correspondent to their unlovely nature. So that it is not merely the place of growth, but the ideas naturally pre-associated with the plant on account of its fragrance, thorns, perennial verdure, or other attribute, which convert it into a fitting emblem." Neele extends the last-mentioned analogy to a conscience agitated by remorse :—

-'As weeds from fading free,

Noxious and rank, yet verdantly
Twine round a ruined tower;
So to the heart untamed will cling
The memory of an evil thing,

In life's departing hour.

Green is the weed, when grey the wall,

And thistles rise while turrets fall.'

Though we regard these and other plants of like nature as bad, we have no right to judge them with such harshness. They have been formed for some wise, though it may be, hidden purpose, just as a certain amount of sorrow is seemingly attached by the Creator to the mortal condition of man, the truth being, perhaps, that we should not be men were we unpossessed of those natural affections which render us capable of feeling grief. The classification of plants by such an imaginary standard as the dictate of our opinion, has an exact parallel in the estimates which we form in youth of our fellow-men. For then we estimate their characters abstractedly, referring all cases that may come before us to some vague standard of right and wrong, which if not solely the offspring of the fancy, is founded at the best on our predilections for some particular person or persons in whom a given quality may be present. We make no allowances for difference of temperament,

an obscure corner, and covered with wallflowers. Such a scene could not fail to awaken his sympathies. The following are the lines he wrote on seeing them :-

'Mais quelle est cette fleur que son instinct pieux

Sur l'aile du zephir amène dans ces lieux ?

Quoi! tu quittes le temple ou vivent tes racines,
Sensible giroflée, amante des ruines,

Et ton tribut fidèle accompagne nos rois ?

Ah, puisque la terreur a courbé sous ses lois

Du lis infortuné la tige souveraine,

Que nos jardins en denie te choississent pour reine;
Triomphe sans rivale, et que tu sainte fleur

Croisse pour le tombeau, le trône et le malheur.'

a See the beautiful association of plants according to their qualities with analogous states of the mind, in Isaiah lv. 13,- Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree; and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree.' Also in Ezekiel xxviii. 2-4. N. S. NO. 108.-VOL. IX. 2 M

none for inaptitude for certain forms of social, intellectual, or moral action which we may admire, but which in them are subordinate to forms of good uncared for by ourselves. The motives by which they are actuated, the feelings and passions by which they are impelled, the ends they have in view, the circumstances by which they may be trammelled, are seldom or never considered. But as our minds open, we begin to see that difference does not imply demerit, and that in the general scheme of creation all things have an intrinsic value and a specific use; for to suppose otherwise is to reduce their Divine Author below the level of a reasonable being, for reason never does anything without an object. We may frequently be unable to perceive or even to speculate on the nature of the utilities which are answered, but we become fully conscious that there are such utilities. What may be their ultimate purpose we are still less able to discover, and consequently, however much we may conjecture, we can never really get further than the fact that they are portions of the all-comprehending and harmonious designs of a Providence which cannot work unwisely, and which must work beneficently. Still, there are persons who even when adult are prone to look upon mankind as trees, to be judged of by their bark.

The mention of ruins in connection with our remarks on the ivy and the wallflower, brings forcibly to mind the beautiful analogy which subsists between our affectionate regard for such remains and the tender memories which we cherish for our departed friends. Much as we may esteem them while alive, looked at across the grave every virtue they possessed improves in its manliness and beauty. We think only of their kinder nature, and their failings we feel pleasure in forgetting. So it is with our contemplation of the ruins of castles, abbeys, or other buildings once magnificent, or rendered sacred by association. The mind refuses to see in them anything but what it can dwell upon with agreeable emotions, and though centuries may roll away, they still yield the same intense though melancholy pleasure which is derived from dwelling on the memory of the dead:

'As the stern grandeur of a Gothic tower
Awes us less deeply in its morning hour,
Than when the shades of time serenely fall
On every broken arch and ivied wall,-
The tender images we love to trace,
Steal from each year a melancholy grace;
Each hallowed vision newer beauty gains,
And in the heart for ever fixed, remains.'

(To be continued.)

ON SINGLENESS OF HEART.

IN the circle of friends or acquaintances possessed by each there is generally to be found some individual who stands out in bold relief, the admired and beloved of all, on account of his singleness of heart, or, as it is generally termed, simplicity of character; and not unfrequently is the wish expressed by others, in something of a desponding tone, that they could imitate what they so much admire. It is, indeed, too true that singleness of heart is a virtue of rare growth; but perhaps some attempt to trace its origin may prove a slight assistance to those who are sincerely desirous of cultivating it. If we examine into the various phases of character exhibited by the possessor of this heavenly grace in his daily conduct, we shall undoubtedly find an absence of that sentiment of proud superiority over others which induces a cold reserve in social or friendly intercourse, debarring its possessor (who not unfrequently sheathes under this covering, almost as impervious as that of a rhinoceros, a warm and benevolent heart) of all the delights and uses which might otherwise arise from mixing with his fellow-creatures, whilst his false dignity prevents him alike from giving or receiving sympathy or advice. We may also feel assured, that in the

character under consideration there will be no desire to over-reach another, to obtain an unmerited degree of esteem or confidence, nor any wish to exercise an undue influence over others, neither shall we discover any approach to covetousness. All these various traits of character, with every other form of selfishness, are quite incapable of being allied to "singleness of heart." But in their place will be found an entire absence, in its unlawful degree, of the activity of self-love, a genuine humility founded on the heartfelt acknowledgment that the Lord alone is the Author of all good within him. This conviction opens the mind to the reception of that "wisdom which is from above," which is so beautifully and truly described by the Apostle James to be "first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and of good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."

