{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_69464/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_69464","id":"gutenberg_69464","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69464","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809 -- Spiritualistic interpretations","Spirit writings"],"text":"LIGHT FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD.\n\n  THE\n  PILGRIMAGE\n  OF\n  THOMAS PAINE,\n  AND OTHERS,\n  TO THE SEVENTH CIRCLE\n  IN\n  THE SPIRIT WORLD.\n\n  REV. C. HAMMOND, Medium.\n\n  [Illustration: FOURTH THOUSAND.]\n\n  ROCHESTER:\n  D. M. DEWEY, ARCADE HALL.\n\n  NEW-YORK, FOWLER & WELLS, AND J. S. REDFIELD.\n  BOSTON, BELA MARSH, AND B. B. MUSSEY & CO.\n  1852.\n\n\n\n\n  Entered according to Act of Congress, by\n\n  CHARLES HAMMOND,\n\n  In the Clerk\u2019s Office of the District Court of the United States, for\n  the Northern District of New-York, March 5th, 1852.\n\n  PRINTED BY LEE, MANN & CO., AMERICAN BUILDING.\n\n  STEREOTYPED BY J. W. BROWN.\n  Rochester, N. Y.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nConversation with his physician, and his indifference about death--The\nminister sent for--Prayer--Meditation on life--Age of Reason--A\nswoon--Sees a spirit--The effort of the spirit to identify herself--His\ndeath--Funeral services--Doubting minister--Conversation with his\nspirit companion--Benediction, and opinions of the people--The end\nof wonders--Joy in his new sphere--The greeting--The woman and the\ndoctor--His mother--Her welcome--His grave--The thoughts of the grave\ndigger--Anxiety to reveal the truth--Promise to him of a coming time\nwhen it could be done with safety to mediums--Origin of sight--The\nthoughts of minds at his grave--Disclaims intentional wrong--Objections\nto religion--Visit to the minister--Conversation between the minister\nand servant--Prayer--Servant complains--Cheering conversation of Paine\nand his companion--Proposes to relate his experience, and signs his\nname.--[From page 13 to page 27.]\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nPleased with his new life--Recognition of rudimental associates--Reason\nwhy Paine\u2019s writings were unpopular--His opposition to revelation\nconsidered--Penn makes an effort to show Paine his error,\nbut was defeated--Error acknowledged--Strife about opinions\ncondemned--Nature is never contradictory, but just--All wrong\ninduced by ignorance--Remedy for wrongs--Wisdom peaceful--The will\nof resistance--The principles of nature enforced--Education in wrong\nthe cause of wrong--Non-resistance advocated--Penn takes him to a\ntemple--Enters an arch-door--Initiation into wisdom--Assumes an\nobligation--A new song is sung--Receives a lesson--Description of\nthe temple--Name recorded--A book opened--Banner unfurled--Words\non the banner--Explanation of justice, wisdom, progression, order\nand harmony--Duties enjoined--Charge of the master--Emblems\nexplained--Master and servant--Freedom of servants--Obedience\nto nature demanded--Implements of masonry--Proof of masonry--The\nHigh Priest instructs--The book opened and read--Interpretations\nforbidden--Repentant mind--Conducted to the inner court--The white\nstone--Name changed--Receives a new baptism--An anthem and ode were\nsung--The temple by whom made, and its pillars--Hears a wail of sorrow,\nand prepares for a mission.--[From page 27 to page 52.]\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nThe Cottage--Landlord impressed--Efforts of spirits--Maniac threatens\nhis family--Landlord advises to send for the minister--Wife wants\na doctor--Iron moved by a spirit--Nobleman and Mary confounded by\nthe sounds--Attributes the sounds to satan and witches--Becomes\nagitated--Boasts of English courage--Gives Mary a half crown--Sends\nfor a physician--Maniac grows more ill--Tea and sugar bought--The\ndoctor comes and prescribes--Aid promised--Curate required to pray\nat his home--The maniac dies--Grief of Mary--Parental counsel at the\ntime of her marriage repeated--Her husband buried--The family taken\nto the Alms-house--Affecting conversation between the mother and her\nson--The overseer questions Mary--Oppression of the poor--Voluntary and\ninvoluntary servitude explained.--[From page 52 to page 64.]\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nThe Castle described--The centurion alarmed--Faith proved by\nworks--Interpretations of the Bible disallowed--Penn called\nan infidel--Dialogue between the centurion and Penn--Teacher\ncalled--Dialogue continued--Theological opinions the cause of strife\nand wrong--Paine and Penn retire--Conversation between them--Witnesses\nbeheaded--Dialogue between the Teacher and his Master--A wheel within a\nwheel--Gold and silver the motive power--Attraction of affinities--Fear\nand hope make slaves--The king\u2019s palace--Conversation between Thomas\nand William--Grand Master instructs Thomas--A new song--Consistency\nwrong when minds are wrong--Experience the proper test of\nprinciples--Some minds serve two masters--Works justify--Repentance is\nsalvation--Departure for the Temple.--[From page 64 to page 102.]\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nUnity of work--Each receives a penny--Visits another temple--The\nMaster\u2019s charge to Thomas--Advice of the chief--Counsel of the\ncommander--Explanation of the helmet, spear, sword with two edges,\narrows and bow, sling and pebbles--Trumpet--Directions to revisit the\ncastle.--[From page 102 to page 110.]\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nThe deacon\u2019s prayer--Thomas and Mary converse--Dialogue between the\ndeacon and Thomas on rewards, a day of judgment, and the atonement--The\ndeacon converted--Sung the new song--Departure for the temple--The\ndeacon initiated into the mysteries of wisdom, and the secret\nexplained--Thomas and the deacon revisit the castle.--[From page 110 to\npage 126.]\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nThe wonder in the castle--Dialogue between the chief, the deacon, and\nThomas--The senior consulted--The circle of the temple summoned by\nthe trumpet--Conversation between the Commander of the temple and the\nsenior of the castle on war--On rights--The conversion of 24 elders,\nand 144,000--The Commander conducts them to the temple, where they were\ninitiated into that degree of wisdom.--[From page 126 to page 144.]\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nMission of Thomas and the elders--The king and guard--The elder\naddresses the king--Conversation with him--He refuses wisdom--A\ndialogue with a mind on fear--Calls a great multitude to the\nelder--Address of the elder--Conversation with the circle--Imputed\nrighteousness--A thousand times ten thousand converted, and received\ninto the temple.--[From page 144 to page 165.]\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nThomas finds two minds wrangling--Enters into conversation with\nthem--Refuses to give his name--Opposes teaching what the teacher does\nnot know--Opposes controversy--Rejects innate depravity--Discards\nwrong views--Recommends facts for opinions--Explanation of sun and\nmoon, which stood still by the command of Joshua--Nature instructs\nmind--Wrangling unwise--Wisdom will overcome wrong--Freedom induces\nrighteousness--Masters responsible for the doings of servants--Another\nmind is converted--The work of the temple harmonious--Duty to avoid\ndiscord--The assent is gained--The convert sees a light--William gives\nhim advice, and conducts him to the temple, when he receives a new\nname, and a white stone.--[From page 165 to page 186.]\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nReceives a visit from a superior mind--Proposition to advance\naccepted--The seraphim sings--A pearl given--Enters a world of light\nand song--Description of the works which he saw--The instruction of\nthe Worthy--The song of the free--Address of another mind on the key\nof wisdom--The seven seals--Address of a third mind--Conducts to the\nsixth circle--A lecture on social progress--Hope a reality--A lecture\non prophecy--Rules of prophecy the same as mathematical--Prediction\nof communicating with the inhabitants of earth--Predictions,\nopinions only of those below the sixth circle--A lecture on purity\nand prophecy--Nature the standard by which to determine right and\nwrong--Advancement to the seventh circle, or court of Beauty--Sees\na white throne and inscriptions--A little child leading a lion--A\nserpent fastened to a rock--Twenty four pillars of wisdom--Minstrels\nchant a welcome--Emblems explained--Prediction of events now taking\nplace--Contemplated mission to the rudimental sphere, and how it would\nbe received--The serpent to be destroyed--Evils to be overcome by\nwisdom.--[From page 186 to page 235.]\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nFranklin, Swedenborg, Paine, and his companions visit a place near\nthe castle--Old things become new--Process of change--Identity\npreserved--Self is a part of the body--All sympathize together\nin good and ill--Governments defective--Opposition to capital\npunishment--Origin of evil--How overcome--Success of the mission--Means\nmust be adapted to conditions--Contradictory communications develop\nthe condition of minds in the second sphere--Conflicting revealments\nharmonious with different degrees of wisdom--Writing mediums--Societies\nand forms of worship--Adaptation is harmony--Harmony should not be\ndisturbed--The mission of spirits will be to regulate minds--Minds\nwill change forms--Retire to a mansion--Onward is a passport--Dullness\nreproved--Dedication of the Pilgrimage.--[From p. 235 to p. 259.]\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nAgreeably to announcement in the \u201cLight from the Spirit World,\u201d I am\nable to present this volume to the public, under circumstances which\nwill be gratifying to all those who are the friends of Progress and\nReform. No pains have been spared to present the precise words chosen\nby the author, and preserve the style and sense of the original\nmanuscript. In regard to the merits of the production, it must speak\nfor itself; for, whatever of merit or demerit it may possess, I\nam worthy of neither praise nor censure. Astounding as may be the\nassertion, that I had no will to write it, or exercised any other\ncontrol, than to let my hand be moved by an invisible influence,\nand write as it would, without any volition on my part, yet it is,\nnevertheless, true. And, I am quite confident, that out of the two\nthousand writing mediums, now in the United States, no one in a passive\ncondition will be able to contradict the assertion. Indeed, I have\nfound by actual experiment, that, in a great many instances, the spirit\nwho controls my hand, has succeeded in writing sentences contrary to\nmy will, and while I was endeavoring with all my volition, to write\nsomething else.\n\nBut, so far as the orthography and punctuation of the Pilgrimage are\nconcerned, I have exercised supervision. And yet, much aid has been\nafforded me by spirits in this matter. They arranged all the paragraphs\nand sentences. The initials, which represent different minds, were\nadded by myself, to aid the general reader; and also the division\nof the work into chapters, with the prefatory contents of the same.\nNever having written a book in my life, excepting with the control of\nspirits, who have now given two volumes to the public, in about eight\nmonths, it may occur to the reader, that other divisions would have\nbeen preferable; but I have made the divisions as they seemed to me\nmost natural.\n\nThis work has been written with uncommon despatch. Consequent upon\nthe issue of the \u201cLight,\u201d in November, 1851, I was seemingly wearied\nwith letters on business and inquiries, in regard to matters connected\nwith spirit developments; so that, in the brief period of four months,\nI have received about two hundred, which demanded reading and reply.\nThis necessarily absorbed much of my time; especially, as very many\nsolicited information from spirits.\n\nNear the close of December, 1851, I began to sit for this work. I\nfound my engagements such that I could only devote a part of each day,\nand this part was frequently interrupted by strangers who desired\ninformation on the subject. But the interruption did not seem to\ndisconcert the writer. Though often breaking off in the middle of a\nsentence, the spirit knew exactly where to commence, even without any\nreading of what had been written. Notwithstanding these embarrassments,\nI found on the first of February, 1852, that my manuscript was nearly\nequal to the desired contents for a book; at which time, I entered into\nan arrangement with the publisher, Mr. Dewey, by which I am able to\ngive this work a more extended circulation, and at less cost, than I\notherwise could have done, which I trust will be abundantly obvious in\nits mechanical execution and neatness.\n\nConcerning my condition while writing this book, I will say, that when\nwriting, the whole subject matter was entirely in the dark to me. I\nwould take my pen, and place myself in the attitude of writing, when\nall thought and care would be wholly abstracted from my mind. As my\nthoughts vanished, my hand would generally begin to move, and a word\nwould be written. Then I would know what that word was. When the first\nword was written, my hand would be uplifted so as to leave a space\nbetween the words, and proceed as before. In this way the book was\nwritten. But when the spirit chose, I found my mind often, very often,\nthough not always, impressed with the word which was being written. And\nsome mediums inform me that whole sentences are impressed upon their\nminds at once; but with me it is a rare thing that I have more than one\nword at a time, and that comes, as it were, while they are writing it.\n\nShould the reader receive the instruction and pleasure from a perusal\nof these pages, which I have while they were being written, the reward\nwill be very great. I shall condemn no one if they do not read it,\nbecause, in my opinion, they will suffer sufficient loss without it.\nThere are none who need the consolation and reform which spirits\nrequire, more than those who refuse to be instructed by them; but there\nare many who will, as they have done, aim their darts at both. They\nbelong to a circle who deserve pity more than censure.\n\nWith the history and death of Thomas Paine, I know nothing, save what\nhas been written by an invisible influence with my hand. Having been\nconnected with the ministry for over twenty two years, I was not\ninclined to read his productions; and since I have become a writing\nMedium, I have found no leisure to read any book. In fact, my taste for\nreading the productions of human wisdom is all absorbed in the divine.\nThe spirit proposes to write another volume, and when it is written, it\nwill be published.\n\nThe Diagram will serve to explain the circles of wisdom, as enjoyed\nby minds in heaven. There are minds in the body who occupy the\nfirst, second, third, and fourth circle, according to this diagram.\nBut I would inform the reader, that whatever may be the circle to\nwhich minds belong, in the rudimental or second sphere, it does not\nseparate one from another by an impassable partition, so that one\ncan not hold intercourse with another, though occupying different\ncircles. As different circles in the body may converse together, so\ndifferent circles in the spirit world may do the same. The circles do\nnot represent arbitrary lines of division between spirits, but simply\ndegrees of wisdom. That the higher circles mingle with the lower, for\nthe purpose of making them wiser, is apparent from the whole body of\nthis work. I consider, therefore, that circles express the degrees of\nwisdom and bliss which each spirit is qualified, as it is developed, to\nenjoy, and not as forming a line of separation among the inhabitants\nof heaven. The wisdom of heaven differs essentially from the wisdom of\nearth, in regard to the real merits of the mind, and its qualifications\nfor enjoyment.\n\nThe style of some parts of this volume is unusual. A circle is\nsometimes addressed in the singular number, where it would seem to\nrequire the plural; but this departure from grammatical accuracy, may\nbe justified on the ground, that the circle were all of one mind, or\nsentiment.\n\n                                                             C. HAMMOND.\n\nROCHESTER, March, 1852.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: DIAGRAM,\n\nREPRESENTING THE DIFFERENT CIRCLES AND SPHERES\n\nIN THE SPIRIT WORLD.]\n\n[EXPLANATION.]\n\n1. Wisdom, wholly selfish, or seeking selfish good.\n\n2. Wisdom, controlled by popular opinion.\n\n3. Wisdom, independent of popularity, but not perfect.\n\n4. Wisdom, which seeks others\u2019 good and not evil.\n\n5. Wisdom, in purity, or a circle of Purity.\n\n6. Wisdom, in perfection to prophecy.\n\n7. Wisdom, to instruct all others of less wisdom.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nSICKNESS, DEATH, AND BURIAL OF THOMAS PAINE.\n\n  Conversation with his physician, and his indifference about\n  death--The minister sent for--Prayer--Meditation on life--Age\n  of Reason--A swoon--Sees a spirit--The effort of the spirit\n  to identify herself--His death--Funeral services--Doubting\n  minister--Conversation with his spirit companion--Benediction,\n  and opinions of the people--The end of wonders--Joy in his new\n  sphere--The greeting--The woman and the doctor--His mother--Her\n  welcome--His grave--The thoughts of the grave digger--Anxiety to\n  reveal the truth--Promise to him of a coming time when it could\n  be done with safety to mediums--Origin of sight--Thoughts of\n  minds at his grave--Disclaims intentional wrong--Objections to\n  religion--Visit to the minister--Conversation between the minister\n  and servant--Prayer--Servant complains--Cheering conversation of\n  Paine and his companion--Proposes to relate his experience, and signs\n  his name.\n\n\nIn the progress of mind to the unseen world, there is no wonder\nwithin the range of human perception, analogous to the transition\nof the spirit in what is called death. I will relate the incidents\nof my experience. For some weeks previous to my exit, my attending\nphysician gave me up as incurable. Still, he continued his visits,\nand experimented in every possible way his ingenuity and wisdom could\ndevise, to control what he foresaw would terminate in my dissolution.\nAt length, approaching my bedside, he said in a tremulous tone, \u201cI\nfear you will not live to see the light of morning.\u201d I replied, in a\nwhisper, \u201cI see no one, then, to do what will be required at my demise.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you require?\u201d said the doctor.\n\n\u201cOnly that my body be decently interred,\u201d I responded.\n\nI saw he felt moved by my indifference, and I requested him to invite\nthe parish minister to make a prayer. He did so. I was still unmoved by\nhis pathetic appeals to Heaven to bless my soul with the outpourings\nof his grace upon me. I felt no solicitude about my fate. All seemed\ndark and hopeless, with no ray of light to gladden the soul of a dying\nunbeliever in revelation. I was willing to see, but no light came\nto my relief. In this state of awful gloom, when midnight blackness\noffered no consolation, when the idolatry of monkish mockery gave no\nsatisfaction, and when no ostentatious show of worldly gain or honor\nwearied my mind with their cares, I said, \u201cwhat is life?\u201d I answered,\n\u201c\u2019tis but a dream.\u201d \u201cThen what have I done which is not a dream?\u201d I\nwondered. \u201cThere is my Age of Reason, and is that a dream?\u201d I saw no\ndream in that work. It was a reality. It was my work. I saw it was not\na dream. There was what the minister had not disturbed. He did not\noverthrow what it contained. He prayed against my infidelity, but he\ndid not lessen my convictions in any position I had taken. No: weak\nand worn out with disease as I was, he made no issue with my attack\nupon his faith. He went away, and I saw him no more, till no more of\nflesh and blood imprisoned my spirit. I was well satisfied he was\nafraid of me. I was never more satisfied of the truth of my book.\nStill, it was not what I wanted. It did not aid me in my lone chamber\nof weakness and destitution. It gave me no solace, save the reflection\nthat I had served the cause of human freedom, and had triumphed over\nthe dogmatical assumptions of a miserable theology. I was not wholly\nsatisfied that I was altogether right, but I was very certain that\nreligionists were wrong. I saw the corruption and hypocrisy of those\nwho professed to be Christians, and I was persuaded that what they\ntaught upheld them in their hypocrisy. In this frame of mind, I neither\nfelt wounded by their assaults upon my work, nor was I afraid of what\nwould be my condition after death.\n\nNear the close of my earthly life, I fell into a swoon, and I saw what\nwas more evidence to me of a future life, than all I had ever heard\nor read. I saw my wisdom isolated, and torn in fragments. There came\nnear me one whom I loved in my youth; one who was dear to me when I\nwas in my years of prime; and who cherished an attachment for me,\nwhich even death had no power to dissolve. She had passed away. I had\nwept over her grave. I had mourned her death as the severest of all\npossible calamities. We were united. Nothing but the form of marriage\nwas wanting to make us one in the sight of the world. We were married.\nI loved her as I never loved another. She was my idol; and never was\nhomage more sincere and fervent than that which I gave her; never was\nmy soul so willingly captivated as when I enjoyed her affection. Never\nwas my distress equaled as when I saw her coffined for the grave. Oh,\nsadness! thou hast no wisdom for the bereaved! From that day to the\nperiod above related, I had no music like hers to cheer me onward\nthrough the night of my corroded sympathy, nor was there hope that we\nshould meet on the plain of conjugal affinity which we now enjoy.\n\nIn that swoon, I saw her as in the bloom of her virgin innocence. She\ncame to me and said, \u201cThomas! be of good cheer, I am with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHalf wise am I to believe in an apparition, or have I lost my reason\nthat I should see a ghost by my bedside?\u201d I wondered to myself.\n\n\u201cBe not deceived. Do you not see me? Here is my hand, and here the ring\nwith my name engraved, and do you not know my voice?\u201d she replied.\n\n\u201cIndeed, your voice I know; I know all; but what are you?\u201d may I ask.\n\n\u201cI am your betrothed, your confiding companion. I have watched over\nyou with more care than you would have deemed necessary, had I been\nformally united with you in marriage. I have come now as a spirit to\nremove your doubts, and conduct you to a circle where the weariness of\nthe world will disturb no more.\u201d\n\n\u201cA spirit! a spirit!\u201d I said in amazement.\n\n\u201cYes, a spirit, a spirit you mourned as dead, is with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it possible? it is not--no, it is not.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is possible. Never question what you know, Thomas.\u201d\n\n\u201cI doubt not my senses, but my sight.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen take my hand, as you once plighted your love to me, and bear me\nwitness that what you feel is not a delusion, nor my speech a mockery\nof heaven.\u201d\n\nI gave her my warm hand, and never doubted again. But, ere the morning\nsun had appeared, I passed the portal of death, and saw the neighbors\nand friends preparing for the funeral. The minister was sent for.\nHe came. With uplifted hands he besought God to comfort the weeping\ncircle; but I saw he had no confidence that his prayer would be\nanswered. He bewailed death as a curse, and mourned that Adam and all\nhis posterity had no hope in heaven, only in Jesus. He opened what he\nsaid was the word of God, and read, \u201cThere is hope of a tree, if it\nbe cut down, that it will sprout again;\u201d but what is man, that the\nAlmighty should call him to a new sphere, he did not seem to comprehend.\n\nAs I stood near him during the whole service, I felt moved to say, \u201cOh,\nthou of little faith; wherefore dost thou doubt?\u201d But my companion\nsaid, \u201cHe will not believe though one go to him from the dead; he has\nMoses and the prophets, Jesus and the apostles, but will he not dispute\ntheir sayings?\u201d\n\nT. Can he dispute what he shall see and hear?\n\nC. And did not _you_ doubt me, Thomas? When I spoke, and when you saw\nme, you said, \u201cIt is not possible.\u201d Though you saw my hand, and the\nring on my finger, you would not admit my presence. Then you said, \u201cI\ndoubt my sight.\u201d\n\nT. And will he, a believer in spirits, do the same?\n\nC. He will not deny spirits, neither will he admit what he sees.\n\nT. Why?\n\nC. He will say, as you said, \u201cI doubt my sight.\u201d\n\nT. But will a believer in revelation doubt, as I doubted?\n\nC. A believer in revelation doubts, and will doubt, his sight as soon\nas an unbeliever. Both cavil with the only rule which nature has given\nthem to determine the existence of things, and their relation to each\nother.\n\nT. Who, then, are believers?\n\nC. \u201cHath not God concluded all in unbelief, that he might have mercy\nupon all?\u201d All are unbelievers. The minister does not believe that you\nand I are present, and hear his speech. He does not believe what we\nknow, that his belief is unbelief of the truth in many things: so is\nhis unbelief a denial of the truth in other things.\n\nThe minister concluded his service, and my body was deposited in\nthe grave. I waited to hear the benediction: \u201cDust unto dust is the\nlaw of nature; but the spirit must appear before the bar of God to\nreceive the penalty of violated law,\u201d he said, in mournful solemnity.\nThe circle departed, saying, \u201che was more charitable than was to be\nexpected. Paine was an infidel, and what could he do less than speak\nwhat he believed. He was satisfied that the deceased had no eternal\nlife abiding in him, and it was his duty to warn his neighbors of their\ndanger.\u201d\n\nI left them, and said, \u201cHow long shall it be to the end of these\nwonders?\u201d\n\nMy companion replied, \u201cThe end is not yet. Progressive developments\nof wisdom will appear, when the dark cloud of superstition shall be\nremoved, so that the light of heaven shall not involve those on whom\nit falls in the trouble of wicked men. The spirits of this sphere have\nwaited for the coming of that day, and come it will, when opinions\nshall not triumph over facts, and truth shall not be rejected because\nit disagrees with the errors of religionists.\u201d\n\nBut to return to my exit. When my companion gave me her hand, I faintly\nsaid, \u201cGod be praised,\u201d and languished into life. There was no other\nspirit near me, when I closed my race on earth. I was not without her\npresence a moment, though a short interval elapsed in which I saw no\none. She saw me in my chamber, and she came to conduct me to wisdom\nwhich I had not known. As a dear spirit, I loved her; but when I found\nmyself where I could see the body I once bore, and the countenances I\nwas well acquainted with, it was a scene so wholly unexpected, that I\nwas overpowered with joy, and my whole nature suffused with intense\ngratitude to that divine Being, whose name and mercies I had derided\nin my weakness and ignorance.\n\nThe first object which I saw was my companion. She smiled and said,\n\u201cThomas, thou hast passed over the valley; fear no evil; I am with\nthee.\u201d I could see what they were doing with my body, when I was\nconversing with her.\n\nIt was not over an hour after I left it, till my spirit was conscious\nof all that was passing in the house. I saw the woman, who occupied the\nhouse, interested in preserving my features from discoloration, and\nbathing my mortal casement with wet cloths. She was not well satisfied\nwith the physician. He wanted her to ask the minister to make a prayer,\nbut she refused. He told her it was customary on such occasions to\ninvite the minister to pray. She said \u201che would soon need something\nmore, and I am not in a condition to pay him for his services.\u201d He told\nher that he would settle all, if she desired. \u201cI will not make a mock\nof the thing,\u201d she replied; \u201cbut to tell you the truth, doctor, I do\nnot believe in praying over the dead.\u201d\n\nThe next wonder, which I was permitted to see, was the spirit of my\nmother. She was a mother; I was now a spirit, and she came to me, and\nsaid: \u201cMy son, my child, I call you, my child. The storm of contention\nhas passed. The angry tempest is now gone by. Here, my son, are the\nrealities of happiness. I have labored to make you wise in the wisdom\nof nature, but alas! I was not successful, only in a degree. I have\nnow an opportunity to conduct you where wisdom will be unfolded in\nmeasureless profusion.\u201d So saying, she bade me follow her.\n\nIn the mean time, my companion stood by my side, and we both instantly\nobeyed. The angel mother led our way to a grave, which was being dug\nfor my remains. \u201cThere,\u201d said she, \u201cis the end of all flesh. There is\nthe grave of your dust, and though it shall be deposited in it, your\nspirit will live forever. Such will be the end of all living. Do you\nnot hear the workman?\u201d I listened, and the thoughts of the poor man\ncame up to my spirit in wonderful sweetness, as he moved the shovel\nwith its load of earth. \u201cAh!\u201d said he, \u201cthere are many who respect the\ntalents of the dead, but few who care for the living.\u201d\n\nI saw him as he filled the grave. I heard him say, mentally, \u201cNo man\nliveth and dieth not. I have dug many graves, but where is the man who\nwill not work when human bodies need a burial? Oh! what would I give\nto know that, when my body is wasted in dust, I shall live in heaven.\nBut, alas! what do I ask? My soul weeps to know what God has refused to\nmortals.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you see,\u201d said my mother, \u201cthat nature is true to human good, while\nignorance conceals her worth?\u201d\n\n\u201cI see,\u201d replied my companion, and we went away.\n\nAs we left the grave I was well satisfied that the reflections of the\npoor man were mournfully true. I was not without misgivings that my Age\nof Reason sought not to gratify the mind in its hope of immortality.\nI said, \u201cwhen will the day come that I can make known the truth, and\ncorrect the errors of my work?\u201d\n\nMy mother replied, \u201cThe world is not yet prepared to hear such news. I\nwill not wrong the truth by an attempt to reveal it.\u201d\n\nT. But will not a day come when spirits can unfold to mind in the body\nthe wonders of this sphere?\n\nM. When minds emerge from the darkness of their superstition, and\nspirits can control, without wrong to the medium, we can make known to\nthem the wonders of this world of life; but, while they are controlled\nby their superstition, the revealment would subject the medium to\nsevere penal sufferings, and the execration of all who are not\ncontrolled by us. The people are more tenacious of their creeds than\nwhat is consistent with the safety of such, as will be required to act\nin a wonderful manner to overcome their errors. I see, that when Jesus\ncame, he was not opposed with more violent measures than religionists\nare prepared to adopt to suppress whatever contradicts their faith and\npractice. But there will come a day when spirits can reveal the truth,\nwithout involving the medium in trouble at the hands of its enemies,\nand when the inalienable rights of mind will be protected by the voice\nof public opinion. Be patient, therefore, my son; for the coming of\nthat day will change the gloom of the grave into the joy of immortal\nrest. It will come with wonder, and mind will understand that the tomb\nis not the home of the soul.\n\nThe sun was now sinking behind the western hills. Then I said, \u201cwhy are\nmidnight and mid-day alike to spirits? Why is not the rudimental sphere\ndeveloped as mind is here?\u201d\n\n\u201cI see you will wonder, Thomas. Are not the night and the day alike\nunto God? Does he not make light, and create darkness? Are not light\nand darkness the result of causes which harmonize in the well being of\nmind in the body? Must not the spirit, wearied with its load of dust,\nhave hours of repose and rest?\u201d\n\n\u201cVery true,\u201d I replied; \u201cbut why do they not see as spirits see?\u201d\n\n\u201cOur vision is not as theirs; when we see, it is because the\nundulations of light, falling upon us, are unobstructed by other\nthings. You will find light without darkness in your path, because\nthere is more light in spiritual than earthly bodies. Light emanates\nfrom particles of matter thrown off from dense globes in straight\nlines, which coming in collision with each other, produce a concussion\nin such rapid succession, as to evolve what is called light. The law\nof what is called the solar system, governs worlds of other systems. A\nray diverging from the sun meets a ray from earth, which produces what\nis called friction among the innumerable particles in their passage\nfrom one point to another. This friction emits a blaze from the two\nparticles. These wonders are actually transpiring every instant, within\nscarcely perceptible distances, so that no darkness can exist when they\noccur. There is an ocean of rays commingling in their destined course,\nand forced along their pathway by attractive and repulsive forces in\nthe great economy of nature. Now, it is only the grosser particles,\nmigrating from one globe to another, that make light to the inhabitants\nof the rudimental sphere, while spirits are able to discover light, or,\nas I would say, see the friction, or light, emitted by the friction of\nlesser rays coming in contact with each other. When the sun is visible\nto minds in the body, rays from it fall in direct lines to earth, and\nrays from earth pass in direct lines to the sun. When rays pass in\ndirect lines and meet, the concussion or friction is greater than when\nstriking each other obliquely. Hence, the greater the friction, the\ngreater the light. And the nearer to earth the contact of the rays,\nthe more sensible the effect upon the retina of the human eye. This\naccounts for the darkness called night, and the light called day. At\nnight, the rays, migrating from the sun to earth and earth to sun,\nmust strike each other obliquely, and at a greater distance from the\neye of man. But spirits are aided by the friction of infinitely more\nrefined particles of matter meeting the inconceivably more refined\nparticles of earth, occasioned by the influence of other planets upon\nit. As the attractive and repulsive forces are equal to the density,\ndistance, and magnitude of the several orbs, so are the rays refined;\nand you will find that the balances are in just proportion throughout\nthe immensity of the Creator\u2019s works. We see that refined particles,\nor rays, more clearly give light to us, than the grosser particles,\nemitted by stronger attractions, do to minds in grosser organs of\nsight. Every thing is adapted to its condition. Nothing is unwise in\nthe order of the divine government.\u201d\n\nBut, when we were at the grave, I saw no mind relieved. \u201cThomas Paine\nwas an infidel,\u201d said they. \u201cHe ridiculed the Bible. He was not moral,\neven. He was addicted to intemperance. He lived with a strange woman.\nHe would not repent, and be converted; and he died without having\nexperienced religion. He must now atone for his conduct.\u201d\n\nI wished to say, but wishes were vain, \u201cMy wrongs were not wrongs of\ninjury intentional to others. I had erred; and I would, if I could,\nhave atoned for those errors; but my works were not worse than those\narrayed against me. I saw no religion worth possessing in the creeds\nof men. I was not wise, but I could not find wisdom in the doctrines\ntaught by religionists. My desire was law and justice; but neither were\ncommended to my judgment, in the forms and ceremonies of the church.\nA change of heart was more mystical to me than the mythology of the\npagans. A wise man hath said, \u2018wisdom is mine,\u2019 and what he said I\nwas not ashamed to allow: but I was ashamed to allow what I could\nnot explain, so that others could comprehend my meaning. I was not\nwithout reverence for good, but what was good gave me some uneasiness\nto determine. My rules were isolated, and sometimes contradictory.\nNevertheless, I would attempt to draw up rules which I thought\npracticable, and when I saw what was not wise, I was never ashamed to\nacknowledge it.\u201d\n\nDuring the evening of the day in which my body was interred, I was\nwith my companion and mother, who proposed to visit the house of the\nparish minister. I wished not to go, for I was well satisfied of his\nfeelings. I was about to say so, when my companion resumed: \u201cWe may not\nrefuse crumbs when no more can be had. I see,\u201d said she, \u201che will not\npray without wrath or doubting; but it is all we can expect under his\ncondition of mind. He is now waiting to call the family together for\nprayers.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen we will not stay long,\u201d I replied.\n\n\u201cNo longer than you wish,\u201d she rejoined.\n\nIt was a still night. As we neared the house, the work of reading a\nchapter was commenced by the servant of the house. She read, with\nhurried words, the chapter which was offered her.\n\n\u201cThat seems to be an awful lesson of judgment against the unbelieving,\u201d\nsaid the minister, with a sigh. \u201cOh! what would Paine give now, if he\nhad made his peace with God? I fear he is lost forever.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd why do you think so?\u201d said the servant.\n\n\u201cBecause he was a very wicked man,\u201d said the minister.\n\n\u201cAre not all men wicked,\u201d she faintly uttered?\n\nM. Yes: but you know there is a sin unto death, for which even\nChristians are not permitted to pray.\n\nS. Did Paine commit that sin which is unto death?\n\nM. I fear such will be found the case. He resisted the Holy Ghost. He\nresisted prayer. He was opposed to religion. Alas! he is beyond the\nreach of mercy. So saying, he arose, and said, \u201cwe will pray.\u201d\n\nHe was nearly through with a long prayer, when he called upon God to\n\u201cremember all who remember not thee. Remember, Oh God!\u201d said he, \u201call\nwho are out of the ark of safety; for we fear thou hast permitted one\nof thy works to perish forever. Oh, God! spare thy rod, and let not\nthine anger be kindled against thy enemies. Thou hast mercy for those\nthat love thee, and wilt thou not also have compassion on those who\nneed thy salvation?\u201d When he had concluded, I heard the servant say to\nherself, \u201cWho is my judge?\u201d\n\nI responded, by a gentle impression on her mind, \u201cHe will judge others,\nbut not as he judges himself.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is even so,\u201d she seemed to answer. \u201cI never was acquainted with\nPaine,\u201d she said, mentally; \u201cbut he was never convicted of any very\ngreat crimes that I have ever heard; I wish others were as good as he.\nThen, I should not be scorned because I am poor, and have to work for a\nliving. May be, it is all right, but I can\u2019t see it.\u201d\n\nMy companion rejoined, \u201cThus it is, and thus it will be, till wisdom\nshall come from heaven, gentle as the dew, and free as the air, to\nchase away the ignorance of a deceived world. Never will mind rise up\nin the vigor of wisdom, till celestial light shall dissipate the wrongs\nand woes of misguided mind. I have seen the mind of man groaning in\ndespair, and no one to lift the burden from his soul. I will not mock\nmy inferiors, nor envy my superiors; but I will lead you, Thomas, to\na fountain where no impurity can be seen, and where you may bathe in\nwater without shore or bound.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut where do we go?\u201d I inquired.\n\n\u201cWe go where the weary find rest, and the conflicting antagonisms of\nhuman society disturb no more. We go where the pure will never become\nvitiated with wrongs, and where rivers of light roll on, refreshing the\nmind forever. We go where nature is understood, and her laws obeyed.\nWe go where truth is wisdom, and where no mockery of duty answers the\ncall of need. We go where we wish, and when we go, we will not cease\nto remember that our return will be cheered with music, vibrating in\nharmony with human redemption from the whirlpool of angry waters. We\nwill not tarry among the wrongs and evils of a mourning world, but we\nwill visit a wonder away from human cares, where order and harmony are\nappreciated, and spirits concentrate to admire and glorify the Ruler\nof unnumbered worlds. There is a world you have not seen, a music you\nhave not heard, a joy you have not experienced, where the storm of\ncontention lashes not against its shore, nor the groans of distress\nreach the borders of my spirit home.\u201d\n\nWe went in company. But, at every step of our journey, I saw new\nwonders, which I propose to write, with the consent of this medium,\nfor the instruction and enjoyment of those who must ere long become\ntravelers over the same road, to a wisdom which none but celestial\nbeings enjoy. Therefore, wonder not who writes as you read; for my name\nwill be now recorded, as with the pen of a ready writer, by whose hand\nI am permitted to subscribe myself,\n\n                                                           THOMAS PAINE.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nINTERVIEW WITH WM. PENN, AND PAINE\u2019S CONVERSION.\n\n  Pleased with his new life--Recognition of rudimental\n  associates--Reason why Paine\u2019s writings were unpopular--His\n  opposition to revelation considered--Penn makes an effort to show\n  Paine his error, but was defeated--Error acknowledged--Strife about\n  opinions condemned--Nature is never contradictory, but just--All\n  wrong induced by ignorance--Remedy for wrongs--Wisdom peaceful--The\n  will of resistance--The principles of nature enforced--Education in\n  wrong the cause of wrong--Non-resistance advocated--Penn takes him\n  to a temple--Enters an arch-door--Initiation into wisdom--Assumes\n  an obligation--A new song is sung--Receives a lesson--Description\n  of the temple--Name recorded--A book opened--Banner unfurled--Words\n  on the banner--Explanation of justice, wisdom, progression, order\n  and harmony--Duties enjoined--Charge of the master--Emblems\n  explained--Master and servant--Freedom of servants--Obedience to\n  nature demanded--Implements of masonry--Proof of masonry--The\n  High Priest instructs--The book opened and read--Interpretations\n  forbidden--Repentant mind--Conducted to the inner court--The white\n  stone--Name changed--Receives a new baptism--An anthem and ode were\n  sung--The temple by whom made, and its pillars--Hears a wail of\n  sorrow, and prepares for a mission.\n\n\nWhen I saw the wisdom of my new sphere, I was delighted beyond the\ncapacity of human expression. I was not wholly a stranger in my new\nlife, for I found a great multitude of spirits whom I had known in the\nbody. I saw minds venerable while in the rudimental state. I was well\nacquainted with George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Rush, and\nmany others. I saw spirits teaching them lessons of wisdom. Then, I\nwondered.\n\n\u201cWhy wonderest thou,\u201d said a friend? \u201cThou hast not yet seen what thou\nmayest see, when the clear light of this world of beauty shall remove\nthe darkness from thy vision.\u201d\n\nTHOMAS. And do I not now see more than I can comprehend?\n\nWILLIAM. Truly, thou seest what thou dost not comprehend, but thou\ncanst comprehend even more, when thy wisdom shall be increased. I was\nthy senior in life, but thou knowest my history, in the settlement of\nPennsylvania.\n\nT. Indeed, this is none other than William Penn--the mind who never\ndrew a sword to gain a victory, or repel an enemy.\n\nW. I am William Penn; I have watched thy course, Thomas, and I have\nsympathized in thy efforts to rid minds of superstition and priestly\nrule; but thou seest now that thy labor was not successful, because the\nwants of nature must be supplied. Hadst thou not attacked what the mind\nwants--the hope of the soul in a future sphere--thou wouldst not have\nfound more opposers than sympathizers; mind must and will strive to\nsatisfy its own wants. This is nature; and what is nature, thou didst\nfight against.\n\nT. But my weapons were not malicious.\n\nW. No; thou wast not malicious, but thou didst what thou wouldst not do\nagain, as thou seest now. Thou wouldst not write against revelation,\nbecause thou seest that revelation is true to human wants, and is the\nbread of the soul. Many things thou hast truly said, but what thou hast\ntruly said, will lose its power for good, because it is found in bad\ncompany. I sought to make thee know wherein thou didst err; and, on\none occasion, when thou hadst written a work on priestcraft, I verily\nthought I should succeed in my endeavors; but I saw thee take a book\nfrom thy library, which turned thy mind from the impression I gave thee.\n\nT. I see my error; but how could I see otherwise than I did, when in\nthe body?\n\nW. Hadst thou, Thomas, studied opinions less, and nature more, thou\nwouldst have seen that nature never contradicts its own wants. It does\nnot deny itself. What nature wants, nature provides. Human opinions\nwere objectionable to thee, because they conflicted with nature and\neach other; so with thy works. Thou wouldst battle with others, because\ntheir opinions were irreconcilable with nature, and yet thou didst\noffer thy own, though exposed to the same objection. They saw thy\nerrors, as thou beheld theirs. When wise minds would correct, they\nshould adopt such rules as will not be objectionable when applied to\nthem. I saw thee, as I saw them, striving for mastery. In this sphere,\nspirits never quarrel. I was more fortunate; my aim was peace, and my\nsuccess is well known.\n\nT. How will you control, when minds are wilfully ignorant and blind?\nMy wisdom sees only that force must repel force, when individual or\nnational rights are invaded. I will admit that kindness has great power\nover some minds, but not to overcome the selfishness of despots and\ntyrants.\n\nW. Thou wilt see, Thomas, that what is nature, is not contradictory.\nI see that nature is just and true to all. I see that minds are not\njust and true to nature, because they are improperly cultivated. It\nis not natural for minds to fight each other. It is inconsistent with\nnature for one mind to control another, so as to wrong him--wrong\nboth. Nature is well; but the wrong consists in not obeying her voice.\nNo mind is wilfully ignorant or blind. The will is induced, sometimes,\nby ignorance and blindness. All will of wrong is induced by want of\nknowledge to perceive the injury it will occasion to the possessor\nand others. No mind can will what is seen will produce its own\nunhappiness, because it seeks its own good. To seek unhappiness would\nbe inconsistent with its nature. To do wrong is to seek misery, because\nwrong induces misery. Ignorance is the father of misery, for it guides\nthe possessor in the path of folly. When national or individual rights\nare invaded, it can only occur as ignorance misleads the invader.\nWhen human duty is not neglected, the invasion can not be made. Thou\nknowest, Thomas, that nature is good and just. Thou seest a chord of\nsympathy binding all minds together. This is nature. Teach minds this\nlesson, so that it shall see its relationship to mind, and it will not\ninvade the rights of others; because such invasion would induce its\nown misery--a thing the mind must naturally dread. Had the millions\nwhich have been expended in war, been applied to the instruction of the\nignorant in the philosophy of peace, little necessity would ever have\nexisted to correct error with other errors, among which the wrong of\nwar ranks foremost. The selfishness of despots and tyrants, would not\nexist under such a state of wisdom.\n\nT. But we must take things as they are, and govern them accordingly.\n\nW. I would not have thee take others as they are not, Thomas; but I\nwould have thee understand, that the wisdom of this sphere is peaceful,\nand not compulsory. Thou seest no collision of minds, or disturbance\namong spirits. The government, which controls minds here without\nforce, is a government more perfect than that thy mind justifieth.\nNo spirit can be improved by evil. Evil is repugnant to its nature.\nForce against force is evil, because mind must harmonize with mind\nto be happy. The conflict of two minds is a disturbance of nature\u2019s\nlaw, and whatever is a disturbance of nature\u2019s law, is attended with\nconsequences incongenial with happiness.\n\nT. That is true; but when minds are ignorant of the laws of nature,\nignorant of the relation of mind to mind, and the essentials of bliss,\nthey will trample on the rights of each other. Under such a condition\nof things, is it not wise to restrain by force the unwise and brutal?\n\nW. When minds are ignorant, they should be instructed. Nature demands\nthis; and what nature demands, mind has no right to withhold. Indeed,\nnature disciplines minds who withhold obedience to her laws. Mind\ntramples on the rights of mind, because it is ignorant; and it is\nignorant, because it has not been instructed, or received instruction.\nIt is no difficult task for mind to receive instruction, nor is it\nunpleasant to give that which has been imparted. I would have thee\nunderstand, that this lesson can be taught to mind, ere it will need\nforce to control it. Nature itself would do this work, were it not\nbaffled by cruel and unwholesome precepts. It is false education which\ndisciplines the mind, so as to make coercive measures apparently\nnecessary in thy mind. Mind is educated in wrong by precept and\nexample, and then coerced by another wrong to control it right. It is\ncultivated in wrong, and then compelled to suffer for the wrong. Better\nfar that all minds were uneducated, than have them educated in wrong.\nEducation in wrong is what most afflicts thee. No mind need stumble\nfor the absence of light. No mind will stumble, unless it walk in\ndarkness. Let them see before they walk, and they will not fall. No\nforce is necessary to control those who see, in order to keep them from\nfalling; neither is force required to prevent invasion of another\u2019s\nrights, under the light of nature. I see nothing which wrongs any mind,\nwhere no force is exerted. It is force against force which wounds. The\nwound is an evil. It is an evil which force against force has no power\nto overcome. If thou wouldst have others do right, thou shouldst not\ndo wrong thyself. Resist no good to thy friend, or thy enemy; and thy\nexample will not provoke an invasion of thy rights. If he take from\nthee thy coat, give him thy cloak also; for, in so doing, thy example\nwill lead him to return both, if thy want be greatest. He will soon\nrecognize thee as a giver of good things, and thy gifts will lead him\nunto repentance. He will not steal from thee because thou givest, and\nthere are none who prefer to steal, when they are supplied by gifts.\nNone will fight, when they have what they desire without it. None will\ndo wrong, when the wrong discloses no advantage. Study right, Thomas,\nand right will not wrong thee.\n\nT. But will not your precept lead the ignorant to expect forbearance,\nand abuse your generosity?\n\nW. It will lead mind to acknowledge, that what will do them good is\nnot an evil. It will do more. It will correct the errors into which\nthey have fallen by wrong precepts. It will not make them abuse my\ngenerosity, but disabuse themselves of their own wrongs. Thou knowest\nwhat was not done, even by barbarians. When I saw the red man, he never\nlifted his war-axe against me, nor my friends. He knew I would not\nabuse him, and he could not abuse me. But he could do wrong to others.