refused all remedies, saying that his pains arose from the influx of hypocritical spirits. His diet, like that of most eminent men, was simple, and his wants so few as to require only the partial attendance of the gardener and his wife, who took charge of his humble residence, and to whom he gave the proceeds of his garden.

Swedenborg never married. Early in life he was attached to the second daughter of his friend Polhem, and they were betrothed to each other, a written agreement having been signed by both. The engagement, however, was so repugnant to the lady, who was scarcely fourteen years of age, that her brother, having compassion on her dejection, secretly destroyed the written compact. No sooner did Swedenborg realize the condition of his young friend's affections, than he manfully withdrew his attentions, although he always continued to regard her with great tenderness. Among the pleasing phases of his aberrations was that of frequently communing with her in the spirit, as he himself assured her daughters and sons-in-law.

His manner was unassuming, frank, and cordial. Strangers approached him readily. But he was slow of speech, a moderate alms-giver, took a great deal of snuff, and sometimes went abroad with one shoe-buckle of plain silver, the other set in precious stones. He was a good linguist, speaking several languages fluently, the Hebrew being acquired after his illumination in order to perfect his biblical researches. Four editions of the Bible in Hebrew were found in his possession after his death, one of which, published in Leipsic in 1740, was given to Rev. Mr. Fernelius, of Schofde, for interring him at London, where he was then minister to the Swedish chapel. Previous to his death he was attacked with a kind of paralytic stroke, while lodging with Mr. Thearsmith, a barber, residing in Bath street, London. The maid who attended him during his last illness testified to his extreme good nature, adding, that after foretelling the hour of his death, "he was so happy!" and as language failed her to express this happiness more appropriately, she compared it to her own in anticipation of a holiday or merry-making. In the immediate presence of death, he earnestly protested the truth of all he had seen and written. He died March 29, 1772, being eighty-four years of age. By order of Mr. Lendegren, a Swedish merchant, he was laid in state at an undertaker's, and deposited in three coffins, in the vault of the Swedish church in Prince's

Square, Radcliffe Highway, with all the ceremonies of that

church.

The works of Swebenborg, which are exclusively devoted to unfolding the doctrines of the new dispensation, amount to about twenty-seven volumes, octavo, of five hundred pages each, besides some half dozen volumes in manuscript, which seem to have been intended for his own use. These may properly be divided into doctrinal, metaphysical, and those which unfold the spiritual sense of the Scriptures, together with the nature and appearances of the spiritual world and the state of man after death.

The most prominent and distinctive feature of the New Church doctrines, as taught by Swedenborg, consists in supposing the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to exist in the person of Jesus Christ, corresponding to the threefold principle of soul, body, and their operation in man. This view of the trinity differs so essentially from that held by all other churches, that its acceptance necessarily revolu tionizes the entire faith of such Christians as accept it. "It is," says Swedenborg," an error to address God the Father, and to supplicate him to have mercy for the sake of his Son, and to send his Holy Spirit. This mode of supplication is directly contrary to the truth; for the truth teaches us to address the Lord alone, in whom dwelleth the Father, and through whom only can the Father be approached.” *

The doctrine of regeneration is also entirely different from that accepted by others. In the New Church, regeneration is considered progressive, commencing in infancy and continuing into eternity. There is supposed also to be an actual correspondence between the spiritual birth and growth and the natural birth and growth of man. Baptism signifies regeneration; while in the Holy Supper the bread and wine represent the good of love and the truths of faith from the Lord. Evil, according to Swedenborg, had its origin in man, and was never created by God.

The doctrine of salvation through faith is also rejected by Swedenborg, either with good works or without them; and he insists that "not a single writer on theology has ever yet found the connection which this faith has with good works." But he believes and asserts, "that the truths which are called the truths of faith teach us how we ought to think of God, and how we ought to act towards our neighbor; and

• Swedenborg's letter to Dr. Menunder, Archbishop of Sweden.

that charity receives these truths in good work, as the fruit receives the sap and juices of the tree."

The peculiar language employed by Swedenborg to express his ideas often renders the meaning obscure, and, consequently, less attractive to the reader; but as one becomes familiar with his writings, these Swedenborgisms are found to convey the idea better than any other, and it would be extremely difficult to substitute the usual mode of expression in their stead. With all his tedious minuteness of detail, which renders a patient perusal of his theological works an Herculean labor, he who reads them will be rewarded with "apples of gold and pictures of silver." Whether or not we

accept his delineations and illuminations as from heaven, we cannot but feel that, as a man, a friend, and a Christian, he is a worthy example to many who condemn him; while mentally, whether sane or insane, he knew by intuition more than most of us can ever hope to attain by the most careful culture. The impression that Swedenborg is indebted for his fame to his illuminations does him injustice; was it not rather the illuminations that were perpetuated through the genius of this extraordinary man? Although, in this age of absurdities, it ill becomes us to allude to the weaknesses of others, it should, in justice to Swedenborg, be borne in mind, that he lived in a country and at a time when a belief in the supernatural existed the world over; and that the peculiar phases of insanity were not then, as now, known to constitute the most intricate and subtle of all mental phenomena-the outline between reason throned and reason dethroned being often so indefinitely defined as to baffle the ingenuity of the most skilful physician to discover it. We recall with shame, that, within the very precincts of Plymouth Rock, the insane were tortured as witches and hung as wizards. It does not follow, therefore, that because Swedenborg's idiosyncrasy led him to pry too keenly into the secrets of the unknown world, that he discovered no new truths in regard to it, or that, in all other respects, he was not, both morally and mentally, all that his warmest admirers claim him to have been. Happy, at least, will it be for his friends or enemies, if, when a century has rolled over their sleeping ashes, their laurels shall be as greentheir weaknesses remembered as so few, and their virtues so many.

