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in our civil life in relation to the laws of commerce, and the mutual transactions of trade, essentially belong to the new order of things which is involved in the comprehensive idea of the New Dispensation. We verily believe, that if the New Church had not commenced by the effusion of new light and power from on high, and by a judgment executed on moral darkness and evil in the world of spirits, which is the world of mind, the strongholds of selfishness and the fortress of monopolies could never have been broken down and removed. The rational and moral power would have been wanting; and if accomplished at all, it would have been accomplished through the horrors of revolutionary power in its worst manifestation. But behold the fruits of this new change in one of the important ultimates of human life! Nations, by the mutual interchange of interests, are brought more closely into association with each other; mutual transactions in commerce unite men by common ties into a brotherhood of mutual advantages and fellowship, diminish the possibilities of war, facilitate the communication of trnth and goodness throughout the world, and establish the reign of peace upon earth.

It is not wise to look at one province of society irrespective of another; no more than we should regard the natural degree of life irrespective of the moral and the spiritual. He who views these salutary changes in the ultimate forms of human society, without elevating his thoughts to see ulterior changes for good in the province of mind,-in the establishment of intellectual, moral, and spiritual order and happiness amongst men, cannot enjoy the prospect like the Christian who is enlightened to view them in relation to these higher and spiritual interests of humanity, nor can he ascribe them in thankful acknowledgment to the primary Cause of all good, both temporal and spiritual.

We have alluded to these signs of the times, which every year develops and increases, as abundantly evident to shew that great changes, by the process of gradual development, must follow these new ultimate forms of civilized life, and that these changes will eventually prepare the general mind for a reception of a higher order of truth from the Word of God in respect to things spiritual and divine. It is, therefore, not so much from the reception of the direct evidences of the truths of the new dispensation, exhibited in the writings of Swedenborg, that we should judge of the increase of the New Jerusalem, as from the general aspect of things in the world. The ploughshare must first do its work before the seeds of genuine truth can be expected to

grow with any prospect of success. In the powerful language of the Word- -"Ephraim must ride, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break his clods, before we can sow to ourselves in righteousness and reap in mercy;" (Hos. x. 11, 12.) that is, the understanding must be instructed and enlightened, the will must be broken up, and the ploughshare driven through its unhallowed affections, and the natural mind must be subdued and contrite, before the seeds of righteousness and mercy can grow and flourish. But is not this work going on? Is not the cry for an effective system of education universal?- -a system uncontrolled by party spirit and religious prejudice, in which the old creeds shall not be recognized as the mediums of conveying religious truth to mankind, but the Word alone in its integrity, without note or comment, unperverted by the traditions of men, shall be admitted as the source, centre, basis, and support of moral and religious training, around which the natural sciences, and all branches of useful knowledge, will be arranged and employed for the cultivation of the mind. When Swedenberg declared, in 1762, that the truths of the New Church can only be received by those "who have cultivated their intellectual faculty," (Ap. Ex. 732.) he announced the mighty necessity of universal education. Since which period how wonderful have been the changes in respect to the progress of education, and the diffusion of useful knowledge! How wonderful the universal spread of the Word amongst all the nations of the earth! The Lord is verily coming in the clouds of heaven (the letter of the Word) to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Swedenborg saw that the work "of cultivating the intellectual faculty" had commenced, and that no power could stop it, although years might elapse before its visible progress to universality could be seen and acknowledged. This, however, is now one of the striking signs of the day, and cannot be mistaken, as belonging to the new era of Truth, Love, and Happiness, now dawning upon the world. What then is our great duty in reference to this mighty movement of educating the millions? Evidently to move in the vanguard of the noble army of those who go forth to conquer ignorance with its train of evils, and to disperse the mental darkness which as yet so generally prevails, and, for this purpose, to let our publications, our tracts, and our works have the freest access into every circle. In this way, although our means be limited, we may, nevertheless, of the Divine Mercy, accomplish much in our generation. And here we would especially urge upon our readers the great use which might be performed, if the philosophical works of Swedenborg, ema

nating in so correct and handsome a form from the Swedenborg Association, were presented to the principal public libraries in every city and town of our country. The "Animal Kingdom and the Principia,' &c. cannot, when perused, but inspire every thoughtful mind with respect and veneration for the author, and thus prepare the way for the reception of the higher order of truths unfolded in his theological works.