\nHe could slay them without remorse. Canst thou explain the reason?\n\nT. The reason explains itself. I know you was successful; but was not\nyour success owing to your well regulated treaty stipulations?\n\nW. Undoubtedly, my engagements were honorably fulfilled, as they were\nhonorably made. I would not wrong a mind, and then require that mind to\nforbear. I would have all do right; and when mind does right, it need\nfear no evil. Resistance to the injury of another, is not right, and\nwhat is not right, would\u2019st thou recommend?\n\nT. No: but when savages invade, or tyrants oppress, I would resist\ntheir misrule.\n\nW. Thou hast well said; but how couldst thou resist more effectually,\nthan by acts of generosity and friendship? Resistance with force\nagainst force, is encouragement to wrong. It provokes others to do\nwrong. \u201cOvercome evil with good,\u201d is not resisting evil with evil.\nThere is only one way, Thomas, to do good, and make enemies friends.\nMinds, wishing peace, will find it with less sacrifice in well doing,\nthan in evil doing. All strife has cost even the victor more than he\never obtained. All wisdom, in this sphere, will show thee, what is not\nappreciated in the rudimental. I see wherein thou hast erred. I will\nchange thy wisdom, that thou mayest sit down in a circle where mercy\nflows like a cooling stream to refresh the plants of heaven. Come thou\nwith me, and I will do thee good.\n\nHe led me where I saw a light exceeding the brightness of a thousand\nsuns. I saw a door opening a magnificent temple, arched as it were,\nwith stones of the most beautiful workmanship, and clear as crystal.\nWhen we reached the arch-way, he said:\n\n\u201cFriend: Art thou prepared to do the work required of thee by the\nMaster of this building?\u201d\n\nT. And what is that work I am required to do?\n\nW. Enter upon thy apprenticeship, and obey thy Master.\n\nT. That I will do, in all reasonable commands.\n\nW. But thy reason is not required, till thou art instructed by the\nMaster to reason with wisdom to guide thee.\n\nWhen we had passed the first arch, I was reflecting on my pilgrimage,\nwhich was so strange and new, that I felt my soul overcome with the\nmercy of heaven. But my guide aided me onward. On entering the second\narch-door, I was hailed by a workman, who said:\n\n\u201cWhence comest thou?\u201d\n\nMy guide responded, \u201cFrom Edom.\u201d\n\nWORKMAN. Hast thou brought a stranger with thee?\n\nGUIDE. A stranger has called to serve as an apprentice in thy charge.\n\nW. Hast thou examined the passports, and dost thou know his integrity?\n\nG. I have examined all, and find him worthy of our confidence.\n\nW. Then, wilt thou proceed to the station where wisdom will be\nunfolded, and his duties and obligations made known.\n\nAs we proceeded, an ode was sung by a great multitude. It was unlike\nany thing I ever heard before. There was a softness, a melody in the\nstrain, that fell upon my mind with angelic loveliness, and I wondered\nwhy I was admitted into a society, where all was peace and harmony,\nand no discord grated the ear of worthy and tried servants, in this\nsanctuary of heavenly wisdom. As I wondered, I heard a voice saying:\n\u201cWhat man hath rejected, that thou hast found. I saw thee a stranger,\nand took thee in; naked, and clothed thee; sick and in prison, and\nvisited thee. When thou goest hence, bear this lesson in thy mind, that\ngood may come unto thee from the good thou doest unto others of thy\nfellow servants, who may need thy aid and sympathy.\u201d Then, I heard the\nmultitude say, \u201cAmen.\u201d \u201cAmen,\u201d I responded; and as I spake this word, I\nfound my voice had changed. It fell so sweetly from my lips, that I was\nsurprised at the sound.\n\nMy guide then proceeded to instruct me, that this temple was none other\nthan a miniature representation of nature. \u201cIt is a building of God,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cand here is thy home. Here mayest thou worship, here bring\nthy gifts, and consecrate thy vows upon the altar of spirit progress,\nin the eternal realities of knowledge and virtue. Here pour out the oil\nof consolation for the bereaved, and here serve God by doing good to\nthose who need thy assistance.\u201d\n\nI saw my name written in the record of eternal life; and I was rejoiced\nwhen my errors were corrected. When I was instructed, I saw my\nresistance to truth overcome, and when I found how my own wrongs were\nremedied, I saw how others might be reclaimed.\n\nThe temple was inlaid with gold. I saw a mind standing, with elevated\nwisdom over his head, and at his feet were sitting students of nature,\nwho received instruction from him. In his right hand he held a book,\nand in his left a banner. The book was opened, and the banner unfurled.\n\u201cThis is not made with hands\u201d said he, \u201cbut came from Mount Horeb,\nwhere the everlasting covenant was given to the children of the Most\nHigh. Advance stranger, and receive the blessing which thou hast\nrefused in thy unbelief.\u201d\n\nI stepped forward as if drawn by an attractive power to do what was\nrequired, when he placed the book in my hands, and said: \u201cReceive\nthis Revelation with meekness, and make it thy study. Thou hast\nridiculed without reading; read now without ridicule. Turn thou not\nfrom its light, but when thou readest understand. Seek not thy own\ninterpretation, but let wisdom conduct thee in candor, to add nothing\nto or take nothing from what thou hast no right, and which is not thy\nown.\u201d The mind then sat down.\n\nI next saw the words on the banner. It was a beautiful banner, filled\nwith gems and devices; and when I saw it, I read the words, \u201cJustice,\nWisdom, Progression, Order, and Harmony.\u201d Beneath it was written,\n\u201cThey shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into\npruning hooks.\u201d\n\nMy guide then said, \u201cUnderstandest thou what thou seest?\u201d\n\nWhat will you say, I inquired of Justice?\n\nG. Justice is not cruelty, but is doing what benevolence requires. When\nthou seest a mind whom thou canst aid, and unto whom thou canst render\nassistance, be it thy friend or a stranger, then be just to the law\nwhich makes thee and him companions, and recognizes the deed of mercy\nas a deed of good to thyself. If he fall by the way side, because he\ncan not see, then take him by thy strength, and bear him where he may\nrest. Put thy hand upon him gently, and say: \u201cI will not forsake thee\ntill thou canst aid others as I will aid thee.\u201d Let him want nothing,\nand justice to thy needy friend will be satisfied.\n\nT. What is Wisdom?\n\nG. Wisdom is wise. It is wise to relieve want. It is wise to do good.\nIt is wise to understand thyself, to know thy dependence on others, to\nsee the wisdom of God in his works and wonders. It is wise to act, to\nsay, and to wish well toward all mind. It is wise to speak the truth,\nto utter nothing but the truth, and to oppose nothing which is good.\nIt is wise to love, as we see love begets love. It is wise to learn,\nbecause what thou learnest of wisdom will add to thy circle of bliss,\nand the bliss of others, when they are taught of thee. It is wise to\nco-operate in harmony with the thousands who saw thee in need, and\naided thy welcome within these courts. It is wise to obey the Master of\nthis house; for in so doing great good shall be thy reward, and thou\nshalt wear a crown which the ignorant may envy, but can not pluck from\nthy head.\n\nT. What is Progression?\n\nG. Progression is the expansion of thy mind in the wisdom thou mayest\nreceive from instructed minds around thee. When thou doest good, it\nis wise; and as thou becomest wise, thy wisdom will swell thy mind\nwith the luxury it gives. Thou knowest from what thou hast seen, that\naccording to thy works of well doing, so shall thy measure of bliss\nbe. If thou wouldst do more to benefit those who need, thou must be\nfound faithful unto the instruction thou receivest, and then thou wilt\nbe prepared to discharge thy trust with honor to thy station, and with\nsatisfaction to thyself.\n\nT. What is Order?\n\nG. Order is law. Law is immutable and universal. When I say, Order is\nlaw, I would that thou shouldst understand that it is obedience to law.\nDisobedience is disorder, and disorder is anarchy. Thou wilt see that\nnature is obedient unto law. Planets and suns, and systems of suns and\nworlds, are all obedient to law. The least disturbance might work a\ndisorder, which no mind less than the Creator could possibly control.\nAs thou beholdest order in the natural world, so let it be thy aim to\nobserve order in the society into whose charge thou hast committed\nthyself.\n\nT. What is Harmony?\n\nG. Harmony is what we mean by social sympathy. It is congenial with\norder. It is union of minds. It is wisdom in unity of minds. It is\nsympathy of thoughts and works. It will not divide and distract,\nconvulse or disturb the social enjoyment of the circle now assembled to\nwitness thy progress in the knowledge of the truth. Thou wilt not do or\nsay what will not be upheld and understood by those whose integrity is\nvouchsafed to defend thee in the cause of social refinement and peace.\nHear, now, what thy Master sayeth unto thee from the throne of mercy.\n\nM. Inasmuch, Thomas, as thou hast advanced to this temple with the aid\nof thy guide, and hast entered the courts of the glorified circle of\nthis sphere, thou mayest ask what seemeth good to thee.\n\nT. Then, I would inquire, why are those words placed on the banner\nwhich I see in your hand, and which seems to indicate the end of\ncollision among minds?\n\nM. Thou hast well judged. The sword and the spear will be converted\ninto useful implements of industry, and the banner thou seest wave in\nglory over the world of mind. Thou wilt not wonder when thou seest\nthe wisdom which thy progress will unfold to thee; for as the sun is\ntrue in its relation to the planets revolving around it, so will the\nprediction thou seest be verified, and nations shall learn war no more.\nAs thou hast been instructed, so shall thy followers be, till wisdom\nshall unite all minds in harmony, and order save spirits in weakness\nand ignorance from their disorder and shame. Then will minds see a\nvictory without blood, a harmony without force, a justice without\ncruelty, and a wisdom without folly.\n\nT. But when shall these sayings come to pass?\n\nM. That is thy work, as it is ours. Thou must know that what is thy\nwork, thou must not require others to tell when it will be completed.\nAccording to thy labor and thy skill, so shall the work prosper in thy\nhands. But if we are negligent, so shall the day be, in advancing upon\nmind.\n\nThe guide then took me by the hand, and said: \u201cNow thou art introduced\ninto this company, it will be thy chief desire to remember the\ninstruction thou hast received, and follow the counsel which thy\nseniors may impart to thee. Thou seest many things here, and many\nmore will be revealed to thee, so that thy life will not be idle, but\nwill be devoted to the lessons as they will be given thee. I will now\nintroduce thee to a friend, who has a charge to give thee.\u201d\n\nLeading me to the right a few paces, he said: \u201cThis is the Master whom\nthou wilt hear; and as thou hearest, so do ye.\u201d\n\nM. My son; hear the counsel of a father, and forsake not the law of\nthy mother. These many years have I presided over this circle, and my\nchildren hear my voice. They revere my advice, and yield me honor by\nobedience. At my table thou wilt sit, and receive the bread thy mind\nwill need. Here, we welcome thee from the tears and woes thou hast\nseen, and here shall thy mind be satisfied with the abundance of mercy\nreceived and enjoyed by all of us. But, when thou shalt go on thy\nmission, bear the banner thou seest, and the glory of that banner shall\nwave over the world with the smile of peace. Thus, thou wilt see thy\nreward in the work thou wilt perform for the good of mind in need.\n\nWhen the Master had concluded his charge, my guide said: \u201cNo mind can\nreceive instruction without a teacher, and no mind can teach the truth,\nunless he be taught. If thou wouldst advance, Thomas, in the knowledge\nof this sphere, thou mayest understand that thou wilt apply thyself\nwith all diligence to the work before thee. And in order to make thee\nacquainted with thy care, I will proceed to instruct thee in the use of\nthose implements, which are necessary to expedite the work devolving\nupon thee.\u201d\n\nHe then took a chisel and mallet, and said: \u201cSome minds are rough, and\nneed thy labor to remove the uneven surface. Take thou this chisel\nand mallet, and when thou findest a rough stone, which thou seest can\nbe made smooth, then let thy strength be expended upon it, even as\nwe have sought to make thee serviceable in this temple, by removing\nthe roughness of thy mind. As thou seest we have done thee no harm by\nrendering thee more beautiful, and better adapted to thy position in\nthis edifice; so mayest thou work to render others what we have made\nthee. But to aid thee in thy labor, thou shouldst take this square and\nplumb, so that thou mayest try the stone, until it squares with this\nrule, and works with this line and plumb, when thou wilt see its use\nin the temple for which thou hast prepared it. I have now given thee\nthy directions, and trust thou wilt shew thyself a workman, who will be\nfaithful to the trust committed to thy charge. What sayest thou?\u201d\n\nT. Thou wilt find thy servant faithful in all things. But may I know my\nMaster?\n\nG. One is thy Master, but many are thy fellow servants. He who controls\nas a father controls his children, by the voice of kindness, is thy\nMaster, and we are his family. Dost thou not know who controlled thee,\nand made thee obedient? He is thy Master. The mind that controls\nothers, is the Master of those whom it controls, while those who are\ncontrolled by him, are servants to obey his will. The Master is as the\nservant, and the servant as the Master in the work required of thee. We\nmay not be controlled as slaves are controlled, nor yet as slaves are\nworked; for our Master is not a tyrant, but a co-worker with us in the\ngood of all. He rules with attraction, as the sun rules the planets. He\nrules with wisdom, as he has received wisdom. Force has no authority\nhere, only as an attractive principle to hold the workmen in a desired\nposition--a position for which they are fitted.\n\nT. When we serve one another, we are servants, I suppose.\n\nG. We are servants of good to them. But when we serve ourselves by\ntheir industry, we serve them as slaves are served. Thou wilt see we\nare free, and yet servants of many. Dost thou see the eagle perched on\nthat banner?\n\nT. I see. He cries, \u201cMany in one.\u201d Many may be one, and one many.\n\nG. Truly, Thomas. Many may not be in one also. Thou hast seen many\noppress the few. Thou hast seen the few victorious over the many. I\nknow thy course against tyranny. I saw thee when a stripling, in the\ncause of freedom, but thou wast not as thou seest now. Here freedom\nis not oppression by force. No mind will say unto thee, \u201cgo, and thou\ngoest; or come, and thou comest;\u201d because it is his will, and not\nthine. Here, thy Master\u2019s will is thy will, and what is thy will that\nthou doest, as thou art required. When thy Master and thou agree in all\nthat thou doest, thy freedom is what slaves do not enjoy, nor is thy\nservitude the bondage of slavery.\n\nT. What rule will make him, thou hast called Master, a master over the\nworkmen?\n\nG. The same rule, or law, which controls the material world. As the sun\ncontrols the system of orbs that revolve around it by its attractive\npower, so it masters or controls them; and yet thou seest no inharmony\nor disturbance, no resistance or oppression from the authority it\nexercises. It is control, as we would have rule exercised over\nminds. Nature is free; and what nature justifies, that thou wilt not\ndisapprove.\n\nT. Can I not wrong nature and myself?\n\nG. Thou canst wrong thyself by denying the laws of nature; but thou\ncanst not do what thy mind forbids thee. Nature is denied, when\nresistance to attractive power is seen. Nature is disobeyed, when\noppression denies the freedom which we enjoy. Thou camest to these\ncourts because thou didst desire more wisdom. No force was necessary to\nbring thee here. No resistance didst thou offer to the pilgrimage thou\nhast made. Thy will was as free as air, and when thou didst come, it\nwas control which brought thee. Thou wast drawn by affinity, by law of\nrule and power over thee, so that thy coming was as free as thy will,\nand thy will was as free as thy coming. Thou wast drawn, and drawn\nas thy desire sought. When thou seest, as thou wilt see, the harmony\nof this temple and its just proportions, thou wilt not wonder at its\narrangement, nor need instruction to displace thy errors. If thou\nwouldst be wise, let not thy prepossessions forestall thy judgment.\n\nT. But what must I do with these implements of industry?\n\nG. Take them in thy charge, and with them this compass, to aid\nthee in thy work. Remember, also, that wherever thou goest, these\nthy implements shall be a sign of thy masonry, and thy work thy\nrecommendation among thy fellow servants. As thou hast received them at\nour hands, so use them as not to abuse the purposes for which they were\nintended.\n\nT. Have I no one to commend me, but these tokens of my profession?\n\nG. These tokens will reveal thy work, which thou hast received, and thy\nwork will not dispute the use of the implements. Thy name will be known\nwherever thou goest, because thy works will follow thee.\n\nT. When I go hence, unto whom shall I go?\n\nG. Thou wilt go as thou seest need of thee. Thou wilt see need of\nthee where thy work will adorn the uncomely things with the beauty\nand usefulness of this sphere of wisdom. Thou wilt reveal with thy\nskill the hidden beauty of deformity, and develop the intrinsic value\nof mind, concealed beneath the rubbish of error and wrong. Let thy\ndexterity and moderation be known by thy works, so that the whole\nbuilding of God may resound with shouts of joy.\n\nWhen my guide had aided me thus far, he said: \u201cNow, Thomas, thou wilt\nturn thy face to the left, and receive a lesson from the High Priest of\nthis temple.\u201d\n\nI turned and walked about four or five paces, when he said, \u201cThis is\nthe High Priest. He has a message, and will now aid thee in thy duty to\nthose with whom thou wilt henceforth be associated. Listen attentively\nto what he may say, and let thy mind be opened to the words which he\nmay speak for thy benefit.\u201d\n\nAs he arose, a mind said to me, \u201cKneel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy so?\u201d I inquired.\n\n\u201cThis is the order when he speaks.\u201d\n\nI knelt, and he proceeded: \u201cThomas, wouldst thou understand more of the\nmysteries of this company?\u201d\n\nI responded, \u201cWhat is useful, I would not refuse.\u201d\n\nP. Open then the book, and read.\n\nI opened the book, and read: \u201cWhat man, having an hundred sheep, if he\nlose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the pasture,\nand go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath\nfound it, he layeth it on his shoulders and rejoiceth; and when he\nhath brought it home, he calleth his neighboring friends, and saith\nunto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.\nI say unto you, likewise, that joy shall be in heaven over one sinner\nthat repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons, who need no\nrepentance?\u201d\n\nP. Thou hast well read thy lesson. Dost thou wish an interpretation? I\nsee thy mind responds, nay. Thou hast well said, nay. I am not here to\ninterpret what thou understandest, neither would I have thee undertake\nto do what that book forbids thee. Shouldst thou wish for more light,\nthou wilt not find it without a revealment be made to thee. What is\nrevealed, is well, and what is not revealed, thou wilt not find by any\ninterpretation which thy wisdom may see fit to place on the words of\nanother. Thou mayest interpret thy own words, but thou hast no right to\ndisturb the words of another, lest thy interpretation be taken for the\nwisdom which instructs thee.\n\nT. How then am I to understand this book?\n\nP. Thou wilt understand, thy duty is not of thy own construction of\nwhat is required by the just rule thou hast received; for the book will\nserve thy harmony and peace far better without interpretation, than\nwith it. Thou wilt see that angels do not need minds, who are lower\nthan themselves, to interpret what is above themselves. When thou hast\ndispossessed thyself of errors forced upon thy mind by education, thou\nwilt not need a commentary to aid thee in thy duty. Hast thou not read,\nand dost thou need an explanation of what thou hast read?\n\nT. I need no explanation of that passage.\n\nP. Truly, and when thou wilt read other passages, as thou hast read\nthat, then thou will say of such also, I need no explanation, because\nthou will be guided by such impressions as will unfold to thee the\nbeauty thou seest in the pasage thou hast read. Thou seest the\nprediction verified in thy presence. Thou hast repented of thy sins,\nand thy repentance has brought thee to these courts to receive the joy\nof well done, good and repentant servant; enter thou into the joy of\nthy Master, and sit down with us to this banquet of good things.\n\nT. I accept the offering, and trust I shall prove myself worthy of the\nsociety whose kindness is a sufficient protection against the sin of\ningratitude. But will any mind go with me on my mission?\n\nP. When thou goest, then thou shalt have company; but obligations are\nyet to be made known to thee. Thou will not depart until thou hast\nreceived thy passports.\n\nT. And from whom may I receive what is lacking?\n\nP. From the mind who has recorded thy works. The guide will now\nconduct thee to the inner court of this temple where thou wilt receive\nthy passports, and from thence thou wilt go on thy mission with thy\ncompanions, who will aid thee and co-operate with thee in doing good to\nthy fellow servants whom thou wilt bless with the blessing thou hast\nreceived from this visit.\n\nThe guide said, \u201cFollow me.\u201d\n\nI went. He conducted me to a circle whose countenances glowed with\ncontinual brightness, and whose voices were sweeter than the \u00c6olian\nharp. As I advanced into a large area in the center of a magnificent\ncourt, I saw a light streaming from heaven, and a cloud of wisdom broke\nupon me in ineffable glory. So great was that light, and so dense was\nthat glory, that I was uplifted like a bark on a wave, but not to sink\nin despair. As I rose, I continued to rise till my soul was willing to\nview the height and depth of a mercy that never shuns misfortune, or\nconceals bread from the hungry. \u201cHere rest, Oh, my soul!\u201d I said to\nmyself.\n\nG. Why dost thou rest? Art thou weary with thy progress?\n\nT. I am not weary, friend, but my mind is lost in the grandeur.\n\nG. Thou hast well said. Remember, now, that thy elevation to this\nposition was not of thyself, but of that cloud of mercy which bore\nthee, and on whose bosom thou surveyest the pilgrimage thou has made.\nThou wilt also remember, that thy servants from whom thou hast received\ninstruction, have uplifted thee by their strength, so that thou mayest\nsee what thou now beholdest. In due time, thou wilt be permitted to see\nother things.\n\nStooping down, he gave me a white stone with a new name therein,\nwhich, said he, \u201cno man knoweth but he that receiveth it. This is thy\npassport, and unto whomsoever thou shalt go of thy circle, they shall\nbid thee welcome; and thou shalt not take with thee scrip, nor purse,\nnor two coats, for thy garments shall not tarnish, nor thy mind perish,\nbecause thou art denied sympathy and friendship.\u201d\n\nI received the white stone with the new name therein, and when I saw\nthe name, I wondered at its meaning.\n\nG. Thou needst not wonder, Thomas, for what was thy name in thy\ninfancy, thou canst not bear with thee into these mansions of light and\npeace. Thou wilt, henceforth, answer to thy new name in this circle of\nwisdom. Thou wilt now return with me, and when thou returnest, offer\nthis passport to thy Master, who will explain some things to thee why\nthy name should be changed.\n\nWe returned. The cloud of mercy shone as brightly and gloriously when\nI descended, as when I ascended. I then gave the Master the white\nstone, when he said: \u201cThomas was thy name in infancy. In infancy thou\ndidst not remain. Thou hast grown to the stature of a man. When thou\nwast a child, thou didst speak as a child, and understand as a child;\nbut now thou art become a man, thou shouldst put away childish things.\nHenceforth, let not thy name be called Thomas Paine; for thou wilt not\nanswer to a name which misrepresents thy true character, since thou\nhast found favor which has instructed thee to call no mind, \u2018common or\nunclean.\u2019\u201d\n\nT. Am I then to be called by a new name?\n\nM. Thou shalt be called by this circle a new name, which thou seest in\nthe white stone thou hast received.\n\nT. And wilt thou read the new name?\n\nM. \u201cContentment.\u201d Such is thy new name, because such is thy condition.\nThou hast sought for light and perfection in the degree of this circle,\nand as thou hast found, so thou art contented with thy finding. Thou\nwilt not answer to any other name, when thou respondest to the call of\nthy fellow servants. In thy infancy and childhood, thou didst call mind\n\u201ccommon and unclean,\u201d but now thou wilt do so no more. Thou hast seen\nthat thy mind was as thy fellows, but wisdom has shown thee that what\nthou hast denounced as \u201cunclean\u201d in thy works and by thy words, is not\nas thou hast said. No unclean thing can enter here, because light and\npurity will cleanse the immortal mind from the impurities of worldly\nwisdom and ignorance.\n\nT. But should I retain my old name when I converse with other circles?\n\nM. Thou mayest answer, but when thou answerest, let thy signature be\nwithout dissimulation. Shouldst thy friend recognize thee by thy infant\nname, thou mayest respond; but when thou meetest a mind of this circle,\nthou wilt be hailed by thy new name, and respond to its announcement.\n\nT. Then a new baptism may be necessary. When my infant name was\nbequeathed, I was baptized. Ought I not now to receive a new baptism?\n\nM. Thou wilt proceed to the High Priest of this circle, who will answer\nthy question.\n\nThe guide conducted me again to the chair of the High Priest, who said:\n\n\u201cI heard thy inquiry, and thou wilt listen to my answer. Thy baptism\nwas not of wisdom, but of water. When thou wast baptized, thy mind was\nnot affected. The outward man only became the subject of purification.\nNow thou art introduced into this circle, thou wilt be taught to\nput away childish things, and consecrate thyself to the work of\nbenevolence. To aid thee in thy work, I will impress thy mind with the\nspirit of this circle; yea, I will baptize thee in a fountain, which\ncomes like a pure river of water from the throne of wisdom. Reach\nforth, oh, God! from courts of more than mortal glory, the oil of\ngladness, and let thy servant be washed in the stream of thy mercy.\u201d\nPlacing his hand upon my head, he said: \u201cThe wisdom of God be upon\nthee, and give thee peace.\u201d\n\nWhen his hand rested on my head, I saw a stream descending from\nwisdom\u2019s holy court, gentle as the dew of evening, and clear as the\nmercy of God. It came like water in the rising tide, and overwhelmed\nmy mind with a flood of living light. I saw the stream, and the stream\ncarried away the question of baptism, and left me pure from all doubt\nof its character.\n\n\u201cThou understandest,\u201d said my guide, \u201cthat water baptism is for\ninfancy, while the baptism of wisdom, which thou hast been permitted to\nreceive, is for minds of understanding. This is the baptism of truth.\nThis is the stream of divine grace. This is the water of life. This\nis the flood which shall never pass away. This is the sea without a\nshore; and Contentment will receive wages. Contentment is satisfaction\nwith reward; and when thou goest hence, thy reward will be with thee\nforevermore. Thou wilt now rest with us.\u201d\n\nWhen the guide had ended his saying, there came a song of sweetness.\nThe whole circle joined in one melodious anthem of joy, which was\nfollowed by an ode of order. The words were words of sympathy. They\ntouched my feelings. I saw what was my delight, a society where\nbrotherhood was no unmeaning expression. I had found a kindness which\nno mortal can understand while in the body. I found a society unlike\nany thing on earth. It was a society, linked in union by an immortal\nchain. It was a home, where there was bread enough, and to spare. It\nwas a temple not made with hands. It was made by the Grand Master\nBuilder of heaven and earth. Its pillars were holiness and truth, and\nits \u201cchief corner stone,\u201d wisdom without imperfection. I saw what no\nmind can see, and what no language can express, in this temple. There\nwere emblems of order, emblems of honor, emblems of brotherhood,\nemblems of wisdom, emblems of peace, emblems of innocence, and emblems\nof victory.\n\nWhen my guide saw my mind contemplating these wonders, he said, \u201cThou\nwilt bear with thee the impress of these emblems on thy mind, and thou\nwilt see thy reward in the obedience which will be expected of thee.\nSoon thou must go with me. The wail of misery invites our aid. Thou\nwilt do thy pleasure.\u201d\n\nT. My pleasure is to do as thou hast said. I will not refuse thy\ncommand.\n\nG. No; as it is thy will.\n\nT. As it is thine also.\n\n\u201cAs it is of this circle,\u201d said the Master.\n\n\u201cEven so, Amen,\u201d responded the High Priest.\n\n\u201cFriends, when ye shall return, bring your friend, without money and\nwithout price.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE LANDLORD AND THE COTTAGE MANIAC.\n\n  The Cottage--Landlord impressed--Efforts of spirits--Maniac threatens\n  his family--Landlord advises to send for the minister--Wife wants\n  a doctor--Iron moved by a spirit--Nobleman and Mary confounded by\n  the sounds--Attributes the sounds to satan and witches--Becomes\n  agitated--Boasts of English courage--Gives Mary a half crown--Sends\n  for a physician--Maniac grows more ill--Tea and sugar bought--The\n  doctor comes and prescribes--Aid promised--Curate required to pray\n  at his home--The maniac dies--Grief of Mary--Parental counsel at the\n  time of her marriage repeated--Her husband buried--The family taken\n  to the Alms-house--Affecting conversation between the mother and her\n  son--The overseer questions Mary--Oppression of the poor--Voluntary\n  and involuntary servitude explained.\n\n\nThere were works which no mind can comprehend, revolving around our\nheads, when we left the arch-way. \u201cI am not a medical mind,\u201d said my\nguide, \u201cbut do you hear that groan of distress?\u201d\n\nI replied in the affirmative.\n\n\u201cTo the house of need, then will we go,\u201d said he.\n\nWhen we reached the cottage, I saw the mind was frantic with despair.\n\nG. Yea; and thou seest the cause.\n\nT. Truly, but who shall believe our report?\n\nG. Thou wilt not say, but do as thou canst to aid.\n\nThis cottage stood near the Thames, and about six miles from London.\nThe mind of the almost distracted man, was writhing in the agony of\ndeath. The family of children were weeping beside the mother, who was\nsitting at a little distance from the couch, on which the invalid\nrested. I saw no other company present. They were not affluent, but\ndepended upon their industry for subsistence. Near by, lived a lord\nof the heritage, who rode in livery, and fared sumptuously. He was\napprised of the dangerous illness of his servant, and knew the wants\nof the dependent family. He came not near, but his wife sent a few\nnecessaries by another servant, whom we saw leaving the cottage as we\nentered.\n\n\u201cThere is wretchedness here,\u201d said my companion.\n\nT. Truly; but what can we do to mitigate the evil?\n\nW. We can do what we can, and what we can not do, will not be our\nfault. Thou mayest go to the landlord, and impress his mind to come\nhere speedily.\n\nI went. He was viewing his farm. It was a smiling season. The luxuriant\nfoliage of nature was never more picturesque. The wild birds were\nchanting their melodious sonnets, and the lowing herds were grazing\non the fertile field. When I approached him, he was meditating upon\nthe probable income of his estate. I was not without hope of making an\nimpression favorable to humanity. I was aided by a near relative of the\nsuffering man. We both aimed instantaneously our power to make him feel\na sympathy for the distressed. I saw he was impressed with our wish,\nand he turned around as if to go to the cottage; but as he turned, he\nsaid to himself, \u201cWhy should I go there; this world is full of misery.\nThere is yonder city; what could I do to remove the ills of that great\nmetropolis? It is the misfortune of some to be poor, and what is their\nmisfortune is not my fault.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can we do?\u201d said my assistant.\n\n\u201cWe will still do our duty,\u201d I replied. \u201cIf you will act as you can to\nimpress his mind with sympathy, I will aid his conscientiousness to go\nwith us.\u201d\n\n\u201cEven so,\u201d said he.\n\nWe continued our work till he said, \u201cOn one account, I will go and see\nhim. He has been faithful unto me, in many things, and I will not now\nbe ungrateful for his services.\u201d So saying, he went to the cottage. On\nentering it, he was met by the wife of the frantic man, who said:\n\n\u201cDear man, I am distracted with trouble. My God! what shall I do? He\nis insane, and we have to watch him every moment. Last night he was\ndetermined to kill me. He said we would not receive religion, and God\nhad commanded him to kill us. Oh! what can we do,\u201d she cried, piteously.\n\n\u201cI think I would send for the minister,\u201d said he; \u201cit is not possible\nhe can live long in such a state. Perhaps, he might afford him relief\nby preparing his soul for death.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould it not be better to get a doctor, my lord?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is of no use to get a physician now; it is too late: To-morrow will\nend all his troubles,\u201d replied the landlord.\n\n\u201cOh, dear me!\u201d sighed the wife; \u201cand I would to God it might end mine;\nbut here are our dear children; who will care for them when death has\nruined our hopes?\u201d\n\n\u201cThou hearest that lament,\u201d said my associate.\n\n\u201cI hear. Shall we despair? Never, while human woes require our aid.\nNever, until success attend our efforts,\u201d said I.\n\nAt my suggestion, my associate made a noise, which attracted the\nattention of the nobleman, as he was called. It was made by removing a\npiece of wrought iron, resembling a broken knife, which rested over a\nwindow.\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d said he.\n\nThe wife, whose name was Mary, said, \u201cI see nothing.\u201d\n\nThe same noise was repeated.\n\n\u201cDo you hear that?\u201d said the nobleman.\n\n\u201cYes; I hear a rattle of the window,\u201d replied Mary.\n\n\u201cThat was not the window,\u201d said he.\n\nStepping to the window, he placed his hand upon it, and said, \u201cThe\nwindow is firm, perhaps it was the old iron.\u201d\n\nWhen we saw his attention drawn another way, the sound was again\nproduced.\n\n\u201cIt is that iron,\u201d said he; \u201cbut what moves it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said Mary; \u201cit will soon rattle again, perhaps.\u201d\n\nIt was not long before he wished to hear again that noise. While\nlooking steadily upon it, the iron fell to the floor. \u201cThere,\u201d said he,\n\u201cI knew it was the iron. I wonder what done that!\u201d I stood near him,\nand impressed his mind with the conviction that spirits wrought such\nthings. He was impressed, as we could; and, at length, said he, \u201cif\nthat old iron was not lifeless, I should believe it could move itself.\u201d\n\nM. Oh, my worthy lord; do not--I shall be afraid of seeing ghosts, when\nI am alone.\n\nL. Pshaw; a ghost never made that noise.\n\nM. What then?\n\nIt was not more than a second before the iron was uplifted about a\nfoot, and fell on the floor.\n\n\u201cWell: who knows what all this can mean?\u201d said he. \u201cThe devil must be\namusing himself. I wish he would come, and heal this dying man.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do not suppose the devil will do good?\u201d said Mary.\n\nL. No; but, when I was not more than eleven years old, I recollect my\nmother said, \u201ca good fountain can not send forth bitter water, nor a\nbitter fountain good water.\u201d\n\nWhen we had aroused his mind on the subject of spirits, we wished to\navail something which would be serviceable to the mind, writhing in\ndistress. Accordingly, we worked so as to make a manifestation near\nthe bed. He was now excited, and verily thought these sounds were\npremonitions of some awful visitation of Providence.\n\nL. It may not be doubted that there is some meaning to these sounds. If\nI were a believer in witchcraft, I would say that witches had something\nto do with these noises. Perhaps, it will appear that my days are\nnumbered. If so, will another noise be made?\n\nMy associate now responded by a sound, as before. The nobleman was\nhorror-struck. \u201cThe devil is in this,\u201d said he. \u201cIf my days are\nnumbered, will that rattle of the iron be repeated?\u201d\n\nThe rattle was heard again. But gathering a little more courage, he\nsaid, mentally, \u201ca coward is worse than a traitor. I am an Englishman.\nNever let it be said, that an Englishman is afraid of ghosts.\u201d My guide\nthen impressed his mind to ask, \u201cdo you want any thing of me?\u201d\n\nThe well known rattle responded.\n\n\u201cPerhaps,\u201d said he, \u201cit will be well to call the doctor.\u201d\n\n\u201cRattle, rattle,\u201d was the response.\n\n\u201cNow, there must be intelligence some where to produce these noises,\u201d\nsaid he. \u201cI do not know what may be the result. But do not be alarmed.\nI will send a man after my physician, and when he comes back, I will\nreturn. In the mean time, Mary, you may remember that ghosts never\nmurdered any one. Have you wanted a little tea and sugar for John? It\nwill not do him harm,--and you may take this half crown, and get what\nit will buy.\u201d\n\nThe unfortunate man was worse. He had heard what they had said about\nhis dying. In a half conscious state of mind, he said, \u201cMary, what did\nhe want? He need not be vexed about rent--he will not ask again where I\nam.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no: He wanted to see you, and he gave me this half crown to get\nsome tea and sugar for you, and besides he has sent for his doctor--all\nvery kind. He is a kind man in sickness. It is not every landlord you\nknow, who would even come to visit a servant in sickness, much less\noffer them aid; I hope he will get the doctor, and you will get around\nagain.\u201d\n\nThe little boy was dispatched to a shop, where he bought a half crown\nin value of tea and sugar. He returned with bounding feet, and said;\n\u201cMother, Sam ax me where I got my money to buy tea and sugar.\u201d\n\n\u201cHush, my child! you will disturb your father. He must have rest before\nthe doctor comes.\u201d\n\nIn about an hour, the landlord and the physician came. The physician\nwas a profound man in the science of medicine, and experienced in\nhis profession. He graduated from the University at Edinburg, in the\nyear 1791. He received his diploma, and was reputed a successful\npractitioner of medicine in the hospital of London, for many years. As\nhe advanced toward the bedside, or rather couch of the sufferer, he\nwas met by the wild rolling eye of the patient. Taking his hand, he\nsaid, \u201cHe is somewhat feverish, and there is a degree of inflammation\non the brain. I would recommend mustard, applied to the feet, and cold,\nwet cloths to the neck and forehead. You must not,\u201d said he, \u201cagitate\nhis mind about dying; for he wearies himself too much now about his\nprospects. Let him have some nourishment, as his appetite may crave,\nwhen he is sane; but do not urge him to eat or drink any thing. It is\npossible he may not want any thing, but you will need some one who will\naid you to watch with him to-night.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will send one of his comrades,\u201d said the nobleman.\n\nDOCTOR. Then I will write down the prescription.\n\nL. That will be unnecessary, because he can not read.\n\nD. And can not this woman read?\n\nM. No, sir; my parents were poor, and I was not sent to school.\n\n\u201cIt is important,\u201d said the doctor \u201cthat this prescription be strictly\nadhered to. The least deviation may prove fatal to his recovery.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can remember all,\u201d replied Mary.\n\nWhen the doctor was about to leave, Mary and the nobleman accompanied\nhim to the yard. She said, \u201cdo you think John will get well, doctor?\u201d\n\nD. It is possible; but the chances are against him. The brain is very\nrestless, and besides there is a predisposition to monopolize the\nentire control of his whole system. I have never known so aggravated\na disease to be overcome without the greatest care. If he should live\ntill morning, I will see him again.\n\nM. Would it not be well to ask the curate to pray?\n\nD. The curate will not aid his recovery, and I would recommend that he\nshould not visit you till John is better; but, if you really desire his\naid, you will ask him to pray for your husband at home.\n\nM. Not at home!\n\nD. Yes; at home, God will answer, as here.\n\nThe landlord and the physician went away. The evening was still, and no\ncomrade came to watch with the suffering patient. The lone night wasted\naway, until near two o\u2019clock in the morning, when John was released\nfrom his mortal body, and we received him, as we had been received.\n\nDuring the last convulsive throes of agony, his wife besought God,\nimploringly, to have mercy on his soul. Never went up to heaven a\nmore sincere and fervent supplication for aid, than this dejected and\ndespairing wife offered for the companion of her youth. Alas! what\nwife could do more, when mind is torn from mind, and no appearance\nof reuniting again. The whole heart was given to her husband, and he\nhonored the marriage vow with a constant integrity, which made even the\ncottage to smile with the warm affection of true hearts. \u201cI was well\nsatisfied,\u201d said she, \u201cwith my poverty, with my union to make me happy;\nbut now, oh, my God! what shall I do? Oh, dear, what can I do in this\nunfriendly world?\u201d Then she sighed, and sighed from the soul; but her\nsighs were aggravated by the mournful despondency of her dear children.\nShe was heard to say: \u201cWhen my father consented to our marriage,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cMary, you must not think this beautiful world is all sunshine\nand summer. There will come clouds of sorrow, nights of gloom, and days\nof adversity. You will remember my saying, Mary, when the winter of\nbereavement howls its angry blast around your dwelling, and no voice of\nkindness gladdens the solitude of your weary hours. But now you have\nconsented to marry the man you love; be faithful, even unto death.\u201d\n\nSuch were the silent meditations of a soul, surcharged with grief, as\nwe witnessed at the cottage of a laborer.\n\nTwo days afterwards, I saw the body conveyed to the Potter\u2019s Field,\nand the wife and children to the alms-house. During this period, no\nlandlord came near the cottage. The widow mourned without hope, and the\nthree children clung to her with unusual affection. The boy who was the\noldest of the children, seemed to realize the calamity. He said:\n\n\u201cMother, what shall we do now, my dear father is put in the ground?\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose,\u201d she replied, \u201cwe shall be separated. Oh, my child, you\ndistress me. You will see your kind father no more. They have buried\nhim in the cold earth.\u201d\n\nJ. Will he never come home again?\n\nM. No; he can not come back here, James.\n\nJ. Will he stay there in the earth, mother?\n\nM. His body will stay there, but his spirit will appear before the bar\nof God, at the great day of judgment. All will appear before the throne\nof God to receive their reward; so you must be a good boy, James, that\nyou may go to heaven.\n\nJ. Has father gone to heaven?\n\nM. I don\u2019t know, my child; he was not a member of any church; but he\nnever wronged any body, as I know of. He will wait till he receives the\nsentence of God, and then all will know.\n\nJ. How long will he wait, mother?\n\nM. I don\u2019t know, my son.\n\nJ. Where will he wait?\n\nM. You must not ask such questions. The Bible does not tell us any\nthing about it, and we must not ask for things which are not revealed.\n\nWhen two days had passed, the wife and children were conveyed to the\nalms house. The overseer said to Mary:\n\nO. Is your father living?\n\nM. No, sir, he has been dead about three years.\n\nO. Did he leave any property?\n\nM. I was not at home when he died, but I heard he died in the hospital.\n\nO. In what hospital?\n\nM. Well, they called it a hospital, such as they have in the army. I\nheard my mother say he was wounded, and brought home to England, and he\nnever got well again.\n\nO. At what battle was he wounded?\n\nM. I never knew the place, but it seems to me more like Waterloo than\nany other name.\n\nDuring this investigation, my mind was impressed to work a reform. I\nsaw the injustice of oppression in all its naked deformity. The lords\nof the soil had monopolized all that could afford subsistence by\ncultivation, and then demanded the service of the landless at their own\napprisal. \u201cWhat better is this,\u201d said I to William, \u201cthan chattels in\nslavery?\u201d\n\nW. Thou wilt see a difference. A voluntary servitude is willing\nbondage, but involuntary service is unwilling subjection to the will\nof a master. A willing service is the result of conditions; but an\nunwilling bondage is the result of cruelty. It is oppression without\nacquiescence, or reward for labor, by contract.\n\nNot receiving a clear solution of my inquiry, I asked, \u201cWhat is the\ndifference between voluntary and involuntary slavery.\u201d\n\nW. Voluntary slavery is to do what is required by a contract. The\ndoer voluntarily assents on condition of receiving a stipulated\ncompensation. Involuntary slavery is to do what the mind would not do\nunless coerced by compulsory measures. It does not contract to do any\nthing, but is forced to do what the master requires.\n\nT. But do not the circumstances of the poor in Europe, coerce them to\ncontract for service, which other conditions would not approve?\n\nW. Thou wilt remember, Thomas, that other conditions coerce the master\nto hire and pay them for their services. The compulsion is, therefore,\nmutual, and whatever is mutual is equitable. But when a mind is\ncompelled to do service without the assent of the doer, there is no\nmutual necessity, nor equity in the arrangement.\n\nT. There is no necessity, I trust, then, which would justify the misery\nthat results from the oppression of the poor, in neglecting the means\nessential for their comfort.\n\nW. Thou hast well judged. Had avarice the wisdom of truth to control\nits treasures, the folly of oppression would find no habitation\namong men. But what thou seest is generosity, when compared with the\ninjustice thou wilt behold in thy pilgrimage.\n\nT. Spare me, then, the sight!\n\nW. Hast thou not a heart to do good? And wilt thou shrink from its\nperformance, because the sight is unwelcome?\n\nT. I will not shrink from my duty; for where duty calls, there is my\npleasure, my bliss, my heaven.\n\nW. Then, follow me.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nVISIT TO THE CASTLE.\n\n  The Castle described--The centurion alarmed--Faith proved by\n  works--Interpretations of the Bible disallowed--Penn called\n  an infidel--Dialogue between the centurion and Penn--Teacher\n  called--Dialogue continued--Theological opinions the cause of\n  strife and wrong--Paine and Penn retire--Conversation between\n  them--Witnesses beheaded--Dialogue between the Teacher and his\n  Master--A wheel within a wheel--Gold and silver the motive\n  power--Attraction of affinities--Fear and hope make slaves--The\n  king\u2019s palace--Conversation between Thomas and William--Grand Master\n  instructs Thomas--A new song--Consistency wrong when minds are\n  wrong--Experience the proper test of principles--Some minds serve two\n  masters--Works justify--Repentance is salvation--Departure for the\n  Temple.\n\n\nHe conducted me to a wall. There was no door of entrance. It was made\nof scorn. I could see through the wall, for there were a great many\nport holes. I saw a wild circle of minds peeping through these holes,\nas though suspicious of our encroachment. When we had passed around the\nfortress, I heard the centurion say, \u201cTo arms, to arms.\u201d He was a dark\nmind. He was told by my companion, \u201cWe are not enemies, but friends.\u201d\n\nC. What hast thou to do here?\n\nW. We have come to aid thee.\n\nC. Hast thou not learned, that we do not admit strangers within these\nwalls.\n\nW. Thou wilt not refuse what we do not ask. We do not ask admission\nwithin such walls, but we seek the deliverance of thee and thy fellows.\n\nC. Deliverance! Who art thou that profferest deliverance to the saints\nunder my command?\n\nW. I am thy friend, and the friend of thy companions.\n\nC. How may I know thou art what thou sayest?\n\nW. By my works.\n\nC. Dost thou believe in the Bible?\n\nW. Thou wilt see my faith by my works.\n\nC. Thy works will not save a mind.\n\nW. What then will save?\n\nC. Believe in the Bible.\n\nW. Will a belief in the Bible save without works?\n\nC. A belief in the Bible will lead to good works, and faith and good\nworks will save.\n\nW. Thou hast said, believe in the Bible. Will that belief save?\n\nC. Yes; because it will lead to good works.\n\nW. Does a belief in the Bible lead all who believe to good works only?\n\nC. Thou art an infidel, and yet thou profferest deliverance unto the\npeople of God.\n\nW. Thou wilt not revile when thou obeyest our instruction.\n\nC. But ought not I to call thee by thy true name?\n\nW. Then, thou wouldst not rebuke when it is not thy prerogative to\njudge. Dost thou remember the record of thy confidence--that thou\nshouldst not judge, lest thou be judged; for with what measure ye mete\nunto others, it shall be meted to you again.\n\nC. I will not agree with thee, that because I have said thou wast an\ninfidel, therefore I shall be judged as such before the bar of God.\n\nW. Thou wilt then disagree with thy Bible?\n\nC. Thou wilt allow an explanation of that passage, I suppose?\n\nW. When thou askest me to allow thee to explain, I want thee to\nunderstand, that thy explanation is not mine. Thou mayest not explain\nfor me; for possibly thy wisdom may wholly destroy what those, in whom\nthou believest, have sought to establish. What thou sayest is thy own,\nand what is thy own, thou shouldst not impute to another. Thou callest\nus infidels; but we never seek to destroy another\u2019s property, as thou\nhast proposed by thy offer to explain what thou, perchance, hast no\nauthority for doing. Hast thou read the prohibition?\n\nC. What prohibition?