sion was from Satan?* Has not then the Spirit of God "done all things well," in that, after having predicted no future miracles but infernal ones, it has omitted to decorate the Human Instrument for communicating its last discoveries with those questionable insignia?t

* This has been done in regard to the extraordinary instances of the reality of his communication with the spiritual world which have been given in a former note. The author of "the Trial of the Spirits, " &c. speaking of some of these as adduced by Mr Hindmarsh in his "Letters to Dr Priestley," &c. calls them "instances of supernatural knowledge, and proofs of a power of command in the world of spirits, which are not a little surprising; and adds, "there seems to be no possibility of denying their truth as to facts." (P. 13.) But he argues from it, "That a power of working apparent miracles, or prodigies, may, on some occasions, be permitted to evil spirits, and their wicked instruments." These facts, however, though proofs of Swedenborg's supernatural knowledge, were not miracles, but natural consequences of the state in which he was placed, and which was required to enable him fully to see the correspondence between spiritual things and natural, and to qualify him for giving that information respecting the state after death, the ignorance of the human mind respecting it at the present day, makes above all things, desirable and necessary.

+ Wishing, as far as possible, to avoid, in this appeal, repeating what has been said before, I have not, in the above statement of reasons why no miracles were performed by Swedenborg, dwelt much upon those offered by Swedenborg himself, and which have been most urged by his vindicators. I thus have not urged the most important of all, their tendency to close the rational mind. To make the subject more complete, I will therefore here su an extract from an address drawn up by me for a certain occasion (but not used) in the year 1799; at which time I had not read anything on the question but what is contained in our author's own writings, with which I had become acquainted the preceding year. There is more warmth in the manner than I should now use; but this the reader will excuse in a youthful production; written too at a time when the delight accompanying the perception of new truths was in all its freshness, and when I literally was filled with astonishment that what appeared to me clearer than the light of the meridian sun should not be seen by others.

"Some, probably, will say, 'What argument can induce us to believe a man in a concern of this nature who gives no visible credentials to his authority? A teacher commissioned from on high ought to have the power of working miracles. Had we seen him raise a dead corpse to life, or jump unhurt from the monument, we might have believed him; but without such proofs as these, we cannot.' But let us ask in return, Is it worthy of a being wearing the figure of a man to require such proofs as these to determine his judgment? Are we not endowed with rationality? Is it not by virtue of this celestial spark that man boasts himself a man, and claims

I trust then that all the Candid and Reflecting will agree with me in the conviction, that Swedenborg, by

superiority over every other rank of animated nature? The lower orders of creation have bodily senses as well as we: they can see, hear, feel, taste, and smell: and if we, refusing to exercise those faculties which we possess in common with angels, receive only such evidence as our external senses can grasp; do we not degrade the dignity of our nature, deny our heavenly origin, and reduce ourselves to a level with the beasts that grovel on the ground? The beasts act from the impulse of their bodily senses, but are utterly incapable of seeing from reason why they should so act: and it might easily be shewn, that while a man thinks and acts under the influence of a miracle, he is as much incapable of perceiving from any rational ground why he should thus think and act, as a beast is.

"What!' our opponents will perhaps reply, Dare any one speak thus disrespectfully of miracles, when they are sanctioned by the testimony of the Bible? Was it not entirely by miracles that the Jewish Church was established? Was it not by miracles that the Israelites were induced to believe Moses? Was it not by miracles that they were governed in the wilderness? And was it not by miracles that the prophets [some of them] testified their authority? Do you not believe these facts?'-Yes, my friends, I do most entirely believe them and at the same time I most ardently hope that none of us are such people as the Jews were; because the most stupendous miracles would then do us no more good than they did them. For can we have a more conclusive evidence of the inadequacy of miracles to convince a man to his real benefit, than in the conduct of that people; who, notwithstanding the wonderful things which they daily saw, were continually rebellious, insomuch that, we are informed, they were stiff-necked above all the people on the face of the earth? If then the Jews were not amended by those means, what end did they answer?'-Let us consider what end was answered in their being introduced into the land of Canaan: for how can we suppose that a people of this character ever constituted a real, spiritual church? And how can we imagine that they could ever be, in a peculiar manner, the express favorites of God? But if not, why did he interpose in so wonderful a manner to deliver them from Egypt?"-We answer; They were delivered from Egypt, which was a type of the natural state of man, and introduced into Canaan, which was a type of his spiritual state, that they might represent all that belongs to a real spiritual church by their ceremonial worship and particular transactions; and that, by their means, a revelation might be given to the world, which, in its literal sense, should treat of their affairs and of those of the neighboring nations, their wars, rites, and customs; all which spiritually signified such things as relate to the real spiritual church: and because they could not be brought even to represent such a church by superior inducements, they were driven and forced to it by miracles; which, likewise, were all representatives of spiritual subjects.

