The principle on which God moves and acts is not foreign to, or independent of, himself; but it is the unalterable ten dency of the very substance which makes his being, and this tendency is the power by which all physical results have been accomplished. It will seem to some minds to be dishonoring the Supreme Ruler to suppose that He is controlled by necessity, but it would not seem thus if such minds were enlightened by the philosophy of nature, instead of being obscured by theological prepossessions. To say that God acts by necessity is really no more dishonoring than to, say that He exists in this manner, which is an undeniable truth; and it is surely less dishonoring to suppose that his volition is fixed and unalterable, or, to use the sentiment of the Primitive Record, 'without variableness or the shadow of turning,' than to suppose that it. is fickle, wayward, or governed by circumstances, like the will of man. The Universe is sublime in the beautiful order and settled uniformity of its movements; the sun is glorious in the outflowing of its rays with an unvarying equality from age to age; and the Divine Mind is not less sublime and glorious than these, because the principle of its action is in accordance with the changeless and undisturbed harmony of Creation.

It seemed necessary to dwell at some length on this part of the great subject under consideration, in order to unfold a true basis for subsequent investigations, and prepare the way for the revealment of ulterior realities. In inditing the thoughts which have apparently emanated from a sphere of wisdom, the writer has not been unmindful of their disagreement with the popular teachings of the day, but at the same time has sought, without fear of these teachings or their advocates, the unfolding of immortal truth. Let the reader employ the divine gift

of reason in the solution of the great problem presented in this chapter; and in the freedom and sublimity of heaven-born thought, the soul shall soar above the dark atmosphere of earthly error, to realize the hight, the expansiveness and immutability of that principle, by which the soul of God has been enshrined within the body of the Universe. Then will be interiorly seen and realized the truthfulness of the sentiment uttered by the Prophet in the following language: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

CHAPTER V.

THE CREATIVE FORCES OF DEITY.

THE reader who may have perused the preceding pages, will see in this reflection of the writer's thoughts, what he conceives to be the primary source of all the materials which have an existence in space, and also the general character of that principle by which these have been evolved. It will be remembered that space was regarded as an exceedingly refined-substance, and that within this, beneath successive gradations of refinement, was supposed to reside the Divine Soul. This Soul, it will be likewise remembered, was conceived to be the primitive germ, which, uncreated, contained within itself all the elements and forces that were necessary to the creation of material forms, -this acting not by any special volition or arbitrary decrees, but through the inherent principles and tendencies of its own nature. Thus God existed eternally within space, and was connected with its surface by successive interior formations or spheres, which represented the order and harmony of Divine Action.

This inmost germ which is termed God, is the concentration of an inconceivably refined essence, and, were it viewed by the

interior vision, would appear to be a blazing sun, whose intense brightness would dazzle and overpower the feeble sense of mortals, and whose magnitude would defy all conception. In this sun was contained love, as indicated by the spiritual heat which was a quality of its nature; in this was likewise contained volition, as denoted by the outflowing emanations that were thrown off from its inmost heart; and herein, also, was contained wisdom, which is the established order and method of Divine action. Hence love, will and wisdom represented simply the inherent conditions of the living substance that composes the Deity. He did not create his own love, and therefore it flows out spontaneously from the very depths of his being, and can never be withdrawn from a single object or being in existence. So also He did not create his own volition, and therefore this is the necessary action of his own component elements, which can never be turned into any other channel than that in which they have eternally flowed. Neither did He create the wisdom which is likewise an attribute of his nature, and accordingly this must continue to be exercised with the same unvarying harmony in which it has ruled over all the ages of the past. Now it is by these three general characteristics of the Divine Mind, that all exterior formations were progressively unfolded. The love-principle attracted congenial elements and caused them to occupy a suitable position with relation to the central germ; the will-principle impelled the essence of this germ to mingle with other portions of the surrounding substance and to form new combinations; and the wisdom-principle preserved the eternal order and method of these movements, so as to direct them toward a definite and sublime end. The action of these principles was beautiful, har

monious, and unchanging;-in this there was no sudden impulse, no fickle will, or unsettled purpose, but it was, as it appears from its reflection in the Universe, the breathing of one sublime and uncreated Thought.

From this philosophy, it will be seen that the creative forces of Deity are essentially different in nature, from what have been conceived in the speculations of theological teachers. It is true that love, will, and wisdom have been commonly regarded as a part of the Divine attributes; but these qualities have not usually been viewed in a philosophical light-they have not been viewed in their real connection with the eternal substance of God. If we regard the attributes above mentioned as mere qualities, without knowing what those qualities imply, our conception of their true nature will be extremely indefinite, and our impressions as to their method of action will be correspondingly vague. But if we contemplate these attributes simply as the conditions and movements of a living substance-as the attractive, expansive, and regulating tendencies of the Divine elements, we at once attain an idea which can be definitely conceived, and which rests on the basis of a true philosophy. Without the action of a substance, love, will, and wisdom could produce no effect, and indeed could have no existence. These qualities naturally imply motion, and there can be no motion where there is not some kind of matter to be moved. Hence we can not properly conceive of such qualities as independent entities; but when viewed in their connection with the Divine Essence, as indicating the direction, method and harmony of its action, this trinity of principles will be found to generate that supreme, internal force, which is the creative power that formed the worlds.