thing that surrounds him, or by both combined, he instantly becomes learned; he is ever afterwards learned. -This must be so ;-it would be most absurd to conclude otherwise. We may as well assert that nature has a retrograde tendency; that a mature man grows smaller, till he becomes a babe; that a wise man studies, till he is a fool; and that a virtuous man practices virtue, till he is vicious. But this is not the case with those who have undergone the mesmeric influence, -they display no such fine results,—all their wonderful knowledge departs with all their wonderful sleep; therefore, the learning we see evidenced in such a sleep, cannot be the unlettered individual's own acquired learning. Nothing can be clearer than this;-we should judge that the most sceptical Mesmerist would allow it. This being admitted, we must necessarily infer that the soul of one, in the mesmeric sleep, comes into contact with some Being, of superior power and intelligence, and that the patient himself is only an organ, a mere automaton, for such a Being to speak and act through; and parrot-like, or child-like, by imitation, he repeats Latin or Greek, and gives scientific solutions exactly as he is directed. 'If you place your finger,' says the Mesmerist, on the organ of imitation, of a person in the mesmeric sleep, he will imitate your actions; if you stamp with your foot, he will stamp with his foot; if you fillip with your finger, he will fillip with his finger; if you whistle with your mouth, he will whistle with his mouth. Still retain your finger on the organ of imitation,' adds the Operator, and place another finger on the organ of language, and he will repeat after you, imitating you exactly in every variety of vocal modulation.' Very good, this is just to our purpose, and establishes the point before us; for, should the Mesmerist

6

still continue his fingers on the organs of imitation and language, and interrogate him on subjects beyond our knowledge, Who does he then imitate? Do not pervert the question, we beseech you, by any equivocation. He still answers his questions very readily, and perhaps accurately. What intelligent agent speaks through him? Can you, by any sound argument, shew us that we are wrong, in drawing the conclusion, that there is some powerful invisible Being near at hand, who assists him ?-Who is he? Do you answer in the negative, on the ground that if he were thus assisted, he would be cognizant of it, and able to describe it afterwards? This by no means follows, for, when he copies your actions, and repeats after you, and having recovered from his slumber, is he cognizant of the agent? Does he know any thing about what has passed? Besides, you are aware, it is an important feature of your system, not to arouse the patient too soon after the organs have been excited, lest he should be confused and wander; you give him a little subsequent rest, that all traces of what has passed, and confusion of mind, may be completely buried together in the oblivion of his sweet repose ;and all being forgotten by the patient; (except that he has had a good comfortable sleep,) he is as ignorant of the agency he has been assisted by, as he is of the knowledge he has communicated. Again, it is no part of our argument to prove, whether the patient is or is not cognizant of being assisted by supernatural agency, when there are such manifest proofs of its operation upon him. We therefore come to the conclusion, that persons in the mesmeric sleep, having their phrenological organs excited, and being questioned on scientific, anatomical, astronomical, or metaphysical subjects,

beyond their knowledge, are assisted by some intelligent invisible Being.-Who is this Being? We answer seriously, It cannot be God. Though the advocates of Mesmerism would fain have us believe that it is God; and hence they assert, It is a science, whose healing virtues God has revealed to man for the benefit of the afflicted; and it was further assumed by one of their Practitioners, that as man is created in God's image, God in his goodness has given him Mesmerism, to help him the better to discern Himself; the great Almighty Being, in whose image he is made. We desire next to prove, that the high standing here assumed, and the exalted place given to Mesmerism, are not according to the Scriptures: but in approaching this subject, we feel we are standing on holy ground, and it becomes us as it were to take our shoes from off our feet: inasmuch as any thing that has reference to God or his Word can be treated rightly, only as He vouchsafes his gracious assistance. We trust He will so help us now, that we may be hindered from writing any thing irreverently, or irrelevantly to the subject before us.

6 It is true the Great God created man in his own image, (Gen. i. 26—28.) in holiness and happiness, and gave him dominion; but he fell from that condition by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and thereby, according to God's own previous declaration, he entailed upon himself and his posterity, death. (Compare Gen. ii. 16, 17; iii.). The moment he ate of that tree he died in the most awful sense of that thrilling word: he fell into a death of trespasses and sins, (Eph. ii. 7) and morally lost his likeness to God's image; the subsequent death of his body, and the loss of his soul, were consequences of this previous death.

'Adam did, it is true, retain to a certain extent, in

this condition, his intellectual, physical, and procreative faculties; but he retained them under the influence of an evil fallen nature; hence, we read, (Gen. v. 3.) Adam begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and this has been the case ever since. Never has man by natural generation, by intellectual power, or by the practice of virtue, attained the image of God which he morally lost. In corroboration of this truth the following passages of scripture may be adduced, (Gen. vi. 5 : Job xiv. 4; Psa. li. 5; lviii. 3; Matt. xv. 1-20; John i. 13; iii. 6; Rom. v. 12; Eph. ii. 3.).

'Man then being dead in trespasses and sins; having morally lost the image of God; still at a great distance from his Maker; and possessing in his nature irreconcilable enmity against Him (Rom. viii. 7.), can have no communion with Him; and in this state it would be presumptuous in him to seek a knowledge of God, and an acquaintance with Him on the ground of having been created in his image; besides, the Scriptures fully confirm the fact, that man has had no disposition to return to God: even when he has been mostly distinguished by intellectual greatness, and moral culture; these have been used by him in a way rather to increase his distance from, than his nearness to God; therefore it is declared, the world by wisdom knew not God (1 Cor. i. 21;) and it is also further evident from the word of God, that the world, in its very climax of mental glory and boasted power, was chargeable with the most puerile folly, for it made an image of the invisible God; a corruptible lifeless representation of that which it knew not, even of Him who is the self-existent incorruptible God (Rom. ii. 23.); and it is also most plain from the same oracles of truth, that God holds the whole world guilty, and in a condemned state before Him (Compare

Rom. 9-19; and John iii. 18-20.) Have we then a right to assume so high a standing before God as that which the advocates of mesmerism have taken, or, to give any invention of our own so exalted a place as they have put their system in? (Eccl. vii. 29.).

'The great God, however, in his infinite love to a lost, fallen guilty world, has been pleased to reveal one way only whereby we may know Him, and that is through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is written,— No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him (John i. 18.); and again,-No man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him (Matt. xi. 27.); and again,-Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: and in his Father's throne, thus exalted, he will continue to sit until his foes are made his footstool (Heb. i. 13.) ; and then he will take to Himself his great power, and enter upon his dominion the visible, living representation, of the invisible incorruptible God; and will visibly exhibit, as man, in magnificent display, the greatness, wisdom, power, and glory which are in Himself invisibly as God. Now all this blessing can only be known by us, as we learn what Christ is; and as this is a most important point, let us inquire how we may learn what Christ is? The instant one believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is not only washed from his sins in His precious blood (Rev. i. 5.), but he has everlasting life; for he is said to be born again (John iii. 3.). He is born of God (John i. 12, 13.). He is made a partaker