look at the history as given solely for that purpose; and a slight glimpse at the law of analogy will show them, rationally, that everything which science or reason objects to, in this whole history, is entirely wiped away; and all appears reasonable and consistent. All the great difficulties are now removed which have so much troubled and perplexed the commentators, respecting the six days of creation as being at war with geology or in regard to the sun's being made on the fourth day, as opposed to astronomical laws; or concerning the garden of Eden; the trees of the garden; the serpent's talking: the forbidden fruit; and the fall, over which there hangs so much dense darkness : or respecting the creation of Eve from a rib of Adam, after the seventh day; when man had been created, male and female, on the sixth day or concerning the questions, Who was Cain's wife? and who built the city of Enoch? All these strange things, and many others, will be rationally explained, and the whole history, in a spiritual light, will become profitable for doctrine; teaching the way of life, and the true duty of man to God and his neighbor.

But some people say they take God at his word, in the literal sense, and that that is enough for them. Very well, obey and love the commandments till you. hate evil and love good, and your soul is safe.

But there are others at this day who cannot do that Their intellect demands a reason for belief. The Bible, therefore, must speak to every soul for itself. It is a merciful book and suits itself to all states. I cannot speak to you intelligently, upon the literal sense,

alone, of this history. It is dark to me. My understanding demands what the letter alone fails to give. But I can say to you, understandingly, that there is a spiritual sense to be seen, by correspondences, through the literal, which is a history of the creation of the human mind, and is reasonable, beautiful and highly instructive that it is precisely what the rational faculty, in this scientific age demands: that in the early ages of our race, while the thoughts of man flowed along in union with the divine current, men saw it by intuition that the science of correspondences was once well understood on this earth, but has long since been lost; but that many great and good minds have, to some extent, believed in it in all ages; and that thousands are now embracing it.

Hermes, the great Egyptian legislator, priest and philosopher, who, by his excellence, acquired the name of the Thrice Great, and who flourished about the time of Moses, says, "This visible world is but a picture of the invisible, wherein are seen, as in a portraiture, counterfeit forms of more real substances, in the invisible fabric." And this was the prevailing belief of the learned ancients. They believed that the material world was a picture of the world of mind. Philo, who flourished A. D. 40, and who lived in the days of the Saviour, says, "The whole law of Moses is like a living creature, whose body is the literal sense, but whose soul, the more hidden meaning, is covered under the sense of the letter."

Augustine, one of the early fathers of the church, says, "In all things that God hath spoken, in His writ

ten word, we must seek for a spiritual meaning." Again he says, "As barley is covered with a stiff chaff, so that you come, with difficulty, to the nourishing part, so the Old Testament is clothed with wrappings or tokens; but if you once come to its marrow, it nourishes and satisfies." Origen, another of the early fathers says, "As a mutual affinity exists between things visible and things invisible, earth and heaven, soul and body; so, also, Holy Scripture is made up of visible and invisible parts: first, a kind of body, or letter, which we see with the eyes, next the soul, or sense which is discovered within the letter." Again, Origen says, "They who find fault with the allegorical expositions of Scripture, and maintain that it has no other meaning than that which the texts shows, take away the key of knowledge."

We could fill a volume with quotations like these from the fathers and early Christians. St. Paul says in Galatians, “It is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a bond-maid, and the other by a free woman, which things are an allegory ?" Now, why an allegory? It was a literal fact. And you may read the whole history of Abraham through, and you will see no reason why this was an allegory, any more than all the rest; nor is it.

Many of the deeply pious, in all ages, have supposed there must be some deep signification to the Scriptures, which was not seen in the literal sense. Dr. Adam Clarke says, "I appeal to all persons who have ever read the various comments that have been written on the Mosaic account, whether they have ever yet been

satisfied? Who was the serpent? Of what kind? In what way did he seduce the first happy pair? These are questions which remain yet to be answered." Thus speaks Dr. Clarke.

The pious Dr. Watts says, "Who can fathom the depth of the mystery of the Trinity, the fall, the resurrection, &c. But may they not be yet understood? Who can say but that the dark cloud which now overshadows this Mosaic history may some day be removed? Who knows but God may raise up some man to expound these mysteries ?" And Dr. Watts was right in his suggestion. For the cloud is being removed. The light is now shining. These great and good men needed only the spiritual sense of the Word, and all would have been plain. Dr. Clarke would have then known who was the serpent. And Dr. Watts would have understood the trinity, the fall, and the resurrection. It was no want of talent nor piety nor human learning that these men saw not the spiritual sense. The rock had first to be smitten before the waters would gush forth. The seals of the Word had first to be broken, before its internal sense could be known. No person could know, from any literal definitions of terms, what was signified by the word serpent. He must first be shown that the serpent denotes a principle in the mind of man, and what that princiciple is. Had Dr. Clarke seen this he would never have looked out among the four-footed beasts of the earth, to find what tempted Eve.

With these preliminary remarks we will proceed to the explanation of some of the leading features in the

first chapter of Genesis. And you will constantly bear in mind, as we proceed, that the natural things mentioned denote things of the mind; because the whole subject is the creation of the human mind. Not of one mind or two, and at a certain time, but of any mind or number of minds at any time. And remember, also, that a mind, in a scriptural sense, is never considered created till it is in the image and likeness of God and that the phrase, "in the beginning," is as applicable to one period of time as to another. There is no beginning with God; but there is a beginning with everything that is created. And so far as the thing created is concerned, the work is done in the beginning. It is, therefore, but a feeble and fragmentary thought that supposes that at a certain time, in the stillness of eternity, there was nothing in existence but God; and that He then spoke into being the present universe. What! The mighty God exist from all eternity up to a certain time without doing anything? He is an Eternal Creator-"the same yesterday, to-day, and forever"-a Creator always. An Infinite and Eternal God, with an infinite and eternal field to operate in, can always have been and forever be creating finite worlds and things, without filling His field or exhausting His store. He is an eternal cause. And there cannot be a cause without an effect. It will not do to suppose that infinite Love, Wisdom and Power ever existed without action, for that position could belong only to finite and passive things.

The chapter under consideration opens by saying, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the