\n\nW. Whosoever addeth unto the sayings of the prophecy of this book,\nGod will add unto him the plagues which are written in this book; and\nwhosoever taketh away the sayings, God will take away his part out of\nthe book of life. What is thy explanation but adding or diminishing the\nrecord of another?\n\nC. It is all infidelity to talk as thou dost.\n\nW. Thou sayest, then, that the words of the Bible are infidelity?\n\nC. No; but when thou deniest the instrumentalities of revelation, thou\nsavorest the cause of infidelity.\n\nW. What instrumentalities does revelation require to reveal itself?\n\nC. It requires an explanation.\n\nW. Is the explanation a revelation?\n\nC. It is an explanation of dark passages in the Bible.\n\nW. Well, is an explanation of dark passages in the Bible, a revelation\nfrom God?\n\nC. No; but it is essential to mind, in order to be saved.\n\nW. Is that essential to mind which does not agree with itself, and\ncontradicts what is revealed?\n\nC. A correct explanation is consistent, and does not contradict itself,\nor the Bible.\n\nW. But hast thou not contradicted the Bible, and dost thou not\nrecommend an explanation which expressly takes away the whole force of\na divine prohibition?\n\nC. No; it gives it a different meaning, that is all.\n\nW. True; and that is what thou art forbidden to do.\n\nC. I will not submit my judgment to the control of infidels. I see that\nthou wilt persist to aid infidelity.\n\nW. Thou wilt see what thou hast not yet seen, if thou wilt listen to\nthe voice which requires obedience. Thou wilt see thyself as thou never\nwilt desire to see again.\n\nC. How so? I am not ashamed of the cross of Christ.\n\nW. Thou wilt not obey.\n\nC. I will obey what is just and reasonable, and wouldst thou have me do\nmore?\n\nW. Is the Bible just and reasonable?\n\nC. Truly.\n\nW. But thou wilt not obey that.\n\nC. Then, I am not a Christian.\n\nW. Well, hast thou said. But wilt thou not revile, and wilt thou abide\nby the instruction of the Bible?\n\nC. I trust my all in that blessed book. When I gave my heart to God, I\nresolved to live for his glory.\n\nW. And is it for the glory of God to revile thy brother, and deny what\nrevelation and thy vows unto the Lord have made incumbent upon thee to\nperform?\n\nC. It is not. But who has reviled? Who has denied his vows and\nrevelation?\n\nW. Hast thou need to be informed, that no name is so offensive in\nthy sight as infidel? And didst thou not use that word to revile thy\nbrother? Is that for the glory of God, which injures thyself and those\nthat hear thee? When thou shalt see thyself, as thy Master seeth thee,\nthen thou wilt not contradict his instruction. Thou wilt not dispute\nwith revelation, because thou dost not comprehend, by reason of thy\nconfinement, the wisdom it discloses. Wouldst thou evacuate this castle?\n\nC. I would consult my teacher, and exercise my reason.\n\nW. Who is thy teacher, and what is thy reason?\n\nC. That thou mayest explain.\n\nW. Thy teacher will not consent to any interference.\n\nC. Thou mayest explain, and I will counsel with him.\n\nW. Better that thou shouldst call him, and I will converse with him\nbefore thee.\n\nC. The mind soon said, \u201cHe is here.\u201d\n\nW. Thy teacher will explain.\n\nT. This castle is the gate to heaven. No man can gain admission to the\nsanctuary of wisdom, unless he shall deny the world, and take up the\ncross.\n\nW. What world must he deny?\n\nT. He must deny all ungodliness, and all worldly-mindedness, and pride.\nHe must deny the world of vanity and pleasure.\n\nW. He must not deny himself pleasure?\n\nT. Yes; he must deny himself the pleasures of sin for a season, that he\nmay inherit eternal life at the day of judgment.\n\nW. Thou wilt not say he must deny himself the pleasure of good?\n\nT. No: but minds must deny what will do them much harm.\n\nW. Will good do minds harm?\n\nT. The good of sin will curse the soul at the day of judgment.\n\nW. Then, wilt thou inform me, why it would not be better to call that\ngood, evil?\n\nT. It is good now to the sinner; but when God comes to make up his\njewels, he will separate the chaff from the wheat.\n\nW. Will God gather his jewels together at the judgment day?\n\nT. They will be gathered from one end of heaven to the other.\n\nW. What will he do with them, when he has gathered them together?\n\nT. He will place them at his right hand.\n\nW. Whom will he place on the left hand?\n\nT. The goats.\n\nW. Who are the goats?\n\nT. Infidels and unbelievers.\n\nW. Who are infidels and unbelievers?\n\nT. Those who deny revelation, and disobey God.\n\nW. Then all who deny revelation, and disobey God, are infidels, or\nunbelievers?\n\nT. Yes.\n\nW. Hast thou never denied revelation, and disobeyed God? Thou wilt not\nreject what revelation discloses and duty requires, if wisdom be found\nin thy sayings.\n\nT. I will not say, I have never denied revelation, and I acknowledge I\nhave disobeyed God; but, I trust, I have found favor in his sight, by\nrepentance and faith in the Lord Jesus.\n\nW. Thou mayest find still greater favor, if thou wilt evacuate this\ncastle, and receive the inspiration of nature.\n\nT. The inspiration of nature! What is the inspiration of nature?\n\nW. It is what natural things impress on the mind.\n\nT. How can nature inspire?\n\nW. How can that which is not nature inspire? Hast thou need of what is\nnot nature? When thou askest, how can nature inspire? dost thou not\nknow that mind is nature, and as mind is nature, so nature inspires.\n\nT. Then what is spirit but nature?\n\nW. Thou wilt answer, \u201cwhat is not wisdom is nature.\u201d\n\nT. Truly. That which has no wisdom is nature, and that which has wisdom\nis spirit.\n\nW. Have thy words a spirit?\n\nT. They are the productions of a spirit.\n\nW. Is not nature the production of a spirit?\n\nT. Yea; and so are all things.\n\nW. Then, if all things be the production of a spirit, nature is the\nproduction of a spirit, and, if nature be the production of a spirit,\nthou seest nature unites to show what the spirit has done. It is the\nwork of the spirit, and what is the work of a spirit is a revelation\nof its wisdom. Thou seest that the work must reveal the character and\nskill of the workman. That development, revealed by the work, is the\ninspiration of nature. It is the voice of God, which inspires his\ncreatures with veneration.\n\nT. But what wilt thou say of the Bible?\n\nW. I will say, it is the production of nature\u2019s works. It is the\nproduction of spirit, which is manifested in nature. It is what thou\nseest, the work of mind developed, or revealed, as mind needed. It is\nnot as thou seest in all things. Thou seest as thy mind hast been\ninstructed, and thou hast been instructed by others not wiser than\nthyself.\n\nT. But is not the Bible the standard of all truth?\n\nW. It is the standard only of its own truth.\n\nT. Must not all other revelation yield to its authority, when\ncontradictory statements appear?\n\nW. Contradictions of nature are not a part of revelation. That which\ncontradicts nature, is not revelation; because nature is a revelation\nof the wisdom of God. When thou readest thy Bible, dost thou see a\ncontradiction?\n\nT. I have not found any contradiction of my faith.\n\nW. Hast thou found any contradiction of thy practice?\n\nT. I will not answer thy question.\n\nW. Is it not important to practice our faith?\n\nT. It is.\n\nW. Why, then, dost thou refuse to answer my question?\n\nT. Because I will not.\n\nW. But why will you not?\n\nT. Then, thou wouldst claim an exception to my cause.\n\nW. I claim only consistency.\n\nT. Am I inconsistent?\n\nW. When thou wilt answer as thou knowest, thou art consistent; but when\nthou seest not what is true, thou mayest be inconsistent with truth.\nThou wilt not say thou art consistent in all things.\n\nT. Who art thou?\n\nW. I am thy friend.\n\nT. How may I know thee to be my friend?\n\nW. Thou mayest know, when thou shalt disabuse thyself of thy errors.\nThou wilt not accuse thy friend, before thou hast seen aught against\nhim.\n\nT. Thou wilt prove what thou hast said. I will not receive a doctrine,\nuntil I see what evidence it has for its support.\n\nW. Very well. Hast thou observed thy rule in the formation of thy\nopinions? Hast thou evidence that thy opinions of the Bible are all\ntrue? What evidence hast thou, that stolen waters are sweet, and that\nthere is pleasure in sin? I want all the evidence thou hast to prove\nthat there is any pleasure in doing wrong.\n\nT. Why, you astonish me: The wicked man is not troubled as is the\nrighteous. He will not need to suffer persecution for the cause\nof religion, and he will take his ease and comfort in sin without\nreforming. He is as a tree planted by waters, and he takes his fill of\niniquity. He fares sumptuously every day; while the devoted Christian\nhas many trials and crosses to endure, and is troubled about his\neverlasting condition. Morning and evening, he invokes the blessing of\nGod upon his soul.\n\nW. Canst thou tell me, why nature wrongs the righteous? or by what law\na wrong mind is made happy, while a right mind suffers so much?\n\nT. The law of God will show thee.\n\nW. Show me what?\n\nT. Show thee that God suffers a great many evils to attend his\nchildren, that they may realize the greatness of his mercy and\nsalvation.\n\nW. Thou wilt not answer.\n\nT. I say, that God does not afflict the wicked as he does the righteous.\n\nW. For what reason, and by what law, is this injustice continued?\n\nT. By the law of God, of course.\n\nW. Is that law eternal?\n\nW. Then, why will not the righteous, as thou callest thyself, eternally\nsuffer, and the wicked escape their wretchedness?\n\nT. That is infidelity. We must make the Bible our standard.\n\nW. Wilt thou say, the Bible contradicts reason?\n\nT. Reason is carnal.\n\nW. How dost thou know?\n\nT. Because the Bible says so.\n\nW. Wilt thou read it for my instruction?\n\nT. I will say, that is the meaning of the passage.\n\nW. How do you know?\n\nT. How do I know any thing?\n\nW. By thy reason.\n\nT. Well, my reason tells me, that is the meaning.\n\nW. Dost thou presume to use carnal reason to interpret the Bible, so as\nto favor thy views?\n\nT. My reason is not carnal; I have been regenerated by the atonement of\nChrist.\n\nW. Thou wilt not receive a doctrine without evidence, and dost thou\nrequire of me what thou art unwilling to do thyself? How may I know thy\nreason is any better than mine? How may I know that thou hast spoken\nonly what the living spirit intended by that passage?\n\nT. I see thou wilt cavil with the word of God.\n\nW. Not with the word of God, friend; but with thy saying. How may I\nknow thou art correct?\n\nT. Have I not said, by the standard of the Bible.\n\nW. Thou hast said well; but thou askest another standard, which is thy\ninterpretation by thy reason.\n\nT. Wouldst thou, then, have me lay aside my reason?\n\nW. No; but I would have thee exercise it; and, when thou offerest\nthy Bible as the standard, not again offer thy interpretations as a\nsubstitute. Besides, thou hast offered a doctrine to thy friend, which\nis contrary to thy standard.\n\nT. How so?\n\nW. In that thou sayest, there is pleasure in sin. Hast not thou read\nin thy Bible, that the wicked are like the troubled sea, whose waters\ncast up mire and dirt; and that there is no peace to them? How sayest\nthou, then, that the Bible is the standard, and that there is pleasure\nin sin? How sayest thou, that the good of sin will curse the soul at\nthe day of judgment, when thy Bible tells thee that there is no good in\nsin, for the way of the transgressor is hard? Thou wilt not say, we are\nenemies of the Bible, because we justify its sayings in opposition to\nthy interpretations.\n\nT. Thou wilt not satisfy me, that the wicked are troubled as other men\nare.\n\nW. Thou wilt not, then, be satisfied with thy standard?\n\nT. Yes; but thou wilt take it altogether, and not in parts.\n\nW. Take it as thou wilt, only take it as it is, without thy\ninterpretation superadded.\n\nT. Why wouldst thou deny interpretation?\n\nW. That is what has made thy castle. That is what has sown dissension\namong brethren. That is what has filled the earth with bloodshed and\nstrife. That is what has set mind against mind, and embittered soul\nagainst soul. That is what makes hirelings of men, who would interpret\nwhat is already revealed, and wrongs the uninformed of the knowledge of\nGod and heaven. That is what divides and distracts whole communities\nand nations, and makes war upon the rights of mind to investigate\nthe truth, and aid thy fellow servants to do what nature and reason\nimperatively demand.\n\nThe castle was then abandoned by us for a season. \u201cIn wisdom,\u201d said my\ncompanion, \u201care all things made, which are in heaven, and which are on\nearth.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut who is wise to understand the wisdom of that castle?\u201d I replied.\n\nW. Thou knowest that contentment is peace. Thou knowest that minds are\ncontented with that which satisfies. When thou wast in darkness, as\nthou seest thy brethren, when thou hadst no desire to be instructed\nonly to confirm thy own cause, thou didst not wish thyself contradicted\nby any wisdom disagreeing with thy own.\n\nT. When I was instructed, I was not as they are.\n\nW. True. Thou wast as they are before thou wast instructed. When thou\ndidst see the error of thy ways, thou didst forsake them. But thy\nbrethren do not yet see. They see some things, but there is a veil over\ntheir eyes. They see a castle, and they see the things in that castle;\nbut they do not see the things which are not within it.\n\nT. They would see more, were it not for the walls which enclose them.\n\nW. The walls which enclose them, are of their own creation. The\nelevated spirit never walls itself in by a work of mind. Those\nwalls are not of jasper, but of self-conceit. They are the works of\nignorance. When minds indulge the idea, that they know all that is\nworth possessing, when they flatter themselves that they are wiser than\nevery other mind, is it strange that they should fortify themselves\nagainst all invasion of their conceited infallibility?\n\nT. But, when we go to instruct them, it surprises me, that they should\nresist the facts which are presented to them.\n\nW. It would not surprise thee, peradventure, if thou shouldst inspect\nmore cautiously the influences which operate with them to overcome the\ntruth. Suppose we rise above the wall, and see from above the machinery\nemployed to keep their position secure.\n\nWe arose and saw the interior of the castle. \u201cThere,\u201d said my guide,\n\u201cnow thou canst judge for thyself. What thou seest, thou hast no need\nthat I tell thee.\u201d\n\nI saw a cloud of witnesses beheaded[A] for the sake of religion. I\nsaw a mind declaiming against cruelty, yet urging his companions to\nfight the battle, as long as life was spared. \u201cThose who oppose us,\u201d\nsaid he \u201care enemies of God, and in league with the devil. They must\nbe overcome, or our religion will be destroyed. Better that all who\nare not of us be slain, than that the cause of religion should be\nswept away. These heretics should not be allowed to corrupt the minds\nof the people of God, and the people of God will not allow them to\ndo it without resistance even unto death.\u201d When he had concluded his\nharangue, the Teacher, who had received instruction through the port\nhole, said, he had just had an interview with a heretic. The heretic\nhad informed him, that no intrusion was contemplated; but he insisted\nthat the people of God contradicted the Bible in their practice. He\nsaid that we interpreted the Bible contrary to its express prohibition.\nI do not agree with all he said, but what to do with his argument, I am\nnot prepared to say. Perhaps the circle can explain the difficulty.\n\nM. This circle will not undertake to explain the objections of\ninfidels. It is sufficient for the circle to resist the works of the\ndevil, and keep itself pure from the heresies, which endanger the\nsalvation of the soul. The circle should warn evil minds of the danger\nwhich awaits them, if they do not repent, and get religion; and I can\nsee no way to do it, more effectually, than to treat them with silent\ncontempt.\n\nT. Ought not the circle to obey the Scriptures?\n\nM. They ought to do their duty, and that duty is made plain by its own\ncovenant obligations.\n\nT. How can our covenant obligations contradict the Scriptures?\n\nM. They do not.\n\nT. How do we fulfil our covenant obligations, unless we meet the\narguments of heretics?\n\nM. Who has made you a heretic?\n\nT. I wish to know what should be done, when heretics offer the Bible\nagainst our views. I am not a heretic.\n\nM. But you recognize their doctrine, else, why ask about our covenant\nobligations with heretics?\n\nT. I suppose we ought to do something to meet their objections.\n\nM. Well, the way to meet them is not to reply to them.\n\nT. That will not do them any good. They will soon say we are afraid of\nthem.\n\nM. They will say any thing to encourage infidelity.\n\nT. They will quote Scripture to oppose us.\n\nM. Yes, and so will the devil.\n\nT. Then what must be done?\n\nM. Have I not told you--do nothing--say nothing?\n\nT. Will that remove the wrong of their opposition?\n\nM. The wrong is of their own choice.\n\nT. Is not the right also?\n\nM. That is a heretical notion. I see you have suffered already from\nyour conversation with them.\n\nT. How have I suffered?\n\nM. Why, you would encourage the doctrine of fatalism. Mind is a free\nagent. When you make the religion of the circle a choice, you would do\naway with the cross. That is no cross, which you choose.\n\nT. The unconverted will oppose. Is not that bearing the cross?\n\nM. It is; but you know that no mind would choose religion--I will say\nthat no mind would choose a religion under such disadvantages, unless\nfor the crown it will receive when God judges the world. The sceptic\nwill not receive religion, and he must reap his reward.\n\nThe mind was so incensed against heretics, that my guide said, \u201cIs it\na wonder that they reject the truth? There is another wheel to this\nmachinery.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat wheel?\u201d said I.\n\n\u201cIt is a wheel which moves all other wheels,\u201d replied William. He soon\ntook me to a secret place. \u201cThere,\u201d said he, \u201cdo you hear the sound of\nsomething falling on that wheel?\u201d I saw, and heard the sound. It seemed\nto me like gold and silver. I heard a mind say to its comrade, \u201csuppose\nthe gold and silver should cease to fall on that wheel, do you think it\nwould move?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe wheel,\u201d replied he, \u201cmust have weight, or it would cease to\nrevolve; and when that wheel stops, all the rest must stop, for they\ndepend on its motion.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat,\u201d said I, \u201cdo you call that main wheel, William?\u201d\n\nW. I call it the wheel of Ruin. I might call it a wheel of Fortune, or\nrather, as thou wouldst say, the wheel of misfortune; for what is the\ngain of one, is the loss of the other. There is gain thrown on to the\nwheel from the current of popularity, but it does not return again to\nthe owner. He will never receive what he has given to the devouring\ncupidity of the main wheel of all the machinery in this dismal castle.\nThou wilt see, that when the weight is withheld, the wheel will assume\nits just balance, and there remain. When the wheel stops, all the\ndependent wheels will stop. Therefore, the weights are the moving power\nof the whole machinery of this castle.\n\nT. Is it not right to remove these weights?\n\nW. These weights will follow the current into which they have been\nthrown; but when the current is changed, the bark on which they ride\nwill change also its direction.\n\nT. Then, where will the inhabitants of this castle go?\n\nW. They will go where they please, and be free.\n\nT. Would not the freedom of light and love be abused by their\nemancipation? Would they not run into all manner of excess and crime,\nif restraint were removed?\n\nW. Thou knowest thy experience. When thou wast admitted into the circle\nof light and love, didst thou run into excess because of thy freedom? I\nperceive thou art now even more ready and willing to do thy duty, than\nwhen thou wast entangled with the yoke of bondage.\n\nT. Why not, then, summon our companions, and change the channel of that\ncurrent, which moves the whole machinery.\n\nW. The summons is what will create more opposition. Dost thou not know,\nthat resistance will not overcome resistance. When mind controls mind,\nother means must be employed than force.\n\nT. That I understand; but when a work is required, workmen are\nnecessary. Wouldst thou not employ workmen to do a good work?\n\nW. I would not employ workmen to do what was not wanted. Thou seest\nthat these minds do not desire a work, which you propose by the summons.\n\nT. They would be grateful, when they saw the work done.\n\nW. They would not let the work be done.\n\nT. Why not?\n\nW. Because they do not see the benefit thereof.\n\nT. Then, may not our companions aid them to see the benefit?\n\nW. Yea; and, when all things are ready, they will not need a summons.\n\nT. Then, who shall get what is lacking in readiness?\n\nW. Time will work what is necessary.\n\nT. That is now.\n\nW. That is ever.\n\nT. When is ever?\n\nW. Ever is now, and hereafter.\n\nT. Then now and hereafter, all things will be in readiness.\n\nW. Yea; and when all things are in readiness, the work will be\ncompleted. Thou mayest now, and ever, remember, that when thou shalt\nvisit this castle, no mind will aid thee in what will change the power\nwhich controls the main wheel. It will not change itself, because it\ndesires no change. It will not allow others to change it, for the same\nreason. Thou wilt see the reason. The love of silver and gold is more\npowerful than thy arguments, or thy reason. The wheel will go with its\nload to aid, until it is worn out, and there is no material to build\nanother. When the time comes, and come it will, that the wheel is worn\nout, and the channel drained, because the fountain is exhausted, the\nwork will be completed, and the walls of this castle will not remain.\n\nT. The wretchedness of this bondage must remain, then, until time shall\nwork into disuse the materials of which it is composed. I could hope\nthat day not distant.\n\nW. Thou mayest well hope. The wheel will not be repaired again. There\nis no material which can be worked into use. The body is not sound, and\nthe branches are withered. The whole heart is sick, and the wheel will\nnot run, when the current is dry, because no fountain remains to supply\nit.\n\nT. Of what use, then, are efforts to destroy these walls, or change the\ncurrent which propels the machinery?\n\nW. Thou wilt not suppose proper efforts unavailing, because thy\nresistance is unsuccessful. There is a distinction between proper and\nimproper means, which may be employed for the benefit of others.\n\nT. What can be more proper, than such means as will control the main\nwheel?\n\nW. The main wheel is well, as it is. The control of that wheel is not\nwhat we seek, but the minds who manage the wheel as it is turned. Thou\nwilt not wish the wheel ill, but the minds who are controlled by it,\ngood.\n\nT. If the wheel control the minds, dwelling in this castle, how can\nthose minds be controlled without controlling that which controls them?\n\nW. The wheel revolves by weight of other influences. When those\ninfluences shall have no weight, the wheel will not move, because it\nwill want power.\n\nT. Then thou wouldst overcome the weight on the wheel. How can weight\nbe less than weight, without a suspension of the law of gravitation?\n\nW. The attraction of all bodies depends upon the relation which they\nhave to each other. Affinities are attracted to each other by a mutual\ncorrespondence. Two bodies will unite when they correspond, by the\nlaw of mutual affinity. Unlike bodies resist each other. Fire, being\nunlike water, will not unite in harmony. They are not attracted to each\nother. Oil and water will not mingle. Pain and pleasure are separate.\nWhen, therefore, thou wouldst overcome the gravity of gold and silver\non the wheel, thou hast only to control the love of minds, so that the\naffinity will be overcome. Destroy the love of gold and silver, and the\nweight is nothing on the wheel of motion. Destroy the motion, and the\nwhole machinery stops.\n\nT. When the motion stops, what will the minds do? Are they to remain\nwithout employ?\n\nW. When the wheel is not controlled by the love of money, the wheel\nwill move by other weights, so that indolence will not be a guest.\n\nT. What other influences can control?\n\nW. The weight of fear and favor. The fear of wrath and the hope of\ndeliverance will move the wheel. But the motion will be tremulous and\nunsteady. Thou hast seen by the words of the centurion and his teacher,\nthat the power is given by fear and hope. Thou wilt see that when minds\nare moved by these weights, selfishness is consulted. The love of self\nmoves the mind to seek what will avert wrath, and secure favor. It is\nnot the love of goodness which controls the minds of this circle, but\nthe fear of evil. The fear of evil is not goodness.\n\nT. Are not fear and hope essential to minds in this castle, in order to\nkeep them from outbreaking sins?\n\nW. The fear and hope of these minds, are what make them slaves. Their\nmaster understands the uses which such motives exert over his servants.\nThou wilt see what will astonish thee; and, when thou seest, thou wilt\nnot rejoice, but mourn.\n\nT. Thou wilt not rejoice, but mourn! What will make me mourn?\n\nW. Thou wilt see, shortly.\n\nWhen we had considered the motives of those who occupied this castle,\nwe next proceeded to a secret work, which was concealed near a large\nmansion, surrounded with an armed force of minds, ready to execute the\nmandates of the occupant.\n\n\u201cThis is the king\u2019s palace,\u201d said William.\n\nT. But what king needs such an armed force? Is he a tyrant that he\nrequires aid to protect him from harm?\n\nW. He is not without fear and hope. He fears what the minds may do\nwhom he rules, and he hopes by an armed force to coerce minds into\nsubmission to his authority.\n\nT. On what ground does he base such a conclusion?\n\nW. On the ground that other minds are as he is. He knows his own mind\nis controlled by fear and hope, and he believes others should be. When\nhe judges others, it is by himself. What affects him most powerfully,\nhe supposes will affect his subjects.\n\nT. Is not that a correct rule?\n\nW. It is correct when both conditions are alike; and it is incorrect\nwhen otherwise.\n\nT. Are not all minds controlled by like motives?\n\nW. Assuredly not. Thou knowest that thy mind is not controlled by gold\nand silver, or hope and fear. When thou seest a mind controlled by such\nwheels, thou wilt understand, that they are servants to the master\nwhose control they obey. Therefore, thou seest that what controls\nothers, will have no power over thee. The king errs in supposing that\nall his subjects are even as he is. The mistake will work the ruin of\nthis castle. When higher motives control the mind, a higher enjoyment\nwill inspire it.\n\nT. I admit, that all circles of mind are not controlled by the same\nmotives, or objects; but, when circles of mind are controlled by hope\nand fear, ought not hope and fear to be prominently set before them, so\nas to induce restraint upon serious evils?\n\nW. What ought to be, should be; and what should be, thou shouldst not\nresist. When mind is controlled by unworthy motives, when selfish\nconsiderations induce obedience, slaves can control slaves, and tyrants\ncontrol tyrants; for, verily, no despotism is more humiliating, and\nno servitude more severe, than the drudgery of a mind compelled to do\nservice, which is burdensome and oppressive, and in which it has no\npleasure or delight. Minds ought to be controlled by wisdom, which\nseeks the good because it is good. They ought to fear no evil in doing\nwhat will make themselves and others happy.\n\nT. That is very true; but, when circles are in a condition which will\nnot appreciate the high motives thou hast presented, ought they not to\nbe controlled by hope and fear, lest they fall into grievous wrong?\n\nW. The hope and fear of their condition will not overcome what is\nimportant. They are not as thou wouldst have them, nor will hope and\nfear change their condition. Two wrongs will not make right. The wrong\nof ignorance can not be remedied by ignorance. The king fears his\nsubjects, and his subjects fear him. Both are controlled by fear; but\ntheir fears do neither party any good. The king hopes submission to his\ncommands, and his subjects hope his commands may not be burdensome.\nWhat are hope and fear, then, but motives of selfishness? The king is\nselfish in requiring submission, and his subjects are selfish in hoping\nfor greater leniency, and less oppressive burdens. They are alike. Both\nconditions are equal in the scale of wisdom. Thou knowest, Thomas, that\nno such motives control the infinite Mind. Thou knowest that his gifts\nare bestowed upon minds, not because he fears or hopes any thing to be\ntaken from, or added to, his happiness. Thou knowest that wisdom, which\ncomes from that Being, must agree with the character of its cause; and\nthou knowest that all wisdom, which does not seek, without hope or\nfear, the good of mind, is not of God, but is selfish and wrong. By\nthis rule, thou wilt do thy duty to the needy, not because thou fearest\nor hopest a compensation for thy service, or thy neglect, but because\nthe needy demand thy aid. When thy aid is not needed, thou canst go on\nthy way, but when thou seest the mind of thy brother in the bondage of\nhope and fear, be not angry with him, but take him in thy charge, and\nopen his eyes to see the gifts of God distributed without money and\nwithout price; so that his mind may be inspired with the wisdom of the\nfree, and not with the fear of the slave.\n\nT. Thy words are sweeter than honey in the honey-comb, and the law,\nwhich thou wouldst recommend is the law of love, uniting the powerful\nand the weak, the wise and the unwise, the free and the bondman, in\none great family of minds, each serving the other and doing what will\npromote the happiness of the whole without diminishing the enjoyment\nof any. But minds often act as slaves, who dread the lash of a tyrant.\nThey are submissive, because they are afraid to be otherwise. They wish\nto do otherwise, but are restrained, as are slaves, through fear. They\nwork in hope, not of doing good, but of receiving what the king has\npromised. The wisdom of God controls no desire of their minds. Nothing\nbut selfishness vitalizes their minds for active employment.\n\nW. Thou hast not said untruly. The king and his subjects are controlled\nby the same principle. They are of selfishness. The king loves what he\nwants, and loves it so well that he denies his subjects even a morsel\nof his control. However much they may thirst for his power, he loves\nhimself so much better than he does them, that he is constrained to\nrefuse them what he enjoys. This refusal is resistance of others\u2019 wish,\nand when their wish is disregarded, when his subjects are denied what\nthey need, it is no wonder that kings tremble. They know that the power\nof many, enlisted in a just cause, is stronger than the few, in an\nunjust oppression. Hence, they tremble with fear, and feel compelled,\nthrough fear, to control by force what they can not by reason. They\nare in a state of suspense every moment, not knowing whose head may be\nrequired, nor whose castle may be assaulted by secret works of ruin in\ntheir midst.\n\nThe mind wondered, when we surveyed the interior of the king\u2019s palace.\nThere were the earnings of the poor, and the industry of millions,\nprofusely lavished in every apartment. Gold and silver were worked into\nalmost all the furniture, and the tables were literally covered with\nriches of wonderful magnificence. \u201cAll for what?\u201d said I.\n\n\u201cBecause he is king,\u201d responded William.\n\n\u201cBecause he is a tyrant,\u201d I replied.\n\nW. Why must he be a tyrant?\n\nT. Because he suffers the poor to go naked, and the hungry to starve.\n\nW. Is that tyranny?\n\nT. That is oppression, and oppression is tyranny.\n\nW. The tyrant will answer thee, and say, thou receivest thy wages, and,\nwhen thou askest more, thou art oppressive.\n\nT. But he will not say, the wages are equal to the necessity?\n\nW. No: but he will say thou didst consent to work for what thou\nhast agreed; and when thou askest more for thy service than what he\nstipulated to pay thee, thou art oppressive in thy demands.\n\nT. He will not say, that he is not oppressive when he controls the\nprice of labor, and makes his servants work for a consideration\ninadequate to supply their wants?\n\nW. No: but he will say, their misfortune is not his fault.\n\nT. Then he will not utter a truth. The misfortune of one is the fault\nof many, and most wrongs are the fault of all.\n\nW. True. And when the king can see that his luxury is others\u2019 poverty,\nand others\u2019 poverty a wrong for which he is responsible, he will not\nbe a king, but only an equal. The wilderness shall blossom, and the\nfig tree shall bear much fruit, when the mind of the king shall be\nconverted to the clear sunlight of glory, that shines on the outer\nwalls of this castle.\n\nT. I would that the sun might illumine other minds, now abiding in\nthe gloom of despair. The morning light has scarcely dawned on these\nterraces. The wail of woe reverberates along the cold walls of scorn,\nand the moaning night-breeze bewails the sorrows, which rise where the\nsins of wrong grieve the oppressed of millions. I have wondered why\nnature has omitted the conversion of the deluded, who pine in weariness\nover the misery to which they are subject.\n\nW. When nature is not perverted, and minds are not corroded by the\nabominations of mythological opinions, no conversion from sin will\nbe necessary. It is not the wrongs of nature, but the ignorance of\nnature, which makes conversion indispensable to higher enjoyment. Thou\nseest what wretchedness pervades the minds of these self-righteous\nconverts to the ignorance of other days. Thou seest, that they are not\ncontent to work without reward. They have no love of righteousness;\nno real sympathy for each other\u2019s woes; no melting compassion for the\nunfortunate; no soul to do any thing, unless a golden crown of reward\nis set before them. It is not a very great virtue to love self, or\nwhat will contribute only to selfish enjoyment. When mind loves self,\nit loves what will do self good. Brutes may do even more than this.\nThey love their young. But mind, which works for self alone, is not\nactive without a prospect of success in its object. The wheel is moved\nby a hope of gain, or fear of loss; and all minds, controlled by such\nunworthy motives, must be converted, before they can be wise in the\nwisdom of God. They must receive an illumination of their minds by\nthe light of nature, unfolding wisdom to the immortal soul. Such,\ntherefore, as thou seest in this castle, who are moved only to aid\nthe needy by hope and fear, to do what God and humanity require,\nbecause of rewards, are within a wall of ignorance and wretchedness,\nwhich demand the active energy of the more devoted to deliver them.\nThou seest the king\u2019s heart. Thou seest he is deceived. He believes\nnot the truth. He professes the greatest veneration for God, and the\nutmost confidence for revelation; and yet he will not believe the\nrevelation which we have found, though corroborated by the natural law\nof progress. His mind is walled in the fortress of self security. He\nhas built a gallows to terrify others like himself, so that they may\nfear and tremble before him. Thou seest what will save his mind from\nthe conceit of his perverted imagination.\n\nT. I see he needs to be converted.\n\nW. Then what needs to be done, go thou and do.\n\nT. Thou wilt go likewise.\n\nW. That thou knowest.\n\nT. That will not work his conversion, without other aid.\n\nW. Other aid will come, when required. Thou knowest thy companions are\nwaiting at the gate of the temple, to catch the signal. Lift up thy\nbanner, and let the castle walls now bear the words, which will wave in\nthe breeze.\n\nI mounted the walls, and the white flag of peace streamed in the\nbreeze. By my side, stood the angel of light, and near me the angel\nof truth. As the signal waved in mystery to the inhabitants of the\ncastle, the workmen from the temple came straightway to the banner,\nand commenced a new song. They brought with them their implements of\nindustry, and their harps, and an instrument of ten strings. They\nformed a circle on the wall, enclosing the wisdom of the king and\nhis subjects. When the circle was formed, the Grand Master said:\n\u201cThou mayest now work; for these stones, which appear so uncomely and\nunworthy, may be shapen to the condition, which will not mar the temple\nof God. In thy work, see that thou take nothing for thy labor, and\nremove nothing which is valuable, from the possession of those on whom\nthy labor shall be bestowed. Take off the roughness of the surface,\nand, when thy work is done, bring the work to one who will inspect thy\nskill, and he will bid thee go on thy way rejoicing; for that which was\nlost is found, and that which was cast away is returned. Then strike\nthe cymbal, and let a new song awake the slumbering, for the waste\nplaces shall rejoice, and the thirsty land shall be inspired with the\nrefreshing rain.\u201d\n\nThe circle united in a new song, which fell sweetly on the air, and\nfloated on the breeze, like music which none but angels sing. It was\nsoft and sweet, and the gathering minds wondered at the sound.\n\nWhen we had sung the song, a mind advanced from the castle, and said,\n\u201cWhence comest this music?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom the choir, whose banner waves over thy head,\u201d said William.\n\nM. Art thou a friend, and yet thou dost sing a song? Why dost thou\nsing, when thy mother taught thee that worship was not in song, but in\nspirit?\n\nW. What my mother said, I do not condemn; but thou must know, that when\nwe sing, we make melody in our hearts; and when we make melody in our\nhearts, we sing in spirit and truth.\n\nM. But when thou didst worship in thy body, as thy companions would\nhave thee, thou wouldst not sing; neither wouldst thou follow a banner\nas thou dost now.\n\nW. Thou wilt not complain, when thou seest a reform in my customs. I\nwas not what I now am. When I saw my error, I was willing to forsake\nit. Wilt thou do likewise?\n\nM. I am not in favor of new things, till I have tried them.\n\nW. Art thou willing to try them?\n\nM. I am willing, when I can see and know their utility.\n\nW. How canst thou know the utility of a thing, till thou receivest it?\nwhen thou wilt know, thou must know for thyself; and when thou wilt\nknow for thyself, thou must take to thyself what thou desirest to know,\nso that thy experience may teach thee the utility of what thou hast\nreceived.\n\nM. Am I not permitted to receive the experience of another?\n\nW. When thou wilt receive the experience of thy friends, thou wilt not\nhave thy own experience. Beside, thou knowest that the experience of\nthy friends differs. How canst thou decide the difference without thy\nown experience? When I was in the body, I had not experience in music.\nWouldst thou have considered me a competent judge of that which I knew\nnothing about, by my own experience?\n\nM. I would not receive a wrong to add to my experience.\n\nW. When thou condemnest what thou dost not know, art thou justified in\nthy condemnation?\n\nM. Not unless it be just.\n\nW. How wilt thou decide what is just without knowledge?\n\nM. How can I decide any thing?\n\nW. By your knowledge of right and wrong.\n\nM. Well, my knowledge decides that mind should be consistent with\nitself.\n\nW. Is that agreeably to thy experience?\n\nM. It is.\n\nW. Then thy consistency is inconsistency.\n\nM. How so?\n\nW. Thou hast done wrong in thy life?\n\nM. Yea.\n\nW. Then consistency will not change thy wrong. Consistency is\nagreement; and when thou sayest, I have done wrong, it is inconsistent\nwith wrong to do right. Consistency is to do wrong, because wrong has\nbeen done. Wouldst thou recommend consistency with wrong?\n\nM. Nay; but I do not like inconsistency.\n\nW. Inconsistency with what?\n\nM. I do not like a mind that is constantly changing. I know not where\nto find a mind that is blown about by every wind that blows.\n\nW. The wind bloweth where it listeth; thou hearest the sound thereof,\nbut canst thou tell whence it cometh, or whither it goeth?\n\nM. I see not whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth.\n\nW. Suppose thou art informed that it cometh from the east, when it\ncometh from the west, would thy information be consistent with thy\nexperience?\n\nM. Nay.\n\nW. When thou asketh me what my mother told me, what was thy object?\n\nM. Thy mother told thee what was not wrong.\n\nW. Verily, it was not wrong to her understanding. But my mother will\nnot say, it is right for her, or me, to refuse to sing, now we have\nexperienced the satisfaction it adds to our minds.\n\nM. Then, thou hast changed thy mind?\n\nW. No; _I_ have not changed my mind, but my _experience_ has changed\nit. The music which I hear, is a song that I love, and what I love,\nthou wouldst not refuse, when no mind would be injured by it.\n\nM. But suppose all were to change their minds, and do as thou hast\ndone, what would the world come to?\n\nW. It would come to a wisdom, which thou deniest thyself. It would come\nto a freedom, which would destroy this castle. It would come to a joy,\nwhich would destroy the wretchedness of thy condition.\n\nM. My condition wretched!\n\nW. Thy condition is wretched.\n\nM. How knowest thou that my condition is wretched?\n\nW. By my experience.\n\nM. Wast thou ever within these walls?\n\nW. Truly.\n\nM. When?\n\nW. When I was as thou art. Thou wilt know what walls I have\nrecommended, when thou inquirest why I sought to wear my wide brim,\nand my drab coat without buttons, as thou seest others. Thou wilt\nunderstand, that pure and undefiled wisdom does not consist in what\nthou sayest, or what thou wearest, but in works of good to the needy. I\nwas what I was, but what I once was, that I am not.\n\nM. Would it not have been better for thee than thy change?\n\nW. Had it not been for the change, I would have been now as thou art;\nbut I saw an error, and I forsook it. Wouldst thou have me do otherwise?\n\nM. Nay; but art thou sure now thou art right?\n\nW. I am sure I am not wrong.\n\nM. How so?\n\nW. Because I am more free, more happy, and less in bondage.\n\nM. Thou talkest strange things. When wast thou in bondage?\n\nW. When I sought righteousness, because of hope and fear.\n\nM. That is not bondage.\n\nW. What, then, is bondage?\n\nM. Subjection to the will of another, who is master over thee.\n\nW. That is right. Thou wilt see I was subject to the control of hope\nand fear. I was subject to my master, who said, \u201cDo this, or not do\nthat,\u201d and who told me what he would do to me, if I disobeyed. Minds\nare now serving many masters in this castle, through fear of their\ndispleasure.\n\nM. Minds, in this castle, serve many masters? Whom do we serve, but God?\n\nW. Thou servest whomsoever thou obeyest.\n\nM. True: but no mind can serve two masters.\n\nW. Thou shouldst have said, except he hate the one and love the other.\nWhen thou doest right, whom dost thou serve?\n\nM. Thou knowest, when a mind does right, it serves God.\n\nW. When thou doest wrong, whom dost thou serve?\n\nM. The devil.\n\nW. Thou hast done good.\n\nM. I trust I have.\n\nW. Hast thou done evil?\n\nM. Alas! Thou knowest, all have sinned.\n\nW. Then, when thou hast done good, thou hast served God, and when thou\nhast done evil, thou sayest, thou hast served the devil. Are there not\ntwo masters whom thou hast served?\n\nM. Thou wilt have it so.\n\nW. And thou wouldst not have me take thy word with distrust?\n\nM. I would not serve two masters.\n\nW. But thou hast, and what thou hast done, others may do. When thou\nservest God, good cometh unto thee, but when thou doest wrong, evil\nis in thy path. No mind serveth God without good, and no mind doeth\nwrong without evil. The service of God is good, because it consists in\ndoing good to thyself, or others; but the service of the devil is evil,\nbecause it consists in doing evil to thyself, or others.\n\nM. But when I do good, evil is present with me.\n\nW. When thou doest good, because thou lovest the good of others as\nthyself, evil will depart from thee, and thy soul will not mourn. But\nwhen thou doest good, because thou wouldst please thyself by receiving\nthe money with interest in return, thou mayest well say, \u201cevil is\npresent with me.\u201d\n\nM. Thou knowest that thy reproof will apply to an apostle of Jesus\nChrist.\n\nW. I know that, when thou doest good to others, evil is not present\nwith thee.\n\nM. Then thou wouldst instruct Paul?\n\nW. Nay: but I would instruct thee. Paul says, when he would do good,\nothers prevented him. When others prevented him from doing good, evil\nwas present. Hast thou not seen evil in opposing good to others, when\nothers opposed the good thou wouldst have done?\n\nM. Others will not oppose their own good.\n\nW. Hast thou not opposed the instruction we would give thee?\n\nM. I have not assented to all thou hast taught.\n\nW. Have I taught thee else but good?\n\nM. Thou hast taught what thou wilt say is good.\n\nW. Have I taught what thou wilt say is evil?\n\nM. Thou wilt not say it is evil.\n\nW. But what sayest thou?\n\nM. I will say, I will worship God as I have done.\n\nW. Canst thou worship God without fear?\n\nM. I can worship him in my own way.\n\nW. Will thy way be acceptable unto God?\n\nM. I trust it will not be displeasing in his sight.\n\nW. Then, thou canst worship without fear.\n\nM. I can, if I do my duty.\n\nW. What, then, is thy duty?\n\nM. To worship God.\n\nW. How, worship God?\n\nM. By obeying him with all my heart.\n\nW. Hast thou a heart to obey what is unreasonable?\n\nM. His commands are reasonable.\n\nW. What are his commands?\n\nM. He commands us to love him with all our hearts.\n\nW. Is that all?\n\nM. He commands us to love our neighbor.\n\nW. Is that all?\n\nM. He wills that all should repent.\n\nW. Thou hast well replied. Dost thou obey, in all things, his commands?\n\nM. I have not done all that I ought to have done.\n\nW. When dost thou expect to do what thou shouldst have done?\n\nM. Why, thou knowest that mind is imperfect, and God has made an\natonement for sin.\n\nW. Has he made an atonement for all sin?\n\nM. He has made ample provision for all who believe.\n\nW. All who believe in what?\n\nM. All who believe in the atonement he has made?\n\nW. Will that belief save thee, or others?\n\nM. I trust it will.\n\nW. Then belief, in an atonement, will save. Has it saved thee, or\nothers, from all sin and wrong?\n\nM. It will save all who believe.\n\nW. How canst thou decide, that what does not save, will save?\n\nM. By the promise which God has made.\n\nW. Where is the promise?\n\nM. In the Bible.\n\nW. Hast thou other promises?\n\nM. Nay.\n\nW. Wilt thou bring me that promise of God?\n\nM. The whole Bible is proof of it.\n\nW. But I ask where, in the Bible, is that promise?\n\nM. The Bible says, repent and believe, and thou shalt be saved.\n\nW. When wilt thou repent?\n\nM. I have repented of my sins, and found forgiveness.\n\nW. Hast thou any sins which thou hast not repented of?\n\nM. Peradventure, I have many.\n\nW. Will the atonement save thee from them?\n\nM. I trust it will.\n\nW. But has it saved thee from them?\n\nM. I will hope for my salvation.\n\nW. On what promise?\n\nM. On the promise of God.\n\nW. Wilt thou read that promise?\n\nM. That which thou askest, is not mine to give.\n\nW. That which thou hast, is thine to give. That which thou hast not, is\nnot thine to give.\n\nM. Thou wilt not say, I can not read such promise.\n\nW. Thou wilt read, when thou canst find it.\n\nM. The whole world may read it.\n\nW. Not till they find it.\n\nM. Then thou deniest such promise?\n\nW. I deny no promise, but thou hast not found it.\n\nM. I will find it.\n\nW. I will wait thy finding.\n\nM. Here is a passage, which favors such promise, \u201cWho shall lay any\nthing to the charge of God\u2019s elect? It is God that justifieth.\u201d\n\nW. I will not lay any thing to the charge of God\u2019s elect. But will God\njustify thee, or others, who have not repented?\n\nM. I hope for justification through the blood of the cross.\n\nW. Dost thou hope for justification, while thy sins remain? Thou\nshouldst not hope for what is wrong.\n\nM. Is it wrong to hope for justification through faith?\n\nW. It is not wrong to hope for justification, when thou hast repented\nof all thy sins; but thou wilt not find justification in thy wrongs.\n\nM. Then faith will not justify the mind.\n\nW. Faith will not justify without works of good.\n\nM. Will works justify without faith?\n\nW. Works will not justify, unless they are good; and good works will\njustify.\n\nM. How can they justify without faith?\n\nW. They justify themselves, because they do not contradict each other.\nThey are consistent with good, and in harmony with the law of God.\nThey will justify the mind who acts well, because mind will not work a\nwrong, when good is done. When mind obeys God, by obeying the law which\nGod has established in the wisdom of nature, he will not be condemned.\nGod will not condemn a mind in opposition to his law. But nature will\nafford no justification without repentance. In vain is faith without\nworks, because it is dead, and does no one any good.\n\nM. Then, thou wouldst justify the heathen, if they do good?\n\nW. Yea; and not evil.\n\nM. But will not the heathen be justified through faith?\n\nW. When their faith works by love, and purifies their hearts.\n\nM. Suppose it does not work by love.\n\nW. Then, thou mayest suppose it is dead, and will not justify.\n\nM. But when is faith not dead?\n\nW. When it works, when the work is good, and when others feel the\nbenefits thereof.\n\nM. But does not Jesus say, \u201cThy faith hath made thee whole?\u201d\n\nW. Yea; and thou seest why.\n\nM. Because faith saves.\n\nW. When it works, not otherwise. Thy faith hath not made thee whole, as\nthou sayest.\n\nM. My faith will, I trust, make me whole.\n\nW. When will thy faith make thee whole?\n\nM. Thou mayest not dispute the Bible.\n\nW. When will thy faith make thee whole?\n\nM. When the atonement is perfected in me.\n\nW. When will the atonement be perfected in thee?\n\nM. The day will come when all shall stand before God. Then all will\nknow who are justified, and who are not.\n\nW. Thou wilt not say, that thou wilt be justified, when thou shalt\nstand before God, unless thy works are in harmony with the law of God?\nNeither wilt thou prove that thou dost not even now stand before God.\nBut art thou justified now by faith?\n\nM. I have said, I hope to be justified, when I stand before God, in the\njudgment.\n\nW. Why dost thou hope, then, for justification?\n\nM. Because I believe.\n\nW. Does thy belief justify thee now?\n\nM. Thou wilt not receive the true faith.\n\nW. Thou wilt not answer, neither wilt thou show how thou canst be\njustified hereafter, by thy faith, when thy faith doth not now justify\nthee.\n\nM. How, then, am I to be saved?