* as to have called forth the first, and as yet the only treatise, expressly devoted to this magnificent science. Philo beautifully uses these phenomena to illustrate the 'unbounded wisdom of God:- The wealth of that wisdom is as a tree, which is continually putting forth new shoots after the old ones, so that it never ceases growing young again, and being in the flower of its strength.' Mankind, and all living creatures, together with plants, rejuvenize also as to race, by the procreation of offspring like themselves. Like leaves on trees the race of man is found, Now green in youth, now withering on the ground; So flourish these, when those are passed away. Here it is that we most clearly understand that death, so called, is the operation of Life. The particular aggregations of material elements, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and so forth, drawn together and consolidated by the immortal essence of each plant and animal, and by the spiritual body in man, break up and disappear after awhile; but the Form remains with us still; its old apparel only parted with, in order that new may be put on. The rejuvenescence which the entire organic garment of the earth has undergone, and will not improbably undergo again, is the poem of Geology. This rejuvenescence consists in the development of successive series of animals and plants; enduring, as to their species, for incalculable ages, and then disappearing, or nearly so, to make way for newer and higher kinds, to endure for as long, and in turn be themselves superseded. This is not inconsistent with the previously noticed kinds of rejuvenescence. It is rejuvenescence of organic nature in the mass, the particular genera and species being but subordinate incidents in the great onward and upward current of terrestrial Life. There is abundant illustration of this great law also in civil, scientific, and literary history, especially the last; and it is worthy of observation that the precursor of a new era is always one who refuses to follow the slavishness, extravagances, and caprices of exhausted invention, and returns to the freedom, simplicity, and integrity of nature. This is why men of true genius, who illumine the world with something new and glorious, are always accused of violating the rules,' i. e., refusing to dwell among the tombs. How marked was the rejuvenescence of literature in our own country, at the close of the last century, is familiar to all. So even with ideas and opinions. Every man,' says Sir Thomas Browne, *The Phenomenon of Rejuvenescence in Nature, especially in the life and development of Plants. From the German of Dr. A. Braun, by Arthur Henfrey. Ray Society's Volume, 1853. [Enl. Series.-No. 10, vol. i.] 3 M 458 FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS ON SPIRITUAL LIFE AND DEATH. in the Religio Medici, is not only himself; there have been many Diogeneses, and many Timons, though but few of the name; men are lived over again; the world is now as it was in ages past; there was none then, but there has been some one since that parallels him, and is, as it were, his revived self.' The highest rejuvenescence of all is man's return to youth in heaven. Some people think, weakly, that death is the only reality in life; happier and rightlierminded are those who see and feel that Life is the true reality in death.' Why, then, call it death? and why mourn and weep for those who return to the spring-time of existence? Why complain that we ourselves seem to be so soon taken from this land of tombs, and replaced in the golden country of our pristine hopes and imaginings ? (To be concluded next month.) WHO ARE THE ANGELS? (A Correspondence between a Methodist Minister and à Class-Leader, at Springfield, Ohio.) WE extract the following correspondence from the "Messenger," a New Church periodical, published at Cincinnati :-"We clip (says the Editor of the 'Messenger') from a file of the Democratic Expositor,' of Springfield, Ohio, the subjoined articles concerning the nature of the angels. The writers are understood to be members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in that town; the first being a class-leader, and the second a minister. Both we believe are excellent men. But the views presented in the respective articles show conclusively, how far the people of the churches sometimes surpass their ministers in wisdom and intelligence. "WHO ARE THE ANGELS? "The above question has no doubt been asked by many who little thought that they themselves were deeply interested in its answer. According to the commonly received opinion of the learned world and the church, angels are a race of superior beings, created by the Divine Being at some remote period of the unknown past, long anterior to that of the human race, and endowed with prerogatives far exceeding those bestowed upon humanity; that they were unspeakably happy in the enjoyment of the blessedness of heaven, but that finally a portion of them getting dissatisfied with the Divine Government, conceived the grand idea of