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the nature of conscience. It is admitted that "the proper study of mankind is man," and this study, both physically and metaphysically, has been diligently pursued; but the result, in regard, at least, to man's internal, or what is called his immaterial part, has not been satisfactory. Mental philosophers, following the example of natural philosophers, have preferred the analytical to the synthetical method of inquiry, and, having different perceptions of the mental phenomena, have arrived at different conclusions respecting the mental faculties and their activities. Instead of taking Revelation as an authority and guide, even professed Christians have generally neglected the Bible in their inquiries concerning conscience; and to this Mr. Mason attributes the want of any certain knowledge respecting it. He justly remarks upon it

Philosophy is learning to With every

"If there be a Revelation, its very existence supposes that we cannot know the things which are revealed in it by any other means; and that without it, the light that is in us must be darkness; and if there be no revelation, then, verily, there does not any where exist any firm or trustworthy standard of truth. then, at best, mere guess-work, and the study of it is nothing but the enumerate the variety of guesses presented by the variety of guessers ! disposition to respect honourable philosophical minds, we must be permitted earnestly to declare that on this great subject we cannot do without the revealed recognitions and definitions of conscience contained in the Bible; nor, in tracing out the workings of conscience in our mental development, can we do without the God of the Bible, whose we are, and "in whom we live, and move, and have our being," and by whose operating spirit alone we can be inwardly renewed into His own blessed image and likeness." Page 7.

From this extract it will be understood what course Mr. Mason has taken in treating his subject. But in regard to other writers whom he has mentioned, had they fully relied on the teaching of the Scripture, would they have settled the question, What is conscience? We think not. Doubtless, also, Mr. Mason will agree with us in opinion, that to have done this, would have required a better understanding of the Word of God than they probably possessed; and that, in fact, it is only by that exposition of the Word, and those views of the spiritual nature of man, which are to be found in the writings of Swedenborg, and which supersede all other metaphysical disquisitions, that a true knowledge of the nature and operations of conscience can be acquired. Thus, in treating on subjects of this kind, a person whose mind is fully imbued with New Church doctrines has a very decided advantage over all others. This advantage is plainly manifested in the work before us. It is seen especially in the definitions which are given of conscience; for in these are combined two prominent points of New Church doctrine, the Divine life momentarily imparted to man, and man's free exercise of the faculties with which he is endowed.

"Let us," says the author, "think of conscience as a ceaseless gift of God to all alike, but as depending for its efficient action and proper manifestation on a right mental development,-a right state of the mental organism, in its two distinct departments, the Will, or the mental heart, and the Understanding." Page 37.

He has previously spoken of "Conscience as an intermediate faculty, a principle BETWEEN DIVINE AND HUMAN; and in support of this view he cogently argues as follows::

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"Now, that conscience is partly Divine and partly human, may thus be proved. It must be either divine or human, or compounded of both. If it were Divine only, its effects would be uniform and infallible; but experience shews that, practically, conscience is a variable faculty, and that it is not the same in all, and that in proportion as the defects of education and habit impede it, it is defective in its movements. If conscience were human only, and altogether acquired, it would never be in advance of our individual acquirements or previously established virtues; but experience proves that conscience, as that, under God, which is to lead us on from grace to grace," is ever in advance of our acquisitions of goodness, that is, of our settled principles, which, as successively developed, obtained proportionably at the same time a basis in habit, by conduct; for conscience is the Divine dictate, acting through our highest and purest truths, which every one knows constitute a standard of right, always superior to our individual actual attainments-provided, that is, they are genuine spiritual truths, for then they are documents of God's lending to us rather than our own property, being in advance of our individual, spontaneous, ordinary judgment, as well as of our personal moral feelings. Imagine the Divine dictate to be wanting, and our highest truths, however accurate and sublime in themselves, would be torpid in the memory, inoperative and speechless. Truth must have a motive power from the will-affections; but no good affection inferior in grade to a truth can give to it an impulse to practice higher than itself is capable of. Natural affections tending to harmless gratifications, cannot give a vital impulse to self-denying precepts, which suggest the privation of those gratifications for the sake of some unselfish duty; those self-denying truths must lie in the mind dead and speechless as a stone, but for the impulse of an affection of an equal grade, which they cannot have; or a Divine dictate, which they certainly do receive; for every one has within him the utterance of the voice of truth-if he has learned the truthand this, therefore, is the voice of conscience." Page 39.

