and especially during the period of childhood is this most sacred duty entrusted to the mother.

I will now speak especially to mothers, and shew them in what ways, not frequently thought of even by those mothers who are desirous to train their children aright, the moral culture of their children is impeded and destroyed. It is natural for a child to cherish kind affections to those who are nearest and dearest, and especially to the mother. Little Lucy went one day, in May, into the garden in which her father took much pleasure, and on the grass-plot she found many pretty flowers, some of which she joyfully plucked, with the innocent intention of presenting them to her mother, thinking it would cause her to enjoy a new delight, and happy in the thought that she could thus please her dear mamma. When she had gathered the flowers, she ran to the kitchen for a plate, and having arranged them very prettily thereon, she was hastening to her mother, when she unfortunately fell, and broke the plate. Her mother heard the noise and hastened to the spot, when she began to scold poor Lucy very severely, and even shook her with vehemence. Now Lucy's mind was much hurt, and the joy of her little heart, at the idea of presenting some flowers to her mother, was changed into sullen grief.

Here, then, was a case (and cases analogous to this are numerous in every family) in which injury was done to moral culture, and to the éducation of the heart. Lucy's intention was innocent and lovely; it was the effect of "celestial remains" operating in her heart to cause joy and happiness to others; the mother, acting under the excitement of proprium, never once thought of inquiring into the cause of Lucy's accident, and the purpose for which she had gathered the flowers. The consequence was, that the child did not again soon entertain the wish or the thought of pleasing her mother. Had the mother calmly waited and examined the intention of Lucy, she would have acted differently, and one of the most heavenly principles that can actuate the heart, that of causing innocent gratification to others, would have been developed and strengthened.

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Examples," says Seneca, "are far more efficacious than precepts." Little Mary received, on her birth-day, a present of tea things from her uncle John. This present caused her much joy. She invited other children to come and take tea with her. Her joy was increased when she saw others joyful and happy, and her greatest joy was to wait upon them, and to see that they were all well served and happy; so great was her joy, that she nearly forgot herself. Her uncle John

sat by, and being a New Churchman, he observed the operation of celestial remains, or the rudiments of the heavenly life, and was interiorly affected. When the tea party was over, little Mary arranged every thing in the greatest order, and put the tea things by for another occasion. But her little brother William wished to handle these tea things, and one was given him, which he soon broke. He wanted some more, but Mary was grieved, and she remonstrated with her brother. Upon which the father came, and in an angry tone, ordered Mary to give her brother the tea things, which were soon destroyed, and poor Mary's mind was very much hurt.

Cases analogous to this occur in every family. But what was the consequence? A great injury was inflicted on moral culture. The father did an act of injustice to poor Mary, and he did no good to William, and uncle John told him so. The result was, that Mary looked upon her father as unjust and tyrannical in his conduct, and the best affections of her heart, instead of being more drawn out, that is, educated, were checked in their growth, and the selfish dispositions of William were called forth and strengthened by the unjust part which the father had taken. Had the father properly reflected before he acted, he would have assisted Mary in her love of order, and in her innocent efforts to give pleasure to others; this would have been effective moral training, which would have been carried out in after life in the love of her neighbour, and the plane of heavenly order would have been more securely laid and established. William's selfish dispositions also would have been checked, and a sense of justice to others awakened in his mind.

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Again;;—a certain mother was accustomed, when her children were boisterous and unruly, to hold out to them two dreadful threats; one was, that " God would cast them into hell;" and the other was, that the father, when he came home, would break every bone in their skin." The consequence was, that the children grew up with very erroneous notions of God, and their affections were never brought out towards him. They had no idea of any of his attributes but of power, which they erroneously considered to be combined with vengeance. And against the poor father they entertained aversion and dread. Every one can see, that an influence of this kind from the mother destroys all moral culture; and yet cases similar to this are often met with in families.

When little Margaret was chastised by her father on account of her self-will and bad obstinate temper, she always ran to her mother and complained of the father; the mother pitied the child, and said to

her:

"What a cruel father to beat the poor child so! come, and I'll give thee a cake." Is it a wonder that Margaret should grow up in hatred to her father? The only proper nursery of children for moral culture and heavenly order, is CONJUGIAL LOVE; and the united efforts of the parents in training the children, are indispensable; but when the parents act as in the above examples, it is impossible for any moral training to exist. This subject is so important, coming so closely to the root of all moral and heavenly order, that we are unwilling to relinquish it, and shall therefore take it up again.

(To be continued.)

MATER.

ON THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF FASTING.

It appears to be necessary to say a word or two in order to clear up this subject, as it is presented at the close of the paper signed APEX.

Food for the mind is of two kinds, heavenly and infernal. The former is appropriated from the Lord, by the regenerate; the latter from hell, by the unregenerate. Both, in the most general sense of the word spiritual, may be called spiritual food. The heavenly food is suited to the appetite of the angelic spirit, and the infernal food to that of the evil spirit, and also the spirit of man while he loves evil; for it is the love that hungers for its corresponding food..

