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lambs, or leopards with kids. No man can serve two masters," for they being opposite to each other render it impossible.

Before man can compel himself to do good he must have good in himself as a ground from which to act; without that good as a ground, he has neither the will nor the ability to compel himself to do good; and this good is not the good as it is implanted by the Lord, as 'remains,” but it is acquired good; it is good in the voluntary principle, and it is what he has made his own by choice and appropriation.

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From what has been stated it may be seen that man, in his natural state, cannot compel himself to do good, but only to do truth, which consists in shunning evils. He may do the truth from fear, but good can be done only from love; for love is the ground out of which good springs, and though the actions which spring from fear may appear the same as those which proceed from love, still they are very different as to their essence, and it is the essence that gives them quality. The actions which have their origin in fear being similar in external appearance to those that originate in love, may be devoted to external uses, and may be made to promote the external interests of mankind, as though they had originated in love, and were really what they appear to be, and, in general, by such actions the affairs of societies, and the governments of communities and of kingdoms, is effected by the Divine Providence, still the quality of actions is from their essence, and not from the purposes to which they are applied.

With respect to man's compelling himself to do good, it is to be observed that this applies to him only in his progress in the attainment of good, and not to the life of the good when it is attained by him. In his advancement upwards, towards interior states, man is gifted with light from the Lord, by which evils of a more interior nature are manifested, and against which he has to strive, and which he has to oppose with all his might. In this case truth precedes good, for the truth by which illustration and exploration is effected, is the truth of a good which he has not yet made his own; it is the truth of that good by virtue of which he has the ability to strive against evil, and which is of the remains" which have been implanted by the Lord. All that man can do when evil is manifested is to strive against it, and in thus striving against evil he does virtually, in his degree, compel himself to do good.

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But the distinction between man's compelling himself against evil, and compelling himself to do good, is an internal difference, which depends on the state of mind alone; and though it may be described, it

cannot be seen or felt, except by him who is the subject of it. The good from which a man compels himself, is an interior good which has not yet come into his possession; it operates upon the good which he does possess by influx, from which it appears to him that it is his own good from which he acts, for communication by influx is not felt. Evil in man must be removed before its opposite good can come into him and be possessed by him as his own; for good and evil mutually repel each other, being opposites. Besides, each degree of evil that is manifested to man, is more interior than any that has been previously manifested; and it requires a more interior degree of light to explore it than what he yet possesses as his own. If it were possible for man to discover still more interior evils than what have been made known to him by the light of his already acquired good, why have they not been explored previously?

It is a truth that every form is an object which may be made manifest; and also that no form can be manifested and seen but by light, and that the light by which any form can be manifested must be of the degree, or it must be on the plane, of the object which is seen; for every degree in the created universe has heat and light, and objects peculiar to it, which substantially constitute it. From which it follows that every new evil that is explored and made manifest in man, is a more interior one than any that has been previously brought to view; and that its exploration has been effected by an interior and superior light, which has entered by influx, and that this light is peculiar to a good which is not yet manifested; it is a good which man has not yet made his own by allowing it to flow in and take possession of him. It is an involuntary good which is seeking to become voluntary; which sheds forth its light before it, and manifests the things which are opposed to it and serve as obstacles to obstruct and prevent its entrance into the voluntary principle. It also issues forth its heat, so far as its presence can be endured, and by man's coöperation it is received; and by his continued practice and perseverance he is inured into its life, and thus it gradually spreads forth its influences and possesses the man. From which it would appear that man's compelling himself to shun evil, is at the same time a compelling himself to do good; but the difference between the two is in one respect this-that the evil which he shuns he sees, but the good to which he compels himself is not seen. Both the good and the evil are the same in this respect; they are both out of man's voluntary part: the evil is explored that it may be removed, and the good is present that it may be received. The evil is manifested and the good is not, because the evil is in man's natural principle where he is; it has been with him from [Enl. Series.-No. 65, vol. vi.]

birth, and it is in his very constitution; it has previously been latent, because there has not been light capable of exploring it, and an object or form cannot be explored and manifested without adequate light. But it is quite different with the good to which man must compel himself; this is not in his natural principle, or where he is, neither is it innate; but it is good which is stored up after birth, by the Lord Himself, and is remitted into the natural principle by the Lord, and is offered to man as a free gift. It is only offered for his free reception; it is not imposed upon him, nor forced into him, for in that case it would not be received by him; it could not be received by him, for the compulsion would destroy the man. Man's compelling himself to shun evil is the means of his attaining a new and superior good; therefore if he compel himself to shun evil, he compels himself to do good; for shunning evil is doing good, and it is the only good that man can do, externally considered. But, as has been previously stated, the quality of every external good depends upon its essence; if its essence be mere truth, it is only shunning evil; but if its essence be love, it is doing good.