The sale of this Periodical is annually inereasing; it makes its way into new circles of acquaintance, both in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, where the readers pray for the prosperity of Jerusalem, and delight in every intimation of its progress throughout the earth. Our object is to pursue a steady course; troubled waters we cannot always avoid; we have met with difficulties, and we expect to meet them again. Our great end and aim is to promote the cause of Truth and Love, which is that of genuine Christianity upon earth, and to edify the mind by cultivating a right perception and feeling in respect to the highest interests and concerns of our common humanity.

To this end much and varied talent is required to send forth every month a periodical rich in sublime sentiments of the Good, the True, the Useful, and the Beautiful, solid and powerful in argument, clear in illustration, correct in the details of its information, and, as to the tendency of its contents, generally acceptable to its numerous readers. But our resources are great, our materials are abundant and rich; they only require to be wrought up by the intellectual energy of those who appreciate their intrinsic value, and we are certain that the treasures and beauties of our Holy City will gain the affection and esteem of all candid and reflecting minds.

To those correspondents who, during the past year, have favoured this Periodical with their contributions, the Editor takes this opportunity of expressing his sincere acknowledgments. We feel that much more might be done to render this work more useful and more acceptable to the public, and if those friends who, although they may not find it convenient to send elaborate essays, yet in the course of their reading and observation may often meet with striking signs of intellectual movements in the direction of the New Jerusalem, would indicate to the Editor the results in this respect of their experience, a greater amount of useful and varied intelligence would appear in the pages of our Periodical.

EDITOR.

A MEANS SUGGESTED OF EXTENDING THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE DOCTRINES OF THE NEW CHURCH.

To the Editor of the Intellectual Repository. SIR,-Any suggestion which, reduced to practice, may forward, however slightly, the above-named most important object, will, I doubt not, engage your own and your readers' serious attention. To offer such a suggestion is my object in writing this. A prefatory remark or two will perhaps be permitted.

Any one observant of things and passing events, cannot fail to note that a most marked change has come upon the spirit of the present times. Yet we in vain look for one of those revolutions which have from time to time suddenly and violently re-organized society, as an equivalent cause to the observed effect. The change has come upon us silently, and almost unobserved in its progress. It is here, and the men of the world may well wonder whence it comes. To the thinking men of the New Church, however, the cause is sufficiently open; to them, at least, it is no enigma; they can have upon this point but one opinion: to state this here would be supererogatory. The change manifests itself in our literature, in the social and moral movements now being made amongst us, and in the general tone of public thought and feeling. In respect to the first, we find that the opinions of many literary men of high standing, both speakers and writers, are more or less markedly tinged with the views of the New Church; as to the second, we find that the movements now being made, have a more direct reference to the man himself,-to the supply of the wants of his mental being, than formerly; in regard to the last, we may observe a decided elevation in the tone of thought and feeling on the subjects brought under public notice. We cannot but hear in the change thus effected, voices crying in the wilderness. We cannot but regard them as initiatory steps to the establishment of that which is destined to be to the human race the greatest of all blessings temporal or eternal; namely, the Lord's New Church. We should not suffer the preparatory steps to this grand ultimatum to have been taken in vain, but follow them up by manly and vigorous effort, taking advantage of the spirit of candid inquiry and intelligence now spreading amongst men, to place before them those enlightening, life-giving and sustaining N. S. No. 84.-VOL. VII.

truths, the spiritual treasures of the Heavenly Jerusalem.

Already has "Swedenborg" begun to be associated with the names of the most illustrious philosophers of the past. He has already begun to rise to that position in the eyes of the world, in which his transcendent merit as a philosopher and a man of science must ultimately place him; and in that character, ere long, there will doubtless be a much increased demand for his works. These will beget a confidence in the man, and remove much of that misconception and misrepresentation existing with respect to his character, and those heavenly doctrines which he has been the means of communicating to the world will be viewed with less of prejudice and more of respect. It becomes a duty, therefore, with the members of the New Church, to take heed that the works of Swedenborg be as universally accessible as possible. A means of making them so to some extent it is my object to suggest. Our mechanics' institutions and lyceums collect together numbers of intelligent and inquiring minds; that the works of Swedenborg should be made accessible to such appears a matter of the first importance. It is true there might be objections raised to receiving the theological, but certainly none to the philosophical and scientific works of our author. And our friends could not exercise their benevolence more judiciously or usefully than by making donations of such volumes as would be received, to the institutions of this character in their different localities.