The evil man loathes the "heavenly manna," and feeds on the "serpent's food,"-the evil and the false.

The good man fasts, or voluntarily abstains from the food which the natural man lusts after, the food and drink which is hungered and thirsted after by the unrenewed affections of the loves of self and the world; and he gratefully feeds upon that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." But in states of temptation, as APEX has shewn, he fasts by compulsion, not choice, from the food which alone is delightful to him, and he then mourns the defect of goodness and truth, under which, for the time, he is called to suffer.

It is this involuntary fasting from good which is denoted by the fasting for forty days and nights, of Moses, Elijah, and the Lord; but it is the voluntary fasting from evil which is signified by the words. quoted by APEX from the 58th chapter of Isaiah, and which is declared to be a fast acceptable to Jehovah; for to do the works of charity there described, in sincerity of heart, necessarily implies the refusal to gratify and indulge, and the endeavour to starve and mortify the opposite selfish affections, which are opposed to the exercise of charity.

APEX has given the gist of the matter in these words:

"When man

is in a state of temptation, he is represented as fasting; for he will not appropriate evils from hell; nor can he receive good from the Lord." Here is a reference, first, to the regenerate man's voluntary fasting,— the fast which Jehovah hath chosen;" (Isaiah lviii.) and also a reference to the involuntary fasting, which ever accompanies the former; for it is by the voluntary that man prepares himself to endure the involuntary fasting; since it is only those who give themselves up to the Lord, by shunning all evils as sins against Him,-thus fasting from all sinful gratifications,-who are able to endure the assaults of temptation, and through the Divine strength, to overcome therein. By "mortifying the flesh," (which means the corrupt natural mind and its desires) man receives the new life of goodness united with truth; and it is only from this acquisition of new life,—this assumption of "the whole armour of God," that man is able "to withstand in the evil day, and having overcome all, to stand," being, by such conquest, firmly established on the "Rock of everlasting strength."

Thus, then, appears the instructive meaning of the Lord's own declaration in Matt. xvii. 21, that power to cast out devils,-to cast out evils from the fallen will, and thus to expel the powers of darkness who find a residence therein," cometh only by prayer and fasting." No doubt it is owing to this and other passages of a like tenor having been taken literally, that the purification of the soul has been sought by ascetics, by means of the starving as well as lacerating of the body. But we now see how the Lord permitted the literal idea of fasting to be presented for the use of external characters, who, probably, in many cases were benefited by their sincere though misdirected selfrenunciation in fasting, until the time should come when spiritual fasting should be seen to be the fasting alone signified, and which every one must practise who desires to be delivered on earth from the dominion of hell, to the end that he may abide in heaven for ever with the Lord! A FRIEND.

THAT

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE IS SO CONSTITUTED, THAT NOTHING THEREIN IS ARTIFCIAL, AS [INSTANCED] IN THE CASE OF SPIRITS WHEN

SPEAKING.

(From the Spiritual Diary of Swedenborg.)

2631. That the Hebrew language is such, as [in a wonderful manner] to involve ideas, and indeed, that the words are of so comprehensive a

nature (tales) that one expression involves many ideas, insomuch that beyond those of any other tongue they stand [for] generalisations of ideas, is evident from many considerations; such as, from its being originally [written] without vowels, because the literal sense should be learned from the interior sense; and not, contrariwise, that which is interior, from the literal sense; as is more apt to be done since the vowels were added. Wherefore, he who from an interior sense perceives that of the letter, can so far better understand what is written in the Hebrew character, without vowels, than with them. Hence, also, the nouns [even proper names] are not distinguished by larger initials; and hence, too, there is no distinction by commas and the like, as in languages wherein the literal sense is the [primary] object of attention. Moreover, the mode of speaking in the Word is [most] natural-not artificial, as may plainly appear from many examples, such as of its being frequently expressed as though the person [represented] were himself speaking, [thus] without its being stated that such a one said so [and so], but as though he spoke in his own person; likewise in other similar cases.-July 17th, 1748.

(CONCERNING THE HEBREW LANGUAGE.)

(From Swedenborg's Spiritual Diary.)

2414. From angels I received the information, which is confirmed [to me] by various considerations-that the Hebrew language has this [peculiar] quality, that in case the literal sense be such as to exact attention to it [as such, in the same degree] the literal expression becomes less an object [and the contrary]. Wherefore, also, it was written, originally, without the points; and being, consequently, read without them, the sense was then the primary object, and [the guide] according to which the accentuation of the vowels was formed; as may be evident also to any one well skilled in that language; wherein, whoever reads the Word, without the points, never can, but by following the [general] sense, know what is the particular import; especially in the Prophets. [Now,] the vowels, and such other additions, draw down the sense to [every particular of] the letter. Then, though many were to read the same prophetic books without the points, yet would each thence form a different construction [of his own]; when, supposing every one to have added vowels accordingly, in that case, the letters would have been differently marked by every one; and wherever such additions could not, according to the [common] meaning [of terms], be