\n\nW. Thou wilt be saved by repentance. When thou shalt turn from the\nerror of thy ways; when thou shalt no longer excuse thyself for thy\nneglect to do thy whole duty; when thou shalt see no mind neglected,\nbecause of thy indifference, but shalt do unto thy neighbor good, as\nhis mind may need, without letting thy left hand know what thy right\nhand doeth; when thou shalt no more publish thy own worthiness, nor\ndetract thy neighbor\u2019s; when thou shalt have compassion on the poor,\nand the stranger within thy gates; when thou shalt no more oppress\nthe weak, nor extort from the needy; when thou shalt love all mind,\nand curse not; when thou shalt know the truth, and have courage to\nacknowledge it; when thou shalt teach and practice the wisdom of God;\nthen wilt thou find justification through faith, because thy faith will\nwork by love for the good of all mind; and thou wilt stand before God\njustified, and saved from the ignorance and wrong, from which thou hast\nlong expected deliverance, but found it not.\n\nThen all the circle said, \u201cAmen;\u201d and we departed to the temple, not\nmade with hands.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nSECOND VISIT TO THE TEMPLE.\n\n  Unity of work--Each receives a penny--Visits another temple--The\n  Master\u2019s charge to Thomas--Advice of the chief--Counsel of the\n  commander--Explanation of the helmet, spear, sword with two edges,\n  arrows and bow, sling and pebbles--Trumpet--Directions to revisit the\n  castle.\n\n\nOn arriving at the temple, each mind took its proper position, and\nContentment was made wisdom to the workmen. \u201cThomas,\u201d said William,\n\u201cart thou satisfied with thy journey?\u201d\n\nT. I am satisfied that I am not as others whom we have seen; but I\nwould that they were altogether as we are.\n\nW. Thou wilt now prepare thyself for what thou wilt soon see disclosed\nto thee. Thou art not as thou wilt be when the more excellent glory\nshall be unfolded before thee. Take thy work, and bring it before the\ninspector, that thou mayest receive thy reward; for thou hast borne the\nbanner, and wilt receive thy recompense.\n\nT. Thou wilt not mark the work as mine; for what I have done, thou hast\naided me to do with thy fellow servants, our brethren.\n\nW. Thou wilt come with us, and present thy work; for what we have done\nis thy work, and thou hast done is our work. Our work and thine are\none, and thou wilt with us receive each a penny.\n\nT. Then thou mayest give my wages to the poor.\n\nW. Thy wages are thine, and what is thine, thou wilt receive. It will\nnot be as thou hast supposed. Wilt thou bring thy work?\n\nT. Yea; and here it is.\n\n\u201cThe work is well,\u201d said the Inspector.\n\nW. Take thy work to the second Inspector.\n\nThe work was laid before the Inspector, who said, \u201cIt is well, but thou\nshouldst not hew the stone without a line. I will square thy work. It\nis well with the square.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake thy work to the third Inspector,\u201d said William.\n\n\u201cHere is my work,\u201d said I, advancing toward him.\n\nIns. Thy work will square itself. Take thy penny.\n\n\u201cThy reward is well without the penny,\u201d said I.\n\nI. Thou wilt receive thy wages, because thou hast not worked thy work\nby reason of the reward.\n\nT. What wouldst thou have me to do with my wages?\n\nI. Thou wilt serve thy brethren who have need.\n\nT. Perchance, they will not receive the gift.\n\nI. Thou wilt not need what thou hast, but what thou hast not, thou wilt\nnot refuse, till thou shalt have tried it by thy own experience, and\nfound it wanting. Thou wilt now receive a lesson, which will teach thee\nhow thou mayest not use thy wages, and remember that thy wages is what\nthou wilt now receive, because thou hast been faithful in some things,\nthou shalt be a ruler in many things.\n\nTaking my arm, the mind said, \u201ccome.\u201d We were soon in a more\nmagnificent temple than any which I had ever before beheld. There was\na great company of minds, who were seated on each side of a spacious\nhall, adorned with brilliant gems on walls of light; while over our\nheads were ministering spirits of a generation who shared the glory\nof the Prince of peace. Directly before me stood superior minds, and\nbehind me a long line of warriors with broken spears and rusty guns\nwithout locks. Their arms of warfare trailed in the march, and their\ncountenances betokened that they had won a victory without injury to\nthemselves or others.\n\n\u201cThou wilt hear a lesson from the throne of mercy,\u201d said William.\n\u201cAdvance near thy Teacher, that he may place his hand on thy head.\u201d\n\nAdvancing to the required position, the mind arose and said, \u201cThomas,\nthou hast made a good profession in that thou hast been obedient unto\nthe commands of thy master. Thou wilt permit me to place this crown\nupon thy head. It is not the crown of tyrants, nor of usurpation; but\nit is a crown of glory, which the Lord of this tabernacle hath desired\nme to put on thy head. Thou hast worn a crown of thorns, but now thou\nhast sought and found the pearl of great price, even the wisdom which\nseeks the good of those who need, without hope of gain or fear of loss;\nbecause thou hast loved thy brethren, who have received thy aid, thou\nmayest wear this crown of glory. See that thou keep thyself in the\nway of wisdom, that thy crown may grow brighter and brighter with the\nusing, and not tarnish with rust. Thou wilt not work where thy wisdom\nwill be scorned, but thou wilt go with thy companions to a sorrowing\nand dependent circle, who will receive thy message with gladness.\nThou wilt do the meek and the humble what thou canst not the proud\nand the disdainful. Thou wilt now take with thee this helmet and this\nspear, and this sword of two edges, and these arrows and bow, and these\nstones and sling; and thou wilt also take this trumpet, that thou\nmayest be armed with the armor which thy work requires of thee. And,\nwhen thou needest aid, thou wilt sound the trumpet with the sound that\nI teach thee, so shalt thou not work alone, but thy companions will\naid thee, as thou shalt find labor required. Soon thou wilt go on a\nmission, which will require all thy wisdom to overcome the midnight of\ndarkness that surrounds the wretchedness of minds, led captive by the\ndeceitfulness of ignorance and folly. Be thou prepared to show thyself\na workman, that needeth not to be ashamed of thy calling, for in due\ntime thou wilt reap what thou hast sown; because what thou sowest will\nbring forth an hundred fold to the glory of God and the good of mind.\nTake with thee thy elder brother, whose counsel thou hast so wisely\nreceived, and also thy companion to whom thou art allied by mutual\naffinities, and we will wait thy summons. Turn now to the right, and\nlet the chief of this tabernacle give thee further advice.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou wilt go on thy mission, my friend, but before thou goest, it is\nproper that thou shouldst receive some advice, which thou mayest need.\nThe crown which thou wearest will not suffer tarnish, because it is\nthine. Thou hast not usurped it, nor hast thou deprived others of any\nright which unto them belongeth. All they ever had, thou hast taken\nnothing, but what thou hast is a crown, which we give thee for thy\nglory. This crown is not the crown of a king, but of a ruler. Thou wilt\nwear it ever in thy warfare, that thy mind may be loved as thou lovest\nwith unabated affection. Thy authority will not be increased by it;\nbut thou wilt shew thyself a ruler, whose counsel will be respected,\nbecause wisdom will guide thee. When thou rulest, thou wilt not control\nas do kings and emperors, but thou wilt exercise thy reason, and thy\nreason will be respected. This crown is placed on thy head to make\nknown the majesty of truth, which is shielded by it from all harm. No\nmind can fault a crown, when honored by wisdom in him who wears it.\nThe crown is well; but the abuse of power is not guarantied by this\ngift. Thou wilt not abuse thy authority by contributing to the welfare\nof the rich, from the industry of the poor. Such is not the authority\nconferred on thee by this crown. But thou wilt contribute from the\nincome of the rich, to aid the poor. Those who need will receive thy\ncare, and thou wilt exercise thy wisdom to convince the rich that thy\ncrown should be worn by them. And when they come to lay their gifts\nbefore thee, thou wilt say, \u2018remember the needy,\u2019 for these words\nare written on this crown. Thou wilt also say, \u2018take this crown from\nmy head, when I dishonor it, by refusing to obey its requirements.\u2019\nTherefore, let these words be true and faithful in thy way, and let thy\nconduct show that our confidence has not been misplaced. My aid will be\ngiven thee in the work of reform. Thou wilt now receive thy lesson from\nthe commander of this temple, who will tell thee what thou wilt do with\nthe warlike implements thou has received from the chief. Proceed to his\nchair.\u201d\n\nTurning to the right, so as to face about, I came before the commander,\nwho addressed me as follows:\n\n\u201cHast thou been a warrior?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not assumed to fight with such weapons.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou wilt now assume to fight the good fight of wisdom. The helmet\nis thy protection against harm. Thou wilt wear it evermore. Thou wilt\nnot use it in mortal combat, for thou hast not enlisted for such\nservice. But thou hast engaged to do thy duty, and where thy duty calls\nthee to scenes of wrong, this helmet will aid thee to overcome the\nhostility of contending parties. It will shield thee from the wrongs\nof the ignorant, and the assaults of the wicked. Thou seest the word\nwritten thereon. It is Peace. The peace thou wilt bear in thy bosom,\nwill overcome the resistance of wrong, and war will cease. The helmet\nwill protect; for war never rages where peace reigns. Thou wilt bear\nthe banner and the helmet, and no foe will attack thee, because there\nwill be no resistance offered by thee, save the power which thy example\nwill inspire in the minds who wrangle with each other. Thou wilt first\npublish thy motives in the camp of the enemy, and when they read thy\nwords, they will say thou art beside thyself, much peace hath made thee\ninsane. But thou wilt say, \u2018much peace have they who love the law of\nharmony and happiness.\u2019 Thou wilt say, \u2018this helmet is peace,\u2019 and when\nthey shall unite with thee and thy companions, war will end with them.\nThis helmet will not tarnish. The wisdom of God hath made it, and what\nGod hath made, thou wilt wear with honor to thyself, and satisfaction\nto thy friends.\n\n\u201cThis spear is warlike. Thou wilt not war with thy brethren with this\nweapon. It is given thee for a nobler purpose than the destruction of\nenemies. It will serve thee in the battle thou wilt fight, because it\nis not carnal. It is a spear that will touch the hearts of enemies.\nIt will make no wound, but it will heal the wounds which wrongs have\nmade. When the spear enters the hearts of warriors, it will touch a\nwell of sympathy. When the well is found, thou canst strike the spear\ndeep, and it will not harm. Thou wilt so use this weapon as to find\nthe heart, and when the heart is found, the victory is won. The heart\nmust be touched with the spear of love; and, therefore, thou seest the\nimportance of this instrument. Let thy warfare be such as will touch\nthe heart, and when thou shalt find thy weapon unavailing, thou wilt\ntake this sword with two edges, and lop off the dead branches which\novershadow thy efforts, and which yield no fruit. When thou hast cut\ndown the dead branches with thy sword, thou wilt take thy spear, and\nengraft the fruitful olive branch therein. When thou hast done thy work\nwith thy spear and sword, thou wilt see a great reform in the tree, and\nnew branches will put forth, bearing much fruit to the husbandman.\n\n\u201cThese arrows and bow will not make thee unfriendly, except thou\npervert them to works of injustice to thy brethren. Thou knowest the\nhistory of David and Jonathan. When Saul sought the life of David,\nhe was forewarned by an arrow, which Jonathan shot. It was well with\nDavid, and well with Jonathan, because they made a covenant with each\nother to avert wrong. The arrows were united, and being united were\nstrong against resistance. Take these arrows as a sign of the covenant\nthou hast made with us, that no wrong shall come unto thee without\nwarning; and take also this bow, which is the power of the covenant;\nand, with it, do thy work as thou hast covenanted to do, in friendship,\nlove, and truth, and hope of mercy will descend without ending upon\nthee in thy labor.\n\n\u201cTake also this sling and these pebbles; and, when thou goest on thy\nmission, thou wilt not make war with those that oppose thee. They are\ngiven thee for another purpose. Thy soul will need its rest. Thy sling\nwill bring thee rest. Thou wilt take the pebbles, one by one, and when\nthy opposer shall make war with thee, thou wilt teach him this lesson:\nThat no wisdom is found in pebbles, and thou wilt say to him, \u2018silver\nand gold have I none, but such as I have, give I unto thee. Take this\nsling and these pebbles, and when thou art without wrong, cast them at\nme, for I too, am poor and needy, and what thou doest, do as thy wisdom\nshall direct.\u2019 Then shalt thou find thy sling and pebbles retained by\nthee, and thy opposer will be thy follower in the great reform of mind.\nAnd when thou shalt have need of our aid, blow the trumpet as thou hast\nbeen instructed, and thy companions will join thee in the good fight of\nreforming mind, without blood or treasure.\n\n\u201cThou wilt now proceed on thy mission, and, when thou shalt aid with\nthy wisdom the needy, thy work will be thy reward. Hitherto, thou hast\nbeen instructed, but now thou wilt be an instructor of others. Thou\nwilt work thy work of reform, as thou canst. Take what thou needest for\nthy work, and go to the castle, where thou didst unfurl the banner, and\nwhen thou shalt sound the trumpet, thy circle will obey thy summons.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nSECOND VISIT TO THE CASTLE.\n\n  The deacon\u2019s prayer--Thomas and Mary converse--Dialogue between\n  the deacon and Thomas on rewards, a day of judgment, and the\n  atonement--The deacon converted--Sung the new song--Departure for the\n  temple--The deacon initiated into the mysteries of wisdom, and the\n  secret explained--Thomas and the deacon revisit the castle.\n\n\nIt was an hour of devotion. The castle was ruffled by the storm of\ndarkness. Not a voice betokened harmony, and each worshiper offered\nhis words to God, as a dictator would his commands to his subjects.\nOne mind wanted his brethren to be more faithful, and another desired\nthe conversion of a third to some opinion, which would disgrace the\nmind who should practice it. At length, we went to a deacon of the most\nfashionable circle in the castle. He was offering his words to God.\n\u201cThou wouldst have been just,\u201d said he, \u201cif thou hadst cut us down as\ncumberers of the ground, and made our bed in hell; but we thank thee,\noh God, that thou hast not been strict to mark our iniquities against\nus, lest our portion should have been as hypocrites and unbelievers.\u201d\n\n\u201cOften hast thou not heard that accusation?\u201d said my companion.\n\nT. I recollect that was often said by many thoughtless religionists,\nwhen I was in the body.\n\nM. And dost thou not know that what thou hast seen in the body, thou\nmayest see now thou art in this sphere, and more clearly; even so, what\nthou hast heard.\n\nT. I see that death changes no error, which the mind has received.\nThese minds must have been religious, in the first sphere. They are\nnow religious, in words. They tell God he is not just; for, if he had\nbeen, he would have placed them with hypocrites and unbelievers. I see\nthey are mistaken. God is just, and I find them with hypocrites and\nunbelievers. I see they offer words only. They pray to have God do what\nthey ought to have done themselves. They want others to be converted by\nGod, but they do not reform themselves. Do you know the reason?\n\nM. I see that they are blind to their own condition; they are blind\nto a more exalted principle of holiness. They have done nothing to\nreform themselves, because they have expended all their strength in\nwords. They have sought to establish their own righteousness, and thou\nseest that their righteousness is words; and, when they have worked to\nconvert others, they have made only a convert like unto themselves;\nthey have made a convert with words, and with words they will convert\nothers.\n\nT. When they were in the body, how were the needy neglected?\n\nM. As they would be here, were no other help to be found.\n\nT. Thou hast well said, Mary, that they worship only with words. They\nworship only words. God is not worshiped. They ask in words, but words\nnever work, without deeds, the reform of mind. They desire with words,\nthat God would reform minds; but they never reflect, that reforms are\nworks. Alas! they will not reform themselves, and do works meet for\nrepentance, because they are blind in the conceit of words. Thou seest\ntheir great mistake. Not till they shall see that God is not pleased\nwith their words, and words only, will they look for a change in\nthemselves. So long as they seek to establish a religion of words, they\nwill neglect a religion of works. When they shall learn that God is\njust, and that they have their portion in company with hypocrites and\nunbelievers, they will not rest in words alone.\n\nM. But thou seest they will not reform, because they are blind. When\ntheir blindness shall be removed, they will see something.\n\nT. Truly: They will see themselves, not as they now see, but as God\nsees them. They will see that repentance must begin with them. They\nwill see that words will not save. They will see that hypocrites will\nnot be cut off because they have no words; neither will unbelievers\nfail of a recompense on that account. Thou knowest words entice\nsinners, and sinners use enticing words; but the mind without this\ncastle relies on works of wisdom.\n\nThe deacon concluded his invocation, and I said, \u201cWhat art thou praying\nfor?\u201d\n\nHe replied, \u201cI want the wicked to be saved.\u201d\n\nT. From what dost thou desire their salvation?\n\nD. From the wrath of God, and the damnation of hell.\n\nT. Dost thou expect that words will serve thy design?\n\nD. Thou knowest that God has commanded all men to pray, and that the\nfervent prayer of the righteous availeth much.\n\nT. I wish to know, if words will save?\n\nD. Words will find favor with God.\n\nT. Will they cause God to save a wretched mind?\n\nD. They will avail much.\n\nT. With whom?\n\nD. With God.\n\nT. How much will they avail?\n\nD. They will save the soul from perdition.\n\nT. What will save a soul from perdition?\n\nD. The prayer of the righteous.\n\nT. Have thy prayers saved thee?\n\nD. I trust they will save my soul, if I am faithful.\n\nT. Faithful in what?\n\nD. Faithful in my duty.\n\nT. What is thy duty?\n\nD. To obey God.\n\nT. What is obedience to God?\n\nD. Obedience to God is complying with his commands.\n\nT. Hast thou complied with his commands?\n\nD. I would try to do so.\n\nT. Hast thou done as God has commanded thee?\n\nD. I have come short of his glory.\n\nT. Will thy prayers save thee, when thou art not as he commands?\n\nD. I will obey.\n\nT. When?\n\nD. When I pray, I pray for my forgiveness.\n\nT. Dost thou expect God will hear without repentance?\n\nD. I do repent when I pray.\n\nT. What are thy works?\n\nD. I see, you want me to be what you are.\n\nT. Thou wilt not say, I want thee to be as I am, but as God is; and\nwhen thou art as he has required thee to be, thou wilt not refuse thy\nmind what good thou mayest enjoy. Wilt thou say, that thy prayers will\nsave thee without repentance?\n\nD. Nay.\n\nT. When wilt thou repent, then?\n\nD. What dost thou mean by repentance?\n\nT. I mean that reform which will save thee from the wretchedness of\nthis confinement in walls.\n\nD. Am I wretched? Nay.\n\nT. Thou wilt not so reply, when thy deliverance is accomplished.\n\nD. Deliverance from what?\n\nT. From thy wrongs and errors, thy sins and sorrows.\n\nD. Verily, thou art confident. Who gave thee power to work in God\u2019s\nname?\n\nT. I will work as my master has commanded.\n\nD. Who is thy master?\n\nT. The mind who controls me and others.\n\nD. Am I not a mind who controls others?\n\nT. Thou controlest thy inferiors, not thy superiors.\n\nD. Thou mayest do the same.\n\nT. Not as thou hast done.\n\nD. Why not?\n\nT. Because thou controlest by fear and hope. Thou rulest as do tyrants\nand kings. Thy ways are cruel and oppressive, unjust and wrong.\n\nD. Thou wilt not accuse me, when thou art wrong.\n\nT. When thy ways are opposed to the commands of God, am I wrong to\ninform thee?\n\nD. Nay; but thou wilt not be wrong, when thou art converted.\n\nT. Converted to what?\n\nD. Converted to the religion of the Bible.\n\nT. Wherein do I need conversion to the religion of the Bible?\n\nD. In refusing to join with us.\n\nT. Is that the only reason?\n\nD. It is one which makes thy conversion necessary.\n\nT. Why necessary?\n\nD. Thou knowest thou art not a believer in the Bible.\n\nT. Thou wilt not convert me without the Bible.\n\nD. What! not convert thee without the Bible? How sayest thou that the\nBible is thy guide?\n\nT. I say, thou wilt not convert me without the Bible.\n\nD. May I hope to convert thee with it?\n\nT. Thou mayest not hope for conversion to thy views.\n\nD. What views may I hope to convert thee to?\n\nT. Such as are true and practical, wise and good.\n\nD. When wilt thou come to me for instruction?\n\nT. When thou canst instruct me.\n\nD. Thou art not a believer in religion.\n\nT. Thou canst tell by my works.\n\nD. Thy works will not wrong any one.\n\nT. Wilt thou not wrong any one?\n\nD. Not intentionally.\n\nT. Wilt thou justify an unintentional wrong?\n\nD. Nay.\n\nT. Then thou shouldst reform.\n\nD. Why?\n\nT. Because thou doest many unintentional wrongs.\n\nD. Thy charge will not satisfy me of wrong.\n\nT. When thou seest thy brother in need, hast thou aided him? When thou\nseest him disconsolate, hast thou cheered him? When thou hast found\nhim naked of wisdom, hast thou clothed him with garments of salvation?\nWhen thou hast found him an hungered and thirsting after righteousness,\nhast thou fed him with the bread of heaven, and given him the water of\nlife?\n\nD. That has been my desire.\n\nT. Have thy desires been operative to the good of mind?\n\nD. I would they had been more so.\n\nT. Then thou shouldst put away thy craft, and leave thy habitation\nof darkness. Thou wilt not do as thy soul desireth, so long as thou\nremainest imprisoned within the walls of this castle. I see thy\nintentions are well, but thy wisdom is selfish. When thou shalt\nrelinquish thy wrongs, and no longer wrong others by the inculcation of\nthy errors, then thou wilt reform the abuses of thy brethren, without\nmoney and without price.\n\nD. I would reform any wrong that I may have, but I would first know the\nwrong.\n\nT. Thou wilt, then, understand what thy wrongs are?\n\nD. Truly.\n\nT. Thy wrongs are the wrongs of others. When thou wouldst forsake thy\nwrongs, because thou hast seen them, thy brethren offer thee a bribe to\nrefuse a reform. They say to thee, \u201cWhat good will this new doctrine\ndo? what will those gain who embrace it? and what will they lose that\ndefend it?\u201d Thou hast been warned by awful penalties not to forsake the\nwrongs thou hast cherished from thy childhood.\n\nD. I acknowledge that I have my fears.\n\nT. Thou wilt acknowledge that thy fears do thee no good, when they make\nthee miserable.\n\nD. They sometimes make me unhappy.\n\nT. When they make thee unhappy, they are unprofitable. No good thing\never made thee so. That which makes thee unhappy, is a wrong to thee;\nand when thou shalt put away that wrong, thy unhappiness will cease;\nbut so long as thou shalt cherish the wrong, thy mind will be disturbed\nby it. This is the law of God in nature. Wouldst thou obey that law?\n\nD. I would obey God.\n\nT. Thou wouldst obey God by obeying his law?\n\nD. I would not disobey his law.\n\nT. Dost thou not see, that it is the law of God, which works thy\nunhappiness? Dost thou not know, that nothing can be true and right\nwhich makes thee unhappy?\n\nD. I see, that when I do wrong, I want what I have not got. I want\nsomething which will make me more happy. But it is not wrong to want\nwhat I have not got.\n\nT. Thy wants are well; but not thy wrongs to satisfy thy wants. Thy\nwants are misdirected; they work harm to thy mind. It will not be so,\nwhen thou understandest the law which should govern thee. Thou wilt\nnot reform, nor leave this castle, till thou seest that all good is\nobedience, and all evil is disobedience to the law of God. So long as\nthou shalt remain subject to the wisdom of those who instruct thee to\ndo wrong, that good may come to thee, thou wilt not refrain from thy\nwrongs. Thy errors are thy wrongs; and, if thou wouldst be saved from\ntheir curse, thou shouldst cast them away.\n\nD. That would I do, when I have found the wrong. But I see no error in\nmy faith.\n\nT. Thy faith is not well when wrong.\n\nD. Yea; but wherein is it wrong?\n\nT. I heard thee say, that God was not just. If God be not just, who\nwill not be like him when arrested for judgment? Thou seest that thy\naccusation is wrong; and thy wrong hath disturbed thy quiet. When wilt\nthou reform of thy wrong, if thy God be unjust?\n\nD. But when I said he was unjust, I meant that he was so merciful, as\nnot to punish the wicked as their sins deserve; not that he was an\nunjust God.\n\nT. Thou wilt not put new wine into old bottles, lest it ferment and\nbreak the bottles, and the wine be lost. Thou hast made the rent no\nbetter. If God will not give the wicked what they deserve, he is\nunjust, and is not faithful to his promise. Besides, how can the wicked\nseparate themselves from the evil of a violated law? When the law is\ndisregarded, a wrong is done; and, when a wrong is done, the evil is\ncommitted. The evil is the wrong. The wrong is what disturbs thee, and\nwhat disturbs thee is thy reward. Thy reward is the judgment of God,\nexecuted in thy mind, because thy wisdom needs improvement.\n\nD. Thou wilt not say, the wrong is the reward.\n\nT. The wrong is the evil, and the evil is what thou shouldst abandon\nfor thy good; because what is evil to thee, thou shouldst not pursue.\nThe law which rewards thee, is eternal, and, while wrong is cherished,\nthe reward is thine. What is thine, thou wilt receive, for it is just.\n\nD. Thou wilt not say, the wrong is the reward.\n\nT. I will say, the wrong and the reward are inseparable.\n\nD. Then where is the necessity for a day of judgment?\n\nT. The necessity is nature\u2019s law; but thy views are wrong.\n\nD. They are what the Scriptures teach.\n\nT. Thou hast not read the Scriptures without thy wisdom to aid thee.\nThy wisdom is not the wisdom of God.\n\nD. Wherein do they differ?\n\nT. Thy wisdom is the wisdom of minds like thee; those who are like\nthee, are no wiser than thyself. Those who are no wiser than thyself,\ncan not instruct thee. They agree with thee, and thou seest only\nwhat thy wisdom has unfolded to thee. And when thou hast read the\nScriptures, thou hast understood as thy wisdom corrected the Bible. It\nis thy misfortune to read with thy education to correct the reading,\nand make it conform to thy errors.\n\nD. Thou wilt not say, there is no judgment.\n\nT. I say, law is eternal, and when wrong is done, a law is violated.\nWhen a law is disobeyed, the disobedience is wrong, and the wrong\ndisturbs the doer. This disturbance of law is sure to be attended with\nthe evil which wrong brings. That evil is the judgment of God. I know\nno other judgment.\n\nD. Thou knowest the Scriptures teach another judgment.\n\nT. I know not what thou affirmest.\n\nD. The Bible speaks of a judgment.\n\nT. So do I.\n\nD. The Bible says, God will judge the world.\n\nT. So do I.\n\nD. When will he judge the world?\n\nT. When the world do wrong, and when they do right.\n\nD. That is always.\n\nT. Truly.\n\nD. Then God judges all minds when they do wrong, and when they do right?\n\nT. Yea.\n\nD. How can he judge those who do right?\n\nT. As he does those who do wrong--by his eternal law. But wrong is\njudged as an evil, and right as a good. Hence, the mind that does\nwrong, is judged as wrong; and the mind that does right, is judged as\nright.\n\nD. How can there be, then, a day of judgment?\n\nT. The day of judgment is when God judges by his law, and not till\nhis judgment is withheld, will that day end. I know of no end to his\njudgment, nor to the period in which he judges. His judgment is just,\nand his justice endureth forever.\n\nD. When will the wicked be judged?\n\nT. When they are wicked. No mind can do wrong, without receiving a just\nrecompense of reward.\n\nD. Of what benefit, then, is the atonement of Christ?\n\nT. Thy wisdom will be increased, when thou shalt see the atonement in\nthyself, and not hope for it because another has it.\n\nD. I do not understand thy meaning.\n\nT. When thou shalt agree with thy Bible, in regard to the atonement,\nthen thou wilt find the atonement in thy works, as thou seest it now in\nChrist.\n\nD. This is more perplexing to me still. What dost thou mean by\natonement in me?\n\nT. I mean the works which Christ done for the good of the needy. He\ngave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, health to the sick, and\nwisdom to the foolish.\n\nD. Dost thou say, miracles can be done by me?\n\nT. Thou canst do as thy Master hath said. If thou wilt follow him,\nthou mayest lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover; thou canst\ntake deadly serpents in thy hands, and they shall not harm thee; thou\ncanst drink poison, and it shall not injure thee; thou canst wait on\nthe suffering, and the Lord thy God will bless thee.\n\nD. Then thou sayest, I am not a follower of Christ?\n\nT. Thy works testify of thee.\n\nD. Do they testify, that I am not a follower of Christ?\n\nT. If thou wast his disciple, his works would follow thee.\n\nD. Then, I am not his disciple.\n\nT. So thou sayest. But wouldst thou be?\n\nD. I would be ever as my Master.\n\nT. Listen then to thy Master\u2019s instruction.\n\nD. What instruction?\n\nT. Such as I have, give I unto thee. Visit the sick, those in prison,\nthose in need; and let thy mind be passive to the influence of those\nwho would aid thee to be wise, and the glory of God will deliver thee\nfrom thy darkness, and make thee a light to them that dwell with thee\nin this castle of vain and empty words without deeds.\n\nD. Dost thou say, that I can do miracles?\n\nT. Thou canst do as thy Master hath required thee, and, when thou\ndoest, thy works will testify that a miracle hath been wrought by thee.\nThy companions will say, thou hast a devil.\n\nD. If I could believe thy saying, I would follow thee.\n\nT. Thou canst follow thy Master, and my saying will be verified by thy\nworks. The atonement will be in thee to do the will of thy Master.\n\nD. Then all may atone for their sins.\n\nT. All may do good to those in need, and when they obey the law of God\nwhich requires good to be done, the atonement is in them who obey. It\nis an agreement with Christ to put away sin by personal sacrifice upon\nthe altar of sympathizing humanity. Doing good is atonement, because it\nis agreement with the law of God, and puts wrong away.\n\nD. Then, there was no need of a Savior.\n\nT. Not so: had there been no wrong, there would have been no Savior;\nbut, where wrong is, there is a need to be saved from the wrong.\nThy Savior came where wrongs existed, and where great injuries were\npracticed; and thou seest he saved many from their errors and wrongs.\nThou shouldst obey, and do likewise; and, when thou shalt do as thy\nMaster hath done, thou wilt save many. According to thy wisdom and thy\ndiligence, so shall thy reward be.\n\nD. But, when I obey, do I not then make atonement for sins?\n\nT. When thou obeyest, thou doest well, but thou wilt not obey without\na cause. Thy obedience is caused by thy wisdom, and thy wisdom is\nincreased by instruction, so that thy salvation is caused by those who\ninstruct thee in wisdom.\n\nD. Then I have as many Saviors as I have instructors.\n\nT. I would not contradict thee; but still thou shouldst understand\nthat all wisdom is of God. Thy God is thy Savior, and he saves thee\nin harmony with his law of developing and making wise thy mind. He\nsaves thee only as thou becomest wise, and he makes thee wise through\nthe mediums who are competent to instruct thee in his wisdom. As many\nas are employed in unfolding to minds the wisdom of God, are saviors\nto those whom they instruct and make wise. Thou mayest be the savior\nof many when thou receivest wisdom to instruct others. Thou wilt not\nsave without wisdom; for it is by wisdom that I come to thee with a\nmessage which will open the gates of a celestial circle, who wish thy\ndeliverance.\n\nD. Thy pretensions stagger me. If thou art what thy words signify, thou\ncanst do thy will, and make me what thou desirest.\n\nT. I will then invite thee to a circle without these walls. Wilt thou\ngo with me?\n\nD. I will go, my friend.\n\nT. When thou shalt arrive at the arch-way of a temple, not made with\nhands, thou wilt wait till I announce thy coming. Then, we will proceed\ninto a court, where thou wilt hear and see many things. Let thy mind be\ncalm, and thy vows be faithfully observed. Thou wilt not return to this\ncastle for the purpose of carrying away with thee thy creed, or thy\nforms of worship. In the temple, we worship God, not with words alone,\nbut with works of good. Thou wilt love thy brethren, and no hate can\ndisturb thy mind. Thou wilt serve God by doing good to those that need;\nfor thou knowest that God hath no dependence of aid from us; but he\nrequireth us to obey him. Thy obedience will do thee good, as it will\nothers on whom thy labors shall be bestowed. Art thou ready?\n\nD. I am ready.\n\nT. Then come with me.\n\nMy companion said, \u201cLet us sing the new song.\u201d\n\nWe stood on the walls and sung the song of jubilee; for mind which was\nimprisoned was released. Then we departed for the temple.\n\nOn reaching the temple, my companion said, \u201cSeest thou this temple of\nthe living God? Thou wilt wait with me, while Thomas shall announce thy\nwillingness to enter the courts of the redeemed.\u201d\n\nI entered the temple, and was hailed by the Master, \u201cWhat hast thou\nbrought with thee?\u201d\n\nT. The deacon, who has listened to my wisdom, and desirest instruction\nin the mysteries of thy work, wishes admission within this court, and\ninstruction in ways he has not known.\n\nM. Hast thou instructed him, as most necessary to his improvement,\nbefore entering this circle?\n\nT. I have said that which was necessary, and find him prepared to\nreceive the lessons which appertain to his progress.\n\nM. Then thou wilt bid him welcome.\n\nI returned. When I returned, he said, \u201cThis is a secret society, I\nsuppose.\u201d\n\nT. The wisdom of this circle, who work in this temple, is not a secret\nto those who have received it.\n\nD. Why dost thou keep thy wisdom a secret?\n\nT. Because all wisdom is a secret to the uninformed. Thou wilt\nunderstand that this circle withholds no good thing from those who\nneed, but even those who need, are not always prepared to receive our\naid. The secret will not harm thee, neither will it do good to those\nwho refuse to comply with its requirements. The secret is a secret\nonly, because minds know it not, and have resolved not to receive the\nwisdom which their condition requires to make them skillful workmen in\nthe temple. Art thou prepared to enter with me, and do the work which\nmay be required of thee for the good of mind?\n\nD. I am ready to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly, in the path of\nrighteousness.\n\nT. Thou wilt remember the poor and thy vows.\n\nD. The needy thou hast with thee.\n\nT. Thou wilt soon become rich.\n\nThe same instruction was imparted to the deacon, which I received on my\nfirst visit to the temple. When the lessons had been repeated to him, I\ninquired, \u201cWelcome, wilt thou now revisit the castle with me, that we\nmay aid our brethren to see the light thou hast beheld?\u201d\n\nD. Thou wilt not expect that I would refuse to aid them. We returned.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHIRD VISIT TO THE CASTLE.\n\n  The wonder in the castle--Dialogue between the chief, the deacon, and\n  Thomas--The senior consulted--The circle of the temple summoned by\n  the trumpet--Conversation between the Commander of the temple and the\n  senior of the castle on war--On rights--The conversion of 24 elders,\n  and 144,000--The Commander conducts them to the temple, where they\n  were initiated into that degree of wisdom.\n\n\nWhen we reached the castle, there was great wonder and astonishment,\nthat the deacon should have departed from it. I heard the chief say,\n\u201cI have been suspicious of him ever since the conversation between the\ncenturion and the strangers through the port holes. I saw,\u201d said he,\n\u201cthat he listened quite too attentively to the conversation; for it is\nnot possible for any mind to resist the arguments which that circle\nbrings. But alas! there is great danger of their sentiments; there is\nsuch a sweetness in their conversation, that it is no wonder that they\ndraw minds away from the truth.\u201d\n\n\u201cWouldst thou taste that sweetness?\u201d said the deacon.\n\nC. I would not jeopardize the eternal interests of my soul.\n\nD. Then thou shouldst abandon that castle, as I have done.\n\nC. Art thou my judge?\n\nD. I judge no mind, but I know thy condition.\n\nC. My condition, I hope, is well.\n\nD. Whereon doth thy hope rest?\n\nC. On the rock of eternal truth.\n\nD. What is truth?\n\nC. The truth is not what thou wouldst teach in thy apostacy.\n\nI said, \u201cWilt thou answer the question? We wish to know what is truth.\u201d\n\nC. Dost thou wish to relieve thy new convert?\n\nT. I wish thee to tell us, if thou canst, what is truth?\n\nC. I will not say, that works are the truths of God.\n\nT. Wilt thou say, that they are not the truths of God?\n\nC. Yea.\n\nT. Then, what is nature, but the work of God?\n\nC. Nature is a work of God.\n\nT. Is nature a true work of God?\n\nC. It is.\n\nT. Then the true work of God is nature, and as thou sayest it is a true\nwork, it is a truth of God. That which is true, is a truth; and that\nwhich is false, is not true. The truth of nature is a work of God. The\nwisdom of nature is the wisdom of God.\n\nC. But there is a wisdom which is not of nature.\n\nT. Wilt thou teach me that wisdom?\n\nC. It is the wisdom of the Bible.\n\nT. What wisdom is not of nature?\n\nC. The Bible.\n\nT. The Bible is not wisdom, but a revelation of wisdom.\n\nC. The Bible is full of wisdom.\n\nT. The Bible is full of the wisdom of nature, which is God\u2019s work.\n\nC. The Bible teaches us wisdom.\n\nT. It reveals wisdom.\n\nC. The Bible reveals what nature does not.\n\nT. What wisdom does it reveal, which nature does not?\n\nC. It reveals a resurrection of mind from the rudimental to a superior\ncondition.\n\nT. Does not nature do the same?\n\nC. Not to minds in the rudimental state.\n\nT. It reveals the resurrection of many things.\n\nC. What?\n\nT. The flower, the reptile, and the insect.\n\nC. But it does not reveal the resurrection of minds.\n\nT. It may do so. It has revealed it to us, and we may reveal it to\nminds in the body. Is not that nature which gave the Bible?\n\nC. In one sense it is.\n\nT. Is it not in every sense?\n\nC. Philosophically, mind and spirit are one thing; but mind is not the\ncause of nature without God.\n\nT. Truly. Mind is the natural work of God, and mind has revealed the\nwisdom of God, as it has been discovered. This revelation is the Bible,\nwhich discloses the undiscovered wisdom of God, by minds who have\nlearned it by their investigation of nature, which is God\u2019s work.\n\nC. That is true.\n\nT. Thou wilt see, then, that nature is true to God; and when a thing is\ntrue to him who made it, it can never be untrue. Even so, is that true\nto thee which is adapted to thy welfare. But that which is adapted to\nthy welfare, may not be adapted to the welfare of all minds.\n\nC. Thou makest truth change with the condition of mind, then.\n\nT. Not so. I would say, that conditions change. When the conditions\nof mind change, that which was true in one relation, may be false in\nanother, because a thing, not changing with the condition of the mind,\ncan not be true to it in all conditions. Thou art satisfied within\nthese walls. To thee, they are necessary and true, being adapted to\nthy condition of developed wisdom; but thou wilt not say, that such\nconfinement would be true to my happiness, or that my condition would\nadmit of happiness to me therein. When thy wisdom shall be increased,\nthe things which are true to thee now, will give thee no satisfaction,\nbecause they will not be adapted to thy condition.\n\nC. Then, what is true to me now, will be false when my wisdom shall be\nincreased.\n\nT. That which is true to thy condition will be eternally true to that\ncondition; but it will not be true to a different condition. Thou wilt\nremember, that thou must be the judge of all things presented for thy\nconsideration. Laws are eternal; but a knowledge of all the laws of God\nmust be forever finite. What knowledge thou hast of those laws, is true\nto thee, but greater knowledge will show thee, that what thou regardest\nas true to thee, will soon not be so regarded; because thy wisdom will\nsee its falsity. And what thy judgment receives as true, is true to\nthee; and what thy wisdom decides is not true, that thou wilt reject as\nfalse. Hence, truth being determined by thy wisdom, must be true to thy\nwisdom. It can not be true to thee, contrary to thy wisdom; because\nthat which thy mind receives contrary to thy wisdom, is false to thy\ngood, and destructive to thy enjoyment.\n\nC. Thou reasonest well; but the Bible is reasonable, and thou shouldst\nnot set up thy reason contrary thereto.\n\nT. The Bible is one thing, and thy views another. The wisdom of thy\ninterpretation is not reasonable to me.\n\nC. What interpretation of the Bible is reasonable?\n\nT. Thou wilt not say, that a mind can impart that which it does not\nunderstand.\n\nC. What then?\n\nT. This will show thee, that what minds have not understood, they have\nattempted to interpret, because what is understood, does not need an\ninterpretation. When a work is so written as to be understood by those\nwho read, it will not need an interpretation, and when it is not so\nwritten, it is defective.\n\nC. Then, thou sayest the Bible is defective.\n\nT. I say, that if an interpretation be necessary to understand it,\nit is defective; and, when minds solicit an interpretation thereof,\nthey admit the defect. If there were no defects, why ask for an\ninterpretation?\n\nC. I want what will make it plain and clear.\n\nT. What will supply some defect, I conclude.\n\nC. That will be a saying what infidels allege.\n\nT. Is it not doing what infidels say, when thou askest an\ninterpretation? They tell thee, that wrongs are in the Bible, and thou\nwilt not say, that the Bible is right without an interpretation. So,\nthe interpreters of the Bible and infidels are agreed, that the Bible\nis not right without an interpretation?\n\nC. That is apparently thy conclusion, but it is a new idea to me.\n\nT. The idea will be more than apparent, when thou shalt divest thy mind\nof thy doubts. Thou hast more skepticism than is consistent with thy\ngood.\n\nC. This is the first time I was ever accused of skepticism.\n\nT. Thy friends have been like thee, and thou wouldst not listen to\nthose unlike thee. When thou wouldst know thy wrongs and errors, thou\nwilt not expect thy willing companions, whom thou lovest because they\nflatter thee, and thou payest them, for their flattery, will tell thee\nwhat will occasion thy displeasure.\n\nC. I want no wrong, nor error.\n\nT. Thou wilt not forsake thy wrongs or errors, until thou art\ninstructed to see them; and thou art not prepared to forsake when\nwisdom reveals them to thee.\n\nC. I will forsake them when I see them.\n\nT. When may I expect thou wilt see them?\n\nC. I wish to see now.\n\nT. When I show thee, wilt thou forsake?\n\nC. I will.\n\nT. Then listen to the counsel and experience of the deacon. He will aid\nthee to see what is wrong, in thy mind.\n\nC. I am prepared to hear and judge for myself.\n\nD. Thou wilt now call thy friends together, that they also may hear and\njudge.\n\nC. I wish no one present at this interview, but the present company.\n\nD. What is good for thee, will be good to those like thee.\n\nC. But I do not wish my friends to know that I am considering a new\ndoctrine. They will rebuke me for my weakness. Thou canst say what\nthou desirest, and, if I am satisfied, I will call them together.\n\nD. Thy wisdom is wrong.\n\nC. Wherein?\n\nD. In that thou art not willing thy friends should hear what thou\npermitest thyself. What is good for thee is good for them.\n\nC. What is good for them to hear, I would have them hear, but I wish to\nknow first that what thou desirest me to hear is good; and when I know\nit, I will not object to the hearing of all.\n\nD. Thou wilt not refuse to hear thyself without knowing what thou\nmayest hear. Why dost thou do what thou wishest others not to do?\n\nC. It will be unwise for me to permit a doctrine to be inculcated among\nminds, who are likely to be carried away with new things. They are\naided only in the right way by me; I would not have them taught wrong.\n\nD. Thou wilt suffer thyself to be taught right.\n\nC. Yea; and also my friends.\n\nD. Then thou mayest call them together.\n\nC. How am I to know that thy instruction is right?\n\nD. When thou hearest it, thou canst judge, and so can thy friends.\n\nC. But I do not choose to have them hear it, until I can judge.\n\nD. And yet thou art willing to hear for thyself. Why shouldst thou do\nwhat thou refusest to thy friends?\n\nC. Because what I hear will not injure them, unless they hear.\n\nD. Then thou hast more confidence in thyself than in thy brethren. Are\nthey not like thee?\n\nC. They are like me, in faith; but I would not trust their judgment,\nwhen thy words of honey are offered to them.\n\nD. And yet thou canst trust thy own.\n\nC. Whose should I trust?\n\nD. Whom should thy friends trust? Thou requirest them to trust in thee.\nWhy shouldst thou require them to trust in thee when thou refusest to\ntrust in thy friends? We have not wronged thee, nor will thy friends be\nwronged by us.\n\nC. Thou mayest wait. I will counsel with the senior of this castle.\n\nWhen we saw what he wanted, we summoned the circle in the temple by a\ncertain sound of the trumpet. They came. On sounding the trumpet, the\nhosts of the castle came also. It was a clear, still evening, and when\nthey saw our implements of war, they formed in a circle near the walls,\nand demanded the object of our mission.\n\nThe Commander of the temple replied, \u201cBe not alarmed. What thou hast is\nthine, and we have no need of what is thy own. We are here not to take\naway what thou hast, but to give thee more abundantly than thou hast\nreason to expect. Thou wilt soon see the object of our mission; and,\nwhen thou seest, thou wilt not consider us thy enemies, but friends.\nWe see thy arms are defective; and, if thou wouldst fight, the weapons\nwe bring are at thy disposal. Advance and receive, and, when thou\nreceivest, use them as thy wisdom shall direct thee.\u201d\n\nSEN. Then thou surrenderest thy command to our power?\n\nCOM. We surrender what thou desirest--our weapons of hostility. Come\nnow and receive, that thou mayest know we are not thy enemies.\n\nS. Thou wilt keep thy own. We do not fight with friends.\n\nC. Why shouldst thou fight with enemies?\n\nS. Because they are not friends.\n\nC. Will thy fighting make them friends?\n\nS. It will make them know that they are not our masters.\n\nC. How will it teach them this?\n\nS. Because they will become our servants. Our victory over them will\nteach them this lesson.\n\nC. It will teach them another lesson also.\n\nS. What lesson?\n\nC. It will teach them, that thy victory may be reversed, and that thou\nmayest become their servants. What _thou_ doest, others may do. Thou\nwilt see, that thy power may become the power of those whom thou mayest\noppress. When wilt thou understand, that thy warfare is wrong to thee,\nand to those whom thou mayest injure?\n\nS. When our enemies become our friends.\n\nC. Very true. And wouldst thou desire all minds to become thy friends?\n\nS. We would desire peace, but not on dishonorable terms.\n\nC. Thou wilt not say, peace is dishonorable, on any terms.\n\nS. I will say, when minds are asked to surrender their rights as a\ncondition to peace, it is dishonorable.\n\nC. Dishonorable to whom?\n\nS. It is dishonorable to him who surrenders.\n\nC. Is it dishonorable to give?\n\nS. When the gift is demanded, as a condition of peace.\n\nC. When thou askest for rain and sunshine, as a condition of thy\nprosperity and peace, is it dishonorable for thy Friend, who controlest\nthe seasons, to give thee what thou askest?\n\nS. Nay; because he is not impoverished by his gifts.\n\nC. Thou wilt not say, it is dishonorable for thy friends to offer thee\nweapons of war, when they have no others?\n\nS. It is not, when we are not thy enemies.\n\nC. Thou wilt say, \u201cwhen we are thy friends.\u201d\n\nS. Yea.\n\nC. How wouldst thou make thy enemies thy friends?\n\nS. By doing, as I would that they should do to me.\n\nC. Wouldst thou be refused, when thou askest what thou desirest?\n\nS. Nay.\n\nC. When thou desirest peace, wouldst thou refuse it, because thy enemy\nwanted what was thine, as a condition?\n\nS. I would not submit to unreasonable demands.\n\nC. What wouldst thou do?\n\nS. I would refuse the condition.\n\nC. Wouldst thou refuse the condition, if the condition was better for\nthee and thy friends, than to fight?\n\nS. I would not submit to any unjust demands.\n\nC. Wouldst thou not submit to an unjust demand, rather than to demand\nwhat is unjust?\n\nS. I would not demand what is unjust.\n\nC. Dost thou not demand peace, and is not that just?\n\nS. Yea.\n\nC. Then, when thou refusest what thy enemy asks, as a condition of\npeace, dost thou not refuse peace, and demand war. The condition is\nwhat makes peace, and when thou refusest that, thou desirest what is\nworse. Is it honorable to choose the greatest evil?\n\nS. The greatest evil is not war.\n\nC. What is greater?\n\nS. The evil of injustice.\n\nC. It is even so. But is not war unjust?\n\nS. Not when waged in a righteous cause.\n\nC. What cause is righteous, which is unjust?\n\nS. That which maintains rights. Rights are just, and measures, which\nwill secure and perpetuate those rights, are just.\n\nC. Is war a right?\n\nS. War is not right, when rights are not sought by it.\n\nC. How can rights be sought and obtained by wrongs?\n\nS. War is not wrong, when rights are secured by it.\n\nC. When rights are secured by wrongs, when war secures peace, when\nnature is concordant with discord, thy rights will disappear. No mind\nwill then have any rights, because rights will be valueless. When war\nbecomes right, and right becomes war, the rights of nature will be\ndisregarded. Confusion will be right, and peace become wrong. Such\nis the character of thy rights, when judged by the harmonious law of\nnature. Thou sayest, war is right to secure rights. What right wilt\nthou secure by war?\n\nS. Those rights which are the inherent property of every mind.\n\nC. And what is the inherent property of every mind?\n\nS. The right to say and to do, as my own conscience approves.\n\nC. Will thy conscience do evil, that good may come?\n\nS. Nay.\n\nC. Is war an evil?\n\nS. It is.\n\nC. Wouldst thou go to war, which thou sayest is an evil, that good may\ncome?\n\nS. It will not be evil, when good comes from it.\n\nC. Wilt thou show us what good can come from evil? Doth war do those\nengaged in it good?