authenticity of the vision, though he did of the means of accomplishment, as did Abraham and Sarah of old. Mary gave herself up to the will of the Lord, and "Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife."

These external circumstances have been rather dwelt upon, because great pains have long been, and still are taking, even in what is called the Christian Church, to invalidate their authenticity, and encourage a belief that the Lord Jesus Christ was a mere man,-literally the son of Joseph as well as Mary, and therefore only sent into the world as an example, to shew that it was possible for man to keep the law of God, and thereby merit heaven from his own works and abilities. To establish such a heresy as this, so contrary to the whole tenor of Scripture, and the very nature and end of man's redemption, it would be necessary to prove that the corner stone on which all true Christians build their hopes of redemption, is a false foundation; and this is daily attempting, so far as bold assertion, fallacious reasoning, and "philosophy, falsely so called," are enabled to accomplish it, by endeavouring to persuade mankind that portions of the word of the New Testament are not authentic; particularly the chapter of Matthew in which the circumstances above named are related, and the two first chapters of Luke. These are declared to be forgeries, and not to be found in the original copies delivered to the Primitive Church! It is necessary, therefore, to guard against this wild delusion, and continually to strengthen the belief of the Lord's Divine Humanity. Indeed, if mankind were not sunk into the very lowest state of ignorance respecting the nature of redemption, they must be convinced that the God who created them could alone save and redeem them; because salvation does not consist in merely forgiving sins, or becoming a vicarious sacrifice for them,redemption is not merely setting an example how we ought to live, nor does it consist in washing us pure with the natural blood of Christ shed upon the cross; but it consists in subduing the spiritual enemies of man, both within and without him,-in reducing hell itself, with all the infernal hosts, into order; thereby delivering man from their diabolical influence, and endowing him with a new nature, new affections, and new desires, whereby he may again become recipient of the Divine Love and Wisdom, and the image of his Maker be restored in him. And could a mere man effect such a redemption as this? Could any being less than the Creator of the universe be such a Redeemer of it? None," says the Psalmist, can by any means redeem even his brother, or give to God a ransom for him;" much less redeem a world! Wherefore," the Lord exclaims by the prophet Isaiah, "I have trodden the wine-press alone,

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and of the people there was none with me. For I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garment, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold therefore mine own arm brought salvation to me, and my fury it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth."

But to return the revelation made to Joseph, as remarked above, was different to those made to Zacharias and the others,-it was by a dream. Dreams are not much attended to in the present day; and this is doubtless of the Divine Providence, because in the very low state of the church, mankind would not be able to distinguish between such as are fantastic and such as are otherwise. But the men of the Most Ancient Church had the most delightful dreams and visions, and it was insinuated to them what their dreams signified; (A. C. 1122.) and, indeed, we are now again taught that dreams are of three kinds;-the first kind come mediately through heaven from the Lord; such were the prophetical dreams recorded in the Scriptures; the second sort come by angelic spirits, of which kind were those of the Most Ancient Church just mentioned; and the third sort come by spirits who are near when man is asleep, which also are significative. But fantastic dreams have a different origin. (A.C. 1976.) There is, however, an internal or spiritual signification of the term dream, which it will be useful to know, in order to assist us in understanding the Scriptures. In a supreme sense it denotes foresight, because the dreams recorded in Scripture came immediately from the Lord, and were designed to foretel things to come; such were the dreams of Joseph the son of Jacob, also of the baker and butler of Pharoah, of Phaorah himself, of Nebuchadnezzar, and likewise the prophetic dreams in general; for the things to come, which are thereby foretold, could be revealed from no other source than from the Lord's divine foresight; and inasmuch as it denotes foresight, it likewise denotes Providence, or what is provided, for the Divine Foresight and the Divine Providence are inseparable; for Providence respects states in their succession to eternity, which states cannot be provided for unless they be foreseen. To provide things present, and not to foresee things to come, and thereby not to provide at the same time things to come in things present, would be without end, without order, and consequently without wisdom and intelligence, thus not grounded on the divine principle. (A.C. 5195.)

A dream, also, particularly when it is said a "dream by night," signifies a state of spiritual obscurity. Thus it is written in the book of Genesis, (chap. xx.) that "God came to Abimelech in a dream by night." Although it is not said that the dream of Joseph, the husband of Mary, was in the night, yet it evidently signifies a state of obscurity, for we are taught that the internal sense of the passage in which the statement respecting it occurs, denotes that the Lord, as to his human essence, was conceived from the Divine in the mother Mary, who thus represented the church as to good, about to be conjoined to its proper truth, but that the truth of the church, represented by Joseph, could not comprehend this, and therefore was about to separate itself from its good, until instructed in its obscure state from the Word, that the Lord, according to prediction, would assume the human essence as a means of redeeming mankind. The Evangelist only informs us, that Joseph the husband of Mary, being a just man, and not willing to expose her to public infamy, was minded to put her away privily; but while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream." Thoughts, as well as dreams, are of three kinds; for there are thoughts from perception, thoughts from conscience, and thoughts from those who have no conscience. Thoughts from perception, we are told, have only place with the celestials; that is, with those who are principled in love to the Lord. This is the inmost ground of thought with man, and is that which has place with the celestial angels in heaven;-perception from the Lord is the principle by which and from which the thought of such exists, and to think contrary to perception is a thing with them impossible. Thoughts from conscience are inferior, and have place with the spiritual; that is, with those who are principled in the good of charity and faith as to life and doctrine; and to think contrary to conscience is, to such, also a thing impossible, for this would be to think contrary to goodness and truth, which is given them by conscience from the Lord. But thoughts of the third class have place with those who do not suffer themselves to be inwardly ruled by goodness and truth, but by evil and falsity; that is, not by the Lord, but by themselves. These believe that they think as much within themselves as those who think from conscience and perception, by reason that they do not know what conscience or perception is. They think from lusts and fantasies; but they who think from conscience think from the affections of goodness and truth, consequently from heaven.