In connection with the above features of character will be found a firm faith in the unceasing activity of the Divine Love and Wisdom in all our Heavenly Father's dealings with His creatures, leading its possessor to trust himself and all his concerns in His hands, in

whom we live, and move, and have our being, deeply convinced that no recourse to artifice, or any of those tortuous windings of subtlety which wreathe themselves around the mind but to crush its powers, can ever equal or surpass the provisions made for our welfare which are the result of Infinite Power and unmixed Goodness.

An active benevolence, arising from an equal regard to the good of his neighbour as to his own, will be another mark by which we may recognise the simple-hearted. These combined features produce that translucency of character which renders its possessor an object of general admiration and esteem, raising him alike above the reach of slander and the shafts of envy: but far beyond all the earthly advantages which arise from cultivating such a spirit, is the incomparable happiness of knowing that God is his unfailing friend, and that, seeking rather to benefit than to injure his fellow-creatures, he can look upon all mankind as his brethren. Thus we see that it is only by obedience to the two great commandments, the love of God and our neighbour, that we can hope to attain this desirable state. How truly were they, like all the commands of the Lord, given in love to man, since the keeping of them is productive of such blessed results! Well might the Psalmist exclaim-"In keeping of thy commandments there is great reward.”

Let us not, then, regard as a hopeless thing the attaining of such a state, but let us watch our conduct more closely to see that no distrust in Divine Providence, no selfish motive, blindly leads us into the mazes of duplicity or double dealing, for the Apostle James says truly "The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways," and sorrow, either in this world or the next, must ever be the result of trusting to our own prudence, or of endeavouring to compass our ends by any means but those which originate in Justice and Truth. These considerations should also leads us to endeavour more earnestly to cultivate the good of innocence, which Swedenborg tells us is the very essence of every good:

four

"For innocence (says he) is not only the plane in which truths are inseminated, but is also the very essence of good; so far, therefore, as man is in innocence, so far good becomes good, and truth lives from good, consequently so far man becomes alive, and so far the evils appertaining to him are removed; and in proportion as they are removed, in the same proportion goods and truths are implanted and conjoined by the Lord." A. C. 10, 134.

This good, we are told

“Consists in knowing, acknowledging, and believing, not with the mouth, but with the heart, that nothing but evil is from self, and that all good is from the Lord; con

sequently, that man's proprium is nothing but black, viz., both the will-proprium, which is evil, and the intellectual proprium, which is false. When man is in this confession and faith from the heart, then the Lord flows in with good and truth, and imbues him with a celestial proprium, which is bright and shining. It is impossible for any one to be in true humiliation unless he be in this acknowledgment and faith from the heart; for in this case he is in self-annihilation, yea, in self-aversion, and thereby in absence from himself, and thus in a state of receiving the divine (principle) of the Lord hence it is that the Lord with good flows into an humble and contrite heart." A. C. 3994.

M.

REMARKS ON 1 CORINTHIANS XI. 29.

He that eateth and drinketh [the Lord's Supper] unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."

THERE is no doubt that this passage has had a powerful effect in deterring many sincere and worthy members of the Church from availing themselves of the privileges and blessings offered in the Holy Supper, lest they should incur the awful consequences of eating and drinking their own damnation. We propose, therefore, to enter on a brief inquiry relative to its true meaning, with the view of removing groundless scruples to the receiving of an ordinance instituted by the Lord as the medium of communicating special blessings to His Church. The above declaration of the Apostle Paul has too frequently been taken without any regard to the context, from which has arisen the erroneous idea that no one, unless he have attained to Christian perfection, or at least to a very high state of regeneration, can approach the sacred table without danger of increasing thereby his condemnation. Such, we may remark, fall into the error of regarding the Holy Supper as an end, rather than as the means to an end, and overlook the fact of the Sacrament being instituted as a means to assist them in becoming regenerate, instead of an end for which they are to be regenerated. The only requirement for worthily receiving this ordinance is that of the “humble and contrite heart;" in other words, the sincere and humble desire to become regenerate, and to live in the endeavour of shunning evils as sins against God.

The Holy Supper is a medium whereby the soul is fed with the good of the divine love and truth of the divine wisdom; heaven is opened, and man is conjoined by the Lord to Himself. The soul is indeed fed through the medium of worship and instruction,-the mind being gifted with heavenly love and affection by the former, and, by the latter, with heavenly truth; but in the Holy Supper this is more fully effected,