\n\nS. If it secure to them a right, the right is good.\n\nC. The right will not go to war.\n\nS. The right will go to war when it is right.\n\nC. Wilt thou show us, when it is right to do evil, that good may come\nfrom it. Wilt thou show us how good can come from evil, or evil from\ngood?\n\nS. The good, which comes from the evil of war, is the maintenance of\nrights.\n\nC. What rights?\n\nS. The rights which are in controversy.\n\nC. What rights in controversy have ever been secured by war?\n\nS. The rights of freedom.\n\nC. When?\n\nS. The rudimental condition has secured these rights.\n\nC. When?\n\nS. When the American colonies were opposed by the mother country.\n\nC. What rights did those colonies secure by war?\n\nS. The rights of freedom.\n\nC. Those rights were not secured by war.\n\nS. Well, they were the results of war.\n\nC. Nay; but of peace. When peace was ratified, the colonies were no\nlonger engaged in war. Thou seest not that war gave to any mind a\nright, because it gave different things.\n\nS. But was not that war justifiable?\n\nC. How so?\n\nS. To overcome the oppression of the mother country.\n\nC. Canst thou make one wrong justify another?\n\nS. No; but I see no wrong in that which results in good.\n\nC. Thou hast not shown that wrong ever did, or ever will, result in\ngood.\n\nS. But I will show, that the American colonies would never have been\nfree without it.\n\nC. Thou mayest say, that they are not free with it.\n\nS. How dost thou mean? Are they not free from the mother country?\n\nC. How can a people be free, who are dependent? Are not the States\nas dependent now as ever on the mother country? Whence cometh her\nluxuries, which thou seest crossing the Atlantic? Whence comest\nher language, her customs, her religion, her glory in war, and her\nmanufactured articles which her people import? Are these signs of\nfreedom, or of dependence?\n\nS. But they are free to enact their own laws, and choose their own\nrulers?\n\nC. They are free to choose as the majority may elect. I would say a\nmajority of such as are not proscribed by law from choosing their own\nrulers. But thou seest more than one half of those who are ruled by\nlaw, who have no choice in the election of their rulers, and very many,\nwho have a secured right to elect, do not exercise it.\n\nS. That is their own fault.\n\nC. Whose fault?\n\nS. The fault of those who are governed.\n\nC. Why is it their fault?\n\nS. Because they should assert their rights.\n\nC. What rights?\n\nS. The rights which others exercise.\n\nC. What rights do others exercise?\n\nS. The rights to elect minds to make laws, and govern them.\n\nC. Thou wilt see who will object to their assertion.\n\nS. I see who will not object.\n\nC. Who?\n\nS. The free and independent.\n\nC. Who are they?\n\nS. Those who dare speak the truth, and act without fear.\n\nC. And who are they?\n\nS. They are not many, I see.\n\nC. Then how are the few to control the many?\n\nS. I would not make war against them.\n\nC. What wouldst thou do?\n\nS. I would instruct them in the great principles of natural justice.\n\nC. Thou hast well said. When thou seest thy enemy come against thee\nto wrong thee of thy rights, instruct him in the great principles\nof natural justice, and when thou hast instructed him, he will not\ntrespass against thee. We saw thee afraid of thy rights; but thou\nknowest that, when, we offered thee our weapons, thou didst refuse,\nbecause thou hadst no enemy to fight. So, when thy enemies make war on\nthee, go, and meet them, and say unto them, we are friends, take our\nweapons; and they will say unto thee, we have no use for them, for we\nare brethren.\n\nS. The wisdom of my companions agrees with me, that thy doctrine would\nbe well, if all would practice it. But thou seest that such is the\nignorance of some minds, that compulsory measures must be resorted to,\nin order to restrain their acts of injustice.\n\nC. Compulsory measures are dangerous weapons. When a mind is\nrestrained, it is not free; and when it is not free, it hates the\noppressor. That which it hates, it seeks an opportunity to overcome,\nand circumstances may so change as to gratify its wish. The time will\ncome when war will be no more; but it never will come so long as\ncompulsory measures are employed to restrain minds. I have seen war.\nI have seen the causes of war. I never saw a cause of war equal in\nwrong to the war. No cause, which has hitherto produced war, has ever\nbeen so wretched for minds to bear, as the evils of war. What are a\nfew insults, or wrongs of dishonor, when compared to the wretchedness\nof whole nations, engaged in mortal combat? Would not the wrongs of\ninjury be abated by the forgiveness of thy Savior? Would he wound to\nredress his wounds? Why did he not call the legions of heaven to fight\nwith the legions of earth? When thou shalt have full confidence in the\nrighteousness of his conduct, and when thou shalt follow his example,\nthy honor will not tarnish, though thou forgivest thy enemy even\nseventy times seven. And when thou shalt do the works of thy Master,\nthe cause of thy Master will be honored in thee.\n\nS. Thy wisdom will not allow sincere minds to call themselves\nChristians, because they would defend their own rights.\n\nC. Thou hast no right to wrong thy neighbor, even though he may be\nthy enemy. Thou hast no right to do wrong. War is a wrong. It is an\nevil, as thou hast said. Thy enemy will not be made thy friend by thy\nwrong; neither can thy mind be satisfied with the wretchedness of thy\nwrong. It is not war which bears the name in the rudimental sphere,\nwhich we have undertaken to overcome in our visit to this castle. We\nhave not come here to do away with that which does not exist among thy\ncompanions, but to instruct them in principles of everlasting peace to\nthy mind. Thou hast not yet forgotten the wrongs of thy education, and\nthose wrongs have made thee suspicious of thy friends. Thou wouldst now\nrepel words and facts which will be of more value to thee than many\nrubies. If thou wouldst heed our advice, we would say to thee, and thy\ncompanions with thee, come with us, and we will do thee good.\n\nS. Thou mayest stay with us.\n\nC. We have been where thou art, but now we have a more beautiful\nmansion, where the pure current of life rolls down from the throne\nof mercy, and all who will, may come and drink of the water of life\nfreely. Thou wilt not return to this castle to tarry, when thou shalt\nparticipate in the blessedness we share. We are now ready to receive\nthy reply.\n\nS. I should be willing to try the experiment, if my companions would go\nwith me.\n\nC. Thy companions will rejoice at the opportunity. I see they are\nwilling and hoping that thy answer will be yea.\n\nS. Thou seest, then, that I will go.\n\nC. Thou hast wisely answered. Thy companions will go where they wish,\nand thou wilt consult their wish. When thou findest one who will do\nwrong to obtain a right, pass on; and when thou findest one who will\nonly do right to obtain a right, and who will sacrifice his own for\nanother\u2019s good, thou wilt write the name in the Lamb\u2019s book of life,\nwhich thou wilt take with thee; and the scribe whom we send with thee.\nWhen thou returnest, report thy success.\n\nHe went with the scribe. On their return, they brought in the book the\nnames of four and twenty elders, and an hundred and forty and four\nthousand, who came with them, saying, \u201cBlessed is he who hath part in\nthe first resurrection; for lo! these many years have we sought and not\nfound; but now the light shineth, and the darkness comprehendeth it\nnot.\u201d\n\nS. I have brought with me a hundred and forty and four thousand, who\nhave resolved to worship no more in this castle, but go with thy\ncompanions where thou wouldst lead; albeit, where reigns the principles\nthou hast taught unto us. Thou wilt see these four and twenty elders,\nwho came to thy hearing, have joined the great congregation, and are\nready to live in peace, as thou hast taught.\n\nC. Thou wilt form a circle that I may address them when we reach the\narch-way of the temple, whither thou goest, I have a few words to say\nto them, which will need be required before they enter therein.\n\nS. We will obey thy commands.\n\nThe new song was now sung, for the year of Jubilee had come to these\nemancipated minds. They sang in the spirit, and with the understanding,\nthe words painted in gold colors on my banner. The great congregation\nthen moved straightway for the temple. On nearing the arch-way, a\ncircle was formed, and the Commander addressed them as follows:\n\n\u201cFriends: Thou wilt suffer no more from the ills to which thou hast\nbeen exposed in thy pilgrimage. Thou hast not known thy misfortune,\nbecause thou hast verily been unable to compare thy condition with that\nwhich thou art now prepared to realize. Thou hast hitherto considered\nthy own wisdom above the wisdom of thy superiors; but when thou seest\nwhat remains for thee, thou wilt know thy condition was wretched, when\ncompared with it. Before thou enterest this temple, each mind will cast\nhis crown into the treasury of reform, and when thou seest the standard\nenter the arch-way, thou wilt follow in the order of thy conductors,\nand receive such lessons as thy need may require from thy seniors. Be\nwise not in thy own conceit, for there are none too wise to unlearn his\nwrongs, nor too good to neglect improvement, save Him whom we serve.\nLet no wrong follow this company into these courts, for shame will hide\nno guilt from the inspection of this circle.\u201d The whole company were\nconducted in order, and received the lessons which appertained to their\nprogress, and which have been recited in another place.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nFOURTH VISIT TO THE CASTLE.\n\n  Mission of Thomas and the elders--The king and guard--The elder\n  addresses the king--Conversation with him--He refuses wisdom--A\n  dialogue with a mind on fear--Calls a great multitude to hear the\n  elder--Address of the elder--Conversation with the circle--Imputed\n  righteousness--A thousand times ten thousand converted, and received\n  into the temple.\n\n\nAfter the conclusion of the lesson, the Master said, \u201cThomas, thou\nwilt go with the four and twenty elders, and see what remainest in the\ncastle.\u201d\n\nThe command was obeyed. When we reached the castle, we saw a dense\ncloud resting over the place, and there was a large number which no\nmind could count, wondering at the departure of the hundred and forty\nand four thousand. It was a day of fasting and prayer. The elders said,\n\u201cThey mourn without success. The Lord hath done great things for us,\nwhereof we are thankful. We will listen to their lamentations.\u201d\n\nPresently, a mind descried us, and straightway he went to the citadel.\nI heard his report to the king, whom he met at the gate. \u201cThe four and\ntwenty elders have returned, and have taken their position on the wall,\nwhere thou hast ordered thy servant to stand.\u201d\n\nK. What is their report?\n\nM. They have just arrived--I heard no report.\n\nK. Then take with thee thy guard, and bring me word what they may say\nunto thee.\n\nM. They bear no arms.\n\nK. Then go thou with thy company, and hear their report.\n\nThe centurion came, and said, \u201cthe king desireth a report from thee,\nand I am the messenger.\u201d\n\nThe elder of the elders replied, \u201cTell the king we have found favor\nwith God; for, verily, he dwelleth not in temples made with hands, and\nwe are satisfied with all we have seen and heard.\u201d\n\nM. Dost thou wish to return to the fold again?\n\nE. We have come to tarry only while we may do thee and thy fellow\nservants good, as our Master hath commanded us. Wilt thou say to the\nking, that the half was not told us before we left the castle. We have\ntidings of great good for all who obey the truth, and are faithful to\nthe law of harmony and peace. We invite the king and his household\nto hear our report, which will end thy fasting, and soon change thy\nsadness into joy.\n\nM. Then I will report thy wish to the king.\n\nI went with him, but the elders remained. The messenger entered by\nthe north gate, and when he approached the palace, the king\u2019s servant\nrequired us to wait. Soon the king made his appearance, and said,\n\u201cBringest thou a report?\u201d\n\nM. I have a message for thee from the elders.\n\nK. Thou mayest say to them, come where I am, that I may see them face\nto face.\n\nM. Lo! they are waiting thy pleasure.\n\nK. Invite them all to my council chamber.\n\nWe all went where he requested.\n\n\u201cI am now ready to hear the report of the elders,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cMay it please thee,\u201d said the senior, \u201cwe have found favor with\nGod, and grace and peace are multiplied unto us. We have washed in\na stream, and thou seest our garments are white as snow. The circle\nwill receive thee, when thou art willing to cast thy crowns into the\ntreasury of good, and learn war no more. Thou wilt not regret the\nsacrifice, for what thou consecratest to the good of mind, will do thee\nmore honor than all thy works of power. We saw a mystery unfolded to\nus, which will not do thee good, until thou shalt become acquainted\nwith it also. The mystery of iniquity thou hast understood, from thy\nreception into the throne of power; but the mystery of godliness thou\nmayest yet learn. There are minds who can teach thee the mystery of\nmutual confidence. It will not be taught thee here; for now thou art\nsurrounded with minds distrustful of each other. Thou distrustest\nthem, and they distrust thee. But we have found a circle where no mind\ndistrusts, because they know each other\u2019s thoughts. The whole circle\nneed no compulsion to do right, because right is their meat and drink.\nThey delight in right, and wisdom is always with them. They worship\nGod without fear, and love one another without dissimulation. There\nis a rainbow over their heads, and a cloud of fire by night to warm\ntheir hearts with love forever. There no iron rule becomes necessary to\nenforce obedience; for obedience is loved, and what is loved is not\navoided. The Master is not a tyrant, but a father; and, when the father\ncommands, his children delight to obey his commands. What is the wish\nof the father, is the wish of his children. Hence, no disorder or wrong\ncan enter the circle we have found.\u201d\n\nK. Then, thou art satisfied with what thou hast seen and heard?\n\nE. We are satisfied with what we have seen and heard. We will not\nreturn with thy permission to tarry here.\n\nK. When wilt thou return to thy new friends?\n\nE. When we can do no good here.\n\nK. Thou wilt not expect to convert me?\n\nE. We expect only thy pleasure. It is not our will to control thee, but\nto aid thee in the path of true wisdom and happiness.\n\nK. Hast thou not been flattered with new things?\n\nE. We have seen, and do testify, that new things have been discovered\nto us.\n\nK. When new things have been found, is it not prudent to test them by\nexperience before we trust too implicitly in them?\n\nE. Thou wilt not test them, we apprehend, even as we have done.\n\nK. When thou hast tested them, I will hear thee again.\n\nE. Would it not be better for thee to test them by thy own experience?\n\nK. It would not be better, if I disliked the experience.\n\nE. True; but thou wilt have no experience without a trial of them.\n\nK. I will wait thy tests.\n\nE. We will wait thy pleasure.\n\nWhen he had concluded, we departed to a mind who was not unwilling to\nhear, because he had no authority to rule over others. He was wholly\ndepressed in his mind about relieving himself from his fears.\n\n\u201cThy fears disturb thy quiet,\u201d said the elder.\n\nM. My fears not only disturb my quiet, but the quiet of others.\n\nE. Why dost thou fear?\n\nM. How can I help my fears, when every thing makes me fear?\n\nE. Thou mayest be aided, so that thy fears will not control thee.\n\nM. Thy confidence I do not realize.\n\nE. My confidence will be thine, when thy fears are removed.\n\nM. That will not soon be realized.\n\nE. I know thy condition, and thou knowest that as thou art, even so I\nonce was. Dost thou remember me?\n\nM. I have seen thee, but thou dost not wear the same garments? Why\ndidst thou change?\n\nE. I was with thee, when thou didst first enter within these walls. I\nwas thy teacher, when thou wast where thou wouldst not return. I saw\nthee, when thou wast in a condition that elicited my sympathy. Dost\nthou wish farther relief?\n\nM. I would not refuse what thy kindness has to bestow.\n\nE. Thy fears will not be removed without instruction. What thou fearest\nis what should be overcome. I will aid thee to see that thy fears are\nnot true to thee, nor true to thy progress.\n\nM. Thou wilt not say, my sincerity is not true?\n\nE. Thy sincerity is no proof of thy faith.\n\nM. What is well I believe.\n\nE. Thou believest what is not well.\n\nM. What do I believe, which is not well?\n\nE. That which thou fearest is not well.\n\nM. Thou wouldst not banish all fear.\n\nE. He who fearest is not made wise in love; because what is feared\nis not hoped for, but dreaded as an evil. I would remove all fear,\nfor thou canst not fear and be free. When thou fearest, thou art in\nbonds, and when thou art in bonds, thy heart is unreconciled to thy\ncondition. It is not satisfactory to thyself. Thy unreconciliation\nis dissatisfaction with thy condition. Thou wouldst hope for better\nthings, but thy mind hath been instructed in many errors which remain\nto disturb thee.\n\nM. Thou hast said, in thy pilgrimage with us, that what I believe was\ntrue.\n\nE. I said, as I believed; but thou wilt understand that belief is not\nalways correct. Thou canst believe because of my saying; but thou canst\nnot know without investigation and tangible facts. The circle, which\nbids me labor for thy good, walk not by faith but by wisdom. They are\nnot controlled by opinions or faiths, but by actual experiments. It\nis not actual experiments and demonstrations of facts which weary thy\nmind, and paralyze thy industry, but it is thy opinions and doubts.\nThey are the messengers of discontent and trouble. If thou wouldst\ndistrust thy distrust, and doubt thy doubts, thy mind would feel the\ninspiration of hope. When thy mind hopest for good, thy confidence is\nsuperior to thy doubts. Then the despondency of thy condition vanishes.\n\nM. But what have I to hope for?\n\nE. Thou wilt ask, what is there which I may not hope for? There is\nno good, which thou mayest not attain. The wisdom of circles, whose\nglory thou hast not seen, may be thine by receiving it. But thy doubts\ncause thee to reject thy own good. When the prize is offered thee, thou\nrefusest, because of thy unbelief. Thy doubts distrust and reject the\nbest good. They rob thee by thy own consent. It is, indeed, no wonder\nto me now, why thou shouldst not advance, and become more happy. I\nwould advise thee, but thy wisdom apprehends mischief from me. Now, I\nam not of thy circle, thou fearest some evil intention is with me. The\nworst evil thou canst suffer, is the evil of resisting wisdom.\n\nM. I would not resist what is wise and good, but I would know that it\nis wise and good before I receive it.\n\nE. How canst thou know what thy wisdom rejects? When thou askest aid,\nhow canst thou be benefited, so long as the aid is rejected? Must\nnot the aid be received to help thee? Wouldst thou require tangible\nevidence, or demonstrations of its usefulness before thou wouldst\naccept what thy necessities demand? Thou askest for the proof of a\nthing, when thou rejectest the only means which can give thee the\nrequired satisfaction. As well might the ignorant say, \u201cI will receive\ninstruction when I am satisfied by experience that it will be for\nmy advantage, and not before,\u201d as for thee to demand knowledge of a\nsubject before thou receivest the lessons, which will make thee know\nthe truth of the subject.\n\nM. Then, I must receive what thou sayest as truth, and test it by my\nexperience.\n\nE. Thou wilt test it in no other way than by thy experience. All thou\nknowest to be good or bad, thou knowest by thy experience.\n\nM. May I not know from others\u2019 experience?\n\nE. Thou mayest believe, but thou canst not know. To know is to\nunderstand by the test of thy experience. The test of experience will\nnot deceive thee. By it thou mayest try the philosophy which we teach.\nThy mind will not doubt what it knows; but it will doubt what minds\nsay; because thou hast already found many errors in the sayings of thy\nfriends, but never one in the counsels of thy experience. Experience\nis true. However bitter it may be from the errors of thy life, yet it\nis true. Falsehoods even are true, as are facts; but there is this\ndistinction, which experience has established. Falsehoods are wrongs,\nfacts are not. Nevertheless, thou must see that wrongs are true to\nfalsehoods, and falsehood to wrongs. The cause is true to its effect.\nIf the cause be inharmonious with good, the wretchedness must ensue.\nIf the cause be harmonious with mind, the effect can not be wrong.\nTherefore, falsehood, being a cause, and that cause not being in\nharmony with the progress and happiness of mind, must beget its true\neffect when received. That effect is wrong, and wrong because an evil\nis inflicted. All evil is true to the effect it produces. When a mind\nis in harmony with error, the error is true to that mind. The error\nis true to its effect. It is sure to produce its own likeness--to\nstamp its own image, when received by the mind. No effect, disagreeing\nwith the cause, can ever exist in nature. Consequently, all things\nare causes of other things, and the cause and effect are true to each\nother. This is what we may call truth.\n\nM. Then truth is the relation of cause and effect?\n\nE. It is the relation which will disclose a truth to thee. The things,\nbeing true to each other, will not be false to each other; so with\nmind. The things which are in harmony with mind, are true to that mind,\nand the things which are otherwise, are false. Thou knowest that, when\nthou hast entertained that which was incongenial with thy mind, it was\nproductive only of evil. It was false to thy peace. It was untrue to\nthy happiness, because the relation was not true to thy wants. Error\nis error, only because thy mind is disappointed. Truth is truth when\nno disappointment occurs. Thou hast sought for peace and happiness in\nthings which bear no relation to thy seeking. Thou hast not learned\nthe philosophy of cause and effect. When thou receivest the sayings\nof mind, thou hast been sometimes deceived; and thou believest when\nthey tell thee what is for thy good. They, too, will not satisfy thy\nmind without adapting their instruction to thy understanding. Error\nhas been taught thee, or things have been offered thee which disturb\nthe sympathy of thy mind. They are false to thy wants. Thou seekest\nhappiness. They destroy it. That is false to thee and thy good. Thou\nshouldst not trust in thorns to produce grapes, nor in thistles to\nproduce figs; but thou shouldst know that nothing is, or ever can be\ntrue to thy good, which is, or shall be, incongenial with the sympathy\nthat makes thee a child of God.\n\nM. I see that thy philosophy makes no relation eternal; because, when\na thing changes, it disturbs the relation which it has sustained to\nanother thing.\n\nE. The relation is eternal to things which are eternal. But thy errors\nare not eternal things. I see they will soon be destroyed in thee. When\nthou hast an affinity, or holdest a relation to things which disturb\nthee, the connection, thus formed, will be true to itself so long as it\nremaineth, but when the error is destroyed by the philosophy we teach,\nthe relation is broken, and the effect of that relation must cease. The\nerror will disturb no longer than it remaineth.\n\nM. Is it not even so with the truth?\n\nE. It is.\n\nM. Why may not minds, then, lose the truth, and sink into utter\nhopelessness and despair?\n\nE. Minds may not lose the truth, when they never have found it. Thou\nhast not yet found the truth. Thou hast learned some facts. Facts\nare the wisdom of nature as revealed to mind in parts. The truth is\nthe infinite whole, and is incapable of being divided into parts.\nMinds sometimes call facts truths; but we teach that truth, which is\ninfinite, so far, and no father, as it has been made known to us. Thou\nhast been taught the truth in part, and what remainest for thee to\nlearn, is what thou hast no knowledge of. It is ignorance in thee, as\nit is in us. This truth is the infinite harmony and wisdom of God in\nthe universe. All revelation of that wisdom, is true to thy happiness;\nbecause thy mind is not discordant with nature, only as thy ignorance,\nor education, hath perverted it. Thus, the revelation of wisdom,\nagreeing with thy happiness, is true to thee, and what is true to thee,\nas cause and effect, will never be false, because it is governed by an\nimmutable law.\n\nM. Then, thou wouldst teach that truth is eternal and error not.\n\nE. Truth is true to the good of mind eternally, because it is in\nharmony with the relation of cause and effect. Error is in harmony only\nwith ignorance. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge. It is the mere\nthing of childhood--the infancy of mind in its eternal progress. But\nwhen the infant becomes the philosopher, it puts away childish things.\nThe swaddling clothes of the babe will not truly cover the grown man.\nThey are true to the infant, like the Mosaic covenant of forms to the\nJewish people; but they cover not the wants of enlarged sympathy for\nthe great brotherhood of mind. The infant people required protection,\nand their wants were supplied. They asked only what they received. The\nminds of this circle have sought for no more than they have found. They\nhave sought to establish their own wisdom, in opposition to the wisdom\nof a higher circle; and they have found, by experience, the avails of\ntheir search.\n\nM. Then minds can find what they seek for?\n\nE. They can find the degree of wisdom which they seek for. They can\ngenerally find whatever opinion they prefer, because they will prefer\nonly an opinion agreeing with their measure of wisdom. All which\ndisagree with their degree of reform in wisdom is wrong. Nothing to\nthem is right, but the righteousness in them. They seek for nothing\nmore.\n\nM. How, then, can they progress in wisdom.\n\nE. As others influence them by instruction, as we have sought to do\nunto thee.\n\nM. Then thou wilt go on; I like thy philosophy.\n\nE. Thou wilt see a philosophy in thy progress which will satisfy thee,\nthat thy errors are of no service to thee.\n\nM. I am now satisfied of that, but what are my errors?\n\nE. Thou wilt not receive all we wish thee to hear alone. When thou wilt\ncall thy friends together, who sympathize with thee, and who have no\nopposition to wisdom, nor fear of instruction, we will visit thee, and\nsay unto all what thou mayest apply unto thyself.\n\nM. I will call my friends now. They hear my voice, and will respond to\nmy wish.\n\nThe multitude assembled, and the elder proceeded to address them.\n\u201cThou hast a work to do, my friends. The wisdom of a superior circle\nhath delegated to me the duty of undoing the errors I have inculcated\namong the minds of those with whom I have labored. Nothing is more\nsincerely regretted, than my wrongs. It has been my honest endeavor to\ndo away wrong; but I find many errors, which I have taught, and now\nit becomes my pleasing duty to correct them. Among those errors, none\nstand more prominent than the doctrine of imputed righteousness, and\nthe fears and selfishness which it has encouraged. The principle, which\nimputes to another what he never had, or will possess, is fatal to the\nidea of impartial justice, and wrong in its effect upon individual\nresponsibility. I have found that wisdom, which discloses the fact,\nthat thy wrongs can not be justly imputed to another. Neither is it\njust for another to assume thy wrongs without thy practice. Indeed, thy\nwrongs are thy own, and no one can make them his own without adopting\nthem. When they are adopted by another, that mind is as criminal as he\nwho first practiced them. So, will it be seen, that no mind can claim\nhappiness because another is virtuous. The virtues of the wise must\nbecome our own, or they will not promote our enjoyment. Thou knowest I\nhave taught thee to hope for good, because thy Savior was righteous.\nAs well might mind hope for good, because God is good. There never was\na time when God was not good, but what availeth his goodness, until it\nbecomes thy own; and to become thy own, it must become thy practice.\nBecause one mind is good, or just, or right, it is not true that all\nare so. And yet the doctrine I taught thee, encouraged the expectation\nthat, because thy Master was good, he would impute his righteousness\nunto thee. As well might the claim of thy righteousness be maintained,\nbecause another was exalted to a circle of purity. Thou hast no lessons\nin nature to sustain the doctrine of imputed righteousness. All law,\nwhich recognizes equity and justice, repudiates the slander upon the\nname of Jesus. He transfers no good to thee, which thy condition will\nnot receive as thy own inheritance. Thou shouldst not depend on being\nsaved from thy wrongs, otherwise than by forsaking them. No good can\ncome unto thee in wrong; and so long as thy wrongs remain, the good\nof thy Master availeth thee nothing. To be saved, thou shouldst not\ndepend on the good of another, but on the good thou mayest attain by\nseeking wisdom, and forsaking folly. What, therefore, I have taught\nthee, inconsistent with this sentiment, I would ask thee to abandon;\nfor no good can arise to thee from any source, without thy wisdom shall\ncontrol thee to make it thy own. And, when it is thy own, it is not\nanother\u2019s. Read thy lesson of wrong no more, and forsake the teaching\nwhich would flatter thee with hopes of bliss, because another is more\nholy than thyself. Thy Savior is he who saves. No mind is thy Savior,\nunless he saves. To save is to make thee wise, and when thou hast\nbecome wise, thou wilt put away wrongs and errors. No mind is wise in\nthe wisdom of my circle, who refuses instruction in wisdom, or who\nneglects to practice its requirements.\n\n\u201cI have seen thy ways, and I have watched thy mourning with solicitude.\nThou hast waited in hope for the redemption, because another was\ngood. Thou hast waited for another to do what thou shouldst have\ndone thyself. It is this which has wronged thee. Hadst thou felt the\nnecessity for thy own exertions, and depended less on the doctrine\nof imputed righteousness, as thou hast been taught, I would not now\nneed to correct the wrong I have done. But, when thou hopest for good\nbecause another is wise, thou art prone to security in indolence. Thou\nseest that it is mischievous to encourage indolence, and yet, when thou\nwaitest for another to do thy work, thy indolence is apparent. Be wise,\nthen, and be active to be wise.\u201d\n\nThe circle said, \u201cWho then can be saved? If we have no righteousness of\nour own, and are not permitted to hope for it in another, who among us\nwill be saved?\u201d\n\nE. Those with thee who seek and find wisdom, and who will not neglect\nthe good of mind.\n\nC. Then there is no need of a Savior, if we can save ourselves.\n\nE. There is no need of hoping for the righteousness of another to be\nplaced to thy credit; because no such injustice will be manifest to\nthee. There is need of a teacher to instruct thee in the truth of\ndivine wisdom; and he who instructs saves, when his instruction is\nreceived, and as it is received. The ignorance of mind is removed by\ninstruction, and as it is removed, the mind instructed is saved from\nits ignorance. When a mind errs, it errs not because it naturally\nprefers the error, but because its ignorance prevented the reception\nof wisdom. The evils, which mind practices, are not practiced because\nthe mind loves the evil, in preference to good, but because, through\nignorance, it misjudged. The ignorant mind is liable to misjudge, but\nthe wise are instructed. Mind must love, and prefer for itself that\nwhich is good, or that which it supposes is best adapted to promote\nits own enjoyment. But very many find their judgments in error. They\ndo wrong to do themselves good. True wisdom, however, reveals the\nignorance of their judgment. Good can never come out of evil, nor evil\nout of good. Temporary advantage may be taken of another\u2019s opinion,\nwhereby wrong may ensue to him; and when the mind has received what it\nhas sought and obtained at the expense of another, it is not satisfied,\nbecause the wrong never can satisfy what God has made right and good.\nAnd the greater the wrong, the greater the dissatisfaction; because\nright and wrong can never agree, but must from their disagreement\nwar with each other. The mind, therefore, acting wrong, encourages\ncontention in itself, and where there is a conflict, the law of harmony\nis disturbed, and with it the peace of him whose enjoyment is dependent\nupon it. He who saves is, therefore, a deliverer from these evils of\nignorance.\n\nC. Thou makest every teacher then a Savior.\n\nE. I would teach thee, that every one who saves is a savior. He who\nteaches wisdom and inculcates principles of righteousness in the minds\nof others, saves them from their ignorance and folly. Is it not so?\n\nC. It so appears; but why should any mind hope for salvation by the aid\nof Jesus?\n\nE. The aid which Jesus brings thee, is the aid we bring. Jesus comes\nnot to thee, except through the circles interlinking him to thee.\n\nC. Does he exercise direct control over thy circle?\n\nE. He exercises control over all circles of less wisdom than himself;\nbut we have been taught by others, and they by others, and so on to\nthe circle in which Jesus resides. The wisdom taught us is the wisdom\nhe would teach, were he our direct instructor; because it would be\nunwise to undertake to develop mind, only as mind is developed to\nreceive instruction. The circle of wisdom, which instructs us, could\nnot comprehend the degree of Jesus, until wisdom improved them by\nsuccessive degrees, so that they would be capable of receiving it.\nSoon will thy wisdom unite with my circle, for I see thou art ready to\nreceive the truth without fear.\n\nC. I have not many fears, but I have some further inquiries, which my\nmind is not fully settled upon.\n\nE. Proceed.\n\nC. Thou hast taught us, that imputed righteousness was unjust. How can\nthat be unjust, which is freely offered on condition of our acceptance,\nor bestowed without our wish?\n\nE. The injustice consists in the wrong. All is wrong which is not good.\nIt is not good to deceive thee with wrong. The wrong is not right,\nand what is not right is unjust. The wrong of deceiving thee, leads\nthee wrong, and encourages thee to hope for another\u2019s wisdom without\nhaving the principles and works, which will be found important to thy\nprogress. The imputed righteousness of Jesus will never benefit thee,\nuntil that righteousness becomes thy own by practice. No good can come\nto thee, unless the good be received and adopted. When it is adopted,\nit is thine, and not before.\n\nC. Thou wouldst not teach, that all evils are unjust.\n\nE. Thou wouldst not reject what is well, when thou understandest it.\nThe well is not evil. The good is not evil. The just is not evil. Evils\nare not evils absolutely. The worst evil is ignorance. Ignorance will\nnot live forever in any mind--I would say, the ignorance of right and\nwrong as I understand right and wrong. Therefore, it is not an absolute\nevil. It is even so with all other evils; they are temporary, not\neternal.\n\nC. The evil of wretchedness is worse than ignorance.\n\nE. Wretchedness is the effect of ignorance. The effect can not exceed\nthe cause.\n\nC. Yea; but it may be more lasting.\n\nE. How can the effect of ignorance be more lasting than the cause?\n\nC. When minds do wrong, their wrongs remain, as thou hast said, till\nthey are corrected. Thou sayest that thy mission here is to correct thy\nwrongs, and yet thou claimest wisdom unknown to thee, when thy wrongs\nwere done.\n\nE. My wrongs were the wrongs of thee, and those with thee. When I\ntaught thee wrong, thy wrongs justified my teaching. Thy sympathies\nwere as mine; but what was my wrong, was not thine, nor thine mine.\nWhen I came here, I came to undo my wrongs, which thou hast adopted,\nand by adoption made them thine. I was wrong as thou art; but what I\nwould do, thou wilt not undo. I would undo what thou canst not do.\nThat thou mayest understand me, I taught thee what thou didst receive\nand adopt. I taught thee wrong. My wrong was in teaching. Thou didst\nreceive and adopt, and thy wrong was in receiving and adopting, when\nthou shouldst have weighed my saying in the balance of impartial\njustice and truth. My mission is to undo my teaching, when I was with\nthee. Thy duty is to undo what thou hast adopted without weight. I told\nthee wrong. I now correct that wrong. I was in error. I would now make\nthee to know it. And when thou seest my folly as I see it, thy wisdom\nwill be increased.\n\nC. Then wisdom consists in seeing our own faults.\n\nE. It consists not only in seeing them, but forsaking them. The wisdom\nis in forsaking follies.\n\nC. Have we follies that wisdom does not approve?\n\nE. Thy works must show.\n\nC. What works?\n\nE. Thy reform will show thee thy follies.\n\nC. What follies?\n\nE. The folly of depending on others to do what thou shouldst do thyself.\n\nC. What should we do ourselves?\n\nE. Put away all wrong.\n\nC. What wrongs should we put away?\n\nE. The wrong of ignorance.\n\nC. Of what are we ignorant?\n\nE. Of that which thou knowest not.\n\nC. What is that?\n\nE. The wisdom of God.\n\nC. How may we know the wisdom of God?\n\nE. By instruction in righteousness.\n\nC. Who will instruct us?\n\nE. A circle whom we have seen. Wouldst thou be introduced to that\ncircle?\n\nC. Thy circle will not receive such minds as we are.\n\nE. My circle will prepare thy mind, and receive thee when prepared.\n\nC. Why doth thy circle not worship as we do?\n\nE. Because it is not in accordance with our wisdom. Thou wilt worship\nwith new light, when thou seest the wisdom which will be unfolded to\nthee. Now, thou seest with fear and trembling; but when the pure\nwisdom shines upon thee from the throne of goodness, the doubts and\nfears of thy mind will be dissipated with the rising glory of eternal\nday. The vain imaginings of a misguided mind, will be corrected, and\nthe beautiful harmonies of nature will control thy mind, and give thee\npeace, that transcends thy longing soul. The voice of kindness will\nrekindle thy devotions, and the sweet influence of welcome associates,\nwill touch the soft emotions of gratitude and praise. Thou hast not\nseen wisdom so pure, goodness so great, hope so unclouded, life\nso sweet, and society so agreeable, as that to which I propose to\nintroduce thee and thy friends with thee. Thou wilt learn thy lessons\nof love with pleasure, thy lessons of peace with content, and no lash\nof fear will urge thee, when thou understandest the joy of the blessed.\n\nC. But why may I not receive the same instruction in this castle?\n\nE. Thou wilt receive thy instruction only where it is to be found. Thou\nknowest such only can instruct thee as are competent. They can not\ninstruct thee without removing the veil from thy face, so that thou\ncanst see, as well as hear, wisdom in mercy.\n\nC. I would not object to leaving the castle, if my associates would\naccompany me.\n\nE. Thy associates are even waiting for thee to say, \u201cI will go.\u201d\n\nC. How dost thou know?\n\nE. I know with a sight you have not obtained.\n\nC. Canst thou tell my intention?\n\nE. I can tell thee, that thy mind is to go.\n\nC. How may I know this, and see as thou dost?\n\nE. By doing as I require thee. When thou shalt see the light of the\ntemple, thy vision will be so increased as to discern the thoughts of\nmind, and when thou seest the thoughts of mind, thou wilt no longer\nwalk by faith, but by sight. In this consists the wisdom of the circle\nto which I now belong. They have no doubts or fears, because doubts\nare the results of blindness. What thou seest, thou canst not doubt or\nfear, because the truth is not to be feared, but dispels doubts and\nsorrows.\n\nC. Is there no fact, which ought to be feared?\n\nE. The most fearful thing, which spirits need to avoid, is their\nneglect of wisdom. Their opposition to improvement is the most\ndangerous thing which they need fear. It is what they should overcome.\nThy fears will vanish with the light of wisdom. They will not mar thy\njoy, nor disturb thy quiet, when the wisdom of our circle teaches thee\nthe folly of fear. Not every one of thy companions will go with us. I\nsee a mind in yonder palace, who is waiting for my experience to aid\nhim. He will not be aided in that manner. He wishes me to test the\nrealities of my circle for him, but thou canst now see, that my test\nwill not be a test for him. When indolence asketh another to do what\nbelongeth to him who is controlled by it should do, the improvement\nwill be procrastinated until indolence is satisfied. There will be no\nreform in the hands of indolence, and where there is no reform, there\nis but little wisdom. I have seen much indolence in this castle. I\nhave seen much indifference to progress, and I am satisfied that no\nwisdom can improve the condition of minds here, unless that wisdom be\nreceived, to give vitality to the works of righteousness. I wait thy\nresponse.\n\nC. I will try thy circle.\n\nE. Thou wilt not receive what is given thee without trying it, because\nthe trying is what will introduce thee into it.\n\nC. Then, I can try it here.\n\nE. Not till thou hast received it.\n\nC. But, may I not receive it here, as elsewhere?\n\nE. Thou mayest receive what thou canst here, and practice it; but what\nthou lackest is sight. Now, thou only believest, because of my saying;\nbut when thou seest, thou wilt know, not because of my saying, but\nbecause what thou seest will make thee know the wisdom which I now\ndeclare unto thee. Thou wouldst prefer facts for faiths, realities for\ndoubts, and stability for uncertainty.\n\nC. I will go with thee.\n\nE. Who else?\n\nThe whole company were of one mind. They all said, \u201cI will go.\u201d I\nrecorded their names in the book of life, and found a thousand times\nten thousand, who sung a new song on the walls of scorn, and were\nreceived into the temple not made with hands, as were the hundred and\nforty and four thousand. They were made free from the bondage of fear\nand doubt; and, when they were free, they said, \u201cGlory, glory, to the\nLord God Almighty, who art from everlasting to everlasting, Supreme\nover the works which he hath made; and who suffereth no unclean thing\nto frustrate the immutable counsel of his wisdom and pleasure.\u201d And the\nvoice of the temple was one voice; for joy was increased, when reform\nwas effectual in reclaiming so great a multitude.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nMISSION TO ANOTHER CIRCLE.\n\n  Thomas finds two minds wrangling--Enters into conversation\n  with them--Refuses to give his name--Opposes teaching what\n  the teacher does not know--Opposes controversy--Rejects\n  innate depravity--Discards wrong views--Recommends facts for\n  opinions--Explanation of sun and moon, which stood still by the\n  command of Joshua--Nature instructs mind--Wrangling unwise--Wisdom\n  will overcome wrong--Freedom induces righteousness--Masters\n  responsible for the doings of servants--Another mind is\n  converted--The work of the temple harmonious--Duty to avoid\n  discord--The assent is gained--The convert sees a light--William\n  gives him advice, and conducts him to the temple, when he receives a\n  new name, and a white stone.\n\n\nThe master then requested me to take with me no mind, but go to another\ncircle, who were sympathizers with those in the castle. I went where\nthere was a company, who sought for wisdom in works of wrong. They\nwere aided with no light but such as they had found in the rudimental\ncondition. I saw them disputing about something which they did not\nunderstand. Though I could see them, yet they could not see me. I heard\none mind say to another, who came to instruct him in the wisdom of his\ncircle, that it was better to control by force than by reason.\n\nThe circle whom he was instructing, deputed a champion to debate with\nhim; and he replied, \u201cthat fear was the only weapon to control and\ngovern minds.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not the only weapon; but it is one of the most powerful agents\nwhich need be used. I have seen some minds so constituted,\u201d said he,\n\u201cthat they could be governed without fear, but it is not often their\ncondition.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe condition of no mind,\u201d replied the other, \u201ccan be so well\ngoverned, as to let them know that what they say and do will be\npunished with severity, or rewarded with generosity.\u201d\n\nThe dispute was not wise. The wrangling was wrong. I came near them,\nand they said, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d\n\nT. I am your friend.\n\nC. So say all who wish to deceive.\n\nT. Did I ever deceive you?\n\nC. Why, then, will you not give your name?\n\nT. My name will not aid you to know me.\n\nC. Why?\n\nT. Because, my name you never knew.\n\nC. Have we never known or heard of you?\n\nT. You may have heard that which I would not acknowledge, because it\nmight be unjust.\n\nC. Then what is your mission? Are you a teacher?\n\nT. I teach what I know.\n\nC. Do you not teach, sometimes, what you do not know.\n\nT. I have done so; but now I do so no more.\n\nC. Then your teaching must be very limited.\n\nT. It is limited; and whose is not?\n\nC. They who teach what they do not know?\n\nC. How can a mind teach what he does not know.\n\nC. As he would that which he does know.\n\nT. How is that?\n\nC. He can tell his views; he can teach his opinions.\n\nT. True; but how can he teach what he does not know?\n\nC. I have said, as he does that which he knows.\n\nT. Then he makes them know what he does not.\n\nC. No; but he makes them believe as he does.\n\nT. Then, when he makes them believe they are taught.\n\nC. Yes, they are taught his belief.\n\nT. They are not wiser, or better, for his teaching, I conclude.\n\nC. They are both wiser and better.\n\nT. How so?\n\nC. Because they are.\n\nT. Is that your only reason?\n\nC. No; they are wiser in regard to opinions and views.\n\nT. In what does their wisdom consist?\n\nC. It consists in being able to overthrow false opinions and views.\n\nT. Is that all?\n\nC. What more can there be?\n\nT. Much more, when they are wise.\n\nC. What?\n\nT. They can be good and just; they can speak the truth, and lie not.\nThey can avoid deception and wrong. They can know something, and be\nserviceable to other minds by teaching them what they know.\n\nC. But minds know but little, and can soon teach that.\n\nT. Do you know the reason why they know but little?\n\nC. Because but little can be known.\n\nT. No; because but little knowledge has been sought. When mind contents\nitself with opinions and views, it will make but little effort to\ngather facts.\n\nC. Then, we will hear your facts.\n\nT. You will hear what may not now be said, when you are prepared for it.\n\nC. Are we are not prepared for facts?\n\nT. I will not relate what you will not receive.\n\nC. Why?\n\nT. Because it will do you no good.\n\nC. How do you know we will not receive it?\n\nT. Because I see your opinions will prevent it.\n\nC. Then what is your mission?\n\nT. To remove your opinions when wrong.\n\nC. Have we wrong opinions?\n\nT. Some are right, and others wrong.\n\nC. Which are wrong?\n\nT. Those which cause you to wrangle.\n\nC. But may we not compare our opinions?\n\nT. What good will the comparison do?\n\nC. It will show which are correct.\n\nT. How will it show that?\n\nC. The strongest will gain the victory.\n\nT. The victory over whom?\n\nC. Over the weak.\n\nT. Well, does a victory over the weak establish what you want?\n\nC. It establishes the fact, that one opinion is stronger than another.\n\nT. How so?\n\nC. Because it overpowers the weakest opinion.\n\nT. Then, when one mind overcomes another, you say he is correct.\n\nC. I know of no better rule.\n\nT. When the rule is secure because it is just, the wisdom of the rule\nwill be established, but the rule is wrong, and, therefore, the result\nmust be wrong. Because one mind triumphs over another, it does not\nprove the right on the side of the victor.\n\nC. How, then, can opinions be tested?\n\nT. By experience.\n\nC. Experience is on both sides.\n\nT. True; but when the experience is such as to be well, it is not ill.\nThe mind in the wrong will have an unhappy experience, but the mind in\nthe right will be happy. Therefore, my rule is to wrangle not, but let\nexperience test the claims of all opinions. In this way, all errors\nwould soon disappear without disputes.\n\nC. It would be a long time to overcome errors in that way.\n\nT. Will you show how they can be overcome sooner?\n\nC. I think that two minds, holding different opinions, should discuss\nthe difference between them.\n\nT. Will a discussion of differences make them less, or remove a single\nerror?\n\nC. I will say, I see no other way to remove them.\n\nT. The wisest among you see no other way; but have you ever known an\nerror corrected by disputation?\n\nC. I have seen some minds confounded.\n\nT. The answer is true; but have you seen any one correct his errors by\ncontroversy?\n\nC. I may say, some minds have been changed by controversy.\n\nT. Have they been changed so as to abandon their errors?\n\nC. The change has been well, because they have received the truth.\n\nT. What truth have they received?\n\nC. They have received the truth of the Bible.\n\nT. What truth of the Bible have they received?\n\nC. They have received the truth of wisdom, which teaches them that a\nmind in a state of nature can not receive the things of God, because it\nis prone to evil continually.\n\nT. Is that a truth revealed in the Bible?\n\nC. It is a truth which no reader of the Bible can deny. It is a truth\nwhich God has revealed to mind.\n\nT. Will you read the truth to me from that Book?\n\nC. I will show you a passage. It reads, \u201cThe fathers have eaten sour\ngrapes, and the children\u2019s teeth are set on edge.\u201d\n\nT. Does that passage say, that mind in a state of nature can not\nreceive the things of God, or that it is prone to evil continually?\n\nC. It says, that the children were affected by the conduct of the\nfather.\n\nT. What else?\n\nC. Why, if they were so affected, they must partake of the guilt of the\nfather.\n\nT. How so?\n\nC. Because, it makes the children responsible for the conduct of the\nparent.\n\nT. How does it make the children responsible?\n\nC. By virtue of the law to which they are subject.\n\nT. What virtue is there in any law, which makes one mind responsible\nfor the deeds of another?\n\nC. I see you are an infidel.\n\nT. How can you see what is not a fact?\n\nC. It is a fact that you cavil with God\u2019s law.\n\nT. Wherein have I caviled?\n\nC. By denying what is written in the Bible.\n\nT. What have I denied in the Bible?\n\nC. The doctrine of innate depravity.\n\nT. I have not seen that doctrine in the Bible, neither have you.\n\nC. The doctrine is contained in the passage I have quoted.\n\nT. I do not see it.\n\nC. There is no one so blind as he who will not see.\n\nT. Then, I will need sight. Can you impart it?\n\nC. I can not make you see, unless you will try.\n\nT. I will not try to see what is not.\n\nC. Then, you may see what is.\n\nT. Then, you will produce what is, and let what is not alone. I saw you\nand your companion wrangling about what is not.