ART. IX.-NOTICES AND CRITICISMS.

HISTORY AND EDUCATION.

The Life, Intellectual and Esthetic, of the Ancient Greeks; an Oration. By HENRY GILES, Esq. Delivered before the B. J. F. Society, at the Annual Commencement of the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., July 6, 1864. Worcester: Adams & Brown, 1865.

Or the many lectures that have reached our table in pamphlet form during the last five years, we have only noticed one. This implies an unfavorable estimate on our part of that style of intellectual effort, but it is one which we did not form hastily, or even willingly; it was the result of many disappointments which were too suggestive of the new beatitude, "Blessed are they that expect nothing"-from our lecturers. But the name of the institution on the title page of that before us led us to expect something better than an ordinary performance-an expectation which was not at all weakened by the character of the lecturer, who, we had reason to believe, was one of the best in the country. We resolved, therefore, to examine it, although it did not reach us until we were sending the last pages of our present number to the press. We find we were right in assuming that it is far superior to the general class of lectures or orations of the present day; but it falls far short of the standard of the college at which it was delivered. It contains some striking thoughts and excellent suggestions; but as a whole, it does not do justice to the subject. The part which relates to the Athenians would do very well even for the classic atmosphere of the Holy Cross, so far as the facts which it embodies are concerned, although the form in which those facts are given might be much improved. But nothing could be more erroneous than the lecturer's views on the Spartans, and their civilization. It is true that he is not peculiar in entertaining them; on the contrary, fifty have the same impression of the Spartans for every one who differs with him. But the majority are those who derive their opinions from hearsay; from those who judge from what they see on the outside without trouble. The minority are those who trace results to their causes, and ask themselves are certain facts consistent with certain theories. Now there is not one of the latter class, to whom belong several of the reverend professors at Worcester, whe would agree with Mr. Giles in his estimate of Spartan civilization. In order to justify this remark it will be necessary to give an idea of what the lecturer says on the subject:

"Two tribes of this race are historically the most distinguished-the Doric and the Ionic-but to follow the fortunes even of these two tribes, though in the most cursory manner, would here be impossible. We can narrow them down into the two States which stand respectively at the head of each-Sparta and Athens-Sparta the head of the Doric, and Athens the head of the Ionicbut then we have before us not resemblance, but contrast. If we take one for a comprehensive type of the Greek mind, we must of necessity exclude the

other; for no remarks which will apply extensively to both will have any definiteness. Which, then, shall we take-the man of Sparta, or the man of Athens? Which best represents Greek feeling, Greek thought, Greek manners-which, in short, best represents the totality of Greek character and Greek life? The man of Sparta was trained under such a peculiar system of discipline, and his polity was so in harmony with his training, that he was exceptional not only to the whole Hellenic aggregate, but to his own special tribe; and he was hardly more fit to stand for all Dorians, than he was for all Greeks. He had in him, indeed, the Greek nature. No training could utterly destroy that. While the Greek nature lived in him he could not be utterly dead to art. He was, therefore, strongly susceptible to poetry and music; and this susceptibility his training did not aim to crush, because song and tune could always minister to warlike passion. He was sensitive to poetry, but it was the battle-ode that stirred him; he was sensitive to music, but it was not the gentle Lydian measure that he loved, but the Phrygian wildly strong, or the Dorian sedately grave; and to these, as the occasion called, he moved in the war-line march, the religious dance, or the social procession. But even in the limited degree to which he was susceptible of song and music, he had no singers and no players of his own. Tyrtæus, the greatest of his lyrists, was of Attica; and Terpander, mighty on the harp, was a Lesbian. The man of Sparta was firm, brave, patient, abstinent; but, also, he was formal, rigid, obstinate, coarse, and cruel. His destiny was military; he was born to be a soldier, and everything was done to make him perfect for his calling. His education was only drill; his eating was in mess; in the ranks alone he was at ease; and until he was in fight he had not his proper business. Children to him were merely an accident; a wife he had simply upon sufferance; a home was his scarcely even by name; the spontaneous individual was lost in the political organization, and the free human agent was moulded into the mechanical State instrument. The Spartan was reserved and grave. He was silent--not altogether becaues he was cautious in the expression of opinions, but rather that he had no opinions to express. He had no voice in politics; he had no public discussion; no clamors were heard in his assemblies; he had no wrangling, but also, he had no oratory; all political questions were settled by the few in dumbness and seclusion. The Spartan, thus within his own State, was repulsive to all beyond it; he was inhospitable to strangers, and abhorrent of novelty. To whatever is here implied of good or evil, the character of the Athenian is opposed."

All this seems plausible enough at first view, but it grossly misrepresents the Spartans, especially in those remarks which we have marked in italics. What the whole passage means is simply this, that the Spartans were a military people, and nothing more. They had no education, no culture, no taste, further than those qualities may be said to belong to a soldier. The Athenians had everything that was great and good, the Spartans everything that was vulgar, coarse, brutal! Our readers well know that none admire the Athenians more than we; but we do not think that in order to praise them to the full extent of their deserts, as the most highly cultivated people of all antiquity, it is necessary to degrade the Spartans to the condition of savages. This is not the way to glorify the Athenians, since the most thoughtless might ask, If the Athenians were so great, and the Spartans so mean, how did it happen that the latter sucessfully rivalled the former as a nation, even in the time of Pericles? Nay, why did they maintain their ascendency in Greece for nearly a thousand years? Is their having done so consistent with the theory of their being an igno rant and thoughtless people? The difficulty of answering these questions. will be increased rather than diminished by a glance at the situations of the