Conscience, then, results from the Divine power acting on man's acquired state. Hence, as the states of men are various, so also must be their consciences; and by keeping in view the compound nature of conscience, the difficulties which have puzzled philosophers may be explained. We think, therefore, that in treating on this subject, Mr. Mason has done good service to the cause of truth; and we cordially recommend his little book to all those who wish to be acquainted with the nature of conscience. To New Church readers his pages will afford much to gratify as well as instruct. He has explained the different classes of conscience mentioned by the Apostles, and has introduced many interesting matters in connection with the general subject. From these collateral points we select, as our concluding extract, a note concerning habit, a subject which Mr. Mason obviously regards as one of the first importance, and in his views respecting which we heartily

concur:

"Habit may be regarded as prepared ground, prepared by the culture of conduct, into which the principles of the heart and understanding have struck down their N. S. No. 151.-VOL. XIII. 2 M

roots, and become rooted therein as fixed principles, and so have passed from their native potential state to an acquired actual condition. Such is the only way, in fact, by which our floating good intentions can become fixed principles; and such is the only way by which a Christian can become "rooted and grounded in love." Now we know that unless the ground be suitably prepared, the roots of the olive and the vine will not "take root downward and bear fruit upward." So it is with the higher principles of the will and the understanding. They must have the ground well prepared by the diligent exercise and culture of real good works performed "in grace and faith," into which they may strike and become fixed. Moreover, the connection between memory and habit is of that kind, that we may say,-such as are the records of a man's memory, such are his habits; and also, such is the quality of the developments of his will and understanding which constitute the quality of his individuality. Thus the reason appears why the Bible so constantly declares that all will be judged according to their works, that is, as recorded in the indelible tablets of memory.' Page 40.

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London, June, 1852.

Poetry.

A MOTHER'S LAMENT.

T. C. S.

My Daughter and my Friend!-shall it be said,
Because thy corse is cold, that thou art dead?
It cannot be! No, thou wilt ever shine,
A living form, in this poor heart of mine.
Oh! could I penetrate above the sphere
Of this dull earth, and for a moment peer
Beyond the shadowy curtain of our state,
To brighter scenes of life's immortal gate,-
Should I not see thee as I've always seen,
But of a fairer and a glorious mien,—
An angel-spirit, ministering above,
Beaming with pure intelligence and love?
'Tis true, those fingers which have swept the lyre
Are cold and motionless-the gentle fire

Of those dear eyes on earth has ceased to burn,
Or looks of love, or smiles of joy return:
What then! Material forms are but alloys ;-
Death only separates, but not destroys.
"Tis not the change to thee that I deplore,
So much as that thou art to me no more.
Thou hadst an artless and devoted mind,
Early by voice of heavenly truth inclined,
For its own sake the darker path to leave,
And practice all the good thou didst believe.

Adieu, my Child! 'tis all I wish to know,
That thou art blest above, although I weep below.
Yet weep
I not without this hope in store—
To meet thee where thou art for evermore!

Norwich, March 23, 1852.

S. RICHARDSON.

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MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.

LECTURES AT BOLTON, ON THE Life and SCIENTIFIC WRITINGS OF SWEDENBORG.

A course of three lectures, on the "Life and Scientific Writings of Swedenborg," has been delivered by Dr. J. W. Haddock, in the School-room belonging to the New Church in this town, on the evenings of the 5th, the 12th, and the 19th of May. The first lecture embraced a general review of the life and character of Swedenborg, and the general nature and order of his scientific writings. In the second, a familiar explanation was given of Swedenborg's principles of chemistry. The third consisted of a similar explanation of Swedenborg's principles of magnetism, electricity, anatomy, physiology, and psychology.

Although each subject could only be very generally entered upon, yet enough was said and demonstrated to evince the truth of Emerson's observation, that Swedenborg is not to be measured by whole colleges of ordinary scholars. It would take a colony of men fully to understand him."

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In the first lecture, after pointing out the influence which great men, whether warriors, philosophers, or theologians, had had over their own and subsequent ages, Swedenborg was introduced, as a man-a mighty man-who had made for himself a niche in the temple of fame, which could neither be shaken nor decayed by the effects of time; as a man whose ways and manners had influenced the age he lived in, and still influenced the age in which we live. The lecturer then proceeded to describe Swedenborg's origin, youth, education, and his attainment of mature age; noticing generally as he advanced the prominent circumstances which, during these periods, happened in connexion with him. After this followed an explanation of the nature and order of his scientific writings, interspersed with a general description of the various phases of his literary career, and of his life during manhood. In this description Swedenborg was shewn to have been the poet, fabulist, moralist, mechanician, civil and military engineer, geologist, chemist, mathematician, financier, the philosopher of European reputation, the profound anatomist and physiologist, and lastly, the seer and interpreter of spirit, and diligent student of the Sacred Scriptures.