\n\nC. Then, you must be blind. I see what is well, and, when a mind will\nnot acknowledge the truth, it should be rewarded for its obstinacy.\n\nT. It should not be rewarded for what it rejects, because it is untrue.\n\nC. It should be punished for its obstinacy.\n\nT. It should not be punished for rejecting a wrong.\n\nC. The wickedness of mind must be punished, or God will not be just.\n\nT. How will God punish a mind for rejecting a wrong?\n\nC. He will not punish a mind for rejecting a wrong, but for rejecting\nthe truth.\n\nT. The truth will not justify you. The truth should make you free.\n\nC. I am free; I never was a slave. Why will not the truth justify me?\n\nT. Because it is rejected by you, and error is often encouraged.\n\nC. What have I rejected?\n\nT. You have not rejected some errors, but many facts.\n\nC. What fact have I rejected?\n\nT. The fact that God is just to all.\n\nC. If he had been just to all, we should not have been spared the\nvengeance of his wrath.\n\nT. How do you know?\n\nC. Because his wrath is withheld on account of his Son.\n\nT. How do you know that his wrath is withheld?\n\nC. Because we do not receive our just deserts.\n\nT. What are our just deserts?\n\nC. The vengeance and wrath of God, forever.\n\nT. How can you tell what you do not know?\n\nC. I can tell what I believe.\n\nT. On what evidence is that belief predicated?\n\nC. On the word of God.\n\nT. Will you read that word?\n\nC. Thou shalt not see me without repentance.\n\nT. Thy memory will not read truly.\n\nC. But that is the meaning of the passage.\n\nT. I will aid you right.\n\nC. Go on.\n\nT. \u201cThe gifts and calling of God are without repentance.\u201d\n\nC. That is not the passage.\n\nT. Then, I can not find it.\n\nC. But you know the word of God is true.\n\nT. It is true; but not your saying.\n\nC. I see you will not consent to any thing.\n\nT. I will not dissent from a fact.\n\nC. How will you get a fact?\n\nT. By experiment, by demonstration, and by knowing.\n\nC. Would you reject what you do not know?\n\nT. I would receive what I know, and look for the evidence of what I do\nnot know.\n\nC. On what page of revelation would you look?\n\nT. On the first page.\n\nC. That aids but little.\n\nT. Then, I would turn to the second page, and so on, until I found\nwisdom.\n\nC. Then, the Bible is your wisdom.\n\nT. The Bible contains much wisdom, but nature more.\n\nC. Is nature more wise than revelation?\n\nT. I have said, it is.\n\nC. How can that be, when revelation came from God?\n\nT. Nature is the work of God, and revelation is the work of nature.\nNature is the first page of revelation, and the whole which can be\nrevealed. Nature, or the wisdom of God, displayed in his work, is only\nrevealed in part, and, therefore, is less than nature.\n\nC. But when revelation contradicts nature, what will you do?\n\nT. I will say, it can not contradict nature, for nature is true to\nitself.\n\nC. But the Bible contradicts nature.\n\nT. How, and wherein?\n\nC. The sun and moon stood still for Joshua to slay his enemies.\n\nT. The sun and moon stood where God placed them. They never stood\notherwise. But you will find other suns, and other moons, and other\nstars, than thou seest in heaven. I hold a banner, and on it you may\nsee a sun and a moon. It stands still at my command, or it moves as I\ncontrol. So, with the enemies of Joshua. They stood still; and when\nthey stood still, the banner did not move, neither did the sun, or\nthe moon, on their banners. The sun and the moon which were on their\nbanners moved not, till the enemy was no longer able to contend with\nthe victors. I see no contradiction of nature in that passage.\n\nC. I see no contradiction in your interpretation.\n\nT. It is not my interpretation.\n\nC. Whose is it?\n\nT. It is the interpretation of Joshua.\n\nC. From whom did you receive it?\n\nT. I received it from a circle belonging to a sphere, who received it\nfrom him.\n\nC. How may I know the truth of what you affirm?\n\nT. By advancement in wisdom.\n\nC. How may I advance in wisdom?\n\nT. By receiving wisdom from superior minds.\n\nC. How may I know who is my superior?\n\nT. By their works. When the work of a mind harmonizes with the law of\nGod in nature, you may know that the doer of that work is your superior.\n\nC. But nature is an incomprehensible volume.\n\nT. It is incomprehensible to those only who do not understand it. It is\nmysterious to those who have not examined or explored its golden page.\nIt is wise, and what is wise you may learn.\n\nC. Who will aid me?\n\nT. Nature will not leave you without an instructor.\n\nC. That is your opinion, I suppose.\n\nT. It is a fact which I know. I have not come here to teach you\nopinions, but facts. I see your mind is overstocked already with\nopinions, and this is the cause of your wrangling in this circle. Minds\ndo not wrangle with each other about facts, which they know; but all\nwrangling is about things not understood. I have seen your condition,\nand know the fact which I affirm.\n\nC. This is narrowing to a small compass the circumference of minds. It\ngives little scope for thought and energy.\n\nT. The energy of this circle will not be circumscribed by right\ndirection. It will not be without sufficient scope for the wisdom it\npossesses. But wrangling about things, never increases the wisdom, nor\nthe happiness of those engaged in it. Confine yourselves to what you\nknow, and peace will be multiplied among you. Contention will gather\nsecret remorse. No good thing can come from the evil of strife. The\nwisdom of brutes scorns what some minds practice. They never quarrel\nabout things of which they know nothing; and surely minds of a higher\norder need not to dispute about facts which they know. All who wrangle\nare not wise. All who dispute are not wise. It is a weakness which\nfools may pursue, but minds of understanding disdain to become weak in\nthe wrongs of wrangling.\n\nC. Then you are for submitting to every indignity, which the weakness\nand malice of wicked minds may heap upon your reputation.\n\nT. It will be well to submit to that which you can not avoid; but\nwhen no unwise conduct on your part exists, the sneer will not be\nintolerable. You will find that submission to casual insult, is more\ntolerable and easy to endure, than a contention about it. The severest\nwrong of the two is wrangling. It is worse than all the insults mind\never endures. Insult injures no one more than he who indulges in it.\nIndeed, wisdom will not heed an insult. It will not stoop to quarrel\nwith it. It passes on, unmindful of the wrong intended, and leaves\nthe doer to gather what he has sown. But the contention of parties\nexhibits a weakness on both sides. It has been the folly of nations and\nindividuals to resent insult, and the resentment has always made them\nmore unhappy, than the insult could have done. I was not well satisfied\nin my rudimental state with the antagonistical elements of conditions\naround me. I saw war and bloodshed. I saw wrong and weakness. I saw\npower and tyranny. I saw evils and superstitions, ignorance and\nwretchedness. Then, I put forth my hand to overcome them, but the\ntorrent swept along, and my hope was destroyed. I was not satisfied\nwith war when in war, with contention when contention came, with strife\nwhen mind was striving with mind; and when I came into this sphere,\nI found a wisdom which gave what contention never brings--a peace\nthat passeth all understanding--a love which filled me with sympathy,\nand gave energy to my soul for the good of those whose weakness was\ndeserving of a commiseration and care, which the ignorant may scorn,\nand the foolish envy, but who can not share the joy it gives to my\nmind. Thus, was a mind advanced from a condition of wrangling to a\ncondition of peace. When minds wrangle, it is not with words of wisdom,\nbut words of folly.\n\nC. The theory you advocate is well; but it will not do to practice.\nMinds need something to make them do right.\n\nT. When minds do what something makes them, it is that _something_,\nand not them, which does it. They are not free, and are, therefore,\nirresponsible for what is done; as they are only the instruments in the\nhand of something. Will you tell me how a theory can be well, which it\nwill not do to practice?\n\nC. Your theory looks well; but it would be injurious to any one who\nwill practice it, because he would be compelled to suffer on account of\nthe wickedness of others. Minds need restraint.\n\nT. Minds need wisdom, and, when they get wisdom, they require no\nrestraint to make them do right. They will suffer less from the\nwickedness of others, when others are free, than they do while they\ncontrol by fear. It is wicked in mind to do by others as it would not\nhave others do to it.\n\nC. Then, you would unbridle the mind, and give it liberty to do as it\npleased.\n\nT. I would unbridle the mind from its ignorance, release it from its\nchains, and inspire it with righteousness. Then, I would say, \u201cDo as\nyou please.\u201d\n\nC. Would it not please to do wrong?\n\nT. It would please to do only right, and, when mind pleases to do\nright, it will injure no one.\n\nC. How do you know it would please to do right?\n\nT. By experience.\n\nC. Have you no fear of your superiors?\n\nT. My superiors are more just and good than I.\n\nC. Then why do you not fear them?\n\nT. Because they are better than myself.\n\nC. I would not obey without reward.\n\nT. Would you not do as you pleased?\n\nC. I would; but I would not please to obey.\n\nT. Why?\n\nC. Because I would do as I pleased.\n\nT. If you pleased to obey, and did as you pleased, you would obey.\n\nC. But I would not so please to do.\n\nT. Would you do as you would not please to do?\n\nC. I would not.\n\nT. Then, you would obey; because when pleased to do a thing, if you\ndid not do it, you would be displeased and dissatisfied. When wisdom\ncultivates the mind, it makes it productive of good fruits. They come\nup, and grow spontaneously. The soil, being wisely prepared, yields\nthe peaceable fruits of righteousness. So, when your mind drinks of\nthe fountain of a higher wisdom, it satisfies the thirst, and gives\nit strength to bear fruit. It is free from the fears of ignorance and\nsuperstition, and needs no lash to extort the required good. It does\nwhat it pleases without fear, because it pleases to do right, and not\nwrong. But the mind driven, is like a slave--a servant that serves\nonly because the eye of his master is upon him, and the lash of his\nwrath is uplifted to extort an unwilling service. The slave works, but\nhe works as he is worked by the master. So, with those who serve in\nyour condition. It is not you, but your master who works you, that is\nentitled to the reward. He employs you as a mechanic would his tools;\nand yet, who would say, the tool should receive a reward for its use?\n\nC. This is a new doctrine. I see you sap the foundation of all fear.\n\nT. I would sap the foundation of all ignorance, because ignorance\nis the cause of all fear. Remove ignorance, and all fear ceases. It\nnever was a virtue. Minds have operated to make minds fear. They have\nsought to make them fear what they did not fear themselves. They have\nrepresented God, and even spirits, as objects of fear. And they have\nlashed their superstitious victims into a servitude as degrading as it\nwas destructive, as humiliating as it was ruinous to the welfare of\nmind. When ignorance is superseded by wisdom, freedom will permit minds\nto share in the work of their hands; but, so long as mind is in bondage\nthrough fear, and works only as it is worked, the reward, whatever it\nmay be, should be given to him who controls. The master, and not the\nservant, does the work, and does it as he chooses, and by the tools at\nhis command.\n\nC. I would ask, if mind ought not to fear God?\n\nT. How can a mind fear what it loves?\n\nC. It may fear to offend.\n\nT. It will not offend, when right.\n\nC. But, when it is liable to err, it may fear.\n\nT. But it is not liable to err in what it knows, and what is unknown\nought not to create fear.\n\nC. Why?\n\nT. Because it is unknown. Most fears are of this description. Minds\nseldom fear real things.\n\nC. Do not slaves fear their masters?\n\nT. Not their masters, but what their masters may do.\n\nC. Is not the will of the master a reality?\n\nT. The will is well; but the abuse of the will is ill. Slaves fear\nthe abuse of power over them. The abuse will not be feared, when the\nreality of wisdom corrects it. It will be corrected, when slaves no\nlonger fear their masters; but so long as they fear, they will be\nservants.\n\nC. Then, servants are to blame for their fears?\n\nT. I blame no mind, it is not my prerogative to condemn. But I may\nsay, when slaves cease to fear, slavery is at an end. The master\ncan not coerce without fear, nor can he make others do his bidding,\nwhen they are disinclined. Fear, then, hath its bonds, and those who\ngenerate fears contribute to enslave mind.\n\nC. Does not God make mind fear?\n\nT. Never.\n\nC. But minds fear God.\n\nT. Minds fear what their conditions make them. When ignorance\novershadows the soul, so that it can only see a twilight view of\nnature, the mind is subject to the rule of ignorance. That rule will\ncorrespond to the light which shines. The whole reflected upon the\nvision at once, would induce sight to be dazzled by the flood. Hence,\nin the organization of mind, as an individual, the wisdom of God is\nmanifest, because what is natural, is adapted to its condition, and\nwhat is adapted to its condition, is productive of enjoyment. Hence,\nwhat is natural is free, not being prohibited by law, and what is\nfree, is not a monopoly. In nature, there is no law which justifies a\nmonopoly of her gifts. All things in her storehouse, belong to a common\nfamily; and each member may enjoy what is needful to enjoyment. I have\nseen a monopoly of what nature has provided for the good of mind. I\nhave seen churches established upon the assumed right of holding the\ntreasures of this and other spheres in their hands, to dispense or\nwithhold as the policy of worldly wisdom wished for its aggrandizement.\nI have seen minds, in this sphere, overshadowed with the darkness of\nsuch idolatry and injustice; and I have seen them bow down in terror,\nand work in fear before a God, whom heathens would reject for its\nsupposed cruelty. Now, have you not had fears of this description?\n\nC. I must acknowledge that I have.\n\nT. Would you know the cause?\n\nC. You have laid the cause bare in your remarks.\n\nT. How long will you tarry here in this midnight of wrong?\n\nC. Till I can be released.\n\nT. Will you be free?\n\nC. If I can.\n\nT. There is no wrong whence I go. Will you follow me?\n\nC. I will try; but I know not where you will lead me.\n\nT. I will lead you where the weary find rest, and the light hath no\ndarkness. But when you reach the door of the temple, I will bid you\nwait till I gain permission to introduce you.\n\nC. Suppose permission should be denied.\n\nT. Suppositions never enter there.\n\nC. What! no one allowed to suppose a question? That must be a tyranny\nunknown to me.\n\nT. They will not suppose, because the subject of a supposition is known\nwithout it. There is no need of a supposition, when wisdom discloses\nthe fact. All suppositions admit of two sides. They admit of doubt\nand fear. But where knowledge reigns, where light shines, and wisdom\ncontrols, all are of one mind. Hence, my mind is as all the rest, who\nwork with me in the temple. If we were divided, the work would fall,\nbecause of its disagreement. And I wish you to understand, that all the\nwork is prepared by one rule, and, therefore, they who work by that\nrule, must make their works agree. In the circle to which you belong,\nI find discord and wrangling. It is because the workmen have different\nrules. One works by one rule, and another by a different rule. When\nthey bring their works together, they disagree. Do you know the reason?\n\nC. I see the reason.\n\nT. Would you avoid the disagreement?\n\nC. I would have my work useful.\n\nT. You see that no work can be useful, which is not practical. The\nworks which disagree, can not be made practical, because of their\ndifference. One opposes the other. Wrangling ensues; wretchedness is\npromoted; good is despised; the law of harmony is disregarded; and\nwisdom is set at naught. The whole wrangling is wrong, and he who\nencourages it by precept or example, is a patron of the wrong.\n\nC. Was not your presence an encouragement to wrangling, when you came\nto see me?\n\nT. I came to correct, not to support, wrangling.\n\nC. But while you were a witness, did not your presence support it?\n\nT. No: checked it. Had I not succeeded, I should have retired.\n\nC. I will say, no mind should tarry to witness an evil, it has no\nwisdom to correct. Better leave the evil to consume itself, than throw\nyourself into the fire to be injured with the flames.\n\nC. But some one must make the sacrifice, or there will be no\ndeliverance.\n\nT. Sacrifices and burnt offerings, which do no good, are inconsistent\nwith justice. There is a time, when mind may aid minds, and there is a\ntime, when it can not. The time to aid is when good can be done, and\nthe time not to aid is when aid will be refused. Let no mind offer aid\nwithout good, or withhold it when needed. The need must be realized,\nor it will be rejected. I have heard minds refuse, because they scorned\nto be a debtor to any one. They would boast of their independence,\nwhen their independence was subservience to educational wrongs. I have\nheard them decry against slavery, when they were slaves to the most\ntyrannical of all masters--the ignorance of their conceited ambition to\noccupy the highest seat in the kingdom of heaven, without the requisite\nmodesty to admit their superiors to an equal condition. I have seen the\nland of freedom, the home of the free; but I never knew wisdom to rule\nwhere disorder and wrong overcame the harmony of goodness and peace.\n\nC. Verily, you make wrangling the worst of all vices.\n\nT. What is greater?\n\nC. The wrong of injustice.\n\nT. The wrong of wrangling is the wrong of injustice. The mind that\nwrangles, abuses itself, and degrades its associates. The mind is known\nby the circle it sustains. My mission is to destroy the wrangling; but\nyou know, that many minds love what is disagreeable to others. They\nlove strife. They hate peace. They love happiness, but their folly\ndisappoints them. This is the condition of your circle. They wrangle\nnot about what they know, but concerning what they do not know. And yet\nI would not wrangle with them, concerning what I know, because it is\nwrong, and what is wrong can not do good.\n\nC. I will wrangle no more. I see a light advancing. Who comes with the\nstream of radiant glory beaming on his brow?\n\nT. It is my friend William. He has a message for you. You may answer\nhim when he speaks, and as he speaks.\n\nW. Thy friend will wrangle no more. Let him come with us, and we will\ndo him good. Art thou ready, friend?\n\nC. I am ready.\n\nW. Hast thou realized the wisdom thou hast heard?\n\nC. I have heard what has done me good.\n\nW. Thy work is not done. Cast thou square thy life by the rule I give\nthee?\n\nC. What is the rule?\n\nW. When thou findest wisdom to aid thee, wilt thou renew thy strength,\nand soar above the groveling disputes, which thy circle have cherished?\n\nC. I feel no desire to wrangle with mind.\n\nW. Hast thou a desire to obey the wisdom thou hast learned from thy\nservant, who has instructed thee?\n\nC. I will not disobey what contributes to my enjoyment.\n\nW. That is the law of harmony. No harmony can exist where law is\ndisregarded. The circle into whose presence thou wilt soon be\nintroduced, will aid thee in thy progress to ineffable joy. But no mind\ncan gain admittance there, who will adhere to a wrong, because the\nwrong weakens the enjoyment of his brethren. Thou mayest now follow us,\nand wait at the door, till the banner returns; and Thomas, whom we call\nContentment, announces thy welcome.\n\nC. I will follow thee whither thou goest.\n\nThe morality of the circle was made known unto him, and the master\nsaid, \u201cWe hail thee as Welcome. Hereafter such will be thy name, except\nwhen thou wishest to converse with thy former associates, to reclaim\nthem from their wrongs. Then, thou wilt make thyself known unto them\nby thy former name. And when thou desirest to go unto them, thou wilt\ntake with thee this white stone, with thy new name written therein,\nwhich no man knoweth but thee and thy associates in this circle.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nPROGRESS FROM THE FOURTH TO THE SEVENTH CIRCLE.\n\n  Receives a visit from a superior mind--Proposition to advance\n  accepted--The seraphim sings--A pearl given--Enters a world of light\n  and song--Description of the works which he saw--The instruction of\n  the Worthy--The song of the free--Address of another mind on the key\n  of wisdom--The seven seals--Address of a third mind--Conduct to the\n  sixth circle--A lecture on social progress--Hope a reality--A lecture\n  on prophecy--Rules of prophecy the same as mathematical--Prediction\n  of communicating with the inhabitants of earth--Predictions,\n  opinions only of those below the sixth circle--A lecture on purity\n  and prophecy--Nature the standard by which to determine right and\n  wrong--Advancement to the seventh circle, or court of Beauty--Sees\n  a white throne and inscriptions--A little child leading a lion--A\n  serpent fastened to a rock--Twenty four pillars of wisdom--Minstrels\n  chant a welcome--Emblems explained--Prediction of events now taking\n  place--Contemplated mission to the rudimental sphere, and how it\n  would be received--The serpent to be destroyed--Evils to be overcome\n  by wisdom.\n\n\nI was next commissioned to visit a work in the advancement of my\nown mind. There came to us a spirit, who said, \u201cThe glory of this\ntabernacle is dim. Would this society go with me, and see a more\nexcellent glory?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have no fears of progress,\u201d said the commander.\n\nS. The progress you have made is well, but I am delegated by a circle\nyou have not seen, to welcome you to a wisdom, which reflects itself\nupon the dome of your temple.\n\nC. We are ready to be improved, as to improve others.\n\nS. I know your readiness to advance, and, as you have signified your\nwish, you will walk with me to a scene more magnificent than what\nadorns this mansion. The whole company within this temple, will form\na circle above this temple; and the seraphim will sing a song of\nredemption. When the song is sung, the circle will say, \u201cHallelujah,\nthe Lord God, Omnipotent reigneth.\u201d\n\nI was in the midst of the circle, when the seraphim struck the soft\nnotes of peace, and my heart melted within me. The melody of the song\nwas indescribably sweet, and the words were distinct and clear. The\nwisdom of heaven seemed more beautiful, and the day of salvation opened\nupon my sight. I felt no despondency within me, for the clearness of\nthat mild sky unfolded a glory, that made the former glory appear dark\nand unwelcome. I was not unwilling to advance with my companions,\nand no discord was heard. When the seraphim had ended its song, the\nconductor inquired, \u201cDo all understand the meaning of the words you\nhave heard?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know what is the meaning,\u201d said the commander.\n\nS. What is known need not be told, except to those who know it not. I\nwill enjoin it upon you, and your companions, never to communicate to\nanother what is known unto him, lest he be weary with your society.\nAsk, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and it shall\nbe opened unto you; so that he who asketh, and he who seeketh, shall\nnot go away empty. The wisdom of the circle, into whose society you\nwill shortly be introduced, giveth to all who asketh, and upbraideth\nnot. Are you willing to do likewise?\n\nC. I am willing.\n\nS. You will, then, receive this pearl. Wear it in your bosom. Let\nits radiance beam in all your works. Let its lustre shine in your\nconversation. And let its purity make you free from the taint of wrong.\nThis pearl is of great value. It will save you from darkness. It will\nchase away the gloom of error. It will protect you from the weakness of\ndoubt and fear. You may let the circle view the pearl, and, when they\nhave examined it, I will proceed with you to the circle where each one\nwill receive, as it seemeth good to the Worthy. He will open a new page\nin the work of progress. Let all listen to his words, and be faithful\nto obey the wisdom which he will give you. I am now ready; follow me.\n\nWe came to a world of eternal reality. I entered within a sacred\nrepository of wisdom, where I saw minds renowned in history, whose\ncountenances reflected a light which illumined all who came near\nthem. The wide arch of heaven rung with song, and waste places felt\nthe genial influence of virtue. Before us were written in letters of\ngold the words, \u201cWorthy art thou to receive glory, and honor, and\npraise, and power.\u201d On the right were crowns at the feet of saints,\nand on the left were gems of silver brightness, linked with a chain\nof light. These gems were so arranged as to represent in miniature\nthe words, \u201cPoverty and riches embrace wisdom, when one receives what\nthe other gives.\u201d Near the entrance of this magnificent theater of\nwisdom, rose a writing, \u201cEnter thou into the joy of wisdom.\u201d Beneath\nour feet were clouds of vapor, on which the sun shone, giving them a\nsmiling appearance. A vase of flowers stood in the center, and near by\nit a well, out of whose mouth came a gushing current of the water of\nlife. As we passed the well, the Worthy said, \u201cThis is the water that\nwhosoever drinketh thereof shall never thirst, but it shall be in him a\nfountain of water springing up into everlasting life. Drink freely.\u201d\n\nThe solemnity of the scene was heightened by the lessons we received\nfrom the Worthy and his companions. I heard attentively, and will give\nas correct a report as the understanding of the reader will be able\nto appreciate. I will not attempt to narrate all which was set before\nus, since the simple relation would require a volume of itself; but I\npropose to give a brief synopsis of the unfoldings of wisdom to our\nminds.\n\nAs we were within the theater of a circle, whose countenances reflected\nsuch light, that we were dazzled with the brilliancy thereof, the\nWorthy said; \u201cThis pool, whose water is for the thirsty, cometh from\nthe throne of truth. You have now a portion, which never exhausts or\nwastes itself within you. It is immortal to satisfy. The current will\nnot dry by using. It is free as air. Nature is not poverty. Her wisdom\nreaches far above the mind in its soarings. The pool comes up from the\nwell of hope. Out of hope cometh reality. Hope never wrings sorrow\nfrom the mind. Zeal can not live without animation. Its worth no mind\ncan fathom. Its everlasting flight is upward, onward, expanding with\nits expanse, and rising with its strength. The mind without hope,\nis like a mourner without consolation, like a ship without sail or\nrudder; and when the water of life satiates the thirst of doubt and\ndespair, joy rides over the storm and the sea, that dashes against\nthe shore of eternity. Eternity hath no shore. The immortal enters\neternity when time ends. The mind sees no shore. Days and nights are\nnot. Time is not. The calendar of months and days is no more. All is\neternity--eternity is all. Rest is work, and work is rest. The water\nis your strength, and nature is your fountain. Nature supplies itself,\nand what nature does, is well done. I need no wisdom she has not,\nfor her wisdom is the wisdom of the Infinite. Deep is the fountain,\nwide is the stream, and high is the mountain, whence cometh the pure\nphilosophy of wisdom. The wide creation shines with gems of infinite\nskill. Vast is the immensity of infinity. Stretch thy mind away from\nstar to star, from system to system, from worlds to worlds, and neither\nshore nor center rises before you. God is there. God is every where,\ninfinite, eternal--the spirit, whose life is the energy, the power of\nthe universe; whose glory the good of the dependent; and whose smile\nis in the sunshine and the shower, working out the immutable love of\nhis nature to bless the works he has made. The north and the south, the\neast and the west, above and below, wherever thought extends or not\nextends, the mercy of God flows like the limpid current of life, and\nyet you have come here to partake of the stream. I would do likewise;\nbecause here you may see its purity, and relish its sweetness. Change\nhas conformed your taste to the water, and light has dispersed your\ndoubts of its purity. Where darkness reigned, fears were indulged;\nand where fears were indulged, your minds refused the beverage, lest\nsome ill should befall you. Now the fear is gone, the hope is full;\nand where hope is full, the water will not be rejected. Water is life\nto the thirsty; doubt is death, because it forbids nature its wants.\nPilgrims, your souls have tested the life of water. Experience has\ntested its adaptation to your wants. Remembrance will save you from the\nsnare of doubts. Hence, the water springeth up in you forever.\n\n\u201cPilgrims: on your right are crowns at the feet of saints. Honor\ncometh not from power. Honor casts authority to rule others at your\nfeet. The crowns of tyrants must fall from their heads, and no mind\nshall honor the head which wears them. Superiority hath no dwelling\nplace in this circle. Equality reigns, and is acknowledged. No mind\nis ruler, and no mind is ruled. One law governs all, and that law is\nlove. Two minds can not think unlike, because the thoughts of love\nmust be one in all. The crowns you see, were the crowns we wore in\nour pilgrimage. We were not all kings, nor minds who wore an external\ncrown; but were all rulers over others. We loved rule, and despised\nsubmission. We loved control over minds, and have enjoyed it to our\ncomplete satisfaction. I controlled no one by my crown, but by my\ninfluence. I saw mind needed control, and, not seeing the control\nof God, I undertook to do his work. I made laws and executed them\nas I pleased, intending the good of those whom I controlled. I gave\nto one a penny, and to another more, as I judged them worthy. They\nwere satisfied with their wages, and did me honor. My crown was not\ndisgraced, as I supposed, because each mind, whom I controlled,\nreceived his reward. I was well satisfied with my wisdom. I wanted\nno more. Others of my companions ruled differently. One ruled by\nfear, and another by favor. One ruled by threatenings, and another by\npromises. One ruled by poverty, and another by riches. All had their\nvaried methods of controlling minds; but none were more unworthy than\nthose who attempted to control, and succeeded, by alarming the fears\nof the credulous with tales, revolting to sympathy and degrading to\nDeity. They controlled with an iron arm the dupes of their miserable\ndeception; but their crowns now lie at their feet.\n\n\u201cPilgrims: you see a change. You see that ignorance hath its votaries,\nand, so long as ignorance reigns, kings will rule, and subjects will\ntremble. Mind must learn wisdom to disarm tyrants. It must see light\nto escape darkness. It must experience freedom to hate bondage. It\nmust love right to forsake wrong. It must progress in wisdom to loathe\nignorance. The change has come, the light has appeared, the day has\ndawned, the bondage has vanished, and the wrong is forsaken. Experience\nhath done her work. Mind works for mind, good for good, virtue for\nvirtue, knowledge for knowledge; and equity and justice have trodden\ncrowns under their feet, and hurled the tyrant\u2019s scourge away forever.\n\n\u201cYou may turn to the left, and there you see a chain of light, linking\ngems, and words are written. Poverty and riches dwell together in\nkings\u2019 houses. He who rules is rich in power, in the estimation of\nhis subjects. He is rich in goodly things, and his position is envied\nby the ignorant. He fares sumptuously, and the ruled mourn at their\ninferiority. Poverty is lean and hungry there. Poverty tarries where\nwrong remains. Wrong remains, where ignorance rules. Ignorance rules\nwhere wisdom is not regarded. Wisdom is not regarded where injustice\nand force make minds slaves to others\u2019 will. Equity and righteousness\nare shunned and despised, law and harmony are violated, and light\nreflects the poverty of riches, and the wrongs of poverty. The poor\nseek, and he who seeketh findeth. The rich seek only to be rich, and\ntheir riches are not wisdom, but empty, vain toys that glitter in\nthe eyes of fools, and dazzle only to deceive the unwise. The gems\nwear not the face of despair. They are gems, inwoven with light. The\ngems represent minds, and minds form words. Words are true to a mind\nwho writes them. Poverty and riches embrace wisdom, when riches are\nemployed to relieve poverty. They are wise only when used to do good.\nNo wisdom is seen in riches, not controlled by wisdom. Love must see\nher children redeemed from want, and where there is no want, there is\nno poverty.\n\n\u201cThis circle is the circle of Worthy. It is a brotherhood of\nrighteousness. It has relinquished all authority to rule in the name\nof God. It acknowledges God alone, as the ruler of the universe. It\ndisclaims all other rulers, and in the light of his countenance we\nwalk, dispensing the light we have received and seen to those who need.\nThou art worthy to receive this glory, because thou wilt freely give.\nOthers are not permitted to receive it, because they will not give as\nthey receive. The honor is well bestowed on you.\n\n\u201cPilgrims: you have now entered into the joy of your Lord, because the\nblight of wrong, the mildew of neglect, hath no surface on your minds.\nRule is surrendered to God. No authority rests in you to withhold when\nothers need. No sorrow will pass unrelieved, and no fear sear the soul,\nunmitigated. All ignorance demands removal, and he who serves his\nfriend in need, serves God. The circle will now sing the song of the\nfree, when other minds will address you.\u201d\n\nThe song was sung, but no words can describe its richness. The poor\nwere made rich, and equality pervaded the immense multitude.\n\nWhen the song was ended, I heard a mind say, \u201cI have the key of wisdom,\nand I will now unlock the door of knowledge.\u201d Proceeding forward, he\naddressed us as follows: \u201cTrue greatness is goodness; true wisdom\nis what will make the mind good. I have seen power in the hands of\nweakness. I have seen weakness mock at the voice of wisdom, and cast\nher reproach at its votaries; but the reproach rebounded on her own\nhead. I have seen mind pleading for mercy at the gate of poverty.\nAlas! mistaken mind sought for bread where it was not, and the heart\nlanguished in despair. The voice of nature has been derided, and the\nweakness of ignorance has assumed dominion. Poverty is wrong, and\nwrong is poverty. No good thing has poverty to bestow. At its gate,\nthe hungry wait, and wait to be disappointed. I have sought, but not\nfound. I have wondered at my misfortune, and complained of the dealings\nof God. I have seen no key to unlock the mystery, and my soul has been\ndisquieted within me. But I sought for bread where it was not, and\nfor wisdom in a college of ignorance. Opinions were numerous, and as\ngrainless as husks. Faiths were not wanting in number or variety, but\nno mind was satisfied therewith. Views of God were conflicting and\ncontradictory, and my mind was worn with the wrangling of unsettled\ncontroversy. I sought for peace amid the turbulent waters, but found\nonly agitation and discontent. I was as wild as the sea on which\nmy bark floated, without hope or moorings, save the disputed and\nunsettled opinions of a dismal theology. In my dreams of the future,\nsocial good was never promised. Philanthropy was selfish, and charity\nnot a span long. Goodness dwelt in temples, and virtue signified\nconformity to others\u2019 views. Parsimony was common law, and beggars were\ncommon outlaws. Nature smiled then as now, but I saw not the smile.\nBrotherhood was without children, and conventional limits were drawn\nover the face of famishing souls. Imagination portrayed calamities, and\nwrongs sustained the wrong.\n\n\u201cPilgrims, I have a key. It will unlock the iron door, and show you the\nsecret of all this mischief and wrong. It is a key of knowledge. It is\na key which closes the door of hope. It bars the gate of joy. It shuts\nthe portal of salvation. It wrongs the poor of bread. It aggrandizes\nthe indolent from the labor of the industrious. It keeps mind away from\nits inheritance, and secludes the riches of heirship. I hold the key by\nwhich all this wrong and mischief has been done to mind, and I propose\nto open the door for your personal inspection.\u201d\n\nHe opened the door, and drew therefrom a book of seven seals. He began\nto unloose the first seal, when he said:\n\n\u201cPilgrims: The first seal of this book, represents the first circle.\nIt will show you, that all wisdom cometh to mind by successive\ndegrees of development. The mind in embryo, hath no wisdom; but when\nnature introduces mind into individualized being, the individual mind\nbreaks the first seal, and wisdom is realized. Nature so orders, by\nan immutable law, that self-hood shall be sustained, and therefore\nprovides the mind with an innate and natural relish for such things\nas are adapted to its welfare. It needs no compulsion, or external\nforce, to induce a reception of those things which are congenial to its\nenjoyment. Whatever nature requires, nature has provided. The innate\ndesire of the mind for sustenance, harmonizes with the supply nature\naffords. The nourishment is adapted to the condition, and the condition\nto the nourishment. Self-hood is maintained by innate desire, and\ninnate desire is supplied by maternal condition. The harmony of these\nconditions is essential to self-hood. The mother supplies the wants of\nnature in her offspring, never so much as suspecting that they should\nbe disregarded. The child partakes of nature\u2019s provision and realizes\nenjoyment. These conditions of want and supply unfold the harmony of\nnature, and should not be overlooked in other relations of mind.\n\n\u201cThe innate desire is the individual property of the possessor.\nThe supply is the maternal property, and is wanted only to nourish\noffspring. In this economy of nature, the useless to one, is the useful\nto the other. And what is not needed by one, is freely given to the\nother. It is given because the want of the dependent requires it. The\nwant of the dependent is the only reason for the gift. Nature exacts\nthe gift, and self-hood receives the favor. By the favor, mutual\naffinities become strengthened, and sympathy answers sympathy. The law\nof God is observed, and nature rewards obedience. The self-hood of the\ndependent is made subservient to the love of the parent. Both act as\nnature demands, and no wrong is done. The good of the mother, blesses\nthe child, and the blessing of the child is the blessing of herself,\nand a disturbance of her love, would be attended with anxiety and pain.\n\n\u201cThe second seal represents the second circle. Mind acts with mind.\nThe opening blossom is not the full blown flower. The vase is wet with\nwater. Nourishment is wanted to mature the circle. The industry of\nother hands is required. The second seal must be unloosed. Progress\nnever stops in nature, though, sometimes, it is obstructed. Mind\nsympathizes with mind. The sympathy of mind with mind is wise. It\nsaves. Mind without sympathy could not enjoy society. Mind with it,\nenjoys. Nature has not wronged mind by sympathy. The sympathy of mind\nwith mind corresponds with natural affinities. Mutual attractions\nnever repulse each other. They unite. Chemistry sustains the idea\nof mutual attractions. Philosophy reveals the mutual tendencies to\nsympathy of things which possess harmonious properties. The wisdom of\nthe second circle demonstrates the fact, that one mind sympathizes with\nanother. But the mind acts as self-hood prompts. Mind acts as self-hood\njustifies. Self-hood justifies what is adapted to the enjoyment of\nself. It condemns what is opposed to its own enjoyment. Thus, its\nsympathy must be controlled with the wisdom it possesses. Self-hood\nconsults what self-love approves. It is limited. The good of others\nwill, sometimes, be consulted, as when no loss to self is sustained.\nIt wills what will do self good, what will gratify selfish wants. No\nwisdom above its own wants, shares in its counsels. Others\u2019 wrongs are\ndisregarded, because its benevolence is not sufficiently developed to\naid the needy. Others\u2019 good is neglected, because self-hood has not\nthe love of brotherhood. It is confined. Limit is established to its\nwisdom and benevolence. It sees what self-hood discloses. Manhood is\nnot unfolded. The third seal is unbroken. It acts within the circle of\nits wisdom. It is a development of mind, that needs to be developed.\nIt wrangles with others for self. It flatters others for self. It\nsympathizes with others for self. It yields to others for self. It\nneglects others for self. It will not receive the wisdom of superiors,\nbecause others, with whom it sympathizes, are opposed to new things. It\nwill not aid reform, until reformed.\n\n\u201cThe third seal represents the third circle of mind. It will open the\nsoul to a greater wisdom and love. It will do good without fear or\nfavor. It will show what mind should do for mind. It will seek peace\nand pursue it. But it is conservative. It neglects, oftentimes, its\nown good. It neglects, sometimes, the good of others. I will unloose\nthe seal. The same good to others as to self. The same degree of wisdom\nalso. The whole duty of this circle is considered as being embraced in\ndoing by others, as it would have others do by it. The seal of wisdom\nand benevolence, needs further development. It has been the mission\nof minds, I am now instructing to aid them. Success has attended your\nefforts, and reform has been attained. The whole duty of mind is not\ncontained in doing by others as you would have others do unto you. But\nthe wisdom of the third seal goes no further. It was wise to mind, when\nit was unloosed. It saw a new creation, and the old vanished away. It\npassed into disrepute. It was respected by those who saw the opening\nwonder no more. It was a new heaven, and a new earth to mind, emerging\nfrom the weakness of the second seal. It was a freedom to mind, which\nhad served two masters, hope and fear. It was wisdom of superior worth\nto the ignorance of the second seal. But the third seal was not the end\nof progress. Eternity will have no end. Mind will have no end. Time\nwill have no end. Periods will end. Time is marked by periods. Day and\nnight is a period. Circles are periods indefinite. Years are not known\nto you, only as the reckoning of the rudimental condition. Night is\nas day. Circles are as periods of progress. Minds work as circles of\nwisdom in their degree control. I have aided you where you will now\ninstruct, as you are instructed.\n\n\u201cThe fourth seal is now broken. Its condition is good to all. It\nrecognizes no enemies. It never wrangles. It will bless enemies.\nYour own experience was the criterion of truth. Fear and favor were\npowerless over you. No wrong was where you labored, but the wrong\nof less wisdom. It was not wise to make others unhappy, because you\ndeemed unhappiness a recommendation to the favor of God. It was not\nwise with what wretchedness required, but harmonious with the eternal\nlaw of order and love. It sought and relieved mind from the uncongenial\nelements of social wrong. It was interested in the progress of mind,\nand the social good of society. It gave beauty for ashes, and the\ngarments of praise for the spirit of weariness. It was wise in good\nthings, and shunned not the truth. It was worthy of elevation to a\nhigher circle, for which cause the circle I am now addressing was\nadvanced.\n\n\u201cIn the mysteries of the fifth seal, I will now instruct this circle. I\nwill say, no wisdom will govern you from beneath. All rule is tyranny,\nwhen wisdom inferior to your own controls. It is usurpation. Nature\nnever justifies the wrong of weakness. It never palliates the wrong of\ncontrolling the wise by the weakness of the unwise. Superior wisdom\nmust govern all conditions of mind, to be harmonious with the law of\nprogress. When inferior wisdom controls the superior, there is an\nobstruction of improvement. Mind is not then free. It is in bondage.\nThe usurper has always reason to fear. The wrong of usurpation can not\ngo unrewarded. The wisdom--principle must triumph. When it triumphs,\narbitrary rule will not be endured. Hence, no mind in this circle wears\na crown. They are at the feet of saints. A saint can not wear a crown.\nIt would be wrong, and what is wrong is inconsistent with the mind of a\nsaint. In all subordinate circles, there are rulers, and consequently\nwrongs. Though the fourth seal opened _one_ mind, so that what was the\nmind of one was the mind of all, yet some were tenacious of titles of\ndistinction. They were indulged in them. Though they saw no wrong, yet\nwrong is not right; and what is not right should be avoided. A title,\nwithout signification, is vain, and what is vain is wrong. True, it was\nbut the shadow of things before, but shadows are the mirror of images.\nThe mirror of wrong should not be tolerated. The image is not wise,\nbecause it is the image of wrong. Having seen the wrong, we should\nforsake it. Having proved the wrong, it would be unwise to pursue it.\n\n\u201cThe wisdom of crowns, is the wisdom of ignorance. It supposes a\nsuperiority by inheritance, and denies it by progress. It plants the\nsovereignty of a whole nation in the wisdom of hereditary ignorance,\nand breaks down a commendable aspiration for industry in progress.\nIt wastes treasures upon the indolent, while the poor are robbed to\nsupport the unjust burden. It monopolizes industry to satisfy ambition,\nand wastes the bread of the hungry to gratify revenge. It makes a tool\nof mind, and then lashes it for its servitude. It riots in authority,\nand understands not its own weakness. Kings and crowns are inharmonious\nwith wisdom and goodness. It is as selfish to rule, as it is weak to\nbe ruled. The one is tyranny, and the other is slavery. The one usurps\nwhat nature never conferred, and the other submits because it is weak.\nIt will not govern without wisdom, when mind reaches this circle.\nIndeed, you will find that government is natural where all minds\nacquiesce in benevolence, and wisely act to advance the happiness of\nall.\n\n\u201cCrowns imply a distinction. No distinction exists here. All are kings\nand priests unto God. All are well governed, because the love of God,\nimpartial and free as the sunshine, dwells in all, and that governs\nall. It is self-government, or the government of self by nature\u2019s\ninspiration of love. No discord can enter here. The voice of contention\nhath its bounds, and selfishness its limits. I have seen the angry\nhowl of war. I have seen the wrongs of strife. I have wondered at the\ndisturbance. But I wonder no more. The love of this circle was not\nin them. The sympathies of congenial affinities were not in them.\nThe benevolence of smiling nature had not warmed their hearts. The\nphilanthropy of enlarged charity had not united the great brotherhood\nof mind. There was ignorance of relationship, and ignorance of the\nwisdom of righteousness. These evils will not disturb mind, subdued\nby the clear sunlight of truth. Social wisdom is the inheritance of\ngoodness. Crowns crumble in dust, and equity and justice walk over\ntheir fragments. Those only are worthy, who make worth the height of\ntheir ambition. The hireling is lord of himself, when in the service\nof himself, and the lord is a slave, when he fears the revulsions of\nhis rule. Poverty is worn by the mind whose work is wrong. It is empty\nof good. Riches meet the exigency, when divested of selfishness, and\ndisposed of for other\u2019s benefit. Poverty is made rich, when the wisdom\nof reform relieves all want.\n\n\u201cPoverty and riches war with social enjoyment, when uncontrolled by\nwisdom. This circle is rich. Other circles have need. The links of\nlight, which unite with wisdom, and form that wonderful sentence on the\nleft, will remind this circle of the chain of sympathy which connects\nthe rich with the poor. The gems are minds. All are not equally\nbrilliant. The darkness of wrong will not apologize for neglect. The\nriches you share, you will freely give; and when the poor receive what\nyou offer, they will embrace wisdom. Poverty is relieved. The poor\nare supplied. They want no more. The sympathies are gratified. Nature\nis obeyed. God is honored. Ignorance is overcome. Evils are remedied.\nSocial harmony is restored. The golden chain of love breaks not in\ntwain social joy. The gem of obscurity wants no chafing to be seen and\nadmired. It wants only the covering of wrong to be removed to reveal\nits worth. The wrong is ignorance. It is the absence of light. In the\nabsence of light, it has wandered in darkness. Neglect has permitted\nthe darkness to linger. When riches are withheld from those who need,\npoverty reigns. When poverty reigns, the law of sympathy is denied.\nWhen sympathy is denied, the war of conflict rages. When the conflict\nrages, peace is expelled, and with it, the enjoyment of peace.\n\n\u201cYou see who wrongs himself. You see who wrongs others. They who\nwithhold what others require. You can not violate the law of nature\nwith impunity. You can not neglect others\u2019 good without injury to\nyourself. You will aid all who need with the riches you possess.\nYou will recognize the chain that links all gems together. You will\nunderstand, that the union is immutable. You will feel the shock which\nanother receives. The chain will convey the force to you. The whole\nbrotherhood, from the highest to the lowest, will feel it. The light of\nthis circle reveals but one family. The likeness of God is immortal in\neach member. The weak have claims upon the strong. The poor have claims\nupon the rich. They are in debt. They owe all they have to the poor. It\nis a just claim; and when they have given the poor their dues, all will\nbecome rich. It is no robbery which makes all richer. It is poverty\nwhich refuses what it does not want. It is wrong to receive what will\nmake you wretched, or refuse what will make you happy. It is right to\nreceive what will do you good, and wrong to reject it. And you will not\nforget that the riches you receive, are the riches of others. They are\ngiven you to be given to others, who are as you were.\n\n\u201cEnter into the joy of wisdom. Enter into the benevolence of God.\nForsake not your brother in the day of need. Bless the enemy in your\ngates. Turn not a deaf ear to those minds, who writhe in their own\nscorn. Visit the works of sin, and lead the blind by a way they have\nnot known. Correct those who need with the cord of sympathy, and write\nthe law of the Lord upon their hearts. Do good to those who scorn your\nmessage and your mission; and say, \u2018I am thy brother, why persecutest\nthou me?\u2019 So, will you enter into the wisdom of this circle of minds.\u201d\n\nAnother mind said, \u201cThere is a work which must needs be done. The\nrudimental condition needs improvement. There will come a time when\nthe spirits, as they will call us, can communicate with minds in\nthe body. I see a work of great magnitude, which will be required\nof us. This work requires a change in the social condition of such\nminds. As society is now controlled, poverty and riches are unequally\ndistributed. Minds wrangle about the productions of earth. They disown\nthe relation of sympathy, and their professions of love are nearly\nempty. Sincerity is devoid of active energy. The forms of worship are\nforms of display. Pride governs the heart. The poor are wronged. The\nrich wrong themselves. Skill and craft oppress the former, and luxury\nand extravagance injure the latter. Both are wronged of enjoyment.