1. That in sleep the blood circulates in a different manner from its usual course in the hour of wakefulness.

2. That in sleep innumerable small vessels are open for the reception of the blood, which are closed while man is awake; and again, that innumerable others are open in a state of wakefulness, which are closed during sleep.

3. That the immediate cause of sleep is the flowing of the red blood into the vessels of the purer or white blood, in the cerebrum, or brain, in consequence of which its distinct perception fails, and its peculiar action and sensation become quiescent.

4. That during sleep the cerebrum, or fore part of the brain, with its dependent nerves throughout the whole body, is what properly sleeps; but that the cerebellum, or back part of the brain, with all the nerves dependent upon it, is at that time particularly wakeful, and in the effort of repairing all the damages sustained by the frame from the action of the cerebrum, while awake, and the labours of the previous day.

5. That the action of the cerebellum is involuntary, or spontaneous, that is to say, independent of the will of man; but that the action of the cerebrum is in a great degree voluntary, or directed by the will, and therefore naturally tends to derange the order of the system, and to extinguish the bodily life before the appointed time. Hence it is ordained by the divine providence of the Lord, that the cerebrum should, at stated periods, take rest in sleep, in order that the cerebellum, which never sleeps, but, on the contrary, is more active in sleep than at other times, may have an opportunity of restoring that which has suffered injury during the hours of wakefulness. For, according to the testimony of the same great author, from whom the preceding observations are borrowed, "As soon as man falls asleep, his voluntary principle of respiration ceases, and he receives an involuntary principle of respiration, through the medium of angels and spirits, who are present with him on such occasions" (Arc. Cal. n. 3893).

Moreover, the voluntary and involuntary actions above alluded to, coincide with the two kinds of influx, or streams of life called mediate and immediate; the mediate flowing from the Lord through heaven, and the immediate from the Lord alone, without passing through the medium of either angels or spirits and as the regeneration of man, which is the great end for which the life of the body is continued, is effected by the conjunction, or equilibrium, of these two influxes, neither of which alone is sufficient for the purpose, therefore both are necessary to bring man into the order of

heaven. The proper will of man however has an inate tendency in itself to withdraw him from this order, to carry him either beyond, or short of, the point of equilibrium between the two influxes, so as to prevent their conjunction, and withal to generate a variety of bodily disorders: the consequence of which is, that man is in the continual effort to destroy his spiritual life, whilst in the full exercise of his intellectual faculties, that is, whilst he is in a state of wakefulness.

Therefore it is provided, that a state of wakefulness shall constantly be succeeded by a state of sleep, during which the involuntary actions of the body, and the immediate influx from the Lord, repair the damages sustained, and give a new capacity to exercise the functions, both of natural and spiritual life.

Such appear to be the nature and use of sleep to the body, and such the method by which it is produced.

Let us now consider the nature of spiritual sleep, and the use intended by it to the mind or spirit of man, together with the means by which it is effected: for, as before observed, sleep is as necessary, and essential to the well being and health of the mind, as it is or can be, to that of the body.

With all intelligent beings, whether angels, spirits, or men, one condition of their existence is, that they shall be alternately subject to states of sleeping and waking.

The same is true even with the brute creation, and with vegetables of every description; perhaps also in some way analagous to the nature of their existence, with all the substances of the mineral kingdom, according to their aspect to or from the sun. But our present subject relates to intelligent or rational beings only.

Man, then, while in the material body, experiences two kinds of sleep; that of his body, of which we have already spoken, and that of his spirit, of which we are now about to treat.

Spirits and angels, who are human beings divested of the material body, experience only one kind of sleep, and that is the sleep of the spirit, because they are only spiritual beings. Yet as they have a spiritual body, and a mind or soul within that body, or an external and an internal; the sleep of this latter terminates in, or coincides with, the sleep of the former, and therefore, though these two kinds of sleep are distinguishable the one from the other, they are here considered as one. Under this view, it appears the sacred scriptures regard these alternate changes, to which both human and angelic minds are alike subject. When the internal is open to the clear perception of divine truth, and of the things relating to the

Lord and his kingdom, it is then in a state of spiritual wakefulness: but when its perception of divine truth is obscure, and the external subjects relating to the world engross its attention, it is then in a state of spiritual sleep. Hence it is said of the ten virgins, who went forth to meet the bridegroom, that while he tarried, "they all slumbered and slept "(Matt. xxv. 5), by which is meant, that they were all engaged in the pursuit of the things of this life, though, from the different principles which characterised them respectively, some were called wise and some foolish. So again, when the three disciples, Peter, James, and John were taken up in the mountain to behold the glory of the Lord's transfigured body, it is first said, in allusion to their natural state," that they were heavy with sleep ;" and afterwards, in allusion to their spiritual state, that, "when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men (Moses and Elias) that stood with him" (Luke ix. 32). To be heavy with sleep, is to be strongly attached to an external state of life, such as that of the body, and reluctant to emerge from it into an interior state of life, such as that of the spirit; just as men who are overpowered with natural sleep, are unwilling to be roused into a state of wakefulness. Hence it follows, that to be awake is to be elevated into an internal state of life, that is to the contemplation of the spiritual things of heaven and the church.