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The second lecture had especial reference to Swedenborg's principles af chemistry, and his doctrine of the elements, considered in their relation to the present state of science. In the introduction the lecturer made one or two important observations, viz. :-"The philosopher or man of science must be estimated by the relation he bore to the age in which he lived, rather than by his relation to a subsequent age. All knowledge is progressive. In one generation a page or two of the great book of nature was deciphered; in the next generation perhaps a few pages more. But he who opens a page to his own generation ever stands out in bold relief from his fellowmen. One distinguishing feature in the philosophy of Swedenborg is, that, even where the facts on which that philosophy is based appear to be superseded by newer and more important investigations, so large was his insight into nature, that the principles of his philosophy have outlived his facts, and are suggestive of important advances even in the present enlarged condition of natural science." A great part of this lecture was illustrated by various chemical experiments, which tended greatly to impress the important facts of this science upon the minds of the audience. Subsequently the lecturer explained Swedenborg's doctrine of the physical forms and situations of the particles of water both in its fluid and icy state. He also said that "Swedenborg had given diagrams of these forms, as well as the geometrical formulæ by which he arrived at his conclusions; and what was exceedingly remarkable, in the year 1808 the celebrated Dalton, of Manchester, published his New System of Chemical Philosophy,' in which is contained diagrams exactly similar to those published by Swedenborg 87 years before. Dalton is also considered as the discoverer of the atomic theory in chemistry, or that law by which all bodies unite in certain definite proportions, and never in any other. But this was involved in Swedenborg's geometrical principles, for this and no other could be the result of combinations in geometrical proportions. In this it was that Swedenborg's geometrical principles had yet a future. Hence some illustrious Newton in chemistry may arise, by whom these geometrical principles which lie in their germs

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in Swedenborg, may be cultivated until a glorious harvest is the result."

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In the third lecture Swedenborg's principles of magnetism, electricity, anatomy, physiology, and psychology, were generally illustrated and explained. In the explanation of the principles of magnetism it was observed, that "Swedenborg had referred tho whole phenomena of sidereal astronomy, the revolution of SUNS, as well as planets, to magnetic laws. The elder Herschel taught that our solar system had a regular motion in space, and assigned the locality of our sun among the starry orbs. Swedenborg, from his magnetic and geometric principles, had assigned the same place to the sun before Herschel was born." was also observed that "he was the real author of the nebular hypothesis, generally assigned to the French astronomer La Place." Much was said in a general manner to show the profundity and sagacity of Swedenborg, in relation to every branch of science and philosophy upon which he had written. The lecturer, indeed, regretted that the vastness of the subject even prevented him going into different portions of Swedenborg's works in the manner he originally intended. Although in these lectures Swedenborg has only been considered as a natural philosopher and man of science, yet there is good reason to believe that they will have done as much, if not more, to shake the prejudice against Swedenborg as it exists in Bolton, than any other New Church lectures that have been delivered in Bolton, whether theological or philosophical. Not only were they listened to by an attentive and confessedly edified auditory; but each lecture was reported to nearly the extent of a column and half in the "Bolton Chronicle," which cannot fail to have carried the name of Swedenborg, together with the outlines and precocity of his philosophy, into circles where perhaps his name had either been treated with contempt or calumny, or where it had never before been heard of. Bolton. T. M.

MEDAL TO THE MEMORY OF SWEDENBORG.

"The Critic" for June 15 has the following announcement: - "This year, 1852, the Royal Academy of Science of Sweden has caused its annual medal to be struck to the memory of the celebrated Swedenborg, one of its first members. The medal, which has already been dis

tributed to the associates, has on the obverse the bust of Swedenborg, with, at the top, the name of 'Emanuel Swedenborg,' and underneath, Nat. 1688, Deces. 1772.' And on the reverse, a man in a garment reaching to the feet, with eyes unbandaged, standing before the temple of Isis, at the base of which the goddess is seen. Above is the inscription, Tantoque exsultat alumno ;** and below, 'Miro naturæ investigatori socio quond. æstimatiss.'+ Acad. reg. Scient. MDCCCLII."

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NEW CHURCH MISSION AT ISLINGTON.

It is now somewhat more than three years since Mr. Gardiner, formerly engaged in business at Islington, but then one of the London City Missionaries, received the doctrines of the New Church. Down to that period the desire to make missionary exertions in London itself had been repeatedly expressed, and efforts had been made ever and anon to publish the heavenly doctrines in various parts of the great metropolis. But little fruit had, however, been vouchsafed to these exertions, few converts having been made, and not a single permanent station established by their means. Mr. Gardiner's conver

sion was the commencement of a new era in this respect. As he received the doctrines himself, he was enabled to communicate them in some degree to those around him, and amongst the first fruits of his labours in the New Church was the reception of her doctrines by the family in whose house his mission-room was situated. This (as has been stated in the last number of the "Repository," in the obituary of Mr. Henderson) led to their kindly allowing us the gratuitous use of the same room for New Church services which Mr. Gardiner had formerly occupied as a London City Missionary. Mr. Gardiner became engaged, by the liberality of Mr. Clissold and some other friends, as a city missionary for us, and not only employed himself on the Sabbath in his old room and neighbourhood, but devoted the rest of the week to lending books, giving away tracts, and attending meetings convened for the public perusal and examination of the writings of Swedenborg.

"To so great a nursing father, in whom the Academy greatly rejoices."

"To (Swedenborg) a former associate, and wonderful investigator of nature, most highly esteemed" [by this Academy.]

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