Page images
PDF
EPUB

night; and said, that in the morning he would give him further instructions how to conduct himself. The traveller immediately set off for the village, where, to his great mortification he was refused admittance into any house; he was obliged to sit all day under the shade of a tree, without victuals. About sun-set, as he was preparing to pass the night in this manner, and had turned his horse loose, that he might graze at liberty, a woman returning from the labors of the field, stopped to observe him, and perceiving that he was weary and dejected, enquired into his situation, which being explained, she took up the bridle and saddle, and told. Mr. Park to follow her. Having conducted him into. her hut, she lighted a lamp, spread a mat on the floor, and told him he might remain there for the night; she presented him also with a very fine fish, half broiled; having thus performed the rites of hospitality, she called to the female part of the family to resume their task of spinning cotton, in which they were employed great part of the night. They soothed their labor by songs; one of which was extempore, and Mr. Park the subject of it, and the words, literally translated, were as follow.

"The winds roared and the rains fell.. The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat under our tree. He has no mother to bring him milk, no wife to grind his corn. Chorus. Let us pity the white man,. no mother has he, &c." In the morning Mr. Park

presented

presented his benevolent hostess with two brass waist

coat buttons."

TO THE EDITORS.

A Principal use of your publication, as held out in

your Prospectus, was the discussion of such parts of the writings of the New Jerusalem Messenger, and such points of the doctrines he has promulgated, as are not perfectly clear to the members of the Church, establishing upon those writings. And surely your Aurora cannot be more usefully employed; for there are a number of subjects contained in these heavenly Arcana, which at first view appear like the writings of the apostle, "hard to be understood," but which are rendered perfectly intelligible, and the difficulties entirely removed, by the various opinions thereon being candidly stated, in a spirit of charity, and with a desire to attain the truth. These good effects having been experienced from such a conduct in private societies, there is no reason to doubt but it would be so in a general publication; and therefore I cannot but regret that so early a period was put to that important question respecting the internal sense being the very Word-a subject of all others the most essential to be discussed; since we are particularly told in the Arcana Coelestia, n. 1834, that however the members of the church may differ in doctrinals, there

must

must be no denial of "the fundamental principals, that is, the Lord, the WORD and eternal life." And as our enlightened Scribe has positively declared that his Arcana Coelestia "is the Internal Sense," (Arc. n. 64.) and that "the Internal Sense is the Word to the angels, n. 1929, doubtless what is the Word to angels in the spiritual heavens, must be equally so to the spiritual mind on earth. But as you have dismissed this subject, I must not revive it.

Another subject, however, has been introduced into your magazine, a further discussion of which we are not yet excluded from; that is, Whether the sensual principle in man is capable of being regenerated?

[ocr errors]

As I consider myself a mere noviciate in the writings, I cannot pretend to decide upon so important a question; but must beg leave to state what appears to me to be most evident on the subject.

When the Lord assumed the humanity in the ultimates, it was for the purpose of purifying the human principles, and uniting them to the Divine in Himself, thereby glorifying, or rendering Divine, those human principles also. Now if there was any hell which the Lord did not subdue, and thereby any human principle which he did not glorify, or make divine, then that principle cannot be regenerated in man; but if the Lord subdued every hell, and regenerated, glorified, or made divine, every principle of humanity in Himself; then must every principle in man be capable of regeneration, when

the

the influx from the Divine Human can descend into that principle, as has been the case since the last Judgment. The first human principle, or the beginning of humanity is the inmost rational (Arc. 2106); and we are expressly told (n. 2083) that “the Lord by his own proper power made every thing divine which was human about him: thus he not only made the rational principle divine, but also the interior and exterior sensual principles, and thus the very body itfelf;" for "hereby he united the humanity with the divinity."

The sensual principle, therefore, being made divine in the Lord, is capable of being regenerated in the man of the New Church. It is evident, however, from the above extracts, that what is said of the Lord's body, both in the Scriptures, and in the writings of E. S. on that subject, is grossly misunderstood: The Lord's body with which he rose from the grave, as is also man's resurrection body, is a body formed of principles, not a material body; for it is said the Lord made his whole body divine, because he made every human principle divine. These principles in man are perfecting to all eternity, consequently are not perfected in this life, wherefore he cannot rise with his body compleat: The Lord alone rose not only with every principle in order, but also with every human principle made JEHOVAH; therefore he alone rose with his body complete, different from every other man."-Are. 2083. And with respect to the Lord's flesh and bones, what is

meant

[ocr errors]

meant by these expressions is sufficiently explained in the first volume of the Arcana, n. 149; where opening the internal sense of that passage, it is said, "the Lord's proprium is life; and from his proprium the proprium of man is vivified, which in itself is dead: The Lord's proprium is what is signified by his own words in Luke: "A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have."

If you think the above observations worthy a place in your Aurora, you may hear again from

AMOS.

THE query in our Aurora for October, p. 213, respecting the external of the Lord, was particularly addressed to the Translator of the Arcana Cœlestia; it was not therefore from partiality but from a point of order and propriety, that the following letter was not then admitted.-Finding that the answer in our last was not so satisfactory as might be expected, we now very willingly insert the answer of Lector Parvus, as well as his observations upon that of the translator.

TO THE EDITORS OF THE AURORA.

ON inspecting the questions in the Aurora for October, page 213, and turning to the passages referred to, the following short remarks occurred. They are not offered

as

« PreviousContinue »