present state of being, conceive anything at all. To know God the Father, that is, God as He is in himself, in His, to us, incomprehensible essence, seems the great and most blessed promise, reserved for us, when this mortal shall have put on immortality."

I leave your readers and yourself to make their own observations on the above extracts, and am, dear sir, yours, &c. H. M.

Fortescue House, December 9th.

SIR,

ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF CORRESPONDENCES
REVEALED BY THE LORD, &c.

To the Editor of the Intellectual Repository.

In a former communication (page 274 former vol.) I expressed a few general thoughts under the title of this paper, which were intended, though briefly, to illustrate and shew its truth. The October number of the Magazine contains some remarks upon the subject by E. R., to which it may be useful to reply.

My statement that "Swedenborg appears to have left the particular evidences of the laws of correspondence, not to the ratiocination, but to the perception of the church," is called the "ASSUMPTION OF A FACT." Now, that view of the case was not assumed as a fact; though, in the present state of the inquiry, it is believed to be a fact. The statement is, it "so appears," and all that follows consists of arguments intended to shew why it "so appears." If something is assumed as a fact, for the purpose of becoming the basis by which to arrive at some other conclusion, the accuracy of that conclusion may very fairly be questioned, because the premises were not proved; but nothing of this kind belongs to the case in question; yet it is evident that E. R. has so mistaken it, for he says that my position "Is the ASSUMPTION OF A FACT, which is made the basis of all the arguments that follow;" whereas the truth is that all the reasonings which follow aim at nothing but the general proof of the position; so that, instead of being "the basis," it is, in fact, the superstructure of them; and in stating it first, I only followed a course, of which almost every work of the illustrious Swedenborg furnishes the example.

It is next said that I am "bound to give some PROOF that Swedenborg left the recognition of the particular laws of correspondence to the perception, and not to the ratiocination, of the church ;" and this is said in the very face of the several PROOFS which I had offered upon the subject. Allow me to re-state some of those arguments in a briefer form. I. It is admitted that correspondence is a divine science, but that as

reason is an obscure principle which came into existence after the "FALL,” and was, indeed, the result of that catastrophe, that, therefore, reason was inadequate to discover what in reality is divine.

II. It was shewn that the knowledge of correspondences is what constitutes the intelligence of angels, and that this afforded evidence that neither the reason nor the science of the world was capable of grasping it.

III. It was stated that the knowledge of correspondences began to disappear from the world, just in proportion as the sensualities of science and the obscurities of reason made their advent into it.

IV. It was shewn that the people of the most ancient church knew correspondences best, but that it was knowledge arising from perception, that being their peculiar mental inheritance; and that the knowledge of correspondences became lost, as the power of perception diminished and passed away. Hence, it was concluded that the restoration of perception was necessary for the restoration of a truly intellectual knowledge of correspondences.

V. It was stated that the particular knowledges which enter into the intelligence of angels are not revealed to man as general ideas are, and that they cannot be described, because the ideas of them are not cognizable by the merely natural powers of the mind.

Such were some of the general arguments adduced, and they appear to me to have considerable weight in this inquiry. E. R. may not regard them as PROOFS; but having undertaken to refute the position they were intended to set forth, he was, in fairness, bound to shew that they were not such; whereas, he has not even mentioned their existence.

E. R.'s statement "That Swedenborg left the recognition of the laws of correspondence to the ratiocination of the church, on purpose to exercise the reasoning powers of her members," is so bold that I can scarcely believe it was seriously propounded; yet it so appears, and, therefore, I reply, that Swedenborg invariably represents correspondence as a science which relates to things spiritual and divine; and he says, that " Those who, by things scientific and rational, would enter into the doctrinals of faith and things divine, are thereby made insane." A. C. 2588. See also 128, 129, and 130. Every natural science is open to the investigation and understanding of any who are sufficiently educated, whether they be natural or spiritual men; but "correspondences" is a divine science, not to be comprehended by the merely natural powers of man; he fell when he began to exercise those powers for such a comprehension.

"A desire to search into the mysteries of faith by means of things sensual and scientific, was not only the cause of the fall, or decline of the most ancient church; but it is

also the cause of the fall or decline of every church; for hence come, not only falsities, but also evils of life."

"The worldly and corporeal man saith in his heart, If I am not instructed concerning faith, and the things relating to faith, by the things of sense, so that I may see them, or by the things of science, so that I may understand them, I will not believe; and he confirmeth himself in his incredulity by this persuasion, that natural things cannot be contrary to spiritual things; wherefore he is desirous of being instructed from things of sense concerning things celestial and divine; which is as impossible as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle; the more he desires to grow wise from such grounds, the more he blinds himself, till, at length, he cometh to believe nothing, not even the existence of any thing spiritual; this is a necessary consequence of the principles which he layeth down, and this is to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which causeth a greater death the more a man eateth thereof. But who wisheth to grow wise by a wisdom not derived from the world, but from the Lord, he saith in his heart that he ought to believe in the Lord, that is, in the things which the Lord spake in his Word, because they are truths; and this is the principle by which he governs his thoughts; and then he confirmeth himself in such belief by things rational, scientific, sensual and natural, and removeth from his mind whatever doth not tend to such confirmation." A. C. 127, 128.