\nThe oppression of poverty should be corrected. The indolence of\nriches should be vitalized with love. Society should be reconstructed;\nindustry should be encouraged; love should supplant fear. Works should\ntake the lead of words. Acts should speak for mind. Wrong should not\ntell her tale of woe. Purity should cleanse the impure. The blind\nshould see the righteousness of God. The harmony of nature should be\nimitated. Nations are communities. Communities make nations. Social\norder should be established. War should cease. Honesty should abound.\nThe love, which we feel, should inspire all minds.\n\n\u201cBut who will work the necessary change? I see a change in the human\ncondition approaching. I see a mighty revolution in the organization\nof human society. I see means which can accomplish the result. There\nis a progress in the rudimental world. The crowns of kings are\ngrowing old with mind. Reverence for human authority will not last\nforever. The relics of other days, are monuments of wrong. The tide\nof progression will sweep into oblivion the injustice of tyranny. The\nsun of truth will enlighten the nations of earth. The glory of God\nshall be revealed, and all flesh shall enjoy it together. But, until\nthe change shall come, no human wisdom can control the disorders of\nsociety. Efforts will be made by philanthropic minds, to rectify the\nevils, but without success. Organized communities will be established,\nbut the evil, in some form, will remain. Something more than a change\nof external conditions is required. Externals affect internals, but\nthe external should not control the internal. The external is the\nstream, the internal the fountain. Nature provides that the internal,\nthe fountain, should control the external, the effect. Not until the\nfountain becomes pure, will the stream be worthy. The wrongs of\nsociety, are the manifestations of wisdom in embryo. It is enshrouded\nin the darkness of other days. The night of superstition is far spent.\nThe morning light of truth must break from this sphere. The fountain of\npure water must refresh the desolate earth. The well of sympathy must\nflow freely, to nourish the plants of immortal progress.\n\n\u201cThe first duty of this circle will be to make known the existence\nof mind, in this sphere, to the doubting of earth. The wisdom of\nthe circle will next be employed to abolish the errors of mind. No\nsectarian organization will justify the revelation, which this circle\nwill disclose. All will stand amazed at the wonder. When the wonder\nsubsides, the condition of mind will be aided. Spirits will communicate\na system of ethics, adapted to the amelioration of human wrong. It will\nbe such as will melt the pure gold and remove the dross of corruption.\nIt will affect the fountain of works. It will inspire the heart. It\nwill correct the mind. It will remove the darkness. It will chase away\nall fear. It will banish all doubt. It will fill the soul with good\nthings. It will enlarge the sympathy, and strengthen the love of mind.\nWhen the fountain becomes changed, its issue will be pure. When the\nissue becomes pure, the poor will become rich. When the poor become\nrich, the equality of mind will be recognized. When the equality of\nmind shall be recognized, the evils of human society will be overcome.\nNations will war no more. Brother will signify relation. Justice will\nbe acknowledged. Communities will form nations, and all nations one\nfamily. Then sympathy will unite, and keep united the whole, and the\nwhole will strive to promote the good of the whole. Then, the good of\nthe whole will be regarded as the good of one, and the good of one as\nthe good of the whole. Selfishness will be extinguished by the wisdom\nof universal love and philanthropy.\n\n\u201cThe wide world will be the common inheritance of her children. No\nwrangling about earth, or its gold, will be heard. Industry will be\nworth, and gold will be as ashes. The love of money will not exist,\nand the love of wisdom will occupy its place. No fraud will be\npracticed, for no wrong will be indulged. All motives to evil will\nbe removed, and the mind of one will be the mind of all. Corruption\nand deception will not be found, for when mind knows the thoughts of\nmind, the wrongs of corruption and deception will be seen no more. You\nknow that no wrongs can enter here. No voice of unkindness mocks the\nwail of sorrow, when the love of God fills the mind. The miseries of\nearth will have no abiding place, when the wisdom of God inspires all\nminds. The ignorance of the first circle will not be known, when the\nknowledge of good shall become universal. Passion and folly will not\nbe indulged, when reason and truth control all hearts. But wisdom is\ndeveloped by progress, and truth by wise counsels. The work of reform\nwill soon commence. The circles of heaven will improve the circles of\nearth. Wonders and signs will attend your labor. They will be wonders\nto the ignorant, but not to you. The work will be commenced, when the\nsuperstitions and wrongs of religionists shall yield to the voice of\nphilosophy and reason. One generation must pass away, before the time\nwill come. They must pass from the rudimental to this sphere. In that\ntime, venerated superstitions will be much discarded, and human rights\nwill be respected. The work will commence in obscurity, and mind will\nrise in glory. Ignorance will scorn the message, and ridicule will be\nlavished upon the messengers. Time will bring a change. Professions\nwill not monopolize the industry of the poor, nor misers hold the key\nof plenty. Wealth shall unite with wisdom, and poverty shall smile\nat the marriage. Christianity shall no longer be a mockery, but its\nwisdom shall flow like a fountain of water over the world of mind. Dark\nsayings shall be illuminated, and wayfaring mind shall lift up its\nvoice in praise. The homes of the willing shall become residences of\nangels, and the disconsolate shall fear no evil. The strong shall aid\nthe weak, and the days of mourning shall be ended.\n\n\u201cI will now conduct this circle into the chamber of hope. There came\nto me a messenger from the sixth circle. He told me of things which\nwill be no wrong to relate. It was a prediction of future good. You may\nfollow me.\u201d\n\nWe followed him to the chamber of hope. The messenger then appeared,\nand said:\n\n\u201cThis is the circle of Hope. All who will receive, and do the words of\nhope, will hear my speech. Before me you see a great wonder. It is the\nmountain of Hope in the arm of God. On your right, you see the sun; on\nyour left, the moon; over your heads, the stars; beneath your feet, the\nfifth circle; and behind you, a road. This is the circle of prophecy.\nHere causes and their effects may be traced through successive\ngenerations, and their results clearly demonstrated. You will soon be\naddressed by a mind of this circle, who will aid you to the desired\nwisdom. He will relate what events will transpire in the progress of\ntruth and wisdom, in the development of rudimental minds.\u201d\n\nA mind soon commenced by saying: \u201cPilgrims of hope, the mind who\nhopes will realize. Hope can not be entertained for things which are\nnot. It is the reality which gives birth to hope. The reality is\nshadowed on the mind with such evidences as conditions will allow.\nHope is expectation of good. Mind will sometimes limit hope. It\nwill fix times and seasons for the hope of good, to be realized.\nThe darkness of ignorance suffers temporary disappointment. Hope\nwill prophecy truthfully. Wisdom sees the thing hoped for. The mind\nintuitively anticipates good. Its nature is full of promise. Its\nconditions sometimes create doubt and despair; but, unobstructed in\nits exercise, it hopes forever. We are not without hope. We will say,\nno mind can exist without hope. It is nature. It is the law of mind\nimmutably established to hope. Mind will hope, and no condition, in\nany department of the universe, can exclude all hope. It may be dim.\nThe dense darkness of low circles admits only an occasional ray to\npenetrate the dismal cell of ignorance. The mind of superior circles\nadmits a greater number. This circle sees what other circles hope for.\nThe joy of our minds is the anticipation of good in them. They walk by\nfaith, and we by sight, concerning the good they expect. It is a good\nwhich the reality transfers to them through the intervening circles.\nEach circle conveys a lesser light, until the last receives a feeble\nray; so you will see the fulness of hope, as measured to lower circles,\nactual realities here. You will see the wonder of wisdom revealed in\nthe economy of hope. Minds uncultivated hope in a less degree, than\nminds of wisdom. The rudimental condition shares in the joy of hope,\nproportioned to the wisdom of its condition. In one circle, it is but a\nray; in another, it grows brighter; in a third, it is glorious; and,\nin the fourth, it is more glorious. But what these circles hope for,\neven in the highest exultation of anticipated good, is as much less\nthan the reality, as light is more glorious than darkness; I will say\nas the sun is more glorious than the stars.\n\n\u201cThe sun reflects rays of light. It is the orb of light. Its rays\ntouch the palace of kings and the wigwam of barbarians. It gives light\nto the rich and the poor, the wise and the unwise, to the free and\nthe slave, to the enlightened and the ignorant, to all nations and\nall countries, and moons and stars in nature\u2019s unmeasured expanse. It\ngives what will bless, and make happy; unasked, its rays illumine,\nand banish the darkness of night. The day is not partial. The day\nis wisdom--a blessing to the world. It is not a special or partial\nblessing; but it is a blessing in harmony with the law of God. It is a\nblessing unstinted and measureless. The sun is the work of God. It is\nhis wisdom which made it. It is his love which has ordained the sun to\ngive light to all. It is his power which formed the sun for the good\nof mind. All things which he has made, are adapted to good. The mind\nwhich sees the sun, as a work of God, and the rays blessing all things,\nmay hope for good. He who has made the sun a blessing, may make want\nsatisfied with reality. The sun gives hope. It is without stint in its\nfavors. So, is the wisdom of God manifest in the natural world. He is\nwise. His works are wise. All things are made in wisdom. Ignorance\nmay mock at blessings, but nature offers no contradiction. Folly may\nscorn the lesson, but hope expels the scorn. Superstition may have her\nadmirers, but reason fills the soul with confidence. Would mind know\nGod, it should study his works. The dreams of midnight may conflict\nwith the stern realities of nature, but they are dreams without hope.\nThe wild vagaries of uninstructed mind may mislead the weak, but the\nvoice of nature speaks the language of love. Bigotry may frown upon\nfree inquiry, but the smile of wisdom is more congenial to mind than\nthe envy of the miserable. I will see the sun, though doubters may\nchallenge my sight. I will gaze upon its blessings, though bigots may\ncall it sacrilegious. I will admire nature, though crowns crumble,\nand steeples fall. I will gaze on the works of God, though opinions\nfalter and rites perish. The wide world is my home, though chains and\nprisons, frowns and fears, mark the circle of those who defy a creed\nthat abolishes neither. The time will come when the chains will be\nmelted, the prisons demolished, the frowns made smiles, and the fears\novercome with hope. When the sun, in yonder smiling heavens, is taken\nas the work of God, and nature is acknowledged to be the standard of\nrighteousness, the hope of the soul will rise above the misty darkness\nof sensuality and wrong. The sun is emblematical of nature in the\nprofusion of her blessings. Adaptation is seen in the economy of all\nnature. Mind needs light, and light is not withheld. Light needs mind,\notherwise it would be vain. So, with the moon. It imparts what it has\nreceived. It gives to bless. It meets the wants of mind. On the right\nand on the left, above and below, all things are adapted to their\nrespective conditions. The stars reflect the mighty power of God. They\nshine. They give light. They bless, and curse not. They do good, and\nnot evil. They minister to the wants of mind. They rest not in their\nlove. They are full of good. Wants are strangers there. The wisdom of\nGod will lead you to the full enjoyment of all that hope can embrace;\nand, in due time, the wonders of other globes will be opened to you,\nand to me, and to all who will journey to them. This circle will hear\nthe instruction of another mind, and listen attentively to the words\nof Hope which will inspire you with the promise of good, yet concealed\nfrom your vision.\u201d\n\n\u201cPilgrims: in the progress of mind, there is an extension of the\nvision. Far in the distance, development discloses the reality of\nthings, which mind has hoped for. The seers of other days were aided\nby this circle. Things were revealed, which have come to pass, and\nwhich will take place. The windows of the future were thrown open,\nand prophets saw the truth. The sight was extended through successive\nchanges to successive results. The intervening links of cause and\neffect, being omitted in the history, have answered the purpose of\nsuperstitious veneration, and worked the circles for whose benefit they\nwere intended into awe and subjection. But the time is approaching\nwhen the philosophy of prophecy will be understood, and appreciated.\nThe degree of wisdom, essential to endow mind to clearly perceive the\nfuture condition of themselves or others, appertains to this circle.\n\n\u201cThe mind who inspires the seer, merely informs him of the fact, which\nis intended to be effected. It is a fact which must be in harmony\nwith causes, and the causes are surveyed to the result. The seers\nmerely announced the fact. They announced what the mind, who inspired\nthem, impressed them to relate. The mind of this circle is one mind.\nHence, the mind who inspires of this circle, inspires the will of all\nwho belong to it. The resolve of one, is the resolve of all. As all\nresolve, so one inspires. When a work is resolved upon, the whole\npower of this circle is brought into requisition to do it. The labor\nis calculated with mathematical exactness. All the obstructions are\nsurveyed, and all the advantages canvassed. When the result has been\ndetermined by a wisdom that can not err, the mind may inspire, or\nimpress the reality upon those who have not the sagacity or wisdom to\nsee it otherwise. It is to them, in their condition of ignorance, a\nsubject of hope. In like manner, when the workings of nature are traced\nin their mysterious windings, and the complex conditions of cause and\neffect are understood, the results of the same may be determined in\nwisdom. This determination is also the result of causes, immutable as\nmathematical demonstrations. Therefore, the seers of old were inspired\nby the wisdom of a circle, capable of determining results of causes,\nwith the same unerring precision as the mathematician calculates the\ntime and duration of an eclipse, or the appearance and disappearance\nof a comet. The whole result must be infallibly correct. The science\nof mathematics is the science of this circle. Euclid has given rules.\nNature divulges more. The former are well. The latter are better.\nThe former were true to nature; but the science was not perfectly\nunderstood only in degree. The latter comprises the infinite, the\nformer the finite. All development is progress. It is the accumulation\nof facts in the mind. It is the power of wisdom.\n\n\u201cWhen the mathematician predicts an eclipse, or any wonderful phenomena\nin the material world, the prediction does not make the fact, but the\nfact is discovered by mathematical calculation. All causes and their\neffects are considered, as well as the uniform and invariable laws of\nnature. The result is sure. Demonstrations have prepared the mind to\ncalculate the movements of orbs, and the relation which they sustain\nto each other. In like manner, an extended knowledge permits a mind\nto calculate the movements of planets, and suns, and stars of other\nsystems. And, when the mind is sufficiently developed, it can calculate\nthe movement of mind. It can survey the influences which control it,\nand calculate the wisdom which will be required to produce a desirable\nresult, or avoid an impending calamity.\n\n\u201cMinds are stars in this system of nature. They differ in wisdom,\npower, and glory. The wisdom of the fifth circle is less than the\nsixth. The sixth seal unveils the future with the exactness of\ndemonstration. It unlocks the mystery of prophecy. It makes hope a\nwisdom of fact. It discloses the reality of the thing sought. It opens\na world of coming events, and saves the mind from all uncertainty.\nIt corrects the wisdom, which makes the natural supernatural. There\nis nothing above nature but God. He is supreme. Nature is his work,\nand it is the natural work of his wisdom and power. Mind is the\nwork of God. It is a star amid other stars. It is a sun amid other\nsuns. It is subject to law, as are planets and stars. It is moved\nby laws. Attraction and repulsion control it. Like and dislike\nexert an influence. When the condition of mind is understood, and\nthe amount of wisdom is possessed by another mind to calculate the\npower of attraction and repulsion necessary to produce a result, its\nposition may be defined, and its movements determined for successive\ngenerations. The weight of attraction is not the same in all materials,\nand therefore, allowances must be made for the difference. One mind may\nbe very empty, and consequently light, when compared with another. The\nforce of attraction will accordingly be less. It weighs less than more\nsolid materials. The lower the circle, the less it weighs; because it\nis empty of wisdom, or contains but a small fraction. Attractive forces\nmay be estimated by the distance between them, and the weight of those\nforces. When mind is attracted by mind, it is because of the power\nwhich one exerts over the other. The influence is proportioned to the\nweight. The heavier body must control the lighter. The lighter can not\ngovern the heavier. Attraction is with the most weight. That weight is\nwisdom. Consequently, the wisest attract the less wise; and it never\ncan happen, that the less wise can govern the wise by attraction.\nHence, in the philosophy of nature, two bodies unlike each other, repel\neach other. They separate by natural law, as they unite by natural\nlaw. The wisdom of this law is to avoid unlike associations. The minds\nunlike separate by the law of repulsion, and there must be a violation\nof the law to keep them together. So, with minds of like affinities.\nThe weight of attraction unites the two, and they can not be disunited\nwithout a disturbance of the law which holds them together.\n\n\u201cHence, you will see the reason why minds in this sphere are attracted\nto a higher sphere, as we have been attracted to this. The weight\nof wisdom is far removed from earth. As mind ascends from earth, so\nattraction grows stronger, and hurries it along with greater rapidity.\nBut minds in the rudimental condition, being far removed from the\nsource of wisdom, are influenced in a less degree than those of higher\ncircles. But, as they are attracted by wisdom, it must be upward. No\nforces attract downward but gross and impure. The downward force is\nrepulsion. It is not wisdom. Hence, folly and ignorance are attracted\nby folly and ignorance, and, when thus attracted, the wretchedness of\nmind is severe. Never will the wisdom of the wise be attracted with the\nfolly of the unwise.\n\n\u201cThere will arise a work which will engage the wisdom of this circle.\nMinds in the rudimental condition, will soon see a light from this\nsphere. They will hear a voice from heaven. Messengers from this\ncircle will be employed to attract mind upward. They will see who can\nbe influenced by their presence. Affinities, approximating to this\ncircle, will be chosen as instruments of a great reform. Those who\nwill be uninfluenced by the gross works of darkness, will receive the\nlight of superior wisdom. Those who love the world of gold and silver,\nand are under the control of sensuality and tyranny, will abide the\ntime of visitation, and seek their content in things that perish with\nthe using; but the independent and candid, the honest and true, will\nrise upward in the resurrection of the just, and become partakers of\nan inheritance that fadeth not away. When that time comes, and come\nit will, the reform of the rudimental condition will be renewed with\nunabating energy; and old systems of wrong and wretchedness will vanish\naway. All circles in this sphere, capable of developing the rudimental\nmind, will aid in the work. You will be controlled as wisdom shall\ndirect, and meet the evils of human society with a courage that never\nfalters. Hope will be imparted to the despondent, and confidence to the\nfearful. All devoid of understanding will revile you, and many will\nturn a deaf ear to the voice of wisdom. But some will receive the word\nwith gladness, and others with fear. The day will open upon mind the\nreality of heaven. The day will unlock the mystery of revelation, and\ngive hope to all nations. The miracles of former ages will return,\nand return to be understood. Human opinions and creeds will melt in\nthe sunshine of truth, and whole nations rise up in progress, and\ncall you blessed. As free as the light of the sun will the wisdom of\nheaven smile upon mind; and the smile will subdue the wretchedness of\nignorance and folly.\n\n\u201cPilgrims: you have received the promise. Hope, without fear, will grow\nbrighter and brighter, in this circle. You will receive wisdom, day by\nday, until the seventh seal shall be unloosed. Then, the work of reform\nwill be commenced in wisdom, among the inhabitants of the earth.\u201d\n\nWhen he had concluded his speech, I desired to be informed in regard to\nthe mathematical calculation of future events, and the rules by which\nsuch events are determined; when another mind responded: \u201cMathematical\nrules are the rules of nature; or, as you will understand, the laws\nof nature. The laws of nature control all things. Mind and matter,\ngross and fine, are subject to laws. In harmony with these laws, are\ncause and effect. When a cause produces an effect, the effect becomes\na cause of another effect. Thus, effects are causes, and causes are\nthe effects of other causes. But no effect will be inharmonious with\nthe cause. The likeness of the one will be found in the other. When\na cause transfers itself into an effect, or is productive of an\neffect, it will be as nature has designed, the true likeness of the\ncause. All variations are the result of combined causes, varying in\ntheir effects the modification, in the proportion of the power which\neach cause respectively exerts. Hence, by tracing one cause in its\nproductions, and other causes in their productions, until the whole\nare mathematically balanced at any given period, the result will be\nmathematically demonstrated. There can not be two results at variance,\nwhen the law of cause and effect are understood and observed in the\ncalculation. One, and only one conclusion can be obtained by this\nprocess of investigation.\u201d\n\nT. May not unseen causes disturb the result by their modifications?\n\n\u201cCauses differing essentially, will be repelled, whether seen or\nunseen. Mind can not be affected by remote affinities. The near\naffinities must control. Antagonistical elements can not control one\nanother. They repulse; and whatever is repulsive, has no influence to\nchange. The wisdom of the wise must be controlled by the wisdom of\nthe wiser; because folly is repulsive, and only excites disgust and\npity. By ascertaining the ratio of their progress, which is governed\nby an immutable law, and the future development of their minds may be\ndetermined at a given period; and what may be determined in regard\nto one mind, may be in regard to all, when the condition of all is\nunderstood. Hence, the aggregate result must be proportionate to the\naggregate of the present condition in the ratio of development, as\nestablished by an immutable law controlling the development. When\nthe seventh seal is unloosed, a complete and perfect survey of the\naggregate condition of mind, having an influence on the rudimental\ncondition, will be open to your inspection. And as all the influence of\nthat seal comes through this circle to reach the rudimental condition,\nso we know the amount and extent of that influence, and are, therefore,\nable to make our calculations with the exactness of demonstration.\nProphecy is not supernatural, but as natural as the calculation by\nnumbers. It is a well ascertained fact, that numbers are just. Justice\nis the principle which governs all arithmetical and mathematical rules.\nThis principle can not be invalidated. It is true; and because it is\ntrue, there can be no conflicting results. From aggregate conditions,\nand the ratio of progress made by those conditions, a result is always\nattainable for any given period.\u201d\n\nWe were then made acquainted with the principle by which communications\nfrom the second to the rudimental sphere might be made. This principle\nwas known in an early period of the world. Prophets and sages, poets\nand philosophers, have enjoyed, in nearly every century, the advantage\nof inspiration, although in some ages in so moderate a degree, as to\nbe almost or quite imperceptible to the subject. Inspiration is the\ninflux of spirit impressions. When these impressions could not be\nmade by spirits, in consequence of the positive condition of mind,\nmanifestations have been made. Belshazzar, being positive, could\nnot be impressed by spirits; and the result shows that spirits made\nan impression of a fact on his mind, by writing on a wall, through\nthe interpretation of a successful medium. Daniel could not have\ninterpreted the writing, had it not been impressed upon him. The\nimpression was so distinctly made upon his mind, that he could not\navoid its recital. This established the confidence of the people in the\ntruthfulness of his predictions. They were truthful, not because he was\nmore wise than many others, but because he was impressed by those who\nwere of this sphere.\n\nBut when inspiration comes from any mind below the sixth circle, it\nshould be regarded with caution, so far as the prediction of future\nevents is concerned. I will say, it should be regarded as an opinion of\nthe mind who communicates. That opinion may be correct, or incorrect.\nAnd this is the reason, why inferior circles sometimes err, and results\nshow their errors. It was not intended as a deception, but as a\nprobable fact. It was opinion only. Spirits of the sixth circle predict\nfacts, and only facts. They do not always inform the lower circles, of\nall the facts within the chain of events, but what they do predict is\ntrue, and the prediction will be strictly verified.\n\n\u201cThe circle of prophecy is a circle of purity. The refinement of mind\nqualifies it to see with less obscurity. The wisdom of the pure will\nnot be disappointed. As all prophecy is the maturity of wisdom in\ndegree, so all purity is the result of this perfection. Mind in its\ndevelopment, passes through successive degrees of refinement, until it\nis qualified to understand things which, in its infancy, it could not\ncomprehend. The infancy of mind embraces limited views of nature. The\ndarkness of midnight surrounds the circle of its knowledge. A wild and\nvacant waste of immensity brings no light, because light is obscured\nby the grossness of perception; I will say, immensity is vacant to the\nmind in an unrefined condition. It surveys only a small compass of\nwisdom. The impurity of its condition predisposes it to judge according\nto the measure of itself. It will not travel beyond its own circuit,\nand is, therefore, compelled to render a decision compatible with its\nsurvey. That survey is incomplete, even within its prescribed limits,\nbecause intervening obstacles cast their shadows over the vision. The\npolar star is distrusted, the magnet is rejected, and the wild sea\nof wrong rages. All is dark, dreary night; all is wretched, hopeless\nconfusion. Terror, wild and dismal, reigns in the empire of their\nminds. Nature seems a charnel house of corruption, and the ruler a\ntyrant without mercy.\n\n\u201cPilgrims: the cause is apparent to you, but not to them. Viewing the\neconomy of nature through their distorted vision, with their deceptive\nsuspicions to mislead, their ignorance to govern, and their impurities\nto resist advancement, it does not surprise you to find them actually\nforming gods after their own likeness, and distributing justice\naccording to their own measure. They can only comprehend their own\nmeasure; they can only weigh with their own weights; and, hence, what\nthey measure and what they weigh, must not, and will not, exceed the\nstandard which they have established. All other conditions must yield\nto their views of right and wrong. The pure and the impure are one or\nthe other, as their wisdom prescribes, and prescribes by such rules as\ntheir wrongs have determined.\n\n\u201cPilgrims: nature has her laws. When those laws are obeyed, the impure\nwill become pure. This is nature; shun evil, and do good. This is law,\nand this is religion. This is right, and this right is pure in the\nwisdom of this circle. You will, also, understand, that to the impure\nall things are impure, which disagree with their rules. Their rules are\nnot your rules. They would control nature; you would be controlled by\nnature. They would make war upon the laws of God; you would acquiesce\nin their righteousness. They would control all things; you would be\nsubmissive to nature\u2019s decrees. They would circumscribe the teachings\nof nature; you would listen to her voice. They would judge you; but you\nwould not judge them. They would aspire to your joy; but they have not\nthe wisdom to reform that they might attain it. They would dispute\nthe truth, because they have not the understanding to comprehend it.\nThey would reform from their errors, but their rules are bars against\nreform. They would have peace, but they mock the voice that utters it.\nThey would be happy, but happiness is misunderstood through want of\nexperience. They would be pure, but purity is meaningless in the mouth\nof folly. They would wrong no one, but wrong is right to them. Such are\nthe conditions of the impure and pure. The wisdom of this circle will\nacknowledge no law but love, no religion but goodness, no worship but\nworth, no ruler but God. His praise will be in your song; his wisdom\nin your devotions; his truth in your minds; and his reward in your\nworks. The union of your hearts will be immortal. No wrong can mar your\nfelicity, no curse awe you into servitude; for you are free, in the\ndominion of the free, to act, and do, and say, what the laws of your\nmind require to make yourselves and others blest.\n\n\u201cI will now give you an introduction to a mystery, which will reveal\na circle of surpassing loveliness, outvieing all which you have\nheretofore seen. It is the last seal of circles in this sphere. I will\nask, Will you follow me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will all.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you may rise with me to the court of Beauty.\u201d\n\nThe whole circle ascended, and were introduced into a mansion resting\non twenty-four pillars, which were polished smooth as glass, and over\nwhich stood the most wonderful mansion that my eyes had ever beheld. On\nentering the mansion, I saw a white throne, and in front thereof were\nwritten the words, \u201cPurity, Perfection and Bliss.\u201d Over the throne,\nwas written, \u201cNature unfolded by revelation.\u201d Under it, the words,\n\u201cJustice, Liberty, Peace.\u201d On the right was a representation of a\nlittle child leading a lion, and a wolf nursing a lamb. On the left was\na wounded serpent with a spike driven through his head, and clinched in\na rock. Beneath our feet were pillars of wisdom, while over our heads\nthe beauty of sweet minstrels appeared, chanting,\n\n  \u201cWelcome, ye pilgrims, with gladness we raise\n  The song of the pure, in anthems of praise;\n  For wisdom, whose might sustains us in love,\n  Calls you, with nature, to join us above.\u201d\n\nThe minstrels were near a white cloud, and their countenances were\nexpressive of great delight, in the melody of their welcome song. When\nthey had concluded, a great multitude, which no mind could number,\nwere introduced. The first mind that addressed us, said: \u201cThe pillars,\non which this mansion rests, are not disproportioned, but harmonious\nand beautiful. There are four and twenty. They are Justice, Honor,\nIntegrity, Fortitude, Generosity, Mercy, Forbearance, Humility,\nGratitude, Love, Peace, Order, Harmony, Wisdom, Progress, Truth, Power,\nIndustry, Forgiveness, Holiness, Sobriety, Sincerity, Candor, and\nVeneration. In these virtues you have no need that I instruct you. They\nhave elevated you, and will sustain you, while I unloose the seventh\nseal of wisdom, and unfold the beauty contained in this mansion.\n\n\u201cThe white throne is not stained with blood. No monarch sits thereon,\nto rule with steel, the residents of this mansion. No tyrant sways the\nscepter of rule over us; for Justice will not suffer, though thrones be\nvacant, and rulers become equals. The white throne has not been soiled\nby the usurper, nor tarnished by cruelty. It is a throne--a throne of\npower. It is power in purity, because love in perfection blesses every\nmind in need. It is white as snow, and the wrong of injustice makes no\nadvance toward it. It is a throne unseen by ignorance, disdained by\nweakness, and cherished and respected only by the pure in heart. It\nis a throne of good, and an emblem of the righteous decisions of wise\nminds.\n\n\u201cYour own minds are white thrones. As you are now pure, you can judge.\nBut no mind will judge you. All judgment is with you. Each mind will\njudge itself, and not another. The judgment will be pure, because\npurity resides in you. The judgment will be right, because it is the\njudgment of self. You will decide upon your own works. No other mind\nwill assume to judge for you. This is your work, and what is your\nwork does not belong to another. Judge no mind but self. The throne\nis within you. On that white throne determine your works. It is your\ninalienable prerogative. It belongs to no one else.\n\n\u201cBefore the white throne, are Purity, Perfection, and Bliss. They are\nbefore your minds. In search of these things, consider that nature is\npure, and the perfection and bliss, after which you are seeking, may\nbe found in the adaptation of things to other things. This is the law\nof mind. It will not attain perfection and bliss, without observing\nthis law. All things must harmonize to insure peace. The ignorant are\nunhappy, because they do not adapt their conditions and themselves to\neach other. The surrounding circumstances control them against their\nhappiness. They allow others, and even elect others, to judge them, and\nignorantly acquiesce in their decision, however unwise and unnatural\nmay be their judgment. Those whom they elect to decide the right and\nwrong for them, are often wholly ignorant of the conditions upon which\nnature suspends the harmony of cause and effect. They are incompetent\nto render a righteous judgment, because they do not understand what\nis right. Erring, in regard to what is right, they enter a judgment\nin error. The error falls upon those whom they judge. The whole is\nwrong. No mind can surrender the judgment of itself into the hands of\nanother, without jeopardizing its own happiness. It is this mistaken\npolicy which has robbed humanity of its birth-right. It has assented to\na common error, that no mind is capable of determining its own good,\nwithout injustice to others: or, if capable, it would be dangerous to\nthe welfare of the majority to allow mind a decision in that which\npersonally concerned itself without the concurrence of others.\n\n\u201cThe perfection of this circle will harmonize with bliss. The bliss\nof one is the bliss of all. The purity of one is the purity of all.\nThe agreement of this circle is the wisdom of all. Each mind will be\nits own judge, and perform its own work. Each mind will aid each.\nThat which is natural do; and that which is unnatural you will not\ndo. You can not do wrong, because you perceive that all wrong is a\ncontradiction of nature, and injurious to the doer. You can not do\nwrong, because you are incapacitated to wrong yourselves. You can not\ndo wrong, because wrong is contrary to your judgment. You will do\nright, because right injures no one. It is the judgment of ignorance\nwhich injures another. It is the judgment of weakness which inflicts\nwrong for wrong, and renders evil for evil. None but oppressors will\nbe cruel, vindictive, or unjust. Oppression is the power of folly. It\nis the work of tyrants. It is the wrong of ignorance. Governments are\nimpure. They compel the ignorant to do wrong. They violate the laws of\nnature. They impose burdens on the poor, and grant favors to the rich.\nThey levy contributions on property to give honor to the indolent. They\nmake laws for the people to restrain the enjoyment of mind; and they\npunish crimes, which their laws have made, without mercy. They refuse\ninstruction from heaven, because heaven is not a monopoly adapted to\ntheir selfish wisdom.\n\n\u201cThey bow before a throne--a throne black as midnight. They bow in\ndarkness, and receive the lash of oppression. They bow in smiles, and\nrise in tears. There is a tyrant on the throne. He judges evil good,\nand good evil. He is judge; and he judges after his own heart. Alas!\nthe throne is impure. The pool of wisdom has not been polluted with his\ninfirmities. Nature will wash away the wrongs of ignorance. Experience\nwill remove the cruelty of darkness. Progress will unveil the miseries\nof deception. Favoritism will not rob pauperism. Folly will not eclipse\nwisdom. Fear will not paralyze industry, and wrong will not rule over\nright. Then, purity will not center in profession without goodness, nor\nperfection be a dead language in the throne of judgment.\n\n\u201cPilgrims: all bliss is the exercise of goodness. Love is the divinity\nof the universe. Hate is the hell of fools. Affection is the element\nof heaven. Sympathy is the law of nature. Ignorance is the mother of\ncrime. Crime is the father of misery. Misery is hell--bliss is heaven.\nShow yourselves pure, and heaven is within you. Show yourselves good,\nand bliss will not forsake you. Show yourselves wise, and purity will\ndevelop itself; and, when purity develops itself, no evil can befall\nyou. The righteous shall fear no evil. The pure shall see good. The\nbliss of wisdom shall grow brighter and brighter, forever.\n\n\u201cPilgrims: you will be required to develop great mysteries to the\nrudimental world. Nature must be unfolded to the ignorant. The\nundeveloped mind must be expanded. The angry waters of contention must\nbe stilled. The wild sea of disturbance must be calmed. The midnight\nof deception must pass away. The clear sunlight of nature must open\nthe treasures of your path. You will transmit the realities of this\nsphere to earth\u2019s inhabitants. The mighty must overcome the weakness\nof infancy. The strong must raise up the sorrowing, the despondent,\nand the wretched. The wise must instruct the unwise; and upon you will\ndevolve the work of correcting the wrongs and errors of humanity.\nThe former days will return, when, through your instrumentality,\nthe wilderness of uncultivated mind shall arise in the strength of\nwisdom, and nature smile with the song of redemption. You must go to\nthe boasted land of the free, and publish the tidings of immortality.\nYou will not sound an alarm of danger, but you will write the law of\nlove in the hearts of the children of men. You will inspire minds with\nhope, and expel the darkness of the grave. You will turn many from\npaths of folly, and put the wisdom of nature in their souls. You will\nreform many, and the many will reform more, until the nations of the\nearth shall seek peace, and bliss find a residence in the temple of\nGod. You will meet no opposition you will not overcome, nor will you\ntire in your labor, until the poor shall be made rich, and the wants of\nhumanity shall become satisfied with the luxury of true blessedness.\n\n\u201cThere is a light which you will emit in your pathway, that will\ncause pure minds to rejoice, and the impure to tremble with fear.\nPreparatory to the dawning of that day upon the world below, it will\nbe your work to get your means in readiness, so as to effectually\naccomplish the pleasure of God, in the removal of wrong. You will need\nwisdom, adapted to the conditions of those whom you will instruct,\nand adequate to the great ends of human development. You will have\nmeans. The means which nature affords are equal to every want. There\nnever can be a famine, when every want is supplied. The white throne\nof judgment will admit no error. It is the throne of God, of nature,\nand of your own hearts. It is within, around, above, and below you.\nFrom this throne you will dispense justice to the needy, liberty to the\ncaptive, and peace to the world. You will go where need calls you, and\nwhere you can do good. You will not waste your strength in vain. You\nwill operate with great power, when circumstances make it expedient.\nYou will show signs of your presence, and the wisdom of the world will\nbe humbled. Philosophers will be confounded, and ignorance will mock,\nbut can not resist. You will teach the little child how to control the\nlion that growls at the disclosure. You will lead the strong man by\nan influence which he will not acknowledge. He will not yield until\nthe child commands. The world of mind will not yield to the voice of\nnature, until nature reveals her philosophy. That world of mind is in\nits boasted strength a lion, but the little child, the weak things, as\nthey will call your manifestations, will control the lion. Nature will\narm the weak with wisdom, to control a great multitude. They will be\nstrong, and the lion will feel his weakness. He will roar no more when\nthe child touches his heart. He will not harm, nor be harmed, when no\nwant induces him to seek for blood. The day will come, when the wants\nof the lion will be satisfied without wrong. The day will come, when\nthe wants of mind will be satisfied with good things. The day will\ncome, when you will converse with the rudimental world, as you do with\neach other. The day will come, when the wisdom of the two spheres will\nmeet. In that day you will rejoice, because great good will be done.\nIn that day, the invisible things of God will be clearly seen, being\nmanifest by the things which are made. They will be manifest through\nyou, and minds will be inspired to write the things which they have\nseen. The works of nature will not retrograde; the progress of truth\nwill onward move, till one family, and no more, shall inhabit the\nearth. That family shall be one, and all nations shall unite in it. The\ncommon ties of sympathy and justice shall be felt, and neglect shall be\nno more known, for all mind will be inspired with your love and peace.\n\n\u201cThe representation of a serpent fastened in the rock, will show you,\nthat the subtlety and low sensuality of mind will be powerless against\nyour efforts. The serpent will not injure you, nor retard by his\nenergy the work committed to your hands. Indeed, you know that none\nbut such as hug the earth, as this serpent represents, can oppose the\nwisdom you will disclose. They only who covet, like creeping things,\nthe earth, and who drag their bodies in a serpentine course along the\nroad of human life, will not look up to heaven for support and wisdom;\nbut you will not be overcome by their will; for their ignorance is not\nunconquerable. You will receive, in due time, all the instructions\nwhich will be necessary, and enter upon your mission with alacrity. But\nyou may ask, what may we do to get things in readiness? You will now\nbe instructed by another mind.\u201d\n\nWhen he had concluded, another mind said:\n\n\u201cPilgrims: the means requisite to success, in your mission to the\nrudimental sphere, are few and simple. You will need wisdom and\nprudence. You will require patience and perseverance. With these\nqualities, you will prosper in the work allotted you. In the first\nplace, you will be wise to select such mediums as will do good, and not\nconceal the facts which shall be made manifest. You will select such as\nwill be faithful in the work of revealing the truth. You will select\nsuch as you can find who will not turn aside from the manifestations\nyou will make, because popular scorn shall be hissed at the philosophy\nyou may teach. You will select such as will not crawl serpent-like\nto gratify the low aspirations of a defunct religion, or a brutal,\ndeceptive, sensuality, which will envy what it has not the industry or\nambition to investigate, and reduce to practice. Take such as you can\nfind, who will not bow to the dust, because weakness is not able to\nstand erect, and face the evils of misguided mind. Take such as will\nnot disown heaven to gratify lust and earth. Take such as will not\nwrong your message by concealing it under a bushel. Take such as will\ndo the work of revealment.\n\n\u201cThe mission will be commenced in about twenty-five years. It will\nbe opposed with great violence by religionists. The superstitious\nwill charge your work to evil spirits, and the skeptical will not.\nThe condition of mind in the rudimental world, will require a great\nmany manifestations to improve it. There will arise minds who will\nnot believe the evidence of their own senses. They will be moved,\nand see things moved; and, when they see and know the facts, they\nwill seek to find some cause other than spirits, which they will\nimagine have produced it. They will be moved, and say that they moved\nthemselves. They will be instructed, and say that instruction is of\nthemselves. They will contrive every possible means to gainsay the\nfacts. They will attribute the manifestations to a cause, which is not,\nand never can be, the real one. They will say, mind is conscious and\nunconscious. They will contradict themselves. No mind can be conscious\nand unconscious. No mind can be moved, and move itself. No mind can do\nwhat you will do, and not be conscious that it did it. You will write\nwhat will be known and unknown to others. They will say, they thought\nit, because you impressed the thought. They will say, they moved\nthemselves, because you moved them. They will write what you impress,\nand as you move them; but they will say, it was their impressions and\nnot yours. They will write what is not impressed or known to them, and\nthey will impute the writing to others in the body. They will write\nwithout impressions, and they will say, it is electricity. They will\nturn all evidence into imagination, and then demand greater evidence\nfrom you.\n\n\u201cSuch will be the condition of mind. Others will receive the evidence\nand progress in wisdom. You will give to every mind all within your\npower; but you will bear this message to mind: That what may gratify\nidle curiosity, is the work of idlers; but what is necessary to develop\nmind, is a candid investigation of the laws by which it is governed.\nThe wise will reform, but the unwise will cavil, because they can not\ncontrol you. You will write what will do good, and when your message\nshall be discarded, or your mission disputed, you will go to such as\nwill hear you, and be benefited by your efforts to do good.\n\n\u201cI shall now instruct you in regard to the serpent. I shall give you,\nspike and a sledge. You will drive the spike through the head of the\nserpent, and clinch it in a rock. The serpent is the adversary of\nreform. It is the deceiver of mind. Its path is secluded and vile. It\nloathes progress. It wishes the old den for its habitation. It lurks\namong rocks, and secludes itself in crevices. It wants nothing new, and\nbites to destroy. The spike is truth. Take it; use it; for that which\nis evil, it is good to control. The evil is in mind. The serpent lives\nonly where evil reigns. Where evil reigns fix your weapon. The evil is\nopposition to holiness; it is opposition to good; and when you fix your\nweapon of truth in the head of error and wrong, let the mighty power of\nwisdom drive the spike through the head of the serpent, that it may die\na death without mourning.\n\n\u201cThe serpent is an emblem of earthly folly. It is deceptive and vile.\nIt shuns the path of the wise and good. It crawls noiselessly into the\nmind. It bites the good of the soul. It induces despair and shame.\nIt wins minds from rectitude and confidence. It is not mind, but the\ndeceiver of mind. Its deceptions are practiced, where its influence\nprevails. Its influence prevails where evils exist. It is evil. It is\nnothing but evil. You will wrong no one by destroying it. To destroy\nevil, you will use the wisdom of this circle. You will overcome the\nevils of ignorance. But ignorance will war against the truth. All the\nmachinery of war will be brought against it. The work will commence in\na day of darkness, and the morning light will dissipate the gloom of\ndoubt. The sadness of despair will vanish before the joy of eternal\nwisdom.\n\n\u201cThe rudimental world is afflicted with great evils. These evils are\nin all the conditions of human society. They enter into the composition\nof all human governments, the religious institutions, all classes of\nmind; and science and philosophy, as understood, have not the power\nto correct them. Science and philosophy are corrupted with the errors\nand wrongs of ignorance. The wisdom of this circle must displace those\nwrongs. It must eradicate the woes, and harmonize the antagonisms of\nmind. The old forms of government must give place to new. The new must\ngive order and beauty, purity and justice to universal mind. It must\ncorrect the unhealthy current of wrong. It must vitalize the soul of\nhumanity with good. It must remove the poison of the serpent from\nthe hearts of men. It must satisfy the wants of nature with nature\u2019s\nblessings. It must overcome the wrongs of society with the rights of\nmankind. These lights must be asserted and proclaimed, until they shall\nbe understood and appreciated, obeyed and adopted, as the rule of\nhappiness.\n\n\u201cThen, the dishonesty of mind will not hypocritically reverence what\nit practically denies. Then, the votaries of creeds will not blush\nto be the friends of truth, nor covet the wrongs of oppression to\ncorrect the natural convictions of free inquiry. You will work a reform\nof long-standing abuses. The stipendiaries of religious munificence\nwill not oppose the voice which gives freedom, and the old theories\nof exclusive prerogatives, which subvert the equitable rights of\nuniversal humanity, will be venerated no more. There must be a great\nchange in the social condition to remove the social evils of mind.\nYou will remove the barriers of progress, by removing the fears which\nrepel investigation. The wrong of fear must be overcome. The slave of\ntyrannical rule must be set free from his chains. The mind must be\ntaught to respect its own rights, and disown the usurper\u2019s pretensions.\nIt must be taught that wisdom is not tyranny, and that nature will not\njustify submission. It must be taught the nature of its own powers, and\nbe inspired to respect its own competency to rule itself, without the\ninterposition of arbitrary force.