setting up for themselves, and establishing an independent government. This, of course, led to an eruption, and a general war in heaven, when, after some hard fighting, (according to Milton,) the patriots or rebels were completely routed, and ejected from the land of their nativity, and for ever banished from its bright abodes to a certain somewhere called Hell. That in order to repair the damage caused by this revolt, the Divine Being concluded to extend the limits of His creation, and introduce a new race of beings to occupy it, who, after having had a fair trial of His government, by a test of obedience, might supply the place of the refractory angels who had been ejected; but that, after having made a happy couple, and placed them in a beautiful garden, containing every requisite of delight, with the test tree before their eyes, by some means not exactly known the arch-leader of the rebel gang stole a march upon the watch-guards of the garden, and persuaded the favoured pair to do as he had done,-dare to disobey,-which they did; and consequently they, too, were ejected from their happy abode, bringing death not only upon themselves, but also upon their unborn offspring, who had no more to do in the matter than the man in the moon; and Infinite Wisdom was again foiled in maintaining its power and authority. 'Verily, the reader will say, can this be so? Is God so much like man, that He should fail to accomplish what His goodness and wisdom has designed? No, reader, it is not so. The Almighty God never fails in the attainment of the ends of His wisdom and goodness. The above opinions may do for poetry, but they are far from the truth. The holy angels never revolted, or caused disorder in heaven; nor did an archfiend ever steal into Paradise and seduce the first happy pair that God had just created; nor was natural death brought upon us for a sin that we had nothing to do with. Then the question again recurs-Who are the angels? This I will proceed to answer. 66 "In the first place, I will state that the angels are all from the human race; that they have all had their birth, either in the earth we inhabit, or in some one of the earths in the material universe; that they have all undergone the same change from the natural into the spiritual state, to which we are subject; and that this change, which we call natural death, is necessary for the progression of our common humanity, from lower to higher states of wisdom and goodness; and consequently angels are allied to us, not only by a common humanity, but also by the ties of consanguinity, for they are our fathers and mothers, our sisters and brothers, our children and friends; and hence the deep interest they take in our welfare, and their joy in its possession. They are also male and female as we are, and the sexual relation is continued in the future state, by the union of the affections, for the reason that the sex is in the mind, which is immortal, and its continuance necessary for the perfection of the mind in all its capacities and powers. In the second place, I will remark that the angelic state is the great end of our existence; and that in order to attain that end, the starting point of existence should be in its lowest plane, which is the natural state, where the material body serves the purpose of a mould, in which the mind is formed or cast, and which is destroyed only to free the mind thus formed, that it may rise to a higher and nobler state in the order of its being. Angels and men are alike created forms, made to be the vessels into which the life and light, going out in constant efflux from the Divine Being, (its only source,) flows, and there becomes an image and likeness of Himself, which life and light, in their essence, are love and wisdom, and when so received by angels and men, becomes in them Goodness and Truth; and in proportion to the capacity of each individual, whether angel or man, to receive that influx, will they become more or less conformed to that image and likeness; and consequently their capacity will determine their quality, and it will also determine the nearness or remoteness of their state to the Divine Being; and that nearness or remoteness will also determine the happiness or unhappiness of every individual in the future state. 66 In conclusion, I will remark that every human being enjoys the same prerogatives that are enjoyed by angels, and, in the developments of the untried being of the future life, can rise in the attainment of equally high states of angelic perfection. All that is necessary is to lay the ground-work in the present life before the mould, (i. e. the material body, which supports the modifications necessary for it,) is destroyed. This ground-work consists in the removal of evils by shunning them, as directed by the Divine Being in His Word, and by cultivating the mind to receive the Divine influx, which is done by the practice of the Goodness and Truth so received; and when this is done, the capacity of the mind becomes enlarged, and it approximates in nearness to