Moreover, all natural sciences are, as such, of human origin; but the science of correspondences originated with the Divine; the former are to be learned by the laws a posteriori, but the latter only by a priori, or by communicating with revelation from the Supreme.

E. R. next cites the following beautiful prediction from Isaiah xix. 24: "In that day there shall be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Egyptian shall SERVE with the Assyrian. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of Hosts shall bless, saying, blessed be Egypt, my people, and Assyria, the work of my hands; and Israel, my inheritance." The purpose of this citation is to shew that Egypt and Assyria (the scientific and rational powers of the natural man) are promised consolation by a knowledge of the spiritual things of the church, denoted by, Israel. Well; but how is such knowledge to be acquired? Certainly not by the rational and scientific things of the world, as E. R. would have us to suppose, but by the rational and scientific faculties becoming enlightened through the influence of the perceptive powers appertaining to the spiritual man: Israel must be the THIRD with Egypt and Assyria; even a blessing in the midst of the land, for it is the Lord's "inheritance." Swedenborg says that that passage treats "Concerning those, who, from the doctrine of faith, enter into things rational and scientific, and thereby become wise." A. C. 2588. Specifically it relates to "the spiritual church, the spiritual principle whereof is Israel; the rational principle (of the spiritual church) is Assyria; the scientific principle (of

the spiritual church) is Egypt, which three things constitute the intellectual things of that church, and which succeed each other in this order." A. C. 2588. So that the rational and scientific powers which are promised "consolation," are to derive it from the salutary influence of the perceptive state appertaining to the spiritual man.

It is here to be observed, that, although it is my opinion, that the knowledge of correspondences will only be discovered to the church as the power of perception is restored to its members; yet, in that case, I do not suppose that the knowledge so to be discovered will be confined to the perception. No! The rational principle will see, and the scientific principle will understand, that knowledge; but then it will be seen and understood from the light of spiritual perception, and not from the light of natural philosophy and worldly reason. For " no distinct idea can be had of correspondence, without a previous knowledge concerning heaven as the grand man;" H. H. 67; and "They who are not in the life of heaven, cannot bear the light of heaven;" A. R. 157. Nor "Is it according to divine order that man should receive instruction from heaven by any other writings than the Sacred Scriptures." H. H. 258.

If there are any of our New Church brethren who think that they can present correspondences to the world, or even that correspondences can be exhibited better than the Lord has done it through the instrumentality of Swedenborg, I believe they are mistaken. Swedenborg's office was that of expositor of the Word; the principle of that exposition is "That all doctrine must be drawn from the literal sense of the Word, and confirmed thereby;" upon this principle he has demonstrated to those who will admit the Word to be supreme authority, that correspondences are what he shews them to be. The rational and scientific principles of the members of the church will admit the force of those demonstrations; but they are not capable of shewing, upon other grounds, to those who are not members of the church, that the diversified principles of human nature do actually produce physical effects in the three kingdoms of nature, which, existing as efficient causes and effects, is the ground of Swedenborg's doctrine of correspondences. By the members of the church, I mean those who have in them what constitutes the church, namely, the affection of truth, grounded in goodness, whence cometh perception, which I regard as that spiritual power designed for the recognition of correspondences, and to illuminate the lower faculties of the mind concerning them.

It is next asserted by E. R. "That Swedenborg considered the field of science to be the arena in which to display the truths of correspondence;" in support of which two letters of his are referred to: one Το

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the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, begging them to entertain the subject, and to engage in the worthy pursuit," and "another to Mr. Hartly, of similar import." The portions of these two letters referred to are exceedingly alike; nearly verbatim. It is not, therefore, necessary separately to notice their contents. Now the subject of these letters is the Hieroglyphics of Egypt, a subject perfectly open to scientific investigation and research, and therefore it was one to which the attention of a scientific body might be usefully directed. Swedenborg, in the letter to the Academy of Sciences, mentions correspondences as follows:

"Since the science of correspondences was to the ancients the science of sciences, and hence their wisdom, it is of importance that some person of your academy should devote himself to the study of this science.****If it should be commenced, it might be done from the correspondences discovered in the Apocalypse Revealed, and demonstrated from the Word." *

Here Swedenborg certainly says "It is of importance that some person of the academy should devote himself to the study of this science; and who doubts the importance of this? But does he say "that the field of (natural) science is the arena in which to display the truths of correspondence;" no such thing! His assertion is "If it should be commenced, it might be done from the correspondences discovered in the Apocalypse Revealed, and demonstrated from the Word." The WORD, then, and the discoveries of the Word as contained in the Apocalypse Revealed, and not the field of science, is to be the source of these demonstrations. E. R.'s assertion that I have said "that they (correspondences) are not thus demonstrated, but merely familiarized to our ideas!" is inaccurate. In the sixth paragraph I have admitted that demonstration in the fullest sense of it; and what is afterwards said about correspondences being familiarized to our ideas, relates, wholly and only, to those external reasons which Swedenborg has given for them, independently of his demonstrations from the Word. See the seventh paragraph. It is amazing that E. R. should have so far mistaken his way, as to have fallen into this (doubtless unintentional) misrepresentation.

(To be continued.)

* Intellectual Repository for 1842, page 470. Does the reader see, in this document, any thing answering to the exaggerated statement of "begging them to entertain the subject and to engage in the worthy pursuit ?"