Man does not compel himself because he likes to be compelled; by no means; there is nothing that he is more averse to than compulsion; but in his compulsion he has an end in view, the obtaining of which is to be the result of his compulsion, and which cannot be obtained without it; and he chooses and suffers the means for the sake of the end. But there is a wide difference between self-compulsion and compulsion by another; the latter is slavery, but the former is liberty. Man compels himself because he wills it as a means to an end; but when he is compelled by another, he is made to act contrary to his own will in compliance with the will of another; therefore, in reality, he acts from the will of the other, and not from his own will. Self-compulsion is perfect freedom, but compulsion by another is abject slavery. Self-compulsion is practised in the attainment of good, and not in the possession or retaining of it. When a man is about to change his state for a better, he is to give up that particular quality which charac terized himself; and as that is the life which has afforded him all his delights and pleasures, he cannot leave it, and give it up, without considerable reluctance; he must feel great anxiety and distress of mind, and self-compulsion is indispensable; he has, as it were, to force himself from himself; he has to give up what he possesses for what is offered to him for his reception; and as that which he has to give up is that which yields him all his gratifications and enjoyments, which is, in fact, his life, he cannot give it up without compelling himself to do so; therefore it is necessary in order that he may change his state,

and advance to a higher, that he compel himself to relinquish his present one when superior light explores it, and manifests its imperfections. By that means man comes into the possession of interior good, and the life of it; in the enjoyment of which there is no compulsion, but all is freedom. Man will always do freely that which he loves, love being the essence of freedom. But if he is to advance out of his present good to a superior good, then self-denial and self-compulsion again become necessary; and this is the only way in which he can make any spiritual progress or advancement in regeneration. So long as man remains in this world he is in a state of probation, and he remains subject to these changes of state; but when he passes into the spiritual world his state is fixed; he is no longer in a state of probation, but he is then to enjoy, or suffer, the state which he has voluntarily formed in himself, without the possibility of change, and that for ever.

S. S.

ASSYRIA AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN THE WORD OF GOD,
AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE NINEVEH SCULPTURES.
A course of Lectures recently delivered by the Rev. T. Chalklen.

LECTURE III.

(Continued from page 170.)

We come now to observe the animal that shares so largely with the lion in the notice of the Assyrian sculptor, the bull. Frequent mention is made in Scripture of oxen. In the Levitical directions for the Jewish sacrifices, bullocks, young bullocks, oxen, and heifers are named, as also in other parts. Bulls are named in the Psalms, and a few times in the prophets; but I have not found the species under any name mentioned in connexion with Assyria, except in the 50th Jeremiah, in the 11th verse of which, speaking of Chaldea and Babylon, it says—“ Ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;" and in the 27th verse, still speaking of Chaldea" Slay all her bullocks, let them go down to the slaughter." Among the varieties of the bull some are much more wild and fierce than others. The bullocks or oxen of Scripture are supposed to have been a tamer kind of bulls than those intended where they are called bulls or wild bulls. The Hebrews are believed not to have practised upon their cattle a certain custom universally prevalent among us in the present day. The bulls hunted by the Assyrian kings were probably of the fiercest kind. The bull not unfre

quently appears upon the ornamental parts of the dresses of the kings and others. According to the science of correspondences, the bull differs in signification from the lion, equally with the difference in their natures. The general signification of the ox is the principle of natural goodness, or the good affections of the natural man. The wild bull, in a state of ungovernable fierceness, would denote this principle uncontrolled by wisdom, and at the same time rampant in its activity, in which state it is injurious and dangerous. Its horns, which it possesses in common with some other animals, are symbolic of the power of operating in the ultimates of life. The ruminatory organs of the class of animals to which it belongs, correspond to the memory, by which the nutriment is received for the affections before it is really applied for their nourishment. This may be in some measure explained thus. A natural kind-hearted disposition is nourished by receiving such communications of goodness and affection as develop themselves in forms tangible to the spirit, and are by the organizing laws of spiritual life rendered capable of being so used. Instructions in goodness, the acts and sympathies of others, perceptions of duties and usefulness, reflections upon the circumstances which call for the cherishing and the exercising of kind-heartedness, all these may be among the nutritious productions of the mental field, and constitute the pasture upon which this good affection may feed. Now we know that the heart, differently from the understanding, cannot in certain given quantities, and at regulated periods, take its food; its constant impulse is to feed. Every thought that is suggested, every idea that occurs to the mind, every sentiment that is heard expressed, or that manifests itself in an act or in a look, whatsoever is presented to nourish the affection is at once, as it were, eaten; but all this does not immediately find its way into the proper stomach, or it is not submitted to the discriminating exercise of the reason, as fast as received, for appropriation or rejection; but it is all preserved in the memory until the reason is in a condition to be exercise upon it. When it is reflected on, and the reason commences its work upon it, then the ruminating process is performed, and the food is consigned to the operation of the reasoning faculty, to be finally received or rejected, as it is found to contribute or not to the health or increase of this good affection which has eaten it. The case is similar with other degrees of affection. I think a reason may thus be seen why the animals allowed for food to the Israelites, and therefore proper for their sacrifices also, as representing the various good affec tions, should, with some other useful and peaceable animals, have this peculiarity.