partake of the depraved appetites, affections, and other finite attributes of our common fallen human nature; so that there would be a sufficient ground in

his person for the predication of such language as is used in Scripture, implying a simple human character in him. The other class of qualities would be derived from, or would consist in, the indwelling in him of so much of the Divine nature as would normally enter into his personality on account of his divine paternity. This latter class would furnish the grounds for those passages of Scripture where a divine nature is ascribed to him. Both modes of expression would be true, and it would require both modes to set forth the whole truth. We do not know why the organic conjunction of the two sets of psychical qualities should be conceived to be destructive of the unit of consciousness, in this case, any more than it might be supposed to be in the ordinary human subject. If any one should feel difficulty at this point, we can only say, consider it profoundly, and let us have the benefit of your deliberations.

"There would be a distinct consciousness, undoubtedly, of two diverse kinds of emotions and other mental affections, and as distinct an attribution of these to their respective origins. And the two kinds of states of consciousness which would hence arise, as the one or the other kind should for the time predominate, may justly be taken to solve the apparent contradiction of the two kinds of language which we so often find the Saviour uttering in regard to himself; namely, that in which he prays to the Father, speaks of him as of a higher power, or of himself as subject, or as the Son of Man, and other apparently human language; and that other mode of expression, in which he unhesitatingly assumes eternity, omnipotence, omnipresence, and the other confessedly divine attributes, to himself.

"It need not detain us to inquire what particular portion of the soul every ordinary individual is derived from the father, or which from the mother, or whether there be any fixed determinate proportion between them. It is sufficient for our present purpose, and which is an undeniable fact, that there is a mingling of the two classes of qualities, in some proportion, in every human being. That the phenomena of the generative transmission of mental qualities are evolved under the rnle of some permanent laws, will not be doubted by any who are likely to follow us in this inquiry; whether those laws, in the present state of knowledge, can be ascertained, is another question.

"In the case before us, it is certain that the more external portion, so to speak, of his nature, the bodily appetites and propensities, and the lower or sensational department of his understanding, would be derived from the mother, they could not have been from the divine nature. Now, in view of these circumstances, what will normally take place in the unfolding life of such a character? The body will grow in stature, like other human bodies, for that is wholly human, and subject to the laws of space and nutrition. The intellectual faculties, so far as human will grow-that is, expand in power; the divine, on the other hand, cannot grow, they can only be developed-that is, brought forth to view. Would such a mind be subject to any errors? No; for whatever false impressions the sensuous perceptions might introduce into the vestibule of the understanding, the Divine Intelligence within would immediately correct and expel. So that whatever should become, so to speak, the furniture of its chambers, would be wholly divine, not human. Could such a person suffer temptation? Yes; for he has all the desires, appetites, and affections which are the subjects or channels of temptation; and the objects which gratify them would be constantly presented to him. Could he yield to temptation? No; the divine nature within him could not suffer him to yield, for it would correct a wrong impulse at its rising. If every wrong impulse were repressed and mortified at the moment of its inception, the depraved appetite or propensity in which it originated would gradually die; and thus would perish and be dissipated one of the human constituents; and if that which was human perished, that which was divine would fill its place. If one human appetite, by constant resistance, were thus to be slain, and a divine principle of life infused in its stead, then all the human appetites, desires, propensities, qualities, and faculties would, in succession, disappear, and their offices would be filled with divine tenants.

"It is impossible that this process should not go on so long as Jesus should remain upon the earth. For temptations must continue to be offered to his desires so long as those desires remained unextinguished in him, and so long as he was in a world where temptations are. And it is just as certain that he will not yield to them. And it is also certain that if an evil propensity be not gratified, but mortified, it will gradually die out, and the life which is in its place will become purified. As it is impossible that this process should not continue to go on, so it is impossible that it should culminate in any but one end; namely, the final extinction of the human nature in its totality, and the consequent superinduction of a divine nature in its stead. Thus, it would be necessary that the Son of Mary should progressively die, in order that the Son of God might be seen by us the more distinctly to live; and the fulness of the meaning of this mission cousists not merely in what he was, as the Son of Mary, divinely conceived, but in what he became, through the processes of an organically divine life. Thus he bridged over that otherwise impassable gulf between the Infinite and the Finite, from the Absolute to the Relative, opening up through his own person a way of communication-becoming Mediatorbetween man and God. For he was God, and became man; not a merely natural man, or material man, as indicated at first by his maternal parentage, but a Divine Man,--that is, again, Infinite Man manifesting within the field of finite conception the express form and image of God, offering Himself as the perpetual object of our worship, not as the Son of Mary, which now he is not, but as the Son of God; and if as the Son of God, then as God himself,--for God cannot be divided.