\u201d\n\nSuch is a brief synopsis of the instruction, appertaining to our\ningress into the seventh circle. I shall, hereafter, allude to some\nother things, which I do not, at present see fit to disclose. When\nthe lectures were concluded, I was impressed with the importance\nof commencing the work of reform among the circles of earth. It\nwas not my project exclusively, but the whole circle. We sought to\nmake manifestations in various places. I accompanied a great number\nof minds to different localities, but saw the force of opposition,\nand the predisposition of the minds in the rudimental sphere, to be\nso tenaciously inclined to superstition and veneration of ancient\ntheologies, that we determined, in the first place, to overcome the\nimpediments in our path, by removing the superstition and relaxing the\nconfidence of mind in the multiplicity of opinions and dogmas, which\nwere being promulgated. Accordingly, we sought to prepare minds for the\ninflux of communications by special impressions of facts upon them. The\nimpressions have been verified, and the verification has induced wonder\non the part of the impressed. In many instances, future events have\nbeen so impressed by spirits on the minds of susceptible persons, as to\nleave no doubt of the reality. These impressions obtained the name of\npresentiments. They were presentiments, and the presentiments of those\nwho dwelt in the second sphere. Impressions of facts have been regarded\nalso, as fore-warnings; and, in some instances, they were, but not\nalways. The mind has conjectured many things as the cause, without\nsuspecting the true one. It has felt afraid of acknowledging, that some\nguardian spirit has produced these impressions, as though it would be a\ndishonor to them, or that the thought would be impious and ridiculous.\nUnder these circumstances, we gradually affected mind, until it was\nclearly seen, that public opinion would not justify martyrdom; when the\nwork of reforming minds from the abuses to which they had long been\nexposed, was, commenced with a view to relieve it. That work is now in\nprogress. It is begun.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nMISSION TO THE RUDIMENTAL SPHERE.\n\n  Franklin, Swedenborg, Paine, and his companions visit a place near\n  the castle--Old things become new--Process of change--Identity\n  preserved--Self is a part of the body--All sympathize together\n  in good and ill--Governments defective--Opposition to capital\n  punishment--Origin of evil--How overcome--Success of the\n  mission--Means must be adapted to conditions--Contradictory\n  communications develop the condition of minds in the second\n  sphere--Conflicting revealments harmonious with different degrees of\n  wisdom--Writing mediums--Societies and forms of worship--Adaptation\n  is harmony--Harmony should not be disturbed--The mission of spirits\n  will be to regulate minds--Minds will change forms--Retire to a\n  mansion--Onward is a passport--Dullness reproved--Dedication of the\n  Pilgrimage.\n\n\nWhen the instructions were given, I said to my companion, \u201cYou will now\nrequest William to make a journey with us.\u201d\n\n\u201cShall we not be aided with others?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cOthers will come with us,\u201d I replied.\n\nPresently Benjamin Franklin and Emanuel Swedenborg, as they were\ncalled in the rudimental sphere, went with us to a place near the old\ncastle, but which was more elevated in wisdom, and less incredulous of\nprogress. On approaching it, William said: \u201cThou seest nothing new in\nthis place.\u201d\n\nT. I see new things have become old.\n\nW. Thou wilt see old things become new. Behold, we make all things new.\n\nT. Thou canst not make a new creation.\n\nW. We can create new things out of old.\n\nT. We can change old things into new.\n\nW. Thou wilt change nothing new into old.\n\nThe mind of one with whom I had formed an acquaintance in the body,\nresponded: \u201cHow will you change old things into new?\u201d\n\nW. Thou seest a change in nature. Thou seest not the change which\nnature produces, until it is produced. The wisdom of God in nature\nworks great changes. The blossom is not as the fruit, nor the seed as\nthe blossom. The voice which nature utters, is a voice thou wilt not\ndeny. It is the voice of God to thee. Dost thou hear it, and dost thou\nfeel it? The young ravens cry, and their cry is heard. The wail of want\nfinds a response in the supply which sympathy affords. That sympathy is\nnatural; and, in its exercise, the unfledged wing becomes invigorated,\nand change gives support to the dependent. So, in thy weakness, thou\nhast received aid from sympathy, until change gave thee strength to aid\nothers. Sympathy is the divinity of nature. It controls even animals.\nIt will control enemies. It is a divinity that no enemy can resist. It\nwill conquer. It will change the old into new. The barren field will\nbecome the fruitful vineyard. The dormant energies will be quickened.\nThe inactive powers will become active, and change will make all things\nnew.\n\nM. If all things become changed by progress, will not all things lose\ntheir original identity?\n\nW. The change is not external, but is internal. The change is pure. The\ngrossness of impurity, being removed, allows a work of refinement to\ntake place, so that the divinity of sympathy may be exercised without\nobstruction. In its progress, the refinement will expand the charity\nof the soul, and divest it of all wrong. When it is divested of all\nwrong, it will feel inspired with benevolence. This benevolence will\nbecome extended, until all nature smiles with the love of God, and all\nminds are linked together forming a chain of affinity co-extensive with\nthe whole world, in heaven and on earth, and united by an immortal tie\nwhich no change will dissolve, but strengthen, forever and ever.\n\nOn arriving at the designated place, there were many minds conversing\nabout the motives of works. One said, that no motive could be pure,\nunless a mind realized some good to itself; another said, all good of\nself should be overlooked; and a third said, no mind could overlook the\ngood of itself. We heard the conversation, when William asked, \u201cHow can\nself be overlooked, when self is a part of the body, of which all are\nmembers?\u201d\n\n\u201cOught not selfishness to be overcome, so that others\u2019 good may be\nadvanced?\u201d said a mind.\n\nW. Thou wilt understand, that no mind can be disinterested in its\nwelfare, however much it may desire to overcome the nature which is\nselfish, and consults selfish good. The good of self is well, and\nwhat is well should not be overcome. It is necessary to the good of\nall. Self is a part of all. If a part be not well, the whole can not\nbe, as the whole is made up of parts. When one part is neglected,\nthe other parts will suffer. Thy mind is a part of the great body of\nmind. It is dependent on the body, and the body is dependent on it.\nThese parts embrace the whole family of mankind. There can be no joy\nwithout all the parts participate in it, neither can there be sorrow,\nwithout all sympathize in it. Thou wilt see that minds are united by\nthe law of sympathy in one body. The sympathy is natural, and when\none part monopolizes the control of the other to its disadvantage, it\nmust sympathetically suffer for its folly. It will not be happy in any\ndisturbance of the rest.\n\nM. Then, are not minds disturbing their own happiness, when they\nneglect those with whom they are united?\n\nW. Thou wilt see that governments and societies, in the rudimental\nworld, deny the law of God, which should govern all his works. They\nunite in compacts for the purpose of promoting the public good; but the\ncompacts do not seem to understand that sympathy is not a law which\ngrants favors to one and withholds them from another. In all human\ngovernments, you will find that the few who control, make slaves of the\nmany who are controlled. The ruler should fare as the ruled, and know\nthat injuries inflicted upon the latter, will result in his injury.\nThere should be no favoritism of one part over another. Governments\nstudy to govern; and, in order to govern, coercive measures are\nadopted. The governed must submit, and pay the expense of their own\nfolly. They must not disobey their rulers, because their rulers will\nenforce either the law or their own authority, to induce submission.\nNo matter what the cost may be; it must be borne by the ruled. When\nthe ruled consent to be ruled, they should not refuse the cost; but\nwhen rulers ask submission to rules which are obnoxious to the good of\none part for the support of another part, they are wanting in wisdom,\nand their demands will be rejected, when the ruled understand their\nown wants, and the means which are essential to their gratification.\nThe wisdom of the ruler consults his own supposed good. He wants what\nwill make him respected and happy. But, being aided only by a narrow\nand limited wisdom, he sees not the wisdom of nature\u2019s laws. He sees\nnot the dependence of one part upon the other; and, consequently, he\nrules in wisdom of self, or in the wisdom of ignorance of the relation\non which enjoyment depends. Now, he should love self, and he should\nneglect no means which are necessary to produce his own happiness; but,\nwhen he rules over others, he should understand that, if he injure\nthem, he injures himself; or, if he benefit them, he does good to\nhimself. An injury done to one person by a ruler, is an injury to all.\nHence, no government is as pure as it should be, which wrongs one to\ngovern the many. I have seen men, educated in crime by law ordained,\ncondemned and wronged by law. I have seen a mind who had been taught\nthe law of death for death, wronged by the instruction. It was a mind\nwho once resided in Philadelphia. I knew the mind when he was in his\nchildhood. I have often wondered, that my adopted commonwealth should\nhave engrafted upon their criminal code, so barbarous and cruel a law\nas the death penalty. I saw that young man in his childhood taught\nthe doctrine of revenge. I heard his parents justify death for death,\nand express even gratification, when some poor criminal had expiated\nthe death penalty. The child imbibed the horrid teaching. The parents\nverily believed the lesson salutary upon their son. But the son felt\nthe malice, the wrong, the wrangling in his mind, struggling against\nsympathy, until sympathy yielded to the wrong. I saw him again.\nThe gallows was his death bed. The parents had taken the farewell\ninterview. The executioner inquired of the criminal, if he wished to\nsay any thing to the spectators. The young man made a brief speech.\nHe said: \u201cThe sentence of the law is about to be executed upon me. I\nhave sinned against God, but I hope for mercy in Christ. I have no\nill will to any one. I acknowledge that my sentence is just. I hope\nthis may be a warning to all, not to do as I have done. May God have\nmercy on my soul.\u201d He was killed. The people said, \u201cIt was just.\u201d But\nwhen the mind reached this sphere, it was corrected. It was disabused\nof its malignity. It was educated in the knowledge of nature. It was\ndisrobed of its cruel garments. It was taught the divinity of natural\njustice. It was inspired with the sympathy of united brotherhood, and\nwretchedness departed.\n\nThe wrong instruction had made his sympathetic mind callous to\nbenevolence. He was chilled with the malignity of cruel instruction.\nThe noble aspirations of his soul were blighted with notions, which\nmade him unfeeling and brutal, and which prepared him for the worst\ncrime of which society makes a record. The wrong which he committed was\nthe work of ignorance. It was ignorance on the part of the parents,\nwhich led them to inculcate the cruel sentiment of death for death. It\nwas ignorance on the part of legislators, which induced them to make\nlaws that sought the correction of one wrong by requiring another to\nbe done. It was ignorance on the part of the instructed in the wrong,\nwhich led him to deny the right of life to one to whom nature had given\nbirth. Ignorance taught wrong, legislated wrong, and made one wrong to\njustify another wrong. It made both, but not directly. It will not be\notherwise, until ignorance is removed from power.\n\nThe are some countries in which you will not find a gallows. There are\nsome minds in which you will not find a sentiment favorable to cruelty.\nSuch minds can not be cruel while those sentiments remain; and, when\na mind can not be cruel, cruelty can not be done by it. Hence, thou\nseest that what is the misfortune of one, is often the fault of many.\nGovernments are what the governed make them. No human government can\nexist without the consent of the governed, or a majority thereof. It\nis the ignorance of mind, that submits to wrong, and wrong is the\nfather of misery. It is the father of crime. Make wrong laws, and\ninculcate them among minds; let them take possession of the hearts of\nthe people; and wrongs will germinate abundantly. The cruel creeds of\nminds, overshadowed with ignorance, have made cruel souls, and cruel\nsouls have made cruel laws to correct the cruelty. This is the origin\nof evil. Go where ignorance of nature reigns, where the sympathies\nof a common brotherhood are not felt, nor encouraged by the voice of\nphilosophy and reason, and there thou mayest find crime multiplied with\nitself. I have heard the mother teach the cruel lesson to her dear\nchildren. I have seen the child writhe over the recital. I have watched\nthe progress of medicine forced into the heart of sympathy. I have seen\nits awful workings at the seat of virtue. I have seen its operations\non the social affections. I have watched its icy chains, as they wound\ntheir cold links of cruelty around the expanding charities of the soul,\nand saw the death of progress, in the divinity of heaven. I saw the\ndeath wound where the cruel wrong remained. It remained through long\nyears to tantalize its victim, and mock the aspirations of the soul. It\nwearied the mind with its wrong, never aiding it in the path of right,\nbut often in the way of evil. It was cruel; and its cruelty is a shame\non decency. It is a shame on humanity. It is a libel on nature, and a\ndisgrace to civilization. The brute will not often wrong a brute where\nno good is attainable, and yet human folly and ignorance have smiled at\nthe sacrifice.\n\nUnder this system of education in cruel principles, governments have\narisen and fell. The wrong has worn out the structure. The governed\nhave governed themselves with their own wisdom. No wisdom higher than\nbrutes enjoy, enters into the cruelty of many creeds and laws. What\nvoice reaches the ear of the poor? What echo responds to the call of\nsympathy? Where are the luxuries of life garnered? Where the aid which\na common sympathy requires? Alas! Where the equalities of nature\u2019s laws\nrespected? Not where indolence and wrong reside. The people submit;\nthey acquiesce in their unrighteousness. They teach the unrighteousness\nfrom father to son, and receive the inheritance of their folly.\n\nHast thou not seen the injustice of minds? Hast thou not seen the cause\nof the world\u2019s misfortunes? All are in darkness. All are in the wrong.\nThere is no remedy but reform, and there can be no reform without\nmore wisdom. The ignorant of nature\u2019s laws should be instructed. They\nshould be taught that mind needs no cruelty to make it benevolent,\nno vindictive usage to make it virtuous and obedient. They should be\ntaught the value of their immortal minds, the value of nature, the\nvalue of good, and the importance of harmony in the adaptation of one\nthing to another. They should aid each other. They should neglect\nnone. They should teach the virtues of economy and industry, and the\ngreat secret of human enjoyment, which is obedience to nature, and\nconformity to the impartial justice and equity of her counsels. The\nwrongs of minds repel the counsel of the elevated in this sphere. Thou\nseest that while minds are obscured with darkness of wrong and crime,\nthey will not give heed to the voice of righteousness. They will not\nlisten to the truths of experience, nor be improved with our efforts.\nThey are sensual in their affections, cold in their sympathies, selfish\nwithout much wisdom in their schemes, malignant and treacherous in\ntheir doings, conceited and vain in their works, arrogant and boastful\nin their professions, hypocritical and deceptive in their worship,\nfraudulent and unjust in their dealings, weak and miserable in their\nfollies, and negligent and wretched in their devotions.\n\nThou hast seen the fond mother withhold the work of culture, because\nshe was afraid of the instruction. She was wishing the child good, but\nwas afraid of the truth that was important to the child\u2019s welfare. She\nwas disqualified to aid the child. The child was sympathetic, but the\ninstruction she gave, was full of cruelty. The horrors of malignity\nwere impressed upon the mind, and corroded the generous emotions of\nbenevolence and affection. The voice of nature became stifled; the\nwarm impulse of kindness met no response in the cold wrongs rehearsed\nand predicted; and the soft yearnings of love were repulsed with the\ncruel anticipations of evil. The windows of hope were closed, and\nangry clouds of despair were thrown around the mind. God and nature\nwere in seeming conflict. I have seen minds tortured with painful\ndescriptions of evil, until the evil became a fixed principle within\nthem; and, when the evil became fixed in their minds, evil only would\ngratify it. Hence, nature, being overcome by wrong education, has\nnot the power to satisfy what it did not create. It will not satisfy\nwrong; and, as wrongs are instilled into minds by those who are in the\nwrongs themselves, so the wrongs make minds wrangle with the voice of\nnature and the good of the soul. There can not be a remedy in nature,\nwhich will satisfy the wrongs of ignorance. Thus, a mind, educated in\nthe wrong of cruelty, will find no response in nature. Thus, a mind\neducated in the errors of pagan theology, in the wrong of infinite\ncruelty in God, in the wrong of eternally increasing wretchedness of\nthe miserable, in the wrong of wicked spirits growing worse and worse,\nwill find no wrong in nature to meet the wants of such wrongs. I have\nseen wrong; but I have seen no wrong of greater magnitude than the\nwrong inflicted by the inculcation of these wrongs. I have seen these\nwrongs germinate in the mind where they were sown, and produce a great\nharvest of wrongs. They have brought forth their own fruit; they have\nnot brought forth love, sympathy, kindness, and mercy. The seed of\ncruelty, no matter with what care it may be cultivated, or sown, never\nwill produce the fruit of righteousness. I have seen these wrongs\ninculcated by law, by creeds, by sects, by nations; but I have never\nknown them to do good. I have never known a good doctrine to produce\nevil fruit, nor evil seed to produce a good work. I have seen cruel\ndoctrines produce cruelty. I have seen sentiments, which were offensive\nto sympathy, mould minds into their own spirit, and prepare it to work\nwrongs. I have witnessed the sources of evil, acting in harmony with\nevil; but I have never known nature to wrong itself. I have never known\nminds, acting in harmony with nature, to become cruel, vindictive, or\nunjust.\n\nM. Then nature is not wrong, nor the works of nature evil.\n\nW. Nature can not be wrong, for it is the harmonious work of God.\n\nM. Is not mind a harmonious work of God?\n\nW. Mind is a work of God. It is a good work; but mind is weak; wisdom\nis strength; and, therefore, mind needs wisdom, without which it can\nnot avoid the inharmonies of conflicting conditions. In its weakness,\nit may contradict the means which are essential to its development.\nThe weakness of the mind, may receive false doctrines--doctrines\ndisagreeing with its nature, and destructive of its enjoyment. The\nmind is good, but is abused with the errors and wrongs of ignorance.\nIt is often abused by its own weakness. The mind is abused by wrongs\nof others. When minds propagate the incongenial sentiments of cruelty,\nthereby disturbing the natural sympathy of the soul, it overcomes the\nsympathy, and makes it wretched. There can be no moral evil without\na disturbance of natural law, without a violation of the natural\nsympathy of the soul. Wrongs are wrongs, because of the evil which this\ndisturbance occasions. The disturbance is occasioned by ignorance, and\nignorance is germinated in the mind by reason of its weakness. Thus,\nwhen a mind is weak, it is unprepared to resist the teachings of those\non whom it feels a dependence. These teachings being wrong, because\ninharmonious with the natural sympathy of the soul, induce evil to the\nmind.\n\nThe origin of evil is in the weakness of mind. Strength will be\nafforded by wisdom. Wisdom will be afforded by nature; and, when her\nvoice is heard and obeyed, the antidote will make wrong right. It\nwill work out the evil with good. It will elevate and rectify the\nevils to which mind is prone. The origin of all evil is where evil\nis. It can not be elsewhere. It will be found where wisdom is not.\nIt will be found where the natural sympathy of the mind is robbed of\nencouragement. It will be found where cruelty is taught; and the voice\nof kindness is not heard in the murderous shrieks of agony which brutal\nviolence enforces upon the ignorant and misguided criminal. It is not\nheard in the wild roar of damnation, as it rings from minds, educated\nin the mythology of pagan and taught in the place where the merciful\nspirit of Jesus is professedly adored. Adored! Heaven forbid. Where\nhis religion of peace is mocked with peals of cruelty, and his voice\nof compassion is scorned to vent the outpourings of judgment upon the\ncredulous and unsuspecting. These wrongs nature will not justify. They\nare wrongs which no religion will make right, without the wisdom of\nheaven to aid. They are wrongs which will meet with no approval in\nthis circle. They are cruelties which make minds cruel, and therefore\ndisobedient to God. They are miseries which induce miseries, and\ncultivate evils among minds in the rudimental world. They are evils\nwhich, when you go on a mission to overcome them, will be sustained\nwith minds in harmony with them. Soon thou must go, and when thou\ngoest, let thy words be peace.\n\nM. Know we not that your wisdom will be discarded?\n\nW. The wisdom which I would teach will be discarded by those who love\ndarkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. The pure will\nreceive the message, because they have no works of evil, which they\nwish to justify by evil doctrines and creeds. The good will not oppose\ngood, because nature will not oppose itself. The wise will not oppose\nwisdom, because wisdom can not uphold folly.\n\nM. But when you go on your mission, are there not some minds, in this\nsphere, who will attempt to baffle your efforts?\n\nW. There are some, yea, many minds, in this sphere, who will not\nteach the philosophy of nature in its purity. They will not teach any\nphilosophy, save that which is consonant with their measure of wisdom.\nThey will teach the wisdom which is consistent with nature, according\nto their respective understandings.\n\nM. If then, one mind denies the wisdom you teach, will it not create\ndistrust among the minds in the body?\n\nW. It will not create wrong; for that already exists. It will not\ndisprove the wisdom I teach, though it may create distrust among minds\nincompetent to decide upon the merits of the question. Minds in the\nbody will be prepared to discriminate between truth and error, wisdom\nand folly, so that a contradiction of the philosophy I shall teach,\nwill leave the mind scope for a comparison of my instruction with\nthe volume of nature. When the mind, instructed in my philosophy,\nshall find it corroborated with the evidence of nature before it, no\nwisdom which shall contradict it, will overthrow my positions. If my\nphilosophy contradict nature, it is well that others should contradict\nmy error.\n\nM. But how are minds, who are ignorant of the relation of cause and\neffect, ignorant of nature and its laws, ignorant of themselves and of\nGod, to know which doctrine is true?\n\nW. By experience and investigation. Minds in this sphere will be\ninstructed by our mission to the rudimental world. They will unite with\nus in convincing minds in the body of the reality of this sphere. They\nwill co-operate with us in relieving mind from all uncertainty and\ndoubt of the immortality of the soul. They will rob death of its sting,\nand the grave of its victory. They will tell many facts which earth\u2019s\ninhabitants do not know. They will do good, and not evil; and, as they\ndo good, so evil will be overcome. They will warn all of the condition\nof themselves; for whatever may be the character of communications\nimparted to minds in the body, they must correspond with the condition\nof the communicator. If dissimilar sentiments shall be taught, it will\nprove to the minds receiving them, that dissimilar minds occupy heaven\nas well as earth. The tree will be known by its fruit. The whole sphere\nof wisdom will be thus developed. Thou wilt see, that, if thy circle\nonly were to communicate, a great error and wrong would be impressed\nupon the receiver. He would judge thy teaching as the universal\nsentiment of this sphere, and harbor the idea that the indolent of\nearth, and the cruel among mankind, were even as thou art; and, thou\nseest the wrong which such partial unfoldings of this sphere, would\ninduce, and the negligence it would occasion. To develop the realities\nof this sphere, it is necessary that each circle should develop itself.\nI would say, that each circle, possessing the capacity to communicate,\nshould unfold its own wisdom. Thus, when the elevated circles describe\nthe lower, the communications, emanating therefrom, will establish the\ndescription.\n\nThe various circles and degrees of wisdom in this sphere, will find\ncorresponding affinities in the body. Thou wilt see that all circles\nwill advance circles to their own position of wisdom. Minds will\ncorrect minds, the higher controlling the lower, until the lower shall\nbecome as the higher. Thou wilt not find all minds equal to thy own,\nbut thou wilt instruct them until they shall agree with thee in all\nthings. Minds in the body will be elevated to the seventh circle in\nwisdom, but progress and labor must do the work.\n\nM. Minds in the body will deny the revealments you will make, because\nthey are conflicting.\n\nW. When minds in the body deny revealments, because they are\nconflicting, they deny the realities of this sphere. When they deny\nthe realities of this sphere, because all minds are not equally\ndeveloped in wisdom, consistency would allow them to deny the realities\nof the rudimental state. Will the philosopher deny a fact, because\nthe ignorant contradict it? Will the mathematician contradict a\ndemonstration, because the blind and foolish have not beheld it? Will\nnature reverse her laws, because ignorance has complained of their\ninharmony? Will God cease to be God, because weakness is incredulous of\nhis wonderful works? Will science disown her pupils, because ignorance\nhas her votaries? Will wrong work righteousness, because the deceived\nhave not seen the evil? Will mercy work cruelty, because cruelty doubts\nthe divinity of sympathy?\n\nIgnorance will act consistent with its nature. The wisdom of this\nsphere will be unfolded, and, when it is unfolded, the rudimental world\nwill be able to judge of this sphere, as it actually is, and not from\nmere speculations of fancy, or wrong information. They will be able\nto judge of the truth of whatever may be communicated by the nature\nof the communication. If it disagree with nature and reason, the wise\nwill not receive it, and the folly of the unwise will be corrected by\ntheir disappointment. The unwise must learn wisdom to be wise, and if\nthey will not receive it from the wise, but follow the advice of the\nunwise, disappointment will correct the folly which they have received.\nThere will arise many who will dispute the truth. The wrong will\ncorrect itself, when wrong is discovered. The discovery is sometimes\nbrought to the mind by disappointment, and sometimes by wise counsel;\nbut when the latter fails, the former must perform its office to remove\nthe evil.\n\nThe aid and wisdom of this circle will write with mediums. When wisdom\nis written, it will not act adversely to human good; and, when folly is\nwritten, it will be detected by minds. The work of writing will require\ngreat care on your part. Such is the physical and mental condition of\nminds, that we intend to make a great change in them, before we write\nwhat will be necessary. The writing will not be the commencement of\nour work, but will follow other manifestations as soon as will be\nexpedient. But we shall write what will be profitable, and what is\nadapted to mind. The writing will be executed with great rapidity, when\nmediums shall become wholly passive.\n\nM. The mediums of writing will not write with spirits who oppose them,\nI apprehend.\n\nW. Mediums will not oppose what they know. They will oppose what\nthey do not understand, if it shall conflict with their views; and,\nespecially, such as are conscientious in their convictions of truth.\nThey will not write without much discipline, because long-standing\nopinions will not easily yield to the voice of invisible facts. The\nnature of mind is such, that educational wrongs must be corrected with\nprogress. They will yield, when the living light of this sphere shall\npour its splendors on benighted humanity. But no unnatural disturbance\nof nature will shock the world. No wisdom can emanate from this circle\ninconsistent with the laws by which we are governed. No rude outbreaks\nof wisdom will convulse minds, developed in the mysteries of nature. No\nminds acquainted with the wisdom of nature will oppose our philosophy.\nThe weak may oppose, but weakness can not withstand wisdom. They may\ncavil with its teachings, but they can not overcome its influence.\nThe weak may oppose what conflicts with their established sentiments,\nbut progress will increase their strength. Some mediums will cavil\nwith what will be revealed; but such will be the uneasiness of their\ncondition, that they will find it more convenient to write what we\nwish than to oppose it. Indeed, mediums will resist our control for a\nseason, but their resistance will be so unsatisfactory to themselves,\nthat they will yield; and, when they yield, they will become as others\nwho have made no effort to resist the force of our communications.\n\nAnother mind wished to know, if manifestations from this sphere would\nnot disturb the established forms of worship, and subvert the order of\nsocieties and churches, to which William replied: \u201cThe disturbance of\nforms and the overthrow of societies and churches, will not necessarily\ntake place, except so far as they may be incompatible with the general\ngood. It is not our object to destroy, but to establish. We do not\npropose to lay waste, but to build up. The mission is not to undo what\nis wise, but to correct what is unwise. All forms of worship which\nare adapted to the condition of the worshiper, will remain so long as\nthe good of that mind may require; but no form will be suffered to\nremain which abridges the right of conscience. It will be our mission\nto relieve mind of servitude to creeds and forms, which are chains\nto wrong it of independent thought. It will be our united wisdom to\nrestore the rights, which sectarian policy has not guarantied to her\nvotaries. If the forms of worship suffer improvement, the worshiper\nwill not be injured. If societies and churches undergo a revision, the\nmembers will not be harmed. If nations shall acknowledge the rights\nof nations, the people will not mourn. To aid minds, collectively and\nindividually, to be what nature has ordained for their good, is nothing\nless than wisdom; and he who well intends, need have no fears of our\nintrusion, to change conditions inconsistent with his good.\n\n\u201cThere are no forms of worship in this sphere. Order is not form,\nbecause forms are prescribed rules, requiring obedience in those\nwho are disinclined to observe them. Those who are disinclined to\nobserve any form of worship, will not be compelled by our commands to\ndo otherwise. The wisdom of this circle will not exact hypocritical\nsubmission, nor extort a profession of veneration for customs which\nare unsatisfactory to mind. It has been the folly of the rudimental\nworld to require professions, which were burdensome to many who made\nthem. They were incongenial with their condition, and were, therefore,\nreluctantly and not cheerfully observed. In many societies, thou\nmayest see a slavish acquiescence in customs and forms, because the\nmind cringes to popular respect. It is not free to do as it desires.\nIt is restrained through fear of those who would control the rights\nof conscience. It is compelled to do service in a prescribed way, or\nsuffer the execration of those who rule in the church. It wishes to\navoid censure, and consequently yields its natural freedom. The wrong\nis grievous to the slave. Religion is weakened by the tyranny. Human\nrights of conscience are molested by the forms of worship. It will be\nour mission to give freedom to the mind--give freedom to humanity. It\nwill be our mission to abolish the tyrant\u2019s power, and let all minds\nworship God, as it seemeth good. It will be our mission to set the\ncaptive free, so that, when truth shall be unfolded, no chains shall\nfetter investigation. It will be our mission to raise the standard\nof reform, and correct the abuses of power wherever they may exist.\nSocieties and churches need not fear what wisdom will do for the good\nof mind.\u201d\n\nM. There will, then, needs be a change in the forms of worship, and the\norder of societies and churches.\n\nW. There will be this lesson first taught, which makes nothing wrong\nwhich is adapted to the good of the individual and others, and which\ninjures no one. The next lesson will be repeated, when mind has wisdom\nto adopt the first; but we are not willing to make a development\nthereof, until conditions shall require it. Indeed, conditions would\nseem to forbid it, because of its want of harmony. Adaptation is\nharmony with good, for whatever is harmonious can not be injurious.\nThe mind, acting in harmony with its own wants, and unrestrained by\nconditions, will not be dissatisfied but happy in its sphere. The mind,\nwhich acts as it does not see right and proper, must act as conflicting\nconditions make it; and, while acting as conditions compel, it must\nbe dissatisfied and unhappy. Dissatisfaction is unhappiness. Minds in\nthis sphere, are adapted to the conditions around them. The circles\nhave what they want. There is no inharmony between their wants and the\nmeans to gratify them. The low want what they have, and they have what\nthey want. It is even so with all circles; but all circles have not\nthe same wants. While the low want what will satisfy their condition,\nthe high want what will satisfy their condition. The wisdom which\nis satisfactory to the low, would be very unsatisfactory to minds\nabove them. Hence, they will say, they are happy; and they say truly,\nbecause, in their ignorance, they want no more. But mind, elevated in\nwisdom above them, would not be happy with what they have. Thus, wisdom\nis not unsatisfactory to any mind, and the only difference is the\ndegree to which each has attained.\n\nSocieties and churches on earth have their degrees of wisdom. What\nis satisfactory to one would not be to another. Now, if one society\nwere to compel the other to adopt its wisdom, a disturbance would\nnecessarily ensue which would be very likely to make both unhappy.\nIt is not, therefore, just on the part of one to compel the other to\nadopt its creed or form of worship. Such compulsion would be fatal to\nthe enjoyment of both. It would introduce a conflict and beget a war,\nthat would disturb their happiness. Both parties would suffer by it.\nHence, all coercive measures, calculated to make minds hypocrites,\nand introduce conflicting minds into one society, are irrational and\nunjust; and they who succeed in doing such work, violate the harmony of\nnature\u2019s laws, and will receive their just reward.\n\nIn our mission, we shall not disturb congenial relations. Societies\nand churches will not be forced into new creeds contrary to their\nwishes. But minds, who need a superior wisdom, will be aided in harmony\nwith their wants. It is wise to satisfy want. It is unwise to control\nmind so as to make it receive what it does not want. The unwise of\nearth have attempted to make others wise by compelling them to act\nand receive what was contrary to their wants. The rule was wrong, and\nunhappiness was the result. The rule was incongruous with the wants of\nthe mind, and what is incongruous with want, can never satisfy want,\nbecause incongruous things will not produce satisfaction.\n\nSocieties will not be required to change their forms of worship or\ntheir creeds of faith by minds of wise circles. The minds of wise\ncircles will employ their wisdom to affect minds, and render them\ncapable of reforming the externals of religion as adaptation requires.\nThou wilt see that when a mind becomes wise, it will reform its\nworship, and make circumstances congenial with itself. It will put away\nthe unwholesome forms of worldly wisdom, and worship God in spirit and\ntruth.\n\nWhen a creed, or form of worship, is made by the wisdom of the maker,\nit will not be dissatisfactory to him, because it is congenial with\nhis wisdom. But, when that mind becomes wiser, when a change has been\nwrought in the soul, it will require a change in the creed and form\nof worship, otherwise incongruity will disturb his peace. I have seen\nsome minds so wedded to their creeds and forms, that they would not\nreject them, even when their conditions demanded it. I have seen these\nminds profess reverence for creeds and forms when they had no reverence\nfor them. I have seen these conditions conflicting with each other,\nand the mind distressed with the wrong. I have seen them acquiesce in\nmeasures which they did not believe consistent with human good, because\nthey had once avowed a confidence in them. They feared the reproach\nof others, and dared not be honest in the sight of God and their own\nsouls. They concealed their own convictions from the inspection of the\nsociety or church, and yielded submission to conditions which were\nunjust and untrue to their peace. I want a reform of these evils. I\nwant a change in these minds. I want a harmony between their wisdom\nand their professions. I want no discord between mind and God. I want\nno hypocritical reverence for forms and ceremonies not consistent with\nhonest intentions. But I want mind to worship, as it seemeth good. I\nwant no society or church creed to make mind virtuous and happy. But\nothers may want; and may want so long as ignorance remaineth. While\nthey want, they will be dissatisfied when denied what will gratify\nit. Therefore, thou wilt see that what is not wanted, it is well to\ndestroy. Thou wilt see that our mission is to change the wants of mind;\nto give it a relish for holy things; to make it adapted to a condition\nof higher development; to mould it into the wisdom of a purer sphere;\nwhere the wisdom of adaptation will be appreciated, and harmony result\nin greater bliss. Thou wilt aid in this work. Thou shouldst not refuse\nto work a reform of conditions, by working a change in the minds of\nthose who will be affected by them. When that change is wrought, the\nforms of worship, and the creeds of societies, will very easily become\nchanged, so as to be adapted to the condition of their supporters.\n\nThe wisdom of a circle who wish only good, will open a way for a change\nof minds, who will reform societies and churches, so that creeds and\nforms will harmonize with their condition of development. It will not\nbe necessary to change any creed or form of worship, only as it may\ndisagree with the condition of the worshiper. To change a form of\nworship, so as to make it disagree with the wisdom of the worshiper,\nwould be to exact a hypocritical profession, than which nothing would\nbe more inconsistent with the good of mind. To relieve mind of unjust\nand unwholesome burdens, will not require unreasonable control of such\nexternals of religion, as are adapted to mind. Nevertheless, as mind\nbecomes changed by wisdom of higher circles, so the forms and customs,\nwhich work harmoniously with one condition, will need to be changed\nto harmonize with a different condition. But, when the mind becomes\nchanged, so as to require a change of externals, it will not require\ngreat labor to change them also; because the principle of adaptation,\nbeing understood, will necessarily work the desired reform. We shall\nnot seek to correct the outward service, but the inner man; and, when\nthe mind is reformed, the outward condition will become harmonious with\nit. If thou wouldst understand more fully the wisdom of our circle,\nthou mayest go with us where no wrong will be done unto thee.\n\nM. Where will you direct my steps?\n\nW. To a mansion which is near thee.\n\nM. May I now go?\n\nW. Thou mayest go, as thou art prepared. There will be a work required\nof thee, when thou shalt enter there.\n\nM. I am ready to do what will be required, if no evil be designed me or\nothers.\n\nW. No evil will be required of thee. Thou wilt not be required to do\nevil but good.\n\nM. Then you may lead me onward.\n\nW. Onward is the word. Onward is progress. Onward is thy motto. Onward\nis thy passport. And, when thou shalt reach the mansion, thou wilt say,\nOnward. Onward will admit thee, guide thee, and give thee a wisdom,\nthou hast not known. Onward, then, will unfold a change of thy mind,\nand qualify thee for usefulness.\n\nWe reached the mansion. The mind was received. Onward did not stop.\nOnward never stops. It works, labors, acts, and moves for the good of\nmind. Dullness waits, cringes, fears, doubts, moves not. It waits to\nsee, to know, and to understand the mysteries of nature. It will wait,\nand wait in vain. It will wait, and wait without improvement. It will\nwait, and improvement will wait also.\n\nWhen we work an improvement of mind, it will not be done by waiting.\nEnergy, zeal, industry, onward, will be our companions. The wisdom of\nearth must yield to the wisdom of heaven. The aid of heaven will not\nwait, but make all things new. Wise minds will not wait for minds of\nother circles to do what is necessary for them to do. Unwise minds will\nwait, until they find waiting inconsistent with progress. Then, they\nwill wait no more.\n\nThere will not be wisdom in waiting for disclosures of facts from\nthis sphere, when facts which have been revealed are neglected and\ndistrusted. There will be some who will wait for minds of this sphere\nto _make_ them work, and do their duty to humanity, but they will never\nbe satisfied with waiting. There never can be progress in any mind,\nwhile it waits, and asks spirits to do what belongs to itself. There\nnever can be advancement with circles while they omit the essential\nobligations of duty to others. There will never be any reform by\nspirits, who depend wholly on others to reform them. We sow the seed of\nwisdom, but nettles and thorns choke the growth. We sow the principles\nof truth, but errors and wrongs are made to destroy their influence.\nThe weeds of error must be destroyed, or no reform can be effected.\nHence, minds waiting for spirits to destroy their wrongs, waiting\nfor others to do what they must do to receive the truth, will wait a\nprofitless season to see the salvation of their souls.\n\nIn conclusion of this work, I will say that when this medium shall wait\nfor us to do what is well for minds in their conditions, I will write\nanother book. I will write a continuation of my experience in this\nsphere. I have succeeded in presenting a brief period, and a running\nsketch of other periods of experience, which will be more completely\nwritten, when this medium shall wait for me to do it. I will now\nconclude by saying, that what is written is without the volition of\nthis medium, and will not suffer mutilation by compositors or others,\nwithout his detection. I wish to say, that my name has been given,\nas was promised, and the reader will find the names of Wm. Penn, and\nEmanuel Swedenborg, associated with me. There will also be given\nanother name in the writings of the next work.\n\nHaving completed this volume, I would very respectfully dedicate the\nsame to the rudimental world, without respect to persons.\n\n                                                               T. PAINE.\n\n\n\n\nPOETRY.\n\n\nThe following article was written for an Album, February 12th, 1852. I\nsat down with the intention of writing a prose article, by the request\nof a lady, without the aid of spirits. When seated, my mind lost all\nthought, for a few moments: I had no design of writing a poetical\narticle, for nature did not make me a poet, and not much of a judge of\npoetry. I will say, I never wrote a line of poetry in my life, unless\nwith the aid of spirits, since I have been a medium. In about five\nminutes my hand began to move, and wrote as follows:\n\n\nTHE SECOND SPHERE.\n\n  There is a flower that fadeth never;\n    There is a star which never sets;\n  There is a gem that shineth ever--\n    There is a Mind, which ne\u2019er forgets\n  The flower, so sweet, so fadeless, even\n    The star, \u2019mid other stars, so bright--\n  The gem that decks the vault of heaven;\n    Or mind that lives for purer light,\n  Where angels dwell in nightless day,\n  Where seraphs chant the holy lay,\n  Where minds unite with minds above,\n  Where all is peace, where all is love.\n\n  There is a casket filled with flowers;\n    There is a stream of crystal life;\n  There is a beauty decks my bowers,\n    In this bright world away from strife;\n  Which fills my soul with grateful praise,\n    Which melts my heart with holy fire,\n  Which wakes my song, inspires my lays,\n    And quickens mind with pure desire;\n  For sweet employ in works of love,\n  To bless my soul with grace above--\n  The flower, the star, or gem so fair,\n  That I no want or sorrow share.\n\n\nLINES\n\nAddressed to Rev. T. J. SMITH, through S. H. LEWIS, Medium, March, 1851.\n\n  Go ahead, look backward, never,\n    ONWARD, be the CRY\n  Fight truth\u2019s battles--never, never,\n    From the contest fly.\n        Be thou ever looking upward,\n          For the truth on high;\n        Falter, faint not, in the struggle;\n          Be your watchword, TRY.\n\n  TRY for every thing that\u2019s glorious,\n    Be you good and true;\n  Ever be your motto, progress--\n    Ev\u2019ry THING that\u2019s new.\n        Care not for the world\u2019s applauding;\n          Think of something higher,\n        Strive to serve the heavenly Father;\n          Preach, with holy fire.\n\n  Holy spirits guard you ever,\n    Keep you in the way;\n  From the earth, your heart then sever--\n    Wait the rising day--\n        Ye shall see it, feel it, know it,\n          Tell it to the world--\n        Tell them ALL, that superstition\n          From its throne is hurled.\n\n                                    S. R. SMITH.\n\n\nTHE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT.\n\nBlessed are the living who see the light of salvation. They shall be\nas stars in the firmament, and shine forever and ever in the heavenly\nkingdom. They shall not visit the tomb of the departed without hope,\nnor mourn without consolation. They shall rejoice always in the hope of\nheaven.\n\nHast thou been to my grave? There no voice responds to thy mourning\nsoul. Hast thou been weary with care? Thy care will not lift the burden\nfrom thy spirit. Where, then, wilt thou go? Go where the sunlight is\nunbroken by the intervening cloud of despair, and the song thou wilt\nhear, will be the song thou dost love.\n\n  Go, sister, not declining,\n    Till thy weary work is done;\n  Go, when thy soul is pining,\n    Oft, and bow before the throne\n  Of mercy, never tiring,\n    Of goodness forever free;\n  And let thy mind admiring,\n    Be warmed with charity:\n  There offer thy oblation,\n    Where misfortune claims thy aid\n  There seek the great salvation,\n    As thou and I oft have prayed.\n\n\nLINES\n\nTO A FRIEND FROM THE SECOND SPHERE.\n\n  Thou art weary, my friend, with earth\u2019s fading toys;\n  Thou hast felt not the love of wisdom\u2019s pure joys,\n  Nor seen the bright sunshine, in mercy untold,\n  Unfolding a beauty more precious than gold;\n  For the clear stream of truth rolls sweetly along,\n  Like notes on the wave of the seraphim\u2019s song:\n  The minds I behold, are the friends I admire,\n  And the love which I feel, my soul doth inspire:\n  The song I have heard, is a song known to me,\n  More welcome its notes than the flute\u2019s dulcet key:\n  More wondrous the wisdom, disclos\u2019d by the star,\n  Revolving \u2019mid circles of systems afar,\n  Than the moonlight of mind, with works evermore\n  Conflicting with nature on error\u2019s dark shore;\n  Or the dream of thy mind, or the fear of the knell,\n  Which comes to thy soul from the sad, tolling bell.\n  Away, far away, from my beautiful bower,\n  Thy strength thou art wasting with thy weary hour,\n  Where the sweet song of heaven dispels not thy fear,\n  Nor the angels of mercy away chase thy tear;\n  Though one thou hast lov\u2019d with the love of true joy,\n  Would welcome thee upward to sweeter employ.\n  Away then, dear friend, away with thy sadness,\n  The bright morning dawns with hope of true gladness;\n  And the one thou hast lov\u2019d is not far away;\n  But is near thee to bless, by night and by day.\n\nThe following article was written by a spirit, with the hand of Mrs.\nCHARLOTTE M. CAVAN, of this city, who has kindly consented to its\npublication. The spirit designed to make her speak as she felt, and to\nrepresent her condition.\n\n\nA VOICE FROM THE SPIRIT LAND.\n\n  I hear a voice, \u2019tis sweet withal--\n    Far sweeter than \u00c6olian lyre;\n  Gentle its murmurs on me fall,\n    In harmonies that never tire.\n  I know that voice, my inmost soul\n    Answers in quick response to thine;\n  Deep are the harmonies that roll,\n    When thy fond spirit enters mine.\n  For worlds of wealth, I would not give\n    The wisdom I receive from thee;\n  Thou bidst me to be pure, and live\n    Worthy of one whose spirit\u2019s free;\n  For what is death? \u2019tis but a life--\n    The dawning of a new born day;\n  With immortality \u2019tis rife--\n    A bliss that can not pass away.\n  Then gently speak, and touch my hand;\n    Give me more light and truth divine;\n  And, when at last the spirit land,\n    Unfolds this waiting soul of mine,\n  Thou\u2019lt be the first to welcome me--\n    To lure my raptur\u2019d spirit higher;\n  To show me those I long to see,\n    And tune for me thy angel lyre.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] When one head controls another, the one controlled has been\nbeheaded.\n\n\n\n\nTRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES:\n\n\n  Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.\n\n  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.\n\n  Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.\n\n  Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.\n\n  The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber using\n    the original cover and is entered into the public domain.","title":"Light from the spirit world: The pilgrimage of Thomas Paine and others to the seventh circle in the spirit world","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":73253}