This

Falling into conversation with the librarian of the Manchester Athenæum, I asked him if he thought the works of Swedenborg would be received into the library of that institution? He thought they would; which, upon further communication with him, has been confirmed. Here, then, is an opportunity of placing within the reach of nearly three thousand individuals, mostly intelligent, and many of them unprejudiced and truth-seeking minds, the works of Swedenborg. opportunity will not, I think, be allowed by our friends to pass unimproved. Those of them who are desirous of aiding the progress of truth in this way, may do so by donations of volumes for the purpose of presentation to the above-named institution, which may be left with, or addressed to the Editor of the Intellectual Repository. Hoping this may prove useful, I remain, sir, yours, &c., G. PARRY. Manchester, Nov. 18th, 1846.

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THE LIVERPOOL TRACT SOCIETY, AND QUARTERLY TEA MEETING.

The Liverpool quarterly tea meeting, and the annual meeting of the Tract Society were held on the 1st October, at the usual place, when upwards of sixty individuals sat down to tea; after which the Rev. J. Cull opened the meeting with prayer. He then read the subject for consideration, which was the twentyfourth chapter of Matthew, from the first to the 29th verse, upon which he made a few remarks; but previous to the observations of any other speaker, he called the attention of the meeting to another subject, viz., the committee of the Tract Society, who wished to lay before the meeting their annual report.

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The Secretary, Mr. Alex. Craigie, read the report, the purport of which showed that in the last year there have been 600 tracts in circulation through the medium of distributors, consisting of junior and a few senior members, who have a district allotted to each; by this means knowledge of the doctrines is spread through a wider sphere. At the various lectures which have been delivered during the last year, there have been 700 tracts distributed to strangers gratis. From those silent missionaries much good has no doubt accrued, an evidence of which may appear from their occasional attendance on the usual service, and from the great demand for tracts at those lectures, which frequently exceeds the supply. The funds were also reported as being in a good condition, a balance remaining on hand.

The report being submitted to the meeting and accepted, it became necessary to elect a committee for the ensuing year, when the committee for the last year were re-elected, with an addition to their number. An addition was also made to the list of subscribers and distributors.

The next circumstance which came under observation was of a very pleasing nature, one which spoke more than we can express. About twelve months ago, a class was formed here of young men, called the Mutual Instructive Class. Its members met on the Sunday afternoon, with their respected pastor, for the purpose of reading and conversing upon the writings of the New Church. They decided upon presenting the Rev. J. Cull with something expressive of their sentiments towards him, and as their anniversary happened to be about this time, they took the opportunity of this

meeting for their purpose. The present consisted of two volumes, elegantly bound in morocco, and gold gilt; one being the translation of the Psalms, with their spiritual sense, by the Rev. J. Clowes ; and the other, the Rev. S. Noble's Lectures. They were presented by Mr. H. Shaw, secretary for the class, (in a neat address, signed by the young men of the class) who also read an account of the state of the class for the past year. The Rev. J. Cull then returned thanks, in a very appropriate and complimentary address, expressive also of his feelings on the occasion, all of which were very gratifying to the meeting.

Essays were then read upon the subject for consideration, by Messrs. T. Lee Bradshaw, Alexander Craigie, and Henry Shaw. After which, Messrs. Pixton, Selby, and Skeaf, addressed the meeting in relation to the subject, with which addresses all present were exceedingly edified.

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.

We have just had a visit from our old friend and pastor, Mr. Rendell, which it is hoped may be beneficial, as it has been gratifying to our society and the many strangers who thronged our temple. The following is a programme of the uses Mr. R. performed while amongst us: Arriving here on Monday night, September 28th, Mr. R. rested on the Tuesday, or rather called upon many of the members of the society. On Wednesday evening delivered a lecture in the school-room on "Caloric," illustrated by many interesting experiments, the proceeds of which were devoted to the use of the school, realizing about £3. Thursday, and one or two other evenings were spent in the social circle. Friday a tea-meeting was held, at which about 70 were present; not being any holiday time, many of our friends were deprived of the intellectual treat which was principally sustained by Mr. Rendell, and our own friends added their mite. One source of gloom to the natural man, however, cast itself, occasionally, across the meeting. Our leader, Mr. Lyne, was not present, owing to the departing of his dear little infant to its heavenly father's kingdom, having been in this world only a few weeks.

On Sunday, October 4th, two highly intellectual and instructive discourses were delivered by our reverend visitor on attractive subjects. In the morning

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