"Thus, Father and Son are not two disjoined personalities; but the name Son is given to that humanitary garment with which the Divine Being wrapped Himself about, that He might descend and render Himself visible to our race; and the name Father is given to the indwelling Essential Divinity so enwrapped. Hence, as the natural human medium in which he was enveloped fell off, so to speak, piece by piece, and was put away, the divine soul or Essence, which was within, shone forth more conspicuously to view, and the Divine Human form became apparent. The maternal elements were opaque; the divine translucent. Follow him to the mount of transfiguration, and you shall see. The account of this event has been read in the church nearly eighteen hundred years. Some, when they read it, will suppose there was a momentary change wrought in the person of the Saviour, and that the spirits of some, long departed, were instantaneously summoned to attend him; others, when they read, will suppose that this glorified state of the Saviour, and the presence of the spirits with him, was more permanent, and that the momentary change wrought was in the perceptive powers of the apostles them-selves."--Pp. 32-36.

This is clearly and strongly enounced, although the answer to the question whether our Lord's mind was "subject to any errors," requires some slight qualification. The hereditary maternal principle, as it was liable to evil, so was it also to the false, and we are expressly informed that the Lord was, in childhood, in the appearances of truth, which, however, were dispelled by the celestial influx as he advanced in the process of glorification. But some degree of error may properly be predicated of a state in which appearances prevail. Mr. H. speaks of the Lord's intellectual faculties "so far as human," and of their "growing," and the inference would seem to be fair that this growth, in the early periods, at least, of the Lord's earthly life, would consist in emergence from apparent to genuine truths. On this head the portion of the Arcana extending from No. 1660 to 1680 may be advantageously consulted.

Mr. H. is evidently very desirous to find as few points as possible of dissent from Dr. B., and construes the doubtful positions in bonam partem wherever he

can. We are for ourselves, we fear, somewhat less charitably given in respect to a vein of speculation which soars away, indeed, by fits, from the ark of orthodoxy into new regions, but is every now and then returning with the olive twig of peace, as if awfully fearful of a rupture. On a more careful pondering of Dr. B.'s theories, we see less and less of a distinct perception of the real constitution of the Lord's person, and more and more of a spirit of self-reliance and self-intelligence, which forbid the hope of his ever being persuaded to have recourse to the higher sources of light that are now inviting the study of all reflecting minds. He has much indeed to say of the Incarnation, but it is the incarnation of a something in the Divine nature which, although he terms it the Logos, or Word, yet whether it is, in his mind, the true Logos, identical with the Divine Wisdom or Truth, or merely some mystic faculty or power, is to us extremely doubtful. He speaks of it as the "creative imagination" of God, a "generative power of form," and bestows upon it other transcendental epithets, which convey to the mind but a very vague idea of his meaning. Were the question distinctly put to Dr. B., whether he held that the absolute Jehovah, the one living and true God, was actually incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, so that no other God was to be recognized in the universe, than the Jehovah resident in the Son of Mary, we presume that he would demur at once. We infer this from the fact, that he explicitly holds doctrines in direct antagonism with it, as, for instance, an objective atonement and justification by faith alone. But on all these points we are willing to hope the best from the fruits of maturer reflection.

In regard to the use of the word "person" we are happy to find Mr. H. adopting a decided tone.

"A reference to a single point more will complete this portion of our remarks. On page 174, the author proceeds: Neither is it any so great wisdom, as many theologians appear to fancy, to object to the word person; for, if any thing is clear, it is, that the Three of Scripture do not appear under the grammatic forms which are appropriate to person-I, Thou, He, We, They; and, if it be so, I really do not perceive the very great license taken by our theology when they are called three persons.'

"This, we conceive, is rather singular language to occur in the same sermon which has discoursed so eloquently of the difficulties and confusion which the doctrine of Three Persons has introduced. It is true, the author has thrown out the following sentence as a constructive guard: There certainly can be no harm in the use of such terms as mere terms of convenience, if we are careful not to derive our doctrine from them. Precisely so; and if our theological language was never used by any but such as are as fully aware of all the philosophies of language as Dr. B., the danger would be slight. But what he says we ought to be careful not to do, is exactly what our theology' has taken most pains to accomplish, namely, to derive its doctrine from these 'terms of convenience.' And for this reason we would strenuously object to the use of the word person in this connection. The general mind is always very much under the sway and influence of words, and therefore the words of vital moment, those of our theological science, should be carefully chosen. And it often becomes necessary, for a time, to hold in abeyance the use of particular expressions, especially where, as in the present case, great abuses have grown up under them. Whatever may have been the definition of the word person, when first introduced into theological language, it is now clear that it has become associated in the English mind with the idea of an essential, incommunicable monad, bounded by consciousness, and vitalized by