clufion of this our Second General Head, requesting only that our candid reader will accompany us in the contemplation of that fublime picture of the human fpecies, as drawn by our great master of reafon and nature, Shakespeare, from the mouth of his Hamlet" What a work "is man! how noble in nature! how infi"nite in faculty! in form and moving how expreffive and admirable! in act like an angel! in comprehenfion like a god!"

66

-Now fay, reader, can such a being be aught less than angel? Surely no.—Angel he must be, and an apoftate one, or we pronounce he is- -nothing. Indeed there are many movements and emotions of the human foul, that are utterly inexplicable but upon this hypothefis, as, fudden and inftantaneous violent love, friendship, antipathy, diflike, hatred, &c. at first fight; which can only fpring from a fympathetic fenfation of the fpirit's prior knowledge or intimacy in their angelic pre-exiftent flate. One of the great comforts of a departing foul in death, and of thofe that furvive, who are mutually dear to each other, is the hope, that their fpirits will foon be re-united, in a future ftate of lafting blifs, which here is only imperfect and tranfitory: but such hope is obviously ill-founded, unless built upon this hypothefis. We hope and pray

for

for a restoration restoration (Reftore us, O Lord, that are penitent)What reftoration? What can we be restored to, as man? what as mere man have we loft?--Nothing; but as apoftate angels, we have loft much indeed, and may with propriety both hope and pray for a reftoration, otherwise we pray and hope for we know not what. We are told, "that there is more joy in "heaven for one finner that repenteth, "than for ninety-nine that are just ;'

what relative concern can the angelic beings have for man, merely as fuch, that his repentance should occafion fuch an extraordinary effect? None furely that with propriety can be conceived; but-when we look up to our hypothefis, and view the finner in the light of one of their brethren restored, whom they had reafon to fear was eternally loft to them, then the excess of joy is natural, and stands well accounted for.-Refpecting the various fpecious arguments that have been started against the pre-existent state and lapse of the human foul, particularly that of the foul's not being conscious of such a state, we again refer our readers to the labors of the reverend and ingenious Mr. Berrow, who has fully refuted that, and every other objection that can be raised to that doctrine; to which we will just

add,

add, that the foul of every thinking being would be foon confcious of that great and effential truth, if man would be brought to reflection, and fink deeper into himself.

Third General Head,

THIRD GENERAL HEAD.

93. We are now arrived at our Third General Head, the Metempsychosis of Bramah, fromwhich we have been kept back by fundry, yet neceffary digreffions, and difcuffions of many interefting objects and points of doctrine, which ftarted up upon us in our way, and retarded our fpeedier paffage; although hereby we may appear to fome deserving the cenfure of prolixity, yet we truft it will be acknowledged in the end, that without them our aim and endeavors would not have been attended with that general utility which we flatter ourselves they now affuredly will.—Before we fubmit our own fentiments to the world on a doctrine fo little attended to in modern times in this our hemifphere, it becomes neceffary (to fave our readers the trouble of turning back to our fecond part, p. 49, &c.) that we recite the texts of Bramah, who first, by divine authority, promulged that ancient fy

stem

ftem.

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"And THE ETERNAL ONE spake again unto Biftnco, and faid, I will "form mortal bodies for each of the delinquent debtah (or angels), which shall for

..

a space be their prifon and habitation, in "the confines of which they fhall be fubject "to natural evils, in proportion to the degree of their original guilt.The bo"dies which I fhall for the recepprepare for the "tion of the rebellious debtab, fhall be fubject to change, decay, death, and re"newal, from the principles wherewith I "fhall form them; and through these mor"tal bodies shall the delinquent debtah undergo alternately eighty-feven tranfmigrations, fubject more or less to the confequences of natural and moral evils, in a just proportion to the degree of original guilt, and as their actions through those "fucceffive forms fhall correfpond with the "limited powers which I fhall annex to "each;-and this fhall be their ftate of punishment and purgation.-And it shall "be-that (after paffing the eighty-eight tranfmigrations) the delinquent debtab, from my more abundant favor, "shall animate the form of mhurd (man) and in this form, I will enlarge their "intellectual powers, even as when I first "made them free ;-and this fhall be their chief ftate of TRIAL and PROBATION."

94. As

94. As the foregoing doctrine of Bramah Seems glaringly to clash with Mofes's history of the creation of man, it is previously neceffary to account for this feemingly great difference; for they appear to agree only in one circumstance, namely, that man was the last work of the material and animal creation. By this difcuffion we purpose to avoid the imputation of flighting a fcriptural detail that has for a fucceffion of ages been received as orthodox by both Jews and Chriftians; a detail, that by being taken literally and misunderstood, has proved the fource of many egregious and fatal errors, highly injurious to God's juftice and clemency; the most enormous of which is, that infatuated belief, that a race of unf fending beings fhould ftand accursed for the guilt and difobedience of one man and one

woman.

95. The miffion of Mofes may without offence be confidered as a very imperfect one, fo defigned by God himself; not only for that it was limited to one tribe of beings particularly favored of God, but also as it is totally filent upon all the primitive truths but one, viz. THE UNITY OF THE GODHEAD. This divine truth he was fpecially commiffioned to declare to his people, as well to rescue them from the idolatrous

fuperfti