From these examples it is evident that sleeping and waking are states proper to the spirit, as well as to the body, and if so it is equally clear that these alternate changes must be as useful and necessary to the one as to the other. Let us suppose, for instance, that man were always asleep, or always awake as to the bodily life. In the one case he would be a mere drone in existence, useless to his neighbour, and ignorant of his Creator: in the other case he would be presumptuous of his own powers, and fancy that he was life in himself, and not a mere recipent of life from the Lord. So with respect to the spirit, were he continually immersed in the cares and anxieties of external things, and never roused to the consideration of the higher and more important concerns of spiritual life, he would differ but little from the brutes that perish: or were he kept in a constant state of elevation to heavenly and divine subjects, without any relaxation of his mental faculties, he would, like the Israelites of old, soon loathe the heavenly manna, and would say, "Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes "(Num. xi. 4,

5, 6). In short, without alternate changes of state from natural to spiritual, or from external to internal, and again from spiritual to natural, or from internal to external, and this through every period of existence in this life, and in the life to come, even to eternity, neither men, spirits, nor angels could be duly sensible of their own impotence as finite creatures, or justly appreciate the unspeakable bounty of him, who, in the midst of all his other mercies, giveth his beloved sleep, and enables them with the prophet to say, "I awaked and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me "(Jer. xxxi. 26); or with the psalmist, "When I awake I am still with thee" (Ps. cxxxix. 18).

But according to our doctrine even devils and wicked spirits, who cannot, properly speaking, be ranked among the beloved of the Lord, are equally subject to the alternations of sleeping and waking. And it may be asked, Of what use or benefit can these changes be to such characters? Do they contribute, in any degree, to the amelioration or improvement of their unhappy condition? To this it may be answered, that, although infernal spirits cannot be effectually elevated and preserved from the evil in which they have confirmed themselves, yet the divine mercy operates as much in their favour, as their own state and the welfare and peace of society at large will permit. They are, equally with angels and men, the subjects of voluntary and involuntary motion, and of mediate and immediate influx, both with respect to their minds and their bodies. Moreover, the nature of the life they have contracted is such, that it continually urges them to pervert, abuse, and extinguish the faculties with which they are endued, and together with them, the human character itself. Therefore, to prevent this from taking place altogether, and to enable them to sustain, in some degree, the semblance of human beings in the midst of all their depravity, it is wisely and mercifully ordained, that even they shall experience the alternations of sleeping and waking.

There can be no doubt, that some amelioration of their condition is effected during their states of sleep, because in these seasons the involuntary principle of life, and the immediate influx from the Lord, are in full activity, while the voluntary principle, and the mediate influx, are, to a certain degree, quiescent. By these and other means, which nevertheless do not and cannot effect their regeneration and salvation, even devils and wicked spirits are prevented from falling into such great depths of misery and degradation as, if left entirely to themselves, they would rush into with eagerness and furious delight.

Upon the whole, then, it may be fairly concluded, with respect to infernal spirits, that, in comparison with the blessed, or those who are truly called the beloved of the Lord, the whole tenor of their life may be regarded as a deep sleep; and what is said of Babylon may be well applied to them: "I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men : and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake, saith the King whose name is the Lord of Hosts" (Jer. li. 57).

Having thus shewn the nature and use of sleep, as well as of wakefulness, both as it respects the body and the spirit, and that such changes of state are merciful appointments intended for the benefit and perpetual improvement of all intelligent creatures, I shall now conclude with a few general reflections.

It has long been an opinion entertained by the professors of religion, that angels and spirits are attendant upon good men both by day and by night, and that in various ways they minister by divine appointment, to their spiritual wants and necessities, defending them from unknown dangers, which they themselves can neither foresee nor avert.

But what has heretofore been mere conjecture and probability, is now become, in the New Church, matter of certainty and undoubted fact.

It is now well known, that both good and evil spirits, invisible to the natural eye, are present with every man; that by the good spirits he has communication with heaven, and by the evil spirits with hell; and that, being thus placed as it were in the centre of two contrary influences or powers, he finds himself, from the equilibrium thereby produced, in a state of perfect freedom, capable of turning either to the one side or to the other. This is the case in all the ordinary states of wakefulness, while man is in the exercise of his external faculties. But his self- will being prone to the side of evil, and his spiritual enemies, who are constantly near him, and watching for every opportunity of mischief, being too successful in their endeavours to seduce him to their own party, he is continually deflecting from the path of duty, and deranging the order which the divine providence is endeavouring to establish within him. It therefore becomes necessary to counteract the tendency of his nature, in such a way, as shall not interfere with his freedom, and at the same time to put the seducers under more than usual restraint. This is effected while man is asleep, during which time his external faculties are suspended, and the Lord by an immediate operation of his spirit, repairs the injury sustained in his waking