* See what is said on this subject in "the Plenary Inspiration," &c. p. 404 to 444.

the non-performance of miracles, has in no degree weakened his claims to attention, but that he would have

"But it may be objected, That supposing the Jews were a gross, external people, who did little more than represent a spiritual church, the Christian was an interior dispensation; and yet miracles were wrought at its establishment, both by Christ and his Apostles.'-But let us remember, that the Lord passed his whole life upon earth among the Jews, who, being such a people as has just been described, required testifications of this sort; which here also, as well as in the case of the miracles wrought by Moses, had a spiritual signification. Besides, the Word of the New Testament, wherein they are recorded, was yet to be written: and every sickness and infirmity therein described to have been healed, was representative of some evil or false principle which only the divine power of the Lord is able to remove. If this were not the reason, why is not this power continued to the dignitaries of the church till this day? We see that it is not we find that, as soon as the Christians were entirely separated from the Jews, miracles ceased.

"But now, at the opening of a more interior dispensation than either of the former,-of a more spiritual form of the everlasting gospel, no miracles are performned at all. Is not the reason yet evident? Let me ask any person whatever, whether he can be forced to think what he does not think, or to love what he does not love? It is true that, by the civil laws of a state, or anything which occasions fear, a man may be forced to speak what he does not think, and to do what he does not love; yet, notwithstanding this, he does not think and love what he thus says and does; and, were the constraint removed, he would immediately speak and act otherwise. Now, though such conduct as this may indeed answer the purposes of the civil life, do we not see that, with respect to the spiritual life, it is nothing? A man may, by civil and ecclesiastical enactments, be restrained from speaking against the truths of religion and outwardly transgressing its laws; yea, he may be, and in some countries is, forced to acknowledge and obey them: yet if his knowledge and obedience proceed only from such a cause, what is his religion? It is evident, that unless a man really thinks what he speaks and loves what he acts, there is nothing of the man in such speech and action. Hence it may appear, that the essential human principle, or that by virtue of which man is man, consists in the liberty of thinking and willing; and that if this liberty were taken from him, which would be the case were he constantly under the influence of a miracle, he would no longer, properly speaking, be a man at all. If we see a beast of prey destroy another animal, do we reprobate him as guilty of moral evil? No we do not: we are sensible that he is gratifying a natural appetite, which he has no liberty of will to resist. But if we see a man commit an act of cruelty or injustice, we do reprobate him as guilty of moral evil: we are sensible that reason might have taught him it was wrong, and that he was at liberty, had he pleased, to obey her dictates. If then we thus confess it to be these faculties which raise us from mere animals to men, how ought we to disdain to seek an influence, which, by depriving us of them, would reduce us from men to mere animals! And such is the influ

weakened them much more had he wrought the most "notable" ones. Even under the Mosaic law, abound

ence of miracles. For if, when we have rejected a truth, the operation of a miracle force us to acknowledge it; is there anything of true faith in such acknowledgment? True faith must reside in the rational mind: but the miracle, acting only on the external senses, actually shuts up the rational mind: so that, astounded in a stupid amaze, we become utterly incapable of looking at what is thus forced upon us in any light of reason, or of receiving it in any affection. Wherefore the miracle becomes quite useless: for finding ourselves, while its impression remains, deprived of our freedom,-bereaved of the faculties which constitute us men,-we willingly suffer it to wear off: and thus being restored to our liberty, we confirm anew what our reason dictates; we return to our former belief; because it is what we think, and what we like to think. But that we may