Thus it may be seen that every word in the sacred volume has an internal signification, and every sentence is capable of affording spiritual

instruction. For it is of great importance to ascertain whether we even think from conscience or from its opposite-whether we are governed by the lusts and fantasies of our fallen degenerated nature, or by those principles of love and charity which are the effects of regenerated conscience! It is likewise of the utmost importance for us to know whether we are dead to all spiritual things, or whether, like Joseph, we are only asleep and in a dream. A dead man, according to the spiritual import of the word, acknowledges nothing to be true and good but what relates to the body and the world; and the ends which influence his conduct regard only the same; he neither knows nor inquires any thing concerning eternal life, but all his faculties are engrossed with the present. The restraints by which he is kept in order are merely external, and he is under the dominion of evils and falses. Reader! if this awful state be ours, then, as the apostle asks, "Who shall deliver us from the body of this death?" He who was the object of Joseph's thoughts, the cause of his consoling dream, even that "holy child JESUS who was conceived by the Holy Ghost ;"—He can raise us from the grave, as he did Lazarus, though we have been dead three days; but then we shall, like Lazarus, come forth bound hand and foot, until the Lord again exclaims, "Loose him, and let him go !" If, however, the Lord is enabled to say of us, as he did of Jairus's daughter" She is not dead, but sleepeth;"-if, like Joseph, we are only asleep and in a dream respecting spiritual things; then again, like Joseph, being raised from sleep, we shall "do as the angel of the Lord hath bidden us"—we shall obey the dictates of the Word of God, unite goodness to our truth, charity to our faith, life to our doctrine; and thus form that heavenly marriage which can alone render us happy to all eternity. AMOS.

REMARKS ON THE SCIENCE OF CORRESPONDENCES, AS APPLIED TO MUSIC.

To the Editor of the INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY.
SIR,

IF what Swedenborg says in regard to the science of correspondences be true; and if it be admitted (and who can dispute it?) that our knowledge of this most noble and exalted of sciences, at the present day, is extremely limited; and if our efforts to explore its vast domain, even in reference to generalities, are beset with difficulties; what are we to

think of those well-meaning, but certainly inconsiderate persons, who unceremoniously and rashly plunge into this subject, and decide point after point as coolly as if there were no difficulties involved in the matter? While engaged in reading Swedenborg's admirable works, the light of the science of correspondences burns clear and strong; but without this guidance, that light is instantly obscured, and becomes uncertain and unsteady; more especially when our aim is to direct its rays to another class of objects from those upon which he is in the habit of dwelling. To a member of the New Church truth is, or ought to be, held in most holy reverence. We are enjoined to seek and to search to the end, that we may find; not to indulge in fanciful reveries. By the former the mind is engaged in patient and laborious investigation, having use for its end; by the latter, the mind is made to feed upon itself, and thus to destroy itself, in proportion as we indulge therein. But what effect is likely to be produced upon the mind of a stranger to the works of Swedenborg, if upon looking into the Intellectual Repository, he finds in some parts warm and glowing accounts of the wondrous nature of correspondences; while in others, the subject is treated in a light, off-hand, and apparently careless manner;—and is not this the case in regard to the points selected by Mrs. Child for explanation? I allude to your quotation from a recent work by Mrs. Child, in which it is affirmed that "Music is the soprano, the feminine principle, the heart of the universe." But what is meant by all this? and how are these assertions proved? Mrs. C. proceeds thus:- “In written music there are signs for intonation and signs for duration; intonation relating to space, or the affections, and duration to time, or truth." Now that intonation, or time, relates to space, I cannot but entertain strong doubts, since it is a well-known fact, that every musical sound or note is the result of a uniform series of vibrations, knocks, or pulsations, in a given time. Intonation is, therefore, an effect of motion in the atmosphere, by means of which our auditory organs are enabled to take cognizance of exceedingly minute, and otherwise inappreciable, divisions of time, and not of space. While, on the contrary, that which renders exceedingly minute, and otherwise inappreciable, divisions of space cognizable to the visual organs, is colour; which is also a result of motion appertaining to some fluid, but not of the atmosphere. From what has been observed, it will be seen that the difference between what in music is called tune and time, is merely a difference in degree; that is, a difference of more or less, and

* See Miscellaneous Information, page 434, for November last.