the Divine Being, and to His image and likeness; and every one that does thus, need not have any fears of the future, for he, too, will in due season become an angel. "J. O." To this statement respecting the origin and the nature of angels, the Methodist minister replies with the usual sentiments commonly entertained respecting the preexistence of angels to man, their revolt, and their overthrow, according to the poetry of Milton, but not according to Scripture or reason. Upon which the class-leader rejoins as follows : : "Mr. Editor, I was well aware, that in digging into the conservatism of the church, and its learned divines, I should bring upon myself the vials of their wrath; but assured as I am of the truth of my position, I have no fears of the result. My good brother, for whom I have the highest esteem, admits, in his reply, the importance of the inquiry, 'Who are the angels?' but very prudently dodges an answer; he says analogy is the weakest kind of reasoning-the very kind that the Lord Jesus himself, in all His teachings, invariably used. The resemblance between natural and spiritual things, forms the ground-work of that glorious system of Divine Truth that brings salvation to our race, and gives to us life and immortality: all the great truths of the Word of God, come to us in parabolical or representative language, and in no other; for the reason that spiritual things and natural things are united by similitude or correspondence, and God has given us reason that we may, by analogy, rise from lower to higher states of intelligence and wisdom; but my brother infers, that we should give up our reason, and follow a blind faith, as an ox is led by the nose. "He wants authority for my position; he shall have it from the lips of the Lord himself, who says (Luke xx. 36.) Neither can they die any more, for they are equal unto the angels.' If, then, we are angel's equals, we must be angels, and equality forbids the idea of their being superior to us, as my brother infers these words ought to be sufficient to satisfy any candid mind, in regard to this great question. The angel says to John, (Rev. xx. 9.) I am thy fellow servant, of thy brethren the prophets.' Here is a man a prophet, who had become an angel. Again, (Luke ix. 30.) Two men, Moses and Elias, appeared in glory to Peter, John, and James,' and talked with the Saviour; (query here.) If they appeared in glory, and talked with the Lord, must they not have had organized spiritual bodies, and tongues to talk with? And if they had, is it not a strong argument against the supposed reconstruction of the material body at the day of judgment? (Acts x. 30 ;)-Cornelius saw a man standing before him in bright clothing;' in Gen. xviii. 2, Abraham saw three MEN, who came and sat under a tree before his tent, and ate and conversed with him;' and Lot (Gen. xix. 1.) saw two angels as men, who tarried with him all night, and told him their mission was to destroy the city;' Manoah and his wife (Judges xiii. 2.) saw a MAN—— an angel of the Lord-and were terrified when he ascended in the flame of the altar.' Paul says (1 Cor. xi. 10.) that women should keep their heads covered, because of the angels; and why? because angels are men, and love the sex as much as we do. Will these passages satisfy my good brother? 66 The Infidel sneer' he speaks of is altogether gratuitous, for I am as far removed from infidelity as himself. There is not a passage in the Bible that says the Devil, or some arch fiend, got into the serpent to seduce Adam and Eve. The text simply says,-Now the serpent was more subtle than all the beasts of the field which the Lord God had made.' And I will here remark, that the whole of the mistaken theology of the present day grows out of the literal interpretation given to the purely symbolic, or representative language, in which the direct Word of God is clothed; and hence come absurdities taught by the learned and the church. In the account of the Creation of Man, the things of the natural world are used to represent the formation and regeneration, or spiritual birth, of the human mind of its progress, endowments, and happiness, and also of its spiritual degeneracy and death; and which applies with as much force now, to each individual, as it did to the first happy pair, for the Word of God applies to all time, and to every creature. Geology plainly shows, by the facts it adduces, that the Mosaic account of the creation cannot be taken literally; and physiology is equally opposed to the admission that natural death was superinduced by the Fall. The human body, in common with every thing material, is subject to the general laws of matter, and those laws could not have been different at the creation from what they are at present, and hence natural death is a condition of our nature provided by Infinite Wisdom, and necessary for the continuance of our life in a higher state of existBut to the testimony: the Lord says, (Luke xx. 37.) Now that the dead are raised' not are to be raised, at some future time, for He ence |