see this as clearly as possible, let us take an example. Suppose a man, having no affection for goodness, to be forced by a miracle to acknowledge a truth which he otherwise would reject: will he behold this truth with pleasure, even though it teach the way to happiness? Assuredly not. And why? Because he wishes to find happiness some other way. For this (inasmuch as it is a truth) teaches, that, to be truly happy, we must be good, and renounce the pursuit of such enjoyments as are grounded in the love of evil: but he, being devoted to the pursuit of such enjoyments, which he feels as his very life, will regard as an enemy whatsoever opposes it. Finding himself therefore under an irksome restraint in the prosecution of his favorite pleasures, from the monitory voice of the truth he has acknowledged, he will shortly reject it as founded in error; and he will deny the miracle which induced his belief, by persuading himself that it was the accidental effect of some natural cause with which he is unacquainted; or perhaps, that it proceeded from the agency of powers which delight in deceiving mankind.

"Let us then not wish to have our minds closed by miracles, but let us open them by rational investigation. If we are desirous to know whether the doctrines now promulgated are consistent with truth, let us search for them in Moses and the prophets; for these are they which testify of them; and if we believe not Moses and the prophets, neither should we be persuaded though one rose from the dead. These are the Lord's own words; which I remind you of, to evince, that the reasons I have offered to demonstrate the inutility of miracles as evidences of spiritual truth, are derived from Him who cannot err. Let us remember that he also assures us, that it is an evil and adulterous generation which seeketh after a sign. Let us remember likewise, and tremble lest we resemble them, that the Jews, who were such a generation, were not convinced by the signs when they beheld them. Of this, what an awful instance they gave when they crucified the Lord! Come down from the cross,' they cried out, and we will believe thee.' Did he not perform the miracle they demanded as the condition of their faith? Nay, did he not perform a much greater miracle? He raised his glorified body from the grave: the Jews knew it :-and they bribed the guard to say that it had been stolen by his disciples!

ing, as that dispensation did, with outward wonders, the performance of them is never laid down as among the credentials of a prophet; while, on the other hand, their exhibition by false prophets is spoken of as possible and probable: "If there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods which we have not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the voice of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams."* Thus the knowledge of God, as revealed, of course, in his Word, is spoken of as the only infallible touchstone. So in Isaiah: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because they have no light in them." To the same purpose is the wise answer of Abraham in the parable: "They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them.-If they hear not Moses

"No, my friends, believe me! it is not by miracles that disciples are to be gained for the New Jerusalem. The real inhabitants of this holy city' are to be interiorly principled in wisdom and goodness and it is not in the power of a thousand miracles to affect the interiors of the mind, or to remove one evil which is rooted there. Let us then remember we are men, and look for such evidences as become the capacities of men; which are, truths that recommend themselves to an enlightened reason: and of these rational evidences there is no lack to accredit the testimony of Baron Swedentorg."

See also some remarks upon the unsatisfying nature of the evidence from miracles in the preface to " the plenary Inspiration," &c. I had there said, in reference to those defences of Christianity which build chiefly on that evidence, that they "are more adapted to silence than to satisfy even an ingenuous inquirer." The observation has been cavilled at by some of the Reviewers; but I have since had the satisfaction of finding precisely the same idea, in nearly the same phraseology, expressed by Mr T. Erskine, in his very popular work, "Remarks on the Internal Evidence for the truth of the Christian Religion."-"We generally find," says that amiable writer, "that the objections which are urged by sceptics against the inspiration of the Bible, are founded on some apparent improbability in the detached parts of the system. These objections are often repelled by the defenders of Christianity as irrelevant; and the objectors are referred to the unbroken and well supported line of testimony in confirmation of its miraculous history. This may be a silencing argument, but it is not a convincing one." (p. 200, Ed. 1823.)